Developing international business relationships in a Russian context

The collapse of the former Soviet Union has opened up a wealth of business opportunities for companies seeking new markets in the Russian Federation. Despite this, firms intending to do business in Russia have found themselves hampered by cultural differences in business practices and expectations. As Russia integrates into the global economy, understanding such practices and the managerial mindset of business people is crucial for managers who hope to navigate Russia's complex markets. This study draws on the trust literature and adopts quantitative tools to deconstruct the Russian 'Sviazi' system of social capital business networking. We develop a model isolating three dimensions of Sviazi: one an affective or emotional component; the second, a conative component; and the third, a cognitive component. The model provides a useful guide for helping foreign firms to succeed in Russia, while also serving as a basis for further research in the field. Keywords

Sensory Integration Regulating Male Courtship Behavior in Drosophila

The courtship behavior of Drosophila melanogaster serves as an excellent model system to study how complex innate behaviors are controlled by the nervous system. To understand how the underlying neural network controls this behavior, it is not sufficient to unravel its architecture, but also crucial to decipher its logic. By systematic analysis of how variations in sensory inputs alter the courtship behavior of a naïve male in the single-choice courtship paradigm, we derive a model describing the logic of the network that integrates the various sensory stimuli and elicits this complex innate behavior. This approach and the model derived from it distinguish (i) between initiation and maintenance of courtship, (ii) between courtship in daylight and in the dark, where the male uses a scanning strategy to retrieve the decamping female, and (iii) between courtship towards receptive virgin females and mature males. The last distinction demonstrates that sexual orientation of the courting male, in the absence of discriminatory visual cues, depends on the integration of gustatory and behavioral feedback inputs, but not on olfactory signals from the courted animal. The model will complement studies on the connectivity and intrinsic properties of the neurons forming the circuitry that regulates male courtship behavior

Dose-effect study of Gelsemium sempervirens in high dilutions on anxiety-related responses in mice

Introduction This study was designed to investigate the putative anxiolytic-like activity of ultra-low doses of Gelsemium sempervirens (G. sempervirens), produced according to the homeopathic pharmacopeia. Methods Five different centesimal (C) dilutions of G. sempervirens (4C, 5C, 7C, 9C and 30C), the drug buspirone (5 mg/kg) and solvent vehicle were delivered intraperitoneally to groups of ICR-CD1 mice over a period of 9 days. The behavioral effects were assessed in the open-field (OF) and light\u2013dark (LD) tests in blind and randomized fashion. Results Most G. sempervirens dilutions did not affect the total distance traveled in the OF (only the 5C had an almost significant stimulatory effect on this parameter), indicating that the medicine caused no sedation effects or unspecific changes in locomotor activity. In the same test, buspirone induced a slight but statistically significant decrease in locomotion. G. sempervirens showed little stimulatory activity on the time spent and distance traveled in the central zone of the OF, but this effect was not statistically significant. In the LD test, G. sempervirens increased the % time spent in the light compartment, an indicator of anxiolytic-like activity, with a statistically significant effect using the 5C, 9C and 30C dilutions. These effects were comparable to those of buspirone. The number of transitions between the compartments of the LD test markedly increased with G. sempervirens 5C, 9C and 30C dilutions. Conclusion The overall pattern of results provides evidence that G. sempervirens acts on the emotional reactivity of mice, and that its anxiolytic-like effects are apparent, with a non-linear relationship, even at high dilutions

State owned enterprises as bribe payers: the role of institutional environment

Our paper draws attention to a neglected channel of corruption—the bribe payments by state-owned enterprises (SOEs). This is an important phenomenon as bribe payments by SOEs fruitlessly waste national resources, compromising public welfare and national prosperity. Using a large dataset of 30,249 firms from 50 countries, we show that, in general, SOEs are less likely to pay bribes for achieving organizational objectives owing to their political connectivity. However, in deteriorated institutional environments, SOEs may be subjected to potential managerial rent-seeking behaviors, which disproportionately increase SOE bribe propensity relative to privately owned enterprises. Specifically, our findings highlight the importance of fostering democracy and rule of law, reducing prevalence of corruption and shortening power distance in reducing the incidence of SOE bribery

