Why customers participate in social commerce activities? – A laddering analysis

A new phenomenon emerging within virtual communities is a blurring between social and commercial activities. This paper explores the motivations of customers who participate in social commerce, The chosen context is micro-businesses operated by members of a virtual community of Malay lifestyle bloggers. Observations were carried out and 21 participants were interviewed in order to build an understanding of the community. We used laddering techniques in order to answer the research questions, which is “what is the relationship between participation in virtual communities and their participation in social commerce?” We found that virtual community relationship was the main influential factor, and that virtual community relationship contributed to the sense of social support as well as customers’ trust in social commerce

Revisiting hylomorphism: What can it contribute to our understanding of information systems?

Theorising about digital technology is core to the IS discipline. This paper presents an interpretation of technology using hylomorphism, the theory that material objects comprise both matter and form. A contemporary understanding of hylomorphism argues that the form of an object is dynamic structure, which may be actualised in the process of interacting with other objects. This paper arose out of a critical realist study on the use of technology in the classroom by senior secondary students in New Zealand. The role of theory in critical realism is outlined, and then the findings that stimulated this paper are presented. A brief history of hylomorphism is discussed before moving to the contemporary revival of Aristotelian theories. Some implications of this theory on IS research are presented, including an outline of emergence and methodological considerations

Defect physics of BaCuChF (Ch=S, Se, Te) p-type transparent conductors

Native point defects, defect complexes, and oxygen impurities in BaCuChF were studied using density functional theory calculations, self-consistent thermodynamic simulations, and various experimental techniques. Unintentional p-type conductivity in BaCuChF is explained by the presence of copper vacancies with transition levels in the valence band. These acceptor-like defects are partially compensated by donor-like chalcogen vacancies with transition levels deep in the gap. Chalcogen vacancies also cause the experimentally observed subgap photoluminescence, optical absorption, and persistent photoconductivity in BaCuSF and BaCuSeF. In thermodynamic equilibrium, both copper and chalcogen vacancies have low formation enthalpies and are likely to form defect complexes among themselves and with fluorine interstitials. The calculated Fermi level pinning range in BaCuChF is narrow and located close to the valence band maximum. It makes BaCuChF a suitable transparent p-type contact layer for optoelectronic applications but hinders attempts to fabricate transparent thin-film transistors using this material. Oxygen-related defects do not affect bulk BaCuChF properties but surface oxidation decreases the mean free path of free holes by almost an order of magnitude

Association Between Gabapentin Receipt for Any Indication and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption Scores Among Clinical Subpopulations With and Without Alcohol Use Disorder.

BACKGROUND: Current medications for alcohol use disorder (AUD) have limited efficacy and utilization. Some clinical trials have shown efficacy for gabapentin among treatment-seeking individuals. The impact of gabapentin on alcohol consumption in a more general sample remains unknown. METHODS: We identified patients prescribed gabapentin for ≥180 consecutive days for any clinical indication other than substance use treatment between 2009 and 2015 in the Veterans Aging Cohort Study. We propensity-score matched each gabapentin-exposed patient with up to 5 unexposed patients. Multivariable difference-in-difference (DiD) linear regression models estimated the differential change in Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) scores during follow-up between exposed and unexposed patients, by baseline level of alcohol consumption and daily gabapentin dose. Analyses were stratified by AUD history. Clinically meaningful changes were a priori considered a DiD ≥1 point. RESULTS: Among patients with AUD, AUDIT-C scores decreased 0.39 points (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.05, 0.73) more among exposed than unexposed patients (p < 0.03). Potentially clinically meaningful differences were observed among those with AUD and exposed to ≥1,500 mg/d (DiD 0.77, 95% CI 0.15, 1.38, p < 0.02). No statistically significant effects were found among patients with AUD at doses lower than 1,500 mg/d or baseline AUDIT-C ≥4. Among patients without AUD, we found no overall difference in changes in AUDIT-C scores, nor in analyses stratified by baseline level of alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Patients exposed to doses of gabapentin consistent with those used in clinical trials, particularly those with AUD, experienced a greater decrease in AUDIT-C scores than matched unexposed patients

Scaling of voltage-current characteristics of thin-film Y-Ba-Cu-O at low magnetic fields

We have measured voltage-current characteristics for YBa₂Cu₃O₇ thin films in magnetic fields from 5 T to ambient, including some in the millitesla range. In all cases, the resistivity —current density isotherms can be separated into two classes: those which exhibit upward curvature, and have constant resistivity at low currents, and those which exhibit downward curvature at all currents. These two classes of isotherms are separated by a field-dependent temperature T. For each field, the isotherms scale in a manner consistent with a three-dimensional vortex-liquid to vortex-glass phase transition. The region that can be scaled is several kelvin at 5 T and narrows with decreasing field. The low-current resistivity above T varies as l1—T/Tlˢ with s ≈ 7.4 at all fields, but the critical scaling exponents z and v become field dependent below about 10 mT

Neutron-irradiation effects on the V-I characteristics of YBa₂Cu₃O₇₋δ twinned crystals: Linking transport results in a variety of copper oxide superconductors

We have investigated the depinning process of magnetic flux vortices in twinned crystals of YBa₂Cu₃O₇₋δ in intermediate applied magnetic fields parallel to the crystallographic c axis through precise resistivity measurements before and after fast-neutron irradiation. Of particular interest for each field is the power-law dependence of the electric field on current density, E∝Jⁿ, at a well defined temperature which separates a nonlinear region below from a more linear, dissipative region above. We find that n shows a striking dependence on the estimated value of the Larkin-Ovchinnikov length. The relation is not only manifest before and after irradiation but also for a variety of samples, including films, crystals, and at least two copper oxides other than YBa₂Cu₃O₇₋δ

A Map of the Inorganic Ternary Metal Nitrides

Exploratory synthesis in novel chemical spaces is the essence of solid-state chemistry. However, uncharted chemical spaces can be difficult to navigate, especially when materials synthesis is challenging. Nitrides represent one such space, where stringent synthesis constraints have limited the exploration of this important class of functional materials. Here, we employ a suite of computational materials discovery and informatics tools to construct a large stability map of the inorganic ternary metal nitrides. Our map clusters the ternary nitrides into chemical families with distinct stability and metastability, and highlights hundreds of promising new ternary nitride spaces for experimental investigation--from which we experimentally realized 7 new Zn- and Mg-based ternary nitrides. By extracting the mixed metallicity, ionicity, and covalency of solid-state bonding from the DFT-computed electron density, we reveal the complex interplay between chemistry, composition, and electronic structure in governing large-scale stability trends in ternary nitride materials

Transparent p-type conducting CuScO₂₊ₓ films

Transparent films of CuScO₂₊ₓ have been prepared which show p-type electrical conductivity. The temperature dependence of the conductivity indicates semiconducting behavior with an apparent room temperature activation energy of 0.11 eV. The highest room temperature conductivity observed was 30 S cm⁻1. Films 110 nm thick show 40% transparency in most of the visible spectrum and become much more transparent in the infrared spectrum. The p-type behavior was confirmed by the Seebeck effect

Red electroluminescence from ZnGaS:Mn thin films

We demonstrate color shifting from the yellow to the red in the electroluminescence from (ZnGa)S:Mn films. We observe threshold voltages down to about 35 V, extremely low for such devices. We discuss the materials characteristics of the phosphor films, and the potential for improvement of the luminous intensity of the devices