Campaign Duration Research Articles

Success prediction of crowdfunding campaigns: a two-phase modeling

PurposeThis study aims to analyze Kickstarter data along with social media data from a data mining perspective. Kickstarter is a crowdfunding financing plataform and is a form of fundraising and is increasingly being adopted as a source for achieving the viability of projects. Despite its importance and adoption growth, the success rate of crowdfunding campaigns was 47% in 2017, and it has decreased over the years. A way of increasing the chances of success of campaigns would be to predict, by using machine learning techniques, if a campaign would be successful. By applying classification models, it is possible to estimate if whether or not a campaign will achieve success, and by applying regression models, the authors can forecast the amount of money to be funded.Design/methodology/approachThe authors propose a solution in two phases, namely, launching and campaigning. As a result, models better suited for each point in time of a campaign life cycle.FindingsThe authors produced a static predictor capable of classifying the campaigns with an accuracy of 71%. The regression method for phase one achieved a 6.45 of root mean squared error. The dynamic classifier was able to achieve 85% of accuracy before 10% of campaign duration, the equivalent of 3 days, given a campaign with 30 days of length. At this same period time, it was able to achieve a forecasting performance of 2.5 of root mean squared error.Originality/valueThe authors carry out this research presenting the results with a set of real data from a crowdfunding platform. The results are discussed according to the existing literature. This provides a comprehensive review, detailing important research instructions for advancing this field of literature.

Effects of initial coin offering characteristics on cross-listing returns

The low level of regulation and publication requirements in cryptocurrency markets leads to little information on cryptocurrency projects being publicly available. Against the background of high information asymmetry, the interpretation of the available information is all the more important. This paper examines how initial coin offering (ICO) characteristics affect cross-listing returns, i.e. whether or not available information is a valuable market signal of quality. For this purpose, we analyze 250 cross-listings of 135 different tokens issued via ICOs and calculate abnormal returns for specific samples using event study methodology. We find that cross-listing returns are driven by success in terms of token performance and project funding, as well as by jurisdiction-specific characteristics like the extent of regulation and domestic market size. Other characteristics such as the choice or change of blockchain infrastructure, token distribution across investors and the project team, campaign duration and whitepaper characteristics also seem to influence perceived project quality and thus cross-listing returns. The results contribute to the literature on cross-listings, cryptocurrency markets and entrepreneurial finance in the form of ICOs. They also make it possible to interpret the information available on the market and enable investors, project teams and cryptocurrency exchanges to evaluate probable market reactions to cross-listings.

Study of scull and lining in the hearth of blast furnace No. 2 of JSC EVRAZ ZSMK (Report 3)

Modern blast furnaces have operation life of 15-20 years. Such a duration of their operation to a great extent reached due to the resistance of lining of hearth and hearth bottom. To study the processes, effecting the rate of its erosion, a study of composition and structure of the scull on the lining of walls of a blast furnace hearth and hearth bottom was accomplished. For the study the No. 2 blast furnace of EVRAZ ZSMK was chosen after its stoppage for overhaul. Results of visual examination of the state of the lining of lower part of the hearth and hearth bottom presented. Macro-structure of the picked out samples presented, general view of lump samples and polished section briquettes shown. Mineral composition of the samples and chemical composition of their separate mineral phases studied. It was determined, that the samples density, picked out lower the iron notch, was considerably higher. By authors opinion, it is stipulated by the increase of metal phase content in the scull along the hearth height in the direction from tuyere level to the hearth bottom, as well as considerable change of the scull porosity along both the horizontal section and the hearth height. The porosity of the samples, picked out lower the iron notch, was not high - at the level of 2.73-3.73%. The gases (oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen) contained in the BF melts, lead to the forming of scull porous structure of insignificant thickness in the upper horizons of the hearth and in the notch channel. It was determined, that a building-up of zinc can be observed on the hearth bottom, as well as its alloys with iron and lead. The samples macro-structure was clear laminated. The zinc in the sample exists in the form of two mineral phases: an oxide phase (zinc oxide) and a metal phase, often with iron contaminant and rarely - with iron and lead. The results obtained, apart from the studies carried out earlier on the scull and BF hearth lining state, will be base of a theoretical analysis of scull forming mechanism and lining properties change, effecting the blast furnaces campaign duration.

