Relative Investment Research Articles

Asexuality and relationship investment: visible differences in relationship investment for an invisible minority

ABSTRACT Sexual attraction is a component of most romantic relationships, making it difficult to disentangle from other motives to invest in relationships. Despite the lack of sexual attraction that characterises asexuality, many self-identified asexual individuals report the desire to enter a romantic relationship. These understudied individuals provide a unique opportunity to study relationship investment in the absence of sexual attraction. We compared relationship investment, a well-established aspect of interpersonal relationships, between asexual (n = 139) and allosexual (n = 224) individuals. Participants completed a modified Investment Model Scale, which examined satisfaction, quality of alternatives, investment size, and commitment in romantic relationships and friendships. Contrary to our prediction that asexual individuals would invest less than allosexual individuals in romantic relationships, but not in friendships, they reported lower satisfaction, investment size, and commitment, and higher quality of alternatives than did allosexual individuals across both types of relationships. Although lack of sexual attraction could explain lower investment scores in romantic relationships for asexual individuals, some other effect may be responsible for reported differential investment in friendships.

Invasive predators induce plastic and adaptive responses during embryo development in a threatened frog

Invasive predators can strongly affect native populations. If alien predator pressure is strong enough, it can induce anti-predator responses, including phenotypic plasticity of exposed individuals and local adaptations of impacted populations. Furthermore, maternal investment is an additional pathway that could provide resources and improve performance in the presence of alien predators. We investigated the potential responses to an alien predator crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) in a threatened frog (Rana latastei) by combining field observations with laboratory measurements of embryo development rate, to assess the importance of parental investment, origin and exposure to the crayfish cues. We detected a strong variation in parental investment amongst frog populations, but this variation was not related to the invasion status of the site of origin, suggesting that mothers did not modulate parental investment in relation to the presence of alien predators. However, cues of the invasive crayfish elicited plastic responses in clutches and tadpoles development: embryos developed faster when exposed to the predator. Furthermore, embryos from invaded sites reached Gosner’s development stage 25 faster than those from non-invaded sites. This ontogenetic shift can be interpreted as a local adaptation to the alien predator and suggests that frogs are able to recognise the predatory risk. If these plastic responses and local adaptation are effective escape strategies against the invasive predator, they may improve the persistence of native frog populations.

Culture and internal communication in Chile: Linking ethical organizational culture, transparent communication, and employee advocacy

The current study examines how an ethical organizational culture relates with employee advocacy behaviors through the mediating role of transparent communication and perceived relationship investment. Through a quantitative survey with 350 employees who work for a variety of organizations, the study’s results indicated that an ethical organizational culture plays a critical role in nurturing transparent communication and perceived relationship investment, which in turn, cultivate employee advocacy behaviors. Additionally, the impact of transparent communication on employee advocacy is partially mediated by perceived relationship investment. Relevant theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The invigorating influence of relationship marketing on purchase intention in fine arts sector

PurposeThis study aims to determine the influence of relationship marketing on consumer behavior in the fine arts sector. Specifically, it examines the relationship marketing dynamics that significantly impact art enthusiasts' intention to purchase and their satisfaction with the artist.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed model was tested through the “structural equation modeling” technique to explain how and to what extent each variable affected purchase intention and satisfaction. Using a paper-based and online survey method to gather data, the authors analyzed 303 responses from art students, art collectors and art dealers in Mongolia. Eight hypotheses, including two mediating hypotheses, were developed and tested.FindingsThe results indicated that relationship investment and communication significantly influence trust, satisfaction and purchase intention, while trust significantly influences satisfaction and purchase intention. The study also assessed the vital role of trust as a mediator.Practical implicationsThe study's results provide insights that may help artists, art collectors and art dealers promote and improve the sales of their art products. The interactions demonstrated between the construct reveal essential implications for art marketers interested in relationship marketing strategies.Originality/valueThis study is the first to explore the application of relationship marketing in the fine arts industry.

