Preferences For Different Types Research Articles

Вухань австрійський (Plecotus austriacus) на Волині: новий поступ у експансії на сході Європи

The paper describes the discovery of a species from the group of sibling species of the superspecies Plecotus auritus (sensu lato), which has been showing a wide expansion in Eastern Europe over the past 100 years. Expansion is facilitated by the species’ pronounced synanthropy, with a particular preference for different types of artificial wintering shelters, which often leads to new finds. The new find is the second for the Volyn region of Ukraine and fills the gap between the known finds in Poland, south-western Belarus (Brest region) and neighbouring regions of Ukraine (Lviv and Rivne oblasts). The new find was recorded on 18.09.2021 in the village of Radovychi, Kovel Raion, in a cellar. The currently known finds of the species in the region are distributed fairly evenly in space and time, indicating a slow and wide expansion, without a significant increase in numbers.

A person-centred approach to help services and commissioners to improve the experience of people who are homeless and secure better sustainability.

Successful implementation of evidence-based services in health and social care depends largely on the fit of the services with the values and priorities of users who are shaping and participating in their delivery and use. When looking at the implementation of innovative specialist hospital discharge schemes for people who are homeless, there is a lack of knowledge on homeless people’s preferences and perspectives on receiving out-of-hospital care.
 In England, the Department of Health and Social Care, Ministry for Housing and Local Government and Ministry of Justice allocated £16 million to further develop and test out hospital care for people experiencing homelessness. The out-of-hospital care model programme is seeking to scale successful hospital discharge models that were shown to be effective and cost-effective in an earlier pilot programme adapting these for new contexts and circumstances post Covid-19. Evaluation of the implementation of the out-of-hospital care model programme is currently underway in 17 local authority test sites across England. A specific component of the larger evaluation is aimed at capturing service users’ preferences for different types of specialist hospital discharge schemes.
 This is done using a flexible health economics tool for measuring choices in health and social care-related settings named discrete choice experiments (DCE). It measures preferences from individual decision-makers over alternative scenarios (or service provisions). Each alternative is described by several attributes (or characteristics) and the choices made between two or more competing scenarios subsequently determine how preferences are influenced by each attribute (eg, which attributes are valued as well as their relative importance). It can also provide a measure of the overall value attached to different alternatives (and identify optimal service provision that meets stakeholder requirements and have the best chance of sustainability in the long term). Hence a DCE survey has been developed to measure people’s preferences for what out-of-hospital care provides in terms of types of location of care, the professional who delivers most of their care, how often they receive care, how long they receive care after hospital discharge and rules about behaviour where they live.
 The attributes (characteristics) and their various levels were informed by our previous research. Webinar discussions regarding what stakeholders value about specialist services were used to validate and refine the attributes and levels. PPI stakeholders were also consulted on the development of the presentation, wording and format of the survey. Efficient experimental design techniques were applied to create the DCE questions. Due to the cognitive load involved in completing the survey, respondents are assisted in the completion of the questionnaire by members of the research team to secure responses from more than 250 people who are homeless. Data will be modelled using logit techniques and results will be ready for presentation in May 2023.
 Information on how service users value specialist hospital discharge schemes for people who are homeless is needed to better inform the implementation and development of the innovative out-of-hospital care model programme currently proposed in England at a national level. Identified learning will be shared at the conference.

Wearable Activity Trackers That Motivate Women to Increase Physical Activity: Mixed Methods Study.

