A theory of broadband matching of a frequency-dependent generator and load—part I: theory

The classical theory of matching an arbitrary load to a resistive generator to achieve a desired power gain is extended to matching an arbitrary load to a generator with arbitrary internal impedance. Given the load and generator impedances and the desired power gain, the necessary and sufficient conditions on the power gain is established such that there exists a lumped lossless 2-port which, when operated between two given impedances, realized the desired power gain. The constraints on the gain function are formulated in coefficient and integral form. Design procedures are outlined and illustrated by several nontrivial examples. A design chart is prepared to facilitate the engineer to carry out the details involved.The first part of the paper develops the matching theory. Part II gives design procedure and examples.     

The social as the heart of social innovation and social entrepreneurship: An emerging area or an old crossroads?

This paper aims to contribute to the conceptual debate on the connection between social innovation and social entrepreneurship, considering the role of the ‘social’ within this connection. Supported by a systematic literature review (SLR) with an in-depth analysis of 34 articles from Scopus-indexed and Web of Science databases journals, this paper identifies, analyzes and describes the difficulties and opportunities in the social innovation and social entrepreneurship literature. Little is known about the link between both concepts and the influence of the ‘social’ in their development and implementation. This SLR was conducted to identify and describe definitions and patterns. Results show that the connection between social innovation and social entrepreneurship is in its take-off phase, but it still is a fragmented field with a huge lack of consensus. Thus, it will be important to see where the field will head, as this paper aims to be a first step in the understanding of social innovation and social entrepreneurship through a collective and integrated perspective, providing an elucidation of the different perspectives of the literature.     

Hacking the brain: brain–computer interfacing technology and the ethics of neurosecurity

Brain–computer interfacing technologies are used as assistive technologies for patients as well as healthy subjects to control devices solely by brain activity. Yet the risks associated with the misuse of these technologies remain largely unexplored. Recent findings have shown that BCIs are potentially vulnerable to cybercriminality. This opens the prospect of “neurocrime”: extending the range of computer-crime to neural devices. This paper explores a type of neurocrime that we call brain-hacking as it aims at the illicit access to and manipulation of neural information and computation. As neural computation underlies cognition, behavior and our self-determination as persons, a careful analysis of the emerging risks of malicious brain-hacking is paramount, and ethical safeguards against these risks should be considered early in design and regulation. This contribution is aimed at raising awareness of the emerging risk of malicious brain-hacking and takes a first step in developing an ethical and legal reflection on those risks.     

Returning students’ right to access,choice and notice: a proposed code of ethics for instructors using Turnitin

This paper identifies the ethical issues associated with college instructors’ use of plagiarism detection software (PDS), specifically the Turnitin program. It addresses the pros and cons of using such software in higher education, arguing that its use is justified on the basis that it increases institutional trust, and demonstrating that two common criticisms of such software are not universally valid. An analysis of the legal issues surrounding Turnitin, however, indicates that the way it is designed and operates raises some ethical issues because it denies students notice, access and choice about the treatment of their personal information. The paper concludes with a set of guidelines for instructors using Turnitin in the classroom.     

Improving information security management: An analysis of ID–password usage and a new login vulnerability measure

Statistics show that the number of identity theft victims in the US increased by 12% in 2009, to 11.1 million adults, while the total annual fraud amount increased by 12.5%, to $54 billion. As the e-commerce volume is increasing and various online services are becoming more popular, the number of sites to which an average Internet user subscribes is increasing rapidly. Given the limited memory capacity of human beings, an Internet user's login credentials (in the form of a combination of a user ID and a password) are usually reused over multiple accounts, which can cause significant security problems. In this study, we address the vulnerability of login credentials. First, based on a unique Internet user data set, we analyze the behavioral characteristics of login credentials usage. We find that the same login credentials are used for many more accounts and reused much more often than previously expected. Furthermore, usage patterns are found to be quite skewed. Second, building on a network perspective of login credentials usage, we suggest a vulnerability measure of an individual's login credentials and analyze the vulnerability of current Internet users. The resulting information is valuable not only to the research community but also to managers and policy makers striving to reduce security vulnerability.     

