DESIGNING EXPERIMENTAL AUCTIONS FOR MARKETING RESEARCH: EFFECT OF VALUES, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND MECHANISMS ON INCENTIVES FOR TRUTHFUL BIDDING

Accurately estimating consumer demand for new products is an arduous task made even more difficult by the fact that individuals tend to overstate the amount they are willing to pay for new goods when asked hypothetical questions. Despite their appeal in eliminating hypothetical bias, marketers have been slow to adopt experimental auctions as a standard tool in pre-test market research. One issue that has slowed adoption of the methodology is the proliferation of auction mechanisms and the lack of clear guidance in choosing between mechanisms. In this paper, we provide insight into the theoretical properties of two incentive compatible value elicitation mechanisms, the BDM and Vickrey 2nd price auction, such that practitioners can make more informed decisions in designing experimental auctions to determine consumer willingness-to-pay. In particular, we draw attention to the shapes of the payoff functions and show in a simulation that the two mechanisms differ with respect to the expected cost of deviating from truthful bidding. We show that incentives for truthful bidding depend on the distribution of competing bidders' values and/or prices and individuals' true values for a good. The simulation indicates the 2nd price auction punishes deviations from truthful bidding more severely for high value individuals than the BDM mechanism. These results are confirmed by an experimental study, where we find more accurate bidding for high-value individuals in the 2nd price auction as compared to the BDM. Our results also indicate that when implementing the BDM mechanism, the greatest incentives for truthful value revelation are created when the random price generator is based on a normal distribution centered on an individual's expected true value.Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

Politicisation of the international accounting standard setting process: evidence from the extractive industries

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed example of the way in which extractive industries constituents participated in the setting of the international accounting standard for the extractive industries, IFRS 6 - Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources. Design/methodology/approach - A cross-section of extractive industries constituents is selected and their participation in the accounting standard setting process is examined via analysis of their comment letters and other interactions with the process. Findings - The paper contributes to our understanding of the politicised nature of accounting standard setting for the extractive industries. In doing so, it highlights the opportunities within the standard setting process through which key constituents can influence outcomes. Research limitations/implications - This paper reflects only a small sample of constituents involved in the standard setting process for the extractive industries and therefore focuses specifically on the relationships between key players selected

Changes in Tinnitus Perception Following Cochlear Implantation and Hearing Aid Use

The purpose of this literature review is to identify changes in tinnitus post cochlear implantation and post amplification. Primarily subjective, qualitative measures including the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, the Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire, the Tinnitus Reaction Questionnaire, and the Tinnitus Questionnaire were used to obtain the data included. The questionnaires used were demonstrated to be valid in research. The results of this study indicate that both types of interventions consistently provide tinnitus relief or diminished tinnitus handicap among sufferers, although the mechanisms by which the suppression or reduction occurs may be a result of numerous factors. Cochlear implantation is more likely to result in post-operative tinnitus or in patients who did not report tinnitus previously or worsen pre-existing tinnitus, although it often resolves with time. Use of traditional amplification never resulted in tinnitus if tinnitus was not present previously; however, there were cases where amplification did not suppress tinnitus sufficiently such that perceived tinnitus handicap was eliminated altogether. Conclusion: both interventions have been demonstrated to often reduce tinnitus perception in sufferers

An Expanded Role For The Federal Reserve Bank

On June 17, 2009 the Obama Administration released an 85-page white paper on federal regulatory reform.  The corner stone of the proposed plan is an expanded role for the Federal Reserve Bank.  The Federal Reserve Bank is an independent private bank created by Congress in 1913.  This paper will present a critical review of the proposed expanded powers for the Federal Reserve Bank

The “Kingston Mills Murder” and the Construction of “Honour Killings” in Canadian News Media

Abstract In this article, I examine print media coverage of the 2009 “Kingston Mills Murder” case and how this enactment of patriarchal violence was interpreted though a cultural lens as “honour killings.” I also focus on how feminist and gender “experts,” in statements to the news media, interpreted the murders as the consequence of a “clash of civilizations.” Drawing on the work of Chandra T. Mohanty (2003), I argue that it essential that Western feminisms decolonize discursive constructions of the “Other” in order to create and sustain “communities of resistance” to patriarchal violence. By investigating this case, I also seek to provide a road map for imagining an alternative feminist response to “honour killings” based on Sherene Razack’s (1998) interlocking analysis. Résumé Dans cet article, j’examine la couverture dans la presse écrite du cas des meurtres de « Kingston Mills » en 2009, et la façon dont cet acte de violence patriarcale a été interprété d’un point de vue culturel comme un « crime d’honneur ». Je mets aussi l’accent sur la façon dont les « experts » en matière de féminisme et de genre, dans leurs entrevues avec les médias, ont interprété les meurtres comme étant des conséquences du « choc des civilisations ». Misant sur le travail de Chandra T. Mohanty (2003), je fais valoir qu’il est essentiel pour les féministes occidentaux de décoloniser les constructions discursives de « l’autre » afin de créer et de maintenir des « communautés de résistance » à la violence patriarcale. En faisant enquête sur ce cas, je cherche également à fournir une carte routière permettant d’imaginer une intervention féministe différente par rapport aux « crimes d’honneur », basée sur l’analyse intersectionnelle de Sherene Razack (1998).  

