Forestalling a serious incident: A detective story

Two low-level dust fires and explosions occurred in rotary dryers in one of our east Texas plants. Although there was no significant damage, the potential for safety or loss incidents initiated a concerted effort to determine the cause. The analytical and explosive hazards efforts showed an iron-adipic compound most probably autooxidized and caused the problem.     

BargCrEx: A System for Bargaining Based Aggregation of Crowd and Expert Opinions in Crowdsourcing

Group Decision and Negotiation - Crowdsourcing and crowd voting systems are being increasingly used in societal, industry, and academic problems (labeling, recommendations, social choice, etc.) due...     

Knowledge diffusion and morality: Why do we freely share valuable information with Strangers?

This article offers a model integrating heterogeneously moral preferences to overcome the seemingly irrational tendency of individuals to freely share data and knowledge. We build on recent literature showing that moral preferences are favored by evolution theoretically, and have a strong explanatory power empirically, to model individual sharing behavior. Our analysis highlights the limit of financial incentives and the importance of promoting a sharing culture by enhancing awareness. Shedding light on how people respond not only to financial but also moral motives, we contribute to the ongoing policy debate on the design of effective open science policies.     

Do insurers adjust prices for the adoption of loss prevention technologies? Evidence from Danish municipal contracts

Using data from 40 Danish municipalities on building characteristics, loss prevention technologies, insurance claims, and insurance bids from 2008 to 2019, we investigate whether and how loss prevention technologies influenced contract prices. The insurance bids cover a variety of municipal buildings across a range of risks including fire, water leakage, and building security as well as structure detection and alarm systems. The study shows that the magnitude of historical claims may affect both pricing offers and interest in loss prevention technologies. We do not find that loss prevention technologies have any significant influence on contract price. This suggests inefficiencies in the market from imperfect information.