Den traditionella detaljhandel har utsatts för en ökad konkurrens från e-handelsföretag och måste idag kunna erbjuda liknande förutsättningar för att behålla sina kunder. Idag är digitala betalningsmedel en allt mer förekommande betalningsmetod i affärer. Modehandeln är idag en av de växande branscherna där digitala betalningsmedel tar mer och mer plats. Tidigare forskning har studerat hur kundacceptansen är gentemot digitala betalningsmedel. Men det finns en bristfällighet i tidigare studier ur ett företagsperspektiv. Därav har denna studie valt att studera vilka faktorer som påverkar användaracceptansen till digitala betalningsmedel ur ett företagsperspektiv. Men även om butikers användaracceptans till ny teknologi och digitala betalningsmedel basers på samma faktorer som för konsumenterna. Studien är begränsad till att enbart studera fysiska butiker på två köpcenter. Studien har använda sig av två modeller som har varit centrala inom tidigare forskning. Den första modellen är Technology acceptance model är har varit en central modell vid analys av kundacceptans av ny teknologi. Den andra modellen är Technology-Organization-Environment och har varit central vid studier angående hur acceptansen av ny teknologi är ur ett företagsperspektiv. För att kunna besvara problemformuleringen har först en kartläggning utförts, av vilka digitala betalningsmedel som finns på marknaden. Intervjuer på de två utvalda köpcentrena, Emporia och Nova lund, har även utförts. Intervjufrågorna som har ställts är baserade på den egenskapade modellen i uppsatsen. Slutligen har uppsatsen kommit fram till att den egenskapade modellen är applicerbar. Variablerna bestämmelser ovanifrån, användarvänlighet och befintlig teknik är de avgörande faktorerna vid företags användaracceptans till digitala betalningsmedel.

Financial industry in Taiwan is facing the challenge of over-banking. When more and more banks are established and offering a variety of financial goods or services to their customers, the competition continues to heighten. Banks are increasingly taking the advantages of electronic commerce to provide e-banking services, intending to maximize their business profits. In this study, we use a technology-organization-environment framework to propose an e-banking adoption model. Seven factors, including perceived direct and indirect benefits of the e-banking adoption, financial readiness, technical readiness, mimetic pressures, coercive pressure, and normative pressures, are tested from 255 firms. Statistical analysis and the implications of findings are discussed in the following sections.

Abstract A small opencast coal mine has been developed over previous underground workings in the Malvern Hills, inland Canterbury, New Zealand. The coal measure strata dip at ~45° to the southeast, and consist of finely laminated mudrocks with multiple coal seams of varying thickness. Production is in the range 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes per annum from two principal seams with an aggregate thickness of ~4.5m. The open pit has been designed with footwall batters parallel to bedding, vertical bench separation of 15m, and the highwall formed to a nominal 4V:1H. Preliminary examination of the open pit mine site in 2003 indicated that footwall failures involved de-lamination due to drying out on exposure, and buckling and/or shearing along bedding surfaces. During mine development it became apparent that the batters formed easily where thin (less than 0.3m thick) coal seams were present in the sequence. In the 2004 campaign the pit floor was lowered, with a new batter and bench formed to expose the 3m thick Main Seam coal. The day after completion of this batter, a large buckle failure occurred involving the entire length of the pit (85m along strike), and a 2m thick intact slab with a total volume of ~3700m³ translated down dip 6.2m on the base of a thin coal seam to form a pronounced buckle at the toe. Even though footwall batters are cut to the angle of dip, which is entirely realistic geotechnically, the de-coupling and buckling that occurred compromised the safety and economics of the whole operation. Buckling failure in moderately dipping soft rock sequences has been identified in footwall slopes of coal mining operations. Models used in the literature to simulate similar footwall failures include: the Euler solution using column and beam buckling theory to calculate the kinematic feasibility of a slab-buckle, conceptual modelling using a base friction table, and numerical modelling using distinct element analysis. Back analysis of the Malvern Hills failure was necessary to investigate the controls on the footwall stability, and for future mine design. Engineering geological description of the pit and slab materials was done, and an engineering geological model created. Samples of the slab material and failure surface were collected by coring and trenching, with testing of these materials to establish the required parameters for use in the Euler solution. Back analysis using three different forms of the Euler solution provided unrealistic results that overestimated the overall length of a stable slope by more than 10 times. An engineering geology reassessment was undertaken, and a number of inadequacies in the Euler solution methodology were identified particularly in relation to pore pressure and elasticity considerations. Given that the Malvern Hills toe-buckle slab failure displays both elastic and plastic deformation components in the soft mudrocks, and the slab itself cannot be considered as homogenous, reservations must exist about conventional predictive analytical techniques for pit slope failures of this type. No further large scale slab-buckle failures have developed at the mine site, in part because of the slow rate of coal extraction, but precautionary drainage of the footwall slopes has been undertaken to improve overall batter stability. The location of the slab-buckle failure on a critically positioned pre-sheared thin coal seam with full hydrostatic head is considered the most probable cause, rather than inherent instability of the generic bench and batter arrangement adopted. The adoption of a precedent based engineering geology approach to future mine design is considered the most appropriate solution in the circumstances.

