focalinterest.net

Author: editor@focalinterest.com

  • Marketing is framed as a social practice phenomenon

    What the study found

    The commentary argues that marketing is an integrated being-doing phenomenon shaped by social practices. It says marketing emerges through recurrent processes of value formation, resource integration, and promise orchestration within institutional contexts.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors conclude that grounding marketing in societal and practice-based realities can provide an institutionally informed ontology for research and practice. They also suggest this framing is relevant in the context of global, ecological, and socio-economic challenges.

    What the researchers tested

    This is an invited commentary responding to Christian Grönroos’s article about reorienting marketing around the phenomenon itself. The authors draw on philosophical debates about essence and action and on practice-theoretical perspectives.

    What worked and what didn't

    The commentary extends Grönroos’s provocation by proposing that marketing should not be treated as detached from practice. It further argues that restoring demand fulfilment requires deeper engagement with the institutional and sociocultural forces that shape demand, and it proposes three domains: relational value creation in use, integrated promise orchestration, and institutional governance of market practices.

    What to keep in mind

    The abstract presents a conceptual commentary rather than an empirical study, so no data, sample, or experiment is described. Specific limitations are not described in the available summary.

    • Marketing is presented as a being-doing phenomenon constituted through social practices.
    • The authors link marketing to value formation, resource integration, and promise orchestration.
    • They argue that demand fulfilment should be understood in relation to institutional and sociocultural forces.
    • Three proposed lenses are relational value creation in use, integrated promise orchestration, and institutional governance of market practices.
    • The piece is an invited commentary, not an empirical study.

  • Arithmetic manifolds guide questions on systole and kissing number

    What the study found

    The article presents an introduction to arithmetic groups and arithmetic manifolds, using two geometric questions about systole and kissing number in hyperbolic manifolds as motivation. It says these questions are answered in detail for dimension 2, and that the article also summarizes what is known in higher dimensions and for other locally symmetric spaces.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors present the exposition as a way to help readers understand arithmetic groups and arithmetic manifolds through concrete geometric questions. The study suggests that arithmetic manifolds provide the known answers to these questions in the cases discussed.

    What the researchers tested

    This is an expository article rather than an experimental study. The author organizes the discussion around the growth of systole and kissing number in hyperbolic manifolds, then reviews results for dimension 2, higher dimensions, and other locally symmetric spaces.

    What worked and what didn't

    The article reports that the questions can be answered in detail for dimension 2. For higher-dimensional hyperbolic manifolds and other locally symmetric spaces, it says only that existing results are mentioned, and it ends by listing open questions.

    What to keep in mind

    The abstract does not describe new experiments or new theorems beyond the expository summary. It also does not give specific technical statements, and it notes that some questions remain open.

    • The article is an introduction to arithmetic groups and arithmetic manifolds.
    • It uses questions about systole and kissing number in hyperbolic manifolds as motivation.
    • The abstract says these questions are answered in detail for dimension 2.
    • It also summarizes what is known for higher-dimensional hyperbolic manifolds and other locally symmetric spaces.
    • The article ends with open questions.

  • LoCaL reveals surface bias in code evaluation metrics

    What the study found

    The study found that four state-of-the-art reference-based code evaluation metrics can be strongly biased toward surface-level features instead of code functionality. It also found that these metrics perform significantly worse on LoCaL, a new benchmark designed to target cases where they are likely to do poorly.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors suggest that exposing code evaluation metrics to LoCaL-like data might help develop metrics that are robust to surface bias. They present this as relevant because reliable code evaluation metrics are described as crucial for progress in software engineering tasks.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers critically evaluated four state-of-the-art reference-based code evaluation metrics, which score a candidate program by comparing it to a reference program. They also introduced LoCaL (Looks Can Lie), a benchmark with 3,117 code pairs at both the method and program levels, using differential fuzzing to assign functional similarity scores without predefined test cases.

    What worked and what didn't

    LoCaL includes code pairs that are surface-similar but functionally dissimilar, as well as pairs that are functionally similar but surface-dissimilar. The abstract says the functional similarity scores are made more reliable by executing an order of magnitude more tests than prior work. All four evaluated metrics showed significant performance degradation on LoCaL compared with baselines.

    What to keep in mind

    The abstract says prior datasets for these metrics rarely included the kinds of code pairs that LoCaL targets. It does not provide detailed limitations beyond this gap in existing evaluation data.