Referral Timing and Fundraising Success in Crowdfunding

Problem definition : Crowdfunding, a relatively new approach for raising capital for early-stage ventures, has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years. Entrepreneurs launch a campaign on a web platform and solicit contributions from many potential backers. A primary way that entrepreneurs affect fundraising is by leveraging their social networks to drive traffic to their campaign. We address the following question: When should an entrepreneur send out referral links to impel traffic to the campaign web page? Academic/practical relevance : Prior capital accumulation serves as social proof of the project’s “quality,” which can result in herding. However, prior capital accumulation can also lead to crowding out and bystander effects. Entrepreneurs’ social networks strongly affect their chances of success, but they often do not know when to solicit contacts’ involvement. We investigate this question via a combination of empirical and analytical methods, providing guidance for platform owners and entrepreneurs. Methodology : The social proof/herding mechanism leads to a convex-shaped effect of current accumulation on future contributions, the crowding out scenario leads to a concave-shaped effect, and the initial dominance of herding giving way to the later dominance of crowding out leads to a sigmoidal effect (S-shaped curve). We use a Markov decision process model to derive three alternative optimal referral policies, which we fit to proprietary data from a large crowdfunding platform. We explore heterogeneity in relative model fit across different subsamples of our data, demonstrating that our conclusion is stable over a range of scenarios. Results : Using mathematical models, we identify optimal referral strategies under the concave, convex, and S-curve assumptions. Estimating these models on the proprietary data, we show that the S-curve model exhibits the best fit. Based on estimated model parameters, our simulations show that a nonoptimal (e.g., myopic) expenditure of referrals can lead to a substantially smaller accumulation of funds. Managerial implications : The results of this paper help inform both platform owners and entrepreneurs. Platform owners can perform this sort of analysis to provide guidance to entrepreneurs about referral strategy. The entrepreneurs, in turn, learn that in an environment similar to that represented in our data, they will benefit from concentrating their referrals earlier in the fundraising process, while retaining some portion for the final stages of fundraising. The mix of this early versus late referral allocation within the campaign duration may vary depending on the entrepreneurs’ social capital and referral cost.

Pleasing the crowd: the determinants of securities crowdfunding success

PurposeSince May 2016, small firms have been able to issue debt and equity securities in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission's “Regulation Crowdfunding”. This regulation provides unsophisticated investors a chance to participate in the securities markets, and it gives small businesses an opportunity to raise funds. This paper investigates the determinants of crowdfunding success, security design in a crowdfunding setting, the amount of crowdfunding campaign proceeds and campaign duration.Design/methodology/approachThe sample used in this study is based on 750 completed securities crowdfunding offerings that were launched between May 2016 and May 2018. The data on crowdfunding issues were webscraped from Form C filings available through SEC EDGAR filing system. Additional data were hand-collected from a variety of platforms that list and aggregate crowdfunding offerings.FindingsWe show that relatively larger and more profitable companies have a better chance to achieve crowdfunding success. We find that the issuance of equity results in a lower probability of success compared to issuing debt. In addition, the issuance of equity is negatively correlated with the amount of proceeds from a crowdfunding campaign. A novel finding is that a choice of a funding instrument has a negligible impact on the amount of proceeds. This finding, combined with reduced probability of success for equity issuers, can be interpreted as a signal to rely more on debt and convertibles when designing crowdfunding campaigns.Research limitations/implicationsOrganized under “Regulation Crowdfunding,” the US securities-based crowdfunding market has been operating for several years. Relative to other securities markets it is still considered to be in its infancy. Given a relatively small data sample, the results have to be interpreted with caution.Practical implicationsThe paper shows that small businesses and unsophisticated investors can benefit from securities-based crowdfunding, which is subject to oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Although the mission of the regulator is to protect investors, the SEC took on a rather relaxed approach in regulating types of instruments used in crowdfunding. Our paper shows that equities, including “Simple Agreements For Future Equity” (SAFEs) might not be the best choice for crowdfunding success. This sentiment is mirrored in law literature which considers securities known as SAFEs more suitable for venture capital campaigns rather than for crowdfunding.Originality/valueThe paper adds value to the novel field of securities-based crowdfunding by testing several hypotheses on the crowdfunding success, the amount of proceeds and campaign duration.

