Linking Site Quality, Online Shopping Resistance and Trust in Web-based Marketing

Dr Neeru Sharma [HREF1], Lecturer, School of Marketing and International Business[HREF2] , Locked Bag 1797, University of Western Sydney [HREF3], Penrith South DC NSW, 1797. n.sharma@uws.edu.au

Abstract

In today's competitive market, just ensuring presence on the web is not sufficient. Shopping sites must be of a high quality to attract consumers, increase trust in web-based firm and drive their purchase intentions. Trust is suggested as the gateway to a successful buyer-seller relationship (Wilson and Jantrania 1994). The present study investigates the links of site quality and buyer's resistance to trust in web-based firm through employing a sample of 236 on-line shoppers. The empirical study is conducted in predominantly eastern environment of India, in contrast to the western countries like America and Europe where most web studies are done.

Introduction

The objective of this article is to identify the drivers of trust in web-based marketing setting. Trust has been repeatedly identified as the key ingredient for building successful relationships with customers (Crosby, Evans and Cowles 1990; Doney and Cannon 1997; Dwyer, Schurr and Oh 1987; Granovetter, 1985; Hrebiniak, 1974; Ravald & Gronroos, 1996; Schurr and Ozanne 1985). The role of trust in the initiation of on-line exchange is highlighted in various studies of web-based marketing e.g., Cheskin (2000), Corritore, Wiedenbeck & Kracher (2001), Egger (2000), Steer (1999), Stratford (2000), Kim and Moon, (1998). Trust is crucial for effective online selling as there is no face-to-face contact (Corritore, Wiedenbeck & Kracher 2001). Trust is linked to several variables of online exchange e.g., customer resistance, web site factors, satisfaction, expectation (Hoffman & Novak, 1997; Kim, Ferrin and Rao, 2003; Novak, Hoffman, & Peralta, 1998; Sotkin, 2000; Wang et al, 1998). However 'What factors derive trust in online seller?' and 'What is the relative role of the different factors in driving trust?' are the key issues requiring empirical investigation. A recent study done by Mukherjee and Nath (2003) is a significant contribution highlighting the role of shared values, relationship commitment and communication in developing online trust in banking, however the role of any website factors which may be influential in this process is not explored. These issues are relevant for the online firms as they require knowledge of what goes into the building a trustworthy website from the point of view of the web users.

Furthermore, most web marketing studies have been conducted in developed countries like the USA, Canada, and Germany having predominantly western culture, limiting the validity of their findings to countries having predominantly eastern culture. Using Hofstede's (1980, 1994) cultural values dimensions e.g., collectivism/individualism, uncertainty avoidance based on a study of over 116,000 subjects from 66 nations, numerous authors point out cross-cultural differences in consumer perceptions. For example, majority of Asian cultures rate very highly on Hofstede's uncertainty avoidance and are slower in accepting new products (like world wide web) and make an active use of reference groups in purchase decisions (Lovelock, Patterson and Walker 2001). Consistent with this, Hsu, Murphy, and Purchase (2001) report significant differences in the perceptions of Australian (western) and Taiwanese (eastern) advertisers with respect to using web as a distribution channel.

The present study is conducted in an Asian country setting i.e., India. However India is different from the other Asian countries like Taiwan, China and Thailand, as it rates low on uncertainty avoidance dimension like the USA. However, Indian culture is different from the American culture as it very strongly espouses collectivism and thus places a strong emphasis on group decisions (Hofstede 1980). Thus India presents a unique context that is different from the previously researched contexts of the USA or the other Asian nations and some differences in consumer behaviour may be expected. Numerous authors argue that consumers in different nations are different so there are differences in consumer perceptions with regards to need, usage and importance (De Mooij 2004, Kumar 2003).

