scholarly journals ‘If He Just Knew Who We Were’: Microworkers’ Emerging Bonds of Attachment in a Fragmented Employment Relationship

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 476-494
Author(s):  
Niki Panteli ◽  
Andriana Rapti ◽  
Dora Scholarios
Keyword(s):  
Online Community ◽  
End Users ◽  
Employment Relationship ◽  
Mechanical Turk ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Worker Voice

Using the lens of attachment, we explore microworkers’ views of their employment relationship. Microwork comprises short-term, task-focused exchanges with large numbers of end-users (requesters), implying transitory and transactional relationships. Other key parties, however, include the platform which digitally meditates worker–requester relationships and the online microworker community. We explore the nature of attachment with these parties and the implications for microworkers’ employment experiences. Using data from a workers’ campaign directed at Amazon Mechanical Turk and CEO Jeff Bezos, we demonstrate multiple, dynamic bonds – primarily acquiescence and instrumental bonds – towards requesters and the platform, and identification with the online community. Microworkers also expressed dedication towards the platform. We consider how attachment buffers the exploitative employment relationship and how community bonds mobilise collective worker voice.

scholarly journals Under the Digital Bridge: Investigating Trolling Behaviors in Baby Boomers

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 317-317
Author(s):  
Kristen Hardin-Sigler ◽  
Rebecca Deason ◽  
Stephanie Dailey ◽  
Natalie Ceballos ◽  
Krista Howard
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Baby Boomers ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Mechanical Turk ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Men And Women

Abstract Internet trolling, or the intentional disturbance or upsetting of others on social media for personal amusement, has become increasingly prevalent in recent years (Howard et al., 2019). Current research focuses on these destructive social media behaviors in younger populations, therefore this study set out to investigate the gender differences of trolling behaviors in Baby Boomers. Participants (N = 140), ages 54 and older, were recruited from the Amazon Mechanical Turk and were compensated for their participation. Participants completed a survey investigating their likelihood to engage in trolling behaviors, the extent to which they enjoy trolling, and their feelings while trolling. Results indicated that while there were no significant differences between men and women in their need, intensity of use, or addiction to social media, men were significantly more likely to engage in trolling behaviors than women. Men reported posting to upset others (p = .018), as well as commenting to upset others (p = .053), more often than women. Furthermore, when engaging in these behaviors, men reported feeling intelligent (p = .013), confident (p = .024), superior (p = .053), and happy (p = .012), more often than women. However, these results could be indicative of a more sinister issue. Men also reported more often that their reasons for engaging in trolling behaviors were feelings of loneliness (p = .005) and anxiety (p = .010). This indicates that these trolling behaviors may then be a way for men to seek out some form of “social support” in the online community.

scholarly journals Signaling when no one is watching: A reputation heuristics account of outrage and punishment in one-shot anonymous interactions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian Jordan ◽  
David Gertler Rand
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Mechanical Turk ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Moral Outrage ◽  
Total N ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Costly Punishment ◽  
Using Data

Moralistic punishment can confer reputation benefits by signaling trustworthiness to observers. But why do people punish even when nobody is watching? We argue that people often rely on the heuristic that reputation is typically at stake, such that reputation concerns can shape moral outrage and punishment even in one-shot anonymous interactions. We then support this account using data from Amazon Mechanical Turk. In anonymous experiments, subjects (total n = 8440) report more outrage in response to others’ selfishness when they cannot signal their trustworthiness through direct prosociality (sharing with a third party)—such that if the interaction were not anonymous, punishment would have greater signaling value. Furthermore, mediation analyses suggest that sharing opportunities reduce outrage by decreasing reputation concerns. Additionally, anonymous experiments measuring costly punishment (total n = 6076) show the same pattern: subjects punish more when sharing is not possible. And importantly, moderation analyses provide some evidence that sharing opportunities do not merely reduce outrage and punishment by inducing empathy towards selfishness or hypocrisy aversion among non-sharers. Finally, we support the specific role of heuristics by investigating individual differences in deliberateness. Less deliberative individuals (who typically rely more on heuristics) are more sensitive to sharing opportunities in our anonymous punishment experiments, but, critically, not in punishment experiments where reputation is at stake (total n = 3422); and not in our anonymous outrage experiments (where condemning is costless). Together, our results suggest that when nobody is watching, reputation cues nonetheless can shape outrage and—among individuals who rely on heuristics—costly punishment.

scholarly journals Amazon Mechanical Turk as a platform for borderline personality disorder research

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Borderline Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
Mechanical Turk ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
And Behavior

AbstractResearchers investigating the psychological processes underlying specific mental health problems often have difficulties achieving large enough samples for adequately powered studies. This can be particularly problematic when studying psychopathology with low base rates in typical samples (i.e., undergraduate and community). A relatively new approach to recruitment and testing employs online crowdsourcing to rapidly measure the characteristics and behavior of large numbers of people. We tested the feasibility of researching borderline personality disorder (BPD) in this manner using one large crowdsourcing site, Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Specifically, we examined prevalence rates of psychopathology in a large MTurk sample, as well as the demographic, psychosocial, and psychiatric characteristics of individuals who met criteria for BPD. These characteristics were compared across three groups: those who met criteria for BPD currently, those who met criteria for remitted BPD, and those who had never met criteria for BPD. The results suggest that MTurk may be ideally suited for studying individuals with a wide range of pathology, from healthy to intensely symptomatic to remitted.

