Influence Of Various Aspects Research Articles

Exploring the Author–Reader Relationship in Contemporary Speculative Fiction: The influence of author persona on readers in the era of the online ‘author platform’

In the contemporary book-publishing industry, technological change has resulted in changes to the role of the author in book promotion, facilitating a shift in the author–reader relationship. Such developments are especially evident in genres with active online communities, such as the speculative fiction genres. This paper examines the results of an anonymous online survey of 396 speculative fiction readers and authors, composed of a total of 45 questions including both multiple choice and open-ended, long-answer questions. In a time of general uncertainty in the publishing industry, the results provide insight into the field, the author–reader interactions within it, and the influence of various aspects of author persona on readers’ reading and purchasing behaviour. The paper also explores conflict in the contemporary speculative fiction field, utilizing Pierre Bourdieu’s theories regarding hierarchized fields of cultural production and the struggles for various forms of capital inherent to them. Drawing on the results of this survey, this paper argues that, in the current publishing environment, factors such as an author’s persona, online behaviour, political or social views, and role in prominent genre controversies can have significant impacts on readers’ reception of their work, both explicitly and implicitly.

Fučík spectrum in general: principal eigenvalues and inadmissible sets

In this paper, we study the Fucik spectrum of a linear operator in a general setting. We illustrate the influence of various aspects on the structure of the Fucik spectrum. Mainly, we describe the inadmissible areas where the Fucik spectrum of a given operator cannot be located.

기업 내 SNS가 지식공유 행위에 미치는 영향에 대한 연구: 사회심리학적 관점을 중심으로

Knowledge management is considered an important factor for competitive advantage and sustainability for firms. As many knowledge management systems failed to achieve the desired results, enterprise social media (ESM) has received considerable attention as an alternative solution for knowledge sharing within a firm. This paper attempts to investigate the influence of various aspects of ESM on knowledge sharing. While previous literature mainly focused on structural aspects of ESM, this study focuses on social psychological aspects, such as social connectedness, social awareness, and social presence, along with reputational aspects (such as self-presentation). Further, in order to clarify knowledge sharing behavior, this study classifies knowledge sharing behavior into two categories, knowledge contribution and knowledge acquisition. The data used in this study was collected from 179 individuals who have experience in their own ESM. The results show that both social connectedness and self-presentation positively influence the two types of knowledge sharing behavior, i.e., acquisition and contribution. Meanwhile, social awareness turns out to be a significant determinant of knowledge contribution only. Contrary to our expectations, however, social presence does not significantly influence knowledge sharing behavior.

The Erosion of Well-Being: A Heuristic Mathematical Model

This paper presents a heuristic mathematical model of the evolution over time in the statistical distribution of well-being of individuals in a society. The model predicts that when individuals overvalue the more overtly conspicuous aspects of well-being in their lifestyle choices, then the average well-being of the overall population may experience continuous decline. A society is especially prone to such decreases when the trade-off costs of increasing prosperity are less noticeable. The model also shows that statistical variation in individuals’ well-being may help to drive these negative trends, as opportunistic individuals attempt to improve their position relative to others. We investigate the influence of various aspects of society on the evolution of well-being, including the incidence of personal misfortune, heterogeneity in the population, and economic and/or technological progress. We discuss the implications of our model on potential social policies designed to preserve the well-being of the population.

Optimal investment strategies in power generation assets: The role of technological choice and existing portfolios in the deployment of low-carbon technologies

In this paper we identify optimal strategies for investment in power generation units. The economic value of the investment options is driven by a technology-specific combination of several underlying prices, such as the price of fuel, electricity, and CO2. The correlation between those underlyings allows investors to diversify and thus reduce the overall risk by holding a portfolio of different technologies. This yields an investor-dependent strategy for the deployment of new energy generation units. The modeling framework developed is based on stochastic real options analysis that enables to account for the additional value of waiting, which arises from uncertain commodity price development. In the presentation, we increase the model's complexity stepwise, in order to depict the influences of various aspects, as for instance the interaction of technologies, value of waiting, or modification of an existing power plant portfolio. Including the value of waiting in the decision process does not only delay the investment but also leads to an asymmetric risk distribution, which features a much lower probability for losses. In addition, the results where the value of waiting has been incorporated are more robust with respect to a variation of the discount rate compared to the results gained with the classical net present value model. Finally, we investigate the required market conditions needed for the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. We find that a carbon dioxide price of 35€/tCO2 and an electricity price of 70€/MWh are required in the year 2015 in order to reach a probability of at least 50% for the deployment of CCS in 2020.

