Boise State University

About: Boise State University is a education organization based out in Boise, Idaho, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 3698 authors who have published 8664 publications receiving 210163 citations. The organization is also known as: BSU & Boise State.

Competition or Cooperation? Promoting Supplier Performance with Incentives Under Varying Conditions of Dependence

Abstract: In this study, we use the lens of social exchange theory to investigate the influence of incentives on supplier performance under various conditions of buyer–supplier dependence. We propose that incentives generally fall into two main categories: competitive, market-based incentives that reward suppliers based on how well they perform relative to other suppliers, and cooperative incentives, where both buyer and supplier share benefits based on their joint performance. Using empirical data collected from 230 buyers in a sample of U.S. industrial firms, we measure the effects of these two types of incentives on various measures of performance, as well as the moderating effects of buyer–supplier dependence. Our results suggest that competitive incentives can be an effective approach to improving delivery, quality, innovation and flexibility, for purchases where the buyer–supplier relationship is characterized by balanced and moderate amounts of mutual dependence. However, competitive incentives are ineffective at generating improved cost performance. Cooperation appears to be the only way to improve cost but is only fruitful under conditions of high mutual dependence. In general, we find that high mutual dependence provides a good basis for cooperative incentives to successfully improve each of the types of performance included in our study. Finally, we find evidence that cooperation and competition can coexist without significant risk of decreased performance.

Exploring factors of media characteristic influencing flow in learning through virtual worlds

Abstract: This study aims to find out factors of media characteristic which are considered to influence flow in learning through virtual worlds. One hundred ninety eight elementary students who are eleven to twelve years old participated in this study. After the exploratory factor analysis, to extract media characteristics of virtual worlds, seventy-eight elementary students who are eleven years old were used in the analysis of exploring relationships between factors influencing flow. The results of this study show that distinct media characteristics of virtual worlds affecting engagement were labeled 'interactivity', 'representational fidelity', 'immediacy of communication', 'consistency', and 'persistence' after the exploratory factor analysis. Another result of this study is that the media characteristics are positively correlated: when students effectively recognize media characteristics, the level of flow is also high. In addition, virtual worlds' characteristics have a significantly consistent predictability on learners' flow, which is consistent with previous research that demonstrated media characteristics were a critical factor for influencing engagement. Lastly, factors of media characteristics such as 'immediacy of communication,' 'consistency' and 'persistence' are related to flow, but don't have an influence on causality, so it is difficult to assert that these factors predict learner's engagement. However, other factors such as 'interactivity' and 'representational fidelity' are significant factors that predict flow in learning through virtual worlds.

A Solution Processable High‐Performance Thermoelectric Copper Selenide Thin Film

Abstract: A solid-state thermoelectric device is attractive for diverse technological areas such as cooling, power generation and waste heat recovery with unique advantages of quiet operation, zero hazardous emissions, and long lifetime. With the rapid growth of flexible electronics and miniature sensors, the low-cost flexible thermoelectric energy harvester is highly desired as a potential power supply. Herein, a flexible thermoelectric copper selenide (Cu2 Se) thin film, consisting of earth-abundant elements, is reported. The thin film is fabricated by a low-cost and scalable spin coating process using ink solution with a truly soluble precursor. The Cu2 Se thin film exhibits a power factor of 0.62 mW/(m K2 ) at 684 K on rigid Al2 O3 substrate and 0.46 mW/(m K2 ) at 664 K on flexible polyimide substrate, which is much higher than the values obtained from other solution processed Cu2 Se thin films (<0.1 mW/(m K2 )) and among the highest values reported in all flexible thermoelectric films to date (≈0.5 mW/(m K2 )). Additionally, the fabricated thin film shows great promise to be integrated with the flexible electronic devices, with negligible performance change after 1000 bending cycles. Together, the study demonstrates a low-cost and scalable pathway to high-performance flexible thin film thermoelectric devices from relatively earth-abundant elements.