The authors examine the implications of electronic shopping for consumers, retailers, and manufacturers. They assume that near-term technological developments will offer consumers unparalleled opportunities to locate and compare product offerings. They examine these advantages as a function of typical consumer goals and the types of products and services being sought and offer conclusions regarding consumer incentives and disincentives to purchase through interactive home shopping vis-à-vis traditional retail formats. The authors discuss implications for industry structure as they pertain to competition among retailers, competition among manufacturers, and retailer-manufacturer relationships.

Interactive home shopping: Consumer, retailer, and manufacturer incentives to participate in

No other resource is as necessary for life as water, and providing it universally in a safe, reliable and affordable manner is one of the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century. Here, we consider new opportunities and approaches for the application of nanotechnology to enhance the efficiency and affordability of water treatment and wastewater reuse. Potential development and implementation barriers are discussed along with research needs to overcome them and enhance water security. This Perspective provides an overview of the potential aspects of water treatment and cleaning in which nanotechnology could play an important role.

Emerging opportunities for nanotechnology to enhance water security

A system and method may allow for flexible transaction processing based on for example the risk assessment of a transaction and/or a user or party to a transaction. Based on a risk level, for example, a level of authentication for the transaction may be set or altered.

System and method for risk based authentication

This paper seeks to enrich our understanding of research on technology adoption by examining a potential boundary condition, related to culture, of the fairly recently developed model of technology adoption and use-i.e., unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Based on the cultural differences between the U.S. and China, we outline the similarities and dissimilarities between the hypotheses specified in the original UTAUT, which was validated in the U.S., and how the relationships will play in the context of employees in China. We conducted an empirical study in a single organization that operated both in the U.S. and China and collected longitudinal data from a total of over 300 employees in one business unit in each of the two countries. Our study confirmed our hypotheses that social influence will be more uniformly important across all employees, without contingencies related to gender, age and volunatariness that were found to be the case in the U.S. As we theorized, other ...

Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology: U.S. Vs. China

The development of polymeric luminescent nanomaterials for biomedical applications has recently attracted a large amount of attention due to the remarkable advantages of these materials compared with small organic dyes and fluorescent inorganic nanomaterials. Among these polymeric luminescent nanomaterials, polymeric luminescent nanomaterials based on dyes with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties should be of great research interest due to their unique AIE properties, the designability of polymers and their multifunctional potential. In this review, the recent advances in the design and biomedical applications of polymeric luminescent nanomaterials based on AIE dyes is summarized. Various design strategies for incorporation of these AIE dyes into polymeric systems are included. The potential biomedical applications such as biological imaging, and use in biological sensors and theranostic systems of these polymeric AIE-based nanomaterials have also been highlighted. We trust this review will attract significant interest from scientists from different research fields in chemistry, materials, biology and interdisciplinary areas.

Polymeric AIE-based nanoprobes for biomedical applications: recent advances and perspectives.

Foreword John Patrick Introduction: Peer-to-peer Computing: The Evolution of a Dirsuptive Technology Ramesh Subramanian, Quinnipiac University, USA Brian D. Goodman, IBM, USA Section 1: Then and now - Understanding P2P spirit, networks, content distribution and data storage Chapter 1: Core Concepts in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networking Detlef Schoder, Kai Fischbach, and Christian Schmitt, University of Cologne, Germany Chapter 2: Peer-to-Peer Content Distribution Networks Choon Hoong Ding, Sarana Nutanong, Rajkumar Buyya, University of Melbourne, Australia Chapter 3: Using Peer-to-peer systems for Data Management Dinesh C. Verma, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, USA Chapter 4: Peer to Peer Information Storage and Discovery Systems Cristina Schmidt and Manish Parashar, Rutgers University, USA Section 2: Systems and assets - issues arising from decentralized networks in security and law Chapter 5 : Peer-to-Peer Security Issues in Nomadic Networks Ross Lee Graham, Mid-Sweden University, Sweden Chapter 6: Potential data security issues in a P2P network Sridhar Asvathanarayanan, X.L. America, Inc., USA Chapter 7: Security and Trust in P2P Systems Michael Bursell, Arcot Systems, Essex, UK Chapter 8: Peer to Peer Technology and the Copyright Crossroads Stacey Dogan, Northeastern University School of Law, Boston, USA Section 3: P2P Domain Proliferation - perspectives and influences of peer concepts on collaboration, web services and grid computing Chapter 9 : Personal Peer-to-Peer Collaboration based on Shared Objects Werner Geyer, Li-Te Cheng, Michael J. Muller, IBM T.J. Watson Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Juergen Vogel, University of Mannheim, Germany Chapter 10: Let me know what you know: ReachOut as a model for a P2P knowledge sharing network Vladimir Soroka, Michal Jacovi, Yoelle S. Maarek, IBM Haifa Research Lab, Haifa, Israel Chapter 11: Grid Economics: 10 Lessons from Finance for commercial sharing of IT resources Giorgos Cheliotis, IBM Research, Zurich, Switzerland, Chris Kenyon, IBM Research, Zurich Research Lab, Zurich, Switzerland Rajkumar Buyya, University of Melbourne, Australia Chapter 12: Applications of Web Services in Bioinformatics Xin Li & Aryya Gangopadhyay, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, MD, USA Chapter 13: Content Delivery Services in a Grid Environment Irwin Boutboul and Dikran S Meliksetian, IBM, Internet Technology

