Collaboration Behaviour of Berlin Life Science Researchers in the Last Two Decades of the Twentieth Century as Reflected in the Science Citation Index

Coming together to get publishable research results is not always a simple task. There can be geographical, cultural, disciplinary and political barriers, which have to be overcome. The Berlin Wall was such a barrier. After its fall in November 1989 Berlin scientists changed their collaboration behaviour. Research groups in East Berlin went West to look for partners and vice versa. The numbers of papers in life science journals with co-authors working in Berlin and co-authors in other places are discussed against the background of the international trend to more and more collaboration in science. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Concrete porosimetry: Aspects of feasibility,reliability and economy

The opening operator of mathematical morphology is applied to section images in this paper for the assessment of pore characteristics, such as the size distribution, and critical pore size, in cement pastes. Moreover, the mean free spacing parameter is demonstrated as reflecting pore depercolation during cement maturation. This approach is compared with other popular methods for serving this purpose, encompassing the experimental technique of mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), Wood’s metal intrusion porosimetry (WMIP), the conventional method of image analysis by area histogram and a direct 3D approach by a simulation model. The comparison study reveals that the opening distribution technique is superior in terms of feasibility, reliability and economy; realistic and relevant structural information on pore space in cement pastes is obtained. Nevertheless, star volume measurements applied to section images are referred to as an interesting alternative to the proposed method. The proper characterization of pore size distribution, and assessment of critical pore size, and delineation of percolated porosity zones are of significant importance to permeability prediction of cementitious materials and thereby to durability studies of the materials.     

Researchers profile, co-authorship pattern and knowledge organization in information science in Brazil

This paper aimed to present the profile of the researchers, the pattern of scientific collaboration and the knowledge organization in the area of information science in Brazil. The study covered sex differences, skills by region and type of institution, academic formation, indicators of productivity, relations of co-authorship, interactions with other fields of knowledge, and sectors of application of the researches developed in the area. The survey, covering the period 2000–2010, was based on information from the curricula vitae of the researchers with Research Productivity Grant funded by a government agency and from the Directory of Research Group of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. The results revealed that the majority of the researchers are women, both in research and postgraduate; there is a significant regional asymmetry; the studies are concentrated in public universities; the papers are published mainly in national journals with open access; the scientific production follows the same pattern of the areas of humanities, social sciences, and linguistics, literature and arts; there is a tendency of increasing the incidence and extent of co-authored papers; there is interaction with other 20 areas of knowledge, which are directly or indirectly connected, forming a single component that comprises all of them; and ‘information and S&T management’ followed by ‘education’ are the main sectors of application of the studies developed by the Brazilian researchers. The study therefore showed an overview of this scientific community seeking to contribute to a better understanding of its characteristics and specificities.     

Collaboration forms,information and communication technologies,and coordination mechanisms in CPFR

Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR) programmes seek to improve the ability to anticipate and satisfy future demand by enhancing collaboration among companies within the supply network. Despite the existence of a detailed and comprehensive process model—published by the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Standards Committee—in practice CPFR can take a number of different forms. This paper aims to investigate differences in CPFR implementation as to the type of inter-company collaboration put into practice, and the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and coordination mechanisms adopted to perform CPFR. Moreover, it seeks to analyse the relationships between these dimensions in order to comprehend and explain the rationale behind the managerial choices that lead companies to implement different CPFR configurations. The multiple-case study method is adopted to investigate the research questions. In particular, the implementation of CPFR in seven supply networks is examined. This research identifies six types of collaboration that can be performed to implement CPFR. Then, using this taxonomy as its starting point, it accounts for differences in the adoption of the ICTs and coordination mechanisms necessary to support CPFR. The paper's conclusions summarize the research's main theoretical and managerial contributions.     

Reflections on Scientific Collaboration (and its study): Past,Present, and Future

Personal observations and reflections on scientific collaboration and its study, past, present, and future, containing new material on motives for collaboration, and on some of its salient features. Continuing methodological problems are singled out, together with suggestions for future research. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Aspects of Topological Superconductivity in 2D Systems: Noncollinear Magnetism,Skyrmions, and Higher-order Topology

Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism - The review is aimed at highlighting the aspects of topological superconductivity in the absence of spin–orbit interaction in two-dimensional...     

Multiplexity,Growth Mechanisms and Structural Variety in Scientific Collaboration Networks

A substantial body of literature has recently been concerned with the structure and dynamics of the collaboration networks that underlie the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge. Despite the growing interest in these networks, relatively little emphasis has been placed on two broad areas of investigation: on the one hand, the interplay of the growth mechanisms underpinning the evolution of collaborative arrangements; on the other, the implications that the structure and multiplexity of these arrangements have on knowledge creation and diffusion. The articles in this Special Issue aim to bridge these gaps in the literature and, by embracing a variety of perspectives, contribute towards a better understanding of how collaboration networks originate, function, and evolve. This Introduction offers a theoretical and methodological framework for the articles here included. It begins by discussing problems of measurement of scientific collaboration, and goes on to examine the role that growth mechanisms, structural variety and multiplexity play in shaping the genesis and functioning of collaboration networks. In reviewing current and emerging research themes, the discussion will also identify promising research directions that will stimulate future work on collaboration networks in science and technology.     

