E-Commerce Adoption:Perceptions of Managers/Owners of Small and Medium Sized Firms in Chile

Although the adoption of e-commerce is widely studied in the industrialized world, only a small number of these studies focus on developing countries. An even smaller fraction of these studies focus on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for a high percent of the economy generated in developing countries. In this study, managers/owners of SMEs in Chile identified variables that differentiate between adopters and non-adopters of e-commerce. The analysis suggests that Chilean managers/owners most receptive to adopting e-commerce possess the financial and technological resources to implement it, see e-commerce as increasing managerial productivity and supporting strategic decisions, feel external pressure to put e-commerce into operation, perceive e-commerce as compatible with preferred work practices and existing technology infrastructure, and perceive e-commerce as useful for their firms

Do American and Korean Instructors Hold the Same Perceptions of Arguments for and against Online Teaching? An Exploratory Study

This study compared instructors’ perceptions of arguments for and against online teaching in the United States and South Korea and examined the impact of selected demographical variables on these perceptions. Results showed that American and Korean instructors had similar perceptions about online teaching. However, the two groups significantly differed on the extent of agreement or disagreement with the statements included in the study. Several of the demographic variables that were examined in the study had significant impacts on participants’r esponses

Exploratory Study of the Factors that Influence the Adoption of Electronic Commerce in a Latin-American Context

The strong pattern of inequality that marks Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is repeated, although with different characteristics, in access to information and communication technologies (ICTs). Although it is not currently possible to demonstrate empirically, in great detail, that mobile telephony is making a substantive contribution to poverty reduction in LAC, we aim to shed light on certain areas. First, we argue that mobile telephony penetration has been significantly higher than that of other ICTs among the poorest sectors of the population. Second, by constructing Gini indexes of phone access, data show that the distribution of mobile telephony is consistently more equitable than that of landlines in LAC. Third, the high degree of mobile telephone penetration in poor sectors sparks new implications about possible strategies and tools for promoting other ICTs, which have had comparatively less impact so far. We seek then to contribute to the discussion on design –or redesign- of public policies that focus on development through the use of ICTs in the region

Evaluation of the viability of bee eggs Apis mellifera L. when submited to ultra-violet radiation.

En esta investigación se evaluó la viabilidad de huevos de Apis mellifera L. expuestos a radiación UV-A y UV-B mediante un tubo fluorescente con espectro entre los 280 nm a los 720 nm de 30 watts de potencia. El diseño experimental fue completamente al azar evaluándose viabilidad con tiempos de exposición de 0 s, 10 s, 30 s, 60 s y 90 s. El método de evaluación fue la presencia de celdillas operculadas al noveno día después de exponer los huevos de 24 horas a radiación. Los resultados obtenidos de las medias entre los distintos tiempos de exposición demostraron que existen diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los tratamientos. Se presentó una mayor viabilidad a 0 s con 89,26%, para 10 s de exposición 56,59%, para 30 s 36,47%, para 60 s 31,46% y para 90 s de exposición 21,83% de viabilidad. Con este experimento se obtienen valiosos antecedentes sobre los cuales trabajar a fin de reducir pérdidas en crías de abejas, las cuales son sensibles a exposiciones de radiación UV.This study evaluated the viability of the eggs of Apis mellifera L. (honeybee) when exposed to UV-A and UV-B radiation using a fluorescent tube of 30 watts power with a spectrum between 280 nm and 720 nm. The design of the experiment was completely random, with evaluations of viability after exposure times of 0, 10, 30, 60 and 90 seconds. The evaluation method was the presence of operculate cells on the ninth day after exposure of 24-hour old eggs to radiation. The results obtained from the measurements among the different exposure times showed that there were statistically significant differences between the treatments. The greatest viability occurred at 0 exposure with 89.26%, followed by 56.59% for 10 s exposure, 36.47% for 30 s, 31.46% for 60 s, and 21.83% viability with 90 s exposure,. This experiment provides valuable information with which to reduce bee losses in breeding programmes, since they are sensitive to exposure to UV radiation

Acceptance of social networking sites by older people before and after COVID-19 confinement: a repeated cross-sectional study in Chile

This study aims to examine the capacity of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to explain the intention to use social networking sites by older people in two time periods, before and after their confinement by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as the evolution of effects (paths) over time of TPB’s determinants. Based on the samples of 384 and 383 Chilean adults collected before and after confinement, the evolution of the effects (paths) was analysed using the TPB model applying the PLS-SEM technique. In conclusion, as older people begin to use social networking sites to connect with their families and people of interest during confinement, their attitudes become more significant, their perceptions of control become less important, and social pressures remain permanent in time