Technology-related Products Research Articles

Enhancing blue: The resilience of blue economy and the efficiency of China's sea-land industrial synergy

In the “new normal” with increasingly obvious uncertain characteristics, China urgently needs to enhance the resilience of blue economy and improve the efficiency of sea-land industrial synergy. In this study, we constructed China's blue product ecosystem and added land products with high technological similarity in it. Then, from the dimensions of economy and network structure, a framework for evaluating the resilience of blue products is designed and the efficiency of China's sea-land industrial synergy is investigated from the perspective of resilience. Finally, based on the “tree” structure characteristic of China's blue product ecosystem found in this research, we designed a cyclically framework consisting of “roots (land technology-related products)-trunk (high resilience hub blue products)-branches (non-hub blue products)” for enhancing blue. The main results are as follows. (1) Land technology-related products are the supporting industry of China's blue economy. (2) Deliberately attacking blue products with strong structural functional resilience will lead to a more rapid “chains broken”. (3) The efficiency of sea-land industrial synergy decreased significantly after removing land technology-related products. Our research offers empirical support to assist policy-makers in screening key blue products and industrial chains that warrant cultivation and support to enhance the sustainable development of the blue economy.

Signaling quality through price guarantee window for technology-related products

We study a firm producing and selling a technology-related product with asymmetric quality information to a destination market in two periods. A characteristic of the technology-related product is that its prevailing price may reduce throughout the product’s life cycle and therefore trigger the firm’s price guarantee window. We develop a two-period dynamic signaling game model in which the firm with knowledge of the product quality first decides on the price guarantee window, and then determines the price discount coefficient. We show that quality information disclosure may reduce a high-quality firm’s price guarantee window in which a high-quality firm actively disclosing product quality information can set a shorter price guarantee window to reduce the operating costs. In equilibrium, a high-quality firm would benefit from quality information disclosure but a low-quality firm would be worse off. Quality information disclosure may increase (decrease) a high-quality firm’s first-period sales volume and induce (discourage) more consumers to purchase as early as possible when the quality difference is low (high).

Gene Editing Versus Gene Modification: Awareness, Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions of Lithuanian Consumers, Producers, and Farmers

Gene editing (GE) and gene modification (GM) technologies demonstrate noticeable differences. GE technologies introduce changes in DNA, which are intrinsic to the species, while GM technologies incorporate changes from foreign species. The potential benefits of GE have been highlighted in a number of recent scientific studies, pointing to the opportunities that are opening up in addressing the food availability problems as a result of the growing world population. However, the implementation of GE technology in food production would rely on public awareness, acceptance, and attitudes toward genetically modified and genetically edited food products. Based on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), we surveyed Lithuanian consumers, farmers, and producers for their awareness, attitudes, and behavioural intentions towards GM and GE food. The 251 consumers, 50 farmers, and 56 food producers participated in the survey. Consistent across all samples (consumers, farmers, and producers, respectively), GM technology-related products’ self-assed awareness was significantly higher than the level of self-assed awareness of GE products. Awareness of GEO in all samples is relatively low. The level of support for GMO and GEO is also low in all groups of respondents. All groups – consumers, farmers, and producers – are less negative about food produced from GE than from GM raw materials. There was a statistically significantly higher overall likelihood for future use of GEO than the GMO. Producers would be less likely than consumers and farmers to use GMOs in the future. The same inclinations are observed with regard to GEO, with statistically significant differences in the sample of consumers, farmers, and producers.

The relationship between aesthetics, perceived value and buying intention: a literature review and conceptual framework

This research aims to synthesize the scales of aesthetics, the perceived value of the consumers for the intention to buy smartphones. At the same time, this analyzes the relationship between aesthetics, perceived value and intention to purchase, thereby the study suggests the research model which can be applied in other places, other contexts, and related fields. The method in this study is to summarize the systematics theories and compare the relevant studies. As a result, this research can develop research hypotheses. The main results of the proposed model are to explore the scales and find out the relationship between aesthetics, perceived value and intention to buy smartphones directly and indirectly. Moreover, empirical research can, based on the proposed conceptual framework, be studied for different countries or technology-related products such as computers, tablets, and other smart devices.

