bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Evolution of Competitive Intelligence in China
Authors: Xinzhou Xie , Xuehui Jin
Published: January 2020

Following landmark events during different historic periods, this paper divides the evolution of competitive intelligence (CI) in China into three main stages:  CI introduction, CI localization and CI self-conscious marketization. Studies of CI developments are made based on five main aspects of the overall CI industry in China, including their historical skeleton of development, achievements and problems identified. Finally a forecast for the future development of CI in China is presented.
EDITORIAL NOTE VOL 2, NO 1 (2012)
Authors: Solberg Søilen Klaus
Published: January 2020

JISIB here presents six new articles. As in the first issue these contributions come from scholars all over the world; from Africa, North America, Asia and Europe. We are very pleased about the diversity of these contributions, also with the fact that we have a good number of female authors. The subject they all have in common is problems related to how private organizations work with information to gain a competitive advantage. More precisely they are occupied with a particular kind of information, the need-to-know, or intelligence. Some of the articles are, as before, more technical, others more qualitative. They are all focused on management practices, that is, solving real life problems. As more technology is being implemented in our corporations, the ability to understand and use new applications distinguishes the skilled from the unskilled, be it in the IT department, the marketing department, in accounting and finance or in human resource management department, where most of those working with intelligence tasks are found.For the first time the journal has opened an opinion section, allowing for contribution which does not fit the format of empirical studies, but offer critical perspectives on the subject studied in this journal. We believe these are important contributions. A discipline should always question what it is doing and it must be able to welcome other methodologies, be it from Critical theory, Post modernism or the Historical school.It is with great interest that we have noticed the attention paid to Open Access journals recently, in particular by an editorial in the newspaper the Economist and by the decision at Harvard University to demand that all research from the institution be published in this format. Right now many other universities are thinking about demanding the same thing from their researchers. This will give Open Access journals a great boost in the time to come. We welcome this development.The journal works in symbioses with a number of conferences. It relies heavily on the contributions of scientific papers presented at these conferences, in particular for these first issues. Among these we would in particular like to mention the more scholarly conferences, like VSST, ECIS, ICTICTI and SIIE. In the near future we also hope to receive contributions from INOSA and ECKM. We also receive support from members in the more professional conferences related to Intelligence Studies like ICI and SCIP. We are most grateful to the organizers and contributors at all of these conferences.As always, we would first of all like to thank the authors for this issue.
Interactive methods for graph exploration
Authors: Loubier Eloise
Published: January 2020

In a strategic watch context, visualization of relational data allows transformation, coding and visualization of great data quantities. Access to interactive, adjustable functionalities by the user would facilitate the domination and the precision of the analysis. From this point of view, the VisuGraph tool allows visualization and exploration of relational data, by the way of applicable and controllable methods of analysis. The main interactive VisuGraph functionalities are presented and illustrated, revealing their importance in graph exploration. The user is the heart of the tool; he or she fully controls the representation and directs the analysis according to own needs.
Standards, Evaluation, Certification and implications for the study of Competitive Intelligence
Authors: Bourret Christian
Published: January 2020

The rise of standards, evaluations and certifications are expressions of what may be called the cult of performance and efficiency. Standards and assessment are frequently presented as inevitably, improving quality through a project approach.  As such they reflect a strong focus on efficiency in a world dominated by the quantitative approach. These standards and evaluations may hinder Competitive Intelligence goals. Building on the interdisciplinarity of Information and Communication Sciences (ICS), we propose another qualitative approach to standards and assessment. Finally, we considers the challenges represented by standards in the context of globalization of the economy and of trade.
An evaluation of Business Intelligence Software systems in SMEs – a case study
Authors: Solberg Søilen Klaus
Published: January 2020

This article proposes a simple model for evaluating the performance of Business Intelligence software systems based on what companies themselves find to be most important; efficiency, user friendliness, overall satisfaction, price and adaptability. Companies want to know the different systems used, why they are used and how effective they are for different tasks. They are also concerned about the systems’ compatibilities. The study builds on a deep interview with eight Swedish SMEs. The results show what terms are used by users, how they have solved their information needs and what problems arise in each company. It also shows that the decisions about what system to use are related to the experience specific individuals have had in other companies.
How to adapt a tactical board wargame for marketing strategy identification
Authors: Goria Stéphan
Published: January 2020

This research paper investigates some fundamental principles of marketing warfare to see specifically what kinds of maneuvers can be used to defend or take control of a certain market. We present military war-games and its history to ease the understanding of the fundamentals in this area of study. Since we did not find a visual business wargame solution for our problem in the literature, we decided to develop one, based on the French market of game consoles between Nintendo and Sony in the period between 1994 and 2010. Our experiment confirmed the value of war-gaming. It showed that a parallel could be made between tactical maneuvers on the map and the statistics of sales for this market during the time interval
Critical Factors of Competitive Intelligence in the Power Plant Industry: The Case Study of MAPNA Group
Authors: Momeni Afrooz , Mehrafzoon Mehdi
Published: January 2020