Are People Who Participate in Cultural Activities More Satisfied with Life?

The influence of various aspects of life on wellbeing has been extensively researched. However, despite little empirical evidence, participation in leisure activities has been assumed to increase subjective wellbeing. Leisure is important because it is more under personal control than other sources of life satisfaction. This study asked whether people who participate in cultural leisure activities have higher life satisfaction than people who do not, if different types of leisure have the same influence on life satisfaction and if satisfaction is dependent on the frequency of participation or the number of activities undertaken. It used data from UKHLS Survey to establish associations between type, number and frequency of participation in leisure activities and life satisfaction. Results showed an independent and positive association of participation in sport, heritage and active-creative leisure activities and life satisfaction but not for participation in popular entertainment, theatre hobbies and museum/galleries. The association of reading hobbies and sedentary-creative activities and life satisfaction was negative. High life satisfaction was associated with engaging in a number of different activities rather than the frequency of participation in each of them. The results have implications for policy makers and leisure services providers, in particular those associated with heritage recreation. Subjective wellbeing measures, such as life satisfaction, and not economic measures alone should be considered in the evaluation of services. The promotion of leisure activities which are active and promote social interaction should be considered in programmes aimed at improving the quality of life.

Localization and overseas R&D activity: the case of Taiwanese multinational enterprises in China

This study investigates the determinants of overseas research and development (R&D) and the influences of various aspects of localization on affiliates' R&D intensity. Using a dataset of Taiwanese multinational enterprises (MNEs) in China, the empirical estimations find that MNEs with a larger firm size, more R&D expenditure, and a higher outward foreign direct investments intensity tend to undertake R&D. Host regions' characteristics, particularly market size and R&D resources, do matter for attracting MNEs to conduct R&D locally. Crucially, affiliates' R&D intensity is related to the degree of localization. The degree of market localization and localization of the R&D network has a positive association with affiliates' R&D intensity. From the perspective of R&D policy, a country with healthy R&D infrastructures helps attract the establishment of R&D labs of MNEs.

Gender expression, sexual orientation and pain sensitivity in women.

Despite a growing body of literature investigating sex differences with regard to pain, surprisingly little research has been conducted on the influence of various aspects of self-identity, including gender expression and sexual orientation, on pain sensitivity within each sex, particularly among women. In men, dispositional femininity is linked to greater clinical pain and trait masculinity is associated with higher pain thresholds. To examine whether gender expression and sexual orientation are associated with within-sex differences in ischemic pain sensitivity in healthy young women. A convenience sample of 172 females (mean age 21.4 years; range 18 to 30 years of age; 56.0% white, 89% heterosexual) performed an ischemic pain task in counterbalanced order. Desired levels of dispositional femininity for a preferred romantic partner and self-described levels of personal dispositional femininity were measured. Compared with heterosexual women, lesbian and bisexual women reported lower pain intensity ratings early in the discomfort task. Irrespective of sexual orientation, attraction to more feminine romantic partners and dispositional masculinity were correlated with lower pain intensity, and with higher pain thresholds and tolerance levels. These preliminary findings suggest that within-sex differences in sexual orientation and other aspects of identity, irrespective of biological sex, may be important to consider when examining experimental pain performance and clinical pain experiences. Larger investigations of the psychophysiological relationships among sexual orientation, gender expression and pain sensitivity are warranted. These findings may have implications for differences in clinical pain sensitivity of lesbian and bisexual women compared with heterosexual women.

