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Commercial Transactions (commercial + transactions)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	40%

Selected Abstracts

Online shoppers in Australia: dealing with problems

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 1 2008
Huong Ha
Abstract Although the Internet is a convenient platform to conduct commercial transactions, consumers are disadvantaged in the online marketplace due to insufficient information about goods and services as well as business and transaction process, lack of access to redress and several other problems. The number of complaints regarding online transactions increased in Australia from 2001 to 2005, and the number of Internet-fraud related complaints reported to Consumer Sentinel (USA) also increased from 2003 to 2006. This, in turn, has undermined consumer trust and impeded the growth of e-retailing as well as added to the fear among e-consumers of falling prey to online fraud. In spite of this, the nature and effectiveness of e-consumer protection has not been adequately studied, notwithstanding extensive research into other aspects of e-retailing. This article examines (i) the level of awareness of the respondents in the survey in Australia of the current policy framework for addressing consumer protection about online shopping in terms of redress; and (ii) the behaviour of the two groups of respondents in this survey who have and have not encountered problems with online purchases. The findings suggest that most respondents are not aware of the following issues, namely (i) which organizations are involved in e-consumer protection; (ii) government regulations and guidelines; (iii) industry codes of conduct; (iv) self-regulatory approaches adopted by business; and (v) the activities of consumer associations to protect consumers in the online marketplace. The findings also show that most respondents would seek redress if they were unhappy with their online purchases and if they knew how to proceed, and that most of them would settle disputes directly with e-retailers. Also, online shoppers who had encountered problems were more likely to continue purchasing via the Internet than online shoppers who had not encountered any problems. This suggests that respondents find that the benefits offered by e-retailing outweigh the risks associated with it. [source]

Improving the evidence base for international comparative research

INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 193-194 2008
Ekkehard Mochmann
Industrial societies today produce abundant data fed by the statistical system, social research, market research and administrative data. This is increasingly complemented by processing data produced from sources like commercial transactions. Looking at societies in an international comparative perspective, however, we find many incoherent patterns or even white spots on the globe. Nevertheless, we can observe encouraging progress over past decades. The pioneers of the data movement worked towards an international network of data infrastructures that were conceived as building blocks in a system of social observation. Gaps in the statistical data base had to be filled by sample surveys from social research. This resulted in a network of social science data services to preserve and process the data collected to make them available for secondary analysis, and systematic efforts to continuously collect data comparative by design and to make them available as a public good to the scientific community at large. Increasingly we can observe a rapprochement that has been taking place between social policy and social research since the turn of the millennium. Facing the challenges of globalisation we cannot however, overlook the fact that in spite of all progress, social science data have been collected predominantly with a national perspective, are not well integrated and , even if they are technically and legally accessible , do not easily lend themselves to comparison between nations or periods of time. International data programmes may well profit from the methodological standardisation and harmonisation of measurements as well as from technical progress towards the easier access to and interoperability of data bases. These processes will profit much, if growing efforts to agree on data policies and funding perspectives for international and transcontinental cooperation succeed. [source]

What's in a Standard Form Contract?

JOURNAL OF EMPIRICAL LEGAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2007
An Empirical Analysis of Software License Agreements
The vast majority of commercial transactions are governed by standard form contracts, but little is known about their actual content and the determinants of that content. This article provides a comprehensive empirical analysis of an important class of modern standard form contracts,software license agreements. In a sample of 647 licenses for software from various markets, I document the prevalence of terms relating to license acceptance, license scope, limitations on transfer, warranties, limitations on liability, maintenance and support, and conflict resolution. I find that almost all licenses display a net bias, relative to relevant default rules, in favor of the software company (the contract writer). I also investigate firm- and buyer-type determinants of the net bias. Larger and (controlling for size) younger firms offer more one-sided terms. Firms offer similar terms to both business buyers and members of the general public. In addition to providing new insight about the nature of standard form contracts, the results may inform efforts to draft new default rules to govern software transactions. [source]

The fundamental aspects of carbon nanotube metrology

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 11 2007
Ado Jorio
Abstract The accurate and reproducible measurement of the properties and performance characteristics of nanoscale materials, devices and systems are essential for quality and process control, commercial transactions and effective regulations. Scientists, manufacturers, governments, regulators and health and environmental protection agencies, will need measurement systems and evaluation protocols supported by well founded and robust standards, both physical and documentary. In this paper we discuss some fundamental aspects of the use of the resonance Raman spectroscopy of the radial breathing mode (RBM) of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) for metrological purposes. The achievements and problems are pointed, hoping for the development of procedures capable of making the promised nanotechnology revolution to become a reality. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]

Trade Balance: Numbers Can be Deceiving

CHINA AND WORLD ECONOMY, Issue 3 2006
Yuefen Li
F15; F23; O11 Abstract Trade disputes have become more prevalent and acute in recent years. Almost all center on bilateral trade balance and/or market access of certain merchandise or services. However, since at least the mid 1980s, affiliate sales have become a more direct and more powerful form of market access than the traditional cross-border commercial transactions for developed countries, whereas developing countries still rely predominantly on traditional trade. The importance of the international production supply chain is increasing with a bias against downstream producers. The current data collection and compilation system of trade balance can not reflect these changes in the world economic environment. It overstates exports of developing countries and understates their imports. None of the countries in the world can illustrate the weakness of the conventional system better than China. (Edited by Zhinan Zhang) [source]