The Research Issues

Specifically, the research issues include:

1. Conceptual development of site quality and online shopping resistance

2. Based upon conceptual grounding, development and refinement of measures for the above concepts

3. Assessment of these concepts in a culturally diverse setting i.e., India¹

4. Examination of the links of the above variables to trust

The Conceptual Model

The conceptual model shows the linkages between trust, site quality and online shopping resistance. Trust is the consumer confidence, which develops (lost) in various encounters when a customer deals with a firm. Online trust in this study simply refers to trust in a virtual environment. Existing literature on online marketing points out that there is a fundamental lack of trust in seller (Hoffman & Novak, 1997; Hoffman, Novak, & Peralta, 1998; Jevons & Gabbott, 2000). Site quality is discussed as a main factor in engendering trust in online retailer (Siau and Shen 2003, McKnight and Chervany, 2001). Site quality means a well-designed web site that gives customers sufficient information for making purchase decisions, is easy to navigate, shows necessary links to other relevant websites and facilitates an effective interaction with the seller. Online shopping resistance is a barrier in the online purchase and includes risk of loss of credit card details, risk of disclosure of private confidential information, lack of internet experience, risk of product/service failure, uncertainty regarding the delay of receipt of product etc. The most widely shared concern in a survey of online shoppers is found to be the disclosure of credit card details (Whiteley, 2000). The risk of leakage of enormous customer information e.g., where the customers learned about the products, what triggered their buying decisions, how they are planning to use the products and where the products were bought, from the online firm to direct marketing firms also represents a barrier to web-based marketing. Risk of receiving poor quality product and delayed delivery are inherent into the online purchase activity as the customer cannot judge the product before purchasing it and usually the products are bought from physically distant firms. Finally lack of proficiency in web is a major hurdle in developing online shopping habit. The interlinkages of study variables are discussed below.

The link between online shopping resistance and trust

It is argued that there is an inverse relationship between resistance and trust. Several authors express that the fear of disclosure of private information and credit card details impact on the ability of the online firm to build a trusting relationship with a potential online customer (Steers, 1999; Studio Archetype and Cheskin research reports, 1998). The risk of getting a wrong product and absence of personal interaction with the salespeople creates doubts and hinders the development of trust in the firm.

Hypothesis 1: The lower the online shopping resistance, the greater the trust.

The link between site quality and trust

It is argued that a direct link exists between site quality and trust. Web site visit is the first encounter between the firm and the customer. If clear connection paths, fast navigation and appropriate content are provided, it minimizes the surprises of the user and builds their confidence. The studies on web site experience e.g., Muoio (1999) support the idea that boring and uninspiring sites fail to develop consumer trust.

Hypothesis 2: The superior the site quality, the greater the trust.

Research Methodology

The study uses an exploratory as well as descriptive research method. The exploratory phase started with focusing on the existing literature of trust, site quality and online shopping resistance to evaluate the contribution and deficiencies. A series of one-on-one qualitative interviews were conducted with web users to develop an understanding of the factors that online consumers think are important for developing trust in the online retailer. The methodology used and issues emerging from the in-depth interviews are presented in the following section. The sample selection and data collection methods employed for the empirical study are also detailed.

The existing measures of site quality and research issues

Authors in e-marketing literature have put forth a variety of measures of site quality e.g., 'webQUAL', 'site stickiness', 'site performance'. WebQUAL is multidimensional and comprehensive tool developed by Adam and Deans (1998) for manual evaluation of a firm's website over three marketing roles- communication, transaction and relationship enhancement. A range of items are included in each of the three roles, for example to measure communication role, URL guessability, coding, brochureware, design, global and update are suggested. WebQUAL is a significant contribution in e-marketing literature and is in the process of further validation as a semi-automated commercial product. The present paper presents a different approach from Adam and Deans (1998), as it explores the views of customers to ascertain which site quality attributes are influential in driving trust in seller.

Website stickiness is measured by the length of time a visitor spends on a particular website (Davonport and Lynch 2000). It was believed that if a firm can make its visitors spend more time at its site, they could be considered more loyal to the firm. However this view was rejected in other website studies e.g., Oxley and Miller (2000), which state duration of time spent (behavioural) could also represent weakness of a website due to difficulties in getting the needed information and problems in navigation. Website stickiness, as defined in Oxley and Miller's (2000) study represents the website qualities (attitudinal) that induce visitors to remain at the site rather than move to another. A four item measure was developed and tested including overall site evaluation, liklihood of revisiting, liklihood of referring the site to others, and comparison of the site with other sites. However the problems still remain as the measure is generic and does not go into the underlying reasons for the manifestation of a favourable/unfavourable attitude toward the online firm.

In another study by Yoo and Donthu (2001), four dimensions of site quality- ease of use, aesthetic design, processing speed and security are conceptualized. Other studies e.g., web site papers, available from www.webpronews.com/archives/100500.html suggest that relevance of the information to the user and interactivity are the main aspects on which a site is evaluated. While relevance ensures that the information is meaningful for the user, interactivity of the site provides an interesting environment. This indicates that the different attributes of site quality are not examined together in one study and there is a need for further research in this direction.

