Cost-benefit Calculations Research Articles

AN ANALYSIS ON THE 2015 TÜRKİYE AND RUSSIA AIRCRAFT CRISIS: COMPELLENCE, DETERRENCE AND BALANCING

It is possible to state that as a discipline, international security studies have developed within the framework of the realist paradigm and during the period of the Cold War. It is established that the field of security studies, which places a particular emphasis on the role of military power and states in international politics, is consequently designated as strategic studies. In this context, studies on coercion strategies have been implemented focusing on states’ power. On the other hand, power distribution and balance of power in the system along with the ascend of neorealism have been underlined. In this study, the aircraft crisis taking approximately nine months between Turkish-Russian relationship has been examined utilizing both coercion (deterrence and compellence) and balancing strategies. The objective of the study is to clarify the agreement between Türkiye and Russia from the perspective of aforementioned strategies, perception of actors and cost-benefit calculations. In this qualitative case study, the process tracing method was used to reveal the cause-and-effect relationship between variables in a clear and definitive manner. In addition, document analysis technique was used to collect the data. It is concluded that given the estimated exorbitant costs to both parties at the conclusion of the crisis, the parties involved reached an agreement to conclude the crisis.

Public Goods, Expressive Values, and Protest Participation: Evidence From a Conjoint Experiment in Hong Kong

In recent decades, there has been a revival of contentious social movements worldwide. Given the collective action problem, what factors motivate ordinary citizens to join protests? If the issue of a protest matters, what factors motivate people to weigh different issues differently? This paper devises a unified theory of collective action and argues that individuals are more likely to join a protest when they perceive higher values of the public good, higher expressive benefits, higher expected turnouts, and lower costs of participation. It contends that the effects of those factors are moderated by individuals’ post-materialist values and confidence in future personal freedom. Employing an online conjoint survey experiment to analyze protest participation among citizens in Hong Kong, this paper finds that protesters are more driven by liberal-democratic issues than socioeconomic issues. The findings highlight the mechanisms through which political beliefs increase protest participation. Political beliefs change the effects of public goods associated with certain issues, and to some extent alter the cost-benefit calculations of potential protesters.

The Educational Benefits of Plastic Surgery Rotations for Off-Service Residents.

With increasing specialization among surgical divisions, a well-rounded education during a surgical residency is often accomplished by rotating among different subspecialties. Inclusion of specific rotations in the resident curriculum can be considered as a cost-benefit calculation balancing the value of exposure to a subspecialty versus the opportunity cost of potential learning from another rotation. We find that often these decisions are based on anecdotal feedback. Our goal is to supplement these reports with a quantifiable metric of learning achieved on the plastic surgery rotation. Our hypothesis in this prospective study was that residents would demonstrate improved performance on a post-rotation test after their 1-month rotation on plastic surgery compared to the pre-rotation test. A question bank was developed to reflect institutional curriculum objectives and clinical scenarios commonly seen on the service. The questions were developed, validated and vetted in collaboration with medical educators and attending plastic surgeons yielding 20 questions available for use. Postgraduate year 1 residents were given a 10-question test before and after their plastic surgery rotation. A one-tailed paired t-test was used to assess improvement between the pre-rotation test and the post-rotation test. A total of 378 tests were administered with 228 (60%) pre- and post-rotation tests completed meeting inclusion criteria. Average percentage of correct answers for the pre-rotation test was 29% and 88% for the post-rotation test showing a differential improvement of 58% (p < 0.001). Surgical trainee time is a limited commodity. Each clinical rotation needs proven consistent benefit for the trainees. We developed a questionnaire that documents the improvement in clinical knowledge after a one-month rotation on plastic surgery relative to before. The test results were consistent even when comparing trainees who did the rotation early versus late in the PGY-1 year. Clinical exposure reinforces and solidifies specialty learning.

