Anomalous response in the vicinity of spontaneous symmetry breaking

We propose a mechanism to induce negative AC permittivity in the vicinity of a ferroelectric phase transition involved with spontaneous symmetry breaking. This mechanism makes use of responses at low frequency, yielding a high gain and a large phase delay, when the system jumps over the free-energy barrier with the aid of external fields. We illustrate the mechanism by analytically studying spin models with the Glauber-typed dynamics under periodic perturbations. Then, we show that the scenario is supported by numerical simulations of mean-field as well as two-dimensional spin systems.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Differencial Effect of E-Banking Services Determinants

This study proposes and empirically tests a research model regarding the use of electronic financial services based on the e-service acceptance model. The current study categorizes electronic financial services provided by banks into transaction-oriented services (TOS) and communication-oriented services (COS), in order to investigate the co-value creation phenomenon through customer participation. It is assumed that the antecedent variables in the previous studies may exert differential effects on the use behaviour of electronic services. The proposed model includes three Technology Readiness dimensions (discomfort, optimism, and insecurity), and two Technology acceptance constructs (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness), as the antecedents to use of e-banking services. The proposed research model was tested against the data collected through a survey of service users who have experience with both TOS use and COS use. The key result is that the use behaviour of the different types of e-banking services is affected by different sets of factors: the use of TOS is found to be affected by perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and insecurity; whereas the use of COS is affected only by perceived ease of use

Characteristics of Eco-friendly Kenaf Fiber-Imbedded Nonwoven for Automotive Application

This study examined the physical properties of kenaf fiber-imbedded nonwoven for automotive pillar trim according to the blend ratio of the fibers and needle-punching process conditions. Kenaf-imbedded nonwoven specimens mixed with polypropylene (PP) and low-melt PET (LM PET) fibers were prepared via needle-punching, and their physical properties such as air permeability, water absorption, sound absorption coefficient, and porosity were investigated according to the various processing conditions. The kenaf-imbedded nonwoven treated with high needle depth in the needle-punching process and/or mixed with a large amount of LM PET exhibited the highest breaking and tearing strengths, due to the high weight of the nonwoven specimens. A high blend percentage of LM PET fibers reduced the pore size, which resulted in low air permeability and water absorption. The sound absorption coefficient of the kenaf-imbedded nonwoven specimens was highly dependent on its weight and thickness. Regarding the lamination treatment, the laminated nonwoven exhibited higher breaking and tearing strengths, thermal conductivity, and sound absorption coefficient than the non-treated one. In addition, the HDPE powder-treated nonwoven exhibited lower breaking and tearing strengths, air permeability, water absorption, and sound absorption, due to the reduced pore size