Attracting solutions in crowdsourcing contests: The role of knowledge distance,identity disclosure,and seeker status

We investigate in the context of crowdsourcing how seekers can increase open innovation performance, measured as received solver attention, by making two strategic decisions: selecting innovation tasks that are well suited for crowdsourcing and choosing between the potentials of status signalling through identity disclosure versus enjoying the benefits of anonymity. Drawing on uncertainty reduction theory, we suggest that a well-articulated problem statement reduces uncertainties of potential solvers and increases their willingness to participate. We argue that the ability of seekers to draft high-quality problem statements depends on the distance between the problem domain and their current knowledge stock. An analysis of 637 crowdsourcing projects finds that problem-seeker knowledge distance and received solver attention are curvilinear related such that moderate levels of knowledge distance maximize solver participation. However, high-status seekers who engage in identity-based status signalling are able to benefit from crowdsourcing across all levels of problem-seeker knowledge distance.     

Profile and Motivations of Registered Whole-Body Donors in Turkey: Istanbul University Experience

Little is known regarding the profiles of whole body donors in Muslim majority countries where donation is scarce. Therefore, this study aims to profile registered donors in Turkey by means of a survey. The explored data could be used to improve ongoing campaign efforts and ethical practices such as commemoration services. Registered donors of the donation programs at the two faculties of medicine of Istanbul University were compared with the national population and a cluster analysis was performed to reveal any concealed sub-groups. Data from 188 respondents were analyzed. The majority of registered donors were married (42%), male (65.4%), aged over 50 years (76%), held a tertiary education degree (49.7%), and were irreligious (58.5%). Cluster analysis revealed two groups with significantly different educational levels, marital statuses, and religious choices. Regarding whether their bodies could be used for education or research, the majority (64.5%) of the respondents left the decision to the anatomy department. Similarly, 73.8% approved indefinite use of their organs, body parts and/or skeletons. The respondents were also willing to share their medical history (94.2%) and personal information (81.6%) if needed. Motivational themes for body donation including usefulness, impermanence, religion, awareness, and kinship were devised after a thematic analysis. Among the respondents, 56.5% were registered organ donors and 63.3% were frequent blood donors. The results of this study provide data that may help revising informed consent forms, developing and implementing thanksgiving ceremonies, and selecting additional targets for supporting body donation campaign activities such as organ and blood donation units.     

No public value without a valued public

This study aims to enlighten the controversial discussion about the term public value in an innovative way. Instead of normative pronouncements and paternalistic posits, this study combines a theoretical, literature-based conception with an empirical quantitative approach. For this, the key term, public value, is split into its constituent parts of customer value and citizen value and is transformed into measurable attributes. By means of a choice-based conjoint analysis on panel data for Germany and the United Kingdom, we explore which performance attributes of public service broadcasters are the most important. Based on the results, we create a conception of public value from the perspective of the license fee payers as the main stakeholder of public service broadcasters. Our findings may unlock existing potential to increase our understanding of what is meant by the term public value.     

How Perceived Persuasive Intent and Reactance Contribute to Third-Person Perceptions: Evidence from Two Experiments

In two experiments, this study presents a process model that explains third-person perceptions (TPP) as a function of perceived persuasive intent and reactance. Using two nonstudent samples, findings were internally replicated for two topics. The study shows that media messages evoking perceptions of persuasive intent also activate reactance, which in turn predicts TPP topic-independently. Remarkably, half of the total stimulus effect on TPP could be explained through reactance, which offers new implications for existing theoretical explanations of strong TPP after undesirable messages but weak effects after, for example, prosocial messages.     