Bridging the Gap between Similarity and Causality: An Integrated Approach to Concepts

A growing consensus in the philosophy and psychology of concepts is that while theories such as the prototype, exemplar, and theory theories successfully account for some instances of concept formation and application, none of them successfully accounts for all such instances. I argue against this ‘new consensus’ and show that the problem is, in fact, more severe: the explanatory force of each of these theories is limited even with respect to the phenomena often cited to support it, as each fails to satisfy an important explanatory desideratum with respect to these phenomena. I argue that these explanatory shortcomings arise from a shared assumption on the part of these theories, namely, they take similarity judgements and application of causal knowledge to be discrete elements in a theory of concepts. I further propose that the same assumption carries over into alternative theories offered by proponents of the new consensus: pluralism, eliminativism, and hybrid theories. I put forth a sketch of an integrated model of concept formation and application, which rejects this shared assumption and satisfies the explanatory desiderata I discuss. I suggest that this model undermines the motivation for hybrid, pluralist, and eliminativist accounts of concepts

Tests of phenotypic and genetic concordance and their application to the conservation of Panamanian golden frogs (Anura, Bufonidae)

Evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) differ in the extent to which they capture, or even consider, adaptive variation, and most such designations are based solely on neutral genetic differences that may not capture variation relevant to species’ adaptabilities to changing environmental conditions. While concordant patterns of divergence among data sets (i.e. neutral and potentially non‐neutral characters) can strengthen ESU designations, determining whether such criteria are met for highly variable taxa is especially challenging. This study tests whether previously defined ESUs for endangered Panamanian golden frogs ( Atelopus varius and Atelopus zeteki ) exhibit concordant variation among multiple phenotypic traits and mitochondrial DNA sequences, and the extent to which such divergence corresponds to environmental differences. Multivariate analyses identify phenotypic and genetic differentiation consistent with proposed ESUs and support the status of A. varius and A. zeteki as separate species. Moreover, the significant association detected between ESU co‐membership and genetic similarity, which remained strong after removing the effect of geographic distance, also indicates that genetic differences are not simply due to isolation by distance. Two phenotypic characters (body size and the extent of dorsal black patterning) that differ among ESUs also co‐vary with environmental differences, suggesting that to the extent that these phenotypic differences are heritable, variation may be associated with adaptive divergence. Lastly, discriminant function analyses show that the frogs can be correctly assigned to ESUs based on simultaneous analysis of multiple characters. The study confirms the merit of conserving the previously proposed golden frog ESUs as well as demonstrates the utility and feasibility of combined analyses of ecological, morphological and genetic variation in evaluating ESUs, especially for highly variable taxa.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102716/1/j.1365-294X.2007.03369.x.pd

Importance of genetic drift during Pleistocene divergence as revealed by analyses of genomic variation

Determining what factors affect the structuring of genetic variation is key to deciphering the relative roles of different evolutionary processes in species differentiation. Such information is especially critical to understanding how the frequent shifts and fragmentation of species distributions during the Pleistocene translates into species differences, and why the effect of such rapid climate change on patterns of species diversity varies among taxa. Studies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have detected significant population structure in many species, including those directly impacted by the glacial cycles. Yet, understanding the ultimate consequence of such structure, as it relates to how species divergence occurs, requires demonstration that such patterns are also shared with genomic patterns of differentiation. Here we present analyses of amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) in the montane grasshopper Melanoplus oregonensis to assess the evolutionary significance of past demographic events and associated drift-induced divergence as inferred from mtDNA. As an inhabitant of the sky islands of the northern Rocky Mountains, this species was subject to repeated and frequent shifts in species distribution in response to the many glacial cycles. Nevertheless, significant genetic structuring of M . oregonensis is evident at two different geographic and temporal scales: recent divergence associated with the recolonization of the montane meadows in individual sky islands, as well as older divergence associated with displacements into regional glacial refugia. The genomic analyses indicate that drift-induced divergence, despite the lack of long-standing geographic barriers, has significantly contributed to species divergence during the Pleistocene. Moreover, the finding that divergence associated with past demographic events involves the repartitioning of ancestral variation without significant reductions of genomic diversity has intriguing implications — namely, the further amplification of drift-induced divergence by selection.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75590/1/j.1365-294X.2005.02711.x.pd