­^¤å´£­n¡G A utility function model of individual credit card holder based on their spending behavior is constructed in this research. An accumulation of the individual utility of three different risk attitudes of cardholders may be useful for promoting the profits of credit card business for banks. Due to the privacy of cardholders and the lack of real data, a questionnaire sampling is used to collect data for this study. A result of this experimental study indicates that credit card holders with a different sex, age, level of education, asset condition, seniority, and occupation have different risk tendency. Based on 249 effective samples in this research, credit card holders who belong to females, teenagers, relatively low educated, without real estate, middle seniority, and relatively volatile occupation are more risk seeking. Relatively risk seeking credit card holders have the tendency to make use of their revolving credit and to borrow cash or to buy financial products with their credit cards. For those with three different risk attitudes, their default of credit card loans are not significantly different. The finding indicates relatively risk seeking cardholders may contribute more profits to the credit card business for banks. A risk attitude classification model built by artificial neural network has also been developed. The model may assist banks' administrators using their applicants' demographics to distinguish their risk attitude for approving an appropriate credit limit for a cardholder's expenditure to promote the total credit card profit for banks.

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Abstract The research is to discover the competition among banks with platinum card without yearly charge. First of all, the general situation of the market of platinum card from May 2002 to June 2003 will be analyzed. Second, it is for the purpose of discovering the strategic groups, dynamic resource analysis, and reaction time of competitors respectively of the whole market of platinum card. Some factors that can influence the strategy of banks, such as time, competition, customers, resources and other parties will be regarded as analytic aspects. Finally, new 7¡¦S model will be used as an analytic tool in order to understand the main competitive strategies of China Trust Bank, Taishin Bank and Fubon Bank, which are the three primary competitors in the market. In this research, the primary information is attempted to be collected via deep interview in qualitative research method; then, the analysis will be completed by means of the integration of secondary information. The results of the research are also divided into five parts: 1. The interaction between banks and timing: Banks of small scale will prefer to follow up after the market leader joins; the timing that the competition launches the product will affect the policy of banks, and they will adjust the major functions or services of the products according to the different timing of entrance. 2. The interaction between banks and competition: Thorough differentiating the main competitors of banks, they can arrange the order and priority of the actions while implementing the strategies. In the future, banks should start to think from ¡§how to increase competitors¡¦ movable obstacle¡¨, and demolish the features that strategies are highly similar and easy to be imitated in the credit card industry. 3. The interaction between banks and customers: Banks must understand the difference of needs between what customers recognize and what banks recognize; then, endeavor to minimize this difference. Banks should undertake how to raise customers¡¦ switch cost, to find their needs that they themselves do not discover yet, and try to increase their loyalty. 4. The interaction between banks and resources: Banks should consider from a long-term point of view for the accumulation and creation of their internal resources, and the application for the resources lever. In addition, resources and capabilities required for the future should be trained up in advance. On the other hand, the obtainment of external resources is as important as the training of internal resources; hence, banks should think both of them highly and take advantage of each other. 5. The interaction between banks and other parties: The future competition might be the competition between industry networks, financial control companies, blocs or issuing organizations. Banks should improve their competency and increase the bargaining power with their partners. Therefore, they are able to look for a good partner and raise the barrier of exit of partners. Last but not least, some specific suggestions would be addressed to the banks of big, middle and small scales for the reference of their strategic planning in the future. Keyword: platinum card, competitive strategy, timing, and resource capability.

Abstract Because of its various features and advantages, utilizing IC smart card as a tool to integrate transport ticketing. has become an international trend. The electronic ticketing system can save cost, simplify fare collection procedure, increase passenger flow, and decrease time lag. By this new type of ticking technology, it further advances service quality, operation efficiency and transport capacity for the transport system operation. Furthermore, resources may be shared though the alliance among different industrial sectors and the ticket integration. The objectives of this study are try to find ways how to install IC smart card to implement ticket integration and minimize cost through ticket integration, as well as to find the factors of success in the ticket integration from profitability viewpoint for Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp. The ways of implementation of relative users in these factors are also evaluated to propose a feasible implementation project and a concept of overall development, so as to meet the target of integrating mass transport tickets for the Kaohsiung metropolitan area. Other relative IC smart card business will be further developed to advance operation efficiency, decrease operation cost, and increase revenue of the case company, leading to an enterprise of perpetual operation. From market environment aspect, regulatory policy aspect, technical specification of the card, and deep interviews with relative suppliers such as Hongkong Octopus Card, Taipei Easy Card, Southern Taiwan Smart Card etc., we try to find four key factors affecting ticket integration, so as to comply with the specification and limit provided in our bank laws, clarify the allocation of costs of installing equipment and distribution of profit sources, and carefully select specification of the card. Before integrating ticket, small consumptions must be combined to explore business opportunity. The experiences in continual improvements in these four factors of relative users are considered in our proposal of overall development concept and implementation project for Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp. As soon ticket integration is initiated, the issuing of joint card should be discussed with banks, so as to clarify the allocation of costs of installing equipment and distribution of profit sources among banks and relative participants, and then build an efficient operation model. All measures such as the adoption of non-touch card in conformity with specifications of ISO and Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications, preparation of combining small consumptions, cooperation with retailers for profits, exploration of card distribution channels, and application range of card, are necessary projects leading to success in the implementation of the target of ticket integration.

Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία μελετάμε τις έξυπνες κάρτες καθώς και τις τεχνολογίες που σχετίζονται με αυτές. Ιδιαίτερη έμφαση δίνεται στην τεχνολογία Java Card την οποία άλλωστε χρησιμοποιούμε για την ανάπτυξη μιας πιλοτικής εφαρμογής έξυπνης κάρτας ασθενούς. Στο πρώτο κεφάλαιο αναφερόμαστε γενικά στις έξυπνες κάρτες. Πραγματοποιούμε μια σύντομη ιστορική αναδρομή και μελετάμε τους τομείς εκείνους στους οποίους βρίσκουν εφαρμογή, παρουσιάζοντας έτσι μερικά από τα πλεονεκτήματα τους. Στο δεύτερο κεφάλαιο αναφερόμαστε στην αρχιτεκτονική και στο υλικό των έξυπνων καρτών. Αφού παρουσιάσουμε τα διαφορετικά είδη καρτών που υπάρχουν αναφερόμαστε σε κάθε σύστημα υλικού μίας έξυπνης κάρτας όπως για παράδειγμα στον επεξεργαστή, στην μνήμη κ.α. Στο τρίτο κεφάλαιο μελετάμε το λογισμικό των έξυπνων καρτών. Αναφερόμαστε στον τρόπο επικοινωνίας με την κάρτα, στα υπάρχοντα λειτουργικά συστήματα για έξυπνες κάρτες καθώς και στα πρότυπα που έχουν κυριαρχήσει. Κλείνοντας το κεφάλαιο πραγματοποιούμε μια σύντομη εισαγωγή στην κρυπτογραφία. Στο τέταρτο κεφάλαιο αναφερόμαστε λεπτομερώς στην τεχνολογία Java Card. Μελετάμε τόσο την αρχιτεκτονική όσο και τα συστατικά της τεχνολογίας αυτής όπως είναι η εικονική μηχανή και το περιβάλλον εκτέλεσης. Αναφερόμαστε ακόμα σε διάφορα θέματα συναφή με την τεχνολογία αυτή. Στο πέμπτο και τελευταίο κεφάλαιο ασχολούμαστε με την υλοποίηση μιας πιλοτικής εφαρμογής έξυπνης κάρτας ασθενούς. Αφού περιγράψουμε τις λειτουργικές και τις τεχνικές προδιαγραφές αναφερόμαστε σε θέματα σχεδιασμού της εφαρμογής και τέλος δείχνουμε αναλυτικά τον τρόπο λειτουργίας της. / In the present diploma thesis we study the smart cards in addition to the technologies that are related with them. Particular accent is given in the Java Card technology which we use in order to develop a demo application of a patient’s smart card. In the first chapter we set out general characteristics of smart cards. We make a short historical retrospection and we study some particular fields in which they are applicable, presenting their advantages. In the second chapter we refer to the architecture and hardware of smart cards. After we present the variety of the existing smart cards we overhaul the hardware of smart cards, for example CPU, memory etc. In the third chapter we examine the software of smart cards. We set out the way of communication with the card, in the existing operating systems for smart cards as well as in the models that have dominated. Closing the chapter we make a short reference in smart card’s cryptography. In the fourth chapter we make a more detailed reference to Java Card technology. We study the architecture and the components of this technology which are the virtual machine and the executing environment. We also refer to various subjects relevant with this technology. In the fifth and last chapter we deal with the development of a demo application. It is a smart card that is used widely in many hospitals around the world. It is used by these hospitals’ patients. After we show the functional and technical specifications we refer to designing issues of this application and finally we demonstrate their way of operation.

Children at a certain age often have difficulty in flexibly shifting attention between different representational schemes. One example of such cognitive inflexibility occurs in the Dimensional Change Card Sorting (DCCS) task in which 3-year-old children have difficulty switching between sorting dimensions. For instance, after initially sorting the cards by one dimension (e.g., colour) they are unable to sort the cards by a second dimension (e.g., shape). This finding has been primarily associated with problems in attention or inhibition. The present study investigated the role of perceptual information on children’s dimensional shift abilities by manipulating the perceptual characteristics of both task-relevant (the colour or shape of the images on the cards) and task-irrelevant (the background colour or shape of the actual cards themselves) aspects of the task materials between the pre- and post-switch experimental phases. Across three experiments better performance was observed when either task-relevant or task-irrelevant information was changed, with this improved performance occurring when these changes were salient enough to induce a stimulus novelty effect. Experiment 4 investigated yet another perceptual feature of the task; the degree of stimulus realism (abstractness) on children’s cognitive flexibility. Children successfully sorted the cards when three-dimensional stimuli were used but perseverated when using two-dimensional cards, providing evidence for the role of representational status of the stimuli in influencing children’s dimensional switching. Manipulations made to increase the salience of the task material as well as those resulting in reduction of similarity between the two phases of the tasks (or increased novelty) were used to enhance children’s cognitive flexibility. Overall, these findings highlight the critical role played by the perceptual information of the overall experimental context, and have important implications for theories of cognitive flexibility.

Children at a certain age often have difficulty in flexibly shifting attention between different representational schemes. One example of such cognitive inflexibility occurs in the Dimensional Change Card Sorting (DCCS) task in which 3-year-old children have difficulty switching between sorting dimensions. For instance, after initially sorting the cards by one dimension (e.g., colour) they are unable to sort the cards by a second dimension (e.g., shape). This finding has been primarily associated with problems in attention or inhibition. The present study investigated the role of perceptual information on children’s dimensional shift abilities by manipulating the perceptual characteristics of both task-relevant (the colour or shape of the images on the cards) and task-irrelevant (the background colour or shape of the actual cards themselves) aspects of the task materials between the pre- and post-switch experimental phases. Across three experiments better performance was observed when either task-relevant or task-irrelevant information was changed, with this improved performance occurring when these changes were salient enough to induce a stimulus novelty effect. Experiment 4 investigated yet another perceptual feature of the task; the degree of stimulus realism (abstractness) on children’s cognitive flexibility. Children successfully sorted the cards when three-dimensional stimuli were used but perseverated when using two-dimensional cards, providing evidence for the role of representational status of the stimuli in influencing children’s dimensional switching. Manipulations made to increase the salience of the task material as well as those resulting in reduction of similarity between the two phases of the tasks (or increased novelty) were used to enhance children’s cognitive flexibility. Overall, these findings highlight the critical role played by the perceptual information of the overall experimental context, and have important implications for theories of cognitive flexibility.

The purpose of this study was: (a) to replicate those parts of the Pontius and Ruttiger (1976) study in which they found a lower frequency of the ability to express maturity in narrative stories (appropriate change of behavior during an intervening circumstance) within a group(b) to verify with an accepted measure of frontal lobe dysfunction (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) the conclusion of Pontius and Ruttiger that subjects can be classified into two groups, one demonstrating frontal lobe dysfunction and Level IV of juvenile delinquents versus a group ofnormal controls; the other demonstrating normal frontal lobe development, on the basis of the Narratives Test; and (c) to determine the efficacy of a newly developed Perseveration Response as a measure of frontal lobe dysfunction.The effectiveness of the Narratives Test as a measure of fronal lobe dysfunction could not be verified as determined by its relationship with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.It was, however, concluded, on the basis of a successful replication, that the Narratives Test canconsistently measure Level IV maturity but that there is no basis to specifically associate an inability to change behavior appropriately in reponse to an intervening circumstance in narrative stories with frontal lobe dysfunction.Even though that part of the Pontius and Ruttiger (1976) study dealing specifically with juvenile delinquents was successfully replicated, results of the present study relating to normals differed significantly from the Pontius and Ruttiger findings.The present study identified a significantly lower frequency of Level IV maturity failures among normals than was true in the Pontius and Ruttiger study.Based on the correlation between the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the Perseveration Category Error Score, the present study did not support the validity of this scoring procedure as a viable measure of frontal lobe dysfunction. A verification of the Perseveration Category Error Score with a sample of documented frontal lobe patients and matched control groups is suggested.

The broad purpose of this study was to find a more effective way for librarians to assist elementary grade students in learning to use the library as an educational resource. Since ability to use a card catalog appeared to be significant to the process, and since instruction in its use was an area of concern to librarians, this special aspect of the problem was selected for investigation.Experimental and control groups of fourth grade children were identified. Under controlled conditions, the experimental group received instruction in use of a library card catalog through a programmed learning text designed for the study, while the control group was taught in the traditional way by the librarian. Group gains based on pre and post-test scores were computed and treated statistically to measure relative effects of selected variables.The following hypotheses were tested:A. There will be no significant difference in gains between groups of children in learning how to use the card catalog attributable to:1. Method of instruction2. Sex3. Sex by method interaction

This project involves heuristic research as creative practice in the design of a set of divination cards. Here the potential of water as a medium for referencing the ethos of each of the Tarot's Major Arcana1 is explored. The research involves an experimental process of generating water patterns for the purposes of eliciting twenty-two specific images. Images are captured with a digital camera. While attention is given to vibrational imagery and micro photography, the research is not limited to these techniques. The chosen creative research process provokes tacit knowledge2. The images are used in the creation of a divinatory text.1 Tarot is a divination system consisting of seventy-eight cards, twenty-two of these are the trump cards known as the Major Arcana. It is the `essence' of the meaning of each of these cards that this work seeks to elicit.2 Tacit knowledge may be broadly defined as knowledge the researcher possesses but is not conscious of. Tacit (silent) knowledge is a pre-logical phase of knowing, comprising of a range of conceptual and sensory information that is bought to bear in an attempt to understand something.