Digital Commons Network^™

Value Creation In Social Marketing For The Continued Use Of Wellness Services, Nadia Zainuddin

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

In social marketing, in order to incentivise individuals into performing desired social behaviours, a value proposition is required (Dann, 2008; Kotler and Lee, 2008) as consumers often act out of self-interest (Rothschild, 1999). Value propositions offer relevant and timely incentives to encourage individuals to not only voluntarily perform these behaviours, but maintain these behaviours long-term. Much of the current research in value is focussed on a goods-oriented commercial marketing context, using an economic approach, which has resulted in a lack of investigation of value in a social marketing context from an experiential perspective (Holbrook, 1994), which this paper seeks to …

The Implementation Of Authentic Activities For Learning: A Case Study In Finance Education, Mara K. Koplin, Chi Fun Freda Hui

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper seeks to demonstrate how assessment tasks set in a finance subject contribute to an authentic learning experience. Authentic learning has been shown to help connect students’ classroom learning to the outside world. Linking what students are learning in class to the real world enables them to better understand the problems to be faced when dealing with incomplete information, while also engaging them more fully. In this preliminary study we explore the attributes of an authentic learning experience. The assessment task requires each student to research the topics covered in class in relationship to a country that they have …

Identification Of Serpina1 As Single Marker For Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Through Microarray Meta Analysis And Quantification Of Its Discriminatory Power In Independent Validation, Klemens Vierlinger, Markus H. Mansfeld, Oskar Koperek, Christa Nöhammer, Klaus Kaserer, Friedrich Leisch

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Background Several DNA microarray based expression signatures for the different clinically relevant thyroid tumor entities have been described over the past few years. However, reproducibility of these signatures is generally low, mainly due to study biases, small sample sizes and the highly multivariate nature of microarrays. While there are new technologies available for a more accurate high throughput expression analysis, we show that there is still a lot of information to be gained from data deposited in public microarray databases. In this study we were aiming (1) to identify potential markers for papillary thyroid carcinomas through meta analysis of public …

Topicmodels: An R Package For Fitting Topic Models, Bettina Grun, Kurt Hornik

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Topic models allow the probabilistic modeling of term frequency occurrences in documents. The fitted model can be used to estimate the similarity between documents as well as between a set of specified keywords using an additional layer of latent variables which are referred to as topics. The R package topicmodels provides basic infrastructure for fitting topic models based on data structures from the text mining package tm. The package includes interfaces to two algorithms for fitting topic models: the variational expectation-maximization algorithm provided by David M. Blei and co-authors and an algorithm using Gibbs sampling by Xuan-Hieu Phan and co-authors.

Policy Instruments For Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Brian H. Andrew, Mary A. Kaidonis

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Benjamin Franklin once said that ‘In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes’ and a significant body of the scientific literature including the IPCC have indicated that the climate change problem has become such a pressing issue that we now face a stark choice between the premature death of hundreds of millions of the people on this planet (from storm, flood, starvation, war or pestilence) and the use of taxation or other financial strategies to change the relative cost of carbon intensive sources of energy compared to the cost of ‘green’ sources of energy. A change in the …

Blending Complexity And Activity Frameworks For A Broader And Deeper Understanding Of Is, Helen M. Hasan, A Kazluaskas, Kathryn P. Crawford

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

A new age of significance and opportunity for Information Systems (IS) is upon us driven by current developments in the use of digital artifacts. In this paper we endeavor to make sense of contemporary IS, as well as possible future directions of IS, by bringing together the notions of complexity and activity within two theoretical frameworks, namely the Cynefin framework and contemporary uses of Activity Theory. We describe activity as a holistic unit of analysis within the Complicated and Complex Domains of the Cynefin framework. This will enable us to make sense of tool-mediated IS activities in those Domains. Our …

Determination Of Consumer Context In An Online Transaction Process For A High Risk Purchase, Robert G. Grant, Rodney J. Clarke, Elias Kyriazis

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper showcases/discusses a method of analyzing consumer website behavior that enables real-time purchase context identification. Such analysis will enable online vendors to serve content that is relevant to the consumer’s needs, addressing the apparent utility deficit that websites have for complex product transactions. The use of communication theory is a key component of a value co-creation process that leverages the data derived from website interactivity by analyzing the meaning of consumer activity on a website. Such an approach offers insights into the effect of information accessed by consumers in real time, enabling a responsive system for serving information in …

Assessing Underlying Realities Of Accounting's Duality Check By The Accounting Equation : A Search For An Augmented Framework, Sudhir C. Lodh, Michael J. Gaffikin