This paper aims to discuss the critical factors of competitive intelligence that influences the Iran’s power plant industry (MAPNA Group). Design/methodology/ approach: The paper has identified critical factors of competitive intelligence through Iran’s power plant industry based on a comprehensive review of recent literature. For this purpose, a questionnaire was designed, applied and analyzed by the use of statistical methods. The results discuss various perspectives from a competitive intelligence point of view, and provide critical factors and a regression model for showing essential issues on the subject. Findings: The statistical analysis determines seven factors as critical issues in this case study. These factors are “Proportion of company’s structure and goal”, “Company’s competitive conditions”, “International Policies about foreign trade”, and “Economics and Politics condition of country”. Research limitation/ implications: The extracted factors can act as a guideline to design a strategic plan. This helps to ensure that the essential issues are covered during design and implementation of the plan. For academics, it provides a common language to discuss the factors crucial for competitive intelligence in this industry. Originality/ Value: The paper may represent high value to researchers in the competitive intelligence and strategic management fields. This study further provides an integrated perspective of critical issues for competitive intelligence in the power plant industry. It gives valuable information and guidelines that can help leaders consider the important issues during strategic planning.
DEVELOPMENTS IN BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SOFTWARE
Authors: Abzaltynova Zhanna , Williams Janice
Published: January 2020

In today’s economy the requirements in Business Intelligence environments are changing dramatically. This research paper tested underlying constructs. Hypothesis one sought to test if vendors seek to provide complete BI solutions following all four stages of the CI cycle. The evaluation of BI vendors indicates that all vendors examined do not support planning & directing phase, except for Astragy that gives users consultations to plan and arrange their CI, its absence did not influence the overall performance score.  The second hypothesis sought to test if BI vendors fail to provide good enough solutions for the analysis part of the intelligence cycle. The research findings indicate that only two BI vendors, SAS and QlikView, delivering the analysis phase of the intelligence cycle in a proper way. The third hypothetical construct concerns BI vendors’ attempts at making considerable changes in software each year, with each new upgrade. By tracing and comparing the developments of the vendors selected it has been concluded that all BI vendors, irrespective of whether it is a leading traditional vendor or small innovative BI, follow the same tendency in introducing BI enhancements by striving to make its software cost-effective, simpler, faster and flexible for use, scalable to manage increasing amounts of data in businesses, accessible to employees at all levels of organization. Hypothesis four sought to find out if the BI vendors’ software tested can be divided into a number of meaningful subgroups. With reference to evaluation and analysis and empirical findings, it has been concluded that the BI vendors can be divided into sub groups and hence has been classified based on their support of the phases of the intelligence cycle, their developments and market information. The subgroups range from advanced, competent, partially competent, and inadequate to absolutely inadequate. Among the BI vendors assessed, none satisfied the criteria in the advanced category. Hypothesis five aspired to determine if the BI software evaluated should fall under a different term as some of them do not follow the entire BI cycle. The analysis of empirical findings identified that QlikView and TIBCO Spotfire deliver the so-called next generation in-memory analytics, which is faster, much simpler, more flexible and scalable and meet the present-day business needs to a far greater extent if compared to traditional BI.
Brazil - Evolutions in CI and some aspects of a current scenario
Authors: Paletta Francisco Carlos
Published: January 2020

Ten years have gone since Competitive Intelligence was regarded as being in its initial phase in Brazil, according to the statistics from the application of the internationally accepted program for the sector. This article talks about the evolution of the Brazilian scenario in this field of activity and about aspects of the current reality which entitles us to outline the evolution of the practice of intelligence, as well as what is thought to be its application and results. The work focused mainly on three aspects: The evolution of the concept of Competitive/Economic Intelligence in the Southeast region of Brazil; the biggest recurring deficiencies in CI projects and obstacles to their execution; and the major recurring skills highlighted in the projects. The article shows culture as an influence that favors the aspects that affect the desires and decisions of companies located in Brazil. Conclusions point to an evolutionary scenario regarding the volume of project results in big companies and the presence of fragmented discourses in a market eager for a bigger volume of closed deals, less worried about delivery depth and quality.
Technical Intelligence Approach: Determining Patent Trends in Open Die Forging
Authors: Rodriguez Marisela , Palacios Alejandro , Cortez Dante
Published: January 2020

