Bending arms, bending discounting functions. How motor actions affect intertemporal decision-making.

In five studies we demonstrate that task-irrelevant somatic activity influences intertemporal decision making: Arm movements associated with approach (arm flexion), rather than avoidance (arm extension), instigate present-biased preferences. We show that the preference for immediate over delayed gratification is moderated by the sensitivity of the approach system and, owing to learning principles, restricted to arm positions of the dominant hand. This research extends the effects of somatic activity beyond attitude formation and cognition, and provides empirical evidence for the effect of somatic activity on motivational systems.

Asymmetric advertising impact

Companies under pressure from stakeholders to meet profit expectations are often tempted to cut advertising expenses, particularly in times of economic difficulties. However, firms may not fully grasp the actual impact of such drastic cuts. Indeed, the general assumption is that advertising effects are symmetric: the numerical sales impact of budget increase or decrease would be the same in absolute value. Our paper addresses this gap by developing a new model based on multivariate time-series analysis (VAR models) to capture these asymmetric dynamic relationships. Our results show that advertising models are improved by allowing the capture of these asymmetric patterns

Mesure du coefficient de friction statique à haute température et mécanismes d'adhésion

Un effort international est actuellement mené afin d'augmenter le rendement thermodynamique des centrales thermiques jusqu'à 50%. Pour atteindre cet objectif, il est nécessaire d'augmenter la température des vapeurs entrainant les turbines. De nouveaux matériaux sont donc développés afin de pouvoir supporter les efforts mécaniques à des températures jusqu'à 760 C. Il existe donc une nécessité de développer de nouveaux équipements et méthodologies permettant de caractériser les matériaux à haute température. Les valves MSBV (Metal-Seated Ball Valves) sont des dispositifs permettant de couper ou d'ouvrir un flux et sont couramment utilisés dans les centrales thermiques. De par leur utilisation, elles peuvent être exposées à de longues périodes d’immobilité. C'est dans le but d'étudier ce type particulier de contact statique que le tribomètre haute température (HTT800) a été développé. Cet équipement unique permet de mesurer le coefficient de frottement statique entre un pion et un plan jusqu'à une température de 800 C. Pour cela, une méthodologie de mesure non conventionnelle a été développée. Cette dernière a été appliquée sur un contact pion-plan composé de stellite 6 massif et d’un revêtement de chrome dur. Ces matériaux sont classiquement utilisés dans l'industrie des valves. L'évolution du coefficient de friction statique a été mesurée en fonction de trois paramètres : la pression de contact (170 et 1000 MPa), la température (20, 500 et 800 C), et le temps de maintien (de 30 secondes à 16 heures). Les contacts ont ensuite été analysés en termes de microstructure, de composition chimique, et de topographie. L’utilisation de cette méthodologie montre, qu’à température ambiante, le coefficient de frottement statique n’est pas affecté ni par la pression de contact ni par le temps de maintien. À haute température, le coefficient de frottement statique dépend à la fois de la pression de contact et du temps de maintien. À 500 C, deux comportements sont observés en fonction de la pression de contact. À faible pression de contact, le coefficient de frottement statique diminue avec le temps de maintien alors qu’il augmente dans le cas d’une forte pression de contact. À cette température, le coefficient de frottement statique le plus élevé est obtenu pour la plus haute pression de contact. À 800 C, le comportement est caractérisé par une augmentation du coefficient de frottement statique en fonction du temps de maintien jusqu’à des valeurs supérieures à 1. De plus, un endommagement adhésif beaucoup plus prononcé qu'aux autres températures est observé.----------Abstract An international effort is being made currently in order to increase the thermodynamic efficiency of thermal power plants up to 50%. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to increase the temperature of the vapors driving the turbines. New materials are therefore developed to withstand mechanical stresses at temperatures up to 760 C. This rise in temperature leads to a need to develop new equipments and methodologies to characterize materials under such severe conditions. MSBV valves (Metal-Seated Ball Valves) are devices that are able to close or open a flow and are commonly used in thermal power plants. By their use, they can be exposed to long periods of immobility. A new tribometer has been developed in order to be able to study this particular static contact. This unique equipment is able to measure the coefficient of static friction between a pin and a plane up to a temperature of 800 C. A methodology has been developed to simulate the contact in a valve consisting of cast stellite 6 and a hard chrome plating. These materials are typically used in the valve industry. The evolution of the static coefficient of friction was measured according to three parameters: the contact pressure (170 and 1000 MPa), the temperature (20, 500 and 800 C), and the holding time (from 30 seconds to 16 hours). The contacts were then analyzed in terms of microstructure, chemical composition, and topography. The use of the methodology showed that, at ambient temperature, the coefficient of static friction is not affected either by the contact pressure or by the duty time. At high temperatures, the coefficient of static friction depends on both the contact pressure and the holding time. At 500 C, two behaviors are observed depending of the contact pressure. The coefficient of static friction decreases with the holding time at low contact pressure, while it increases at higher contact pressure. At this temperature, the highest coefficient of static friction is obtained for the highest contact pressure. At 800 C, the behavior is characterized by an increase in the static friction as a function of the holding time to values greater than 1. In addition, a much more pronounced adhesive damage is observed compared to the other temperatures. Also, the highest static friction is obtained for the lowest contact pressure, unlike at 20 and 500 C. All those observations were attributed to the evolution of the contact as a function of the testing conditions. In particular, the formation of a mixed oxide inside the contact seems to have a major influence on the tribological response of the system

