Distant Partners Research Articles

Bringing the Context Back In: Settings and the Search for Syndicate Partners in Venture Capital Investment Networks

Most existing theories of relationship formation imply that actors form highly cohesive ties that aggregate into homogenous clusters, but actual networks also include many “distant” ties between parties that vary on one or more social dimensions. To explain the formation of distant ties, we propose a theory of relationship formation based on the characteristics of “settings,” or the places and times in which actors meet. We posit that organizations form relations with distant partners when they participate in two types of settings: unusually faddish ones and those with limited risks to participants. In an empirical analysis of our thesis in the formation of syndicate relations between U.S. venture capital firms from 1985 to 2007, we find that the probability that geographically and industry distant ties will form between venture capital firms increases with several attributes of the target-company investment setting: (1) the recent popularity of investing in the target firm's industry and home region, (2) the target company's maturity, (3) the size of the investment syndicate, and (4) the density of relationships among the other members of the syndicate.

Regulation of Cell Signaling Dynamics by the Protein Kinase-Scaffold Ste5

Cell differentiation requires the ability to detect and respond appropriately to a variety of extracellular signals. Here we investigate a differentiation switch induced by changes in the concentration of a single stimulus. Yeast cells exposed to high doses of mating pheromone undergo cell division arrest. Cells at intermediate doses become elongated and divide in the direction of a pheromone gradient (chemotropic growth). Either of the pheromone-responsive MAP kinases, Fus3 and Kss1, promotes cell elongation, but only Fus3 promotes chemotropic growth. Whereas Kss1 is activated rapidly and with a graded dose-response profile, Fus3 is activated slowly and exhibits a steeper dose-response relationship (ultrasensitivity). Fus3 activity requires the scaffold protein Ste5; when binding to Ste5 is abrogated, Fus3 behaves like Kss1, and the cells no longer respond to a gradient or mate efficiently with distant partners. We propose that scaffold proteins serve to modulate the temporal and dose-response behavior of the MAP kinase.

Spurious acceleration noise in spaceborne gravitational wave interferometers

An important source of noise in the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is residual acceleration on the proof masses at the heart of the interferometer system. Two proof masses are carried by each sciencecraft in the LISA constellation, oriented along each of two laser links that are maintained between the distant partners in the constellation. Any change in the local mass distribution will create spurious forces on the individual proof masses which will have to be understood as part of the data analysis reduction. This paper considers the general case of accelerations on the individual proof masses in three dimensions for perturbing masses passing by a LISA sciencecraft with arbitrary velocity vectors and impact parameters. Encounters of this kind are impulsive, occurring over short time scales and appearing in the data record as bursts. The formalism is then applied in a few sample cases, including a meteor fly-by and a thruster maneuver.

Inter-firm trust in buyer–supplier relations: Are knowledge spillovers and geographical proximity relevant?

This paper empirically examines the impact of knowledge spillovers and geographical proximity on inter-firm trust in buyer–supplier relations. In particular, the effects of incoming knowledge spillovers from vertically related firms and firms’ appropriability problems are analyzed. The results suggest that there is a positive relationship between incoming knowledge spillovers from business partners and the level of inter-firm trust. Firms’ appropriability problems, however, lead to a decrease in inter-firm trust. Firms that cannot protect their technical knowledge have a greater perception of customer (supplier) opportunism. Furthermore, estimation results indicate that inter-firm trust between geographically close partners exceeds inter-firm trust between distant partners.

Do culturally distant partners choose different types of joint ventures?

Studies of international joint ventures yield conflicting results when looking at the role played by cultural distance. We argue that managers understand the problems associated with cultural distance and seek to mitigate its impact by selecting certain types of joint ventures. Using Das and Teng's [Das, T. K., & Teng, B.-S. (2001). A risk-perception model of alliance structuring. Journal of International Management, 7(1): 1–30] typology of unilateral and bilateral alliances to categorize a sample of ventures based on their strategic focus, our results indicate that greater cultural distance is associated with an increased probability that a marketing or supplier alliance will be formed and a lower probability that an innovation-oriented alliance will be formed.

