Driving down daily step counts: the impact of being driven to school on physical activity and sedentary behavior

This study investigated whether being driven to school was associated with lower weekday and weekend step counts, less active out-of-school leisure pursuits, and more sedentary behavior. Boys aged 10–13 years (n = 384) and girls aged 9–13 years (n = 500) attending 25 Australian primary schools wore a pedometer and completed a travel diary for one week. Parents and children completed surveys capturing leisure activity, screen time, and sociodemographics. Commute distance was objectively measured. Car travel was the most frequent mode of school transportation (boys: 51%, girls: 58%). After adjustment (sociodemographics, commute distance, and school clustering) children who were driven recorded fewer weekday steps than those who walked (girls: –1,393 steps p < .001, boys: –1,569 steps, p = .009) and participated in fewer active leisure activities (girls only: p = .043). There were no differences in weekend steps or screen time. Being driven to and from school is associated with less weekday pedometer-determined physical activity in 9- to 13-year-old elementary-school children. Encouraging children, especially girls, to walk to and from school (even for part of the way for those living further distances) could protect the health and well-being of those children who are insufficiently active.

Grain growth and β-Mg17Al12 intermetallic phase dissolution during heat treatment and its impact on deformation behavior of AZ80 Mg-alloy

Microstructure evolution after solutionizing and ageing treatment of cast AZ80 Mg alloy were investigated using optical and scanning electron microscopy. Effect of these treatments on grain size, β-Mg17Al12 intermetallic phase, mechanical behavior, and flow asymmetry were investigated. The initial continuous network of β-phase found to be reduced after solutionizing. The dissolution of β-phase and simultaneous grain growth are found to be interrelated. Mechanical properties including yield strength, maximum strength (ultimate compressive strength), and maximum strain attainable in compressive found almost twice than the corresponding values obtained in tension. The asymmetry in compressive and tensile properties is found to decrease with grain size at certain solutionizing duration. Particular heat treatment found to offer best combination of tensile compressive flow properties in AZ80 Mg alloy. Aging under certain conditions found to minimize the strength asymmetry. © ASM International.

The impact of employee perceptions of organizational corporate social responsibility practices on job performance and organizational citizenship behavior: evidence from the Chinese private sector

This paper examines the impact of employee perceptions of organizational corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on their job performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Hierarchical regression analysis on two-wave data from 184 supervisor/subordinate dyads from three organizations located in Zhejiang Province, South-East China, revealed that employee perceptions of CSR toward social and non-social stakeholders strongly influenced their OCB. However, employee perceptions of CSR toward employees, customers and government influenced neither their job performance nor OCB.

The impact of franchisor support, brand commitment, brand citizenship behavior, and franchisee experience on franchisee-perceived brand image

Purpose: This study examines the impact of franchisor support, brand commitment, brand citizenship behavior, and franchisee experience on franchisee-perceived brand image (FPBI). Methodology: The hypotheses were tested using survey data from retail franchisees in Australia, structural equation modeling, and bootstrapping regression methods. Findings: The results show that both brand commitment and brand citizenship behavior mediate the effect of franchisor support on FPBI. However, the effect of franchisor support on FPBI via brand commitment is higher for franchisees with less experience compared to their more experienced counterparts. Practical implications: The study provides insights to franchise managers and B2B practitioners on factors that enhance FPBI. Originality/value: Despite the recognized importance of franchise brands, limited research examines how leveraging the franchise brand can improve franchisee performance. To address this gap, this study examines the effects of franchisor support on FPBI via brand commitment and brand citizenship behavior moderated by franchisee experience.

The impact of participative leadership on job performance and organizational citizenship behavior: distinguishing between the mediating effects of affective and cognitive trust

This study examines the mediating effects of cognitive trust and affective trust on the relationship between supervisors' participative leadership behavior and subordinate work outcomes, using data obtained from 247 dyads in a manufacturing organization located in mainland China. Structural equation modeling revealed that while affective trust fully mediated the relationships between participative leadership of supervisor and subordinate job performance and organizational citizenship behavior, cognitive trust had non-significant effects. These findings underscore the importance of interpersonal interactions between the supervisor and subordinate for engendering subordinate work outcomes. They also lend support to the exchange (relationship)-based explanation as to how trust enhances the response of subordinates to the participative leadership behavior of their immediate supervisor, given that affective trust involves a process of social exchange between both parties over an extended period of time. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis.

The impact of past hyperinflation on current household investment behavior

Neste estudo é proposto que a instabilidade macroeconômica extrema causada pela hiperinflação nas décadas de 80 e 90 no Brasil causou um efeito de longo prazo no comportamento de poupança dos indivíduos. Usando dados da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílio (PNAD) de 2009 e 2011 e um questionário complementar, encontramos três evidências significantes: (1) indivíduos que possuem memória do período de hiperinflação no Brasil tem uma menor probabilidade de participar do mercado de ações; (2) há uma forte evidência que pessoas que estavam em idade formativa durante a hiperinflação são menos dispostos de possuir algum tipo de instrumento financeiro do que pessoas que tiveram a experiência desse choque macroeconômico em outros períodos de suas vidas; (3) mulheres solteiras são muito mais prováveis de ter uma poupança financeira que homens solteiros.

