OVERVIEW OF THEOBSTACLES AND FACILITATORS OF LEARNING AND ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE IN STRATEGIC ALLIANCES – AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

In this paper we address the issue of knowledge transfer between organizations in partnerships as well as the role of the knowledge exchange in building successful cooperation. Given its many positive effects on the business performance, such as creativity, innovativeness and flexibility needed in modern business environment, it was of the utmost importance to investigate different factors that either contribute or constrain learning in alliances. After the theoretical background on the aforementioned topic was given, an empirical research and its main conclusions were described in the paper. A study of the alliances in Croatian context revealed that organizational characteristics exhibit the most pronounced influence on the knowledge transfer success which was especially highlighted in domestic alliances. The level of integration, the primary area of cooperation and the previous experience in forming alliances between partners did not change the extent to which different factors influenced knowledge transfer

Effects of exoplanetary gravity on human locomotor ability

At some point in the future, if mankind hopes to settle planets outside the Solar System, it will be crucial to determine the range of planetary conditions under which human beings could survive and function. In this article, we apply physical considerations to future exoplanetary biology to determine the limitations which gravity imposes on several systems governing the human body. Initially, we examine the ultimate limits at which the human skeleton breaks and muscles become unable to lift the body from the ground. We also produce a new model for the energetic expenditure of walking, by modelling the leg as an inverted pendulum. Both approaches conclude that, with rigorous training, humans could perform normal locomotion at gravity no higher than 4 $g_{\textrm{Earth}}$.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, to be published in The Physics Teache

COGNITIVE THEORY OF CATEGORIZATION, AS EXEMPLIFIED ON JAPANESE MATERIAL

Nakon uvodnog utvrđivanja teorijske razlike između tradicionalnog aristotelovskog i suvremenog kognitivnog poimanja procesa ljudske kategorizacije, te navođenja prednosti kognitivnog pristupa, autor u ovome radu na primjerima iz japanskoga jezika oprimjeruje mentalne procese prisutne u oblikovanju konceptualnih kategorija koje su preslikane na jezični materijal. Na primjerima se japanskih brojača objašnjavaju procesi koji uključuju konceptualnu metaforu i metonimiju, konvencionalne mentalne slike, transformaciju slike u shemu (shematizacija), višestruko temeljenu motivaciju te pojavu lančanog vezivanja (značenjski lanci). Također se primjerom konceptualne kategorije ja u japanskome jeziku prikazuje sposobnost utjecaja društva i kulture da nametnu značenjski okvir unutar kojega će se određena kategorija upotrebljavati.After an introduction to theoretical distinctions between traditional Aristotelian and contemporary cognitive approach to the process of human categorization, and a demonstration of the advantages of the cognitive approach, the paper goes on to discuss Japanese data which exemplify mental processes underlying the formation of conceptual categories and their mapping onto linguistic structures. Japanese classifiers are discussed in the context of cognitive phenomena such as conceptual metaphor and metonymy, conventional mental images, imageschema transformation, multiple motivation, and the phenomenon of chaining structures. The final section discusses the conceptual category self in Japanese, specifically the ability of society and culture to impose a meaning frame within which a given category will be used

Organizing for Competitiveness – Structural and Process Characteristics of Organizational Design

An emerging multidimensional approach to organizational design outlines the need for the alignment of relevant structural and process characteristics of organizations. However, neither the interaction of these characteristics nor their role and importance for organizational competitiveness is properly examined in the literature. Therefore, the main goal of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the structural and process characteristics of organizational design to determine how and to what extent these characteristics contribute to achieving a competitive advantage. The field survey was conducted on a cross-sectional sample of 134 Croatian companies. The research findings outlined the need for a new organizational design approach that emphasizes both the vertical and horizontal dimensions of design solutions. This paper contributes to previous research by showing that organizational design represents a source of competitive advantage only if structural and process characteristics are commonly designed. In addition, we confirmed that although structural characteristics are usually more often addressed, it is process characteristics that make a difference

