The Girl from the U. S. A.

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/1509/thumbnail.jp

Moving up the sanitation ladder with the help of microfinance in urban Malawi

Abstract We carried out a stated preference survey in Malawi to examine whether access to microfinance for sanitation would significantly increase the proportion of households upgrading to improved pit latrines or alternative improved sanitation technologies (urine diverting dry toilet, fossa alterna, pour flush). We presented a range of sanitation options at local market prices, initially without and then with a real microfinance option, to 1,300 households sampled across 27 low-income urban settlements in the two largest cities, Lilongwe and Blantyre. When we gave respondents a microfinance option, the proportion of households stating an intention to install improved and unimproved pit latrines decreased significantly, while the proportion stating an intention to upgrade to alternative improved sanitation technologies increased significantly. However, households in the lowest wealth quintile were more likely to state a preference for unimproved pit latrines, suggesting that the benefits of microfinance for sanitation may not accrue equally across wealth strata. Organisations seeking to improve access to safely managed sanitation by promoting alternative sanitation technologies would succeed if households have access to affordable alternative sanitation technologies and microfinance for sanitation. However, poorer households would need more affordable improved sanitation technologies, flexible microfinance options and possibly targeted subsidies to gain access to safely managed sanitation.</jats:p

Negative emotions influence how we move the computer mouse

Finding offers game-changing options for businesses, insider-threat detection and national security, write Martin Hibbeln, Jeffrey Jenkins, Christoph Schneider, Joe Valacich and Markus Weinman

How Online Patient–Physician Interaction Influences Patient Satisfaction

Online health interaction (OHI) is an effective and increasingly popular method for patients to access health information. Extant literature overlooks such service users’ satisfaction derived from online interactions and the measurement of OHI processes. Based on the relational communication literature and the features of OHI, the present study proposes three dimensions to conceptualize the success of OHI processes (i.e., interaction depth, information intensity, and time breadth) and explores the association between these interaction processes and service satisfaction. Further, two characteristics of OHI, namely information richness and indirect interaction, are identified as contingent factors on those proposed linkages. The research model was tested on the objective data collected from an online healthcare platform. The study findings showed that (1) interaction depth, information intensity, and time breadth positively impact service satisfaction and (2) both information richness and indirect interaction negatively moderate the effects of interaction depth and information intensity and positively moderate the effect of time breadth. The present study contributes to the existing literature by conceptualizing online interaction process and identifying the role of the specific characteristics of online healthcare and also provides implications to practitioners

Improving the Quality of Survey Data: Using Answering Behavior as an Alternative Method for Detecting Biased Respondents

Online surveys are used for collecting self-report data. Despite their prevalent use, data quality problems persist due to various response biases. Here, we demonstrate how participant answering behaviors can be used to identify biased responses. We administered an online survey where participants reported their personality dimensions of neuroticism and extraversion—two personality dimensions that have been previously shown to be correlated with a propensity to deceive—and were later presented with a scenario to exhibit deceptive behavior. We then generated models to predict deception using the neuroticism and extraversion constructs. Using respondents’ fine-grained mouse movement data when answering these questions, we generated time, behavior, and navigation-based metrics to identify biased participants. By removing these outliers, model performance improved by 93% for neuroticism and 10% for extraversion. This approach aids in gaining a clearer understanding of how some types of response biases influence model performanc

A Specially Constructed Metallograph for Use at Elevated Temperatures

A Metallographic microscope was developed with provision for heating a specimen to 1800 F in protective atmospheres, that is, vacuum or gas. A special objective was constructed of reflecting elements with an unusually long working distance (7/16 in.) and a high numerical aperture (0.5). Changes in specimen microstructure were observed and recorded on 35-millimeter motion-picture film. The resulting pictures were projected as motion pictures and individual frames were cut and enlargements made for close observation. Structural changes upon heating a 0.35-percent annealed carbon steel and a 5-percent tin phosphor bronze specimen were observed and recorded. Newly formed microstructure were revealed by selective vacuum etching and specimen relief resulting from recrystallization and varying grain orientation

Creating a Realistic Experimental Scenario for HCI-Based Deception Detection Research with Ground Truth and Unsanctioned Malicious Acts

This research-in-progress note reports on the design and execution of a study in HCI-based deception detection. The objective of the study is to examine the impact of knowledge of tracking and countermeasures on the neuro- motor changes detected when subjects commit a malfeasant act. To examine this, an experimental context and design was required that would afford the subjects an opportunity to commit an un-sanctioned malicious act while tracking ground truth in an unobtrusive manner. The experimental design, study execution, and preliminary results are presented