Medical Crowdfunding for Abortion Services [27I

INTRODUCTION: Crowdfunding involves soliciting donations, often over internet platforms, to fundraise for a specific need. Although crowdfunding for medical expenses has grown in popularity, one important and understudied application of crowdfunding is abortion services. Given the access barriers and political nature of abortion, many women seeking these services may turn to more anonymous options for support, including crowdfunding. We therefore examined such utilization of crowdfunding in the United States. METHODS: This study is a cross-sectional analysis of all campaigns for abortion services on four major crowdfunding sites. Two authors reviewed all campaigns included in our study, abstracting the following information: whether the campaign was successfully funded, number of donations, number of social media shares, number of campaign updates, campaign duration, age of woman, gestational age, state abortion policy, insurance status, number of words in campaign description, narrative point of view, stated purpose of funds, and 10 campaign themes. RESULTS: Among 92 crowdfunding campaigns, the total amount requested was $118,272 and the total amount raised was $36,085. The median amount requested was $610 (IQR $500-$1,000), median raised was $0 (IQR $0-$444), and 19 (21%) campaigns successfully reached their fundraising goal. Campaign success was not statistically different in states with very hostile (33%), hostile (36%), middle-ground (9%), supportive (17%), and very supportive (11%) abortion policies (P=.08). Campaigns written in third person or describing maternal/fetal complications raised significantly more money. CONCLUSION: Although crowdfunding is used to finance abortion services, it has a low success rate and raises ethical concerns.

Optimizing thermal monitoring: Field work simplification in tropical architecture

Research projects that use data loggers frequently record temperature and relative humidity values without considering the optimal duration of the monitoring work. Environmental datasets could be too short to consider the obtained parameters as a representative sample of the phenomenon measured. The opposite case could also occur, gathering long series of data requiring unnecessary monitoring field work. The aim of this research was to calculate the optimum monitoring campaign duration time required to assure a reliable dataset and optimize the field work when conducting thermal monitoring. The bias generated by working with short sub-series of data was calculated using temperature and relative humidity values collected during a complete year and used as reference. Three data selection modes to define sub-series were compared to quantify the accuracy loss using several temperature and relative humidity parameters. Notorious variations between sufficient and excessive monitoring duration were observed depending on the parameter under consideration and the selection mode applied. Sequential monitoring revealed noticeable limitations considering that most of the parameters required more than 120 days to obtain results almost equal to the reference values of a complete year. Although, if a 0,95 similarity is acceptable sequential monitoring work during 55 days can be sufficient. It was also observed that if the ordinal selection mode is applied, many annual parameters can be calculated from 4 to 70 days sub-series with similarities of 0,98 compared to annual values. The random selection mode always required fewer days than the other selection modes. It was concluded that short measuring campaigns can reach reliable temperature and relative humidity parameters. The optimum measuring thresholds to every parameter and selection mode must be considered to simplify field work. The developed methodology will be valuable to know in advance the optimal measuring time to schedule shorter and reliable field work in other places and climates.

Crowdfunding Campaigns and Thyroid Surgery: Who, What, Where, and How Much?

BackgroundCrowdfunding has become a unique response to the challenge of health care expenses, yet it has been rarely studied by the medical community. We looked to describe the scope of crowdfunding in thyroid surgery and analyze the factors that contribute toward a successful campaign. MethodsIn November 2018, active campaigns were retrieved from a popular crowdfunding Web site using search terms thyroidectomy and thyroid surgery and filtered to include only campaigns that originated in the United States. ResultsAbout 1052 thyroid surgery–related campaigns were analyzed. About 836 (79.5%) involved female patients and 43 (4.1%) pediatric patients. About 792 campaigns (75.3%) referred to thyroid cancer as a primary condition, 163 (15.5%) benign thyroid disease, and 97 (9.2%) other conditions. The average amount raised per campaign was $2514.54 (range, $0-$53,160). About 338 (32.1%) campaigns were self-posted, 317 (30.1%) posted by family, and 397 (37.7%) posted by friends. Median campaign duration was 20 mo, with a median number of 16 donors, 17 hearts, and 136 social media shares.Campaigns related to thyroid cancer raised more funds ($2729.97) than benign ($1669.84) or other ($2175.03) conditions (P < 0.001). Campaigns submitted by friends ($3524.78) received more funding than those by self ($1672.48) or family ($2147.19) (P < 0.001). Campaign duration, donor number, share number, and hearts were also significant predictors of amount raised. ConclusionsFor thyroid surgery–related crowdfunding, campaigns referring to thyroid cancer had the highest amount of funds raised. Campaigns created by friends and other factors related to increased community engagement such as social media shares were also related to increased funds.

