Consumer acceptance of m-wellbeing services : a social marketing perspective

Purpose This study aims to employ the Model of Goal-Directed Behaviour (MGB) to examine the consumer acceptance of technology-based self-service (TBSS) for a credence service instrumental to a social goal. Credence services are increasingly delivered via self-service technology and in social marketing, the achievement of social goals can be contingent on consumer acceptance of these services. However, little is known about the determinants of acceptance and extant marketing literature fails to account for emotional and goal influences which are likely to be important. Design/methodology/approach The authors interviewed 30 young adults with self-reported stress, anxiety or depression as potential users of a self-help mental health service delivered via mobile phone. The data were analysed deductively and inductively with the assistance of NVivo. Findings The findings generally support using the MGB to enhance understanding of consumers' acceptance of TBSS. The paper also found evidence of the importance of maintenance self-efficacy, the self-evaluation of the ability to continue using the service, and a previously ignored element of consumer level competition that arises between alternatives that achieve the same goal. Originality/value This study is the first to examine factors that influence consumers' acceptance of TBSS for credence services aimed at achieving a social goal. It builds on understanding of consumer decision making in social marketing, particularly the influence of self-efficacy and competition. It also contributes to attitudinal research by providing initial evidence for deepening and broadening the MGB in the context of TBSSs.

Competency and capacity : the legal and medical interface

Balancing the competing interests of autonomy and protection of individuals is an escalating challenge confronting an ageing Australian society. Legal and medical professionals are increasingly being asked to determine whether individuals are legally competent/capable to make their own testamentary and substitute decision-making, that is financial and/or personal/health care, decisions. No consistent and transparent competency/capacity assessment paradigm currently exists in Australia. Consequently, assessments are currently being undertaken on an ad hoc basis which is concerning as Australia’s population ages and issues of competency/capacity increase. The absence of nationally accepted competency/capacity assessment guidelines and supporting principles results in legal and medical professionals involved with competency/capacity assessment implementing individual processes tailored to their own abilities. Legal and medical approaches differ both between and within the professions. The terminology used also varies. The legal practitioner is concerned with whether the individual has the legal ability to make the decision. A medical practitioner assesses fluctuations in physical and mental abilities. The problem is that the terms competency and capacity are used interchangeably resulting in confusion about what is actually being assessed. The terminological and methodological differences subsequently create miscommunication and misunderstanding between the professions. Consequently, it is not necessarily a simple solution for a legal professional to seek the opinion of a medical practitioner when assessing testamentary and/or substitute decision-making competency/capacity. This research investigates the effects of the current inadequate testamentary and substitute decision-making assessment paradigm and whether there is a more satisfactory approach. This exploration is undertaken within a framework of therapeutic jurisprudence which promotes principles fundamentally important in this context. Empirical research has been undertaken to first, explore the effects of the current process with practising legal and medical professionals; and second, to determine whether miscommunication and misunderstanding actually exist between the professions such that it gives rise to a tense relationship which is not conducive to satisfactory competency/capacity assessments. The necessity of reviewing the adequacy of the existing competency/capacity assessment methodology in the testamentary and substitute decision-making domain will be demonstrated and recommendations for the development of a suitable process made.

The benefits of thermal clothing during winter in patients with heart failure : a pilot randomised controlled trial

Background Many Australian cities experience large winter increases in deaths and hospitalisations. Flu outbreaks are only part of the problem and inadequate protection from cold weather is a key independent risk factor. Better home insulation has been shown to improve health during winter, but no study has examined whether better personal insulation improves health. Data and Methods We ran a randomised controlled trial of thermal clothing versus usual care. Subjects with heart failure (a group vulnerable to cold) were recruited from a public hospital in Brisbane in winter and followed-up at the end of winter. Those randomised to the intervention received two thermal hats and tops and a digital thermometer. The primary outcome was the number of days in hospital, with secondary outcomes of General Practitioner (GP) visits and self-rated health. Results The mean number of days in hospital per 100 winter days was 2.5 in the intervention group and 1.8 in the usual care group, with a mean difference of 0.7 (95% CI: –1.5, 5.4). The intervention group had 0.2 fewer GP visits on average (95% CI: –0.8, 0.3), and a higher self-rated health, mean improvement –0.3 (95% CI: –0.9, 0.3). The thermal tops were generally well used, but even in cold temperatures the hats were only worn by 30% of subjects. Conclusions Thermal clothes are a cheap and simple intervention, but further work needs to be done on increasing compliance and confirming the health and economic benefits of providing thermals to at-risk groups.

