181,921 research outputs found
Exploring customer trust and relationships in the online environment
No full textThis thesis presents eleven selected publications concerning trust and relationships in the online environment. The evolution of the research over ten years showcases the author’s dedication to the practical application of marketing for the benefit of organisations and individuals alongside contribution to academic knowledge.
The advent of new technology by way of the internet has added a new dimension to the complexity of marketing strategy and, from a practical point of view, marketers need to incorporate cutting edge technology into their strategic thinking. Existing literature at the time that the author started this research was at the nascent stage and over the period of the research, it became obvious that technology could be used as a tool to help build relationships. Conversely, customers demonstrated varying degrees of trust in both the technologies and the organisations using online-based tools. It became essential, therefore, for organisations to appear trustworthy in order for customers to engage with online marketing platforms and subsequently entrust their purchasing activities to the online environment.
The research appraised in this thesis makes a significant contribution to knowledge about marketing in the online environment and the implications of engendering consumer trust. Six key contributions to knowledge are claimed as a result of this work. Firstly, a framework for using online marketing strategically has been developed. Secondly, an analysis of how online marketing fits into the traditional marketing framework is provided. Thirdly, the author introduces the notion that trust in a brand influences online behaviour by reducing perceived risk, leading to consumers committing to online purchasing. Fourthly, online brand elements used to create credibility of a B2B brand are identified. Fifthly, the author presents an identification of how structural elements of websites can be utilized to differentiate online brands from competitors’ offerings. Finally, the author puts forward the proposition that marketers can learn from relatiaonships between contributors to online social networks.
The researcher has utilised a variety of deliberately chosen methodologies, most of which are qualitative. The thesis also contains three secondary contributions related to research design. These are the use of a bought-in, permission-based email list, the innovative use of netnography to elicit rich data from online discussion forums and, finally, content analysis of websites. The work concludes by offering eight recommendations for future research directions
Approaching the s-wave model ground state energy of He-like atomic ions: results from a model Hamiltonian
No full textAmovilli, Howard and March model Hamiltonian is here extended to an arbitrary interparticle interaction strength. The model remains analytically solvable and the ground state wavefunction with a given, variationally determined, choice of parameters provides an approximate two-electron correlated s-wave function. Results are given for the series of nuclear charges between Z= 1 and 10. More than 60 % of s-wave correlation energy is recovered
The application of high temperature superconducting materials to power switches
No full textSuperconducting switches may nd application in superconducting magnet systems that
require energy extraction. Such superconducting switches could be bypass-switches that
are operated in conjunction with a parallel resistor or dump-switches where all of the
energy is dissipated in the switch itself. Bypass-switches are more suited to higher energy
circuits as a portion of the energy can be dissipated in the external dump resistor. Dump-switches
require less material and triggering energy as a lower switch resistance is needed
to achieve the required total dump resistance.Both superconducting bypass-switches and superconducting dump-switches can be thermally
activated. Switching times that are comparable to those obtained with mechanical
bypass-switch systems can be achieved using a co-wound heater that is powered by a capacitor
discharge. Switches that have fast thermal diffusion times through the insulation
can be modelled as a lumped system whereas those with slow thermal diffusion times were
modelled with the full heat diffusion equation.Superconducting switches can be formed of either high temperature superconductors
(HTS) or low temperature superconductors (LTS). Switches based on HTS materials allow
operation at higher temperatures where the cost of cooling is less. Extracting the magnet
energy and depositing the heater energy at higher temperatures will also reduce the load on
the overall cryogenic system during switching and energy extraction. For magnet circuits
that are based on high temperature superconductors the switch must also be formed of
HTS material. Due to the approximately T3 dependence of specific heat capacity, switches
that operate at higher temperatures have slower heat diffusion times and require higher
triggering energies than those operating at low temperature. HTS based dump-switches
and HTS based bypass-switches were tested in liquid nitrogen to show that the required