Physical inactivity is a significant public health concern, particularly among women in the United States. Wearable activity trackers (WATs) have been proposed as a potential solution to increase awareness of and engagement in physical activity (PA). However, to be effective, WATs must include features and designs that encourage daily use. This study aims to explore the features and designs of WATs that appeal to women and determine whether devices with these attributes are effective motivators for women to be physically active. A mixed methods study guided by the self-determination theory was conducted among 15 women. Participants trialed 3 WATs with influence in their respective accessory domains: Apple Watch for the wrist; Oura Ring for the finger; and Bellabeat Leaf Urban for multiple sites (it can be worn as a bracelet, necklace, or clip). Participants documented their daily PA levels and rated their satisfaction with each device's comfort, features, and motivational effect. Focus groups were also conducted to gather additional feedback and experiences within the a priori areas of comfort, features, and motivation. Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2 scores indicated that most participants (14/15, 93%) were motivated at baseline (amotivation score: mean 0.13, SD 0.45), but on average, participants did not meet the national minimum PA guidelines according to the self-reported Physical Activity Vital Sign questionnaire (moderate to vigorous PA score: mean 144, SD 97.5 min/wk). Mean WAT wear time was 16.9 (SD 4.4) hours, 19.4 (SD 5.3) hours, and 20.4 (SD 4.7) hours for Apple Watch, Bellabeat Leaf Urban, and Oura Ring, respectively. During focus groups, participants reinforced their quantitative ratings and rankings of the WATs based on personal experiences. Participants shared a variety of both activity-related and non-activity-related features that they look for in a motivating device. When considering what the ideal WAT would be for a woman, participants suggested features of (1) comfort, (2) extended battery life, (3) durability, (4) immediate PA feedback, (5) intuitive PA sensing, and (6) programmability. This study is the first to specifically address women's experiences with and preferences for different types of WATs. Those who work with women should realize how they view WATs and the role they play in motivation to be active.

Preferences for punishments: explorations from a stated-choice experiment in Japan

ABSTRACT Previous studies have shown that punishment can increase and stabilize cooperation in many situations. In this study, we conducted an online stated-choice experiment in Japan to elicit respondents’ preferences for different types of punishments that they thought should be imposed on uncooperative people to encourage cooperation within a team. We observed heterogeneity in preferences for different types of punishment among individuals in different preference groups, as estimated from the latent class logit model. Our results suggest that several socioeconomic characteristics are associated with the classification of preference groups.

A new ELECTRE-based decision-making framework with spherical fuzzy information for the implementation of autonomous vehicles project in Istanbul

This research study keenly employs the ground-breaking theory of ELECTRE method in order to advance the literature with a more competent technique for the frequently implemented and incredibly practical model of spherical fuzzy sets. The eminent characteristics, broader approach and adaptable model of spherical fuzzy set empowers the proposed strategy to captivate each type of the imprecise human judgement (whether in favor, against, neutral or hesitant) using a dependent and three independent membership grades. The remarkable novelty of the proposed approach is its successful application even with no criteria weights knowledge. Furthermore, the proposed technique processes the spherical fuzzy data and examines different types of preferences among alternatives using three threshold values. These preferences contribute to classify the outranking relations among the alternatives within five different levels of dominance. Later on, the iterative approach of distillation is deployed to figure out the final ranking. The proposed strategy is applied to meet the challenges in the implementation of autonomous vehicles in Turkey. After a through evaluation of five corridors via proposed technique in reference to fifteen criteria, metrobus corridor appears as the most appropriate for the autonomous vehicle operation. In the last, the consistency of the proposed approach is delineated via comparative analysis with existing spherical fuzzy CODAS and spherical fuzzy PROMETHEE approaches and other convincing evidences.

Comparing Chinese academic returnees in Chengdu and Guangzhou: reasons for return, choice of destination and onward migration intention

ABSTRACT This is a comparative study on Chinese academic returnees in Chengdu and Guangzhou, China. Adopting the concepts of intellectual gateway (IG), intellectual node (IN) and intellectual capital (IC) from the intellectual migration (IM) framework, as well as the amenities perspective in migration studies, this article conceptualises Chengdu as an emerging IG and Guangzhou as a typical IG. Through analysing macro-level public data and first-hand interviews and survey data at the micro level, it explores academic returnees’destination choice and if urban amenities and individual preferences influence their onward migration intention. It concludes that academic returnees’choice of destination is not only highly related to their pursuit of IC development and economic capital, but is also influenced by their preferences of different types of cultural amenities. Chengdu’s cultural amenities tend to attract and retain more personal-life-oriented academic returnees, while Guangzhou is favoured by professional-life-oriented returnees. Furthermore, compared to returnees in Guangzhou, those in Chengdu are more likely to stay for longer terms. It is suggested that building rich cultural amenities and intellectual networks can be potential advantages for emerging IGs in attracting and retaining intellectual migrants.