Theoretical and experimental characterisation of energy in an electrostatic discharge

Electrostatic discharges have been identified as the most likely cause in a number of incidents of fire and explosion with unexplained ignitions. The lack of data and suitable models for this ignition mechanism creates a void in the analysis to quantify the importance of static electricity as a credible ignition mechanism. Quantifiable hazard analysis of the risk of ignition by static discharge cannot, therefore, be entirely carried out with our current understanding of this phenomenon. The study of electrostatics has been ongoing for a long time. However, it was not until the wide spread use of electronics that research was developed for the protection of electronics from electrostatic discharges. Current experimental models for electrostatic discharge developed for intrinsic safety with electronics are inadequate for ignition analysis and typically are not supported by theoretical analysis. A preliminary simulation and experiment with low voltage was designed to investigate the characteristics of energy dissipation and provided a basis for a high voltage investigation. It was seen that for a low voltage the discharge energy represents about 10% of the initial capacitive energy available and that the energy dissipation was within 10 ns of the initial discharge. The potential difference is greatest at the initial break down when the largest amount of the energy is dissipated. The discharge pathway is then established and minimal energy is dissipated as energy dissipation becomes greatly influenced by other components and stray resistance in the discharge circuit. From the initial low voltage simulation work, the importance of the energy dissipation and the characteristic of the discharge were determined. After the preliminary low voltage work was completed, a high voltage discharge experiment was designed and fabricated. Voltage and current measurement were recorded on the discharge circuit allowing the discharge characteristic to be recorded and energy dissipation in the discharge circuit calculated. Discharge energy calculations show consistency with the low voltage work relating to discharge energy with about 30-40% of the total initial capacitive energy being discharged in the resulting high voltage arc. After the system was characterised and operation validated, high voltage ignition energy measurements were conducted on a solution of n-Pentane evaporating in a 250 cm3 chamber. A series of ignition experiments were conducted to determine the minimum ignition energy of n-Pentane. The data from the ignition work was analysed with standard statistical regression methods for tests that return binary (yes/no) data and found to be in agreement with recent publications. The research demonstrates that energy dissipation is heavily dependent on the circuit configuration and most especially by the discharge circuit's capacitance and resistance. The analysis established a discharge profile for the discharges studied and validates the application of this methodology for further research into different materials and atmospheres; by systematically looking at discharge profiles of test materials with various parameters (e.g., capacitance, inductance, and resistance). Systematic experiments looking at the discharge characteristics of the spark will also help understand the way energy is dissipated in an electrostatic discharge enabling a better understanding of the ignition characteristics of materials in terms of energy and the dissipation of that energy in an electrostatic discharge.

Understanding the impact of legislative changes on child car seating and restraint practices in regional Queensland

