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1 – 10 of 63Paul Gamble, Roger Gentry and Michael Kipps
Recognising a problem of calculation. Anyone who has had to analyse a diet using the data from food composition tables, will know that by far the most time in the project was…
Abstract
Recognising a problem of calculation. Anyone who has had to analyse a diet using the data from food composition tables, will know that by far the most time in the project was spent on tedious arithmetic, rather than the principles of nutrition or dietetics. Such analyses form a necessary part of many student courses at colleges and universities involving a serious study of food and its consumption by human beings. In the authors' experience such subject areas as: home economics, hotel, catering and institutional management, nutrition, dietetics and food science may all require an analytical evaluation of foods, menus or diets in relation to those who may consume them. It is therefore possible that workers in all these fields would find the use of a computer in such analyses an invaluable tool.
The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains…
Abstract
The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.
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Eun‐Ju Lee, Kyoung‐Nan Kwon and David W. Schumann
For a new technology‐based product or service at an early stage of diffusion, it is likely that only a small subset of consumers have adopted it. When non‐adopters still comprise…
Abstract
Purpose
For a new technology‐based product or service at an early stage of diffusion, it is likely that only a small subset of consumers have adopted it. When non‐adopters still comprise the majority of the target populations, describing all non‐adopters as a homogeneous population may be inaccurate and inappropriate. It is important to be able to identify differences, not only between adopters and non‐adopters, but also among non‐adopters, the latter providing a means of identifying the consumer segments likely to be profitable in the future. The first objective of this paper is to demonstrate the appropriateness of further segmenting the non‐adopter category based on motivations (intentions) to adopt internet‐banking by those who are “persistent non‐adopters” and those who are likely “prospective adopters”. The second objective of this paper is to further the understanding of the adoption process of internet banking by examining a range of diffusion factors that affect consumers’ adoption behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
This study identifies three adopter segments, persistent non‐adopters, prospective adopters, and adopters, in the diffusion of internet banking services based on individuals’ intentions to adopt internet banking and their actual adoption behavior, using the data collected by the Graphic, Visualization, & Usability Center and Georgia Tech Research Corporation. Selective adoption factors (i.e. perceived attribute importance of internet banking, perceived risk, compatibility with existing banking services, and compatibility with the internet and computer technologies) were used to predict individuals’ adoption status through multinomial logit modeling.
Findings
It was found that further segmenting the non‐adopter category revealed meaningful differences between prospective adopters and persistent non‐adopters. This study reflects that the previous research practice of bifurcating adoption categories (adoption versus non‐adoption) is oversimplified. The two qualitatively different segments, prospective adopters and persistent non‐adopters, should not be lumped together in the diffusion of internet banking.
Originality/value
This study provides comparison profiles of the three adopter categories and discusses marketing implications for segmentation.
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Jiani Jiang, Bruce A. Huhmann and Michael R. Hyman
The purpose of this paper is to investigate masculinity in Chinese social media marketing for global luxury fashion brands through two studies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate masculinity in Chinese social media marketing for global luxury fashion brands through two studies.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 compares physical characteristics of males in visually oriented US (Instagram) and Chinese (Weibo) social media posts promoting global luxury fashion magazine brands (e.g. Vogue, Cosmopolitan, GQ and Esquire). Study 2 examines the prevalence of and Chinese consumers’ responses (reposts, comments and likes) to different masculinities depicted in luxury fashion brand-sponsored Weibo posts.
Findings
Male portrayals for Chinese audiences feature more characteristics associated with emerging East Asian hybrid masculinities – “Little Fresh Meat” (LFM) and “Old Grilled Meat” (OGM) – than associated with global or regional hegemonic masculinity (i.e. the scholarly Wén and action-oriented Wu). Wén remains common in social media posts for luxury fashion goods, but LFM and OGM engender more consumer responses.
Practical implications
Chinese luxury fashion marketing depicts masculinity more similarly to other East Asian marketing than to Western marketing. Some luxury fashion brands are struggling for acceptance among Chinese youth. Luxury fashion marketers should incorporate hybrid rather than hegemonic masculinities to prompt more favorable responses among Chinese consumers, especially younger female target markets.
Originality/value
Growing female occupational and consumer power and shifting male employment from blue-collar to white-collar jobs have influenced media portrayals of masculinity. Social media marketing for luxury fashion brands demonstrates the prevalence and appeal of hybrid masculinities in China.