    • Four reference-based code evaluation metrics were found to favor surface-level similarity over functionality.
    • LoCaL is a benchmark of 3,117 code pairs at the method and program levels.
    • LoCaL uses differential fuzzing to compute functional similarity scores without predefined test cases.
    • All four evaluated metrics performed significantly worse on LoCaL than on baselines.
    • The authors suggest LoCaL-like data may help develop metrics that are less affected by surface bias.
  • HYBRID better matched tides and stratification in the Yellow Sea

    HYBRID better matched tides and stratification in the Yellow Sea

    What the study found

    The hybrid z*-isopycnal coordinate system (HYBRID) performed better than the z* coordinate system (ZSTAR) in simulations of the Yellow Sea. It more accurately represented sea surface temperatures, vertical temperature structure, and several aspects of barotropic and baroclinic tides, especially under strongly stratified summer conditions.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors conclude that vertical coordinate design critically affects tidal energetics and stratification-dependent processes in high-resolution regional ocean models. The study suggests that HYBRID's improved maintenance of stratification offers advantages for representing internal-tide dynamics and vertical energy pathways in the Yellow Sea.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers used the Modular Ocean Model version 6 (MOM6) in a regional Northwest Pacific configuration for the Yellow Sea. They compared two vertical coordinate systems, ZSTAR and HYBRID, and validated the model against satellite-derived sea surface temperatures, in situ temperature profiles, and TPXO tidal harmonics, with attention to winter and summer conditions.

    What worked and what didn't

    HYBRID better reproduced sea surface temperatures and kept a sharper, deeper thermocline, supported by long-term temperature diagnostics and age tracer experiments that indicated reduced vertical mixing. For barotropic tides, HYBRID agreed better with TPXO for the M2 and K1 constituents, and it produced stronger barotropic tidal energy fluxes than ZSTAR in both winter and summer. For baroclinic tides, ZSTAR showed greater kinetic energy in winter, but HYBRID produced stronger baroclinic kinetic energy in summer and preserved baroclinic tidal energy more effectively overall.

    What to keep in mind

    The findings come from one regional model setup for the Yellow Sea and compare only two vertical coordinate systems. The abstract does not describe broader geographic testing, and it does not provide detailed limitations beyond the differences observed between the two configurations.

    • HYBRID reproduced sea surface temperatures and vertical thermal structure more accurately than ZSTAR.
    • HYBRID matched TPXO better for the M2 and K1 tidal constituents.
    • HYBRID produced stronger barotropic tidal energy fluxes than ZSTAR in winter and summer.
    • ZSTAR showed greater baroclinic kinetic energy in winter, while HYBRID was stronger in summer.
    • The authors report that ZSTAR had more residual dissipation, consistent with spurious diapycnal mixing.

  • Criegee intermediates behave differently at water interfaces

    What the study found

    The study found that two Criegee intermediates, H2COO and CH3CHOO, behave differently depending on whether they are in the gas phase, in water droplets, on amorphous solid water, or in bulk water. In water droplets, both species can move easily between the surface and the interior, while on amorphous solid water at 50 K there was no observed surface diffusion over multiple nanoseconds.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors say the infrared spectroscopy results show shifts in aqueous environments that are consistent with Stark-induced spectral shifts, which are shifts caused by an electric field, as seen for small molecules in protein environments. They also note that the droplet spectroscopy does not depend on whether the intermediates are inside the droplet or on its surface.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers used validated energy functions to investigate the dynamics and infrared spectroscopy of the small and large Criegee intermediates. They examined these molecules in the gas phase, inside and on water droplets, on amorphous solid water, and in bulk water.

    What worked and what didn't

    For both intermediates, diffusion between surface and interior positions in water droplets was facile. On amorphous solid water at 50 K, surface diffusion was not observed on the multiple-nanosecond timescale, unlike what has been reported for species such as CO or NO on amorphous solid water. Infrared spectral features shifted by a few to a few tens of units, depending on the vibrational mode, when the molecules were in contact with an aqueous environment.

    What to keep in mind

    The abstract does not provide experimental details beyond the use of validated energy functions, and it does not state additional limitations. The reported results are specific to the two Criegee intermediates and the environments listed in the abstract.