Why Do Farmers Disadopt Successful Innovations? Socio-Ecological Niches and Rice Intensification

The adoption of innovations in rice cultivation is presumed to operate in a rational manner, wherein new technologies or practices that successfully increase productivity or resource efficiency are adopted by target farmers based on cost-benefit calculations. In contrast, this paper examines a case of a public initiative to promote the system of rice intensification (SRI), wherein farmers widely disadopted the technique despite reporting increasing yields and reduced water consumption. To explain this paradox, we use the concept of the socio-ecological niche to examine a range of social and institutional factors that shape farmers’ decision-making. These included (1) access to land and labour; (2) water management capacity; (3) the quality of networks for knowledge sharing. The research suggests that small variations in these categories among otherwise similar smallholder households can markedly shape farmers’ risk perceptions and tangible outcomes with SRI. The implication is that agricultural innovations should be judged within their wider social context rather than on narrow evaluations of agronomic efficiency. Importantly, this must involve greater feedback mechanisms from smallholders with a variety of socio-economic profiles to help shape the character of agricultural innovations and extension strategies.

The challenger advantage – how challenger parties disrupt mainstream party dominance in the European Parliament

ABSTRACT Under what conditions can challenger parties disrupt mainstream party dominance in democratic institutions? While extant work describes the cultural and economic developments that benefit challengers and parties’ programmatic responses to these, I demonstrate when and how challengers exploit these conditions in their political communication. Theoretically, I posit that challenger parties have relatively stronger vote-seeking incentives than mainstream parties. These collective incentives affect individual parliamentarians’ cost–benefit calculations. Challenger parliamentarians will engage in anti-establishment rhetoric and issue-entrepreneurship when these signals are more likely to reach the voting public and pay-off electorally. I test this theory by analysing parliamentary debates from the European Parliament (1999–2016) through a novel combination of word embeddings and bespoke dictionaries. I find that challenger parties indeed pursue different communication strategies than mainstream parties. Challenger parliamentarians engage in anti-establishment rhetoric in the run-up to elections and issue-entrepreneurship during crises. This is because these factors make speeches more likely to be transmitted to voters. These results demonstrate that challengers adjust their political communication in opportune moments giving them a competitive advantage over less flexible mainstream parties.

Can Legal Sanctions Reduce Cyberviolence? How Changes in Cost-Benefit Calculations and Norm Neutralizations Affect Self-Censorship

This study examines whether and how legal sanctions help reduce cyberviolence. Interviews were conducted with offenders who were legally sanctioned for posting criminal online comments in Switzerland. The results of the thematic analysis indicate that offenders self-censor after facing legal sanctions. This is explained with reference to rational choice theory and neutralization theory. The study contributes to the hitherto lacking knowledge about the effectiveness of legal countermeasures against cyberviolence.

Going Further in Combating Transnational Bribery: Voluntary Disclosure and Federal Transparency in America's Foreign Corrupt Practices Laws

The purpose of this research is to analyze the role of incentives and mitigation strategies related to voluntary reporting in enforcing anti-corruption laws, especially in the context of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the United States. This study shows that voluntary disclosures made by companies in anti-corruption law enforcement, based on an in-depth literature review, play an important role in facilitating effective collaboration between business and government entities. This study shows that voluntary disclosures made by companies in anti-corruption law enforcement, based on an in-depth literature review, play an important role in facilitating effective collaboration between business and government entities. A company's decision to voluntarily report Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations is a complex strategic move influenced by legal incentives, cost-benefit calculations, reputational risks, and financial impacts. Further research is needed regarding longitudinal studies to examine the long-term impact of voluntary reporting on corporate reputation and financial performance. This research underscores the importance of this study and its relevance in a global context that increasingly demands corporate transparency and accountability.

