Complexity theory and organizing form dualities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe how order-generated rules applied to organizing form dualities can assist in creating the conditions for emergent, self-organized behavior in organizations, thereby offering an operational deployment of complexity theory.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper begins by showing that the concept of dualities is consistent with complexity-thinking. In addition, when applied to organizing forms, dualities represent a practical way of affecting an organization's balance between chaos and order. Thus, when augmented with order-generating rules, organizing form dualities provide an access point for the practical instigation of edge of chaos conditions and the potential for emergence.

Findings – The paper maintains that many attempts to “manage” complexity have been associated with changes to organizing forms, specifically toward new forms of organizing. It is suggested that organizing form dualities provide some management guidance for encouraging the “edge of chaos” conditions advocated in complexity theory, although the details of self-organization cannot be prescribed given the assumptions of non-linearity associated with complexity theory perspectives. Finally, it is proposed that organizing dualities can elucidate the nature and application of order-generating rules in non-linear complex systems.

Practical implications – Dualities offer some guidance toward the practical implementation of complexity theory as they represent an accessible sub-system where the forces for order and chaos – traditional and new forms of organizing respectively – are accessible and subject to manipulation.

Originality/value – The commonalities between dualities and complexity theory are intuitive, but little conceptual work has shown how the former can be employed as a guide to managing organizing forms. Moreover, this approach demonstrates that managers may be able to stimulate “edge of chaos” conditions in a practical way, without making positivistic assumptions about the causality associated with their efforts.

The science of our own fiction : affective experiments enacted through creative research

This paper will explore the ways in which art may be understood as an ongoing experiment that interacts with the plasticity of the body to prompt change and affect the body-environment relationship. The arts offer an approach to research that recognizes the importance of the affect in studies of perception and action, self-organization and selection. An affective approach to experimentation would connect cognitive activity to the material processes of the environment in a science of our own fiction. This connection becomes the basis of affective experiments, which aim to yield new insights by merging the creative researcher with self-affecting-experimenter. To this end, I will discuss the scientific objectives of the “rubber hand”, and the ‘mirror-box” experiments are contrasted with work by artists-turned-architects Arakawa and Gins and three of my creative projects to suggest how creative research might enact embodied change. Throughout the paper I will argue that cognitive processes such as attention, selection, decision and judgment are ripe for re-entry and experimentation through an embodied approach to acquiring knowledge that is particular to the arts.

Synthesis and mechanistic insights of macromolecular assemblies from ABA triblock copolymer blends

Macromolecular assembly of block copolymers into numerous nanostructures resembles self-organization of proteins and cellular components found in nature. In order to mimic nature’s assemblies either to cure a disease or construct functional devices, the organization principles underpinning the emergence of complex shapes need to be understood. In the same vein, this study aimed at understanding morphology evolution in a triblock copolymer blend in aqueous solution. An ABA type amphiphilic triblock copolymer (polystyrene-b-polyethylene oxide-b-polystyrene, PS-b-PEO-b-PS) was synthesized at different compositions via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and self-assembly behavior of a binary mixture in aqueous solution was studied. Block copolymers that form worms and vesicles in its pristine state was shown to form complex morphologies such as fused rings, “jellyfish”, toroid vesicles, large compound vesicles and large lamellae after blending. The tendency of vesicle-forming block copolymer to form bilayers may be responsible for triggering complex morphologies when mixed with a worm or micelle-forming polymer. In other words, the interplay between curvature effects produced by two distinct polymers with different hydrophobic block lengths results in complex morphologies due to chain segregation within the nanostructure.

