On importer trust and commitment : a comparative study of two developing countries

Purpose: Relationship trust and commitment are two key dimensions of international exchanges. Both have been extensively investigated from an exporter (as opposed to importer) perspective in developed country (as opposed to developing country) contexts. To address these gaps, this study aims to develop a model of antecedents and outcomes of importer trust and commitment in two developing countries.---------- Design/methodology: The authors test the proposed model using data from Chile and Bangladesh. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).---------- Findings: SEM analysis revealed that most of the hypotheses were supported in both the Bangladeshi and Chilean context. The findings of this study also suggest that the effects of importer transaction-specific investments on importer commitment are distinct in the Bangladeshi context. Practical implications: Practically, these results show that trust and commitment are essential for enhancing importer relationship performance in developing countries. Importer trust in a foreign supplier is effective when suppliers are competent and provide relatively superior facilities, as opposed to opportunistic proclivity. Importer commitment to a foreign supplier is stronger when importers perceive that the foreign supplier is not opportunistic, but is knowledgeable and experienced with the importer market, and they perceive that it is an advantage importing from that supplier. Cultural similarity between importers and foreign suppliers improves importer trust in both countries. However, importer commitment in Chile increases with importer transaction-specific investment, but this is not found to be the case in Bangladesh.---------- Originality/value: This study contributes to the importer-exporter exchange relationship literature by testing a model of antecedents and outcomes of importer trust and commitment. The tested model is one of few that considers developing country contexts and incorporates two novel antecedents of trust and commitment: importer knowledge and experience, and supplier resource competency.

One-time-password-authenticated key exchange

To reduce the damage of phishing and spyware attacks, banks, governments, and other security-sensitive industries are deploying one-time password systems, where users have many passwords and use each password only once. If a single password is compromised, it can be only be used to impersonate the user once, limiting the damage caused. However, existing practical approaches to one-time passwords have been susceptible to sophisticated phishing attacks. ---------- We give a formal security treatment of this important practical problem. We consider the use of one-time passwords in the context of password-authenticated key exchange (PAKE), which allows for mutual authentication, session key agreement, and resistance to phishing attacks. We describe a security model for the use of one-time passwords, explicitly considering the compromise of past (and future) one-time passwords, and show a general technique for building a secure one-time-PAKE protocol from any secure PAKE protocol. Our techniques also allow for the secure use of pseudorandomly generated and time-dependent passwords.

Predicate-based key exchange

We provide the first description of and security model for authenticated key exchange protocols with predicate-based authentication. In addition to the standard goal of session key security, our security model also provides for credential privacy: a participating party learns nothing more about the other party's credentials than whether they satisfy the given predicate. Our model also encompasses attribute-based key exchange since it is a special case of predicate-based key exchange.---------- We demonstrate how to realize a secure predicate-based key exchange protocol by combining any secure predicate-based signature scheme with the basic Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol, providing an efficient and simple solution.

Elucidating the links between UV radiation and vitamin D synthesis : using an in vitro model

