324 research outputs found

    Cultivating knowledge sharing through the relationship management maturity model

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    Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present the development of the relationship management maturity model (RMMM), the output of an initiative aimed at bridging the gap between business units and the IT organisation. It does this through improving and assessing knowledge sharing between business and IT staff in Finco, a large financial services organisation. Design/methodology/approach - The objectives were achieved by undertaking ethnographic research with the relationship managers (RMs) as they carried out their activities, and developing the RMMM by visualizing the development of a community of practice (CoP) between business and IT. Findings - The RMMM demonstrates a learning mechanism to bridge the business/IT gap through an interpretive approach to knowledge sharing by defining knowledge sharing processes between business and IT and defining the tasks of the relationship managers as facilitators of knowledge sharing. Research limitations/implications - More research is necessary to determine whether the RMMM is a useful tool on which Finco can base the development of RM over the next few years. Practical implications - The RMMM acts as a practical knowledge management tool, and will act as a future reference for the RMs as they attempt to further develop the business/IT relationship. Originality/value - The findings provide an initial endorsement of the knowledge sharing perspective to understand the business/IT relationship. Also, the RMMM can be used to identify problematic issues and develop processes to address them

    Critical knowledge management factors and organizational performance : an investigation of Chinese hi-tech enterprises

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    This study sets out to explore the critical factors of knowledge management (KM) that impact on the organizational performance of Chinese enterprises. It attempts to investigate the relationships among KM factors including KM strategy, KM enablers (Organizational culture, Organization structure, People, and Technology), KM processes, and organizational performance. The conceptual framework of knowledge management guiding this research is developed from prior research (Alavi, 1997; Davenport, 1999; Lam, 2000; Leonard-Barton, 1995; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Ramireza nd Dickenson, 2006; Zack, 1999). Previous KM research in the Chinese context has focused on the use of object-perspective measures such as number of created ideas or patents. There appears to be a relative neglect of the relationships between those KM factors. This research focused on exploring the relationships between those KM factors and investigating how they impact on organizational performance in the context of an emerging economy - China. This research adopted the mixed-methods (Creswell, 2003) methodological approach, which involved the use of qualitative and quantitative methods in addressing the research questions raised in this study. The results of this research suggest that organizational culture variables are found to be essential for knowledge creation. In particular, trust is a significant predictor of all knowledge creation processes. The findings of this study confirm that enterprises will be able to obtain strategic benefits of KM through effective knowledge creation processes. The research findings also imply that companies should align their knowledge strategies along with knowledge creation processes. The key to understanding KM in the Chinese context is recognizing the networking nature of the Chinese society which operates on the basis of "Guanxi". In Chinese enterprises, the socialization and externalization elements are remarkably similar to the Japanese situation that Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) described, as the Chinese are highly networked, hold tacit knowledge within these networks and are prepared to make this knowledge explicit only within the context of these pre-existing relationships. The departmental focus of Chinese enterprises mean that the combination of tacit knowledge is not straightforward, while learning-by-doing is important to sustain their development. The research also indicates that internalization is also problematic in Chinese enterprises because of individuals' fear of admitting mistakes. The implication of the findings for knowledge management and research is discussed.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

    Exploring ethics and human rights in artificial intelligence – a Delphi study

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    Ethical and human rights issues of artificial intelligence (AI) are a prominent topic of research and innovation policy as well as societal and scientific debate. It is broadly recognised that AI-related technologies have properties that can give rise to ethical and human rights concerns, such as privacy, bias and discrimination, safety and security, economic distribution, political participation or the changing nature of warfare. Numerous ways of addressing these issues have been suggested. In light of the complexity of this discussion, we undertook a Delphi study with experts in the field to determine the most pressing issues and prioritise appropriate mitigation strategies. The results of the study demonstrate the difficulty of defining clear priorities. Our findings suggest that the debate around ethics and human rights of AI would benefit from being reframed and more strongly emphasising the systems nature of AI ecosystems

    Investigating knowledge management factors affecting Chinese ICT firms performance: An integrated KM framework

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    This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in the Journal of Information Systems Management, 28(1), 19 - 29, 2011, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/10580530.2011.536107.This article sets out to investigate the critical factors of Knowledge Management (KM) which are considered to have an impact on the performance of Chinese information and communication technology (ICT) firms. This study confirms that the cultural environment of an enterprise is central to its success in the context of China. It shows that a collaborated, trusted, and learning environment within ICT firms will have a positive impact on their KM performance

    Analytical characteristics and comparative evaluation of Aptima HCV quant Dx assay with the Abbott RealTime HCV assay and Roche COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HCV quantitative test v2.0

