Visual adaptation to thin and fat bodies transfers across identity

Visual perception is highly variable and can be influenced by the surrounding world. Previous research has revealed that body perception can be biased due to adaptation to thin or fat body shapes. The aim of the present study was to show that adaptation to certain body shapes and the resulting perceptual biases transfer across different identities of adaptation and test stimuli. We designed two similar adaptation experiments in which healthy female participants adapted to pictures of either thin or fat bodies and subsequently compared more or less distorted pictures of their own body to their actual body shape. In the first experiment (n = 16) the same identity was used as adaptation and test stimuli (i.e. pictures of the participant’s own body) while in the second experiment (n = 16) we used pictures of unfamiliar thin or fat bodies as adaptation stimuli. We found comparable adaptation effects in both experiments: After adaptation to a thin body, participants rated a thinner than actual body picture to be the most realistic and vice versa. We therefore assume that adaptation to certain body shapes transfers across different identities. These results raise the questions of whether some type of natural adaptation occurs in everyday life. Natural and predominant exposure to certain bodily features like body shape – especially the thin ideal in Western societies – could bias perception for these features. In this regard, further research might shed light on aspects of body dissatisfaction and the development of body image disturbances in terms of eating disorders

Multi-Channel Choice in Retail Banking Services: Exploring the Role of Service Characteristics

Companies are moving towards omni-channel management offering all products and services on all channels. Yet, some of these investments might be obsolete as certain products are associated with certain channels. At this point, service companies are still left behind as past research focused on product categories and it remains unclear if the results are transferrable to services. Our study addresses this gap by analyzing the influence of service characteristics on channel choice. We tested our research model by surveying 2,000 banking customers in Germany on their past channel choices for five financial services. The results show that complex services with a high value are rather purchased in a branch than the online channel. Thereby, demographics and behavior-related constructs are important control variables. The results improve the understanding of channel choice behavior in a multi-channel context for services and provide guidance for practitioners to right-channel IT investments

Determinants of Multi-Channel Behavior: Exploring Avenues for Future Research in the Services Industry

The rise of new technologies has led companies to offer their products and services on multiple channels. This has turned consumers into multi-channel shoppers and rendered their channel choice unpredictable. Yet, a thorough understanding of multi-channel behavior is needed to influence it appropriately. We conducted a systematic literature review on the determinants of multi-channel behavior with a focus on services, and numerically assessed the research frequency of each behavioral influence. Our results show that multi-channel behavior is influenced by the stage of the buying process, the channel characteristics, the consumer attributes and the product category. Moreover, we discovered that services are under-researched compared to the retail sector. Based on these under-researched areas, we derive three research questions that enhance the knowledge on multi-channel behavior in the service industry. Further, we offer an outlook for an upcoming laboratory experiment

DESIGNING ADAPTIVE NUDGES FOR MULTI-CHANNEL CHOICES OF DIGITAL SERVICES: A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT DESIGN

Channel-switching, cross-channel free-riding, and research shopping is causing problems for companies offering multiple channels. Either customers could choose a channel that is more expensive for the company or they inform themselves in one channel but switch to a competitor for the final purchase. We aim to influence channel choice by using the recently proposed IS concept of digital nudging. In particular, we leverage the nudges of social norms and perceived risk in the online channel. In addition to this concept, we propose that the individual context of the user, like gender or personality, has to be incorporated as a moderator by designing customer specific (i.e. adaptive) nudges. To test these hypotheses, we outline an experiment design for a lab experiment and show how multi-channel choices can be influenced with design interventions in the form of nudges. As previous studies have only tested static nudges, we contribute to existing research by enhancing the nudge theory to adaptively consider user characteristics. Moreover, we apply the nudge theory to the new context of multi-channel choices. Finally, we provide guidance for practitioners on designing their own online channels

Who can be nudged? Examining nudging effectiveness in the context of need for cognition and need for uniqueness

In the last decade, there has been a growing research focus on the subtle modifications of choice architecture that have strong effects on consumer behavior and are subsumed under the term nudging. There is still little research, however, on how different nudges influence individuals with different personality characteristics. An experimental online shopping scenario is used to test whether a customer\u27s Need for Cognition and Need for Uniqueness moderate the effectiveness of two of the most prominent nudges—defaults and social influence. Two experiments with samples stratified by age, gender, and education (total N = 1,561) reveal that defaults and social influence have the predicted impact on a customer\u27s decision. Across both studies, nudge effectiveness was partially impacted by Need for Cognition and not impacted at all by Need for Uniqueness. These findings imply that both types of nudges are strong and robust techniques to influence consumer decision‐making and are effective across different levels of consumer\u27s Need for Cognition or Need for Uniqueness

