It is known from various studies that the choice of the drinkware could deeply affect consumer perception during beverage consumption. In our previous study we have demonstrated that there are a lot of differences in the ratings of taste, palatability bitterness and saturation were noted depending on the type of vessel in which beer was served. This study continues our previous research and expands it even further. In this study we test four different types of beer – each one with a different essence content. This is to determine whether glassware type affects customer experience from drinking each type of beer. Four types of beer purchased from different producers were used for the research. Beer samples for evaluation were served in beer mugs with a classic design and solid construction, tall glasses (wheatbeerglasses) with a characteristic elongated shape, and beer goblets (also called tulip glass), distinguished by a short stem and a very large bowl that tapers towards the top. The experimental results showed how the characteristics of a glass could affect beverage bouquet and flavour, and suggest that their rational optimization, based on experimental data, could enhance the consumer enjoyment of it. Taking into account the above studies, certain conclusions can be drawn regarding the research we conducted. Light beer with an essence content 12% served in a tulip glass has been assessed worse in every single tested trait. Odour, taste, saturation, palatability, bitterness and general quality index (GQI) have been perceived worst when the beer was served in tulip glass. It seems that tulip glass is particularly unsuitable for this type of beer. Moreover, sustainability considerations are becoming increasingly relevant in this context. Understanding the interactions between the drink and its container may foster more deliberate and responsible purchasing behavior. The above-mentioned factors also affect the consumer experience that can be created by combining a drink with the right glass.
Judith María Mendívil Gastélum, Héctor Hugo Pérez Villarreal
La presente investigación exploratoria identifica los factores que impulsan la adopción del boca a boca electrónico (eWOM) entre estudiantes universitarios y examina su relación con el amor por la marca, enfatizando cómo este vínculo emocional influye en la aceptación de reseñas en línea dentro de las redes sociales. Se aplicó un cuestionario dirigido a usuarios de Facebook para la recolección de datos, y el conjunto de datos fue analizado mediante un enfoque de modelos de ecuaciones estructurales (PLS-SEM), basado en el Modelo de Aceptación de la Información (IACM). Los hallazgos revelan que el amor por la marca desempeña un papel mediador fundamental en la relación entre la confianza en la marca y la adopción del eWOM, así como en la intención de cocreación. Los resultados indican que el apego emocional hacia la marca canaliza la confianza hacia acciones concretas de difusión y cocreación en las redes sociales. El estudio recomienda que las instituciones desarrollen campañas de marketing que fortalezcan el bienestar social y fomenten comportamientos socialmente responsables, integrando estrategias que promuevan la adopción del eWOM entre los estudiantes universitarios.
This study introduces a novel framework for estimating industrial heterogeneity by integrating maximum entropy (ME) estimation of production functions with Zonotope-based measures. Traditional production function estimations often rely on restrictive parametric models, failing to capture firm behavior under uncertainty. This research addresses these limitations by applying Hang K. Ryu's ME method to estimate production functions using World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) data from Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, and India. The study normalizes entropy values to quantify heterogeneity and compares these measures with a Zonotope-based Gini index. Results demonstrate the ME method's superiority in capturing nuanced, functional heterogeneity often missed by traditional techniques. Furthermore, the study incorporates a "Tangent Against Input Axes" method to dynamically assess technical change within industries. By integrating information theory with production economics, this unified framework quantifies structural and functional differences across industries using firm-level data, advancing both methodological and empirical understanding of heterogeneity. A numerical simulation confirms the ME regression functions can approximate actual industrial heterogeneity. The research also highlights the superior ability of the ME method to provide a precise and economically meaningful measure of industry heterogeneity, particularly for longitudinal analyses.
Chip-firing is a combinatorial game played on a graph, in which chips are placed and dispersed on the vertices until a stable configuration is achieved. We study a chip-firing variant on an infinite, rooted directed $k$-ary tree, where we place $k^n$ chips labeled $1,2,3,\dots, k^n$ on the root for some nonnegative integer $n$. A vertex $v$ can fire if it has at least $k$ chips; when it fires, $k$ chips are selected, and the chip with the $i$th smallest label is sent to the $i$th leftmost child of $v$. A stable configuration is reached when no vertices can fire. In this paper, we prove numerous properties of the stable configuration, such as that chips land on vertices in ranges and the lengths of those ranges. We also describe where each chip can land. This helps us describe possible stable configurations of the game.