Overview of the summer 2004 Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment–North America (INTEX‐A)

The INTEX‐A field mission was conducted in the summer of 2004 (1 July to 15 August 2004) over North America (NA) and the Atlantic in cooperation with multiple national and international partners as part of a consortium called ICARTT. The main goals of INTEX‐A were to (1) characterize the composition of the troposphere over NA, (2) characterize the outflow of pollution from NA and determine its chemical evolution during transatlantic transport, (3) validate satellite observations of tropospheric composition, (4) quantitatively relate atmospheric concentrations of gases and aerosols with their sources and sinks, and (5) investigate aerosol properties and their radiative effects. INTEX‐A primarily relied on instrumented DC‐8 and J‐31 aircraft platforms to achieve its objectives. The DC‐8 was equipped to measure detailed gas and aerosol composition and provided sufficient range and altitude capability to coordinate activities with distant partners and to sample the entire midlatitude troposphere. The J‐31 was specifically focused on radiative effects of clouds and aerosols and operated largely in the Gulf of Maine. Satellite products along with meteorological and 3‐D chemical transport model forecasts were integrated into the flight planning process. Intercomparisons were performed to quantify the accuracy of data and to create a unified data set. Satellite validation activities principally focused on Terra (MOPITT, MODIS, and MISR), Aqua (AIRS and MODIS) and Envisat (SCIAMACHY) to validate observations of CO, NO2, HCHO, H2O, and aerosol. Persistent fires in Alaska and NW Canada offered opportunities to quantify emissions from fires and study the transport and evolution of biomass burning plumes. Contrary to expectations, several pollution plumes of Asian origin, frequently mixed with stratospheric air, were sampled over NA. Quasi‐Lagrangian sampling was successfully carried out to study chemical aging of plumes during transport over the Atlantic. Lightning NOx source was found to be far larger than anticipated and provided a major source of error in model simulations. The composition of the upper troposphere was significantly perturbed by influences from surface pollution and lightning. Drawdown of CO2 was characterized over NA and its atmospheric abundance related to terrestrial sources and sinks. INTEX‐A observations provide a comprehensive data set to test models and evaluate major pathways of pollution transport over NA and the Atlantic. This overview provides a context within which the present and future INTEX‐A/ICARTT publications can be understood.

Broadcasting of three-qubit entanglement via local copying and entanglement swapping

In this work,We investigate the problem of secretly broadcasting of three-qubit entangled state between two distant partners. The interesting feature of this problem is that starting from two particle entangled state shared between two distant partners we find that the action of local cloner on the qubits and the measurement on the machine state vector generates three-qubit entanglement between them. The broadcasting of entanglement is made secret by sending the measurement result secretly using cryptographic scheme based on orthogonal states. Further we show that this idea can be extended to generate three particle entangled state between three distant partners.

Friends, Neighbours and Distant Partners: Extending or Decentring Family Relationships?

