Competitive Tendencies Research Articles

Effects of alloy compositions on hydrogen behaviors at a nickel grain boundary and a coherent twin boundary

The effects of several common metallic and nonmetal alloy compositions (i.e., Cr, Mo, B, and P) on the energetics and kinetics of hydrogen behaviors at a nickel grain boundary (GB) and a coherent twin boundary (CTB) were systematically investigated by first-principles calculations. H, Cr, Mo, B, and P have a stronger segregation into Ni GB than Ni CTB due to the presence of a cavity in GB. Cr, Mo, B, and P all act as obstacles for H segregation and diffusion in both GB and CTB, but the physical mechanisms are different: In Ni GB, Cr and Mo result in the shrinkage of isosurfaces of optimal charge densities for H, and B and P provide a strong competitive tendency to accumulate into the GB; in Ni CTB, Cr and Mo induce charge accumulation, and B and P result in a repulsive interaction to H. The present study provides the microscopic images of H compositions in Ni GB and CTB under the effects of alloy compositions; this is essential for understanding the mechanism of hydrogen embrittlement (HE) and improving the ability of alloys against HE.

China’s Digital Content Publishing Industry: The 2019 Annual Report on Investment Insights and Market Trends

This paper uses the core contents of the recently published book titled Market Patterns and Investment Insights of China’s Digital Content Industry in 2020, which is authored by a team at the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication (CAPP) and is one of the most authoritative report about China’s digital content industry. Analyzing the latest development of this industry, this paper re-defines it and focuses on ten segments—online game, animation, online video, short video, streaming, online music, digital reading, news APP, online education and knowledge payment. This paper estimates their investment value on two dimensions (internal and external), including seven level-1 indicators and eleven level-2 ones, and obtains the investment value ranking list of the segments. It systematically expounds the status quo and characteristics of Chinese digital content industry in such aspects as market development, conversion rate, competition, investment and financing tendency, relevant policies and traditional mainstream media reports, and predicts ten market trends. The paper comes to the following conclusion: ① In terms of investment value: short video and online video have the highest score in ten segments; ② Regarding investment prospects: video content, original content, vertical IP incubation are worth the most attention; ③ Regarding prospects, Chinese digital content industry is in the stage of expansion, with short video performing the best and entering the stage of “intensive cultivation”, while content payment may lead a new round of growth.

Designing an EU Intervention Standard for Digital Platforms

A consensus is emerging around the world about the need for policymakers to address certain characteristics and competitive tendencies that are generated by digital platforms or digital ecosystems, with a view to reforming the public policy instruments currently in place so that they are fit for the digital age. The paper starts by reviewing the relevant precedents under EU competition law and economic regulation upon which this reform could be based. The paper then puts forward recommendations to adapt competition rules, in particular as regards the determination of market power (e.g., by better taking into account the effects of ecosystems, the impact of potential competition and the role of innovation) and the application of theories of harm (i.e. by focusing on leveraging and envelopment behaviour, access to key innovation capabilities, discrimination and self-preferencing and the violation of normative regulatory principles). The paper then proceeds to propose a cumulative 'three criteria test' to determine the types of digital platforms upon which competition rules, and possibly complementary regulation, should focus. These three criteria require an assessment of: (i) the existence of market structures which are highly concentrated and non-contestable; (ii) the presence of digital gatekeepers which act as unavoidable trading partners; (iii) and, for the purposes of ex ante regulation, the lack of effectiveness of competition rules to address the identified problems in the market. The paper also considers the types of remedies that could be imposed on those identified digital platforms, including: interoperability and access to key innovation capabilities such as data; the prohibition of anti-competitive discrimination; and the facilitation of consumer switching. Given the rapid evolution of technology and market uncertainty, consideration should be given as to whether these remedies should be imposed in a participatory manner with the industry stakeholders directly affected by the measures. Finally, the paper deals with a number of procedural and institutional issues raised by the adoption of such a legal standard, proposing to adapt existing antitrust guidelines, to extend the power of DG Competition to conduct fully fledged market investigations (as is the case in the UK and Australia) and possibly to work closely with National Regulatory Agencies, coordination with whom at EU level arguably needs to be strengthened.

