MEASURING THE BENEFITS OF AN IN-STORE CONSUMER INFORMATION PROGRAM

Consumer/Household Economics,

Women Owned Businesses and Bank Switching: The Role of Customer Service

The number of businesses owned and operated by women is increasing rapidly, and women owned businesses are becoming a powerful economic force. It is estimated that half of the businesses in this country will be owned and operated by women by the year 2,000. This article describes research conducted on women owned small businesses and the nature of their banking relationships. Findings revealed that over 90% of those surveyed used banking products. A surprisingly high percentage of the women surveyed had switched banks. Major reasons for switching included poor customer service, an arrogant and condescending attitude on the part of bank personnel, and errors and mistakes. These results suggest opportunities for bank managers to improve the quality of their interactions with women business owners, a growing segment of the market

Scientists of the CGIAR

This publication presents inspiring vignettes about the lives and work of scientists at the international agricultural research centers of the CGIAR

Findings of the safety inspections found on the TEN-T road network in the Czech Republic

In 2015 the Czech Technical University in Prague carried out a safety inspection on the TEN-T road network in the Czech Republic and on the selected 1st class roads (in the future they are intended to replace the planned TEN-T network). This article is designed to provide a basic overview of the most common problems in terms of both the frequency with which these risks occur and their significance. This article will also present a newly developed web application, CEBASS, which gives road operators an effective and systematic tool to manage the process of solving these problems. The aim of this article is to describe the classification created and used during the safety inspection course, which is better for road operators than the existing methods for safety inspections

Phosphorus Uptake and Balance in a Soyabean-Maize Rotation in the Moist Savanna of West Africa

This study investigated the effect of maturity class on phosphorus (P) balance in a soyabean-maize rotation in the West African moist savanna.F our soyabean varieties of different maturity classes were grown with or without P fertilizer followed by a maize crop. Soyabean stover P content averaged 1.77 kg ha−1 compared with 5.13 kg ha−1 in the grain. The late soyabean variety TGx1670-1F accumulated a significantly higher P in the grain (6.56 kg ha−1), and stover (2.57 kg ha−1) than the others. While P harvest index averaged 79%, P application increased grain P by 63-81% and stover P by 100% or more. When either soyabean grain or grain+stover was exported, P balance was negative and was not statistically different for varieties when no P was applied. At 30 or 60 kg P ha−1, P balance was negative but significantly lower in TGx1670-1F compared with other varieties. In creasing P rate applied to soyabean significantly (p 0.01) increased maize grain P by 35-66% in the second year. When P was exported only in soyabean grain, cumulative P balances after maize grain harvest (with no P or 30 kg ha−1 applied previous year) were not significantly different for previous soyabean crops. At 60 kg ha−1, however, P balance in previous TGx1670-1F plot was significantly lower than for other varieties. A further export of soyabean stover reduced P balance. Significant residual P effect was observed emphasizing the need to focus P fertilizer application in the cropping system rather than on the single crop. Also with more P in soyabean grain, a reduction in the extent of P depletion will be achieved by returning soyabean stover to the field after threshing

The discriminant and the determinant of a hypersurface of even dimension

For a smooth hypersurface of even dimension, the quadratic character of the absolute Galois group defined by the determinant of the l-adic cohomology of middle dimension is computed via the square root of the discriminant of a defining polynomial of the hypersurface.Comment: 20 pages. In V2, there remains only one author. More details are adde

Loop entanglement of semicrystalline polyethylene in amorphous region: Diamond lattice approach

Linear polyethylenes in the amorphous region have been simulated as restricted random walks on a diamond lattice between two absorbing planes. The links among loops were studied by treating loops as oriented curves. The local conformations of polyethylene chains (i.e., trans and gauche energy differences) were considered in the simulation, thereby determining the effect of crystallization temperature on the loop entanglement. It was found that the total Gauss winding and link density of linked loops increased with the thickness of the amorphous region. This result agrees with that of the cubic lattice model. The link probability decreases very slowly with the thickness of the amorphous region. On the other hand, the results presented clearly indicate that all statistical measures of linked loops decrease with temperature. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 20: 348–353, 1999Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34693/1/6_ftp.pd

Le concept de l’insight en psychiatrie

International audienceC'est en France (particulièrement à la Société Médico-Psychologique de 1869 à 1870), vers le milieu du siècle, que le concept d'insight dans les troubles mentaux est apparu. Parmi d'autres idées, l'évolution des opinions concernant la nature de l'aliénation mentale, en particulier l'émergence de la notion de folie partielle, a conduit à des débats sur la question de l'insight chez les patients souffrant d'une maladie mentale. Un regain d'intérêt pour l'insight a été à l'origine de nombreuses études empiriques en psychiatrie pour explorer la relation entre l'insight des patients et les variables cliniques. Les résultats de ces études sont variables et contradictoires. Les explications sont en rapport avec la complexité inhérente du concept de l'insight. Dans l'objectif de clarifier ces divergences, il est essentiel de faire une distinction entre le concept et le phénomène de l'insight et de considérer l'insight comme un concept relationnel. Clarifier ces questions au sujet de l'insight permet de définir les modalités et les limites dans lesquelles il est possible de capturer l'insight de manière empirique. En outre, il facilite la compréhension de l'insight comme un état mental dont les fluctuations dépendent d'une interaction entre des facteurs psychologiques, pathologiques et des facteurs socioculturels