Virtual communities (VCs) have emerged as a new form of business model in the electronic business field. Understanding the motivations behind members’ participation is essential for VC organizers. VC participation behavioral intention is a major factor to shape VC participation behavior and it is very important to investigate factors influencing VC behavioral intention. Using the Triandis model...

Individualism-collectivism is one dimension of culture that gave rise to much research in the field. This dimension in essence captures variations in the ways in which individuals relate to others within society. In individualistic societies (e.g., North America), individuals are understood to be autonomous and relatively independent of others, and there tends to be a clear distinction between ...

Organizations and governments continue to advance toward using electronic means to interact with their customers. However, the use of this medium presents an access-toservice issue for people across the digital divide who do not have private Internet access from their homes. Publicly-available computers connected to the Internet are an important and expanding source of Internet access for consu...

A digital system such as language uniquely sustains propositional thought (Watzlawick, Beavin, & Jackson, 1967). For conceiving and then communicating a connection between, say, mass and energy or mice and men, a picture finally is not worth a thousand words. However, language expresses more than ideas. Effortlessly, automatically, receivers infer from speakers’ language styles their attitudes,...

OBJECTIVES (i) To examine attitudes of medical and nursing staff towards reporting incidents (adverse events and near-misses), and (ii) to identify measures to facilitate incident reporting. DESIGN Qualitative study. In March 2002, semistructured questions were administered to five focus groups--one each for consultants, registrars, resident medical officers, senior nurses, and junior nurses....