Open die forging is an important process for alloys and steels present in a variety of industries, such as in the aerospace industry, construction, mining and general machinery. During the forging process several wear mechanisms occur: thermal fatigue, plastic deformation, mechanical fatigue, etc. causing quality damage and economic losses. Academy and industry are devoting significant efforts to confront this situation where research acquires a key role. Under this context the objective of our research is to apply patent analyses as part of a Competitive Technical Intelligence methodology on open die forging. In particular, a keyword-based patent analysis and a patent citation analysis were develop
Analysis of knowledge transference processes in first mission activities of universities: portfolios as proposal of analytical tool for competitive intelligence functions
Authors: Cavaller Victor
Published: January 2020

The relationship between higher education activities follows a sequential cycle focused on knowledge transference. The aim of this paper is to examine the details of the following associated questions of debate about KT (knowledge translation) in education mission activities (first mission): relationship between teaching activities and scientific research, correlation between learning and teaching quality, entrepreneurship and the Bologna Process: the reform of education systems and finally, learning & teaching outcomes. This analysis allows a systematic approach to the specific goals of the Bologna Process that include promoting the student centred model, increasing the autonomy and accountability of universities, strengthening the responsibility of institutions for the quality of teaching, highlighting the excellence of learning, enhancing the quality of research and the transference of knowledge, as a basis for a competitive economy. In order to achieve this goal, from a CI (competitive intelligence) perspective, portfolios represent a critical tool for education systems as training-for-self-assessment, promoting new forms of support for the excellence of learning & teaching activities and designing of curricula and programmes.
Exploring Competitive Intelligence Practices of French Local Public Agricultural Organisations
Authors: Bisson Christophe
Published: January 2020

Modern agriculture has increased the need for information when making strategic decisions for farmers since they must be more entrepreneurial to survive. This paper investigates the levels of Competitive Intelligence practices in a French Regional Chamber of Agriculture and its four Departmental Chambers of Agriculture to examine the ability of these public organisations to keep fulfilling one of their missions which is to provide the necessary information and knowledge to farmers. Thus, this study proposes a behavioural and operational typology of Competitive Intelligence practice. Both types of organisations demonstrate that they are not well adapted to support the entrepreneurial farmers on this issue.  The findings of this study and the diagnosis of the Competitive Intelligence practices applied to the typology could be of help to increase their and other public agricultural structures performance levels. Furthermore, the platform has the potential to inspire the public sector through subsequent adaptations.
Disruptive Intelligence - How to gather Information to deal with disruptive innovations
Authors: Vriens Dirk , Solberg Søilen Klaus
Published: January 2020

Disruptive innovations are innovations that have the capacity to transform a whole business into one with products that are more accessible and affordable (cf. Christensen et al. 2009). As Christensen et al. argue no business is immune to such disruptive innovations. If these authors are right, it might be relevant to be able to recognize these innovations before they disrupt a business. Incumbents may use this information to protect their business and others may use it to participate in the disruption. Either way, gathering information about potential disruptive innovations is a relevant activity. The production of this information (we call this information “disruptive Intelligence”) is the topic of this paper. In particular, we analyze disruptive innovation theory and formulate several intelligence topics which may help in predicting disruptive innovations. In addition, we formulate several ‘biases’ which may impair the production of ‘disruptive intelligence’.
Editorial Notes VOL 5, No 2 (2015)
Authors: Solberg Søilen Klaus
Published: January 2020

EDITORIAL NOTE VOL 5, NO 2 (2015)It is always a pleasure to realize, at the time of writing this editorial note, that the articles published by JISIB come from many parts of the world and from many industries. This is not intentionally - even though we strive for diversity - as we do not know what articles actually make it through the review process for each issue. Our rejection rate is now more than 80%. Some see that as a sign of quality.  In this issue of JISIB we publish three articles on Intelligence Studies presented at the ECKM 2015 conference. There is also an article by Oubrich et al. presented at the AIM 2015 conference. In addition ASA du Toit gives an updated analysis of the Intelligence Studies field.As always we would first of all like to thank the authors for their contributions to this issue of JISIB.On behalf of the Editorial Board, Sincerely Yours,
Social Competitive Intelligence - socio-technical themes and values for the networking organization
Authors: Degerstedt Lars
Published: January 2020

