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An ontology to model the research process in information systems
The IS community has relied mostly on two main paradigms to undertake IS research: positivist and interpretivist. This paper argues that the ongoing debate around which of these paradigms is better suited to undertake IS research has created confusion amongst IS researchers, particularly between those who are relatively inexperienced (e.g. PhD researchers). Inexperienced researchers tend to place emphasis on the justification of their research approaches in the context of existing paradigms without offering a clear description of how the chosen methods and paradigms are applied in the context of their own research, a key issue to assess and understand any research output. This paper does not attempt to give any suggestions as to which research methods/paradigms should be used for IS research, but to raise the awareness that the way we currently communicate our thoughts in the research methods domain may not be very effective. We argue that an initial step to undertake this challenge could be to take a more âpracticalâ approach by focusing on the process of thinking and planning the research activity rather than focusing on the justification of the use of one or many research methods usually âloanedâ from other discipline
Rich-club vs rich-multipolarization phenomena in weighted networks
Large scale hierarchies characterize complex networks in different domains.
Elements at their top, usually the most central or influential, may show
multipolarization or tend to club forming tightly interconnected communities.
The rich-club phenomenon quantified this tendency based on unweighted network
representations. Here, we define this metric for weighted networks and discuss
the appropriate normalization which preserves nodes' strengths and discounts
structural strength-strength correlations if present. We find that in some real
networks the results given by the weighted rich-club coefficient can be in
sharp contrast to the ones in the unweighted approach. We also discuss that the
scanning of the weighted subgraphs formed by the high-strength hubs is able to
unveil features contrary to the average: the formation of local alliances in
rich-multipolarized environments, or a lack of cohesion even in the presence of
rich-club ordering. Beyond structure, this analysis matters for understanding
correctly functionalities and dynamical processes relying on hub
interconnectedness.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
Transition matrices for symmetric and quasisymmetric Hall-Littlewood polynomials
We introduce explicit combinatorial interpretations for the coefficients in
some of the transition matrices relating to skew Hall-Littlewood polynomials
P_lambda/mu(x;t) and Hivert's quasisymmetric Hall-Littlewood polynomials
G_gamma(x;t). More specifically, we provide: 1) the G-expansions of the
Hall-Littlewood polynomials P_lambda, the monomial quasisymmetric polynomials
M_alpha, the quasisymmetric Schur polynomials S_alpha, and the peak
quasisymmetric functions K_alpha; 2) an expansion of P_lambda/mu in terms of
the F_alpha's. The F-expansion of P_lambda/mu is facilitated by introducing
starred tableaux.Comment: 28 pages; added brief discussion of the Hall-Littlewood Q', typos
corrected, added references in response to referee suggestion
Vacuum decay in an interacting multiverse
We examine a new multiverse scenario in which the component universes
interact. We focus our attention to the process of "true" vacuum nucleation in
the false vacuum within one single element of the multiverse. It is shown that
the interactions lead to a collective behaviour that might lead, under specific
conditions, to a pre-inflationary phase and ensued distinguishable imprints in
the comic microwave background radiation.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
High fidelity readout scheme for rare-earth solid state quantum computing
We propose and analyze a high fidelity readout scheme for a single instance
approach to quantum computing in rare-earth-ion-doped crystals. The scheme is
based on using different species of qubit and readout ions, and it is shown
that by allowing the closest qubit ion to act as a readout buffer, the readout
error can be reduced by more than an order of magnitude. The scheme is shown to
be robust against certain experimental variations, such as varying detection
efficiencies, and we use the scheme to predict the expected quantum fidelity of
a CNOT gate in these solid state systems. In addition, we discuss the potential
scalability of the protocol to larger qubit systems. The results are based on
parameters which we believed are experimentally feasible with current
technology, and which can be simultaneously realized.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Correlated enhancement of Hc2 and Jc in carbon nanotube-doped MgB2
The use of MgB2 in superconducting applications still awaits for the
development of a MgB2-based material where both current-carrying performance
and critical magnetic field are optimized simultaneously. We achieved this by
doping MgB2 with double-wall carbon nanotubes (DWCNT) as a source of carbon in
polycrystalline samples. The optimum nominal DWCNT content for increasing the
critical current density, Jc is in the range 2.5-10%at depending on field and
temperature. Record values of the upper critical field, Hc2(4K) = 41.9 T (with
extrapolated Hc2(0) ~ 44.4 T) are reached in a bulk sample with 10%at DWCNT
content. The measured Hc2 vs T in all samples are successfully described using
a theoretical model for a two-gap superconductor in the dirty limit first
proposed by Gurevich et al.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Determinants of profitability in Spanish financial institutions. Comparing aided and non-aided entities
The last financial crisis has led to the greatest contribution of public funds ever made to Spanish banks. This paper studies why the need for support has been asymmetric, with not all of the institutions requiring aid. Based on profitability of assets (ROA), we determine using panel data econometric and logit response models the components of profit and loss accounts that generated profitability as well as the factors leading to some entities to ask for aid. The analyses show that before the beginning of the crisis there were significant differences between entities that needed aid and those that did not. The most profitable banks grounded their success in the traditional revenue components of financial institutions (such as margin on interest rates and commissions), as well as in revenues obtained from participated companies and extraordinary results. The model offers a tool to detect entities in difficulties in advance, reducing the financial and social costs of public interventions. The factors more impacting on profitability of Spanish institutions are also identifie
Calculation of the orientation relationships of directionally solidified eutectic ceramics by a modified Coincidence of Reciprocal Lattice Points model (CRLP)
The Coincidence of Reciprocal Lattice Points (CRLP) method was used to predict, according to geometric considerations, the most favorable orientation relationships (ORs) between the component phases in a family of directionally solidified eutectic ceramics (DSEC) (NiO-YSZ, CoO-YSZ, NiO-CeO2, NiO-GDC, CoO-CeO2, and CoO-GDC) grown by the laser floating zone method. The ORs predicted by the CRLP model are consistent with those experimentally found in a previous work by means of Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD). In this article, we also present a modification to the model with the aim of taking into account that the most stable ceramic-ceramic interfaces are usually formed between atomic planes with low Miller indices, due to their higher atomic density and bigger interplanar spacing. Thus, we introduce in the calculation of the overall coincidence volume a weighting factor which is a function of the interplanar spacing. This modified CRLP method has been applied to the aforementioned eutectic ceramics, and the results are presented and discussed in comparison with the traditional CRLP results and the experimental findings.This study was funded by the MAT2012-30763 project, which is ïŹnanced by the Spanish Government (Ministerio de EconomĂa y Competitividad) and the Feder program of the European Union.Peer Reviewe
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