48,078 results
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Determinants of coordination effectiveness of selected international agri-food supply chains : a structural equation modelling approach : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Massey University, New Zealand
Akhtar, Pervaiz (2013)
Doctoral thesis
Massey UniversityOne of the current discussions in the literature is that intangible (chain coordinators’ competencies/skills) and tangible resources are the key determinants of the effectiveness of supply chain coordination (operational, social and financial performance). Chain coordinators’ abilities (formal and informal education, training and experience), leadership styles (participative and directive), effective communication (communication quality and frequency) and analytical skills (internal and external applications) are found to be the promising intangible resources. The tangible resources consist of human (a number of people for coordination activities) and non-human (budget and technology for coordination activities) assets. Both tangible and intangible resources determined the effectiveness of supply chain coordination. In other words, the theoretical model proposed that the above mentioned resources were significantly correlated with the effectiveness of supply chain coordination. Also, operational (service and product quality) and social (satisfaction with and trust in supply chain partners) dimensions significantly influenced financial performance (profit, sales and market share). Therefore, these resources, including operational and social dimensions, were considered as the key determinants for coordination success among supply chain partners. Thus, the development of the proposed model and subsequent testing it based on collected data achieved the study objectives. This first led to investigate the nature of supply chain coordination and to identify chain coordinators from the selected international agri-food supply chains (dairy, meat, apples, onions and wine) of New Zealand, UK and Pakistan. The nature of supply chain coordination showed potential close interactions occur among farmers, chemical suppliers, logistics providers, food processors, wholesalers (importers and exporters) and retailers. These chain partners exchange information and work together to achieve the effectiveness of supply chain coordination. Moreover, these chain partners generally believe in closer coordination rather than arm’s-length relationships. However, the intensity of coordination varies across regions. For instance, it was found that the limited coordination (low-to-medium) occurs in Pakistani selected chains but the chains in New Zealand and the UK use a better integrated approach. Additionally, importers and exporters play a major role and they also support other chain partners. At organizational level, they (importers and exporters) act as chain coordinators. Within these organizations, chain coordinators (as person) are managing directors or owners in small companies. Chief executive officers (CEOs) and head of departments (marketing managers, supply chain managers, channel or chain managers) play the role of chain coordinators in medium-sized enterprises. Following the identification of chain coordinators and collecting the data from them, the quantitative analyses were conducted based on a total of 225 and 112 useable responses received from New Zealand and the UK respectively. Overall, the results obtained from the New Zealand sample showed that nearly 85% of the total structural coefficients were significantly correlated with the effectiveness of supply chain coordination whereas the findings based on the UK sample revealed that almost 77% of the total structural coefficients were significant. The findings indicated that education (formal and informal – excluding multiple language skills), training, experience, a participative leadership style, effective communication and analytical skills were the key competencies for chain coordinators. Chain coordinators’ competencies together with non-human resources (budget and technology) determined the effectiveness of supply chain coordination. Additionally, operational and social dimensions had highly significant effects on financial performance. Therefore, it was concluded that chain coordinators who have the above mentioned competencies or skills are in a better position to understand modern agri-food supply chains. They also perform supply chain activities effectively, in turn, it keeps supply chain partners connected and motivated to achieve the effectiveness of supply chain coordination. Thereby, the study made substantial contributions in the field where there has been a lack of such findings. Also, the directions for future research provide further interesting outcomes and useful guidelines.
