Complexity and Context: Emerging Forms of Collaborative Inter-Organizational Systems

The paper analyses the collaborative development of emergent IOS in three data intensive industry sectors (telecommunications, news media, and financial services). The findings reveal that environmental complexities (the complexity of data consumption patterns and increased interdependence within value webs) require context-sensitive value exchanges operationalised within co-operatively developed commodity-like IT infrastructures. The paper concludes by examining the implications of the study findings for developing IOS to support pooled, sequential, and reciprocal inter-organisational interdependencies

Using XML Vocabularies to Exploit Changing Business Models: The NewsML Experience

In 1998, Reuters committed resources to exploring the use of XML (Extensible Markup Language) as the foundation for their next-generation news content management system. This was in response to changes in the news industry business model resulting from changing value webs and content delivery methods. The result was ReutersNewsML, an XML vocabulary for wrapping news content items from multiple sources into a single package. In 1999 Reuters submitted the concept to the International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC), which managed the development of the NewsML specification. NewsML was ratified as an IPTC standard for the entire global news media industry in 2000. This paper explores the development of NewsML as an illustration of how XML standards can be exploited within complex business webs

Complexity, Context, Commoditisation And Cooperation: Exploring Emerging XML-Based Inter-Organisational Systems

Inter-organisational systems (IOS) have traditionally been characterised as EDI-based ‘hub and spoke ’ models such as those connecting grocery retailers or large manufacturers with their suppliers. Increasing environmental complexity and technological innovation have led some organisational networks to explore more dynamic IOS models. This paper investigates emergent IOS models in three data intensive industry sectors (telecommunications, news media, and financial services). The findings illustrate that the complexity of data consumption patterns is driving increased interdependence within value webs requiring the co-operative development of context sensitive value exchanges and commodity-like IOS infrastructures.

Re-Engineering a Financial Information Supply Chain with XBRL: An Exploratuon of Cooperative IOS Deisgn and Development

Financial markets worldwide have been experiencing dramatic changes since the mid-1990s. It has been claimed that XBRL, an XML vocabulary for business reporting, is capable of introducing greater integration and transparency into financial information systems, and thus addressing some of the challenges presented by these changes. This paper presents an exploratory case study of the cooperative design, development and implementation of an XBRL-enabled inter-organisational system (IOS) by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the Reserve Bank of Australia (central bank) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics to revolutionise reporting by financial institutions in Australia. The study describes how the three agencies modernised and harmonised reporting requirements through a gradual review of the reporting returns required by each agency. This harmonisation enabled the reengineering of the reporting process, as each financial institution now has to submit just one set of figures to meet the needs of all three agencies. The findings illustrate that the complexity of data consumption patterns drove increased interdependence within the financial information supply chain requiring the co-operative development of context sensitive data exchanges and commodity-like IT infrastructures. The paper concludes that the co-operative approach to IOS development exhibited in this study is likely to be more suited to the development of XBRL-enabled systems for financial information supply chains than the ‘hub and spoke’ model characteristic of IOS developments in other industrial sectors

First-principles investigation of the alloy scattering potential in dilute Si(1-x)C(x)

A first-principles method is applied to find the intra and intervalley n-type carrier scattering rates for substitutional carbon in silicon. The method builds on a previously developed first-principles approach with the introduction of an interpolation technique to determine the intravalley scattering rates. Intravalley scattering is found to be the dominant alloy scattering process in Si1-xCx, followed by g-type intervalley scattering. Mobility calculations show that alloy scattering due to substitutional C alone cannot account for the experimentally observed degradation of the mobility. We show that the incorporation of additional charged impurity scattering due to electrically active interstitial C complexes models this residual resistivity well

Experimental Evidence for Heterospecific Alarm Signal Recognition via Associative Learning in Wild Capuchin Monkeys

Many vertebrate taxa respond to heterospecific alarm calls with anti-predator behaviours. While it is unclear how apparent recognition is achieved, learned associations between the occurrence of the call and the presence of a predator are considered the most likely explanation. Conclusive evidence that this behaviour is indeed underpinned by learning, however, is scarce. This study tested whether wild black capuchin monkeys (Sapajus nigritus) learn to associate novel sounds with predators through a two-phase field experiment. During an initial training phase, three study groups were each presented with a playback of one of the three novel sounds together with a simulated felid predator on four occasions over an 8- to 12-week period. This was followed by a test phase, wherein each of the three sounds was played back to individuals in all three groups, allowing each sound to serve as both a test stimulus for individuals trained with that sound, and a control stimulus for individuals trained with another sound. Antipredator responses were significantly stronger in response to test sounds than to controls. Limited observations suggest that antipredator responses persisted for at least 2 years without reinforcement of the predator–sound link. Additionally, responses to noisier sounds were typically stronger than were those to more tonal sounds, although the effect of sound type cannot be disentangled from potential effects of group. This study provides the strongest evidence to date that learning affects the responses of primates to sounds such as heterospecific alarm calls, and supports the contention that signals provide receivers with information

