Selling packaged software: an ethical analysis

Within the IS literature there is little discussion on selling software products in general and especially from the ethical point of view. Similarly, within computer ethics, although there is much interest in professionalism and professional codes, in terms of accountability and responsibility, the spotlight tends to play on safety-critical or life-critical systems, rather than on software oriented towards the more mundane aspects of work organisation and society. With this research gap in mind, we offer a preliminary ethical investigation of packaged software selling. Through an analysis of the features of competition in the market, the global nature of the packaged software market and the nature of product development we conclude that professionalism, as usually conceived in computer ethics, does not apply particularly well to software vendors. Thus, we call for a broader definition of professionalism to include software vendors, not just software developers. Moreover, we acknowledge that with intermediaries, such as implementation consultants, involved in software selling, and the packaged software industry more generally, there are even more “hands” involved. Therefore, we contend that this is an area worthy of further study, which is likely to yield more on the question of accountability

The number of locally invariant orderings of a group

We show that if a nontrivial group admits a locally invariant ordering, then it admits uncountably many locally invariant orderings. For the case of a left-orderable group, we provide an explicit construction of uncountable families of locally invariant orderings; for a general group we provide an existence theorem that applies compactness to yield uncountably many locally invariant orderings.Comment: 13 page

Transnational experience and high-performing entrepreneurs in emerging economies: evidence from Vietnam

Do high-performing entrepreneurs in the technology sector in emerging economies have more, or different, transnational experience than the founders of high-performing non-technology businesses? Employing Vietnam as a case study, we find that they do; the founders of high-performing technology-oriented businesses are 15 times more likely to have transnational experience in the U.S. compared to their non-technology peers, and are 35 times more likely to be graduates of American universities compared to founders of high-performing, non-technology-oriented business. The founders of high-performing non-technology businesses are more ‘place-based’, as they have predominantly lived and studied in Vietnam. Our data and methods are comprised of a logistic regression analysis of the biographical details of Vietnam's 143 highest-performing entrepreneurs; the founders of the 76 Vietnam's (non-technology-based) companies with the highest market capitalizations and the 67 founders of Vietnam's highest performing technology-oriented companies, in terms of private equity fundraising, as of April 2020. The paper's theoretical contribution is the advance it makes in analytical explanations of why technology-based entrepreneurs have more transnational experience, especially in the U.S., than high-performing founders of businesses in other sectors; this helps extend theory on the relationship between social and human capital and entrepreneurial performance, specifically in the technology sector

Retinal Architecture in ​\u3cem\u3eRGS9-\u3c/em\u3e and ​\u3cem\u3eR9AP\u3c/em\u3e-Associated Retinal Dysfunction (Bradyopsia)

Purpose To characterize photoreceptor structure and mosaic integrity in subjects with RGS9- and R9AP-associated retinal dysfunction (bradyopsia) and compare to previous observations in other cone dysfunction disorders such as oligocone trichromacy. Design Observational case series. Methods setting: Moorfields Eye Hospital (United Kingdom) and Medical College Wisconsin (USA). study population: Six eyes of 3 subjects with disease-causing variants in RGS9 or R9AP. main outcome measures: Detailed retinal imaging using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and confocal adaptive-optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy. Results Cone density at 100 μm from foveal center ranged from 123 132 cones/mm2to 140 013 cones/mm2. Cone density ranged from 30 573 to 34 876 cones/mm2 by 600 μm from center and from 15 987 to 16,253 cones/mm2 by 1400 μm from center, in keeping with data from normal subjects. Adaptive-optics imaging identified a small, focal hyporeflective lesion at the foveal center in both eyes of the subject with RGS9-associated disease, corresponding to a discrete outer retinal defect also observed on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography; however, the photoreceptor mosaic remained intact at all other observed eccentricities. Conclusions Bradyopsia and oligocone trichromacy share common clinical symptoms and cannot be discerned on standard clinical findings alone. Adaptive-optics imaging previously demonstrated a sparse mosaic of normal wave-guiding cones remaining at the fovea, with no visible structure outside the central fovea in oligocone trichromacy. In contrast, the subjects presented in this study with molecularly confirmed bradyopsia had a relatively intact and structurally normal photoreceptor mosaic, allowing the distinction between these disorders based on the cellular phenotype and suggesting different pathomechanisms

Changes in hospital utilization by individuals experiencing homelessness after engaging with interdisciplinary, low-barrier healthcare services in Portland, Maine

