Securing intellectual capital:an exploratory study in Australian universities

Purpose – To investigate the links between IC and the protection of data, information and knowledge in universities, as organizations with unique knowledge-related foci and challenges.Design/methodology/approach – We gathered insights from existing IC-related research publications to delineate key foundational aspects of IC, identify and propose links to traditional information security that impact the protection of IC. We conducted interviews with key stakeholders in Australian universities in order to validate these links.Findings – Our investigation revealed two kinds of embeddedness characterizing the organizational fabric of universities: (1) vertical and (2) horizontal, with an emphasis on the connection between these and IC-related knowledge protection within these institutions.Research implications – There is a need to acknowledge the different roles played by actors within the university, and the relevance of information security to IC-related preservation.Practical implications – Framing information security as an IC-related issue can help IT security managers communicate the need for knowledge security with executives in higher education, and secure funding to preserve and secure such IC-related knowledge, once its value is recognized.Originality/value – This is one of the first studies to explore the connections between data and information security and the three core components of IC’s knowledge security in the university context

The Glasgow School of Art: An Architectural Totality

This Thesis presents a study of the Glasgow School of Art, based primarily upon study and analysis of the building's technology and spatial functionality, rather than of the visual attributes of the design. In so doing, the study analyses key factors relating to the School's origins, the means of its procurement and the likely contributions of parties other than Charles Rennie Mackintosh to the overall design process. A 3-dimensional drawn study is presented which was prepared as an analytical tool in the study of the building's technology. The drawings also provide a record of the spatial assemblage of the School, the contrasts of openness and enclosure, the changes of scale and the interpenetration of spaces which cannot be presented either by photography or by 2-dimensional drawing. It presents views of the building which cannot be appreciated by observation, due to the nature of the surrounding developments. In researching the origins of the building's functional requirements and of the means by which it was procured the writer has come upon documentation which has not, to his knowledge, been referred to in previous studies. This documentation records the requirements of British industry and the aims of the educational system which were to lead to the development of a substantial number of new Art Schools in Britain at the end of the nineteenth century. It also relates details of the means by which these developments were financed and presents information relating to the involvement of various members of the Glasgow architectural establishment with the Glasgow School of Art and with the competition for the design of the building. The technical study is concentrated, primarily, upon the original system of warm air heating and mechanical ventilation, which was fully integrated into the design and construction of the building. This system was taken out of use in the 1920's and has, to a large extent, been ignored both in previous studies of the building and in the continuing existence of the major items of plant. In relation to the design origins of the environmental system employed and to its technical performance, the writer has uncovered a substantial amount of documentation which has not previously been related to the architectural history of the design and which demonstrates the likely design input of John Keppie. Study of the system shows it to be of major historical significance in relation to the development of environmental systems during the period 1890-1910. This significance has not been noted in the major work relating to the development of environmental design in relation to architecture. It is hoped that this study, read in conjunction with earlier studies, will assist students of the building in reaching a greater understanding of the totality of the design

Characterisation of a zebrafish model of Wolfram Syndrome

PhD ThesisWolfram Syndrome (WS), is a neurodegenerative disorder defined historically by the combination of diabetes insipidus, diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy and sensorineural deafness (DIDMOAD). The majority of patients with WS harbour recessive mutations within the WFS1 gene (OMIM 606201), which encodes the wolframin protein. Wolframin is implicated in a number of critical cellular pathways, in particular the ER stress response and calcium homeostasis. Mitochondrial dysfunction is suspected to play a key role in the pathology of the disease. This link is highlighted by mutations in the CISD2 (OMIM 611507) gene, which also result in WS through a deleterious effect on mitochondrial calcium flux and disturbed ER-mitochondrial interactions. Wolframin is also suspected to have a role in the development of the brain and neuronal tissue and is associated with numerous neurological and psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to characterise novel zebrafish models (wfs1a & wfs1b) of WS to further our understanding of the role of wolframin in WS, particularly in regulating mitochondrial function and neuronal development. This model could also be used to screen for therapeutic compounds. The characterisation of this zebrafish model involved observing histological, behavioural and biochemical changes in the knockout zebrafish and determining if the model was comparable to the pathological features reported in patients with WS. We have shown that this zebrafish model of WS shares defects in the ability to cope with ER stress and importantly, it shares similar phenotypes to the human, in particular optic atrophy. Mitochondrial dysfunction was also observed in the model with changes seen in trafficking, respiration and changes in expression of Complex I of the mitochondrial electron transport chain. This zebrafish model provides a powerful tool to observe neuronal development and mitochondrial function in a live animal model, providing new insights on the mechanisms driving neuronal degeneration in WS

Scenario analysis to support decision making in addressing wicked problems: pitfalls and potential

