Let Me Give You My Card : A Study of Evolving Business Protocols in the Information Age

Non peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Analysis of the Impacts of Freight Subsidisation on Transport Mode Selection: An Assessment of the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme

The objective of this research is to identify the key selection criteria that form the basis of a shipper’s selection of freight transport mode. The study is undertaken in the context of sea freight. The study is localised to Tasmanian shippers who are, or are potentially, recipients of freight subsidisation through the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme. Data collected through an internet-based survey is described, and influential mode choice selection criteria are reported with the use of descriptive statistics. The findings indicate that Tasmanian shippers are conscious of cost, service, and cargo characteristics.Median responses indicate that cost, service, and cargo are equally significant in the selection process. The findings indicate that cost and cost flexibility are influential cost-based criteria. The findings also indicate that transit time, service capacity, and service flexibility are influential service-based criteria. Shipment size, cargo weight, and cargo volume are also identified as influential cargo-based criteria.This study provides insight into mode choice selection for Tasmanian shippers. In this function, it may assist existing air and sea carriers operating in the Tasmanian market to evaluate their performance and strategy by providing an analysis of shippers’ transport mode choice process. Tasmanian shippers themselves may benefit from the potential expansion of their existing freight transport mode choice process. New shippers of freight into and out of Tasmania may benefit from the perspectives of existing shippers of freight into and out of Tasmania

Positive or negative? The impact of X-ray feedback on the formation of direct collapse black hole seeds

A nearby source of Lyman–Werner (LW) photons is thought to be a central component in dissociating H2 and allowing for the formation of a direct collapse black hole seed. Nearby sources are also expected to produce copious amounts of hydrogen ionizing photons and X-ray photons. We study here the feedback effects of the X-ray photons by including a spectrum due to high-mass X-ray binaries on top of a galaxy with a stellar spectrum. We explicitly trace photon packages emerging from the nearby source and track the radiative and chemical effects of the multifrequency source (Ephoton = 0.76 eV → 7500 eV). We find that X-rays have a strongly negative feedback effect, compared to a stellar only source, when the radiative source is placed at a separation greater than ≳ 1 kpc. The X-rays heat the low and medium density gas in the envelope surrounding the collapsing halo suppressing the mass inflow. The result is a smaller enclosed mass compared to the stellar only case. However, for separations of ≲ 1 kpc, the feedback effects of the X-rays becomes somewhat neutral. The enhanced LW intensity at close separations dissociates more H2 and this gas is heated due to stellar photons alone, the addition of X-rays is then not significant. This distance dependence of X-ray feedback suggests that a Goldilocks zone exists close to a forming galaxy where X-ray photons have a much smaller negative feedback effect and ideal conditions exist for creating massive black hole seeds

Comment on Ds∗→Dsπ0D_s^* \to D_s \pi^0 Decay

We calculate the rate for $D_s^* \rightarrow D_s \pi^0$ decay using Chiral Perturbation Theory. This isospin violating process results from $\pi^0$ - $\eta$ mixing, and its amplitude is proportional to $(m_d - m_u)/\bigl(m_s-(m_u+m_d)/2 \bigr)$. Experimental information on the branching ratio for $D_s^* \rightarrow D_s \pi^0$ can provide insight into the pattern of $SU(3)$ violation in radiative $D^*$ decays.Comment: 7 pages with 2 figures not included but available upon request, CALT-68-191

Chiral perturbation theory for hadrons containing a heavy quark: the sequel

Charm and bottom mesons and baryons are incorporated into a low energy chiral Lagrangian. Interactions of the heavy hadrons with light octet Goldstone bosons are studied in a framework which represents a synthesis of chiral perturbation theory and the heavy quark effective theory. The differential decay rate for the semileptonic process \LBzero \to \Sigma_c^{++} + e^- + \bar{\nu}_e + \pi^- is calculated at the zero recoil point using this hybrid formalism.Comment: 12 pages (2 figures not included

Intellectual capital reporting : an examination of local government in Victoria

The objective of this research is to examine how Victorian local government annual reports disclose information on intellectual capital. The idea of intellectual capital has become part of the working organisational vocabulary, and is widely held in management literature to be the pre-eminent economic resource and a key driver of efficiency, effectiveness and continual improvement in the private and public sectors. Under the recent Best Value Victoria policy, local governments are under increasing pressure to acquire and apply intellectual capital to improve responsiveness to community needs and meet cost and quality criteria. Annual reports exist as vehicles for communication, accountability and decision making. This study examines how the internal, external and human categories of intellectual capital are represented in the annual reports for the 2000 year for 77 of the 78 Victorian localgovernments. Using a matrix approach derived from Petty and Guthrie\u27s (2000) framework, content analysis is employed to examine the incidence and intensity with which specific elements of intellectual capital are reported. This research indicates that generally the content of annual reports have not provided clear and coherent representations of how local government in Victoria are developing, applying and measuring intellectual capital. The nature and extent of intellectual capital reporting varies considerably between councils, and the disclosure of the human elements of intellectual capital is particularly underdeveloped. The findings suggest that more research in this area is needed to determine the extent to which intellectual capital should be disclosed and whether the current paucity of disclosure stems from disinterest or technical problems. There is also the need for further research into the need to identify and describe elements of intellectual capital, and into effectivereporting strategies and techniques. This may lead to the development of a \u27best practice\u27 reporting model for intellectual capital. Furthermore, the preliminary investigations indicate a perceived need to raise the consciousness of public sectormanagers as to the existence of intellectual capital within their organisations, and ultimately lead to more informed and effective management of this asset. <br /