How culture and government shape entrepreneurial innovation: the case of Korean and UK online gaming firms

This paper examines institutional sources of product innovation with reference to the online gaming sector of Korea and the UK. It examines the combined impact of formal and informal institutions and their interaction with multiple case studies. Despite the growing importance of innovative products in contemporary entertainment (including interactive games), the ‘informal’ source of innovation has attracted limited attention. By closely looking at the idea exploration, generation and selection process (where creativity plays a major role), we intend to find out how values and public policy affect product innovation. This study shows that the value of Korean and UK online gaming firms (regardless of their different socio-economic contexts) plays an important role in generating product innovation. An additional point is that Korean firms are likely to take advantage of government policy support to overcome inadequate institutional settings in conjunction with the initial conditions of online game development.

Representing 3D shape and location

The 3D shape of an object and its 3D location have traditionally thought of as very separate entities, although both can be described within a single 3D coordinate frame. Here, 3D shape and location are considered as two aspects of a view-based approach to representing depth, avoiding the use of 3D coordinate frames.

The compositional and configurational heterogeneity of matrix habitats shape woodland carabid communities in wooded-agricultural landscapes

Landscape heterogeneity (the composition and configuration of matrix habitats) plays a major role in shaping species communities in wooded-agricultural landscapes. However, few studies consider the influence of different types of semi-natural and linear habitats in the matrix, despite their known ecological value for biodiversity. Objective To investigate the importance of the composition and configuration of matrix habitats for woodland carabid communities and identify whether specific landscape features can help to maintain long-term populations in wooded-agricultural environments. Methods Carabids were sampled from woodlands in 36 tetrads of 4 km2 across southern Britain. Landscape heterogeneity including an innovative representation of linear habitats was quantified for each tetrad. Carabid community response was analysed using ordination methods combined with variation partitioning and additional response trait analyses. Results Woodland carabid community response was trait-specific and better explained by simultaneously considering the composition and configuration of matrix habitats. Semi-natural and linear features provided significant refuge habitat and functional connectivity. Mature hedgerows were essential for slow-dispersing carabids in fragmented landscapes. Species commonly associated with heathland were correlated with inland water and woodland patches despite widespread heathland conversion to agricultural land, suggesting that species may persist for some decades when elements representative of the original habitat are retained following landscape modification. Conclusions Semi-natural and linear habitats have high biodiversity value. Landowners should identify features that can provide additional resources or functional connectivity for species relative to other habitat types in the landscape matrix. Agri-environment options should consider landscape heterogeneity to identify the most efficacious changes for biodiversity.

What is the shape of an air bubble on a liquid surface?

We have calculated the equilibrium shape of the axially symmetric meniscus along which a spherical bubble contacts a flat liquid surface, by analytically integrating the Young-Laplace equation in the presence of gravity, in the limit of large Bond numbers. This method has the advantage that it provides semi-analytical expressions for key geometrical properties of the bubble in terms of the Bond number. Results are in good overall agreement with experimental data and are consistent with fully numerical (Surface Evolver) calculations. In particular, we are able to describe how the bubble shape changes from hemispherical, with a shallow flat bottom, to lenticular, with a deeper, curved bottom, as the Bond number is decreased.

Reverse correlation reveals how observers sample visual information when estimating three-dimensional shape

Human observers exhibit large systematic distance-dependent biases when estimating the three-dimensional (3D) shape of objects defined by binocular image disparities. This has led some to question the utility of disparity as a cue to 3D shape and whether accurate estimation of 3D shape is at all possible. Others have argued that accurate perception is possible, but only with large continuous perspective transformations of an object. Using a stimulus that is known to elicit large distance-dependent perceptual bias (random dot stereograms of elliptical cylinders) we show that contrary to these findings the simple adoption of a more naturalistic viewing angle completely eliminates this bias. Using behavioural psychophysics, coupled with a novel surface-based reverse correlation methodology, we show that it is binocular edge and contour information that allows for accurate and precise perception and that observers actively exploit and sample this information when it is available.

Shape-controlled continuous synthesis of metal nanostructures

A segmented flow-based microreactor is used for the continuous production of faceted nanocrystals. Flow segmentation is proposed as a versatile tool to manipulate the reduction kinetics and control the growth of faceted nanostructures; tuning the size and shape. Switching the gas from oxygen to carbon monoxide permits the adjustment in nanostructure growth from 1D (nanorods) to 2D (nanosheets). CO is a key factor in the formation of Pd nanosheets and Pt nanocubes; operating as a second phase, a reductant, and a capping agent. This combination confines the growth to specific structures. In addition, the segmented flow microfluidic reactor inherently has the ability to operate in a reproducible manner at elevated temperatures and pressures whilst confining potentially toxic reactants, such as CO, in nanoliter slugs. This continuous system successfully synthesised Pd nanorods with an aspect ratio of 6; thin palladium nanosheets with a thickness of 1.5 nm; and Pt nanocubes with a 5.6 nm edge length, all in a synthesis time as low as 150 s.

Disparity-defined objects moving in depth do not elicit three-dimensional shape constancy

Observers generally fail to recover three-dimensional shape accurately from binocular disparity. Typically, depth is overestimated at near distances and underestimated at far distances [Johnston, E. B. (1991). Systematic distortions of shape from stereopsis. Vision Research, 31, 1351–1360]. A simple prediction from this is that disparity-defined objects should appear to expand in depth when moving towards the observer, and compress in depth when moving away. However, additional information is provided when an object moves from which 3D Euclidean shape can be recovered, be this through the addition of structure from motion information [Richards, W. (1985). Structure from stereo and motion. Journal of the Optical Society of America A, 2, 343–349], or the use of non-generic strategies [Todd, J. T., & Norman, J. F. (2003). The visual perception of 3-D shape from multiple cues: Are observers capable of perceiving metric structure? Perception and Psychophysics, 65, 31–47]. Here, we investigated shape constancy for objects moving in depth. We found that to be perceived as constant in shape, objects needed to contract in depth when moving toward the observer, and expand in depth when moving away, countering the effects of incorrect distance scaling (Johnston, 1991). This is a striking example of the failure of shape con- stancy, but one that is predicted if observers neither accurately estimate object distance in order to recover Euclidean shape, nor are able to base their responses on a simpler processing strategy.