3,695 research outputs found

    Beyond markets and firms: the emergence of Open Source networks

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    Although hierarchies and markets (i.e., autonomy) have been subject to extensive study, heterarchies represent different modalities of organizing that have been little researched. Drawing on complexity theory and the main features of complex evolving systems (CES), this paper sets out to remedy this imbalance by showing that heterarchies feature highly decentralized and relatively stable interactions which are coordinated through an emergent process of parametric adaptation. Implications in terms of learning are discussed casting a new light on the delicate issue of motivation in Open Source software development. Copyright ©2005, Federico Iannacci and Eve Mitleton-Kelly

    Configurational theory in business and management research: Status quo and guidelines for the application of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA)

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    Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) has become a key method in Business and Management research, sparking significant discussions about its use. While many studies have explored QCA's application across various research contexts, there has been limited focus on the critical link between its theoretical foundations and methodological applications. Our review of QCA literature in Business and Management research (n = 675 articles) reveals that many studies focus more on methodological aspects than configurational theorizing. Despite repeated calls for stronger theoretical integration, only a limited number of studies have successfully employed QCA in a way that aligns theoretical principles with empirical investigation. Additionally, we found a predominant use of QCA in inductive research, though a surprising number of deductive studies misuse QCA for hypothesis testing—despite its incompatibility with set-theoretic approaches. We clarify that QCA should not be employed for hypothesis testing and emphasize its proper deductive use in evaluating theory through the alignment of theoretical propositions and empirical findings. Furthermore, we provide guidelines for conducting rigorous QCA and offer a research protocol to better align theoretical foundations with methodological applications. With this, the study contributes to the field by addressing gaps in how QCA is applied and enhancing its use in configurational theorizing

    »It contained harbours that pleased me like sonnets«. Kleine Poetik der diegetischen Karte

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    In this article, Federico Italiano explores the relationship between literature and cartography. Beginning with Stevenson’s Treasure Island, the author frames the topic through a general theoretical lens on the spatial dimension of literary texts. He then focuses on a specific phenomenon of literary "carticity"—the diegetic presence of the map, that is, the map as an integral element of the narrative structure. Among others, Italiano examines the works of Houellebecq and Cormac McCarthy

    Formally-based Model-Driven Development of Collaborative Robotic Applications

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    The development of Human Robot Collaborative (HRC) systems faces many challenges. First, HRC systems should be adaptable and re-configurable to support fast production changes. However, in the development of HRC applications safety considerations are of paramount importance, as much as classical activities such as task programming and deployment. Hence, the reconfiguration and reprogramming of executing tasks might be necessary also to fulfill the desired safety requirements. Model-based software engineering is a suitable means for agile task programming and reconfiguration. We propose a model-based design-to-deployment toolchain that simplifies the routine of updating or modifying tasks. This toolchain relies on (i) UML profiles for quick model design, (ii) formal verification for exhaustive search for unsafe situations (caused by intended or unintended human behavior) within the model, and (iii) trans-coding tools for automating the development process. The toolchain has been evaluated on a few realistic case studies. In this paper, we show a couple of them to illustrate the applicability of the approach

    Optimal Impedance Force-Tracking Control Design With Impact Formulation for Interaction Tasks

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    The letter presents a force-tracking impedance controller granting a free-overshoots contact force (mandatory performance for many critical interaction tasks such as polishing) for partially unknown interacting environments (such as leather or hard-fragile materials). As in many applications, the robot has to gently approach the target environment (whose position is usually not well-known), then execute the interaction task. Therefore, the algorithm has been designed to deal with both the free space approaching motion (phase a.) and the succeeding contact task (phase b.) without switching from different control logics. Control gains have to be properly calculated for each phase in order to achieve the target force tracking performance (i.e., free-overshoots contact force). In detail, phase a. control gains are optimized based on the impact collision model to minimize the force error during the following contact task, while phase b. control gains are analytically calculated based on the solution of the LQR optimal control problem. The analytical solution grants the continuous adaptation of the control gains during the contact phase on the estimated value of the environment stiffness (obtained through an on-line extended Kalman filter). A probing task has been carried out to validate the performance of the control with partially unknown contact environment properties. Results show the avoidance of force overshoots and instabilities

    When is an information infrastructure? Investigating the emergence of public sector information infrastructures

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    Drawing on the notion of information infrastructure as a relational concept, this paper endeavours to highlight the links between data standards and institutional facts. Although social science studies have emphasised the interplay between socio-technical factors, the author suggests that such approaches have overlooked the role that institutional facts play in the development of information infrastructures. An in-depth, qualitative case study of a recent episode of institutional change within the criminal justice system of England and Wales reveals how institutional facts are entangled with data standards through iterative sets of constitutive rules that are mirrored by their associated logical messages in an isomorphic fashion

    Portrait of the Author in (Him/Her)self

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    A fragment of a philosophical essay by Jean-Luc Nancy and Federico Ferrari titled Iconographie dell’auteur (Paris, 2005), published for the first time in Polish, that addresses the problem of a relationship between the image of the author and his/her work

    Aneddoti e ricette a corte di Federico II nel XXI secolo : il buon cibo e il buon bere nel più antico Ateneo pubblico al mondo

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    [Italiano]: Questo volume rappresenta la finalizzazione di una iniziativa nata, condivisa ed interamente realizzata all'interno del gruppo social dei "Prof in cucina e in Cantina", che ha inteso raccogliere ricette e descrizioni aneddotiche di singoli Autori, appartenenti ai ruoli del personale docente e tecnico-amministrativo-bibliotecario dell'Ateneo federiciano, il più antico Ateneo pubblico al mondo. Aneddoti e ricette forniscono spaccati di vita quotidiana e ricostruzioni di eventi che hanno accompagnato gli Autori nei diversi percorsi formativi, sociali e lavorativi, e che non escludono riferimenti al recente periodo emergenziale della pandemia COVID-19. Ad introdurre il Volume è un menù federiciano, con una proposta di 3 pietanze che attualizzano ricette ed abitubini alimentari dell'epoca, e che hanno come riferimento il Liber de coquina, edito a corte di Federico II. Gli 8 Capitoli del volume raggruppano ricette e aneddoti per categorie, e ciascuno di essi è poi preceduto da un breve inserto con ulteriori riferimenti storici all'alimentazione a Corte di Federico II. Così, atmosfere vecchie e nuove, accompagnate dal sentore di aromi e da suggestioni ispirate al vissuto di ciascun Autore, si fondono per offrire a Lettrici e Lettori frammenti di quotidianità vissuti oggi a corte di Federico II, nel XXI secolo./[English]: The Volume represents the endpoint of a recent initiative, which was conceived, shared and fully realized within the social group of the "Prof in Cucina e in Cantina". Here, the several Authors, represented by the teaching and the technical/administrative/librarian staff of the Federico II University in Naples, the oldest public University in the world, propose recipes and anecdotal descriptions of their educational, social and work-related paths, including some episodes from the recent COVID-19 pandemic. A menu inspired to Frederick II introduces the book, with 3 recipes inspired to the Liber de coquina, a cooking manual compiled at the Emperor's court. Each of the following 8 thematic chapters of the book is also anticipated by a brief insert reporting historical reconstructions of the alimentary habits at the court of Frederick II. Thus, old and new atmospheres, accompanied by the scent of aromas and suggestions inspired by the experience of each Author, come together to offer Readers fragments of everyday life at the court of Frederick II, in the 21st century
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