On reminder effects, drop-outs and dominance: evidence from an online experiment on charitable giving

We present the results of an experiment that (a) shows the usefulness of screening out drop-outs and (b) tests whether different methods of payment and reminder intervals affect charitable giving. Following a lab session, participants could make online donations to charity for a total duration of three months. Our procedure justifying the exclusion of drop-outs consists in requiring participants to collect payments in person flexibly and as known in advance and as highlighted to them later. Our interpretation is that participants who failed to collect their positive payments under these circumstances are likely not to satisfy dominance. If we restrict the sample to subjects who did not drop out, but not otherwise, reminders significantly increase the overall amount of charitable giving. We also find that weekly reminders are no more effective than monthly reminders in increasing charitable giving, and that, in our three months duration experiment, standing orders do not increase giving relative to one-off donations

Akkermansia muciniphila reduces Porphyromonas gingivalis-induced inflammation and periodontal bone destruction

Abstract Aim Akkermansia muciniphila is a beneficial gut commensal, whose anti-inflammatory properties have recently been demonstrated. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of A.muciniphila on Porphyromonas gingivalis elicited inflammation. Material and Methods In lean and obese mice, A.muciniphila was administered in P.gingivalis induced calvarial abcess and in experimental periodontitis model (EIP). Bone destruction and inflammation were evaluated by histomorphometric analysis. In vitro, A.muciniphila was co-cultured with P.gingivalis, growth and virulence factors expression were evaluated. Bone-marrow macrophages (BMM?) and gingival epithelial cells (TIGK) were exposed to both bacterial strains and the expression of inflammatory mediators, as well as tight junction markers was analyzed. Results In a model of calvarial infection, A.muciniphila decreased inflammatory cell infiltration and bone destruction. In EIP, treatment with A.muciniphila resulted in a decreased alveolar bone loss. In vitro, the addition of A.muciniphila to P.gingivalis infected BMM? increased anti-inflammatory IL-10 and decreased IL-12. Additionally, A.muciniphila exposure increases the expression of junctional integrity markers such as integrin-?1, E-cadherin and ZO-1 in TIGK cells. A.muciniphila co-culture with P.gingivalis reduced gingipains mRNA expression. Discussion This study demonstrated the protective effects of A.muciniphila administration and may open consideration to its use as an adjunctive therapeutic agent to periodontal treatment.Peer reviewe

Fuzzy Bayesian inference for mapping vague and place-based regions: a case study of sectarian territory

The problem of mapping regions with socially-derived boundaries has been a topic of discussion in the GIS literature for many years. Fuzzy approaches have frequently been suggested as solutions, but none have been adopted. This is likely due to difficulties associated with determining suitable membership functions, which are often as arbitrary as the crisp boundaries that they seek to replace. This paper presents a novel approach to fuzzy geographical modelling that replaces the membership function with a possibility distribution that is estimated using Bayesian inference. In this method, data from multiple sources are combined to estimate the degree to which a given location is a member of a given set and the level of uncertainty associated with that estimate. The Fuzzy Bayesian Inference approach is demonstrated through a case study in which census data are combined with perceptual and behavioural evidence to model the territory of two segregated groups (Catholics and Protestants) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. This novel method provides a robust empirical basis for the use of fuzzy models in GIS, and therefore has applications for mapping a range of socially-derived and otherwise vague boundaries

Heterogeneity in Preferences towards Complexity

We analyze lottery-choice data in a way that separately estimates the effects of risk aversion and complexity aversion. Complexity is represented by the number of different outcomes in the lottery. A finite mixture random effects model is estimated which assumes that a proportion of the population are complexity-neutral. We find that around 33% of the population are complexity-neutral, around 50% complexity-averse, and the remaining 17% are complexity-loving. Subjects who do react to complexity appear to have a bias towards complexity aversion at the start of the experiment, but complexity aversion reduces with experience, to the extent that the average subject is (almost) complexity-neutral by the end of the experiment. Complexity aversion is found to increase with age and to be higher for non-UK students than for UK students. We also find some evidence that, when evaluating complex lotteries, subjects perceive probabilities in accordance with Prospective Reference Theory

The Effects of Social Ties on Coordination: Conceptual Foundations for an Empirical Analysis

International audienceThis paper investigates the influence that social ties can have on behavior. After defining the concept of social ties that we consider, we introduce an original model of social ties. The impact of such ties on social preferences is studied in a coordination game with outside option. We provide a detailed game theoretical analysis of this game while considering various types of players, i.e., self-interest maximizing, inequity averse, and fair agents. In addition to these approaches that require strategic reasoning in order to reach some equilibrium, we also present an alternative hypothesis that relies on the concept of team reasoning. After having discussed the differences between the latter and our model of social ties, we show how an experiment can be designed so as to discriminate among the models presented in the paper

Big Data: Managing the Future\u27s Agriculture and Natural Resource Systems

Big Data: Managing the Future\u27s Agriculture and Natural Resource Systems Big data is the incredible flow of information that surrounds each of us, every day. Big data tools identify patterns and habits, not only in research, but in manufacturing, logistics–even ordering items online

The Value of Commitment in Contests and Tournaments when Observation is Costly

We study the value of commitment in sequential contests when the follower faces small costs to observe the leaders e¤ort. We show that the value of commitment vanishes entirely in this class of games. By contrast, in sequential tournaments games where, at a cost, the follower can observe the e¤ectiveness of the leaders e¤ort the value of commitment is preserved completely provided that the observation costs are su ¢ ciently small