A Family Affair: A Quantitative Analysis of Third-Generation Successors’ Intentions to Continue the Family Business

Family businesses face a succession crisis where only 13% survive until the third generation (Lee-Chua, 2014). While there is sufficient literature on family business succession planning , research on the motivations behind next-generation engagement in family firms, especially for third-generation successors, is limited (Garcia, Sharma, De Massis, Wright & Scholes, 2018). Thus, the present study tested Garcia et al. (2018)’s model where perceived parental support and psychological control predict next-generation engagement, with family business self-efficacy and commitment to family business mediating this relationship. 118 third-generation successors were surveyed using established and newly developed scales based on previous literature. Mediation analysis showed that normative commitment partially mediated verbal encouragement and next-generation engagement, while affective commitment fully mediated parental psychological control and next-generation engagement. Results were also compared against 124 second-generation successors, revealing that there were no significant differences between generations. Combining these two datasets led to a new conceptual framework, where normative commitment partially mediated verbal encouragement and next-generation intention, while affective commitment partially mediated parental psychological control and next-generation intention. The results of the study can contribute to the enrichment of family business literature, particularly on the factors that influence the intentions of third-generation successors, and to the creation of effective succession plans

ICIS 2017 Panel Report: Break Your Shackles! Emancipating Information Systems from the Tyranny of Peer Review

The paper presents the report of a panel that debated the review process in the information systems (IS) discipline at ICIS 2017 in Seoul, Korea. The panel asked the fundamental question of whether we need to rethink the way we review papers in the discipline. The panelists partnered with the audience to explore some reviewing limitations in IS today and the ways that reviewing in the discipline might change to address some of its difficulties. We first report key concerns with modern reviewing. We then present arguments for and against three proposals (i.e., paying for reviews, mandatory reviews, and open reviews) and a panel audience vote on the issues. We neither advocate for nor condemn these solutions but rather use them to illustrate what we believe represent the core underlying issues with reviewing in the IS discipline. Specifically, we believe the key stumbling blocks to effectively improving our review process include 1) a lack of empirical data on actual practice, 2) a lack of clear goals, and 3) an ignorance of the possible solutions to the review dilemma that the wider literature articulates

Interpolating orientation fields : an axiomatic approach

International audienc

The emerging landscape of single-molecule protein sequencing technologies

Single-cell profiling methods have had a profound impact on the understanding of cellular heterogeneity. While genomes and transcriptomes can be explored at the single-cell level, single-cell profiling of proteomes is not yet established. Here we describe new single-molecule protein sequencing and identification technologies alongside innovations in mass spectrometry that will eventually enable broad sequence coverage in single-cell profiling. These technologies will in turn facilitate biological discovery and open new avenues for ultrasensitive disease diagnostics.This Perspective describes new single-molecule protein sequencing and identification technologies alongside innovations in mass spectrometry that will eventually enable broad sequence coverage in single-cell proteomics.</p

An HR-MAS MR Metabolomics Study on Breast Tissues Obtained with Core Needle Biopsy

BACKGROUND: Much research has been devoted to the development of new breast cancer diagnostic measures, including those involving high-resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopic techniques. Previous HR-MAS MR results have been obtained from post-surgery samples, which limits their direct clinical applicability. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the present study, we performed HR-MAS MR spectroscopic studies on 31 breast tissue samples (13 cancer and 18 non-cancer) obtained by percutaneous core needle biopsy. We showed that cancer and non-cancer samples can be discriminated very well with Orthogonal Projections to Latent Structure-Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA) multivariate model on the MR spectra. A subsequent blind test showed 69% sensitivity and 94% specificity in the prediction of the cancer status. A spectral analysis showed that in cancer cells, taurine- and choline-containing compounds are elevated. Our approach, additionally, could predict the progesterone receptor statuses of the cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: HR-MAS MR metabolomics on intact breast tissues obtained by core needle biopsy may have a potential to be used as a complement to the current diagnostic and prognostic measures for breast cancers

Big GABA II: Water-referenced edited MR spectroscopy at 25 research sites

Accurate and reliable quantification of brain metabolites measured in vivo using 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a topic of continued interest. Aside from differences in the basic approach to quantification, the quantification of metabolite data acquired at different sites and on different platforms poses an additional methodological challenge. In this study, spectrally edited γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) MRS data were analyzed and GABA levels were quantified relative to an internal tissue water reference. Data from 284 volunteers scanned across 25 research sites were collected using GABA+ (GABA + co-edited macromolecules (MM)) and MM-suppressed GABA editing. The unsuppressed water signal from the volume of interest was acquired for concentration referencing. Whole-brain T1-weighted structural images were acquired and segmented to determine gray matter, white matter and cerebrospinal fluid voxel tissue fractions. Water-referenced GABA measurements were fully corrected for tissue-dependent signal relaxation and water visibility effects. The cohort-wide coefficient of variation was 17% for the GABA + data and 29% for the MM-suppressed GABA data. The mean within-site coefficient of variation was 10% for the GABA + data and 19% for the MM-suppressed GABA data. Vendor differences contributed 53% to the total variance in the GABA + data, while the remaining variance was attributed to site- (11%) and participant-level (36%) effects. For the MM-suppressed data, 54% of the variance was attributed to site differences, while the remaining 46% was attributed to participant differences. Results from an exploratory analysis suggested that the vendor differences were related to the unsuppressed water signal acquisition. Discounting the observed vendor-specific effects, water-referenced GABA measurements exhibit similar levels of variance to creatine-referenced GABA measurements. It is concluded that quantification using internal tissue water referencing is a viable and reliable method for the quantification of in vivo GABA levels

Active fixturing: literature review and future research directions

Fixtures are used to fixate, position and support workpieces and represent a crucial tool in manufacturing. Their performance determines the result of the whole manufacturing process of a product. There is a vast amount of research done on automatic fixture layout synthesis and optimisation and fixture design verification. Most of this work considers fixture mechanics to be static and the fixture elements to be passive. However, a new generation of fixtures has emerged that has actuated fixture elements for active control of the part–fixture system during manufacturing operations to increase the end product quality. This paper analyses the latest studies in the field of active fixture design and its relationship with flexible and reconfigurable fixturing systems. First, a brief introduction is given on the importance of research of fixturing systems. Secondly, the basics of workholding and fixture design are visited, after which the state-of-the-art in active fixturing and related concepts is presented. Fourthly, part–fixture dynamics and design strategies which take these into account are discussed. Fifthly, the control strategies used in active fixturing systems are examined. Finally, some final conclusions and prospective future research directions are presented