The Influence of Different Nature Narcissism on Cooperative and Competitive Tendencies of College Students

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The dynamics of two coupled Van der Pol oscillators with attractive and repulsive coupling

We consider a variant of two coupled Van der Pol oscillators with both attractive and repulsive mean-field interactions. In the presence of attractive coupling, the system is in the complete synchrony, while repulsive coupling shows anti-synchronization state leading to suppression of oscillations with increasing interaction strength. The coupled system with both attractive and repulsive interactions shows competitive tendencies of being complete synchronization and anti-synchronization resulting in the stabilization of the fixed point. We have also studied the effect of the damping coefficient of the VdP oscillator on the nature of the transition from oscillatory to a steady-state. These oscillators stabilize to unstable equilibrium point or coupling dependent inhomogeneous steady state via second or first-order transitions respectively depending upon the damping coefficient and coupling strength. These transitions are analyzed in the parameter plane by analytical and numerical studies of the two coupled Van der Pol oscillators.

Competing orders in pyrochlore magnets from a Z2 spin liquid perspective

The pyrochlore materials have long been predicted to harbor a quantum spin liquid, an intrinsic long-range-entangled state supporting fractionalized excitations. Existing pyrochlore experiments, on the other hand, have discovered several weakly ordered states and a tendency of close competition amongst them. Motivated by these facts, we give a complete classification of spin-orbit-coupled ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ spin-liquid states on the pyrochlore lattice by using the projective symmetry group (PSG) approach for bosonic spinons. For each spin liquid, we construct a mean-field Hamiltonian that can be used to describe phase transitions out of the spin liquid via spinon condensation. Studying these phase transitions, we establish phase diagrams for our mean-field Hamiltonians that link magnetic orders to specific spin liquids. In general, we find that seemingly unrelated magnetic orders are intertwined with each other and that the conventional spin orders seen in the experiments are accompanied by more exotic hidden orders. Our critical theories are categorized into $z=1$ and $z=2$ types, based on their spinon dispersion and Hamiltonian diagonalizability, and are shown to give distinct signatures in the heat capacity and the spin structure factor. This study provides a clear map of pyrochlore phases for future experiments and variational Monte Carlo studies in pyrochlore materials.

The analysis of the components in modern shampoos for children with the aim of further development of domestic products

Proper care that is adequate to the condition of the newborn’s skin and hair is the necessary condition for maintain­ing health, preventing possible allergic manifestations and various diseases. The main components of a daily skin care are bathing, face, eyes, nose and ears care, etc. At the same time, parents often independently choose, dose and use cosmetic and hygienic, therapeutic and prophylactic products of cleansing action, fully relying on promotional offers, recommendations of their acquaintances. In addition, most often the choice of drugs is influenced by the personal preferences or parents’ tastes, financial ability and general culture. Therefore, the composition of cosmetic preparations for the baby skin and hair should be particularly safe and balanced.Аim. To conduct the analysis of modern products for the baby skin and hair care of various dosage forms, categories and segments, price ranking for the latest trends when selecting active surfactants with a mild action, conditions for their administration, development of foaming bases and creation of hygienic, therapeutic and preventing drugs.Materials and methods. The study of the range of drugs formed within five years by the products of the foaming action of the baby-segment (from birth 0+). Modern competitive tendencies was determined by monitoring this segment of products in the form of shampoos, shampoo-foams, shampoo-gels, a wide range of cost from 25-00 UAH to 650-00 UAH presented by different manufacturers that were in demand with consumers from Ukraine, countries of the European Union and CIS.Results. The analysis of the composition of foaming agents in the baby-segment (from the birth of 0+) shows that when selecting the basic substances – detergents the advantage is given to substances with a low threshold of the irritant action, such as Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Ammonium, Laureth Sulfate and others. However, these surfactants are not able to independently fully provide high functional and consumer properties of the final product (foaming ability, foam number, pH, viscosity), while having the necessary dermatological characteristics.Conclusions. The data obtained indicate that it is important to search for new and promising substances in order to create safe, hypoallergenic foaming bases for baby cosmetics. There is a need for research to determine the conditions for the introduction of the priority primary and secondary surfactants.

