Distribution of Temperature and Strength in the Central Andean Lithosphere and Its Relationship to Seismicity and Active Deformation

We present three-dimensional (3D) models of the present-day steady-state conductive thermal field and strength distribution in the lithosphere beneath the Central Andes. Our primary objective was to investigate the influence that the structure of the Central Andean lithosphere has on its thermal and rheological state, and the relationship between the latter and the active deformation in the region. We used our previous data-driven and gravity-constrained 3D density model as starting point for the calculations. We first assigned lithology-derived thermal and rheological properties to the different divisions of the density model and defined temperature boundary conditions. We then calculated the 3D steady-state conductive thermal field and the maximum differential stresses for both brittle and ductile behaviors. We find that the thickness and composition of the crust are the main factors affecting the modeled thermal field, and consequently also the strength distribution. The orogen is characterized by a thick felsic crust with elevated temperatures and a low integrated strength, whereas the foreland and forearc are underlain by a more mafic and thinner crust with lower temperatures and a higher integrated strength. We find that most of the intraplate deformation coincides spatially with the steepest strength gradients and suggest that the high potential energy of the orogen together with the presence of rheological lateral heterogeneities produce high compressional stresses and strong strain localization along the margins of the orogen. We interpret earthquakes within the modeled ductile field to be related to the weakening effect of long-lived faults and/or the presence of seismic asperities.Fil: Ibarra, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Prezzi, Claudia Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Bott, Judith. German Research Centre for Geosciences; AlemaniaFil: Scheck Wenderoth, Magdalena. German Research Centre for Geosciences; AlemaniaFil: Strecker, Manfred. Universitat Potsdam; Alemani

Good for your soul? Adult learning and mental well-being

Although there is a widely held view that adult learning has a positive impact on well-being, only recently has this proposition been systematically tested. The paper reviews recent research findings on the influence of adult learning on earnings and employability, both of which may influence well-being indirectly. These are more important for some groups than others: in economically advanced societies, additional earnings produce limited gains in well-being for most groups except the poorest, while employability is most significant for groups that are most vulnerable in the labour market. The author then reviews recent research findings showing that participating in learning in adult life has some positive direct influence on well-being; analyses of cohort studies suggest that the influence is comparatively small, but nevertheless significant. There has been less study of learning’s negative consequences for well-being, and the paper draws on history data to illustrate some of these less desirable influences. It concludes by identifying areas for further research, and outlining a number of implications for policy and practice. These are particularly important in the current context, where environmental movements appear to be challenging the primacy of economic growth as the overarching goal of policy

Crowdsourcing innovation: Understanding online idea generation and knowledge production

Successful idea generation, selection and management are crucial in the early stages of any innovation process. The use of crowdsourcing during this phase can be beneficial and can lead to product ideas and solutions that are novel, show customer benefit and are likely to be more successful in the market than products based on the ideas generated by professionals. However, the underlying mechanisms of innovation crowdsourcing are not yet properly understood and there are open questions regarding the ideation and knowledge production capacities that can be gained using crowdsourcing. In three empirical studies this thesis advances our understanding of crowdsourced idea generation and knowledge production. It sheds light on different characteristics of successful innovation crowdsourcing by focussing on the characteristics of implemented ideas, the online behaviour of successful ideators and on the development of ideas through the crowd’s comments. The insights gained in these studies, as well as through the fast-growing number of empirical research papers that address the different underlying mechanisms of innovation crowdsourcing, clearly show the need for an analytical framework defining the different areas of knowledge production within the innovation crowdsourcing space. The framework developed in this thesis allows us to synthesise the different empirical findings in a meaningful way and to spell out how new ideas and solutions can successfully be sourced from the crowd. As innovation crowdsourcing attempts can differ substantially in their cognitive and social dimensions of knowledge production, four different areas of knowledge production within the innovation crowdsourcing space are defined depending on the level of uncertainty of the innovation task assigned to the crowd and on the mutual dependency among the crowd to produce the ideas or solutions needed. The results of an integrated literature review show that the mechanisms that are important in making crowdsourcing work differ depending on the area of knowledge production. Consequently, there is no single approach or strategy that will be equally useful for all innovation crowdsourcing attempts. Instead, the ways in which the task is formulated and presented to the crowd, the incentives offered to the crowd and the ways in which the idea- or knowledge-seeking organisation interacts with the crowd will have to differ depending on the area of knowledge production within the innovation crowdsourcing space

Crowdsourcing innovation: Understanding online idea generation and knowledge production

Successful idea generation, selection and management are crucial in the early stages of any innovation process. The use of crowdsourcing during this phase can be beneficial and can lead to product ideas and solutions that are novel, show customer benefit and are likely to be more successful in the market than products based on the ideas generated by professionals. However, the underlying mechanisms of innovation crowdsourcing are not yet properly understood and there are open questions regarding the ideation and knowledge production capacities that can be gained using crowdsourcing. In three empirical studies this thesis advances our understanding of crowdsourced idea generation and knowledge production. It sheds light on different characteristics of successful innovation crowdsourcing by focussing on the characteristics of implemented ideas, the online behaviour of successful ideators and on the development of ideas through the crowd’s comments. The insights gained in these studies, as well as through the fast-growing number of empirical research papers that address the different underlying mechanisms of innovation crowdsourcing, clearly show the need for an analytical framework defining the different areas of knowledge production within the innovation crowdsourcing space. The framework developed in this thesis allows us to synthesise the different empirical findings in a meaningful way and to spell out how new ideas and solutions can successfully be sourced from the crowd. As innovation crowdsourcing attempts can differ substantially in their cognitive and social dimensions of knowledge production, four different areas of knowledge production within the innovation crowdsourcing space are defined depending on the level of uncertainty of the innovation task assigned to the crowd and on the mutual dependency among the crowd to produce the ideas or solutions needed. The results of an integrated literature review show that the mechanisms that are important in making crowdsourcing work differ depending on the area of knowledge production. Consequently, there is no single approach or strategy that will be equally useful for all innovation crowdsourcing attempts. Instead, the ways in which the task is formulated and presented to the crowd, the incentives offered to the crowd and the ways in which the idea- or knowledge-seeking organisation interacts with the crowd will have to differ depending on the area of knowledge production within the innovation crowdsourcing space

Open innovation in nascent ventures: Does openness influence the speed of reaching critical milestones?

Research on open innovation (OI) has demonstrated the benefits of openness for firm innovation processes, but studies have mostly offered cross-sectional insights on incumbent firms. This study offers a more dynamic perspective on the relevance of OI for nascent ventures. Combining entrepreneurship and OI theories, we argue that it is key for resource-scarce nascent ventures to achieve critical venture-creation milestones. While OI can help these ventures to leverage salient external partnerships, we argue that it affects their speed of reaching these milestones. We test our hypotheses on a longitudinal sample focusing on external collaboration practices of nascent ventures in the renewable energy or information and communications technology industries. Our results show that, while engaging in R&D collaborations slows down nascent ventures’ product development and sustainable profit generation activities, joining industry associations does not have a slow-down effect. Our results complement the OI literature by warning about the downsides of openness for nascent ventures, particularly during the venture creation phase, where speed is a high priority

Mobile telecommunications Connecting anyone, anywhere, at any time?

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