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1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 31 July 2021

Jianyu Zhao, Shengliang Li, Xi Xi and Caiyan Gong

Because the discontinuous and uncertain characteristics of knowledge-based innovation cannot be reasonably interpreted by conventional management approaches, quantum mechanics

Abstract

Purpose

Because the discontinuous and uncertain characteristics of knowledge-based innovation cannot be reasonably interpreted by conventional management approaches, quantum mechanics which begins with uncertainty and concerns with a dynamic process of the complex system, has been exploratorily used in the management field. Although the theoretical new insights are provided by pioneering studies, quantitative research is in short supply. This paper aims to propose a quantum mechanics-based framework for quantitative research, thus extending the application of quantum mechanics in the knowledge management area from a dynamic system evolutionary standpoint.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the similarity comparison between knowledge-based system evolution and atomic motion, the authors construct the atom-like structure of the knowledge-based system and elaborate the evolutionary mechanism of the knowledge-based system, thereby establishing the quantitative model. Apple and Zhongxing Telecom Equipment were selected for an empirical study to demonstrate the usefulness of the models for research on knowledge-based innovation and explore the unique knowledge-based innovation characteristics of the two firms.

Findings

First, the transition force of dynamic knowledge shows an inverted U shape; accumulating dynamic knowledge to a moderate degree not only facilitates transforming dynamic knowledge into static knowledge but also balances the relationship between the influence of knowledge force range and dynamic knowledge transformation. Second, existing knowledge is gradually substituted by new knowledge and knowledge density at a high knowledge energy level distinctly increases with a narrower bandwidth. Third, the investment loss is associated with resource configuration, resource utilization and the amount of accumulative dynamic knowledge before investment. Knowledge loss is negatively correlated with the knowledge compatibility coefficient.

Research limitations/implications

The authors use the advanced method in quantum mechanics to legitimately unveil the emergence mechanism of knowledge-based innovation. Meanwhile, the authors capture the non-linear transformation relationship of heterogeneous knowledge and expose the change in ways of both investment loss and knowledge loss that cannot be quantified by conventional models. In doing so, the authors not only reveal the principle of qualitative knowledge change but also offer practical implications for developing flexible and targeted innovation strategies.

Originality/value

First, by proposing a complete quantum mechanics-based framework, the authors not only supplement the quantitative research contents to knowledge-based innovation literature which proposed calls to conduct research in way of quantum mechanics but also overcome the difficulties of knowledge-based system conceptualization and measurement. Second, the authors reveal the uncertain change of knowledge transformation and measure the loss of investment and knowledge, which contribute to identifying defects of firms in knowledge-based innovation. Third, the authors explore the internal mechanism that led to knowledge-based innovation exhibits non-linear characteristics and capture unique dynamic relationships between different variables which affect the emergence of knowledge-based innovation.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 March 2020

Elizabeth Monk-Turner

This work examines assumptions of positivism and the traditional scientific method.

Abstract

Purpose

This work examines assumptions of positivism and the traditional scientific method.

Design/methodology/approach

Insights from quantum mechanics are explored especially as they relate to method, measurement and what is knowable. An argument is made that how social scientists, particularly sociologists, understand the nature of “reality out there” and describe the social world may be challenged by quantum ideas. The benefits of utilized mixed methods, considering quantum insights, cannot be overstated.

Findings

It is the proposition of this work that insights from modern physics alter the understanding of the world “out there.” Wheeler suggested that the most profound implication from modern physics is that “there is no out there” (1982; see also Baggott, 1992). Grappling with how modern physics may alter understanding in the social sciences will be difficult; however, that does not mean the task should not be undertaken (see Goswami, 1993). A starting point for the social sciences may be relinquishing an old mechanistic science that depends on the establishment of an objective, empirically based, verifiable reality. Mechanistic science demands “one true reality – a clear-cut reality on which everyone can agree…. Mechanistic science is by definition reductionistic…it has had to try to reduce complexity to oversimplification and process to statis. This creates an illusionary world…that has little or nothing to do with the complexity of the process of the reality of creation as we know, experience, and participate in it” (Goswami, 1993, pp. 64, 66).