How do school experiences in adolescence affect educational investment in adulthood? The case of parental investment in private tutoring in Germany

AbstractThis article examines the role of parents’ school experiences in adolescence on their educational investment strategies for their own children in middle adulthood. We focus our analysis on the parents’ decision to organize private tutoring (also called shadow education) for their children. Previous international research largely agrees that families with a high socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to invest in tutoring to achieve competitive advantages in the educational race for higher credentials and maintain a high social status. In Germany, however, recent studies suggest that tutoring in Germany primarily serves underperforming children from les educated families to acquire relatively higher school degrees by compensating the higher demands of academic school tracks. We propose a theoretical decision model based on rational choice and life course theory incorporating psychological factors related to school performance of the parents (such as performance anxiety and ability self-concept) and operationalize four components that are intended to explain the (un)equal use of tutoring: (1) children’s school background, (2) parents’ cost and (3) benefit considerations, as well as (4) parents’ school biography. In addition, we hypothesize on the intergenerational transmission of performance-related factors from parents to their children and how this affects SE investment. We test our hypotheses quantitatively through logit regressions and a structural equation model using unique longitudinal data for 558 families (parents and their children) from the German “LifE” study (1979–2012). Our study produced two key findings: On the one hand, the parents’ previous school performance plays a direct role in the extent to which they themselves are able to provide their children with the necessary support in the event of poor performance. On the other hand, the performance-related experiences of the parents during school are to a certain extent transmitted to their children and thus influence their grades, ability self-concept and performance anxiety. These factors, in turn, are decisive for the decision to organize SE. Our findings indicate that instead of reducing the decision-making process for SE to absolute dimensions of student performance and parents’ SES and related cost-benefit calculations, dynamic factors behind this family decision related to intergenerational transmission and individual characteristics should be considered.

Prioritising water-related regional development project ideas based on stakeholder involvement activities: A case study from Szigetköz, Hungary

Szigetköz—a large island of the Danube in Hungary—is attracting a new wave of interest in water-related regional development projects from the public and private sectors alike. The revived interest in the Szigetköz floodplain area, which has historically endured the adverse effects of large-scale water management initiatives, draws attention to the necessity for careful consideration and the active involvement of local stakeholders in the decision-making process.In our research, we conducted various stakeholder engagement activities, including interviews, questionnaires, and workshops. These activities helped define the problems and objectives of each stakeholder group. Through collaborative consultations, we gathered over 100 proposed water related development project ideas. Additionally, to address key issues in project development and selection, we evaluated the integrative potential of each proposed project, considering the number of distinct water management issues it addressed. We also assigned an attitude score to each project, derived from the diverse objectives of various stakeholder groups, and analysed these quantities using a multiple-criteria analysis.This paper details a novel approach to assess and rank the proposed water-related regional development project ideas based on the calculated integrative potential and attitude scores. The goal was to prioritise and further develop these proposed projects to benefit Szigetköz and its surrounding areas.Main results of the study have shown the average project scored between 0.33–0.50 in integrative potential out of a maximum of 1.00 For positive attitude score the average was between 0.28–0.43, out of a maximum of 1.00 while for the negative attitude score the average project scored between -0.14–0.00 out of a minimum of -1.00.The ranking of projects that was based on these scores, highlighted three types of proposed projects that need to be further developed in different ways. The top-ranked positive attitude integrative projects need cost-benefit calculations involving all ecosystem services to justify their economic sustainability. Top-ranked opposing attitude integrative projects need conflict resolution to be socially sustainable. Finally, project ideas that scored low on integrative potential need to be developed to make use of blue-green infrastructure, and circular economical advancements to foster their environmental sustainability.

Evolutionary Dynamics of Passive Housing Initiatives in New Rural Construction

In the context of China’s ambitious dual carbon goals, this study introduces an innovative reward–penalty incentive mechanism, grounded in evolutionary game theory, to develop a tripartite evolutionary game model concerning the construction of passive rural housing. This research meticulously analyzes the equilibrium and stability strategies of all involved parties and employs data simulation to examine the influence of varying parameters on the game dynamics. Our findings reveal that the government’s cost–benefit calculations significantly influence its decisions regarding passive housing initiatives. The study identifies optimal cost and benefit strategies for various developmental phases. Furthermore, the level of governmental rewards and penalties plays a crucial role in determining whether enterprises and farmers opt for passive housing solutions. The study establishes the efficacy of different incentive schemes at various stages. Importantly, the economic interests of enterprises and farmers are pivotal in their decision-making process regarding passive housing. The study advocates for a comprehensive set of measures to safeguard these interests, with a special emphasis on protecting farmers. In conclusion, this research offers substantial guidance for policy decisions aimed at transforming existing rural housing into passive housing, thereby aligning with China’s environmental and sustainability objectives.

