How Troublesome are Stereotypes in International Business?

Substantial concern has been raised in international business writing that national stereotypes bias perception of employees, customers, and others. That concern is certainly supported by findings in person perception research. But some constraints of that research, such as the provision of incomplete information and uninteresting stimuli may well have caused an overestimation of the impact of stereotypes in business situations. This research shows that the impact of stereotypes is likely less than previously thought. When current diagnostic information is available, that information is used, leading to unbiased assessments. Only when information is limited are stereotype-biased judgments generated. A second experiment further shows that people feel more confident in assessments based on current information than in those where information is limited. These relatively optimistic findings suggest methods that managers can use to overcome national stereotype bias in international business situations

On Measuring Bias in Online Information

Bias in online information has recently become a pressing issue, with search engines, social networks and recommendation services being accused of exhibiting some form of bias. In this vision paper, we make the case for a systematic approach towards measuring bias. To this end, we discuss formal measures for quantifying the various types of bias, we outline the system components necessary for realizing them, and we highlight the related research challenges and open problems.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur

Treatment of reference alternatives in stated choice surveys for air travel choice behaviour

Stated Choice (SC) surveys are increasingly being used instead of Revealed Preference (RP) surveys for the study of air travel choice behaviour. In many cases, the choice situations presented in these SC surveys are constructed around an observed trip, where this is often included as one of the alternatives. Classically, these RP alternatives have been treated in the same way as the SC alternatives. The applications presented in this paper show that this potentially leads to biased results, and that it is important to recognise the differences in the nature of the two types of alternative. Additionally, the paper discusses issues caused by respondents who consistently prefer the RP alternative over the SC alternatives, a common phenomenon in such SC data

Implications of heterogeneous fracture distribution on reservoir quality; an analogue from the Torridon Group sandstone, Moine Thrust Belt, NW Scotland

This research was funded by a NERC CASE studentship (NERC code NE/I018166/1) in partnership with Midland Valley. Midland Valley's Move software was used for cross section construction and strain modelling. 3D Field software is acknowledged for contour map creation. Mark Cooper is thanked for constructive comments. Steven Laubach and Bill Dunne are thanked overseeing the editorial process and Magdalena Ellis Curry, Bertrand Gauthier and Arthur Lavenu are thanked for constructive reviews.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Defining the 3D geometry of thin shale units in the Sleipner reservoir using seismic attributes

Acknowledgments The seismic interpretation and image processing was carried out in the SeisLab facility at the University of Aberdeen (sponsored by BG BP and Chevron). Seismic imaging analysis was performed using GeoTeric (ffA), and analysis of seismic amplitudes was performed in Petrel 2015 (Schlumberger). We would like to thank the NDDC (RG11766-10) for funding this research and Statoil for the release of the Sleipner field seismic dataset utilized in this research paper and also Anne-Kari Furre and her colleagues for their assistance. We also thank the editor, Alejandro Escalona and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and in depth comments that improved the paper.Peer reviewedPostprin

FOODLIT-PRO: Food literacy domains, influential factors and determinants—A qualitative study

Poor eating habits are increasing the prevalence of weight-related issues, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Given the demand to improve individuals’ food knowledge and competencies aiming at healthier behaviours, the current investigation explores the concept of food literacy. Considering the lack of a shared understanding of food literacy, this study aims to explore food literacy’s domains, influential factors and determinants. Using a qualitative deductive-dominant content analysis, 30 experts from food-related fields were interviewed. The obtained outcomes were compared to available food literacy frameworks. Agreement among inter-raters was nearly perfect (k = 0.82). Yielding a total of 184 codes nested within 19 categories, identified domains were Origin, Safety, Choice and Decision, Select and Acquire, Plan, Preserve, Prepare, Cook, and Knowledge; influential factors included Nutrition, Psychological, Health, Learning Contexts, Policy, Industry, Sustainability, and Social and Cultural; External determinants were “Access to Food-Related Information”, “Perishable and/or Unreliable Food-Related Information”, “Family Dynamic and/or Identity”, and “Professionals’ Unpreparedness on Food-Related Expertise”, and Internal determinants included “Prioritise Food”, “Convenience and Practicality”, “Time and Financial Management”, “Previous Food-Related Habits”, and “Innate and Learned Flavour Preferences”. In conclusion, more than half of the identified attributes (62.5%) are corroborated by the current literature. However, the manifested content unmatched with the current frameworks of food literacy literature express food-literacy-related fields of action, knowledge, competencies, and determinants that have not yet been explored. As such, this study provides new and useful information concerning food literacy definition and development, by identifying its domains, factors of influence, and potential determinants. Moreover, this work paves the way for new measurements and interventions within this field

Asymmetric preference formation in willingness to pay estimates in discrete choice models

Individuals when faced with choices amongst a number of alternatives often adopt a variety of processing rules, ranging from simple linear to complex non-linear treatment of each attribute defining the offer of each alternative. In this paper we investigate the presence of asymmetry in preferences to test for reference effects and differential willingness to pay according to whether we are valuing gains or losses. The findings offer clear evidence of an asymmetrical response to increases and decreases in attributes when compared to the corresponding values for a reference alternative, where the degree of asymmetry varies across attributes and population segments