This paper provides a review and evaluation of the use of scenario methods from the Intuitive Logics (IL) school to address so-called ‘wicked problems’. Scenario planning has been widely advocated by its practitioners and its popularity has increased in the practice arena since the Millennium. However, some academics have described the technique as an ‘art’ that lacks theoretical and methodological rigour. Over recent years, academics have responded to this critique, drawing on both empirical and conceptual studies. This has led to a multiplicity of augmented IL scenario methods. Here, we review these developments and compare them to soft OR methods as a means of tackling wicked problems, drawing, in particular, on Churchman’s moral imperative that we must address the whole problem, not merely ‘carve off’ one part. We conclude that IL scenario planning can be a useful tool in the OR practitioner’s tool kit and that it can complement many of the established soft OR method

A reflection on the mass production of scenarios in response to COVID-19

In this short paper, we reflect on the recent accumulation of scenarios that have been developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Will they be of use to worried individuals and organizations? Or, are they artifacts of the very recent past? We conclude that these quickly-produced scenarios are not embedded in the realities of affected communities and that the scenario development process should be enhanced to either involve power-holding stakeholders or, more straightforwardly, to activate local consideration of how the affected community might/ might not/ wish to react to localised dilemmas. Both enhancements will provide action-orientated insights, beyond that of simply appreciating possible global/regional futures

Making scenario interventions matter : exploring issues of power and rationality

In this article, we consider prospects for long-term impact from scenario projects, specifically for sustained positive change. We outline scenario methods intended to actively engage scenario development team members who will be directly impacted by the ‘focal issue’ of the scenario exercise, in particular those who are remote and by and large excluded from the central decision making processes of the powerful. We consider possibilities for building capacity for them to envisage and enact alternative futures for themselves and their communities. However, we see a need to consider how current powerful actors might respond to the wishes and actions of less powerful stakeholders, positing that the potential for action by these less powerful groups may be disrupted by the rationality of the more powerful, where any intended action is against the latter’s interests. We argue that understanding and appreciating issues of power and rationality are central to how such participatory approaches might elicit coordinated and articulated action in response to positive scenarios. We discuss this issue by reference to contemporary interpretations of Aristotelian phronēsis, or ‘practical wisdom’. We outline steps involved in enacting an augmented scenario model that responds to this critique

A Bayesian approach to modelling mortality, with applications to insurance

The purpose of this research was to use Bayesian statistics to develop flexible mortality models that could be used to forecast human mortality rates. Several models were developed as extensions to existing mortality models, in particular the Lee-Carter mortality model and the age-period-cohort model, by including some of the following features: age-period and age-cohort interactions, random effects on mortality, measurement errors in population count and smoothing of the mortality rate surface. One expects mortality rates to change in a relatively smooth manner between neighbouring ages or between neighbouring years or neighbouring cohorts. The inclusion of random effects in some of the models captures additional fluctuations in these effects. This smoothing is incorporated in the models by ensuring that the age, period and cohort parameters of the models have a relatively smooth sequence which is achieved through the choice of the prior distribution of the parameters. Three different smoothing priors were employed: a random walk, a random walk on first differences of the parameters and an autoregressive model of order one on the first differences of the parameters. In any model only one form of smoothing was used. The choice of smoothing prior not only imposes different patterns of smoothing on the parameters but is seen to be very influential when making mortality forecasts. The mortality models were fitted, using Bayesian methods, to population data for males and females from England and Wales. The fits of the models were analysed and compared using analysis of residuals, posterior predictive intervals for both in-sample and out-of-sample data and the Deviance Information Criterion. The models fitted the data better than did both the Lee-Carter model and the age-period-cohort model. From the analysis undertaken, for any given age and calendar year, the preferred model based on the Deviance Information Criterion score, for male and female death counts was a Poisson model with the mean parameter equal to the number of lives exposed to risk of dying for that age in that calendar year multiplied by a mortality parameter. The logit of this mortality parameter was a function of the age, year (period) and cohort with additional interactions between the age and period parameters and between the age and cohort parameters. The form of parameter smoothing that suited the males was an autoregressive model of order one on the first differences of the parameters and that for the females was a random walk. Moreover, it was found useful to add Gaussian random effects to account for overdispersion caused by unobserved heterogeneity in the population mortality. The research concluded by the application of a selection of these models to the provision of forecasts of period and cohort life expectancies as well as the numbers of centenarians for males and females in England and Wales. In addition, the thesis illustrated how Bayesian mortality models could be used to consider the impact of the new European Union solvency regulations for insurers (Solvency II) for longevity risk. This research underlined the important role that Bayesian stochastic mortality models can play in considering longevity risk