Losing Clients in B2C eCommerce: Have we forgotten the importance of Trust?

For 25 years we have watched and nurtured the growth of B2C eCommerce with first time consumers, however consumer surveys are indicating that we are losing ground with previous customers who are vowing not to return. Consumers state that they perceive a lack of confidence and trust that the vendor will provide a safe and secure environment. In the early stages of development much research into trust was undertaken with many models developed to encourage consumers to be adopters of online commerce. Maintenance of trust now appears to be diminishing and it is time to consider the original motivations. This paper assembles much of the previous research in the areas of technology acceptance, personal needs and discipline specific understandings of trust and how they relate to eCommerce in an attempt to get back to basics in trust relationships and understanding of human needs

Are Britain’s Higher Education Institutions Prepared for Prosecution in September 2005 Due to Their Lack of Disabled Access?

In September 2005, Britain’s higher education institutions become liable to prosecution if a student or staff member believes there to be disability discrimination relating to access to buildings, facilities and other areas. This is because the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) made educational institutions responsible for implementing Part IV of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA). This research note presents a case study constituting an audit of one university. Finding that, despite a programme of access, the university lacks many features that would be expected, the study is offered as a shot across the bows to administrators in UK higher education institutions..

A comparison of Blackboard CAA and an Innovative self assessment tool for formative assessment

This comparative study analyses the responses of a cohort of students using both the Blackboard Multiple Choice Computer Aided Assessment (CAA) package and another Multiple Choice Question package that utilizes Confidence Measurement (MCQCM) for revision. The Blackboard test was the simple Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) format of a stem followed by four simple text options; the other utilized the traditional MCQ format with multiple possible answers. The MCQCM evolved from a series of studies in the IT discipline where the system was used over sequential semesters to elicit feedback to improve its functionality and usability. A total of 74 students completed a questionnaire as part of the standard subject evaluation for the participating subjects. The questions were designed to evaluate their opinion of the testing procedure identifying their preferences and concerns. The results were analyzed producing some encouraging observations. It was observed that there was a strong overall acceptance of the innovative self assessment tool MCQCM as a valuable contributor to the learning experience. In addition, the MCQCM was rated equally by the participants to the Blackboard CAA in influencing their direction of learning and identifying the areas of concern. The results show that MCQCM has promise and recommends further study

Why repeat victimization matters

The basic facts of repeat victimization are well known. Substantial proportions of differences in rates of crime are attributable to differences in their concentration on particular targets, whether those targets are defined in terms of people, organizations or households. Four of the chapters in this collection detail the extent and correlates of such rates in continental Europe and worldwide (by Farrell and Bouloukos, van Dijk, Kleemans, and Mawby). As is evident from these chapters and from other publications, establishing precise levels of repeats is by no means easy. While problems with police data on recorded crime are well-recognized, victimization surveys also have attendant difficulties. Once this is acknowledged and set aside,whether a level of repeats is high or low depends upon the prevalence of crime. Low levels of repeats will be important in countries or re-gions of low crime prevalence. High levels of repetition will always be important, but less remarkable where high crime-prevalence is found

Convergence of validity for the results of a summative assessment with confidence measurement and traditional assessment

This research examines the use in IT education of an innovative online assessment tool that incorporates confidence measurement. The tool is based on the traditional Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) format with an additional component that permits the user to register their confidence for each answer. The tool is referred to as the Multiple Choice Question with Confidence Measurement (MCQCM). A cohort of 52 Data Communication students utilized the MCQCM as their primary revision tool throughout a semester and then for a test in class. As part of the review they were then asked to give feedback on using the MCQCM as a formal summative assessment tool. The test was graded using the traditional method as well as by calculating a further grade from the student’s registered confidence. The results demonstrated a good correlation and convergence of validity between the dual marks supporting the use of the system as a summative assessment option. It was also observed that the majority of high achievers scored less for the MCQCM grade than for the traditional MCQ. In addition, the students’ perception of the MCQCM as a graded assessment task was quite positive. These results are very encouraging and will be further investigated as part of this ongoing research

