Determinants of value creation from organizational performance-based view: Implications for IT industry in the Post-Covid-19 World

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to identify the variables that drive value creation in the Information Technology (IT) industry specifically, in the post-Covid-19 world. Design/methodology/approach - This study has synthesized existing literature through which it identifies the variables driving value creation in the IT industry. Findings - The results of the study show that competitive advantage, cross-disciplinary communication, and diversity drive value creation in the IT industry. Furthermore, the discussion extends organizations' absorptive capacity through the means of integration, learning, and reconfiguring knowledge by assimilating the knowledge process to sense and seize vital opportunities in the market, enablingservice innovation practices outcome, driving enterprise agility by leading digital adoptions in the Post-Covid-19 times,yielding the higher organization value by the extent of social-network heterogeneity (SNH) and focussing on the principle of “the strength of weak ties”are the abilities of an organization to react to a crisis. Research limitations/implications – This study proposes that this article should help the IT industry and the organizations underneath to achieve greater agility, stability through the extent of IT infrastructure, IT human resource, and IT knowledge management, focusing on cross-disciplinary as a collection of practices over a) intentional learning, b) strategic leadership, and c) transforming practices into integrating systems and embracing design thinking (DT) by encompassing emotional intelligence, integral intelligence, and experiential intelligence approaches, in these post-Covid-19 times more effectively and confidently. Additionally, leveraging absorptive capacity is a key resource in developing and increasing organizations' knowledge pools. Originality/value – This study offers a theoretical platform for the study ofvalue creation in the IT industry. The present study is the first step towards integrating the elements of value creation with dynamic capabilities to enhance the absorptive capacity of an organization, promoting entrepreneurial behavior and diversity management capabilities. Furthermore, this study ascertains the role of market dynamism, Schumpeter's innovation dimensions, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, constructivism, organizational learning,resilience-enhancing diversity management (REDM), strategic human resource management (HRM),and resource- based view as implementation models for the variables identified

Suitability of magnetic nanoparticle immobilised cellulases in enhancing enzymatic saccharification of pretreated hemp biomass

Previous research focused on pretreatment of biomass, production of fermentable sugars and their consumption to produce ethanol. The main goal of the work was to economise the production process cost of fermentable sugars. Therefore, the objective of the present work was to investigate enzyme hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose and hemp hurds (natural cellulosic substrate) using free and immobilised enzymes. Cellulase from Trichoderma reesei was immobilised on an activated magnetic support by covalent binding and its activity was compared with that of the free enzyme to hydrolyse microcrystalline cellulose and hemp hurds on the basis of thermostability and reusability

Group-Based Diet and Physical Activity Weight-Loss Interventions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this recordBACKGROUND: Many weight-loss interventions are delivered in groups but evidence on their effectiveness, and characteristics associated with effectiveness, is limited. We synthesised evidence on (1) design and delivery of group-based weight-loss interventions; (2) effectiveness; and (3) associations between intervention characteristics, change techniques, and effectiveness. METHODS: Five online databases were searched to May 2017 for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of group-based diet and/or physical activity interventions for overweight/obese adults (BMI ≥ 25). Intervention characteristics were synthesised narratively. Mean differences (MD) in weight loss were calculated using a random-effects meta-analysis, and sub-group analyses were conducted to identify moderators of effectiveness. RESULTS: Forty-seven RCTs reporting 60 evaluations of group-based interventions were included. MD in weight loss between intervention and control groups was -3.49 [95% CI -4.15, -2.84], -3.44 [-4.23, -2.85], and -2.56 kg [-3.79, -1.33] at follow-ups closest to 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively. Explicitly targeting weight loss, men-only groups providing feedback and dietary goals were significantly associated with greater effectiveness (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Diet and physical activity interventions delivered in groups are effective in promoting clinically meaningful weight loss at 12 months. Intervention design and effectiveness vary considerably between studies, and evidence on what optimises the effectiveness of group-based weight-loss interventions remains limited.This work presents independent research funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care of the South West Peninsula (PenCLAHRC), C. Greaves’ Career Development Fellowship (CDF‐2012‐05‐029), and A. Borek's PhD scholarship from the University of Exeter

Techniques for modifying impulsive processes associated with unhealthy eating: a systematic review

Objective: This systematic review aimed to; (i) identify and categorize techniques used to modify or manage impulsive processes associated with unhealthy eating behavior, (ii) describe the mechanisms targeted by such techniques and (iii) summarize available evidence on the effectiveness of these techniques. Methods: Searches of 5 bibliographic databases identified studies, published in English since 1993, that evaluated at least one technique to modify impulsive processes affecting eating in adults. Data were systematically extracted on study characteristics, population, study quality, intervention techniques, proposed mechanisms of action and outcomes. Effectiveness evidence was systematically collated and described without meta-analysis. Results: Ninety-two studies evaluated 17 distinct impulse management techniques. They were categorized according to whether they aimed to (1) modify the strength of impulses, or (2) engage the reflective system or other resources in identifying, suppressing or otherwise managing impulses. Although higher quality evidence is needed to draw definitive conclusions, promising changes in unhealthy food consumption and food cravings were observed for visuospatial loading, physical activity, and if-then planning, typically for up to 1-day follow-up. Conclusions: A wide range of techniques have been evaluated and some show promise for use in weight management interventions. However, larger-scale, more methodologically-robust, community based studies with longer follow-up times are needed to establish whether such techniques can have a long-term impact on eating patterns

Extracting the Groupwise Core Structural Connectivity Network: Bridging Statistical and Graph-Theoretical Approaches

Finding the common structural brain connectivity network for a given population is an open problem, crucial for current neuro-science. Recent evidence suggests there's a tightly connected network shared between humans. Obtaining this network will, among many advantages , allow us to focus cognitive and clinical analyses on common connections, thus increasing their statistical power. In turn, knowledge about the common network will facilitate novel analyses to understand the structure-function relationship in the brain. In this work, we present a new algorithm for computing the core structural connectivity network of a subject sample combining graph theory and statistics. Our algorithm works in accordance with novel evidence on brain topology. We analyze the problem theoretically and prove its complexity. Using 309 subjects, we show its advantages when used as a feature selection for connectivity analysis on populations, outperforming the current approaches

ImpulsePal: The systematic development of a smartphone app to manage food temptations using intervention mapping

This is the final version. Available on open access from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this recordBackground: Impulsive processes driving eating behaviour can often undermine peoples' attempts to change their behaviour, lose weight and maintain weight loss. Aim: To develop an impulse management intervention to support weight loss in adults. Methods: Intervention Mapping (IM) was used to systematically develop the "ImpulsePal" intervention. The development involved: (1) a needs assessment including a qualitative study, Patient and Public advisory group and expert group consultations, and a systematic review of impulse management techniques; (2) specification of performance objectives, determinants, and change objectives; (3) selection of intervention strategies (mapping of change techniques to the determinants of change); (4) creation of programme materials; (5) specification of adoption and implementation plans; (6) devising an evaluation plan. Results: Application of the IM Protocol resulted in a smartphone app that could support reductions in unhealthy (energy dense) food consumption, overeating, and alcoholic and sugary drink consumption. ImpulsePal includes inhibition training, mindfulness techniques, implementation intentions (if-then planning), visuospatial loading, use of physical activity for craving management, and context-specific reminders. An "Emergency Button" was also included to provide access to in-the-moment support when temptation is strong. Conclusions: ImpulsePal is a novel, theory- and evidence-informed, person-centred app that aims to support impulse management for healthier eating. Intervention Mapping facilitated the incorporation of app components that are practical operationalisations of change techniques targeting our specific change objectives and their associated theoretical determinants. Using IM enabled transparency and provided a clear framework for evaluation, and enhances replicability and the potential of the intervention to accomplish the desired outcome of facilitating weight loss through dietary change.University of ExeterNational Institute for Health Research (NIHR

Development and exploratory cluster-randomised opportunistic trial of a theory-based intervention to enhance physical activity among adolescents

Peer reviewedPostprin

The Formation of the First Low-Mass Stars From Gas With Low Carbon and Oxygen Abundances

The first stars in the Universe are predicted to have been much more massive than the Sun. Gravitational condensation accompanied by cooling of the primordial gas due to molecular hydrogen, yields a minimum fragmentation scale of a few hundred solar masses. Numerical simulations indicate that once a gas clump acquires this mass, it undergoes a slow, quasi-hydrostatic contraction without further fragmentation. Here we show that as soon as the primordial gas - left over from the Big Bang - is enriched by supernovae to a carbon or oxygen abundance as small as ~0.01-0.1% of that found in the Sun, cooling by singly-ionized carbon or neutral oxygen can lead to the formation of low-mass stars. This mechanism naturally accommodates the discovery of solar mass stars with unusually low (10^{-5.3} of the solar value) iron abundance but with a high (10^{-1.3} solar) carbon abundance. The minimum stellar mass at early epochs is partially regulated by the temperature of the cosmic microwave background. The derived critical abundances can be used to identify those metal-poor stars in our Milky Way galaxy with elemental patterns imprinted by the first supernovae.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures (appeared today in Nature

Cosmic Hydrogen Was Significantly Neutral a Billion Years After the Big Bang

The ionization fraction of cosmic hydrogen, left over from the big bang, provides crucial fossil evidence for when the first stars and quasar black holes formed in the infant universe. Spectra of the two most distant quasars known show nearly complete absorption of photons with wavelengths shorter than the Ly-alpha transition of neutral hydrogen, indicating that hydrogen in the intergalactic medium (IGM) had not been completely ionized at a redshift z~6.3, about a billion years after the big bang. Here we show that the radii of influence of ionizing radiation from these quasars imply that the surrounding IGM had a neutral hydrogen fraction of tens of percent prior to the quasar activity, much higher than previous lower limits of ~0.1%. When combined with the recent inference of a large cumulative optical depth to electron scattering after cosmological recombination from the WMAP data, our result suggests the existence of a second peak in the mean ionization history, potentially due to an early formation episode of the first stars.Comment: 14 Pages, 2 Figures. Accepted for publication in Nature. Press embargo until publishe

A meta-analysis of controlled trials of recombinant human activated protein C therapy in patients with sepsis

BACKGROUND: Meta-analysis of two randomised controlled trials in severe sepsis performed with recombinant human activated protein C may provide further insight as to the therapeutic utility of targeting the clotting cascade in this syndrome. METHODS: In search for relevant studies published, two randomized clinical trials were found eligible. RESULTS: The studies, PROWESS and ADDRESS, enrolled a total of 4329 patients with risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) data for effect on 28-day mortality relative to control treatment of 0.92 (0.83–1.02) suggesting that recombinant human activated protein C is not beneficial in severe sepsis. In PROWESS, 873 of 1690 patients presented with low risk, and 2315 of 2639 patients in ADDRESS as defined by APACHE II score < 25. In this low-risk stratum, no effect of recombinant human activated protein C administration on 28-day mortality was observed. This observation appears to be consistent and homogenous. Heterogeneity between the two studies, however, was seen in patients with APACHE II score ≥ 25 in whom recombinant activated protein C was effective in PROWESS (n = 817; RR 0.71, CI 0.59–0.85) whereas a tendency toward harm was present in ADDRESS (n = 324; RR 1.21, CI 0.85–1.74). Even though the overall treatment effect in this high-risk population was still in favour of treatment with recombinant activated protein C (n = 1141; RR 0.80, CI 0.68–0.94), the observed heterogeneity suggests that the efficacy of recombinant human activated protein C is not robust. Not unlikely, the adverse tendency observed could have become significant with higher statistical power would ADDRESS not have been terminated prematurely. CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis, therefore, raises doubts about the clinical usefulness of recombinant activated protein C in patients with severe sepsis and an APACHE II score ≥ 25 which can only be resolved by another properly designed clinical trial