Why Incorporating a Platform-Intermediary can Increase Crowdsourcees’ Engagement - Case-Study Based Insights

While the crowdsourcer’s job is to encourage valuable contributions and sustained commitment in a cost- effective manner, it seems as if the primary attention of management and research is still centered on the evaluation of contributions rather than the crowd. As many crowd- sourcers lack the resources to successfully execute such projects, crowdsourcing intermediaries play an increas- ingly important role. First studies dealt with internal management challenges of incorporating an intermediary. However, the issue of how intermediaries influence crowdsourcees’ psychological and behavioral responses, further referred to as engagement, has not been addressed yet. Consequently, two leading research questions guide this paper: (1) How can the engagement process of crowdsourcees be conceptualized? (2) How and why do crowdsourcing intermediaries impact crowdsourcees’ engagement? This study extends existing knowledge by offering IS-researchers a process perspective on engage- ment and exploring the underlying mechanisms and IT- enabled stimuli that foster value-creation in a mediated and non-mediated setting. A theoretical process model is first conceptualized and then explored with insights from two common cases in the growing field of crowd testing. By triangulating platform and interview data, initial proposi- tions concerning the role of specific stimuli and the inter- mediary within the engagement process are derived. It is proposed that crowdsourcing enterprises, incorporating intermediaries, have the potential to generate a desired engagement state when perceived stimuli under their con- trol belong to the so-called group of ‘‘game changers’’ and ‘‘value adders’’, while the intermediary controls mainly ‘‘risk factors’’ for absorbing negative experiences. Apart from the theoretical relevance of studying mediated engagement processes and explaining voluntary use and participation in a socio-technical system, findings support decisions on how to effectively incorporate platform intermediaries

Virtual Learning Communities: Success Factors and Challenges. In:

Abstract: Despite their didactical potential many Virtual Learning Communities (VLCs) fail in enhancing learning outcomes. Therefore, we synthesise factors most critical for establishing a successful VLC. Applying a structured literature review, we searched for studies dealing with VLCs in the well known databases Business Source Premier, Science Direct and ERIC. We identified, classified and synthesised 64 relevant papers. Results indicate that critical success factors include a strong instructor that acts in different facilitation roles, face-to-face meetings that help establishing social ties and well structured small-group assignments that scaffold the learning process. Main challenges are a lack of common goals, feelings of inhibition and technical problems. Based on the review, we offer concrete advice for instructors building up VLCs. We suggest that future research should focus on the design of methods and tools for instructors to facilitate the learning process in a less resource demanding way

Human-free offshore lifting solutions

With single elements weighing up to hundreds of tonnes and lifted to heights of 100 meters, offshore wind turbines can pose risks to personnel, assets, and the environment during installation and maintenance interventions. To increase safety during offshore lifts, this study focuses on solutions for human-free lifting operations. Ideas in the categories of logistics, connections, as well as guidance and control, were discussed and ranked by means of a multi-criteria decision analysis. Based upon 38 survey responses weighting 21 predefined decision criteria, the most promising concepts were selected. Logistically, pre-assembled systems would reduce the number of lifts and thus reduce the risk. A MATLAB-based code has been developed to optimise installation time, lifted weight, and number of lifts. Automated bolting and seafastening solutions have high potential to increase safety during the transport of the wind turbine elements and, additionally, speed up the process. Finally, the wind turbine should be lifted on top of the support structure without having personnel being under the load. A multi-directional mechanical guiding element has been designed and tested successfully in combination with visual guidance by cameras in a small-scale experiment

Using NFriendConnector to Extend Facebook to the Real World

Université Paris IV-Sorbonne, UFR de philosophie et de sociologie. Prof. Ruedi Imbach MASTER 2 (1er et 2nd semestre 2010-2011), Séminaire de philosophie médiévale Deux théories médiévales sur les catégories et les transcendantaux: Thomas d'Aquin et Dietrich de Freiberg La doctrine des transcendantaux (un, vrai, bien) est incontestablement l'un des acquis les plus originaux de la métaphysique médiévale. Quel est le rapport de cette  théorie qui tente d’identifier les déterminations générales ..

