Power of Bonus in Pricing for Crowdsourcing

We consider a simple form of pricing for a crowdsourcing system, where pricing policy is published a priori, and workers then decide their task acceptance. Such a pricing form is widely adopted in practice for its simplicity, e.g., Amazon Mechanical Turk, although additional sophistication to pricing rule can enhance budget efficiency. With the goal of designing efficient and simple pricing rules, we study the impact of the following two design features in pricing policies: (i) personalization tailoring policy worker-by-worker and (ii) bonus payment to qualified task completion. In the Bayesian setting, where the only prior distribution of workers' profiles is available, we first study the Price of Agnosticism (PoA) that quantifies the utility gap between personalized and common pricing policies. We show that PoA is bounded within a constant factor under some mild conditions, and the impact of bonus is essential in common pricing. These analytic results imply that complex personalized pricing can be replaced by simple common pricing once it is equipped with a proper bonus payment. To provide insights on efficient common pricing, we then study the efficient mechanisms of bonus payment for several profile distribution regimes which may exist in practice. We provide primitive experiments on Amazon Mechanical Turk, which support our analytical findings.

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The effects of alcohol pricing policies on consumption, health, social and economic outcomes, and health inequality in Australia: a protocol of an epidemiological modelling study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029918 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. e029918 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Heng Jiang ◽

Robin Room ◽

Michael Livingston ◽

Sarah Callinan ◽

Alan Brennan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Inequalities ◽

Social Issues ◽

Price Policy ◽

Unit Price ◽

Risky Drinking ◽

Pricing Policy ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Policy Initiatives ◽

Pricing Policies ◽

The Impact

IntroductionAlcohol use and misuse are associated with substantial health and social issues in Australia and internationally. Pricing policy is considered as one of the most effective means to reduce risky drinking and related harms. This protocol paper describes a study that will model and estimate the effects, effectiveness and cost–benefit of alcohol pricing policy initiatives in reducing risky drinking, health and social harms, and health inequalities among subpopulations in Australia.Methods and analysisThe study is a modelling and epidemiological study using data from various resources, such as survey, previous literatures and response agencies. A number of statistical procedures will be undertaken to evaluate the impact of different alcohol pricing policy initiatives on various outcomes, including alcohol consumption in population subgroups, and health and social problems, and to measure health inequalities and cost-effectiveness of those proposed pricing policies, such as a 10% tax increase on all alcohol beverages or introduction of a minimum unit price.Ethics and disseminationThe ethics approval of this study was obtained from the College Human Ethics Sub-Committee of the La Trobe University on 9 November 2017 (Ref: S17-206). While examining the heterogeneous effects of price policy across population subgroups, this study will provide the first comprehensive estimates of the likely impacts of alcohol price changes on health inequalities. The study will also provide sophisticated economic analyses of the impact of price policy changes, which is critical information for policy makers and will assist policy makers in directing resources to a more efficient alcohol strategy. Results will be made available to communities and societies, health departments and other researchers.

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An Analysis of the Perception of Psoriasis Symptoms and the Impact on Willingness to Seek Medical Attention

Journal of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis ◽

10.1177/2475530320928976 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 109-113

Author(s):

Jeremy K. Bray ◽

Steven R. Feldman

Keyword(s):

Medical Care ◽

Analysis Of Variance ◽

Daily Life ◽

Severe Psoriasis ◽

Mechanical Turk ◽

Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽

Medical Attention ◽

Medical Visit ◽

Daily Lives ◽

The Impact

Background: Most people with psoriasis do not have a medical visit for psoriasis within a given year. Objective: To assess individuals’ perceptions of the impact of psoriasis symptoms and how this impact affects willingness to seek medical attention. Methods: A total of 302 subjects with self-reported psoriasis were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk and surveyed via Qualtrics to assess the impact of psoriasis on their daily lives and willingness to seek medical care. Comparisons were made between subjects presented with either an image of mild psoriasis or severe psoriasis. Outcome measures were evaluated on a 10-point Likert scale and compared using 1-way analysis of variance and 2-group t tests. Results: In the mild and severe psoriasis groups, those who rated the impact on their daily life ≥8 (1-10 scale) reported a greater willingness to seek medical attention for their psoriasis ( M = 9.1, SD = 1.5) compared to those who rated the impact between 6 and 7 ( M = 7.5, SD = 1.9, P < .01) and between 1 and 5 ( M = 6.4, SD = 2.4, P < .01). Those who rated the impact between 6 and 7 ( M = 7.5, SD = 1.9) reported a greater willingness to seek medical attention compared to those who rated the impact between 1 and 5 ( M = 6.4, SD = 2.4, P < .01). Conclusion: Patients with psoriasis may not visit a dermatologist in part due to not viewing their symptoms as severe enough to seek medical attention.