Developing Items for Site Quality

A bank of 20 items was developed from a review of literature and a series of one on one in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with respondents based in India. The researcher telephonically contacted thirty families living in five affluent localities in New Delhi, the capital of India. Consumers living in these areas have computers in their homes and they access internet almost everyday. After a discussion about the objectives of research, twenty-three respondents agreed to participate in in-depth interviews. The interviews confirmed that the previously existing aspects of site quality like speed, navigation, content are relevant and important in judging the superiority of a firm's web site. Several quotes extracted from the interviews are presented here. The respondents expressed that speed at which the web site opens and the requested information is generated as an important parameter for evaluating the quality of a web site, as a customer commented:

The website of XYZ company irritates me as even the first page does not open for about 20 minutes. Now I have stopped trying it as it wastes my time.

Qualitative interviews suggested that ease of navigating through the web site determines user's quality perceptions to a considerable extent. This is in line with the earlier studies e.g., Sotkin (2000) reporting results obtained in a survey conducted by a consulting and research firm for creative, good and large sites like Disney. com, Walmart. com. The survey found that 39% shoppers failed in their shopping attempts because sites were too difficult which resulted in a loss of more than $ 6 billion due to difficulties in site functionality- it is difficult to understand and implement. During qualitative interviews, a customer of Rediff.com commented:

It is so convenient to search on this site. In the music section, there are music categories like pop, rock, classical etc. and in the books section, there are book categories it saves our valuable time

Qualitative interviews also confirmed the importance of content structure and quality. One respondent commented:

The website of firm ABC is poorly developed. The important information is hidden somewhere in heaps of the material written on the pages. It is not interactive either.

Personalization, the ability of the web site to provide relevant and desired information to the users, was expressed as a significant parameter of web site quality during the in-depth interviews. For example, a good sales person recognizes the customer, remembers his or her preferences, and adjusts the interaction to customer's personality in the interaction. Sophisticated websites have added personalization technology and social intelligence to their interfaces in order to engage the customer in an exchange more like real life allowing the customers to feel they were recognized by the organization.

..On this web site, I cannot only build my own home page but can also design in the way I like. It's what I want to see the way I want to see. For example, in the news section, I can select the 'only headlines' option so that I don't get bombarded with the full story on each news item. I can also ask for columns only by my preferred reporter. I can personalize sports and all other sections. This minimizes the time and energy utilized to get the desired information...

The entire set of items is presented in Appendix A. In some instances, items used in previous research were also included in the questionnaire.

Developing Items for Online Shopping Resistance

Since no previous work exists for measurement of online shopping resistance, the items for online shopping resistance were generated from the conceptual definition of the construct and the ideas extracted from the qualitative interviews. The items are listed in Appendix B.

Items for trust

Since little empirical research exists on trust in online setting, the studies of trust in offline environment are considered to get insights of the factors included in trust construct. A variety of conceptualizations of trust are found in literatures of psychology, public administration, organization behaviour, marketing etc. discussing different aspects of trust. Numerous authors e.g., Corritore, Wiedenbeck and Kracker (2001) point out that most trust conceptualizations have common threads as these discuss elements of vulnerability, credibility, competence, benevolence etc. A common theme emerging from the alternative conceptualizations is that trust is a state involving confident positive expectations about another's motives with respect to oneself in situations entailing risk (Boon and Holms 1991). Cheung and Lee (2000); Chong, Yang and Wong (2003) and Bhattacharjee (2002) include benevolence, integrity and competence in trust construct in online setting adapting from earlier offline trust studies e.g., Crosby, Evans, & Cowles (1994); Doney and Cannon (1997); Morgan & Hunt (1994). Consistent with this, the present study uses the existing trust items as shown in Table 6.

