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1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 1 March 2005

J.E. Hardy and T.E. McKnight

Bench‐top wind tunnels are used extensively by the US Air Force for calibrating anemometers. As anemometers have improved, the need for reduced uncertainties in the bench‐top wind…

Abstract

Purpose

Bench‐top wind tunnels are used extensively by the US Air Force for calibrating anemometers. As anemometers have improved, the need for reduced uncertainties in the bench‐top wind tunnels was required. A three‐pronged approach was used to reduce low velocity uncertainties by a factor of 2‐3.Design/methodology/approach – The reduction in velocity uncertainties was achieved by upgrading the wind tunnel instrumentation that measured the pressure and differential pressure and by improving the velocity calibration of the bench‐top wind tunnel. A detailed uncertainty analysis was performed to determine how much the instrumentation needed to improve. A laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) was used to calibrate each wind tunnel at low velocities.Findings – The uncertainty analysis indicated that the main contributors to the velocity uncertainty were the differential pressure and the pressure measurements. These two process instruments were upgraded to reduce their individual uncertainties by a factor of 2. Additionally each bench‐top wind tunnel was calibrated using the LDV with special emphasis on flows from 0.15‐3.0 m/s. In all, nine wind tunnels were calibrated and the upgraded systems exhibited a reduction in uncertainties in the low flow region of a factor of 2‐3.Originality/value – A need to reduce velocity uncertainties in bench‐top wind tunnels was a requirement for the US Air Force calibration program. Upgraded instrumentation and individual calibration with an LDV provided the needed reduction. In the low flow region of 0.15 to 3.0 m/s, uncertainties were reduced by a factor of 2‐3.

Details

Sensor Review, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0260-2288

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 March 2003

Gregory B. Murphy

Trust has become a major issue among online shoppers. This underresearched subject will predictably determine the success or failure of e-commerce vendors. The lack of…

2369

Abstract

Trust has become a major issue among online shoppers. This underresearched subject will predictably determine the success or failure of e-commerce vendors. The lack of face-to-face interaction, the inability to inspect goods and services prior to purchase, and the asynchronous exchange of goods and money all contribute to the perceived risk of purchasing online and the resulting need for trust. Trust is particularly critical for small and new Internet ventures confronted by the liability of newness (Stinchcombe 1965). Lacking, among other things, a name that is readily recognized in the marketplace, entrepreneurial Internet ventures require trust if they are to succeed. The research presented in this article addresses this issue by building on the work of McKnight and colleagues and considering the effects of propensity to trust on trusting beliefs. Specifically, the author predicts that propensity to trust will significantly affect perceived ability, benevolence, and integrity but only for those individuals with limited direct experience. Based on a sample of web survey participants, the author found that propensity to trust significantly impacted perceived ability and benevolence for individuals with limited direct experience only. No statistically significant results were found for the effects of propensity to trust on perceived integrity.

Details

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, vol. 6 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2574-8904

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2000

Ken Eason, Liangzhi Yu and Susan Harker

This paper examines the general value to users of a range of electronic journal functions and their usefulness in the specific context of the SuperJournal Project. For the…

Abstract

This paper examines the general value to users of a range of electronic journal functions and their usefulness in the specific context of the SuperJournal Project. For the evaluation of each of the functions three types of data were analysed in relation to each other and in light of other contextual data: logged data of usage, survey data on user satisfaction, and survey data on the perceived importance of the function. The analysis shows that basic browsing, printing and search make up the core functions of electronic journals; other functions, such as saving of bibliographic data, alerting, customising, links with external resources and communication, serve as peripheral functions. The usefulness of both the core functions and the peripheral functions in a specific service is influenced by various implementation factors. However, it is the realised usefulness of the core functions which determines the use of a service.

