Complexity in international society: theorising fragmentation and linkages in primary and secondary institutions

This article seeks to contribute to theorising the institutional structure of international society by exploring synergies between complex systems thinking and the English School theory of International Relations (IR). Suggesting that the English School already embraces key conceptual insights from complexity theory, most notably relational and adaptive systems thinking, it reconfigures international society as a complex social system. To further advance the English School’s research programme on international institutions, the article introduces the notion of “law-governed emergence” and distils two effects it has on global institutional ordering practices: fragmentation and clustering. These moves help to establish complexity as a fundamental structural condition of institutional ordering at the global level, and to provide a basis for taking steps toward better understanding the nature and significance of institutional interconnections in a globalised international society

On the meaning(s) of norms: Ambiguity and global governance in a post-hegemonic world

This article offers a new conceptualisation of the meaning of norms in world politics. It starts from the observation that existing norm scholarship in International Relations has underestimated the role of ambiguity in the constitution of norm meaning. To address this shortcoming, we advance a conceptualisation that sees norm polysemy – the empirically observable plurality of norm meanings-in-use – as resulting from the enactment of inherently ambiguous norms in different contexts. By foregrounding norm ambiguity, this view offers a radically non-essentialist understanding of norm meaning, one that eschews any attempt to salvage final or ‘true’ meanings behind the polysemy of norms. Using empirical illustrations from different fields of contemporary global governance, we identify four mechanisms through which actors practically cope with the multiplicity of norm meanings that arises from norm ambiguity (deliberation, adjudication, uni- or multilateral fixation attempts, and ad hoc enactment) and outline their varying effects on the legitimacy and effectiveness of global governance. Based on this discussion, the article points to the normative implications of a radically non-essentialist conception of norms and suggests harnessing the positive potential of norm ambiguity as an ethically desirable condition that promotes human diversity and the plurality of global life

TEN YEARS LATER: CHANGES IN BUSINESS STUDENT COMPUTING EFFICACY

Two independent samples of students enrolled in a typical introduction to Information Systems course at a Midwestern university were surveyed in 1996 and 2006 to determine if business student computing efficacy changed over this ten-year period. Two computer self-efficacy (CSE) scales were administered to each sample and demographic data collected. The initial analysis of this research in progress data suggests that while students in 2006 report significantly more computer experience, use computers much more frequently, and take significantly more core courses that require computer use, this experience has not translated into significantly higher CSE scores. The implications of these preliminary findings for Information Systems educators are discussed

Business Student Computer Self-Efficacy: Ten Years Later

This study analyzes computer self-efficacy for two independent samples of students enrolled in an introduction to information systems course in 1996 and 2006. We administered two validated and frequently employed measures of general computer self-efficacy to each group of students and collected demographic and computer-use data. Our findings demonstrate that the 2006 students reported significantly more computer experience, used computers much more frequently, and took significantly more core courses that require computer use than their 1996 counterparts. This experience, however, did not translate into significantly higher computer self-efficacy scores, and female students in both groups had significantly lower scores than male students. Even more surprising, after controlling for gender, class level, computer experience, and frequency of computer use, we observed that computer self-efficacy was significantly lower for the 2006 students than the 1996 students. This article discusses the implications of these findings for information systems educators

Silicon spin diffusion transistor: materials, physics and device characteristics

The realisation that eaveryday electronics has ignored the spin of the carrier in favour of its charge is the foundation of the field of spintronics. Starting with simple two-terminal devices based on GMR and tunnel magnetoresistance, the technology has advanced to consider three-terminal devices that aim to combine spin sensitivity with a high current gain and a large current output. These devices require both efficient spin injection and semiconductor fabrication. In this paper, a discussion is presented of the design, operation and characteristics of the only spin transistor that has yielded a current gain greater than one in combination with reasonable output current

Comparison of boron-assisted oxime and hydrazone formations leads to the discovery of a fluorogenic variant

We use kinetic data, photophysical properties, and mechanistic analyses to compare recently developed high-rate constant oxime and hydrazone formations. We show that when Schiff base formation between aldehydes and arylhydrazines is carried out with an appropriately positioned boron atom, then aromatic B–N heterocycles form irreversibly. These consist of an extended aromatic structure amenable to the tailoring of specific properties such as reaction rate and fluorescence. The reactions work best in neutral aqueous buffer and can be designed to be fluorogenic – properties which are particularly interesting in bioconjugation