scholarly journals Higher Handgrip Strength Is Linked to Better Cognitive Performance in Chinese Adults with Hypertension

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 985
Author(s):  
Shenghua Lu ◽  
Fabian Herold ◽  
Yanjie Zhang ◽  
Yuruo Lei ◽  
Arthur F. Kramer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Handgrip Strength ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Chinese Adults ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

Objective: There is growing evidence that in adults, higher levels of handgrip strength (HGS) are linked to better cognitive performance. However, the relationship between HGS and cognitive performance has not been sufficiently investigated in special cohorts, such as individuals with hypertension who have an intrinsically higher risk of cognitive decline. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between HGS and cognitive performance in adults with hypertension using data from the Global Ageing and Adult Health Survey (SAGE). Methods: A total of 4486 Chinese adults with hypertension from the SAGE were included in this study. Absolute handgrip strength (aHGS in kilograms) was measured using a handheld electronic dynamometer, and cognitive performance was assessed in the domains of short-term memory, delayed memory, and language ability. Multiple linear regression models were fitted to examine the association between relative handgrip strength (rHGS; aHGS divided by body mass index) and measures of cognitive performance. Results: Overall, higher levels of rHGS were associated with higher scores in short-term memory (β = 0.20) and language (β = 0.63) compared with the lowest tertiles of rHGS. In male participants, higher HGS was associated with higher scores in short-term memory (β = 0.31), language (β = 0.64), and delayed memory (β = 0.22). There were no associations between rHGS and cognitive performance measures in females. Conclusion: We observed that a higher level of rHGS was associated with better cognitive performance among hypertensive male individuals. Further studies are needed to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms, including sex-specific differences driving the relationship between measures of HGS and cognitive performance in individuals with hypertension.

scholarly journals Evaluating extinction, renewal, and resurgence of operant behavior in humans with Amazon Mechanical Turk

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 101728
Author(s):  
Carolyn M. Ritchey ◽  
Toshikazu Kuroda ◽  
Jillian M. Rung ◽  
Christopher A. Podlesnik
Keyword(s):  
Operant Behavior ◽  
Mechanical Turk ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk

scholarly journals Long-Term Development of Urban Agriculture: Resilience and Sustainability of Farmers Facing the Covid-19 Pandemic in Japan

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4316
Author(s):  
Shingo Yoshida ◽  
Hironori Yagi
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Direct Marketing ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Short Supply ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Urban People

The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has forced global food systems to face unprecedented uncertain shocks even in terms of human health. Urban agriculture is expected to be more resilient because of its short supply chain for urban people and diversified farming activities. However, the short-and long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on urban farms remain unclear. This study aims to reveal the conditions for farm resilience to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and the relationship between short-term farm resilience and long-term farm development using data from a survey of 74 farms located in Tokyo. The results are as follows. First, more than half of the sample farms increased their farm sales during this period. This resilience can be called the “persistence” approach. Second, short-term farm resilience and other sustainable farm activities contributed to improving farmers’ intentions for long-term farm development and farmland preservation. Third, the most important resilience attributes were the direct marketing, entrepreneurship, and social networks of farmers. We discussed the necessity of building farmers’ transformative capabilities for a more resilient urban farming system. These results imply that support to enhance the short-term resilience of urban farms is worth more than the short-term profit of the farms.

scholarly journals Amazon Mechanical Turk: Gold Mine or Coal Mine?

2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 413-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karën Fort ◽  
Gilles Adda ◽  
K. Bretonnel Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mine ◽  
Mechanical Turk ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Gold Mine

scholarly journals Developing and validating an isotrigon texture discrimination task using Amazon Mechanical Turk

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
John WG Seamons ◽  
Marconi S Barbosa ◽  
Jonathan D Victor ◽  
Dominique Coy ◽  
Ted Maddess
Keyword(s):  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Mechanical Turk ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Texture Discrimination

Determinants of Treasury-LIBOR Swap Spreads

2005 ◽  
Vol 08 (04) ◽  
pp. 687-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. K. Malhotra ◽  
Vivek Bhargava ◽  
Mukesh Chaudhry
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rate ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
Default Risk ◽  
Yield Curve ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Interest Rate Volatility ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Swap Spreads

Using data from the Treasury versus London Interbank Offer Swap Rates (LIBOR) for October 1987 to June 1998, this paper examines the determinants of swap spreads in the Treasury-LIBOR interest rate swap market. This study hypothesizes Treasury-LIBOR swap spreads as a function of the Treasury rate of comparable maturity, the slope of the yield curve, the volatility of short-term interest rates, a proxy for default risk, and liquidity in the swap market. The study finds that, in the long-run, swap spreads are negatively related to the yield curve slope and liquidity in the swap market. We also find that swap spreads are positively related to the short-term interest rate volatility. In the short-run, swap market's response to higher default risk seems to be higher spread between the bid and offer rates.

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