Governing Decentralized Production: Institutions,Public Policy,and the Prospects for Inter-firm Collaboration in US Manufacturing

Much of the literature on the changing face of US manufacturing acknowledges that successful governance of decentralized production is vital to its future but questions whether in practice firms will engage in the collaborative relationships envisaged by optimistic theorists of a "new production paradigm". Our interview-based field research on large and small metalworking firms in the US upper Midwest shows that although large manufacturers are actively seeking to improve collaboration by sharing strategic information and engaging in joint design, pervasive organizational dysfunctions create systemic barriers to the fuller development of cooperative relations with suppliers. But these barriers do not appear insurmountable. The example of a Wisconsin policy experiment is used to demonstrate the viability of institutional solutions that can help resolve inter- and intra-organizational blockages, while encouraging manufacturing firms to follow through on the collaborative strategies they officially espouse.     

Governing Decentralized Production: Institutions, Public Policy, and the Prospects for Inter-firm Collaboration in US Manufacturing

Much of the literature on the changing face of US manufacturing acknowledges that successful governance of decentralized production is vital to its future but questions whether in practice firms will engage in the collaborative relationships envisaged by optimistic theorists of a "new production paradigm". Our interview-based field research on large and small metalworking firms in the US upper Midwest shows that although large manufacturers are actively seeking to improve collaboration by sharing strategic information and engaging in joint design, pervasive organizational dysfunctions create systemic barriers to the fuller development of cooperative relations with suppliers. But these barriers do not appear insurmountable. The example of a Wisconsin policy experiment is used to demonstrate the viability of institutional solutions that can help resolve inter- and intra-organizational blockages, while encouraging manufacturing firms to follow through on the collaborative strategies they officially espouse.     

John Bardeen and the Theory of Superconductivity: A Study of Insight,Confidence, Perseverance,and Collaboration

A biographical narrative of John Bardeen’s study of superconductivity from the 1930s through 1957, when he and his postdoc Leon Cooper and his graduate student J. Robert Schrieffer put forth BCS theory. This paper, adapted from L. Hoddeson and V. Daitch [1].     

Collaboration in pharmaceutical research: exploration of country-level determinants

In this paper we focus on proximity as one of the main determinants of international collaboration in pharmaceutical research. We use various count data specifications of the gravity model to estimate the intensity of collaboration between pairs of countries as explained by the geographical, cognitive, institutional, social, and cultural dimensions of proximity. Our results suggest that geographical distance has a significant negative relation to the collaboration intensity between countries. The amount of previous collaborations, as a proxy for social proximity, is positively related to the number of cross-country collaborations. We do not find robust significant associations between cognitive proximity or institutional proximity with the intensity of international research collaboration. Our findings for cultural proximity do not allow of unambiguous conclusions concerning their influence on the collaboration intensity between countries.     

ASSET: Collaboration in Europe on Smart Structures

ASSET — Applications for Smart Structures in Engineering and Technology — is a thematic network funded under Framework 4 of the European Union's Industrial Materials and Technologies (IMT) research programme. It is a grouping of around 50 organizations all sharing interests in smart structures technology — some as research teams, some as system manufacturers, some as users.     

Collaboration and cross-disciplinarity in autoimmune diseases

Collaboration and cross-disciplinarity are important features in autoimmune disease research. Taking co-authorship as an indicator for research collaboration, for selected European countries it was found that 91% to 99% of all publications are based on collaboration. International collaboration affects about 27% of all publications. Small countries like Sweden and Finland pursue international collaboration more intensively than larger countries like Germany or the UK. Different collaboration strategies were found for nationally co-authored papers, for instance, Germany seems to focus more on intra-departmental collaboration, while France and Italy have stronger inter-institutional links. About 54% of all publications are based on cross-disciplinary The term ‘cross-disciplinarity’ is used to highlight the fact that contributions from more than one discipline are made and required. This more general term is used—rather than the term ‘interdisciplinarity’—because it collaboration, which was found to be even more important in international collaboration. is hard or even impossible to distinguish interdisciplinary from multi-disciplinary work based on the data used. For a more detailed discussion of the terminology see e.g. Refs 1–5.     

On the Persistence of Researchers in Technological Development

This paper examines several factors that might influence a researcher'slikelihood of continuing with a particular avenue of researchand development. Using the literature as a source of data tomeasure researcher contribution spans in the development ofcochlear implants, specific hypotheses regarding the determinantsof persistence are develped and empircally tested. The resultsnot only provide the basis for developing a theory of researcherpersitence, but also provide a means to track the emergenceof technologies and shape their evolution.