Introduction1.1 There is a longstanding recognition that grasping the meaning and significance of any specific personalrelationship requires an understanding of the whole constellation of personal ties within which people areembedded. So for example, to understand kinship it is equally necessary to understand friendship (Allan,1979). This special collection brings together research which offers insight into personal relationships ofworking-age adults beyond or outside of the conventional domestic context of a co-resident couple with orwithout children. In comparison to the wealth of research on couple and parent-child relationships, otheradult personal relationships are relatively under-researched and it is hoped that this issue will encouragefurther work. Examples of the kinds of relationships considered here include sexual relationships andpartnerships between adults outside the family-based household (Holmes, Roseneil, Reynolds), thefriendships of those not living with a partner (Budgeon), the whole constellation of personal relationships ofsingle women (Simpson) and their negotiation of the identity ‘single woman’ (MacVarish), .neighbours(Boyce, Stokoe), and relations with paid carers who enter into family contexts (Pockney).1.2 These relationships are all outside the established package of partnership, parenthood and householdalthough all represent some aspects of intimacy: bodily, emotional and privileged knowledge of the otherperson. They have some affinities and overlaps with family practices while also having their own distinctcharacteristics. The detailed exploration of these different sets of practices, using a variety ofmethodologies, may help us understand their particular logics and rationales, as well as how they aredistinct from or have continuities with more regularly understood relationships of family and kinship. Theseindividual studies can also remind us of the significance and sources of the inequalities and externalstructural factors surrounding and shaping these relationships and limiting the degrees of freedom enjoyedby individuals.1.3 Having a more complete picture of the whole constellation of personal relationships is urgently neededto inform contested interpretations of social trends in personal life. One particular line of interpretation ofsocial change is that some of the non-familial relationships discussed in this collection are eclipsingfamilial relationships in their significance. In a review of research across personal relationships at the endof the twentieth century, Jamieson (1998, 1999) noted that although friendship was claimed theoretically asthe ideal intimate relationship, the couple remained the popular choice at the centre of adult personal life.However, at the time of this collection, a growing number of researchers, including contributors to thisissue, suggest the growing importance of adult friendships (Pahl and Spencer, 2004, Spencer and Pahl2006) and believe they are seeing the focus of personal life shift from the couple, and particularly thegendered, heterosexual, co-resident, family-founding couple, to a more fluid network of intimates includingfriends, lovers and neighbours (Budgeon, this volume; Roseneil, this volume; Roseneil and Budgeon, 2004,Savage, Bagnall & Longhurst, 2005). The suggestion is that this more fluid network may be taking over,practically and emotionally, as the important relationships in people’s lives and undermining the culturaldominance of conventional family relationships as the idealized relationships to which we aspire. A numberof contributions in this volume add to a body of recent research which suggests that the boundary between‘familial’ and ‘non-familial’ relationships is increasingly blurred in everyday lives. One way of portraying thisis in terms of the elasticity and constant stretching of the boundary of what constitutes ‘family’ as theconstellations that people designated as ‘familial’ become increasingly diverse. Another way of portrayingthis is to say that the idea and ideal of family is losing ground to different understandings of how life shouldbe lived. These different ways of interpreting the same trends disagree about how fundamental a shift inactual practices has taken place.

Differences and Dialogic Learning in a Collaborative Virtual Design Studio

With the ability of linking distant partners and diverse bodies of students and faculty, virtual design studios provide unique opportunities for examining cultural, contextual, and methodological differences in design and design collaboration. However, most evaluations of virtual design studio in the recent literature have focused primarily on technical and operational issues. In contrast, the social and cultural dimensions of virtual design studio and their pedagogical implications have not been adequately examined. To address this gap, this article examines the experience and outcomes of a recent virtual design studio involving international collaboration between faculty and student partners. Specifically, it looks at how presence of differences and process of dialogic learning create pedagogical opportunities in a collaborative 'virtual' environment. Based on the case study, this article argues that through dialogues, collaboration, and negotiation of cultural, contextual and methodological differences, collaborative virtual design studio offers an alternative to traditional design studio based on the primacy of individual practice and the master-apprentice model of learning. By creatively utilizing the collaborative environment involving diverse partners, virtual design studio can foster a critical understanding of cross-cultural design process and the significance of dialogues and negotiation in design.

A photonic quantum information interface

Quantum communication requires the transfer of quantum states, or quantum bits of information (qubits), from one place to another. From a fundamental perspective, this allows the distribution of entanglement and the demonstration of quantum non-locality over significant distances. Within the context of applications, quantum cryptography offers a provably secure way to establish a confidential key between distant partners. Photons represent the natural flying qubit carriers for quantum communication, and the presence of telecommunications optical fibres makes the wavelengths of 1,310 nm and 1,550 nm particularly suitable for distribution over long distances. However, qubits encoded into alkaline atoms that absorb and emit at wavelengths around 800 nm have been considered for the storage and processing of quantum information. Hence, future quantum information networks made of telecommunications channels and alkaline memories will require interfaces that enable qubit transfers between these useful wavelengths, while preserving quantum coherence and entanglement. Here we report a demonstration of qubit transfer between photons of wavelength 1,310 nm and 710 nm. The mechanism is a nonlinear up-conversion process, with a success probability of greater than 5 per cent. In the event of a successful qubit transfer, we observe strong two-photon interference between the 710 nm photon and a third photon at 1,550 nm, initially entangled with the 1,310 nm photon, although they never directly interacted. The corresponding fidelity is higher than 98 per cent.

