Exploring doctors' willingness to provide online counseling services : the roles of motivations and costs

With the impetus of information communication technology (ICT), emerging eHealth has attracted increasing number of doctors’ participation in online health platforms, which provide various potential benefits to doctors. However, previous studies on eHealth have seldom distinguished different service modes provided by doctors. In addition, the bulk of the literature has considered doctors’ motivations based solely on online environments. To fill this gap, this study combines expectancy theory and the Bagozzi, Dholakia, and Basuroy (BDB) model to examine the relationships between anticipated outcomes, performance expectations, and effort intentions from online and offline perspectives. Doctors’ behavioral intentions are further divided into two categories: the willingness to offer free services and paid services. Using SmartPLS, this study conducts structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze 311 sample data. The results show that extrinsic motivations (i.e., extrinsic rewards, expected relationships, and image) and intrinsic motivation (i.e., a sense of self-worth) significantly influence the desire to serve patients well, which in turn positively affects the willingness to offer free services and the willingness to offer paid services. Moreover, counseling time is confirmed as the main cost, which negatively moderates the relationships between desire and behavioral intentions. The findings provide theoretical insights for eHealth and provide practical suggestions to develop marketing strategies for online health platform providers

The impact of online reviews on consumers' purchasing decisions : evidence from an eye-tracking study

This study investigated the impact of online product reviews on consumers purchasing decisions by using eye-tracking. The research methodology involved (i) development of a conceptual framework of online product review and purchasing intention through the moderation role of gender and visual attention in comments, and (ii) empirical investigation into the region of interest (ROI) analysis of consumers fixation during the purchase decision process and behavioral analysis. The results showed that consumers' attention to negative comments was significantly greater than that to positive comments, especially for female consumers. Furthermore, the study identified a significant correlation between the visual browsing behavior of consumers and their purchase intention. It also found that consumers were not able to identify false comments. The current study provides a deep understanding of the underlying mechanism of how online reviews influence shopping behavior, reveals the effect of gender on this effect for the first time and explains it from the perspective of attentional bias, which is essential for the theory of online consumer behavior. Specifically, the different effects of consumers' attention to negative comments seem to be moderated through gender with female consumers' attention to negative comments being significantly greater than to positive ones. These findings suggest that practitioners need to pay particular attention to negative comments and resolve them promptly through the customization of product/service information, taking into consideration consumer characteristics, including gender

Sustainable protected cropping : a case study of seasonal impacts on greenhouse energy consumption during capsicum production

Sustainable food production in protected cropping is increasing rapidly in response to global climate change and population growth. However, there are significant knowledge gaps regarding energy consumption while achieving optimum environmental conditions for greenhouse crop production. A capsicum crop cultivated in a high-tech greenhouse facility in Australia was analysed in terms of relationships between key environmental variables and the comparative analysis of energy consumption during different seasons. We showed that daily energy consumption varied due to the seasonal nature of the external environment and maintenance of optimal growing temperatures. Total power consumption reported throughout the entire crop cycle for heating (gas hot water system) and cooling (pad and fan) was 12,503 and 5183 kWh, respectively; hence, heating consumed ca. 70% of the total energy requirement over the 8-month growing period (early spring to late autumn) in the greenhouse facility. Regressions of daily energy consumption within each season, designated either predominantly for heating or cooling, indicated that energy consumption was 14.62 kWh per 1 °C heating and 2.23 kWh per 1 °C cooling. Therefore, changing the planting date to late spring is likely to significantly reduce heating energy costs for greenhouse capsicum growers in Australia. The findings will provide useful guidelines to maximise the greenhouse production of capsicum with better economic return by taking into consideration the potential optimal energy saving strategy during different external environment conditions and seasons

Energy minimisation in a protected cropping facility using multi-temperature acquisition points and control of ventilation settings

Energy management in protected cropping is critical due to the high cost of energy use in high-tech greenhouse facilities. The main purpose of this research was to investigate the optimal strategy to reduce cooling energy consumption, by regulating the settings (opening/closing) of either vents or curtains during the day, at the protected cropping facility at Western Sydney University. We measured daily changes in air temperature and energy consumption under four treatments (open/closed combinations of vents and shade screens) and developed an optimal cooling strategy for energy management using multi-temperature acquisition points at different heights within a greenhouse compartment. The optimal treatment (vents open/curtains closed) reduced energy load at the rooftop, thereby maintaining a desirable plant canopy temperature profile, and reducing cooling energy. Daily energy consumption was lowest for vents open/curtains closed (70.5 kWh) and highest for vents closed/curtains open (121 kWh). It was also found that delaying the operation of opening and closing of vents and curtains until the plant canopy temperature reached 25 ◦C reduced cooling energy consumption and decreased heating energy consumption in the morning (e.g., 08:00 to 10:00). The estimated savings of 1.83 kWh per 1 ◦C cooling between the optimal (vents open/curtains closed) and least optimal (vents closed/curtains open) conditions had the potential for significant energy savings at 494 kWh per ◦C over a crop cycle of nine months in warm weather conditions. However, selection of the optimal cooling strategy utilising control of vents and curtains must also account for the impact from other greenhouse environmental factors, including light, humidity, and CO2 concentration, which may be crop specific

A novel cover material improves cooling energy and fertigation efficiency for glasshouse eggplant production

