"Hegelian Buddhist Hypertextual Media Inhabitation, or, Criticism in the Age of Electronic Immersion"

What can it mean to criticize when you are inside the work itself? In a immersive electronic or digital environment critic is not distanced on a platform based on firm principles. Yet criticism self-awareness and commentary remain possible. This essay examines various techniques for dealing with immersive environments critically

Designing, Producing and Using Artifacts in the Structuration of Firm Knowledge: Evidence from Proprietary and Open Processes of Software Development.

In the paper we study the recursive nature of artifacts in the production and the socialization of organizational knowledge. In this respect, artifacts are interpreted both as the product (output) of organizational knowledge processes and, at the same time, as tools easing the development of other artifacts. We compare different practices of knowledge creation and diffusion in complex software production processes with the aim of understanding the effects of interplay between (1) coordination and control practices, (2) mediating artifacts and development tools, and (3) interactions between different actors in the development process. We aim at identifying the peculiar traits emerging in contrasting development paradigms, namely the closed, fully proprietary one widespread in the gaming console industry, and the open model of free/open source software development.video/computer game industry; artifacts; free/open source software; video game console

Designing, Producing and Using Artifacts in the Structuration of Firm Knowledge: Evidence from Proprietary and Open Processes of Software Development.

In the paper we study the recursive nature of artifacts in the production and the socialization of organizational knowledge. In this respect, artifacts are interpreted both as the product (output) of organizational knowledge processes and, at the same time, as tools easing the development of other artifacts. We compare different practices of knowledge creation and diffusion in complex software production processes with the aim of understanding the effects of interplay between (1) coordination and control practices, (2) mediating artifacts and development tools, and (3) interactions between different actors in the development process. We aim at identifying the peculiar traits emerging in contrasting development paradigms, namely the closed, fully proprietary one widespread in the gaming console industry, and the open model of free/open source software developmentvideo/computer game industry; artifacts; free/open source software; video game consoles

Efficiency of informational transfer in regular and complex networks

We analyze the process of informational exchange through complex networks by measuring network efficiencies. Aiming to study non-clustered systems, we propose a modification of this measure on the local level. We apply this method to an extension of the class of small-worlds that includes {\it declustered} networks, and show that they are locally quite efficient, although their clustering coefficient is practically zero. Unweighted systems with small-world and scale-free topologies are shown to be both globally and locally efficient. Our method is also applied to characterize weighted networks. In particular we examine the properties of underground transportation systems of Madrid and Barcelona and reinterpret the results obtained for the Boston subway network.Comment: 10 pages and 9 figure

Boundary Objects and their Use in Agile Systems Engineering

Agile methods are increasingly introduced in automotive companies in the attempt to become more efficient and flexible in the system development. The adoption of agile practices influences communication between stakeholders, but also makes companies rethink the management of artifacts and documentation like requirements, safety compliance documents, and architecture models. Practitioners aim to reduce irrelevant documentation, but face a lack of guidance to determine what artifacts are needed and how they should be managed. This paper presents artifacts, challenges, guidelines, and practices for the continuous management of systems engineering artifacts in automotive based on a theoretical and empirical understanding of the topic. In collaboration with 53 practitioners from six automotive companies, we conducted a design-science study involving interviews, a questionnaire, focus groups, and practical data analysis of a systems engineering tool. The guidelines suggest the distinction between artifacts that are shared among different actors in a company (boundary objects) and those that are used within a team (locally relevant artifacts). We propose an analysis approach to identify boundary objects and three practices to manage systems engineering artifacts in industry

Philosophical Toys Today

The article introduces a thematic issue of the journal Theory of Science that attempts to revive the category of "philosophi- cal toys" - objects and instruments designed for experimental scientific research that simultaneously played crucial role in the creation of the modern visual culture. It claims that to fully understand their nature and the kind of experience philosophical toys induce, it is necessary to situate their origins in eighteenth-century experimental science and aesthetics and proposes to approach them as perceptual and cognitive extensions