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The water footprint of agricultural products in New Zealand : the impact of primary production on water resources : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Soil and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Herath, Indika Kaumudini (2013)
Doctoral thesis
Massey UniversityProtecting and sustaining global water resources are one of the most challenging issues facing the world. Future food security is threatened by the continued increase in demand for water. Agriculture is, by far, the largest consumer of global freshwater, with irrigation accounting for more than 70% of water withdrawals. As the dominant land use in New Zealand, agriculture has the most widespread impacts on freshwater quality and quantity. The water footprint (WF) is a metric that quantifies the environmental impacts related to water use. The WF is likely to form the basis of eco- verification or environmental product declarations related to water use, thereby communicating water use impacts associated with the production of goods and services to a range of stakeholders, including consumers. While the international standards for water footprinting are still being developed, a number of protocols have already been proposed for quantifying the WFs of a range of agricultural products. If New Zealand is to remain competitive within an increasingly discriminating market place, it will need to be able to demonstrate the impacts of resource use. The objectives of this thesis are to quantify the impacts of the production of two of New Zealand’s economically important agricultural products on water resources. These are wine-grape (Vitis vinifera), the top horticultural export product, and potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), the largest vegetable crop in terms of area under cultivation in New Zealand. In order to meet this objective, a new method, which is based on a full hydrological assessment, was developed. A further objective is to compare this method with three other WF methods, in relation to their usefulness to stakeholders. This study also aims to identify potential management options, which can be implemented to reduce the water-related impacts of these products. Electricity is a major input into the supply chains of most primary products and, because hydropower is the major component of New Zealand’s electricity mix, it was first decided to determine the WF of hydro-electricity. This WF value of electricity was then used in subsequent assessments of the WF of wine and potatoes. The hydrological water balance method has been used here to quantify the WF of wine production in Marlborough and Gisborne, which are two hydrologically different regions in New Zealand. This assessment considered approximately 12,600 ha under grapes and 36 wineries across both the regions: and the vineyards were on 29 different soil types spread across 19 climatic regions. The functional unit (FU) is a 750-mL bottle of wine at the winery gate. The hydrological water balance method considers water inflows and outflows into and out of the system and it identifies two main water resources; namely, soil water (the green water resource), and groundwater (the blue water resource). The net uses of these two resources were quantified as the green and blue water WFs. The impact of wine production on water quality, the grey WF, was assessed by considering the average nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) concentration and the load of NO3-N reaching groundwater. Subsequently, the WFs of the same wines were evaluated, by using three other WF methods: the ‘consumptive water use method’ of the Water Footprint Network (WFN); the stress-weighted WF; and a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based method that considers freshwater ecosystem impact and freshwater depletion. All these methods were evaluated for their ability to indicate local impacts on the water resources and their usefulness to key stakeholders. The hydrological water balance method was also used to assess the WF of a potato crop grown in the Manawatu region. This evaluation was supported by field measurements of the soil water content, drainage and leaching of NO3-N below the root zone. Finally, the WF of a kilogram of potatoes at the packhouse gate was quantified, by using mechanistic modelling, which was robustly supported by these field measurements. There was large variation in the WF of wine, both within and across the Marlborough and Gisborne regions. This variation reflects the large variability in regional rainfall and the large differences in local soil properties. At the grape-growing stage, the average blue-WFs were -81 L/FU and -415 L/FU for Marlborough and Gisborne, respectively. These negative values indicate that these water resources are being recharged on an annual timescale. The green-WFs were negligible, because the soils are returned to field capacity every year during winter. The average grey-WFs, that is, the water required to dilute the NO3-N leached in the vineyard phase, were 40 and 188 L/FU for Marlborough and Gisborne, respectively. However, the average concentration of NO3-N in the leachate was smaller than the New Zealand drinking water standard of 11.3mg /L. The comparison of different WF methods showed that the WFN method for the blue and green footprints does not represent impacts on the local water resources. The ability of the stress-weighted WF and the LCA based method to indicate the local impacts is limited due to the spatial constraints of the characterisation factors that have to be used. The hydrological water-balance method can indicate local impacts on water resources, and it does provide useful information to growers and resource regulators, which will enable them to set measurable targets, in order to reduce the WF. In the potato study, high spatial and temporal variability in field measurements proved to be very challenging. Therefore, it was considered to be more accurate to account for the whole crop sequence and long term weather data, through mechanistic modelling. The average blue-WF of the potato growing phase was -72 L/kg, thus indicating that the rain-fed potato production system has no deleterious impacts on blue water quantity in the region. This indicates that, for every kilogram of potatoes harvested, 72 litres of water recharges the local aquifer. The average grey-WF was 61 L/kg, of which 56 L/kg is from the cropping phase. The use of the absolute value of the grey WF, in order to understand the impact on water quality, is not straightforward. This point notwithstanding, the average concentrations and loading of NO3-N from the cultivation phase indicate that current practices are having some impact on water quality. The average concentration of NO3-N leaching below the root zone was at 11.3 mg /L, which is just at the drinking water standard. The average loading rate of NO3-N was 27.8 kg /ha/y. The potential to reduce the grey-WF was investigated by modelling three different nitrogen fertiliser application scenarios related to split applications and different timings. All three scenarios reduced the NO3-N concentrations and loads from the production system. The simulated NO3-N concentrations were reduced from 11.3 to 9.5 mg /L, and the loading rates were reduced from 27.8 to 24.3kg /ha/y, depending on the scenario. The WF is a useful tool to understand the impact of agricultural systems on water resources and also to derive improvement options. However, the robustness of current WF protocols for quantifying the impact of the product life cycle on water quality is dubious. These methods require further improvements, so that water footprinting can provide reasonable and rational metrics of the sustainable use of our water resources. The research described in this thesis has provided some new steps within this improvement process.
