Downright Sexy: Verticality, Implicit Power, and Perceived Physical Attractiveness

Grounded theory proposes that abstract concepts (e.g., power) are represented by perceptions of vertical space (e.g., up is powerful; down is powerless). We used this theory to examine predictions made by evolutionary psychologists who suggest that desirable males are those who have status and resources (i.e., powerful) while desirable females are those who are youthful and faithful (i.e., powerless). Using vertical position as an implicit cue for power, we found that male participants rated pictures of females as more attractive when their images were presented near the bottom of a computer screen, whereas female participants rated pictures of males as more attractive when their images were presented near the top of a computer screen. Our results support the evolutionary theory of attraction and reveal the social-judgment consequences of grounded theories of cognition

Risk Classification in Insurance Contracting

Risk classification refers to the use of observable characteristics by insurers to group individuals with similar expected claims, compute the corresponding premiums, and thereby reduce asymmetric information. An efficient risk classification system generates premiums that fully reflect the expected cost associated with each class of risk characteristics. This is known as financial equity. In the health sector, risk classification is also subject to concerns about social equity and potential discrimination. We present different theoretical frameworks that illustrate the potential trade-off between efficient insurance provision and social equity. We also review empirical studies on risk classification and residual asymmetric information.Adverse selection, classification risk, diagnostic test, empirical test of asymmetric information, financial equity, genetic test, health insurance, insurance rating, insurance pricing, moral hazard, risk classification, risk characteristic, risk pooling, risk separation, social equity

Historiographies et Fédéralisme au Canada

Aquest article analitza les representacions històriques de dues de les principals comunitats nacionals del Canadà, és a dir, la comunitat canadencoanglesa i la comunitat quebequesa. En la historiografia canadencoanglesa es constata la presència d’un projecte nacional ambiciós. La construcció nacional canadenca suggereix l’existència d’un model de govern neutre malgrat que, si s’analitza amb atenció, es pot percebre que hi preval la dinàmica inversa. Els historiadors anglòfons del país han acostumat a presentar la concepció unitària del federalisme com la forma més perfecta del projecte integrador canadenc. Aquest federalisme integrador, i no emancipador, s’origina a partir de la visió centralitzadora de John A. Macdonald, un dels pares de la federació canadenca. Aquest enfocament s’ha mantingut durant més de 140 anys d’història en comú i continua sent, encara en l’actualitat, un dels principals esculls que han de superar les nacions minoritàries del Canadà. Per validar la seva tesi, els autors recorren a una extensa anàlisi que explora tres de les grans estratègies que utilitza el Govern central per mantenir la seva autoritat sobre els estats membres de la federació canadenca a llarg termini: l’ús del poder judicial, la centralització dels poders i la globalització. Les estratègies emprades han variat segons la conjuntura econòmica, els líders polítics i les relacions de força política respecte dels vincles entre la federació i les províncies.This article studies the historical representation of the two main national communities in Canada; that is, the English-Canadian and the French-Canadian. Throughout the history of the English Canadian community, one can see an ambitious national project. The national construction of Canada suggests the existence of a neutral model of government but, when looking at this carefully, it is possible to see something quite different. English-speaking historians from Canada have normally introduced the concept of a unitary federalism as the most perfect form of the Canadian integration project. This integrating federalism, that does not lead to emancipation, stems from the centralist views of John Macdonald, one of the fathers of Canadian federalism. This approach has been kept for over 140 years of common history and, to this date, continues to be one of the main obstacles for minority nations within Canada. To strengthen their thesis, the authors base their work on an extensive analysis exploring the three big strategies used by the central government to assert its authority on the member States of the Canadian Federation in the long term: using the judicial power, centralizing powers and globalization. The strategies used have varied depending on the economic scenario, political leaders and the political power relations regarding the links between the Federation and the provinces.Este artículo analiza las representaciones históricas de dos de las principales comunidades nacionales del Canadá, es decir, la comunidad canadienseinglesa y la comunidad quebequense. En la historiografía canadiense-inglesa se constata la presencia de un proyecto nacional ambicioso. La construcción nacional canadiense sugiere la existencia de un modelo de gobierno neutro aunque, si se analiza con atención, puede percibirse la prevalencia de la dinámica inversa. Los historiadores anglófonos del país suelen presentar la concepción unitaria del federalismo como la forma más perfecta del proyecto integrador canadiense. Este federalismo integrador, y no emancipador, se origina a partir de la visión centralizadora de John A. Macdonald, uno de los padres de la Federación canadiense. Este enfoque se ha mantenido durante más de 140 años de historia en común y sigue siendo, todavía en la actualidad, uno de los principales obstáculos que deben superar las naciones minoritarias del Canadá. Para validar su tesis, los autores recurren a un extenso análisis que explora tres de las grandes estrategias que utiliza el Gobierno central para mantener su autoridad sobre los Estados miembros de la Federación canadiense a largo plazo: el uso del poder judicial, la centralización de los poderes y la globalización. Las estrategias empleadas han variado según la coyuntura económica, los líderes políticos y las relaciones de fuerza política en lo que respecta a los vínculos entre la Federación y las provincias

Risk Classification and Health Insurance

Risk classification refers to the use of observable characteristics by insurers to group individuals with similar expected claims, compute the corresponding premiums, and thereby reduce asymmetric information. With perfect risk classification, premiums fully reflect the expected cost associated with each class of risk characteristics and yield efficient outcomes. In the health sector, risk classification is also subject to concerns about social equity and potential discrimination. We present an analytical framework that illustrates the potential trade-off between efficient insurance provision and social equity. We also review empirical studies on risk classification and residual asymmetric information that inform this trade-off

