LEWISBURG, Pa. — These are Bucknell University story ideas that may interest you in October.
SECURING A SECOND DATE — National I Love You Day is Oct. 14 and recent research from Professor T. Joel Wade, psychology, examines which first-date behaviors lead to second dates. The researchers surveyed men and women to determine the tactics they perceive as necessary for their gender to engage in on a first date in order to land a second one, resulting in 18 tactics nominated by men (have a deep conversation, pay for the date, laugh, etc.) and 24 tactics nominated by women (tell jokes/be funny, ask questions, be polite, etc.). In a second survey, participants reported their perceived effectiveness of those tactics. According to Wade, “our evidence suggests that men and women may behave similarly on first dates, but men who engage in better etiquette and women who engage in better behaviors and involvement may be more successful at landing second dates.” CONTACT: Wade, 570-577-1693, jwade@bucknell.edu
COFFEE COMFORT — Fall’s cooler temps have everyone huddling up with warm beverages, including coffee. Professor Kat Wakabayashi, chemical engineering, has research interests in sustainable engineering and he received a $5,000 grant for sustainable coffee packaging. The objective is to combine his plastics processing expertise with his personal coffee passion to produce coffee packaging with plastic films, metal foils and paper/fiber materials in a sustainable way. Wakabayashi presented some of his preliminary findings in April at the national Specialty Coffee Association Coffee Expo 2023 in Portland, Ore. He is involving students throughout his coffee-related research and he has found them to be a great resource since they consume a lot of different coffee. One of them is Victoria Burek ’26, chemical engineering, who worked on several projects this past summer. Several other research students are currently working on understanding how the brewing method and roast type of beans impact the amount of caffeine and strength in a cup of coffee, as well as the aroma above it. Wakabayashi also started a couple of new coffee-related classes, including a dinner seminar in the residential colleges this fall called “Find Your Cup of Coffee.” There will be an Integrated Perspectives course in spring called “Coffee: from bean to cup.” CONTACT: Wakabayashi, 570-577-3778, kat.wakabayashi@bucknell.edu; Burek, victoria.burek@bucknell.edu
CROWDSOURCING CREDIBILITY — Crowdsourcing is so important for innovation, and can provide some real game-changing ideas that would otherwise take a long time to develop. Companies simply don’t have the resources to hire and manage the thousands, sometimes millions of people involved in a crowdsourcing campaign. Driving home just how valuable crowdsourcing is to innovation might be the key. Crowdsourcing can solve many problems, exists in surprising places, and is being used in AI. It’s also being used internally as a business strategy. Freeman College of Management Professor Annetta Grant, markets, innovation & design, has been studying crowdsourcing, and was lead author of a paper in The International Journal of Research in Marketing, which had the goal of the study to show “what makes crowdsourcing fair” and tell managers how to manage fairness in crowdsourcing. The paper points out that fairness is essential for successful crowdsourcing. “Without it, companies run the risk of consumers not participating, or worse, sabotaging their crowdsourcing initiative,” Grant says. The researchers found that understandings of fairness rely on the communities of consumers, which may have differing ideas on what should be rewarded. “Things that really help the community is having a community goal,” Grant says. The study offers new guidance on how to manage fairness in crowdsourcing. CONTACT: Grant, 570-577-3915, annetta.grant@bucknell.edu
###
CONTACTS: Mike Ferlazzo, 570-577-3212, 570-238-6266 (c), mike.ferlazzo@bucknell.edu