The online trading is growing widely day by day, which makes safety the biggest concern while carrying out trading by electronic means. As many other operations can be done with digital environment and internet, operation that provides identity validation should also be added to the digital environment. When data are transferred, the user should make sure that there are no changes in the original data while transferring them from sender to receiver. And it has also become necessary to authenticate the users often to ensure security and to avoid fraud. There are lot of different ways of online identification, in which digital signature is considered to be one of the powerful way of authentication. So, the online user use digital signature to authenticate the sender and to maintain the integrity of the document sent. In this paper, a study is carried out to identify the usage of digital signature and the perspective of people towards it in developed and developing countries and a survey is taken to support the theory.

ABSTRACT There has been a change in the nature of work over recent decades with an increase in the use of non-standard forms of work. Non-standard work includes for example the use of contractors and sub-contractors. These forms of employment lead to a greater vulnerability of the workforce. These workers are missing out on union representation, training opportunities and basic employment protection. This directly impacts the safety of the workers due to the confusing legislation over duty of care. It is often unclear who is responsible for providing occupational health and safety (OHS) training for these workers. It is for this reason the following report will attempt to gain a better understanding of the policies and regulations surrounding OHS in two countries. Sweden and New Zealand have been chosen as a focus for this research because they represent two different governing systems. The aim of this research was to describe what structures and policies regulate occupational health and safety matters in Sweden and New Zealand comparatively. It was also the aim of this research to seek insight into the policy conversation around OHS training in both Sweden and New Zealand. Three research questions have been used throughout the report to guide the researcher when selecting relevant documents collating the main themes and overall ensuring that the research stays on track. The questions are as follows: What structures and policies regulate occupational health and safety matters in Sweden and New Zealand? What characterises both the Swedish and the New Zealand work environment? What is the policy conversation around OHS training in Sweden and New Zealand? The methodology choosen for this research was a qualitative approach because greater in-depth  understanding for OHS matters were sought after. The research was focused around policy documents from both Sweden and New Zealand. The documents from each country were chosen because of their current and topical relevance to each country. The main findings from this research were grouped into five themes based on key termes identified in both countries documents. The five themes are as follows:  Work Environment and Regulation OHS Training and Attitudes Worker Participation OHS Research Longer Working Life Conclusions were made based on these themes. OHS regulation was found to be adequate in Sweden in contrast to New Zealand. In New Zealand there is a call for major reforms to be made to the OHS legislation because due to its lack of adequate coverage for the current workforce. The term work environment is used in Sweden and includes a more holistic view, compared to the term occupational health and safety which is used in New Zealand and focuses more on safety and the prevention of work-related harm. Inadequate training for safety representatives were found to be an issue both in Sweden and New Zealand. In Sweden safety representatives are entitled to sufficient paid leave to fulfill their duties including training, in contrast to New Zealand where the safety representatives are entitled to only two days paid leave annualy. OHS training was suggested to be a necessary component in many tertiary education programs both in Sweden and New Zealand. The suggestion was made to better prepare prospective managers who will have OHS responsibilities. Worker participation was found to be a necessary component of a well functioning OHS scheme in both the countries. It was not adequately regulated in New Zealand until the implementation of the Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Act 2002. In both Sweden and New Zealand new OHS research functions were suggested to be established. The changing nature of work is highlighted as a concern in both countries, because legislation does not adequately cover the new forms of work and is not conducive to OHS.

This cross cultural study compares the fairness perceptions of New Zealand and Malaysian individual taxpayers of their respective income tax systems, and investigates the consequences of those perceptions, together with other important variables, on their compliance behaviour. A theoretical framework was developed based on Equity Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The study’s hypotheses were tested using the responses to questionnaire surveys (which included two scenarios) and in-depth telephone interviews, which were conducted sequentially in both countries. Partial Least Squares and thematic analysis were used to analyse the surveys and interviews data, respectively. The results suggest that Malaysian taxpayers have significantly better perceptions of fairness of their income tax systems than their New Zealand counterparts, yet New Zealand taxpayers are more compliant. The most consistently important factor in explaining taxpayers’ compliance behaviour across the two countries is their attitude towards compliance, followed by subjective norms. Fairness perceptions, which are highly influenced by their tax knowledge and perceived complexity of the tax system, are also influential, particularly in the understating other incomes scenario. This cross-cultural study demonstrates that regardless of the differences between the two countries under study (in relation to economies, cultures and ethnicities), taxpayers generally respond in quite similar ways when it comes to meeting their tax obligations.