The Minimum Wage Institute and the problems of wage labor poverty

The minimum wage can help reduce wage inequality, provided that employees and employers meet each other's demands in the workplace. The authors, based on an in-depth theoretical and methodological justification, emphasize that in most industries wages and conditions are determined through free collective bargaining between employers and trade unions. At the same time, it is argued that low investment in labor relations and union membership rates encourage democratic governments to establish stricter minimum wage policies. It is noted that the low level of the minimum wage creates incentives for social dialogue, in the presence of a "good" balance characterized by strong parameters of cooperation, leading to a high density of trade unions and low state regulation. The authors emphasize that recently there has been a paradigm shift towards the "health-illness" process, especially for workers with minimum wages. At the same time, the absence of strong trade unions does not provide an acceptable psychosocial and organizational working environment, which causes significant harm to the health of staff, especially for the proportion of people receiving minimum wages. At the same time, industrial development and an effective income distribution system based on a reasonable minimum wage rate will ensure the reproduction of human capital, increase labor productivity and will be an effective policy tool for increasing income and consumption of households dependent on the minimum wage.

COVID-19 in Investment Arbitration. A Legal Answer

During today’s situation of COVID-19, States take emergency measures which will be subject to investment arbitration claims sooner or later. The aim of this paper is to provide a possible solution to such cases where the State’s and the investor’s interests compete with each other. By analysing cases from the 21 th century and applying my findings to hypothetical COVID-19 cases, a general answer on how to solve COVID-19 related investment disputes shall be given.

Le monete complementari. Pratiche economiche e legislazione regionale

The role of CCs as tools for rebuilding local economies through communities appears to emerge from the Italian experience. The projects launched in our country range from community of businesses – closed circuits in which members voluntarily exchange goods and services, offsetting debts against credits – to projects characterized by solidarity and participatory systems aimed at strengthening community relations as well as at promoting sustainable development models. These systems lie on the border between formal/informal economic activities. The proximity to existing projects, a certain ability to intercept emerging requests as well as the need to face the effects of the crisis caused by the pandemic has pressured some Regions to include CCs in their legislations as an attempt to move these systems to formal economy. However, the promotion of the complementary currencies is basically an investment in relationships, therefore stimulating trust and a proactive role in community decision-making is an issue that cannot be resolved just through legislation. Consequently, local institutions must rethink and improve their role in order to be able to become themselves pro-active subjects for the development of community initiatives.

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS ADOPTION, INVESTOR PROTECTION, AND FOREIGN PORTFOLIO INVESTMENT: A REVIEW

This paper aims to analyze the impacts of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption on foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in relation to investor protection based on existing empirical literature. This study uses a historical approach and focuses on thirty-six relevant articles published in accounting and finance journals. The author provides a theoretical groundwork of the association between IFRS adoption and FPI and summarizes the results. The findings are critically analyzed by employing developed vs. developing country lens. The review study reveals that the effects of IFRS adoption on FPI significantly differ between developed and developing countries. Although the positive impact of IFRS adoption on FPI is documented in existing literature, not all countries (particularly developing countries), firms, and users have benefited or equally benefited from IFRS adoption regarding FPI. In addition, the positive impacts of IFRS adoption on FPI are associated with the country's regulatory environment, such as level of investor protection. The findings of the study suggest that developing countries should ensure a proper regulatory environment to reap the full benefits of IFRS adoption. This review contributes to the existing literature by providing a comparative analysis of IFRS adoption effect on FPI between developed and developing countries while also suggests future research avenues.

Mapping post-socialist changes in urban tissues: a comparative study of Belgrade and Krakow

This project on post-socialist urban form in Belgrade and Krakow was undertaken by the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture, Cracow University of Technology and the Institute of Architecture and Urban and Spatial Planning of Serbia, involving field visits to both cities. A brief historical review and discussion of planning contexts is followed by an analysis of urban tissues from which five cases, characteristic of both cities, were selected for analysis. These range from peripheral areas to major city-centre streets and typical modern developments. A GIS database was prepared for each case and comparisons made of land use patterns, the year-by-year establishment of new plots, Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and Building Area Ratio (BAR). Plot development is examined through the analysis of the relationship between construction year, plot size, the number of buildings on each plot, and increases of floor and building area ratio. The project highlights parallels between the impacts to which similar urban tissues in the two countries have been exposed during the post-socialist period and reveals the variety of problems and challenges of urban regulation, land ownership and housing investments in relation to post- socialist urban form.