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Diffusion evolved : new musical interfaces applied to diffusion performance : an exegesis submitted to the New Zealand School of Music in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of the Musical Arts in Composition
Johnson, Bridget Dougherty (2013)
Masters thesis
Massey UniversityThis exegesis takes a critical look at the performance paradigm of sound diffusion. In making a shift away from the sixty-year-old practice of performing on a mixing desk or other fader bank console, it proposes and outlines a goal towards intuitive and transparent relationships between performance gesture and spatial trajectories. This is achieved by a coupling of the two previously segmented fields within electroacoustic: spatialisation and interface design. This research explains how connections between the two fields and an embracing of contemporary technological developments, with a goal toward increasing the liveness and gestural input that currently limit sound diffusion practice, could extend the art form into a virtuosic and compelling gestural performance art. The exegesis introduces and describes the author’s research and development of tactile.space, a new multitouch tool developed on the Bricktable for live sound diffusion. tactile.space is intended as a contribution to the growing research area of user interfaces developed specifically for the performance of sound in space. It affords performers a new level of gestural interaction with the space of the concert hall and the audience members and redefines multiple standardised interactions between the performer and the space, the gesture, the audience, and the sound in a diffusion concert.
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The hydrodynamics of the southern basin of Tauranga Harbour
Tay, H.W.; Bryan, Karin R.; de Lange, Willem P.; Pilditch, Conrad A. (2013)
Journal article
University of WaikatoThe circulation of the southern basin of Tauranga Harbour was simulated using a 3-D hydrodynamic model ELCOM. A 9-day field campaign in 1999 provided data on current velocity, temperature and salinity profiles at three stations within the main basin. The tidal wave changed most in amplitude and speed in the constricted entrances to channels, for example the M2 tide attenuated by 10% over 500 m at the main entrance, and only an additional 17% over the 15 km to the top of the southern basin. The modelled temperature was sensitive to wind mixing, particularly in tidal flat regions. Residence times ranged from 3 to 8 days, with higher residence times occurring in sub-estuaries with constricted mouths. The typical annual storm events were predicted to reduce the residence times by 24%–39% depending on season. Model scenarios of storm discharge events in the Wairoa River varying from 41.69 m3/s to 175.9 m3/s show that these events can cause salinity gradients across the harbour of up to 4 PSU.
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Ultraconserved words point to deep language ancestry across Eurasia
Pagel, Mark; Atkinson, Quentin D.; Calude, Andreea S.; Meade, Andrew (2013)
Journal article
University of WaikatoThe search for ever deeper relationships among the World’s languages is bedeviled by the fact that most words evolve too rapidly to preserve evidence of their ancestry beyond 5,000 to 9,000 y. On the other hand, quantitative modeling indicates that some “ultraconserved” words exist that might be used to find evidence for deep linguistic relationships beyond that time barrier. Here we use a statistical model, which takes into account the frequency with which words are used in common everyday speech, to predict the existence of a set of such highly conserved words among seven language families of Eurasia postulated to form a linguistic superfamily that evolved from a common ancestor around 15,000 y ago. We derive a dated phylogenetic tree of this proposed superfamily with a time-depth of ∼14,450 y, implying that some frequently used words have been retained in related forms since the end of the last ice age. Words used more than once per 1,000 in everyday speech were 7- to 10-times more likely to show deep ancestry on this tree. Our results suggest a remarkable fidelity in the transmission of some words and give theoretical justification to the search for features of language that might be preserved across wide spans of time and geography.
