Human Behaviors Encountered During the Different Phases of the Kondratieff Cycle

There are different behaviors appropriate to the different phases of growth. This has been observed among species in nature as they go through the four seasons, but also among humans in society as different economic-growth phases succeed one another. Typically, difficult times stimulate entrepreneurship whereas prosperity nurtures conservatism. Less obviously, preoccupation with the "what" characterizes formative times whereas preoccupation with the "how" characterizes periods of maturity. A multitude of different behaviors can be mapped on the four phases of any growth cycle. On a larger scale, and to the extent that society is anthropomorphic, society as a whole goes through different behaviors while experiencing transitionsbetween cyclical phases of growth. Given a growth phase we can expect specific behaviors, and inversely, given a specific behavior we can deduce the growth phase being traversed. It follows that WWII may have been survival-driven whereas WWI greed-driven.

Sports Consumption Behavior: Discovering Typologies of Amateur Cyclists

Introduction. Cycling is one of the most popular and practiced sports both in Europe and globally. However, management studies aimed at defining cyclists’ consumption behavior are still limited. The most recent contributions describe cycling consumption as an activity heavily influenced by the intensity and sociality of its practice but do not highlight the importance of expenditures related to participation in amateur cycling events and cycle tourism experiences. Starting from these behavioral dimensions, the article proposes an original segmentation of the sport and leisure market, leading to the identification of different profiles of amateur cyclists. Material and methods. The research was conducted on a sample of 182 cyclists located in one single Italian region to ensure a high level of social, economic and cultural uniformity. The data was collected by conducting a questionnaire, and its resulting information relating to sport and consumer behavior was processed through a cluster analysis procedure. Results. The results reveal the existence of five different amateur cyclists’ profiles (the parsimonious, the competitive, the ostentatious, the sociable and the experiential), each distinguished by specific behavior in terms of the intensity and way of conducting the sports activity and the propensity to incur different types of expenditure. Conclusions. From a theoretical point of view, the results confirm the effectiveness of behavioral segmentation in the market of sports consumption. From an operational point of view, they provide useful marketing indications for businesses operating in the sport-system chain and destination management operators.

Excessive energy expenditure due to acute physical restraint disrupts Drosophila motivational feeding response

To study the behavior of Drosophila, it is often necessary to restrain and mount individual flies. This requires removal from food, additional handling, anesthesia, and physical restraint. We find a strong positive correlation between the length of time flies are mounted and their subsequent reflexive feeding response, where one hour of mounting is the approximate motivational equivalent to ten hours of fasting. In an attempt to explain this correlation, we rule out anesthesia side-effects, handling, additional fasting, and desiccation. We use respirometric and metabolic techniques coupled with behavioral video scoring to assess energy expenditure in mounted and free flies. We isolate a specific behavior capable of exerting large amounts of energy in mounted flies and identify it as an attempt to escape from restraint. We present a model where physical restraint leads to elevated activity and subsequent faster nutrient storage depletion among mounted flies. This ultimately further accelerates starvation and thus increases reflexive feeding response. In addition, we show that the consequences of the physical restraint profoundly alter aerobic activity, energy depletion, taste, and feeding behavior, and suggest that careful consideration is given to the time-sensitive nature of these highly significant effects when conducting behavioral, physiological or imaging experiments that require immobilization.

Discussion on the Generation and Incorporation of Female Subjects in Mirror Double Heroine Films

In recent years, films with two female heroines appear frequently. The two female heroines mirror each other and construct the blooming subject in observation. Through the plot of rebellious girl’s death, the film makes the subject become a visible social subject in submission. This plot setting reflects the existence of discipline power in the film. Power marks a specific behavior as “deviant,” and relies on the public display of the punishment of deviant, as well as realizes the repeated indoctrination of discipline code in the audience through the reuse of the audience’s desire of “to be.” Audience identity ensures the smooth incorporation of power to the audience subject. The double female master setting seems to give freedom to the role and the audience, but the appearance of this freedom is the locus of power. The audience’s deviant viewing may break through in the ruins of the repeated process.

Courtship Ritual of Male and Female Nuclei during Fertilization in Neurospora crassa

Using live-cell fluorescence imaging, for the first time we have observed live male and female nuclei during sexual reproduction in the model fungus Neurospora crassa . This study reveals the specific behavior of resident female nuclei within the trichogyne (the female organ) after fertilization and the extraordinary manner in which male nuclei migrate across the trichogyne toward their final destination, the protoperithecium, where karyogamy takes place.

Unsaturated soils in the context of tropical soils

The practice of geotechnical engineering in tropical climate regions must consider the use of unsaturated soil concepts. However, these concepts must also take into account the specific behavior traits of tropical soils, particularly those related to soil aggregation, pore structure, and mineralogy. This paper will initially present considerations on the typical properties of unsaturated tropical soils as well as fundamental concepts. Throughout the article, several engineering problems will be presented alongside reflections on the complex interaction between the numerous variables involved in the modeling and engineering practice of tropical unsaturated soil behavior. The paper addresses issues related to soil formation, chemical and mineral composition, physical properties, tropical soil classification, and structural characteristics of soils. Issues related to compaction and the influence of weathering, geomorphology and bioengineering are also addressed.

Groepsidentificatie en cognitie

Group-identification and cognition: Why trivial conventions are more important than we think In existing (evolutionary) explanations for group formation and -identification, the function of cultural conventions such as social etiquette and dress codes is limited to providing group-markers. Group formation and identification itself is explained in terms of less arbitrary and more substantial phenomena such as shared norms and institutions. In this paper I will argue that, however trivial and arbitrary, cultural conventions fulfil an important cognitive function that makes them essential to the formation of and identification with large groups. Complex role-division, both informal and institutional, is important in the functioning of any large group of people. Shared conventions enable a virtually automatic understanding of signals, scripts and rules that regulate the interaction of divided roles. They provide a cultural infrastructure within which we perceive e.g. specific behavior and clothing as a range of social-cultural affordances for role-interactions. Shared familiarity with this infrastructure is the foundation for the basic kind of trust of in-group strangers that is a requirement for the formation of large groups. This non-intellectualist view on group formation and group identification can contribute to new ways of dealing with problems in multicultural societies.