Language in international business: a review and agenda for future research

A fast growing number of studies demonstrates that language diversity influences almost all management decisions in modern multinational corporations. Whereas no doubt remains about the practical importance of language, the empirical investigation and theoretical conceptualization of its complex and multifaceted effects still presents a substantial challenge. To summarize and evaluate the current state of the literature in a coherent picture informing future research, we systematically review 264 articles on language in international business. We scrutinize the geographic distributions of data, evaluate the field’s achievements to date in terms of theories and methodologies, and summarize core findings by individual, group, firm, and country levels of analysis. For each of these dimensions, we then put forward a future research agenda. We encourage scholars to transcend disciplinary boundaries and to draw on, integrate, and test a variety of theories from disciplines such as psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience to gain a more profound understanding of language in international business. We advocate more multi-level studies and cross-national research collaborations and suggest greater attention to potential new data sources and means of analysis

ASTRID an innovative control rod system to manage reactivity

International audienceAn innovative control rod system which may be applied to the French project ASTRID is presented. All the rods participate to power management and safety shut-down. Comparatively to traditional systems, the gains of this architecture in terms of safety margins (after shutdown, in case of incident during refueling operation and consequences of control rod withdrawal) are noticeable and allows reducing the overall number of control rods.A possible way of implementing control rods for automatic power regulation with a constant efficiency during cycle is also described

Faire famille en temps de pandémie : difficultés et opportunités

La vie quotidienne des familles a été bouleversée durant la crise sanitaire liée à la pandémie du COVID-19. Les parents, qui ont dû faire preuve de capacités d'adaptation, ont réagi de manières diverses en fonction de leurs réalités et de leurs ressources tant individuelles que conjugales, familiales ou sociales. Dans un contexte idéologique de « sur-responsabilisation parentale », la pandémie est venue exacerber la pression sociale et les injonctions envers les parents. De nombreuses études indiquent que les parents ont ressenti des niveaux élevés de stress, d’anxiété et d’épuisement, en particulier les figures maternelles qui ont souvent porté la double charge de poursuivre leur activité professionnelle et de garantir l'organisation et le bon fonctionnement de la famille dans ce contexte d’adversité. Dans un tel contexte, les parents se sont trouvés à risque de mettre en place des pratiques de surprotection parentale qui peuvent fragiliser l’autonomie et le bien-être des enfants, notamment des adolescents. Des conséquences positives ont été aussi identifiées chez certains parents, comme une meilleure conciliation entre vie familiale et professionnelle et une coparentalité plus équilibrée. Ainsi, certains parents ont été confrontés à des difficultés durant la pandémie qu’ils ont vécu comme une source de pression supplémentaire, alors que d’autres ont traversé cette crise de manière positive. Leur capacité d’adaptation pourrait s’avérer une ressource précieuse pour les potentielles crises à venir. The daily life of families has been modified deeply during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents, who had to be capable of adapting to this changing context, reacted in many different ways according to their realities and resources, at the individual level but also at the couple, family and social level. In a context of a “parental over-responsabilisation” ideology, the pandemic has amplified the social pression and demands on parents. Numerous studies indicated that parents felt high levels of stress, anxiety and exhaustion, in particular mothers who often had to bear the double burden of their professional activity and family organization in this context of adversity. In such a context, parents were at risk of engaging in overprotective parenting that can undermine children’s autonomy and well-being, in particular among adolescents. Positive consequences were also identified among some parents, such as a better work-family balance and a more balanced coparenting. Thus, some parents faced difficulties during the pandemic which they experienced as a source of additional pressure, while others coped positively with the crisis. Their ability to adapt could prove to be a valuable resource for potential future crises