Attending 5th Varian Oncology Summit 2019: Learning Experiences as a Medical Physicist

The main objective of the conference was to provide insights into new innovation and technology-related products by Varian to its global users, thus aiming to facilitate better and advance treatment to every cancer patients. Varian organized this summit to create a platform for its users to share their experience and knowledge not only in India but also the neighbouring country such as Nepal, Bangladesh, etc. The need for radiotherapy center in our country Nepal has been growing rapidly yet there are only a few radiotherapy centers with less or not enough needed technical resources and manpower (Radiation oncologists (ROs), Medical physicists (MPs), Radiotherapy Technologists (RTT’s)). Many radiotherapy centers still followed basic treatment modality only. However, due to the lack of high-end treatment techniques such as Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT), Stereotactic Radio Surgery (SRS) and Stereotactic Radio Therapy (SRT) in Nepal, it poses a great burden to patients as they have to travel outside the country to get better quality treatment.

Government subsidies, state ownership, regulatory infrastructure, and the import of strategic resources

PurposeAlthough there has been much research on government support for export in China and other emerging economies, considerably less attention has been given to government subsidy-related importing activity in China. This study aims to propose that the government subsidies as the source of financial resources produce a significant increase of imports, as the firms are more likely to engage actively in importing technology-related products which are conducive for China’s future innovation. However, state ownership in firms negatively moderates this relationship and holds back technology imports. Improved formal regulatory institutions do not help to improve but rather weaken this relationship.Design/methodology/approachTo investigate how government policy affects imports of strategic resources in China, all of the listed firms on Chinese stock markets (from 2008 to 2014) have been selected, the firms that are engaged in exporting and importing activities. The data from the China Stock Market & Accounting Research database have been selected and merged with those of the General Administration Customs in China. A panel analysis has been done with several robustiness tests.FindingsFirst, the study indicates that government subsidies are a driving force for the development of importing activities. Second, it finds conflicts of interests between government subsidies and state ownership of a firm, as increased ownership will weaken and even negate the positive effect of a government policy, thus negatively affecting the national competitiveness in the long run. Third, it is important to take into account the issue on different levels of institutional development, even allowing for the fact that a nationwide government policy is applied to the firms located in all corners of the country.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors suggested a regional difference in regulatory development but did not find the proposed direction. In their future study, the authors will validate and generalize this intriguing substitutional effect. They expect the results will help the government to ensure that it can fulfill a policy (e.g. regulation) down to every gross-roots organization so the development of regulatory infrastructure will help the firm to obtain and accumulate strategic resources through increased imports of them. Another direction of their future study will explore how government policy will prompt the firms to increase their spending so that they can possess plenty of “stamina” for their future development.Practical implicationsDifferent levels of institutional development exist in China even allowing for the fact that a nationwide government policy should be applied to all firms within the territory. This certainly has impacts on technology imports and thus creates difficulties for firms located in the western parts of China about which the government is particularly concerned. The government needs to ensure that its policies (laws and regulations) can be fulfilled down to every gross-roots organization so that the development of regulatory infrastructure can be inclusive and pervasive, given its influence on technology importation and indigenization.Originality/valueBoth of the theoretical and empirical work centered on policy initiatives and particularly government subsidies in emerging economies that significantly influence imports of strategic resources, a means with which the firm is better able to maintain and develop its competitive advantages, particularly in an economy with institutional void. Relatedly, the results on a causal relationship help envision a transcending trajectory of China’s economy, suggesting that businesspeople should capitalize on the policy advantage so that they are better able to sustain their long-term development. The results also present implications for policymakers to encourage and support strategic move toward such import endeavors.