Introduction: The Maine Medical Center Preble Street Learning Collaborative (PSLC) aims to couple medical education with addressing the unmet healthcare needs of those experiencing homelessness in Portland, Maine. The PSLC provides low-barrier medical, psychiatric, dental, and case management services to all-comers and is co-located near many of the city’s social services. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the PSLC in its first 19 months by describing demographic characteristics and patterns in hospital utilization of patients served by the PSLC. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of 888 patients with one or more PSLC encounters between January 2017 and July 2018. We collected data from electronic health records and included one full year before and after each patient’s first PSLC encounter. We stratified patients based upon number of ED visits in the year prior to first PSLC encounter. Non-utilizers (N=392) made zero visits, low-utilizers (N=356) made 1-3 visits, high-utilizers (N=116) made 4-9 visits, and very-high-utilizers (N=made 10 or more visits. Results: Pre- to post-PSLC engagement, we demonstrate significant increases in yearly mean number of ED visits (0 to 0.96, PPPP=.005) and very-high-utilizers (15.0 to 5.92, P\u3c.001). Conclusions: These results illustrate that engagement with the PSLC was associated with decreased ED visits by high- and very-high-utilizers and increased visits by previous non-utilizers. For high-utilizers experiencing homelessness, health systems may reduce rates of ED utilization by providing low-barrier access to complex care coordination in clinics specifically focused on serving this population

Gay men, Gaydar and the commodification of difference

PurposeTo investigate ICT mediated inclusion and exclusion in terms of sexuality through a study of a commercial social networking website for gay menDesign/methodology/approachThe paper uses an approach based on technological inscription and the commodification of difference to study Gaydar, a commercial social networking site.FindingsThrough the activities, events and interactions offered by Gaydar, we identify a series of contrasting identity constructions and market segmentations which are constructed through the cyclic commodification of difference. These are fuelled by a particular series of meanings attached to gay male sexualities which serve to keep gay men positioned as a niche market.Research limitations/implicationsThe research centres on the study of one, albeit widely used, website with a very specific set of purposes. The study offers a model for future research on sexuality and ICTs.Originality/valueThis study places sexuality centre stage in an ICT mediated environment and provides insights into the contemporary phenomenon of social networking. As a sexualized object, Gaydar presents a semiosis of politicized messages that question heteronormativity while simultaneously contributing to the definition of an increasingly globalized, commercialized and monolithic form of gay male sexuality defined against ICT

Alpha-Gal Allergy: a new threat to Appalachia

Abstract Alpha-gal allergy, or mammalian meat allergy, is described as the development of IgE antibodies to the oligosaccharide galactose-a-1,3-galactose following a bite from the tick species Amblyomma americanum (Lone Star tick) or Dermacentor variabillis (Wood tick). Dermatologic or gastrointestinal symptoms are usually delayed by four to six hours after exposure, making the diagnosis difficult. Due to the use of mammalian proteins in many common medications, surgical equipment and prosthesis, unexpected reactions can occur. In the United States, this pathology is predominately seen in the southeast, but has been associated with other tick species on every continent except Antarctica. As the habitat for Amblyomma and Dermacentor continues to move further north due to changing patterns in deer population and weather, incidence of alpha-gal syndrome has increased in the states outside its normal southeastern locale, especially in people with occupations and hobbies that require time outdoors in wooded areas

Spinal anesthesia: should everyone receive a urinary catheter?: a randomized, prospective study of patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this randomized prospective study was to determine whether a urinary catheter is necessary for all patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia. METHODS: Consecutive patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia were randomized to treatment with or without insertion of an indwelling urinary catheter. All patients received spinal anesthesia with 15 to 30 mg of 0.5% bupivacaine. The catheter group was subjected to a standard postoperative protocol, with removal of the indwelling catheter within forty-eight hours postoperatively. The experimental group was monitored for urinary retention and, if necessary, had straight catheterization up to two times prior to the placement of an indwelling catheter. RESULTS: Two hundred patients were included in the study. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the prevalence of urinary retention, the prevalence of urinary tract infection, or the length of stay. Nine patients in the no-catheter group and three patients in the catheter group (following removal of the catheter) required straight catheterization because of urinary retention. Three patients in the catheter group and no patient in the no-catheter group had development of urinary tract infection. CONCLUSIONS: Patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia appear to be at low risk for urinary retention. Thus, a routine indwelling catheter is not required for such patients