The Relationship Between Generation Zs Myers-Briggs Personality Types and Marketing Communication

As Generation Z (Gen Z) becomes the largest consumer group worldwide, understanding their characteristics and personalities is crucial for future marketers. This research paper investigates the influence of Gen Zs personality, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Personality Types (MBTI), on various forms of marketing communication. The study was conducted with both quantitative and qualitative methods. 80 Gen Z participants whose MBTI types were determined to provide insights into their preferences for different types of marketing communication, the significance of effective marketing communication for different MBTI types, and whether personality would impact purchasing decisions. The study shows that there are significant differences in the preferred types of marketing communication among MBTI types. Certain types have a stronger preference for specific forms of marketing communication. Additionally, the research suggests that effective marketing communication is essential to Gen Z consumers with specific MBTI types. Lastly, the study finds that personality traits can indeed influence purchasing decisions.

Generative design of floor plans of multi-unit residential buildings based on consumer satisfaction and energy performance

Satisfying consumers is an important task in the design of residential floor plans. However, the design of residential floor plans with the aim of improving consumer satisfaction and energy performance has not been fully explored. Also, the preferences of different customer groups regarding customer satisfaction have not been studied. Traditional design and optimization methods still have limitations in terms of performance improvement, while performance-based generative design methods can explore the performance improvement potential of a larger range of solution spaces. Therefore, this study introduces a generative design framework that is grounded on optimizing energy performance and consumer satisfaction for multi-unit residential floor plans, which consists of four main processes: 1) Generation of floor plan schemes. 2) Evaluation of consumer satisfaction and energy performance of the generated schemes. 3) Running a multi-objective optimization to obtain optimal schemes. 4) The final floor plan scheme is determined by the decision maker. The proposed framework was employed in a real design case, and seven optimal solutions were obtained. Compared with the initial scheme, the maximum improvement in consumer satisfaction and energy performance was up to 38.78% and 11.18% respectively. The results also indicated that the preferences of different types of consumers differed significantly. Thus, different evaluation functions have been created to provide solutions with higher satisfaction levels targeting different types of consumers. As such, generative design and optimization of residential floor plans for specific types of consumers can be undertaken at an early design stage to improve consumer satisfaction and reduce energy consumption.

Investigating the challenges faced by denture wearers, such as denture stability, comfort, and esthetics, and their preferences for different types of dentures

ABSTRACT Background: Dentures are common prosthetic devices used to replace missing teeth; however, wearers often encounter challenges related to stability, comfort, and esthetics. Understanding these challenges and preferences for different denture types is crucial for improving oral health outcomes and quality of life. Materials and Methods: We conducted a comprehensive study involving 500 denture wearers. Participants were assessed for denture stability, comfort, and esthetics using standardized measures. In addition, their preferences for various denture types, including conventional complete dentures, implant-supported overdentures, and partial dentures, were explored through structured interviews. Results: In this study, 25% of participants found denture stability to be “very challenging,” 40% considered it “somewhat challenging,” and 35% did not find it challenging. Twenty percent of participants found denture comfort to be “very challenging,” 36% considered it “somewhat challenging,” and 44% did not find it challenging. In the study, 15% of participants found denture esthetics to be “very challenging,” 30% considered it “somewhat challenging,” and 55% did not find it challenging. Thirty percent of participants prefer implant-supported dentures, while 70% do not prefer them. Conclusions: Denture wearers commonly experience challenges associated with stability, comfort, and esthetics. Preferences for denture types differ, highlighting the need for personalized treatment options based on individual needs and circumstances.

Ant preference for different types of bait at sugarcane plantations in East Java, Indonesia

Abstract. Rahardjo BT, Muhammad FN, Setiawan Y, Febryadi A, Ihsan M, Wibowo D, Fernando I. 2023. Ant preference for different types of bait at sugarcane plantations in East Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 24:2099-2106. The occurrence of ants is important in agroecosystems since they may provide both ecosystem services or disservices depending on the species composition. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the kind of ant species that are present in agroecosystems. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of three types of bait to measure ant abundance and diversity in sugarcane plantations. This research was conducted from July to September 2022 in four locations in East Java, Indonesia, i.e., Karangploso, Kalipare, Gandusari, and Pasirian. At each location, one plot was determined and divided into nine subplots. Ant sampling was conducted using modified pitfall traps that may contain one type of bait or without bait as control treatment. There were three types of assayed bait, i.e., tuna, eggs, and sugar. Nine traps for each treatment were installed in each location. This study obtained 6,650 individual ants from 20 morphospecies, 16 genera, and 4 subfamilies. At each location, species richness and abundance were not significantly different among bait types. However, those variables differed between the bait groups and the control. Tuna and egg baits were preferred by ants, as indicated by the higher number of trapped individuals than in sugar bait and the control traps. The species composition of the different baits was different at all locations except Kalipare. Each ant species had a different preference for the type of bait. Formicine ants preferred sugar bait, while ponerine ants preferred tuna and egg baits. Hence, it can be concluded that the bait type selection needs to be considered for ant monitoring. Therefore, using various types of baits is recommended to monitor the assemblage of ants in an ecosystem.

