Narrow Results

The robustness of complex networks responding to attacks has long been the focus of network science researching. Nonetheless, the precious studies mostly focus on network performance when facing malicious attacks and random failures while rarely pay attention to the influences of scales of attacking. It is wondering if it is an actual fact that the network is more fragile when attacking scale is exacerbated. In this paper, we are committed to exploring the influences related to the very factor of attacking scale from the perspective of cascading failure problem of dynamic network theory. We construct the model with a regular ranking edge deletion method by simulating attacking scale with $N_a$ and $a$ is denoted as attacked edge number. To be specific, we rank the edges according to initial distributed loads and delete edges in the ranked list, and subsequently observe the changes of robustness in the networks, including BA scale-free network, WS small-world network and several real traffic networks. During the process, an unusual counterintuitive phenomenon captures our attention that the network damages caused by attacks do not always grow with the increase of attacked edges number. We specifically demonstrate and analyze this abnormal cascading propagation phenomenon, ascribing this paradox to the dynamics of the load and the connections of the network structure. Our work may offer a new angle on better controlling the spread of cascading failure and remind the importance of effectively protecting networks from underlying dangers.

We deduce from energy conservation a lower bound on the mass of any system capable of imparting a constant acceleration to a charged body. We also point out a connection between this bound and the so-called dominant energy condition of general relativity.

We show that for every qubit of quantum information, there is a well-defined notion of "the amount of energy that carries it," because it is a conserved quantity. This generalizes to larger systems and any conserved quantities: the eigenvalue spectrum of conserved charges has to be preserved while transferring quantum information. It is possible to "apparently" violate these conservations by losing a small fraction of information, but that must invoke a specific process which requires a large scale coherence. We discuss its implication regarding the black hole information paradox.

We point out that the analysis of Piotrowski and Sladkowski of the paradox described by Astumian has a flaw since they consider a different game.

This paper discusses the social media paradox in the context of innovation. Innovation is defined as a knowledge intensive process of seeing and doing things differently, whereas social media refers to new ways of being connected. Social media has revolutionised the ways how knowledge is produced, shared and accumulated through social interactions within the organisation and across the organisation's boundaries. From an organisational perspective, this raises the question of how social media influences — enabling or inhibiting — its ability to see and do things differently. Social media offers tempting opportunities but also poses new threats. It is a paradox involving contradictory forces. Despite growing interest among academics, there is a lack of understanding of the possibilities of social media in the specific context of innovation. This paper fills the research gap by arguing that complexity concepts offer a new type of language to understand social media. Seeing interaction as intrinsic to innovation activity, complexity thinking opens the paradox of being in charge but not in control.

In this paper, we discuss paradox in a linear Transportation Problem. Thereby, we establish a sufficient condition for the existence of paradox in a linear transportation problem. Next we find out all the Paradoxical pairs as well as paradoxical range of flow. We also illustrate a numerical example in support of the theory.

Relativistic length contraction is revisited and a simple but new thought experiment is proposed in which an apparent asymmetric situation is developed between two different inertial frames regarding detection of light that comes from a chamber to an adjacent chamber through a movable slit. The proposed experiment does not involve gravity, rigidity or any other dynamical aspect apart from the kinematics of relative motion; neither does it involve any kind of nonuniformity in motion. The resolution of the seemingly paradoxical situation has finally been discussed.

Project quality management as one key area of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) of the Project Management Institute (PMI) is undertaken through the method of plan-do-check-act (PDCA). The PDCA cycle assumes that formal rules (such as regulations and codes) could work as the guidelines. However, these formal rules appear to be less systematic in developing countries, which might lead to a practical paradox. On the one hand, the absence of the formal rules may hinder the adoption of innovative quality management, especially for building and infrastructure projects as they involve operational safety, and that of the end-users and the public. In such a context, the development of rules should be prioritized. On the other hand, innovative projects are often taken as conduits to give rise to the emerging formal rules. This encourages innovative quality management practices to take place prior to setting the rules. How to deal with this paradox remains unknown, and addressing this question may have important implications for quality management in innovative projects in developing countries. This research aims to examine how stakeholders manage the paradox of quality management in innovative projects. China, a developing country, is taken as the empirical setting. One precast project was examined in-depth in order to delineate the trajectory of quality management and development of formal rules. Key findings are: (1) experimentation before full-scale application is necessary; (2) during the experimentation and on-going implementation, it is important to formalize quality management plans; and (3) it is important to engage a wider range of stakeholders (such as clients, contractors, supervisors, government agencies, and professional experts), who could jointly contribute their knowledge to the implementation of the new technology and increase the legitimacy of innovative quality management methods. These findings may inform the quality management of projects and enrich the application of the PMBOK in developing countries.

The pressure to express global development in western-orientated ways that favor liberal market values is often imposed on vulnerable people and the planet. It contradicts the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ideals in pursuit of a just, peaceful and sustainable world where there are no people left behind. In this chapter, we bring the voices of people of faith as Institutional Entrepreneurs as one of the harbingers of change. We argue that while people of faith may not solve the degradation of people and the planet in its entirety, they can take a different approach in transforming the current trajectory of global development and help reduce these problems through their religious and spiritual beliefs. By examining the contradictions between religious and spiritual teaching and the current practices of the global development model, people of faith are holding their ethical gaze on the disturbing nature of the problems. We argue that one way to contribute is through institutional entrepreneurship using a new way of organizing through radical collaboration, decisive efforts and action.

This chapter presents two topics related to the application of the Mereon Matrix and interpretation of observations:

• A revealing demonstration of how the Mereon Matrix resolves paradox, exposing how difference can be a reflection of perspective, and
• A methodology for application, the Mereon Matrix used as a template for information modelling within a knowledge domain.

Presented as an inclusive model, readers are shown how well-known modelling techniques may be applied to support the application efforts. Included is the usage of strategic (S), tactical (T) and operational (O) elements that are related to planning and action, as employed in military decision-making and a quality management approach to an organisation.

A paradox of self-reference in beliefs in games is identified, which yields a game-theoretic impossibility theorem akin to Russell's Paradox. An informal version of the paradox is that the following configuration of beliefs is impossible:Ann believes that Bob assumes thatAnn believes that Bob's assumption is wrongThis is formalized to show that any belief model of a certain kind must have a “hole.” An interpretation of the result is that if the analyst's tools are available to the players in a game, then there are statements that the players can think about but cannot assume. Connections are made to some questions in the foundations of game theory.