Christmas gifts to make

MOST of us appreciate a small, thoughtful gift much more than a bought in a hurry gift. Here are a few suggestions for simple gifts that can be made, giving pleasure to both the maker and the recipient. They are also useful for stocking stalls for fetes

Social Discounting: An Examination of the Neural and Behavioral Performance of Individuals Making Altruistic Decisions about Family Members

Social Discounting is defined as the decrease in generosity between the decision maker (participant) and the recipient of a gift as social distance (perceived closeness) between the two increases. To date, there is little data that has been collected that compares both the responses of behavioral performance and the corresponding neural activity when individuals are asked to make decisions about money based upon how close they feel to someone of their kin or not of their kin as their perceived social distances or relationships change. This specific study includes both fMRI and behavioral data analysis and takes into account the difference in perceived social distance between kin and non-kin relationships in correspondence with blood flow to specific areas of the brain that are being activated when participants are asked to make decisions regarding altruistic or selfmotivated decisions. Analysis of the imaging data collected showed 4 main regions more active when participants imagined how they would feel receiving a gift versus giving the gift. These active regions were observed within the right superior temporal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, BA8 in the frontal cortex, and the left superior frontal gyrus

You Owe Me

In many cultures and industries gifts are given in order to influence the recipient, often at the expense of a third party. Examples include business gifts of firms and lobbyists. In a series of experiments, we show that, even without incentive or informational effects, small gifts strongly influence the recipient’s behavior in favor of the gift giver, in particular when a third party bears the cost. Subjects are well aware that the gift is given to influence their behavior but reciprocate nevertheless. Withholding the gift triggers a strong negative response. These findings are inconsistent with the most prominent models of social preferences. We propose an extension of existing theories to capture the observed behavior by endogenizing the “reference group” to whom social preferences are applied. We also show that disclosure and size limits are not effective in reducing the effect of gifts, consistent with our model. Financial incentives ameliorate the effect of the gift but backfire when available but not provided

The Echo: December 6, 1991

Chapel services to celebrate Christmas – Christmas Concert Calendar – Gift items on sale tomorrow – Students spend fall in Israel – Seminar to prepare seniors for the future – Senior art show on display ‘Mark of my Maker’ – Letter to the editor: Enjoyable evening – Perspectives and Issues – Students to practice classroom skills – Faculty spotlight: hall directors – Taylor Trivia – Christmas stories, pajamas, all part of Taylor Christmas tradition – Taylor to face Southern Tech in Belmont Classic – The Echo Sports Contest – Lady Trojans to battle Spring Arborhttps://pillars.taylor.edu/echo-1991-1992/1011/thumbnail.jp

Delegation and Rewards

We study experimentally whether anti-corruption policies with a focus on bribery might be insufficient to uncover more subtle ways of gaining an unfair advantage. In particular, we investigate whether an implicit agreement to exchange favors between a decision-maker and a lobbying party serves as a legal substitute for corruption. Due to the obvious lack of field data on these activities, the laboratory provides an excellent opportunity to study this question. We find that even the pure anticipation of future rewards from a lobbying party suffices to bias a decision-maker in favor of this party, even though it creates negative externalities to others. Although future rewards are not contractible, the benefitting party voluntarily compensates decision-makers for partisan choices. In this way, both receive higher payoffs, but aggregate welfare is lower than without a rewards channel. Thus, the outcome mirrors what might have been achieved via conventional bribing, while not being illegal

From Me to You

As an artist, my work has allowed me to produce as a multidisciplinary thinker, maker, and communicator. Beyond the physicality of medium, much of my desire to make my work manifests in the nuances of human relationships and genuine experiences that I seek and recall in my own life. My most lasting work meanders around the elements of unspoken communication, intimate gestures, and quixotic quests.Through performative sculpture, I pursue thinking and making through nontraditional materials, utilizing some form of human interaction in the process. Exploring my curiosity for relational and performative art, I’m interested in works that are exist through temporary installation and ephemeral experience rather than art objects that last forever. I seek out ways of making through in invisible exchanges that occur between people, which are often difficult to physically preserve and document. As evidenced by both tangible and intangible works, I am interested in the idea of the gift, and the politics and economy surrounding the act of gift giving. With the generosity that a giver extends through a gift, for example, there is also a demand of the receiver to accept the gift, and reciprocate in some form. This invisible give and take, and the unspoken rules dictating our social interactions, feed into my work constantly. With an ongoing inquiry for the true meaning of empathy, my attraction to human interaction has developed into one of the most important parts of my art and life practice. The moments lingering in the overlap of both my life and art practices are those that I’m most drawn to

How to Make It as a Maker: Maximizing Customer Experience to Increase Brand Value in the Saturated Marketplace of Paper Goods and Gifts

The following thesis investigates the saturated conditions of the paper goods and gift industry, while addressing how the problem of competition discourages start-up brands. Targeted towards rising creative entrepreneurs with ambition to enter the marketplace, the thesis affirms opportunity for breakthrough created by the Maker Movement and identifies strategies for success through attention to customer experience. Based on the trending demand for experience, suggested strategies highlight the primary areas with opportunity for visual application, including brand, product, packaging, social media, and point of purchase. Scholarly research employs primary and secondary resources, along with case studies of successful brands in a variety of saturated industries, non-exclusive to paper goods and gifts alone. The final visual deliverables exemplify how creative entrepreneurs may increase impact in the five areas of experience, as demonstrated in the development and launch of a start-up paper goods and gift e-commerce brand. In conclusion, the thesis affirms continued opportunity, asserting that entrepreneurs who remain attentive to curating memorable customer experiences will increase brand value and potential for success in the saturated marketplace of paper goods and gifts

Boston Hospitality Review: Winter 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS: "Training: The Necessity of Error Management Training in the Hospitality Industry" by Priyanko Guchait; "Trends: Green Hotels: An Overview" by Minu Agarwal and Prashant Das; "Tourism: Panacea or peril? The implications of Neolocalism as a more intrusive form of tourism" by Makarand Mody and Kyle Koslowsky; "Restaurants: How Can Single-Unit Restaurants Strive for Powerful Online Presence?" by Leora Lanz and Jenna Berry; "Retention: Why Hoteliers Stay and Go: Future Oriented Thinking" by Sean McGinley; "Service Recovery: Failure is Not Fatal: Actionable Insights on Service Failure and Recovery for the Hospitality Industry" by Lisa C. Wan and Elisa Chan; "Research: A Detailed Study of the Expected and Actual Use of Hotel Amenities" by Chekitan S. Dev and Prateek Kumar