Research limitations/implications

Many physicists have popularized quantum ideas for others interested in contemplating the implications of modern physics. Because of the difficulty in conceiving of quantum ideas, the meaning of the quantum in popular culture is far removed from the parent discipline. Thus, the culture has been shaped by the rhetoric and ideas surrounding the basic quantum mathematical formulas. And, over time, as quantum ideas have come to be part of the popular culture, even the link to the popularized literature in physics is lost. Rather, quantum ideas may be viewed as cultural formations that take on a life of their own.

Practical implications

The work allows a critique of positivist method and provides insight on how to frame qualitative methodology in a new way.

Social implications

The work utilizes popularized ideas in quantum theory: the preeminent theory that describes all matter. Little work in sociology utilizes this perspective in understanding research methods.

Originality/value

Quantum insights have rarely been explored in highlighting limitations in positivism. The current work aims to build on quantum insights and how these may help us better understand the social world around us.

Details

Qualitative Research Journal, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1443-9883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 August 2009

Anas N. Al‐Rabadi

The purpose of this paper is to introduce new non‐classical implementations of neural networks (NNs). The developed implementations are performed in the quantum, nano, and optical…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce new non‐classical implementations of neural networks (NNs). The developed implementations are performed in the quantum, nano, and optical domains to perform the required neural computing. The various implementations of the new NNs utilizing the introduced architectures are presented, and their extensions for the utilization in the non‐classical neural‐systolic networks are also introduced.

Design/methodology/approach

The introduced neural circuits utilize recent findings in the quantum, nano, and optical fields to implement the functionality of the basic NN. This includes the techniques of many‐valued quantum computing (MVQC), carbon nanotubes (CNT), and linear optics. The extensions of implementations to non‐classical neural‐systolic networks using the introduced neural‐systolic architectures are also presented.

Findings

Novel NN implementations are introduced in this paper. NN implementation using the general scheme of MVQC is presented. The proposed method uses the many‐valued quantum orthonormal computational basis states to implement such computations. Physical implementation of quantum computing (QC) is performed by controlling the potential to yield specific wavefunction as a result of solving the Schrödinger equation that governs the dynamics in the quantum domain. The CNT‐based implementation of logic NNs is also introduced. New implementations of logic NNs are also introduced that utilize new linear optical circuits which use coherent light beams to perform the functionality of the basic logic multiplexer by utilizing the properties of frequency, polarization, and incident angle. The implementations of non‐classical neural‐systolic networks using the introduced quantum, nano, and optical neural architectures are also presented.

Originality/value

The introduced NN implementations form new important directions in the NN realizations using the newly emerging technologies. Since the new quantum and optical implementations have the advantages of very high‐speed and low‐power consumption, and the nano implementation exists in very compact space where CNT‐based field effect transistor switches reliably using much less power than a silicon‐based device, the introduced implementations for non‐classical neural computation are new and interesting for the design in future technologies that require the optimal design specifications of super‐high speed, minimum power consumption, and minimum size, such as in low‐power control of autonomous robots, adiabatic low‐power very‐large‐scale integration circuit design for signal processing applications, QC, and nanotechnology.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Computing and Cybernetics, vol. 2 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-378X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 8 July 2021

Eric Knight and Tobias Hahn

Organizational paradoxes must first be recognized by managers before they can respond to them. Yet scholars have adopted different perspectives on how paradoxical tensions become…

Abstract

Organizational paradoxes must first be recognized by managers before they can respond to them. Yet scholars have adopted different perspectives on how paradoxical tensions become salient and engender management responses. Some approaches have focused on the socially constituted nature of paradoxes, and others on the inherent aspects of paradoxes in the environment. The authors propose an approach that gives ontological meaning to both the socially constituted and inherent nature of organizational paradoxes. Our approach, which is inspired by quantum physics, opens up new opportunities for engaging with the socio-materiality of paradoxes, how they are measured, and the implications this has on the probabilities of managing organizational responses to paradox.

