Diffusion of Innovation: An institutional perspective

A review of the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) literature is carried out. This review is later applied to the uptake of the Internet amongst stock brokers in Australia. A framework is proposed where organizational uptake of the Internet and Internet-based trading is embedded in an institutional context encompassing an industry as well as brokerage level of analysis. It is anticipated that the industry’s governing body establishes the overall legal and professional boundaries. Within these boundaries individual stock brokers differentiate themselves through selective adoption of components of the new technology. This is to incorporate the initial setting of industry level protocols and regulations in addition to the semi-autonomous differentiation at the brokerage level. Following the proposed framework, a comparative analysis of traditional and institutional approaches to DOI is carried out

An Ex-Ante Information Technology Evaluation Framework for Construction Organizations: The First Step Toward Gaining a Competitive Advantage

Within the construction industry issues surrounding the IT investment process remain largely unexplored. To address this aforementioned deficiency, a questionnaire survey was undertaken to examine the approaches used by construction organizations to evaluate and justify their IT investments. The analysis of 126 responses revealed the following key findings: different types of organization significantly differ in the amount they investment in IT; investment levels in IT were not influenced by organizational size; and the scope of purpose of ex-ante IT evaluation was considered broader than a financial control mechanism. Instead, the organizations sampled used ex-post evaluation as an opportunity for learning and thus regenerated knowledge. Based on these findings a pragmatic ex-ante IT evaluation framework is proposed which can be used by construction organizations to ameliorate their investment decision-making process

Technology and structure - explaining the consequences of infusion of the Information Systems in the Stockbroking Sector

The current dominant theory concerning the diffusion of innovation (DOI) was proposed by Rogers (1995). Its ontological basis is Social Constructivism (SC). This paper suggests that SC leads to explanations that are not valid in some industry environments. This paper further suggests that these limitations can be overcome by adopting a Critical Realist ontology (CR). Social constructivism does not allow for the possibility that external forces can determine how a business operates but lead one to believe that that management, independent of these external forces, determines the structure and mode of operation of its business. Research was conducted into the uptake of the IS-enabled listing, sales and clearance systems and the resultant structural changes in the stockbroking sector of the finance industry. It was found that, in this industry-sector, government and professional and regulatory bodies have had an overwhelming influence on the form of, extent and the technological requirements that stockbrokers needed to adopt should they wish to operate in the sector. It was also observed that these regulatory bodies affected the extent to which the firms could use the Internet to transform the business and the procedures firms could use. In addition the compulsory use of the trading systems imposed on the then present and prospective brokers acted as a barrier to entry thus maintaining a balance based on the predefined criteria designed and implemented by the sector’s regulatory bodies. The paper disputes the condition, stated by Rogers(1983), that technology adoption can be examined independently of the role of these important external impositions. Hence a critical realist lens was employed as an underlying philosophy to help explain the observed technology adoptions. The benefits of such a philosophical grounding are highlighted

The interplay between structural rigidity and uptake of innovation-a critical examination of infusion of innovation in the stockbroking sector

In the studies concerned with the uptake of innovation, the process of diffusion and subsequent uptake of technological innovations is seen as a direct outcome of communication between users of an innovation and the potential adopters. Rogers (1995) explains that innovation spreads across a population of organisations beginning with the initial awareness of the innovation, and progressing to its formal adoption and full scale development. Diffusion of innovation theory (DOI) was employed to explore the adoption of information systems (IS) technologies in the listing, sales and clearance processes in the Australian stockbroking sector. The research revealed that in rule-bound industries such as the stockbroking sector, the adoption of IS technologies occur in the context of two dimensions: (1) a wave of standardisation perpetuated by the sector’s governing bodies followed with (2) individual firms’ strategic differentiation. The differentiation phase initiates after strict adherence to the overall rules and regulations devised by the sector’s governing bodies. In addition, the demands of the customer groups influence the direction of change in the composition of the sector

Applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in diagnostic radiology:a technography study

Objectives: Why is there a major gap between the promises of AI and its applications in the domain of diagnostic radiology? To answer this question, we systematically review and critically analyze the AI applications in the radiology domain. Methods: We systematically analyzed these applications based on their focal modality and anatomic region as well as their stage of development, technical infrastructure, and approval. Results: We identified 269 AI applications in the diagnostic radiology domain, offered by 99 companies. We show that AI applications are primarily narrow in terms of tasks, modality, and anatomic region. A majority of the available AI functionalities focus on supporting the “perception” and “reasoning” in the radiology workflow. Conclusions: Thereby, we contribute by (1) offering a systematic framework for analyzing and mapping the technological developments in the diagnostic radiology domain, (2) providing empirical evidence regarding the landscape of AI applications, and (3) offering insights into the current state of AI applications. Accordingly, we discuss the potential impacts of AI applications on the radiology work and we highlight future possibilities for developing these applications. Key Points: • Many AI applications are introduced to the radiology domain and their number and diversity grow very fast. • Most of the AI applications are narrow in terms of modality, body part, and pathology. • A lot of applications focus on supporting “perception” and “reasoning” tasks

