Is it distinctively wrong to simulate doing wrong?

This paper is concerned with whether there is a moral difference between simulating wrongdoing and consuming non-simulatory representations of wrongdoing. I argue that simulating wrongdoing is (as such) a pro tanto wrong whose wrongness does not tarnish other cases of consuming representations of wrongdoing. While simulating wrongdoing (as such) constitutes a disrespectful act, consuming representations of wrongdoing (as such) does not. I aim to motivate this view in part by bringing a number of intuitive moral judgements into reflective equilibrium, and in part by describing the case of a character that I call The Devious Super Geek who simulates wrong to particular people that he knows personally. I build bridging cases from the case of the Devious Super Geek to capture games in which one simulates wrong to imaginary members of extant, morally salient categories. The surprising conclusions that we are led to include not just that simulated wrongdoing is pro tanto wrong, but that simulated Just killing is pro tanto wrong, and also that the simulated killing of zombies and aliens is also pro tanto wrong. Finally, I describe how I propose to handle some potential objections and attempt to weigh the pro tanto wrong identified in the paper against some countervailing considerations in some all things considered judgements.     

What is it about strategic implications of using financial models in the process of technology management?

This paper analyses strategic implications of using the financial models in evaluating research and development (R&D) technology investments. It also discusses the challenges of applying the financial models in valuing intellectual property (IP). This paper reveals how conventional financial models fail to recognise the importance of strategic positioning since there are limits in terms of using the quantified approaches to measure R&D performance. From the technology management perspective, it is argued that financial models need to be reconciled with technology strategies since today's investments have linkages with firms' competitiveness in the long run.     

Is it possible to establish the link between drug busts and the cryptocurrency market? Yes,we can

Following the rampant increase in Bitcoin prices, there has been a proliferation of cryptocurrencies, which have become a major way of doing business across national boundaries. This paper investigates the link between cryptocurrency markets and drug trafficking activities. More specifically, we explore the impact of the announcement of 24 major drug busts on the systematic risk and return of the world cryptocurrency market. We deploy an event study methodology to estimate the abnormal returns associated with drug trafficking activities in the cryptocurrency market. We find that the relationship between the two is quite strong in the case of some cryptocurrencies, albeit weaker in others. However, we show that drug bust news tends to create uncertainty, and accordingly impart risk into cryptocurrency markets. This study confirms the predictions of convenience theories of crime as to the relative attractiveness of cryptocurrencies to criminals, and the extent to which not only general, but also their own future interests, sacrificed readily on the altar of accessibility. We highlight how when social and regulatory foundations are weak, criminal behaviour may overwhelm virtual spaces, marginalizing more orthodox businesses, no matter how altruistic the intentions of their founders.     

Battle of the Sexes on E-Mail-Or Is It?

Few studies have attempted to link e-mail use to power and politics. The purpose of this article is to offer some initial evidence and analysis of e-mail's role in organizational power and politics. To frame the discussion, the article reviews the relevant writings on power and politics. The review is concluded with a theoretical critique that suggests that contextual and, particularly, temporal aspects should be incorporated into research on power and politics in organizations. To demonstrate how an analysis based on temporal aspects can be undertaken, a case study that outlines the use of e-mail for power and politics in a university is presented. The discussion and conclusions sections synthesize the analysis by demonstrating that what was interpreted by many organization members at the early stages of the conflict as a ''battle of the sexes'' can be seen (and, indeed, was interpreted by many organization members at the later stages of the conflict) as an elaborate exercise in misinformation created by top management to further its political objectives. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications from this case to e-mail research and practice.     

Is commercialization good or bad for science? Individual-level evidence from the Max Planck Society

Based on new data, this paper studies the invention disclosure, licensing, and spin-off activities of Max Planck Institute directors over the time period 1985-2004, analyzing their effects on the scientists’ subsequent publication and citation records. Consistent with prior findings, inventing does not adversely affect research output. Mixed results are obtained with regard to commercialization activities. The analysis suggests qualifications to earlier explanations of positive relationships between inventing and publishing.     

Knowledge,knowing, knower: what is to be managed and does it matter?

Knowledge Management Research & Practice - A knowledge management (KM) scope denotes our conception about what is relevant and useful, concerns what and how we are to manage, in KM. KM scopes...     

Corroborating the effect of positive technology readiness on the intention to use the virtual reality sports game “Screen Golf”: Focusing on the technology readiness and acceptance model

This study investigates the positive and behavioral topic of screen golf, which is often regarded as the most commercially successful virtual reality sports game. Our team analyzed the decision-making process related to screen golf through the widely used the technology readiness and acceptance model to explain the relationships among technology readiness, belief in technology acceptance, and use intentions. The proposed model fit the data satisfactorily, and several of our hypotheses were supported. Structural equation modeling tested the nine hypotheses established based on a literature review, analyzing 350 valid responses obtained through online surveys. Perceived utility (ß = .519**) was the most influential factor in individuals’ plans to participate in the virtual sport. This means that practical considerations such as correcting individuals’ posture and improving their abilities should be prioritized when creating screen golf programs.     

Market for technology 2.0? Reassessing the role of complementary assets on licensing decisions

The ability to access specialized complementary assets has been key to explaining how firms benefit from their technological innovations. When firms lack complementary assets the more likely they have to rely on markets for technology to profit from their R&D investments. We extend this view documenting the emergence of a new type of industry intermediary, Contract Development & Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs), which provide access to complementary assets on a per-use basis. CDMOs allow firms to contract for complementary assets at variable costs without the need to invest in such assets internally. This opens up new product development paths, in which firms do not out-license their products to firms with complementary assets but sustain their development in-house using CDMOs. We highlight that the expansion of services offered by CDMOs changes the nature of the industry's source of competitive advantage and provide empirical evidence that the expansion of CDMOs is associated with a decline in the number of out-licensing deals among US biopharmaceutical firms. In so doing, the study explains how innovation intermediaries like CDMOs can have a profound effect on an industry's specialized complementary assets and the market for technology.     

How can contributors to open-source communities be trusted? On the assumption,inference, and substitution of trust

Open-source communities that focus on content rely squarely on the contributions of invisible strangers in cyberspace. How do such communities handle the problem of trusting that strangers have good intentions and adequate competence? This question is explored in relation to communities in which such trust is a vital issue: peer production of software (FreeBSD and Mozilla in particular) and encyclopaedia entries (Wikipedia in particular). In the context of open-source software, it is argued that trust was inferred from an underlying ‘hacker ethic’, which already existed. The Wikipedian project, by contrast, had to create an appropriate ethic along the way. In the interim, the assumption simply had to be that potential contributors were trustworthy; they were granted ‘substantial trust’. Subsequently, projects from both communities introduced rules and regulations which partly substituted for the need to perceive contributors as trustworthy. They faced a design choice in the continuum between a high-discretion design (granting a large amount of trust to contributors) and a low-discretion design (leaving only a small amount of trust to contributors). It is found that open-source designs for software and encyclopaedias are likely to converge in the future towards a mid-level of discretion. In such a design the anonymous user is no longer invested with unquestioning trust.     

Genes and speciation: is it time to abandon the biological species concept?

The biological species concept (BSC) is the cornerstone of neo-Darwinian thinking. In BSC, species do not exchange genes either during or after speciation. However, as gene flow during speciation is increasingly being reported in a substantial literature, it seems time to reassess the revered, but often doubted, BSC. Contrary to the common perception, BSC should expect substantial gene flow at the onset of speciation, not least because geographical isolation develops gradually. Although BSC does not stipulate how speciation begins, it does require a sustained period of isolation for speciation to complete its course. Evidence against BSC must demonstrate that the observed gene flow does not merely occur at the onset of speciation but continues until its completion. Importantly, recent genomic analyses cannot reject this more realistic version of BSC, although future analyses may still prove it wrong. The ultimate acceptance or rejection of BSC is not merely about a historical debate; rather, it is about the fundamental nature of species – are species (and, hence, divergent adaptations) driven by a relatively small number of genes, or by thousands of them? Many levels of biology, ranging from taxonomy to biodiversity, depend on this resolution.     

Twiplomacy in the age of Donald Trump: Is the diplomatic code changing?

This study employs digital methods in conjunction with traditional content and discourse analyses to explore how the US President Donald Trump conducts diplomacy on Twitter and how, if at all, diplomatic entities around the world engage in diplomatic exchanges with him. The results confirm speculations that Trump’s diplomatic communication on Twitter disrupts traditional codes of diplomatic language but show little evidence that new codes of diplomatic interactions on social media are being constructed, given that other diplomatic entities around the world mostly remain within the confines of traditional notions of diplomacy in (not) communicating with Trump on Twitter.