Exploring optimal market operations and grid effects in an office building energy community: A case study

In this paper, we study optimal market operations and grid effects of office building from an energy community perspective. Commercial buildings such as offices can include many stakeholders and new flexible assets that can offer suitable use cases to form energy communities or enter energy and reserve markets. The office building we focus in this study has a real-world counterpart with historical measurement data and involves three stakeholders and their assets. The stakeholders are the owner, the tenant, and the operator of flexible assets. These assets are the battery energy storage system (BESS) and the electric vehicles (EV) charging system (EVCS) that both can operate in response to energy price fluctuations and in a reserve market. Different cases are studied where either the owner or the tenant is paying the EV charging, and where the flexibility of the EV charging is either active or not. We show that, when the owner pays for the energy of the EVCS and the tenant is using it, there is a beneficial case to form a coalition between them and share the benefits. Operative cost-benefit calculations are conducted where the community benefits are shared according to the Shapley value and the power flows at the building’s connection point are simulated based on the market operations. The sensitivity of the flexibility and the maximum power of EVCS to the results are studied. Harnessing benefits from the markets shows significant effects on the power flows at the connection point.

Strict certainty preference in the predictive brain: a new perspective on financial innovations and their role in the real economy

The dominant paradigm in neuroscience considers the brain to be a prediction engine. The brain generates predictions first, which are then contrasted with information to generate error signals. Finite brain resources are subsequently spent in selectively processing the error signals based on their relative value with higher value signals getting a priority. In this way, the brain can be thought of as optimizing on its own internal resources before seeking to optimize on the resources available in the external world. We show that such considerations change the cost–benefit calculations of certain vs uncertain outcomes in the brain, giving rise to, what can be termed as, a strict certainty preference. A new perspective on prominent financial innovations (such as securitization, interest rate swaps, and credit default swaps) emerges, with a dark side that potentially leads to a misallocation of resources towards low NPV projects.

Conflict Escalation Done Wrong? The Free City of Regensburg Seizes Ehrenfels Castle, 13 April 1417

Abstract This article examines the various modes of conflict management used by the free city of Regensburg and the local nobleman Hans I Staufer of Ehrenfels during a prolonged dispute over revenues from 1413 to 1418. In the early years of this feud, both parties utilized nonviolent methods such as legal action and arbitration, which were occasionally accompanied by minor military interventions. In April 1417, however, the Regensburg councilors broke with convention and decided to escalate the conflict with their feud opponent by capturing his ancestral castle, Ehrenfels, near Beratzhausen in the Upper Palatinate region. Using both urban account books and documentary evidence, the case study investigates the reasons behind the councilors' decision to launch this ostentatious military attack, their objectives in seizing Ehrenfels castle, and the impact of their show of force on the ongoing conflict. It portrays late medieval Central European towns as potent military actors and argues for a more systematic integration of economic considerations and cost-benefit calculations into our picture of late medieval feuding.

Safety Evaluation of Dual Left-Turn Lane Installations in North Carolina

Crash modification factors (CMFs) were calculated for the conversion of a single left-turn lane to a dual or double left-turn lane (DLTL). Despite their proliferation throughout urban and suburban traffic networks, the safety performance of intersection approaches with DLTLs has not been thoroughly investigated and documented within the library of transportation safety research. To date, no published research has been completed that recommends a CMF for DLTL installations. This research effort lays a foundation for the understanding of the before-after safety effect of this countermeasure. A sample of 36 signalized intersections in North Carolina were investigated that received DLTLs between 2004 and 2021. Of these intersections 18 received their DLTLs with no other accompanying geometric changes and were operating with protected left-turn phasing along the treated approaches before and after their DLTL installations. A before-after evaluation of these 18 sites using an empirical bayes methodology yielded the following CMFs: 0.974 (total crashes), 0.844 (fatal-and-injury crashes), 1.010 (property damage only crashes), 0.831 (frontal impact crashes), 0.951 (rear end crashes), and 1.241 (sideswipe crashes). This research recommends that the CMFs for fatal-and-injury crashes and property damage only crashes be used in future cost–benefit calculations when planning DLTL installations.