User-centred design of a portable fire extinguisher

This case study documents the process followed to produce an alternative design of fire extinguisher. The work focuses on how informative data can be gathered for an ethically challenging product scenario through the use of a range of user-centred research methods, including: literature review; product evaluation; shadowing study; empathy study; expert interview; focus groups; and simulation equipment. Design improvements as a consequence of this process include: reductions in size and weight; refillable cartridges; single-handed operation; intuitive form; minimal clean up post-use; and better portability

Shear and Dynamic Compression Modulates the Inflammatory Phenotype of Human Monocytes in vitro

Monocytes and their derived macrophages are found at the site of remodeling tissue, such as fracture hematoma, that is exposed to mechanical forces and have been previously implicated in the reparative response. However, the mechanoresponsive of monocytes and macrophages to skeletal tissue-associated mechanical forces and their subsequent contribution to skeletal repair remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of skeletal tissue-associated loading conditions to modulate human monocyte activation and phenotype. Primary human monocytes or the human monocyte reporter cell line, THP1-Blue, were encapsulated in agarose and exposed to a combination of shear and compressive loading for 1 h a day for 3 consecutive days. Exposure of monocytes to mechanical loading conditions increased their pro-inflammatory gene and protein expression. Exposure of undifferentiated monocytes to mechanical loading conditions significantly upregulated gene expression levels of interleukin(IL)-6 and IL-8 compared to free swelling controls. Additionally, multiaxial loading of unstimulated monocytes resulted in increased protein secretion of TNF-α (17.1 ± 8.9 vs. 8 ± 7.4 pg/ml) and MIP-1α (636.8 ± 471.1 vs. 124.1 ± 40.1 pg/ml), as well as IL-13 (42.1 ± 19.8 vs. 21.7 ± 13.6) compared monocytes cultured under free-swelling conditions. This modulatory effect was observed irrespective of previous activation with the M1/pro-inflammatory differentiation stimuli lipopolysaccharide and interferon-γ or the M2/anti-inflammatory differentiation factor interleukin-4. Furthermore, mechanical shear and compression were found to differentially regulate nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) and IL-12B gene expression as well as inflammatory protein production by THP1-Blue monocytes. The findings of this study indicate that human monocytes are responsive to mechanical stimuli, with a modulatory effect of shear and compressive loading observed toward pro-inflammatory mediator production. This may play a role in healing pathways that are mechanically regulated. An in depth understanding of the impact of skeletal tissue-associated mechanical loading on monocyte behavior may identify novel targets to maximize inflammation-mediated repair mechanisms

Male resource defense mating system in primates? An experimental test in wild capuchin monkeys

Ecological models of mating systems provide a theoretical framework to predict the effect of the defendability of both breeding resources and mating partners on mating patterns. In resource-based mating systems, male control over breeding resources is tightly linked to female mating preference. To date, few field studies have experimentally investigated the relationship between male resource control and female mating preference in mammals due to difficulties in manipulating ecological factors (e.g., food contestability). We tested the within-group male resource defense hypothesis experimentally in a wild population of black capuchin monkeys (Sapajus nigritus) in Iguazú National Park, Argentina. Sapajus spp. represent an ideal study model as, in contrast to most primates, they have been previously argued to be characterized by female mate choice and a resource-based mating system in which within-group resource monopolization by high-ranking males drives female mating preference for those males. Here, we examined whether females (N = 12) showed a weaker preference for alpha males during mating seasons in which food distribution was experimentally manipulated to be less defendable relative to those in which it was highly defendable. Results did not support the within-group male resource defense hypothesis, as female sexual preferences for alpha males did not vary based on food defendability. We discuss possible reasons for our results, including the possibility of other direct and indirect benefits females receive in exercising mate choice, the potential lack of tolerance over food directed towards females by alpha males, and phylogenetic constraints