Road crashes contribute to a significant amount of child mortality and morbidity in Australia. In fact, passenger injuries contribute to the majority of child crash road trauma. A number of factors contribute to child injury and death in motor vehicles, including inappropriate seating position, inappropriate choice of restraint, and incorrect installation and use of child restraints. Prior to March 2010, child restraint legislation in Queensland only required children twelve months and younger to be seated in a properly adjusted and fastened child restraint. This legislation left older infants and young children potentially suboptimally protected. From March 2010, new legislation specified seating position and type of child restraint required, depending on the age of the child. This research was underpinned by the Health Belief Model (HBM), which explores health related behaviour, behaviour change, environmental factors influencing behaviour change (including legislative changes) and is flexible enough to be used in relation to parents' health practices for their children, rather than parent health directly. This thesis investigates the extent to which the changes to child restraint legislation have led parents in regional areas of Queensland to use appropriate restraint practices for their children and determines the extent to which the constructs of the HBM, parental perceptions, barriers and environmental factors contribute to the appropriateness of child seating and restraint use. Study One included three sets of observations taken in two regional cities of Queensland prior to the legislative amendment, during an educative period of six months, and after the enactment of the legislation. Each child's seating position and restraint type were recorded. Results showed that the proportion of children observed occupying the front seat decreased by 15.6 per cent with the announcement the legislation. There was no decrease in front seat use at the enactment of the legislation. The proportion of children observed using dedicated child restraints increased by 8.8 per cent with the announcement of the legislation when there was one child in the vehicle. Further, there was a 10.1 per cent increase in the proportion of children observed using a seat belt that fit with the announcement when there was one child in the vehicle and with the enactment of the legislation regardless of the number of children in the vehicle (21.8 per cent for one child, 39.7 per cent for two children and 40.2 per cent for three or more children). Study Two comprised initial intercept interviews, later followed up by telephone, with parents with children aged eight years and younger at the announcement and telephone interviews at the enactment of the legislation in one regional city in Queensland. Parents reported their child restraint practices, and opinions, knowledge and understanding of the requirements of the new legislation. Parent responses were analysed in terms of the constructs in the HBM. When asked which seating position their child 'usually' used, parents reported child front seat use was nil (0.0 per cent) and did not change with the enactment of the legislative amendment. However, when parents were asked whether they allowed children to use the front seat at some point within the six months prior to the interview, reported child front seat use was 7 (5.4 per cent) children at T2 and 10 (9.6 per cent) at T3. Reported use of age-appropriate child restraints did not increase with the enactment of the legislation (p = 0.77, ns). Parents reported restraint practices were classed as either appropriate or inappropriate. Parents who reported appropriate restraint practices were those whose children were sitting in optimal restraints and seating positions for their age according to the requirements of the legislation. Parents who reported inappropriate restraint practices were those who had one or more children who were suboptimally restrained or seated for their age according to the requirements of the legislation. Neither parents' perceptions about their susceptibility of being in a crash nor the likelihood of severity of child injury if involved in a crash yielded significant differences in the appropriateness of reported parent restraint practices over time with the enactment of the legislation. A trend in the data suggested parents perceived a benefit to using appropriate restraint practices was to avoid fines and demerit points. Over 75 per cent of parents who agreed that child restraints provide better protection for children than an adult seat belt reported appropriately seating and restraining their children (2 (1) = 8.093, p<.05). The self-efficacy measure regarding parents' confidence in installing a child restraint showed a significant association with appropriate parental restraint practices (2 (1) = 7.036, p<.05). Results suggested that some parents may have misinterpreted the announcement of the legislative amendment as the announcement of the enforcement of the legislation instead. Some parents who correctly reported details of the legislation did not report appropriate child restraint practices. This finding shows that parents' knowledge of the legislative amendment does not necessarily have an impact on their behaviour to appropriately seat and restrain children. The results of these studies have important implications for road safety and the prevention of road-related injury and death to children in Queensland. Firstly, parents reported feeling unsure of how to install restraints, which suggests that there may be children travelling in restraints that have not been installed correctly, putting them at risk. Interventions to alert and encourage parents to seek advice when unsure about the correct installation of child restraints could be considered. Secondly, some parents in this study although they were using the most appropriate restraint for their children, reported using a type that was not the most appropriate restraint for the child's age according to the legislation. This suggests that intervention may be effective in helping parents make a more accurate choice of the most appropriate type of restraint to use with children, especially as the child ages and child restraint requirements change. Further research could be conducted to ascertain the most effective methods of informing and motivating parents to use the most appropriate restraints and seating positions for their children, as these results show a concerning disparity between reported restraint practices and those that were observed.