La mobilité des patients et les modèles de création de demande : le cas du Québec

Dans ce texte nous analysons les conséquences de l’inégalité dans la distribution des ressources médicales sur l’utilisation des interventions chirurgicales électives en tenant compte de la mobilité des patients. Après avoir présenté un modèle théorique qui permet d’analyser l’influence de la mobilité des patients dans un marché privé d’interventions chirurgicales, nous adaptons ce modèle à un contexte d’assurance-maladie généralisée. Dans la partie empirique de notre travail nous discutons brièvement des principaux résultats que l’on retrouve dans la littérature et nous présentons quelques résultats empiriques préliminaires en utilisant des données du Québec.In this paper, we analyse the effects of the inequality in the distribution ofmedical resources on the use of elective surgeries taking into account the mobilityof the patients between geographical areas. In the first part of the paper, wepresent a theoretical model which analyses the effects of patients' mobility on aprivate market of chirurgical services and, then, we adapt this model to a regime ofpublic health insurance. In the empirical part of the paper, we discuss shortly themain results in the literature and we present some preliminary results using datafrom the province of Quebec

Vortex Fluctuations in the Critical Casimir Effect of Superfluid and Superconducting Films

Vortex-loop renormalization techniques are used to calculate the magnitude of the critical Casimir forces in superfluid films. The force is found to become appreciable when size of the thermal vortex loops is comparable to the film thickness, and the results for T < Tc are found to match very well with perturbative renormalization theories that have only been carried out for T > Tc. When applied to a high-Tc superconducting film connected to a bulk sample, the Casimir force causes a voltage difference to appear between the film and bulk, and estimates show that this may be readily measurable.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, Revtex 4, typo correctio

Does insurance fraud in automobile theft insurance fluctuate with the business cycle?

[[abstract]]Financial institutions face various cyclical risks, but very few studies have analyzed the cyclicality of operational risk. External fraud is an important operational risk faced by insurers. In this research, we analyze the empirical relationship between insurance fraud and business cycle and we concentrate our study on two insurance contracts that may create an incentive to defraud. We find that residual insurance fraud exists both in the contract with replacement cost endorsement and the contract with no-deductible endorsement in the Taiwan automobile theft insurance market. These results are consistent with previous literature on the relationship between fraud activity and non-optimal insurance contracting. We also show that the severity of insurance fraud is countercyclical. Fraud is stimulated during periods of recession and mitigated during periods of expansion. Although this last result seems intuitive, our contribution is the first to measure its significance.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]SSCI[[booktype]]紙本[[booktype]]電子

Information Asymmetry in Mauritius Slave Auctions

Evidence on adverse selection in slave markets remains inconclusive. A necessary prerequisite is that buyers and sellers have different information. We study informational asymmetry on the slave markets through notarial acts on public slave auctions in Mauritius between 1825 and 1835, involving 4,286 slaves. In addition to slave characteristics, the acts document the identities of buyers and sellers. We use this information to determine whether the buyer of a slave was related (e.g. a relative or a spouse) to the original slave owner, and thus most likely better--informed than other bidders. Auction--theoretic models predict that bidding should be more aggressive when informed bidders are present in open-bid, ascending auctions, such as slave auctions. By proxying informed bidders by related bidders, our results consistently indicate that this is the case, pointing toward the presence of information asymmetry in the market for slaves in Mauritius

Mapping the energy and diffusion landscapes of membrane proteins at the cell surface using high-density single-molecule imaging and Bayesian inference: application to the multi-scale dynamics of glycine receptors in the neuronal membrane

Protein mobility is conventionally analyzed in terms of an effective diffusion. Yet, this description often fails to properly distinguish and evaluate the physical parameters (such as the membrane friction) and the biochemical interactions governing the motion. Here, we present a method combining high-density single-molecule imaging and statistical inference to separately map the diffusion and energy landscapes of membrane proteins across the cell surface at ~100 nm resolution (with acquisition of a few minutes). When applying these analytical tools to glycine neurotransmitter receptors (GlyRs) at inhibitory synapses, we find that gephyrin scaffolds act as shallow energy traps (~3 kBT) for GlyRs, with a depth modulated by the biochemical properties of the receptor-gephyrin interaction loop. In turn, the inferred maps can be used to simulate the dynamics of proteins in the membrane, from the level of individual receptors to that of the population, and thereby, to model the stochastic fluctuations of physiological parameters (such as the number of receptors at synapses). Overall, our approach provides a powerful and comprehensive framework with which to analyze biochemical interactions in living cells and to decipher the multi-scale dynamics of biomolecules in complex cellular environments.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figure

Asymmetric information and adverse selection in mauritian slave auctions

Information asymmetry is a necessary prerequisite for testing adverse selection. This paper applies this sequence of tests to Mauritian slave auctions. The theory of dynamic auctions with private and common values suggests that when an informed participant is known to be active, uninformed bidders will be more aggressive and the selling price will be higher. We conjecture that observable family links between buyer and seller entailed superior information and find a strong price premium when a related buyer purchased a slave, indicative of information asymmetry. We then test for adverse selection using sale motivation. Our results indicate large discounts on voluntary as compared to involuntary sales. Consistent with adverse selection, the market anticipated that predominantly low-productivity slaves would be brought to the market in voluntary sales