This article introduces the notion of social competitive intelligence, meaning competitive intelligence (CI) for the networking organization. A novel socio-technical framework called the Social CI Framework (SCIF) is presented, intended for analysis and design of social CI processes, methods and tools. By using a socio-technical perspective, both social and technical aspects are considered together in SCIF. The framework is founded on theory related to enterprise 2.0 and wikinomics, and is intended to be used to study social CI using principles such as openness, participation, sharing and co-creation. The presented results are based on a literature review and an exploratory study with interviews of CI experts from Swedish organiza- tions. SCIF explicitly distinguishes between task-oriented models and collaboration models, and models of different socio-technical perspectives. Moreover, SCIF uses  the mechanisms of  socio-technical  themes  and  a socio-technical value map that relate the theoretical and empirical characteristics with the SCIF modeling method.
A reflection and integration of workforce conceptualisations and measurements for competitive advantage
Authors: Nienaber Hester , Sewdass Nisha
Published: January 2020

Workforce management is important in organisational performance. However,executives lament that their workforce management efforts remain ineffective. This comes asno surprise, as workforce measurement poses a challenge for several reasons: the many differentconceptualisations of the workforce, which developed in parallel, and flawed workforceanalytics, hence inadequate workforce intelligence, are among the most significant. To have theright people available requires timely and accurate information and intelligence to makeevidence-based decisions. In order to achieve this proper measurement is required, which formspart of the information system that ensures the availability of the right people, at the rightplace, at the right time. People measurement/metrics, is a neglected area of research, which isreceiving increased attention. Though little, if any, attention is devoted to the link betweenpeople as dimension of competitive advantage and metrics to ensure the availability of the rightpeople, at the right place at the right time. Our conceptual paper attends to this omission byreflecting on the different conceptualisations of ‘workforce’ by integrating the diverse andfragmented literature, which has not been done before, and linking it with workforcemeasurement. In so doing, we provide a more comprehensive understanding of ‘workforce’ andworkforce measurement, ensuring alignment with organisational strategy to secure acompetitive advantage and, thus, organisational performance. We also propose an integratedframework to measure and manage the workforce. It transpired that of the many tools available,predictive analytics emerged as the most effective means to measure and manage the workforcesuccessfully. Our paper benefits both academics and practitioners as theoretical ambiguitiesand tensions are clarified while ensuring the availability of the requisite workforce.
Users’ perceptions of Data as a Service (DaaS)
Authors: Solberg Søilen Klaus
Published: January 2020

In this study, 190 market intelligence (MI), competitive intelligence (CI) andbusiness intelligence (BI) professionals and experts were asked about Data as a Service (DaaS). Findings show there were few limits or restrictions on what kind of data users could imagine buying or renting, if all types of data were available. Data that is more sensitive—personal data and private data—will be difficult to buy, users think. Company secrets and most data for business-to-business (B2B) industries is especially difficult to obtain. The major concerns forDaaS from a user perspective are confidentiality, quality, reliability, security and accessibility. Besides, it is often pointed out by users that when everyone has much of the same data competition will increase. Users want to see more on company metrics, less expensive, more secure and more flexible data solutions. The analysis reveals that the ethical dimension are a major concern as DaaS develops. An extensive discussion follows, which also addresses newpoints.
Business intelligence through patinformatics: A study of energy efficient data centres using patent data
Authors: Deshpande Nishad , Ahmeda Shabib , Khodea Alok
Published: January 2020

The advent of cloud computing has nurtured an unprecedented growth of data centres. With its growth, the main concern for service providers and data centre owners is to efficiently manage the energy of the data centres without compromising their computing capabilities. This concern is genuine as data centres utilise 10-30 times more energy than office spaces and also generate immense heat. As cooling accounts for half of the total power consumption in data centres, efficient cooling systems have become a vital need for data centres. This has resulted in increased research and innovation in the field of efficient cooling of data centres, which in turn has led to growth in filing of patents in this domain. Patents are techno-legal documents that contain different kinds of information that is accessible to all. In the present study, patents are used as source of information for competitive/business intelligence to highlight the technological trends in the field of energy efficient cooling of data centres. The study reveals that IBM, HP, Schneider and Hon Hai Industries are the major players working in this technological area. Contrary to the notion that air conditioning would be the most researched area for cooling data centres, the study reveals that there is also interest in the hardware of the servers and racks to produce less heat or to have built-in cooling mechanisms. The main technologies for which patents are being filed include ventilation using gaseous coolant, technologies related to rack design as well as liquid cooling. Original equipment manufacturers and other vendors have increased filings, along with cloud service providers. Most of these technologies originate from Asia-Pacific and this region is a strong market, following the USA.
Proposal of an assessment scale in competitive intelligence applied to the tourism sector
Authors: Salguero Gisela Casado , Resende Jr. Pedro Carlos , Fernández Ignacio Aldeanueva
Published: January 2020

