Uncertainty,Information, and (Re)Organization

Our tendency is to generate ever-increasing amounts of information to deal with the uncertainties we face in today's turbulent environment. However, if we look at the problem more fundamentally, we see that uncertainty, the variable responsible for information demand, itself can be reduced. Thus, we should not get fixated on information generation (the supply-side approach) but should also consider ways of reducing needs for information flows (the demand-side approach). This article provides an overview of a Dutch sociotechnical approach that focuses on reduction of complexity so as to reduce uncertainty and thereby organizational information flows.     

Pornography, ethics, and video games

In a recent and provocative essay, Christopher Bartel attempts to resolve the gamer’s dilemma. The dilemma, formulated by Morgan Luck, goes as follows: there is no principled distinction between virtual murder and virtual pedophilia. So, we’ll have to give up either our intuition that virtual murder is morally permissible—seemingly leaving us over-moralizing our gameplay—or our intuition that acts of virtual pedophilia are morally troubling—seemingly leaving us under-moralizing our game play. Bartel’s attempted resolution relies on establishing the following three theses: (1) virtual pedophilia is child pornography, (2) the consumption of child pornography is morally wrong, and (3) virtual murder is not murder. Relying on Michael Rea’s definition of pornography, I argue that we should reject thesis one, but since Bartel’s moral argument in thesis two does not actually rely thesis one that his resolution is not thereby undermined. Still, even if we grant that there are adequate resources internal to Bartel’s account to technically resolve the gamer’s dilemma his reasoning is still unsatisfying. This is so because Bartel follows Neil Levy in arguing that virtual pedophilia is wrong because it harms women. While I grant Levy’s account, I argue that this is the wrong kind of reason to resolve the gamer’s dilemma because it is indirect. What we want is to know what is wrong with virtual child pornography itself. Finally, I suggest alternate moral resources for resolving the gamer’s dilemma that are direct in a way that Bartel’s resources are not.     

Remembering me: big data,individual identity,and the psychological necessity of forgetting

Each of us has a personal narrative: a story that defines us, and one that we tell about ourselves to our inner and outer worlds. A strong sense of identity is rooted in a personal narrative that has coherence and correspondence (Conway in J Mem Lang 53:594–628, 2005): coherence in the sense that the story we tell is consistent with and supportive of our current version of ‘self’; and correspondence in the sense that the story reflects the contents of autobiographical memory and the meaning of our experiences. These goals are achieved by a reciprocal interaction of autobiographical memory and the self, in which memories consistent with the self-image are reinforced, in turn strengthening the self-image they reflect. Thus, personal narratives depend crucially on the malleable nature of autobiographical memory: a strong sense of self requires that one remember what matters, and forget what does not. Today, anyone who is active online generates a highly detailed, ever—expanding, and permanent digital biographical ‘memory’—memory that identifies where we go, what we say, who we see, and what we do in increasing detail as our physical lives become more and more enmeshed with electronic devices capable of recording our communications, online activities, movements, and even bodily functions. This paper explores the consequences of this digital record for identity, arguing that it presents a challenge to our ability to construct our own personal narratives–narratives that are central to a sense of ‘self’. In the end, the ‘right to be forgotten’ may be, above all else, a psychological necessity that is core to identity—and therefore a value that we must ensure is protected.     

Performance feedback,competitive repertoire simplicity,and technological evolution in a televised design contest

Research suggests that in industries where firms compete primarily on the relative merits of their designs, performance feedback from repeated episodes of competitive rivalry often leads firms to focus their resources on progressively fewer design features. Applying 0185 and 0190 concept of ‘competitive repertoire simplicity’ we argue that the shift from broad to narrow set of technological options marking technological evolution is the product of multi-level interaction between competitive design decisions made at the individual firm level, and technological knowledge that accumulates at the industry level. Taking advantage of an elimination tournament called Robot Wars – where competition is transparent, regulated and is marked by repeat participation – we examine repertoire simplicity and its escalation over iterative episodes of dyadic rivalry. Using a data set of 296 robotic designs over 4 episodes of this design contest we find evidence for (a) escalating repertoire simplicity causing convergence in design configurations; and (b) hypothesized, but rarely tested, links between competition at the individual team level and technological evolution at the population level.     