An adaptive iterative learning algorithm for boundary control of a coupled ODE–PDE two-link rigid–flexible manipulator

To perform repetitive tasks, this paper proposes an adaptive boundary iterative learning control (ILC) scheme for a two-link rigid–flexible manipulator with parametric uncertainties. Using Hamilton?s principle, the coupled ordinary differential equation and partial differential equation (ODE–PDE) dynamic model of the system is established. In order to drive the joints to follow desired trajectory and eliminate deformation of flexible beam simultaneously, boundary control strategy is added based on the conventional joints torque control. The adaptive iterative learning algorithm for boundary control scheme includes a proportional-derivative (PD) feedback structure and an iterative term. This novel controller is designed to deal with the unmodeled dynamics and other unknown external disturbances. Numerical simulations are provided to verify the performance of proposed controller in MATLAB.     

Innovation and firm value: An investigation of the changing role of patents, 1985–2007

This paper examines how the relationship between firm value and patent-based indicators of inventive activity has changed over time. We use data from more than 33,000 mergers and acquisitions deals between 1985 and 2007, and distinguish between American (USPTO) and European (EPO) patents. Our results indicate that over time EPO patents have become the dominant indicator of innovative activity, while USPTO patents have no effect on firm value near the end of the sample period. The results are robust to controlling for citations and are especially strong for small firms, for firms operating in the drug and chemical industries, and when target and acquiring firms operate in different industries or countries.     

Two modes of participation: A conceptual analysis of 102 cases of Internet and social media participation from 2005–2015

In this article we analyze 102 case studies of Internet or social media-enabled participatory projects, technologies, platforms and companies in operation between roughly 2005–2015. We assign each case a “signature” representing the degree of presence/absence of seven dimensions of participation and then cluster these signatures to look for patterns of the most common ways of “doing participation” today. Two main clusters become apparent: 1) a “radical-direct” mode that emphasizes direct individual autonomy and influence, commitment to having a voice and setting goals, and individual or collective control over resources thereby produced; and 2) an “experiential-affective” mode that emphasizes the experience of being or becoming part of a collective, and the affective, communicational, and educational features of that experience.     

Joseph Fourier,the ‘greenhouse effect’, and the quest for a universal theory of terrestrial temperatures

The central role that the theory of terrestrial temperatures played in Fourier's mathematical physics has not received the attention it deserves from historians, although his cryptic allusions to the heating of a greenhouse, taken out of context, have been widely cited by subsequent authors.     

CD/CV: Blockchain-based schemes for continuous verifiability and traceability of IoT data for edge–fog–cloud

This paper presents a continuous delivery/continuous verifiability (CD/CV) method for IoT dataflows in edge–fog–cloud. A CD model based on extraction, transformation, and load (ETL) mechanism as well as a directed acyclic graph (DAG) construction, enable end-users to create efficient schemes for the continuous verification and validation of the execution of applications in edge–fog–cloud infrastructures. This scheme also verifies and validates established execution sequences and the integrity of digital assets. CV model converts ETL and DAG into business model, smart contracts in a private blockchain for the automatic and transparent registration of transactions performed by each application in workflows/pipelines created by CD model without altering applications nor edge–fog–cloud workflows. This model ensures that IoT dataflows delivers verifiable information for organizations to conduct critical decision-making processes with certainty. A containerized parallelism model solves portability issues and reduces/compensates the overhead produced by CD/CV operations. We developed and implemented a prototype to create CD/CV schemes, which were evaluated in a case study where user mobility information is used to identify interest points, patterns, and maps. The experimental evaluation revealed the efficiency of CD/CV to register the transactions performed in IoT dataflows through edge–fog–cloud in a private blockchain network in comparison with state-of-art solutions.     