Motivation during videogame play : analysing player experience in terms of cognitive action

This paper describes a method for analysing videogames based on game activities. It examines the impact of these activities on the player experience. The research approach applies heuristic checklists that deconstruct games in terms of cognitive processes that players engage in during gameplay (e.g., addressing goals, interpreting feedback). For this study we examined three puzzle games, Portal 2, I-Fluid and Braid. The Player Experience of Need Satisfaction (PENS) survey is used to measure player experience following gameplay. Cognitive action provided within games is examined in light of reported player experiences to determine the extent to which these activities influence players’ feelings of competence, autonomy, intuitive control and presence. Findings indicate that the positive experiences are directly influenced by game activity design. Our study also demonstrates the value of expert review in deconstructing gameplay activity as a means of providing direction for game design that enhances the player experience.

System level tests of transformer differential protection using an IEC 61850 process bus

The IEC 61850 family of standards for substation communication systems were released in the early 2000s, and include IEC 61850-8-1 and IEC 61850-9-2 that enable Ethernet to be used for process-level connections between transmission substation switchyards and control rooms. This paper presents an investigation of process bus protection performance, as the in-service behavior of multi-function process buses is largely unknown. An experimental approach was adopted that used a Real Time Digital Simulator and 'live' substation automation devices. The effect of sampling synchronization error and network traffic on transformer differential protection performance was assessed and compared to conventional hard-wired connections. Ethernet was used for all sampled value measurements, circuit breaker tripping, transformer tap-changer position reports and Precision Time Protocol synchronization of sampled value merging unit sampling. Test results showed that the protection relay under investigation operated correctly with process bus network traffic approaching 100% capacity. The protection system was not adversely affected by synchronizing errors significantly larger than the standards permit, suggesting these requirements may be overly conservative. This 'closed loop' approach, using substation automation hardware, validated the operation of protection relays under extreme conditions. Digital connections using a single shared Ethernet network outperformed conventional hard-wired solutions.

The effect of consumer education on unit price usage : an early exploratory study

Consumer awareness and usage of Unit Price (UP) information continues to hold academic interest. Originally designed as a device to enable shoppers to make comparisons between grocery products, it is argued consumers still lack a sufficient understanding of the device. Previous research has tended to focus on product choice, effect of time, and structural changes to price presentation. No studies have tested the effect of UP consumer education on grocery shopping expenditure. Supported by distributed learning theories, this is the first study to condition participants over a twenty week period, to comprehend and employ UP information while shopping. A 3x5 mixed factorial design was employed to collect data from 357 shoppers. A 3 (Control, Massed, Spaced) x 5 (Time Point: Week 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20) mixed factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to analyse the data. Preliminary results revealed that the three groups differed in their average expenditure over the twenty weeks. The Control group remained stable across the five time points. Results indicated that both intensive (Massed) and less intensive (Spaced) exposure to UP information achieved similar results, with both group reducing average expenditure similarly by Week 5. These patterns held for twenty weeks, with conditioned groups reducing their grocery expenditure by over 10%. This research has academic value as a test of applied learning theories. We argue, retailers can attain considerable market advantages as efforts to enhance customers’ knowledge, through consumer education campaigns, can have a positive and strong impact on customer trust and goodwill toward the organisation. Hence, major practical implications for both regulators and retailers exist.

The impact of consumer religiosity on consumer perceptions of risk

This brief provides the conceptual background of current research aiming to improve the understanding of the relationship between consumer religiosity and social and psychological risks associated with adopting new products and technologies. This project includes two main studies framed by Hunt-Vitell’s General Theory of Marketing Ethics and Theory of Moral Potency. Using scenario based experimental 2x2 design, two research questions will be answered upon the completion of the project: what is the nature of the relationship between consumer religiosity and perceptions of psychological and social risk? What is the role of moral potency in the relationship between consumer religiosity perception of psychological and social risk?