Gender and Legend in Rural Iceland in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

Abstract The folk narrative archives, with their large amounts of source material, can provide valuable new insights into the narrative traditions of the past. This also applies to the legend traditions of women in former times and their relationship with women's experiences and social reality. This article examines common features found in the legend repertoires of 200 Icelandic women born in the late nineteenth century, which are kept in the Icelandic sound archives. These features are compared to those observed in the repertoires of a small sample of men found in the same archives; the aim is to establish whether and how the legends told by men and women differ. The key findings are that certain elements clearly differ significantly across gender lines, including preferences for different types of narratives, subjects, and choice of characters, highlighting the very different social realities of men and women in the past.

The PhD by publication in the humanities and social sciences: a cross country analysis

ABSTRACT This paper examines the PhD by publication in the humanities and social sciences in US, UK, Canadian and Australian universities. A set of PhDs by publication from each of these countries were collected for the study. The theses were analysed to see to what extent they fitted, or not, with discussions of thesis types described in previous research into the PhD by publication. Interviews with students and supervisors were carried out to investigate the choices that students made in their writing. University rules for the submission of PhDs by publication and related policy documents are also examined. The study found that there seems to be a preference for different types of PhD by publication in each of the countries. In the US they were all prospective PhDs with the work being especially written for the thesis. In the UK, by contrast, retrospective PhDs, the PhD by published work, largely dominate. Canada was similar to the US, at least in the area of study where the data were collected for the paper, Education. In Australia, both prospective and retrospective PhDs were found, although it was the former, the prospective PhD, which dominated.

Charismatic Species and Birdwatching: Advanced Birders Prefer Small, Shy, Dull, and Rare Species

ABSTRACT Studies about charismatic bird species have been carried out using the general public; among the most common charismatic attributes are body mass and coloration. However, research on birders as a target population is lacking. Birders are people who identify bird species based on visual or acoustic cues. It is important to study this group directly because they invest a lot of time and effort in citizen science projects and donate money to the conservation of nature. Identifying charismatic species for birders can help to determine the optimal flagship species for this group. Because some studies show that preferences for certain species and their attributes may be dependent on the personal characteristics of the respondents, we decided to study the preferences of different types of birder (casual, intermediate, advanced). We surveyed 2,303 German birders and found advanced birders to prefer species with a lower body mass and less coloration/brightness, compared with casual and intermediate birders. Moreover, advanced birders prefer species that are difficult to detect: that is, nocturnal species, species with larger flight distances, species with smaller population sizes, and nonurban birds. Because birders differ from the public in species preferences, this should be taken into account when species are chosen for conservation purposes, initiating citizen science projects, or management plans.

Using conjoint analysis to incorporate heterogeneous preferences into multimodal transit trip simulations

AbstractUrban transportation systems involve thousands of individuals making choices between routes with multiple modes and transfers. For transportation system simulations to produce realistic results, modelers need to incorporate these users and their choices. Choice‐based conjoint surveys provide an attractive solution for obtaining flexible utility models that can be used to predict choices for a wide variety of trips. In this study, we demonstrate an example using conjoint survey data of commuter mode choice in the Washington, D.C. metro area (N = 1651). We sample commuters who primarily drive and those that take transit. We examine preferences for different types of multimodal trips, including those with intramodal and intermodel transfers. We find that trips involving a bus transfer are the least preferred while both drivers and transit users both value metro similarly to driving. We also find that walking during transit trips is an important barrier, with the travel time penalty for walking being 60% higher than that of time in a vehicle. Our findings highlight the significance of accounting for differences in modal transfer types in transportation system simulations. Reducing arrival time uncertainty was not a significant factor in commuter mode choice, and commuters' value of time was similar across all vehicle types, suggesting that increasing the relative speed of transit modes may only have a marginal effect on commuter substitution away from personal vehicles.

