Innovative activities of the All-Russian Institute for Scientific and technical information,Russian Academy of Science

The analysis results for the basic indicators of innovative activities in the All-Russian Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (VINITI), Russian Academy of Science, are given. Suggestions for optimization are provided and the plan of innovative activities of VINITI is drawn on the basis on the analysis results, which is aimed at the further development of the institute.     

Breaking up is hard to do: the resilience of the rock group as an organizational form for creating music

Though there is a long tradition of band members quitting the group or taking a hiatus, the rock group as an organization to produce music continues to be both popular and economically viable. The research question addressed in this paper is whether or not it is a good idea to quit or take a hiatus from the group. We begin with a discussion of the framework for understanding why groups are formed and why they may be difficult to keep together. We then discuss differences between groups in the decade of the 1960s versus today. We argue that there is something unique about the output of the group even with the changes in the structure of contracts, compensation, and consumer focus on the artist that explain the resilience of the rock band as an organizational form within which to create music. We compare the charting success of bands that have members leave the group with the charting success of the members who left the group. We identified the groups in five representative years: 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, and 2005. We then analyzed the entire Billboard Hot 100 charting careers of those groups and the artists who quit those groups. Our main finding is that when charting success is divided equally among members, going solo pays off—there is a clear economic rationale because solo acts have greater average charting success than the original bands they started in. The other ensuing side projects: duos, collaborations, and other groups are not as lucrative as the original bands. These findings are valid for members of charting groups from each of the 5 years examined. Despite the difficulties in keeping a rock band together, there are fewer band breakups today and remaining with the group generally results in a longer and more productive charting career. Thus, the rock group remains an important organization for producing contemporary music. However, there remains a compelling incentive to go solo. Superstars may benefit from solo projects, but for the average, non-superstar group member, in many circumstances it is better for the band to stay together if the income is divided equally.     

The impacts of fundraising periods and geographic distance on financing music production via crowdfunding in Brazil

We conduct an analysis of 1835 pledges to 10 music production projects hosted on the largest Brazilian crowdfunding platform, namely the Catarse Web site, and we assess the relation between the fundraising accumulation period, the donor–entrepreneur distance and the propensity of donors to back projects. Our results suggest a significantly negative association between distance and the value of capital pledged to projects, which is consistent with the notion that the entrepreneur’s network of close contacts might play a central role in funding. Furthermore, our results contradict the idea that crowdfunding reduces the inhibiting effect of donor–entrepreneur distance. In addition, the results show that a long project exposure is associated with higher values of pledges. These results suggest practical implications for the study of crowdfunding as a financing platform. This study contributes to the literature on the use of crowdfunding as an alternative funding source in a major emerging market.     

Reexamining Fear Appeal Models from Cognitive Appraisal Theory and Functional Emotion Theory Perspectives

Recognizing inconsistencies between the extant fear appeal theories and emotion literature, this research integrated cognitive appraisal theory and functional emotion theory into a fear appeal literature and proposed a model that describes a process through which both fear and anxiety can contribute to adaptive responses. Findings from an experiment (N = 927) supported the predictions. Fear and anxiety emerged as distinct constructs. Perceived susceptibility was a stronger predictor of anxiety than fear, while perceived severity was a stronger predictor of fear than anxiety. In addition, greater fear and anxiety led to greater response efficacy through increased motivation to obtain protection-related information and heightened attention to such information, thus mediating the threat and coping appraisal processes. The SEM model testing the predictions showed that perceived susceptibility had the strongest total effects on protection intention, followed by anxiety, perceived severity, and fear.     

智慧城市信息安全风险评估模型构建与实证研究

[目的/意义] 面对智慧城市日益突出的信息安全问题,提出一个科学的风险评估模型,以快速对智慧城市进行风险分类并分析风险因素。[方法/过程] 从智慧城市信息安全的5个层次和风险评估的4个主要因素出发,构建智慧城市信息安全风险指标框架,对智慧城市实例进行ward系统聚类形成分类属性,选择C4.5算法的决策树方法建立风险评估模型,并验证模型的科学性。[结果/结论] 结果发现:安全管理制度、数据泄露与损坏威胁、安全意识薄弱性和设备安全漏洞是智慧城市之间差距最显著的风险因素,根据评估结果提出保障智慧城市信息安全的建议。     

Fertilization in flowering plants

After the pollen grain reaches the stigma through outsourced agents (pollinators), the next step before fertilization is to select the right type of pollen. Similar to a marriage in human beings, fiowering plants also have evolved elaborate screening process to select the right pollen grains and to reject the wrong ones. Even after initial screening for the right pollen, the pistil imposes a tough competition amongst them, comparable to a swayamvara of Indian mythology, to select the best available pollen. Flowering plants have evolved into a matriarchal society. The selection of the male partner is totally the prerogative of the mother (pistil); the boy (pollen grain) and the girl (ovule) has no say in this selection.     

基于AGIL模型的德国足球青训系统功能分析

社会学大师帕森斯创造性地提出"AGIL模型",用来分析社会具体系统之结构与相应功能。AGIL模型指出任何一个系统都具备四种功能:适应功能、目标达成功能、整合功能与维模功能,这四种功能是任何社会系统及其子系统存在并实现稳定发展所不可缺少的要素。德国足球青训系统近些年成就斐然,基于AGIL模型,主要运用文献资料分析法,以系统四功能为分析重点,从社会学角度剖析其成功的深层次原因,以期为我国打造足球青训系统提供初步思路。     

Chinese middle school teachers’ preferences regarding performance evaluation measures

Teacher performance evaluation currently is receiving unprecedented attention from policy makers, scholars, and practitioners worldwide. This study is one of the few studies of teacher perceptions regarding teacher performance measures that focus on China. We employed a quantitative dominant mixed research design to investigate Chinese teachers’ preferences for teacher performance measures and the possible reasons for their preferences. Considering the quantitative results, the surveyed Chinese teachers identified fulfillment of additional roles, collaboration with faculty and staff, and students’ test scores as the most important measures for performance evaluation. Qualitatively, the most important measures that the surveyed teachers reported were the teacher’s morality, workload, and students’ test scores.