Since the introduction of the rocket e‐book several years ago, e‐books have promised to revolutionize the way we read. Corporate giants Microsoft and Adobe Systems have developed…
Abstract
Since the introduction of the rocket e‐book several years ago, e‐books have promised to revolutionize the way we read. Corporate giants Microsoft and Adobe Systems have developed sophisticated e‐book reader software that enhances the electronic reading experience. Hardware manufacturers such as Gemstar, Franklin, and Cytale continue to produce new reading devices. Yet despite the numerous advantages offered by various e‐book readers and despite the widespread popularity of personal digital assistants (PDAs) and pocket PCs capable of reading electronic books, the e‐book market has thus far failed to materialize. Aside from institutional purchases of netLibrary titles, sales figures for e‐books have been disappointing, due in large part to digital rights management barriers that have adversely affected available content. Publishers, fearing Napster‐like piracy of digital content, seem reluctant to develop a viable e‐book business model whose success could undermine the traditional, paper‐based publishing industry.
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Dennis T. Clark, Susan P. Goodwin, Todd Samuelson and Catherine Coker
The purpose of this paper is to assess initial user perceptions and use of Amazon's Kindle e‐book reader.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess initial user perceptions and use of Amazon's Kindle e‐book reader.
Design/methodology/approach
Thirty‐six participants were provided with a Kindle e‐book reader and $100 to spend at Amazon. After one month of use focus groups were conducted to elicit user feedback about their experiences and overall first impressions.
Findings
Analysis of the discussions indicates overall interest in the Kindle as a basic reading device for fiction. However, its use in an academic setting is limited due to content availability and licensing issues, graphic display capabilities, organizational issues, and its prohibitive cost.
Originality/value
This is the first research paper of its kind to report on qualitative research conducted on user perceptions of the Kindle e‐book reader.
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Svetlana De Vos, Jasmina Ilicic, Pascale G. Quester and Roberta Carolyn Crouch
With limited research on help-seeking in the social marketing domain, this research takes a unique perspective through the lens of McGuire’s psychological framework examining the…
Abstract
Purpose
With limited research on help-seeking in the social marketing domain, this research takes a unique perspective through the lens of McGuire’s psychological framework examining the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations (or perceived help-seeking benefits) influencing help-seeking attitudes and behaviour in at-risk gamblers. This paper aims to examine the role that response efficacy has on the relationship between perceived help-seeking benefits and help-seeking behavioural intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 used focus groups to explore the positive influence of help-seeking in at-risk gamblers. Studies 2 and 3 used online surveys to further test the direct and indirect impacts of perceived help-seeking benefits on attitudes and behavioural intentions. Structural equation modelling with multi-group analysis (low/high response efficacy) tested the hypotheses.
Findings
Both cognitive and affective psychological motives manifest as distinct intrinsic (well-being, self-esteem and self-control) and extrinsic motivators (social influence) that influence at-risk gamblers’ help-seeking attitudes and intentions to seek professional services. These perceived benefits influence help-seeking intentions directly (for those high in response efficacy) and indirectly via serial attitudinal mediators.
Practical implications
The results provide a guide for practitioners to enhance the promotion of professional help. Practitioners should develop marketing communication messages centred on the specific psychological needs of at-risk gamblers to encourage help-seeking behaviour including an emphasis on assertion, affiliation, independence, utilitarian, tension reduction, ego defence and consistency.
Originality/value
This research is the first, to the knowledge, to examine the psychological motivations that encourage help-seeking in at-risk gamblers, demonstrating that both preservation and growth motives influence help-seeking attitudes and the decision to act.
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This annotated listing of 131 United States Government bibliographies with 1973 imprints partially represents the broad scope of Federal interest. THE MONTHLY CATALOG OF U.S…
Abstract
This annotated listing of 131 United States Government bibliographies with 1973 imprints partially represents the broad scope of Federal interest. THE MONTHLY CATALOG OF U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS was the primary index searched in locating these documents, though other conventional and unconventional methods were used. Since the search cut‐off date was the February 1974 MONTHLY CATALOG, a number of 1973 bibliographies may not be listed here. However, it is the compiler's objective to include all 1973 bibliographies in a forthcoming Pierian Press publication, BIBLIOGRAPHY OF UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT BIBLIOGRAPHIES 1968–1973.
Certain elements of Hayek’s work are prominent precursors to the modern field of complex adaptive systems, including his ideas on spontaneous order, his focus on market processes…
Abstract
Certain elements of Hayek’s work are prominent precursors to the modern field of complex adaptive systems, including his ideas on spontaneous order, his focus on market processes, his contrast between designing and gardening, and his own framing of complex systems. Conceptually, he was well ahead of his time, prescient in his formulation of novel ways to think about economies and societies. Technically, the fact that he did not mathematically formalize most of the notions he developed makes his insights hard to incorporate unambiguously into models. However, because so much of his work is divorced from the simplistic models proffered by early mathematical economics, it stands as fertile ground for complex systems researchers today. I suggest that Austrian economists can create a progressive research program by building models of these Hayekian ideas, and thereby gain traction within the economics profession. Instead of mathematical models the suite of techniques and tools known as agent-based computing seems particularly well-suited to addressing traditional Austrian topics like money, business cycles, coordination, market processes, and so on, while staying faithful to the methodological individualism and bottom-up perspective that underpin the entire school of thought.
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Tom Schultheiss and Linda Mark
The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the…
Abstract
The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.