Bank switching of US small businesses: new methods and evidence

Despite being informationally opaque, small firms often switch from their primary financial institution to transactional lenders, with the relationship banking theory invoking the holdup problem as a culprit explanation. Using US evidence and an estimation strategy that overcomes traditional shortcomings in small business research, our study captures the determinants and, for the first time, the ex post effects of the switching decision. We find that switching is less likely when the primary financial institution is a nearby bank associated with quality services and connected to the firm via other business or social relationships. Small firms become more loyal as they grow in size and pursue nonmortgage credit. Outside the primary relationship, both loan approval and borrowing cost are adversely impacted, however loan maturities are longer. Moreover, the likelihood of pledging collateral remains unaffected, provided that the type of collateral is least sensitive to the borrower’s information environment. Jointly, our findings describe a trade-off inconsistent with the holdup problem, and an opportunity for banks to enhance customer loyalty by improving aspects of the relationship unrelated to the terms of credit.

Synthetic uranium oxide hydrate materials: Current advances and future perspectives

Uranium oxide hydrate (UOH) materials, a group of minerals and synthetic phases, have attracted recent attention due to their highly structural flexibility and diversity, as well as their primary relationship...

Study protocol: a pilot randomised waitlist-controlled trial of a dyadic mobile health intervention for black sexual-minority male couples with HIV in the USA

IntroductionHIV care engagement is lower among black sexual-minority men relative to other racial/ethnic groups of sexual-minority men. Being in a primary relationship is generally associated with more successful HIV care engagement across various populations. However, among black sexual-minority men, the association between primary relationship status and HIV-related outcomes is inconsistent across the HIV care continuum. Given the ubiquity of mobile technology access and use among racial/ethnic minority communities, leveraging mobile technology for HIV care engagement appears a promising intervention strategy. This paper outlines the protocol of the LetSync study, a pilot randomised controlled trial of a mobile health app intervention developed using the Framework of Dyadic HIV Care Engagement to improve care-engagement outcomes among black sexual-minority male couples living with HIV.Methods and analysisEighty black sexual-minority men in couples (n=160) will be enrolled to pilot test the LetSync app. At least one member of each dyad must be both HIV-positive and self-identify as black/African-American. Couples will be randomised to either a waitlist-control arm or an intervention that uses relationship-based approach to improve HIV care engagement. We will assess feasibility and acceptability of trial procedures and intervention protocols based on predefined metrics of feasibility and acceptability. Execution of the study will yield the opportunity to conduct analyses to test the measurement and analysis protocol on antiretroviral therapy adherence by comparing the intervention and waitlist-control arms on self-reported and biological (hair sample) measures of adherence.Ethics and disseminationStudy staff will obtain electronic consent from all participants. This study has been approved by the University of California (UCSF) Institutional Review Board. Study staff will work with the Community Advisory Board at the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies Board to disseminate results to participants and the community via open discussions, presentations, journal publications and/or social media.Trial registration numberNCT04951544.

Sodality in Peri-Urban Community Empowerment: Perspective of Development Communication and Extension Science

Tjondronegoro's concept of sodality is gaining momentum to be applied in a broader context. Sodality is relevant to participatory approaches in community development, extension/empowerment, and development communication. This study aims to answer how the role of sodality is in the empowerment of peri-urban communities from communication and extension development sciences. This research method uses a participatory action study by placing the researcher to live with the community. Sodality can be interpreted as the life force of a unique community unit. However, without any family relationship, they are bound by a synergy of interest relations without eliminating the primary relationship. In the context of empowerment, the bonds in sodality are colored more with interest in achieving life necessities among community members. Thus, in peri-urban communities, sodality is closer to the meaning of social capital, which effectively strengthens the community's efforts to live a life together, both with internal and external parties. The Tjondronegoro version of the concept of sodality in the current era is not only for the smallest community unit in the community territory, but it can be strengthened by the meaning of a synergy of interests in meeting the needs of a community.

Recruiting Black men who have sex with men (MSM) couples via dating apps: Challenges and successes (Preprint)

BACKGROUND HIV disproportionately impacts Black men who have sex with men (MSM) and targeting the primary relationship (i.e., couples) using mobile technology for health (mHealth) holds promise for HIV prevention. Online recruitment of MSM is commonly employed in HIV prevention and intervention research. However, little known about recruiting Black MSM couples online in the US. OBJECTIVE To describe the process of recruiting Black MSM couples over social networking and dating applications (apps) frequented by MSM. We describe the activities for recruiting, screening, and enrolling participants as part of a randomized trial employing a multipronged recruitment approach. METHODS Black MSM in couples were recruited via three apps (i.e., Jack’d, Adam4Adam, and Growlr) between May 2020 and March 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. Black MSM couples were eligible if one or both partners are Black, MSM, and living with HIV; and if both partners were 18 years or older, have been together for at least two months in what they both consider to be a primary relationship (i.e., one in which both partners reported feeling most committed to over any other partner or relationship). RESULTS A total of 25 couples (n = 50) were enrolled; of these, 10 couples (n = 20) were enrolled via apps. App recruitment activities were a combination of passive (e.g., in-app advertisements) and active (e.g., direct messaging of users) engagement. A full-time staff recruiter experienced challenges such as bugs (i.e., technical errors in computer program or system), navigating idiosyncratic advertising and technical requirements specific to each app, and online harassment from users. CONCLUSIONS Despite challenges, it was possible to recruit Black MSM couples virtually into research as part of a multipronged recruitment strategy. We identify tips for using online dating and other social-networking apps as part of a recruitment strategy in future research with Black MSM couples.

