7,702 research outputs found
Social proximity and misinformation: Experimental evidence from a mobile phone-based campaign in India
We study how social proximity between the sender and the receiver of information shapes the effectiveness of preventive health behaviour campaigns and the persistence of misinformation. We implement a field experiment among a representative sample of slum residents in two major Indian cities characterized by Hindu-Muslim tensions. We show that informative messages are effective at improving evidence-based behavior, but not non-evidence-based behavior. These findings do not differ by social proximity, signalled by religion. However, when sender and receiver share the same religion, the intervention significantly reduces misinformation carrying in-group salience, highlighting the role of social proximity in fighting misinformation. (JEL codes: C93; D91; I12; I15; O12
March Madness: NCAA Tournament Participation and College Alcohol Use
While athletic success may improve the visibility of a university to prospective students and thereby benefit the school, it may also increase risky behavior in the current student body. Using the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study, we find that a school\u27s participation in the NCAA Basketball Tournament is associated with a 47% increase in binge drinking by male students at that school. Additionally, we find evidence that drunk driving increases by 5% among all students during the tournament. (JEL I12, I23, Z28
Error-free milestones in error prone measurements
A predictor variable or dose that is measured with substantial error may
possess an error-free milestone, such that it is known with negligible error
whether the value of the variable is to the left or right of the milestone.
Such a milestone provides a basis for estimating a linear relationship between
the true but unknown value of the error-free predictor and an outcome, because
the milestone creates a strong and valid instrumental variable. The inferences
are nonparametric and robust, and in the simplest cases, they are exact and
distribution free. We also consider multiple milestones for a single predictor
and milestones for several predictors whose partial slopes are estimated
simultaneously. Examples are drawn from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, in
which a BA degree acts as a milestone for sixteen years of education, and the
binary indicator of military service acts as a milestone for years of service.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/08-AOAS233 the Annals of
Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Theoretical Study of Pest Control Using Stage Structured Natural Enemies with Maturation Delay: A Crop-Pest-Natural Enemy Model
In the natural world, there are many insect species whose individual members
have a life history that takes them through two stages, immature and mature.
Moreover, the rates of survival, development, and reproduction almost always
depend on age, size, or development stage. Keeping this in mind, in this paper,
a three species crop-pest-natural enemy food chain model with two stages for
natural enemies is investigated. Using characteristic equations, a set of
sufficient conditions for local asymptotic stability of all the feasible
equilibria is obtained. Moreover, using approach as in (Beretta and Kuang,
2002), the possibility of the existence of a Hopf bifurcation for the interior
equilibrium with respect to maturation delay is explored, which shows that the
maturation delay plays an important role in the dynamical behavior of three
species system. Also obtain some threshold values of maturation delay for the
stability-switching of the particular system. In succession, using the normal
form theory and center manifold argument, we derive the explicit formulas which
determine the stability and direction of bifurcating periodic solutions.
Finally, a numerical simulation for supporting the theoretical analysis is
given.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figure
Mathematical analysis of complex SIR model with coinfection and density dependence
An SIR model with the coinfection of the two infectious agents in a single
host population is considered. The model includes the environmental carry
capacity in each class of population. A special case of this model is analyzed
and several threshold conditions are obtained which describes the establishment
of disease in the population. We prove that for small carrying capacity
there exist a globally stable disease free equilibrium point. Furthermore, we
establish the continuity of the transition dynamics of the stable equilibrium
point, i.e. we prove that (1) for small values of there exists a unique
globally stable equilibrium point, and (b) it moves continuously as is
growing (while its face type may change). This indicate that carrying capacity
is the crucial parameter and increase in resources in terms of carrying
capacity promotes the risk of infection.Comment: 14 page
Users' Perceptions of Library Service Quality: A LibQUAL+ Qualitative Study
published or submitted for publicatio
Factors influencing tea consumer behavior in China: A case study of Liupao Tea of Wuzhou in Guangxi
China boasts a diverse tea culture, being the world's largest tea producer, consumer, and exporter. As China's economy grows, and living standards improve, the demand for tea continues to rise, making it a critical product for marketers to understand. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that influence consumer behavior towards Wuzhou Liupao Tea and provide recommendations for its development and marketing. Data was gathered through a consumer behavior survey, and 392 complete responses from Liupao tea consumers were analyzed using the JAMOVI program. The research results indicate that price, education, perceived culture, healthiness, and pecuniary condition are crucial factors positively impacting consumer behavior towards Liupao tea. As such, it is recommended to highlight these factors in marketing and promotional activities, including tailored pricing strategies, educating consumers on the product's health benefits, acknowledging the diversity of consumer cultural perspectives, emphasizing Liupao tea's health benefits, targeting consumers with good economic conditions, and providing more affordable choices for low-income groups. These suggestions could help Liupao tea producers and marketing personnel to enhance product competitiveness, expand market share, and provide policymakers with valuable insights for relevant policy formulation.
Keywords: Chinese tea, Liupao tea, Guangxi, Influence factor, Consumer behavior
JEL Classification Code: H24, I12, I21, L17, P24
 
Peer Influence and Addiction Recurrence
In this paper we highlight the role of peers in the recurrence of addictive behavior. To do so, we use a simple “forward looking” model with procrastination and peers influence. Our results show that while procrastination can explain the decision to postpone rehabilitation, peers influence is essential to explain the cyclical patterns of addiction-rehabilitation-addiction.Addiction, peer effects, rehabilitation
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