Consensus and opinions; quality and churn

The role of the web user is under transformation from merely being an information consumer to also being a content provider, ``from information age to participation age'', in the words of Sun CEO Scott McNealy. This increase in participation is most obviously manifested by the growth of online communities, weblogs (blogs), and various forms of cooperative and participatory publication of information. One main factor in the shift towards participation is the advent of authoring tools for wikipedias and blogs. Such tools have decreased the threshold for publishing material online considerably --- it is no longer necessary to have knowledge about the technical workings of the web to be able to use it for making information available to a massive number of potential readers. (Although the lion's share of information produced will probably remain in text form in the foreseeable future, it should be noted that other modalities, such as podcasts, screencasts, films and images, are increasingly attracting interest.) The dynamic nature of blogs and wikipedias poses new challenges to the field of information access and refinement; new theories, methods, and tools for alleviating the burden of digesting information on behalf of the readers are clearly needed. This paper presents some issues on readership and participation we are currently considering

Elucidation of big data analytics in banking : a four-stage Delphi study

Purpose In today's networked business environment, a huge amount of data is being generated and processed in different industries, which banking is amongst the most important ones. The aim of this study is to understand and prioritize strategic applications, main drivers, and key challenges of implementing big data analytics in banks. Design/methodology/approach To take advantage of experts' viewpoints, the authors designed and implemented a four-round Delphi study. Totally, 25 eligible experts have contributed to this survey in collecting and analyzing the data. Findings The results revealed that the most important applications of big data in banks are “fraud detection” and “credit risk analysis.” The main drivers to start big data endeavors are “decision-making enhancement” and “new product/service development,” and finally the focal challenge threatening the efforts and expected outputs is “information silos and unintegrated data.” Originality/value In addition to stepping forward in the literature, the findings advance our understanding of the main managerial issues of big data in a dynamic business environment, by proposing effective further actions for both scholars and decision-makers

The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies

In theory, democracy is a bulwark against socially harmful policies. In practice, however, democracies frequently adopt and maintain policies that are damaging. How can this paradox be explained? The influence of special interests and voter ignorance are two leading explanations. I offer an alternative story of how and why democracy fails. The central idea is that voters are worse than ignorant; they are, in a word, irrational -- and they vote accordingly. Despite their lack of knowledge, voters are not humble agnostics; instead, they confidently embrace a long list of misconceptions. Economic policy is the primary activity of the modern state. And if there is one thing that the public deeply misunderstands, it is economics. People do not grasp the "invisible hand" of the market, with its ability to harmonize private greed and the public interest. I call this anti-market bias. They underestimate the benefits of interaction with foreigners. I call this anti-foreign bias. They equate prosperity not with production, but with employment. I call this make-work bias. Finally, they are overly prone to think that economic conditions are bad and getting worse. I call this pessimistic bias. In the minds of many, Winston Churchill's famous aphorism cuts the conversation short: "Democracy is the worst form of government, except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." But this saying overlooks the fact that governments vary in scope as well as form. In democracies the main alternative to majority rule is not dictatorship, but markets. A better understanding of voter irrationality advises us to rely less on democracy and more on the market

Effective Superintendents, Effective Boards: Finding the Right Fit

Looks at the relationship between school boards and superintendents and how it affects student achievement. Explores the effectiveness, political complexities, and interest in reforming the current superintendent/school board model

Agent-based model of the market penetration of a new product

Includes bibliographical references.This dissertation presents an agent-based model that is used to investigate the market penetration of a new product within a competitive market. The market consists of consumers that belong to social network that serves as a substrate over which consumers exchange positive and negative word-of-mouth communication about the products that they use. Market dynamics are influenced by factors such as product quality; the level of satisfaction that consumers derive from using the products in the market; switching constraints that make it difficult for consumers to switch between products; the word-of-mouth that consumers exchange and the structure of the social network that consumers belong to. Various scenarios are simulated in order to investigate the effect of these factors on the market penetration of a new product. The simulation results suggest that: ■ A new product reaches fewer new consumers and acquires a lower market share when consumers switch less frequently between products. ■ A new product reaches more new consumers and acquires a higher market share when it is of a better quality to that of the existing products because more positive word-of-mouth is disseminated about it. ■ When there are products that have switching constraints in the market, launching a new product with switching constraints results in a higher market share compared to when it is launched without switching constraints. However, it reaches fewer new consumers because switching constraints result in negative word-of-mouth being disseminated about it which deters other consumers from using it. Some factors such as the fussiness of consumers; the shape and size of consumers' social networks; the type of messages that consumers transmit and with whom and how often they communicate about a product, may be beyond the control of marketing managers. However, these factors can potentially be influenced through a marketing strategy that encourages consumers to exchange positive word-of-mouth both with consumers that are familiar with a product and those who are not