Triggering nanoparticle surface ligand rearrangement via external stimuli: light-based actuation of biointerfaces

Bio-molecular non-covalent interactions provide a powerful platform for material-specific self-organization in aqueous media. Here, we introduce a strategy that integrates a synthetic optically-responsive motif with a materials-binding peptide to enable remote actuation. Specifically, we linked a photoswitchable azobenzene moiety to either terminus of a Au-binding peptide. We employed these hybrid molecules as capping agents for synthesis of Au nanoparticles. Integrated experiments and molecular simulations showed that the hybrid molecules maintained both of their functions, i.e. binding to Au and optically-triggered reconfiguration. The azobenzene unit was optically switched reversibly between trans and cis states while adsorbed on the particle surface. Upon switching, the conformation of the peptide component of the molecule also changed. This highlights the interplay between the surface adsorption and conformational switching that will be pivotal to the creation of actuatable nanoparticle bio-interfaces, and paves the way toward multifunctional peptide hybrids that can produce stimuli responsive nanoassemblies.

Intelligent line segment perception with cortex-like mechanisms

This paper proposes a novel general framework for line segment perception, which is motivated by a biological visual cortex, and requires no parameter tuning. In this framework, we design a model to approximate receptive fields of simple cells. More importantly, the structure of biological orientation columns is imitated by organizing artificial complex and hypercomplex cells with the same orientation into independent arrays. Besides, an interaction mechanism is implemented by a set of self-organization rules. Enlightened by the visual topological theory, the outputs of these artificial cells are integrated to generate line segments that can describe nonlocal structural information of images. Each line segment is evaluated quantitatively by its significance. The computation complexity is also analyzed. The proposed method is tested and compared to state-of-the-art algorithms on real images with complex scenes and strong noises. The experiments demonstrate that our method outperforms the existing methods in the balance between conciseness and completeness.

Anodization parameters influencing the morphology and electrical properties of TiO2 nanotubes for living cell interfacing and investigations

Nanotube structures have attracted tremendous attention in recent years in many applications. Among such nanotube structures, titania nanotubes (TiO2) have received paramount attention in the medical domain due to their unique properties, represented by high corrosion resistance, good mechanical properties, high specific surface area, as well as great cell proliferation, adhesion and mineralization. Although lot of research has been reported in developing optimized titanium nanotube structures for different medical applications, however there is a lack of unified literature source that could provide information about the key parameters and experimental conditions required to develop such optimized structure. This paper addresses this gap, by focussing on the fabrication of TiO2 nanotubes through anodization process on both pure titanium and titanium alloys substrates to exploit the biocompatibility and electrical conductivity aspects, critical factors for many medical applications from implants to in-vivo and in-vitro living cell studies. It is shown that the morphology of TiO2 directly impacts the biocompatibility aspects of the titanium in terms of cell proliferation, adhesion and mineralization. Similarly, TiO2 nanotube wall thickness of 30-40nm has shown to exhibit improved electrical behaviour, a critical factor in brain mapping and behaviour investigations if such nanotubes are employed as micro-nano-electrodes.

A new genetic algorithm based on modified Physarum network model for bandwidth-delay constrained least-cost multicast routing

A mobile ad hoc network is a kind of popular self-configuring network, in which multicast routing under the quality of service constraints, is a significant challenge. Many researchers have proved that such problem can be formulated as a NP-complete problem and proposed some swarm-based intelligent algorithms to solve the optimal solution, such as the genetic algorithm (GA), bees algorithm. However, a lower efficiency of local search ability and weak robustness still limit the computational effectiveness. Aiming to those shortcomings, a new hybrid algorithm inspired by the self-organization of Physarum, is proposed in this paper. In our algorithm, an updating scheme based on Physarum network model (PM) is used for improving the crossover operator of traditional GAs, in which the same parts of parent chromosomes are reserved and the new offspring by the PM is generated. In order to estimate the effectiveness of our proposed optimized scheme, some typical genetic algorithms and their updating algorithms (PMGAs) are compared for solving the multicast routing on four different datasets. The simulation experiments show that PMGAs are more efficient than original GAs. More importantly, the PMGAs are more robustness that is very important for solving the multicast routing problem. Moreover, a series of parameter analyses is used to find a set of better setting for realizing the maximal efficiency of our algorithm.

