Two Tools for Interprocess Communication in Distributed Data-Flow Systems

Abstract is not available.

Productivity and marketing enhancement for peanut in Papua New Guinea and Australia

Enhance productivity of peanuts in Papua New Guinea and Australia. Also the application of remote sensing technologies to enhance profitability in peanut systems.

Rice flower integrating production and marketing

This book contains guidelines on market-driven production for export markets, with information on how the marketing chain operates and what risks are involved. Using rice flower as an example, the book gives growers strategies to enhance their market performance and improve the profitability of their enterprises. It outlines some practical suggestions for marketing rice flower in Japan, the United States, Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as in Australia, and also provides a draft standard for rice flower for export markets.

Internet marketing capabilities and international market growth

The Internet has been shown to facilitate elements of internationalisation such as information accumulation and network opportunities. However, there is limited understanding of how the Internet combined with marketing capabilities drives international market growth. This study, based on a sample of 224 Australian firms, develops and tests, using structural equation modelling (SEM), a conceptual model of Internet marketing capabilities and international market growth. Results indicate that firms deploying Internet marketing capabilities will benefit due to the reduction of information uncertainty and increased capacity to develop international network capabilities. Moreover, Internet marketing capabilities indirectly lead to international market growth when the firm has a high level of international strategic orientation and international network capabilities. Overall, Internet marketing capabilities enhance the firm's ability to generate other internal capabilities within the firm, which in turn have a positive impact on the international market growth of the firm.

A capability-based view of organisational renewal : Combining opportunity- and advantage-seeking growth in large, established European and North American wood-industry companies

The purpose of this study was to extend understanding of how large firms pursuing sustained and profitable growth manage organisational renewal. A multiple-case study was conducted in 27 North American and European wood-industry companies, of which 11 were chosen for closer study. The study combined the organisational-capabilities approach to strategic management with corporate-entrepreneurship thinking. It charted the further development of an identification and classification system for capabilities comprising three dimensions: (i) the dynamism between firm-specific and industry-significant capabilities, (ii) hierarchies of capabilities and capability portfolios, and (iii) their internal structure. Capability building was analysed in the context of the organisational design, the technological systems and the type of resource-bundling process (creating new vs. entrenching existing capabilities). The thesis describes the current capability portfolios and the organisational changes in the case companies. It also clarifies the mechanisms through which companies can influence the balance between knowledge search and the efficiency of knowledge transfer and integration in their daily business activities, and consequently the diversity of their capability portfolio and the breadth and novelty of their product/service range. The largest wood-industry companies of today must develop a seemingly dual strategic focus: they have to combine leading-edge, innovative solutions with cost-efficient, large-scale production. The use of modern technology in production was no longer a primary source of competitiveness in the case companies, but rather belonged to the portfolio of basic capabilities. Knowledge and information management had become an industry imperative, on a par with cost effectiveness. Yet, during the period of this research, the case companies were better in supporting growth in volume of the existing activity than growth through new economic activities. Customer-driven, incremental innovation was preferred over firm-driven innovation through experimentation. The three main constraints on organisational renewal were the lack of slack resources, the aim for lean, centralised designs, and the inward-bound communication climate.

Young people's perceptions of the wood products industry : a relational view

The basis for this study was in poor attractiveness of the wood products industry among young people as a field to study and work in. The purpose was to produce new information of how to improve the relationship between young people and the wood products industry in order to better attract young people with different relational orientation. A survey was conducted among students of comprehensive schools and students of wood industry at vocational schools selected by systematic cluster sampling. The final sample consisted of 613 students. The study combined the theories and concepts of relationships, communication and trust of several disciplines. In addition, it applied theories of relationship marketing, stakeholders, publics, involvement and concepts of reputation and values. It studied the central relational elements in the form of antecedents, relationship state and its consequences. The study examined, how young people with different background and level of interest perceive wood industry as a field to study and work in from relational point of view, what are the central deficiencies in perceived relational elements and what are the public relations activities enhancing the relationship between wood industry and young people with less and high interest in the sector. The results indicate poor visibility of the wood industry among young people: unfamiliarity with the industry and unawareness of the opportunities to study in the field. It appeared that instead of increasing only information sharing, interactive communication in different forms is needed. The study also suggests that behaviors of the industry sector advancing perceived trustworthiness are of crucial importance. Moreover, the wood industry needs to pay attention to its behaviors and communication also among other stakeholder groups, especially the media, as reputation plays an important role in building up trust and satisfaction between young people and the sector. Finally, the less and highly interested young people were found to assess the relationship partly through different relational elements. In order to develop the relationship with highly interested young people they should be regarded clearly as future employees of the wood industry through activities affirming that they are desired and valued employees in the sector. Further, openness of information disclosure, whether concerning current situation or future prospects, seems to increase credibility and attractiveness of the wood industry. Highly interested young people were also found to appreciate socially responsible activities. The less interested young people seem to be insecure about the reliability of the wood industry as an employer, as well as, its ability and interest to invest in young people s skills. In addition,involvement in issues relevant for young people was found crucial in enhancing the relationship with the less interested young people.The conclusions of the study provide tools for enhancing the attractiveness of the wood industry among young people not only to the industry itself, but also to its advocates, teachers and student counselors of comprehensive and vocational schools, authorities and policy makers.