Questionnaire Development, Pre testing and Administration

For ensuring content validity, the items of site quality and resistance were reviewed by two experts actively engaged in e-Commerce and web designing. The final questionnaire was pre tested using 10 respondents selected using personal networks. The pretest led to some minor wording and layout changes in the questionnaire. Pretest interviews were not included in the main sample. The main sample was selected using judgmental sampling method. Random sampling method was not applicable in this situation as every individual in India doesn't have access to internet and all of those who access internet don't use it for purchasing goods and services. Judgmental sampling was thought to be useful in selecting a sample to represent the population of interest. The author taught in a premier management institution in India at the time of data collection, 115 postgraduate students who were serving in various organizations and using web regularly for buying a variety of goods and services were included in the sample. Personal networks of friends and colleagues were used to select more respondents. Then data collection began for the empirical study. In the initial contact, the author explained the nature and purpose of the present research. It was explained to the respondents that the survey would focus on a particular website. They will be allowed to select any web site. However, they would be asked to give the address of the website which they were talking about. It was ensured that the sites visited were relevant to the respondents and they were their visitors. Indians are fluent in English as it is the most used official language in India. The content of most Indian websites is written in English. It was ensured that the respondents referred to an Indian website and the content of the website was in English so that results are not biased due to variation in the websites. Table 2 presents the different categories of websites visited by respondents.

Sample achieved

Table 1 provides a summary of the characteristics of the chosen sample. A total of 236 respondents (158 males and 78 females) filled the questionnaire ensuring both sexes were represented well. As Table 1 shows, majority of the respondents (77.14%) fall in 21-34 years age category demonstrating that the sample consists primarily of young respondents. Majority of respondents are graduates (47.45%). Table 1 shows the percentage of the shopping done on the web by a customer. Only 14 customers did more than 50% shopping on the web. Majority of respondents (132 respondents) used web only for 25% of what they buy from the market.

Scale Development

First, the distribution properties e.g., normality was assessed for each item using histograms and normal probability plots. One of the 20 items developed for site quality ''I can interact with other users through this site'' did not show a normal distribution so it was deleted. Remaining items were correlated together and examined to assess their correlation with other items representing the same variable and those thought to represent other variables. The items more correlated (i.e., the correlation coefficient should be greater than 0.50) with those representing the same construct are retained for scale construction and considered as a set of items for that particular construct. Two other items ''Product prices are listed on the web site'' and ''Content is well organized'' are excluded from the set of items used for web site quality as they show insignificant correlation with the other items in the set. Each set of items is assessed for the psychometric properties e.g., unidimensionality, reliability, and validity. This was done by performing a principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation and ensuring sufficiently high factor loadings (0.40) and high item-to-total correlations (>0.50). Any items not showing heavy loadings or high correlations with the composite were dropped. Finally, the coefficient alpha was examined and any item that significantly lowered alpha was deleted.

Following the approach offered by Gerbing and Anderson (1988), the measures are also assessed by means of confirmatory factor analysis procedure using AMOS program version 3.61 (Arbuckle, 1997) to establish convergent and discriminant validity. The standardized loadings, critical ratios, model fit indices, composite reliabilities and average variance extracted were examined to ensure that the loadings were statistically significant, the composite reliability was greater than 0.50, average variance extracted was at least 0.50. The goodness of fit index (GFI), Tucker-Lewis index (TLI), Normed fit index (NFI), incremental fit index (IFI), adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI) and parsimonious goodness of fit index (PGFI) were also examined to assess the measurement properties of the scales. For accepting a measure, GFI, TLI, NFI, IFI, and AGFI should be greater than 0.90 and PGFI should be between 0 and 1.

As discussed earlier, 3 out of 20 items initially developed for this construct did not show normality or a significant correlation with the other items measuring this construct. These were not considered for analysis. The remaining 17 items were factor analysed together using principal components factor analysis using varimax rotation method. A six-factor structure emerged contrasting to the four factor structure of site quality of Yoo and Donthu (2000). These were labeled as speed, ease of navigation, content, aesthetics, security and personalisation. The factor structure for speed derived out of the initial exploratory factor analysis had item loadings ranging from .88 to .93 and the reliability estimate, Cronbach Alpha of .90. The result for ease of navigation indicated that the factor structure derived out of the initial exploratory factor analysis had item loadings ranging from .80 and .86 and the internal reliability Cronbach Alpha was .83, indicating high reliability. The results for the content, aesthetics and security indicated sound psychometric properties. The factor 'personalization' is a single item measure. The means and standard deviations of the six site quality dimensions are presented in Table 3. Four out of the six factors- speed, navigation, aesthetics and security are identical to those that appear in literature (Yoo & Donthu, 2000). Yoo and Donthu (2000) reported composite reliability of speed .78, ease of use .72, aesthetic design .74, and security .78. Average variance extracted (AVE) were .64, .59, .50, and .64 respectively. The composite reliability in the present study is higher than those reported in the earlier work with composite reliability of speed .84, ease of navigation .81, content .83, aesthetics .97 and security .94. The average variance extracted is .75, .62, .73, .94 and .85 respectively. The results obtained from the confirmatory factor analysis show that site quality is a mixture of six constituents. However, the three items ''The features and benefits of product are well described''; ''The web site shows the delivery charges''; and ''The website indicates the delivery time'' were deleted from the content dimension as they showed very low item-to-total correlations (0.33, 0.23 and 0.11 respectively) and do not conform to the decision rule.

