INNOVATION CO-CREATION IN A VIRTUAL WORLD

The emergence of web-based technologies has radically influenced the ways in which individuals around the world communicate, represent themselves, share ideas, and otherwise interact with one another (Ward and Sonneborn, 2009; Rogers, 2003). In particular, these technologies allow people to communicate directly with one another and to share and shape their own experiences; as a result, customers and other organisational stakeholders are increasingly involved in the design of products and services (Ramaswamy and Gouillart, 2010, p. 102). During innovation co-creation specifically, customers take an active and creative role in the intentional and successful adoption and application of ideas, processes, products or procedures that are new to the adopting organization. This study carries out six case studies of innovation co-creation in the virtual world of Second Life. Virtual worlds allow users to engage in highly active and participatory forms of co-creation that are difficult if not impossible to replicate in other environments. The study explores collaborative processes used for innovation co-creation in virtual worlds. In particular, the study presents an analysis of behaviours used to facilitate innovation co-creation in virtual world projects and the factors that affect it. The study leverages this analysis to derive practical recommendations for virtual world users and virtual world designers that can be used to stimulate and support innovation co-creation in virtual worlds

Exponential Renormalization II: Bogoliubov's R-operation and momentum subtraction schemes

This article aims at advancing the recently introduced exponential method for renormalisation in perturbative quantum field theory. It is shown that this new procedure provides a meaningful recursive scheme in the context of the algebraic and group theoretical approach to renormalisation. In particular, we describe in detail a Hopf algebraic formulation of Bogoliubov's classical R-operation and counterterm recursion in the context of momentum subtraction schemes. This approach allows us to propose an algebraic classification of different subtraction schemes. Our results shed light on the peculiar algebraic role played by the degrees of Taylor jet expansions, especially the notion of minimal subtraction and oversubtractions.Comment: revised versio

SLE-type growth processes and the Yang-Lee singularity

The recently introduced SLE growth processes are based on conformal maps from an open and simply-connected subset of the upper half-plane to the half-plane itself. We generalize this by considering a hierarchy of stochastic evolutions mapping open and simply-connected subsets of smaller and smaller fractions of the upper half-plane to these fractions themselves. The evolutions are all driven by one-dimensional Brownian motion. Ordinary SLE appears at grade one in the hierarchy. At grade two we find a direct correspondence to conformal field theory through the explicit construction of a level-four null vector in a highest-weight module of the Virasoro algebra. This conformal field theory has central charge c=-22/5 and is associated to the Yang-Lee singularity. Our construction may thus offer a novel description of this statistical model.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX, v2: thorough revision with corrections, v3: version to be publishe

Entanglement of four qubit systems: a geometric atlas with polynomial compass I (the finite world)

We investigate the geometry of the four qubit systems by means of algebraic geometry and invariant theory, which allows us to interpret certain entangled states as algebraic varieties. More precisely we describe the nullcone, i.e., the set of states annihilated by all invariant polynomials, and also the so called third secant variety, which can be interpreted as the generalization of GHZ-states for more than three qubits. All our geometric descriptions go along with algorithms which allow us to identify any given state in the nullcone or in the third secant variety as a point of one of the 47 varieties described in the paper. These 47 varieties correspond to 47 non-equivalent entanglement patterns, which reduce to 15 different classes if we allow permutations of the qubits.Comment: 48 pages, 7 tables, 13 figures, references and remarks added (v2

Exchange bias in Co/CoO core-shell nanowires: Role of the antiferromagnetic superparamagnetic fluctuations

The magnetic properties of Co (=15 nm, =130nm) nanowires are reported. In oxidized wires, we measure large exchange bias fields of the order of 0.1 T below T ~ 100 K. The onset of the exchange bias, between the ferromagnetic core and the anti-ferromagnetic CoO shell, is accompanied by a coercivity drop of 0.2 T which leads to a minimum in coercivity at $\sim100$ K. Magnetization relaxation measurements show a temperature dependence of the magnetic viscosity S which is consistent with a volume distribution of the CoO grains at the surface. We propose that the superparamagnetic fluctuations of the anti-ferromagnetic CoO shell play a key role in the flipping of the nanowire magnetization and explain the coercivity drop. This is supported by micromagnetic simulations. This behavior is specific to the geometry of a 1D system which possesses a large shape anisotropy and was not previously observed in 0D (spheres) or 2D (thin films) systems which have a high degree of symmetry and low coercivities. This study underlines the importance of the AFM super-paramagnetic fluctuations in the exchange bias mechanism.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Building Bridges, Burning Bridges: The Use of Boundary Objects in Agile Distributed ISD Teams

Boundary objects are physical and abstract artefacts which support team interactions across diverse knowledge domains. Despite their relevancy, research into the effectiveness of boundary objects in agile distributed ISD remains nascent. In this paper, we develop a framework to theorize their effectiveness in generating cohesion within distributed teams. Our in-depth case study finds that their effectiveness is influenced by the nature of the boundary objects themselves but also by team members’ willingness to address differences in contextual factors. We identify three contextual factors - structure, identity, and culture - that are critical to supporting team members crossing knowledge boundaries within distributed teams. Furthermore, findings suggest that while boundary objects can indeed foster team cohesion in agile distributed ISD, there are other less explored aspects to their role. For example, we find that boundary objects can be useful for enabling constructive team conflict

The Rise and Fall of Collective Identity: Understanding Antecedents and Inhibitors of Social Identification in Distributed Teams

The diverse backgrounds of distributed team members can pose unique challenges during decision-making processes. Notable of these is the gradual emergence of social identities, where individuals seek to form new social groupings within the temporal context of a project. However, our understanding of social identity within distributed teams remains nascent. Drawing on Social Identity Theory (SIT) and in-depth case study findings, we investigate the impact of social identity on decision-making in a distributed healthcare systems development team. Contrary to SIT, we see the dissolution of distinct social groupings and rise of individualism within the project. Based on our findings, we discover five inhibitors which can impede social identification in distributed teams: role ambiguity, absence of a collective vision, transfer of ownership, lack of shared history, and incompatible personalities. We extend SIT to include antecedents of collective identities (e.g. distinctiveness, prestige, salience of out-group), as well as inhibitors which foster individualism