Companies operate in uncertain environments, where decision-making is a complex task. Thus, one of the key elements to take into account in the aforementioned decision-making is the environment in which the business operates. This is where competitive intelligence (CI) makes sense, understood as the process of establishing the environmental information needs, information acquisition and its analysis, transforming it into intelligence and putting it at the service of decision-makers in the company. This paper focuses on the proposal of a CI model that can be applied in the tourism sector, specifically in hotels, due to the relevance of this sector in many economies worldwide. In order to build the model a deep review of the CI literature was made and subsequently the content validation method was applied, for the purpose of identifying the most important items in the two first stages of the CI cycle: planning and collection.
A new model for identifying emerging technologies
Authors: Hughes Stephanie F.
Published: January 2020

Today, the complexity of so many emerging technologies requires an understanding of adjacent technologies often originating from multiple industries. Technology sequence analysis has been used by organizations, governments and industries to help make sense of the many variables impacting the evolution of technologies. This technique relies heavily on the input of experts who can offer perspectives on the status of current technologies while also highlighting the potential opportunities in the future. However, the volume and speed at which scientific research is accelerating is making it nearly impossible for even the most knowledgeable expert to stay current with research in their own industries. Today however, the use of big data search tools can help identify emerging trends around disruptive technologies well before many of the experts have fully grasped the impact of these technologies. Despite the fear of many in the intelligence community that these tools will make their jobs obsolete, we expect that the value of the intelligence expert will increase given their unique knowledge of relevant data sources and how to connect the data in meaningful ways to derive value for the firm. We propose a new forecasting model that incorporates a combination of technology sequencing analysis and big data tools within the organization while also leveraging experts from across the open innovation spectrum. This new model, informed by current client engagements, has the potential to create significant competitive advantages for organizations as they benefit from expanded search breadth, search depth and search speed all while leveraging a range of internal and external experts to make sense of the rapidly changing technological landscape confronting their environment.
Integration of business intelligence with corporate strategic management
Authors: Alnoukari Mouhib , Hanano Abdellatif
Published: January 2020

Integration of business intelligence and corporate strategic management has a direct impact on modern and flexible organizations. This integration helps decision makers to implement their corporate strategies, adapt easily to changes in the environment, and gain competitive advantages. This paper extends the studies in this domain, and clarifies the relationships between business intelligence and strategic management. It highlights also the role of business intelligence in corporate performance management and strategic intelligence. This paper proposes a BSC-BI framework that facilitates the integration of business intelligence with a balanced scorecard methodology. The BSC-BI framework implementation is demonstrated using a case study on the telecom field.
Why care about competitive intelligence and market intelligence? The case of Ericsson and the Swedish Cellulose Company
Authors: Søilen Klaus Solberg
Published: January 2020

This article tries to show the importance of the competitive intelligence (CI) and market intelligence (MI) function by describing developments in two quite different Swedish multinational companies. We see how top management can become the problem when the company is struggling to compete and how this affects the intelligence function. In the analysis we compare the intelligence function in private companies with those of state and military organizations and draw historical parallels. Moreover, the cases show what an important role competitive and market intelligence continue to play in the age of information, especially during the past decade.
Identifying key effective factors on the implementation process of business intelligence in the banking industry of Iran
Authors: Rezaie Salah , Mirabedini Seyed Javad , Abtahi Ataollah
Published: January 2020

Though many organizations have turned to developing and using business intelligence systems, not all have been successful in implementing such systems. These systems have social-technical dimensions with many elements and are very complicated. Numerous studies have been carried out on implementation and employment of business intelligence, but in the past studies only specific aspects and dimensions have been addressed. The aim of this study is to identify key factors in the implementation process of business intelligence in the Iranian banking industry. The present research is objectively applied as a survey study in implementation strategy. Also it is a descriptive study in terms of the research plan and data collection where two documentary and field study methods have been used for collecting data. The statistical population of this study comprises experts and professionals in information technology who are active in implementing solutions for business intelligence in the banking industry of Iran. In this study, 16 people were chosen based on non-random judgment sampling combined with targeted and snowball sampling as a statistical sample and their viewpoints were extracted and refined using the Fuzzy Delphi Technique. First through studying past research records and reviewing literature of effective factors in implementing business intelligence process, 37 factors were identified. Then by implementing five rounds of the Fuzzy Delphi Technique, 39 factors were confirmed as significant among 37 factors affecting the business intelligence implementation process in past studies and 10 factors proposed by experts. Also, these 39 factors were classified in nine main groups including organizational, human, data quality, environmental, system ability, strategic, service quality, technical infrastructure, and managerial factors. Managers and executives of business intelligence projects in Iran's banking industry can achieve the given objectives and results by considering such significant factors in planning and taking measures related to effective implementation of business intelligence.
The perception of useful information derived from Twitter: A survey of professionals
Authors: Søilen Klaus Solberg , Tontini Gerson , Aagerup Ulf
Published: January 2020