Users’ perception for innovation and sustainability management: evidence from public transport

No one doubts the importance of public transport services in the economic backbone of any country. In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in the contribution to Sustainable Development Goals on the part of governments, companies, and stakeholders. In this sense, transport can contribute to the sustainability of cities and facilitate other social objectives, such as universal accessibility, with innovation being a key pillar for this. Thus, the main objective of this study is to analyze users’ perceptions of the innovation and sustainability of public transport in Spain.To analyze the user’s perception of public transport, a questionnaire was developed following Bitner’s Servicescape Model. A total of 1,354 responses were collected in different Spanish cities. The main results show that the policies implemented in both innovation and sustainability are perceived positively but do not seem to have much impact on the service user. Public transport users prioritize the speed, frequency, and safety of the service received. In addition, it should be noted that the gender of the user influences the preferences of the objectives, i.e., men value technological development in public transport more. At the same time, women give higher priority to sustainability. The age of users is another variable that conditions public transport users’ perceptions of innovation and sustainability. The results also show users’ preferences for different types of public transport.The study’s main contribution is that it shows to what extent the innovation and sustainability policies applied in the public transport service are valued and motivate citizens to use the service. The political and management decisions may be disconnected from the reality perceived by users. These decisions may be more linked to regulatory pressures and involve a high implementation cost, so it is necessary to consider the valuation of users’ service so that the benefit or social return of these investments is high, encouraging the use of the service.

E-cigarette product preferences of Australian adolescent and adult users: a 2022 study

BackgroundResearch that comprehensively documents preferences for different types of novel nicotine products in Australia is lacking, making it difficult for policymakers to determine where public health efforts should be focused. This study thus sought to explore Australian adolescent and adult e-cigarette users’ preferences for different types of e-cigarettes and e-liquids. Purchasing behaviours and sources of e-liquid were also examined.MethodsAn online survey was administered to 4,617 Australians aged 12 + years, 636 of whom had used an e-cigarette in the last 30 days and were the focus of this study. Among users, 45% also smoked tobacco cigarettes, 41% were non-smokers, and 14% had never smoked.ResultsThe majority (82%) of e-cigarette users surveyed reported using nicotine-containing e-liquid in their devices. Fewer (60%) reported using non-nicotine e-liquid. The preference for nicotine over non-nicotine e-liquid was observed among all age and smoking groups. Most users (89%) reported using flavoured e-liquids, with adolescents (96%) significantly more likely than young adults (90%) and adults aged 25 + years (85%) to report using such e-liquids. Fruit flavours were the most popular among all subgroups. In terms of device type, disposable e-cigarettes were the most common product used among almost all groups; the exception being adults aged 25 + years who preferred systems with refillable tanks. Friends and tobacco retailers were the most frequently nominated sources of nicotine e-liquid among adolescents and young adults. Among adults aged 25 + years, tobacco retailers and the Internet were the most frequently nominated sources of these products.ConclusionDisposable e-cigarettes with flavoured, nicotine-containing e-liquid are popular among users of the devices, including adolescents. Measures that restrict the accessibility and availability of flavoured e-liquids and disposable e-cigarettes, and greater enforcement of laws regarding the sale and importation of nicotine e-liquids, are urgently needed to protect youth and never smokers from these products.

Gender differences of color preferences for interior spaces in the residential built environment in Prishtina, Kosovo

PurposeThe overall purpose of the study is to identify the gender differences in color preferences for different types of interior space in the residential built environment in Prishtina, Kosovo. Additionally, the purpose of the study is also to identify the gender differences in the emotions that various colors trigger in occupants of the mainly residential built environment.Design/methodology/approachThe present study uses a quantitative study and χ2 test to analyze whether the variables formulated by study hypotheses are dependent on gender. The data are gathered by a questionnaire to measure the color preferences of the respondents. The study uses a questionnaire with eight questions that were distributed to 303 respondents using the stratified probability sampling, using gender as the main stratum for probability sampling.FindingsThe study finds that there are no gender differences in color preferences for home lighting, living room, bedroom, study room and children’s rooms in the residential built environment. The study also finds that there is a gender difference in color preferences that trigger emotions of tranquility, stability and security and warmth and pleasure in both male and female respondents.Practical implicationsThe implications of this study are that real estate and facility management firms must conduct marketing research to identify the color preferences for both housing interior and exterior depending on the different local cultural backgrounds of clients. Firms must provide training for real estate agents on the color preferences of clients for various types of spaces and the differences that may exist based on gender but also other variables.Originality/valueThe present study is the first quantification of gender differences in color preferences of the residential built environment in the capital city of an understudied region such as Kosovo.