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper explores a general validity of the prevalent Accounting Equation in determining the real wealth and accountability discharge through contemporary financial reporting. In so doing, an augmented accounting framework is developed in order to indicate the gaps that may arise in the accounting equation; which is inherent in the system if compared among different layers – sign to alleged to referent (Buarillard 1983, 1994; MacIntosh 2000, Ijiri 1986, and Mattessich 2003). We argue that this augmented framework will help in enhancing our understanding, at least at the level of pedagogy and for corporate governance and discharging social responsibility, about …

Measuring Technical Inefficiency Factors For Thai Listed Manufacturing Enterprises: A Stochastic Frontier (Sfa) And Data Envelopment Analysis (Dea), Yot Amornkitvikai, Charles Harvie

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This study employs stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and two-stage DEA approaches to predict firm technical efficiency and analyse an inefficiency effects model for overall Thai listed manufacturing sector enterprises including sub-listed manufacturing sector enterprises using an unbalanced panel data for 178 Thai listed manufacturing enterprises over the period 2000 to 2008. Both estimation approaches are found to produce consistent results for overall Thai listed manufacturing sector enterprises. For sub-listed manufacturing sector enterprises both approaches empirically find quite consistent results in coefficient signs, but significance results from both estimation approaches may be different. Focusing on overall Thai listed enterprises both approaches …

Csr Reporting: A Process For Supply Chain Legitimation, Graham D. Bowrey, Michael D. Clements, Bonnie Amelia Dean

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Purpose – This conceptual paper aims to explore the legitimating process of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting in relation to supply chain management. The paper introduces a framework for the holistic evaluation of entire supply chain CSR reporting including the use of social audits.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a review of CSR reporting literature and the role of CSR reporting as a legitimation tool of organisations that operate in distinct supply chains. The theoretical lens of three perspectives of legitimation; structural-functionalist; social constructionist; and hegemonic, are used to assess the drivers behind organisations in a supply chain …

New Oracles From Delphi - A 'Crucial Experiment' For Positivism In Archival History, Aida Sy, Tony Tinker, George M. Mickhail, Fahrettin Okcabol

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Empiricism has reigned supreme as an episteme for mainstream accounting research for some 25 years. In accounting, the Empiricist doctrine has assumed various guises. Positive Accounting is one of Empiricism's generic forms. It exists both in its own right, and in various incarnations such as Market Studies, Agency Theory and Historical Archivalism (in accounting history). In the U.S, these manifestations of Empiricism emerged in the mainstream literature in response to attacks on the then Big 8 accounting firms and their corporate clients. In the 1970's, Abraham Briloff's assaults in Barrons were costing the firms and their clients millions of dollars …

Message Variables For Effective Advertising Of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives: Results Of An Experimental Design, Alan Pomering, Lester W. Johnson, Gary Noble

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Stakeholders increasingly expect firms to consider their social and environmental impacts as well as their economic impacts, and address their corporate social responsibility (CSR). One stakeholder group, consumers, report they want to be informed of how firms do this, and use this information when purchasing. This paper reports on an investigation of two message variables believed necessary for effective advertising about CSR initiatives, social topic information and social impact specificity. We manipulated each of these variables at three levels for an unfamiliar retail bank brand engaging with the social issue of the arms trade. While social topic information was found …

Physically Attractive Presenters And Persuasion: An Experimental Investigation Of Alternative Explanations For The "Patzer Effect", Sandra Praxmarer, John R. Rossiter

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This experiment was designed to test alternative explanations for the powerful positive effect of the presenter’s facial attractiveness on persuasion found by Patzer (1985). The explanations tested are: (a) a “conscious Patzer effect” whereby the attractiveness of the presenter prompts conscious cognitive-response inferences about the presenter’s expertise and trustworthiness; (b) a “subconscious Patzer effect” whereby attractiveness persuades via beliefs about the presenter’s expertise and trustworthiness but without conscious cognitive responses; (c) an “affect transfer effect” whereby attractiveness increases liking of the presenter which in turn transfers to a more favorable attitude toward the brand; and (d) a “role-model identification effect” …

Opportunities For Interactivity In Public Health Websites: A Content Analysis Approach, Sumayya Banna, Helen M. Hasan, Joseph A. Meloche

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The Internet has many advantages over other media in the provision of information services in the area of public health. However many designers are not yet taking full advantage of its potential for interactivity. This paper examines the development of interactivity in public health websites in the increasingly important area of Palliative Care. Content analysis is used here to map the interactivity in a sample of 30 existing websites along with Heeter’s six dimensions (content and availability of choice, effort users must exert, responsiveness to the users, and the ease of adding information, monitoring the information and the system use, …

Hongkong And Shanghai Bank And The Foochow Loan: A Case For Dual Identities, Freda Hui, Kathleen M. Rudkin

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Purpose Accounting practices of Hongkong and Shanghai Bank from 1865 to 1876 fostered dual identities of the bank for the west and the east. Hongkong and Shanghai Bank used these identities to act opportunistically in commercial dealings with the British colonial administration of Hong Kong, the public of the Scotland and Britain, and the Emperor of China and his government. This paper argues the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank varied its financial reporting practices to manage its identities in different cultural constituencies, and to enable a unique identity to emerge.

