Do consumers prefer offers that are easy to compare? An experimental investigation

Abstract Consumers make mistakes when facing complex purchasing decision problems but if at least some consumers disregard any offers that is difficult to compare with others then firms will adopt common ways to present their offers and thus make choice easier. We design an original experiment to identify consumers’ choice heuristics in the lab. Subjects are asked to choose from menus of offers and we measure the extent to which they favor those offers that are easy to compare with others in the menu. A sufficient number of subjects do so with sufficient intensity for offers presented in common terms to generate higher revenues than offers that are expressed in an idiosyncratic way.Bounded Rationality; Cognitive Limitations; Standards; Consumer Choice; Experimental Economics; Heuristics; Pricing Formats; Spurious Complexity

Do consumers prefer offers that are easy to compare? An experimental investigation

Consumers make mistakes when facing complex purchasing decision problems but if at least some consumers choose only among offers that are easy to compare with others then firms will adopt common ways to present their offers and thus make choice easier (Gaudeul and Sugden, 2011). We design an original experiment to identify consumers' choice heuristics in the lab. Subjects are presented with menus of offers and do appear to favour offers that are easy to compare with others in the menu. While not all subjects do so, this is enough to deter firms from introducing spurious complexity in the way they present products.Bounded Rationality, Cognitive Limitations, Common Standards, Consumer Choice, Experimental Economics, Heuristics, Libertarian Paternalism, Pricing Formats, Spurious Complexity

LHCb base-line level-0 trigger 3D-flow implementation

The LHCb Level-0 trigger implementation with the 3D-Flow system offers full programmability, allowing it to adapt to unexpected operating conditions and enabling new, unpredicted physics. The implementation is described in detail and refers to components and technology available today. The 3D-Flow Processor system is a new, technology-independent concept in very fast, real-time system architectures. Based on the replication of a single type of circuit of 100 k gates, which communicates in six directions: bi-directional with North, East, West, and South neighbors, unidirectional from Top to Bottom, the system offers full programmability, modularity, ease of expansion and adaptation to the latest technology. A complete study of its applicability to the LHCb calorimeter triggers is presented. Full description of the input data handling, either in digital or mixed digital-analog form, of the data processing, and the transmission of results to the global level-0 trigger decision unit are provided. Any level-0 trigger algorithm (2*2, 3*3, 4*4, etc.) with up to 20 steps, can be implemented with zero dead-time, while sustaining input data rate (up to 32-bit per input channel, per bunch crossing) at 40 MHz. For each step, each 3D-Flow processor can execute up to 26 operations, inclusive of compare, ranging, finding local maxima, and efficient data exchange with neighboring channels. (One-to-one correspondence between input channel and trigger tower.) Populated with only two main types of components, front-end FPGAs and 3D-Flow processors, a single type of board, it is shown how the whole Level-0 calorimeter trigger can be accommodated into six crates (9U), each containing 16 identical boards. All 3D-Flow inter-chip Bottom to Top ports connection are all contained on the board (data are multiplexed 2:1, PCB traces are shorter than 6 cm); all 3D-flow inter-chip North, East, West, and South ports connections, between boards and crates, are multiplexed (8+2):1 and are shorter than 1.5 m. Full implementation of a 3D-Flow system, for the most complex trigger algorithm, requires 320 cables to north and south crates and 40 cables to east and west crates (Cable cost=$2 each). For applications requiring a simpler real-time algorithm (e.g., requiring less than 20 steps, which is equivalent to 10 layers of 3D-Flow- processors), then the number of connections for the inter-boards (North and South), and inter-crates (East and West) will also be reduced to the number of layers used by the simpler algorithm, thus not requiring to install all cables (e.g., applications requiring only nine layers of 3D-Flow processors will save 32 cables to the North, 32 to the South, four to the East, and four to the West crates). Details are also given on timing and synchronization issues, ASIC design verification, real-time performance monitoring and design (software and hardware) development tools. (37 refs)

The Heart of Fiji\u27s Land Tenure Conflict: The Law of Tradition and \u3ci\u3eVakavanua\u3c/i\u3e, the Customary Way of the Land

In an effort to ease racial tension and the resulting political unrest, recent law reform in Fiji has focused on land tenure. Political coups in the wake of expiring agricultural leases demonstrate that the current tenure system fails to provide the security and predictability demanded by both Fijian owners and Indian tenants. Current law reform theory advocates adapting the rule of law to the local context to promote human rights and self-determination. A problem lies, however, in identifying the institutions and interests that define Fiji\u27s local context. In addition to the country\u27s divided ethnic population, Fiji\u27s tradition is largely defined by the former colonial institutions, while custom continues to define daily life. The current constitution, which provides for the paramountcy of Fijian interests, supports land management policies that preserve traditional communal tenure. The practice of customary tenure by farmers, however, continues to diverge from the law as defined by tradition. Adapting the laws governing the Native Land Trust Board to better reflect customary practice may successfully address the land tenure conflict. To this end, the Native Land Trust Board should reevaluate the mataqali system and legitimate vakavanua leasing arrangements, which manifest a grass-roots transformation from subsistence to market economy. Those arrangements may better preserve what the constitutional provisions for paramountcy were intended to protect, namely, Fijian cultural identity expressed in vakavanua, the transformation between the past and present in the way of the land

Cookbooks: Preserving Jewish Tradition

Culinary traditions have played an integral role in the Jewish religion from its very beginning. Families have continually passed down these traditions from one generation to the next as a means to preserve Jewish culture as well as to maintain their Jewish identity. The authors propose that one of the methods of preserving and transmitting these culinary traditions, traditions clearly rooted in oral tradition, has been through the cookbook. While the written cookbook continues to be popular and marketable, traditional cookbook contents are becoming increasingly available online. In saving recipes for future generations, cookbooks preserve religious, cultural, and traditional elements of Jewish life. As important as it is for Jewish libraries to consider the value of cookbooks in preserving Judaism, non-Jewish libraries, from academic to public, and from K-12 to special, can also share in this mission. Passing cookbooks down through generations not only strengthens culinary cuisine and traditions, but also preserves memories, both familial and religious

First insights on the potential of Sentinel-1 for landslides detection

This paper illustrates the potential of Sentinel-1 for landslide detection, Accepted 23 March 2016 mapping and characterization with the aim of updating inventory maps and monitoring landslide activity. The study area is located in Molise, one of the smallest regions of Italy, where landslide processes are frequent. The results achieved by integrating Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) deformation maps and time series, and Geographical Information System (GIS) multilayer analysis (optical, geological, geomorphological, etc.) are shown. The adopted methodology is described followed by an analysis of future perspectives. Sixty-two landslides have been detected, thus allowing the updating of pre-existing landslide inventory maps. The results of our ongoing research show that Sentinel-1 might represent a significant improvement in terms of exploitation of SAR data for landslide mapping and monitoring due to both the shorter revisit time (up to 6 days in the close future) and the wavelength used, which determine an higher coherence compared to other SAR sensors