Power and Bitcoins : a critical realism perspective

In this study, through the lens of critical realism to power, we take a close look into the power dynamics behind the Bitcoin protocol in relation to its Cypherpunk philosophical underpinnings. We focus on some of its main components that can be seen as constraining structures, and we discuss how these structures generate constraining mechanisms that restrict users’ power to act, further reinforcing other entities' power over them. In doing so, we illustrate that the Bitcoin Protocol, as it is used today, is in tension with the principles on which it was developed. In addition, we show that power, instead of being decentralised and distributed to the many, it has merely shifted from traditional actors to what can be seen as newcomers or atypical regulators. In line with the paradigm of critical realism, we note that the identified mechanisms and structures we discuss in this paper, are those that we were able to observe through our subjective lens; others may exist but may require different contextual conditions to be activated and observed

Anomalous diffusion in the citation time series of scientific publications

We analyze the citation time-series of manuscripts in three different fields of science; physics, social science and technology. The evolution of the time-series of the yearly number of citations, namely the citation trajectories, diffuse anomalously, their variance scales with time proportional to t (2H ), where H not equal 1/2. We provide detailed analysis of the various factors that lead to the anomalous behavior: non-stationarity, long-ranged correlations and a fat-tailed increment distribution. The papers exhibit a high degree of heterogeneity across the various fields, as the statistics of the highest cited papers is fundamentally different from that of the lower ones. The citation data is shown to be highly correlated and non-stationary; as all the papers except the small percentage of them with high number of citations, die out in time

Making sense of business analytics : the case of two start-ups

Business analytics have enabled businesses to leverage unstructured and dispersed data in order to improve their operations and position themselves better within a highly turbulent environment. While much discussion has been focused on how businesses can move from data to insights to decision making, much less is known around how businesses actually interpret the insights provided by business analytics tools. This extended abstract proposes the use of sense-making as the theoretical lens for interpreting these insights, combined with contextual information. We will be using two case studies to further explore the applicability of our proposition

Nanocasting Synthesis of Ultrafine WO3 Nanoparticles for Gas Sensing Applications

Ultrafine WO3 nanoparticles were synthesized by nanocasting route, using mesoporous SiO2 as a template. BET measurements showed a specific surface area of 700 m 2/gr for synthesized SiO2, while after impregnation and template removal, this area was reduced to 43 m 2/gr for WO3 nanoparticles. HRTEM results showed single crystalline nanoparticles with average particle size of about 5 nm possessing a monoclinic structure, which is the favorite crystal structure for gas sensing applications. Gas sensor was fabricated by deposition of WO3 nanoparticles between electrodes via low frequency AC electrophoretic deposition. Gas sensing measurements showed that this material has a high sensitivity to very low concentrations of NO2 at 250°C and 300°C

The Wireless Readiness Innovation Index: Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Public Sector in New Service Introduction

National and regional public authorities need to align their planned introduction of mobile/wireless innovation with the maturity levels of both their workforce (who will manage and maintain the new applications) and their citizens (who will use them). We draw on the experience of working with local authorities in three Mediterranean countries (Greece, Italy and Spain) to develop a method towards the effective introduction and adoption of innovative mobile services by public organizations. Specifically, we discuss the development and pilot implementation of a) the Wireless Readiness Innovation Index , a tool that aims at measuring the local authority’s and end users’ readiness towards providing and using innovative wireless services and b) the Wireless Innovation Operational Toolkit , a tool that aims at matching users’ and local authority’s readiness levels with candidate services so as to maximize the likelihood of successful introduction and sustained use

On the appropriation of consumerised IT : a trial and error approach

Consumerized IT devices, such as tablets, are widely adopted and support both personal and professional uses with a wide breadth of applications. Our study focuses on appropriation behaviour in instances of disillusionment, that is, when technology-in-use fails user goals. Building on grounded theory methods, we analyse blog entries that provide narratives on user interaction with tablets to unpack users’ efforts to appropriate the tablet through the lens of trial and error theory. In doing so, we identify the conditions for rejection, as well as appropriation. Trial and error is shown to be a variation that extends the appropriation literature. We contribute to understanding the volitional, consumerized use of IT where the use scenarios are determined by the individual and IT use transcends the boundaries between work and personal IT use