Design / Methodology / Approach The approach taken is to use …

The Turmoil In The Markets For Mis And Ais - A Labor Process Study, Fahrettin Okcabol, George M. Mickhail, Aida Sy, Tony Tinker

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

With growing flux in MIS and AIS employment, there is increasing number of questions about the impact and direction of this technology. As far back as 1993, economic surveys consistently showed that the 1993 U.S. economic recovery was the first where white collar employment failed to bounce back (Cooper and Madigan, 1993A; Ehrear, 1993; Farrell et. al., 1993; Mandel and Farrell, 1993.) In the U.S, between March 1991 and April 1993, production jobs rose by 823,000, but white collar payrolls--managerial and administrative positions--fell by 290,000. Even after two years of expansion, non-farm jobs were still below their pre-recession level (Cooper …

Ontology Mapping Between Hl7 Versions 2 And 3 And Openehr For Observations Messages, Amanda Ryan, Peter W. Eklund

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Interoperability between health informatics standards enables new best-ofbreed solutions to evolve from legacy health information systems, and enables a healthcare data model to evolve and be enriched. In this paper we show that a lightweight XSLT framework can be used to achieve interoperability between HL7 versions 2 and 3 and HL7 version 3 and OpenEHR. We present the necessary transformations between terminology and structure in these standards as an exercise in ontology mapping. We discuss our experience with respect to clinical observation messaging.

Understanding The Propensity Of Chinese University Students For Leisure Travel Within Australia, Yun Zhang, Lois Burgess, Gregory M. Kerr

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The provision of education to international students in Australia is increasingly important tothe higher education sector as well as other industry sectors including tourism. Althoughprevious studies have identified the contributions of international students to tourism, thereare limited studies investigating leisure travel behaviour based on student nationality andsegments within nationalities. As the first stage of a broader study, this research by way ofopen-ended interviews, investigates the propensity of Chinese university students to travelwithin Australia. By way of qualitative data analysis the findings reveal a number ofparadoxes which need to be addressed in further research to better understand the attitudesand behaviours of …

Resource Price Shocks And Macroeconomic Adjustment For A Resource Exporter: Some Preliminary Results, Grant M. Cox, Charles Harvie

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The increased demand for energy and other resources in global markets, particularly arising from the rapidly developing economies of China and India, has recently produced considerable turbulence in resource prices including, most obviously, that of oil. Given the recent magnitude of change in resource prices, the macroeconomic implications of this for resource producing and exporting economies and resource importing economies is of now considerable contemporary importance. This paper develops a dynamic macroeconomic model for a resource producing and exporting economy, with the objective of capturing the key macroeconomic developments that are likely to arise from an increase in the price …

Choice And Context In Studying Change, Creativity And Innovation At Work: Call Off The Search For Excellence, Question Combinational Perspectives, And Loosen The Straightjacket Of Polarised Views, Patrick M. Dawson

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This article draws attention to debates on studying change, creativity and innovation at work. Attention is given to 'stable' and 'process' views of organizations and how these positions influence research objectives, methodological approach and findings. The paper is critical of those who seek to hold to a superior position - a one best approach for all; as well as those who seek the best from all worlds - a combinational approach that services both quantitative and qualitative research. In drawing on over 25 years of field research on change management, the paper also seeks to explore the broken links between …

The Influence Of Perceived Credibility On Preferences For Recommender Systems As Sources Of Advice, Kyung Hyan Yoo, Ulrike Gretzel

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Recommender systems promise to support travelers in complex decision-making processes; however, whether a recommendation is seen as credible advice and actually taken into account not only depends on travelers' perceptions of the recommendation but also of the system as the advice giver. A scale to measure recommender system credibility was developed and tested. The results confirm that credibility has two dimensions: expertise and trustworthiness. Further, significant gender differences in credibility perceptions were found. The findings also indicate that respondents prefer humans as recommendation sources and that this preference is influenced by perceptions of lack of credibility of recommender systems as …

Using Neighborhood Graphs For The Investigation Of E. Coli Gene Clusters, Theresa Scharl, Friedrich Leisch

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Clustering is commonly used in the analysis of geneexpression data to nd groups of co{expressed genes.The denition of gene clusters is not very clear asgenetic interactions are extremely complex. For thisreason the relationship between clusters is very importantas co{expressed genes can end up in dierentclusters. The neighborhood graph is a useful tool tovisualize the cluster structure. In this paper the Rpackage gcExplorer is presented which is an interactivetoolbox for the exploration of gene clusters. Additionalinformation about the gene clusters like theannotation of genes to functional groups (e.g., GOcategories) can easily be investigated. The new visualizationtoolbox is demonstrated on microarray datafrom …

