Mapping Consumer Cognition and Emotions: A Neuroscientific Approach

Although the rival theories for consumer decision making process, cognitive perspective and experiential perspective, have successfully contributed to the marketing discipline, there is an alternative point of view that cognition and emotions work together for a decision or even a behavior. However, the methodological limitation has been a big hurdle that interrupts insightfulness and fruitfulness of marketing research, especially in consumer research. This study thus aims to develop a brain map and functional connectivity of consumer decision making and emotions to show physiological and neurological evidence that emotional behaviors and cognitive behaviors are associated when consumers decide a behavior by analyzing functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) data. Activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis and network analysis (correlation-based machine learning algorithm) are employed and performed. Findings of two individual studies show the neurological evidence that neural regions for emotional (fear, sadness, happiness, disgust, surprise, and anger as a proxy of emotional behaviors) and consumer decision making are interactive. The research successfully performed a consumer brain connectivity for consumer decision making and emotions based on the network theory. With the findings, this research would have contributions to the marketing discipline by piling up neurological, physiological, and behavioral knowledge to better understand consumer behaviors

ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND APPLICATIONS OF CONDUCTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE MATERIALS

The feasibility of multifunctional applications of electrically conductive asphalt concrete is investigated. The conductive asphalt concrete has a huge potential for various multifunctional applications such as self-healing, self-sensing, and deicing. This study examines the method of controlling conductivity of asphalt composites, electrical characterization of the composites with alternating current impedance spectroscopy (ACIS), application for damage self-sensing, and application for removing snow and ice on pavements. Aiming to control the electrical conductivity of asphalt concrete with a smooth transition from insulated to conductive phase, nine types of graphite having different particle shape, size, and origin were mixed with asphalt binders, and their effects on imparting conductivity were investigated. The natural flake graphite is effective to mitigate the percolation threshold, and a sufficiently high conductivity (up to 10^2 Ω·cm) can be achieved by replacing a part of fillers only with the graphite. For the electrical characterization of the conductive asphalt composites, ACIS is employed. Through this technique, the equivalent electrical circuits in various levels of conductivity is constructed for the first time. The results show that a specific conductivity range containing 20-25% flake graphite by weight of the asphalt mastic is suitable for sensing applications. Self-sensing of damage is one of probable multifunctional applications of the conductive asphalt concrete, and its feasibility is investigated using ACIS. The experiments with dry and wet conditions show that the real and imaginary impedance increase with the increase of the damage, while the capacitance value does not show a clear relationship with the damage evolution. The results also show that the distance between electrodes is important for measuring damage with ACIS. The feasibility of the heated pavement using the conductive asphalt as a cost-effective and pollution-free solution was investigated. Bench scale slab heating test, non-steady state heat transfer analysis, and life-cycle assessment (LCA) were conducted. The results of these methodologies reveal that the heating capacity of the conductive asphalt is sufficient for deicing on pavement surfaces. The electrical and mechanical data obtained from this study provide essential information on multifunctional applications of conductive asphalt concrete, which will lead to technical innovations for more sustainable pavement systems

Increasing Quantum Limited Sensitivity of Interferometers Using Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

We explore the properties of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and its applications as a frequency filter in the field of gravitational wave interferometry. Through modeling and simulation, we determine parameters for atom-light configurations of multi- state atoms which will theoretically allow for transmission frequencies and intensities of squeezed light in a range suitable for increasing sensitiviy levels in gravitational wave interferometers. This corresponds to contrasts greater than 50% and linewidths of 100 Hz or less. We produce EIT experimentally and characterize the distributions by fitting them to a generalized Lorentzian. The largest contrast observed is 3.9% with a linewidth of 657 Hz. The smallest linewidth observed is 202 Hz with a contrast of 0.84%