In this study we gathered data from 220 professional users of information via a survey. Twitter is perceived as a service for useful information but not for the reason one may expect, not because the content of the tweets give valuable information, but because of what can be derived and extracted from the information that is being tweeted and not tweeted. Professional users are aware that tweets are being manipulated by communication departments so they adjust for this in their understanding of the content that is being delivered. For the same reason “fake news” is not seen as a problem either by professionals. Twitter is seen as valuable alongside other social media software (additional software solutions) and used directly together with other software (integrated software solutions). As a stand-alone service it is found to be of less value to experienced users and there are no signs that Twitter is a valuable tool for learning.
Business intelligence through patent filings: An analysis of IP management strategies of ICT companies based on patent filings
Authors: Shaikh Shabib-Ahmed , Singhal Tarun Kumar
Published: January 2020

Business intelligence enables enterprises to make effective and good quality business decisions. In the knowledge economy, patents are seen as strategic assets for companies as they provide a competitive advantage and at the same time ensure the freedom to operate and form the basis for new alliances. Publication or disclosure of intellectual property (IP) strategy based on patent filings is rarely available in the public domain. Because of this, the only way to understand IP strategy is to look at patent filings, analyze them and, based on the trends, deduce strategy. This paper tries to uncover IP strategies of five US and Indian IT companies by analyzing their patent filings. Gathering business intelligence via means of patent analytics can be used to understand the strategies used by companies in advocating their patent portfolio and aligning their business needs with patenting activities. This study reveals that the Indian companies are far behind in protecting their IPs, although they are now on course correction and have started aggressively protecting their inventions. It is also observed that the rival companies in the study are not directly competing with each other in the same technological domain. Different patent filing strategies are used by firms to gain a competitive advantage. Companies make use of disclosure as strategy or try to cover many aspects of a technology in a single patent, thereby signaling their dominance in a technological area and at the same time as they add information.
Making sense of the collective intelligence field: A review
Authors: Söilen Klaus Solberg
Published: January 2020

The problem we want to solve is to find out what is new in the collective intelligence literature and how it is to be understood alongside other social science disciplines. The reason it is important is that collective intelligence and problems of collaboration seem familiar in the social sciences but do not necessarily fit into any of the established disciplines. Also, collective intelligence is often associated with the notion of wisdom of crowds, which demands scrutiny. We found that the collective intelligence field is valuable, truly interdisciplinary, and part of a paradigm shift in the social sciences. However, the content is not new, as suggested by the comparison with social intelligence, which is often uncritical and lacking in the data it shows and that the notion of the wisdom of crowds is misleading (RQ1). The study of social systems is still highly relevant for social scientists and scholars of collective intelligence as an alternative methodology to more traditional social science paradigms as found, for example, in the study of business or management (RQ2).
Iris Murdoch
Authors: Rowe Anne
Published: January 2020

This volume takes into account the variety of talents that inform not only Iris Murdoch’s twenty-six best-selling novels, but also her philosophical, theological and critical writing, which together express stringent views on art, politics and morality. It identifies Murdoch as a proudly Anglo-Irish writer whose work straddles the boundary between popular and intellectually serious novels which spanned the entire latter half of the twentieth century. This thematically based study outlines the overarching themes and issues that characterise her fiction decade by decade; explores her unique role as a British philosopher-novelist; explains the paradoxical nature of her outspoken atheism and highlights the neglected aesthetic aspect of her fiction, which innovatively extended the boundaries of realist fiction by borrowing from the visual arts, drama, poetics and music. The importance of the settings of her homeland of Ireland and her beloved London concludes the study, and while Iris Murdoch is acknowledged throughout as a writer who vividly evokes the zeitgeist of the late twentieth century she is also presented as one whose unconventional life and complex presentation of gender and psychology speaks perhaps more urgently to twenty-first century readers than they did to those of the century in which she wrote.
Our Civilizing Mission
Authors: Harrison Nicholas
Published: January 2020

Our Civilizing Mission is at once an exploration of colonial education, and a response to current anxieties about the historical and conceptual foundations of the ‘humanities’. On the one hand, focusing in detail on the example of Algeria, it treats colonial education as a facet of colonialism, exploring francophone writing that attests to the suffering inflicted by colonialism, to the shortcomings of colonial education, and to the often painful mismatch between the world of the colonial school and students’ home cultures. On the other hand, it asks what can be learned by treating colonial education not just as an example of colonialism but as a provocative, uncomfortable example of education. Placing writers’ literary and personal accounts of their transformative and often alienating experiences of colonial education in historical context, it raises difficult questions – about languages, literatures, ways of thinking, nationalism and national cultures – that need to be reconsidered by anyone teaching subjects such as French, or English, especially through literature. [160]
‘One Rwanda For All Rwandans’: (Un)covering the Twa in Post-Genocide Rwanda
Authors: Laws Meghan , Ntakirutimana Richard , Collins Bennett
Published: January 2020

