<p> The global financial system appears to be heading for a major financial crisis. This crisis is being driven by a growing global debt. This crisis is not limited to nations that are heavily in debt such as Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy or Cyprus but to such others as the United States. While there has been a great deal of emphasis on debt, there are many other issues. In many cases, the underlying causes of this potential crisis are very complex. As this dissertation will show, it is the complexity of these causes and their interrelationships, coupled with a lack of a global financial management system that may be the real culprit in the potentially impending global financial crisis. </p><p> One very important aspect of these potential crises is the state of the world reserve currency and how it is managed. The concept of reserve currencies is widely recognized and these currencies are often used for international transactions. There is a very long history of the concept of a reserve currency. This history involves a combination of economic and political powers, real or perceived, that may influence global reserve currencies. </p><p> Recent years have witnessed a tremendous growth in information and communication systems that facilitate the design and implementation of complex inter-enterprise processes. The basic hypothesis of this dissertation is that an appropriately structured global reserve currency, based on use of an information and knowledge management system, can provide stability to currencies, whereas an unmanaged single or unstructured group of currencies will not provide currency stability. The proposed Information and Knowledge Architectures for System Management of a Global Reserve Currency (IKASM-GRC) can provide a system and methodology which can stabilize a reserve currency.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Syracuse University, 2004. / "Publication number AAT 3132679."

<p> This research informs an ongoing debate regarding a firm&rsquo;s incentives to invest in information security. Previous research reported that data breaches have had a decreasing impact on a company&rsquo;s stock price over time, leading researchers to conclude that market-based incentives are decreasingly effective. Some information security economists also suggested that further regulation is necessary because they found that capital market participants poorly accounted for the spillover effects of a breach&mdash;the effects of a breach that are external to the breached company. However, some studies indicate that sector-wide systematic risk could measure spillover effects and that the effects of a data breach on systematic risk may have changed over time. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively describe the relationship between the data breach of a firm and changes to the systematic risk of that firm&rsquo;s sector. This dissertation used event studies of sector-wide systematic risk within American stock markets to measure the external effects of breaches that occurred in companies within the financial, technology, healthcare and services sectors. The use of a repeated measures analysis of variance between those event studies allowed examination of longitudinal changes to sector-wide systematic risk between 2006 through 2016. This analysis found that the breach of an individual company had a significant impact on the systematic risk for that company&rsquo;s entire sector (1.08% in 2016) and that these impacts have increased over time (<i>p</i> = 0.015). The results were consistent across all measured sectors, without any significant correlation attributable to the scope of the breach. Together, these findings suggest that market forces are increasingly incentivizing sector-wide investment in information security. Further research should consider the potential for government enforced meta-regulation of sector defined information security standards.</p><p>