Effects of Initial Coin Offering Characteristics on Cross-listing Returns

The lack of transparency in cryptocurrency markets means that investors must assess a project’s quality on the basis of public information. This paper examines how initial coin offering (ICO) characteristics affect cross-listing returns, i.e. whether or not the available information is a valuable signal of quality. For this purpose, we analyze 250 cross-listings of 135 different tokens issued via ICOs and calculate abnormal returns for specific samples using event study methodology. We find that cross-listing returns are driven by success in terms of token performance and project funding, as well as by jurisdiction-specific characteristics like the extent of regulation and domestic market size. Other characteristics like the choice or change of blockchain infrastructure, token distribution across investors and the project team, campaign duration and whitepaper characteristics also seem to influence perceived project quality and thus cross-listing returns. The results provide insights for the literature on cross-listings, cryptocurrency markets and entrepreneurial finance in the form of ICOs. They also make it possible to interpret the information available on the market and enable investors, project teams and crypto currency exchanges to evaluate probable market reactions to cross-listings.

Reviewing Solutions of Scale for Canine Rabies Elimination in India.

Canine rabies elimination can be achieved through mass vaccination of the dog population, as advocated by the WHO, OIE and FAO under the ‘United Against Rabies’ initiative. Many countries in which canine rabies is endemic are exploring methods to access dogs for vaccination, campaign structures and approaches to resource mobilization. Reviewing aspects that fostered success in rabies elimination campaigns elsewhere, as well as examples of largescale resource mobilization, such as that seen in the global initiative to eliminate poliomyelitis, may help to guide the planning of sustainable, scalable methods for mass dog vaccination. Elimination of rabies from the majority of Latin America took over 30 years, with years of operational trial and error before a particular approach gained the broad support of decision makers, governments and funders to enable widespread implementation. The endeavour to eliminate polio now enters its final stages; however, there are many transferrable lessons to adopt from the past 32 years of global scale-up. Additionally, there is a need to support operational research, which explores the practicalities of mass dog vaccination roll-out and what are likely to be feasible solutions at scale. This article reviews the processes that supported the scale-up of these interventions, discusses pragmatic considerations of campaign duration and work-force size and finally provides an examples hypothetical resource requirements for implementing mass dog vaccination at scale in Indian cities, with a view to supporting the planning of pilot campaigns from which expanded efforts can grow.

Using Facebook Ads as a Recruitment Strategy for Web Surveys on Drugs: Experience from the European Web Survey on Drugs

BACKGROUND: General population surveys present a useful tool for getting information on drug use prevalence, but they often fail to reach a sufficient number of users, which is required to get detailed information on use patterns or other characteristics. Web surveys, especially when they use social networking sites, might present a complementary mechanism for getting a better picture of drug use by reaching hard-to-reach populations. AIM: The main objective of this study was to examine Facebook advertisements as a recruitment strategy in the “European Web Survey on Drugs: patterns of use”, a project organized by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. METHODS: Recruitment campaigns invited adults aged 18+ years who had consumed at least one drug (cannabis, MDMA/ ecstasy, amphetamines, or cocaine) in the past 12 months to complete an online survey. The advertisements were created in Facebook’s Advertisement program and were used in Croatia, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. RESULTS: Among the eligible participants recruited via Facebook (N=5256), 68.1% were from Croatia, 24.4% from Switzerland, and 7.5% from the Netherlands. The Croatian and Swiss participants were younger and more likely to be males compared to the Dutch participants. Chi-square tests showed that there were significant differences in the frequency of drug use between the samples from the different countries for almost all drugs. CONCLUSION: The Facebook recruitment strategy was successful in reaching young adults, as well as recreational drug users, although the costs, campaign duration, available budget, and content of the ad images differed among the countries.

Promotional Campaign Duration and Word-of-Mouth in Durable Good Adoption

Intensive promotional marketing campaigns can be used to introduce products to consumers with the goal of increasing awareness, consideration, purchase, and word-of-mouth (WOM). In this paper, we study the role of campaign duration on solar photovoltaic adoption using a large-scale field experiment, in which we randomly assign communities to campaigns with shorter durations, increasing the marketing intensity to maintain the same total resources per campaign. In our context, a nonprofit partner conducts the campaign in cooperation with an installer selected by the community. We combine detailed campaign information with administrative data on solar adoptions and a large-scale survey of adopters to assess the effect of campaign duration on the number of campaign events, prices paid, product adoption, and potential determinants of adoption during the campaign. We find that shortening the length of the campaign did not affect installer behavior, price, or product adoption during the campaign but led to significantly fewer leads and less WOM, resulting in significantly lower post-campaign adoption rates.

