DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS: ISSUES AND PERSPECTIVES

Information Systems Working Papers Serie

Mass-Radius Relation for Magnetic White Dwarfs

Recently, several white dwarfs with very strong surface magnetic fields have been observed. In this paper we explore the possibility that such stars could have sufficiently strong internal fields to alter their structure. We obtain a revised white dwarf mass-radius relation in the presence of strong internal magnetic fields. We first derive the equation of state for a fully degenerate ideal electron gas in a magnetic field using an Euler-MacLaurin expansion. We use this to obtain the mass-radius relation for magnetic $^{4}$He, $^{12}$C, and $^{56}$Fe white dwarfs of uniform composition.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures and 1 table, To appear in Ap

IceCube Science

We discuss the status of the kilometer-scale neutrino detector IceCube and its low energy upgrade Deep Core and review its scientific potential for particle physics. We subsequently appraise IceCube's potential for revealing the enigmatic sources of cosmic rays. After all, this aspiration set the scale of the instrument. While only a smoking gun is missing for the case that the Galactic component of the cosmic ray spectrum originates in supernova remnants, the origin of the extragalactic component remains as inscrutable as ever. We speculate on the role of the nearby active galaxies Centaurus A and M87.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures; Talk at Discrete 08, Valencia, Spai

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH

Information Systems Working Papers Serie

The utilisation of health research in policy-making: Concepts, examples and methods of assessment

The importance of health research utilisation in policy-making, and of understanding the mechanisms involved, is increasingly recognised. Recent reports calling for more resources to improve health in developing countries, and global pressures for accountability, draw greater attention to research-informed policy-making. Key utilisation issues have been described for at least twenty years, but the growing focus on health research systems creates additional dimensions. The utilisation of health research in policy-making should contribute to policies that may eventually lead to desired outcomes, including health gains. In this article, exploration of these issues is combined with a review of various forms of policy-making. When this is linked to analysis of different types of health research, it assists in building a comprehensive account of the diverse meanings of research utilisation. Previous studies report methods and conceptual frameworks that have been applied, if with varying degrees of success, to record utilisation in policy-making. These studies reveal various examples of research impact within a general picture of underutilisation. Factors potentially enhancing utilisation can be identified by exploration of: priority setting; activities of the health research system at the interface between research and policy-making; and the role of the recipients, or 'receptors', of health research. An interfaces and receptors model provides a framework for analysis. Recommendations about possible methods for assessing health research utilisation follow identification of the purposes of such assessments. Our conclusion is that research utilisation can be better understood, and enhanced, by developing assessment methods informed by conceptual analysis and review of previous studies

DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS: ISSUES AND PERSPECTIVES

Information Systems Working Papers Serie

Combined changes in Wnt signalling response and contact inhibition induce altered proliferation in radiation treated intestinal crypts

Curative intervention is possible if colorectal cancer is identified early, underscoring the need to detect the earliest stages of malignant transformation. A candidate biomarker is the expanded proliferative zone observed in crypts before adenoma formation, also found in irradiated crypts. However, the underlying driving mechanism for this is not known. Wnt signaling is a key regulator of proliferation, and elevated Wnt signaling is implicated in cancer. Nonetheless, how cells differentiate Wnt signals of varying strengths is not understood. We use computational modeling to compare alternative hypotheses about how Wnt signaling and contact inhibition affect proliferation. Direct comparison of simulations with published experimental data revealed that the model that best reproduces proliferation patterns in normal crypts stipulates that proliferative fate and cell cycle duration are set by the Wnt stimulus experienced at birth. The model also showed that the broadened proliferation zone induced by tumorigenic radiation can be attributed to cells responding to lower Wnt concentrations and dividing at smaller volumes. Application of the model to data from irradiated crypts after an extended recovery period permitted deductions about the extent of the initial insult. Application of computational modeling to experimental data revealed how mechanisms that control cell dynamics are altered at the earliest stages of carcinogenesis

Research on information systems failures and successes: Status update and future directions

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10796-014-9500-yInformation systems success and failure are among the most prominent streams in IS research. Explanations of why some IS fulfill their expectations, whereas others fail, are complex and multi-factorial. Despite the efforts to understand the underlying factors, the IS failure rate remains stubbornly high. A Panel session was held at the IFIP Working Group 8.6 conference in Bangalore in 2013 which forms the subject of this Special Issue. Its aim was to reflect on the need for new perspectives and research directions, to provide insights and further guidance for managers on factors enabling IS success and avoiding IS failure. Several key issues emerged, such as the need to study problems from multiple perspectives, to move beyond narrow considerations of the IT artifact, and to venture into underexplored organizational contexts, such as the public sector. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

Outsourcing and structural change: shifting firm and sectoral boundaries

The paper aims at investigating the structural change implications of outsourcing. In trying to bridge the organizational/industrial and the sectoral/structural analysis of outsourcing, it discusses the rational and the methodological pros and cons of a “battery” of outsourcing measurements for structural change analysis. Their functioning is then illustrated through a concise application of them to the OECD area over the ’80s and the early ’90s. A combined used of them emerges as recommendable in checking for the role of outsourcing with respect to that of other structural change determinants

Modern Modular Building

Весь мир, и в частности Россия, уже более века испытывают дефицит жилых площадей. На протяжении этого времени, страны стремятся решить эту проблему различными способами, стараясь увеличить скорость строительства и доступность для населения. В середине XX века технический прогресс позволил поэтапно максимально укрупнить строительные элементы зданий, что привело к созданию новых индустриальных строительных систем и повышению темпов ввода жилья в разы. Тем не менее, вопрос полностью решен не был и остается актуальным по сей день. Существующее сегодня «модульное строительство» из легких блок-модулей не является столь массовым, но видится многими зарубежными архитекторами, строителями и инвесторами, наряду с другими традиционными способами разрешения жилищного кризиса с учетом современных требований по архитектуре и дизайну, комфорту и функциональности, энергоэффективности и экологичности. Вопросы сокращения издержек и влияния на окружающую среду, а также сроков реализации проектов, сегодня более чем актуальны для строительных компаний и нашли свое отражение, в том числе, в современном «модульном строительстве», в связи с чем России следовало бы обратить внимание на данную современную строительную систему, как один из способов решения проблем нехватки новых и расселения ветхих жилых площадей.The whole world and Russia, in particular, is lacking in accommodation units for more than a century. All this time countries tend to solve this problem in alternative ways trying to accelerate the housebuilding and to make housing more available for people. In the middle of the 20th century technical progress gradually enlarged the construction elements of buildings to the maximum which resulted in creation of new industrial construction systems and a multiple increase in the commissioning of housing. Nevertheless the issue hasn’t been completely resolved and remains relevant to this day. The current existing “modular construction” of light block-modules is not so massive but many foreign architects, housebuilders and investors see it along with the other traditional ways of solving the housing crisis based on modern requirements for architecture and design, comfort and functionality, energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. The issues of cost saving, environmental impact and project duration are very up-to-date for construction companies and also reflected in modern “modular construction” therefore Russia should draw its attention to this current construction system that positively proved itself abroad for the last decade as one of the solutions to the shortage of new accommodation and the resettlement of old housing