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A population based assessment of the geographical accessibility of outdoor recreation opportunities in New Zealand
Brabyn, Lars; Sutton, S. (2013)
Journal article
University of WaikatoActive participation in the outdoors not only provides enjoyment and adventure, but it is also important for health and promoting conservation values. The latter is particularly important for young people as they are at an impressionable stage in their lives. Geographical accessibly of recreation opportunities can be a major barrier to utlization of the New Zealand outdoors. While it would be ideal to have a variety of opportunities available to everyone regardless of residence, the distribution of opportunities is constrained by the extent of suitable lands. This research provides a population based assessment of the geographical accessibility of recreational opportunities. Accessibility has many dimensions and includes cultural, financial, and geographical barriers; therefore this research is only addressing one dimension of accessibility. Geographical Information Systems is used for the analysis, which involves a function called least-cost path analysis. This identified the travel time (using a private vehicle) via the quickest route from where people live (represented by census enumeration points) to the entry point of the recreation sites. The outputs of this research are maps and spatial statistics on the travel times to a range of recreation opportunities for different parts of New Zealand. This information is important for recreation planning. In addition, the information also provides research opportunities for modelling recreation use, especially when accessibility information is combined with landscape experience information and recreation usage statistics.
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Introducing contrast and luminance normalisation to improve the quality of subtractive resolution merge technique
Ashraf, Salman; Brabyn, Lars; Hicks, Brendan J. (2013)
Journal article
University of WaikatoSubtractive resolution merge (SRM) is a contemporary image fusion method that produces highly preserved spatial and spectral resolution. This method is limited to dual sensor platforms with specific band ratios between the high-resolution panchromatic image (HRPI) and the low-resolution multispectral image (LRMI). An additional problem with SRM is that some bands are over- or under-represented due to the normalisation function applied. This article provides two modifications that resolve these limitations. SRM builds a synthetic low-resolution panchromatic image (LRPISYN) from the weighted sum of the LRMI bands. This image is modified by using a spatially resampled HRPI instead. The second modification is the use of a contrast and luminance index for the normalising function. These two modifications are tested on QuickBird images (multispectral and panchromatic), as well as fusing SPOT-5 (Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre) multispectral image and an aerial photograph. The results show improved quantitative metrics and unsupervised classification compared with the standard SRM technique and other contemporary image fusion methods. Both of these modifications are grouped into a patent pending technique that is called contrast and luminance normalised fusion.
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Soil phosphorus dynamics and bioavailability in New Zealand forest ecosystems
Chirino-Valle, Ivan (2013)
Doctoral thesis
Lincoln UniversityPhosphorus (P) is an essential element for all living organisms and the productivity of natural and managed ecosystems is generally limited by the bioavailability of P in soil. Previous studies showed that significant changes in soil P occurred following a land-use change from grassland to short-rotation plantation forestry in hill and high country areas of New Zealand. However, most of these studies involved paired-site comparison at a single point in time after forest planting (commonly 10-20 years), and our understanding of when the changes in soil P occurred and the mechanisms involved is limited. The main objective of this study was to investigate temporal changes in the nature and bioavailability of soil P associated with forest development, including the effect of different tree species. This involved conducting five major experiments over a range of timescales from seasonal to millennia at four sites in New Zealand (Orton Bradley Park, Glendhu, Lincoln, Haast) using a variety of techniques to quantify temporal changes in the nature and bioavailability of soil P. The results of this research clearly demonstrated that dramatic changes in the nature and bioavailability of soil P occurred during the first 5 years following tree planting, which resulted in significant mineralisation of soil organic P. This in turn was mainly attributed to a combination of factors including P acquisition by trees and reduced quantities of organic matter and P returned to soil as a consequence of the cessation of grazing. Surprisingly, the initial changes in soil P were similar under three contrasting tree species (P. radiata, C. macrocarpa, E. nitens), which indicated that these tree species accessed similar forms of P in soil despite differences in mycorrhizal associations and growth. This was confirmed in results from the seasonal study carried out on the same site, while the relative short-term bioavailability of P in soils taken from the Haast native forest chronosequence was similar for P. radiata pine and C. macrocarpa. It was also shown that net mineralisation of organic P occurred when trees were planted in high organic matter/low P fertility soils, while net immobilisation of P (i.e. increases in organic P) occurred when trees and pasture were established simultaneously in a low organic matter/high P fertility soil. Increases in recalcitrant soil P indicated a shift towards more stable P forms with forest development, which was associated with the increased inputs of more recalcitrant organic matter and P with time.