Ict Devices As Ubiquitous Tools For Information Seeking Activity, Joseph A. Meloche, Helen M. Hasan

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper investigates the use of current and developing ubiquitous digital devices and the way that they impact on, and are integrated into, use by groups within the community for information seeking. Three cases are presented involving ubiquitous use of the mobile phone, USB memory devices, and a wireless groupware system. The study considers the need for ongoing research to inform, direct and study the innovative use, appropriation and development of such tools. The primary methodological framework that is applied is activity theory, as it allows dasiatoolpsila to be examined in light of purposeful activity in the context of their …

Flexmix: An R Package For Finite Mixture Modelling, Bettina Grun, Friedrich Leisch

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Finite mixture models are a popular method for modelling unobserved heterogeneity or for approximating general distribution functions. They are applied in a lot of different areas such as astronomy, biology, medicine or marketing. An overview on these models with many examples for applications is given in the recent monographs McLachlan and Peel (2000) and Frühwirth-Schnatter (2006).

Frequency Of Communication Within Npd Projects: Implications For Key Measures Of Success, Elias Kyriazis

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The nature of cross-functional relationships during NPD projects has received considerable research attention with an emphasis on achieving successful integration. To achieve this functional integration new product development activities often require functional specialists to communicate with one another to achieve their respective task goals. This study examines the frequency of communication within NPD projects as reported by R&D Manager from 184 Australian NPD projects. We find that informal methods of communication have a positive relationship with three key NPD outcome variables such as perceived relationship effectiveness, interpersonal collaboration and NPD project success. This study provides empirical support for the proposition …

A Transfer Pricing Apparatus For Measuring Value Added Along The Supply Chain: Reflections For Internet Based Inter-Organisational Relationships, Michael D. J. Clements, Nigel J. Price

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Inter-firm communication through advanced technology such as the internet, adds value to supply chain organisations through speed of information transference at a lower cost than traditional communication modes. However, the sharing of sensitive market information relies upon a strong inter-organisational relationship presence, displaying intangible qualities such as trust and commitment. These value added relational based characteristics are not as yet easily measured. This paper introduces and explains the concept of measuring value added along the supply chain from a transfer pricing perspective. This non-conventional supply chain (value-chain) perspective invites the reader to consider measuring added value as it moves between …

Consumer's Product Comprehension: Limitations Of Past Work And Recommendations For New Directions, Amina Ait El Houssi, Sara Dolnicar

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Advertising has to effectively explain new products to consumers. Product comprehension research provides the theoretical insights needed to do so. Yet, results from product comprehension research are limited because the stimuli used were not really new products and the validity of the comprehension measures used is questionable. We contribute by providing a brief literature review supporting the above claims and proposing two improvements for future work: the use of extensive pre-studies to identify stimuli of varying innovativeness levels and the inclusion of services new to consumers, not the market. Empirical illustrations of the value of both propositions are provided.

Traditional Audit Techniques And Human Behaviour At Undergraduate Level - Answering The Call For Audit Education Reform, Annamaria Kurtovic

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

As educators, we have a responsibility to society to ensure that our students receive adequate learning and training. In recent years, there have been continued calls for reform within the accounting profession, particularly regarding auditor training. The following paper will analyse how a newly developed framework, the Fusion Framework, is applied to the curricula of an undergraduate auditing and assurance course, with the aim of influencing reform in audit education. In turn assuring that graduates are provided with the necessary knowledge and skills to not only meet the regulatory requirements but also the expectations of the wider market and investors. …

Overcoming Organisational Resistance To Using Wiki Technology For Knowledge Management, Charmaine C. Pfaff, Helen M. Hasan

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Although Wikis emerged in the public domain more than a decade ago, a number of business organisations are now discovering the advantages of using Wiki technology to manage knowledge. However, there are many who are not convinced about the merits of this relatively new Wiki technology and are not yet prepared to risk its adoption because it exhibits many ideas that have yet to be tested and many issues that have yet to be resolved. This paper studies the merits of using a Wiki for knowledge management. While some cases of corporate adoption of Wiki technology have been reported, cases …

Students' Preference For Teaching Strategies That Strengthen The Learning Of Economics In Middle Eastern Universities, Mokhtar M. Metwally, Nelson Perera

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

A survey, covering a random sample of 139 students, was conducted at the University of Wollongong in Dubai during the months of September-November 2004, to gather opinions of students about their attitudes towards strategies that promote the teaching and learning of economics The technique of factor analysis was used to model the preference of students for various strategies. Multiple discriminant analysis was used to find out whether there are any significant differences in the attitudes of students at different stages :"students learning introductory economic subjects", "students learning intermediate economic subjects" and "students learning advanced and applied economic subjects" Factor scores …