The Decision to Continue Sharing Knowledge in Virtual Communities: The Moderating Role of Knowledge-Sharing Experience and Knowledge Self-Efficacy

Virtual communities have become increasingly popular in recent years. Despite significant growth in the number of virtual communities, few communities have been successful retaining members and motivating members to continue sharing knowledge. This study focuses on how knowledge-contributor characteristics impact the relationship between individuals’ community-involvement motivation and continued knowledge-sharing intention. According to the study’s online survey of 292 knowledge contributors in two professional virtual communities (PVCs), knowledge-sharing experience and knowledge self-efficacy – two contributor characteristics – moderate the relationship between motivational factors and continued knowledge sharing. Specifically, reputation and enjoyment in helping others had a stronger influence on knowledge contributors with high knowledge self-efficacy, whereas reciprocity had a stronger influence on knowledge contributors with low knowledge selfefficacy. Furthermore, reciprocity and moral obligation had a stronger influence on knowledge contributors with high knowledge-sharing experience. The results of this study provide important implications for research and practice

Explaining Physicians’ Acceptance and Resistance to the NHI Pharmacloud: A Theoretical Model and Empirical Test

The PharmaCloud allows physicians to streamline many of their healthcare processes and ensure patient safety in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. Despite its great potential, however, there are gaps in our understanding of how physicians evaluate change in relation to the PharmaCloud and why they decide to resist it. Thus, this study develops an integrated model to explain physicians’ intention to use the PharmaCloud and their intention to resist it. A field survey was conducted in Taiwan to collect data from physicians. Structural equation modeling (SEM) using the partial least squares (PLS) method was employed to test the research model. The results show that physicians’ resistance to the use of the PharmaCloud is the result of regret avoidance, inertia, perceived value, transition costs, and perceived threat. Information quality, system quality, and service quality are shown to have positive and direct effects on physicians’ intention to use the PharmaCloud. Our study illustrates the importance of incorporating user resistance in technology acceptance studies in general and health technology usage studies in particular, providing grounds for a model of resistance that can serve as the starting point for future research in this relatively unexplored yet potentially fertile area of research

Physician Acceptance Behavior of the Electronic Medical Records Exchange: An Extended Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior

In this study, we examined physician acceptance behavior of the electronic medical record (EMR) exchange. Although several prior studies have focused on factors that affect the adoption or use of EMRs, empirical study that captures the success factors that encourage physicians to adopt the EMR exchange is limited. Therefore, drawing on institutional trust integrated with the decomposed theory of planned behavior (TPB) model, we propose a theoretical model to examine physician intentions of using the EMR exchange. A field survey was conducted in Taiwan to collect data from physicians. Structural equation modeling (SEM) using the partial least squares (PLS) method was employed to test the research model. The results showed that the usage intention of physicians is significantly influenced by 4 factors (i.e., attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavior control, and institutional trust). These 4 factors were assessed by their perceived usefulness and compatibility, facilitating conditions and self-efficacy, situational normality, and structural assurance, respectively. The results also indicated that institutional trust integrated with the decomposed TPB model provides an improved method for predicting physician intentions to use the EMR exchange. Finally, the implications of this study are discussed

The Determinants of Knowledge Sharing Intention in Professional Virtual Communities: An Integrative Model

The growing use of information technology and the Internet has led to the emergence of professional virtual communities (PVCs). Why are PVC members willing to spend time and energy to provide valuable knowledge to others? This study extended Icek Ajzen’s(1991) theory of planned behavior (TPB) to analyze what determines PVC members’ willingness to share knowledge. Empirical data were collected from three IT-related PVCs in Taiwan, and the structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to verify the fit of the proposed model. Based on 423 usable samples were obtained, the results showed that knowledge sharing intentions would be significantly affected by, in order of importance, attitude toward knowledge sharing, perceived behavioral control of knowledge sharing, and subjective norm of knowledge sharing. The factors affecting attitude toward knowledge sharing were, in order of importance, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, enjoyment in helping others, knowledge self-efficacy, compatibility, and trust. The major factor that affected the subject norm of knowledge sharing was peer influence. Factors that affected perceived behavioral control of knowledge sharing were, in order of importance, knowledge self-efficacy, resource availability, and perceived ease of use

