U.S. consumers are worried about their privacy and their personal information.High profile cases of identity theft involving companies losing the private information ofhundreds of thousands of customers have only served to elevate the mistrust consumershave for companies that collect and share...

A computer model was developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to analyze the electricity production, costs, and prices for two geographical regions for a single year. Bulk-power trading is allowed between the two regions and market clearing prices are determined based on marginal costs. The...

Offshore outsourcing continues to gain prominence as the printing industrystrides into the future. With different segments of the industry looking at reducingcosts and, in exchange providing value-added services, more companies turntowards outsourcing services offshore as a solution. Although it...

More than 3,000 electric utilities in the United States provide electricity to sustain the Nation`s economic growth and promote the well-being of its inhabitants. At the end of 1996, the net generating capability of the electric power industry stood at more than 776,000 megawatts. Sales to...

This exploratory qualitative study investigates the reaction of the selling side of the real estate market to the mandatory disclosure of information as a consumer protection mechanism in residential property transactions, the largest purchase most consumers will ever make. In Australia, where...

Something of a design after-thought, mobile phone SMS (Short-Message Services) have been enthusiastically adopted by consumers worldwide, who have created a new text culture. SMS is now being deployed to provide a range of services and transactions, as well as playing a critical role in offering...

This article defines a methodology that can be used for assessing the cost-effectiveness of competing/alternative international consumer transaction (ICT) redress methods. The intention of this methodology is to reduce, at least to some extent, the subjectivity that would otherwise be involved...

Transparent pricing is a prerequisite for an efficient, competitive market and responsible consumer behavior. If the card industry were required to price its products in a straightforward manner, and it were less costly for consumers to switch cards, deceptive practices would be harder to...