Technology Adoption by Commercial Banks as an Aid in Financial Inclusion

Financial inclusion is considered to be an important tool for inclusive growth and poverty alleviation. It involves delivery of financial services at affordable cost to poor and marginalized sections of the society. Access to financial services such as bank facilities, credit and insurance at affordable rates is important to improve their general living conditions as it provides an opportunity for saving and investment. Many studies have showcased the relationship between financial inclusion and equitable development. Government of India and Reserve Bank of India adopted bank led approach and promoted several measures through the medium of commercial banks such as the opening of ‘no-frill’ bank accounts, simplifying bank account opening procedures, use ofintermediaries such as Business Correspondents or Facilitators, relaxation of branch licensing policy, direct benefit transfer, mobile banking, etc. However, several demand and supply side impediments still exist.Technology came to be viewed as a solution not only to extend banking facilities to the unbanked, but also to reduce the transaction cost for banks and make financial inclusion a viable proposition. Technology in respect of payment and settlement systems, delivery of financial services, goes a long way in promoting financial inclusion. The study makes an attempt to examine the need for and the importance of technology adoption by banks and the effectiveness of various technology related products. The study hopefully serves to direct the attention of the policy makers to the need to devise and deliver appropriate financial products leveraging technology, promote awareness, address safety concerns, achieve wider application for more inclusiveness.

The Influence of Asian American Spokesmodels in Technology-Related Advertising: An Experiment

The present study applies media priming and social identity theory to examine whether consumers transferred stereotypical model minority attributes (both positive and negative) to technology-related products and brands in advertisements featuring Asian American spokesmodels, compared to similar ads featuring Caucasians. Results (N = 263) of a 2 × 4 experiment revealed that consumers significantly primed products advertised using Asian American spokesmodels with model minority attributes; however, the products using Caucasian spokesmodels were rated significantly higher on brand attitude and purchase intention. In addition, parasocial identification mediated between model ethnicity and brand attitude, but not purchase intention.

Modeling Choice Interdependence in a Social Network

This paper investigates how individuals' product choices are influenced by the product choices of their connected others and how the influence mechanism may differ for fashion- versus technology-related products. We conduct a novel field experiment to induce and observe choice interdependence in a closed social network. In our experiment, we conceptualize individuals' choices to be driven by multiattribute utilities, and we measure their initial attribute preferences prior to observing their choice interdependence and collecting network information. These design elements help alleviate concerns in identifying social interaction effects from other confounds. Given that we have complete information on choices and their sequence, we use a discrete-time Markov chain model. Nonetheless, we also use a Markov random field (MRF) model as an alternative when the information on choice sequence is missing. We find significant social interaction effects. Our findings show that whereas experts exert asymmetrically greater influence on a technology-related product, popular individuals exert greater influence on a fashion-related product. In addition, we find choices made by early decision makers to be more influential than choices made later for the technology-related product. Finally, using the MRF with snapshot data can also provide good out-of-sample predictions for a technology-related product.

The LIS Blogosphere Contains Tags that Can Be Categorized and It Disseminates Professional Content

A Review of:
 Aharony, N. (2009). Librarians and information scientists in the blogosphere: An exploratory analysis. Library & Information Science Research, 31(3), 174-181. 
 
 Objective – This study analyzes library and information studies (LIS) oriented blogs to determine the content, and looks at tags and folksonomies of these blogs to determine whether they form a consistent, coherent scheme or whether they are lacking in internal logic.
 
 Design – A qualitative content analysis of tags assigned to 30 LIS blogs.
 
 Setting – The research took place on the internet from May to July, 2008.
 
 Subjects – Thirty LIS blogs were examined, each of which was written by a librarian or an information scientist.
 Methods – The researcher reviewed 100 blogs that were found by browsing the Top 25 Librarian Bloggers as published by the Online Education Database in 2007 and by searching Technorati, one of the main search engines for blogs, using the term “library and information science.” Thirty blogs were chosen for analysis based on two criteria: the blog had to be written by a librarian or an information scientist, and the blog had to be active during the period studied (May-July, 2008). 
 
 A content analysis was undertaken on the tags assigned to the 30 blogs by categorizing the tags that appeared as tag clouds (visual representations of user-generated tags in which the tags used more frequently are depicted in larger, bolder font) in Technorati. In order to validate the Technorati tags, the researcher’s coders read and analyzed all the blog posts over the given time period. The categorization consists of five major categories, each with several subcategories. The categories were developed using a clustering approach, with new categories coming into being when a tag did not fit into an already established category.
 