THE ROLE OF INVESTMENT-BASED ISLAMIC CROWDFUNDING FOR HALAL MSMEs: EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIA

Investment-based crowdfunding can be used as an alternative financing tool for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Indonesia. Since the population in Indonesia is dominated by Muslim, Islamic financial technology companies that provide crowdfunding services are continue to emerge and develop. The development of these services also encourages the progress of the halal industry because both have integrated relationships. However, not all funding campaigns for crowdfunding services are successful. This study aims to analyze the development of Islamic crowdfunding business in Indonesia and factors affecting the success of funding campaigns in these services using multiple linear regression methods. Primary data obtained through interviews and literature review while secondary data is collected from 39 funding campaigns in 4 Islamic crowdfunding online services. It was found that the regulation of Islamic financial technology did not yet exist though in practice it was already widely found. On the other hand, crowdfunding models in Indonesia still need improvement in its scheme. By using a quantitative approach, it was found that funding target, campaign duration, payback periods and rate of return have a positive effect on campaign success, while a minimum amount of investment has a negative effect which means the minimum amount of investment available in the crowdfunding service is appropriate. After conducting research with a qualitative and quantitative approach, SWOT analysis was conducted at the end of the study to find out the challenges and opportunities for the halal industry in utilizing such Islamic crowdfunding service.

Evaluation of a national lung cancer symptom awareness campaign in Wales

BackgroundLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in Wales. We conducted a before- and after- study to evaluate the impact of a four-week mass-media campaign on awareness, presentation behaviour and lung cancer outcomes.MethodsPopulation-representative samples were surveyed for cough symptom recall/recognition and worry about wasting doctors’ time pre-campaign (June 2016; n = 1001) and post-campaign (September 2016; n = 1013). GP cough symptom visits, urgent suspected cancer (USC) referrals, GP-ordered radiology, new lung cancer diagnoses and stage at diagnosis were compared using routine data during the campaign (July–August 2016) and corresponding control (July–August 2015) periods.ResultsIncreased cough symptom recall (p < 0.001), recognition (p < 0.001) and decreased worry (p < 0.001) were observed. GP visits for cough increased by 29% in the target 50+ age-group during the campaign (p < 0.001) and GP-ordered chest X-rays increased by 23% (p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant change in USC referrals (p = 0.82), new (p = 0.70) or early stage (p = 0.27) diagnoses, or in routes to diagnosis.ConclusionsSymptom awareness, presentation and GP-ordered chest X-rays increased during the campaign but did not translate into increased USC referrals or clinical outcomes changes. Short campaign duration and follow-up, and the small number of new lung cancer cases observed may have hampered detection effects.

The Influence of the Wind Measurement Campaign Duration on a Measure-Correlate-Predict (MCP)-Based Wind Resource Assessment

Driven by the energy auctions system, wind power in Brazil is undergoing a phase of expansion within its electric energy mix. Due to wind’s stochastic nature and variability, the wind measurement campaign duration of a wind farm project is required to last for a minimum of 36 months in order for it to partake in energy auctions. In this respect, the influence of such duration on a measure-correlate-predict (MCP) based wind resource assessment was studied to assess the accuracy of generation forecasts. For this purpose, three databases containing time series of wind speed belonging to a site were considered. Campaigns with durations varying from 2 to 6 years were simulated to evaluate the behavior of the uncertainty in the long-term wind resource and to analyze how it impacts a wind farm power output estimation. As the wind measurement campaign length is increased, the uncertainty in the long-term wind resource diminished, thereby reducing the overall uncertainty that pervades the wind power harnessing. Larger monitoring campaigns implied larger quantities of data, thus enabling a better assessment of wind speed variability within that target location. Consequently, the energy production estimation decreased, allowing an improvement in the accuracy of the energy generation prediction by not overestimating it, which could benefit the reliability of the Brazilian electric system.