Inhibitory effect of vanillin on the virulence factors and biofilm formation of Hafnia alvei

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of vanillin as a QS inhibitor at sub-minimal inhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs) against fish spoilage by Hafnia alvei. Biofilm formation, swimming and swarming activity, and production of acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) were measured. In addition, analysis of quorum sensing (QS)-related genes by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and molecular docking was performed to better understand the inhibitory mechanism of vanillin. The results indicated that sub-MICs of vanillin induced remarkable reduction in violacein production (59.0%) and biofilm formation (68.5%) along with decreased swimming ability, and reduced expression levels of halI and halR. Moreover, the results of molecular docking revealed that vanillin and C6-HSL could form 2 hydrogen bonds with the LuxR protein (HalR), suggesting a potential competitive tendency between them. Thus, our study provides a basic inhibition mechanism of vanillin and suggests its prospective application as a QS inhibitor.

ANÁLISIS DE LAS VARIABLES DE JUEGO EN UN PARTIDO DE TENIS DURANTE UN TORNEO NACIONAL EN COSTA RICA

El tenis de campo ha logrado una gran masificación en las últimas décadas en Costa Rica, razón por la cual se vuelve cada día más importante la aplicación de las ciencias del movimiento humano para lograr un mejor desarrollo y evolución del deporte, y sobre todo en las etapas infantiles y juveniles. Es por ello, que esta investigación se enfoca en el análisis descriptivo de diferentes variables del deporte, presentes en los juegos de tres categorías menores. Metodología:participaron 36 jóvenes (18 mujeres y 18 hombres), con edades entre los 12 y 18 años, dentro de las categorías de U-14, U-16 y U-18. Se evaluaron partidos del tercer torneo nacional de menores, realizado por la Federación Costarricense de Tenis (FCT); se cuantificaron los golpes de derecha, golpes de revés y el saque, también las dobles faltas, los golpes ganadores, los errores no forzados, los rallies, los golpes por punto jugado, la cantidad de puntos jugados, los games, la cantidad de puntos por game, y el tiempo total del partido. Se realizó estadística descriptiva, así como un total de 13 ANOVAS de 2 vías de 2x3. Resultados: se elaboró un perfil de juego, para cada una de las tres categorías de edades y para ambos sexos, mostrando la manera en la que compiten, además de las fortalezas y debilidades para cada grupo.Conclusiones: el perfil de descripción del tenis durante competencia en jugadores de ambos sexos de categorías menores en Costa Rica, ha demostrado ser significativamente diferente en muchas de las variables estudiadas (11 de 13); por lo que este estudio proporciona datos que pueden ser utilizados para desarrollar protocolos de entrenamiento para tenistas juniorsde Costa Rica, además de entender el funcionamiento de la competición en cada categoría y sexo.

Aggression and Helping as Responses to Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Rejection in Men and Women.

Research shows that interpersonal rejection increases aggression and decreases helping toward the rejecter. Based on the assumptions of the evolutionary approach, it was hypothesized that aggression would be higher and helping would be lower after rejection by a same-sex rather than an opposite-sex other. Moreover, it was predicted that the effect for aggression would be stronger in men, and the effect for helping would be stronger in women. Participants ( N = 100) were rejected or accepted by a same- or opposite-sex person, and later aggression and helping were measured using the tangram Help-Hurt task. The major finding was that same-sex rejection resulted in more aggression and less helping than opposite-sex rejection, but the rejectee's sex did not moderate the effect. Instead, men were more aggressive and less helping independently of condition. Along with the sexual exchange theory, more negative behavior in same-sex rejection could be interpreted as raised in-group sexual competitive tendencies, whereas less negative behavior in opposite-sex rejection could result from the motivation to exchange resources between men and women.

