Determinant Factors of E-commerce Adoption by SMEs in Developing Country: Evidence from Indonesia

The aim of this study is to investigate those factors that influence SMEs in developing countries in adopting e-commerce. This study is motivated by the fact that the adoption of e-commerce by SMEs, especially in developing countries, is still very far behind the adoption by large companies. Yet to be able to survive in the new economic era, which is the information era; businesses, including SMEs, are forced to adopt e-commerce. Non-adopters will be left behind by the adopters. In addition, studies regarding e-commerce adoption by SMEs are rarely found. Therefore, the results of this study provide a timely understanding of e-commerce adoption by SMEs in developing countries. The model developed in this study is based on the TOE framework. Eleven variables are proposed as the factors that influence SMEs in adopting of e-commerce. These are organized into four groups, namely: technological factors, organizational factors, environmental factors and individual factors. Based on a survey of 292 Indonesian SMEs, it was found that perceived benefits, technology readiness, owners’ innovativeness, owners’ IT ability and owners’ IT experience are the determinant factors that influence Indonesian SMEs in their adopting e-commerce

A Holistic Social Constructionist perspective to Enterprise Education

Purpose – Drawing on the Gestalt approach this article proposes a holistic framework for enterprise education (EE) research based on Social Constructionism, illustrating how the latter supports research into experiential learning in EE in 7 UK Higher Education (HE) pharmacy schools. Design/ Methodology/ Approach – This paper is based on a qualitative empirical study involving educators in UK Higher Education Institution (HEI) pharmacy schools in semi-structured interviews, and investigates the delivery of EE through experiential learning approaches. Social Constructionism is proposed as a suitable underlying philosophical paradigm. Findings – A Social Constructionism paradigm, which adopts relative realism ontology, transactional epistemology, and Gadamer’s Hermeneutic Phenomenology, offers a relevant, multi-perspectival philosophical foundation for EE research, supporting transactional relationships within contexts of multiple possibilities. Research limitations/implications – Social Constructionism does not necessarily support the individualistic paradigm, as advocated by Constructivists; and the values associated with the former encourage a more collaborative and cooperative approach different from the latter. Practical implications –The paper supports the understanding that applying experiential learning through inter-disciplinary and inter-professional learning is regarded as an approach beneficial for educators, institutions and learners, within the context of EE. Originality/ value – This paper offers a holistic conceptual framework of Social Constructionism that draws on the ‘Gestalt Approach’, and highlights the harmony between the ontological, epistemological and methodological underpinnings of Social Constructionism. The paper demonstrates the relevance of the proposed framework in EE research within the context of an empirical study, which is different in that it focuses on the delivery aspect of EE by considering the views of the providers (educators), an hitherto under-researched area. Paper type – Research paper Key words: Enterprise education, research philosophy, Social Constructionism, relative realism ontology, transactional epistemology, Gadamer’s Hermeneutic Phenomenology, Gestalt approach

The Rockefeller Foundation's International Program on Rice Biotechnology

Presents the product of a two-year intensive survey and analysis of the genetic prospects for the world's major food crops conducted in the early 1980s

Bacterial Flora of Seven Species of Fish Collected at Rongelap and Eniwetok Atolls

A very extensive literature exists concerning the normal bacterial flora of marine fish species common to the northern ocean areas, i.e., the North Sea (Stewart, 1932; Aschehoug and Vesterhus, 1943; Reay and Shewan, 1949; Liston, 1956, 1957; Georgala, 1958), the North Atlantic (Reed and Spence, 1929; Gibbons, 1934a, 1934b; Dyer, 1947), and the North Pacific (Hunter, 1920; Fellers, 1926; Snow and Beard, 1939; Kiser, 1944; Kiser and Beckwith, 1942, 1944; Liston, 1959). These studies of the aerobic heterotrophic bacterial flora found on a number of different species of northern ocean fishes have shown that, while the generic distribution of the bacteria associated with freshly caught marine fish may vary quantitatively, the following genera predominate fairly consisteritly: Pseudomonas, Achromobacter, Flavobacterium, and Micrococcus. The genera Proteus, Sarcina, Bacillus, Corynebacterium, and Serratia are encountered less often. Some investigators have discussed the biochemistry of the organisms isolated from marine fish (viz., Thjotte and Somme, 1943) but most of the physiology and biochemistry is limited to only a few properties studied for classifying the microorganisms. A somewhat more extensive discussion of the anabolic and catabolic aspects of the bacterial groups found on North Pacific fish has been given by Colwell (1961) and Liston and Colwell (1962)

Mifepristone reduces insulin resistance in patient volunteers with adrenal incidentalomas that secrete low levels of cortisol : a pilot study

Background: Incidental adrenal masses are commonly detected during imaging for other pathologies. 10% of the elderly population has an ‘adrenal incidentaloma’, up to 20% of these show low-grade autonomous cortisol secretion and 60% of patients with autonomous cortisol secretion have insulin resistance. Cortisol excess is known to cause insulin resistance, an independent cardiovascular risk marker, however in patients with adrenal incidentalomas it is unknown whether their insulin resistance is secondary to the excess cortisol and therefore potentially reversible. In a proof of concept study we examined the short-term effects of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonism in patients with an adrenal incidentaloma to determine whether their insulin resistance was reversible. Methodology/Principal Findings: In a prospective open-label pilot study, six individuals with adrenal incidentalomas and autonomous cortisol secretion were treated with mifepristone (a GR antagonist) 200 mg twice daily and studied for 4 weeks on a Clinical Research Facility. Insulin resistance at four weeks was assessed by insulin resistance indices, lnHOMA-IR and lnMatsuda, and AUC insulin during a 2-hour glucose tolerance test. Biochemical evidence of GR blockade was shown in all individuals and across the group there was a significant reduction in insulin resistance: lnHOMA-IR (1.0vs0.6; p = 0.03), lnHOMA-%beta (4.8vs4.3; p = 0.03) and lnMatsuda (1.2vs1.6; p = 0.03). Five out of six individuals showed a reduction in insulin AUC .7237 pmol/l.min, and in two patients this showed a clinically significant cardiovascular benefit (as defined by the Helsinki heart study). Conclusions: Short-term GR antagonism is sufficient to reduce insulin resistance in some individuals with adrenal incidentalomas and mild cortisol excess. Further assessment is required to assess if the responses may be used to stratify therapy as adrenal incidentalomas may be a common remediable cause of increased cardiovascular risk

Preferred Learning Mode, Instructor Competence and Tuition Reimbursement: What our Faculty and Students are Telling Us

This research examined comments in open response areas from 228 faculty and 659 student surveys regarding learning mode preference (classroom, online, video synchronous) instructor competence with technology and the impact of tuition reimbursement on student choice of learning mode. Most faculty and students viewed traditional classroom as the best option for quality interaction and learning. EagleVision Home (synchronous video learning) courses were noted for increased social presence and online courses were viewed as the most flexible option to take a class. Faculty and students emphasized the need for interaction in distance learning environments. Members of both groups highlighted technical issues that impeded faculty and student interaction which hampered learning effectiveness. Some students indicated that online courses had the highest workload of any learning mode. Faculty and students emphasized the need for faculty training and competence with distance learning technologies. Veteran’s Affairs (VA) funded students stated that they would chose an EagleVision Classroom course over an online or EagleVision Home course specifically due to increased VA reimbursement for in-resident courses. Recommendations included conducting future research as new distance learning technologies are deployed. Additionally, future researchers should use qualitative research tools in conjunction with quantitative analysis to gain a more complete assessment of faculty and student perceptions

What America means to sixth grade children.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit