• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.33-47
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• 2024

Purpose: Most emerging-market countries are concerned about the technology boom, which is accompanied by an increase in revenue from online sales and services. This finding has been demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, is this tendency continuing in the new normal, and what factors are driving the increase in consumer decisions? The purpose of this research is to investigate how the decision to utilize online services will be affected in the new normal as well as propose a new research approach in this field. Research Design, Methodology and Approach: By following a deductive research method associated with positivist philosophy, a survey in South Vietnam with 426 respondents using a convenience sampling method was conducted. The reliability of the measurement scales was examined by using the SPSS program. The SmartPLS programme was utilised to assess the measurement and structural models as well as test hypotheses by using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Results: According to the research findings, decision-making has been impacted by social influences, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived trust, perceived price, and perceived convenience. Conclusions: The research results also bring significant contributions not only in practice in providing management implications but also in theory. The research model has also demonstrated the feasibility of employing the stimuli-organism-response framework and combining the theory of perceived risk with the technology acceptance model via the explanation of decision-making.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.415-424
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• 2023

Background: Occupational safety & health management (OSH) has garnered greater attention for its significance in promoting corporate sustainability for organizations in recent decades. The construction industry, in particular, is a major contributor to Malaysia's thirst for corporate sustainability in order to provide long-term support for the country. Thus, the main tenet of this study is to examine the mediating effect of employee affective commitment on the relationship between OSH and corporate sustainability. Methods: A questionnaire was administered to 273 full-time employees of listed construction companies in Malaysia. Smart PLS software version 3 was used to test the proposed model and hypotheses. Both the measurement model and the structural model were evaluated. Results: According to the findings, OSH and its dimensions are positively related to employee affective commitment. Employee affective commitment, on the other hand, has been found to be significantly related to corporate sustainability and its dimensions: economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Apart from this, the prominent results reveal that employee affective commitment partially mediates the relationship between OSH and corporate sustainability and its dimensions: economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Conclusion: This empirical finding adds to the existing literature in explaining how OSH and affective commitment led to corporate sustainability. Several implications are offered to various stakeholders, such as construction companies, policymakers, and relevant regulators.

• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.23-52
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• 2015

Purpose This study aims to understand the role of digital knowledge in accepting the green technology. This study combined digital option theory with the second version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2). Contrary to other studies in which the UTAUT2 is used to explain IT adoption behavior, we look at the relationship between IT and the UTAUT2 from a new angle, incorporating an important aspect of IT, that is, digitized knowledge richness, as a determinant of the UTAUT2. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in the UTAUT2, a content analysis was conducted to investigate novel constructs dedicated to explaining green technology adoption. In this study, an amended version of the UTAUT2 specific to green technology is offered that better explains the green technology adoption behavior of consumers. Using the items identified by content analysis, we developed a questionnaire with 36 survey items. We measured all the items on a seven-point Likert-type scale. We randomly selected 402 survey respondents from a set of panel data. After a pilot study, we analyzed the main survey data by using PLS 2.0M3 and SPSS 20.0, and employed structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses. Findings The results suggest that the UTAUT2 was found to be extendable to technologies other than conventional IT. Social influence is more significant than conventional utilitarian and hedonic-based constructs such as those utilized in the UTAUT and UTAUT2 in explaining adoption behavior in the context of green technologies. The hypothesized connection between digitized knowledge richness and adoption intention was supported by the results of studies on the role of IT in formation of attitudes toward eco-friendly production. The results also indicate that digital knowledge can also encourage people to try green technology when they learn that their peers are already using the technology successfully.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.61-95
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• 2007