Peer to Peer Computing: The Evolution of a Disruptive Technology

A peer-to-peer network has a server that maintains a list of addresses of clients connected to the peer-to-peer network. The server generates seed lists for each of the clients connected to the network from the server maintained list. The clients conduct peer-to-peer searches using the seed list provided by the server. The seed lists may be either randomly generated or generated to facilitate network objectives. The clients may periodically request seed list refreshing. The peer-to-peer network may further include authentication and authorization search security checks.

Centrally enhanced peer-to-peer resource sharing method and apparatus

We report a new two-step tandem strategy combining two versatile “living” polymerization techniques, Pd−diimine catalyzed ethylene “living” polymerization and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), for the synthesis of functionalized polyethylene (PE) diblock copolymers containing an ethylene block and a functional monomer block, such as styrene and n-butyl acrylate. The key to the success of this tandem strategy is the development of a novel functionalized Pd−diimine catalyst, [(ArNC(Me)−(Me)CNAr)Pd(CH2)3C(O)O(CH2)2OC(O)C(CH3)2Br]+SbF6- (Ar = 2,6-(iPr)2C6H3) (3), which uniquely contains a 2-bromoisobutyryl substituting group on its chelate structure. This catalyst was synthesized by convenient equimolar reaction of the acetonitrile Pd−diimine adduct, [(ArNC(Me)−(Me)CNAr)Pd(CH3)(N⋮CMe)]+SbF6- (Ar = 2,6-(iPr)2C6H3) (1), with a functional acrylate monomer, 2-(2-bromoisobutyryloxy) ethyl acrylate (BIEA). The remarkable feature of 3 lies in its unprecedented ability to catalyze ethylene “living” polymer...

Synthesis of Block Copolymers of Ethylene with Styrene and n-Butyl Acrylate via a Tandem Strategy Combining Ethylene “Living” Polymerization Catalyzed by a Functionalized Pd−Diimine Catalyst with Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

A peer-to-peer network propagates searches from client to client. Resources within each client are selectively searched in response to authentication and authorization processes. Authentication information may be included in a search request or may be performed by an authentication process external to the client. Authorization is performed by a process external to the client. Only after authentication or authorization may resources of any particular client be accessed. The system allows for secure propagated searches and resource access in a peer-to-peer network environment. The network may further include a server for maintaining a list of clients connected to the peer-to-peer network in order to more efficiently facilitate peer-to-peer communications.

Secured and access controlled peer-to-peer resource sharing method and apparatus

Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a method, system, and storage medium for providing software and file distribution management. The method comprises loading a user profile for a client system into a server via an intelligent agent. The profile contains current software installed, files downloaded, and registered channels for the client system. The method also includes listening in to registered channels by an intelligent agent resident on the client system. If a new message is received, the method includes determining if the new message is applicable to the client system. The applicable messages result in querying the client system to execute a task based upon the message, executing the task in accordance with the client system's preferences, and updating a look-up system with the results of the task execution.

Ramesh Subramanian

Papers

Peer to Peer Computing: The Evolution of a Disruptive Technology

Centrally enhanced peer-to-peer resource sharing method and apparatus

Synthesis of Block Copolymers of Ethylene with Styrene and n-Butyl Acrylate via a Tandem Strategy Combining Ethylene “Living” Polymerization Catalyzed by a Functionalized Pd−Diimine Catalyst with Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

Secured and access controlled peer-to-peer resource sharing method and apparatus

Method, system, and storage medium for providing intelligent distribution of software and files