Tax agents have important roles in tax systems as both advocates for their clients and intermediaries for the tax authorities. The roles of tax agents are becoming more challenging with the changes in the tax landscape, such as with the implementation of the self-assessment systems (SAS) which transfers more responsibility to taxpayers to comply with their tax obligations and who in turn, rely on tax agents to comply with the tax laws. This study examined some selected factors in understanding the tax agents’ tax compliance behaviour by extending the Theory of Planned Behaviour, by including two additional factors namely, ethical sensitivity and culture. Conducted in the tax jurisdictions of Malaysia and New Zealand, this study is comparative in nature. To understand the tax compliance behaviour of tax agents in this study, a mixed-method approach, combining surveys and semi-structured telephone interviews, was used. In Malaysia, the survey data were collected using a mail survey from a sample of tax agents in public practice whose names were listed on the website of the Malaysian Inland Revenue Board. Online surveys were used to collect responses from a sample of members of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) whose names were listed as public practitioners on NZICA’s website. Descriptive statistics and Partial Least Squares (PLS), a structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, were used to describe and analyze the quantitative data. Transcribing, coding, finding the relevant themes and member checking were used to analyze the qualitative data of the study. Basically, the results indicate some similarities and some differences between tax agents’ compliance behaviour in Malaysia and New Zealand. Consistent with findings from prior studies, the results suggest that attitude towards intention to comply with the tax law was the most influential factor in explaining tax agents’ compliance behaviour to tax law in Malaysia and New Zealand in both scenarios of overstating tax expenses and understating income examined in the study. This was followed by ethical sensitivity, which was measured using Rest’s (1986) Multidimensional Ethics Scale (MES), as the second influential factor in tax agents’ compliance behaviour to tax law. Mixed findings were recorded for culture which was measured using Hofstede’s (1980) National Cultural Dimensions and perceived behavioural control. No support, however, was found for subjective norms in the study. The findings from the survey were elaborated further in the interviews. The interviews with seventeen tax agents in Malaysia and fourteen tax agents from New Zealand provide some interesting findings. While the results of the survey indicate that attitude was found to be the most important factor in tax agents’ tax compliance behaviour, the interview findings clarified how tax agents understand attitude. For instance, attitude was interpreted as not only complying with the professional code of ethics, but also, fear towards being penalized, audited and interestingly, fear towards obtaining a bad reputation among the public and peers. Overall, the findings suggest that noneconomic factors, such as attitudes and ethical sensitivity, can explain the tax compliance behaviour of tax agents in the study. Some economic factors identified for example, amount of risk involved, the trade-off between costs and benefits, and the probability of being penalized, from the interviews could also potentially explain the tax compliance behaviour of the tax agents in Malaysia and New Zealand who participated in the study. The findings contribute to the theoretical and practical aspects of understanding the tax compliance behaviour of tax agents in two different countries. In a response to the calls for more cross-cultural research, this study reveals some similarities and differences in the tax compliance behaviour of tax agents in Malaysia and New Zealand which may be helpful in improving our understanding of the ethical decision making of tax agents. The findings from the study also provide some insights into the ethical behaviour of tax agents in Malaysia and New Zealand which may be useful for professional bodies and regulators.

This is a comparative linguistic essay aimed to investigate how closing sections construct social interaction in a number of talk shows, primarily The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. The talk show data is analyzed by means of Conversation Analysis (CA) which considers how language performs social interaction and the structures and norms which give the frames for this. The results of the analysis are compared to the results of a study carried out in 2003 by Esperanza Rama Martinez on the same subject matter. Martinez´ study is in fact the foundation for this study. In her study Martinez concludes that the closing phase is initiated by the interviewer and that there are always pre-closing components before the closing components begin. The results of this study are in line with Martinez´ study.

Abstract The main purpose of this comparative study between German and Pakistani Field Hockey players at the talent development stage (12-18 years) was to reveal multidimensional performance characteristics, which may have power for predicting future talented elite Field Hockey players. In total 271 (German 127 & 144 Pakistani) participants took part in this comparative study to find out difference in psychological, physical and social profiles and their possible influences on the performance of the players on two occasions, each separated by a time interval of one year. The mean age for German players was 14.3 years and Pakistani players 16.3 years. Data were collected from players of various institutions and clubs of both countries. Later on, researcher included Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka in the study to increase the number of participants considering that South Asian culture is similar and Field Hockey is a popular game in the region. This addition will give strength to the study to find out the real differences in the performance of South Asian and European countries. In total, (227) 41 Indian, 40 Bengali and 44 Sri Lankan, 52 Pakistani and 50 German athletes took part in the study. The mean age for Indian was 14.5 years, Sri Lankan 15.3 years, Bangladeshi 15.7 years, Pakistani 16.9 years and German athletes were 15.5 years old. The Deutsch and English language standard sport questionnaires were used to measure the variables and data were analysed with the help of SPSS - 17 version. The following variables were put to test to find out the possible difference between the young players: Goal orientation in sports, General sport ability & appearance, Perceived physical self-concept, Competition related anxiety, Coping strategies, Sport commitment, Parental support, Coaches behaviour, Motivational climate and Self-efficacy in sports. The study shows that there were significant differences in psychological, physical and social profiles in the players of both countries. German players reported higher scores in motivation, perceived physical self-concept, self-confidence and commitment to the sport and found better to overcome anxiety and situation related problems. They were more social, and had full support from families, peers and coaches who can increase motivational climate to improve performance level, but contrary to expectations, Pakistani players reported a higher incidence of coping strategies. Reasons for the results are discussed with regard to differences in competitive goals and differences in environmental factors between both groups.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Orientador: Carlos Alberto Gomes Barbosa / Banca: Áureo Busetto / Banca: José Luiz Bendicho Beired / Banca: Regina Aida Crespo / Banca: Fernando Torres-Londoño / Resumo: O objetivo desta Tese de Doutoramento consiste em apresentar um estudo histórico-comparativa entre a Revista de Cultura Vozes, do Brasil, e a revista mexicana Christus, cujas páginas constituíram um lócus para a disseminação em seus respectivos países de peculiaridades do ideário de significativa parcela dos representantes intelectuais da "renovação católica progressista" que ocorreu em território latino-americano a partir da década de 1960. Propomos focar nossas análises nas semelhanças, diferenças e transformações apresentadas nas páginas de ambas as revistas no que tange aos objetivos, características e limites pensados para o alcance das transformações sociais entendidas como necessárias; e também quanto ao tratamento e as transformações relacionadas às formas de se pensar e lidar com a diversidade étnico-cultural presente no subcontinente latino-americano. Consideramos que nossa proposta se justifica por contemplar dois países (Brasil e México) que, apesar da grande disparidade numérica e representativa no que se refere à adesão aos setores da Teologia da Libertação, foram alcançados de forma significativa pelas consequências políticas e sociais desse movimento intelectual sócio-teológico / Abstract: The objective of this PhD Thesis is to present a historical-comparative study of the Revista de Cultura Vozes, from Brazil, and the Mexican magazine Christus, whose pages have been a locus for the dissemination in their respective countries of the peculiarities of the ideals of a significant number of intellectuals representatives of "progressive Catholic renewal" that occurred in Latin American territory from the 1960s. We propose to focus our analysis on the similarities, differences and changes made in the pages of both magazines in relation to the objectives, characteristics and limitations designed to achieve the social changes perceived as necessary, and also for the treatment and the changes related to the ways of thinking and dealing with ethnic and cultural diversity present in the Latin American subcontinent. We believe that our proposal is justified to contemplate two countries (Brazil and Mexico) that despite the great disparity number is represented as regards adherence to the sectors of Liberation Theology, were achieved significantly by the political and social consequences of this intellectual socio-theological movement / Doutor