Deterrence and Foreign Election Intervention: Securing Democracy through Punishment, Denial, and Delegitimization

Abstract Democratic elections are under threat from foreign interference. Democracies around the world are experimenting with a range of responses, from threatening potential interveners with a variety of retaliatory punishments to bolstering election security, scrutiny, and counter-interference operations, and leveraging multilateral institutions to reinforce norms of behavior and rules of engagement. At their root, many of these approaches are anchored to the logic of deterrence, compellence, and denial. Surprisingly, however, scholars and practitioners have paid scant attention to how contemporary approaches to countering foreign election intervention (FEI) fit within the larger framework of deterrence theory and practice. Our article reframes existing contemporary responses to FEI within the unifying context of fifth-wave deterrence scholarship, an emerging subtext of research on coercion with a penchant for all-domain observations, interdisciplinarity, and sub-threshold challenges that bridge the divide between national security and public safety. By exploring FEI within the context of contemporary deterrence, we sharpen our collective understanding of the phenomena and how best to respond. Our analysis encourages a more nuanced understanding of adversaries’ cost–benefit calculations in deciding whether, when and how to intervene in elections, and, crucially, helps identify the tools, technologies, infrastructures, and processes needed to manipulate an adversary's calculus and preferences. In doing so, we gain a better sense of the conditions under which states can deter FEI all the while securing national elections.

Data colonialism on Facebook for personalised advertising: The discrepancy of privacy concerns and the privacy paradox

In the digital era, Facebook serves as one of the leading sources of personal data and monetises that information for advertising purposes. This study aims to investigate users' perceptions regarding personal data collection and privacy concerns on Facebook and to explore the mediation between privacy concerns and the privacy paradox in relation to personalised advertising outcomes. To address this gap, data was collected through a mixed-method approach by conducting an online survey with 155 respondents, followed by five in-depth semi-structured interviews. The study indicated that most respondents were concerned about their personal information being aggregated and monetised by Facebook without users' consent. Most survey respondents never/rarely clicked on Facebook advertising formats such as photo, video, stories, messenger, carousel, slideshow, collection and playable advertising. However, survey and interview data divulged that they sometimes clicked on and engaged in influencer advertising because they regarded this content as informative, attractive and reliable for product reviews. The study discovered that respondents felt ambivalent towards personalised advertising and sometimes traded their privacy to get immediate benefits from the advertising. Their privacy decision-making process was affected by a cost–benefit calculation, which resulted in what is known as the ‘privacy paradox’, where an individual intentionally divulges personal information on social media despite stating privacy concerns.

How and Why Do Economic Operators Comply With EU Law? Analysis of Firm‐Level Responses to the EU Timber Regulation in Germany

AbstractThe European Union (EU) Timber Regulation (EUTR) formally requires EU operators to conduct due diligence along their supply chains to prevent illegally sourced timber products from entering the European market. Little is known about the regulatory behaviour and motivations of operators to comply with this regulation. We explore the regulatory behaviour of companies by applying a synthesis of behavioural theories of regulatory compliance and transnational market regulation. Informed by qualitative and quantitative mixed methods, this study finds that EUTR compliance is influenced by operators' regulative, economic, normative and cultural‐cognitive motivations. The empirical analyses reveal that larger, publicly exposed companies are driven to comply through social pressure and the deterrence effect of sanctions and control. Operators' perceptions of the costs and benefits do not explain compliance behaviour in a significant, quantitative way. The Internal values to abide by the law are found to be a stronger motivator than economic cost–benefit calculations.

