Contextual Factors in Post-adoption: Applying the Model of Proactive Work Behavior to the Study of End-User innovation

Research on post-adoption has proliferated and has offered insight into the antecedents that drive post-adoptive usage. Yet, much of such research has focused exclusively on instrumental belief constructs about the technology itself and related abilities and, thus, has not sufficiently examined the organizational context in which post-adoptive usage takes place. Deepening understanding of perceived contextual factors is important to gain a more holistic understanding of the use-process and to account for the fact that organizational structures play an important role in post-adoption. To address this need, this research-in-progress paper introduces the Model of Proactive Work Behavior to IS research, which enables investigating how, why, and for whom such prominent contextual factors as job autonomy drive pertinent post-adoption behaviors, like innovation. The paper hypothesizes that job autonomy increases individual innovation with IT via certain proactive cognitive-motivational states, and it ends with a brief overview of the proposed methodology and expected contributions

Pushing the limits of magnetic anisotropy in trigonal bipyramidal Ni(II)

Monometallic complexes based on 3d transition metal ions in certain axial coordination environments can exhibit appreciably enhanced magnetic anisotropy, important for memory applications, due to stabilisation of an unquenched orbital moment. For high-spin trigonal bipyramidal Ni(II), if competing structural distortions can be minimised, this may result in an axial anisotropy that is at least an order of magnitude stronger than found for orbitally non-degenerate octahedral complexes. Broadband, high-field EPR studies of [Ni(MDABCO)2Cl3]ClO4 (1) confirm an unprecedented axial magnetic anisotropy, which pushes the limits of the familiar spin-only description. Crucially, compared to complexes with multidentate ligands that encapsulate the metal ion, we see only a very small degree of axial symmetry breaking. 1 displays field-induced slow magnetic relaxation, which is rare for monometallic Ni(II) complexes due to efficient spin–lattice and quantum tunnelling relaxation pathways

Induction of the lac promoter in the absence of DNA loops and the stoichiometry of induction

In vivo induction of the Escherichia coli lactose operon as a function of inducer concentration generates a sigmoidal curve, indicating a non-linear response. Suggested explanations for this dependence include a 2:1 inducer–repressor stoichiometry of induction, which is the currently accepted view. It is, however, known for decades that, in vitro, operator binding as a function of inducer concentration is not sigmoidal. This discrepancy between in vivo and in vitro data has so far not been resolved. We demonstrate that the in vivo non-linearity of induction is due to cooperative repression of the wild-type lac operon through DNA loop formation. In the absence of DNA loops, in vivo induction curves are hyperbolic. In the light of this result, we re-address the question of functional molecular inducer–repressor stoichiometry in induction of the lac operon

Dynamical Electroweak Symmetry Breaking by a Neutrino Condensate

We show that the electroweak symmetry can be broken in a natural and phenomenologically acceptable way by a neutrino condensate. Therefore, we assume as particle content only the chiral fermions and gauge bosons of the Standard Model and in addition right-handed neutrinos. A fundamental Higgs field is absent. We assume instead that new interactions exist that can effectively be described as four-fermion interactions and that can become critical in the neutrino sector. We discuss in detail the coupled Dirac-Majorana gap equations which lead to a neutrino condensate, electroweak symmetry breaking and via the dynamical see-saw mechanism to small neutrino masses. We show that the effective Lagrangian is that of the Standard Model with massive neutrinos and with a composite Higgs particle. The mass predictions are consistent with data.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures; minor clarifications; version to appear in Nucl. Phys.

Governance of territorial and urban policies

ESPON project 2.3.2Governance of Territorial and Urban Policies from EU to Local Level holds an important position in the definition and elaboration of a common ground for investigating the institutional, instrumental ans procedural aspects of territorial and urban policies in Europe. The project focuses on the question how effective different systems are, e.g. considering a policy mix of spatial planning (in different forms implemented by Member States), local government powers and taxation policy in defining common spatial development strategies and objectives such as a polycentric urban system, balancing urban-rural needs, reviving derelict urban areas, urban regeneration, sustainable management of the natural and cultural assets. In that perspective, an analysis based on a comparative review of the instruments used, and stakeholders involved in various policy areas and processes, is being undertaken to draw some valuable conclusions of practical relevance on governance. The report sums up the main overall findings of the ESPON 2.3.2 project and presents in more detail the contributions delivered by IRPUD. The structure of this report is as follows. Part 1 summarizes the project in terms of research aims, hypotheses and key findings. The following parts present research work done by IRPUD. It starts with a German National Overview on the application of governance practices (part 2) and two case studies for urban and territorial governance (part 3). The second half of the report presents on a quantitative analysis of several indicators. Part 4 on data and indicators discusses data quality and develops the quantitative approach for measuring governance. In part 5 the report draws a synthesis of governance trends identified in the national case studies

Scalable IoT platforms

In today’s world the internet is connecting not only people but things. The computing concept of the ”Internet of Things (IoT)”describes the idea to connect everyday physical objects to the internet. IoT platforms provide the backbone for applications in areas like Smart Home, Connected Vehicles and Industrial IoT. In this thesis, we explore the question of the best IoT platform with a focus on reliability, scalability and heterogeneity. To answer this question, we search the market for IoT platforms, prototypes and proposals, examine them based on our comparison model and rate the platforms in a five star system. The criteria for the parts of the comparison model include replication, availability, authentication and authorization, encryption, security incidents and audits, development and market longevity for reliability, hosting, Edge and Fog Computing, limits of the infrastructure and network and load balancing for scalability, device restrictions, messaging and device protocols, programming languages and flexibility for heterogeneity as well as usability, pricing models and unique selling points. We discover that most criteria do not differ in the used technologies or algorithms, but if they is implemented or not. Despite there is a low level of standardization, most criteria is implemented in a similar way across the platforms. The overall best rated platform is Microsoft Azure IoT Hub with 4.25 out of 5.0 stars, followed by IBM Watson IoT (3.88 stars). The prototype platform OceanConnect by Huawei shows promising results as well (3.0 stars)

Top Quark Mass and Supersymmetry

We summarize the expectations for the top quark mass in supersymmetric models and discuss the potential implications of its value measured by the CDF group in Fermilab.Comment: 6 page

Water in Pinus Radiata Wood Secondary Cell Walls: An Investigation Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Synchrotron X-Ray Diffraction

The mechanical properties of wood allow it to be used for numerous purposes. For most purposes, drying of the wood material from the green state, sawn from the log, is first required. This drying step significantly improves the strength properties of wood. It is therefore clear that moisture in wood plays an important role in determining the bulk mechanical properties. Over the last century, many studies have been carried out to investigate the way in which the water content wood affects the bulk mechanical properties. More recent studies have focused to the individual chemical components that make up wood to understand the observed changes in bulk mechanical properties. Models of the nanostructure of wood contained; cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, and the arrangement and location of these components in terms of their mechanical properties was interpreted through what was described as the 'slip-stick' mechanism, by which wood, in its green state, maintained its molecular and mechanical properties under external stresses. This model, while insightful, failed to account for the presence and the role of water in the nanostructure of wood. In this work, synchrotron based X-ray diffraction and NMR studies, have been used to develop a new model, in which water plays a vital role in the determination of the mechanical properties of wood in its green, part-dried, and rewet states. X-ray diffraction showed that changes occur to the molecular packing of cellulose crystallites with change in moisture content, and that these changes begin to occur under mild drying conditions, i.e. drying in air at ambient temperatures. These changes depend on the severity of drying, whether ambient or forced oven drying, and are to some extent reversible. A spin-diffusion model was constructed using dimensions obtained from Xray diffraction, comparisons between predictions and experimental data from an NMR study showed that the location of water was dependent on the moisture history of wood. In the green state, at least some of the water in the wood cell wall forms a layer, between the cellulose crystals and the hemicellulose and lignin matrix. If dried and then rewet, this water associated with the cellulose crystals was not present to the same degree as in the green state, allowing a closer association of the hemicellulose with the cellulose. The effect of this change in water distribution in the wood cell wall on the bulk mechanical wood properties was shown in mechanical testing. The nanostructure of the wood cell wall therefore should be considered to contain cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and water, where each component contributes, according to its molecular properties, dynamic mechanical properties which are reflected in the bulk material properties