The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2: understanding mobile device use at festivals

ABSTRACT

This research advances understanding of mobile device use in a leisure context by applying and expanding the Unified Theory of the Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) to festival settings. Through on-site surveys at three festivals the UTAUT2 model and an adapted version for mobile device use at a festival were examined using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Results reveal that the modified UTAUT2 demonstrates good fit, and the main factors affecting device use at festivals are performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, habit and age. The findings suggest that the festival context plays an important role in understanding use and should be included in future research. By knowing factors that affect use, practitioners can design experiences where technology enhances the festival and does not interfere with attendees’ experiences.     

Soil CO2 emission and carbon budget of a wheat/maize annual double-cropped system in response to tillage and residue management in the North China Plain

To investigate the impacts of tillage and crop residue managements on soil CO₂ emission and C budget in a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)/maize (Zea mays L.) double-cropped system in the North China Plain (NCP), a field experiment was conducted consisting of four treatments: tillage with crop residues retention (CT+), tillage with crop residues removal (CT?), no-till with crop residues retention (NT+), and no-till with crop residues removal (NT?). Daily soil CO₂ fluxes changed with crop growing stage and peaked during the most vigorous growth of period, fluxes in maize season were higher than those in wheat season. Compared to the tilled soils, cumulative CO₂ emissions were significantly lower under no-till treatments. The largest cumulative CO₂ emission occurred under CT+ (65?g CO₂-C m^?2 y^?1) and the smallest was under NT+ (39?g CO₂-C m^?2 y^?1). After 5 years of the experiment, soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration were greater with crop residues retention (CT+ and NT+) than with crop residues removal (CT? and NT?), the maximum SOC stock was in NT+ (5940?g C m^?2) while the minimum was in CT? (3635?g C m^?2). NT+ could help to mitigate CO₂ emission in the annual wheat/maize double-cropping system of the area.     

环保型纳米TiO2改性水性环氧涂料的研制

通过正交实验和单因素实验,以涂膜的拉伸强度为依据,确定了纳米TiO2改性水性环氧涂料时,制备环氧-甲基丙烯酸乙酯接枝共聚乳液的单体过氧化苯甲酰(BPO)和甲基丙烯酸乙酯(EMA)的最佳用量,适当的反应时间和反应温度,固化剂的最佳添加量,以及纳米TiO2的最佳添加量.对涂膜进行了红外光谱和热重分析,对比检测了未改性环氧涂料、EMA改性环氧涂料、纳米TiO2改性水性环氧涂料的各方面性能.结果表明,纳米TiO2改性水性环氧涂料的各方面性能良好,涂膜具有较高的机械强度、良好的附着力、较好的热稳定性和耐水、耐酸碱性能.     

中国省际隐含碳排放空间与产业转移路径研究

采用省区间细分行业的投入产出和碳排放数据,构建多边贸易视角下的多区域投入产出MRIO模型,分析中国省际隐含碳排放的空间转移和产业转移的规模和路径。结果表明：省际碳排放呈现出中西部欠发达省区向东南部经济发达省区转移的区域空间路径,地理临近效应和产业结构互补效应是转移主因;省际碳转移的产业路径大致沿产业链由欠发达地区上游产业向经济发达地区下游产业转移,电力、热力的生产和供应业等是碳转出的主要产业来源。     

eHealth in Egypt: The demand-side perspective of implementing electronic health records