Optimal Power Generation Investment: Impact of Technology Choices and Existing Portfolios for Deploying Low-Carbon Coal Technologies

In this paper we identify optimal strategies for the investment in power generation assets. The investments are characterized by multiple available technologies whose economic value is driven by a technology-specific combination of several underlying assets, such as the price of fuel, electricity, and CO2. The correlation between the development of those underlying assets allows for diversification and thus to reduce the overall risk by holding a portfolio of different technologies. This yields an investor-dependent strategy for the deployment of new energy generation assets. The modeling framework developed is based on stochastic real options analysis that enables to account for the additional value of waiting which arises from uncertain commodity price development. In the presentation, we increase the model’s complexity stepwise, in order to depict the influences of various aspects, as for instance the interaction of technologies, value of waiting, or modification of an existing power plant portfolio. We find that including the value of waiting in the decision process not only delays the investment but also leads to an asymmetric risk distribution which features a much lower probability for losses. In addition, the results where the value of waiting is incorporated are more robust with respect to a variation of the investor’s risk- and time-preferences compared to the results gained with the classical net present value model. Finally, we investigate the required market conditions needed for the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. We find that a carbon dioxide price of 60 e/tCO2 and an electricity price of 70 e/MWh is required in the year 2015 in order to reach a probability of at least 50% for the deployment of CCS in 2022.

Service encounters and face loss: Issues of failures, fairness, and context

This study examines the influence of various aspects of a hospitality service failure event, including social context, interpersonal treatment, and favorability of outcome on consumer evaluations of face (feeling of respect). A 2 (social exposure: public/private)×2 (interpersonal treatment: positive/negative)×2 (outcome fairness: favorable/unfavorable) between-subjects experimental design was employed in the study, which collected data from 576 Chinese respondents in Beijing and Shanghai. Evidence suggests interpersonal treatment style and the favorability of outcome fairness directly influence Chinese consumers’ self-reported loss of face. However, interaction effects affected the influence of the independent variables. Consumers’ face evaluations were significantly lower if outcome fairness was unfavorable (versus favorable) and received in private (rather than in public) and if the interpersonal treatment style was poor. Regression analysis demonstrated that outcome favorability had a strong association with negative word of mouth in a public situation, and face had a strong association with levels of satisfaction in both public and private situations. Management implications for hospitality operators include the need to reconsider standard practices relating to service failure negotiation and to adopt public resolution arrangements.

Urban form and travel behavior: experience from a Nordic context

This article surveys the results of research carried out in the Nordic countries on the influence of various aspects of urban form and settlement patterns on travel behavior, and discusses these results in the view of studies carried out in other European, American, Australian and Asian countries. There is quite overwhelming evidence that urban spatial structures matter to travel behavior. However, whereas much of the research in America and parts of Europe has focused on the influences of local neighborhood characteristics on travel, the Nordic research shows effects on travel behavior mainly from urban form characteristics at a higher geographical scale: the overall population density within continuous urban areas, and the locations of residences and workplaces relative to the city-level or metropolitan center structure.

Cognitive Learning Strategies among Teacher Education Students: Their Implications for Improving Classroom Practices

The study was conducted with the goal of determining the cognitive learning strategies among teacher education students and their implications to classroom teaching. A descriptive method of research was used to find the students’ perceptual modality preference for learning among students, cognitive learning strategies and factors which are significant predictors for determining their cognitive learning strategies. Results showed that diversity in the classroom exists; the students are visual and group learners. The preference of working in group and verbal learning makes the students learn better than learning independently. Students’ characteristics have influence in various aspects in the classroom practices. The study concluded that students’ characteristics such as gender, language spoken and ethnic origin are significant predictors in determining the level of preference of students in terms of cognitive learning strategies. A model was formulated for improving classroom practices in which the College of Teacher Education should operate in a multicultural perspective with regard to teacher education programs. The model includes a development framework for curriculum restructuring, teacher development and student development. Keywords - Cognitive Learning Strategies, Perceptual Modality Preference for Learning, Classroom teaching practices

Child growth in urban deprived settings: Does household poverty status matter? At which stage of child development?

This paper uses longitudinal data from two informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya to examine patterns of child growth and how these are affected by four different dimensions of poverty at the household level namely, expenditures poverty, assets poverty, food poverty, and subjective poverty. The descriptive results show a grim picture, with the prevalence of overall stunting reaching nearly 60% in the age group 15–17 months and remaining almost constant thereafter. There is a strong association between food poverty and stunting among children aged 6–11 months (p<0.01), while assets poverty and subjective poverty have stronger relationships (p<0.01) with undernutrition at older age (24 months or older for assets poverty, and 12 months or older for subjective poverty). The effect of expenditures poverty does not reach statistical significant in any age group. These findings shed light on the degree of vulnerability of urban poor infants and children and on the influences of various aspects of poverty measures.