The leading academic literature on Rwanda tends to focus on the Hutu-Tutsi dichotomy, either directly or indirectly, thus resigning the historical narratives of the Twa to a footnote, permanently buried in history. Based on interviews and focus groups, as well as personal testimony provided by three Twa civil society leaders, this chapter explores Twa perceptions and experiences of national unity and reconciliation during the post-genocide period. As a component of this, our chapter examines popular perceptions of the Historically Marginalized Peoples (HMP) label, a quasi-legal category generally associated with the Twa, within the broader framework of the government's unity-building and reconciliation campaign. This snapshot of Twa interactions with government policy and practice shows that Twa often feel excluded from efforts to foster national pride, unity and reconciliation. Equally, the majority of Twa object to the use of the HMP label, and many emphasize the continued relevance of Twa identity and culture at a community level.
John Dos Passos and Cinema
Authors: Nanney Lisa
Published: January 2020

John Dos Passos & Cinema, the first study to use the novelist’s little-known writing for the screen to assess the trajectory of his prolific career, explores both how film aesthetics shaped his revolutionary modernist narratives and how he later reshaped them directly into film form. The book features previously unpublished manuscripts and correspondence illustrating case studies of his screen writing during the 1930s for Hollywood feature films and in an innovative independent treatment; it examines the complexities of his role in the 1937 political documentary The Spanish Earth; and it explores the unproduced screen treatment of his attempts from the 1940s on to adapt his epic trilogy U.S.A. directly for the screen and to realign its leftist politics toward the anti-Communist conservatism reflected in his work and activism of that period. John Dos Passos & Cinema thus provides a new context for and reading of his modernist literary innovations and his conservative political reorientation in the 1930s that redefined his literary career.
EFFECT OF IONISED (ELECTROLYSED) WATER ON THE RAT EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT
Authors: Stankevič Jolita , Audickaitė Aistė , Šilovė Simona , Šimčikas Valdas , Cesiulis Henrikas , Skujienė Grita , Bukelskienė Virginija , Žalgevičienė Violeta , Tutkuvienė Janina
Published: January 2020

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects ionised water has on embryonic development using Wistar rat animal model.
For that purpose, alkaline and acidic water was prepared with a domestic water ioniser. It was found that the concentrations of Cl–,
SO42– ions increased in acidic water, while in alkaline water, Ca2+ concentration decreased and halogenated hydrocarbon concentrations exceeded permitted levels.
The animals were given test alkaline and acidic water, as well as tap water as control. After three months, female rats were mated. On the 21st day of gestation,
they were euthanized and subjected to Caesarean sections; the number of live and dead fetuses was recorded. The fetuses were examined for external or visceral
malformations and skeletal abnormalities. The data showed that embryo death was higher in acidic and alkaline experimental groups in comparison to the
control group. The fetuses in both test groups were significantly shorter than in the control group. Long bones of fetal hind and front limbs were
shorter in the acidic group in comparison to the control group. Retardation of limb osteogenesis was expressed in the acidic group fetuses. Therefore, in our
model, ionised water had a negative effect on the embryonic development.
Physics of Prodigious Lyman Continuum Leakers
Authors: Cen Renyue
Published: January 2020

An analysis of the dynamics of a star formation event is performed. It is shown that galaxies able to drive leftover gas to sufficient altitudes in a few million years are characterized by two basic properties: small sizes (≤1 kpc) and high star formation rate (SFR) surface densities (

). For the parameter space of relevance, the outflow is primarily driven by supernovae with radiation pressure being significant but subdominant. Our analysis provides the unifying physical origin for a diverse set of observed Lyman continuum photons (LyC) leakers, including the green-pea galaxies, [S ii]-weak galaxies, and Lyα emitters, with these two characteristics as the common denominator. Among verifiable physical properties of LyC leakers, we predict that (1) the newly formed stellar masses are typically in the range of 108–1010

, except perhaps ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs), (2) the outflow velocities are typically in the range typically of 100–600

