Are impatient farmers more risk-averse? Evidence from a lab-in-the-field experiment in rural Uganda

Based on data from a field-experiment in rural Uganda, we show that impatient farmers are more risk-averse than patient farmers. We relied on a simplified version of the Convex Time Budget (CTB) method to elicit farmers’ time preferences and on an independent method for eliciting their risk-preferences. We report two important findings. First, we show that our simplified CTB method applied to farmers from Uganda replicates the key findings of Andreoni and Sprenger’s lab experiments that involved student subjects. Second, we establish the existence of a negative correlation between risk tolerance and impatience, based on two independent measures.     

Sustaining cooperation in social dilemmas: Comparison of centralized punishment institutions

This study investigates two centralized punishment institutions for a linear public goods game. These institutions require a certain contribution level and sanction under-contributing players. The two differ in who, among those who do not meet this requirement, receive sanctions. In one institution, all violators are sanctioned, and in the other, only the worst violator(s) is sanctioned. Theoretically, the public goods game of the latter institution yields contributions equal to or greater than that of the former institution with the same requirement and sanction level. The results of an experiment support this theoretical prediction. However, there is a discrepancy between the theory and laboratory observations in that the institution with the theoretically optimal requirement did not yield the highest profit.     

Which accessible travel products are people with disabilities willing to pay more? A choice experiment

Despite the rapidly increasing number of tourists with disabilities, which is known to have a strong nexus with senior travel market, tourism industry has paid little attention to the distinctive preferences of these tourists for accessible travel products. Using a sample of Koreans with mobility disabilities, this study aims to better understand how they make decisions to choose optimal accessible travel products. The results of the choice experiment indicate that respondents place the heaviest weight on the accessibility of accommodation facilities for their maximization of travel satisfaction. The results also suggest that tourists with disabilities show higher willingness-to-pay values on particular tour buses equipped with more accessibility devices. Based on study findings, this study provides several management implications that help tourism professionals develop appropriate accessible travel products for their clientele with disabilities.     

Valuation of ecosystem services provided by irrigated rice agriculture in Thailand: a choice experiment considering attribute nonattendance

This research investigates how the public of a middle‐income country, Thailand, values ecosystem services associated with irrigated rice agriculture using a choice experiment. The results show a significant willingness to pay for services such as drought mitigation, water quality and the environment and maintenance of rural lifestyles and rice landscapes. The iterative procedure developed to fully analyze the incidence of attribute nonattendance (ANA) improved the model fit when compared with a multinomial logit model or an ANA model with potentially only one attribute ignored at a time (ANA‐1). Moreover, the inferred probability of the class of respondents having attended all attributes was 45%, compared to 9% with ANA‐1 model. However, it also suggests that 55% of the respondents made their choices by considering only two of the five attributes. Finally, this research also suggests that failing to consider ANA does not change the public ranking of scenarios contrasted by the services they would provide but would overestimate the WTP for these scenarios.     

Vision (im)possible? The effects of in-store signage on customers’ visual attention

We used two eye-tracking field experiments to investigate the extent to which in-store signage is used during navigation and decision making, and how the viewing of signage influences customers’ visual attention and choice behavior. One hundred and seventy-five customers at a grocery store were exposed to signage stimuli while carrying out predefined shopping tasks. Experiment 1 shows that attention toward signage is affected by customers’ levels of store familiarity and in-store search stage (navigation vs. decision making). Experiment 2 demonstrates that signage has a considerable impact on the direction and magnitude of customers’ visual attention during decision making.     

A field experiment investigating age discrimination in four European labour markets

In a field experiment investigating age discrimination, pairs of men, aged 27 and 47, inquired about employment as waiters in towns across England, France, Germany and Spain. Statistically significant discrimination against the older waiter was found in all four countries, but it was considerably higher in France and Spain than in England and Germany.     

路基稳定性数值分析

本文通过对常见的路基稳定性分析案例进行强度折减法的数值分析,为进一步研究这一方法在路基稳定性分析中的应用奠定基础。     

Erratic strategic decisions: when and why managers are inconsistent in strategic decision making

While decision makers in organizations frequently make good decisions rooted in stable and consistent preferences, such consistency in outcomes is not always the case. In this study, we adopt a psychological perspective of judgment to investigate managers' erratic strategic decisions, which we define as a manager's inconsistent judgments that can shape the direction of the firm. In a study of 2,048 decisions made by 64 CEOs of technology firms, we examine how both metacognitive experience and perceptions of the external environment (hostility and dynamism) could affect the extent to which managers make erratic strategic decisions. The results indicate that managers with greater metacognitive experience make less erratic strategic decisions. The results also indicate that in hostile environments managers make more erratic strategic decisions. But contrary to our expectations, in dynamic environments managers make less erratic strategic decisions. Similarly, hostility and dynamism interact in their effect on erratic strategic decisions in that the positive relationship between environmental hostility and erratic strategic decisions will be less positive for managers experiencing high environmental dynamism than those experiencing low environmental dynamism. These results have important implications for strategic decision‐making research. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

大空间飞机修理厂房分层空调的可行性分析

本文以某大空间飞机修理厂房为研究对象,采用Airpak软件对其原始分层空调设计方案气流组织进行模拟,并对方案可行性进行评价。