The Impact of Competitiveness on Consumer Responses to Comparative Advertisements

We examine the impact of consumers' competitive tendencies on responses to comparative advertising appeals and the underlying role of schadenfreude: pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. Consistent with our theory that the depiction of others' misfortunes is compatible with more-competitive consumers' concerns for distinguishing themselves via competition, our studies show that comparative ads are associated with greater schadenfreude, as well as more favorable attitudes and a greater willingness to pay (WTP), among more- (versus less-) competitive consumers. Further results indicate that such relatively more favorable responses among consumers with greater competitive tendencies are limited to comparative ads depicting misfortunes involving brands whose choice is more deserving of failure (i.e., lower-quality brands). Importantly, even less-competitive consumers are revealed to respond favorably to comparative ads and to experience more schadenfreude when they are assured that they will not suffer the depicted misfortune.

Dynamical phase diagrams of a love capacity constrained prey\u2013predator model

One interesting question in love relationships is: finally, what and when is the end of this love relationship? Using a prey–predator Verhulst–Lotka–Volterra (VLV) model we imply cooperation and competition tendency between people in order to describe a “love dilemma game”. We select the most simple but immediately most complex case for studying the set of nonlinear differential equations, i.e. that implying three persons, being at the same time prey and predator. We describe four different scenarios in such a love game containing either a one-way love or a love triangle. Our results show that it is hard to love more than one person simultaneously. Moreover, to love several people simultaneously is an unstable state. We find some condition in which persons tend to have a friendly relationship and love someone in spite of their antagonistic interaction. We demonstrate the dynamics by displaying flow diagrams.

Constraints representing a meta-stable régime facilitate exploration during practice and transfer of learning in a complex multi-articular task

Previous investigations have shown that inducing meta-stability in behavior can be achieved by overlapping affordances through constraint manipulation, allowing cooperative and competitive tendencies to functionally coexist. The purpose of this paper was to test a number of conditions applying these design principles on performance during skills practice and transfer. Of additional interest, was whether the existing skill level interacted with the environmental properties of the experimental tasks (varying indoor climbing routes). Two skill groups practised on three routes per session over four separate sessions. At the end of the final session, climbers undertook a transfer test. Routes, matched for difficulty, were manipulated in terms of hand-hold design. Route-1 and Route-2 were designed with holds with a single graspable edge, aligned entirely parallel or perpendicular to the ground plane respectively. Route-3 had at each hold, two graspable edges (one parallel and one perpendicular to the ground plane). Behavioral exploration at the hip and hands were largest under the metastable condition (Route-3). Skill level also interacted with route properties during practice and influenced transfer. Data suggest meta-stability induces exploratory behaviors. Less skilled individuals explore both hand and hip levels, whereas, more experienced climbers explore at the hip level.

Support for Ethical Consumerism and Welfare States in the Global Economy: Complements or Substitutes?

AbstractThis paper explores attitudes about alternative paths to promoting labor and social standards in the global political economy: public welfare states protecting workers and social standards through policy and regulation, versus private ‘red consumerism’ protecting standards through consumer buying‐power and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Scholarly debate has emerged over whether these public and private realms reinforce or undermine one another, but has lacked empirical traction to systematically judge such relationships. This paper provides such traction by analyzing European public opinion towards welfare redistribution and towards using consumer power to protect labor and social standards. It matches public opinion data on attitudes towards such issues to measures of existing public and private social protection. The analysis of public opinion suggests that red consumerism is more popular in settings with already‐generous public protection, including strong social‐policy programs and labor regulation. But the tendency of trade competition and other economic risks to spur a citizen's support for welfare‐state redistribution is diminished where CSR activity and ethical consumerism have stronger footholds. While ‘red’ ethical consumerism and CSR activities may be facilitated by generous existing social policies, they might well erode citizen support for those policies.

