Computation

Crowdsourcing is a method of problem solving that taps the intellectual potential and skills of a large number of people simultaneously, commonly by using the tools of social media and the internet. New research published in the International Journal of Ad Hoc and Ubiquitous Computing has investigated this phenomenon from the perspective of the various influencing factors and incentive strategies used to make crowdsourcing work the most effectively.

Physicists have created a new ultra-thin, two-layer material with quantum properties that normally require rare earth compounds. This material, which is relatively easy to make and does not contain rare earth metals, could provide a new platform for quantum computing and advance research into unconventional superconductivity and quantum criticality.

Complex systems can be found in a diverse array of real-world scenarios, but are unified by their ability to suddenly transition between drastically different patterns of behavior. Known as 'tipping,' this type of transformation is generally triggered by small changes in the parameters of individual systems—whose effects can rapidly cascade to alter entire networks of interacting subsystems. In this special issue, EPJST explores the nature of tipping in complex systems through 21 new […]

It's been a year since America experienced one of its most divisive elections in decades. Although President Joe Biden has called for unity, recent data from a new measurement, the USC Polarization Index, has shown political polarization remains as bad today as it was a year ago.

It's been 70 years since physicist Enrico Fermi asked his famous question: "Where is everybody?" And yet, the tyranny of the Fermi Paradox is still with us and will continue to be until definitive evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) is found. In the meantime, scientists are forced to speculate as to why we haven't found any yet and, more importantly, what we should be looking for. By focusing their search efforts, researchers hope to determine whether we are alone in the universe.