, but may exceed 103

in ULIRGs, with a strong positive correlation between the stellar masses formed and the outflow velocities, (3) the overall escape fraction of galaxies is expected to increase with increasing redshift, given the cosmological trend that galaxies become denser and more compact with increasing redshift. In addition, two interesting by-product predictions are also borne out. First, ULIRGs appear to be in a parameter region where they should be prodigious LyC leakers, unless there is a large ram pressure due to infalling gas with a rate exceeding about 30 times the SFR. Then, toward the tail end of a ULIRG event when the ram pressure relents, advanced ULIRGs are expected to leak more LyC photons than earlier ULIRGs. Second, Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) are not supposed to be prodigious LyC leakers in our model, given their claimed effective radii exceeding 1 kpc. Thus, if LBGs are observed to have LyC leakers, it may be that the effective radii of their star-forming regions have been overestimated by a factor of 2–4.
On the Habitable Lifetime of Terrestrial Worlds with High Radionuclide Abundances
Authors: Lingam Manasvi , Loeb Abraham
Published: January 2020

The presence of a liquid solvent is widely regarded as an essential prerequisite for habitability. We investigate the conditions under which worlds outside the habitable zones of stars are capable of supporting liquid solvents on their surface over geologically significant timescales via combined radiogenic and primordial heat. Our analysis suggests that super-Earths with radionuclide abundances that are ≳103 times higher than Earth can host long-lived water oceans. In contrast, the requirements for long-lived ethane oceans, which have been explored in the context of alternative biochemistries, are less restrictive: relative radionuclide abundances of ≳102 could be sufficient. We find that this class of worlds might be detectable (10σ detection over ∼10 day integration time at 12.8 μm) in principle by the James Webb Space Telescope at distances of ∼10 pc if their ages are ≲1 Gyr.
New Evidence for Spatio-temporal Fragmentation in the Solar Flare Energy Release
Authors: Ramesh R. , Mugundhan V. , Prabhu K.
Published: January 2020

We analyzed a group of type III radio bursts and a Hα flare from the Sun that were observed simultaneously on 2015 January 14. The radio observations were in the spectral mode over the frequency range 85–35 MHz, and separately in the imaging mode at 80 MHz. The duration of the observations was ≈6 minutes. The centroids of the type III bursts and the Hα flare were independently scattered near the associated active region. But the displacements in the centroids of the two phenomenon are correlated with each other. This indicates that the individual bursts in a group of type III radio bursts are most likely due to flaring activity at different locations in the active region at different times during the same flare interval.
Ion Nongyrotropy in Solar Wind Discontinuities
Authors: Artemyev Anton V. , Angelopoulos Vassilis , Vasko Ivan Y. , Zelenyi Lev M.
Published: January 2020

Magnetic field fluctuations in the solar wind are essentially Alfvénic with a good correlation between plasma and magnetic field variations. One of the most investigated types of such fluctuations is (rotational) discontinuities, rapid rotations of the solar wind magnetic field, usually accompanied by velocity jumps, Δv

l
, comparable to Alfvén speed jumps, Δv
A. Although models of stationary discontinuities predict

, observations often show

. This difference has previously been interpreted as: (1) a possible contribution of anisotropy that decreases Δv
A, or (2) a discontinuity non-stationarity due to residual magnetic energy. We propose an alternate interpretation: an ion nonadiabatic interaction with intense (thin) discontinuities that shapes the nongyrotropic ion distribution to include a nondiagonal term of the pressure tensor, with a cross-discontinuity gradient decreasing Δv
A. Using several examples of ARTEMIS observations of intense solar wind discontinuities, we demonstrate the existence of an ion population that contributes to such a nondiagonal pressure component with spatial profile and amplitude sufficient to significantly decrease Δv
A. The observed pressure nongyrotropy (a finite nondiagonal pressure component) balances the discontinuity configuration and can explain the

paradox for intense discontinuities.
Effect of size grading on the growth of pirarucu Arapaima gigas reared in earthen ponds
Authors: Ferreira Lima Adriana
Published: January 2020

Size grading is a common management practice in fish farming to minimize growth variability. Such practice has not been established for pirarucu Arapaima gigas. Therefore, the present study assessed the effect of size grading on the growth of pirarucu. Juvenile pirarucu were divided into three groups: ungraded fish (U: mean initial weight 1.12 kg), small fish (S: mean initial weight 0.81 kg), and large fish (L: mean initial weight 1.36 kg), and reared for 129 days (phase I) and 158 additional days (phase II), consecutively. No significant difference was observed in the final length, specific growth rate, biomass, survival and feed conversion rate between fish groups. Ungraded fish presented a greater decrease in the coefficient of variation for weight in phase I than in phase II. Size sorting resulted in significantly higher growth after 287 days of farming in the L-graded fish (9.49 kg, final weight), followed by the ungraded group (8.80 kg) and S-graded group (8.01 kg). However, the mean weight of pooled S- and L-graded fish was similar to the ungraded fish group in phase I and phase II, indicating that grading did not improve the general performance of pirarucu in captivity.