SPATIAL MODELING AND UNIT HYDROGRAPH DEVELOPMENT WITH RADAR RAINFALL

Most hydrologic models use point rainfall data. Point data do not account for spatial characteristics of a storm. This research investigated the benefits of spatially- and temporally-varying rainfall data. Semivariogram analyses were made to assess the importance of the following storm characteristics: size, shape, type, and velocity. Rainfall and flow gage data from the aridlands Walnut Gulch Watershed and regional data were used. A model was developed to estimate transmission losses (TL) using hydrograph routing (temporally-varying data), then a procedure was developed to use radar rainfall data (spatially-varying data) to develop unit hydrographs (UH). Exponentially shaped UHs resulted from TLs. UHs developed from radar data agreed closely with Thiessen-averaged UHs developed from rain gage data, indicating that radar UHs better represented the overall watershed processes than a UH based on a single rain gage. Therefore, accurate UHs can be developed from radar data

Testing for a unit root in a process exhibiting a structural break in the presence of GARCH errors

This paper considers the effect of GARCH errors on the tests proposed byPerron (1997) for a unit root in the presence of a structural break. We assessthe impact of degeneracy and integratedness of the conditional varianceindividually and find that, apart from in the limit, the testing procedure isinsensitive to the degree of degeneracy but does exhibit an increasingover-sizing as the process becomes more integrated. When we consider the GARCHspecifications that we are likely to encounter in empirical research, we findthat the Perron tests are reasonably robust to the presence of GARCH and donot suffer from severe over-or under-rejection of a correct null hypothesis

The Effects of Resilience and Familiarity on the Relationship between CSR and Consumer Attitudes

Purpose This study aims to explore the effects of consumer resilience and brand familiarity on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and consumer attitudes toward the company conducting CSR in places that have suffered from traumatic events such as natural or anthropogenic disasters and uncertainty of public health issue. Design/methodology/approach This study collected survey-based data from 194 participants who suffered from natural and anthropogenic disasters in the state of Texas. Path analysis was used to test each structural relationship among variables after verifying the reliability and validity of each variable. Analysis of variance was used to investigate the difference in resilience between the two groups. Findings This study verified that there is a positive relationship between CSR and consumer attitude. More importantly, the results show that both resilience and familiarity play an important role as a mediator in the relationship between CSR and attitudes. In particular, it tells us that a group with high resilience shows a higher possibility of having positive attitudes toward the company than another group having low resilience. Originality/value This study empirically tested the impacts of CSR, resilience and brand familiarity on building consumer attitudes. Furthermore, this study explored the effects of resilience and brand familiarity on the relationship between CSR and attitudes. Thus, this study was able to contribute to understanding the effects of CSR, resilience and familiarity on building a positive attitude in the specific settings, in terms of traumatic events, theoretically and practically

Testing for non-stationarity and cointegration allowing for the possibility of a structural break: an application to EuroSterling interest rates

In this paper we examine the order of integration of EuroSterling interest rates by employing techniques that can allow for a structural break under the null and/or alternative hypothesis of the unit-root tests. In light of these results, we investigate the cointegrating relationship implied by the single, linear expectations hypothesis of the term structure of interest rates employing two techniques, one of which allows for the possibility of a break in the mean of the cointegrating relationship. The aim of the paper is to investigate whether or not the interest rate series can be viewed as I(1) processes and furthermore, to consider whether there has been a structural break in the series. We also determine whether, if we allow for a break in the cointegration analysis, the results are consistent with those obtained when a break is not allowed for. The main results reported in this paper support the conjecture that the ‘short’ Euro-currency rates are characterised as I(1) series that exhibit a structural break on or near Black Wednesday, 16 September 1992, whereas the ‘long’ rates are I(1) series that do not support the presence of a structural break. The evidence from the cointegration analysis suggests that tests of the expectations hypothesis based on data sets that include the ERM crisis period, or a period that includes a structural break, might be problematic if the structural break is not explicitly taken into account in the testing framework

Host defence peptides: antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activity and potential applications for tackling antibiotic-resistant infections

