Mobile Advertising and its Acceptance by American Consumers

Mobile advertising creates opportunities for marketers to capture the attention of consumers on a one-to-one basis. However, there is little data proving the success of mobile advertising models. This study examined the drivers that influence consumer’s acceptance of SMS-based mobile advertisements and the differences in responses between two cultures, Finland and the United States. My questionnaire and conceptual model was taken from a study done in Finland in 2007. My results indicated that utility, context and trust are positively related to the acceptance of mobile advertising while sacrifice is negatively related. Control did not have a clear relationship to acceptance because three of the four questions about control averaged more than 6.0 on a seven-point scale meaning there was no variation in the responses. However, when a separate regression was done on the remaining control question, a strong positive relationship between that question and acceptance was found

Closed-loop Dynamics of In-core Thermionic Reactor Systems

Using a point model of an in-core thermionic converter, alternative schemes for providing closed loop reactor control were investigated. It was found that schemes based on variable gain power regulation buffers which use the reactor current as the control variable provide complete protection from thermionic burnout and also provide a virtually constant voltage to the user. A side benefit is that the emitter temperature transients are small-even for a complete electric load drop the emitter temperature transient is less than 100 deg K. The current regulation scheme was selected for further study with a distributed parameter model which was developed to account for variations in thermionic and heat transfer properties along the length of a cylindrical converter. It was found that even though the emitter temperature distribution is about 200 deg K along the converter length, the dynamic properties are unchanged when using the current control scheme

Rugged, low-conductance, heat-flow probe

Lightweight, compact probe structure has low thermal conductance to enable accurate measurement of slight temperature gradients. Probe combines ruggedness, high precision, accuracy, and stability. Device can withstand vibration, shock, acceleration, temperature extremes, and high vacuums, and should interest industrial engineers and geologists

A provisional diagenetic model for pH in anoxic porewaters: Application to the FOAM Site

This paper presents a diffusion-advection-reaction model for the pH of anoxic porewaters in nonirrigated sediments. Because of the couplings demanded by the organic-matter decay reaction, various acid-base interconversions, dissolved-iron generation, and CaCO3 and FeS precipitation, the model does not consider H+ alone, but deals simultaneously with 17 dissolved species. The complex and largely unknown kinetics of some of the processes affecting these species have been approximated by simple ad hoc formulations. For this reason, the model must be considered provisional. We have also made extensive use of the local (partial) equilibrium assumption to circumvent the computational problems generated by rapid association/dissociation reactions. The FOAM Site data are used as a vehicle to display the capabilities of this model. Assuming local equilibrium with FeS, the predicted pH profile is most sensitive to the reaction that liberates iron from the solid phase. The FOAM pH does not conform to a profile expected for anyone iron-source mineral, but appears to reflect a composite source. Based on currently available data, this source might include magnetite and silicate minerals, but is unlikely to involve ferric oxides and hydroxides. The pH of FOAM porewaters is much less sensitive to the precipitation of FeS and CaCO3 than would be suggested by past closed-system models. The overall pH stability of anoxic porewaters is attributable to the fact that the dissolved products of organic-matter decomposition are added in such a way as to form a self-buffering mixture

Field Evidence on Individual Behavior & Performance in Rank-Order Tournaments

Economic analysis of rank-order tournaments has shown that intensified competition leads to declining performance. Empirical research demonstrates that individuals in tournament-type contests perform less well on average in the presence of larger number of competitors in total and superstars. Particularly in field settings, studies often lack direct evidence about the underlying mechanisms, such as the amount of effort, that might account for these results. Here we exploit a novel dataset on algorithmic programming contests that contains data on individual effort, risk taking, and cognitive errors that may underlie tournament performance outcomes. We find that competitors on average react negatively to an increase in the total number of competitors, and react more negatively to an increase in the number of superstars than non-superstars. We also find that the most negative reactions come from a particular subgroup of competitors: those that are highly skilled, but whose abilities put them near to the top of the ability distribution. For these competitors, we find no evidence that the decline in performance outcomes stems from reduced effort or increased risk taking. Instead, errors in logic lead to a decline in performance, which suggests a cognitive explanation for the negative response to increased competition. We also find that a small group of competitors, who are at the very top of the ability distribution (non-superstars), react positively to increased competition from superstars. For them, we find some evidence of increased effort and no increase in errors of logic, consistent with both economic and psychological explanations

Carbon Distribution in the Stiliwater Complex and Evolution of Vapor During Crystallization of Stillwater and Bushveld Magmas

