The Evolution of Interaction Networks in Massively Multiplayer Online Games

This article examines the co-evolution of players’ individual performance and their interaction network in a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG). The objective is to test whether the application of theories from the real world is valid in virtual worlds. While the results indicate that the structural effects and demographic variables active in the real world influence the evolution of the players’ interaction network in MMOGs (e.g. transitivity, reciprocity, and homophily), they do not provide evidence that players’ structural embeddedness in the interaction network influences player performance. These findings have important implications for researchers and practitioners who need to understand social processes in MMOGs (e.g., when launching marketing campaigns in MMOGs) or who study MMOGs and then use their findings to draw conclusions about the real world (e.g., when analyzing the relationship between employee performance and network structure)

Integrative Trust-Based Functional Contracting: A Complementary Contractual Approach to BIM-Enabled Oil And Gas EPC Project Delivery

The research has successfully bridged the gap between contractual and technological practices for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts in oil and gas projects. It has identified the related Building Information Modelling (BIM) uses and developed an integrative trust-based functional contracting that complement to EPC contracts. The research contributes to new functional perspectives of contracting and also provides significant insights into the proper use contract functions for improving BIM-enabled projects’ performance

Partner selection in virtual enterprises

Tese de doutoramento. Engenharia Industrial e Gestão. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

Network deficit?: interorganizational relationships and the software industry in Hong Kong.

Wong Lai Fong Yvonne.Thesis submitted in: July 2005.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006.Includes bibliographical references.Abstracts in English and Chinese.ABSTRACT --- p.iiACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.ivTABLE OF CONTENT --- p.vChapter CHAPTER 1 --- INTRODUCTIONChapter 1.1 --- Motivation --- p.1Chapter 1.2 --- Common explanations of economic success --- p.2Chapter i) --- Explanation from Neoclassical Economic Perspectives --- p.3Chapter ii) --- Explanation from the Statist Perspective --- p.5Chapter iii) --- Limitations of Neoclassical and Statist Perspectives --- p.7Chapter iv) --- Importance of the interorganizational relationships perspective --- p.10Chapter 1.3 --- The Research --- p.11Chapter i) --- The choice of studying the software industry --- p.11Chapter ii) --- Research questions and significance --- p.12Chapter 1.4 --- Thesis Layout --- p.13Chapter CHAPTER 2 --- LITERATURE REVIEW: THE STUDY OF INTERORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS AND THEIR IMPORTANCE TO THE IT INDUSTRYChapter 2.1 --- Importance of Social Networks --- p.15Chapter 2.2 --- Theories in the Network Approach I - Social Embeddedness: The Fundamental Building Block of the Network Approach --- p.17Chapter 2.3 --- Theories in the Network Approach II - The Social Network Approach --- p.20Chapter 2.4 --- Theories in Network Approach III - Factors affecting the formation of networks --- p.22Chapter i) --- Prior ties or pre-existing network --- p.22Chapter ii) --- Expectations from social networks --- p.23Chapter iii) --- Incentive schemes by government - industry promotion schemes nurturing public-private or private-private partnership --- p.26Chapter iv) --- IT clusters --- p.29Chapter 2.5 --- Theories in Network Approach IV ´ؤ Interorganizational Alliances and Social Capital --- p.31Chapter i) --- Interorganizational alliances and organizational outcomes --- p.31Chapter ii) --- Enhanced performance through social capital --- p.33Chapter 2.6 --- Mechanisms: From Interorganizational Relationships to Performance --- p.34Chapter i) --- Client acquisition --- p.35Chapter ii) --- Capital Accumulation --- p.36Chapter iii) --- Product Innovation --- p.37Chapter iv) --- Interorganizational Learning --- p.39Chapter 2.7 --- Implications from the Literature Review --- p.42Chapter CHAPTER 3 --- RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGYChapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.43Chapter 3.2 --- Research Objectives --- p.44Chapter i) --- Research Questions --- p.44Chapter ii) --- Propositions --- p.45Chapter 3.3 --- Definition of Concepts in the Proposals --- p.46Chapter i) --- Performance --- p.46Chapter ii) --- Interorganizational relationships --- p.47Chapter iii) --- The mechanisms affecting performance by IOR --- p.48Chapter iv) --- Factors affecting IOR --- p.50Chapter 3.4 --- Methodology --- p.52Chapter 3.5 --- Chapter Summary --- p.58Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- INDUSTRY OVERVIEW AND THE NATURE OF INTERORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS --- p.60Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.60Chapter 4.2 --- Mode of Production of the Software Industry in Hong Kong --- p.60Chapter 4.3 --- Performance of the Software Industry in Hong Kong --- p.61Chapter i) --- Definition of the Software Industry --- p.61Chapter ii) --- About the Industry --- p.62Chapter iii) --- Performance Indicators --- p.64Chapter 4.4 --- Performance of the Software Firms in Hong Kong --- p.70Chapter 4.5 --- Nature of Interorganizational Relationships in the Software Industry --- p.71Chapter 4.6 --- Summary Remarks of the Chapter --- p.81Chapter CHAPTER 5 --- INTERORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS AND PERFORMANCE --- p.1Chapter 5.1 --- Performance and Network Position of Firms --- p.82Chapter 5.2 --- Case Studies --- p.88Chapter i) --- A peripheral firm with negative performance: Company L --- p.88Chapter ii) --- Node firm with negative performance: Company C --- p.94Chapter iii) --- Node firm with a positive performance: Company A --- p.98Chapter iv) --- Node firm with a positive performance: Company M --- p.104Chapter 5.3 --- The Mechanism ´ؤ Resource-based perspective --- p.110Chapter i) --- Client acquisition --- p.110Chapter ii) --- Capital Accumulation --- p.112Chapter iii) --- Product Innovation --- p.117Chapter iv) --- Interorganizational Learning --- p.118Chapter 5.4 --- Concluding Remarks of this Chapter --- p.121Chapter CHAPTER 6: --- FACTORS CONDUCIVE TO NETWORK DEFICITChapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.122Chapter 6.2 --- Pre-existing Ties --- p.123Chapter 6.3 --- Government --- p.128Chapter 6.4 --- Intensity of Competition --- p.134Chapter 6.5 --- Cluster Effect --- p.137Chapter 6.6 --- Concluding Remarks --- p.138Chapter CHAPTER 7: --- CONCLUSIONChapter 7.1 --- The Hong Kong Story: IOR and Performance --- p.140Chapter 7.2 --- Research Limitations --- p.144Chapter i) --- Difficulty in Explaining a Negative Story --- p.144Chapter ii) --- Effect of the Economy --- p.145Chapter iii) --- Response Rate --- p.146Chapter iv) --- Time Factor --- p.147Chapter 7.3 --- Discussion and Further Research --- p.149APPENDIX I: LIST OF IT ASSOCIATIONS IN HONG KONG --- p.AI-1APPENDIX II: INTERVIEW OUTLINE --- p.AII-1REFERENCES --- p.R-

