Tacit Collusion in the Presence of Cyclical Demand and Endogenous Capacity Levels

We analyze tacit collusion in an industry characterized by cyclical demand and long-run scale decisions; firms face deterministic demand cycles and choose capacity levels prior to competing in prices. Our focus is on the nature of prices. We find that two types of price wars may exist. In one, collusion can involve periods of mixed strategy price wars. In the other, consistent with the Rotemberg and Saloner (1986) definition of price wars, we show that collusive prices can also become countercyclical. We also establish pricing patterns with respect to the relative prices in booms and recessions. If the marginal cost of capacity is high enough, holding current demand constant, prices in the boom will be generally lower than the prices in the recession; this reverses the results of Haltiwanger and Harrington (1991). In contrast, if the marginal cost of capacity is low enough, then prices in the boom will be generally higher than the prices in the recession. For costs in an intermediate range, numerical examples are calculated to show specific pricing patterns.

IMPLEMENTING DESKTOP COMPUTING, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND QUALITY OF WORKLIFE

This article presents preliminary findings from a three year longitudinal study on the role of desktop computing in the work of 38 work groups that have integrated computing significantly into their work lives. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from surveys and interviews. End-users\u27 participation in the process of implementing desktop computers in work groups is examined as a primary contributor to the quality of their work life, as is the available infrastructure (training, supplies, and consulting) to support computing in the work groups. Two primary implementation processes are examined: top-down and grass-roots: We discuss the quality of work life of computer users along five dimensions: participation in decisions about work, job complexity, expertise and involvement in computing, changes in job enrichment attributed to desktop computing, and changes in work effort attributed to desktop computing. The quality of working life is most improved in work groups that computerize with grass-roots processes and have adequate infrastructure to support their work with computing

Gamification to Educate on Combined Sewer Overflows and Improve Water Conservation

The city of Chicago is equipped with combined sewer systems to prevent flooding during heavy periods of rainfall. These systems hold untreated wastewater and stormwater that is expelled into surrounding bodies of water, contaminating it. Delaying water usage during peak storm times can prevent combined sewer overflow into the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. User active measures in an application will be used to engage and educate students about water issues Chicago currently faces and how combined sewer overflow. Reducing and delaying student water usage overall, especially during times of large rainfall events, will allow the strain on wastewater treatment infrastructure to decrease

Relevance of Spectral Cues for Auditory Spatial Processing in the Occipital Cortex of the Blind

We have previously shown that some blind individuals can localize sounds more accurately than their sighted counterparts when one ear is obstructed, and that this ability is strongly associated with occipital cortex activity. Given that spectral cues are important for monaurally localizing sounds when one ear is obstructed, and that blind individuals are more sensitive to small spectral differences, we hypothesized that enhanced use of spectral cues via occipital cortex mechanisms could explain the better performance of blind individuals in monaural localization. Using positron-emission tomography (PET), we scanned blind and sighted persons as they discriminated between sounds originating from a single spatial position, but with different spectral profiles that simulated different spatial positions based on head-related transfer functions. We show here that a sub-group of early blind individuals showing superior monaural sound localization abilities performed significantly better than any other group on this spectral discrimination task. For all groups, performance was best for stimuli simulating peripheral positions, consistent with the notion that spectral cues are more helpful for discriminating peripheral sources. PET results showed that all blind groups showed cerebral blood flow increases in the occipital cortex; but this was also the case in the sighted group. A voxel-wise covariation analysis showed that more occipital recruitment was associated with better performance across all blind subjects but not the sighted. An inter-regional covariation analysis showed that the occipital activity in the blind covaried with that of several frontal and parietal regions known for their role in auditory spatial processing. Overall, these results support the notion that the superior ability of a sub-group of early-blind individuals to localize sounds is mediated by their superior ability to use spectral cues, and that this ability is subserved by cortical processing in the occipital cortex

The effects of the spontaneous presence of a spouse/partner and others on cardiovascular reactions to an acute psychological challenge

The presence of supportive others has been associated with attenuated cardiovascular reactivity in the laboratory. The effects of the presence of a spouse and others in a more naturalistic setting have received little attention. Blood pressure and heart rate reactions to mental stress were recorded at home in 1028 married/partnered individuals. For 112 participants, their spouse/partner was present; for 78, at least one other person was present. Women tested with a spouse/partner present showed lower magnitude systolic blood pressure and heart rate reactivity than those tested without. Individuals tested with at least one nonspousal other present also displayed attenuated reactivity. This extends the results of laboratory studies and indicates that the spontaneous presence of others is associated with a reduction in cardiovascular reactivity in an everyday environment; spouse/partner presence would appear to be especially effective for women.\ud \u

An Experimental Study on the Influence of Soundscapes on People’s Behaviour in an Open Public Space

Several studies have investigated how environmental sounds and music can modulate people’s behaviours, particularly in marketing research. However, there are relatively few examples of research about such relationships with a focus on the management of urban public spaces. The current study investigated an open public space used mainly as a pedestrian crossing to analyse the relationship between the audio stimuli and peoples’ behaviours. An experiment relying on covert behavioural observation was performed. During the experiment, three different music stimuli and a control condition (i.e., no music) were reproduced in order to find out firstly whether music compared to no music could elicit an increase in the number of people stopping in the investigated area, and secondly whether music is associated with a longer duration of stay for those who stop. Results showed that the presence of music had no effect on the number of people stopping in the area, but it had a statistically significant effect on the duration of stay for those who stopped. The above findings support the idea that people felt more invited to stay in the area with music rather than with no music, and suggest that the acoustical manipulation of the existing sound environment could provide soundscape strategies capable of promoting social cohesion in public spaces