switching time could be achieved at these high temperatures.The design and optimisation of superconducting switches that were formed of various
superconducting materials were performed for example magnet circuits to provide reference
designs of switches. These example circuits were based on selected Large Hadron Collider
600 A circuits that had a stored energy of 5.5 kJ. Superconducting switches may also nd
application in magnet circuits with higher transport currents and higher energies. The
scaling and suitability of the reference designs to higher energy circuits was also described
Recommended from our members
Photograph of two men shaking hands as a group looks on at the Founder's Day March (photograph)
No full textPhotograph of two men shaking hands as a group looks on at the Founder's Day March
Arctic Biodiversity Assessment - Author Principles and Guidelines March 2009
No full textArctic Council´s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group (CAFF): Arctic Biodiversity Assessment - Author Principles and Guidelines March 200
Data used in 'March-Salas et al. 2021. Effects of intrinsic precipitation-predictability on root traits, allocation strategies, and the selective regimes acting on them. Oikos'
No full textClimate change affects means, variances and the intrinsic predictability of the climate. However, experimental tests of how changes in intrinsic climatic predictability affects plant traits, allocation strategies, and the selective regime acting on them are scarce, as well as evidence for the importance of root functional traits to cope with climatic uncertainty. Here, we experimentally manipulated intrinsic daily and inter-seasonal precipitation-predictabilities and tested their effect on root traits, root allocation strategies, the selective regime acting on them, and transgenerational root responses, using a four-year field experiment and Onobrychis viciifolia. More predictable precipitation led to lower root biomass and a lower overall plant performance, and to higher allocation to roots and higher within-root allocation (i.e. allocation to root branching and maximum rooting depth relative to allocation to roots). Differences in intrinsic daily and inter-seasonal predictability induced differences in the strength of selection acting on the studied traits, but did not affect the type of the selective regime, nor the transgenerational responses. The results indicate that higher predictability constrained a plant’s performance, while plants were able to cope with lower predictability. Absence of transgenerational responses in root traits with respect to the predictability treatments, points to slow or no inter-generational changes of root traits in unpredictable habitats. Thus, adjustments in root allocation strategies and changes therein might be key to deal with increasing climatic uncertainty.Peer reviewe
March AB, March AB1: new March tests for unlinked dynamic memory faults
No full textAmong the different types of algorithms proposed to test static random access memories (SRAMs), March tests have proven to be faster, simpler and regularly structured. New memory production technologies introduce new classes of faults usually referred to as dynamic memory faults. A few March tests for dynamic fault, with different fault coverage, have been published. In this paper, we propose new March tests targeting unlinked dynamic faults with lower complexity than published ones. Comparison results show that the proposed March tests provide the same fault coverage of the known ones, but they reduce the test complexity, and therefore the test tim
Protected area visitor data collection and management: Emerging issues and gaps in current Australian practices
No full textProtected area agencies are charged with the preservation, conservation and management of areas including wilderness, national parks and forests. These agencies are faced with increasing visitor numbers and decreasing budgets at a time where activities like tourism have to be managed alongside their traditional roles as natural resource managers. This paper reports on the outcomes of the first stage of a research project that seeks to guide a nationally consistent approach to visitor use data collection for protected area agencies. First, the paper provides a background literature review of approaches to visitor use data collection for protected area agencies. Second, the paper outlines the participatory action research approach used in the study where thirteen protected area agencies are collaborators in the research process. This approach ensures that the protected areas agencies data needs are central to the research outcomes and recognises the pragmatic organisational cultural issues associated with visitor data collection, management and use. The research process incorporates organisational networking at all levels from head office, regions, branches and individual parks involving management information systems, interviews, focus groups, presentations, briefings and follow-up contact. Third, the paper then presents the emergent themes that examine the issues and gaps in current visitor data collection, management and use systems. The paper concludes with discussion of the challenges to developing a national system of visitor data collection and use
- …