 Main Results – The tag categorization resulted in five broad categories, each with several sub-categories (a few of which are listed here):
 1. General (Nouns, Disciplines, Place Names)
 2. Library-related (Web 2.0, Librarians’ Activities, Catalogues)
 3. Technology-related Products, Technology – Types, People)
 4. Information-related (Access to Information, Information Sources)
 5. Social web-related (Names of Blogs, Names of Social Networks)
 
 The tag analysis resulted in the following percentages of distribution:
 • 33.62% of the tags associated with LIS blogs were general in nature
 • 20.21% of the tags were technology-related
 • 19.12% of the tags were library-related
 • 14.60% of the tags were information-related
 • 12.90% of the tags were related to the social web
 These percentages add up to 100.45%. The author makes no mention of this oddity and it is assumed to be an error.
 
 The researcher attempted to determine if tags and folksonomies form a consistent scheme. In reporting her findings, she concluded that four major categories of professional-related content were revealed, which reflect the blogger-librarians’ fields of interest. The prominence of the general category revealed that bloggers’ personal interests and experiences were written about more often. As well, it appears that although bloggers seem to assign non-related tags randomly, the analysis shows that tags still can be categorized. 
 
 Conclusion – The researcher concludes that this study is helpful for librarians and information scientists because it can help them to navigate the LIS blogosphere. She reports that the categories of tags beyond the general category, which mainly contains tags related to bloggers’ personal interests and experiences, shows that blogs can contribute to professional development. Although more informal in nature, the research has shown that LIS blogs do contain professional information, and it behooves professionals to become familiar with the tag scheme in topic oriented blogs, and to try to work within the scheme to make use of the content within. The researcher suggests further ideas for research, including the differences in LIS blogs written by a single blogger as compared with blogs written by multiple authors, as well as gender differences between male and female authored blogs. The author also suggests further research on multimedia blogs such as photoblogs, and audio and video blogs.

SME tailor-designed patent portfolio analysis

The management of patents is acknowledged to be closely correlated to a company’s profits. Thus, evaluation of patent portfolios is an essential task for companies producing or depending on technology-related products. While global players and consultants already have considerable experience in this field, no tool has so far been available that meets SME requirements. The Innovation and Patent-Centre at the Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg, a German think tank for patent management, has now developed a tool specially suited for SMEs. The article describes the methodology of the tool and compares it to other state-of-the-art tools. The tool gives an easy-to-understand overview for personnel with different professional backgrounds and facilitates strategic cross-functional discussions. Field tests carried out with SMEs in different industry sectors and with varying patent portfolio sizes and structures have shown good results.

Early user involvement in the development of information technology-related products for older people

The UTOPIA project (Usable Technology for Older People—Inclusive and Appropriate) is focused on developing effective methods for the early involvement of older people in the development of information technology-related products for people aged 60 and over, and on providing industry with tools to assist in the development of information technology products for such older people. An essential part of this methodology is building a diverse user base, forming a long-lasting partnership with older people, and developing approaches for effective interaction with this target user group. Our experiences with eliciting information from groups of older people about technology is described, together with a report on seminars for Scottish industry designed to raise an awareness of these issues.

Reluctance to use technology‐related products: Development of a technophobia scale

AbstractMany consumers feel overloaded by the complexity of technology‐related products. This renders consumers less open to them and may even lead to an aversion or anxiety toward these kind of products: in other words, so‐called technophobia.This article aims to establish an instrument that measures technophobia. Following a literature review and in‐depth interviews with experts, a scale is developed and tested in seven different countries (United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, India, Mexico, and Austria; total sample size = 1,503 respondents). The three underlying dimensions of the scale—“Personal Failure,” “Human vs. Machine Ambiguity,” and “Convenience”—are discussed, and future research avenues to strengthen the cross‐national usability of the scale are identified. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Opportunities for knowledge-based development: capabilities, infrastructure, investment and policy

Developing countries must find innovative ways of combining their existing experience and skills with the production and consumption of information and communication technology-related products and services in order to benefit from the potential advantages for social and economic development. The new applications can be employed as 'tools' for development, but their effective use requires substantial investment in both the technical and the social infrastructure. The potential of information and communication technologies to create opportunities for catching up or forging ahead exists but applications must be consistent with the distinctive information and knowledge systems within each developing country and their development priorities.