The role of Intellectual Capital Reporting (ICR) in organisational transformation: A discursive practice perspective

Intellectual Capital Reporting (ICR) has garnered increasing attention as a new accounting technology that can engender significant organisational changes. However, when ICR was first recognised as a management fashion, the intended change it heralded in stable environments was criticised for having limited impact on the state of practice. Conceiving ICR through a lens predicated on the notion of discursive practice, we argue that ICR can enable substantive change in emergent conditions. We empirically demonstrate this process by following the implementation of ICR in one organisation through interviews, documents and observations over 30 months. The qualitative analysis of the data corpus shows how situated change, subtle but no less significant, can take place in the name of intellectual capital as actors appropriate ICR into their everyday work practices while improvising variations to accommodate different logics of action. The paper opens up a new avenue to examine the specific roles of ICR in relation to the types of change enacted. It thus demonstrates when and how ICR may transcend a mere management fashion and the intended change it sets in motion through altering organisational actors’ ways of thinking and doing within the confines of their organisation

How project teams cope with temporary organizing: The role of social boundary management strategies

This paper studies the relationship between temporary and permanent aspects in temporary organizing by looking at project work as boundary work. In particular, the paper examines how short-term project teams manage the multiple social boundaries generated by temporary organizing while pursuing project work in established organizations. The paper uses material from three longitudinal qualitative studies involving a total of 81 in-depth interviews, 36 observations of team meetings and 77 documents. The analysis of the qualitative data shows how these short-term teams maintain a balance between integrating with and staying separate from other project stakeholders to ensure that their activities fit into the existing organization, whilst at the same time leaving space for enough flexibility to ensure innovation. The results suggest that the tension between separation and integration strategies needs to be maintained rather than resolved if temporary project teams are to accomplish project work. The paper provides a novel contribution to our understanding of the role of boundaries in framing temporary project work in organizations through a focus on boundary work –a previously neglected but vital dimension- expanding our current conceptualization of project teams and temporary organizin

Managing the interactions between multiple identities in inter-organizational collaborations: an identity work perspective

Inter-organizational collaboration (IOC) research considers the achievement of a collaborative identity as a key enabler of a successful collaboration. As a result, little has been said about the interactions between collaborative and non-collaborative identities. We build on narrative identity work and positioning theory, to explore how collaboration partners engage in identity work positioning to manage the interactions of the multiple identities emerging through the process of collaboration as they try to accomplish collaborative work. We illustrate this process through a qualitative longitudinal study of an educational partnership in Greece. Our analysis shows how IOC partners manage the interactions between collaborative and non-collaborative identities by positioning themselves, and others, in narratives of collaboration as part of their daily identity work when responding to emerging collaborative needs. Our research extends our current understanding of identity work processes in IOCs by demonstrating the paradoxical nature of the collaboration, which requires relying on both collaborative and non-collaborative identities for the successful achievement of aims. We therefore suggest that identity tensions should not be resolved but rather managed, since they enable partners to respond creatively to contextual organizational changes and make sense of the collaboration as it happens

Brownian dynamics simulation of analytical ultracentrifugation experiments

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We have devised a protocol for the Brownian dynamics simulation of an analytical ultracentrifugation experiment that allows for an accurate and efficient prediction of the time-dependent concentration profiles, <it>c</it>(<it>r, t</it>) in the ultracentrifuge cell. The procedure accounts for the back-diffusion, described as a Brownian motion that superimposes to the centrifugal drift, and considers the sector-shaped geometry of the cell and the boundaries imposed by the meniscus and bottom.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Simulations are carried out for four molecules covering a wide range of the ratio of sedimentation and diffusion coefficients. The evaluation is done by extracting the molecular parameters that were initially employed in the simulation by analyzing the profiles with an independent tool, the well-proved SEDFIT software. The code of simulation algorithm has been parallelized in order to take advantage of current multi-core computers.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our Brownian dynamics simulation procedure may be considered as an alternative to other predictors based in numerical solutions of the Lamm equation, and its efficiency could make it useful in the most relevant, inverse problem, which is that of extracting the molecular parameters from experimentally determined concentration profiles.</p

Bioinformatics advances in saliva diagnostics

There is a need recognized by the National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research and the National Cancer Institute to advance basic, translational and clinical saliva research. The goal of the Salivaomics Knowledge Base (SKB) is to create a data management system and web resource constructed to support human salivaomics research. To maximize the utility of the SKB for retrieval, integration and analysis of data, we have developed the Saliva Ontology and SDxMart. This article reviews the informatics advances in saliva diagnostics made possible by the Saliva Ontology and SDxMart

Monte Carlo simulation of near-field terahertz emission from semiconductors

We simulated the carrier dynamics in InGaAs after ultrafast photoexcitation. By using a finite-difference time-domain approach we were able to analyze the near terahertz field emission caused by the motion of such carriers. We found that both the current parallel and normal to the interface take a relevant role in the terahertz emission. We also found that the ballistic motion of the carriers after photoexcitation dominates the emission rather than diffusion

Development and validation of a tool to measure collaborative practice between community pharmacists and physicians from the perspective of community pharmacists: the professional collaborative practice tool.

