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Localized Trust -The Semiotics in Culture and E-Culture
Abstract
After identifying how trust and semiotics
work considering the case of Zanzibar we compare
two contrasting e-Bank site localization design
paradigms: namely that of Deutsche Bank and HSBC
with respect to two target audiences: namely China
and Taiwan. The findings of the e-Culture audit are
aligned to the ubiquitous set of cultural dimensions
first defined by Geert Hofstede. This alignment
appears to show that the "Western" stereotypical
paradigm is not in alignment with either Hofstede's
Individualism/Collectivism metric nor with
normative semiotic signs that reflect vibrant local
urban street cultures. We go on to suggest that the
use of card-sorting may speculatively be used to
better engender localized sites that are aligned to
local target.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
To apply semiotics to organisational analysis and information systems design, it is essential to unite two basic concepts: the sign and the norm. A sign is anything that stands for something else for some community. A norm is a generalised disposition to the world shared by members of a community. When its condition is met, a norm generates a propositional attitude which may, but not necessarily will, affect the subject's behaviour. Norms reflect regularities in the behaviour of members in an organisation, allowing them to coordinate their actions. Organised behaviour is norm-governed behaviour. Signs trigger the norms leading to more signs being produced. Both signs and norms lend themselves to empirical study. The focus in this paper is on the properties of norms since those for signs are relatively well known. The paper discusses a number of different taxonomies of norms: formal, informal, technical; evaluative, perceptual, behavioural, cognitive; structure, action; substantive, communication and control. A semiotic analysis of information systems is adduced in this paper from the social, pragmatic, semantic, syntactic, empiric and physical perspectives. The paper finally presents a semiotic approach to information systems design, by discussing the method of information modelling and systems architecture. This approach shows advantages over other traditional one in a higher degree of separation of knowledge, and hence system's consistency, integrity and maintainability.
With this question Plato opened a discussion of the relation between reason and the emotions. The question is very much alive today, usually in the form of a question concerning the explanation of action: can human action be explained entirely in terms of natural causes without reference to reasons for action? I will try to show in this paper that Peirce had a contribution to make to this discussion, a contribution which is original, stimulating, fruitful, and neglected. It has been neglected because it is submerged by Peirce's primary interests in logic, the theory of inquiry, and the theory of signs. His passages on emotion are, consequently, fragmentary and scattered; nowhere is it the direct center of his philosophical attention. Nevertheless, as I will show, the tenfold classification of Peirce's late theory of signs brings the disjecta membra together to form a coherent, comprehensive, and provocative emotion theory. A few preliminary remarks will help put some of the issues in perspective.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to find what kinds of problems, while implementing information security policy, may take place in foreign companies in the East African Community (EAC) because of cultural differences, and to suggest supplemental countermeasures in international frameworks such as Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and ISO/IEC27001.
Design/methodology/approach
Setting potential problems based on Hofstede's scores of cultural dimensions and the authors' experience, this paper predicts potential problems first by using the theory of level of potential. Local employees working for foreign companies were polled to evaluate the severity of the problems. Based on the survey results, the paper finds which problems may take place, what triggers them and how severe they are. Finally, it finds countermeasures to prevent the problems.
Findings
Overall, British, US and Japanese companies are found to have higher potential of facing problems in the EAC. The problem of “using a previous company's confidential information” has been found to have the highest severity. British, US and Belgian companies have individualism‐originated problems. Japanese companies have the highest potential of facing problems due to masculinity. Chinese companies have the highest potential of facing problems due to long‐term orientation. In addition, a list of countermeasures is proposed to protect business information.
Originality/value
The paper has identified information security management (ISM)‐related problems with their severities for each of the selected investing countries in the EAC, applying a new method to predict potential problems concerning ISM in foreign companies. It has recommended practical countermeasures against the six serious problems identified.
Starting from the nineteenth century descriptive literatures on Zanzibar by authors such as Sir Richard Burton and Charles Guillain, and Salima bint Said-Ruete's autobiography, we can draw a rather detailed picture of the relationship between the different social layers, cultures and genders on Zanzibar. Describing and differentiating the complexity of Zanzibar society in the nineteenth century is the main aim of this paper. The focus is on clothing in order to sketch the social organization of the society and to highlight the cultural relations between the different groups in Zanzibar. The evidence obtained from the description of clothing is used as an eye-opener for the Zanzibar society and this evidence is supported by nineteenth century literature and photography on Zanzibar.
How does corporate reputation influence customer behavioral intentions? This article proposes a model with customer trust, customer identification and customer commitment as the key intervening factors between corporate reputation and customer purchase intention and willingness to pay a price premium. We test the model by using data from 351 customers of three Chinese B2B service firms. Results indicate that corporate reputation has positive influence on both customer trust and customer identification. Customer commitment mediates the relationships between the two relational constructs (customer trust and customer identification) and behavioral intentions. Customer identification and customer commitment relate closely, but they are distinct constructs in the B2B setting.
The Second Edition of this classic work, first published in 1981 and an international bestseller, explores the differences in thinking and social action that exist among members of more than 50 modern nations. Geert Hofstede argues that people carry "mental programs" which are developed in the family in early childhood and reinforced in schools and organizations, and that these programs contain components of national culture. They are expressed most clearly in the different values that predominate among people from different countries. Geert Hofstede has completely rewritten, revised and updated Cultures Consequences for the twenty-first century, he has broadened the book's cross-disciplinary appeal, expanded the coverage of countries examined from 40 to more than 50, reformulated his arguments and a large amount of new literature has been included. The book is structured around five major dimensions: power distance; uncertainty avoidance; individualism versus collectivism; masculinity versus femininity; and long term versus short-term orientation. --Publisher.
Towards an E-Trust Framework
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A Card-Sorting Probe of E-Banking Perceptions
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A Pilot Investigation of E-Banking trust perceptions amongst the Yoruba and Igbo of Nigeria
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Beyond Hofstede: Designing Visual Meanings of Icons and Images for Cross-Cultural Interpretation
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