Reputation, Altruism, and the Benefits of Seller Charity in an Online Marketplace

We investigate the impact of charity tie-ins on transaction probabilities and sale prices using a large database of eBay auctions. We examine “natural experiments” of precisely matched clusters of charity and non-charity auctions with identical titles, subtitles, sellers, and start prices. We find a 6 to 14 percentage point increase in sale probability and a 2 to 6 percent greater maximum bid for charity items, depending on the fraction of auction proceeds that is donated to charity. The impact on sale probability and price is most pronounced among sellers without extensive eBay histories, suggesting that consumers view charity as a signal of seller quality and a substitute for reputation. We also find that charity-tied products by all sellers are more likely to sell (and at higher prices) immediately following Hurricane Katrina, implying that consumers derive direct utility from seller charity at times when charity is particularly salient.

The Organizational Action Research Model

This chapter proposes a paradigm, which empowers practitioners to practice research to meet their needs and to advance the profession to which they belong. It proposes the integration of practitioner and researcher role as an alternative to the fragmented model that currently exists. In doing so, it draws much from the past tradition of the action researchers as well as the science approach espoused by others. In this way, the needs of individual managers to evaluate their espoused theories and their theories-in-use can be undertaken so that their organizations can function more realistically and can respond more effectively to the need for self-examination and change

Animated Dancing to Hell and Back: Disney’s \u3ci\u3eFantasia\u3c/i\u3e

Imaginative images of Heaven and Hell capture the sociocultural engagement with Walt Disney’s Fantasia (1940), which demonstrates animated dancing bodies to represent the descent and passage of the hero’s journey. This journey is presented with many different forms of conflict and images that become unique through the qualities of the animated screendance. This form of dance on film is accentuated by the visualization of imaginative bodies, a conflict between knowledge and curiosity, and the spectacle of layering images on top of symbolic meanings to emphasize the power of identification with the audience. The spectators of this film are engaged with the images and music, primarily through the two sequences in question: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria. These two cartoons represent images of Hell, the barriers it places on the dancing body, and the lessons of morality. The bodies that fill these scenes also present mythological hybridity, yet in a manner that evokes more terror and curiosity through the imagination of watching soulless brooms or demons flitting along the screen. The effects on the senses and affective emotions are products of animation’s ability to visualize and force believability of the dance onto the audiences, who are identifying and feeling for these characters. This paper utilizes theories of the Screendance, animation practices specifically from Walt Disney, and cinema’s ability to signify and project powerful meanings onto the images seemingly brought to life to showcase the mythological hero and Hellish bodies that are byproducts of the experience

Metadata Pragmatics: Toward A Unified Semiotic Framework

With the increasing focus on data sharing in the sciences and information organization in networked information-spaces, metadata has become a prominent area of research and activity. Scholars in library and information science and science studies have distinct approaches to describing and understanding metadata. This thesis reviews the accounts of metadata given by these two fields and then takes preliminary steps toward a unified analytic framework for research, based in Peircean semiotics as it has been developed within semiotic anthropology.Master of Science in Information Scienc

The Social Perception of Emotional Abilities: Expanding What We Know About Observer Ratings of Emotional Intelligence

We examine the social perception of emotional intelligence (EI) through the use of observer ratings. Individuals frequently judge others’ emotional abilities in real-world settings, yet we know little about the properties of such ratings. This article examines the social perception of EI and expands the evidence to evaluate its reliability and cross-judge agreement, as well as its convergent, divergent, and predictive validity. Three studies use real-world colleagues as observers and data from 2,521 participants. Results indicate significant consensus across observers about targets’ EI, moderate but significant self–observer agreement, and modest but relatively consistent discriminant validity across the components of EI. Observer ratings significantly predicted interdependent task performance, even after controlling for numerous factors. Notably, predictive validity was greater for observer-rated than for self-rated or ability-tested EI. We discuss the minimal associations of observer ratings with ability-tested EI, study limitations, future directions, and practical implications

Publishing's Media in Media Res

A brief retrospective ethnography of my work as a production editor at a university press, focused on the social and material organization of work on book manuscripts