The rapidly increasing incidence of multidrug-resistant infections and the alarmingly low rate of discovery of conventional antibiotics create an urgent need for alternative strategies to treat bacterial infections. Host defence peptides are short cationic molecules produced by the immune systems of most multicellular organisms; they are a class of compounds being actively researched. In this review, we provide an overview of the antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activities of natural host defence peptides, and discuss strategies for creating artificial derivatives with improved biological and pharmacological properties, issues of microbial resistance, and challenges associated with their adaptation for clinical use

Urban Development: The Redistribution of Persistent Deprivation

SUMMARY It may be worth examining the developing countries' experience of urban development for lessons to apply to Britain. A major difference is that in Britain housing and related services are treated as fully established social sectoral concerns. This 'welfare monism' is institutionalised and obscures the complex relationships between employment and housing. In the Third World social service programmes are less likely to obscure the policymakers' understanding of employment opportunities, class alignment and the ambiguities of state intervention. The attempt to slow London's growth and to develop new towns shows the contradictions which arise when policies for the redirection of employment and policies for social welfare provision are treated separately, even when their relationship in practice is demonstrated. RESUME Le développement urbain: la redistribution de la privation persistante II serait peut?étre utile d'examiner l'expérience des pays en voie de développement en ce qui concerne le développement urbain, pour en tirer des leçons pouvant s'appliquer à la Grande?Bretagne. Une différence majeure réside dans le fait qu'en Grande?Bretagne le service du logement et autres services connexes sont considérés comme des organisations solidement établies s'occupant de certains secteurs sociaux. Ce “monisme des services sociaux” est institutionnalisé et obscurcit les relations complexes entre l'emploi et le logement. Dans le Tiers Monde les programmes des services sociaux risquent moins d'empêcher ceux qui initient les programmes de voir clair sur les questions des possibilités d'emploi, de l'alignement des classes, et des ambigüités de l'intervention par l'état. La tentative faite pour ralentir la croissance de Londres et développer de nouvelles villes montre les contradictions qui surgissent lorsque des projets visant à la redirection de l'emploi et d'autres concernant le budget des services sociaux sont traités séparément, même quand leurs rapports sont démontrés en pratique. RESUMEN El desarrollo urbano: la redistribución de privaciones persistentes Sería interesante examinar la manera en que se lleva a cabo el desarrollo urbano en los países en vías de desarrollo por lo que tendría de ejamplar para Gran Bretaña. Una diferencia básica es que, en Gran Bretaña, los servicios para resolver problemas de vivienda y otros anejos se consideran sectores bien establecidos y completamente autónomos en el ámbito social. Este “monismo del bienestar” se encuentra institucionalizado, impidiendo ver con claridad las relaciones complejas entre el empleo y vivienda. En el Tercer Mundo es más difícil ocultar el problema del empleo, la clase social a que se pertenece y las ambiguedades de la intervención estatal. El intento de frenar el crecimiento de Londres y de crear nuevas ciudades muestra las contradicciones que surgen cuando se tratan por separado las políticas de la reorientación de los medios de empleo y las destinadas a proveer los servicios de bienestar social, aunque se reconozca en la práctica la relación que existe entre ellas

CEO Characteristics and Corporate Philanthropy in Times of Organizational Crisis

While corporate philanthropy has been considered a firm’s reputation management activity, less research has focused on the relationship between CEOs as the ultimate decision maker and corporate philanthropy, particularly when organizational crises occur. To fill this research gap, this study examines certain CEO characteristics (such as founder status and CEO network) and two causes of philanthropy (such as business-related philanthropy and cause-related philanthropy). This study suggests that there will be a positive relationship between these characteristics of CEOs and causes of corporate philanthropy, and organizational crises will moderate that relationship. This study contributes to a new conceptual framework to explore the relationship between CEO characteristics and different corporate philanthropic causes following organizational crises. This study discusses the scholarly suggestions of our conceptual framework and concludes with implications for future research