Bryozoan diversity around the Falkland and South Georgia Islands: Overcoming Antarctic barriers

There are a number of remote archipelagos distributed between 45 and 60 °S. The biota of these islands provide useful information to describe and understand patterns in biodiversity and biogeography as well as potential impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems. They are in key locations either side of the Polar Front but also have limited influence from human activities. Here we investigate one taxon, bryozoans, on South Atlantic shelf habitats of the Falkland (FI) and the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia (SG). We present new data on spatial distribution in these islands, as well as an analysis of the bryozoological similarities between these and neighbouring regions. A total of 85 species of cheilostome bryozoans (351 samples) were found, belonging to 33 genera, including 18 potentially new genera and 23 new species. Remarkably 65% and 41% of species were reported for the first time at FI and SG, respectively. The highest and the lowest value of species richness and species/genus ratio were found at East (EFI) and West Falkland (WFI), respectively, likely showing a tendency for stronger intrageneric competition. New data from this study were jointly analysed with data from the literature and existing databases, revealing new bathymetric ranges in 32 species. The biogeographic affinities of the bryozoans found give further evidence of the hypothesis of sequential separation of Gondwana and support the changing concept that although the Polar Front acts as a circumpolar biogeographic barrier it is not as impermeable as originally thought. Potential dispersal mechanisms are also discussed.

How chimpanzees cooperate in a competitive world

Our species is routinely depicted as unique in its ability to achieve cooperation, whereas our closest relative, the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), is often characterized as overly competitive. Human cooperation is assisted by the cost attached to competitive tendencies through enforcement mechanisms, such as punishment and partner choice. To examine if chimpanzees possess the same ability to mitigate competition, we set up a cooperative task in the presence of the entire group of 11 adults, which required two or three individuals to pull jointly to receive rewards. This open-group set-up provided ample opportunity for competition (e.g., freeloading, displacements) and aggression. Despite this unique set-up and initial competitiveness, cooperation prevailed in the end, being at least five times as common as competition. The chimpanzees performed 3,565 cooperative acts while using a variety of enforcement mechanisms to overcome competition and freeloading, as measured by (attempted) thefts of rewards. These mechanisms included direct protest by the target, third-party punishment in which dominant individuals intervened against freeloaders, and partner choice. There was a marked difference between freeloading and displacement; freeloading tended to elicit withdrawal and third-party interventions, whereas displacements were met with a higher rate of direct retaliation. Humans have shown similar responses in controlled experiments, suggesting shared mechanisms across the primates to mitigate competition for the sake of cooperation.

Enlarging the market yet decreasing the profit: An experimental study of competitive behavior when investment affects the prize

AbstractIn many competitive situations, our investments increase our gains: Developing better products or research proposals may lead to higher contracts or patents or larger grants. Does increasing investment in such cases always guarantee higher gains? We used an experimental repeated competition game in which prizes depended on contestants’ investments (n=108). Contestants invested more when they increased the potential prize (“enlarge the market”), yet in some cases this tendency was counterproductive (“decrease the profit”): Contestants in fact diminished their earnings, compared to sitting out the competition and keeping their initial funds. Moreover, when a contestant’s investment decreased an opponent’s prize, the contestant tended to invest less; this effect, in turn, led to higher overall gains for both contestants. This result implies that prosocial considerations are at play. Notably, in certain situations, excessive competitive tendencies may lead to a larger waste of resources.