When Opera Meets Film (review)

When Opera Meets Film. By Marcia J. Citron. (Cambridge Studies in Opera.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. [xviii, 324 p. ISBN 970521895750. $95.] Music examples, illustrations, bibliography, filmography and videography, index. Over course of last six years, Cambridge Studies in Opera series has presented stimulating range of monographs that have greatly enlivened and strengthened field. One of its most recent offerings, Marcia J. Citron's When Opera Meets Film, continues series' tradition of expanding study of operatic influence in various aspects of culture, in this case proposing that the more ways we can approach [the opera/film encounter] better will be our sense of opera's place in contemporary society (p. 249). Citron, who has published widely on relationships between and opera, well positioned to take on this task. In this volume, three previously published essays on Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather trilogy (1972-90), Norman Jewison's 1987 and filmed operas of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle (1972-88), are interspersed with three chapters of new material focused on Don Boyd's 1987 Aria, Claude Chabrol's 1995 La Ceremonie, John Schlesinger's 1971 Sunday Bloody Sunday, and Mike Nichols's 2004 Closer (for earlier essays, see Operatic Style and Structure in Coppola's Godfather Trilogy, Musical Quarterly 87, no. 3 [Fall 2004]: 423-467; Subjectivity in Opera Films of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Journal of Musicology 22, no. 2 [Spring 2005]: 203-240; and 'An Honest Con - trivance': Opera and Desire in Moonstruck, Music and Letters 89, no. 1 [February 2008]: 56-83). As Citron well aware, this range of repertory dictates an ambitious scope for her investigations, taking into its purview not only mainstream film but also fulllength and postmodernist pastiche (p. 4), several national traditions, and number of extremely diverse directors, composers, and composers, over thirty-year historical span. Citron's project in this book, however, not to emphasize historical similarities, but rather to study factors that produce meaning when present in (p. 13), in order to show, through range of case studies, how can reveal something fundamental about film, and can do same for an opera (p. 1). While acknowledging that the circum stances of particular situation generate theory and categories that fit work, and that therefore volume is fundamentally 'perspectives' study [that] shies away from any sort of unitary viewpoint p. 13), she nonetheless proposes across chapters framework that can lead to larger observations and encourage comparative (p. 7) based on Werner Wolf's terminology of intermediality- a simple and elegant system to categorize relative importance of media when they combine (p. 7). With this emphasis on theoretical consistency, but across an array of contrasting repertory, Citron seems to be addressing some of few criticisms of her first full-length study of and film, Opera on Screen (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000; see for example Byron Nelson's complaints in Opera Quarterly 17, no. 4 [Autumn 2001]: 718-21). Citron herself sees When Opera Meets Film as part of second generation of scholarship on and (p. 1), one that refines and expands our approaches to and film, adds important repertoire to scholarly purview, and advances our understanding of aesthetics of opera/film encounter (p. 1). The diversity of book's subject matter balanced by somewhat formulaic structure of volume: each chapter provides brief introduction to or films in question, review of Citron's goals, and detailed description of work from general and visual perspective prior to discussion of its music. Citron amply demonstrates her capabilities in visual analysis and her thorough knowledge of studies, making When Opera Meets Film aptly titled; unlike some other studies of music in film, non-musical analysis presented here thorough and insightful. …

