The role of psychological and physiological factors in decision making under risk and in a dilemma

We study the difference in the result of two different risk elicitation methods by linking estimates of risk attitudes to gender, age, personality traits, a decision in a dilemma situation, and physiological states measured by heart rate variability (HRV). Our results indicate that differences between the methods can partly be explained by gender, but not by personality traits. Furthermore, HRV is linked to risktaking in the experiment for at least one of the methods, indicating that more stressed individuals display more risk aversion. Finally, we and that risk attitudes are not predictive of the ability to decide in a dilemma, but personality traits are. Surprisingly, there is also no apparent relationship between the physiological state during the dilemma situation and the ability to make a decision.

Gender and other determinants of trust and reciprocity in an experimental labour market amongst Chinese students

Due to economic and demographic changes highly educated women play an important role on the Chinese labour market. Gender has been shown to be an important characteristic that influences behaviour in economic experiments, as have, to a lesser degree, academic major, age and income. We provide a study looking at trust and reciprocity and their determinants in a labour market laboratory experiment. Our experimental data is based on two games, the Gift Exchange Game (GEG) and a variant of this game (the Wage Promising Game, WPG) where the employer's wage offer is non-binding and the employer can choose the wage freely after observing the workers effort. We and that women are less trusting and reciprocal than men in the GEG while this cannot be found in the WPG. Letting participants play the GEG and the WPG, allows us to disentangle reciprocal and risk attitudes. While in the employer role, it seems to be that risk attitude is the main factor, this is not confirmed analysing decisions in the worker role.

Getting published — and cited in entrepreneurship : reflections on ten papers

I grew up in academic heaven. At least for me it was. Not only was Sweden in the late 1980s paradise for any kind of empirical research, with rich and high-quality business statistics being made available to researchers without them having to sign away their lives; 70+ percent response rates achieved in mail surveys to almost any group (if you knew how to do them), and boards of directors opening their doors to more qualitatively orientated researchers to sit in during their meetings. In addition, I perceived an environment with a very high degree of academic freedom, letting me do whatever I found interesting and important. I’m sure for others it was sheer hell, with very unclear career paths and rules of the game. Career progression (something which rarely entered my mind) meant that you tried as best you could and then you put all your work – reports, books, book chapters, conference papers, maybe even published articles – in a box and had some external committee of professors look at it. If you were lucky they liked what they saw for whatever reasons their professorial wisdom dictated, and you got hired or promoted. If you were not so lucky you wouldn’t get the job or the promotion, without quite knowing why. So people could easily imagine an old boys club – whose members were themselves largely unproven in international, peer review publishing – picking whoever they wanted by whatever criteria they choose to apply. Neither the fact that assessors were external nor the presence of an appeals system might have completely appeased your suspicious and skeptical mind, considering the balance of power.

The impact of interface modality on police officers' visual behaviour when using an in-vehicle system

Background Standard operating procedures state that police officers should not drive while interacting with their mobile data terminal (MDT) which provides in-vehicle information essential to police work. Such interactions do however occur in practice and represent a potential source of driver distraction. The MDT comprises visual output with manual input via touch screen and keyboard. This study investigated the potential for alternative input and output methods to mitigate driver distraction with specific focus on eye movements. Method Nineteen experienced drivers of police vehicles (one female) from the NSW Police Force completed four simulated urban drives. Three drives included a concurrent secondary task: imitation licence plate search using an emulated MDT. Three different interface methods were examined: Visual-Manual, Visual-Voice, and Audio-Voice (“Visual” and “Audio” = output modality; “Manual” and “Voice” = input modality). During each drive, eye movements were recorded using FaceLAB™ (Seeing Machines Ltd, Canberra, ACT). Gaze direction and glances on the MDT were assessed. Results The Visual-Voice and Visual-Manual interfaces resulted in a significantly greater number of glances towards the MDT than Audio-Voice or Baseline. The Visual-Manual and Visual-Voice interfaces resulted in significantly more glances to the display than Audio-Voice or Baseline. For longer duration glances (>2s and 1-2s) the Visual-Manual interface resulted in significantly more fixations than Baseline or Audio-Voice. The short duration glances (<1s) were significantly greater for both Visual-Voice and Visual-Manual compared with Baseline and Audio-Voice. There were no significant differences between Baseline and Audio-Voice. Conclusion An Audio-Voice interface has the greatest potential to decrease visual distraction to police drivers. However, it is acknowledged that an audio output may have limitations for information presentation compared with visual output. The Visual-Voice interface offers an environment where the capacity to present information is sustained, whilst distraction to the driver is reduced (compared to Visual-Manual) by enabling adaptation of fixation behaviour.

