Understanding online social support and its antecedents: A socio-cognitive model

Little attention has been paid in previous literature to understanding the factors that drive online social support from a perspective of social psychology. This study validates a research model that examines the above issue. In the setting of information technology, this study postulates self-efficacy and online support expectancy as the key drivers of information technology usage, whereas information technology usage and referent network size jointly influence online social support. This study contributes to the social science literature by extending information technology usage models to the area of rarely explored online social support and by presenting an operationalization of referent network size in the area.     

Online learning for quantile regression and support vector regression

We consider for quantile regression and support vector regression a kernel-based online learning algorithm associated with a sequence of insensitive pinball loss functions. Our error analysis and derived learning rates show quantitatively that the statistical performance of the learning algorithm may vary with the quantile parameter τ$\tau$. In our analysis we overcome the technical difficulty caused by the varying insensitive parameter introduced with a motivation of sparsity.     

The hierarchical model for load balancing on two machines

Following previous work, we consider the hierarchical load balancing model on two machines of possibly different speeds. We first focus on maximizing the minimum machine load and show that no competitive algorithm exists for this problem. We overcome this barrier in two ways, both related to previously known models. The first one is fractional assignment, where each job can be arbitrarily split between the machines. The second one is a semi-online model where the sum of jobs is known in advance. We design algorithms of best possible competitive ratios for both these cases. Furthermore, we show that the combination of the two models leads to the existence of an optimal algorithm (i.e., an algorithm of competitive ratio 1). This algorithm is clearly optimal for the makespan minimization problem as well. For the latter problem, we consider the fractional assignment model and design an algorithm of best possible competitive ratio for it. This work was submitted as the M.Sc. thesis of the first author.     

Methodologic challenges of e-health research

In this article, research-based strategies used in a web-based study to assess the impact of participation in cancer-related mailing lists on cancer survivors and caregivers are highlighted. The paper presents alternative methods of measuring response rates in Internet surveys. Response rate estimation, based on American Association for Public Opinion Research guidelines, ranged between 15% and 24.9% for the study. Several strategies were implemented to increase survey participation and reduce item nonresponse. Few participants opted for a telephone survey as an alternative to a web-administered design (mixed-mode administration). Using time-stamp data to diagnose places in the questionnaire where respondents prematurely exited or broke off survey participation, we were able to decrease premature break offs. A lottery was also implemented to increase response rates. The experience of obtaining institutional review board approval for the lottery is also described. Preliminary data indicate slight increases in response rates subsequent to implementing the lottery.     

明代李白集刊布述略

明代,李白集之刊布盛况空前,不仅各种宋、元版本得到大量重刻,而且明人自编的各种选集、评注本纷纷涌现,共计达58种之多,不少版本屡经补订,影响深远,成为李白诗文在明代得以广泛传播与接受的文献基础。系统梳理其源流、刊刻、传播及兴盛原因等情况,对构筑明代李诗接受史有重要意义。     

在线拍卖中的“托”出价研究

本文分析了独立的私人估价环境下最优保留价格与竞买人数之间的关系,纠正了最优保留价格与竞买人数无关的传统观点.在此基础上,讨论了卖者可能递交"托"出价的条件以及拍卖中只剩下一个竞买人时卖者的最优"托"出价.     

Drivers and mechanisms for online communities performance: A systematic literature review

The health crisis has highlighted online communities' interest and effectiveness in connecting isolated people in response to urgent problems or to recreate social links. However, despite much research over the last 30 years, there is no global vision regarding the conditions and processes that act on such communities’ dynamism and allow them to reach their objectives. In other words, the conditions for online community performance have not been fully investigated. Online community performance relies on the presence of mechanisms such as socialisation, structuring, participation, commitment and common motivations. Those mechanisms are favoured by a multitude of drivers identified in the literature. This paper is aimed at presenting the current state of research on the conditions that affect online community performance. We conducted a systematic literature review of 529 sources and identified, through a selection of 178 articles, the dimensions where the understanding of performance is rarer, such as drivers related to contributions and those affecting the common motivation mechanism.     

Multilevel public goods game: Levelling up,substitution and crowding-in effects

In an online multilevel public goods experiment, we implement four treatments where we gradually increase the marginal per capita return of the global public good. First, we find evidence of an increase in the contribution to the global good (levelling-up effect). Secondly, subjects fund their higher contribution to the global good by reducing their contribution to the local good (substitution effect) rather than by increasing total contribution, i.e., the sum of their contributions to the local and the global good (marginal crowding-in effect). Moreover, we observe that total contribution increases as a consequence of the mere introduction of the global good (categorical crowding-in effect). Finally, we observe that subjects continue to contribute to both public goods even when they are dominated in terms of costs and returns.     

强制型顾客参与对感知共同创造与在线服务补救满意的影响研究

本文基于损失厌恶解释了不同类型的强制型顾客参与对感知共同创造及在线服务补救满意的影响,同时探讨了在线服务提供商道歉表达方式对强制型顾客参与有效性的影响。研究表明,顾客的实体参与和心智参与有助于增强感知共同创造,从而提高在线服务补救满意,相比实体参与,心智参与对感知共同创造的积极影响更强,而情感参与没有影响。此外,相比运用直接的道歉语言,当在线服务商使用间接表达方式即表情符号来表达歉意时,顾客参与对感知共同创造的积极影响更强,从而在线服务补救满意更高。