Middlesex University

About: Middlesex University is a education organization based out in London, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Context (language use) & Population. The organization has 4203 authors who have published 10964 publications receiving 247580 citations.

First mover advantages in international business and firm‐specific political resources

Abstract: While the currently prevailing conceptual framework of first mover advantages (FMAs) specifies various market mechanisms through which first movers can gain pioneering benefits, it is incomplete by failing to consider the role of political resources in creating FMAs. In this context, this article aims to add the political mechanism to the current classification of FMA mechanisms. The article further serves as a window to an understanding of the long-term process of acquiring, sustaining, and exploiting firm-specific political resources in international business, which has been neglected in prior studies on business–government relations. Detailed analysis of three case studies suggests that the causal relationship between political resources and FMAs is a complex one; while non-market strategies can be used successfully by first movers, they can also be used by late movers to neutralize FMAs. The article proposes a model for understanding the link between FMAs and political resources.

Migrants' social networks and weak ties: accessing resources and constructing relationships post-migration

Abstract: Within migration studies literature there is a tendency to assume that migrants have ready access to kin and friendship networks which facilitate the migration and settling processes. Through tight bonds of trust and reciprocity, these networks are considered to be sources of social capital, providing a counter-balance to the disadvantages that migrants may encounter in the destination society. This paper argues that more attention is needed to the ways in which migrants access, maintain and construct different types of networks, in varied social locations, with diverse people. I suggest that the often simplistic dichotomy of bonding and bridging capital needs to be re-appraised and instead offer an alternative way of thinking about these social ties. The distinction between them tends to be understood on the basis of the ethnicity of the people involved – bonding involves close ties with ‘people like us’ while bridging involves links beyond ‘group cleavages’. Insufficient attention has been paid to the actual resources flowing between these ties or the kinds of relationship developing between the actors involved. The nature of these social networks may be better understood by focusing on the relationship between the actors, their relative social location, and their available and realisable resources. Data from a qualitative study of Polish migrants in London is used to illustrate this approach.

Working towards an international consensus on criteria for assessing Internet Gaming Disorder: a critical commentary on Petry et al (2014)

Abstract: This commentary paper critically discusses the recent debate paper by Petry et al. (2014) that argued there was now an international consensus for assessing Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Our collective opinions vary considerably regarding many different aspects of online gaming. However, we contend that the paper by Petry and colleagues does not provide a true and representative international community of researchers in this area. This paper critically discusses and provides commentary on (i) the representativeness of the international group that wrote the ‘consensus’ paper, and (ii) each of the IGD criteria. The paper also includes a brief discussion on initiatives that could be taken to move the field towards consensus. It is hoped that this paper will foster debate in the IGD field and lead to improved theory, better methodologically designed studies, and more robust empirical evidence as regards problematic gaming and its psychosocial consequences and impact.

Identity-based key agreement protocols from pairings

Abstract: In recent years, a large number of identity- based key agreement protocols from pairings have been proposed. Some of them are elegant and practical. However, the security of this type of protocol has been surprisingly hard to prove, even in the random oracle model. The main issue is that a simulator is not able to deal with reveal queries, because it requires solving either a computational problem or a decisional problem, both of which are generally believed to be hard (i.e., computationally infeasible). The best solution so far for security proofs uses the gap assumption, which means assuming that the existence of a decisional oracle does not change the hardness of the corresponding computational problem. The disadvantage of using this solution to prove security is that such decisional oracles, on which the security proof relies, cannot be performed by any polynomial time algorithm in the real world, because of the hardness of the decisional problem. In this paper we present a method incorporating a built-in decisional function into the protocols. The function transfers a hard decisional problem in the proof to an easy decisional problem. We then discuss the resulting efficiency of the schemes and the relevant security reductions, in the random oracle model, in the context of different pairings one can use. We pay particular attention, unlike most other papers in the area, to the issues which arise when using asymmetric pairings.

Permission accounting in separation logic

Abstract: A lightweight logical approach to race-free sharing of heap storage between concurrent threads is described, based on the notion of permission to access. Transfer of permission between threads, subdivision and combination of permission is discussed. The roots of the approach are in Boyland's [3] demonstration of the utility of fractional permissions in specifying non-interference between concurrent threads. We add the notion of counting permission, which mirrors the programming technique called permission counting. Both fractional and counting permissions permit passivity, the specification that a program can be permitted to access a heap cell yet prevented from altering it. Models of both mechanisms are described. The use of two different mechanisms is defended. Some interesting problems are acknowledged and some intriguing possibilities for future development, including the notion of resourcing as a step beyond typing, are paraded.