Exposure to Court-Ordered Tobacco Industry Antismoking Advertisements Among US Adults

In 2006, US District Judge Gladys Kessler ordered tobacco companies to make corrective statements through paid advertisements informing the public of their deceptive practices. This landmark ruling and its subsequent execution represent the first time the tobacco industry sponsored a nationwide corrective advertising campaign against its own products. To assess the reach of the court-ordered antismoking advertisements within the US adult population, stratified by demographic characteristics and tobacco use. This nationally representative, population-based cross-sectional survey of US adults included respondents to the 2018 Health Information National Trends Survey 5, Cycle 2. Respondents were representatives of households selected by equal-probability sampling of the Marketing Systems Group database of addresses that included all nonvacant US residential addresses. Data collection was conducted from January to May 2018, and analysis took place from December 2018 to April 2019. Self-reported exposure to court-ordered antismoking advertisements. The overall sample of 3484 respondents included 2054 women (weighted percentage, 50.8%), 1976 non-Hispanic white respondents (weighted percentage, 59.9%), 2952 respondents who lived in urban US areas (weighted percentage, 84.9%), and 450 current smokers (weighted percentage, 15.6%). Estimated exposure to court-ordered antismoking advertisements was 40.6% (95% CI, 37.5%-43.7%) among the full sample and 50.5% (95% CI, 41.4%-59.6%) among current smokers. Exposure was lowest among those aged 18 to 34 years (37.4%; 95% CI, 28.0%-46.8%), those with a high school education or less (34.5%; 95% CI, 29.3%-39.8%), and those with household annual income less than $35 000 (37.5%; 95% CI, 32.0%-42.9%). Among current smokers, Hispanic respondents had lower exposure rates (42.2%; 95% CI, 18.5%-65.9%) than non-Hispanic white respondents (51.7%; 95% CI, 40.4%-63.1%). As the advertising campaign's duration increased, exposure rates increased. Individuals with a high school education or less had lower odds of antismoking advertisement exposure than those with college or postgraduate degrees (adjusted odds ratio, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.48-0.94). Current smokers had higher odds of exposure than never smokers (adjusted odds ratio, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.17-2.80). Among those exposed to antismoking advertisements, 70.5% saw multiple antismoking messages. Approximately 1 of 2 smokers reported exposure to the federal court-ordered antismoking advertisements. However, exposure was relatively lower among several subgroups, including individuals aged 18 to 34 years, only one-third of whom reported exposure. Increasing the duration of antismoking advertisements as well as expanding their coverage to youth-oriented media may increase their potential public health impact.

Technological estimation of skull effect on steel melting parameters in basic oxygen furnace

Increasing the lining life of basic oxygen furnaces (BOF) reduces the expenses for refractories. Application of skull lining layer on the working surface is a good way to improve the efficiency of refractories. Features of the application of slag skull by the method of blowing a slag from previous melt with gas jet are discussed in the paper. It is shown that the presence of skull on the surface of the oxygen converter working lining affects not only the campaign duration of the unit, but also the technological parameters of steel melting, connected with its slag and thermal conditions. To quantify this effect, calculations of melting indices were performed for the conditions of BOF shop of PJSC MMK using a mathematical model based on the balance-statistical equations of physicochemical and thermal processes of oxygen-converter steel smelting. Taking into account the fact, that the skull is involved in the process as an additional material, that introduces slag-forming components and physical heat, the corresponding article of the heat balance was added to the program for melting parameters calculating. Assessment of the change of the amount of slag in the BOF in the course of steelmaking, knowing the possible arrival of the components from skull, was carried out. The calculations results of the change of the of melt metal components mass from the percentage of skull in the BOF are presented. The dependence of the change of the consumption of charge components on the amount of skull in the BOF is presented. It is shown that with an increase of the skull amount for smelting of the same steel mass some increase of metal charge will be required. This fact can be explained by increased iron loss with oxides, metallic beads and additional oxygen consumption for oxidative refining of the melt.

The Second Round Resource Acquisition of Entrepreneurial Crowdfunded Ventures: The Relevance of Campaign and Project Implementation Performance Outcomes

Abstract This study focused on crowdfunded ventures in the reward-based model and explored the relevance of their essential campaign and project implementation performance outcomes on the second round of resource acquisition. This research considered funding from accredited and unaccredited investors, additional crowd capital, and other forms of resources from other business investors. Results from sampled crowdfunded ventures on the Kickstarter and projects official websites revealed that the determinants of first round crowdfunding project campaign traction, reward delivery scheduled date, campaign duration, and reward delivery performance outcomes predict the second round of resource acquisition. Furthermore, the results suggest that project creators’ crowdfunding risk awareness is a relevant determinant of reward delivery performance outcome and access to the second round of resource. The findings are significant for the decision-making of entrepreneurs, investors, and crowdfunding platforms, as these parties benefit from the informational value of campaign and project implementation performance outcomes.

