Purpose In a dynamic environment, understanding the consumer’s behavior in an online market is critical for the development of online retailers’ strategies. In Egypt, although the number of internet users is growing rapidly, online shopping is at an early stage of development. In addition, there is a lack of knowledge about the behavior of Egyptians toward online shopping and the factors that influence their behavior. Design/methodology/approach To demonstrate the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM), this research applies an extended TAM to analyze the factors that impact the Egyptian consumers’ online shopping behavior. Structural equation modeling is used for fitting the data and testing the hypothesis. Findings Findings revealed that perceived enjoyment, perceived ease of use, social norm and perceived risk have significant influences on the respondents to shop online; while the site language effect was insignificant. Research limitations/implications This study has mainly four limitations. The first concerning the sample, it should cover diversified areas other than Cairo and should include respondents from different education levels. Future studies may consider using a national sample of current and potential online shoppers to be able to generalize the results. Second, the questionnaire should include questions about the levels of education and the level of income to analyze if they influence actual online shopping. Third, although the benefits of using online surveys such as reducing the costs and time and collecting data more accurately compared to paper-pencil surveys, the low response rate may lead to non-response bias. Finally, constructs such as website content, design, and response could be added to the TAM to examine different aspects of website functionalities on the actual shopping. Originality/value Considering that online shopping is still at the early stage of development in Egypt, there is a need to examine the factors that influence the behavior of Egyptian consumers while adopting online shopping. To fill in this gap, this study is analyzing the factors impacting the consumers’ decisions to shop online by examining a sample of students from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University. This study will contribute to providing an empirical application of the TAM on the Egyptian consumers in addition to, enhancing the knowledge of electronic retailers about the factors that drive consumers toward shopping online.

Peritidal ferruginous microbialites form the main bulk of the Middle Eocene ironstone deposits of the Bahariya Depression, Western Desert, Egypt. They include ferruginous stromatolites and microbially coated grains (ferruginous oncoids and ooids). Their internal structures reveal repeated cycles of microbial and Fe oxyhydroxide laminae. The microbial laminae consist of fossilised neutrophilic filamentous iron-oxidising bacteria. These bacteria oxidised the Fe(II)-rich acidic groundwater upon meeting the marine water at an approximately neutral pH. The iron oxyhydroxide laminae were initially precipitated as amorphous iron oxhydroxides and subsequently recrystallised into nanocrystalline goethite during early diagenesis. Organic remains such as proteinaceous compounds, lipids, carbohydrates and carotenoids are preserved and can be identified by Raman spectroscopy. The ferruginous microbialites were subjected to post-depositional subaerial weathering associated with sea-level retreat and subsurface alteration by continued ascent of the Fe(II)-rich acidic groundwater. At this stage, another iron-oxidising bacterial generation prevailed in the acidic environment. The acidity of the groundwater was caused by oxidation of pyrite in the underlying Cenomanian Bahariya formation. The positive iron isotopic ratios and presence of ferrous and ferric iron sulphates may result from partial iron oxidation along the redox boundary in an oxygen-depleted environment.

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Abstract. The Umm Nar BIF was formed in a sedimentary environment. It is confined to an upper stratigraphic zone of pre-Pan-African metamorphosed shelf deposits. During the Pan-African deformational history, the BIF and the host metasediments were tectonically overlain by ophiolitic m61ange succession. The metasediments and the m61ange were subjected to a major folding phase and then thrust over the "Shaitian" sheared granite, prior to the intrusion of syn-to late-orogenic granitoids. The BIF is divisible into two main types: oxide-bands including magnetite and hematite, and oxide-silicate bands including magnetite, hematite and stilpnomelane. The associated gangues are quartz, calcite, epidote, garnet, plagioclase, graphite and muscovite. Rhythmic banding and lamination, cross-lamination and flaser structure are the most prominent primary features in the IF bands. The iron minerals and the associated gangue show a variety of textural aspects and microscopic interrelationships which indicate successive episodes of mineral accumulation and formation, involving deposition, recrystallization, blastic growths, overgrowths, replacement and deformations, during continuous burial and subsequent tectonic deformations.Banded iron ores (BIF) are known to occur at several localities in the Central Eastern Desert, Egypt. It is generally accepted that BIFs are intimately associated with geosynclinal metavolcanics and metasediments ( = island arc volcanics and volcaniclastics), and pertain to one genetic type. The BIFs in Egypt are assumed to be of Late Proterozoic (Pan-African) age and considered either as (a) chemical marine sediments in a geosynclinal basin (e.g. E1 Shazly 1957; Rasmy 1968) or as (b) subaqueous volcanogenic deposits in an island arc environment (e.g. Ivanov et al. 1973;Garson and Shalaby 1976;Sims and James 1984; E1 Gaby et al. 1988 and El Sharkawi 1990). None of these models provides a comprehensive and convincing view on the sequence of crystallization of the iron minerals and the factors that controlled their formation.The study of the BIF at Umm Nar (Fig. 1) revealed that it differs in many aspects from the other Egyptian BIF occurrences described from other localities. The present work summarizes the results of megascopic and microscopic investigations carried out on the Umm Nar BIF, Eastern Desert, Egypt (Fig. 1). Attention was concentrated on the paragenesis of the BIF intervals, morphology of the iron minerals and associated gangues, and modifications resulting from metamorphism and deformation. The chronologic sequence of the mineral constituents and their modes of formation are discussed. A large number of oriented samples were collected, consideration being given to the setting of these samples in respect to the original bedding habitat and deformational features of the country rocks. The samples were petrographically examined under polarizing and reflecting microscopes. The identity of the iron silicates was confirmed by X-Ray diffractions (XRD).In order to clarify the chemical composition of th...