    • Two Criegee intermediates, H2COO and CH3CHOO, were studied in gas and aqueous environments.
    • Both molecules showed easy movement between surface and interior positions in water droplets.
    • No surface diffusion was observed on amorphous solid water at 50 K over multiple nanoseconds.
    • Infrared spectral features shifted in aqueous environments by a few to a few tens of units, depending on the mode.
    • Droplet spectroscopy did not depend on whether the molecule was inside the droplet or on the surface.

  • Engagement with iFOCUS varied and was linked to dropout

    What the study found

    The study found that engagement with the iFOCUS web-based self-directed psychoeducational program varied, and that lower engagement at the start was associated with greater odds of dropout. It also found that engagement decreased as dyads progressed through the program.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors conclude that assessing engagement in digital interventions may be important. The study suggests that multiple measures of engagement can provide additional insights into how people use these programs.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers examined iFOCUS, a four-session digital self-managed 12-week intervention for dyads, meaning advanced cancer patients and their informal caregivers, in six European countries as part of a randomized controlled trial. They used process evaluation data from 121 dyads to study engagement, dropout, patient and caregiver characteristics, post-intervention outcomes, and participants' evaluation of the intervention.

    What worked and what didn't

    Lower engagement at the outset was associated with greater odds of dropout. Patient education level and caregivers' baseline emotional function, self-efficacy, dyadic coping, and knowledge of cancer were associated with engagement, but there was no consistent evidence that engagement was associated with outcomes or with evaluation of the intervention.

    What to keep in mind

    The abstract reports inconsistencies in the extent and nature of the associations found. It also says there was more evidence that baseline characteristics affected engagement than evidence that engagement affected outcomes.

    • iFOCUS was a four-session, 12-week digital self-managed program for advanced cancer patient-caregiver dyads.
    • The program showed no effects on outcomes in the main trial.
    • Lower engagement at the beginning was linked to higher odds of dropout.
    • Engagement declined as dyads moved through the program.
    • Several patient and caregiver baseline characteristics were associated with engagement.
    • There was no consistent evidence that engagement was tied to outcomes or intervention evaluation.
  • Telegram users tend to match local chat toxicity norms

    Telegram users tend to match local chat toxicity norms

    What the study found

    The study found that most users on Telegram tend to align their toxic or antisocial expression with the local norms of the chats they join. It also found that users who participate more heavily in chats show a stronger tendency to conform to those surrounding social contexts.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors conclude that these findings deepen understanding of toxic online behavior. They also suggest that content moderation may need to be contextualized to account for local community norms.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers analyzed six large-scale datasets of Telegram messages collected between 2015 and 2024, covering more than 500 million messages across multiple chats and languages. They introduced a conformity index to classify user behavior as conformist, anti-conformist, or independent.

    What worked and what didn't

    Across the datasets and languages, user toxicity was associated with the toxicity levels of the chats they participated in. The pattern was described as consistent, and higher participation was associated with stronger conformity. The abstract does not report any specific effects that did not appear.

    What to keep in mind

    The summary provided does not describe detailed limitations or caveats. The findings are based on Telegram messages and the specific datasets, time period, and languages included in the study.

    • Most Telegram users tended to conform to the toxicity levels of their local chat environments.
    • The study analyzed over 500 million messages from six large-scale datasets collected between 2015 and 2024.
    • A conformity index was used to describe conformist, anti-conformist, and independent behavior.
    • Higher user participation in chats was associated with stronger conformity to surrounding norms.
    • The authors say the findings support contextualized approaches to content moderation.

  • ChangeDINO improves building change detection robustness

    What the study found

    The study found that ChangeDINO achieved strong accuracy and robustness for optical building change detection. It also produced cleaner building boundaries and improved data efficiency on the benchmarks tested.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors say this matters because many remote sensing change detection methods underuse semantic information in non-changing regions, which limits robustness under illumination variation, off-nadir views, and scarce labels. The study suggests ChangeDINO addresses these issues by using semantic- and context-rich features.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers presented ChangeDINO, an end-to-end multiscale Siamese framework for optical building change detection in remote sensing images. It combines a lightweight backbone stream with features transferred from a frozen DINOv3, a spatial-spectral differential transformer decoder, and a learnable morphology module.

    What worked and what didn't

    The abstract says the transferred DINOv3 features produced semantic- and context-rich pyramids even on small datasets. It also says the transformer decoder used multi-scale absolute differences to highlight true building changes and suppress irrelevant responses, while the morphology module refined upsampled logits to recover clean boundaries. The abstract does not describe any specific failures or weaker components.