The Big-fish–little-pond-effect Stands Up to Critical Scrutiny: Implications for Theory, Methodology, and Future Research

The big-fish–little-pond effect (BFLPE) predicts that equally able students have lower academic self-concepts (ASCs) when attending schools where the average ability levels of classmates is high, and higher ASCs when attending schools where the school-average ability is low. BFLPE findings are remarkably robust, generalizing over a wide variety of different individual student and contextual level characteristics, settings, countries, long-term follow-ups, and research designs. Because of the importance of ASC in predicting future achievement, coursework selection, and educational attainment, the results have important implications for the way in which schools are organized (e.g., tracking, ability grouping, academically selective schools, and gifted education programs). In response to Dai and Rinn (Educ. Psychol. Rev., 2008), we summarize the theoretical model underlying the BFLPE, minimal conditions for testing the BFLPE, support for its robust generalizability, its relation to social comparison theory, and recent research extending previous implications, demonstrating that the BFLPE stands up to scrutiny. Quotations (associated page numbers) to the Dai and Rinn (2008) article are based on a prepublication version of the article available to the authors of this article that may have changed during the final preparation for publication. The authors would also like to express thanks to David Dai and Anne Rinn for their encouragement and assistance to us in preparation of our article, whilst still acknowledging that they might not agree will all the views expressed here.     

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Disturbance rejection control based on acceleration projection method for walking robots

This paper presents a disturbance rejection scheme for walking robots under unknown external forces and moments. The disturbance rejection strategy, which combines the inverse dynamics control with the acceleration projection onto the ZMP （zero moment point）-plane, can ensure the overall dynamic stability of the robot during tracking the pre-computed trajectories. Under normal conditions, i.e., the system is dynamically balanced, a primary inverse dynamics control is utilized. In the case that the system becomes unbalanced due to external disturbances, the acceleration projection control （APC） loop, will be activated to keep the dynamic stability of the walking robot through modifying the input torques. The preliminary experimental results on a robot leg demonstrate that the proposed method can actually make the robot keep a stable motion under unknown external perturbations.     

Zooming in Time—Exploring Students’ Interpretations of a Dynamic Tree of Life

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Central to evolution is the concept of a common ancestry from which all life has emerged over immense time scales, but learning and teaching temporal...     

Cinematic Rendering in Anatomy: A Crossover Study Comparing a Novel 3D Reconstruction Technique to Conventional Computed Tomography

Integration of medical imaging into preclinical anatomy courses is already underway in many medical schools. However, interpretation of two-dimensional grayscale images is difficult and conventional volume rendering techniques provide only images of limited quality. In this regard, a more photorealistic visualization provided by Cinematic Rendering (CR) may be more suitable for anatomical education. A randomized, two-period crossover study was conducted from July to December 2018, at the University Hospital of Erlangen, Germany to compare CR and conventional computed tomography (CT) imaging for speed and comprehension of anatomy. Sixteen students were randomized into two assessment sequences. During each assessment period, participants had to answer 15 anatomy-related questions that were divided into three categories: parenchymal, musculoskeletal, and vascular anatomy. After a washout period of 14 days, assessments were crossed over to the respective second reconstruction technique. The mean interperiod differences for the time to answer differed significantly between the CR–CT sequence (−204.21 ± 156.0 seconds) and the CT–CR sequence (243.33 ± 113.83 seconds; P < 0.001). Overall time reduction by CR was 65.56%. Cinematic Rendering visualization of musculoskeletal and vascular anatomy was higher rated compared to CT visualization (P < 0.001 and P = 0.003), whereas CT visualization of parenchymal anatomy received a higher scoring than CR visualization (P < 0.001). No carryover effects were observed. A questionnaire revealed that students consider CR to be beneficial for medical education. These results suggest that CR has a potential to enhance knowledge acquisition and transfer from medical imaging data in medical education.     

Curriculum-Integrated Information Literacy (CIIL) in a Community College Nursing Program: A Practical Model

This article describes a strategy to integrate information literacy into the curriculum of a nursing program in a community college. The model is articulated in four explained phases: preparatory, planning, implementation, and evaluation. It describes a collaborative process encouraging librarians to work with nursing faculty, driving students to acquire information literacy competencies, to use information resources as part of their learning process, and to be lifelong learners. The literature reviews the evolution of the concept of informatics in nursing practice and the different blueprints organized to attain information literacy competencies. It also describes studies that have included these competencies into nursing curriculum.