<p>Mobile phone ubiquity in much of the developing world has turned from a question of when rather than if. Some of the poorest and most remote parts of the world are being connected to the global telecommunications network to enable an unprecedented ability to both observe and interact with previously hard-to-reach populations at scale. While many mobile phone owners adopt this technology for basic phone use, the connectedness this expansive ownership enables presents an opportunity to the study and practice of economic development that extend beyond simple peer-to-peer communication. The modern information technology sector and its underlying network infrastructure presented this same opportunity during its own formation. The network was not only valuable for the communication it enabled, but also for the data it produced from those who utilized its services. It also serves as a platform for a deluge of information systems and services that have become a part of our everyday lives and has spurred significant economic growth over the past few decades. This "data revolution" is well underway in the developed economies but is diminishing in its returns, solving increasingly marginal problems. This same transformation is relatively nascent in developing economies where more salient challenges, such as poverty, have yet to be overcome. In this dissertation, we explore a data-driven approach that leverages mobile phone technology to better measure and address poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Our approach starts with the identification of a problem: in this case, poverty. In the first chapter, we apply novel machine learning methods to analyze roughly ten terabytes of data of mobile phone use from Rwanda's largest telecommunications operator to measure poverty at a national scale. We demonstrate that an individual's history of mobile phone usage can be used to infer his or her socioeconomic status. Using this individual model of mobile phone use and socioeconomic status, we can predict poverty and wealth across the entire network and accurately reconstruct national and regional distributions of wealth. Once we obtain this measure of poverty, we can then focus our efforts in regions that are most afflicted. The second chapter helps moves us from diagnosis to a potential cure. Predictions may be helpful to provide some guidance on which regions or populations to target but does not provide much in the way of what to do to have impact. In three years of field research in poor regions of rural Kenya and Rwanda, it was clear that much of the world's poor thrive and survive on subsistence agriculture, but many of these farmers also own mobile phones. Having such a platform enabled the ability to provide potentially welfare-improving information at scale. This chapter presents the research design and analyzes the results of of six randomized controlled trials testing the welfare effects of sending hundreds of text message formulations encouraging agricultural experimentation to over 500,000 farmers in Kenya and Rwanda. Targeting farmers with the right messaging and delivery characteristics was a focus of these trials. We find statistically significant effects on agricultural technology adoption and high rates of return on welfare outcomes by providing information over this medium. This mirrors the digital advertising industry in many developed economies and reminds us that advertisements as information can have very large welfare effects in poor information environments. The third chapter dives deeper into one of the six studies where the research design focused on information spillover in Rwanda where mobile phone ownership was about half of what it was in Kenya. We find that information does indeed spillover onto other farmers within the same group, and those farmers who don't have phones experience the largest percentage increases in adoptions when others within the same group receive a text message. This has large implications on the effectiveness and cost efficiency of information treatments to regions with lower mobile phone adoption. Not only were these interventions effective, they were also very inexpensive and resulted in network effects, further improving agricultural technology adoption, increasing food production and reducing poverty. The chapters in this dissertation develop a theory and methods for understanding how to leverage mobile technologies to measure and reduce poverty. It serves as a guide for both research and practitioners to approach solving problems in development that is grounded in measurement, data, collaboration, impact and scale.

<p> Consumers in the United States have three payment options at a point of sale terminal purchase with a merchant: (a) pay with cash, (b) write a check, or (c) swipe and sign for the transaction with a debit or credit card. Consumers may be reluctance to accept changes in their daily routine with respect to payment options, which may impede acceptance of evolving payment methods like mobile and contactless cards (MCC). Hence, the purpose of this qualitative case study using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was to examine the reasons given by consumers on why they are willing or unwilling to accept this alternative payment system. The selected participants were obtained via a signup sheet at PSCU for of this case study. After signing the informed consent form, the particpants were provided a link to Survey Monkey&trade;. The participants of the case study represented a broad level based off education, age, marriage and work levels. The partcipants provided their responses to questions that gaugued their knowledge and willingness to try new payment technologies such as mobile and contactless card payments. The responses provided by the participants demonstrated that ease of use (PEO) and usefulness (PEOU) were primary factors in using new payment technologies. Security of the financial data was a factor in the use of new new payment technology as cosnumers have become more conscious of data breaches. Future case studies should be conducted to determine the impact on segements such as the underbanked or underserved markets.</p>