Mapping post-socialist changes in urban tissues: a comparative study of Belgrade and Krakow

This project on post-socialist urban form in Belgrade and Krakow was undertaken by the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture, Cracow University of Technology and the Institute of Architecture and Urban and Spatial Planning of Serbia, involving field visits to both cities. A brief historical review and discussion of planning contexts is followed by an analysis of urban tissues from which five cases, characteristic of both cities, were selected for analysis. These range from peripheral areas to major city-centre streets and typical modern developments. A GIS database was prepared for each case and comparisons made of land use patterns, the year-by-year establishment of new plots, Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and Building Area Ratio (BAR). Plot development is examined through the analysis of the relationship between construction year, plot size, the number of buildings on each plot, and increases of floor and building area ratio. The project highlights parallels between the impacts to which similar urban tissues in the two countries have been exposed during the post-socialist period and reveals the variety of problems and challenges of urban regulation, land ownership and housing investments in relation to post- socialist urban form.

Phase reassignment for load balance in low-voltage distribution networks

Load balancing is one of the most widely used techniques to reduce losses and improve service quality in low-voltage networks. Many methods have been proposed, including the customer phase reassignment, which has multiple advantages. However, its application represents a real challenge if the data availability is limited (only a few variables from some nodes are measured). This paper presents a new method for load balancing on a three-phase feeder by switching the phase connection of single-phase customers. It is based on Deterministic Crowding, a variant of Genetic Algorithms with few and easily adjustable parameters. In contrast to related works, we establish an imbalance target value and minimize the number of customers required to switch. The proposed method requires the phase current profiles from only a percentage of the customers, reducing the number of smart meters necessary and the related investment. The method was validated using real data, analyzing different scenarios with different percentages of measured customers compared on the basis of imbalance index, neutral current, and transformer lifespan reduction. Results show a significant improvement in load balancing with few changes, even when only 30% of customers are measured.

Food System Sustainability Metrics: Policies, Quantification, and the Role of Complexity Sciences

The rise of global attention toward sustainability and sustainable development (SD) has provided increased incentives for research development and investment in these areas. Food systems are at the center of human needs and global population growth sustainability concerns. These drives and the need to provide quantified support for related investment projects led to the proliferation of sustainability metrics and frameworks. While questions about sustainability definition and measurement still abound, SD policy design and control increasingly need adequate quantified support instruments. This paper aims to address this need, contributing to a more consistent and integrated application of food system sustainability metrics and quantified management of the implemented solutions. After presenting the relationships between sustainability, resilience, and robustness and summarizing food system sustainability quantification developments so far, we expose complexity sciences’ potential contributions toward SD quantified evaluation, addressing prediction, intangibles, and uncertainty issues. Finding a paramount need to make sense and bring existing sustainability metrics in context for operational use, we conclude that the articulated application of multiple and independent modeling approaches at the micro, meso, and macro levels can better help the development of food SD policies and implemented solution quantified management, with due regard to confidence levels of the results obtained.

Measuring consumer-perceived humanness of online organizational agents

As organizations increasingly adopt artificial intelligence (AI) systems for their online communication with publics, conceptualizing and operationalizing perceived humanness presents an important challenge to understanding how consumers and other publics respond to both AI and human agents in live chats with organizations. This study develops a measure of consumer-perceived humanness derived from three related constructs: conversational human voice, anthropomorphism, and social presence. The new measure was tested for reliability and validity, including tests of criterion validity predicting how it would relate to perceived relational investment and trust as relational outcomes. Two online studies (N₁ = 172, N₂ = 375) were conducted in which participants interacted with either human or machine online chat agents. Greater perceived humanness of chat agents was found to correlate with greater perceived relational investment and trust in the organization, with perceived relational investment mediating the relationship between perceived humanness and trust. Perceived humanness can be utilized subsequently to assess both human and machine agents. Its corollary, perceived machineness, was also identified as a separate factor to be taken into consideration in future research and theory building.