Student morningness-eveningness type and performance:does class timing matter?

Circadian rhythms have often been linked to people’s performance outcomes, although this link has not been examined within the context of University students. We therefore sought to test whether students’ perceptions of their morning-evening (ME) type had an influence on their performance on modules. We tested this hypothesis using students from a number of modules at two UK Universities. Results indicated that, contrary to our hypothesis, the further the discrepancy between a student’s ME type and the teaching time of the class, the better the student’s performance. These results have implications for teaching as student ME type could be taken into account for timetabling especially if modules need to be taught multiple times. We also provide implications for those seeking to measure ME, as our results are consistent with a 5-item ME scale, a 3-item ME scale, and a single-item ME scale

Does culture impact private label performance

Purpose – To better understand the disparity of private label performance across countries, the present study investigates the role played by national culture. Two types of impact are considered: a direct influence of cultural dimensions on the performance of private labels in a country and an indirect one where national culture favours the development of modern retailers, which in turn benefits private label performance. Design/methodology/approach – Using the five dimensions of Hofstede’s model to describe national culture, this paper performs a SEM incremental building model approach using secondary data collected from a sample of 65 countries. Findings – The results show that individualism (positively) and long-term orientation (negatively) directly impact private label performance. Moreover, four dimensions (individualism, masculinity, power distance and uncertainty avoidance) are shown to have a significant indirect impact on private label performance via the mediation of retail market development, positively for individualism and negatively for the three other dimensions. Practical implications – The findings provide retailers with important insights into the critical decisions of the selection of new markets and adaptation of the private label strategy according to the culture of the country. Originality/value – This research pioneers by being the first to 1) determine the impact of all the dimensions of the Hofstede cultural model on private label performance, 2) use a very large number of countries to test this impact and 3) study the role of important retail market factors in this phenomenon

The end of stigma? Understanding the dynamics of legitimisation in the context of TV series consumption

This research contributes to prior work on stigmatisation by looking at stigmatisation and legitimisation as social processes in the context of TV series consumption. Using in-depth interviews, we show that the dynamics of legitimisation are complex and accompanied by the reproduction of existing stigmas and creation of new stigmas

Embodied myopia and purchasing behaviour

In conventional thinking, the mind controls the body. Our brains decide something and the body follows suit. However, in many ways this turns out not to be the case. Indeed, our research has found that even simple postures and gestures may be enough to influence our purchasing behaviour

Molecular diversity of antimicrobial effectors in the oyster Crassostrea gigas

Background: To gain insight into the molecular diversity of antimicrobial peptides and proteins in the oyster Crassostrea gigas, we characterized and compared the sequence polymorphism of the antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), Cg-Defensins (Cg-Defs) and Cg-Proline Rich peptide (Cg-Prp), and of the bactericidal permeability increasing protein, Cg-BPI. For that, we analyzed genomic and transcript sequences obtained by specific PCR amplification and in silico searches. Results: High diversification among the three antimicrobial effectors was evidenced by this polymorphism survey. On the basis of sequence phylogenies, each AMP aggregates into clearly defined groups of variants and is the product of a multigenic family displaying a variety of gene structures. In contrast, Cg-bpi forms a single group and is encoded by a single gene copy. Moreover, we identified for both AMPs several genetic mechanisms of diversification such as recombination, parallel mutations leading to phylogenetic homoplasy and indel events. In addition, the non synonymous to synonymous substitutions ratio by codon (dN/dS) revealed several negatively and positively selected sites for both AMPs, suggesting that directional selection pressures have shaped their sequence variations. Conclusions: This study shows for the first time in a mollusc that antimicrobial peptides and proteins have been subject to distinct patterns of diversification and we evidence the existence of different evolutionary routes leading to such sequence variability