The present study sheds light on the expected factors that would impact the adoption of the Electronic Health Records (EHR) service in Egypt from the demand-side perspective, i.e. the healthcare consumer's standpoint. This empirical study is motivated by the use of EHR in many countries as a method of promoting healthcare services. Another incentive for the present study is to look at EHR as a top layer in the Next Generation of Information Infrastructure (NII). EHR is considered an efficiency-enhancing and cost-effective technology. Moreover, the issue of developing the healthcare sector in Egypt has the attention of government policymakers, who have a comprehensive healthcare and social insurance law that will be discussed in the Egyptian Parliament, in the near future. The study highlights the socio-technical approach used in analyzing the EHR as an eHealth application in Egypt. The underlying theoretical framework of this study implicates the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology in the Consumer Context (UTAUT2) model. It also applies an integrated framework of multifaceted perceptions used to explain the expected adoption or behavior of the Egyptian consumer vis-à-vis EHR. The study relies on primary data collected after surveying 559 respondents. Results reveal that determinants of EHR include demographics such as place and gender, but more importantly constructs such as price value, effort expectancy and facilitating conditions are key factors that play a part in the decision made by the Egyptian consumer to adopt EHR technology. Finally, additional insight and recommendations are offered to the policymakers.     

我国货币政策调控房地产价格的效果分析

通过实证分析2000年第一季度到2006年第一季度我国M2（广义货币供应量）和房地产价格的相互关系考察货币政策调控房地产价格的效果。结论是：通过吸纳金融市场过多流动性,中央银行货币政策起到了抑制房地产价格过快上涨的效果。但不能消除房地产过热。防止房地产过热还需综合运用各项政策。     

Four centuries of return predictability

We combine annual stock market data for the most important equity markets of the last four centuries: the Netherlands and UK (1629–1812), UK (1813–1870), and US (1871–2015). We show that dividend yields are stationary and consistently forecast returns. The documented predictability holds for annual and multi-annual horizons and works both in- and out-of-sample, providing strong evidence that expected returns in stock markets are time-varying. In part, this variation is related to the business cycle, with expected returns increasing in recessions. We also find that, except for the period after 1945, dividend yields predict dividend growth rates.     

Survival or die: a survival analysis on peer‐to‐peer lending platforms in China

This study examines the probability of survival of online peer‐to‐peer (P2P) lending platforms in China. Our empirical findings show that shareholder's background, platforms’ risk management and institutional environment are three major factors that influence the probability of survival of P2P platforms in China. In addition, the effects of risk control and institutional environment are less pronounced in state‐owned P2P platforms. We also show that platforms that die from abscondence of owners tend to be more short‐lived than others, while platforms that die from liquidity problems are usually due to lack of high‐quality risk management techniques.     

Corporate governance,tourism growth and firm performance: Evidence from publicly listed tourism firms in five Middle Eastern countries

This study explores the under-researched relationship between corporate governance and firm performance in tourism companies. We employ instrumental variable modelling using 2SLS for publicly listed firms in five countries in the Middle East. Board independence is found to be positively related to firm performance and stock performance, suggesting that having independent directors among board members will improve overall firm performance. Board size shows opposing results: large boards enhance firm profitability; however, small boards exhibit more efficient stock performance. Finally, we support the tourism-led-growth hypothesis in our selected sample. These findings have empirical implications for policy makers, governments and academics.     

基于表情识别技术的学生课堂状态检测

为了解决在线教学模式下学生学习状态难以监测的问题,提出了利用表情识别技术对学生课堂状态进行检测的方法。首先,利用摄像头定时截取学生课堂图像,对其进行预处理,识别获取人脸数据;其次,利用表情识别方法分析学生上课状态,将人脸表情分类为7种,并再次划分为积极、消极、中性3种状态来判断学生课堂参与度与专注度;最后,将可视化数据推向教师,教师可根据学生上课状态,优化课堂教学,提高教学质量。实验过程中为了降低计算功耗,提高表情识别准确度,采用添加通道注意力机制的轻量级模型mini_Xception作为表情识别的训练网络,并使用该改进的mini_Xception网络在公开数据集Fer2013,CK+上进行训练。实验结果表明,该网络相较于ResNet-18网络在Fer2013,CK+上的识别准确率分别提高了7.97%和3.81%,且与原始mini_Xception网络和已有的几个文献的表情识别结果相比均有提高,能更好地检测到学生的学习状态和表情变化。因此,将表情识别技术应用于在线教学,可辅助教师获取屏幕前学生的课堂学习状态,并据此适时优化课堂教学,提升教学效果,对提高线上教学质量有实际的应用价值。