Scientific discovery and topological transitions in collaboration networks

We analyze the advent and development of eight scientific fields from their inception to maturity and map the evolution of their networks of collaboration over time, measured in terms of co-authorship of scientific papers. We show that as a field develops it undergoes a topological transition in its collaboration structure between a small disconnected graph to a much larger network where a giant connected component of collaboration appears. As a result, the number of edges and nodes in the largest component undergoes a transition between a small fraction of the total to a majority of all occurrences. These results relate to many qualitative observations of the evolution of technology and discussions of the “structure of scientific revolutions”. We analyze this qualitative change in network topology in terms of several quantitative graph theoretical measures, such as density, diameter, and relative size of the network's largest component. To analyze examples of scientific discovery we built databases of scientific publications based on keyword and citation searches, for eight fields, spanning experimental and theoretical science, across areas as diverse as physics, biomedical sciences, and materials science. Each of the databases was vetted by field experts and is the result of a bibliometric search constructed to maximize coverage, while minimizing the occurrence of spurious records. In this way we built databases of publications and authors for superstring theory, cosmic strings and other topological defects, cosmological inflation, carbon nanotubes, quantum computing and computation, prions and scrapie, and H5N1 influenza. We also built a database for a classical example of “pathological” science, namely cold fusion. All these fields also vary in size and in their temporal patterns of development, with some showing explosive growth from an original identifiable discovery (e.g. carbon nanotubes) while others are characterized by a slow process of development (e.g. quantum computers and computation). We show that regardless of the detailed nature of their developmental paths, the process of scientific discovery and the rearrangement of the collaboration structure of emergent fields is characterized by a number of universal features, suggesting that the process of discovery and initial formation of a scientific field, characterized by the moments of discovery, invention and subsequent transition into “normal science” may be understood in general terms, as a process of cognitive and social unification out of many initially separate efforts. Pathological fields, seemingly, never undergo this transition, despite hundreds of publications and the involvement of many authors

Inter-firm Alliances during Pre-standardization in ICT

alliances, ICT, standardization

Knowledge Capabilities, Communication and Innovation in Beef Cattle Farm Enterprises

A capabilities perspective of farm level innovation in the beef cattle industry is presented using information economics. The knowledge capabilities of non-corporate beef cattle enterprises have two interrelated components: the knowledge generated from the activities that takes place during production; and the information channels that producers possess to source external information. Although both are important for analysing innovation, the external information sources relating to producers’ knowledge are emphasised here. Emphasis on the path-dependent nature of knowledge focuses the discussion of innovation on the communication of information and how this affects the organisation of knowledge. The effects of differing knowledge capabilities are central to understanding the variation in innovative processes. Preliminary results from focus groups and in-depth interviews of both producers and their nominated information sources in the New England area of New South Wales in mid-2009 provide evidence for the efficacy of information channels. Case studies of innovations exemplify how differing attributes of innovations combine with network structures and institutional factors to influence the processes of communication between producers and their information sources. Communication of high quality information is shown to be more involved than simple exposure and must be considered from the point of view of the user, allowing it to be reconciled with existing knowledge of the producer. Of importance to producers is the source, delivery and history of the information and these are reflected in the approach taken in this research. The outcomes suggest that producers should be making decisions on the basis of their self organised knowledge capital rather than following innovations fashionable in the industry at large. The role of policy makers is to complement this by providing favourable conditions for knowledge capital formation where high quality information flows are likely outcomes. Policy makers could look at improving the ability of producers to integrate new technologies and practices into their production indirectly rather than looking to directly persuade them to adopt individual innovations.Farm Management,

Proceedings of the ECSCW'95 Workshop on the Role of Version Control in CSCW Applications

The workshop entitled "The Role of Version Control in Computer Supported Cooperative Work Applications" was held on September 10, 1995 in Stockholm, Sweden in conjunction with the ECSCW'95 conference. Version control, the ability to manage relationships between successive instances of artifacts, organize those instances into meaningful structures, and support navigation and other operations on those structures, is an important problem in CSCW applications. It has long been recognized as a critical issue for inherently cooperative tasks such as software engineering, technical documentation, and authoring. The primary challenge for versioning in these areas is to support opportunistic, open-ended design processes requiring the preservation of historical perspectives in the design process, the reuse of previous designs, and the exploitation of alternative designs. The primary goal of this workshop was to bring together a diverse group of individuals interested in examining the role of versioning in Computer Supported Cooperative Work. Participation was encouraged from members of the research community currently investigating the versioning process in CSCW as well as application designers and developers who are familiar with the real-world requirements for versioning in CSCW. Both groups were represented at the workshop resulting in an exchange of ideas and information that helped to familiarize developers with the most recent research results in the area, and to provide researchers with an updated view of the needs and challenges faced by application developers. In preparing for this workshop, the organizers were able to build upon the results of their previous one entitled "The Workshop on Versioning in Hypertext" held in conjunction with the ECHT'94 conference. The following section of this report contains a summary in which the workshop organizers report the major results of the workshop. The summary is followed by a section that contains the position papers that were accepted to the workshop. The position papers provide more detailed information describing recent research efforts of the workshop participants as well as current challenges that are being encountered in the development of CSCW applications. A list of workshop participants is provided at the end of the report. The organizers would like to thank all of the participants for their contributions which were, of course, vital to the success of the workshop. We would also like to thank the ECSCW'95 conference organizers for providing a forum in which this workshop was possible

