La dynamique de transformation de la direction des systèmes d’information

Les directions des systèmes d’information (DSI) se sont considérablement transformées depuis leur apparition dans les organisations. Pourtant, peu de chercheurs ont tenté de mieux comprendre le processus de transformation des DSI. Cet article a donc pour objectif d’explorer la question suivante : comment et pourquoi les DSI se transforment-elles au sein des organisations ? Afin d’étudier cette question, nous avons développé un cadre concep- tuel d’analyse construit autour d’une typologie des DSI qui s’appuie également sur la théorie des équilibres ponctués. Deux études de cas ont été menées dans des entreprises provenant de secteurs d’affaires différents. Nos résultats suggèrent que les DSI se transforment en réaction à des forces secondaires qui les poussent vers le changement, mais uniquement lorsque ces forces secondaires agissent sur elles par l’intermédiaire de trois forces primaires, soient : 1) la vision de l’organisation quant au potentiel des outils technologiques, 2) la participation du chef de l’information (CI) à la prise de décision stratégique et 3) le niveau de connaissance en systèmes d’information des membres de la haute direction. Lorsque les forces secondaires n’affectent pas les forces primaires, une DSI conserve son profil idéal existant. Cette étude vient combler un vide important dans la littérature en systèmes d’information en proposant une théorie explicative de la dynamique de transformation de la DSI dans les organisations

Understanding the Transformation of the IT Function in Organizations

Many IT researchers have tried to describe the IT function and to explain its transformation over time. Nevertheless, we observed that existing characterizations are often based on a single dimension, attached to historical periods or built into a normative discourse that calls for an ideal profile. We do not subscribe to these premises, seeing that there might be a series of distinct archetypes for the IT function, and that each archetype may adapt and evolve in response to organizational and environmental parameters. Based on a literature review, we propose a typology of the roles of IT functions, within archetypes that are defined according to four dimensions: the IT function’s main activities, the skills of IT professionals, the interface between the IT function and the organization’s business units, and the IT function’s governance. Next, using the theory of punctuated equilibria as a foundation, we will apply the proposed typology to investigate the process by which IT functions evolve over time. From a methodological standpoint, we will first conduct a series of interviews with IT executives to validate the proposed typology. Second, we will conduct a longitudinal case study in the healthcare sector to explain how and why an IT function transforms over time and discover forces that foster stasis or inspire change. Ultimately, our study will provide a new conceptual and theoretical perspective on the role and transformation of IT functions in organizations

Slow flows of yield stress fluids: complex spatio-temporal behaviour within a simple elasto-plastic model

A minimal athermal model for the flow of dense disordered materials is proposed, based on two generic ingredients: local plastic events occuring above a microscopic yield stress, and the non-local elastic release of the stress these events induce in the material. A complex spatio-temporal rheological behaviour results, with features in line with recent experimental observations. At low shear rates, macroscopic flow actually originates from collective correlated bursts of plastic events, taking place in dynamically generated fragile zones. The related correlation length diverges algebraically at small shear rates. In confined geometries bursts occur preferentially close to the walls yielding an intermittent form of flow localization.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

A Hybrid Tracking System of Human Resources: A Case Study in a Canadian University

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), including Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS), are technologies that have evolved considerably in the past few years. They have the potential to provide a means by which organizations can follow employees in real time. However, this permanent surveillance may have unexpected impacts on employees as well as on the organization itself. We followed the systems development research process to build a hybrid RFID-GPS system that allowed for the real-time location of human resources both indoors and outdoors. We tested this system in the security service of a Canadian university and explored its impacts on the workgroup and its employees. Our findings suggest that this kind of system can work in a real-world context, and that it has distinct impacts on the individual and the organization of a type not usually observed with more traditional information systems

Etudes des déterminants moléculaires impliqués dans la capacité de transmission d'Alternaria brassicicola aux semences d'Arabidopsis thaliana

Seed transmission is one on the most efficient way for fungal pathogens to survive and ensure their dispersal. On the other hand, contaminated seeds are compromised on their germination and survival capacities. Hence, we aimed at identifying molecular mechanisms involved in the transmission abilities of seed-borne fungi using the model pathosystem based on Alternaria brassicicola and Arabidopsis thaliana. We analyzed the response of A. brassicicola to various in vitro and in vivo conditions: stress induced by Brassicaceous defenses metabolites (camalexin, brassinin and isothiocyanates), stress related to a water deficiency (desiccation, sorbitol and PEG) and stress occurring during seed colonization through siliques. Concerning the first type of stress, we showed that indolic phytoalexins probably target mitochondria as revealed by altered respiration and mitochondrial membrane potential after short time exposures. Our analyses also revealed that the fungal response to water stress involved hydrophilins-like and eisosomal proteins. We showed that the expression of most of these proteins was dependent of at least one of the three protein kinases AbSch9, AbNik1 and AbHog1. Finally, our in planta analysis revealed an unexpected possible role of chromatin remodeling mechanisms in the regulation of fungal genes expression during seed transmission

Flux and Seasonality of Dissolved Organic Matter From the Northern Dvina (Severnaya Dvina) River, Russia

Pan‐Arctic riverine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) fluxes represent a major transfer of carbon from land‐to‐ocean, and past scaling estimates have been predominantly derived from the six major Arctic rivers. However, smaller watersheds are constrained to northern high‐latitude regions and, particularly with respect to the Eurasian Arctic, have received little attention. In this study, we evaluated the concentration of DOC and composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) via optical parameters, biomarkers (lignin phenols), and ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry in the Northern Dvina River (a midsized high‐latitude constrained river). Elevated DOC, lignin concentrations, and aromatic DOM indicators were observed throughout the year in comparison to the major Arctic rivers with seasonality exhibiting a clear spring freshet and also some years a secondary pulse in the autumn concurrent with the onset of freezing. Chromophoric DOM absorbance at a350 was strongly correlated to DOC and lignin across the hydrograph; however, the relationships did not fit previous models derived from the six major Arctic rivers. Updated DOC and lignin fluxes were derived for the pan‐Arctic watershed by scaling from the Northern Dvina resulting in increased DOC and lignin fluxes (50 Tg yr−1 and 216 Gg yr−1, respectively) compared to past estimates. This leads to a reduction in the residence time for terrestrial carbon in the Arctic Ocean (0.5 to 1.8 years). These findings suggest that constrained northern high‐latitude rivers are underrepresented in models of fluxes based from the six largest Arctic rivers with important ramifications for the export and fate of terrestrial carbon in the Arctic Ocean