Small-and-medium sized enterprises(SMEs) represent quite a large proportion of the industry as a whole in terms of the number of enterprises or employees. However researches on information system so far have focused on large companies, probably because SMEs were not so active in introducing information systems as larger enterprises. SMEs are now increasingly bringing in information systems such as ERP(Enterprise Resource Planning Systems) and some of the companies already entered the stage of ongoing use. Accordingly, researches should deal with the use of information systems by SME s operating under different conditions from large companies. This study examined factors and mechanism inducing faithful appropriation of information systems, in particular integrative systems such as ERP, in view of individuals` active feedback-seeking behavior. There are three factors expected to affect end users` feedback-seeking behavior for faithful appropriation of information systems. They are management support, peer IT champ support, and IT staff support. The main focus of the study is on how these factors affect feedback-seeking behavior and whether the feedback-seeking behavior plays the role of mediator for realizing faithful appropriation of information systems by end users. To examine the research model and the hypotheses, this study employed an empirical method based on a field survey. The survey used measurements mostly employed and verified by previous researches, while some of the measurements had gone through minor modifications for the purpose of the study. The survey respondents are individual employees of SMEs that have been using ERP for one year or longer. To prevent common method bias, Task-Technology Fit items used as the control variable were made to be answered by different respondents. In total, 127 pairs of valid questionnaires were collected and used for the analysis. The PLS(Partial Least Squares) approach to structural equation modeling(PLS-Graph v.3.0) was used as our data analysis strategy because of its ability to model both formative and reflective latent constructs under small-and medium-size samples. The analysis shows Reliability, Construct Validity and Discriminant Validity are appropriate. The path analysis results are as follows; first, the more there is peer IT champ support, the more the end user is likely to show feedback-seeking behavior(path-coefficient=0.230, t=2.28, p<0.05). In other words, if colleagues proficient in information system use recognize the importance of their help, pass on what they have found to be an effective way of using the system or correct others' misuse, ordinary end users will be able to seek feedback on the faithfulness of their appropriation of information system without hesitation, because they know the convenience of getting help. Second, management support encourages ordinary end users to seek more feedback(path-coefficient=0.271, t=3.06, p<0.01) by affecting the end users' perceived value of feedback(path-coefficient=0.401, t=6.01, p<0.01). Management support is far more influential than other factors that when the management of an SME well understands the benefit of ERP, promotes its faithful appropriation and pays attention to employees' satisfaction with the system, employees will make deliberate efforts for faithful appropriation of the system. However, the third factor, IT staff support was found not to be conducive to feedback-seeking behavior from end users(path-coefficient=0.174, t=1.83). This is partly attributable to the fundamental reason that there is little support for end users from IT staff in SMEs. Even when IT staff provides support, end users may find it less important than that from coworkers more familiar with the end users' job. Meanwhile, the more end users seek feedback and attempt to find ways of faithful appropriation of information systems, the more likely the users will be able to deploy the system according to the purpose the system was originally meant for(path-coefficient=0.35, t=2.88, p<0.01). Finally, the mediation effect analysis confirmed the mediation effect of feedback-seeking behavior. By confirming the mediation effect of feedback-seeking behavior, this study draws attention to the importance of feedback-seeking behavior that has long been overlooked in research about information system use. This study also explores the factors that promote feedback-seeking behavior which in result could affect end user`s faithful appropriation of information systems. In addition, this study provides insight about which inducements or resources SMEs should offer to promote individual users' feedback-seeking behavior when formal and sufficient support from IT staff or an outside information system provider is hardly expected. As the study results show, under the business environment of SMEs, help from skilled colleagues and the management plays a critical role. Therefore, SMEs should seriously consider how to utilize skilled peer information system users, while the management should pay keen attention to end users and support them to make the most of information systems.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.370-393
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• 2015

This study was conducted to compare STQ method, multi-residue method in Korean food code and QuEChERS method for validated selected and accuracy, reproducibility and efficiency. A total of 45 selected and targeted pesticides were the analyzed by GC and 5 of them were crops (apple, potato, green pepper, rice, soy bean). $R^2$ values were calculated in the standard calibration curve was over 0.990. Recovery tests were performed by three replications in two levels and the relative standard deviation of the repeated experiments was less than 30%. The average percentage of recoveries in the multi-residue method in Korean food code was 89.13%, QuEChERS method was 92.45% and STQ method was 85.28%. In addition, matrix effects in multi-residue method in Korean food code was 24.61%, QuEChERS method was 23.98% and STQ method showed 11.24%. The STQ method is easy and showed high clean-up effect in extracting the sample solution than the QuEChERS method and clean-up with C18, PLS, PSA cartridge columns. A large volume of the sample was injected in order to compensable for the problem, that occurred due to high detection limit in the analyser. When the STQ method was applied using a large volume injector, the standard calibration curve showed a higher linearity $R^2=0.990$, and method detection limit was 0.01 mg/kg. It showed an average recovery of 91.84% and the relative standard deviations of three replications repeated in two level process was less than 30% and had an average matrix effect of 17.90%.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.325-344
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• 2014