Details

Program, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0033-0337

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1995

Roger Stuart

Describes research into managers′ experiences of significantorganizational change attempts. The research project was aimed atdeveloping frameworks which: describe, illuminate and…

5748

Abstract

Describes research into managers′ experiences of significant organizational change attempts. The research project was aimed at developing frameworks which: describe, illuminate and enable a better understanding of managers′ journeys through organizational change; serve as a template for bringing together the very diverse and fragmented literature relating to individuals experiencing change; highlight issues and pointers for the design and facilitation of effective organizational change initiatives. The first part describes the context, spirit, intentions, sample and methodology of the research. Also, reviews a broad range of literature which can inform our understanding of individuals in change. Propounds the need to open up the “real world” of organizational change, as perceived and experienced by managers, rather than any “ideal” view of how that world is desired or supposed to be. Presents and discusses research findings on the sensed and initiating “primary” triggers for change‐that is, the formal and communicated organizational change objectives; and the perceived and felt “secondary” triggers for change‐that is, the issues raised by, and the implications of, the organizational changes for individual managers. The second part presents a framework depicting the phases and components of managers′ journeys through organizational change. On the framework, the experience of managers can be located, in terms of their thoughts, feelings and behaviours, as the processes of change unfold. While each manager′s journey was found to be unique, the framework proved to be ubiquitous in enabling the mapping of all the managers′ journeys, and it also accommodates literature on phenomena as diverse as learning, personal transition, catastrophe and survival, trauma and stress, loss and “death”, and worry and grief. The findings emphasize the profoundness and deeply felt emotionality of many managers′ experiencing of change in organizations. Finally, identifies the outcomes of managers′ journeys through significant attempts at organizational change. Also presents the reported helping and hindering factors to those journeys. Implications of these findings are pursued, particularly in terms of the leadership and development roles and behaviours required, if the organization and its management are to move beyond simply requiring change towards actively facilitating its achievement.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1901

IN order to be able to discriminate with certainty between butter and such margarine as is sold in England, it is necessary to carry out two or three elaborate and delicate…

Abstract

IN order to be able to discriminate with certainty between butter and such margarine as is sold in England, it is necessary to carry out two or three elaborate and delicate chemical processes. But there has always been a craving by the public for some simple method of determining the genuineness of butter by means of which the necessary trouble could be dispensed with. It has been suggested that such easy detection would be possible if all margarine bought and sold in England were to be manufactured with some distinctive colouring added—light‐blue, for instance—or were to contain a small amount of phenolphthalein, so that the addition of a drop of a solution of caustic potash to a suspected sample would cause it to become pink if it were margarine, while nothing would occur if it were genuine butter. These methods, which have been put forward seriously, will be found on consideration to be unnecessary, and, indeed, absurd.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Article
Publication date: 12 March 2018

Jan Møller Jensen and Corinna Wagner

The purpose of this paper is to examine Millennials’ formation of trust towards a travel website and identify the similarities and the differences in trust formation among…

1162

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine Millennials’ formation of trust towards a travel website and identify the similarities and the differences in trust formation among consumers from two countries – Denmark and Portugal.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on online surveys conducted with convenience samples from two culturally-distant countries. Independent t-tests, structural equation modelling and multi-group analysis are used to verify the conceptual model and test the hypotheses.

Findings

Results support a strong relationship between initial trust towards a travel website and consumers’ behavioural intentions. The results also suggest that cultural differences between countries moderate the formation of initial trust and behavioural reactions hereto.

Originality/value

The study provides new insights into understanding how Millennials from Portugal and Denmark form initial trust towards an e-travel website.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 36 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2013

Si Chen

The transferred carbon nanofibers (CNFs) can be applied in flip chip package as interconnect material, as an alternative to the conventional solder and conductive adhesive (CA…

Abstract

Purpose

The transferred carbon nanofibers (CNFs) can be applied in flip chip package as interconnect material, as an alternative to the conventional solder and conductive adhesive (CA) materials.

Design/methodology/approach

The structure of CNFs was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrical performance of the vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (VACNFs) joint was measured by four points probe method and compared to conventional lead‐free solder Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu, pure indium and silver CA. A shear test was carried out in order to evaluate the mechanical performance of VACNFs joint. After the shear test, the fracture surface was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM‐EDS).

Findings

The results showed a high success rate in the transfer of VACNFs from growth chip to target chip. The Au‐coated CNF can be wetted well with melted indium during the transfer and bonding process. In‐Au intermetallic compound (IMC) formed on the surface of CNF. The electrical and mechanical performance of VACNFs is comparable to that of the traditional interconnect materials. The fracture surface is located at the interface between VACNFs and chips. The stacked‐cone structure of CNF can be confirmed from a cross‐section of the break CNF by TEM.

