Attitude-behaviour dissonance regarding the importance of food preservation for customers

The aim of the study was to identify the importance of individual food product attributes (the use of preservatives, processing method, shelf-life period and nutritional value) as well as their relation to the purchase behaviour. To achieve this, consumer preferences were decomposed in conditions of full access to information, and data was compared with actual consumer behaviour related to making purchasing decisions in front of the store shelf. Based on data from 338 respondents, conjoint analysis and repeated ANOVA measurements were carried out, allowing to eliminate individual behavioural patterns. The results showed a dissonance between the consumers attitudes towards the attributes and their shopping behaviour. The processing method was the most important declared attribute for consumers, meanwhile this information was the least searched for during purchase. At the same time, shelf-life period marked as the least important was the main information searched for by consumers when shopping. The results also show a clear dislike towards the use of microwaves as a preservation method, while traditional thermal preservation was marked as the most positive for consumers. In addition, consumers were classified into 3 heterogeneous groups, identifying differences in the preferences of food attributes. The obtained results have practical value relating not only to the preferences of individual attributes, but also to their various variants. The results can be a guide for companies to properly label food products. The indicated dissonance illustrates the educational gap and related insufficient motivation to get to know the product before buying it. This is extremely important in connection with technological development and new food processing methods.     

Is evidence-based practice diverse enough? Philosophy of science considerations.

In its policy rationale for evidence-based practice in psychology (EBPP), the APA Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice (see record 2006-05893-001) claims to have constituted itself with "scientists and practitioners from a wide range of perspectives and traditions, reflecting the diverse perspectives within the field" (p. 273). We applaud this attention to diversity but contend that an entire perspective of the debate was omitted in the Task Force's newly approved policy and its underlying report. The failure to consider a philosophy of science perspective led the Task Force to make a number of epistemological assumptions that are not based on evidence or rationale and that thus violate the very spirit of evidence-based decision making. In this comment, we reveal a few of these assumptions and discuss their detrimental consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

多人决策的一类相对均衡解

本文分析由于决策人偏好不同而引起决策差异的多人多目标决策问题，提出了这类决策问题的一类相对均衡解的概念和求取方法。相对均衡解以决策群体偏好的加权集结为基础，能最大程度地反映每个决策人的偏好。文中研究相对均衡解的ＳＷＴ求取方法，并给出了求解的步骤。     

基于知识图谱的互补项目推荐

在缺乏用户交互互补项目方面数据的情况下,将用户对项目的偏好融合到只考虑项目关系的互补项目推荐中,提高推荐模型的性能。提出一种基于知识图谱的互补项目推荐方法,在用户历史交互项目集中推测用户交互的互补项目,基于知识图谱提取用户对互补项目的偏好,利用图像与文本学习项目之间的互补关系,最后基于神经网络实现二者的共同学习。提出的方法在Amazon数据集上与次优的基线方法相比,ACC提升了7%,precision提升了3%,这说明提出的方法性能优异。该算法共同学习用户对项目的偏好与项目之间的互补关系,提升了推荐性能。     

Developing habitat associations for fishes in Lake Winnipeg by linking large scale bathymetric and substrate data with fish telemetry detections

Understanding relationships between freshwater fishes and habitat is critical for effective fisheries and habitat management. Habitat suitability indices (HSI) are commonly used to describe fish–habitat associations in rivers and other freshwater ecosystems. When applied to large lakes however, standard sampling procedures are inadequate because of larger sampling areas and an increased risk of fish collection bias through one-time observations. Here, we use lake bathymetry, substrate, and multiple fish telemetry detections collected from a systematically deployed receiver grid to develop HSI for four fish species (lake sturgeon, freshwater drum, common carp, and walleye) in Lake Winnipeg. Seasonal variations in habitat use based on water depth and substrate were observed in three of four species. Lake sturgeon remained in shallow locations with predominantly gravel substrate near the mouth of the Winnipeg River regardless of season. Freshwater drum persisted over fine substrate in both summer and winter but had a broader depth range in the summer compared to winter. Common carp shifted from mid-range depths and silt substrate in the summer to shallow depths and gravel substrate in the winter. Walleye showed an unchanging association to fine substrate but expanded from primarily mid-range depths in the summer to include shallower depths in the winter. These findings show how multiple telemetry detections per fish can be combined with hydroacoustic data to provide informative habitat associations for fishes in a large lacustrine ecosystem.     