Glasshouses hold the potential to improve global food security, but high energy costs are an ongoing challenge in bringing them to the forefront of agriculture in warm climates. Here, the energy-saving potential of a ‘Smart Glass’ (SG), diffuse glass fitted with ULR-80 film which permits transmission of 85% of photosynthetically-active light and blocks heat-generating radiation, was characterised for a warm-climate glasshouse. Two consecutive 6-month trials of eggplant crops were grown in a high-tech glasshouse to compare SG to standard diffuse glass (control) in both cool and warm climate conditions. The SG reduced cooling energy use by 4.4% and fertigation demand by 29% in cooler months, and reduced cooling energy use by 4.4% and fertigation demand by 18% in warmer months. The SG did not significantly affect ventilation or heating energy use, but substantially reduced fruit yield. SG may be beneficial for reducing nutrient/water use alongside minor energy savings in commercial glasshouses. However, re-engineering the spectral characteristics of SG could improve eggplant fruit yield while maintaining reductions in energy, nutrient, and water use in the glasshouse

Training young water professionals in leadership and transdisciplinary competencies for sustainable water management in India

Young water professionals (YWPs) have a critical role in ensuring how water resources will be managed to contribute towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To address the challenges of climate change, population growth, and urbanization, YWPs require leadership skills, transdisciplinary competencies, technical knowledge, and practical experience. This article presents the India YWP training program, led by Western Sydney University and the Australia India Water Centre (AIWC), aimed at developing a cohort of skilled YWPs and nurturing the next generation of water leaders in support of India’s water reform agenda and the National Water Mission. The program engaged 20 YWPs, consisting of an equal gender representation, selected by the Ministry of Jal Shakti from various water management agencies and departments across India. The 11-month training program was designed to be transformative and interactive, and it used an online platform comprising online lectures, mentoring, and project-based learning facilitated by the AIWC team. The training methodology focused on engaged learning, incorporating online workshops, Situation Understanding and Improvement Projects (SUIPs), online group discussions, and mentoring. The SUIPs provided a platform for YWPs to work in pairs, receiving guidance from AIWC members, enabling them to develop practical skills and knowledge in realworld contexts. The program effectively enhanced participants’ capacities in project planning, design, implementation, and management, while fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills by adopting transdisciplinary approaches. Furthermore, participants demonstrated improved leadership, project management, time management, and communication skills. The training helped YWPs to equip them with a holistic perspective and stakeholder-focused mindset to address diverse water challenges from a holistic and long-term standpoint

Reengineering a green business

A green environment is a social as well as business issue. Business enterprises, as a large part of the global community, are obliged to make endeavours toward an environmentally sustainable operation that reflects their corporate social responsibility. One of the effective approaches of making business operations more environmental friendly is to undertake business process reengineering with the strategic focus on green perspective. This paper discusses the reengineering of a green business from its process viewpoint. This reengineering of business processes is undertaken in the context of five areas of green business characteristics (necessary, effective, efficient, agile, and measureable) and their corresponding life cycles. This analysis paves the path for an in-depth research agenda for developing and operating green business processes in organizations. The framework is explained with five key phases namely, 1) examining business processes with green process characteristics, 2) integrating business processes with the environmental standards, 3) green business process redesign, 4) training programs development and change management, and 5) performance monitoring and process improvement. The paper concludes with a suggestion of the framework validation and future research directions

Sharing Big Data driven insights using cloud based knowledge management platform : a case study for small and medium enterprises in Taiwan

Cloud-based infrastructure brings a unique new dimension to sharing of data and insights in the context of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This is so because SMEs do not have the capacity or the interest to host their own infrastructure to handle Big Data. Furthermore, the wide and varied sources of Big Data are not easily known to SMEs and hence they are unable to capitalize on the insights generated by Big Data to undertake business decisions. In this paper, we argue that the sharing of Big Data insights is facilitated and enhanced for SMEs by Cloud-based infrastructures. We further extend our arguments in practice through a case study for an Incubation and Innovation Center (IIC) in Taiwan, which is hosted under a university environment to engage with small businesses in Taiwan

A comparative analysis of knowledge management in SMEs

Organizations have long been acknowledged that knowledge management (KM) is an important aspiring tool for gaining competitive advantages and improving performance. However, many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face the issues of recognition of real benefits, participation of advancement and transformation. Therefore, they are usually encountering ambiguity and uncertainty of adopting and implementing KM. This study is extended to SMEs along with incubated companies and micro-businesses, and conducts a comparative analysis of KM in SMEs in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The research results indicate that a successful KM implementation depends on a harmonious amalgamation of infrastructure and process capabilities, including technology, culture, and organizational structure. This analysis may also help in understanding the impact of knowledge sharing between government and SMEs, and creating new business values for SMEs

Green business strategies and processes with Big Data analytics & ISO14000

Business processes stand to gain with the advent of Big Data technologies and analytics. Ability to describe, predict and prescribe decisions can result in high level of optimization of processes. This, in turn, can result in environmentally sensitive ‘Green business processes’. In this paper we discuss the opportunities and issues in reengineering Green Business Processes. We use a Big data based framework that enables us examine, standardize (using ISO14001), redesign, change and mature business processes. Our paper further underscores the advantages and risks of Big Data analytics in business processes – with particular emphasis on Supply Chain Management (SCM)