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An Inquiry into the Efficiency of Carbon Pricing Policy: A study of Sweden, United Kingdom, and Japan

10.37686/nsrl.v1i2.75 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Angela Thomas ◽

Keyword(s):

Alternative Energy ◽

Energy Sources ◽

Inclusive Growth ◽

Exploratory Research ◽

Lower Income ◽

Pricing Policy ◽

Carbon Pricing ◽

Pricing Policies ◽

Alternative Energy Sources ◽

The Impact

This study uses an exploratory research methodology to analyse the efficiency of carbon pricing policies in driving sustainable development by effectively reducing carbon emissions, encouraging research and development of alternative energy sources and innovations. The study also attempts to assess the impact of carbon pricing as a driver for inclusive growth. This is through the analysis of relevant indicators to evaluate the distributive policies used by the governments to mitigate the disproportionate effect of lower income households is analysed

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Why Not Interview?

Journal of Personnel Psychology ◽

10.1027/1866-5888/a000293 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Melissa D. Pike ◽

Deborah M. Powell ◽

Joshua S. Bourdage ◽

Eden-Raye Lukacik

Keyword(s):

Personnel Selection ◽

Question Type ◽

Self Report ◽

Mechanical Turk ◽

Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽

Judgment Accuracy ◽

Activation Theory ◽

Trait Activation ◽

The Impact ◽

Valuable Predictor

Abstract. Honesty-Humility is a valuable predictor in personnel selection; however, problems with self-report measures create a need for new tools to judge this trait. Therefore, this research examines the interview as an alternative for assessing Honesty-Humility and how to improve judgments of Honesty-Humility in the interview. Using trait activation theory, we examined the impact of interview question type on Honesty-Humility judgment accuracy. We hypothesized that general personality-tailored questions and probes would increase the accuracy of Honesty-Humility judgments. Nine hundred thirty-three Amazon Mechanical Turk workers watched and rated five interviews. Results found that general questions with probes and specific questions without probes led to the best Honesty-Humility judgments. These findings support the realistic accuracy model and provide implications for Honesty-Humility-based interviews.

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The Effect of Cigarillo Packaging Characteristics on Young Adult Perceptions and Intentions: An Experimental Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18084330 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (8) ◽

pp. 4330

Author(s):

Cristine D. Delnevo ◽

Michelle Jeong ◽

Ollie Ganz ◽

Daniel P. Giovenco ◽

Erin Miller Lo

Keyword(s):

Experimental Study ◽

Young Adult ◽

Factorial Design ◽

Purchase Intentions ◽

Mechanical Turk ◽

Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽

Brand Name ◽

Price Promotions ◽

Product Features ◽

The Impact

Research demonstrates that characteristics of cigarette packaging influence consumer product perceptions, yet the current literature on the impact of cigar packaging is limited. This study aims to examine how different cigarillo packaging features influence young adult cigar smokers’ perceptions. In 2016, we recruited past-year cigar users aged 18–34 from Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 1260). We utilized a 2 × 2 × 3 × 2 between-subjects factorial design, randomly assigning participants to view one of 24 images of a cigarillo package that varied by brand (Black & Mild vs. Swisher Sweets), brand name (full vs. abbreviated), color (brown vs. green vs. purple), and price promotion (present vs. absent). Participants rated the product on several perceptions and purchase intentions, and they reported on cigar use and demographics. Overall, color and brand name influenced perceptions, but effects varied by brand. For Swisher Sweets, only price promotions influenced perceptions (e.g., taste, use for marijuana); for Black & Mild, all packaging features influenced perceptions (e.g., harshness, tobacco quality), and price promotions increased purchase intentions. Our findings also raise questions that product features may interact with one another, with certain features, such as color, overpowering other attributes. More research is needed to understand the impact of other packaging features, such as warning labels, on product perceptions across a variety of brands.

