Incorporating Price and Replacement Purchases in New Product Diffusion Models for Consumer Durables*

The article presents theoretical and empirical research findings which incorporate price and replacement purchases in new product diffusion models. On the theoretical side, this paper characterizes, qualitatively, optimum pricing policies for new products. Possible entry of rivals is not considered, but repeat sales, cost learning dynamics and discounting of future profit streams are allowed. Theoretical research findings suggest that the inclusion of repeat purchases in the diffusion model significantly changes the derived optimal pricing policy even if replacements were not price dependent. On the empirical side, alternative first purchase and repeat purchase models have been estimated and compared using nonlinear procedures. The diffusion data analyzed is related to nine consumer durables. Empirical research findings suggest that, for the considered product categories, diffusion is basically an imitative process, price can affect first and replacement purchases, and unit production cost is a decreasing function of cumulative first purchases. Managerial implications of the research findings are also discussed.     

Effects of the physical accessibility of maternal health services on their use in rural Haiti

An analysis of data from the 2000 Demographic and Health Survey shows that little use is made of antenatal and delivery-care services in rural Haiti. After adjusting for individual-level factors, poor road conditions significantly reduce the likelihood of timely receipt of antenatal care and of four or more antenatal care visits, while the availability of a health centre within 5 kilometres significantly increases the odds of each outcome. The odds of being attended at delivery by trained medical personnel and of institutional delivery are significantly reduced by mountainous terrain and distance from the nearest hospital, and are increased if a health worker providing antenatal care is present in the neighbourhood. Neighbourhood poverty reduces the likelihood of safe delivery care. The findings suggest that improving the use made of maternal healthcare services would require, among other things, improvement of the availability of services and road conditions, and the reduction of poverty.     

Subjective Measures of Employment Opportunities and Interregional Migration

Abstract. Empirical studies of interregional mobility routinely use regional unemployment differentials to characterize economic incentives to move between regions. In this paper, we present a new regional labour market indicator computed from survey data in which respondents are asked to evaluate local employment opportunities in their resident municipality and surroundings. The subjective measures of satisfaction with local employment opportunities have positive and significant impact on interregional migration flows, also when controlling for traditional measures of regional labour market conditions, including the regional unemployment rate. Contrary to most European studies, we find that regional labour market conditions have a strong effect on interregional migration flows.     

Body image,satisfaction with sexual life,self-esteem,and anxiodepressive symptoms: A comparative study between premenopausal,perimenopausal, and postmenopausal women

Menopause is an important life transition in women, and it is associated with significant physical and psychological changes. This study aimed at examining how the menopausal transition influences body image and satisfaction with sexual life. To this aim, body image dissatisfaction, sexual dissatisfaction, and self-esteem were compared in three groups of women with distinct menopausal status (premenopausal n = 142, perimenopausal n = 66, or postmenopausal n = 149), while controlling for depressive and anxiety symptoms and BMI. Using ANOVA between these three groups, we observed that dissatisfaction with body image was significantly higher in the perimenopausal sample compared with its premenopausal counterpart. In the postmenopausal sample, body image improved, as this group displayed body image scores close to the premenopausal level. In addition, sexual dissatisfaction was significantly increased in the perimenopausal and postmenopausal samples, which is compatible with the concept that higher body appreciation positively predicted sexual function. We conclude that body image dissatisfaction reaches a maximum during the perimenopausal phase, before returning to a level nearly identical between the premenopausal and the postmenopausal phases.     

Being a Foster-to-Adopt Parent: Experiences of (Un)certainty and Their Influence on the Sense of Being the Parent

The Mixed-Bank Program (Quebec, Canada) is based on concurrent planning principles. While the primary goal of this placement is reunification of the child with their birth parents, the low probability of this happening calls for simultaneously planning for an alternative solution, such as adoption. As a result, foster-to-adopt families have to deal with the uncertainty of the adoptability of the child and having no legal status nor control over the situation. In a qualitative study focusing on understanding how foster families from the Mixed-Bank Program develop the sense of being the parent of the child they care for, 25 semi-structured interviews with foster parents from 20 different families were conducted. As part of grounded theory methodology, a typology of profiles according to the level of uncertainty was constructed: (1) experience of certainty, (2) experience of momentary uncertainty, and (3) chronic uncertainty. This article presents these profiles and discusses the following challenges: the willingness to settle for permanence without adoption in all profiles, the link between the level of uncertainty and the assiduity of birth parents to supervised visits with the child, and the lack of power and control over the fulfillment of the goal of having or completing a family.     

Local linear fitting and improved estimation near peaks

The authors look into the problem of estimating regression functions that exhibit jump irregularities in the first derivative. They investigate the behaviour of the bias in the local linear fit and show the superior performance of appropriate one‐sided versions of the local linear fit near such irregularities. They then propose an improved estimation procedure based on data‐driven selection of a conventional or one‐sided local linear fit according to a residual sum of squares type of criterion. The authors provide theoretical results and illustrate the method both on simulated and real‐life data examples. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 37: 453–475; 2009 © 2009 Statistical Society of Canada     

Effects of long-term landscape dynamics and city growth on biodiversity in the Mediterranean: the case study of Montpellier,France

In the Mediterranean, long-term land-use changes have resulted into landscape mosaics composed of very few ancient woodland remnants scattered across extended post-agricultural woodlands. Patches of ancient woodlands are now suffering rapid urban growth that reduces their area and impact their associated biodiversity. Here we use the case study of Montpellier, one of the most dynamic cities in France, to 1) characterize temporal changes in land covers (between 1860 and 2006) in its area, and 2) using two guilds of fungal bioindicators (i.e., polypores and lichens), to compare biodiversity stakes between ancient and secondary Mediterranean woodlands. We used a combination of historical maps, archives, fungal collections and field survey in eight Quercus ilex patches (4 ancient versus 4 recent replicates) to reconstruct landscapes dynamics and assess biodiversity changes. From the 19th to the 21st century, over half (52.4%) of the ancient woodlands within Montpellier were replaced by other land covers, mainly by urban equipment, while secondary patches (16.8% of the total area) were naturally established. Remaining ancient woodlands show multi-layered vegetation made of multi-secular Pinus halepensis dominating a dynamic understorey made of Quercus ilex and various Mediterranean shrubs. Polypores, but not macrolichens, tended to differ in community composition between ancient and recent woodland patches, with the highest diversity found in ancient woodlands. This study highlights that urban woodland patches of contrasted histories harbour distinct biodiversity stakes to be included in urban planning and provide valuable areas to evaluate biodiversity patterns and dynamics.