The Effects of Gestation Housing on the Reproductive Performance of Gestating Sows: A Progress Report

There is increasing interest in evaluating group housing for gestating sows. The majority of gestating sows are housed in individual stalls or crates for the majority of the gestation period (100–110 days). Hoop structures are low-cost shelters that can be used for swine. By using feeding stalls and cornstalk bedding, hoops provide a feasible housing system for gestating swine. The objective of this long-term study is to evaluate effects of gestation housing on reproductive performance of sows. Group-housed gestating sows in static groups were compared to sows in individual gestation crates. Static refers to a group of sows that is managed as a group without mixing with other groups of sows. The group farrows, is bred, and gestated as an intact group. Replacement gilts are added to the group after farrowing

Herbivorous reptiles and body mass: Effects on food intake, digesta retention, digestibility and gut capacity, and a comparison with mammals

Differences in the allometric scaling between gut capacity (with body mass, BM1.00) and food intake (with BM0.75) should theoretically result in a scaling of digesta retention time with BM0.25 and therefore a higher digestive efficiency in larger herbivores. This concept is an important part of the so-called ‘Jarman-Bell principle’ (JBP) that explains niche differentiation along a body size gradient in terms of digestive physiology. Empirical data in herbivorous mammals, however, do not confirm the scaling of retention time, or of digestive efficiency, with body mass. Here, we test these concepts in herbivorous reptiles, adding data of an experiment that measured food intake, digesta retention, digestibility and gut capacity in 23 tortoises (Testudo graeca, T. hermanni , Geochelone nigra, G. sulcata, Dipsochelys dussumieri) across a large BM range (0.5-180 kg) to a literature data collection. While dry matter gut fill scaled to BM1.07 and dry matter intake to BM0.76, digesta mean retention time (MRT) scaled to BM0.17; the scaling exponent was not significantly different from zero for species > 1 kg. Food intake level was a major determinant of MRT across reptiles and mammals. In contrast to dietary fibre level, BM was not a significant contributor to dry matter digestibility in a General Linear Model. Digestibility coefficients in reptiles depended on diet nutrient composition in a similar way as described in mammals. Although food intake is generally lower and digesta retention longer in reptiles than in mammals, digestive functions scale in a similar way in both clades, indicating universal principles in herbivore digestive physiology. The reasons why the theoretically derived JBP has little empirical support remain to be investigated. Until then, the JBP should not be evoked to explain niche differentiation along a body size axis in terms of digestive physiology

KRASG12C/TP53 co-mutations identify long-term responders to first line palliative treatment with pembrolizumab monotherapy in PD-L1 high (≥50%) lung adenocarcinoma

Background: Pembrolizumab is a standard of care as first line palliative therapy in PD-L1 overexpressing (≥50%) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aimed at the identification of KRAS and TP53-defined mutational subgroups in the PD-L1 high population to distinguish long-term responders from those with limited benefit. Methods: In this retrospective, observational study, patients from 4 certified lung cancer centers in Berlin, Germany, having received pembrolizumab monotherapy as first line palliative treatment for lung adenocarcinoma (LuAD) from 2017 to 2018, with PD-L1 expression status and targeted NGS data available, were evaluated. Results: A total of 119 patients were included. Rates for KRAS, TP53 and combined mutations were 52.1%, 47.1% and 21.9%, respectively, with no association given between KRAS and TP53 mutations (P=0.24). By trend, PD-L1 expression was higher in KRAS-positive patients (75% vs. 65%, P=0.13). Objective response rate (ORR), median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in the KRASG12C group (n=32, 51.6%) were 63.3%, 19.8 months (mo.) and not estimable (NE), respectively. Results in KRASother and wild type patients were similar and by far lower (42.7%, P=0.06; 6.2 mo., P<0.001; 23.4 mo., P=0.08). TP53 mutations alone had no impact on response and survival. However, KRASG12C/TP53 co-mutations (n=12) defined a subset of long-term responders (ORR 100.0%, PFS 33.3 mo., OS NE). In contrast, patients with KRASother/TP53 mutations showed a dismal prognosis (ORR 27.3%, P=0.002; PFS 3.9 mo., P=0.001, OS 9.7 mo., P=0.02). Conclusions: A comprehensive assessment of KRAS subtypes and TP53 mutations allows a highly relevant prognostic differentiation of patients with metastatic, PD-L1 high LuAD treated upfront with pembrolizumab