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    Abstract Background The Aptima HCV Quant Dx assay (Aptima assay) is a fully automated quantitative assay on the Panther® system. This assay is intended for confirmation of diagnosis and monitoring of HCV RNA in plasma and serum specimens. The purpose of the testing described in this paper was to evaluate the performance of the Aptima assay. Methods The analytical sensitivity, analytical specificity, precision, and linearity of the Aptima assay were assessed. The performance of the Aptima assay was compared to two commercially available HCV assays; the Abbott RealTime HCV assay (Abbott assay, Abbott Labs Illinois, USA) and the Roche COBAS Ampliprep/COBAS Taqman HCV Quantitative Test v2.0 (Roche Assay, Roche Molecular Systems, Pleasanton CA, USA). The 95% Lower Limit of Detection (LoD) of the assay was determined from dilutions of the 2nd HCV WHO International Standard (NIBSC 96/798 genotype 1) and HCV positive clinical specimens in HCV negative human plasma and serum. Probit analysis was performed to generate the 95% predicted detection limits. The Lower Limit of Quantitation (LLoQ) was established for each genotype by diluting clinical specimens and the 2nd HCV WHO International Standard (NIBSC 96/798 genotype 1) in HCV negative human plasma and serum. Specificity was determined using 200 fresh and 536 frozen HCV RNA negative clinical specimens including 370 plasma specimens and 366 serum specimens. Linearity for genotypes 1 to 6 was established by diluting armored RNA or HCV positive clinical specimens in HCV negative serum or plasma from 8.08 log IU/mL to below 1 log IU/mL. Precision was tested using a 10 member panel made by diluting HCV positive clinical specimens or spiking armored RNA into HCV negative plasma and serum. A method comparison was conducted against the Abbott assay using 1058 clinical specimens and against the Roche assay using 608 clinical specimens from HCV infected patients. In addition, agreement between the Roche assay and the Aptima assay using specimens with low HCV concentrations (</= 25 IU/mL by Roche) was tested using 107 clinical specimens. Results The 95% LoD was 5.1 IU/mL or lower for serum and 4.8 IU/mL or lower for plasma depending on the HCV genotype. The LLoQ for the assay was 10 IU/mL. Specificity was 100% with 95% confidence intervals of 99.6 to 100% for serum and plasma data combined. The assay demonstrated good linearity across the range for all genotypes. The Precision as estimated by the standard deviation (sd) was 0.17 log or lower across the range of the assay for both serum and plasma. HCV viral load results were compared using the Aptima assay and the Abbott assay giving a slope of 1.06, an intercept of 0.08 and an R2 of 0.98. HCV viral load results were compared for the Aptima and Roche assays giving a slope of 1.05, an intercept of −0.12 and an R2 of 0.96. Positive and negative agreement for the Aptima assay vs the Roche assay was 89% for low level specimens. Conclusion The Aptima assay is a highly sensitive and specific assay. The assay gave comparable HCV viral load results when compared to the Abbott and Roche assays. The performance of the Aptima assay makes it an excellent candidate for the detection and monitoring of HCV

    Kinetics and mechanism of G-quadruplex formation and conformational switch in a G-quadruplex of PS2.M induced by Pb2+

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    DNA sequences with guanine repeats can form G-quartets that adopt G-quadruplex structures in the presence of specific metal ions. Using circular dichroism (CD) and ultraviolet-visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, we determined the spectral characteristics and the overall conformation of a G-quadruplex of PS2.M with an oligonucleotide sequence, d(GTG3TAG3CG3TTG2). UV-melting curves demonstrate that the Pb2+-induced G-quadruplex formed unimolecularly and the highest melting temperature (Tm) is 72°C. The analysis of the UV titration results reveals that the binding stoichiometry of Pb2+ ions to PS2.M is two, suggesting that the Pb2+ ions coordinate between adjacent G-quartets. Binding of ions to G-rich DNA is a complex multiple-pathway process, which is strongly affected by the type of the cations. Kinetic studies suggest that the Pb2+-induced folding of PS2.M to G-quadruplex probably proceeds through a three-step pathway involving two intermediates. Structural transition occurs after adding Pb(NO3)2 to the Na+- or K+-induced G-quadruplexes, which may be attributed to the replacement of Na+ or K+ by Pb2+ ions and the generation of a more compact Pb2+–PS2.M structure. Comparison of the relaxation times shows that the Na+→Pb2+ exchange is more facile than the K+→Pb2+ exchange process, and the mechanisms for these processes are proposed
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