Liquid trust

Video performance with Live Sounds, Szuper Gallery (solo)

Liquid trust at ICA

Video Performance with Live Sound, Institute of Contemporary Art, London, (solo)

Closed-loop feedback computation model of dynamical reputation based on the local trust evaluation in business-to-consumer e-commerce

Trust and reputation are important factors that influence the success of both traditional transactions in physical social networks and modern e-commerce in virtual Internet environments. It is difficult to define the concept of trust and quantify it because trust has both subjective and objective characteristics at the same time. A well-reported issue with reputation management system in business-to-consumer (BtoC) e-commerce is the “all good reputation” problem. In order to deal with the confusion, a new computational model of reputation is proposed in this paper. The ratings of each customer are set as basic trust score events. In addition, the time series of massive ratings are aggregated to formulate the sellers’ local temporal trust scores by Beta distribution. A logical model of trust and reputation is established based on the analysis of the dynamical relationship between trust and reputation. As for single goods with repeat transactions, an iterative mathematical model of trust and reputation is established with a closed-loop feedback mechanism. Numerical experiments on repeated transactions recorded over a period of 24 months are performed. The experimental results show that the proposed method plays guiding roles for both theoretical research into trust and reputation and the practical design of reputation systems in BtoC e-commerce.

Dynamical trust and reputation computation model for B2C E-Commerce

Trust is one of the most important factors that influence the successful application of network service environments, such as e-commerce, wireless sensor networks, and online social networks. Computation models associated with trust and reputation have been paid special attention in both computer societies and service science in recent years. In this paper, a dynamical computation model of reputation for B2C e-commerce is proposed. Firstly, conceptions associated with trust and reputation are introduced, and the mathematical formula of trust for B2C e-commerce is given. Then a dynamical computation model of reputation is further proposed based on the conception of trust and the relationship between trust and reputation. In the proposed model, classical varying processes of reputation of B2C e-commerce are discussed. Furthermore, the iterative trust and reputation computation models are formulated via a set of difference equations based on the closed-loop feedback mechanism. Finally, a group of numerical simulation experiments are performed to illustrate the proposed model of trust and reputation. Experimental results show that the proposed model is effective in simulating the dynamical processes of trust and reputation for B2C e-commerce.

Trust in the German police

The relative levels of trust in the police are explored, using data from the fifth round of the European Social Survey (ESS) which covered mainly 28 European countries. In this article, the position of Germany is examined within the international context. German trust in the police, for both German natives and ethnic minorities, for those 15 and over is high in comparison to other European countries. The article also tests if it is the fair treatment of citizens by the police, or the high value placed on rule adherence and conformity, that is driving the German citizen’s trust. It shows that the German police is trusted due to their perceived fairness, effectiveness and shared moral values, rather than on value placed on conformity to authority.

Exploring the role the brand plays in the choice of charity by UK volunteers

Charities need to understand why volunteers choose one brand rather than another in order to attract more volunteers to their organisation. There has been considerable academic interest in understanding why people volunteer generally. However, this research explores the more specific question of why a volunteer chooses one charity brand rather than another. It builds on previous conceptualisations of volunteering as a consumption decision. Seen through the lens of the individual volunteer, it considers the under-researched area of the decision-making process. The research adopts an interpretivist epistemology and subjectivist ontology. Qualitative data was collected through depth interviews and analysed using both Means-End Chain (MEC) and Framework Analysis methodology. The primary contribution of the research is to theory: understanding the role of brand in the volunteer decision-making process. It identifies two roles for brand. The first is as a specific reason for choice, an ‘attribute’ of the decision. Through MEC, volunteering for a well-known brand connects directly through to a sense of self, both self-respect but also social recognition by others. All four components of the symbolic consumption construct are found in the data: volunteers choose a well-known brand to say something about themselves. The brand brings credibility and reassurance, it reduces the risk and enables the volunteer to meet their need to make a difference and achieve a sense of accomplishment. The second closely related role for brand is within the process of making the volunteering decision. Volunteers built up knowledge about the charity brands from a variety of brand touchpoints, over time. At the point of decision-making that brand knowledge and engagement becomes relevant, enabling some to make an automatic choice despite the significant level of commitment being made. The research identifies four types of decision-making behaviour. The research also makes secondary contributions to MEC methodology and to the non-profit context. It concludes within practical implications for management practice and a rich agenda for future research.