Recognition of individual contributions is fundamental to the scientific reward system, yet coauthored papers obscure who did what. Traditional proxies-author order and career stage-reinforce biases, while contribution statements remain self-reported and limited to select journals. We construct the first large-scale dataset on writing contributions by analyzing author-specific macros in LaTeX files from 1.6 million papers (1991-2023) by 2 million scientists. Validation against self-reported statements (precision = 0.87), author order patterns, field-specific norms, and Overleaf records (Spearman's rho = 0.6, p < 0.05) confirms the reliability of the created data. Using explicit section information, we reveal a hidden division of labor within scientific teams: some authors primarily contribute to conceptual sections (e.g., Introduction and Discussion), while others focus on technical sections (e.g., Methods and Experiments). These findings provide the first large-scale evidence of implicit labor division in scientific teams, challenging conventional authorship practices and informing institutional policies on credit allocation.
The recognition of individual contributions is central to the scientific reward system, yet coauthored papers often obscure who did what. Traditional proxies like author order assume a simplistic decline in contribution, while emerging practices such as self-reported roles are biased and limited in scope. We introduce a large-scale, behavior-based approach to identifying individual contributions in scientific papers. Using author-specific LaTeX macros as writing signatures, we analyze over 730,000 arXiv papers (1991-2023), covering over half a million scientists. Validated against self-reports, author order, disciplinary norms, and Overleaf records, our method reliably infers author-level writing activity. Section-level traces reveal a hidden division of labor: first authors focus on technical sections (e.g., Methods, Results), while last authors primarily contribute to conceptual sections (e.g., Introduction, Discussion). Our findings offer empirical evidence of labor specialization at scale and new tools to improve credit allocation in collaborative research.
David Wichner, Jeffrey Wishart, Jason Sergent
et al.
Safety Management Systems (SMSs) have been used in many safety-critical industries and are now being developed and deployed in the automated driving system (ADS)-equipped vehicle (AV) sector. Industries with decades of SMS deployment have established frameworks tailored to their specific context. Several frameworks for an AV industry SMS have been proposed or are currently under development. These frameworks borrow heavily from the aviation industry although the AV and aviation industries differ in many significant ways. In this context, there is a need to review the approach to develop an SMS that is tailored to the AV industry, building on generalized lessons learned from other safety-sensitive industries. A harmonized AV-industry SMS framework would establish a single set of SMS practices to address management of broad safety risks in an integrated manner and advance the establishment of a more mature regulatory framework. This paper outlines a proposed SMS framework for the AV industry based on robust taxonomy development and validation criteria and provides rationale for such an approach. Keywords: Safety Management System (SMS), Automated Driving System (ADS), ADS-Equipped Vehicle, Autonomous Vehicles (AV)
Active labor market policies are widely used by the Swiss government, enrolling over half of all unemployed individuals. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of Swiss programs in improving employment and earnings outcomes using causal machine learning and rich administrative data on unemployed individuals in 2014 and 2015, including detailed labor market histories and other covariates. The findings for Swiss citizens and immigrants with permanent residency indicate a small positive average effect of a Temporary Wage Subsidy program on employment and earnings in the third year after program start. In contrast, Basic Courses, such as job application training, exhibit negative effects on both outcomes over the same period. No significant impacts are found for Employment Programs conducted outside the regular labor market or for Training Courses such as language or computer classes. The programs are most effective for individuals with a non-EU migration background, while Temporary Wage Subsidies also benefit those with lower educational attainment. Finally, shallow policy trees provide practical guidance for improving the targeting of program assignments.
In day labor markets, workers are particularly vulnerable to wage theft. This paper introduces a principal-agent model to analyze the conditions required to mitigate wage theft through fines and establishes the necessary and sufficient conditions to reduce theft. We find that the fines necessary to eliminate theft are significantly larger than those imposed by current labor laws, making wage theft likely to persist under penalty-based methods alone. Through numerical analysis, we show how wage theft disproportionately affects workers with lower reservation utilities and observe that workers with similar reservation utilities experience comparable impacts, regardless of their skill levels. To address the limitations of penalty-based approaches, we extend the model to a dynamic game incorporating worker awareness. We prove that wage theft can be fully eliminated if workers accurately predict theft using historical data and employers follow optimal fixed wage strategy. Additionally, sharing wage theft information becomes an effective long-term solution when employers use any given fixed wage strategies, emphasizing the importance of raising worker awareness through various channels.
Fabian Hebestreit, Markus Land, Michael Weiss
et al.