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Preference for hierarchy is related to the motivation to feel less empathy and more schadenfreude towards low status people

10.31234/osf.io/a365t ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sa-kiera Tiarra Jolynn Hudson ◽

Mina Cikara ◽

Jim Sidanius

Keyword(s):

Social Dominance ◽

Social Dominance Orientation ◽

Mechanical Turk ◽

Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽

Strategic Motivation ◽

The Impact

Social dominance orientation (SDO)—the tendency to accept and endorse group-based dominance—has been linked with reduced empathy and increased schadenfreude (i.e., pleasure at the misfortunes of others) towards competitive others. Are these outcomes driven by a strategic motivation to feel emotions that facilitate hierarchy-reinforcing behaviors (and avoid those that interfere)? Across three pre-registered studies using Amazon Mechanical Turk participants (N = 1724), we find that SDO determines which emotions people want and choose to feel. People with higher (relative to lower) levels of SDO make similar predictions of others’ emotions when asked, but desire to feel less empathy and schadenfreude toward low-status targets, and when given a choice, choose to feel less empathy and more schadenfreude. This work adds to a growing literature on the impact of ideology—in this case, SDO—on emotion tendencies and further expands work on the motivated nature of empathy.

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Who Wears the MAGA Hat? Racial Beliefs and Faith in Trump

Socius Sociological Research for a Dynamic World ◽

10.1177/2378023121992600 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 237802312199260 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Amanda Graham ◽

Francis T. Cullen ◽

Leah C. Butler ◽

Alexander L. Burton ◽

Velmer S. Burton

Keyword(s):

The United States ◽

Mechanical Turk ◽

Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽

Future Research ◽

The Political ◽

Donald Trump ◽

Political Consequences ◽

Racial Resentment ◽

White Nationalism ◽

The Impact

On the basis of a 2019 YouGov survey of white respondents ( n = 734), the impact of racial beliefs on support for Donald Trump was explored. The analysis revealed that in addition to racial resentment, white nationalism—a desire to keep the United States white demographically and culturally—was strongly related to faith in Trump. Analyses based on a 2019 Amazon Mechanical Turk survey yielded similar results and also showed that white nationalism increased willingness to wear a MAGA hat. Future research on the political consequences of racial beliefs should focus on what whites think not only of blacks but also of themselves.

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The Impact of Competitive Quasi-Market on Service Delivery in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria

GIS Business ◽

10.26643/gis.v14i4.5120 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 85-98

Author(s):

Idoko Peter

Keyword(s):

Service Delivery ◽

A Priori ◽

Least Square ◽

Secondary Source ◽

State University ◽

Ordinary Least Square ◽

Negative Effect ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

This research the impact of competitive quasi market on service delivery in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria. Both primary and secondary source of data and information were used for the study and questionnaire was used to extract information from the purposively selected respondents. The population for this study is one hundred and seventy three (173) administrative staff of Benue State University selected at random. The statistical tools employed was the classical ordinary least square (OLS) and the probability value of the estimates was used to tests hypotheses of the study. The result of the study indicates that a positive relationship exist between Competitive quasi marketing in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (CQM) and Transparency in the service delivery (TRSP) and the relationship is statistically significant (p<0.05). Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) has a negative effect on Observe Competence in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (OBCP) and the relationship is not statistically significant (p>0.05). Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) has a positive effect on Innovation in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (INVO) and the relationship is statistically significant (p<0.05) and in line with a priori expectation. This means that a unit increases in Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) will result to a corresponding increase in innovation in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (INVO) by a margin of 22.5%. It was concluded that government monopoly in the provision of certain types of services has greatly affected the quality of service experience in the institution. It was recommended among others that the stakeholders in the market has to be transparent so that the system will be productive to serve the society effectively

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Frame me if you must: PrEP framing and the impact on adherence to HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis

Open Forum Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/ofid/ofx163.1113 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (suppl_1) ◽

pp. S439-S439

Author(s):

Eric Ellorin ◽

Jill Blumenthal ◽

Sonia Jain ◽

Xiaoying Sun ◽

Katya Corado ◽

...