An Examination of Social Capital in Young People According to Life Satisfaction and Some Socio-Demographic Factors

The premise behind social capital is relatively simple and straightforward: investment in social relations with expected returns. Individuals build relationships and form networks in order to obtain certain returns: physical health, mental health, and life satisfaction. Strong bonds between people with similar characteristics and attitudes will help increase the frequency of interaction and the life satisfaction of an individual. Accordingly, when the relevant literature on this crucial issue was examined, it was found that there are a limited number of studies evaluating the relationship between the social capital and life satisfaction of young people in Turkey. Given the lack of literature, it is essential to determine the rela-tionship between social capital and life satisfaction. This study was aimed and conducted to evaluate the relationship between social capital and life satisfaction between young people. The study data were collected from face-to-face interviews with 500 young people between the ages of 18-29 who were selected using the "convenience sampling method". In this study "Social Capital Scale” and “Satisfac-tion with Life Scale” was used. Social capital and life satisfaction score mean of the participants is well above the medium level. Social capital level and life satisfaction were found to be positively correlated.

Investment impacts of gendered land rights in customary tenure systems: Substantive and methodological insights from Malawi

• The impact of individuals’ tenure security under customary regimes is investigated. • The analysis uses a unique survey experiment in Malawi. • Having land rights of bequest and sale increases investment and cash crop adoption. • Women’s land rights joint with local institutional arrangements can amplify the effects. • The effects can be obscured by measurement error associated with traditional data collection. Although most of the world’s agricultural land is cultivated under customary tenure regimes that tend to change over time in response to exogenous factors, the impact of customary rights on productivity and investment remains under-researched. Using unique data from an experiment in Malawi, we show that (i) parcel-level bequest and sale rights affect investment and cash crop adoption; (ii) impacts are gender-differentiated -women’s rights affect investment and men’s cash crop adoption- and vary by inheritance regime; and (iii) measurement error associated with traditional approaches to survey data collection easily obscures these effects. Beyond reinforcing the need for careful empirical research, this suggests that gradual erosion of women’s customary rights may reduce land related investment and that measures other than titling (e.g. changes in family law or legal support) may enhance it.

The Rolling Out Of International Project SMART E263/E77 For Advanced Traffic Management

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) provide significant added value to road transportation, making the related investments distinctively effective and long-lasting. Moreover, some ITS activities may be eligible for financial support of the European union (EU). That was the way how Estonian Transport Administration and Latvian State Roads worked on the project proposal “Smart corridor Tallinn-Tartu-Luhamaa-Riga E263/E77” (acronym – SMART E263/E77), which was approved by EU program Interreg Central Baltics as CB891 project. The project started on June 1, 2020, and its implementation will last till the end of 2022 according to quite challenging schedule. Project activities primarily include numerous installations or road telemetry and telematics devices (especially, variable message signs) for advanced traffic management to be supported by cross-border traffic plans and improvements of traffic control centers. Project target is to provide general travel time savings at least by 0.88% across the whole corridor, however for the motorway-type sections it should reach more than 5.5%. Expected project results will establish new and improve existing functions on the E263 and E77 road transport corridors, namely: traffic management adaptive to variable road conditions; gathering and dissemination of traffic information; decision-making support for road maintenance operations (especially in winter). This report will summarize the information on project progress with emphasis on traffic management considerations.