The power of integrality: Linkages between product architecture, innovation, and industry structure

A substantial literature stream suggests that many products are becoming more modular over time, and that this development is often associated with a change in industry structure towards higher degrees of specialization. These developments can have strong implications for an industry's competition as the history of the PC industry illustrates. To add to our understanding of the linkages between product architecture, innovation, and industry structure we develop detailed product architecture measurements based on a previously proposed method [Fixson, S.K., 2005. Product architecture assessment: a tool to link product, process, and supply chain design decisions. Journal of Operations Management 23 (3/4), 345-369] and study an unusual case in which a firm - through decreasing its product modularity - turned its formerly competitive industry into a near-monopoly. Using this case study we explore how existing theories on modularity explain the observed phenomenon, and show that most consider technological change in rather long-term dimensions, and tend to focus on efficiency-related arguments to explain the resulting forces on competition. We add three critical aspects to the theory that connects technological change and industry dynamics. First, we suggest integrating as a new design operator to explain product architecture genesis. Second, we argue that a finer-grained analysis of the product architecture shows the existence of multiple linkages between product architecture and industry structure, and that these different linkages help explain the observed intra-industry heterogeneity across firms. Third, we propose that the firm boundary choice can also be a pre-condition of the origin of architectural innovation, not only an outcome of efficiency considerations.     

The One World, One Science Argument

The one world, one science argument (so named by Rescher) isadvanced by Carl Sagan and others to support the thesis thatwe will be able to learn to converse with intelligent extraterrestrialsif and when we encounter them. The prima facie obstacle to extraterrestrialcommunication is that the aliens’ culture and geographyare bound to be so different from ours that we would find itextremely difficult, if not practically impossible, to finda common topic on which we can both converse. Sagan's rebuttalis that we will share mathematics and the laws of physics, thesebeing the same for all intelligent beings regardless of localcultural and geographical variations. I show that this argumentfails even if its contentious assumptions about science andthe world are granted—that is to say, it fails on uncontentiousgrounds.

1 OWOS

2 OWOS and Social Constructivism

3 OWOSand Conceptual Relativism

4 OWOS and the Selection Problem

5 The Fundamental Laws Solution

6 The Mathematics Solution

7 The Radio Solution

8 The Common Conditions Solution

9The Intractability of the Selection Problem

10 The Superfluityof OWOS

     

Clusters,convergence, and economic performance

This paper evaluates the role of regional cluster composition in regional industry performance. On the one hand, diminishing returns to specialization in a location can result in a convergence effect: the growth rate of an industry within a region may be declining in the level of economic activity of that industry. At the same time, positive spillovers across complementary economic activities can provide an impetus for agglomeration: the growth rate of an industry within a region may be increasing in the “strength” (i.e., relative presence) of related industries. Building on Porter (1998, 2003), we develop a systematic empirical framework to analyze the role of regional clusters – groups of closely related industries operating within a particular region – in the growth of regional industries. We exploit data from the US Cluster Mapping Project to examine the effects of agglomeration within regional clusters after controlling for convergence at the region-industry level. Our findings suggest that industries located in a strong cluster register higher employment and patenting growth. Regional industry growth also increases with the strength of related clusters in the region and with the strength of similar clusters in adjacent regions. We also find evidence of the complementarity between employment and innovation performance in regional clusters: both the initial employment and patenting strength of a cluster have a separate positive effect on the employment and patenting growth of the constituent industries. Finally, we find that new regional industries emerge where there is a strong cluster. These findings are consistent with multiple types of externalities arising in clusters, including knowledge, skills, and input–output linkages.     

Closed Captioning: Subtitling,Stenography, and the Digital Convergence of Text with Television,by Gregory J. Downey. Baltimore,MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. 400 pp. $52.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0801887109

Abstract

Advances in computer hardware and software have allowed information technology to penetrate into and firmly establish itself within our society. The technology affects the performance of our organizations, how we perform our jobs, and how we conduct our everyday lives. Beyond our borders, the. technology has debatable value to developing countries and has most certainly aroused conflicts between nations with respect to trade and broadcasting. This paper overviews prospects and associated problems of information technology from four viewpoints: economic, organizational, sociological, and political.     

Grand Innovation Prizes: A theoretical,normative, and empirical evaluation

This paper provides a systematic examination of the use of a Grand Innovation Prize (GIP) in action – the Progressive Automotive Insurance X PRIZE – a $10 million prize for a highly efficient vehicle. Following a mechanism design approach we define three key dimensions for GIP evaluation: objectives, design, and performance, where prize design includes ex ante specifications, ex ante incentives, qualification rules, and award governance. Within this framework we compare observations of GIPs from three domains – empirical reality, theory, and policy – to better understand their function as an incentive mechanism for encouraging new solutions to large-scale social challenges. Combining data from direct observation, personal interviews, and surveys, together with analysis of extant theory and policy documents on GIPs, our results highlight three points of divergence: first, over the complexity of defining prize specifications; secondly, over the nature and role of incentives, particularly patents; thirdly, the overlooked challenges associated with prize governance. Our approach identifies a clear roadmap for future theory and policy around GIPs.     

In-formation on the prairie: Signs, patterns, systems and prairie dogs

The concept of information is clearly foundational to the ‘information’ disciplines but lacking in a clear conceptual foundation. In this paper we propose that the concept is clearly overloaded and suggest that a new vocabulary is needed to enhance our powers of understanding and explanation. We argue that information is better situated at the intersection of signs, patterns and systems, which involves the enactment of forma (the substance of a sign), informa (the content of a sign) and performa (the use of signs in coordinated action). Within this perspective ‘information’ is considered an accomplishment not only of humans but also of animals. This leads us to use a well-documented case from the animal kingdom, that of communication amongst Gunnison prairie dogs, to both ground and expand upon significant elements from our conceptual framework. This we believe helps shed new light on what the juxtaposition of information with behaviour actually means.     

Community of practices,knowledge transfer,and ERP project (ERPP)

In this research, we are interested in ERP systems which are common information repositories that are aimed at matching the knowledge, practices, and skills that drive the organization in the best possible way. Can the cognitive and hierarchical models coexist within the same project? What is the impact of ERP on the interconnection between communities? To answer these questions, we rely in particular on the work of Levina and Vaast (MIS Quarterly 29(2):335–363, 2005), which underlines that the modes of interaction between CPs must be mediated by the activation of boundary objects and/or the mobilization of boundary spanners. Finally, this leads us to discriminate between two types of ERPPs (hierarchical/cognitive) and to underline the role of the switch in the ERPP success.     

Neither good, nor bad, but dangerous: Surveillance as an ethical paradox

We argue for a discursive ethic of surveillancethat accounts for the paradoxes that thephenomenon presents to today's organisationalmembers. We first we develop a genealogy ofprivacy and illustrate its relation tosurveillance, focusing on the antinomianrelationship between the public and private. Then we review the common ethicaltensions that arise in today's technologicallyintensive workplace. Lastly, we develop acritical approach to the ethical status ofprivacy and surveillance – a micro-ethics – that remains open todiscursively-based negotiation by those whofind themselves at the verypoint of scrutiny.     

CIDER: Concept-based image diversification,exploration, and retrieval

Many of the approaches to image retrieval on the Web have their basis in text retrieval. However, when searchers are asked to describe their image needs, the resulting query is often short and potentially ambiguous. The solution we propose is to perform automatic query expansion using Wikipedia as the source knowledge base, resulting in a diversification of the search results. The outcome is a broad range of images that represent the various possible interpretations of the query. In order to assist the searcher in finding images that match their specific intentions for the query, we have developed an image organization method that uses both the conceptual information associated with each image, and the visual features extracted from the images. This, coupled with a hierarchical organization of the concepts, provides an interactive interface that takes advantage of the searchers’ abilities to recognize relevant concepts, filter and focus the search results based on these concepts, and visually identify relevant images while navigating within the image space. In this paper, we outline the key features of our image retrieval system (CIDER), and present the results of a preliminary user evaluation. The results of this study illustrate the potential benefits that CIDER can provide for searchers conducting image retrieval tasks.     

DNA的合成、组装及转移技术

合成生物学作为新近迅速发展的交叉学科,已在生物医药、能源、新材料等领域展现越来越广泛的应用潜力。合成基因组学作为合成生物学的重要研究方向,着重于新生命体系的从头设计与合成,其以DNA合成、拼装和转移等核心技术为支撑。文章对当前基因组合成相关技术进行了阐述,以系统了解该技术体系中存在的问题,便于寻找突破点,把握发展契机。     

多案例背景下的区域性科技金融平台运作研究

为研究区域性科技金融平台的运作,以普遍联系的视角,首次对四个典型的科技金融平台案例资本市场为主导的美国模式、信息生态市场为主的上海模式、科技银行为基础的苏州模式及孵化加速为主导的北京模式,从生态系统体系架构及生态系统运行机制方面进行归纳分析;探讨区域性科技金融平台搭建的方法,即科技金融平台的搭建是分层次逐步构建的。首先,完善齐备系统内部各式金融机构;其次,确定金融机构运行机制、市场规则;然后,丰富要素市场,规范市场运作;最后完成具体产品、工具体系建设和外围金融生态环境的优化。最终给出科技金融平台搭建的具体措施。     

