Level Of Credibility Research Articles

Reward-based or threat-based deterrence: US policy toward Japan and South Korea in comparative perspective

Despite the striking similarities in strategic environment of Japan and South Korea, US deterrence through nonproliferation policy toward the two allies varied in terms of its measures applied: reward-based deterrence and threat-based deterrence. Using the critical junctures framework, this paper argues that 1) domestic structural circumstances of divided with idealist bias or unified with realist bias in two allies led to different local responses to US policy that signalled the level of credibility of US security guarantee; 2) intermediaries that played a critical role in promoting mutual trust and confidence have influenced the credibility and confidence on intra-alliance level; 3) this credibility and confidence had shaped the direction of the US deterrence strategy of reward-based deterrence for Japan and threat-based deterrence for South Korea.

Supply chain collaboration in the petroleum sector of an emerging economy: Comparing results from symmetrical and asymmetrical approaches

Supply chain collaboration (SCC) has been touted as a catalyst for competitive advantage and firm performance. Using the resource-based theory and transaction cost economics theory, this paper proposes that the dimensions of collaborative culture and trust are critical antecedents to supply chain collaboration. The resultant relationships were examined with both symmetric (PLS-SEM) and asymmetric (fsQCA) approaches using survey data from 166 firms operating in Ghana's downstream petroleum sector. PLS-SEM results suggested that higher levels of collectivism, power symmetry, benevolence, and credibility increased supply chain collaboration. In contrast, the influence of uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation on supply chain collaboration was not statistically significant. However, fsQCA results buttressed the PLS-SEM findings and revealed eight alternate causal configurations that are sufficient for higher levels of supply chain collaboration.

Constraining the nuclear symmetry energy and properties of the neutron star from GW170817 by Bayesian analysis

Based on the distribution of tidal deformabilities and component masses of binary neutron star merger GW170817, the parametric equation of state (EOS) is employed to probe the nuclear symmetry energy and the properties of the neutron star. To obtain a proper distribution of the parameters of the EOS that is consistent with the observation, Bayesian analysis is used and the constraints of causality and maximum mass are considered. From this analysis, it is found that the symmetry energy and pressure at twice the saturation density of nuclear matter can be constrained within $$E_{sym}(2{\rho _{0}}) = 34.5^{+20.5}_{-2.3}$$ MeV and $$P (2{\rho _{0}}) = 3.81^{+1.18}_{-2.32}\times 10^{34}$$ dyn cm $$^{-2}$$ at 90% credible level, respectively. Moreover, the constraints on the radii and dimensionless tidal deformabilities of canonical neutron stars are also demonstrated through this analysis, and the corresponding constraints are 10.80 km $$\le R_{1.4} \le $$ 13.20 km and $$133 \le \Lambda _{1.4} \le 686$$ at 90% credible level, with the most probable value of $$\bar{R}_{1.4}$$ = 12.60 km and $$\bar{\Lambda }_{1.4}$$ = 500, respectively. With respect to the prior, our result (posterior result) prefers a softer EOS, corresponding to a lower expected value of symmetry energy, a smaller stellar radius, and a smaller tidal deformability.

Research on River Water Environmental Capacity Based on Triangular Fuzzy Technology

Based on the randomness and ambiguity characteristics of the river water environment system, as well as the lack and inaccuracy of data information, the water environment system parameters are defined as triangular fuzzy numbers. On this basis, by fuzzing the parameters of the conventional deterministic model, a fuzzy model for calculating river water environmental capacity is established. According to this model, the river water environment capacity in the form of triangular fuzzy numbers can be calculated. According to the requirements of a given level of credibility, the water environment capacity can be further converted from triangular fuzzy numbers to interval values. Research shows that compared with conventional deterministic methods, the results obtained are more scientific and reasonable

