Characteristics of lead users. Refer to the Creativity and Innovation Management (February 2008) study of lead users of children’s computer games, Exercise 12.12 (p. 726). Recall that the researchers modeled lead-user rating (y, measured on a 5-point scale) as a function of gender (x1 = 1 if female, 0 if male), age (x2, years), degree of centrality (x3, measured as the number of direct ties to other peers in the network), and betweenness centrality (x4, measured as the number of shortest paths between peers). The least squares prediction equation was yn = 3.58 + .01x1 - .06x2 - .01x3 + .42x4.

a. Compute the predicted lead-user rating of a 10-yearold female child with 5 direct ties to other peers in her social network and with 2 shortest paths between peers.

b. Compute an estimate for the mean lead-user rating of all 8-year-old male children with 10 direct ties to other peers and with 4 shortest paths between peers.