We construct a Poincaré complex whose periodic total surgery obstruction vanishes but whose Spivak normal fibration does not admit a reduction to a stable euclidean bundle. This contradicts the conjunction of two claims in the literature: Namely, on the one hand that a Poincaré complex with vanishing periodic total surgery obstruction is homotopy equivalent to a homology manifold, which appears in work of Bryant--Ferry--Mio--Weinberger, and on the other that the Spivak normal fibration of a homology manifold always admits a reduction to a stable euclidean bundle, which appears in work of Ferry--Pedersen.
The rapid evolution of software development necessitates enhanced safety measures. Extracting information about software failures from companies is becoming increasingly more available through news articles. This research utilizes the Failure Analysis Investigation with LLMs (FAIL) model to extract industry-specific information. Although the FAIL model's database is rich in information, it could benefit from further categorization and industry-specific insights to further assist software engineers. In previous work news articles were collected from reputable sources and categorized by incidents inside a database. Prompt engineering and Large Language Models (LLMs) were then applied to extract relevant information regarding the software failure. This research extends these methods by categorizing articles into specific domains and types of software failures. The results are visually represented through graphs. The analysis shows that throughout the database some software failures occur significantly more often in specific industries. This categorization provides a valuable resource for software engineers and companies to identify and address common failures. This research highlights the synergy between software engineering and Large Language Models (LLMs) to automate and enhance the analysis of software failures. By transforming data from the database into an industry specific model, we provide a valuable resource that can be used to identify common vulnerabilities, predict potential risks, and implement proactive measures for preventing software failures. Leveraging the power of the current FAIL database and data visualization, we aim to provide an avenue for safer and more secure software in the future.
Andrea Seňová, Katarína Čulková, Marcela Taušová
et al.
Growth becomes one of the factors influencing a business's ability to obtain financial sources. Anyway, many SMEs still need help finding out finances for their business. The contribution deals with business financing in Slovakia, intending to find out what financing possibilities are not used and to offer a solution for the problematic financing. The paper aims to answer three research questions in business financing from the view of classical and modern financing, from the perspective of territorial structure and from the standpoint of the business's legal form. To find out the actual situation in business financing in Slovakia (selected as a representative of one of V4 countries having similar development), we used questionnaire research from talking companies from different sectors and legal forms of business. Consequent data was obtained from the official database of financial reports in Slovakia. The questionnaire results are used for cluster analysis with the Ward method. The research, orientated to financial source use, proved that internal sources present the most significant rate of business activities financing. The results suggested how to increase the effectiveness of business financing by considering modern financing forms.
Thiago José Arruda de Oliveira, Stefan Hubertus Dorner, Rodrigo Estevam Munhoz de Almeida
Em vista dos confrontos armados na Ucrânia e as suas consequências negativas para o agronegócio brasileiro, analisou-se o seu nível de dependência com os fertilizantes importados. Justificou-se o estudo devido à elevação nos custos de produção agrícola e às limitações internas no fornecimento de insumos a montante. Para tanto, empregaram-se dados secundários oficiais e análises gráficas e econométricas que identificaram quais os elementos com maior nível de prioridade para os plantadores de soja e milho do Brasil. Os resultados apontaram que todos os componentes da formulação NPK (nitrogenados, fosfatados e potássios) importados se correlacionam com a produção e produtividade dos grãos em estudo. Nesse contexto, destacou-se a ureia, da qual a Petrobras era um dos fornecedores até 2015. Portanto, a mitigação da subordinação estrangeira no agronegócio brasileiro, passa, a princípio, pela reformulação do setor petroquímico nacional.
Abstract: Recent armed conflicts in Ukraine have caused negative effects on Brazilian agribusiness. Fertilizer supply has been strongly dependent on imported products, focus of this research. Increased costs of national food production due to shortage of national fertilizer production were the main motives for this paper. Data was obtained by governmental institutions and submitted to visual and econometric analysis. It was intended to identify which fertilizer inputs have been crucial for soy and maize producers in Brazil. The results suggested that all elements of NPK (nitrogenous, phosphate, and potassium) were correlated to production and profitability. Furthermore, urea is a core input which Petrobras produced until 2015. In conclusion, the mitigation of external dependence on Brazilian agribusiness requires a reframing of national petrochemical industry.
Dilcy Morgana Barros Maciel Cabral Davino, Ianara Acioli de Freitas Melo, Samara Almeida de Souza Griz
et al.
