Generalized parton distributions and wide-angle exclusive scattering

The handbag mechanism for wide-angle exlusive scattering reactions is discussed and compared with other theoretical approaches. Its application to Compton scattering, meson photoproduction and two-photon annihilations into pairs of hadrons is reviewed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures using LATEX with npb.st

Three Essays on the Effects of Appraisal, Cultural, Emotional, and Cognitive Factors on Information Technologies Acceptance and Use

In essay 1, we propose a model, which utilized Lazarus and Folkman’s Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Emotion or Appraisal Theory (1984, 1987) as a structural foundation to lay out the nomological relationships among a person’s personal, cognitive, and emotional factors in predicting technology use behaviors. Emotion, likes many social and psychological factors, is challenging to give a full-consensus definition, and has been treated as a polar counterpart of cognition. Lazarus and Folkman’s Appraisal Theory suggested that when a person is facing a (disruptive) event, he or she appraises the possible outcomes (we suppose that appraising is a form of cognitive process), and based on the appraisal and along with other cognitive responses, together they influence his or her emotions. Both cognitive and emotional responses impact his or her behavioral intentions and behaviors. Derived from Appraisal Theory, various emotion theories and models, and TAM, we built a research model, which would provide and prove and the interplayed relationships among external, cognitive, and emotional variables. This study tested our research model in the context of four different technologies (Microsoft Access, iPad, SAP, and smartphone). The findings will provide substantial evidence of the imperative impact of emotions on technology use research and practices. In essay 2, built on the previous research model and supported by the theoretical background from essay 1, we would like to see how culture impacts on this model. Research has shown that people from different cultures do not think or behave alike. A person’s behavioral intentions and behaviors are often derived from his/her belief system. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) stated that “beliefs are personally formed or culturally shared cognitive configurations” (p. 63). They implied that the differences in culture may cause the variances while using a behavioral model (e.g. TAM) to predict or explain behaviors. In Lazarus and Folkman’s Appraisal Theory (1984, 1987), they regarded that beliefs determine what fact is, that is, “how things are” in the environment, and how they shape the understanding of its meaning” (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984, p. 63). In other words, they believed that culture and personal factors shape a person’s understanding of his/her surrounding environment. Bem (1970) distinguishes two levels of beliefs, primitive and higher-order. Primitive beliefs reside in a subconscious state within a person; when those beliefs are needed, they will emerge under specific circumstances. “Higher-order beliefs are learned” (Lazarus and Folkman 1984, p. 64) from experiences and over time become personal primitive beliefs. Often beliefs are operating underneath a person’s explicit awareness; nevertheless, beliefs could shape a person’s perceptions. We added cultural constructs to the proposed model, which were derived from Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions (individualism/collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity/femininity), to examine the effect of cross cultural differences. In addition, the added constructs should demonstrate notable influences on a person’s cognition and emotion, and ultimately his/her technology use. In essay 3, uncertainty adversely impels one’s logical judgments, decisions, and behaviors (Baker, Bloom, Davis, 2015: Bloom, 2009; Denis and Kannan, 2013). Straube, Mentzel, and Miltner (2007) described anticipatory anxiety using “waiting for spiders” as a metaphor. Anticipatory anxiety was described that humans will estimate a possible future threat, danger, or other upcoming potentially negative events, which cause him/her anxiety (Barlow, 2000; Barlow, Chorpita, and Turovsky, 1996; Behnke and Sawyer, 2000). Research in user technology acceptance and use should not ignore uncertainty’s impact on a person’s perception and behaviors. The present study is aimed at investigating how users would feel along with what they would think, and how they would act, given an ambiguous event when the office workers are given a new technology or information system to use in their workplace. We also explore another factor, anticipatory anxiety, which is induced by uncertainty. Together, we believe that uncertainty factors and anticipatory anxiety factor would be the antecedents on user’s behavioral intention. The contribution of this study will shed light on discovering and solving knowledge in a user’s predicament in using new enterprise software, and thus enhance a better understanding for professionals when implementing it

Stability of the developing laminar flow in a circular tube

An investigation is made of the linear stability of the developing laminar flow of an incompressible fluid in the entrance region of a circular tube. Both axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric small disturbances are considered in the analysis. The stability characteristics of the fully developed flow are also re-examined. The main flow velocity distribution used in the stability analysis is that from the solution of the linearized momentum equation. The governing equations for the disturbances and the boundary conditions constitute an eigenvalue problem which is solved by a direct numerical integration scheme along with an iteration technique. The solution starts with a series expansion near the center of the tube, which is followed by a fourth order Runge-Kutta integration to the tube wall. Two purification methods, a filtering scheme and an orthonormalization technique, are used to remove the parasitic errors inherent in the numerical integration of the disturbance equations. Both purification schemes yield stability results which are essentially identical. Neutral stability curves are generated and critical Reynolds numbers are obtained at various axial locations from the tube inlet for both axisymmetric disturbances and azimuthally periodic disturbances with periodicity one. Representative eigenfunctions are also presented. It is found that: (1) laminar flow in the entrance region of a circular tube is unstable to both axisymmetric and azimuthally periodic disturbances; (2) the minimum critical Reynolds numbers occur in the entrance region and are about 20,000 (based on the average velocity and the radius of the tube) for both axisymmetric and azimuthally periodic disturbances; (3) the azimuthally periodic disturbances are more stable than the axisymmetric disturbances in the region adjacent to the entrance of the tube; and (4) in the region away from the tube inlet, the azimuthally periodic disturbances are more unstable than the axisymmetric disturbances. This last finding agrees with that of the earlier investigators for the fully developed flow --Abstract, pages ii-iii

Mean-reverting behavior of consumption-income ratio in OECD countries: evidence from SURADF panel unit root tests

This paper examines the existence of the mean-reverting behavior of the consumption-income ratio from a panel of 24 OECD countries through the application of the series-specific SURADF panel unit root test. The results show that the consumption-income ratios in 22 OECD countries exhibit mean-reverting behavior. Furthermore, the half-life of the consumption-income ratio for these 22 OECD countries is between 0.28 to 3.48 years. This implies that policy shocks in industrialized economies are not likely to have permanent effects on the consumption-income ratio.Mean reversion; Consumption-income ratio; SURADF; Half-life