Differences between the sexes in technical mastery of rhythmic gymnastics

The aims of this study were to determine possible differences between the sexes in specific rhythmic gymnastics techniques, and to examine the influence of various aspects of technique on rhythmic composition performance. Seventy-five students aged 21 ± 2 years (45 males, 30 female) undertook four test sessions to determine: coefficients of asymmetry, stability, versatility, and the two rhythmic compositions (without apparatus and with rope). An independent-sample t-test revealed sex-based differences in technique acquisition: stability for ball (P < 0.05; effect size = 0.65) and club (P < 0.05; effect size = 0.79) performance and rhythmic composition without apparatus (P < 0.05; effect size = 0.66). Multiple regression analysis revealed that the variables for assessing stability (beta = 0.44; P < 0.05) and versatility (beta = 0.61; P < 0.05) explained 61% of the variance in the rhythmic composition performance of females, and the variables for assessing asymmetry (beta = –0.38; P < 0.05), versatility (beta = 0.32; P < 0.05), and stability (beta = 0.29; P < 0.05) explained 52% of the variance in the rhythmic composition performance of males. The results suggest that female students dominate in body skill technique, while male students have the advantage with apparatus. There was a lack of an expressive aesthetic component in performance for males. The need for ambidexterity should be considered in the planning of training programmes.

The influence of various aspects of enjoyment on participation in leisure time physical activity

This study examines the direct and indirect influence of various aspects of enjoyment, including activity enjoyment, enjoyment conceptualised as physical/environmental, and enjoyment conceptualised as social interaction, on regular participation in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). The study was cross-sectional and used self-report questionnaires to collect data from a random sample of 250 people aged 19–87 years living in an Australian city. Questionnaires included demographic items and scales to measure enjoyment of LTPA, prioritisation of LTPA and regularity of participation in LTPA. The findings suggest that the influence of enjoyment on participation in LTPA is complex. Aspects of enjoyment have varying levels of influence on participation in LTPA and this influence is indirect through preference for LTPA, life priority of LTPA and making time for LTPA. Policies, programs and strategies by government and practitioners that aim to increase participation in LTPA should primarily aim to enhance activity enjoyment, rather than focusing on other aspects of participation. Theoretically, this study suggests that enjoyment is a multidimensional concept and that enjoyment is a part of a larger decision-making process influencing participation in LTPA.

Accuracy and Stability of the Coarse Time-Stepper for a Lattice Boltzmann Model

The equation-free framework for multiscale computing is built around the central idea of a coarse time-stepper, which is an approximate time integrator for the unavailable macroscopic model when only a microscopic simulator is given. In this paper, we study the numerical properties of the coarse time-stepper when a lattice Boltzmann model for one-dimensional diffusion is used as the microscopic simulator. We derive analytical expressions for the accuracy and stability of the coarse time-stepper, which allow us to study the influence of various aspects involved in its construction.

Meso-structural study of concrete fracture using interface elements. I: numerical model and tensile behavior

A recently developed FE-based mesostructural model for the mechanical behavior of heterogeneous quasi-brittle materials is used systematically to analyze concrete specimens in 2D. The numerical model is based on the use of zero-thickness interface elements equipped with a normal-shear traction-separation constitutive law representing non-linear fracture, which may be considered a mixed-mode generalization of Hillerborg’s “Fictitious Crack Model.” Specimens with 4 × 4 and 6 × 6 arrays of aggregates are discretized into finite elements. Interface elements are inserted along the main lines in the mesh, representing potential crack lines. The calculations presented in this paper consist of uniaxial tension loading, and the continuum elements themselves are assumed to behave as linear elastic. In this way, the influence of various aspects of the heterogeneous geometry and interface parameters on the overall specimen response has been investigated. These aspects are aggregate volume fraction, type of arrangement and geometry, interface layout, and values of the crack model parameters chosen for both the aggregate-aggregate and matrix-aggregate interfaces. The results show a good qualitative agreement with experimental observations and illustrate the capabilities of the model. In the companion second part of the paper, the model is used to represent other loading states such as uniaxial compression, Brazilian test, or biaxial loading.

The effects of marriage partners' socio-economic positions on the risk of divorce in Finland