The affective logic of race: A cultural psychological analysis of racial signifying practices

In this article, we use the theoretical framework of affective logic to discuss the underlying cultural psychological aspects of racial signifying practices. We provide an analysis of the controversies around the music video “Vai Malandra,” by Brazilian pop singer Anitta, as a case study. Departing from the theoretical assumption that our primary relationship with the phenomenal world is affective (though culturally mediated), we argue that our personal trajectories and emotional reords provide our experiences with an affective dimension that both precedes and influences any logical assessment of reality and that makes our sense-making processes unique. Thus, we suggest that, in the arena of racial signifying practices, we must always look beyond the person’s ability to critically position themselves racially to consider the affective dimension of the relationship between the personal and the cultural as a fundamental element in the production of racial discourse.

It's not what it looks like!

The notion of extra pair mating interests is seen as controversial in Western societies where monogamy is the dominant mating system. Attending to attractive others is often seen as an indicator of, or antecedent to engaging in infidelity. However, we argue that attending to attractive others is an adaptive and automatic process because it informs and maintains plasticity in mating strategies. Previous research has examined later attentional processes in relation to potential mates, but not early attentional capture which is beyond conscious control. Participants indicated whether they were predominantly attracted to male or female faces, then completed two flicker tasks, each consisting of faces of the gender the participants indicated they were most attracted to; one consisted of a grid of attractive faces and the other consisted of unattractive faces. Time taken to detect changes to the attractive or unattractive faces was measured as an indication of attentional bias towards potential mates. Sociosexual desires and self reported romantic interests outside of the primary relationship predicted a quicker response time to attractive faces relative to unattractive faces. Relationship status, sex of the participant, sociosexual attitudes, sociosexual behaviours, and self reported sexual interests outside of the primary relationship did not predict response time on the flicker tasks. The results suggest early attentional processes are biased towards potential mates in a given environment which calibrates and maintains plasticity in mating strategies, however this does not necessarily indicate an inclination towards infidelity.

A dyadic examination of self-determined sexual motives, need fulfillment, and relational outcomes among consensually non-monogamous partners

Intimate and sexual relationships provide opportunity for emotional and sexual fulfillment. In consensually non-monogamous (CNM) relationships, needs are dispersed among multiple partners. Using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and dyadic data from 56 CNM partnerships (112 individuals), we tested how sexual motives and need fulfillment were linked to relational outcomes. We drew from models of need fulfillment to explore how sexual motives with a second partner were associated with satisfaction in the primary relationship. In a cross-sectional and daily experience study we demonstrated that self-determined reasons for sex were positively associated with sexual satisfaction and indirectly linked through sexual need fulfillment. Self-determined reasons for sex predicted need fulfillment for both partners at a three-month follow up. The association between sexual motives and need fulfillment was stronger on days when participants engaged in sex with an additional partner, though this was not related to satisfaction in the primary relationship. Implications for need fulfillment are discussed.

Direct Measurements of the Wing Kinematics of a Bat in Straight Flight

Bat is the only mammal in the nature that can fly. Compared with birds and insects, bats are quite special in that their wings are formed by an elastic membrane, which renders that the airfoil deforms greatly during downstroke and upstroke. Due to the compliant skin of a bat, the movements of its wings are three-dimensionally complex during diverse flight behaviors. To understand the maneuverability and flight performance, three-dimensional reconstruction of the flight kinematics is essential. This study focuses on the reconstruction of the wing kinematics of the bat and identifies the primary relationship of parameters of aerodynamics in straight flight. With markers pasted on the wings and body of a bat, the motions of these points are recorded by a computerized optical motion capture system. The kinematic analysis shows that the motion of wings is very intricate. The digits of the wing display the sign of coupled motion. A novel approach was developed to measure the angle of attack and flapping angle of the wing. The angle of attack of leading edge differs with the overall angle of attack of the wing. The kinematics of the bat's wing is helpful to interpret the secret of the bat's flight.

Decision-Making Approach with Fuzzy Type-2 Soft Graphs

Molodtsov’s theory of soft sets is free from the parameterizations insufficiency of fuzzy set theory. Type-2 soft set as an extension of a soft set has an essential mathematical structure to deal with parametrizations and their primary relationship. Fuzzy type-2 soft models play a key role to study the partial membership and uncertainty of objects along with underlying and primary set of parameters. In this research article, we introduce the concept of fuzzy type-2 soft set by integrating fuzzy set theory and type-2 soft set theory. We also introduce the notions of fuzzy type-2 soft graphs, regular fuzzy type-2 soft graphs, irregular fuzzy type-2 soft graphs, fuzzy type-2 soft trees, and fuzzy type-2 soft cycles. We construct some operations such as union, intersection, AND, and OR on fuzzy type-2 soft graphs and discuss these concepts with numerical examples. The fuzzy type-2 soft graph is an efficient model for dealing with uncertainty occurring in vertex-neighbors structure and is applicable in computational analysis, applied intelligence, and decision-making problems. We study the importance of fuzzy type-2 soft graphs in chemical digestion and national engineering services.