Joint Resource Allocation and Cache Placement for Location-Aware Multi-User Mobile-Edge Computing

With the growing demand for latency-critical and computation-intensive Internet of Things (IoT) services, the IoT-oriented network architecture, mobile-edge computing (MEC), has emerged as a promising technique to reinforce the computation capability of the resource-constrained IoT devices. To exploit the cloud-like functions at the network edge, service caching has been implemented to reuse the computation task input/output data, thus effectively reducing the delay incurred by data retransmissions and repeated execution of the same task. In a multiuser cache-assisted MEC system, users’ preferences for different types of services, possibly dependent on their locations, play an important role in the joint design of communication, computation, and service caching. In this article, we consider multiple representative locations, where users at the same location share the same preference profile for a given set of services. Specifically, by exploiting the location-aware users’ preference profiles, we propose joint optimization of the binary cache placement, the edge computation resource, and the bandwidth (BW) allocation to minimize the expected sum-energy consumption, subject to the BW and the computation limitations as well as the service latency constraints. To effectively solve the mixed-integer nonconvex problem, we propose a deep learning (DL)-based offline cache placement scheme using a novel stochastic quantization-based discrete-action generation method. The proposed hybrid learning framework advocates both benefits from the model-free DL approach and the model-based optimization. The simulations verify that the proposed DL-based scheme saves roughly 33% and 6.69% of energy consumption compared with the greedy caching and the popular caching, respectively, while achieving up to 99.01% of the optimal performance.

Scenario-specific aberrations of social reward processing in dimensional schizotypy and psychopathy

The feelings of reward associated with social interaction help to motivate social behaviour and influence preferences for different types of social contact. In two studies conducted in a general population sample, we investigated self-reported and experimentally-assessed social reward processing in personality spectra with prominent interpersonal features, namely schizotypy and psychopathy. Study 1 (n = 154) measured social reward processing using the Social Reward Questionnaire, and a modified version of a Monetary and Social Incentive Delay Task. Study 2 (n = 42; a subsample of Study 1) investigated social reward processing using a Social Reward Subtype Incentive Delay Task. Our results show that schizotypy (specifically Cognitive-Perceptual dimension) and psychopathy (specifically Lifestyle dimension) are associated with diverging responses to social scenarios involving large gatherings or meeting new people (Sociability), with reduced processing in schizotypy and heightened processing in psychopathy. No difference, however, occurred for other social scenarios—with similar patterns of increased antisocial (Negative Social Potency) and reduced prosocial (Admiration, Sociability) reward processing across schizotypy and psychopathy dimensions. Our findings contribute new knowledge on social reward processing within these personality spectra and, with the important exception of Sociability, highlight potentially converging patterns of social reward processing in association with schizotypy and psychopathy.

The influence of field margin characteristics on syrphid abundance

Field margins have an important ecological role in agroecosystems including hosting beneficial insect such as syrphids. However, little is known of syrphid preferences for different types of field margins. Syrphids were sampled in field margins in an organic agroecosystem to test the hypothesis that syrphid abundance in field margins depends not only on the floral resource abundance but also on field margin component type, field margin complexity, and adjacent land-use type. Floral resource abundance had the greatest influence on the number of syrphids surveyed. Field margin characteristics were deemed to effect syrphid abundance both independently of their effect on floral resources and by altering floral resource abundance. Syrphids were more abundant in field margins adjacent to cropped fields than those adjacent to grazed fields or roads. More syrphids were found in ditch components than in tree or grass strip components. The influence of floral resources on syrphid abundance varied depending on their botanical families, although no significant differences were observed for the effect of botanical family floral resource index on syrphid abundance. These findings demonstrate that field margin characteristics play an important role in facilitating plant–syrphid interactions and offer an insight in agroecosystem management for the promotion of beneficial insects. The influence of field margin characteristics on other beneficial insect groups should also be investigated.