A self-representation analysis of the effects of individualist-collectivist interactions within organizations in individualistic cultures

Purpose – Increasingly, organizations in the Asia-Pacific region are recognizing the importance of cross-cultural management to the sustainability of their competitive edge. Although the literature is replete with cross-cultural studies of individualism and collectivism, little information is available on the factors that foster effective individualist–collectivist interaction (ICI) within organizations. This paper attempts to provide a theoretical description of individualists and collectivists at the individual
level of analysis, which offers specific testable hypotheses about the effect of self-representation on prejudice between individualists and collectivists (ICs).

Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, a theoretical model is presented in which intergroup prejudices and interpersonal prejudices mediate the effects of ICI and bicultural orientation toward cross-cultural experiences and, in which, the dissimilarity openness of the climate
moderates the level and outcome of prejudices flowing from ICI.

Findings – The model depicts that the outcomes of ICI are mediated by the intergroup prejudices of collectivists and the interpersonal prejudices of individualists, which are moderated by the extent of diversity-oriented HRM policies and practices and individuals’ orientation to cross-cultural experiences. When workforces become culturally diverse, organizations should modify HRM practices to enable the full use of the range of skills and talents available from the diversity, and to ensure affective and behavioral costs are minimized. As globalization and international competition will continue to increase, organizations including those in the Asia-Pacific region, should seriously reevaluate their HRM policies to adapt and take advantage of an increasingly culturally diverse workforce.

Originality/value – The model provides a useful basis upon which organization researchers and practitioners can base their respective agendas.

Conceptualizing the ιnfluence of the self-service technology context on consumer voice

The self-service technology (SST) context is characterized by consumer participation in service production and delivery, independent of service personnel; a lack of interpersonal interaction between consumers and service personnel; and consumers being required tointerface and interact with technology. With these features of the SST context in mind, in situations where SSTs fail to perform as promised, some challenges arise: consumers who are dissatisfied do not have the security or reassurance of service personnel to assist them; service personnel do not have the opportunity to prompt consumers to voice their dissatisfaction; and consumers need to initiate their own complaint response. If consumers fail to report their dissatisfaction directly to the organization, organizations will not know that a problem exists and may experience negative consequences such as consumer switching behavior. As reports of consumer dissatisfaction with SSTs become increasingly common, it is important, therefore, to investigate how organizations with SST-based offerings can encourage consumers to voice their dissatisfaction directly to the organization. Although the antecedents of consumer voice are well documented in the interpersonal services context, in the context of SSTs they have been subject to very little conceptual or empirical scrutiny. This paper argues that voice needs to be revisited with respect to SSTs due to their unique characteristics compared to interpersonal services, and presents a conceptual model of the antecedents of consumers' voice behavior in the context of SSTs.

Leadership and learning: facilitating self-directed learning in enterprises

Purpose - To show that a key aspect of learning and development of individual employees is that of self-directedness. This paper will consider the role of the leader in facilitating workforce development in terms of employees' self-directedness for learning. The research was designed to investigate the views that 'learning leaders' in organizations have towards the development of self-directedness in employees; and to identify strategies that are feasible in developing self-directedness in operating organizations.

Design/methodology/approach - Draws on a national research project undertaken in 12 organizations in Australia, representing a range of sizes and a number of industry sectors. Data collection involved interviewing learning and development managers in each organization to gauge the relative feasibility of the implementation of a number of pre-identified strategies designed to develop self-directedness among employees within operating work environments.

Findings - Showed that: learning managers and leaders were generally well disposed towards the development of self-directedness, and some had already moved to do so; and identified a number of possible strategies for implementation of varying degrees of feasibility. The paper will consider these findings in relation to the concept of a 'learning leader'.

Research limitations/implications - Although the research was conducted in a diverse set of 12 enterprises, applicability of the results across an even wider set of enterprises would need to be tested.

