Bundling Economics Under Adverse Selection in the Individual Health Insurance Market

We examine the impact of bundling strategies on the level of consumer participation and premium rates realized in an individual health insurance market characterized by an adverse selection problem. In this context we show that society may use private insurers to attain universal coverage at equitable premiums under a pure bundling strategy, where insurers offer only a comprehensive policy to the market. This result is strengthened as the number of medical conditions covered in the comprehensive policy increases and as applicant risk aversion increases. When insurance applicants exhibit low levels of risk aversion a mixed bundling strategy (or offering single-disease policies along with the comprehensive policy) improves consumer participation and decreases premium rates when compared to a pure bundling strategy. In this case market performance is improved by increasing policy options offered to applicants. Alternatively, when insurance applicants exhibit moderate levels of risk aversion a mixed bundling strategy reduces consumer participation and increases premium rates when compared to a pure bundling strategy. In this case market performance is improved by reducing policy options offered to applicants. In addition, when insurance applicants exhibit sufficiently high levels of risk aversion the consumer participation and premium rates realized under a pure bundling strategy and mixed bundling strategy converge toward full market participation. Finally, under all levels of risk aversion we show that offering an exclusion policy along with the comprehensive policy decreases consumer participation

Impacts of e-Commerce and Enhanced Information Endowments on Financial Services: A Quantitative Analysis of Transparency, Differential Pricing, and Disintermediation

Some implications of e-Commerce financial services firms are becoming clear. The web drives transparency, and increases the information endowment of all market participants. It is harder to manipulate customers\u27 behavior, or to overcharge them. Transparency drives differential pricing. Not all customers can or should be charged the same prices. Transparency reduces the viability of cross-subsidies between customers can or between products. The differential pricing enabled by the web transforms distribution channels, and enables direct distribution and alternative forms of distribution. Some intermediateraries may be bypassed altogether, while others may rapidly lose their best, most profitable, and previously most loyal customers

Semaphorin-1a Is Required for Aedes aegypti Embryonic Nerve Cord Development

Although mosquito genome projects have uncovered orthologues of many known developmental regulatory genes, extremely little is known about mosquito development. In this study, the role of semaphorin-1a (sema1a) was investigated during vector mosquito embryonic ventral nerve cord development. Expression of sema1a and the plexin A (plexA) receptor are detected in the embryonic ventral nerve cords of Aedes aegypti (dengue vector) and Anopheles gambiae (malaria vector), suggesting that Sema1a signaling may regulate mosquito nervous system development. Analysis of sema1a function was investigated through siRNA-mediated knockdown in A. aegypti embryos. Knockdown of sema1a during A. aegypti development results in a number of nerve cord phenotypes, including thinning, breakage, and occasional fusion of the longitudinal connectives, thin or absent commissures, and general distortion of the nerve cord. Although analysis of Drosophila melanogaster sema1a loss-of-function mutants uncovered many similar phenotypes, aspects of the longitudinal phenotypes differed between D. melanogaster and A. aegypti. The results of this investigation suggest that Sema1a is required for development of the insect ventral nerve cord, but that the developmental roles of this guidance molecule have diverged in dipteran insects

How dynamic capabilities drive performance in the Indian IT industry : the role of information and co-ordination

This study examines key issues and effects of capability management on a fast-growing area of knowledge-intensive global business services &ndash; IT outsourcing and offshoring. An exploratory study is undertaken of Indian companies providing complex process-oriented offshore IT services to their global customers. The analysis of the data related to the service provider side shows that developing dynamic capabilities is strongly driven by management and top-clients and results in the development of business processes and in establishing a strategic partnership with the client organization. Key findings are that information exchange and coordination are the key to a leveraging firm performance.<br /

Positive Youth Development Interventions Impacting the Sexual Health of Young Minority Adolescents: A Systematic Review

A systematic literature review was conducted to assess the utility of Positive Youth Development (PYD) concepts in promoting positive sexual health behaviors in young minority adolescents (n = 12 studies). Interventions reported significant associations between PYD-focused interventions and ever having sex, sexual partners in the last 30 days, using protection at the last sexual encounter, and decreased pregnancy rates. Outcomes were reviewed by age, gender, PYD constructs, cultural tailoring of interventions, and retention rates. Few interventions focused exclusively on young minority adolescents. PYD can be an effective tool in promoting sexual health in younger minority adolescents, but additional research is needed to determine beneficial strategies for this age group and timing of interventions. Recommendations for future studies include additional guidance on operationalization of PYD concepts, effective cultural tailoring methods, dosage of intervention components, and de-linking minority status from socioeconomic status (SES) and high-risk behaviors.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Communicating product user reviews and ratings in interfaces for e-commerce: a multimodal approach

This paper describes a comparative empirical evaluation study that uses multimodal presentations to communicate review messages in an e-commerce platform. Previous studies demonstrate the effective use of multimodality in different problem domains (e.g. e-learning). In this paper, multimodality and expressive avatars are used to communicate information related to product reviews messages. The data of the reviews was opportunistically collected from Facebook and Twitter. Two independent groups of users were used to evaluate two different presentations of reviews and ratings using as a basis an experimental e- commerce platform. The control group used a text-based with emojis presentation and the experimental group used a multimodal approach based on expressive avatars. Three parameters of usability were measured. These were efficiency, effectiveness, user satisfaction, and user preference. The result showed that the two approaches performed similarly. These findings provide a basis for further experiments in which text, emojis and expressive avatars can be combine to communicate a larger volume of reviews and ratings

Topical Application of an Irreversible Small Molecule Inhibitor of Lysyl Oxidases Ameliorates Skin Scarring and Fibrosis

Scarring is a lifelong consequence of skin injury, with scar stiffness and poor appearance presenting physical and psychological barriers to a return to normal life. Lysyl oxidases are a family of enzymes that play a critical role in scar formation and maintenance. Lysyl oxidases stabilize the main component of scar tissue, collagen, and drive scar stiffness and appearance. Here we describe the development and characterisation of an irreversible lysyl oxidase inhibitor, PXS-6302. PXS-6302 is ideally suited for skin treatment, readily penetrating the skin when applied as a cream and abolishing lysyl oxidase activity. In murine models of injury and fibrosis, topical application reduces collagen deposition and cross-linking. Topical application of PXS-6302 after injury also significantly improves scar appearance without reducing tissue strength in porcine injury models. PXS-6302 therefore represents a promising therapeutic to ameliorate scar formation, with potentially broader applications in other fibrotic diseases