The duration of daily activities has no impact on measures of overall wellbeing

It is widely assumed that the longer we spend in happier activities the happier we will be. In an intensive study of momentary happiness, we show that, in fact, longer time spent in happier activities does not lead to higher levels of reported happiness overall. This finding is replicated with different samples (student and diverse, multi-national panel), measures and methods of analysis. We explore different explanations for this seemingly paradoxical finding, providing fresh insight into the factors that do and do not affect the relationship between how happy we report feeling as a function of how long it lasts. This work calls into question the assumption that spending more time doing what we like will show up in making us happier, presenting a fundamental challenge to the validity of current tools used to measure happiness.

Threat to Nature Connectedness: How Does It Influence Consumers’ Preferences for Automated Products?

Connection with the natural world is a fundamental human need related to sustainable development. However, such a human need is very likely to be threatened in modern, industrialized society. This paper represents the first attempt to investigate the effect of perceived disconnection from nature on consumers’ preference for automated products (e.g., virtual assistants). Based on two surveys (276 adult participants) and one experimental study (282 adult participants), we found that perceived disconnection from nature can magnify consumers’ resistance to automated products. We further examined the underlying mechanism through moderated mediation model and revealed that consumers who perceive greater nature disconnection are less likely to perceive automated products as helpful friends, leading to a lower likelihood of adopting these products. The present research unveils this novel effect of perceived disconnection with nature on consumer behavior and provides fresh insight into how consumers’ preferences for automated products can be influenced by psychology rather than technology. Additionally, these findings can extend the research regarding sustainable consumption.

Twisted charge-density-wave patterns in bilayer 2D crystals and modulated electronic states

The twistronics of the atomic-thick two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals materials has opened a new venue to investigate the interlayer coupling. Till now, most studies focus on the twist of atomic lattices and the resulted moiré superstructures, while the reports about the twist of charge density waves (CDW), the superstructures of which are from individual layers are limited. Here, using molecular beam epitaxy, we construct bilayer (BL) 1T-NbSe2 vertical structures. With high resolution scanning tunneling microscopy observations, we identify two cases of CDW twisted stacking with atomic precision. The typical twist angles are 0o and 60o between the 1st and the 2nd layer, although the top Se atomic lattices of these two layers are parallel. Compared to the single layer case, the dI/dV at BL shows an insulator-to-metal transition, with the Hubbard bands shrinking towards the Fermi level (EF ). More intriguingly, interlayer coupling states rise near EF , which are dependent on the CDW twist angles. These findings give fresh insight into the engineering of 2D materials by CDW twisting and are potentially applicable for future nanoelectronic devices.

Asymmetric and Symmetric Link between Quality of Institutions and Sectorial Foreign Direct Investment Inflow in India: A Fresh Insight Using Simulated Dynamic ARDL Approach

This study explores the bicausality between institutional quality and FDI inflow both aggregated and sector-wise, i.e., the agricultural, manufacturing, and tertiary sectors in the Indian economy, by applying simulated autoregressive distributed lag (SARDL) dynamic new techniques, an extended variant of orthodox ARDL and NARDL. The study confirms that aggregated and sectorial FDI are enhanced by adequate institutional quality, and similarly, FDI promotes quality institutions. The nexus between institutional quality and FDI inflow is an inspiration for India to compete with developed economies by enhancing its institutional quality. The study observes cointegration and bidirectional causality between institutional quality and aggregated FDI.

Representing the Disadvantaged

The limited attention Congress gives to disadvantaged or marginalized groups, including Black Americans, LGBTQ, Latinx, women, and the poor, is well known and often remarked upon. This is the first full-length study to focus instead on those members who do advocate for these groups and when and why they do so. Katrina F. McNally develops the concept of an 'advocacy window' that develops as members of Congress consider incorporating disadvantaged group advocacy into their legislative portfolios. Using new data, she analyzes the impact of constituency factors, personal demographics, and institutional characteristics on the likelihood that members of the Senate or House of Representatives will decide to cultivate a reputation as a disadvantaged group advocate. By comparing legislative activism across different disadvantaged groups rather than focusing on one group in isolation, this study provides fresh insight into the tradeoffs members face as they consider taking up issues important to different groups.

"I Am Black and Beautiful": A Black African Reading of Song of Songs 1:5-7 as a Protest Song

Adamo's article on Ebed-Melech's protest brings fresh insight into my earlier article on Song of Songs 1:5-7, prompting me to reread the text as a protest song (essay) against the racial stigmata that continue to bedevil black people in the world. The current article, using hermeneutics of appropriation, maintains the meaning of שְׁחוֹרָה as a black person, who in the Song of Songs protests against the racism, which transformed her status to that of a socioeconomic other. The study is informed by the contemporary and historical contexts of racial injustices and stigma suffered by Blacks for 'being' while Black. The essay investigates this question: In which ways does Adamo's reading of Jer 38:1-17 influence an African reading of Song 1:5-7 as a protest against racism? The article employs African Biblical Hermeneutics, as part of a creative and literary art in the protests against racism, to read the biblical text as our story-a divine story, which in the language of Adamo, has inherent divine power that can empower oppressed black people.