OVERVIEW OF THE OBSTACLES AND FACILITATORS OF LEARNING AND ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE IN STRATEGIC ALLIANCES – AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

In this paper we address the issue of knowledge transfer between organizations in partnerships as well as the role of the knowledge exchange in building successful cooperation. Given its many positive effects on the business performance, such as creativity, innovativeness and flexibility needed in modern business environment, it was of the utmost importance to investigate different factors that either contribute or constrain learning in alliances. After the theoretical background on the aforementioned topic was given, an empirical research and its main conclusions were described in the paper. A study of the alliances in Croatian context revealed that organizational characteristics exhibit the most pronounced influence on the knowledge transfer success which was especially highlighted in domestic alliances. The level of integration, the primary area of cooperation and the previous experience in forming alliances between partners did not change the extent to which different factors influenced knowledge transfer

Organizing for Competitiveness – Structural and Process Characteristics of Organizational Design

An emerging multidimensional approach to organizational design outlines the need for the alignment of relevant structural and process characteristics of organizations. However, neither the interaction of these characteristics nor their role and importance for organizational competitiveness is properly examined in the literature. Therefore, the main goal of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the structural and process characteristics of organizational design to determine how and to what extent these characteristics contribute to achieving a competitive advantage. The field survey was conducted on a cross-sectional sample of 134 Croatian companies. The research findings outlined the need for a new organizational design approach that emphasizes both the vertical and horizontal dimensions of design solutions. This paper contributes to previous research by showing that organizational design represents a source of competitive advantage only if structural and process characteristics are commonly designed. In addition, we confirmed that although structural characteristics are usually more often addressed, it is process characteristics that make a difference

Design of the life signature detection polarimeter LSDpol

Many biologically produced chiral molecules such as amino acids and sugars show a preference for left or right handedness (homochirality). Light reflected by biological materials such as algae and leaves therefore exhibits a small amount of circular polarization that strongly depends on wavelength. Our Life Signature Detection polarimeter (LSDpol) is optimized to measure these signatures of life. LSDpol is a compact spectropolarimeter concept with no moving parts that instantaneously measures linear and circular polarization averaged over the field of view with a sensitivity of better than 10-4. We expect to launch the instrument into orbit after validating its performance on the ground and from aircraft. LSDpol is based on a spatially varying quarter-wave retarder that is implemented with a patterned liquid-crystal. It is the first optical element to maximize the polarimetric sensitivity. Since this pattern as well as the entrance slit of the spectrograph have to be imaged onto the detector, the slit serves as the aperture, and an internal field stop limits the field of view. The retarder's fast axis angle varies linearly along one spatial dimension. A fixed quarter-wave retarder combined with a polarization grating act as the disperser and the polarizing beam-splitter. Circular and linear polarization are thereby encoded at incompatible modulation frequencies across the spectrum, which minimizes the potential cross-talk from linear into circular polarization.</p

LOUPE: Observing Earth from the Moon to prepare for detecting life on Earth-like exoplanets: Observing Earth from the Moon to prepare for detecting life on Earth-like exoplanets: LOUPE: Observing Earth from the Moon

LOUPE, the Lunar Observatory for Unresolved Polarimetry of the Earth, is a small, robust spectro-polarimeter for observing the Earth as an exoplanet. Detecting Earth-like planets in stellar habitable zones is one of the key challenges of modern exoplanetary science. Characterizing such planets and searching for traces of life requires the direct detection of their signals. LOUPE provides unique spectral flux and polarization data of sunlight reflected by Earth, the only planet known to harbour life. These data will be used to test numerical codes to predict signals of Earth-like exoplanets, to test algorithms that retrieve planet properties, and to fine-tune the design and observational strategies of future space observatories. From the Moon, LOUPE will continuously see the entire Earth, enabling it to monitor the signal changes due to the planet's daily rotation, weather patterns and seasons, across all phase angles. Here, we present both the science case and the technology behind LOUPE's instrumental and mission design. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Astronomy from the Moon: the next decades'.Astrodynamics & Space Mission