Influence of the Web Vendor\u27s Interventions on Privacy-related Behaviors in E-commerce

Concern about information privacy is considered one of the most important issues in e-commerce. To deal with this concern in the context of self-regulation, e-commerce web sites have implemented measures such as posting privacy policies and displaying third party seals. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the level at which a web site addresses privacy has on the users\u27 perceptions and behavioral intentions during the initial interaction with the web site. A research model is presented and empirically tested by means of an experiment. The study showed that web vendors\u27 interventions had an overall effect on the user perceptions of information privacy in the site. However, having more privacy elements in the web site did not increase the favorable perceptions of the web site. The research model also incorporated other privacy related constructs such as general concern about online privacy and type of information

COVID‑19 vaccine distribution: exploring strategic alternatives for the greater good

The dire state of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis symbolized the urgency for efficient distribution and administration of vaccines to combat the virus as the most urgent public health service. This paper presents a prototype multi-criteria decision support model based on goal programming that can effectively support vaccination plans for the greater good of society. The optimization goals of the model include minimizing the number of fatalities and risk of spreading the disease, while complying with government health agency’s priority guidelines for vaccination. This study applied the model to a real-world dataset to demonstrate how it can be effectively applied as a decision support tool for vaccine distribution plans and manage future pandemics

Developing an innovative entity extraction method for unstructured data

The main goal of this study is to build high-precision extractors for entities such as Person and Organization as a good initial seed that can be used for training and learning in machine-learning systems, for the same categories, other categories, and across domains, languages, and applications. The improvement of entities extraction precision also increases the relationships extraction precision, which is particularly important in certain domains (such as intelligence systems, social networking, genetic studies, healthcare, etc.). These increases in precision improve the end users’ experience quality in using the extraction system because it lowers the time that users spend for training the system and correcting outputs, focusing more on analyzing the information extracted to make better data-driven decisions

A framework for accessible m-government implementation

The great popularity and rapid diffusion of mobile technologies at worldwide level has also been recognised by the public sector, leading to the creation of m-government. A major challenge for m-government is accessibility – the provision of an equal service to all citizens irrespective of their psychical, mental or technical capabilities. This paper sketches the profiles of six citizen groups: Visually Impaired, Hearing Impaired, Motor Impaired, Speech Impaired, Cognitive Impaired and Elderly. M-government examples that target the aforementioned groups are discussed and a framework for accessible m-government implementation with reference to the W3C Mobile Web Best Practices is proposed

Towards a Framework to Understand M-Government

The emergence of mobile technology has enabled the transition from e-government to m-government. Despite the great potential and positive expectation for m-government applications, m-government is still in the infancy stage and its applications are limited. This paper bases on the theory of task-technology-fit (TTTF) and proposes a framework to understand mobile technology and its implications in m-government applications. Based on the framework proposed, we reviewed mobile technology and government tasks, and categorized current m-government applications. Benefits and challenges of m-government applications are also discussed

Innovation for creating a smart future

tToday, we live in a dynamic and turbulent global community. The wave of mega-trends, including rapidchange in globalization and technological advances, is creating new market forces. For any organizationto survive and prosper in such an environment, innovation is imperative. However, innovation is nolonger just for creating value to benefit individuals, organizations, or societies. The ultimate purpose ofinnovation should be much more far reaching, helping create a smart future where people can enjoy thebest quality of life possible. Thus, innovation must search for intelligent solutions to tackle major socialills, seek more proactive approaches to predict the uncertain future, and pursue strategies to removebarriers to the smart future. This study explores the detailed requirements of a smart future, includingboth hardware types and soft social/cultural components

Quel cosmopolitisme à l’ère des nationalismes ?

Influencés par le modèle dominant en Europe de l’Etat-nation, les mouvements irrédentistes étaient très actifs dans les régions de l’Empire ottoman, car les divers immigrants transportaient en Egypte leurs nationalismes respectifs. Ce phénomène est étudié à travers la colonie grecque d’Alexandrie. Entre 1919 et 1922, les relations entre la colonie grecque et la population égyptienne étaient tributaires des deux nationalismes. Si la ville était administrée par des institutions multiethniques, les institutions ethniques étaient les plus nombreuses, ce qui entraînait des frictions à de nombreuses occasions. L’importance de ces conflits de nationalismes au sein de la ville d’Alexandrie montre les limites du mythe de la cité cosmopolite par excellence.Since the dominant model in Europe has become the nation-state and irredentist movements have been active in the ottoman regions, the immigrants from these territories transport their respective nationalisms to Egypt. The phenomenon is examined through the paradigm of the Alexandrian Greek colon. The relations of the Greek colony with the Egyptian population are undermined by their respective nationalisms, especially during the period 1919-1922. Moreover, although the city is administrated by multiethnical institutions, it is the ethnical institutions (chambers of commerce, hospitals, associations…) that are prevailing, while an antagonism is observed among the Alexandrian ethnic groups on several occasions. The many and often conflicting nationalisms enclosed in Alexandria draw the limits of its myth as a cosmopolitan city par excellence

Novel role for polycystin-1 in modulating cell proliferation through calcium oscillations in kidney cells

Objectives: Polycystin-1 (PC1), a signalling receptor regulating Ca2+-permeable cation channels, is mutated in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, which is typically characterized by increased cell proliferation. However, the precise mechanisms by which PC1 functions on Ca2+ homeostasis, signalling and cell proliferation remain unclear. Here, we investigated the possible role of PC1 as a modulator of non-capacitative Ca2+ entry (NCCE) and Ca2+ oscillations, with downstream effects on cell proliferation. Results and discussion: By employing RNA interference, we show that depletion of endogenous PC1 in HEK293 cells leads to an increase in serum-induced Ca2+ oscillations, triggering nuclear factor of activated T cell activation and leading to cell cycle progression. Consistently, Ca2+ oscillations and cell proliferation are increased in PC1-mutated kidney cystic cell lines, but both abnormal features are reduced in cells that exogenously express PC1. Notably, blockers of the NCCE pathway, but not of the CCE, blunt abnormal oscillation and cell proliferation. Our study therefore provides the first demonstration that PC1 modulates Ca2+ oscillations and a molecular mechanism to explain the association between abnormal Ca2+ homeostasis and cell proliferation in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease