OST : A transaction based online social trust model for social network and file sharing security

The continuous growth of the users pool of Social Networking web sites such as Facebook and MySpace, and their incessant augmentation of services and capabilities will in the future, meet and compare in contrast with today's Content distribution Networks (CDN) and Peer-to-Peer File sharing applications such as Kazaa and BitTorrent, but how can these two main streams applications, that already encounter their own security problems cope with the combined issues, trust for Social Networks, content and index poisoning in CDN? We will address the problems of Social Trust and File Sharing with an overlay level of trust model based on social activity and transactions, this can be an answer to enable users to increase the reliability of their online social life and also enhance the content distribution and create a better file sharing example. The aim of this research is to lower the risk of malicious activity on a given Social Network by applying a correlated trust model, to guarantee the validity of someone's identity, privacy and trustfulness in sharing content.

Above the trust and security in cloud computing : a notion towards innovation

While the nascent Cloud Computing paradigm supported by virtualization has the upward new notion of edges, it lacks proper security and trust mechanisms. Edges are like on demand scalability and infinite resource provisioning as per the `pay-as-you-go' manner in favour of a single information owner (abbreviated as INO from now onwards) to multiple corporate INOs. While outsourcing information to a cloud storage controlled by a cloud service provider (abbreviated as CSP from now onwards) relives an information owner of tackling instantaneous oversight and management needs, a significant issue of retaining the control of that information to the information owner still needs to be solved. This paper perspicaciously delves into the facts of the Cloud Computing security issues and aims to explore and establish a secure channel for the INO to communicate with the CSP while maintaining trust and confidentiality. The objective of the paper is served by analyzing different protocols and proposing the one in commensurate with the requirement of the security property like information or data confidentiality along the line of security in Cloud Computing Environment (CCE). To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to derive a secure protocol by successively eliminating the dangling pitfalls that remain dormant and thereby hamper confidentiality and integrity of information that is worth exchanging between the INO and the CSP. Besides, conceptually, our derived protocol is compared with the SSL from the perspectives of work flow related activities along the line of secure trusted path for information confidentiality.

An investigation on asset allocation and performance measurement for unit trust funds in Malaysia using multifactor model : a post crisis period analysis

This study examines the pattern of asset allocation and the performance of unit trust in Malaysia over the post crisis period by using risk-adjusted performance measures and multi-factor model from the year 2000 to 2004. Evidence from the statistics suggests that an active asset allocation strategy had been observed among Malaysian fund managers during the post Asian financial crisis. It is also suggested that investment allocation in equity remained a dominant vehicle for investment and asset allocation. Findings from multifactor model suggest that all funds of different objectives registered positive alphas except for income funds, with growth funds being among the top. While balanced funds registered highest diversification effectively, diversifying away about 70%-80% of unsystematic risk, the momentum factor is not among the important elements to explain unit trust performance in Malaysia.

The dance of trust in high risk multi-partner collaborations : an exploration of the antecedents of trust in cross-sector R&D projects

This paper explores the dance of trust in cross-sector R&D collaborations, and does so by drawing on a multi-method study (involving qualitative research, case studies and a survey of project leaders) of the Australian Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Program. R&D collaborations formed under this Program involve two main types of risk, venture or performance-related and relational, and these are problematic given power, information and risk impact asymmetries among the partners. Within the CRCs these risks are addressed through formalisation, employing the “right people”, and through relationship building. Trust (theorised following Sako as a multi-dimensional construct) is central to these processes. Where trust is formed among CRC participants, and is reinforced over repeated interactions, then relational and performance risks cease to become a major concern for CRC managers. In the CRCs, trust is formed and sustained as a multi-level process. Engagement and relationship commitment is achieved at an organizational level, and partner reputation, credible commitments and the institutional context are important factors here. At the project level, trust, in conjunction with a task focus, leads to a positive collaboration experience and this is associated with positive project outcomes. Within CRC projects, capabilities for communication and cross-sector management are important for the formation and maintenance of trust. The paper concludes by discussing the managerial implications of the study’s findings and by identifying areas for further research and conceptual development.

Building trust in cross-sector R&D collaborations : the role of credible commitments

This paper reports selected findings from a study of one form of cross-boundary relationship: cross-sector R&D collaboration under the Australian Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Programme. The study sought to explain project partners’ collaboration experience using a theoretical model which was empirically tested with a survey of CRC project leaders. It was hypothesised (H1) that the higher the level of relational trust (measured, following Sako, in terms of contractual, competence, and goodwill trust) amongst the partners in a collaborative project team, the more positive would be the partners’ experience of the project. The construct of credible commitments (the making of pledges, or the economic equivalent of the taking of hostages, which bind partners to a relationship) was posed in the model as an antecedent of relational trust. Accordingly it was hypothesised (H2) that the more that credible commitments are made by the project partners, the higher would be the level of relational trust between them. Data from the achieved sample (n = 156, 51% response rate) were analysed using PLS Graph. The results of the analysis provided support for hypothesis 1 but not for hypothesis 2. It was concluded that this latter finding could be due to the specific context of the study (cross-sector R&D collaborations under the CRC Programme differ markedly from inter-firm strategic alliances), or it could be due to the complex nature of credible commitments which was not adequately captured by our measure of this construct. Further research is required in this area to clarify the nature credible commitments, and the circumstances under which they contribute to a spiral of rising trust, in different cross-boundary contexts.

A theoretical framework of alliance performance : the role of trust, social capital and knowledge development

While studies on alliances have been substantial in the international business literature, much is still unexplored in understanding what alliance performance really is and how superior alliance performance is facilitated (Das & Teng 2003). Drawing from research on alliances, we develop a theoretical framework to examine alliance performance by integrating a partner analysis approach, focusing on alliance trust, alliance partners' social capital, and knowledge development from alliance relationships. We consider the level of mutual trust between alliance partners to be the precursor to such relationship (Das & Teng 1998). Trust, we argue, subsequently builds and enhances the partners' social capital. Two types of social capital are considered in this article: internal social capital and external social capital. In developing our framework, we further subscribe to the notion that knowledge is a contributing factor to superior alliance performance, and consider how such relationships influence the development of partners' knowledge in terms of the development in the tacit firm-specific and the more explicit market-specific knowledge. Key managerial implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Models of trust in business-to-consumer electronic commerce : a review of multi-disciplinary approaches

The issue of trust in Internet-based business-to-consumer electronic commerce has been explored from a number of difference perspectives. The current body of research is diverse and fragmented. This paper critically reviews recently published models pertaining to trust in business to consumer e-commerce. For analytical purposes we categorize the literature in three main streams: technological, design and sociological/psychological. Based on our analysis and our own empirical observations we raise four main areas of concern that warrant further research attention: an oversimplification of the trust concept, a uni-directional view of trust, discipline centered approaches to modelling trust and a lack of empirical grounding and testing. In the light of these concerns we recommend avenues for further research.

Are these reviews for real? The importance of belief and trust in reviews and word-of-mouth for web-purchases

Routine activities that many of us are used to performing in person like paying bills, purchases and bookings are now done online. With more people buying irregularly bought products online, more consumers are relying on professional, amateur and user reviews to inform them of the quality of their intended purchase. Little known about how consumers use these reviews. Less is known about how these reviews influence buying behavior. This article outlines a research framework that can provide insight into these areas.

An efficient approach based on trust and reputation for secured selection of grid resources

Security is a principal concern in offering an infrastructure for the formation of general-purpose computational grids. A number of grid implementations have been devised to deal with the security concerns by authenticating the users, hosts and their interactions in an appropriate fashion. Resource management systems that are sophisticated and secured are inevitable for the efficient and beneficial deployment of grid computing services. The chief factors that can be problematic in the secured selection of grid resources are the wide range of selection and the high degree of strangeness. Moreover, the lack of a higher degree of confidence relationship is likely to prevent efficient resource allocation and utilisation. In this paper, we present an efficient approach for the secured selection of grid resources, so as to achieve secure execution of the jobs. This approach utilises trust and reputation for securely selecting the grid resources. To start with, the self-protection capability and reputation weightage of all the entities are computed, and based on those values, the trust factor (TF) of all the entities are determined. The reputation weightage of an entity is the measure of both the user’s feedback and other entities’ feedback. Those entities with higher TF values are selected for the secured execution of jobs. To make the proposed approach more comprehensive, a novel method is employed for evaluating the user’s feedback on the basis of the existing feedbacks available regarding the entities. This approach is proved to be scalable for an increased number of user jobs and grid entities. The experimentation portrays that this approach offers desirable efficiency in the secured selection of grid resources.