Crowdfunding for lung cancer costs.

e18340 Background: Online crowdfunding, where individuals create campaigns to solicit donations, has grown as an avenue to combat the financial toxicities of cancer. The online platform GoFundMe hosts more than 80% of the global market for crowdfunding and has raised over US $5 billion from more than 50 million donors. While medical expenses are the leading cause of crowdfunding campaigns, limited research is available on the use of crowdfunding for cancer costs. Further, no studies have evaluated the use of crowdfunding for patients with lung cancer. Methods: In January 2019, we reviewed the first 200 consecutive campaigns that resulted for “lung cancer” on GoFundMe. Campaigns were included for analysis if their description stated funds were to be used for medical costs for a patient with lung cancer in the United States. Standardized data was collected from each campaign. Descriptive statistics were used to aggregate results. Multivariable linear regression analysis were performed to examine predictors of funds raised, adjusting for campaign duration. Results: The 157 included campaigns raised a total of US $1.2 million (mean $8,364) from 11,919 donors (median 53). Compared to a similar 2018 study, our study showed lung cancer campaigns raised less than breast cancer (mean $16,026) but more than prostate cancer (mean $1,449) campaigns. Nine campaigns that were seeking funds for alternative treatment raised a total of $119,660 (mean $13,296). Narratives of financial need that were significantly associated with greater funds raised were family financial need (+$7,416), medical costs not covered by insurance (+$7,369), and the campaign stating the patient was a never-smoker (+$8,162) (all P values &lt; 0.05). Conclusions: Lung cancer has received less research funding relative to other cancer types and our study suggests a similar disparity with crowdfunding for medical costs. The “blame-the-victim” attitude that contributes to this funding disparity also exists within lung cancer crowdfunding as evidenced by the significantly greater amount of funds raised for campaigns that explicitly stated the patient was a non-smoker. Efforts to study crowdfunding for cancer costs should address the ethical implications of exacerbating funding disparities and funding for alternative treatments.

Study of the scull composition in the blast furnace hearth of Kosaya Gora steel-works, producing ferromanganese with application of schungite (report 1)

Processes of lining erosion and scull formation effect considerably the blast furnace (BF) campaign duration. Among factors, influencing the processes, impacts are distinguished, stipulated by the kind of smelted product as well as materials used for scull formation. In the BF No. 2 of Kosaya Gora steel-works within the campaign from October 1999 until November 2015, 930,000 t of high-carbon ferromanganese (mainly ФМн78 grade) and 110,000 t of foundry iron were produced. After it stoppage for overhaul, samples of the scull were picked out and studied. It was revealed, that the scull of walls of BF hearth has a laminated structure and consists of crystallization products of metal and slag melts, namely: graphite, iron carbides, manganese carbides, iron, ferromanganese, slag components. At the macro level the scull has a lamellar structure. Since during the last campaign the blast furnace apart from ferromanganese was smelting foundry iron rather long time, in the samples, picked out at the level of iron notch at some distance from the cooler, the scull metallic phase mainly consisted of iron and iron carbide. In the sample picked out at a big distance from the cooler, in the scull metallic phase the following phases were discovered by X-ray structural and Moessbauer methods: ferromanganese; complicated manganese and iron carbides, as well as α-iron. Quantity of slag components in the scull decreases in direction from iron notch level to the hearth that speaks about splitting (still in the BF hearth) slag and metallic components of the heat products. In the scull content different slag components present: silicate (38.3–47.2% SiO2) with high content of К2О + Na2O (до 32.2%), MnO (up to 7.5%) and FeO (up to 33.2%). During the quick cooling of the components on the hearth cooler, different compositions are formed: X-ray amorphous “glassy phase”, olivine composition slags of Ca(Mn,Fe,Mg)SiO4 type, wollastonite, melilite with high amount of iron and manganese. Fine inclusions of titanium nitride are presented in the scull in a small amount, as well as manganese and silicon nitrides and carbonitrides, perofskite CaTiO, the role of which is insignificant in the scull forming.