Learning Networks Matter: Challenges to Developing Learning-Based Competence in Mango Production and Post-Harvest in Andhra Pradesh, India

This discussion paper explores aspects of innovation systems ideas in the analysis of mango production and export by smallscale farmers in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The paper shows how despite favourable agro-ecological conditions and being the largest international mango producer, India still struggles to build momentum in rapidly emerging export markets. An analysis of the sector's recent history combined with an empirical account of inter-sectoral and intra-sectoral linkage patterns among stakeholder groups appears to provide the basis for remedial policy suggestions. Most of these relate to aspects of integrated technology development and innovation management.innovation, innovation systems, mango, high-value, national competence, learning networks, South Asia, India

New Europe's Promise for Life Sciences

The life sciences sector (and biotechnology in particular) has emerged as a prospective area, and attracted a lot of attention recently. Multinational companies in the life sciences seek to explore new markets, and, on the other side, governments strive to develop the life sciences sector perceiving it as a basis for long-term development. Whilst the R&D activities of global multinationals in life sciences still remain concentrated in the Triadic economies, these companies increasingly seek for new location to tap the knowledge. New EU member states emerge as such prospective locations. Notwithstanding the interest towards this sector, the body of literature on the development of life sciences in new EU member states, and particularly, the role of multinational companies, remains scant. In this explorative study we attempt to fill this gap and focus on the role of multinational companies in the Czech life sciences sector.Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Multinational Companies, European Union

Opening closure: intercohesion and entrepreneurial dynamics in business groups

"Entrepreneurial groups face a twinned challenge: recognizing new ideas and implementing them. Recent research suggests that connectivity reaching outside the group channels new ideas, while closure makes it possible to act on them. By contrast, we argue that entrepreneurship is not about importing ideas but about generating new knowledge by recombining resources. In contrast to the brokerage-plus-closure perspective, we identify a distinctive network position, intercohesion, which is found at the overlap of cohesive group structures. The multiple insiders at this intercohesive position participate in dense cohesive ties that provide close familiarity with the operations of the members in their groups. Because they are members of multiple cohesive groups, they have familiar access to diverse resources. First, we test whether intercohesion contributes to higher group performance. Second, because entrepreneurship is a process of creative disruption, we test intercohesion's contribution to group instability. Third, we move from dynamic methods to historical network analysis and demonstrate that coherence is a property of interwoven lineages of cohesion that are built up through an ongoing pattern of separation and reunification. Business groups use this pattern of interweaving to manage instability while benefitting from intercohesion. To study the evolution of business groups, we construct a dataset that records personnel ties among the largest 1,696 Hungarian enterprises from 1987-2001." (author's abstract)"Unternehmerisch tätige Gruppen stehen vor zwei Herausforderungen: neue Ideen zu erkennen und sie zu implementieren. Jüngste Forschungsergebnisse unterstellen, dass Konnektivität, die über eine Gruppe hinausreicht, ihr neue Ideen zuführt, während Geschlossenheit der Gruppe ermöglicht, diese Ideen umzusetzen. Demgegenüber argumentieren wir, dass Unternehmertum nichts mit dem Import von Ideen zu tun hat, sondern damit, neues Wissen zu generieren, indem vorhandene Ressourcen neu kombiniert werden. Dabei identifizieren wir eine konkrete Netzwerkposition, die wir als 'Intercohesion' bezeichnen. Inhaber einer solchen interkohäsiven Position sind 'Mehrfach-Insider': Sie partizipieren an festen kohäsiven Beziehungen, durch die sie mit dem Handeln der Mitglieder ihrer Gruppen eng vertraut sind. Als Mitglieder mehrerer kohäsiver Gruppen haben sie mühelosen Zugang zu einer Vielfalt von Ressourcen. Zunächst untersuchen wir, ob Interkohäsion zu einer höheren Gruppenleistung beiträgt. In einem zweiten Schritt testen wir den Beitrag der Interkohäsion zur Instabilität von Gruppen, da Unternehmertum ein Prozess der kreativen Unterbrechung eingefahrener Abläufe und Strukturen ist. In einem dritten Schritt wenden wir uns von dem dynamischen Fokus hin zur Perspektive einer historischen Netzwerkanalyse und zeigen, dass Kohärenz eine Eigenschaft der miteinander verwobenen Abstammungslinien ist, die durch ein sich wiederholendes Muster von Trennung und Wiedervereinigung entstehen. Unternehmerisch tätige Gruppen verwenden dieses Muster, um Instabilität zu managen und dabei die Vorteile der Interkohäsion zu nutzen. Zur Untersuchung der Entwicklung unternehmerisch tätiger Gruppen bauen wir einen Datensatz auf, der über den Zeitraum von 1987 bis 2001 die Beziehungen zwischen den Führungskräften der größten 1.696 ungarischen Unternehmen abbildet." (Autorenreferat