First observation of the 3ν1+2ν3−ν3 band of 16O3: problem of consistency between cold and hot band intensities

The 3ν1+2ν3 − ν3 band of 16O3 has been observed for the first time below the residual of all the known absorbing bands in the 4100 cm−1 region. The rovibrational transitions have been assigned for J and K a up to 31 and 11, respectively, leading to a root-mean-square (RMS) deviation of 2.3 × 10−3 cm−1. The observed line intensities are reproduced with a RMS deviation of 10%, which is very satisfactory bearing in mind the weakness of this band. The problem of consistency of the intensity of the cold-to-hot band extrapolation and of the effects of anharmonic resonances with distant partners on transition moment parameters is discussed. This work clearly shows the necessity to account for strong anharmonic coupling between distant vibrational states in order to be theoretically consistent.

Interpersonal trust in cross-functional, geographically distributed work: A longitudinal study

With increasing globalization and the proliferation of communication technologies, more people are working in cross-functional, geographically distributed teams. Although trust is clearly an important ingredient in these collaborations, little is known about the challenges this new work and social environment creates for the development of trust. Different disciplinary perspectives, different regional or national cultures, and the lack of face-to-face interaction when working at a distance raise significant barriers to developing trust between distant co-workers. We, therefore, posit that traditional models of trust need to be adapted to describe the development of trust between cross-functional, geographically distributed partners. To test our hypotheses, we conducted a longitudinal study of architecture, engineering and construction management students engaged in designing and planning a $5 million construction project in distributed teams. Our results suggest that cross-functional, geographically distributed workers may rely on early impressions of perceived trustworthiness when evaluating how their distant partners are delivering on commitments, because reliable information about actual follow-through is lacking or difficult to interpret. Consistent with this, we found that perceived trustworthiness, perceived follow-through and trust were relatively stable over time. We conclude that initial perceptions of trustworthiness are particularly important in cross-functional, geographically distributed work, although research is needed to draw comparisons with traditional work environments.

Does Geography Matter for Science-Based Firms? Epistemic Communities and the Geography of Research and Patenting in Biotechnology

The spatial clustering of innovation has been associated with localized knowledge flows among small, knowledge-intensive firms, but knowledge flows may extend beyond regional boundaries through the participation of firm employees in broader knowledge-based communities. This paper analyzes biotechnology firms jointly engaged in technological innovation and open scientific research and proposes that the geography of their collaborations should reflect the distinctive social logics of these activities. I hypothesize that projects involving local ties are more likely to be patented by a firm than are projects involving distant contacts, both because proximity is conducive to innovation and because a small firm’s social capital is likely to be greatest in its home region. However, classic studies in the sociology of science show that scientific communities are socially stratified and geographically dispersed. As a result, I hypothesize that ties to distant partners and prestige in scientific communities are positively associated with scientific impact but negatively associated with firm patenting. The analysis focuses on 5,143 collaborative research papers published by a large sample of small biotechnology firms. The average distance among coauthors on a paper is some 1,500 miles, indicating that the firms are engaged in geographically far-flung research networks; however, the distribution of teams in space is strongly bimodal, revealing an important core of regional ties alongside a set of much more distant ties. Regression analysis show that the spatially clustered teams are more likely to publish papers that are subsequently cited in the authoring firms’ patents, whereas teams that are globally dispersed produce papers that are more highly cited in the scientific literature, but less cited in the authoring firms’ patents. Status in the scientific community has the expected positive effects on paper citations, but a negative effect on patent citations. The results give evidence of different—and in some respects conflicting—logics governing the creation of new technologies on the one hand and valuable ideas in science on the other, highlighting challenges faced by firms that aim to profit from knowledge created in open scientific communities.