Introdução: A automedicação, prática rotineira vivenciada por grande parte da população, consiste no consumo de um determinado medicamento sem prescrição médica, para aliviar os sintomas e tratar doenças. Quando praticada corretamente, a automedicação pode também contribuir para aliviar financeiramente os sistemas de saúde pública. Porém, o uso indiscriminado dos medicamentos, pode acarretar resultados indesejáveis. A informação adquirida sobre o uso de medicamentos proporciona maior confiança para a prática entre os estudantes universitários, em especial, os da área da saúde. No Brasil, mais pesquisas e ações precisam ser realizadas, pois há deficiência de dados úteis para combater a automedicação irresponsável, estimulando o uso racional de medic amentos conforme recomendado pela OMS. Objetivo: Avaliar o perfil de consumo de medicamentos por graduandos do curso de farmácia, além de esclarecer e conscientizar os futuros profissionais farmacêuticos sobre automedicação, pois serão os principais responsáveis por orientar a população sobre os riscos dessa prática. Método: Foi realizado um estudo transversal de caráter descritivo com abordagem quantitativa, com acadêmicos matriculados no 1o semestre de 2018 em todos os períodos do curso de farmácia de uma instituição de ensino superior, no município de Maceió-AL. Os dados foram coletados, após a aprovação do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa (CEP) divulgada através do Parecer Consubstanciado (número: 2.436.431), através da aplicação de um questionário semi-estruturado e assinatura do Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido (TCLE) pelos alunos concordaram em participar da pesquisa. Resultados: O estudo contou com amostra de 225 graduandos, sendo 74,2% do sexo feminino, prevalecendo a faixa etária de 21 a 30 anos e o estado civil solteiro. Apesar de 88,4% relatar ter conhecimento sobre a automedicação, os resultados indicaram a prática por parte dos discentes, pois 68,4% informou se automedicar, 58,2% adquirem medicamentos sem receita, 86,2% estocam medicamentos em casa, as principais classes consumidas são os analgésicos, na forma farmacêutica de comprimidos e o principal motivo foi para dores em geral, tanto para automedicação como de uso contínuo. Quanto à influência no uso de medicamentos, 56,0% consultam o farmacêutico, 32,9% receberam indicações por parte de familiares, amigos ou vizinhos e 53,3% as propagandas de medicamentos chamam atenção para compra, principalmente por TV/Rádio. Quando analisada a mudança de no perfil de consumo dos graduandos, notou-se que 72,30% mudou seu comportamento, e destes, 84,4% reduziram o consumo de medicamentos. Conclusão: Felizmente, foi verificado que existe uma mudança positiva no comportamento de consumo com redução em todos os períodos, provavelmente relacionada ao conhecimento adquirido durante a graduação, tendo consciência dos danos que a automedicação inconsciente pode causar à saúde.
Pharmacy and materia medica, Pharmaceutical industry
We reveal a relation between the behaviour of localizing invariants $E$ on pushouts and on pullbacks of ring spectra. More concretely, we show that the failure of $E$ sending a pushout of ring spectra to a pushout is controlled by the value of $E$ on a pullback of ring spectra. Vice versa, in many situations, we show that the failure $E$ of sending a pullback square to a pullback is controlled by the value of $E$ on a pushout of ring spectra. The latter can be interpreted as identifying the $\odot$-ring, introduced in earlier work of ours, as a pushout which turns out to be explicitly computable in many cases. This opens up new possibilities for direct computations. As further applications, we give new proofs of (generalizations) of Waldhausen's seminal results on the $K$-theory of generalized free products and obtain a general relation between the value of a localizing invariant on trivial square zero extensions and on tensor algebras.
This is a survey article with the goal to advertise spectrum valued versions of $K$- and $KK$- theory for $C^{*}$-algebras via a (stable and symmetric monoidal) $\infty$-categorical enhancement of Kasparov's classical $KK$-theory. The main purpose is to present, in the simplest case, homotopy theoretic arguments for classical results on operator $K$-theory, including Swan's theorems, Künneth and universal coefficient formulas, the bootstrap class, variations of Karoubi's conjecture, and spectra of units for strongly self-absorbing $C^*$-algebras, as well as some new aspects on twisted $K$-theory and coherent multiplicative structures on $C^*$-algebras, viewed as objects in the previously mentioned $\infty$-category.
This paper provides theoretical foundations for the existence of national social innovations systems (NSIS) and presents such a system with empirical data. Departing from the activities in France of Ashoka, a large and old service organization, which we label as knowledge-intensive social service (KISS), we build a large and robust social innovation network in France and argue that it represents a credible approximation of the country’s NSIS. On this basis, we find differences within the national innovation system (NIS). Indeed, the core of the NSIS involves very few actors emanating from manufacturing or technology-intensive industries, and the coordination between actors seems more bottom-up than in the NIS.