Technical support of Window XP ended in March, 8, 2014, and it makes OS(Operating System) users fall in a state of confusion. Sudden decision making of OS upgrade and replacement is not a simple problem. Firms need to change the long term capacity plan in enterprise IS management, but they are pressed for time and cost to complete it. Individuals can not help selecting the second best plan, because the following OSs of Window XP are below expectations in performances, new PC sales as the opportunities of OS upgrade decrease, and the potential risk of OS technical support ending had not announced to OS users at the point of purchase. Microsoft as the OS vendors had not presented precaution or remedy for this confusion. Rather, Microsoft announced that the technical support of the other following OSs of Wndow XP such as Window 7 would ended in two years. This conflict between OS vendor and OS users could not happen in one time, but could recur in recent future. Although studies on the ways of OS user protection policy would be needed to escape from this conflict, few prior studies had conducted this issue. This study had challenge to cautiously investigate in such OS user's reactions as the confirmation with OS user's expectation in the point of purchase, three types of justice perception on the treatment of OS vendor, psychological contract violation, satisfaction and the other betrayal behavioral intention in the case of Window XP technical support ending. By adopting the justice perception on this research, and by empirically validating the impact on OS user's reactions, I could suggest the direction of establishing OS user protection policy of OS vendor. Based on the expectation-confirmation theory, the theory of justice, literatures about psychological contract violation, and studies about consumer betrayal behaviors in the perspective of Herzberg(1968)'s dual factor theory, I developed the research model and hypothesis. Expectation-confirmation theory explain that consumers had expectation on the performance of product in the point of sale, and they could satisfied with their purchase behaviors, when the expectation could have confirmed in the point of consumption. The theory of justice in social exchange argues that treatee could be willing to accept the treatment by treater when the three types of justice as distributive, procedural, and interactional justice could be established in treatment. Literatures about psychological contract violation in human behaviors explains that contracter in a side could have the implied contract (also called 'psychological contract') which the contracter in the other side would sincerely execute the contract, and that they are willing to do vengeance behaviors when their contract had unfairly been broken. When the psychological contract of consumers had been broken, consumers feel distrust with the vendors and are willing to decrease such beneficial attitude and behavior as satisfaction, loyalty and repurchase intention. At the same time, consumers feel betrayal and are willing to increase such retributive attitude and behavior as negative word-of-mouth, complain to the vendors, complain to the third parties for consumer protection. We conducted a scenario survey in order to validate our research model at March, 2013, when is the point of news released firstly and when is the point of one year before the acture Window XP technical support ending. We collected the valid data from 238 voluntary participants who are the OS users but had not yet exposed the news of Window OSs technical support ending schedule. The subject had been allocated into two groups and one of two groups had been exposed this news. The data had been analyzed by the MANOVA and PLS. MANOVA results indicate that the OSs technical support ending could significantly decrease all three types of justice perception. PLS results indicated that it could significantly increase psychological contract violation and that this increased psychological contract violation could significantly reduce the trust and increase the perceived betrayal. Then, it could significantly reduce satisfaction, loyalty, and repurchase intention, and it also could significantly increase negative word-of-month intention, complain to the vendor intention, and complain to the third party intention. All hypothesis had been significantly approved. Consequently, OS users feel that the OSs technical support ending is not natural value added service ending, but the violation of the core OS purchase contract, that it could be the posteriori prohibition of OS user's OS usage right, and that it could induce the psychological contract violation of OS users. This study would contributions to introduce the psychological contract violation of the OS users from the OSs technical support ending in IS field, to introduce three types of justice as the antecedents of psychological contract violation, and to empirically validate the impact of psychological contract violation both on the beneficial and retributive behavioral intentions of OS users. For practice, the results of this study could contribute to make more comprehensive OS user protection policy and consumer relationship management practices of OS vendor.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.219-226
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• 2019

