Whistleblowing Paradigms

Operationalizing whistleblowing in a valid paradigm is an important yet challenging endeavor. In the present article, we review four categories of whistleblowing paradigms—scenario studies, autobiographical recalls, immersive behavioral paradigms, and economic games—and discuss how they capture the definitory features of whistleblowing. Moreover, we evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each paradigm along selected psychometric criteria. Our review suggests that each of these paradigms comes with individual strength and weaknesses regarding the robustness against socially desirable responding, their efficiency, and whether or not they avoid using deception. We call for future research to conduct multi-method studies combining the four categories of whistleblowing paradigms within the same sample in order to test their convergence empirically

Parent-Identifying Codes

AbstractFor a set C of words of length 4 over an alphabet of size n, and for a, b∈C, let D(a, b) be the set of all descendants of a and b, that is, all words x of length 4 where xi∈{ai, bi} for all 1⩽i⩽4. The code C satisfies the Identifiable Parent Property if for any descendant of two code-words one can identify at least one parent. The study of such codes is motivated by questions about schemes that protect against piracy of software. Here we show that for any ε>0, if the alphabet size is n>n0(ε) then the maximum possible cardinality of such a code is less than εn2 and yet it is bigger than n2−ε. This answers a question of Hollmann, van Lint, Linnartz, and Tolhuizen. The proofs combine graph theoretic tools with techniques in additive number theory

Cosmic Call Tech – A hands-on space radio workshop for students in secondary education

The DLR_School_Lab Braunschweig, Germany, organized an amateur radio contact with an astronaut on board the International Space Station (ISS) for students from five different schools for the third time. While the contact itself was always an exciting event for the participating students our goal was to increase the sustainability in learning with a deeper understanding of the technology used for the radio contact. As a result, we present our concept for engaging with the students and preparing them for the actual radio contact with an inexpensive hands-on space radio workshop that was conducted remotely via video conferencing and thus is independent in regard to distance between the lecturer and the group. During the workshop the students built their own ground station to receive amateur radio satellites and the ISS. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the workshop could not be conducted fully as an in-person learning experience. To overcome this obstacle, we chose a hybrid approach. Each session started with a short introductory lecture using a video conferencing software. After the introduction the students worked in groups following a written guide which we provided. During the rest of the session we assisted online in case of any questions or technical difficulties. We also supplied the schools with a Raspberry Pi single board computer, an inexpensive software defined radio and some coaxial cables for building antennas. The tasks necessary building the ground station included setting up the hardware, configuring the software and building antennas. The written guide gave detailed information on how to complete the individual steps. It also provided some optional more in-depth information on propagation of electromagnetic fields, antenna theory and orbital mechanics to accommodate the range of participating school forms with different levels of proficiency and wide range of age of the students participating. The students were very motivated to take part in this workshop, even as an extracurricular activity during their spare time. The students as well as the teachers involved also highlighted the interesting and useful lectures and the professional support via video conferencing software. This kind of hybrid approach was a new and innovative learning experience for the schools. Our workshop offered the students an introduction to radio technology and space which would be otherwise beyond most teachers’ knowledge and capabilities. We demonstrated that such a workshop can be realized over distance besides pandemic conditions broadening the field of schools that can be involve

Dynamics of the Intermediate-Age Elliptical LMC Cluster NGC 1978

In this paper we investigate the internal dynamics of the LMC cluster NGC 1978 through the use of Photometric (CCD images) and kinematic (stellar radial velocities) data. We apply a variety of dynamical models to this data, including multi-mass King-Michie models and rotating and non-rotating oblate spheroid models. We discuss the cluster mass-to-light ratio and place constraints on the cluster mass function.Comment: 36 pages (plus 8 figures available through anonymous FTP, see below

Multi-level network dataset of ten Swiss wetlands governance cases based on qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys.

The dataset of this paper originated from quantitative online surveys and qualitative expert interviews with organizational actors relevant to the governance of ten Swiss wetlands from 2019 till 2021. Multi-level networks represent the wetlands governance for each of the ten cases. The collaboration networks of actors form the first level of the multi-level networks and are connected to multiple other network levels that account for the social and ecological systems those actors are active in. 521 actors relevant to the management of the ten wetlands are included in the collaboration networks; quantitative survey data exists for 71% of them. A unique feature of the collaboration networks is that it differentiates between positive and negative forms of collaboration specified based on actors' activity areas. Therefore, the data describes not only if actors collaborate but also how and where actors collaborate. Further additional two-mode networks (actor participation in forums and involvement in other regions outside the case area) are elicited in the survey and connected to the collaboration network. Finally, the dataset also contains data on ecological system interdependencies in the form of conceptual maps derived from 34 expert interviews (3-4 experts per case)

Multi-level network dataset of ten Swiss wetlands governance cases based on qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys

The dataset of this paper originated from quantitative online surveys and qualitative expert interviews with organizational actors relevant to the governance of ten Swiss wetlands from 2019 till 2021. Multi-level networks represent the wetlands governance for each of the ten cases. The collaboration networks of actors form the first level of the multi-level networks and are connected to multiple other network levels that account for the social and ecological systems those actors are active in. 521 actors relevant to the management of the ten wetlands are included in the collaboration networks; quantitative survey data exists for 71% of them. A unique feature of the collaboration networks is that it differentiates between positive and negative forms of collaboration specified based on actors' activity areas. Therefore, the data describes not only if actors collaborate but also how and where actors collaborate. Further additional two-mode networks (actor participation in forums and involvement in other regions outside the case area) are elicited in the survey and connected to the collaboration network. Finally, the dataset also contains data on ecological system interdependencies in the form of conceptual maps derived from 34 expert interviews (3-4 experts per case). Keywords: Collaboration network; Comparative case study; Conceptual maps; Social-ecological systems (SES

Socio-technical networks of infrastructure management: Network concepts and motifs for studying digitalization, decentralization, and integrated management

Networked infrastructure systems - including energy, transportation, water, and wastewater systems - provide essential services to society. Globally, these services are undergoing major transformative processes such as digitalization, decentralization, or integrated management. Such processes not only depend on technical changes in infrastructure systems but also include important social and socio-technical dimensions. In this article, we propose a socio-technical network perspective to study the ensemble of social actors and technical elements involved in an infrastructure system, and their complex relations. We conceptualize structurally explicit socio-technical networks of networked infrastructure systems based on methodological considerations from network analysis and draw on concepts from socio-technical system theories and social-ecological network studies. Based on these considerations, we suggest analytical methods to study basic network concepts such as density, reciprocity, and centrality in a socio-technical network. We illustrate socio-technical motifs, i.e., meaningful sub-structures in socio-technical networks of infrastructure management. Drawing on these, we describe how infrastructure systems can be analyzed in terms of digitalization, decentralization, and integrated management from a socio-technical network perspective. Using the example of urban wastewater systems, we illustrate an empirical application of our approach. The results of an empirical case study in Switzerland demonstrate the potential of socio-technical networks to promote a deeper understanding of complex socio-technical relations in networked infrastructure systems. We contend that such a deeper understanding could improve management practices of infrastructure systems and is becoming even more important for enabling future data-driven, decentralized, and more integrated infrastructure management. Keywords: Infrastructure management; Multi-level networks; Socio-technical networks; Socio-technical relations; Urban wastewater managemen