Real-time detection, control, and sorting of microfluidic droplets

We report the design and implementation of capacitive detection and control of microfluidic droplets in microfluidic devices. Integrated microfluidic chip(s) with detection∕control circuit enables us to monitor in situ the individual volume of droplets, ranging from nanoliter to picoliter, velocity and even composition, with an operation frequency of several kilohertz. Through electronic feedback, we are able to easily count, sort, and direct the microfluidic droplets. Potential applications of this approach can be employed in the areas of biomicrofluidic processing, microchemical reactions as well as digital microfluidics.     

Toward a modular,integrated, miniaturized,and portable microfluidic flow control architecture for organs-on-chips applications

Microfluidic organs-on-chips (OoCs) technology has emerged as the trend for in vitro functional modeling of organs in recent years. Simplifying the complexities of the human organs under controlled perfusion of required fluids paves the way for accurate prediction of human organ functionalities and their response to interventions like exposure to drugs. However, in the state-of-the-art OoC, the existing methods to control fluids use external bulky peripheral components and systems much larger than the chips used in experiments. A new generation of compact microfluidic flow control systems is needed to overcome this challenge. This study first presents a structured classification of OoC devices according to their types and microfluidic complexities. Next, we suggest three fundamental fluid flow control mechanisms and define component configurations for different levels of OoC complexity for each respective mechanism. Finally, we propose an architecture integrating modular microfluidic flow control components and OoC devices on a single platform. We emphasize the need for miniaturization of flow control components to achieve portability, minimize sample usage, minimize dead volume, improve the flowing time of fluids to the OoC cell chamber, and enable long-duration experiments.     

多年冻土调查和监测为青藏高原地球科学研究、环境保护和工程建设提供科学支撑

随着我国西部大开发战略的实施和气候变暖对青藏高原影响的日益显著,多年冻土变化对生态、水文、气候和工程建设的影响日渐突出,多年冻土的长期定位监测和大范围野外调查已经成为冰冻圈、生态、水文、气候和寒区工程建设等方面深化研究和解决重大科学和工程问题的重大需求。中科院青藏高原冰冻圈观测研究站(简称"高原冰冻圈站")自建站以来对青藏高原多年冻土进行了长期连续的监测和大范围的野外调查,开展了多年冻土水热状况的变化机理、模型模拟和生态效应综合研究。特别是近年来在科技部、国家自然科学基金委和中科院等重大项目支持下,高原冰冻圈站积极开展国内外科研合作,规范了多年冻土野外考察和定位监测的方法,建成了在国际上处于领先地位的多年冻土综合监测网络;系统地开展了高原多年冻土分布、温度、厚度和地下冰空间分异规律的定量研究,基于多源数据和多模式比对,发布了空间分辨率为1 km的高原多年冻土温度、厚度和地下冰的空间格网数据。基于长期监测数据,构建和改进了适合于青藏高原多年冻土的一维热传导模式和陆面过程模式,定量评价了过去30年来高原尺度多年冻土的变化及物理机制。这些科研成果不仅为青藏铁路建设、三江源国家公园生态保护、区域气候模拟等问题的解决提供了强有力的基础数据支撑,同时也面向国家需求和国家重大项目研究,推动决策咨询服务。有关青藏高原多年冻土区植被、生态和土壤有机碳氮空间分布的研究成果,填补了该领域的国际空白,为未来地球国际科学研究计划和地球系统模式发展提供了最为基础的本底数据支撑。     

Exploration versus exploitation in alliance portfolio: Performance implications of organizational, strategic, and environmental fit

How does the nature of firms’ alliance portfolio in terms of exploration versus exploitation affect performance? Building on prior research grounded in the resource-based view and the relational perspective, we expand firms’ boundary to include their inter-firm relationships and their immediate environment, and develop an extended resource-based framework centering on the concept of fit. Specifically, we propose that whether the exploration versus exploitation orientation of an alliance portfolio may benefit firm performance depends on how such an orientation fits the firm's internal organizational characteristics, strategic orientations, and the industry environment. Data from five U.S. industries over eight years largely support our thesis. Overall, our study calls for a holistic approach to consider the importance of organizational, strategic, and environmental fit in understanding the performance implications of alliance-formation choices.