The effect of chatbot introduction on user satisfaction

Chatbots are becoming better and better, and their skills to perfectly imitate a human-being are almost impeccable. By means of a survey experiment this paper researches the effect of the introductory message of a chatbot on the end-user satisfaction. The experiment conditions involved a chatbot introducing itself as a chatbot, a chatbot not introducing itself, and a human being as control group. Satisfaction was measured using the constructs social presence, perceived humanness and service encounter satisfaction. Findings show that an undisclosed chatbot introduction yields a higher satisfaction with both the conversation itself and the conversational partner, while for the given advice and outcome of the conversation, users are indifferent between chatbots and real human beings

Quantification of carboxyl groups in carbodiimide cross-linked collagen sponges

Glutaraldehyde (GA) fixation of bioprosthetic tissue is a well adapted technique, with commercial products on the market for almost 40 years. Amine groups present in tissue react with GA to form different types of cross-links. An estimation of the degree of cross-linking of the tissue can be obtained by measuring the concentration of residual amine groups, which is frequently carried out with the 2,4,6 trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNBS) assay. Cross-linked tissue and collagen matrices are usually further characterized by determining their physical properties (such as the shrinkage temperature), biological properties (such as resistance to enzymatic degradation), and mechanical properties before in vivo evaluation takes place. In an effort to improve the properties of cross-linked tissue and collagen, alternative cross-linking methods have been developed. One of these methods is based on the use of water soluble carbodiimides (CDI). It is generally accepted that this cross-linking method leads only to the formation of amide linkages between tissue carboxyl and amine groups. Therefore, until recently the TNBS assay was also used to determine the degree of cross-linking of CDI cross-linked tissue and collagen. However, it cannot be excluded that after activation of carboxyl groups of tissue and collagen by CDI, these groups can react with other nucleophiles (like hydroxyl groups) present in the matrix. To obtain a better insight in the degree of cross-linking of CDI cross-linked matrices a reliable assay for quantification of residual carboxyl groups is required. Up to now such an assay was not available. In this study a new assay to determine residual carboxyl groups in CDI cross-linked collagen matrices is presented. Reconstituted dermal bovine collagen matrices (RDBC) were cross-linked with a water soluble CDI and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) and residual carboxyl groups were labeled using 5-bromomethyl fluorescein. Subsequently, the fluorescent label was released by mild hydrolysis and quantified with capillary zone electrophoresis. A calibration curve relating the concentration of carboxyl groups with peak intensities was obtained using SephadexTM standards with known concentrations of carboxyl groups. The concentration of carboxyl groups in unprocessed RDBC as determined with this new technique was equal to the concentration of carboxyl groups measured by amino acid analysis. On the basis of the concentration of residual carboxyl groups determined for CDI/NHS cross-linked RDBC and RDBC, in which the amine groups were blocked with propionaldehyde before CDI/NHS cross-linking, it was concluded that activated carboxyl groups can also react with other groups (such as hydroxyl groups) present in the matrix. This implies that the crosslink density of RDBC matrices after treatment with CDI/NHS is higher than expected on the basis of amide bond formation only, as determined by the TNBS assay

‘Don’t call me a leader, but I am one’:The Dutch mayor and the tradition of bridging-and-bonding leadership in consensus democracies

In some democratic contexts, there is a strong aversion to the directive, individualistic and masculine expressions of leadership that have come to dominate the study of political leadership. Such leadership is antithetical to consensus democracies in parts of continental Europe, where the antipathy to leadership has linguistic, institutional as well as cultural dimensions. Political-administrative and socio-cultural contexts in these countries provide little room for heroic expressions of leadership. Consequently, alternative forms of leadership and associated vocabularies have developed that carry profound practical relevance but that have remained underexplored. Based on an in-depth mixed-method study, this article presents the Dutch mayoralty as an insightful and exemplary case of what can be called ‘bridging-and-bonding leadership’; it provides a clear illustration of how understandings of democratic leadership can deviate from the dominant paradigm and of how leading in a consensus context brings about unique practical challenges for office holders. The analysis shows that the important leadership task of democratic guardianship that is performed by Dutch mayors is in danger of being overlooked by scholars of political leadership, as are consensus-oriented leadership roles in other parts of the world. For that reason, a recalibration of the leadership concept is needed, developing an increased theoretical sensitivity towards the non-decisive and process-oriented aspects of the leadership phenomenon. This article specifies how the future study of leadership, as a part of the change that is advocated, can benefit from adopting additional languages of leadership

Shifting repertoires:Understanding cultural plurality in policing

The police is one of the most prominent organizations in the frontline of public administration. In order to deal with high external expectations, the organization has been said to develop and nurture multiple police cultures. Applying Grid Group Cultural Theory, or GGCT, we address the following questions: what sets of values, beliefs and practices has the police organization developed to deal with high expectations stemming from their publics? How do cultural tensions play out in real-life practices of policing under pressure? We find that cultural patterns described in the general literature on policing can be plotted on the GGCT map. Zooming in on the case of policing in the Netherlands, cultural plurality appears to be not only prominent in the police organization as such, but can also be found in the form of continuous cultural tap-dancing - swift, flexible and improvisational shifting - at various levels of active policing