Paper, prices and politics : an evaluation of the Swedish support to the Bai Bang project in Vietnam : a Sida evaluation report

Sweden���s protest against the Vietnam War was given tangible form in 1969 through the decision to give economic aid to the Government of North Vietnam. The main outcome was an integrated pulp and paper mill in the Vinh Phu Province north-west of Hanoi. Known as Bai Bang after its location, the mill became the most costly, one of the longest lasting and the most controversial project in the history of Swedish development cooperation. In 1996 Bai Bang produced at its full capacity. Today the mill is exclusively managed and staffed by the Vietnamese and there are plans for future expansion. At the same time a substantial amount of money has been spent to reach these achievements. Looking back at the cumbersome history of the project the results are against many’s expectations. To learn more about the conditions for sustainable development Sida commissioned two studies of the Bai Bang project. Together they touch upon several important issues in development cooperation over a period of almost 30 years: the change of aid paradigms over time, the role of foreign policy in development cooperation, cultural obstacles, recipient responsibility versus donor led development etc. The two studies were commissioned by Sida’s Department for Evaluation and Internal Audit which is an independent department reporting directly to Sida’s Board of Directors. One study assesses the financial and economic viability of the pulp and paper mill and the broader development impact of the project in Vietnam. It has been carried out by the Centre for International Economics, an Australian private economic research agency. The other study analyses the decision-making processes that created and shaped the project over a period of two decades, and reflects on lessons from the project for development cooperation in general. This study has been carried out by the Chr. Michelsen Institute, a Norweigan independent research institution.

Literary prosumers : young people’s reading and writing in a new media landscape

The production of culture is today a matter of ‘user generated content’ and young people are vital participants as ‘prosumers’, i.e. both producers and consumers, of cultural products. Among other things, they are busy creating fan works (stories, pictures, films) based on already published material. Using the genre fan fiction as a point of departure, this article explores the drivers behind net communities organised around fan culture and argues that fan fiction sites can in many aspects be regarded as informal learning settings. By turning to the rhetoric principle of imitatio, the article shows how in the collective interactive processes between readers and writers such fans develop literacies and construct gendered identities.

Boken, berättelsen, pengarna I den digitala tidsåldern [The book, the story and the money in the digital age]

År 2012 är distribution av litteratur via internet inte längre en framtidsvision, utan ett etablerat format vid sidan av traditionella format som exempelvis pocketboken, den inbundna boken och ljudboken (AAP 2011; Amazon 2011; PaidContent 2011). Men den digitala tekniken etablerar inte enbart ett nytt format, utan förändrar också grundförutsättningarna för litterära konstformer och marknader. Detta kapitel behandlar en betydelsefull aspekt av denna förändring, nämligen hur den digitala tekniken påverkar relationen mellan läsare och författare och ökar läsarens inflytande över den kreativa processen. I den digitala tidsåldern är det möjligt att skapa berättelser online i en interaktiv process som involverar både läsare och författare. Kapitlet presenterar modeller för hur sådan “samproducerad e-litteratur” förändrar marknaden för litteratur och hur den påverkar den traditionella litteraturen.

A comparison of MiL‐Lx and Hybrid‐III responses in seated and standing postures with blast mats in simulated under‐vehicle explosions

Blast mats that can be retrofitted to the floor of military vehicles are considered to reduce the risk of injury from under‐vehicle explosions. Anthropometric test devices (ATDs) are validated for use only in the seated position. The aim of this study was to use a traumatic injury simulator fitted with 3 different blast mats in order to assess the ability of 2 ATD designs to evaluate the protective capacity of the mats in 2 occupant postures under 2 severities. Tests were performed for each combination of mat design, ATD, severity and posture using an antivehicle under‐belly injury simulator. The differences between mitigation systems were larger under the H‐III compared to the MiL‐Lx. There was little difference in how the 2 ATDs and how posture ranked the mitigation systems. Results from this study suggest that conclusions obtained by testing in the seated position can be extrapolated to the standing. However, the different percentage reductions observed in the 2 ATDs suggests different levels of protection. It is therefore unclear which ATD should be used to assess such mitigation systems. A correlation between cadavers and ATDs on the protection offered by blast mats is required in order to elucidate this issue.