The destabilisation of existing regimes: Confronting a multi-dimensional framework with a case study of the British coal industry (1913–1967)

Because innovation studies are oriented towards novelty, scholars in this field have paid less attention to the destabilisation of existing regimes. This paper discusses four views on industry destabilisation and presents an encompassing conceptual framework, which addresses interactions between the build-up of external pressures, industry response strategies, and the gradual weakening of commitment to existing regime elements. We confront the framework with an in-depth longitudinal case study of the British coal industry (1913–1967). Specific conclusions are developed about different degrees of regime inertia, the ebb and flow of external pressures, the relative importance of economic and socio-political pressures, and interactions between them.     

Rethinking knowledge hierarchies – bridging the gulf between theory and practice: the case of Frankfurt airport’s billing department

This paper examines the value of concrete empirical data in enhancing our understanding of knowledge hierarchies (KHs). Theoretical debate has generated different insights and perspectives, but the term (KH) remains a misconstrued principle. In today’s age of austerity, managing complex administrative processes in an airport billing environment, while striving for effectiveness and efficiency is challenging. These billing processes are influenced by the existing organisational KH. This study sheds light on the hybrid forms of KH: first, the theoretical impact: through data, information and knowledge as KH; second, the stakeholders’ understanding of their role within business processes. The method adopted for this study is influenced by the nature of the problem to be addressed. It uses a qualitative approach, analysing the billing processes and conducting interviews to gauge the stakeholders’ perceptions in order to demonstrate that there are significant variations in understanding organisational key roles.     

How to describe and evaluate “deception” phenomena: recasting the metaphysics,ethics, and politics of ICTs in terms of magic and performance and taking a relational and narrative turn

Contemporary ICTs such as speaking machines and computer games tend to create illusions. Is this ethically problematic? Is it deception? And what kind of “reality” do we presuppose when we talk about illusion in this context? Inspired by work on similarities between ICT design and the art of magic and illusion, responding to literature on deception in robot ethics and related fields, and briefly considering the issue in the context of the history of machines, this paper discusses these questions through the lens of stage magic and illusionism, with the aim of reframing the very question of deception. It investigates if we can take a more positive or at least morally neutral view of magic, illusion, and performance, while still being able to understand and criticize the relevant phenomena, and if we can describe and evaluate these phenomena without recourse to the term “deception” at all. This leads the paper into a discussion about metaphysics and into taking a relational and narrative turn. Replying to Tognazzini, the paper identifies and analyses two metaphysical positions: a narrative and performative non-dualist position is articulated in response to what is taken to be a dualist, in particular Platonic, approach to “deception” phenomena. The latter is critically discussed and replaced by a performative and relational approach which avoids a distant “view from nowhere” metaphysics and brings us back to the phenomena and experience in the performance relation. The paper also reflects on the ethical and political implications of the two positions: for the responsibility of ICT designers and users, which are seen as co-responsible magicians or co-performers, and for the responsibility of those who influence the social structures that shape who has (more) power to deceive or to let others perform.     

Pharmaceuticals,intellectual property and free trade: the case of the US–Australia free trade agreement

Australia did poorly in several key areas of the recently completed free trade agreement with the US. It failed to insulate the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from significant change, and conceded to increased intellectual property standards. The PBS, as a system of effective bargaining with multinational pharmaceutical firms, has been deeply compromised and higher drug prices can be expected over time. The intellectual property chapter strengthens the position of patent owners and undermines the evolution of a competitive generics industry. These developments are part of a broader and internationally coordinated strategy being pursued by pharmaceutical multinationals to globalize and strengthen patent rights and monopoly profits.     

An SOS for the Yangtze cetacean:No trace of the Baiji is spotted in a recent survey

Not a single river dolphin or Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) was sighted during a 38-day desperate search along the Yangtze River, reports grievingly by a recently concluded scientific expedition. Although it was still too early to announce