Originality/value

Ultra‐short VACNFs were grown and first successfully transferred to the target chip using a process which required little pressure, low temperature and short time.

Details

Soldering & Surface Mount Technology, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0954-0911

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 March 2011

Mary Ann Eastlick and Sherry Lotz

Via an initial trust‐building model, the purpose of this paper is to examine consumers' initial trust in an unfamiliar online retailer, considering cognitive perceptions of the…

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Abstract

Purpose

Via an initial trust‐building model, the purpose of this paper is to examine consumers' initial trust in an unfamiliar online retailer, considering cognitive perceptions of the retailer and institutional beliefs about the online environment.

Design/methodology/approach

A random sample of 2,000 US households, resulting in 477 usable responses, was surveyed by assigning subjects to one of the two shopping scenarios portraying an online insurance retailer with a weak or strong reputation.

Findings

Structural equation modelling revealed that second‐hand cognitive and first‐hand institutional information have comparable and contrasting effects on purchase intent through formation of initial trust.

Research limitations/implications

Results imply that consumers form initial trust using a combination of cognitive perceptions about the online retailer and consumers' institutional beliefs regarding the online environment. Ways in which researchers and online retailers can shape initial trust formation via these antecedents are suggested.

Originality/value

The influence of an institutional belief, situational normality of the online environment, on initial trust has not been previously investigated by simultaneously assessing relative influences of institutional beliefs and cognitive perceptions of the online retailer.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 39 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1907

MUCH has already been said and written upon the subject of the indicator: but in view of the general trend of advanced Public Library administration a little space may with…

Abstract

MUCH has already been said and written upon the subject of the indicator: but in view of the general trend of advanced Public Library administration a little space may with advantage be devoted again to the consideration of its value as a modern library appliance. Passing over (a) the decision of that curiously constituted committee formed in 1879 to consider and report on indicators, and (b) the support which it received in 1880 from the Library Association, it may be said that for the next fourteen or fifteen years the indicator system was the popular, almost the universal, system in vogue throughout the country. Of late years professional opinion as to its value has undergone a remarkable change. The reaction which has set in was brought about chiefly by the introduction of Open Access in 1894, with the many reforms that accompanied it, though much, doubtless, was due to the prevalence of a more exact and systematic knowledge of librarianship, and to the natural evolution of ideas. It is not, however, intended in this paper to compare the indicator with the open access system, but with others suitable to the requirements of a closed library.

Details

New Library World, vol. 9 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2001

Chern Li Liew, Schubert Foo and K.R. Chennupati

In this paper, we present a proposed information environment (PROPIE) for enhanced interaction and value‐adding of electronic documents (e‐documents). The design of PROPIE was…

Abstract

In this paper, we present a proposed information environment (PROPIE) for enhanced interaction and value‐adding of electronic documents (e‐documents). The design of PROPIE was based on a thorough user needs and requirements assessment in interacting with information through well‐documented findings, and a focus group with twelve participants to elicit features that were deemed desirable in future interactions. The design was also based on an earlier work which reviewed the advancements in various user interface (UI) technologies, visualisation and interactive techniques, and a consideration of novel information structuring and organisation techniques that pose important implications for the design of more advanced UIs. Providing a suite of novel features and interactive tools that can be flexibly combined, PROPIE allows users to apply multiple novel ways to query intuitively and navigate information in an e‐document. The querying and browsing processes in PROPIE are supported by various interactive and visualisation techniques. Users work within a visually sovereign, integrated environment for information gathering and organising, based on navigable, fractional information objects that are also affiliated with rich metadata and additional layers of value‐adding information. A set of interface mock‐ups was developed to demonstrate the potential of the environment in supporting the design of a new generation of electronic journals (e‐journals). We report here empirical results from a study conducted to obtain representative users‘ feedback with regard to using PROPIE for interacting with e‐journals. Twenty‐two participants from a variety of academic backgrounds participated in the evaluation. Overall, PROPIE was found to have the potential both for enhancing the user’s interaction with information captured within e‐journals and for adding value to e‐documents in various ways.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 57 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

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