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

Management for Bachelors

The textbook contains educational module, which embraces the content of main regulatory disciplines on specialists training by the direction 6.030601 “Management” in the knowledge branch 03.06 “Management and administration” of the educational and qualification level “Bachelor”. According to the content the disciplines completely conform to curricula approved by scientific and methodological commission on management and agreed with logical and structural scheme of educational process. The textbook embraces almost all aspects of bachelor training. The chapters contain questions for self-control and list of recommended literature. While creating the chapters the results of fundamental and applied scientific researches of the evaluation branch, the forecasting and management of economic potential of complicated industrial system were used

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN ROMANIA

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main opportunities and limitations of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The survey was defined with the aim to involve the highest possible number of relevant CSR topics and give the issue a more wholesome perspective. It provides a basis for further comprehension and deeper analyses of specific CSR areas. The conditions determining the success of CSR in Romania have been defined in the paper on the basis of the previously cumulative knowledge as well as the results of various researches. This paper provides knowledge which may be useful in the programs promoting CSR.Corporate social responsibility, Supportive policies, Romania

Enhancing the use of Haptic Devices in Education and Entertainment

This research was part of the two-years Horizon 2020 European Project "weDRAW". The aim of the project was that "specific sensory systems have specific roles to learn specific concepts". This work explores the use of the haptic modality, stimulated by the means of force-feedback devices, to convey abstract concepts inside virtual reality. After a review of the current use of haptic devices in education, available haptic software and game engines, we focus on the implementation of an haptic plugin for game engines (HPGE, based on state of the art rendering library CHAI3D) and its evaluation in human perception experiments and multisensory integration