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Anti-forensic implications of software bugs in digital forensic tools
Homewood, Alain Jared (2013)
Masters thesis
Auckland University of TechnologyThe digital forensic community relies on a small number of complex tools to analyse digital evidence. These digital forensic tools have greatly improved the accuracy and efficiency of investigations. However, the reliance on tools may be a weakness that can be exploited to prevent or disrupt investigations. Counter-measures to digital forensic techniques, known as anti-forensics, have typically been focussed on techniques to hide or prevent the creation of evidence. The concern of the author is that anti-forensic techniques may soon be focussed on exploiting software bugs in digital forensic tools. The tools used by the digital forensic community are complex with many different functions, which may contain software bugs. The risk of such software bugs is that digital forensic investigations could be compromised. This research evaluates the potential anti-forensic risk and implications of software bugs in digital forensic tools. This research first presents a literature review of areas of digital forensics related to anti-forensic risk such as anti-forensic techniques, tool testing methodologies and legal issues. This research then develops a suitable methodology to identify software bugs in digital forensic tools with potential anti-forensic risk. The methodology consists of six test cases designed to test various function areas of digital forensic tools for the presence of software bugs. Each test case has associated with it a number of reference sets to be used as input, which contain deliberately malformed data created through the process of file fuzzing. Acceptance spectrums ranging from “critically unacceptable” to “exceeds expectations” were developed to evaluate the anti-forensic risk caused by the identified software bugs. The research was successful in identifying a number of software bugs, the majority of which resulted in the digital forensic tools crashing. The software bugs identified were evaluated for anti-forensic risk and four test cases were determined to pose an unacceptable anti-forensic risk. Two test cases were determined to exceed expectations due to no software bugs being identified. The conclusion of the research is that software bugs in complex function areas of digital forensic tools pose an unacceptable anti-forensic risk. No critically unacceptable risks could be identified by this research. There is potential for further research into the anti-forensic implications of such software bugs.
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A comparison of nonlinear control performance assessment techniques for nonlinear processes
Yu, W; Wilson, DI; Young, BR (2012)
Journal article
Auckland University of TechnologyAssessing the quality of industrial control loops is an important auditing task for the control engineer. However, there are complications when considering the ubiquitous nonlinearities present in many industrial control loops. If one simply ignores these nonlinearities, there is the danger of over-estimating the performance of the control loop in rejecting disturbances and thereby possibly overlooking loops that need attention. To address this problem, several techniques have been recently developed to extend the control performance assessment (CPA) of single input/single output linear systems to nonlinear systems. This article surveys these nonlinear CPA techniques and compares their performances using three case studies. These results can be used to guide control engineers to select the most suitable CPA techniques for their particular applications.
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Left ventricular structure and function in elite judo players
Whyte, G.; George, K.; Sharma, S.; Martin, L.; Draper, N.; McKenna, W. (2000)
Journal article
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University of Canterbury Library -
A retrospective analysis of the publication of accounting research about New Zealand consequent on distant performance measurement of the academic person
Dixon, K. (2012)
University of Canterbury LibraryPurpose – University academics are important to the discovery and dissemination of knowledge about accounting practice and accounting learning. This paper explores the consequences for the Pacific society of New Zealand of performance of these discovery and dissemination activities being measured at the individual level using criteria directly linked to lists of periodicals compiled in Australia and that are decidedly Atlantocentric. Design/methodology/approach – A longitudinal approach is taken to how knowledge about accounting practice and accounting learning in New Zealand has been disseminated, and whether trends in this dissemination are suited to New Zealand audiences, including New Zealand students, New Zealand accountants, New Zealand policymakers, Aotearoa New Zealand’s indigenous people and its diverse recent-settler populations, and Pacific New Zealand Society. Over 100 accounting journals, magazines and similar periodicals are analysed, over the past quarter century and more, for articles based on empirical data from New Zealand. The findings