Popping the Balloon Effect: Assessing Drug Law Enforcement in Terms of Displacement, Diffusion, and the Containment Hypothesis

The ‘balloon effect’ is an often used but rather dismissive representation of the effects of drug law enforcement. It implies a hydraulic displacement model and an impervious illicit drug trade. This paper reviews theoretical and empirical developments in policing and crime prevention. Based on this, 10 types of displacement are identified and four arguments developed: (1) Displacement is less extensive and harmful than often contended; (2) Where displacement may occur it preferably should be exploited as a policy tool to delay the illicit drug industry and deflect it to less harmful locations and forms; (3) The opposite of displacement occurs, termed a diffusion of drug control benefits, wherein law enforcement has benefits that extend further than envisaged, and has 10 types mirroring those of displacement; (4) The net impact of drug law enforcement is often underestimated, and a containment hypothesis may offer a more accurate framework for evaluation

Microwave and Radio-Frequency Technologies in Agriculture: an introduction for agriculturalists and engineers

Humanity's ability to produce enough food is mostly due to adoption of new methods and technologies by the agricultural industries as they became available. New information, communication and high speed processing and precision agriculture technologies have the potential to transform the agricultural industry. These technologies incorporate radio-frequency and microwave radiation into their systems. This book presents an overview of how these technologies are being used in agricultural systems. The main purpose of the book is to provide a glimpse of what is possible and encourage practitioners in the engineering and agricultural industries to explore how radio-frequency and microwave systems might further enhance the agricultural industry. The authors have extensive experience in agricultural and microwave engineering, instrumentation and communication systems

Drug offenders in the global criminal justice system

The present work assesses the extent, variation and changes in drug trafficking, drug possession and all drug offences in criminal justice systems around the world between. Across the five years of study there was a strong international trend over time, showing relatively small but widespread increases in drug offenders for each stage from suspects arrested by law enforcement, through prosecutions and convictions, to prison admissions. The international mean for all drug offences as a percentage of all offences was 7% of suspects, 7% of prosecutions, 6% of convictions, and 11% of prison admissions in the most recent year for which data was available. The non-parametric sign-test is used to show that the international trends were statistically significant in terms of the number of countries increasing or decreasing the proportion of drug offenders. It seems that, in general, criminal justice systems around the world are characterised more by the similarities than differences in the proportions of drug offenders at different stages. However, several statistically deviant countries are identifiable at different criminal justice stages and at different times. Some specific issues are worthy of further examination. In particular there is the possibility that the United States is not particularly more punitive at sentencing or imprisonment than other countries when it comes to drug offenders, but rather, that it has a relatively greater tendency to prosecute drug offences cases. Further, at the stage of imprisonment, drug offenders constitute a larger proportion of all offenders imprisoned in Belgium, Italy and Germany, than they do in the United States. Although people are often quick to identify the US the world's penal sadist when it comes to drug offenders, the present data set suggests that for the early 1990's at least, there is no conclusive evidence that this is the case. The further investigation of these and other issues may provide information of relevance to drug policy or criminal justice policy at the national or international level. Variations in sentence lengths for drug offences are also examined, although the data is more fragmented. For those countries that responded, the international median sentence length for possession offences is around one year compared to somewhere between three and five years for trafficking. The findings and their interpretation should be viewed with caution due to the limitations of the data. However, the analysis suggests that the United Nations crime survey has been under-utilised as a means of developing knowledge and information of relevance to national and international drug policy and criminal justice policy. A range of possibilities for furthering the present work is suggested

History of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Committee: 1987-2000

This chapter describes the emergence of an entity dedicated to improving inter-agency coordination in domestic violence service delivery, the Domestic Violence Coordinating Committee (DVCC), then charts its work and activity level from its formation in 1987 to the time this research was conducted in 2000. In addition to an overview of the history of the DVCC, this chapter includes a discussion of the factors found pertinent for success and failure of DVCC, and a concluding section where these themes are drawn into an analytical framework. Special attention is given to the role of the police department and its relationships over time with the DVCC and with the individual agencies in the domestic violence service community