Keyword(s):

A Priori ◽

Social Groups ◽

Continuous Measure ◽

Gay Community ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Exposure Prophylaxis ◽

The Impact ◽

Actual Prevalence ◽

Tenofovir Diphosphate

Abstract Background “PrEP whore” has been used both as a pejorative by PrEP opponents in the gay community and, reactively, by PrEP advocates as a method to reclaim the label from stigmatization and “slut-shaming.” The actual prevalence and impact of such PrEP-directed stigma on adherence have been insufficiently studied. Methods CCTG 595 was a randomized controlled PrEP demonstration project in 398 HIV-uninfected MSM and transwomen. Intracellular tenofovir-diphosphate (TFV-DP) levels at weeks 12 and 48 were used as a continuous measure of adherence. At study visits, participants were asked to describe how they perceived others’ reactions to them being on PrEP. These perceptions were categorized a priori as either “positively framed,” “negatively framed,” or both. We used Wilcoxon rank-sum to determine the association between positive and negative framing and TFV-DP levels at weeks 12 and 48. Results By week 4, 29% of participants reported perceiving positive reactions from members of their social groups, 5% negative, and 6% both. Reporting decreased over 48 weeks, but positive reactions were consistently reported more than negative. At week 12, no differences in mean TFV-DP levels were observed in participants with positively-framed reactions compared with those reporting no outcome or only negatively-framed (1338 [IQR, 1036-1609] vs. 1281 [946-1489] fmol/punch, P = 0.17). Additionally, no differences were observed in those with negative reactions vs. those without (1209 [977–1427] vs. 1303 [964–1545], P = 0.58). At week 48, mean TFV-DP levels trended toward being higher among those that report any reaction, regardless if positive (1335 [909–1665] vs. 1179 [841–1455], P = 0.09) or negative (1377 [1054–1603] vs. 1192 [838–1486], P = 0.10) than those reporting no reaction. At week 48, 46% of participants reported experiencing some form of PrEP-directed judgment, 23% reported being called “PrEP whore,” and 21% avoiding disclosing PrEP use. Conclusion Over 48 weeks, nearly half of participants reported some form of judgment or stigmatization as a consequence of PrEP use. However, individuals more frequently perceived positively framed reactions to being on PrEP than negative. Importantly, long-term PrEP adherence does not appear to suffer as a result of negative PrEP framing. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

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Using Unstated Cases to Correct for COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak and Its Impact on Easing the Intervention for Qatar

Biology ◽

10.3390/biology10060463 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 463

Author(s):

Narjiss Sallahi ◽

Heesoo Park ◽

Fedwa El Mellouhi ◽

Mustapha Rachdi ◽

Idir Ouassou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

A Priori ◽

Epidemiological Models ◽

Sir Epidemic Model ◽

Gulf Region ◽

Epidemiological Modeling ◽

Public Health Policies ◽

Sir Epidemic ◽

The Impact ◽

Case Data

Epidemiological Modeling supports the evaluation of various disease management activities. The value of epidemiological models lies in their ability to study various scenarios and to provide governments with a priori knowledge of the consequence of disease incursions and the impact of preventive strategies. A prevalent method of modeling the spread of pandemics is to categorize individuals in the population as belonging to one of several distinct compartments, which represents their health status with regard to the pandemic. In this work, a modified SIR epidemic model is proposed and analyzed with respect to the identification of its parameters and initial values based on stated or recorded case data from public health sources to estimate the unreported cases and the effectiveness of public health policies such as social distancing in slowing the spread of the epidemic. The analysis aims to highlight the importance of unreported cases for correcting the underestimated basic reproduction number. In many epidemic outbreaks, the number of reported infections is likely much lower than the actual number of infections which can be calculated from the model’s parameters derived from reported case data. The analysis is applied to the COVID-19 pandemic for several countries in the Gulf region and Europe.

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