Reconsidering the measurement of country image - theory and practice

The concept of country image has been under constant attention of academic research in marketing, however the focus has been aimed much more at investigating country of origin image than country image. Researchers agree that a strong theoretical background to country image would be necessary and proper measurement instruments should be developed, as this field of study is not as well developed as the country of origin image studies. Recent publications look to a new approach and consider country image related to country branding and use the concept of “country value” in a similar way to “brand value”. The country brand images are very complex and multidimensional, they consist of more dimensions than classical consumer brands. In the same way as brands are measurable, the country image can be measured as well. The main aim of our research is to construct a new, alternative measurement for country image, examining the answers to open-ended questions and testing previously developed scales for this purpose and brand image scales simultaneously. In order to develop our new multidimensional country image scale we reviewed relevant literature from both marketing and non-marketing fields, analysed previously developed scales by identifying their strengths and weaknesses. As a result of this process we choose three different measurements and carried out field research among 400 Hungarian university students to test these instruments simultaneously. In this study we present our findings and the results of the open-ended questions and one of the applied scales. Our aim is to identify the cognitive and affective dimensions of country image, to test the reliability and variability of the measurements, and to provide applications for marketing, tourism and public policy strategies.country image, country branding, scale test and development

Assessment of out-of-plane failure of non-engineered masonry walls due to Typhoon Haiyan induced storm surges

Typhoon Haiyan, in 2013, caused massive destruction in eastern Luzon and central Visayan region in the Philippines. Failure (collapsed) of non-engineered masonry walls were the most common failure experienced by residential structures in the area. Local government declared No Build Zone policy along coastal barangays, however this policy was not successfully implemented due to economic and social considerations.This exposed the high vulnerability of non-engineered masonry walls, as employed in residential structures in rural areas, against extreme events. Existing building codes for large reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures had performed well during Typhoon Haiyan, however, the current construction method for masonry walls for coastal structures has high vulnerability to out-of-plane (OOP) failures due to poor construction methodology and insufficient design considerations. On-site survey along the coastal barangays of Tacloban City was conducted mainly to investigate the construction and design process for masonry walls of the low-rise residential structures. Based on this survey, a common non-engineered design was established. Adequacy of the minimum design requirement for masonry walls based on NSCP 2015/ACI 530-02 was also verified. The estimated maximum pressure capacity using yield line method for the non-engineered masonry walls and NSCP 2015/ACI 530-02 compliant design was found to be below the possible lateral pressure due to storm surges. Thus, improved construction design was proposed and assessed against similar loads with consideration about the cost and suitability for the local worker’s skills and techniques. Improvements in design includes reducing spacing and increasing the size of steel reinforcements, increasing CHB thickness, and regulating masonry wall dimensions. Comparison in lateral pressure capacity per design consideration of masonry walls were established by finite element analysis using Staad Pro V8. Based on the comparison of the analytical results, it is concluded that the maximum pressure capacity of the improved masonry design increased significantly compared to the current non-engineered masonry design