Details

Interdisciplinary Dialogues on Organizational Paradox: Learning from Belief and Science, Part A
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-184-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2015

Reza Ansari, Mahdi Mirnezhad, Hessam Rouhi and Majid Bazdid-Vahdati

Based on the molecular mechanics approach, the purpose of this paper is to analytically investigate the torsional buckling behavior of single-walled silicon carbide nanotubes…

Abstract

Purpose

Based on the molecular mechanics approach, the purpose of this paper is to analytically investigate the torsional buckling behavior of single-walled silicon carbide nanotubes (SiCNTs) with different values of diameter and chiral angles.

Design/methodology/approach

To this end, the mechanical properties and atomic structure of a silicon carbide (SiC) sheet are evaluated based on the density functional theory (DFT) within the framework of the generalized gradient approximation. After that force constants of the total potential energy are theoretically obtained through establishing a linkage between the viewpoints of the quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics. Explicit expressions are presented to obtain the critical buckling shear strain corresponding to different types of chirality. The present model is capable to calculate the torsional buckling behavior of SiCNTs related to various chiral angles. The critical buckling shear strain is obtained for various types of chirality and compared with each other.

Findings

It is concluded that for all diameters, zigzag nanotubes are more stable than armchair ones. Besides it is found that the minimum critical buckling shear strain is for nanotubes with (n, n/2) chiral vector.

Originality/value

Investigating the torsional buckling behavior of single-walled SiCNTs with different values of diameter and chiral angle. Obtaining the mechanical properties and atomic structure of the SiC sheet based on the DFT calculations. Establishing a linkage between the molecular mechanics and quantum mechanics and obtaining the force constants of the molecular mechanics. Presenting the closed-form expression to calculate the critical buckling shear strain of single-walled SiCNTs corresponding to various types of chirality.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 32 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 December 2023

Divya Bhatnagar and Sudip Patra

An ecologically sustainable future calls for fruitful dialogues between spirituality, modern science and policymaking at large. What could be that connects them all? We found out…

Abstract

An ecologically sustainable future calls for fruitful dialogues between spirituality, modern science and policymaking at large. What could be that connects them all? We found out that ideas about holism exist across time, space, culture and thinkers – ranging from mathematics, philosophy, sociology, medicine, education, religion and quantum physics to finding its roots in ancient Indian Vedic tradition and later usage in Greek and Roman cultures.

This chapter takes a look at the history and intricacies of two seemingly distinct but interconnected fields – spirituality and modern science, particularly quantum science – with an aim to uncover what these fields can teach us about the idea of holism. This chapter, therefore, highlights one of the most fundamental and profound spiritual principles of the unity and interconnectedness of the entire universe – encapsulated in the concept of holism – and its practical applications in approaching sustainable development. We hope to ignite further research on this topic.

Details

Applied Spirituality and Sustainable Development Policy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-381-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 July 2013

John M. Budd

This paper aims to demonstrate that fundamental aspects of quantum theory can be applied to work in information studies (IS).

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to demonstrate that fundamental aspects of quantum theory can be applied to work in information studies (IS).

Design/methodology/approach

The field of information studies is so broad and extensive that it requires similar breadth of epistemic and methodological features in order to fulfill its inherent promise as a human enterprise. Quantum theory holds promise as a way to shape questions and inquiry in information studies (IS).

Findings

The revolutionary elements of quantum theory, such as entanglement, nonlocality, etc. can be applied to information, especially language‐based communication.

Research limitations/implications

Perhaps most especially, the non‐ or extra‐mathematical components of quantum theory offer ontological and epistemic modes of thought which apply to information. Those modes of thought are ripe with conceptual promise for examination of, for example, information as objective entity and as complex material substance. This paper explores some of the potentially promising ways to explore information as a complex phenomenon.