The high and increasing incidence of divorce, with the various consequences for adults and children, has aroused interest among social scientists in understanding the contributory factors. Prominent economic and psychosocial theories suggest that the husband’s social and economic resources tend to stabilize a marriage, whereas the wife’s economic success tends to destabilize it (the gendered hypothesis). Register-based follow-up data from Statistics Finland on first marriages in Finland that were intact at the end of 1990 and divorces in 199193 (n=21,309), and Poisson regression were used to analyze the impact of the socio-economic positions of the spouses on the risk of divorce. This thesis consists of three articles published in international refereed journals, and a summary article. The aim of sub-study I was to disentangle the influences of various aspects of the spouses’ socio-economic positions on divorce risk and to reveal the causal pathways through which each socio-economic factor was related to it. Sub-study II investigated the joint effects of both spouses’ socio-economic positions. Finally, sub-study III explored the possibility that the effect of spouses’ socio-economic positions on divorce risk might vary according to the duration of the marriage. When examined individually, divorce risk was inversely associated with socio-economic status for all its various indicators (i.e. each spouse’s education, occupational class, economic activity, and income, as well as housing tenure and housing density) except the wife’s income. All of these factors had an independent effect. The independent effect was weak for both spouses’ occupational rankings and housing density, however, and it was positive for the wife’s income. The divorce risk for couples with both partners at the lowest educational level was lower than expected on the basis of its overall inverse association with each spouse’s education. Employed and homemaker women with employed husbands had comparatively stable marriages, whereas couples in which the husband, the wife, or both partners were unemployed had an elevated risk of divorce. The husband’s high income decreased the risk, and the wife’s high income increased it regardless of the level of the other spouse’s income, but the divorce-promoting effect of the wife’s high income was especially strong when the husband’s income was low. The comparatively high divorce risks for spouses with little formal education and those in manual-worker occupations were found to be specific to marriages of relatively short duration. In contrast, factors such as unemployment, the wife’s high income, and living in a rented dwelling were found to increase the risk regardless of marital duration. Overall, the socio-economic resources of the spouses, irrespective of which spouse had contributed them, decreased the risk of divorce, supporting the gender-neutral hypothesis. However, some aspects of the wife’s resources (absolute and relative to those of her husband) tended to increase the risk. The finding that the less structural socio-economic factors affected divorce risk in a very similar way in marriages of varying duration highlights their importance as factors predicting marital stability.

Relationship between partner’s comparative superiority, relationship behaviors, and relationship satisfaction in couples

Relationship satisfaction is one of the main determinants of the stability of couple relationships. The past two decades witnessed a growing number of studies of factors affecting relationship satisfaction in couples, including both behavioural aspects and subjective factors. However, the influence of various aspects of the experience of the previous relationship on relationship satisfaction in later relationships has been studied much less extensively. In particular, there have been no studies on how the perceived superiority of the current partner over the previous partner might affect relationship satisfaction in the current relationship. The purpose of the present study was to supplement the body of research with data on the relationship between partner’s comparative superiority, relationship behaviours, and relationship satisfaction in dating couples. Subjects in the present study were 51 heterosexual couple in a dating relationship. Age of the subjects ranged from 19 to 28 years. Couples were selected for this study under the condition that the present relationship was not the first experience of steady dating relationship for either of the partners. Subjects were given a battery of instruments, which included Perceived Relationship Quality Components scale (Fletcher et al., 2000) for measurement of relationship satisfaction, Partner’s Comparative Superiority scale constructed specifically for the present study, and a number of questions on frequency of various relationship behaviours, including sex, signs of attention given to and received from the partner, yelling by the partner or by the subject, not talking by the partner or to the partner and amount of time spent together with the partner. Correlation between relationship satisfaction and partner’s comparative superiority was strong and highly significant (r = 0.656, p &lt; 0.001). There were also significant positive correlations between relationship satisfaction and amount of time spent together with the partner (r = 0.275, p &lt; 0.01), number of signs of attention given to the partner (r = 0.220, p &lt; 0.05) and number of signs of attention received from the partner (r = 0.253, p &lt; 0.05). On the other hand, relationship satisfaction correlated negatively with such behavioural indicators of conflict as the frequency of yelling by the partner (r = –0.341, p &lt; 0.001), not talking by the partner (r = –0.197, p &lt; 0.05) and frequency of the subject yelling at the partner (r = –0.298, p &lt; 0.01). To assess the relative importance of partner’s comparative superiority and behavioural aspects of the relationship to relationship satisfaction, multiple regression analysis was conducted. The final regression equation indicated that only two variables – partner’s comparative superiority and the number of signs of attention given by the subject to the partner – made a significant unique contribution towards explaining the variance of relationship satisfaction. The two variables accounted for 45.6 per cent of the variance of relationship satisfaction, of which 42.5 per cent was accounted for by partner’s comparative superiority.