We investigate two abnormal CME-Storm pairs that occurred on 2014 September 10 - 12 and 2015 March 15 - 17, respectively. The first one was a moderate geomagnetic storm (Dstmin  -75 nT) driven by the X1.6 high speed flare-associated CME (1267 km s−1) in AR 12158 (N14E02) near solar disk center. The other was a very intense geomagnetic storm (Dstmin  -223 nT) caused by a CME with moderate speed (719 km s−1) and associated with a filament eruption accompanied by a weak flare (C9.1) in AR 12297 (S17W38). Both CMEs have large direction parameters facing the Earth and southward magnetic field orientation in their solar source region. In this study, we inspect the structure of Interplanetary Flux Ropes (IFRs) at the Earth estimated by using the torus fitting technique assuming self-similar expansion. As results, we find that the moderate storm on 2014 September 12 was caused by small-scale southward magnetic fields in the sheath region ahead of the IFR. The Earth traversed the portion of the IFR where only the northward fields are observed. Meanwhile, in case of the 2015 March 17 storm, our IFR analysis revealed that the Earth passed the very portion where only the southward magnetic fields are observed throughout the passage. The resultant southward magnetic field with long- duration is the main cause of the intense storm. We suggest that 3D magnetic field geometry of an IFR at the IFR-Earth encounter is important and the strength of a geomagnetic storm is strongly affected by the relative location of the Earth with respect to the IFR structure.

The explosion of new technologies is transforming the retail industry. In particular, a range of smart technologies (e.g., tablets, smartphones, WiFi, augmented reality, apps, video, virtual catalogs, smart tags) are providing fashion retailers with innovative ways to capitalize on strategic opportunities (Anderson & Exkstein, 2013). Due to the growth of smart in-store technology (SIST) applications in the retailing environment, it is critical for academic researchers to understand consumer responses to these technologies. The technology acceptance model (TAM) (Davis et al., 1989; Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1992) is one framework for investigating consumer adoption of SIST. However, research has been equivocal concerning the belief-attitude-intention linkage, especially the mediating role of attitude in TAM. As an attempt to address this issue, this study examines how well TAM explains consumer adoption of SIST. Online survey data were collected from three different SIST settings (i.e., Virtual Mirror vs. Socially Interactive Dressing Room vs. RFID Music Tag). A total of 657 individuals completed the questionnaires resulting in a 27.56% response rate. Excluding participants with incomplete data, responses from 625 individuals (203 for Virtual Mirror; 209 for Socially Interactive Dressing Room; 213 for RFID Music Tag) were included for data analysis. A series of hierarchical multiple regressions was used to analyze the data. Our major findings include: (a) perceived ease of use was found to be a suppressor variable and thus dropped from the model; (b) perceived usefulness was significant in Virtual Mirror (β = .33, p < .01), Socially Interactive Dressing Room (β = .26, p < .01) and RFID Music Tag (β = .18, p < .01); (c) perceived enjoyment was found to be the best predictor of adoption intention of: Virtual Mirror (β = .46, p < .001); Socially Interactive Dressing Room (β = .61, p < .001); and RFID Music Tag (β = .67, p < .001); (d) attitude has a small effect above and beyond the effects of perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment; and (e) attitude partially mediated the belief-intention linkage in Virtual Mirror. In Socially Interactive Dressing Room and RFID Music Tag, attitude fully mediated the usefulness-intention linkage while it partially mediated the enjoyment-intention relationship. Our findings have implications for improving consumer adoption of SIST. Our data indicate that, although perceived usefulness is clearly important, perceived enjoyment is even more important and should not be overlooked in SIST execution and management. Our results imply that consumers may be willing to tolerate a SIST that does not do a useful task in order to enjoy the SIST experience itself. This finding also suggests that no amount of usefulness will be able to compensate for a SIST that does not provide enjoyment.