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Smart card-based E-payment systems are receiving increasing attention as the number of implementations is witnessed on the rise globally. Understanding of user adoption behavior…
Abstract
Smart card-based E-payment systems are receiving increasing attention as the number of implementations is witnessed on the rise globally. Understanding of user adoption behavior of E-payment systems that employ smart card technology becomes a research area that is of particular value and interest to both IS researchers and professionals. However, research interest focuses mostly on why a smart card-based E-payment system results in a failure or how the system could have grown into a success. This signals the fact that researchers have not had much opportunity to critically review a smart card-based E-payment system that has gained wide support and overcome the hurdle of critical mass adoption. The Octopus in Hong Kong has provided a rare opportunity for investigating smart card-based E-payment system because of its unprecedented success. This research seeks to thoroughly analyze the Octopus from technology adoption behavior perspectives.
Cultural impacts on adoption behavior are one of the key areas that this research posits to investigate. Since the present research is conducted in Hong Kong where a majority of population is Chinese ethnicity and yet is westernized in a number of aspects, assuming that users in Hong Kong are characterized by eastern or western culture is less useful. Explicit cultural characteristics at individual level are tapped into here instead of applying generalization of cultural beliefs to users to more accurately reflect cultural bias. In this vein, the technology acceptance model (TAM) is adapted, extended, and tested for its applicability cross-culturally in Hong Kong on the Octopus. Four cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede are included in this study, namely uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism, and Confucian Dynamism (long-term orientation), to explore their influence on usage behavior through the mediation of perceived usefulness.
TAM is also integrated with the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) to borrow two constructs in relation to innovative characteristics, namely relative advantage and compatibility, in order to enhance the explanatory power of the proposed research model. Besides, the normative accountability of the research model is strengthened by embracing two social influences, namely subjective norm and image. As the last antecedent to perceived usefulness, prior experience serves to bring in the time variation factor to allow level of prior experience to exert both direct and moderating effects on perceived usefulness.
The resulting research model is analyzed by partial least squares (PLS)-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. The research findings reveal that all cultural dimensions demonstrate direct effect on perceived usefulness though the influence of uncertainty avoidance is found marginally significant. Other constructs on innovative characteristics and social influences are validated to be significant as hypothesized. Prior experience does indeed significantly moderate the two influences that perceived usefulness receives from relative advantage and compatibility, respectively. The research model has demonstrated convincing explanatory power and so may be employed for further studies in other contexts. In particular, cultural effects play a key role in contributing to the uniqueness of the model, enabling it to be an effective tool to help critically understand increasingly internationalized IS system development and implementation efforts. This research also suggests several practical implications in view of the findings that could better inform managerial decisions for designing, implementing, or promoting smart card-based E-payment system.
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Roger B. Atindéhou and Jean‐Pierre Gueyie
The sensitivity of Canadian chartered banks to exchange rate risk is analyzed over the period 1988‐1995 through estimating the three‐factor asset pricing model (market, interest…
Abstract
The sensitivity of Canadian chartered banks to exchange rate risk is analyzed over the period 1988‐1995 through estimating the three‐factor asset pricing model (market, interest rate, and exchange rate). Results indicate that banks’ stock returns are sensitive to exchange rate risk and, mainly, to the US dollar relative to the Canadian dollar exchange rate. The sensitivity is, however, unstable over time. Moreover, there is an asymmetric response to exchange rate risk. Investors react more to a re‐evaluation of their portfolio after losses than to an appreciation after successive gains.
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Stephen J. Mckinney and Roger Edwards
The history of the Episcopal Training Institution is an under researched area of teacher education in Scotland. The College was opened in Edinburgh in 1850 and initially trained…
Abstract
The history of the Episcopal Training Institution is an under researched area of teacher education in Scotland. The College was opened in Edinburgh in 1850 and initially trained male students. After 1867, the male students transferred to Durham and the College trained female students. The students were trained to teach in the Episcopal schools throughout Scotland. These schools were predominantly established for the children of the Episcopal denomination or they were mission schools that educated the poor. The College struggled to recruit sufficient numbers of students in the early twentieth century and the College closed in 1934. A very small number of Episcopal schools still exist in the twenty-first century Scotland.
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Shahrzad Amirani and Roger Gates
Store image has long been recognized as a determinant of businesssuccess and has been used as a positioning and differentiation tool.Over the years, the retail image research…
Abstract
Store image has long been recognized as a determinant of business success and has been used as a positioning and differentiation tool. Over the years, the retail image research stream has witnessed numerous conceptual and operational definitions, However, despite the long‐term fascination of researchers with this construct, substantial “noise” is evident in store image research. Provides an overview of the store image literature and illustrates the usefulness of an attribute‐anchored conjoint methodology for operationalizing this construct.
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