Effects of the Internet on the spatial structure of innovation networks

Research on innovation systems and innovative milieux has shown that the innovation process of companies is strongly interrelated with activities of other firms and organizations. Internet is a new information and communication technology that is assumed to have a big potential to change such relationships and networks. An often held expectation is that the Internet will allow firms to interact with distant partners more easily and that, as a consequence, innovation networks become independent from geographical space. A contrasting view argues that local and regional networks and innovation systems will keep their importance, due to the fact that tacit knowledge, face-to-face communication and institutional factors are still of key relevance. Based on a survey of Austrian firms we are going to investigate how the Internet is changing innovation networks of companies with respect to new types of partners and the spatial extension of the network.

The Squid-Vibrio Symbioses: From Demes to Genes

The monospecific light organ association between the Hawaiian sepiolid squid Euprymna scolopes and the marine luminous bacterium Vibrio fischeri has been used as a model for the study of the most common type of coevolved animal-bacterial interaction; i.e., the association of Gram-negative bacteria with the extracellular apical surfaces of polarized epithelia. Analysis of the squid-vibrio symbiosis has ranged from characterizations of the harvesting mechanisms by which the host ensures colonization by the appropriate symbiont to identification of bacteria-induced changes in host gene expression that accompany the establishment and maintenance of the relationship. Studies of this model have been enhanced by extensive collaboration with microbiologists, who are able to manipulate the genetics of the bacterial symbiont. The results of our studies have indicated that initiation and persistence of the association requires a complex, reciprocal molecular dialogue between these two phylogenetically distant partners.

Social Boundaries Set in Clay: Trade Ware Patterning in the Tonto Basin of East-Central Arizona

Ceramic exchange networks reflect the socioeconomic ties of the individuals and groups who are party to the exchange. Distributions of trade wares are examined for the Classic period in the Tonto Basin of central Arizona. Initially all of the Tonto Basin appears to have had relatively equal access to distant trading partners. By the fourteenth century, however, trade ware ceramics had differential distributions in the basin, supporting the interpretation that platform mound communities at the eastern end of the Tonto Basin traded with settlements in different areas than platform mound communities at the western end of the basin did. These differences likely represent social boundaries among competing polities in the same local region.

Project management in a long-term and global one-of-a-kind project

This paper discusses the project management issues in global one-of-a-kind-projects with several years of duration along with considerable design and engineering work. The main functions related to the coordination of such projects are related to communication, product control and management itself. Exploitation of modern communication technologies provides the project with the means to tackle collaboration barriers stemming from geographically distant partners. Yet, it is argued that electronic networking must be complemented with carefully phased face-to-face milestone meetings. Product control aspect breaks down into design change, engineering work and information flow control, that is configuration management. In this way the product and its compliance with customer needs is secured with overall cost efficiency during the product's whole life cycle. Apart from the traditional planning, scheduling and control functions, along with the ultimate authorization, the project management issues also cover the integrative role and, above all, the reconnaissance procedures to detect from past and present progress the prominent near-future pitfalls. Based on empirical observations of global one-of-a-kind projects the paper argues that strict management protocols combined with efficient communication infrastructure provide the best means to ensure that the project goals are met under the given budget, schedule and quality requirements.

Peru and the Soviet Union (1969–1989): Distant Partners

For twenty years the Soviet Union has had closer relations with Peru than with any other Latin American country apart from Cuba or Nicaragua. In fact, Peru was the first post-Cuban revolution centre of Soviet operations in South America, and perhaps still plays that role today. Now that the Cold War is over the balance sheet of Soviet relations with Peru can be evaluated with more detachment than ever.

Canada and ASEAN: Renewed Interest between Two Distant Partners

Canada and ASEAN: Renewed Interest between Two Distant Partners