How Open Innovation and Crowdsourcing is Helping Find Asteroids and Planes

Open innovation and crowdsourcinng are concepts that have taken the research and strategy gurus by storm. NASA and DigitalGlobe are using similar concepts to help solve problems such as finding a missing plane and developing better asteroid algorithms. Using and hedging knowledge to solve problems, improve services, reduce costs, and be more effective is the main goal. Each organization has put forward two different but interrelated programs.

NASA and Planetary Resources Inc. have teamed up to put more eyes on the sky. They are offering $35K in prizes to citizen scientists that can improve upon existing algorithms for asteroid hunting. Participants can sign up on Top Coder . The goal is to help NASA find, derail, or destroy asteroids that could threaten Earth. 

According to Tom Kalil, the deputy director for technology and innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology, "I applaud NASA for issuing this Grand Challenge because finding asteroid threats, and having a plan for dealing with them, needs to be an all-hands-on-deck effort. (2)"  Citizen scientists have a lot of knowledge and helping them engage in important.

NASA hopes to find better patterns in the data. By analyzing information people naturally see different things based upon their problem solving schemas and personal abilities to connect information. Some will see patterns where others see only a bunch of numbers and data. Bringing in multiple perspectives helps raise the chance of finding something new. 

NASA is not the only one using open innovative concepts to solve problems. Colorado based DigitalGlobe (3) is using crowdsourcing to help find the missing Malaysian Flight (4). They are asking participants to scour 1,200 square miles to find objects on the water’s surface that may indicate the location of the missing plane. 

Each participant picks an area covered by satellite photos. They look through these pictures to find items that may indicate wreckage. If an area is scattered by floating debris they can alert authorities. Their process takes corporate citizenship to the next level. In previous projects, volunteers have highlighted up to 60,000 items.

There is a difference between open innovation and crowdsourcing. Open innovation is using stakeholders and other individuals an entity doesn’t normally engage with to encourage greater product development. Those who have knowledge to offer are generally invited. Crowdsourcing focuses more on using the power, skill, and knowledge of a crowd to improve upon a concept or problem. Crowdsourcing is generally open to anyone who desires to participate.

Varying Fitness Routines in the Military and Sports Training Reduces Injury Rates

Fitness is an important aspect of life. The variety of fitness activities, sleep, and overall rigor may have an important impact on both health and exposure to injury. Injury costs time, money, and pain and therefore should be avoided.  Researchers Wyss, et. al. (2014) wanted to study how injuries occur in military practice. They looked at 12 basic training centers and volunteers to determine whether certain practices are raising injury in Swiss Military training. 

Repetitive patterns of training can cause injury. When sports players and military members complete the same activities over and over they run the risk of potential injury. The same process occurs when running every day with no rest, using the same movements repetitive, or not cross training causes an injury. Adjusting these patterns can improve both health and reduce overall risks while lowering fatigue.

The study used body monitoring equipment, logs, and injury reports to assess the results. They tested measures like body heat, heart rate, movement and more. Their goal was to measure the physiological response of activities and training on the recruits to understand what was going on before injury. Through these methods they were able to create specific and general findings that can be applied both to the military and other areas of study.

An average of 18 injuries out of 100 people were recorded each month.  Each injury cost about $2,000. The majority of injuries were musculoskeletal types based in basic physical training. They found that high monotony and lack of conditioning before engaging in rigorous activity caused injury. Time spent in repetitive material handling also increased injury risks. Most of the injuries occurred during fitness training but these may be a focal stress point based in other daily activities. The recruits slept about 7 hours a night with 6.5 in actual sleep thereby increasing injury risks in other areas. 

The authors recommend adjusting fitness to include other sporting activities to change the type of motion and pressure points of injury. They encourage using some time in walking, marching, jogging, and other physical sporting activities while not reducing the necessary training quality. Likewise, rest and recovery were extremely important in training (military or sports training) and recommend moving the time up to 8 hours. Total factors measured accounted for 98.8% of injury variance and can be controlled while improving fitness output. 

Wyss, et. al. (2014). Impact of Training Patterns on Injury Incidences in 12 Swiss Army Basic Military Training Schools. Military Medicine, 179 (1).

 

An Analysis of "There is Another Sky" by Emily Dickinson

There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;
Never mind faded forests, Austin,
Never mind silent fields -
Here is a little forest,
Whose leaf is ever green;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum:
Prithee, my brother,
Into my garden come!

Emily is trying to convince her brother to return from Boston to Amherst (1).  The poem discusses how things are already better and greener in our home towns. No matter where we travel and why we travel, home will always be home.  Our lives are rich and deep in our place of origin and time only makes such memories more mystical. 

Some have argued that the poem is about a feeling (2).  It is a poem of optimism that helps one see the possibilities beyond what is currently available. There are better places, greener pastures, and worlds still unexplored. It is optimism that keeps most of us moving forward within our lives.  The garden is a metaphor for that greater place. 

Others have argued that the poem means that her brother is invited to read her poetry writings (3). Poems can be a brighter place than what we find in real life. In a poem, much like heaven, we are able to keep things really crisp and forever young.

Call for Papers: The Institute of Behavioral and Applied Management

Priority Submission: April 30, 2014

Regular Submission: May 31, 2014

Type: Conference

Join us in beautiful Orlando, Florida for IBAM 22, where we will gather to discuss, debate, and present our ideas about the future of behavioral and applied management!  As one of America’s most visited cities, Orlando's famous attractions form the backbone of its tourism industry: Walt Disney World Resort, located in Lake Buena Vista, opened by the Walt Disney Company in 1971; the Universal Orlando Resort, which consists of the two parks of Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure; City Walk; SeaWorld; Gatorland; and Wet 'n Wild Water Park.

Topics: HRM, Org. Behavior, Strategic & Global Management, Management Education & Pedagogy, Student Papers.

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