BACKGROUND: Collaborative practice between community pharmacists and physicians is becoming increasingly common. Although tools and models to explore collaborative practice between both health care professionals have been developed, very few have been validated for their use in clinical practice. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a tool for measuring collaborative practice between community pharmacists and physicians from the perspective of community pharmacists. METHODS: The DeVellis method was used to develop and validate the Professional Collaborative Practice Tool. A pool of 40 items with Likert frequency scales was generated based on previous literature and expert opinion. This study was undertaken in Spain. A sample of community pharmacists providing medication reviews with follow-up and a random sample of pharmacists providing usual care were invited to participate. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the tool's reliability and content validity. RESULTS: Three hundred thirty-six pharmacists were invited with an overall response rate of 84.8%. The initial 40 items selected were reduced to 14 items. Exploratory Factor Analysis provided a 3-factor solution explaining 62% of the variance. Confirmatory Factor Analysis confirmed the three factors "Activation for collaborative professional practice," the "Integration in collaborative professional practice," and the "Professional acceptance in collaborative professional practice." The tool demonstrated an adequate fit (X2/df = 1.657, GFI = 0.889 and RMSEA = 0.069) and good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.924). CONCLUSIONS: The Professional Collaborative Practice Tool has shown good internal reliability and criterion validity. The tool could be used to measure the perceived level of collaborative practice between community pharmacists and physicians and monitor changes over time. Its applicability and transferability to other settings should be evaluated

Transformation-Optics Description of Nonlocal Effects in Plasmonic Nanostructures

We develop an insightful transformation-optics approach to investigate the impact that nonlocality has on the optical properties of plasmonic nanostructures. The light-harvesting performance of a dimer of touching nanowires is studied by using the hydrodynamical Drude model, which reveals nonlocal resonances not predicted by previous local calculations. Our method clarifies the interplay between radiative and nonlocal effects in this nanoparticle configuration, which enables us to elucidate the optimum size that maximizes its absorption and field enhancement capabilitiesThis work was supported by the ESF plasmonbionanosense program, the Leverhulme Trust, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

Neural coding tools, based on Information Theory, applied to discrete time series: from electrophysiology to neuroethology

This work is supported by Brazilian agencies Fapesp, CAPES and CNP

Presence of Adult Companion Goats Favors the Rumen Microbial and Functional Development in Artificially Reared Kids

Newborn dairy ruminants are usually separated from their dams after birth and fed on milk replacer. This lack of contact with adult animals may hinder the rumen microbiological and physiological development. This study evaluates the effects of rearing newborn goat kids in contact with adult companions on the rumen development. Thirty-two newborn goat kids were randomly allocated to two experimental groups which were reared either in the absence (CTL) or in the presence of non-lactating adult goats (CMP) and weaned at 7 weeks of age. Blood and rumen samples were taken at 5, 7, and 9 weeks of age to evaluate blood metabolites and rumen microbial fermentation. Next-generation sequencing was carried out on rumen samples collected at 7 weeks of age. Results showed that CTL kids lacked rumen protozoa, whereas CMP kids had an abundant and complex protozoal community as well as higher methanogen abundance which positively correlated with the body weight and blood beta-hydroxybutyrate as indicators of the physiological development. CMP kids also had a more diverse bacterial community (+132 ASVs) and a different structure of the bacterial and methanogen communities than CTL kids. The core rumen bacterial community in CMP animals had 53 more ASVs than that of CTL animals. Furthermore, the number of ASVs shared with the adult companions was over 4-fold higher in CMP kids than in CTL kids. Greater levels of early rumen colonizers Proteobacteria and Spirochaetes were found in CTL kids, while CMP kids had higher levels of Bacteroidetes and other less abundant taxa (Veillonellaceae, Cyanobacteria, and Selenomonas). These findings suggest that the presence of adult companions facilitated the rumen microbial development prior to weaning. This accelerated microbial development had no effect on the animal growth, but CMP animals presented higher rumen pH and butyrate (+45%) and ammonia concentrations than CTL kids, suggesting higher fibrolytic and proteolytic activities. CMP kids also had higher blood beta-hydroxybutyrate (+79%) and lower blood glucose concentrations (-23%) at weaning, indicating an earlier metabolic development which could favor the transition from pre-ruminant to ruminant after the weaning process. Further research is needed to determine the effects of this intervention in more challenging farm conditions