Originality/value

While some work in IS has considered quantum phenomena, there has not been a thorough investigation of the theory's application to inquiry in IS.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 69 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2005

Gerhard Grössing

As any attempts at explaining quantum theory in terms of simple, local “cause‐and‐effect” models have remained unsatisfactory, approaches from the perspectives of systems theory…

Abstract

Purpose

As any attempts at explaining quantum theory in terms of simple, local “cause‐and‐effect” models have remained unsatisfactory, approaches from the perspectives of systems theory seem called for, which is rich in a variety of more complex understandings of causality.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents one option for such approaches, which the author has introduced previously as “quantum cybernetics”: considering waves (but not “wave functions”!) and “particles” as mutually dependent system components, and thus defining “organizationally closed systems” characterized by a fundamental circular causality. Using such an approach, a new look can be achieved on both classical and quantum physics.

Findings

It was found that quantum theory's most fundamental equation, the Schrödinger equation, can actually be derived from classical physics, once the latter is considered anew, i.e. under said approach involving both particles and (Huygens) waves. In fact, the only difference to existing views is that Huygens waves are here considered to be real, physically effective waves in some hypothesized sub‐quantum medium, rather than mere formal tools.

Originality/value

What is particularly new in the present paper is that quantum systems can be described by what Heinz von Foerster has called “nontrivial machines”, whereas the corresponding classical counterparts turn out to behave as “trivial machines”. This should provide enough stimulus for discussing system theoretical issues also in the context of the foundations of quantum theory.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 34 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2000

Ilya Prigogine

The Norbert Wiener Memorial Gold Medal address delivered by the Nobel Laureate recipient. Considers Norbert Wiener and the idea of contingence. Refers to Wiener’s book The Human…

387

Abstract

The Norbert Wiener Memorial Gold Medal address delivered by the Nobel Laureate recipient. Considers Norbert Wiener and the idea of contingence. Refers to Wiener’s book The Human Use of Human Beings and in particular to the preface entitled “The idea of a contingent universe” and to the epilogue of the book by Rosenblith. This raises the question faced by Wiener: how to reconcile a deterministic world à la Newton with the intrinsically probabilistic universe of Gibbs, the relativistic universe of Einstein and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle? Notes the parallelism among the questions Wiener is asking with the ones to which the Gold Medallist has devoted most of his scientific life. Presents a different point of view, as a tribute to the visionary ideas developed by Wiener. Discusses the “new physics” and the problems facing physics today, at the end of the twentieth century.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 29 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2010

J. Ferret

The study of anticipatory systems assumes the existence of two distinct types of systems in nature. Some systems anticipate the future and such anticipation forms part of the

851

Abstract

Purpose

The study of anticipatory systems assumes the existence of two distinct types of systems in nature. Some systems anticipate the future and such anticipation forms part of the system itself, while other systems, however, do not anticipate and solely rely on past states. This article aims to argue that this distinction is inadequate given the current understanding of fundamental physics and it seeks to propose instead that all systems need to be considered fundamentally anticipatory.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis centers on showing how classical and quantum mechanics implies the concept of anticipatory system by showing how systems are relational and inherently anticipatory because of the potential interaction from a given reference frame of another system.

Findings

This article shows the fundamental relationship between the physical state of the system and its energy, first in classical mechanics and then in quantum mechanics. This serves, first, to remind that energy is arbitrary and so is the system, and second, that the role of potential energy is precisely one of anticipation of interaction with another system at the boundaries.

Research limitations/implications

This article shows there is a fundamental concept of anticipation built in the concept of a closed system, but open systems can get around the analysis presented.

Practical implications

Systems engineering and decision theory fields may benefit from a renewed understanding of the role of anticipation in systems.

Originality/value

This analysis contributes to the fundamental understanding of the concept of anticipation, systems, and their fundamental role in physics.

Details

Foresight, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6689

Keywords

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