Could farmer interest in a diversity of seed attributes explain adoption plateaus for modern maize varieties in Malawi?

This study uses new data from a household survey (n = 179) in Mulanje District, Malawi to examine whether the observed adoption plateaus for modern maize varieties in Malawi partly reflect farmer interest in a diversity of maize seed attributes. Regression results for the study area indicate that specific attributes of different maize varieties are an important influence on their use. The benefits to growing hybrid maize appear to be yield and drought tolerance. Open pollinated varieties are selected by farmers who value early maturity. Local maize varieties are popular among farm households owing to a number of favourable processing and consumption characteristics: storability, poundability, flour-to-grain ratio, and taste. Further research using nationally representative data is needed to assess whether findings for Mulanje District can be generalized to Malawi as a whole. If future studies agree with the results herein then maize breeding research programs in Malawi should consider a diversity of traits beyond grain yield to encompass the range of production, processing, and consumption attributes that are valued by farmers.     

Econometric measures of connectedness and systemic risk in the finance and insurance sectors

We propose several econometric measures of connectedness based on principal-components analysis and Granger-causality networks, and apply them to the monthly returns of hedge funds, banks, broker/dealers, and insurance companies. We find that all four sectors have become highly interrelated over the past decade, likely increasing the level of systemic risk in the finance and insurance industries through a complex and time-varying network of relationships. These measures can also identify and quantify financial crisis periods, and seem to contain predictive power in out-of-sample tests. Our results show an asymmetry in the degree of connectedness among the four sectors, with banks playing a much more important role in transmitting shocks than other financial institutions.     

让一线管理者成为真正的领导

在那些做得最好的企业里,一线管理人员将60％～70％的时间花在工作现场．其中,有许多时间用在高质量的个人辅导上。这些企业还放权给管理人员,让他们制定决策、相机行事     

Do dark pools amplify volatility in times of stress?

In this article, we explore the relationship between trading on dark pools and equity volatility in the context of the recent concerns about increase in frequency of market shocks combined with changes in market microstructure. In order to understand the potential role of dark pools in times of stress and implications for financial stability, it is essential to investigate the relationship between investor trading preferences and market volatility. For our analysis, we use data on daily trading volumes of FTSE100 stocks on dark and lit order books. We find evidence that dark pool trading has explanatory power in predicting volatility, implying that dark pools may affect the dynamics of price formation through liquidity. Our findings suggest that increased use of dark pools does not increase volatility, but may in fact lower it. Thus, dark pools may not be significantly detrimental to market stability in times of stress. This highlights the need for further analysis of the effects that shifting financial market structure might have on financial stability.     

Energy Saving and Carbon Reduction Behaviors in Tourism – A Perception Study of Asian Visitors from a Protection Motivation Theory Perspective

Many researchers suggest that global warming and the effect of greenhouse gases pose environmental threat worldwide, not to mention a threat to the sustainable development of the tourism industry. For tourism, social and behavioral changes and tourist management and education are important for energy saving and carbon reduction (ESCR). The purpose of this research is to explore tourists' ESCR behavior and its influent factors. The research framework is based on the protection motivation theory to investigate ESCR behavior in the tourism, restaurant and hotel industries. It used the survey method on 512 foreign tourists in Taiwan to discuss the environmental protection behavior. Through the linear regression analysis, obvious differences between tourists' ESCR behavior intention and actual behavior are found. A suggestion for tourism environmental education is provided according to the study result.     

Interconnections Between Eurozone and US Booms and Busts Using a Bayesian Panel Markov‐Switching VAR Model

The proposed panel Markov‐switching VAR model accommodates changes in low and high data frequencies and incorporates endogenous time‐varying transition matrices of country‐specific Markov chains, allowing for interconnections. An efficient multi‐move sampling algorithm draws time‐varying Markov‐switching chains. Using industrial production growth and credit spread data, several important data features are obtained. Three regimes appear, with slow growth becoming persistent in the eurozone. Turning point analysis indicates the USA leading the eurozone cycle. Amplification effects influence recession probabilities for Eurozone countries. A credit shock results in temporary negative industrial production growth in Germany, Spain and the USA. Core and peripheral countries exist in the eurozone. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Staying in “the works of living”: How older adults employ marketplace resources to age successfully

Despite being a large and rapidly growing consumer population, limited marketing research examines how older adult consumers pursue marketplace well-being in the face of the challenges posed by aging. Using depth interviews and drawing on literatures from both marketing and gerontology, we develop a model that bridges disparate perspectives of older adults in the marketing literature, exploring how older consumers navigate the tensions between successful aging and vulnerability as they seek to maximize their quality of life in the marketplace. From this analysis, we present a more nuanced portrait of how older adults pursue well-being across consumption domains to fulfill their aspirations and maintain their independence, as well as identify ways that marketers and public policymakers can assist in those pursuits.     

Sponsorship portfolio as a brand-image creation strategy

The meanings held by events are sometimes transferable to a brand through sponsorship. The perceived sponsor-property fit affects brand evaluations. This research hypothesizes that in the case of a sponsorship portfolio, the source of image transfer can be composite, and brand image association may depend on the perceived fit between sponsorships. Building on theories of social cognition and categorization, this research proposes two dimensions of fit: sponsorship category relatedness and event personality fit. Two experiments show that categorical relatedness between sponsorships not only leads to the creation of a unified brand personality for the sponsor, but also enhances brand meaning consistency and clarity. Central category-related traits cue a category membership framework that integrates sponsorships in the portfolio. Under conditions of category ambiguity, the impact of event personality fit emerges. Interestingly, the findings suggest that sponsored properties having a “spiky” brand personality (having both high and low performance on dimensions) may communicate most clearly in a portfolio.     

Population Problems of the Countries of Asia

Abstract

This study seeks to explain the variation in U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America and Asia. The analysis focuses on 19 Latin American and Asian countries for the period of 1979–1999. The results show that the variation in the U.S. FDI can largely be attributed to the differences in fundamental economic and social factors such as market size, gross domestic product (GDP) growth, macro-economic stability, the degree of trade openness, and both school enrollment and infrastructure availability. Separating the data into two time periods reveals interesting results about the location decisions for U.S. investors. In addition, the results from the comparison between the two regions show that Latin American countries clearly attract U.S. FDI for different reasons than Asian countries.