Land‐use history augments environment–plant community relationship strength in a Puerto Rican wet forest

Summary Environmental heterogeneity influences the species composition of tropical forests, with implications for patterns of diversity and species coexistence in these hyperdiverse communities. Many studies have examined how variability in soil nutrients and topography influence plant community composition, with differing results. None have quantified the relative contribution of environmental heterogeneity versus endogenous processes to variability in forest community composition over time and with respect to successional recovery. Using five consecutive trees censuses of a forest plot in Puerto Rico, conducted between 1990 and 2011, we evaluated the influence of edaphic and topographic variability on community composition. The plot has a well‐documented land‐use history and is subject to periodic hurricane disturbance. Using multiple canonical distance‐based redundancy analyses, we studied how spatial heterogeneity in soil nutrients and topography structure community composition over time, as the forest recovers from long‐term land‐use effects and two major hurricanes in 1989 and 1998. For the entire plot, spatial variables (principle coordinates of neighbourhood matrices), representing the autocorrelation of tree species in the community, explained the majority (49–57%) of the variability in tree community composition. The explanatory power of spatial variables decreased over time, as forest structure recovered from hurricane damage and the stems in the understorey died. Soil nutrients and topography, collectively, explained a moderate portion (33–37%) of the species compositional variation and were slightly more robust in explaining compositional differences in areas of more intense past land use. Areas of less‐intense past land use showed weaker community–environmental trends overall, illustrating a tendency for stronger resource competition (i.e. light, water and soil nutrients) between species in these areas. This illustrates how environmental–plant community interactions are strengthened by the lasting effects of human land‐use legacies, which persist for decades to centuries. Synthesis. Our findings confirm past land use to be a fundamental driver of the structure and composition of secondary forests through its impacts on the tree community, the abiotic terrestrial environment and their interaction. Since the extent of second‐growth tropical forests continues to increase, our findings highlight the importance of understanding the processes that determine the rate and nature of their succession.

Análise das tendências competitivas em jovens atletas praticantes de voleibol

Introdução: As tendências em competir, vencer e estabelecer metas pessoais não envolvem apenas treinamento físico, técnico e tático, mas também fatores relacionados à preparação psicossociológica. Objetivo: Analisar o comportamento de jovens atletas de voleibol em relação às tendências competitivas (TQ) individuais em competir, vencer e estabelecer metas e verificar possíveis diferenças entre os sexos. Métodos: A amostra foi composta por 241 atletas de voleibol, com idade média de 15,19±1,59 anos e tempo de prática médio de 3,52±2,22 anos. As TQs foram avaliadas pelo Sistema de Avaliação ACS – 2. Para a análise dos dados, foi utilizado o teste de Mann-Whitney, com significância de 5%. Resultados: Os atletas apresentaram os mesmos valores para a tendência em competir (19,00), porém os meninos relataram maior importância para vencer (9,00 vs 10,00±5,00) e estabelecer metas (8,00±3,00 vs 9,00±4,00). Conclusões: Conforme dados analisados inversamente, os atletas apresentaram comportamento expressivo voltado ao estabelecimento de metas.

ISLAMIC POLITICS AND POPULAR CULTURE IN MALAYSIA: Negotiating normative change between shariah law and electric guitars

While numerous studies on Islamic political movements are concerned with their engagement in party coalitions and the state, surprisingly few scholars have investigated the cultural life of Islamist groups. This article explores how the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) is currently undergoing dramatic cultural changes and has developed an unprecedented flexibility in the field of modern popular culture. It elucidates how PAS has shifted from a group that long held the image of conservative zealots who try to ban any form of art and entertainment towards being a pioneer of pop-cultural creativity, as popular music, celebrity persons, and even motorbikes have been passionately integrated into its ‘Islamic struggle’. PAS' cultural transformation has not only been influenced by political competition and wider social tendencies, but also by the emergence of a new generation of cultural reformists within the party. Their call for change is driven by tactical considerations and reconsiders theological positions that stipulate that modern music is strictly forbidden in Islam. Electric guitars have thereby been re-conceptualised from ‘instruments of the devil’ to tools for missionary work (dakwah). The underlying process of normative change, however, continues to be highly controversial in the community of Malaysia's Islamist opposition.