As presented in Table 5, all of the five items of online shopping resistance load heavily on one factor, loadings ranging from .85 to .94, indicating a significant contribution in measuring resistance. The high item-to-composite correlations (ranging from .82 to .91) demonstrate unidimensionality and good convergent validity of the measure. The composite reliability of .94 and average variance extracted .80 show good internal consistency of the measure.

The measures of trust showed unidimensionality and good convergent validity as presented in Table 6. The loadings were high and reliability was .83. The average variance extracted was .79 and .80 showing good contribution of the items in measuring these constructs. Finally, the procedure described by Fornell and Larker (1981) was used to assess discriminant validity of the measures. As an indication of discriminant validity, the average variance extracted for each construct was found to be higher than the squared correlation between that construct and any other construct. To further test the discriminant validity, the sequential Chi square method was used. In this method, an unconstrained structural model that shows all the constructs to freely correlate, and a constrained model which fixes the value of the correlation between a pair of constructs equal to unity (this presumes the two constructs are alike), are compared. The measurement model is reestimated. The Chi square thus obtained is compared against the Chi square of the unconstrained model. The comparative fit indices (CFI) of the constrained and unconstrained models are also compared (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988). The difference between the Chi square coefficients of the constrained and unconstrained models is computed. If the difference value is less than the critical value associated with the difference in degrees of freedom between two models, the hypothesized constraint is accepted and the two constructs are considered to be equal. If the difference is more, the two constructs are said to be distinct and discriminant validity is established. In the present study, Chi square differential was obtained by taking a pair of constructs at a time and constraining them to be equal. In all cases, the Chi square for the constrained model was higher than that of the unconstrained model, supporting the discrimination of each construct.

To further test the convergent validity of the measures, an overall score for each construct was computed by summing up the average score of different components constituting the construct, and related to the individual components. The correlation coefficients of the individual components and the overall score were examined to see whether there exists a strong association between them showing a good convergent validity. An overall site quality score was computed by summing up the average score of the attribute of site quality like security, content, aesthetics etc. and related to the individual attributes. The correlation of the overall score was significant at the 0.0001 level: .83 with speed, .80 with ease of navigation, .84 with aesthetics, .85 with content, .86 with security and .78 with personalization. This demonstrates the ability of the scale to capture a user's overall perceptions of the site quality.

Results of Regression Analysis

Trust was then regressed on site quality and online shopping resistance to test the hypotheses. A large variance in trust (45%) was accounted for by site quality and online resistance. The beta coefficient for site quality is .23, the effect of internet shopping resistance is in the inverse direction (beta coefficient -.21). The betas are significantly different from 0, providing evidence for the support of hypotheses H1 and H2 (see Table 7).

Main Empirical Findings

The study has investigated two major areas. (1) It developed psychometrically sound measures of site quality and online shopping resistance, and (2) It investigated the effects of these variables on trust in the seller. The analysis revealed six site quality dimensions which users use to evaluate a firm's web site. The most striking finding is that all the six dimensions appear to be the important attributes of site quality. While a number of studies have examined the dimensions of site quality (e.g., SITEQUAL), this is the first attempt to investigate the site quality measure in a non-western environment. Not surprisingly, this differs from the studies done in the western environment e.g., Yoo and Donthu (2001) suggesting a four dimensional measure of site quality. The present study reveals that the two attributes 'content' and 'personalization' are also important attributes of the site quality. The analysis also revealed the constituents of online shopping resistance- confidentiality of personal information, lack of assurance of quality of products, delay in delivery, no interaction with the salesman and lack of internet and/or computer skills, as presented in Table 5. As expected, online shopping resistance has a negative impact on trust. It is advisable that marketing managers ensure the standard of service the firm's web site offers to the on-line shoppers. A professionally developed website would be instrumental in wiping out the negative effect of resistance on trust.