Neural correlates of willingness to pay for items: A meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies

Willingness to pay (WTP) pervades every marketplace transaction, therefore, understanding how the brain makes bidding decisions is essential in consumer neuroscience. Although some neuroimaging studies have investigated the neural networks of WTP, systematic understanding remains limited. This study identified reliable neural networks activated by the WTP across different reward types and assessed common and distinct neural networks for different reward types (food and other) bids. We conducted an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis on WTP across different reward types (25 studies; 254 foci; 705 participants), and to compared neural representations of WTP for food reward (22 studies; 232 foci; 628 participants) and other rewards (7 studies, 61 foci; 177 participants). The ALE results revealed that the brain centers of WTP for different rewards mainly consist of the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), bilateral insula, bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), along with the left caudate. This suggests that neural networks encoding WTP for different rewards consist of brain regions associated with reward processing, cost-benefit calculations, and goal-directed action activities. In addition, consistent activation of the bilateral IFG and bilateral insula for food but no other rewards bids suggest their involvement in the neural network of appetite. WTP for food and other rewards commonly activated ACC, suggesting a common region encoding bids for different rewards. Our findings provide novel insights into neural networks associated with WTP for food and other rewards bids and the mechanisms underlying WTP across different reward types.

Socializing Warlord Democrats: Analyzing Violent Discursive Practices in Post-Civil War Politics

Abstract Across the world, so-called warlord democrats (WDs) – former military or political leaders of armed groups who subsequently enter formal electoral politics – strongly influence the dynamics and trajectory of post-civil war politics. However, scholarship on war-to-peace transitions and post-conflict politics have often failed to pay attention to the agency of these important actors. This article rectifies this oversight, and thereby adds to the overarching scholarly debate on what enhances or hampers democratic processes after violent conflict. It makes two main contributions. First, by putting an explicit focus on the individual level of analysis and on the agency of WDs, the article opens up an avenue of research that previously has been black-boxed. Second, it demonstrates that the assumptions of socialization theory are particular suitable for enhancing our understanding of variations in the agency of WDs and their impact on post-conflict electoral politics. A novel analytical framework that refines the concept guides the empirical examination of the socialization processes of two WDs over time: Julius Maada Bio, the ex-junta leader who became President of Sierra Leone and Prince Johnson, the ex-warlord in Liberia who became Senator and presidential candidate. The findings suggest that the socialization theory holds promise as a new perspective on the study of WDs, but the theory may also need additional conceptual development and adjustment when applied outside its traditional empirical context and at the individual levels of analysis. Specifically, we find that the democratic socialization of our selected WDs display the characteristics of hybrid socialization, where conflicting normative frameworks result in lopsided socialization processes. But more research is needed on how to empirically distinguish between cost-benefit calculations and a logic of appropriateness, the long-term implications of hybrid socialization, and how to theoretically reconcile individual level socialization processes with that of states or groups.

Decision-making for circular economy implementation in agri-food systems: A transdisciplinary case study of cacao in Colombia

Sustainable food security represents a significant challenge in advancing the global agenda expressed in the Sustainable Development Goals, including feeding the growing world population while transitioning toward a circular economy. A growing body of literature is focused on developing concepts and documenting circular economic opportunities in agricultural food systems. However, the methodologies for implementing circular economy models at the farm level remain mostly theoretical. This study proposes a transdisciplinary based approach for evaluating circular economy alternatives in agri-food systems while enhancing farmers’ decision-making skills. The transdisciplinary based research methodology combines methods for simulating critical resource and production flows with multi-criteria decision-making, including training and obtaining feedback from farmers. We test the methodology on a cacao agri-food system in Meta (Colombia). Biomass waste and cost-benefit data allow evaluation for decision-making of four circular economy scenarios: composting, vermicomposting, drip irrigation, and valorization of cacao husks. Research outcomes recommend vermicomposting as a viable circular economy innovation for cacao farms to reduce biomass waste and improve economic income at farm level. Other outcomes include capacity building of farmers on circular economy –including resource flow analysis and cost-benefit calculation. Effective decision-making on circular economy adoption at farm level is evidenced by vermicomposting technology implementation. Policy recommendations call for transdisciplinary based approaches for promoting and scaling the transition towards a circular economy in agri-food systems at a farm scale involving farmers participation in operations research (analytics) modelling and interpretation. In addition, policy advise for circular economy technical assistance and finance, includes vermicomposting as a technology for scaling transition of agri-food systems such as cacao and comparable long-term crops.