| Issue |
EPL
Volume 90, Number 5, June 2010
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 58002 | |
| Number of page(s) | 6 | |
| Section | Interdisciplinary Physics and Related Areas of Science and Technology | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/90/58002 | |
| Published online | 02 July 2010 | |
The extensive nature of group quality
1
Applied Mathematics Research Centre, Coventry University - Coventry, CV1 5FB, UK, EU
2
Institut Jean Lamour (Laboratoire associé au CNRS UMR 7198.) , CNRS-Nancy Université-UPVM - B.P. 70239, F-54506 Vandœuvre lès Nancy Cedex, France, EU
Corresponding author: r.kenna@coventry.ac.uk
Received:
29
March
2010
Accepted:
4
June
2010
We consider groups of interacting nodes engaged in an activity as many-body, complex systems and analyse their cooperative behaviour from a mean-field point of view. We show that inter-nodal interactions rather than accumulated individual node strengths dominate the quality of group activity, and give rise to phenomena akin to phase transitions, where the extensive relationship between group quality and quantity reduces. The theory is tested using empirical data on the quantity and quality of scientific research groups, for which critical masses are determined.
PACS: 89.75.-k – Complex systems / 01.75.+m – Science and society / 05.65.+b – Self-organized systems
© EPLA, 2010
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.