Ultraviolet radiation (UV) is the carcinogen that causes the most common malignancy in humans – skin cancer. However, moderate UV exposure is essential for producing vitaminDin our skin. VitaminDincreases the absorption of calcium from the diet, and adequate calcium is necessary for the building and maintenance of bones. Thus, low levels of vitamin D can cause osteomalacia and rickets and contribute to osteoporosis. Emerging evidence also suggests vitamin D may protect against falls, internal cancers, psychiatric conditions, autoimmune diseases and cardiovascular diseases. Since the dominant source of vitamin D is sunlight exposure, there is a need to understand what is a “balanced” level of sun exposure to maintain an adequate level of vitamin D but minimise the risks of eye damage, skin damage and skin cancer resulting from excessive UV exposure. There are many steps in the pathway from incoming solar UV to the eventual vitamin D status of humans (measured as 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the blood), and our knowledge about many of these steps is currently incomplete. This project begins by investigating the levels of UV available for synthesising vitamin D, and how these levels vary across seasons, latitudes and times of the day. The thesis then covers experiments conducted with an in vitro model, which was developed to study several aspects of vitamin D synthesis. Results from the model suggest the relationship between UV dose and vitamin D is not linear. This is an important input into public health messages regarding ‘safe’ UV exposure: larger doses of UV, beyond a certain limit, may not continue to produce vitamin D; however, they will increase the risk of skin cancers and eye damage. The model also showed that, when given identical doses of UV, the amount of vitamin D produced was impacted by temperature. In humans, a temperature-dependent reaction must occur in the top layers of human skin, prior to vitamin D entering the bloodstream. The hypothesis will be raised that cooler temperatures (occurring in winter and at high latitudes) may reduce vitamin D production in humans. Finally, the model has also been used to study the wavelengths of UV thought to be responsible for producing vitamin D. It appears that vitamin D production is limited to a small range of UV wavelengths, which may be narrower than previously thought. Together, these results suggest that further research is needed into the ability of humans to synthesise vitamin D from sunlight. In particular, more information is needed about the dose-response relationship in humans and to investigate the proposed impact of temperature. Having an accurate action spectrum will also be essential for measuring the available levels of vitamin D-effective UV. As this research continues, it will contribute to the scientific evidence-base needed for devising a public health message that will balance the risks of excessive UV exposure with maintaining adequate vitamin D.

Positioning public relations as an academic discipline in Australia

Academic public relations in Australia appears to be entering a new phase in its relatively short history. The early model, in which tertiary courses were confined to teaching – focused institutions and conducted largely by teacher-practitioners, is being supplanted by one in which the discipline is now offered in most Australian universities, is increasingly embracing research, and is being taught by staff following more traditional academic career paths. Despite the formal association with the communication discipline through Australian and New Zealand Communication Association, public relations academics have increasingly asserted the independence of their discipline and in reality have very little dialogue with the other strands of the communication discipline. These developments call into question the most appropriate knowledge base for public relations as an academic discipline in Australia and its proper relation to the profession (and the Public Relations Institute of Australia as the professional body). One danger associated with the assertion of disciplinary independence lies in the risk of excessive reliance on a relatively narrow body of work emanating from the more established United States public relations academy, in the process ignoring much richer work in surrounding disciplines such as social theory, rhetoric, organisation communication, and business and society. The emphasis on disciplinary demarcation also seems curious during a time of growing ‘interdisciplinarity’ in the humanities and the social sciences. This paper critically reviews the construction of public relations as an academic discipline in Australia, drawing on some of the literature on academic disciplinarity to propose a repositioning of the discipline, one that is less focused on asserting difference than on finding connections with other bodies of knowledge while maintaining close links with professional practice.

The researcher’s perspective on procuring public works projects

Purpose: As part of a comprehensive research study looking at implementing PPPs, interviews with experienced researchers were conducted to realize their views on private sector involvement in public works projects. Design / methodology / approach: Amongst these interviews, five were launched with academics from Hong Kong and Australia, and two were conducted with Legislative Councillors of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) government. Findings: The interview findings show that both Hong Kong and Australian interviewees had previously conducted some kind of research in the field of PPP. The interviewees highlighted that “Different risk profiles” and “Private sector more innovative / efficient” were the main differences between projects that were procured by PPP and traditionally. Other differences include risk transfer. In a PPP arrangement the public sector passes on a substantial amount of the project risks to the private sector, whereas in a traditional case the public sector would take the largest responsibility in bearing these risks. Another common feature of the private sector is that they tend to be more efficient and innovative when compared to the public sector hence their expertise is often reflected in PPP projects. The interviewees agreed that the key performance indicators for PPP projects were unique depending on the individual project. The critical success factors mentioned by both groups of interviewees included “Transparent process”, “Project dependent” and “Market need”. Due to the fact that PPP projects tend to be large scaled costly projects, adequate transparency in the process is necessary in order to demonstrate that a fair selection and tendering process is conducted. A market need for the project is also important to ensure that the project will be financially secure and that the private sector can make a reasonable profit to cover their project expenditure. Originality / value: The findings from this study have enabled a comparative analysis between the views of researchers in two completely different jurisdictions. With the growing popularity to implement PPP projects, it is believed that the results presented in this paper would be of interest to the industry at large.

Dengue fever and el nino-southern oscillation in Queensland, Australia : a time series predictive model

Background It remains unclear over whether it is possible to develop an epidemic forecasting model for transmission of dengue fever in Queensland, Australia. Objectives To examine the potential impact of El Niño/Southern Oscillation on the transmission of dengue fever in Queensland, Australia and explore the possibility of developing a forecast model of dengue fever. Methods Data on the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), an indicator of El Niño/Southern Oscillation activity, were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Numbers of dengue fever cases notified and the numbers of postcode areas with dengue fever cases between January 1993 and December 2005 were obtained from the Queensland Health and relevant population data were obtained from the Australia Bureau of Statistics. A multivariate Seasonal Auto-regressive Integrated Moving Average model was developed and validated by dividing the data file into two datasets: the data from January 1993 to December 2003 were used to construct a model and those from January 2004 to December 2005 were used to validate it. Results A decrease in the average SOI (ie, warmer conditions) during the preceding 3–12 months was significantly associated with an increase in the monthly numbers of postcode areas with dengue fever cases (β=−0.038; p = 0.019). Predicted values from the Seasonal Auto-regressive Integrated Moving Average model were consistent with the observed values in the validation dataset (root-mean-square percentage error: 1.93%). Conclusions Climate variability is directly and/or indirectly associated with dengue transmission and the development of an SOI-based epidemic forecasting system is possible for dengue fever in Queensland, Australia.

Evolution and change in industrial clusters : an analysis of Hsinchu and Sophia Antipolis

The aim of this paper is to advance understandings of the processes of cluster-building and evolution, or transformative and adaptive change, through the conscious design and reflective activities of private and public actors. A model of transformation is developed which illustrates the importance of actors becoming exposed to new ideas and visions for industrial change by political entrepreneurs and external networks. Further, actors must be guided in their decision-making and action by the new vision, and this requires that they are persuaded of its viability through the provision of test cases and supportive resources and institutions. In order for new ideas to become guiding models, actors must be convinced of their desirability through the portrayal of models as a means of confronting competitive challenges and serving the economic interests of the city/region. Subsequent adaptive change is iterative and reflexive, involving a process of strategic learning amongst key industrial and political actors.

An application of Keller’s Brand Equity Model in a B2B context

Powerful brands create meaningful images in the minds of customers (Keller, 1993). A strong brand image and reputation enhances differentiation and has a positive influence on buying behaviour (Gordon et al., 1993; McEnally and de Chernatony, 1999). While the power of branding is widely acknowledged in consumer markets, the nature and importance of branding in industrial markets remains under-researched. Many business-to-business (B2B) strategists have claimed brand-building belongs in the consumer realm. They argue that industrial products do not need branding as it is confusing and adds little value to functional products (Collins, 1977; Lorge, 1998; Saunders and Watt, 1979). Others argue that branding and the concept of brand equity however are increasingly important in industrial markets, because it has been shown that what a brand means to a buyer can be a determining factor in deciding between industrial purchase alternatives (Aaker, 1991). In this context, it is critical for suppliers to initiate and sustain relationships due to the small number of potential customers (Ambler, 1995; Webster and Keller, 2004). To date however, there is no model available to assist B2B marketers in identifying and measuring brand equity. In this paper, we take a step in that direction by operationalising and empirically testing a prominent brand equity model in a B2B context. This makes not only a theoretical contribution by advancing branding research, but also addresses a managerial need for information that will assist in the assessment of industrial branding efforts.

Modelling urban public transit users’ route choice behaviour : a review and outlook

Public transport is one of the key promoters of sustainable urban transport. To encourage and increase public transport patronage it is important to investigate the route choice behaviours of urban public transit users. This chapter reviews the main developments of modelling urban public transit users’ route choice behaviours in a historical perspective, from the 1960s to the present time. The approaches re- viewed for this study include the early heuristic studies on finding the least-cost transit route and all-or- nothing transit assignment, the bus common lines problem, the disaggregate discrete choice models, the deterministic and stochastic user equilibrium transit assignment models, and the recent dynamic transit assignment models. This chapter also provides an outlook for the future directions of modelling transit users’ route choice behaviours. Through the comparison with the development of models for motorists’ route choice and traffic assignment problems, this chapter advocates that transit route choice research should draw inspiration from the research outcomes from the road area, and that the modelling practice of transit users’ route choice should further explore the behavioural complexities.

Access to public sector information : law, technology and policy

On the back of the growing capacity of networked digital information technologies to process and visualise large amounts of information in a timely, efficient and user-driven manner we have seen an increasing demand for better access to and re-use of public sector information (PSI). The story is not a new one. Share knowledge and together we can do great things; limit access and we reduce the potential for opportunity. The two volumes of this book seek to explain and analyse this global shift in the way we manage public sector information. In doing so they collect and present papers, reports and submissions on the topic by leading authors and institutions from across the world. These in turn provide people tasked with mapping out and implementing information policy with reference material and practical guidance. Volume 1 draws together papers on the topic by policymakers, academics and practitioners while Volume 2 presents a selection of the key reports and submissions that have been published over the last few years.

Specifying and enforcing a fine-grained information flow policy : model and experiments

In this paper we present a model for defining and enforcing a fine-grained information flow policy. We describe how the policy can be enforced on a typical computer and present experiments using the proposed model. A key feature of the model is that it allows the expression of rules which detail precisely which information elements are allowed to mix together. For example, the model allows the expression of a policy which forbids a doctor from mixing the personal medical details of the patients. The enforcement mechanisms tracks and records information flows within the system so that dynamic changes to the policy can be made with respect to information elements which may have propagated to different locations in the system.

Efficient certificateless KEM in the standard model

We give a direct construction of a certificateless key encapsulation mechanism (KEM) in the standard model that is more efficient than the generic constructions proposed before by Huang and Wong \cite{DBLP:conf/acisp/HuangW07}. We use a direct construction from Kiltz and Galindo's KEM scheme \cite{DBLP:conf/acisp/KiltzG06} to obtain a certificateless KEM in the standard model; our construction is roughly twice as efficient as the generic construction. We also address the security flaw discovered by Selvi et al. \cite{cryptoeprint:2009:462}.

Port of Brisbane stormwater quality : stage 2 development of a port specific water quality model

