Measuring the Impact of Increased Product Substitution on Pricing and Capacity Decisions Under Linear Demand Models

We consider two substitutable products and compare two alternative measures of product substitutability for linear demand functions that are commonly used in the literature. While one leads to unrealistically high prices and profits as products become more substitutable, the results obtained using the other measure are in line with intuition. Using the more appropriate measure of product substitutability, we study the optimal investment mix in flexible and dedicated capacities in both monopoly and oligopoly settings. We find that the optimal investment in manufacturing flexibility tends to decrease as the products become closer substitutes; this is because (1) pricing can be used more effectively to balance supply and demand, and (2) the gains obtained by shifting production to the more profitable product are reduced due to increased correlation between the price potentials of the substitutable products. The value of flexibility always increases with demand variability. We also show that, as long as the optimal investments in dedicated capacity for both products are positive, the optimal expected prices and production quantities do not depend on the cost of the flexible capacity. Manufacturing flexibility simply allows the firm to achieve those expected values with lower capacity, while leading to higher expected profits.     

The aesthetic life of artificial flavors

Abstract

Artificiality is usually understood as that which is man-made and is in contraposition to the natural. The term itself is increasingly recognized as a negative pole, while the label of “natural” is exploited as guarantee of healthiness in marketing food campaigns. This article takes issue with the natural/artificial debate by emphasizing the aesthetic side of artificial flavorings – chemical substances designed to alter or enhance the taste of processed foods. Here, I reconsider the conception of artificiality as a poor imitation of nature and instead underline the link between technology and aesthetics, by examining the practice of flavorists. Through ethnographic detail I call for moving the synthetic out of the “inauthentic” and argue that the attempt to mimic natural flavors through synthesis is not only an act of imitation and resemblance (as critics exclusively contend) but can also be thought as an act of representation and interpretation (as my fieldwork illuminates).     

An RKHS framework for functional data analysis

Linear combinations of random variables play a crucial role in multivariate analysis. Two extension of this concept are considered for functional data and shown to coincide using the Loève–Parzen reproducing kernel Hilbert space representation of a stochastic process. This theory is then used to provide an extension of the multivariate concept of canonical correlation. A solution to the regression problem of best linear unbiased prediction is obtained from this abstract canonical correlation formulation. The classical identities of Lawley and Rao that lead to canonical factor analysis are also generalized to the functional data setting. Finally, the relationship between Fisher's linear discriminant analysis and canonical correlation analysis for random vectors is extended to include situations with function-valued random elements. This allows for classification using the canonical Y scores and related distance measures.     

Confidence sets in a linear regression model for interval data

The construction of confidence sets for the parameters of a flexible simple linear regression model for interval-valued random sets is addressed. For that purpose, the asymptotic distribution of the least-squares estimators is analyzed. A simulation study is conducted to investigate the performance of those confidence sets. In particular, the empirical coverages are examined for various interval linear models. The applicability of the procedure is illustrated by means of a real-life case study.     

Infants’ Style of Emotion Regulation with Their Mothers and Fathers: Concordance between Parents and the Contribution of Father–Infant Interaction Quality

The concordance between infants’ emotion regulation styles with different partners has not been consistently analysed nor have the relational correlates of such potential across‐partners similarities. We explored these issues by assessing 10‐month‐olds’ (59.6 percent boys) emotion regulation styles separately with mother and father and by evaluating mother–infant and father–infant interaction quality. The sample consisted of 50 low‐risk families. Two home visits were conducted and similar procedures were adopted for each visit. Parent–infant interaction quality was assessed during daily routines and during free play; both parents independently completed a temperament questionnaire. Infant emotion regulation was assessed in a semi‐structured problem‐solving task: adaptive vs. maladaptive (under and over‐regulation) styles. As predicted, infants’ emotion regulation with their mothers and fathers were related. However, only father–infant interaction quality predicted infants’ emotion regulation concordance: lower interaction quality was associated with maladaptive concordance compared with non‐concordance and higher interaction quality was associated with adaptive concordance compared with non‐concordance. Our results support the claim that by the end of the first year of life, infants use similar emotion regulation styles with mother and father and point to father–infant interaction as an important correlate of emotion regulation across‐parents.     

Altruism, labor supply and redistributive neutrality

This paper presents a model of familial altruism in which labor supply is chosen endogenously. The model is used to address the predictions of Ricardian Equivalence, both theoretical and empirical. It is argued that, to the extent that income variation in the data comes mostly from wage and effort changes, the empirical tests of neutrality are misspecified. Numerical estimates suggest that quantitatively important deviations from neutrality may be at work.     

Facial emotion identification and sexual assault risk detection among college student sexual assault victims and nonvictims

Objective: High rates of sexual victimization among college students necessitate further study of factors associated with sexual assault risk detection. The present study examined how social information processing relates to sexual assault risk detection as a function of sexual assault victimization history. Participants: 225 undergraduates (M_age = 19.12, SD = 1.44; 66% women). Methods: Participants completed an online questionnaire assessing victimization history, an emotion identification task, and a sexual assault risk detection task between June 2013 and May 2014. Results: Emotion identification moderated the association between victimization history and risk detection such that sexual assault survivors with lower emotion identification accuracy also reported the least risk in a sexual assault vignette. Conclusions: Findings suggest that differences in social information processing, specifically recognition of others' emotions, are associated with sexual assault risk detection. College prevention programs could incorporate emotional awareness strategies, particularly for men and women who are sexual assault survivors.     

Characterizing multidimensional inequality measures which fulfil the Pigou–Dalton bundle principle

The Pigou–Dalton bundle dominance introduced by Fleurbaey and Trannoy (Social Choice and Welfare, 2003) captures the basic idea of the Pigou–Dalton transfer principle, demanding that, in the multidimensional context also, “a transfer from a richer person to a poorer one decreases inequality”. However, up to now, this principle has not been incorporated to derive multidimensional inequality measures. The aim of this article is to characterize measures which fulfil this property, and to identify sub-families of indices from a normative approach. The families we derive share their functional forms with others having already been obtained in the literature, the major difference being the restrictions upon the parameters.     

Apoyo social percibido: su efecto protector frente a los acontecimientos vitales estresantes

Resumen

Este estudio examina la relación entre apoyo social percibido, eventos vitales estresantes y depresión en una muestra (N = 74) perteneciente a la comunidad de Aranjuez. Como se hipotetizó, aparecen efectos directos significativos del apoyo social y de los eventos vitales sobre la depresión. Sin embargo no se obtuvieron efectos de interacción significativos, no apoyando nuestros resultados la hipótesis del efecto protector en el caso del apoyo social percibido. Este tipo de apoyo, en vez de simplemente proteger al individuo frente al impacto negativo del estrés, puede ser importante por sí mismo en la reducción de la sintomatologia depresiva.     

SOVA: Design of a Stakeholder Informed Social Media Website for Depressed Adolescents and Their Parents

Two moderated social media websites were designed for increasing likelihood for mental health treatment engagement for depressed adolescents (sova.pitt.edu) and for parents (wisesova.pitt.edu). This article describes iterative stakeholder interviews conducted with adolescents, young adults, parents, advocates, and clinicians and use of human computer interaction techniques to inform major design changes which: (a) underscored the role of online interaction to provide emotional support and information, (b) importance of anonymity, (c) desire to share positive media, and (d) need for frequent moderation. Future studies will examine acceptability and effectiveness of revised websites in helping depressed adolescents and their parents engage with treatment.