Evolving a design driven ‘hybrid’ research approach to inform and advance sustainable outcomes in the built environment sector

A significant reduction in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a priority, and the preservation of existing building stock presents a significant opportunity to reduce the carbon footprint of our built environment. Within this ‘wicked’ problem context, and moving beyond the ad hoc and incremental performance improvements that have been made to date, collaborative and multidisciplinary efforts are required to find rapid and transformational solutions. Design has emerged as a strategic and redirective practice, and lessons can therefore be learned about transformation and potentially applied in the built environment. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a pragmatic and novel research approach for undertaking such applied design driven research. This paper begins with a discussion of key contributions from design science (rational) and action research (reflective) philosophies in creating an emerging methodological ‘hybrid design approach’. This research approach is then discussed in relation to its application to specific research exploring the processes, methods and lessons from design in heritage building retrofit projects. Drawing on both industry and academic knowledge to ensure relevance and rigour, it is anticipated that the hybrid design approach will be useful for others tackling such complex wicked problems that require context-specific solutions.

The chef as designer : classifying the techniques that chefs use in creating innovative dishes

This qualitative study explores the methods that chefs use to create innovative marketable product and compares these findings to other design tools. This study is based on a series of interviews with locally recognised chefs in Minnesota and observations of them in their kitchens in order to understand the details of how they conceive and develop dishes from preliminary concept to final plating and user consumption. This paper focuses on idea generation and discusses two key findings: first, the variety of idea generation techniques presented by the chefs can be classified into the creativity tool SCAMPER (substitute, combine, adapt, modify/magnify, put to other use, eliminate, reverse/rearrange); second, chefs evoke the theory of MAYA or Most Advanced Yet Acceptable when innovating new dishes, which implies making novel changes while remaining relatable to the consumer. Other reoccurring topics in the interview discussion of food innovation include play, surprise, and humour.

Designing and evaluating an online role play in conflict management

Purpose This paper aims to identify, through a literature review, key issues regarding how online role plays can be designed and to apply them when designing a role play on conflict management. Design/methodology/approach By drawing on the key issues identified in the literature review, a role play on conflict management was designed and evaluated. Data were collected by developing a survey that focused on perceived learning, participation and satisfaction. Findings Overall, a majority of the students felt that they learned and participated in the role play. The most positive finding was that the students were satisfied with their role play experience. Research limitations/implications Researchers are urged to further develop the dimensions and measures of online role play success. The measures that were developed for evaluating perceived learning, participation and satisfaction with role plays can be further developed and tested. It is suggested that the effects on learning need to be further explored. Practical implications It is suggested that teachers take the identified key issues of online role play design into account. An important challenge seems to be to encourage students to reflect and do additional reading and research in relation with online role plays. Originality/value Online collaboration is commonly argued as beneficial from an e-learning perspective. However, a challenge for research and practice is to learn how collaborative e-learning activities may be developed. This paper contributes by focusing on how online role plays can be designed and evaluated.

Examining intuitive navigation in airports

Airports accommodate passengers with a range of prior experience, from frequent flyers, to passengers who fly every couple of years, to those who have never flown before. Passengers with varying levels of prior experience may use different visual elements when navigating the airport. Ensuring all passengers can navigate to the processing activities intuitively is important for passengers, airports and airlines. This paper examines how participants with Low, Medium and High airport familiarity navigate through the departures area at an Australian international airport. Three navigation activities are investigated: (i) navigating to the check-in row, (ii) navigating through the Liquids, Aerosols and Gels (LAGs) preparation area before security screening, and; (iii) navigating to either the boarding gate first or to a discretionary activity first, after exiting customs. In the three activities, differences were observed between the familiarity groups. These differences include the use of different information to locate the check-in desk, different actions when navigating through the LAG preparation area, and evidence that Low familiarity passengers have a desire to locate the boarding gate as soon as possible once through customs. This research provides evidence based design reccomendations for airports to benefit from intuitive passenger navigation.

Locating people in video from semantic descriptions : a new database and approach

The location of previously unseen and unregistered individuals in complex camera networks from semantic descriptions is a time consuming and often inaccurate process carried out by human operators, or security staff on the ground. To promote the development and evaluation of automated semantic description based localisation systems, we present a new, publicly available, unconstrained 110 sequence database, collected from 6 stationary cameras. Each sequence contains detailed semantic information for a single search subject who appears in the clip (gender, age, height, build, hair and skin colour, clothing type, texture and colour), and between 21 and 290 frames for each clip are annotated with the target subject location (over 11,000 frames are annotated in total). A novel approach for localising a person given a semantic query is also proposed and demonstrated on this database. The proposed approach incorporates clothing colour and type (for clothing worn below the waist), as well as height and build to detect people. A method to assess the quality of candidate regions, as well as a symmetry driven approach to aid in modelling clothing on the lower half of the body, is proposed within this approach. An evaluation on the proposed dataset shows that a relative improvement in localisation accuracy of up to 21 is achieved over the baseline technique.