Vitale democratie

Democracy is one of the most used and misinterpreted terms of our time. In public discussions concerning the subject it is tacitly assumed that everyone is aware of the meaning of democracy and the implications it carries. In reality democratic ideals and practices take on various forms in various countries. Frank Hendriks sheds light on this subject matter in a comprehensible manner. He distinguishes four ground forms of democracy, which are inherent to democratic forms everywhere. Along with "consensus democracy", Hendriks compares "pendulum democracy", "voter democracy" and "participatory democracy", at national as well as subnational levels of governance. Hendriks concludes in his studies that contrary to popular belief, not one model is superior to the others and calls for a realistic approach to a democracy that is sensitive to the context in which democracy must prove and sustain itself.In Nederland wordt net als elders veel geklaagd over 'het democratisch tekort' en 'de kloof tussen burger en bestuur'. De aangedragen oplossing is doorgaans 'meer democratie'. De consensus op dit punt lijkt groot. Maar de werkelijkheid is anders. Uit een schijnbaar eenvoudig principe, de samentrekking van demos en kratia, het volk dat regeert, vloeien zeer uiteenlopende denk-en handelingswerelden voort. In Vitale democratie werpt Frank Hendriks licht op deze zaak. Hij doet dat in een verhelderend en stimulerend relaas dat op verschillende niveaus kan worden gelezen. Enerzijds schetst Hendriks een panoramisch beeld van wat er in de wereld te koop is aan beproefde modellen van democratie. Anderzijds ontvouwt hij een theoretisch perspectief van waaruit de meervoudige werkelijkheid van de democratie op een zinvolle manier kan worden bekeken, vergeleken en op waarde geschat

Beleid, cultuur en instituties: Het verhaal van twee steden

In deze studie wordt de invloed van instituties en cultuur op het overheidsbeleid onderzocht. Aan de hand van twee case-studies naar het automobiliteitsbeleid in de steden Birmingham en München wordt duidelijk dat lokale beleidsinstituties en culturen voor een grote mate van invloed zijn op de keuze voor het automobiliteitsbeleid. Een link wordt gelegd met de Nederlandse situatie en het thema van bestuurlijke vernieuwing.UBL - phd migration 201

Leading principles for governance innovation:Towards a robust frame of reference

Zowel in de bestuurspraktijk als in de bestuurswetenschap is bestuurlijke innovatie een felbegeerd goed. In dit artikel doet de auteur een poging het goede, of betere, dat met bestuurlijke innovatie kan worden nagestreefd scherper te omschrijven dan doorgaans gebeurt. Het resultaat is een inhoudelijk kader waarmee bestuurlijke innovaties kunnen worden gekwalificeerd en geëvalueerd. Het artikel komt voort uit een bijzonder interactieonderzoek, dat begon met een vraag uit de bestuurspraktijk (een vraag naar leidende beginselen voor bestuurlijke innovatie in de gemeente Breda) en uitliep op een confrontatie tussen bestuurspraktische desiderata enerzijds en bestuurswetenschappelijke grondslagen anderzijds. Uiteindelijk kwam er een zestal leidende beginselen uit het onderzoek naar voren: responsiviteit, productiviteit, betrokkenheid, tegendruk, creativiteit en behoorlijkheid. De auteur bespreekt ook hoe het resulterende kader kan worden gebruikt en opgevat. Het kader is robuust omdat het niet alleen theoretisch (de literatuur over ‘governance’ en ‘democratic innovation’) geïnspireerd en gefundeerd is, maar ook herkenbaar en hanteerbaar is voor de praktijk

Vitale democratie

Democracy is one of the most used and misinterpreted terms of our time. In public discussions concerning the subject it is tacitly assumed that everyone is aware of the meaning of democracy and the implications it carries. In reality democratic ideals and practices take on various forms in various countries. Frank Hendriks sheds light on this subject matter in a comprehensible manner. He distinguishes four ground forms of democracy, which are inherent to democratic forms everywhere. Along with "consensus democracy", Hendriks compares "pendulum democracy", "voter democracy" and "participatory democracy", at national as well as subnational levels of governance. Hendriks concludes in his studies that contrary to popular belief, not one model is superior to the others and calls for a realistic approach to a democracy that is sensitive to the context in which democracy must prove and sustain itself

The Power of Computer-Mediated Communication Theories in Explaining the Effect of Chatbot Introduction on User Experience

Chatbots have increasingly penetrated our lives as their behavior growingly imitates a human interlocutor. This paper examines the effect of different methods of self-presentation of a chatbot on the end-user experience. An interlocutor in a computer-mediated communication (CMC) environment can either introduce itself as a chatbot, a human being, or choose not to identify itself. We conducted an experiment to compare these three methods in terms of end-user experience that comprises of social presence, perceived humanness, and service encounter satisfaction. Our data demonstrate that a chatbot that discloses its virtual identity is scored significantly lower for social presence and perceived humanness than other two choices of self-presentation. Key findings and the associated implications are discussed