On entropy research analysis: cross-disciplinary knowledge transfer

Abstract

Our aim is to illustrate how the thermodynamics-based concept of entropy has spread across different areas of knowledge by analyzing the distribution of papers, citations and the use of words related to entropy in the predefined Scopus categories. To achieve this, we analyze the Scopus papers database related to entropy research during the last 20 years, collecting 750 K research papers which directly contain or mention the word entropy. First, some well-recognized works which introduced novel entropy-related definitions are monitored. Then we compare the hierarchical structure which emerges for the different cases of association, which can be in terms of citations among papers, classification of papers in categories or key words in abstracts and titles. Our study allowed us to evaluate, to some extent, the utility and versatility of concepts such as entropy to permeate in different areas of science. Furthermore, the use of specific terms (key words) in titles and abstracts provided a useful way to account for the interaction between areas in the category research space.

Governance modes in supply chains and financial performance at buyer, supplier and dyadic levels: the positive impact of power balance

“…Information entropy. Information entropy can be conceptualized as a measure of uncertainty, which is a probabilistic concept (Basurto-Flores et al, 2018). Depending on the entropy characteristics, the randomness and dispersion produced by a dyadic performance index can be determined by calculating the information entropy for each original dyadic performance indicator under each group (buyer, supplier and dyad) computed using TOPSIS.…”

Machine learning misclassification of academic publications reveals non-trivial interdependencies of scientific disciplines

“…Lastly, an avenue of research prompted by our findings is the better characterization of interdisciplinary science, e.g., by comparison with the approaches outlined in Trujillo and Long (2018) and Basurto-Flores et al (2018).…”

Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Unconsoled: An Interdisciplinary Analysis

“…The Englishman Ryder, the protagonist of Ishiguro's fourth novel, The Unconsoled, is a pianist known worldwide, who, having tasted the blessing and the curse of fame, knows only too well that the most important tenet of universal transaction is to give some in order to get some. One small failure in abiding by the universal law of fair exchange renders the whole human world doomed to uncontrollable disorder, beyond the second law of thermodynamics or natural entropy, which underlies the everexpanding nature of the Universe (Basurto-Flores et al, 2018).There is a whole scientific explanation behind the aforementioned statement, even a probability theory known as Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, which stipulates that there will always be properties of particles that cannot be observed at the same time and thus can be deemed unreal (Eastwood, 2017). However, in a world of quantum probabilities, it has been predicted that the universal mind could go past determinism once it could perceive past, present and future simultaneously: "We may regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its past and the cause of its future.…”