<p> The advances in information technologies and the Internet significantly promote the prosperous growth of electronic commerce in recent years. Simply surfing the Internet allows consumers to conveniently explore endless product choices and a flood of related product information. As one of the most important sources of product information, Word-of-Mouth (WOM) helps consumers assess product quality, reduces decision risk without physical trials, and thus facilitates locating their best matches. WOM volume on the Internet has been rising fast while the Internet also unprecedentedly enhances the reach of WOM. As a result, online WOM could significantly influence consumer decision-making. More and more firms are embracing and applying online WOM marketing as a complementary strategy for advertising to increase sales. Even so, not much has been known regarding the mechanism underlying the WOM effect on online consumer behavior. A deeper understanding of the economic impact of online WOM is needed to provide practitioners insightful guidance on information systems design and the allocation of firm resources to more effectively develop online WOM marketing strategies. </p><p> This dissertation seeks to shed light on online WOM effect from three angles using a three-essay structure. The first essay of this dissertation investigates how a demand side factor (online user-generated WOM) interplays with a supply side factor (product variety) to affect a product's popularity in the online market where product choices are abundant and consumers can easily access product information. Extant research primarily looks into either demand side or supply side justifications for the heterogeneity of consumption pattern. Alternatively, this study highlights that consumers' reliance on online user reviews to choose products is significantly influenced by the quantity of products available. </p><p> In addition, this dissertation also explores the differential impact of online WOM created by different types of reviewers on online user choices. While consumers are widely exposed to both online user reviews and professional reviews, those two sources of WOM information are generally believed to influence user choices independently. However, an in-depth mediation analysis conducted in the Bayesian framework shows that professional reviews influence online user choices not only directly but also indirectly through the volume of online user reviews. This study also proposes a more robust hierarchical structure to model the interaction effect between online user reviews and product variety, refining the first essay. </p><p> Following this line of inquiry, this dissertation further studies the impact of the distribution of online WOM across retailing and third-party websites on consumers' purchasing decisions. In parallel with the flocking WOM available on the Internet, nowadays consumers are able to reach almost every piece of online WOM information relevant to their interested products. The distribution of WOM information across the Internet may accordingly influence consumers' search costs for product information and affect their final decisions. This research has found empirical evidence that both the dispersion of WOM volume and variation of WOM valence across the Internet significantly influence online retail sales.</p>

<p> The purpose of this research project was to explore what the core factors are that play a role in the development of the smart-grid. This research study examined The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 as it pertains to the smart-grid, the economic and security effects of the smart grid, and key factors for its success. The methodology used for this research study is based on a qualitative meta-analysis, multiple case analysis, and text analysis. Secondary data in the form of journal articles were used as the data for this study. Five to six articles on the smart grid, nuclear power, and cellular communication were synthesized to produce a smart gird case, a nuclear case, and a cellular communication case. An interruptive analysis and text analysis was used to create the synthesis. The three cases were analyzed using a multiple case study approach combined with a text analysis to produce a list of possible key factors for the smart grid. This research project found that the core issues (factors) for the smart grid can be categorized into the following five categories; economic, public policy, technology, regulatory, and safety/security. Key terms in each of the core issues were identified and used to answer the research question. The conclusions reached are that consumers will need to use assistive technologies to manage electrical use and to take advantage of dynamic pricing. Furthermore, the Federal Government will have to ensure that open standards are used for the smart grid, and that devices and protocols at all levels of the grid are secured against cyber-attack. Finally, the Federal Government needs to take a more free market approach to smart grid, especially concerning renewable resources. The market should dictate what mix of power generation is used to create an economically viable electric system. Natural gas, nuclear, solar, wind, and geothermal all should compete on a level playing field. With an estimated cost of over $2 trillion and 20 years to implement, there will be only one change to get it right. Limitations of the study include the use of only two comparative domains with the one domain under investigation, the use of a third domain would help to refine and better validate the findings of the study. The exploratory and interpretive nature of the research along with the use of a developing methodology required the researcher to use judgment about how to best analyze the data in a systematic way. The results of this research study not only contributes to the body of academic knowledge but is also a guide for policy makers and consumers who must wrestle with the effects the smart grid will have on the economy, national security, and daily life.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Government and International Relations, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Sydney, 2007. / Title from title screen (viewed 18th June, 2007). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to Government and International Relations, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Sydney. Degree awarded 2007; thesis submitted 2006. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.

Diss. Techn. Univ. Darmstadt, 2009. / Business and Economics (German Language) (Springer-11775) (GWV).

Diss. Techn. Univ. Darmstadt, 2009. / Business and Economics (German Language) (Springer-11775) (GWV).