Originality/value - The findings of this research provide guidance to learning and development personnel on feasible strategies to use within their own organization to assist with the development of self-directed learning among employees.

The link between self-managed work teams and learning organisations using performance indicators

Both the learning organization literature and the self-managed work team literature have alluded to the potential links between teamwork and learning. However, as yet the link between these two concepts remains undeveloped. This study uses a survey of a random sample of 200 Australian organizations to empirically examine the relationships between self-managed work teams and the learning organization using performance indicators as a medium. It was found that the learning organization concept displays a moderate to strong link with three measures of performance used in this study: knowledge performance, financial performance and customer satisfaction. Although the self-managed work team concept did not display any significant relationship with performance, the qualitative component of the survey did emphasize that there is a common belief that self-managed teams can increase performance in the right setting. While an insignificant relationship between self-managed teams and the learning organization was also found, this study suggests some methodological concerns for future research into the relationship between self-managed teams and the learning organization.

A platform for dynamic organization of agents in agent-based systems

In most agent-based systems, different middle agents are employed to increase their flexibility. However, there are still three issues remain unsolved. In centralized architecture with single middle agent, the middle agent itself is a bottleneck and suffers from single point failure; middle agents in distributed architecture lack capability of dynamic organization of agents; The reliability is not strong because of the single point failure and lack of effective architecture. We introduce a platform with ring architectural model to solve all above problems. In the platform, multiple middle agents are dynamically supported for solving the first problem. For solving the second problem, middle agents dynamically manage the registration and cancellation of service provider agents and application teams, each of which includes a set of closely interacting requester agents to complete an independent task. Redundancy middle agent technique is proposed for solving the third problem. All middle agents are of the feature of proliferation and self-cancellation according to the sensory inputs from their environment. For organizing the middle agents effectively, a ring architectural model is proposed. We demonstrate the applicability of the platform by its application and present experimental evidence that the platform is flexible and robust.

Codes of ethics in Sweden's largest public sector organizations : communicating the intent of the code within the organization

The aim of the study was to examine the ways that public sector organizations in Sweden communicated the intent of their codes of ethics to their employees. Primary data was obtained via a self-administered mail questionnaire distributed to a census of the top 100 organizations.

The study identified a range of methods used by organizations to integrate the ethos of codes into corporate culture. These methods included communication of the code, company induction of new staff, consequences for a breach of the code, ethical performance, an ethics ombudsman, the support of whistleblowers, a standing ethics committee, ethics education, and an ethics education committee.

Whilst many organizations have instituted ethical behaviour initiatives, activities specifically targeted at exposure, education and support for staff to perform ethically were found to be underdeveloped.

Communicating the ethos of codes of ethics within the organization : a comparison of the largest private sector organizations in Sweden and Turkey

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to examine the ways that the largest private sector organizations in Sweden and Turkey communicate the intent of their codes of ethics to their employees.

Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were obtained via a self-administered mail questionnaire distributed to a census of the top 500 private sector organizations based on revenue in each country.

Findings – The research identified some interesting findings that showed that the small group of companies in Turkey that have a code may appear to be more “advanced” in ethics artifacts usage than Sweden. Such a conclusion is counter-intuitive as one would have expected a developed nation like Sweden to be more advanced in these measures than a developing nation such as Turkey. Culture may play a large role in the implementation of ethics artifacts in corporations and could be a major reason for this difference.

Research limitations/implications – As this is such a new area of investigation in Turkey, the responses amount to only 32 companies that have a code. The small sample is indicative of the formative evolution toward having codes of ethics within companies operating within Turkey.

Practical implications – This study enables those organizations that comprise corporate Turkey to view the current state of codes of ethics in Turkish companies and to compare these with the responses of a developed country of the European Union. Originality and value – A review of the literature indicates that this is the first time that such an international study specifically focused upon codes of ethics and the artifacts to inculcate the ethos of the code into every day corporate affairs has included Turkey as one of the participating countries.