Towards improving an Area of Concern: Main-channel habitat rehabilitation priorities for the Maumee River

The Maumee River watershed in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin has been impacted by decades of pollution and habitat modification due to human settlement and development. As such, the lower 35 km of the Maumee River and several smaller adjacent watersheds comprising over 2000 km² were designated the Maumee Area of Concern (AOC) under the revised Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1987. As part of pre-rehabilitation assessments in the Maumee AOC, we assessed fish and invertebrate communities in river km 24–11 of the Maumee River to identify: 1) areas that exhibit the highest biodiversity, 2) habitat characteristics associated with high biodiversity areas, 3) areas in need of protection from further degradation, and 4) areas that could feasibly be rehabilitated to increase biodiversity. Based on benthic trawl data, shallow water habitats surrounding large island complexes had the highest fish diversity and catch per unit effort (CPUE). Electrofishing displayed similar fish diversity and CPUE patterns across habitat types early in the study but yielded no discernable fish diversity or CPUE patterns towards the end of our study. Although highly variable among study sites, macroinvertebrate density was greatest in shallow water habitats <2.5 m and around large island complexes. Our results provide valuable baseline data that could act as a foundation for developing rehabilitation strategies in the lower Maumee River and for assessing the effectiveness of future aquatic habitat rehabilitation projects. In addition to increasing in-channel habitat, watershed-scale improvements of water quality might be necessary to ensure rehabilitation strategies are successful.     

Intraspecific variation and interspecific differences in sex pheromones of sibling species inCtenopseustis obliquana complex

The specific status ofCtenopseustis obliquana pheromone-types I, II, and III has been more fully examined. Females of types I and III produce a mixture of (Z)-8- and (Z)-5-tetradecenyl acetates (Z8-14:Ac, Z5-14: Ac). The previously reported different ratios of these two components in females of the two types (type I=8020, III=9010) have been reinvestigated. The median ratios of each type differed significantly, although there was some overlap in the ranges of these ratios. A field cage trial showed that males of type III are attracted to females of type I, so the observed differences may be ascribed to intraspecific variation. In contrast to females of types I or III, females of type II produce Z5-14Ac but no Z8-14Ac. The electroantennogram (EAG) profile of antennae of type II males shows a maximum response to Z5-14Ac, while the EAG profiles of types I and III show a strong response to Z8-14Ac. In wind tunnel tests using mixtures of these two compounds, type II males prefer blends consisting of all or mostly Z5-14: Ac, while type I males showed a preference to a mix of 70% Z8-14Ac plus 30% Z5-14Ac. We found that type I males are attracted to type I females when offered a choice between type I and type II females in a field cage test and that type II males similarly prefer type II females. Males of types I and II have specialist cells for Z8-14Ac and Z5-14Ac but differ with respect to relative densities of these cells and to further cell types responsive to other alkenyl acetates. Type IIC. obliquana is considered therefore a sibling species of types I and III. In addition, the amount of Z5-14Ac produced by type II females varied geographically. Females from the North Island produced significantly less (median=1.2 ng) Z5-14Ac than females from the South Island (median=2.2 ng). Type II populations in the North Island morphologically resembled sympatric type I, rather than type II from the South Island and are designated as type II (North Island). Type II (North Island) populations have so far been found only at Rukuhia (near Hamilton) and from Kerikeri. In contrast, type II populations are sympatric with type III populations over much of the South Island. In a field cage trial, males of types II and II (North Island) were attracted to females of both II and II (North Island). We tentatively ascribe the differences between type II and type II (North Island) to intraspecific variation.     

欠发达地区农户金融合作行为的实证研究

以研究农户金融合作行为为视角,希望在实践中从整体上把握农户、特别是欠发达地区农户的金融合作意愿和偏好,以期更有效地开展农村金融体制改革。根据调查和计量分析发现,欠发达地区农村信用社支农力度不足;广大农户具有金融合作意愿;与农村信用社相比,农户更愿意以互助合作的方式参与金融合作。     

基于用户偏好的垂直搜索算法

提出并研究、实现了基于用户偏好的垂直搜索算法(PVSA)。以领域特征为基本出发点,PVSA借助领域主题偏好向量、领域元数据权重因子、检索名词差异化、行业词典库更新等4项策略,有效地挖掘、表征用户的领域个性化偏好,以此为基础构建基于用户偏好的垂直搜索算法。实验结果表明了PVSA算法的有效性和可行性。     

基于特征偏好的聚类研究

传统的聚类方法,如k均值和模糊c均值,通常并不区分数据特征对聚类的不同贡献或重要度,因此在面对高维数据聚类时,常会导致偏低的聚类性能,这归咎于聚类时未考虑高维数据特征间所存在的高度相关性或冗余.而通过在聚类时为每一特征引入权重并通过聚类目标的优化,不仅能自动获得对应的权重,而且也获得了聚类性能的提升.尽管如此,但无监督获取的特征权重未必吻合用户所期望的特征间的相对重要性(或偏好).因此尝试利用用户给定的实际偏好设计出能反映特征偏好的聚类方法,其将现有独立于个体聚类的全局加权型偏好聚类方法拓展至聚类依赖的局部特征加权型方法,由此弥补了前者的不足,提升了偏好聚类算法的性能.