Managerial Implications

Gaining customer trust in web-based business is a daunting task, as customers perceive online business as riskier in nature than the bricks-and-mortar business. Trust in an online seller could be built through a good quality web site and reducing customer online shopping resistance. Website is the interface between the company and the customer. Website should be designed considering speed factor and navigational ease factor to enhance usability, enabling customers to perform buying activity easily and effectively. The website content has a strong impact on customer's perceptions of the company and its products. A similar view is highlighted in previous studies e.g., Siau and Shen (2003) that web-design competence conveys seller's competence to the customer. The information posted on the website should be relevant, accurate and timely. Attractive websites facilitating customization for the user are rated highly by the users. As discussed in the previous section, some differences in site quality attributes are found in the present study and the previous studies. However the two attributes 'content' and 'personalisation' that are found to be relevant in the present study can also be explored in a western context to test their relevance.

Security should be a prime concern in website design to overcome the barrier of shopping resistance. Firms use different methods to ensure security of transactions e.g., unconditional guarantee for coverage of any losses due to credit card fraud. Siau and Shen (2003) suggest various methods like digital signatures, encryption mechanisms, and authorization functionality to reduce customer perceived risk. Firm should educate the web users about its privacy policy to protect customer's personal information collected in online transactions.

Further Research

Further research is anticipated to refine the site quality scale and to more extensively confirm the validity of the scale testing it against other approaches for evaluation of quality of a website. Such a scale would be beneficial for on-line businesses. It would let site managers know where the website is successful and where it is failing. It would also provide a feedback on site strengths and weaknesses and could help in modifications in the various aspects of the website. Thus the site quality scale could help maximize the returns, retain customers etc.

The present study aimed to explore the role of key website factors so it didn't include the previously researched buyer-seller relationship variables like relationship commitment, satisfaction, value, communication, conflict etc. Further studies should consider investigating the nature of linkage amongst these variables, and the present study variables in diverse settings.

TABLE 1 SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS

TABLE 2 CATEGORIES OF WEBSITES VISITED BY RESPONDENTS

TABLE 3 MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS OF SITE QUALITY DIMENSIONS

TABLE 4 MEASURES OF SITE QUALITY

TABLE 5 MEASURE OF ONLINE SHOPPING RESISTANCE

TABLE 6 MEASURE OF TRUST

TABLE 7 REGRESSION MODEL – TRUST

APPENDIX A Text of Items developed for Site Quality

APPENDIX B Text of Items for Online Shopping Resistance

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Whiteley, J. (2000). ''Understanding the Online Buyer'' in Admap 2000 World Advertising Research Centre p. 14-16, July/August

Yoo, B., and Donthu, N. (2001). ''Developing a Scale to Measure the Perceived Quality of an Internet Shopping Site (SITEQUAL)'' in Quarterly Journal of Electronic Commerce 2001 v. 2 n.1 p. 31-46.

Young, L. (1992). The Role of Trust in Interorganisational Relationships in Marketing Channels. A Thesis, University of New South Wales, Australia.

Young, L., and Wilkinson, I. F. (1989). ''The Role of Trust and Cooperation in Marketing Channels: A Preliminary Study'' in European Journal of Marketing 1989 v. 23 n.2 p. 109-122.

Hypertext References

HREF1

http://www.uws.edu.au

HREF2

http://www.uws.edu.au

HREF3

http://www.uws.edu.au

HREF4

http://www.ac.com

HREF5

http://www.ipo.tue.n1/homepages/fegger/

HREF6

http://www.Sotkin.com

HREF7

http://www.ECMgt.com

HRF8

http://www.medill.nwu.edu/imc/s…pubs/jic/journal/stratform.html

HRF9

http://www.webpronews.com/archives/100500.html

Copyright

Dr Neeru Sharma, © 2004. The authors assign to Southern Cross University and other educational and non-profit institutions a non-exclusive licence to use this document for personal use and in courses of instruction provided that the article is used in full and this copyright statement is reproduced. The authors also grant a non-exclusive licence to Southern Cross University to publish this document in full on the World Wide Web and on CD-ROM and in printed form with the conference papers and for the document to be published on mirrors on the World Wide Web.