    What to keep in mind

    The summary is limited to the abstract, so the exact benchmark results, metrics, and comparison methods are not provided here. The abstract also does not describe detailed limitations beyond noting the broader challenge of scarce labels and visual variation in remote sensing change detection.

    • ChangeDINO is an end-to-end multiscale Siamese framework for optical building change detection.
    • It uses features transferred from a frozen DINOv3 to add semantic and context information.
    • The model is designed to handle illumination variation, off-nadir views, and scarce labels more robustly.
    • A spatial-spectral differential transformer decoder uses multi-scale absolute differences as change priors.
    • Experiments on four public benchmarks showed strong accuracy, robustness, and cleaner building boundaries.

  • Heteroleptic carbones show varied bond strength changes

    What the study found

    The study found that the heteroleptic carbones L1-C-L2 generally have bent equilibrium structures, with two exceptions: N2-C-CS and OC-C-CS are linear. The authors also report that changes in carbon-ligand bond length do not directly match changes in bond dissociation energy.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors conclude that all of the heteroleptic carbones they examined appear stable enough to be experimentally observed. They also suggest that bond behavior in these compounds is controlled by several factors, not just bond length.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers used quantum chemical calculations at the density functional theory level (BP86-D3(BJ)/def2-TZVPP) and ab initio calculations at the coupled-cluster level (CCSD(T)/def2-TZVPP). They studied heteroleptic carbones L1-C-L2 with ligands including PPh3, SPh2, CO, CS, NHCMe, and CAACMe, and compared them with homoleptic species L1-C-L1 and L2-C-L2.

    What worked and what didn't

    Bond dissociation energy calculations suggest that the heteroleptic carbones considered are stable enough to be observed experimentally. The analysis also shows that Pauli repulsion often has a stronger effect on carbon-ligand interactions than attractive orbital interactions. In general, weaker bonds in homoleptic complexes are strengthened in heteroleptic carbones, while stronger bonds are weakened, although this pattern is not quantitatively consistent and mutual strengthening can occur.

    What to keep in mind

    The summary does not describe experimental validation, only computational results. It also states that the changes in bond length and bond strength are not directly correlated, and that the extent of bond weakening or strengthening is not quantitatively correlated.

    • Most heteroleptic carbones studied were predicted to have bent equilibrium structures.
    • N2-C-CS and OC-C-CS were the only linear cases reported.
    • Bond dissociation energy calculations suggest the compounds are stable enough to be experimentally observed.
    • Bond length changes do not directly track bond dissociation energy changes.
    • Pauli repulsion often had a stronger effect than attractive orbital interactions.
    • Weaker homoleptic bonds tended to strengthen in heteroleptic carbones, while stronger ones tended to weaken.

  • Unit-cell modulation triggers topological phase transitions in photonic Lieb lattices

    What the study found

    The study found that changing the unit cell of a photonic Lieb lattice, a structured light-guiding material, can induce a hierarchy of topological phases. These phases include first-order Chern phases and second-order dipole and quadrupole phases under broken time-reversal symmetry.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors conclude that this may broaden sublattice engineering design for topological phase manipulation. They also suggest it may enable multifunctional disorder-resistant waveguides and integrated photonic circuits for information communication.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers carried out a theoretical study of gyromagnetic photonic crystals. They examined how relaxing a spatial symmetry of the unit cell affects the appearance and transition of edge and corner states.

    What worked and what didn't

    They report that both edge states and corner states can be established and made to transition between phases by modulating the unit cell. Bandgap closures marked the phase boundaries. The abstract does not describe any cases where the approach failed.

    What to keep in mind

    This summary is based on a theoretical paper, not an experimental demonstration. The abstract does not provide quantitative results, device performance data, or specific limitations beyond the stated scope of gyromagnetic photonic crystals.

    • Modulating the unit cell can induce multiple topological phases in a photonic Lieb lattice.
    • The phases reported include first-order Chern, second-order dipole, and quadrupole phases.
    • Edge states and corner states can both be established and transitioned by relaxing a spatial symmetry.
    • Bandgap closures mark the phase boundaries in the reported transitions.
    • The authors say the results may broaden sublattice engineering for topological phase manipulation.