This study was conducted to understand the overall status of the monitoring program for pesticide residues in foods of South Korea. Further propositions for its improvement were made, and from this study, the status on this program can be summarized as follows. In South Korea, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) is responsible for overall control of pesticide residue monitoring. Depending on the time of monitoring (sampling at distribution or production step), the government agency responsible for monitoring is different: MFDS, Regional Offices of Food and Drug Safety and local governments are responsible for monitoring of foods at the distribution step, while the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS) and local governments are responsible for monitoring of foods in the production step (partially at sale and distribution steps). According to purpose of monitoring, domestic monitoring programs could be divided into two types: MFDS's "Residue Survey" and NAQS's "National Residue Survey" are conducted mainly for risk assessment purposes and various monitoring programs by the Regional Offices of Food and Drug Safety and local governments are conducted mainly for regulation purposes. For imported foods, monitoring should be conducted at both steps of customs clearance and distribution: the MFDS and the Regional Offices of Food and Drug Safety are responsible for the former, and for the latter, local governments are also responsible. However, it appeared that systematic and consistent monitoring programs are not being conducted for imported foods at the distribution step. Based on the information described above and more detailed information included in this paper, the following proposals for improving the monitoring program were forwarded: i) further clarification of monitoring program purpose, ii) strengthening of the monitoring program for imported foods, iii) providing the public with monitoring results by publication of an annual report and database. It is thought that exhaustive review on the pesticide residue monitoring program and efforts for its improvement are needed in order to assure both food safety and the success of the recently begun positive list system (PLS).

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.57-70
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• 2021

As COVID-19 spreads, people's interest in smart learning that can do non-face-to-face learning is increasing nowadays. In this study, we aim to empirically analyze how users' thoughts on COVID-19 and the information quality and system quality of smart learning systems affect users' acceptance of smart learning and examine the effect of perceived sensitivity and severity of COVID-19 on the satisfaction and use of smart learning through concerns about the risk of transmission. In addition, we examined the influence of information quality composed of content quality and interaction quality and system quality composed of system accessibility and functionality on the use of smart learning through user satisfaction. To verify the validity of the proposed model, we conducted a survey on 334 users with experience in using smart learning, and performed the analysis using Smart PLS 3.0. According to the analysis results, among information quality and system quality, only functionality has a positive (+) effect on the satisfaction of smart learning, and satisfaction has a positive (+) effect on the usage behavior. However, it is found that accessibility among system quality do not affect satisfaction, and concern about the risk of transmission has a negative effect on satisfaction. This study can provide meaningful guidelines to researchers when researching smart learning to support students' learning in a pandemic situation of a new infectious disease, such as COVID-19. It will also be able to provide useful implications for educational institutions and companies related to smart learning.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.152-157
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• 2023

This study was aimed to investigate pesticides residue levels in nuts and seeds distributed in Gyeonggi-do. We investigated nuts and seeds in 131 products, which is pumpkin seeds (n=17), sunflower (n=12), sesame (n=23), perilla (n=11), peanut (n=18), almond (n=8), chestnut (n=6), walnut (n=14), pine nut (n=3), pecan (n=4), macadamia (n=3), brazil nut (n=5), cashew nut (n=4) and ginkgo nut (n=3). As a result of evaluating 339 pesticide residues, eight out of 131 samples were detected at the range of 0.01-0.07 mg/kg. Additionally, 7 out of 8 detected samples exceeded MRLs (Maximum Residue Limits) and 85% of them were imported. Pyraclostrobin applied on the positive list system (PLS) was detected in five Chinese pumpkin seeds samples, and the range was 0.02-0.04 mg/kg. In Indian and Korean sesame seeds, pendimethalin, boscalid, and bifenthrin were detected at 0.04, 0.05, and 0.06 mg/kg, respectively. The ratio of estimated daily intake (EDI) to acceptable daily intake (ADI) was 0.002-0.372%, indicating that the risk level was safe.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 2005

To search of a new porcine pheromonal odorants for biostimulation control system technologies to offer a potentially useful and practical way to improve reproductive efficiency in livestock species, the holographic quantitative structure activity relationship (HQSAR) model between odorants, 2-phenoxytetrahydrofurane (A), 2-cyclohexyl-oxytetrahydrofurane (B), derivatives and binding affinity constants (p[Od.]/sub 50/) for porcine odorant-binding protein (pOBP) as receptor of pig pheromones were derivated and disscused. The binding affinity constants of cyclohexyl substituents (A) for pOBP were higher (A>B) than that of phenyl substituents (B). It was revealed that the optimum HQSAR model XI using PLS analyses had a fragment length (5∼8) with chirality at 5 components and hologram length 97 bin, which had a cross-validated q²(predictablities) of 0.916, and a conventional correlation coefficient r² (fitness) of 0.988, respectively. From the atomic contribution, the C3 and C5 atom in 2-oxyfuryl group contributed to binding affinity constants, whereas the central carbon atom in tert-butyl group on the cyclohexyl ring and the C4 atom of furyl group parts showed no contribution.