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The effect of multitasking on worker performance

Diwas KC, associate professor of information systems & operations management, completed an in-depth investigation of the impact of multitasking in a complex work environment by analyzing patient flow and clinical data of physicians in a large hospital ER. The study provides important findings for understanding multitasking and its “implications for a knowledge economy, where attention and focus are significant drivers of productivity and quality.” The research indicated that multitasking starts out as a positive influence on work, giving physicians the “ability to utilize idle time between tasks.” Additionally, lower levels of multitasking actually improved the quality of care, since “low levels of stress can aid cognitive function.” Once multitasking behavior became excessive, productivity declined dramatically due to a variety of factors, including work interruptions and coordination costs. A higher level of multitasking also led to a drop in detected diagnoses and an increased rate of revisits in a 24-hour period for patients initially treated in the emergency department. Physicians spent less time with patients and their overall focus suffered. Source:

Consumer word-of-mouth and social media

Certainly, marketers are well aware of the value of the consumers’ word-of-mouth (WOM) endorsements of a product or service. But the ubiquitous nature of social media demands that advertisers find new ways to tap into how consumers interact and communicate to leverage the power of WOM online. Panagiotis Adamopoulos, assistant professor of information systems & operations management; Vilma Todri, assistant professor of information systems & operations management; and Anindya Ghose (NYU-Stern) take a close look at the role of hidden personality traits of online users and how they play into the effectiveness of product WOM on Twitter. The trio used big data, machine learning methods, and causal inference econometric techniques to study consumer purchases made through Twitter accounts. The research showed an increase in the likelihood of a purchase by 47.58% when there was exposure to WOM tweets from a sender who had similar personality traits to the recipient of the information. The trio found that introvert users were much more accepting of WOM versus extrovert users. They also noted agreeable, conscientious, and open social media users are more effective influencers. The combinations of personality traits of disseminators and recipients of WOM impacted the decision to buy a product, with the researchers noting that a “WOM message from an extrovert user to an introvert peer increases the likelihood of a subsequent purchase by 71.28%.” Source:

Always Keep Families Together. Separation Damages Children.

The ongoing situation in America’s border towns with the detention and separation of thousands of children from their parents is both highly damaging for children and unnecessary. The actions of American authorities who are enforcing the ‘zero-tolerance’ policies have led to outcries from world leaders, American politicians and a large segment of the public. The following is a statement from Shannon Senefeld, Senior Vice President, Overseas Operations, Catholic Relief Services. “At Catholic Relief Services, keeping children with their parents is always one of our paramount goals. That’s true in emergencies, in health crises, in all of our long-term work combatting poverty and working to end the institutionalization of children. The research is clear – separating children from their families causes lasting mental, and even physical damage. Family support is vital for all children, especially those fleeing violence or dire poverty. “ As a Clinical Psychologist and with a long career working with vulnerable children around the world, Shannon Senefeld can speak with authority on why the ongoing situation with the separation of families on the US border. She can also speak to the root causes that propel families to migrate in the first place, such as rampant gang violence and poverty in Central America. Shannon is available to speak with media. For an interview – simply click on her icon to contact her and arrange a time. Source:

Professor Available to Comment on Cryptocurrency-Backed Securities

Professor Prabhudev Konana is available to discuss cryptocurrency-backed securities and coin offerings. Konana is a professor in the Information, Risk, and Operations Management department at the McCombs School of Business. Contact: Samantha Harris, Samantha.Harris@mccombs.utexas.edu or 512-471-6746 Related experts: Professor Andrew Whinston (Bitcoin and Cyber Security), Associate Professor Cesare Fracassi (FinTech). Source:

Seeing the light of neutron star collisions

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When two neutron stars collided on Aug. 17, a widespread search for electromagnetic radiation from the event led to observations of light from the afterglow of the explosion, finally connecting a gravitational-wave-producing event with conventional astronomy using light, according to an international team of astronomers. Previous gravitational-wave detections by LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) and Virgo, a European observatory based in Pisa, Italy, were caused by collisions of two black holes. Black hole collisions generally are not expected to result in electromagnetic emissions and none were detected. "A complete picture of compact object mergers, however, requires the detection of an electromagnetic counterpart," the researchers report online today (Oct. 16) in Science. The Aug.17 detection of a gravitational wave from the collision of two neutron stars by gravitational wave observatories in the U.S. and Europe initiated a rapid cascade of observations by a variety of orbiting and ground-based telescopes in search of an electromagnetic counterpart. Two seconds after detection of the gravitational wave, the Gamma Ray Burst monitor on NASA's Fermi spacecraft detected a short gamma ray burst in the area of the gravitational wave's origin. While the Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer — a NASA satellite in low Earth orbit containing three instruments: the Burst Alert Telescope, the X-ray Telescope and the Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope — can view one-sixth of the sky at a time, it did not see the gamma ray burst because that portion of the sky was not then visible to Swift. Penn State is in charge of the Mission Operations Center for Swift. The satellite orbits the Earth every 96 minutes and can maneuver to observe a target in as little as 90 seconds. Once the Swift team knew the appropriate area to search, it put the satellite's instruments into action. Swift is especially valuable in this type of event because it can reposition to a target very quickly. In this case, the telescope was retargeted approximately 16 minutes after being notified by LIGO/Virgo, and began to search for an electromagnetic counterpart. Read more about Swift's involvement in detecting the neutron star collision here: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/ps-stl101617.php To speak with Penn State's Swift researchers, contact Joslyn Neiderer at jms1140@psu.edu. Source: