705 research outputs found

    The ins and outs of participation in a weather information system

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    In this paper our aim is to show even though access to technology, information or data holds the potential for improved participation, participation is wired into a larger network of actors, artefacts and information practices. We draw on a case study of a weather information system developed and implemented by a non-profit organisation to both describe the configuration of participation, but also critically assess inclusion and exclusion. We present a set of four questions - a basic, practical toolkit - by which we together with the organisation made sense of and evaluated participation in the system

    Strategic intelligence of an organization amid uncertainty

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    The paper deals with the formation and development of strategic intelligence, a fundamentally new management mechanism in organizations that provides information and analytical support for making anticipatory decisions and the company’s preparedness for unpredictable challenges of the future. The paper systematizes academic approaches in terms of distinctive features and classification criteria of strategic intelligence, formulates its key objectives in the course of digital transformation, and gives the criteria for assessing its level in companies. It is shown that the establishment of strategic intelligence requires the introduction of specialized management systems, such as anticipatory management, and the formation of relevant competencies based on anticipatory learning. An anticipatory management model is proposed that takes into account weak signals for timely and adequate response to emerging threats. The power engineering industry has been used as an example for demonstrating the given model’s capabilities to create standard algorithms for making anticipatory decisions in difficult situations. The paper also defines the role of strategic intelligence in the process of digital transformation and the transformation of organizations into self-learning ones. © 2021 WIT Press, www.witpress.comGovernment Council on Grants, Russian FederationACKNOWLEDGMENT The work was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract No. 02.A03.21.0006

    Strategic Intelligence of an Organization Amid Uncertainty

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    The paper deals with the formation and development of strategic intelligence, a fundamentally new management mechanism in organizations that provides information and analytical support for making anticipatory decisions and the company’s preparedness for unpredictable challenges of the future. The paper systematizes academic approaches in terms of distinctive features and classification criteria of strategic intelligence, formulates its key objectives in the course of digital transformation, and gives the criteria for assessing its level in companies. It is shown that the establishment of strategic intelligence requires the introduction of specialized management systems, such as anticipatory management, and the formation of relevant competencies based on anticipatory learning. An anticipatory management model is proposed that takes into account weak signals for timely and adequate response to emerging threats. The power engineering industry has been used as an example for demonstrating the given model’s capabilities to create standard algorithms for making anticipatory decisions in difficult situations. The paper also defines the role of strategic intelligence in the process of digital transformation and the transformation of organizations into self-learning ones.The work was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract No. 02.A03.21.0006

    (G)hosting television: Ghostwatch and its medium

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    This article’s subject is Ghostwatch (BBC, 1992), a drama broadcast on Halloween night of 1992 which adopted the rhetoric of live non-fiction programming, and attracted controversy and ultimately censure from the Broadcasting Standards Council. In what follows, we argue that Ghostwatch must be understood as a televisually-specific artwork and artefact. We discuss the programme’s ludic relationship with some key features of television during what Ellis (2000) has termed its era of ‘availability’, principally liveness, mass simultaneous viewing, and the flow of the television super-text. We trace the programme’s television-specific historicity whilst acknowledging its allusions and debts to other media (most notably film and radio). We explore the sophisticated ways in which Ghostwatch’s visual grammar and vocabulary and deployment of ‘broadcast talk’ (Scannell 1991) variously ape, comment upon and subvert the rhetoric of factual programming, and the ends to which these strategies are put. We hope that these arguments collectively demonstrate the aesthetic and historical significance of Ghostwatch and identify its relationship to its medium and that medium’s history. We offer the programme as an historically-reflexive artefact, and as an exemplary instance of the work of art in television’s age of broadcasting, liveness and co-presence

    Asset management of energy company based on risk-oriented strategy

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    Repairs and maintenance of energy assets can be carried out in a variety of ways, which are usually based on indicators of reliability and efficiency. Due to the transition to a digital energy paradigm and implementation of intelligent diagnostic tools for technical condition of the equipment, it is advisable to carry out asset management with additional tools to consider operational and economic risks, as well as to predict the integrated efficiency of energy objects. This paper presents an overview of progressive strategies for energy asset management currently used in global practice. The analysis of approaches to asset management developed by one of the largest Russian generating and grid utilities is carried out. The authors developed several methodological recommendations for the identification of priority objects for technical maintenance and repair, ranked based on the type of equipment, risk of failure, predictiveness of defects, the undersupply of energy in emergency situations, types and cost of remediation and reputation losses of the energy business. Proposals for energy companies to implement a risk-based assets management strategy in units operating energy facilities are formulated. © 2020 WIT Press.The work was supported by Act 211 of Government of the Russian Federation, contract No. 02.A03.21.0006

    Validation of the lupus nephritis clinical indices in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus

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    OBJECTIVE: To validate clinical indices of lupus nephritis (LN) activity and damage when used in children against the criterion standard of kidney biopsy findings. METHODS: In 83 children requiring kidney biopsy the SLE Disease Activity Index Renal Domain (SLEDAI-R); British Isles Lupus Assessment Group index Renal Domain (BILAG-R), Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Renal Activity (SLICC-RAS) and Damage Index Renal Domain (SDI-R) were measured. Fixed effect and logistic models were done to predict International Society of Nephrology/Renal Pathology Society (ISN/RPS) class; low/moderate vs. high LN-activity [NIH Activity Index (NIH-AI) score:10; Tubulointerstitial Activity Index (TIAI) score:5) or the absence vs. presence of LN chronicity [NIH Chronicity Index (NIH-CI) score: 0 vs. \u3e/= 1]. RESULTS: There were 10, 50 and 23 patients with class I/II, III/IV and V, respectively. Scores of the clinical indices did not differentiate among patients by ISN/RPS class. The SLEDAI-R and SLICC-RAS but not the BILAG-R differed with LN-activity status defined by NIH-AI scores, while only the SLEDAI-R scores differed between LN-activity status based on TIAI scores. The sensitivity and specificity of the SDI-R to capture LN chronicity was 23.5% and 91.7%, respectively. Despite designed to measure LN-activity, SLICC-RAS and SLEDAI-R scores significantly differed with LN chronicity status. CONCLUSION: Current clinical indices of LN fail to discriminate ISN/RPS Class in children. Despite its shortcomings, the SLEDAI-R appears to best for measuring LN activity in a clinical setting. The SDI-R is a poor correlate of LN chronicity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

    Development of a novel renal activity index of lupus nephritis in children & young adults

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    BACKGROUND: Noninvasive estimation of the degree of inflammation seen on kidney biopsy with lupus nephritis (LN) remains difficult. The objective of this study was to develop a Renal Activity Index for Lupus (RAIL) that, based solely on laboratory measures, accurately reflects histological LN activity. METHODS: We assayed traditional LN laboratory tests and 16 urine biomarkers (UBMs) in children (n=47) at the time of kidney biopsy. Histological LN activity was measured by the NIH Activity Index (NIH-AI) and the Tubulointerstitial Activity Index (TIAI). High LN-activity status (vs. moderate/low) was defined as NIH-AI scores \u3e 10 (vs.5 (vs.92% accuracy and LN-activityTIAI status with \u3e80% accuracy. RAIL accuracy was minimally influenced by concomitant LN damage. Accuracies between 71 and 85% were achieved without standardization of the UBMs. The strength of these UBMs to reflect LN-activity status was confirmed by principal component and linear discriminant analyses. CONCLUSION: The RAIL is a robust and highly accurate noninvasive measure of LN-activity. The measurement properties of the RAIL, which reflect the degree of inflammatory changes as seen on kidney biopsy, will require independent validation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

    Exenatide extended release in patients with type 1 diabetes with and without residual insulin production

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    AimsTo test whether a long- acting GLP- 1 receptor agonist would improve glucose control in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and to determine whether the presence of residual beta cell function would affect the response. In addition, we sought to determine whether the drug would affect beta cell function.MethodsWe performed a randomized placebo- controlled trial of exenatide extended release (ER) in participants with T1D with and without detectable levels of C- peptide. Seventy- nine participants were randomized to exenatide ER 2 mcg weekly, or placebo, stratified by the presence or absence of detectable C- peptide levels. The primary outcome was the difference in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels at 24- weeks. Participants were followed for another 6 months off study drug.ResultsAt week 24, the time of the primary outcome, the least squares (LS) mean HbA1c level was 7.76% (95% confidence interval [CI] 7.42, 8.10) in the exenatide ER group versus 8.0% (95% CI 7.64, 8.35) in the placebo group (P = 0.08). At week 12 the LS mean HbA1c levels were 7.71% (95% CI 7.37, 8.05) in the exenatide ER group versus 8.05% (95% CI 7.7, 8.4) in the placebo group (P = 0.01). The improvement at week 12 was driven mainly by those with detectable levels of C- peptide. Those treated with exenatide ER lost weight at 12 and 24- weeks compared to those treated with placebo (P- <0.001 and P = 0.007). The total insulin dose was lower, but not when corrected for body weight, and was not affected by residual insulin production. Adverse events were more frequent with exenatide ER, but hypoglycaemia was not increased.ConclusionTreatment with exenatide ER may have short- term benefits in some individuals with T1D who are overweight or who have detectable levels of C- peptide, but short- term improvements were not sustained.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163873/1/dom14121_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163873/2/dom14121.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163873/3/dom14121-sup-0001-Supinfo.pd
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