The occurrence and distribution of carbon in the Stillwater Complex have been investigated. In mineralized troctolite and associated rocks of olivine-bearing zone I (OB I), carbon is present as graphitic material and calcite. The assemblage forsterite-antigorite-calcite-graphite and the petro graphic relations indicate equilibration of the carbon-rich phases during serpentinization. Typical OB I troctolite contains 500-1100 ppm wt. carbon, 40-70% of which is in calcite, whereas troctolite from higher stratigraphic positions generally contains 2 log units below that of the Ni-NiO oxygen buffer. Upon the appearance of graphite, the fluid evolved to a more hydrogen-rich composition by graphite precipitation and loss of oxygen to the surrounding silicate-oxide assemblage. Cooling of fluid to 25°C below the first appearance of graphite resulted in reduction in the fluid mass by >70%, thus concentrating chlorine, sulfur and other residual species in the intercumulus fluid and melt. The model explains the presence of chlor-apatite and the enrichment of graphite in the Bushveld Critical Zone and predicts that chlor-apatite-bearing Stillwater rocks were similarly enriched in graphite during crystallizatio

Personality traits of high-risk sport participants:A meta-analysis

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the relationships between personality traits and participation in high-risk sport. A total of 149 effect sizes from 39 eligible articles were obtained wherein the personality traits of high-risk sport participants were compared with either low-risk sport participants or individuals not engaged in any sport. Results revealed significant effect sizes in favor of the high-risk participants for sensation seeking, extraversion, and impulsivity. Significant effect sizes in favor of the comparator groups were found for neuroticism, telic dominance, and sensitivity to punishment. No significant differences were observed in psychoticism, sensitivity to reward, socialization, agreeableness, conscientiousness, or openness. The implications of these results and potential avenues of future research are highlighted

Towards Integrative Systematics of Anthozoa (Cnidaria): Evolution of Form in the Order Zoanthidea

A decade of research inferring evolutionary relationships from nucleotide sequences has demonstrated a fundamental misconception of the evolution of form in Zoanthidea. Morphological features that define current taxa are plesiomorphic or homoplastic and do not circumscribe clades of species delineated by ecological and molecular characters. Although molecular data have been critical in exposing this deficiency, their parataxonomic application to Zoanthidea has created a barrier to comprehensive revision within the order. Species descriptions and higher taxon definitions based on nucleotide sequences isolate new taxa from the existing taxonomic system and restrict the application of novel systematics hypotheses to a fraction of the known diversity of taxa. This creates competing taxonomic systems that do not benefit from the knowledge contained in the opposing system. To enable the integration of modern molecular data with more than a century of morphological research, characters that can simultaneously span the parataxonomy barrier, existing taxonomic system and historical record must be identified. Here, we test the utility of morphological characters for integrative systematics by reviewing commonly described and novel morphological characters, assessing independence of character components and analysing character homoplasy and ancestral states on the most comprehensive molecular phylogeny available. The results indicate a rich diversity of form that span the full range of homoplasy values, including more than a dozen independent characters useful to systematics or differentiating closely related species. The least homoplasious characters include traditionally targeted (fifth mesenteries, marginal muscle arrangement, encircling sinus) and novel (fissure morphology, basal canals of the mesenteries) features. These analyses represent a first step in identifying characters necessary for reunification and revision of Zoanthidea systematics

Opening the Classroom

We argue that information systems educators-and others in similarly dynamic professional disciplines-could benefit from an alternative infrastructure for learning. We present an open classroom model of education which expands upon Ferris\u27 (2002) collaborative partnership model of education by integrating open technologies such as Wiki and Open Source Software to create enduring knowledge products that more completely engage the students and provide value to society. We further view this concept through the lens of a social-technical system to demonstrate how such a system represents significant, third order change to traditional classroom environments. We illustrate our model with two successful cases from our personal teaching experiences

The relative timing of trunk muscle activation is retained in response to unanticipated postural-perturbations during acute low back pain

The purpose of this study was to assess the activation of the erector spinae (ES) and external oblique (EO) in response to unanticipated, bi-directional postural perturbations before and after the induction of acute low back pain (LBP) in healthy individuals. An experimental session consisted of a baseline, control, and an acute LBP condition. For the control and acute LBP condition, isotonic or hypertonic saline (HS), respectively, was injected into the right ES muscle. In each condition, participants stood on a moveable platform during which 32 randomized postural perturbations (8 repetitions of 4 perturbation types: 8 cm anterior slides, 8 cm posterior slides, 10° anterior tilts, and 10° posterior tilts) with varying inter-perturbation time intervals were performed over a period of 4–5 min. Bilateral surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded from the ES and EO in addition to subjective pain records. During the acute LBP condition: (1) the onset time of the ES and EO was delayed for the forward and backward sliding perturbations (P < 0.05); (2) EMG amplitude was reduced bilaterally for all perturbations (P < 0.05); (3) the order of activation and interval between the onset times of the ES and EO were unaltered and (4) ES, but not EO, activity was adjusted to account for the directional differences between the perturbations. This study revealed that re-establishment of posture and balance was a result of the individuals’ ability to rapidly modulate ES with respect to EO activity and that the bi-directional postural responses, although shifted in time and amplitude, retained temporal features in the presence of acute LBP