Networking beyond the software code? an explorative examination of the development of an open source car project

At present, several initiatives have emerged that claim to be innovative while acting according to the mechanisms of open source software (OSS), a field frequently deemed to be a role model for open innovation. Against this background, this study focuses on a case study of the development of an automobile. Based on a commons-based peer production-informed perspective, we show that this project displays a variety of characteristics that are usually associated with OSS projects. In particular, parallels can be drawn between the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, the ability to ‘broadcast’ ideas due to the virtual nature of the tasks, and the self-selection of tasks due to their modular nature. The drawing of such parallels, however, must be done cautiously because diverse factors, such as opportunity costs, regulations, and feasibility studies, limit the applicability of OSS principles to this non-software related network of dispersed voluntary contributors within a commons-based peer production framework. Herein, we attempt to clarify how OSS projects can and cannot work as role models for open innovation in the automotive as well as other product-oriented industries.     

Modeling an HR shared services center: Experience of an MNC in the United Kingdom

An increasing number of large and multinational organizations are moving to shared services models in delivering the human resource function. It is commonly believed that the adoption of an HR shared services model can transform the role of HR by enabling the HR function to be more strategic at the corporate level and more cost‐effective at the operational level. However, few academic studies have been carried out to investigate challenges to implementing an HR services center successfully and the impact of adopting an HR shared services model on different groups of employees. Through a case study of a multinational corporation, this article reveals that there remains a significant gap between literature espousing the efficacy and utility of HR shared services and the extent to which the adoption of such a model is successful. The financial and emotional cost of moving to a shared services model can outweigh the tangible cost savings predicted by firms. The idea of separating the HR function into strategic, operational, and administrative components may prove to be too simplistic, although it underpins the initiative of HR shared services. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Saving the Commons in an Age of Plunder

Land ownership, as commonly understood today, originated with the enclosure movement during the English Tudor era almost four centuries ago. Karl Polanyi referred to this “propertization” of nature as the “great transformation.” That land, water, and air was a social commons is now archaic and forgotten, and with it the classical economic concept of rent, which was, in theory, once paid to royalty as the earth's guardian. Garrett Hardin's article, “The Tragedy of the Commons,” raised alarm about the abuse and loss of this realm, and he recommended constraints and privatization to prevent this. Most people view titles to landed property much as they do their household goods, but Henry George saw that the earth should be seen as a common resource and its value taxed to benefit everyone. This would restore economic equilibrium to market exchanges and pay for government services. The capture of natural resource rents can supplant taxes on wages and capital goods, and it comports with all textbook principles of sound tax theory. This policy can be the modern replacement for the commons, and implementing resource rent capture is both economically and technically feasible.     

Analyzing an extension of the isotonic regression problem

In this paper an extension of the classical problem of isotonic regression is first considered. This problem extends the criterion of minimizing convex functions by considering a more general situation. To solve this problem, the max–min formulae are extended by means of the concept of change-level vector, leading to new formulae and algorithms. Moreover, we will find explicit expressions for every isotonic regression when the solution is not unique by considering both max–min and change-level formulae. An immediate implication from the considered extension is that bounds for isotonic regressions can be stated. Furthermore, the problem of finding solutions within a horizontal band in the plane can now be solved. Finally, some practical applications are discussed.     

On the Functional Form of an Efficiency Index

An input efficiency index gives a numeric assessment of the degree to which a given input combination falls short of being efficient in producing a fixed amount of output. This paper presents a system of axioms which characterise a certain family of efficiency indices containing the well-known Farrell and Färe-Lovell indices. The family of indices satisfying the axioms can be obtained by minimizing a suitable function, called a performance evaluation, and different choices of performance evaluation will result in different indices.     

智慧化是图书馆发展的必然趋势

物联网的诞生",智慧地球"的提出,使图书馆的智慧化走进了人们的视野。本文首先简单回顾了图书馆的发展历程,讨论了图书馆智能化与智慧化的概念和区别,阐述了建设智慧化图书馆的需求条件和技术,进一步指出了智慧化是图书馆发展的必然趋势。     

徐和谊年末的狂喜

2009年12月9日，我们一踏进北汽集团董事长徐和谊的办公室，已经感觉到了他的兴奋。我记得，他站了起来。 “这事儿太大了，”徐对《中国企业家》说，“爆炸性的新闻，现在绝对保密。”