Determinants of Unemployment in East African Community Countries

The purpose of this research study is assessing the relationship between unemployment and its determinants for five east Africa community countries i.e., Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda & Burundi. Particularly, discussed are some economic variables and their significant effects especially in the long run. The study variables include; inflation, GDP growth, population growth and foreign direct investments in relation to unemployment. In order to achieve the research objectives, a methodology framework of panel autoregressive distributed-lag (PARDL) is undertaken. The study finds that a long-run relationship exists among all the variables. Moreover, GDP, POPL, and FDI are found significant to interpret the unemployment in the long-run whereas INF is found insignificant to interpret unemployment in the long-run. The findings also reveal that the tradeoff between inflation and unemployment in EACCs is in the short run and not in the long run. This study concludes that foreign direct investment and gross domestic product have negative and significant relationship with unemployment. Population growth has positive and significant relationship with unemployment and it contributes to unemployment while inflation rate has a positive and insignificant relationship with unemployment. According to the findings of this study population growth is the key determinant of unemployment in EACCs.

Researcher in Residence: sharing the daily professional life of nature conservation

The “Researcher-in-residence” experiment was born in 2015 in the Écrins National Park with the aim of enriching collaborations between the world of research, in environmental sciences, and the world of nature conservation. This incentive is based on the observation, shared by various authors and actors, that the links between these two professional worlds are too distant. Creating mechanisms for getting to know each other in a transdisciplinary manner would thus improve the ways of working and responding to the pressing issues of biodiversity conservation. This article firstly traces the genesis and concretization of this experiment through the singular trajectories of its first protagonists, which inform us about the relational, institutional and professional investments made in order to “get to know each other.” Secondly, the story of this experience illustrates that transdisciplinary collaboration involves moments of cross-professional learning. The interest of a residency, even a one-time one, thus lies in the sharing of temporalities and everyday knowledge in order to get to know each other in an epistemic and professional way.

Globalization of innovation: the moderating role of project-level investment strategy and country type in location choice for R&D-related FDI

The current stage of globalization involves geographically dispersed research and development (R&D) investments that are not confined to advanced economies. These cross-border R&D investments are driven by multinational enterprises’ (MNEs’) strategies for exploring and/or exploiting foreign locations. In this paper, we analyse location choice and the moderating effect of project-level investment strategy (i.e. exploration or exploitation) and type of host economy (i.e. advanced or emerging) on the importance of the innovation framework and local innovation capabilities. Our analysis of 588 R&D-related foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries during the 2006–2016 period reveals that whereas a host country’s innovation framework and capability overall do affect the location decision, their ultimate effects are conditional on the combination of project-level investment strategy and type of economy. Our findings have policy implications for FDI policies aiming at enhancing linkages between MNEs and local actors and national science, technology, innovation and educational policies and programmes.

Experience-expectant brain plasticity corresponds to caste-specific abiotic challenges in dampwood termites (Zootermopsis angusticollis and Z. nevadensis).

Hypotheses for adaptive brain investment predict associations between the relative sizes of functionally distinct brain regions and the sensory/cognitive demands animals confront. We measured developmental differences in the relative sizes of visual processing brain regions (optic lobes) among dampwood termite castes to test whether optic lobe investment matches caste differences in exposure to visually complex environments. The winged primary reproductives (Kings/Queens) on mating flights are the only caste to leave the dark nest cavities and as predicted, Kings/Queens showed greater relative investment in optic lobe tissue than nestbound (neotenic) reproductives and soldiers in two dampwood termite species (Zootermopsis angusticollis and Z. nevadensis). Relative optic lobe size spanned more than an order of magnitude among the castes we studied, suggesting the growth of the optic lobes incurs substantial tissue costs. Optic lobe growth was experience-expectant: the optic lobes of Z. angusticollis brachypterous nymphs, which typically develop into Kings/Queens, were relatively larger than the optic lobes of apterous nymphs, which precede neotenics and soldiers, and relative optic lobe size of nestbound brachypterous nymphs was statistically similar to that of Kings/Queens. Experience-expectant brain tissue growth is rarely documented in insects, likely because it entails high potential costs of tissue production and maintenance and relatively low immediate sensory/cognitive benefits. We develop hypotheses for the conditions under which experience-expectant growth in brain regions could be favored by natural selection.