relate to not only the topics of articles and which journals they have been published in, and what trends are arising. They also are interpreted in the broader context of university development and activities, and tertiary education policy and funding. Findings –Of the three activities associated with accounting in New Zealand universities, research has been the last to develop, starting with occasional articles from a small band of professors in the Chartered Accountants’ Journal (CAJ). Now, it is often accorded the highest priority, as reflected in formal individual academic performance management systems, and related incentives and penalties (exemplified by Performance Based Research Fund 2012). Publication patterns are changing. The CAJ has been deserted in favour of academic journals, virtually all published outside New Zealand. Academics have modified the way they report to suit the foreign editors and readerships. To publish about New Zealand in these journals, there is some advantage in studying areas in which New Zealand is seen as a “world leader” (e.g., Structural Adjustment, New Public Management, environmental accounting) but not in areas about which the outside world is oblivious (e.g., New Zealand’s multicultural array of people and organisations, including the Maori people) or in areas in which New Zealand lacks differences of “world” interest (e.g., financial collapses and director impropriety, what can be learnt by utilising stock exchange data). There do seem to be strong incentives for New Zealand-based academics to set their research in jurisdictions of more interest to journal publishers, if they want to score highly in individual performance management systems. How fit does that then make them to teach students about practices, concepts and issues in New Zealand? Research limitations/implications – The research is still in progress. Originality/value – Most studies of this ilk attempt to rank journals or are about researcher productivity and author placement. This study is concerned with whether knowledge about accounting practice and accounting learning in New Zealand is being disseminated in a way that suits those likely to be most interested and affected.
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East African cassava mosaic-like viruses from Africa to Indian ocean islands: Molecular diversity, evolutionary history and geographical dissemination of a bipartite begomovirus
De Bruyn, A.; Villemot, J.; Lefeuvre, P.; Villar, E.; Hoareau, M.; Harimalala, M.; Abdoul-Karime, A.L.; Abdou-Chakour, C.; Reynaud, B.; Harkins, G.W.; Varsani, A.; Martin, D.P.; Lett, J-M. (2012)
Journal article
University of Canterbury LibraryCassava (Manihot esculenta) is a major food source for over 200 million sub-Saharan Africans. Unfortunately, its cultivation is severely hampered by cassava mosaic disease (CMD). Caused by a complex of bipartite cassava mosaic geminiviruses (CMG) species (Family: Geminivirideae; Genus: Begomovirus) CMD has been widely described throughout Africa and it is apparent that CMGs are expanding their geographical distribution. Determining where and when CMG movements have occurred could help curtail its spread and reveal the ecological and anthropic factors associated with similar viral invasions. We applied Bayesian phylogeographic inference and recombination analyses to available and newly described CMG sequences to reconstruct a plausible history of CMG diversification and migration between Africa and South West Indian Ocean (SWIO) islands.
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Modeling Consumer Interactivity in Campaigns Coupling Simultaneous Media
Davis, Robert (2013)
Conference paper
UnitecBased on the responses of 506 consumers, this research models the consumers’ experience of interactivity when interacting with campaigns simultaneously coupling the ubiquitous mobile channel with other channels of response. In Study 1 (RQ1) support was found using structural equation modeling (SEM) for the conceptual model that related the consumers’ experience of interactivity with channel purchase and usage. In Study 2 (RQ2) the significance was assessed of alternative simultaneous channel couplings with purchase frequency. Support was found for up to 5 channel configurations but only when combined with the Internet, mobile and/or television media. The research implications are discussed.
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Do Consumers Experience a Reversal State When Encountering Mobile Commerce Services
Davis, Robert (2009)
Conference paper
UnitecMobile commerce services (MCS) have become an important way in which consumers communicate and marketers have started to use MCS to interact with them. Previous research found that when consumers encounter MCS, they are more involved and impulsive in their purchases. Why? Consumers may experience a disequilibrium or multi-stable cognitive reversal. This proposition is tested for SMS and MMS. 782 undergraduates and postgraduates were surveyed, ascertaining the key motivations for SMS and MMS usage. Using structural equation modelling the co-existence of the following reversal states (pairs) was found; (1) telic and paratelic, (2) conformity and negativity, (3) autic and alloic state, (4) mastery and sympathy (for MMS only).
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Legislation as a Tool for Reform: The Case of New Zealand
Davis, Robert (2013)
Journal article
UnitecIn November 2009, The New Zealand Government introduced the Real Estate Agents Act 2008. This new act replaced the Real Estate Agents Act 1976. The main purpose of the new act “is to promote and protect the interests of consumers and promote public confidence in the performance of real estate agency work” (REAA 2010). In essence, the act seeks to radically transform, through legislation, the service process and culture of the industry. Change is given momentum by the acts’ new regulations related to Audit, Complaints and Discipline, Duties of Licensees and Licensing.
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Do Consumers Trust Mobile Service Advertising?
Davis, Robert; Sajtos, Laszlo; Chaudhri, Ahsan Ali (2011)
Journal article
UnitecMobile services have rapidly become an important way for consumers to communicate, encounter services and exchange information. Marketers are increasingly using this channel for brand related advertising communications. However they have found that consumers are reluctant to try and adopt new mobile services and/or other products/services in response to advertising, unless the consumer has established trust. This research investigates whether consumers trust advertising communications sent by marketers through mobile service channels. To answer this question we measure trust-related factors that are antecedent to the consumer‟s overall trust in these advertising communications and their relationship to the consumer‟s willingness to buy the advertised brand. Our model was tested using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that the reputation of the vendor, disposition to trust, structural assurance, perceived ease of use, third party assurance and perceived privacy have the highest impact on consumer trust and willingness to buy.
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The liminal state of matter : Master of Fine Arts, Massey University, Wellington
Reed, Shannon J. (2013)
Masters thesis
Massey UniversityNo abstract
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An open invitation to design : an exegesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Design, Massey University, College of Creative Arts, Wellington, New Zealand
Graham, Nicholas Robert (2013)
Masters thesis
Massey UniversityAn Open Invitation to Design is a design-led research project that explores the areas of collaboration, authorship and derivative design, associated with digital fabrication technologies and communication networks in the context of Open Design. It specifically serves as a critique of the Open Design process and aims to demonstrate the design potential of using open source methods as a generative element of design innovation.
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Changing patterns of consumerism : the rise and rise of the second hand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Visual and Material Culture at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
Noon, Deborah Jan (2011)
Masters thesis
Massey UniversityThe aim of this thesis is to investigate the popularity of the second hand. In the wake of the conspicuous consumption which dominates the western world, where everything is new and available en masse, it seems to constitute a paradox. With the vast array of choice the consumer has today, the question of why the material culture of the second-‐hand market is so popular is intriguing. In this New Zealand study a two part approach was undertaken to answer this question. Firstly, interviews with both buyers and vendors of the second hand were conducted. Thirteen people in total were interviewed, six of whom were avid purchasers of the second hand and seven who were vendors of the second hand. Secondly, the voluminous popular literature was reviewed. This thesis takes a broader more holistic approach, rather than focusing on one particular aspect of second-‐hand consumption, as has been the predominant case thus far in international studies. Because of this broader approach, four key categories were developed to make sense of and, frame the analysis of the research findings: the ‘aesthetic’, ‘values’, ‘practices’ and ‘identity’. Each was conceptually broad but each also allowed for a particular line of enquiry within the broader field of inquiry. Within the aesthetic category, the influence of lifestyle, style and fashion on second-‐hand consumption was a focal point. This study identified the second-‐ hand market as an important vehicle of inclusion, especially in light of the current fashion for vintage clothing and retro goods. Within the values category, the concept of ethical consumption and the second hand was explored. My respondents did not give ethical consumption as a primary consideration for the choice to purchase second-‐hand goods. In contrast to iii the growing literature on ethical consumption, this study found greater consideration was given to a moral obligation to give back and the enactment of a conscience of care in second-‐hand consumption. The concept of thrift and other hedonistic motivations were the focus of the practices category. Thrift has been given little consideration in the literature yet was found to be very influential in respondent’s choices especially in today’s economic uncertainty. Of the more hedonistic motivations the findings echoed much of the conclusions identified in earlier literature on the second hand. The final category of research was identity. Reinforcing the existing academic literature, the importance of defining oneself and place in the world was found to be paramount. Differentiation and uniqueness were most valued and the second-‐hand market was privileged as the best source of goods with which to express one’s identity. The overall findings of this study endorse and also qualify the current academic literature on the second hand. Given the small sample size in this research, it is hoped that this study will act as a stimulus to further research.
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