T-CREo: A Twitter Credibility Analysis Framework

Social media and other platforms on Internet are commonly used to communicate and generate information. In many cases, this information is not validated, which makes it difficult to use and analyze. Although there exist studies focused on information validation, most of them are limited to specific scenarios. Thus, a more general and flexible architecture is needed, that can be adapted to user/developer requirements and be independent of the social media platform. We propose a framework to automatically and in real-time perform credibility analysis of posts on social media, based on three levels of credibility: Text , User , and Social . The general architecture of our framework is composed of a front-end, a light client proposed as a web plug-in for any browser; a back-end that implements the logic of the credibility model; and a third-party services module. We develop a first version of the proposed system, called T-CREo ( T witter CRE dibility analysis framew o rk) and evaluate its performance and scalability. In summary, the main contributions of this work are: the general framework design; a credibility model adaptable to various social networks, integrated into the framework; and T-CREo as a proof of concept that demonstrates the framework applicability and allows evaluating its performance for unstructured information sources; results show that T-CREo qualifies as a highly scalable real-time service. The future work includes the improvement of T-CREo implementation, to provide a robust architecture for the development of third-party applications, as well as the extension of the credibility model for considering bots detection, semantic analysis and multimedia analysis.

Analyzing Australian SME Instagram Engagement via Web Scraping

Abstract Background: Social media has grown into a prominent marketing and communication tool, and Instagram is a leader in this regard due to its distinctive supports for medial rich contents. Due to the challenges faced by Small-and-medium-enterprises (SMEs), they are suggested to embrace social media technology. Previous studies in Interactive value creation theory (IVF) indicated that SMEs-followers co-creation processes enable Instagram engagement. However, little is known of how to promote the value co-creation process via practical Instagram micro-practices that SMEs can employ regarding their constraints. This study is among the first to examine SMEs' practices for Instagram engagement via the process of value co-creation. Method: We collected data regarding Instagram engagements of 10 Australian SMEs in eight months period using Instagram API. Qualitative analysis is conducted based on 2110 contents in a Poisson regression model. Content analysis and time-series visualizations are employed to investigate the uniqueness of several outliners in the dataset. Results: Findings imply that SMEs should bank on @Tagging instead of #Hashtags to get more engagement as contents with @Tagging show higher levels of inclusiveness and trustworthiness. Also, customized postings for the loci-specific audience effectively encourage followers to participate in conversations, while commercial intensive posting style shows adverse effects due to its low level of credibility. Rich media contents would not necessarily reel in more engagement; the commitment and consistent postings amassed a considerable number of followers over time, leading to a higher engagement rate. Conclusions: This study confirmed the benefits of data scraping in building business intelligence and validate the IVF framework as the theoretical background to investigate the effectiveness of Instagram micro-practices. IVF should be considered in designing social media practices to enable SMEs and followers' collaborations for business value generation. This study provides extra interpretations of the interrelationships between IVF, visual-rich contents, and social media engagement.

1658-838X

The study aimed to identify the levels of credibility of Jordanian government and private television channels, and their degrees of commitment to the criteria of credibility, during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. It also aimed to reveal the degrees and types of changes in the credibility ratings of these channels before and during the crisis. The study relied on surveying the media audience as a research method, and it used a questionnaire as a data collection tool. The study sample represented a cross section of all Jordanians who were 18 years of age or older; a quota sample of 420 respondents was selected, divided equally among the three regions of Jordan (North, Central, and South). The results of the study showed that the most important credibility criteria adhere to by Jordanian government and private television channels were these: ‘depending on media professionals with experience and high competence’, ‘working for the public good’ and ‘relying on professional and ethical principles’. The government channel AlMamlaka topped the list of Jordanian television channels with the highest credibility among respondents. Roya Channel was shown to be the Jordanian television channel with the highest change in credibility ratings during the Coronavirus crisis.

ARE OFFICIAL CERTIFICATIONS A RELEVANT ASPECT IN THE CONSUMPTION OF NATURAL WINES? A PROSPECTIVE STUDY AMONG SPANISH PRODUCERS/CONSUMERS

PURPOSE: Spain is leader in the world ranking of surface vineyards of ecological production, with almost 27% of world production. Consumers are demanding for more information about these sustainable practices and the official certificates can be a good option to help them. In the case of natural wines, four certifications can be used in the packaging of wines to inform consumers that they are acquiring natural wine: i) certified organic winery by the EU; ii) certified biodynamic winery by Demeter; iii) certified organic (EU) and biodynamic (Demeter) winery; iv) certified by the National Institute of Origins and Quality (INAO) as ‘vin méthode nature’ (natural method wine) with two logos (natural method without added sulphites and natural method with less than 30 mg/l added sulphites). To obtain the results we have conducted a pilot study with a sample of 358 Spanish consumers of wine divided by experts and non-experts. RESULTS: The results have confirmed there is a tendency in food-related on labelling in recent years to be focused on sustainability labelling and certification. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The research has given us an idea about the importance of sustainability for consumers of natural wine and if an official certificate is a necessary question for them in the decision-making process. Thus, labelling certifications may increase the information for the consumers and could also be an opportunity to generate an increased level of credibility in natural wines, "the great unknown".

Improvement the methodology and quality of measurement of the Producer Price Index (PPI) in industry from the perspective of data users- some reflections

The development of ICT technology and digital economy contribute to changes in the way of production and redistribution of goods and services in various areas of life, which affect the growing expectations of users in relation to producer price statistics in the context of Producer Price Index (PPI). It is important to provide data on producer prices that reflect current price trends in a timely and accurate manner. They should be harmonised, comparable and ensure consistency of statistical observations with other coherent data. An important value of statistical data is therefore the optimal use of their potential in the processes of monitoring producer prices and assessment of their impact on the development of inflationary pressure on the producer’s market as well as control of the business cycle. What does the level of credibility of the PPI determine? How users can contribute for obtaining relevant data with good quality? What role do the methodology and quality of the survey process play in this respect? The answer to these questions is the article “Improvement the methodology and quality of measurement of the Producer Price Index (PPI) in industry from the perspective of data users- some reflections”.

The effect of strength parameters on the seismic performance of an arch dam using an uncertainty model

Considering the importance of the effect of concrete arch dam body strength on their seismic performance, this research evaluated the effect of Young Modulus of both the body concrete and foundation as strength parameters and examines the responses to achieve the optimal body stiffness using probabilistic and uncertainty method. The ANSYS software was used to complete the finite element analysis of the dam-reservoir-foundation system and the Monte Carlo method, which is a new method for parametric study and sensitivity analysis, was used for uncertainty analysis. For seismic analysis, the horizontal and vertical components of Northridge, San Fernando and El Centro earthquakes are separately applied in 3d directions. The earthquake components were scaled to the maximum credible level of ground motion acceleration. The foundation rock is simulated using a massless foundation model and dam-reservoir-foundation interaction is considered for seismic analysis of system. The results show the effect of the modulus of elasticity of the concrete which is directly related to the stiffness of the system. The results indicate the effect of the dam body concrete stiffness on the responses. According to the design criteria, it is possible to investigate the safety status of the dam and select the optimal state in terms of structural strength for the model. However, in order to properly select the modulus of elasticity of the concrete of the dam body, it is necessary to consider the simultaneous effect of the stiffness of the foundation and to select the optimal value.

Sample Size Requirements for Calibrated Approximate Credible Intervals for Proportions in Clinical Trials.

In Bayesian analysis of clinical trials data, credible intervals are widely used for inference on unknown parameters of interest, such as treatment effects or differences in treatments effects. Highest Posterior Density (HPD) sets are often used because they guarantee the shortest length. In most of standard problems, closed-form expressions for exact HPD intervals do not exist, but they are available for intervals based on the normal approximation of the posterior distribution. For small sample sizes, approximate intervals may be not calibrated in terms of posterior probability, but for increasing sample sizes their posterior probability tends to the correct credible level and they become closer and closer to exact sets. The article proposes a predictive analysis to select appropriate sample sizes needed to have approximate intervals calibrated at a pre-specified level. Examples are given for interval estimation of proportions and log-odds.

Credibility of environmental issues in non-financial mandatory disclosure: Measurement and determinants

Through the lens of legitimacy theory and starting from Habermas’s communication theory the paper aims to extend and contribute to the research fields related to the quality of social and environmental disclosure and corporate legitimacy by focusing on firms’ environmental reporting credibility. The study proposes an operationalization of the corporate environmental reporting credibility concept identifying possible determinants, related measurements and indicators. Through a content analysis we have measured the credibility of non-financial reports of 152 business entities that, in accordance with the Italian law, published for the first time in 2018, at a mandatory level, social and environmental reports. The results show a good level of credibility in Italian reporting context and in particular a high level of understandability, but a low level of exhaustivity. Findings highlight also the important role of experience in voluntary non-financial reporting, the use of stand-alone document and the belonging to an ESI in influencing the credibility of the communication. The results offer implications and scientific contributions related to the proposal of a detailed model for the measurement of social and environmental reporting applicable to any type of document, in any geographical contest, and any time frame. • An application of the theory of communicative action (Habermas, 1984) to a corporate context. • Good level of credibility of Italian reporting in 2018 but low level of exhaustivity. • A model of credibility measurement easy to apply in other business contexts. • The reporting experience and the use of stand-alone documents increases the credibility of corporate communication. • The credibility of corporate communication can be objectively measured.

The role of viral marketing strategies in predicting purchasing intention of eco-labelled products

PurposeViral marketing through the internet is an important and cost-effective way to promote products. This study aims to examine the impact of viral marketing strategies (level of information, level of entertainment, irritation level and source credibility) on the purchasing intention of eco-labelled products.Design/methodology/approachThe sample consists of a total of 200 shoppers in Hyperstar store in Tehran located in the Tehran Pars area. Data is analysed using descriptive analysis and structural equation modelling technique using Smart partial least squares 3.0.FindingsFindings indicate that informativeness, entertainment and source credibility are positively related to the purchase intention of eco-labelled products, whereas, irritation is negatively related to the purchasing intention of eco-labelled products.Practical implicationsThis study provides directions for green marketers to develop meaningful communication tools to make customers more knowledgeable about eco-labelled products and tries to promote some of the positive associations that consumers have through green viral communication behaviours.Originality/valueThis study offers empirical insights from the perspective of an emerging economy on the determinants of purchase intention of eco-labelled products.

Effects of endorser type and testimonials in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising (DTCA)

PurposeThis study aims to examine the effects of different types of endorsers (expert vs consumer vs celebrity) in testimonial vs non-testimonial message contexts on consumers’ responses toward direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA).Design/methodology/approachAn online experiment was conducted with a 3 (endorser type: expert vs consumer vs celebrity) × 2 (message type: testimonial vs non-testimonial) plus control group (no endorser, no testimonial) factorial design to assess the various dependent variables.FindingsPerceived source credibility and similarity was significantly different across the endorser types, and the expert endorser (i.e. a doctor) generated the highest mean level of source credibility, while consumer endorsers generate the highest mean source similarity. The interaction of endorser type and message type significantly impacted ad believability and skepticism. Specifically, the endorser type factor had a significant impact on the dependent variables only in the testimonial ad condition, but not in the non-testimonial ad condition. The effects were mediated by source credibility.Originality/valueWhile the focused results show celebrities may not be the strongest choice to endorse when using testimonials, the overall lack of main effect of testimonials lends to the possibility of a plateauing of effects with the various appeals used in DTC ads. DTCA has now been around for over 20 years, and this study lends to the possibility consumers are becoming unaffected by the various appeals used by pharmaceutical manufactures and only respond when a multitude of personally relevant factors are in place.

A Non-cooperative Game-Theoretic Framework for Sponsoring Content in the Internet Market

Data traffic demand over the Internet is increasing rapidly, and it is changing the pricing model between internet service providers (ISPs), content providers (CPs) and end users. One recent pricing proposal is sponsored data plan, i.e., when CP negotiates with the ISP on behalf of the users to remove the network subscription fees so as to attract more users and increase the number of advertisements. As such, a key challenge is how to provide proper sponsorship in the situation of complex interactions among the telecommunication actors, namely, the advertisers, the content provider, and users. To answer those questions, we explore the potential economic impacts of this new pricing model by modeling the interplay among the advertiser, users, and the CPs in a game theoretic framework. The CP may have either a subscription revenue model (charging end-users) or an advertisement revenue model (charging advertisers). In this work, we design and analyze the interaction among CPs having an advertisement revenue as a non-cooperative game, where each CP determines the proportion of data to sponsor and a level of credibility of content. In turn, the end-users demand for the content of a CP depends not only on their strategies but also upon those proposed by all of its competitors. Through rigorous mathematical analysis, we prove the existence and uniqueness of the Nash equilibrium. Based on the analysis of the game properties, we propose an iterative algorithm, which guarantees to converge to the Nash equilibrium point in a distributed manner. Numerical investigation shows the convergence of a proposed algorithm to the Nash equilibrium point and corroborates the fact that sponsoring content may improve the CPs outcome.

Investigation and analysis of questionnaire on clinical thinking in the diagnosis of severe infection in Guangxi

To understand the clinical thinking of clinical staff in the diagnosis of severe infection and evaluate their ability to recognize severe infection in the early stage. A questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the clinical thinking of clinical staff attending the academic annual meeting of critical care physicians of Guangxi Medical Doctors Association from September 26 to September 28, 2019. The objects of investigation included doctors, nurses, clinical pharmacists and medical graduate students, except for non-clinical personnel. The basis factors of clinical diagnosis of infection included clinical symptoms, specific biochemical examination, microorganism examination and Next-generation sequencing technology (NGS). The credibility level of each indicator was summarized as high (credibility of 51%-100%) and low (credibility of 0%-50%). Among the more than 600 participants, 540 people participated in the questionnaire survey (participation rate of about 90.0%), and 466 qualified questionnaires (effective rate of 86.3%) were collected, including 280 from doctors, 155 from clinical nurses, 10 from clinical pharmacists and 21 from clinical graduate students. The working years of doctors, nurses, clinical pharmacists and medical graduate students were (8.2±6.0), (6.4±6.3), (4.5±4.0) and (3.8±2.6) years, respectively. The intermediate title (43.2%) dominated in the doctors group, while junior title dominated in the nurses group, clinical pharmacists group and medical postgraduate group (53.5%, 80.0% and 81.0% respectively). Doctors and nurses were mainly from the general intensive care unit (ICU; 73.2% and 51.0% respectively). According to the results of investigation of clinical thinking on the diagnosis of severe infection, there was similar degree of recognition and credibility for infection-related symptoms in the four groups of doctors, nurses, clinical pharmacists and medical graduate students (the credibility of fever was 80.0%-91.1%, low blood pressure 76.2%-90.0%, disturbance of consciousness 80.0%-85.0%, breathing 81.0%-100.0%, reduced of urine 81.9%-90.0%). The interpretation for pathogen culture and NGS results was insufficient because 29.3%-42.6% of the medical staff did not understand NGS. There were differences in the interpretation of the results of pathogen culture (positive specimen culture could diagnose infection; medical vs. nursing vs. pharmacists vs. student: 93.6% vs. 85.2% vs. 90.0% vs. 85.7%, P = 0.021). There were significant differences among the four groups in some traditional infection-related laboratory indexes which included increased white blood cell count (WBC; χ2 = 8.542, P = 0.026), increased C-reactive protein (CRP; χ2 = 8.826, P = 0.024), increased interleukin-6 (IL-6; χ2 = 13.944, P = 0.002), positive 1, 3-β-D glucan detection test (G test; χ2 = 10.988, P = 0.009) and positive galactomannan antigen detection test (GM test; χ2 = 12.306, P = 0.004). There is difference in clinical thinking of diagnosis of severe infection among clinical medical staff in different positions, and the comprehensive diagnostic ability needs to be improved.

Susceptibility to Being Lured Away by a Stranger: A Real-World Field Test of Selective Trust in Early Childhood

In this preregistered field study, we examined preschool children’s selective trust in a real-life situation. We investigated whether 3- to 6-year-old children (total N = 240) could be lured to a new location within their school grounds by an unfamiliar adult confederate. In a between-subjects manipulation, the confederate established either a high or a low level of personal credibility by providing information that the child knew to be either true or false. In Experiment 1, in which the confederate was female, children showed sensitivity to informational accuracy by being less willing to leave with an uninformed confederate, and this effect increased with age. In Experiment 2, in which the confederate was male, children were reluctant to leave regardless of informational accuracy. These findings point to real-world implications of epistemic-trust research and provide the first evidence regarding the early development of selective trust in a high-stakes naturalistic context.

An inexact modeling approach for supporting water resources allocation under natural and social complexities in a border city of China and Myanmar

In this paper, an interval two-stage fuzzy credibility constraint programming (ITSFCCP) method is proposed to deal with multiple uncertainties that can be expressed as fuzzy sets, discrete intervals and probability distributions, which can be used for effectively reflect natural and social complexities of relevant decision-making processes. Lincang city of Yunnan province, which is located in the southwest border of China, is employed as the demonstrative case. It is a frontier window and an important channel for China to face the "radiation center" of Southeast and South Asia. Also, it is the intersection of the Tropic of Cancer and the Geographic Water Distribution Line between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The city's water resources system is particularly unique due to its connection with Myanmar. Considering multiple uncertainties and complexities of the existing water resources system in the city, ITSFCCP is developed to optimize the allocation of water resources. The objective function of the model is the maximization of economic benefits of the water resources system. Fuzzy sets, discrete intervals and probability distribution were introduced to represent the multiple uncertainties associated with the natural and social complexities. Credibility levels were adopted to solve the complexity of multi-ethnic human society in Lincang. The results showed that the model could effectively deal with the uncertainties and complexities of Lincang's water resources system, and reflect the trade-offs between the system benefits and risks.

End-user perspectives of two mHealth decision support tools: Electronic Community Case Management in Northern Malawi

BackgroundThe introduction of a paper-based Community Case Management (CCM) in Malawi has contributed to a reduction of child morbidity and mortality rates. In addition, the introduction of electronic Community Case Management (eCCM) (smartphones with built in CCM apps) may help to reduce the under-five mortality rates even further. PurposeIt is not uncommon for Apps with a similar area of interest to develop different features to assist the end users. Such differences between Apps may have a significant role to play in its overall adoption and integration. The purpose of this research was to explore end users perspectives of two eCCM decision support tools developed and implemented by the Supporting LIFE project (SL eCCM App) and D-Tree International’s (Mangologic eCCM App)in Northern Malawi. MethodsA mixed methods approach was applied, involving a survey of 109 users (106 Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs), and 3 Integrated Management of Childhood Il6lnesses (IMCI) coordinators). This was followed up with semi-structured interviews with 34 respondents (31 HSAs, and 3 IMCI coordinators). Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 where descriptive statistics and Chi-Squared tests were generated. Qualitative data were analyzed based on thematic analysis. ResultsParticipants reported that both Apps could assist the HSAs in the management of childhood illnesses. However, usability differed between the two apps where the Supporting LIFE eCCM App was found to be easier to use (61%) compared to the Mangologic eCCM App (4%). Both Apps were perceived to provide credible and accurate information. ConclusionIt is essential that the quality of the data within Mobile Health (mHealth) Apps is high, however even Apps with excellent levels of data quality may not succeed if the overall usability of the App is low. Therefore it is essential that the Apps has high levels of data quality, usability and credibility. The results of this study will help inform mobile Health (mHealth) App designers in developing future eCCM Apps as well as researchers and policy makers when considering the adoption of mHealth solutions in the future in Malawi and other LMICs.

Discussing the political survival of Romanian ministers since 1989—Do economic conditions matter?

AbstractPolitical longevity in young democracies has attracted the attention of scholars and practitioners alike due to several particular characteristics of such democracies, such as a low level of trust, a low level of credibility, corruption, economic difficulties, a less well‐established rule of law and an increased bureaucracy. In such a context, we studied the tenure duration of Romanian ministers since 1989, as well as their accumulated political longevity in ministerial offices. Using proportional hazards regression, we observed some peculiarities in the young Romanian democracy in comparison with more established regimes. We observed that left‐wing majorities tend to increase the probability of seat changes and thus diminish tenure longevity. We also observed that good economic conditions may lead to the substitution of certain types of ministries, while higher inflation rates tend to shorten tenure longevity for Romanian ministers. Moreover, our estimations support the finding that Romanian ministers tend to have shorter tenures as the number of past ministerial functions increases and that the burden of simultaneously managing various ministries significantly contributes to the shorter political longevity of a given minister. Finally, recent ministers have had longer tenures than those in the first years after the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989.