The aim of the current study is to investigate novel therapeutic/treatment methods and outcome measurement for children with Idiopathic Toe Walking (ITW). Fifteen typically developing (TD) children and 15 children with ITW, aged between 4 to 10 years old, participated. The participants performed a gait exam including 30 barefoot walking trials over three 4-meter walkways before and after a whole-body vibration intervention. Vibration perception threshold tests were also conducted before and after the vibration intervention. In the gait exams, each of the walking surfaces represented a different tactile stimulus and the vibration intervention included standing on a whole body vibration platform for 60 seconds. Kinematics were collected at 100 Hz with a seven-camera 3-D motion analysis system. Walking surface and vibration intervention were the independent variables. Temporal-spatial gait parameters such as velocity, cadence, step length, and step width were measured. Heel rise occurrence (HR32) and vibration perception threshold (VPT) were also calculated as dependent variables. Walking surface significantly altered the gait parameter of both TD children and children with ITW. Vibration intervention altered the VPT scores of both TD children and children with ITW. Manipulated surface and excessive vibration may be important in the development of therapeutic/treatment methods for children with Idiopathic Toe Walking. HR32 is a novel calculation designed to distinguish on aspect of the toe-walking gait pattern. It significantly identified toe-walking patterns and quantified treatment results. Children with ITW appeared to have less toe-walking on the gravel surface. Walking on gravel surface is a potential novel method to reduce toe-walking immediately with no negative after-effects.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2005. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (November 27, 2006) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This design accomplished Tic-Tac-Toe game on Xilinx Spartan-IIE FPGA platformin VHDL. Firstly, designing the circuits and wiring on experiment board. Secondly,designing the algorithm and programming it in Active-HDL. Thirdly, synthesizingit in Synplicity Synplify Pro and then implementing it in Xilinx ISE developingsuite. Finally download it onto FPGA to run it. This design allows two players to play Tic-Tac-Toe game on the experiment board.Pressing the key, the corresponding LED will be light up to represent thechessman. There are two LEDs indicate whose turn next is. If the grid one wantsto place chessman has been taken up, then LCD will alarm it and ask the playerto replace it. The first player who forms 3 chessmen in a row, column or diagonalwins, LCD will display it and the three LEDs in the winning line will blink. If nobody wins after filling the whole chessboard, then LCD displays draw.

Blockchain technology brings new opportunities and has the ability to solve current flaws with our traditional central systems, still, blockchain is not a common practice. This thesis revolves around vital factors that affect the implementation of blockchain (BC) technology in modern business. By identifying the potential advantages for BC systems, we look at why BC systems are not commonly applied in organizations. There seem to be several factors within three categories; technological, organizational, and environmental (TOE) that serve as obstacles or opportunities for the modern business to adopt blockchain technology despite the apparent advantages that the innovation promotes. The purpose is to identify what factors from a TOE perspective play a decisive role in the adoption process of innovations, in this case, BC. The aim is to confirm factors from previous research and contribute with new factors within the TOE framework that can assist modern business in the adoption process. Empirical data of this thesis are derived from interviews from various organizations from different industries, which is analyzed by content analysis method.  The main limitation of this thesis is the lack of knowledge regarding BC technology among employees of organizations. A significant challenge has been to find possible interview participants to collect data necessary for the research question.  Despite that, we succeeded in collecting enough data to be able to answer our research question. This thesis confirms and contributes to new factors in the field of blockchain adoption in modern business.

Tato práce popisuje další vývoj výukového sériového manipulátoru se třemi stupni volnosti. Práce se zabývá jednoduchou mechanickou úpravou manipulátoru, ale především pak softwarovou částí. Výsledkem je pak hra piškvorky, kdy manipulátor umožňuje hru proti lidskému protějšku. První část práce je věnována zlepšení inicializačního procesu manipulátoru a následně pak i návrhem vhodné polohové regulace. V další části je manipulátor rozšířen o jeden stupeň volnosti. Součástí je i návrh koncového efektoru vhodného pro psaní. Z takto upraveného manipulátoru je sestaven kinematický model vhodný pro real-time řízení. Dalším krokem v práci je návrh samotné aplikace hry piškvorky. Je navržen vhodný hrací algoritmus, včetně detekce a rozpoznání znaků v hracím poli pomocí kamery. Následně je vše implementováno do real-time aplikace, kde komunikaci s uživatelem zajišťuje navržené uživatelské rozhraní.

