Using event diaries and in-depth interviews for understanding shared understanding in headquarters-subsidiary cooperation

The paper describes the application of a qualitative diary method combined with in-depth interviews in the context of headquarters-subsidiary cooperation. We examine the distinct requirements of studying shared understanding in the case of distributed teams and argue that further research is necessary in order to explain inter-team conflicts arising from incongruent understandings and divergent expectations. Building on this research gap, we perform a case study in the headquarters of a multinational technology company and one of its subsidiaries. With the help of Event Sampling Methodology (ESM) and in-depth interviews, we were able to identify, analyze and comprehend situations characterized by lacking shared understanding. By this, our research contributes to the methodical discussion on event sampling methods and proposes new fields of application. Furthermore, it contributes to the international management literature by analyzing misunderstandings in international R&D cooperation

Using event diaries and in-depth interviews for understanding shared understanding in headquarters-subsidiary cooperation

The paper describes the application of a qualitative diary method combined with in-depth interviews in the context of headquarters-subsidiary cooperation. We examine the distinct requirements of studying shared understanding in the case of distributed teams and argue that further research is necessary in order to explain inter-team conflicts arising from incongruent understandings and divergent expectations. Building on this research gap, we perform a case study in the headquarters of a multinational technology company and one of its subsidiaries. With the help of Event Sampling Methodology (ESM) and in-depth interviews, we were able to identify, analyze and comprehend situations characterized by lacking shared understanding. By this, our research contributes to the methodical discussion on event sampling methods and proposes new fields of application. Furthermore, it contributes to the international management literature by analyzing misunderstandings in international R&D cooperation

Decoherence-Free Quantum Information Processing with Four-Photon Entangled States

Decoherence-free states protect quantum information from collective noise, the predominant cause of decoherence in current implementations of quantum communication and computation. Here we demonstrate that spontaneous parametric down-conversion can be used to generate four-photon states which enable the encoding of one qubit in a decoherence-free subspace. The immunity against noise is verified by quantum state tomography of the encoded qubit. We show that particular states of the encoded qubit can be distinguished by local measurements on the four photons only.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps figures, revtex

The effect of relationship status on communicating emotions through touch

Research into emotional communication to date has largely focused on facial and vocal expressions. In contrast, recent studies by Hertenstein, Keltner, App, Bulleit, and Jaskolka (2006) and Hertenstein, Holmes, McCullough, and Keltner (2009) exploring nonverbal communication of emotion discovered that people could identify anger, disgust, fear, gratitude, happiness, love, sadness and sympathy from the experience of being touched on either the arm or body by a stranger, without seeing the touch. The study showed that strangers were unable to communicate the self-focused emotions embarrassment, envy and pride, or the universal emotion surprise. Literature relating to touch indicates that the interpretation of a tactile experience is significantly influenced by the relationship between the touchers (Coan, Schaefer, & Davidson, 2006). The present study compared the ability of romantic couples and strangers to communicate emotions solely via touch. Results showed that both strangers and romantic couples were able to communicate universal and prosocial emotions, whereas only romantic couples were able to communicate the self-focused emotions envy and pride

Influence of hypoxia and neoangiogenesis on the growth of pancreatic cancer

As with other solid tumors, the growth and metastasis of pancreatic cancer is critically dependent on tumor angiogenesis. A major stimulus for a tumor's recruitment of additional blood vessels is cellular hypoxia, a condition which is especially pronounced in this neoplasm. Hypoxia induces transcriptional activation of genes that alter cellular metabolism and promote neoangiogenesis. Pancreatic cancer cells have demonstrated activation of such adaptive pathways even in the absence of hypoxia. A highly-angiogenic response in this neoplasm correlates with increased tumor growth, increased metastasis, and decreased survival. Pancreatic cancers expressing high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor, a potent pro-angiogenic cytokine, also have a higher incidence of metastasis and poorer prognosis. Pancreatic cancer cells uniquely express receptors for vascular endothelial growth factor, indicating a role for an autocrine loop in tumor proliferation and invasion. Multiple experimental anti-angiogenic strategies, many of which target vascular endothelial growth factor, reduce pancreatic cancer growth, spread, and angiogenesis. Anti-angiogenic treatments for pancreatic cancer will likely be most effective when used as an integral part of a combination chemotherapeutic regimen