Merestä Metsäksi - yhteistoimintaverkostohankkeen sosiaaliset ja taloudelliset vaikutukset

The object of this study was to find out which factors made landowners interested in From Sea to Forest co-operation network. Co-operation networks protect biodiversity across boundaries and among groups of landowners with different kind of protection contracts. The social effects of From Sea to Forest - project are studied by analyzing the experience of co-operation and trust. Furthermore the possibility to influence decision making when choosing the pilot areas and doing the contracts was surveyed. Economical effects are estimated for those landowners, who signed a protection contract for ten years. The study is part of The Finnish Forest Research Institute s Ecological considerations in landscape-level collaborative planning of private forestry project. The material of the study comprises 13 interviews done in January 2006; seven interviewed were landowners and six forest professionals. The interviews were transcripted and analyzed with Atlas.ti programme. The economical effects were estimated with MOTTI forest simulation programme. From Sea to Forest project interested the landowners for similar reasons: the voluntariness of participation, compensation, fixed-term contracts and the possibility to protect forests so that the proprietary right remains. It was possible to form four different groups of interviewed landowners according to trust: networkers , opportunists , carefuls and selfemployed . Only in the group of opportunists the project created so much trust that a significant increase of interest to participate in the project was noticed. In all the other groups the project didn t create remarkable trust, so trust didn t have an effect on landowners decisions to participate. Other factors, like compensation and voluntariness were decisive for their interest to participate. From Sea to Forest project wasn t a network based on landowners co-operation, the communication was directly with the project worker. The effects on landowners income by signing a ten year ´Natural value trading´ -contract was analyzed by comparing the protection income with predicted forestry income in case that the protection contract wouldn t have been agreed on. For two landowners there was no suggested forestry work within ten years, so their protection income might be an additional income, if they decided to log their forests later. For three landowners delayed thinning of the sapling stand would cause income losses in the future, if they decided to move to active forestry after ten years of protection. For eight landowners the effect of protection is positive to income if they moved to active forestry after the ten years protection period. This occurred, because the tree stand is now mature for final felling on behalf of its age, but ten more years of growth increase the net present value. Longer term protection might diminish the net present value. The protection was profitable because hectare specific forestry income grew compared to forestry cutting plan income.

Balancing entertainment and behaviour value: M-games as a social marketing agent of change

In a marketplace where millions of dollars are spent on the design of mobile games (m-games), social marketers are now using this technology as a tool for behaviour change. Despite high expenditure by governments and non-profits on social marketing m-games, little is known about their effectiveness in terms of creating value. Value creation has been demonstrated to have an important impact on satisfaction and behaviour. This paper reports the results of a qualitative study involving four focus groups with 23 participants to reveal two categories of experiential value, entertainment and behaviour. Additionally, it was discovered that entertainment could be characterised by amusement and social value dimensions. Whereas, behaviour could be made up of information, simulation and distraction value dimensions. The categories of value, as well as the dimensions of information, simulation and distraction are entirely new to the social marketing literature and thus represents a unique contribution to social marketing.

Social marketers playing to win? Experiential value creation in social marketing mobile games

The rapid change of technological trends in the marketplace has increased the difficulty for social marketers to reach consumers using traditional marketing channels (Della et al., 2008). Traditionally, social marketing interventions have typically used more conventional supporting products and services such as water counters for water conservation or condoms for sex safety. However, recently social marketers are witnessing the diminishing effectiveness of more traditional social products and services in encouraging the uptake and maintenance of behaviour. In light of the technological trends in the marketplace and diminishing effect of previous social products and services (Lefebvre, 2009), social marketers have been encouraged to look to alternate means of delivering valuable offerings...

Response: Special communication: Letters to the Editor-in-Chief [Vigorous exercise in clinical practice: balancing risks and benefits]

The effects of different exercise intensities on health have been investigated in several studies in recent years, in which some authors showed greater benefits for vigorous exercise (6) while others did not find any differences (8). An important issue regarding these conflicting results could be the fact that only a few of the studies controlled the effects of different exercise intensities for the overall volume of physical activity, making the evaluation of the available data difficult.

Effect of vitamin A deprivation on the cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme activity of testes and ovaries of rats (Short Communication)

The cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme activity is decreased considerably at the mild stage of vitamin A deficiency in rat testes and ovaries and the decrease in activity becomes more pronounced with progress of deficiency. Supplementation of the deficient rats with retinyl acetate, but not retinoic acid, restores the enzyme activity to normal values. The cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme of adrenals is not affected by any of the above treatments.

Disguising the performance of M-games in social marketing

Despite the explosion of mobile games (m-games) and the uptake of games as a social marketing tool for behaviour change, little is known about which game attributes (design factors within a game) are preferred by consumers for social marketing m-games. This research reports the findings of four focus groups (n=23) to propose three new categories of game attributes along with seven preferred game attributes for social marketing m-games. These results provide a unique contribution to social marketing theory given the goal of a social marketing m-game game is both entertainment and behaviour change. Further, the findings suggest strategies for practitioners seeking to develop, design and build social marketing m-games.

Private mobile phones and public communication drums in rural Papua New Guinea

The voice of a traditional communication drum can be heard over great distances. Yet now in Papua New Guinea (PNG) it is hearing, by phone, the voice of a loved one who has moved far away from home for work, marriage or studies that brings the greatest delight. As recently as 2007, most areas of this Pacific island nation had no form of telephony available. Apart from radio, modern communication forms have been restricted predominantly to the urban areas where only a small percentage of the people reside. Landline telephones, television, Internet, facsimile machines and so on have never reached the majority of the inhabited areas...