Background: The quality of stormwater runoff from ports is significant as it can be an important source of pollution to the marine environment. This is also a significant issue for the Port of Brisbane as it is located in an area of high environmental values. Therefore, it is imperative to develop an in-depth understanding of stormwater runoff quality to ensure that appropriate strategies are in place for quality improvement, where necessary. To this end, the Port of Brisbane Corporation aimed to develop a port specific stormwater model for the Fisherman Islands facility. The need has to be considered in the context of the proposed future developments of the Port area. ----------------- The Project: The research project is an outcome of the collaborative Partnership between the Port of Brisbane Corporation (POBC) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT). A key feature of this Partnership is that it seeks to undertake research to assist the Port in strengthening the environmental custodianship of the Port area through ‘cutting edge’ research and its translation into practical application. ------------------ The project was separated into two stages. The first stage developed a quantitative understanding of the generation potential of pollutant loads in the existing land uses. This knowledge was then used as input for the stormwater quality model developed in the subsequent stage. The aim is to expand this model across the yet to be developed port expansion area. This is in order to predict pollutant loads associated with stormwater flows from this area with the longer term objective of contributing to the development of ecological risk mitigation strategies for future expansion scenarios. ----------------- Study approach: Stage 1 of the overall study confirmed that Port land uses are unique in terms of the anthropogenic activities occurring on them. This uniqueness in land use results in distinctive stormwater quality characteristics different to other conventional urban land uses. Therefore, it was not scientifically valid to consider the Port as belonging to a single land use category or to consider as being similar to any typical urban land use. The approach adopted in this study was very different to conventional modelling studies where modelling parameters are developed using calibration. The field investigations undertaken in Stage 1 of the overall study helped to create fundamental knowledge on pollutant build-up and wash-off in different Port land uses. This knowledge was then used in computer modelling so that the specific characteristics of pollutant build-up and wash-off can be replicated. This meant that no calibration processes were involved due to the use of measured parameters for build-up and wash-off. ---------------- Conclusions: Stage 2 of the study was primarily undertaken using the SWMM stormwater quality model. It is a physically based model which replicates natural processes as closely as possible. The time step used and catchment variability considered was adequate to accommodate the temporal and spatial variability of input parameters and the parameters used in the modelling reflect the true nature of rainfall-runoff and pollutant processes to the best of currently available knowledge. In this study, the initial loss values adopted for the impervious surfaces are relatively high compared to values noted in research literature. However, given the scientifically valid approach used for the field investigations, it is appropriate to adopt the initial losses derived from this study for future modelling of Port land uses. The relatively high initial losses will reduce the runoff volume generated as well as the frequency of runoff events significantly. Apart from initial losses, most of the other parameters used in SWMM modelling are generic to most modelling studies. Development of parameters for MUSIC model source nodes was one of the primary objectives of this study. MUSIC, uses the mean and standard deviation of pollutant parameters based on a normal distribution. However, based on the values generated in this study, the variation of Event Mean Concentrations (EMCs) for Port land uses within the given investigation period does not fit a normal distribution. This is possibly due to the fact that only one specific location was considered, namely the Port of Brisbane unlike in the case of the MUSIC model where a range of areas with different geographic and climatic conditions were investigated. Consequently, the assumptions used in MUSIC are not totally applicable for the analysis of water quality in Port land uses. Therefore, in using the parameters included in this report for MUSIC modelling, it is important to note that it may result in under or over estimations of annual pollutant loads. It is recommended that the annual pollutant load values given in the report should be used as a guide to assess the accuracy of the modelling outcomes. A step by step guide for using the knowledge generated from this study for MUSIC modelling is given in Table 4.6. ------------------ Recommendations: The following recommendations are provided to further strengthen the cutting edge nature of the work undertaken: * It is important to further validate the approach recommended for stormwater quality modelling at the Port. Validation will require data collection in relation to rainfall, runoff and water quality from the selected Port land uses. Additionally, the recommended modelling approach could be applied to a soon-to-be-developed area to assess ‘before’ and ‘after’ scenarios. * In the modelling study, TSS was adopted as the surrogate parameter for other pollutants. This approach was based on other urban water quality research undertaken at QUT. The validity of this approach should be further assessed for Port land uses. * The adoption of TSS as a surrogate parameter for other pollutants and the confirmation that the <150 m particle size range was predominant in suspended solids for pollutant wash-off gives rise to a number of important considerations. The ability of the existing structural stormwater mitigation measures to remove the <150 m particle size range need to be assessed. The feasibility of introducing source control measures as opposed to end-of-pipe measures for stormwater quality improvement may also need to be considered.

Modelling the process of dialogic communication in public relations: a role-based approach

This paper takes Kent and Taylor’s (2002) call to develop a dialogic theory of public relations and suggests that a necessary first step is the modelling of the process of dialogic communication in public relations. In order to achieve this, extant literature from a range of fields is reviewed, seeking to develop a definition of dialogic communication that is meaningful to the practice of contemporary public relations. A simple transmission model of communication is used as a starting point. This is synthesised with concepts relating specifically to dialogue, taken here in its broadest sense rather than defined as any one particular outcome. The definition that emerges from this review leads to the conclusion that dialogic communication in public relations involves the interaction of three roles – those of sender, receiver, and responder. These three roles are shown to be adopted at different times by both participants involved in dialogic communication. It is further suggested that variations occur in how these roles are conducted: the sender and receiver roles can be approached in a passive or an active way, while the responder role can be classified as being either resistant or responsive to the information received in dialogic communication. The final modelling of the definition derived provides a framework which can be tested in the field to determine whether variations in the conduct of the roles in dialogic communication actually exist, and if so, whether they can be linked to the different types of outcome from dialogic communication identified previously in the literature.