PATIENTS’ ACCEPTANCE AND RESISTANCE TOWARD THE HEALTH CLOUD: AN INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE AND STATUS QUO BIAS PERSPECTIVES

The latest technological trends such as health cloud provide a strong infrastructure and offer a true enabler for healthcare services over the Internet. Despite its great potential, there are gaps in our understanding of how users evaluate change related to the health cloud and decide to resist it. According to the technology acceptance and status quo bias perspectives, this study develops an integrated model to explain patients’ intention to use and resistance to health cloud services. A field survey was conducted in Taiwan to collect data from patients. The structural equation model was used to examine the data. The results showed that patient resistance to use was caused by inertia, perceived value, and transition costs. Perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) have positive and direct effects on behavioral intention to use, and PEOU appears to have a positive direct effect on PU. The results also indicated that the relationship between intention to use and resistance to use had a significant negative effect. Our study illustrates the importance of incorporating user resistance in technology acceptance studies in general and health technology usage studies in particular, grounds for a resistance model of resistance that can serve as the starting point for future research in this relatively unexplored yet potentially fertile area of research

Process development of chromatography-based purification on pandemic influenza virus-like particle based vaccines

Since 2013, the H7N9 avian influenza virus is considered a threat to global public health. The development of the H7N9 avian influenza vaccine is one of the most effective strategies to prevent influenza pandemics. Virus-like particles (VLPs) influenza vaccines is non-infectious viral structural proteins. Not only to retain the ability to produce neutralizing antibodies against to viral surface protein, but also safer than the conventional inactivated vaccines. In our previous study, we successfully expressed three structural proteins, hemagglutinin (HA), neuraminidase (NA) and matrix (M1) from influenza A / Taiwan / 1/2013 (H7N9) of the VLP in insect cells. In this study, we present a downstream purification method for the VLP platform. The purification process involves microfiltration, chromatography (using ion exchange, affinity and gel filtration combinations), concentration, diafiltration and sterile filtration steps. In this study, 600 ml of the harvest from the baculovirus expression system was used. The characteristics of VLP volume were examined by HA assay, SDS-PAGE and negative staining transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The overall recovery of HA protein was approximately 38%. In the evaluation of immunized mouse, such virus particles have been shown the HI titer \u3e256. This study demonstrated the chromatographic-based purification process can provide an effective VLP vaccine production for the preparation of the H7N9 influenza pandemic

Thermal Analysis and Characterization of Polystyrene Initiated by Benzoyl Peroxide

PresentationBased on the complexity of the polystyrene polymerization mechanism initiated by benzoyl peroxide (BPO), the thermal risk of the reaction process was estimated using thermal analysis and characterization. The polymerization process was thermally analysed using an adiabatic rate calorimeter and differential scanning calorimeter. The results demonstrated that the onset reaction temperature, adiabatic temperature rise, and maximum temperature of the synthesis reaction of BPO-initiated polymerization were lower than those of thermos initiated polymerization. Moreover, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, gel permeation chromatography, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry were used to characterize the polymerization products obtained under the two initiation conditions. The polystyrene obtained using the two initiation methods had the same hydrogen structure; however, their molecular weight and distribution uniformity differed considerably, and the BPO-initiated process was discovered to include the effects of the thermos initiated process. Moreover, the free radicals produced by BPO decomposition participated in the chain reaction of polystyrene polymerization, accelerated instantaneous grain growth, and promoted the formation of short- chain polystyrene. In summary, the BPO-initiated polymerization process exhibited the desired thermal safety characteristics and has potential for practical use