A Game Theory Approach for Estimating Reliability of Crowdsourced Relevance Assessments

In this article, we propose an approach to improve quality in crowdsourcing (CS) tasks using Task Completion Time (TCT) as a source of information about the reliability of workers in a game-theoretical competitive scenario. Our approach is based on the hypothesis that some workers are more risk-inclined and tend to gamble with their use of time when put to compete with other workers. This hypothesis is supported by our previous simulation study. We test our approach with 35 topics from experiments on the TREC-8 collection being assessed as relevant or non-relevant by crowdsourced workers both in a competitive (referred to as “Game”) and non-competitive (referred to as “Base”) scenario. We find that competition changes the distributions of TCT, making them sensitive to the quality (i.e., wrong or right) and outcome (i.e., relevant or non-relevant) of the assessments. We also test an optimal function of TCT as weights in a weighted majority voting scheme. From probabilistic considerations, we derive a theoretical upper bound for the weighted majority performance of cohorts of 2, 3, 4, and 5 workers, which we use as a criterion to evaluate the performance of our weighting scheme. We find our approach achieves a remarkable performance, significantly closing the gap between the accuracy of the obtained relevance judgements and the upper bound. Since our approach takes advantage of TCT, which is an available quantity in any CS tasks, we believe it is cost-effective and, therefore, can be applied for quality assurance in crowdsourcing for micro-tasks.

Situating Politics: Spatial Heterogeneity and the Study of Political History

While quantitative methods are routinely used to examine historical materials, critics take issue with the use of global regression models that attach a single parameter to each predictor, thereby ignoring the effects of time and space, which together define the context in which historical events unfold. This problem can be addressed by allowing for parameter heterogeneity, as highlighted by the proliferation of work on the use of time-varying parameter models. In this paper, I show how this approach can be extended to the case of spatial data using spatially-varying coefficient models, with an eye toward the study of electoral politics, where the use of spatial data is especially common in historical settings. Toward this end, I revisit a critical case in the field of quantitative history: the rise of electoral Populism in the American West in the period between 1890 and 1896. Upending popular narratives about the correlates of third- party support in the late nineteenth century, I show that the association between third- party vote share and traditional predictors such as economic hardship and ethnic composition varied considerably from one place to the next, giving rise to distinct varieties of electoral Populism—a finding that is missed by global models, which mistake the mathematically particular for the historically general. These findings have important theoretical and empirical implications for the study of political action in a world where parameter heterogeneity is increasingly recognized as a standard feature of modern social science.

Perceived idle wait and associated emotional discomfort: An analysis of retail waiting experience

Waiting involves both cognition and emotions. It has a bearing on the overall perception of retail service quality. The advancement in retailing has triggered scholarly conversations on the psychological impact of waiting at the retail checkout. Prior studies confirm customers being deeply involved in the passage of time and time estimation during the entire waiting period. This study investigates the customer idle time and its implication on emotional discomfort resulting from crowding stress. The study employed confirmatory sampling wherein specific sample elements are chosen since they are the key respondents to confirm hypotheses being tested. Accordingly, 385 respondents (shoppers) visiting the leading organized retailers located in major localities in Bengaluru were approached. The responses were analyzed using a Chi-squared test and Pearson correlation. The outcome reveals that irrespective of age and gender, customers visiting the offline retail outlets experience emotional discomfort. The young customers aged 18-30 dislike waiting in the queue at the checkout compared to older customers. In contrast, gender did not affect the inclination to wait. The idleness during the checkout waits causes emotional discomfort on most occasions. The findings supplement the growing research in psychology on the actual and perceived consumption of time, focusing on idleness. The study concludes that customers desire to avert an unproductive use of time, thus lowering their emotional discomfort.

Nurse managers in mental health units: from activities to time management

Objective: to understand the use of time by nurse managers in psychiatry and mental health units, as they carry out their daily tasks. Methods: cross-sectional study, carried out by 48 managers from public psychiatric units and from the social sector. Data collection was made through an online questionnaire that is part of the Scale of Perception of Nurse Manager Work, including 43 items separated in five functional domains of nurse managers. The responses were in a Likert scale: does not take time, takes little time, takes some time, takes much time. Results: the activities inherent to ethical and legal professional practices and to the management of care and of human resources required more time from the manager when compared to policy interventions, and consulting and professional development. Conclusion: the managers recognize that managing time implies organization, planning work, and establishing priorities in the tasks to be developed.

Pelatihan Metode Penelitian Tindakan Kelas untuk Meningkatkan Kualitas Pembelajaran di SMPK Santa Clara Surabaya

The task of the teacher is to improve the quality of learning in a systematic and controlled manner through the use of educational research. The results of interviews with the principal at SMPK Santa Clara Surabaya, have obtained information that most teachers have not been able to improve the quality of learning. Classroom Action Research (CAR) training is expected to be able to understand and apply educational research methods to help solve learning problems. The training methods include material explanation, assignment, proposal making, individual presentation, task discussion, presentation assessment and training evaluation. The results of the training evaluation conducted through the Google Form application showed that 7 participants (58.3%) stated it was sufficient, 3 participants (25%) said it was good, and 2 participants (16.7%) stated that it was very good in understanding and implementing classroom action research proposals based on training method used. The results of the assessment of the PTK proposal presentation showed a very good criterion value with details of the performance criteria of 5 people (41.6%), mastery of 3 participants (25%), quality of material 4 participants (33.3%), use of time 5 participants (41.6 %) and the ability to answer 4 participants (33.3%).

Conformational Consequences for Compatible Osmolytes on Thermal Denaturation

Compatible osmolytes are a broad class of small organic molecules employed by living systems to combat environmental stress by enhancing the native protein structure. The molecular features that make for a superior biopreservation remain elusive. Through the use of time-resolved and steady-state spectroscopic techniques, in combination with molecular simulation, insight into what makes one molecule a more effective compatible osmolyte can be gained. Disaccharides differing only in their glycosidic bonds can exhibit different degrees of stabilization against thermal denaturation. The degree to which each sugar is preferentially excluded may explain these differences. The present work examines the biopreservation and hydration of trehalose, maltose, and gentiobiose.

Efficiency of Managerial Work and Performance of Managers: Time Management Point of View

Appropriate time management allows individuals to achieve work and personal goals, plan tasks, set priorities, eliminate disruptive effects, and increase work efficiency and productivity. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of managerial work and the performance of managers of food companies in the V4 countries (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland) from the perspective of time management principles, point out the shortcomings and reserves that can ensure time management, and propose solutions to improve business practice. We set five research assumptions in order to evaluate the situation comprehensively. A survey carried out from September 2020 to January 2021 involved 1588 managers working at various levels of management. Statistical methods and tests were used for data processing and their subsequent evaluation. The data were processed using Microsoft Excel 2016, the statistical software SAS Enterprise Guide 7.1, and XLSTAT. The analysis showed that three-quarters of managers are aware of the value of their time. More than half of the managers involved try to regularly review their agenda in order to identify gaps in the use of time and to avoid repeating unproductive practices. Only half of the managers make arrangements not to think about work in their free time. The managers spend the most time in their work dealing with administration. Intensifying the implementation of ICT (information and communication technologies) in the work of the manager has the effect of increasing the efficiency of the division and use of working time of managers. Based on our findings, we consider the goal orientation, positive motivation, systematic training, and development of managers as a key prerequisite for efficiency of managerial work and performance of managers and their effective time management.