The impact of price expectations on consumer's behavior in frequently purchased goods markets: empirical evidence and implications

Este trabalho investiga como os padrões de compras de consumidores de bens estocáveis são afetados por suas expectativas de preços. Usando um modelo dinâmico padrão de maximização da utilidade, deriva-se uma expressão analítica para as compras dos consumidores como uma função das suas expectativas em relação aos preços futuros. Em seguida, uma versão mais tratável do modelo é construída, de forma a ilustrar graficamente como os diferentes tipos de expectativas de preços implicam diferentes padrões de compras dos consumidores. Além disso, na aplicação empírica, investigo qual o modelo de expectativas de preços, entre aqueles comumente utilizados na literatura, é consistente com os dados. Por fim, encontra-se suficiente heterogeneidade em expectativa de preços dos consumidores. Mostra-se que famílias de pequeno porte acreditam que os preços seguem um processo de Markov de primeira ordem, enquanto famílias de alta renda são racionais.

Do virtual platforms impact user behavior? An experimental comparison between messages on the company's website and Facebook page.

Companies have looked for many new ways to communicate with their customers. In the current scenario, Facebook has proven to be an efficient communication tool between consumers and businesses. This study aims to understand the differences in the complaint messages sent to companies, through an experiment that measured the emotional tone and the lack of formality in each message received by the website and the Facebook page of the company. As expected, people are more informal on Facebook. However, contrary to our intuition, participants tended to display more emotions on the company website. The social norms theory and the impression management contributed to explain the phenomena found.

The impact of corporate social responsibility on the Peruvian consumer’s purchasing behavior

This exploratory research aims to find out the extent to which Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) impacts the purchasing behavior of Peruvian consumers when it comes to convenience food products. The study includes qualitative and quantitative analysis. Qualitative analysis consists of in-depth interviews with CSR representatives from consumer product companies, CSR practitioners and some consumers from the quantitative sample. That group’s composition was selected in order to obtain a wide picture of the consumers’ perception towards CSR, including their understanding of the concept and the relevance in their decision making process when buying convenience food products. The quantitative analysis portion consists of an on-line survey focused on Peruvian consumers who live in Lima during the year 2015. Consumers included in the sample were selected by convenience. After analyzing the 134 completed surveys, the results obtained suggest that even though there is an increasing interest in CSR, including CSR as an attribute of the purchased goods, interest is not fully demonstrated by the purchasing behavior of consumers. The main breach leading to this inconsistency appears to be the lack of or failure in the companies’ CSR communication towards consumers. Consumers demand reliable information which socially responsible companies usually provide; however at this stage, the target audiences of such information are mostly corporations and communities surrounding the manufacturing plants of convenience food products.

The impact of social security reform on occupational and retirement behavior : a quantitative assessment for Brazil

Population ageing is a problem that countries will have to cope with within a few years. How would changes in the social security system affect individual behaviour? We develop a multi-sectoral life-cycle model with both retirement and occupational choices to evaluate what are the macroeconomic impacts of social security reforms. We calibrate the model to match 2011 Brazilian economy and perform a counterfactual exercise of the long-run impacts of a recently adopted reform. In 2013, the Brazilian government approximated the two segregated social security schemes, imposing a ceiling on public pensions. In the benchmark equilibrium, our modelling economy is able to reproduce the early retirement claiming, the agents' stationary distribution among sectors, as well as the social security deficit and the public job application decision. In the counterfactual exercise, we find a significant reduction of 55\% in the social security deficit, an increase of 1.94\% in capital-to-output ratio, with both output and capital growing, a delay in retirement claims of public workers and a modification in the structure of agents applying to the public sector job.

Impact of maternal mild hyperglycemia on maternal care and offspring development and behavior of Wistar rats

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Ubiquity of virtual disguisers and potential impact on ethical behavior

The widespread availability of wirelessly connected portable computers, smartphones and other mobile devices, and the pervasive presence of computer services in our everyday environment, has brought the prediction of Mark Weiser of future ubiquitous computer systems closer to reality. Some of these - ever-present, anywhere, anytime - ubiquitous computer services mean easier and pleasant lifestyles for many people, but the generalized availability of some classes of these softwares and computer services, known as virtual disguisers and Virtual Robots, can pose new ethical problems in a world of explosive growth of social networking sites. The objective of the present article is to investigate some of these problems, from an interdisciplinary philosophical perspective. Special emphasis shall be given to the potential impact on human conduct caused by disguisers and Virtual Robots. © 2011 IEEE.

Impact of maternal mild hyperglycemia on maternal care and offspring development and behavior of Wistar rats

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of maternal mild hyperglycemia on maternal behavior, as well as the development, behavior, reproductive function, and glucose tolerance of the offspring. At birth, litters were assigned either to Control (subcutaneous (sc)-citrate buffer) or STZ groups (streptozotocin (STZ)-100 mg/kg-sc.). On PND 90 both STZ-treated and Control female rats were mated. Glucose tolerance tests (GTT) and insulin tolerance tests (ITT) were performed during pregnancy. Pregnancy duration, litter size and sex ratio were assessed. Newborns were classified according to birth weight as small (SPA), adequate (APA), or large for pregnancy age (LPA). Maternal behavior was analyzed on PND 5 and 10. Offspring body weight, length, and anogenital distance were measured and general activity was assessed in the open field. Sexual behavior was tested in both male and female offspring. Levels of reproductive hormones and estrous cycle duration were evaluated in female offspring. Female offspring were mated and both a GTT and ITT performed during pregnancy. Neonatal STZ administration caused mild hyperglycemia during pregnancy and changed some aspects of maternal care. The hyperglycemic intrauterine milieu impaired physical development and increased immobility in the open field in the offspring although the latter effect appeared at different ages for males (adulthood) and females (infancy). There was no impairment in the sexual behavior of either male or female offspring. As adults, female offspring of STZ-treated mothers did not show glucose intolerance during pregnancy. Thus, offspring of female rats that show mild hyperglycemia in pregnancy have fewer behavioral and developmental impairments than previously reported in the offspring of severely diabetic dams suggesting that the degree of impairment is directly related to the mother glycemic intensity. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.