Background:Idiopathic toe walking (ITW) is a diagnosis of exclusion and represents a spectrum of severity. Treatment for ITW includes observation and a variety of conservative treatment methods, with surgical intervention often reserved for severe cases. Previous studies reviewing treatment outcomes are often difficult to interpret secondary to a mixture of case severity. The goal of this study was to review surgical outcomes in patients with severe ITW who had failed prior conservative treatment, as well as determine differences in outcomes based on the type of surgery performed.Methods:After IRB approval, all patients with surgical management of severe ITW at a single institution were identified. Zone II or zone III plantar flexor lengthenings were performed in all subjects. Clinical, radiographic, and motion analysis data were collected preoperatively and at 1 year following surgery.Results:Twenty-six patients (46 extremities) with a diagnosis of severe ITW from 2002 to 2017 were included. Zone II lengthenings were performed in 25 extremities (mean age=9.9 y) and zone III lengthenings were performed in 21 extremities (mean age=8.6 y). At the most recent follow-up, 100% of zone III lengthening extremities and 88% of zone II lengthening demonstrated decreased severity of ITW. Six extremities required additional treatment, all of which were initially managed with zone II lengthenings.Conclusions:Severe ITW or ITW that has not responded to conservative treatment may benefit from surgical intervention. More successful outcomes, including continued resolution of toe walking, were observed in subjects treated with zone III lengthenings.Level of Evidence:Level III - case series.

The great toe is the part of the foot that most often requires surgical intervention. The first metatarsophalangeal joint (FMTPJ) is the most prominent joint of the great toe. Primary causes of FMTPJ failure are rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthrosis and joint degeneration secondary to deformities such as hallux valgus, hallux rigidus or the trauma of previous surgery. FMTPJ prostheses are used to restore a measure of motion, correct deformities and relieve pain. FMTPJ replacement is most often indicated for elderly and less active patients but is contra-indicated for young, rheumatoid and active patients. The most common types of FMTPJ prostheses are made from silicone elastomer. Although these have been in use since the 1960's, there are many problems associated with these and all other types of FMTPJ prostheses. For example, recent research has shown that silicone elastomer metatarsophalangeal arthroplasties may cause severe, chronic silicone granulomatous disease. Also, previous studies of the pressure distribution under normal feet, and pathological feet before and after surgery, can be used to show that FMTPJ prostheses fail to restore normal weight-bearing. In this regard, FMTPJ arthroplasties perform little better than amputation. The reasons for the poor biomechanical performance of FMTPJ arthroplasty are not well documented. Existing theoretical models of FMTPJ function cannot be used to explain why almost all surgery of the first ray causes weight bearing to transfer to the lateral side of the foot. A new hypothesis of FMTPJ function was therefore formulated. It is known that the motions of the FMTPJ are linked to motions of the other bones of the foot and ankle because the strong fibrous tissues of the plantar aponeurosis connect the hallux to the calcaneus. However, it is hypothesised that the particular orientation of the bones at the final stages of the stance phase is crucial to the weight-bearing functions of the FMTPJ. A specification for a new prosthesis was therefore developed in accordance with the biomechanical principles contained in the hypothesis. Various potential designs of prosthesis were investigated, but a ball-and-socket configuration was selected because it appeared to allow the motions necessary to restore normal loading in the foot. Three slightly different prototype ball-and-socket FMTPJ prostheses were designed and manufactured. These prototypes were inserted into cadavers; which allowed the range of motion of the prototype prostheses to be assessed in relation to the constraints imposed by the strong fibrous attachments in the foot. Some of the rudimentary surgical techniques and the instruments required to insert and align the prostheses were developed. The various design features that had been incorporated in the different prototypes were assessed in terms of their relevance to ultimate performance of the arthroplasty. In order to verify the biomechanical design principles, cadaveric FMTP joints were tested for range of motion before and after inserting the prostheses. The results were compared to the range of motions obtained from a dry bone specimen, and to the most successful FMTPJ design to date- a double-stem silicone elastomer prosthesis. Finally, the results from all the tests were compared and discussed in relation to the original hypothesis about the function of the great toe. The results obtained from the new prosthesis were sufficiently encouraging to be able to recommend that the prototype be manufactured for further clinical trials. The new prosthesis was found to simulate the conditions that are necessary to re-establish normal weight-bearing patterns in the foot; such as an elevated centre of rotation for the proximal end of the first metatarsal bone, tension in the plantar aponeurosis, mobile bones in the arch, and weight-bearing by the first metatarsal. Previous prostheses used in FMTPJ arthroplasty are believed to be inadequate in that they do not restore at least one of these conditions, which ultimately lead to implant failure. Within the limits of cadaver trials, the new design has demonstrated that it has the potential to succeed.