Mechanism of polarization of Listeria monocytogenes surface protein ActA

The polar distribution of the ActA protein on the surface of the Gram-positive intracellular bacterial pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes, is required for bacterial actin-based motility and successful infection. ActA spans both the bacterial membrane and the peptidoglycan cell wall. We have directly examined the de novo ActA polarization process in vitro by using an ActA–RFP (red fluorescent protein) fusion. After induction of expression, ActA initially appeared at distinct sites along the sides of bacteria and was then redistributed over the entire cylindrical cell body through helical cell wall growth. The accumulation of ActA at the bacterial poles displayed slower kinetics, occurring over several bacterial generations. ActA accumulated more efficiently at younger, less inert poles, and proper polarization required an optimal balance between protein secretion and bacterial growth rates. Within infected host cells, younger generations of L. monocytogenes initiated motility more quickly than older ones, consistent with our in vitro observations of de novo ActA polarization. We propose a model in which the polarization of ActA, and possibly other Gram-positive cell wall-associated proteins, may be a direct consequence of the differential cell wall growth rates along the bacterium and dependent on the relative rates of protein secretion, protein degradation and bacterial growth

Keep them alive! Design and Evaluation of the “Community Fostering Reference Model”

Firms host online communities for commercial purposes, for example in order to integrate customers into ideation for new product development. The success of these firm-hosted online communities depends entirely on the cooperation of a high number of customers that constantly produce valuable knowledge for firms. However, in practice, the majority of successfully implemented communities suffers from stagnation and even a decrease of member activities over time. Literature provides numerous guidelines on how to build and launch these online communities. While these models describe the initial steps of acquiring and activating a community base from scratch very well and explicitly, they neglect continuous member activation and acquistion after a successful launch. Against this background, the authors propose the Community Fostering Reference Model (CoFoRM), which represents a set of general procedures and instruments to continuously foster member activity. In this paper, the authors present the theory-driven design as well as the evaluation of the CoFoRM in a practical use setting. The evaluation results reveal that the CoFoRM represents a valuable instrument in the daily working routine of community managers, since it efficiently helps activating community members especially in the late phases of a community’s LifeCycle

Comparative analysis of somitogenesis related genes of the hairy/Enhancer of split class in Fugu and zebrafish

BACKGROUND: Members of a class of bHLH transcription factors, namely the hairy (h), Enhancer of split (E(spl)) and hairy-related with YRPW motif (hey) (h/E(spl)/hey) genes are involved in vertebrate somitogenesis and some of them show cycling expression. By sequence comparison, identified orthologues of cycling somitogenesis genes from higher vertebrates do not show an appropriate expression pattern in zebrafish. The zebrafish genomic sequence is not available yet but the genome of Fugu rubripes was recently published. To allow comparative analysis, the currently known Her proteins from zebrafish were used to screen the genomic sequence database of Fugu rubripes. RESULTS: 20 h/E(spl)/hey-related genes were identified in Fugu, which is twice the number of corresponding zebrafish genes known so far. A novel class of c-Hairy proteins was identified in the genomes of Fugu and Tetraodon. A screen of the human genome database with the Fugu proteins yielded 10 h/E(spl)/hey-related genes. By analysing the upstream sequences of the c-hairy class genes in zebrafish, Fugu and Tetraodon highly similar sequence stretches were identified that harbour Suppressor of hairless paired binding sites (SPS). This motif was also discovered in the upstream sequences of the her1 gene in the examined fish species. Here, the Su(h) sites are separated by longer intervening sequences. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that not all her homologues in zebrafish have been isolated. Comparison to the human genome suggests a selective duplication of h/E(spl) genes in pufferfish or loss of members of these genes during evolution to the human lineage

Repressor Dimerization in the Zebrafish Somitogenesis Clock

The oscillations of the somitogenesis clock are linked to the fundamental process of vertebrate embryo segmentation, yet little is known about their generation. In zebrafish, it has been proposed that Her proteins repress the transcription of their own mRNA. However, in its simplest form, this model is incompatible with the fact that morpholino knockdown of Her proteins can impair expression of their mRNA. Simple self-repression models also do not account for the spatiotemporal pattern of gene expression, with waves of gene expression shrinking as they propagate. Here we study computationally the networks generated by the wealth of dimerization possibilities amongst transcriptional repressors in the zebrafish somitogenesis clock. These networks can reproduce knockdown phenotypes, and strongly suggest the existence of a Her1–Her7 heterodimer, so far untested experimentally. The networks are the first reported to reproduce the spatiotemporal pattern of the zebrafish somitogenesis clock; they shed new light on the role of Her13.2, the only known link between the somitogenesis clock and positional information in the paraxial mesoderm. The networks can also account for perturbations of the clock by manipulation of FGF signaling. Achieving an understanding of the interplay between clock oscillations and positional information is a crucial first step in the investigation of the segmentation mechanism