Hybrid eulerian-lagrangian approach for dense spray simulations

In this work, a hybrid Euler-Lagrangian solver for dense spray systems is developed specifically for cases where film creation by accumulation of liquid droplets at the walls plays a crucial role. EulerLagrangian solvers are commonly used to describe the spray with predefined spray characteristics. The Lagrangian particles represent liquid drops moving along the continuous gaseous phase. This approach assumes a small particle size compared to the cell size and it is unable to capture the breakup behavior of liquid jets in the presence of instabilities. VOF methods, on the other hand, are not a computationally feasible option when it comes to small droplet sizes as a result of liquid atomization because they have to be fully resolved by the computational mesh. Hence, multiscale simulations are required to bridge the gap between the two methods combining subgrid droplets in Lagrangian approaches and large liquid structures in VOF methods. In the present work, a multiscale approach is developed where Lagrangian particles representing small droplets are tracked through the continuous phase until they hit a wall or a liquid-gas interface represented by a continuous VOF field. At the time of impact, the Lagrangian particles are removed and the mass and momentum of these particles are transferred to the VOF field. This allows having a spray consisting of subgrid droplets computed with a Lagrangian particle tracking (LPT) approach and liquid films at the walls with VOF method. The method represents a one-way coupling, converting Lagrangian particles to Eulerian liquid phase (VOF) and has been implemented into the open-source CFD code OpenFOAM. Subsequently, the solver has been tested in different scenarios to ensure mass and momentum conservation. Positive test results encouraged its use to gain insight on the fluid flow in a real cylindrical compression-dissolution unit where the liquid is sprayed from the top while simultaneously the gas is compressed from the bottom. Dynamic mesh technique is used to account for the compression with a moving piston

A novel 3D pillar-layered metal-organic framework: Pore-size-dependent catalytic activity and CO2/N-2 affinity

The structure-activity relationship plays the main role in the applicability of Metal-organic Frameworks (MOFs) in different areas including catalysis. Regarding to this herein a novel pillar-layered MOF (TMU-52) that is isostructural to our recently reported TMU-25 is introduced. The structure of this framework was analyzed using X-ray crystallography, FT-IR spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric and elemental analyses. According to the similar organic and inorganic backbone, a comparative study was done on catalytic manner of TMU-25 and TMU-52 toward in aldol-type condensation reaction. TMU-52 was designed through replacing the biphenyl core in the pillar linker of TMU-25 with phenyl group as a better candidate heterogeneous catalysis. The selectivity of the TMU-52 was higher owing to its narrower channels. CO2/N-2 affinity of these structures was also investigated

Long-term outcome of patients undergoing liver transplantation for mixed hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma: an analysis of the UNOS database

AbstractBackgroundMixed hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinoma (HCC-CC) have been associated with a poor prognosis after liver transplantation (LT). We aimed to evaluate long-term outcomes in patients undergoing LT for HCC-CC versus patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or cholangiocarcinoma (CC).MethodsRetrospective analysis of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database from 1994–2013. Overall survival (OS) in patients with HCC-CC, HCC, and CC, were compared.ResultsWe identified 4049 patients transplanted for primary malignancy (94 HCC-CC; 3515 HCC; 440 CC). Mean age of patients with HCC-CC was 57 ± 10 years, and 77% were male. MELD score did not differ among the groups (p = 0.637). Hepatitis C virus was the most common secondary diagnosis within the HCC-CC (44%) and HCC (36%) cohorts, with primary sclerosing cholangitis in the CC (16%) cohort. OS rates at 1, 3 and 5 years for HCC-CC (82%, 47%, 40%) were similar to CC (79%, 58%, 47%), but significantly worse than HCC (86%, 72%, and 62% p = 0.002).DiscussionPatients undergoing LT for HCC had significantly better survival compared to those transplanted for HCC-CC and CC. LT for mixed HCC-CC confers a survival rate similar to selected patients with CC. Efforts should be made to identify HCC-CC patients preoperatively

High CO2 absorption in new amine based-transition-temperature mixtures (deep eutectic analogues) and reporting thermal stability, viscosity and surface tension: Response surface methodology (RSM)

To study CO2 capture potential, three types of transition-temperature mixtures (TTMs) were prepared by mixing ethyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (MTPPB) as a hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) and n-methyl diethanolamine (MDEA) as a hydrogen bond donor (HBD) in different molar ratios (1:7, 1:10 and 1:16). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) results showed that TTMs have almost similar spectra to their HBD (MDEA) with different levels of transmittance and exhibit similar behavior. From the experimental results, it was found that the thermal stability, viscosity and surface tension of TTMs decreased as the concentration of MDEA in the mixture increased. According to response surface methodology (RSM) models and analysis of variance (ANOVA), temperature and molar ratio had a great effect on the viscosity and surface tension of TTMs. Finally, it was found that CO2 solubility in TTMs (at 303.15 K at pressure up to 1.35 MPa) was enhanced as the MDEA quantity increased in the mixture up to 1:10 mol ratio. However, by increasing MDEA concentration to 16:1 mol ratio, there was a decreasing trend in the CO2 solubility data. Also, all TTMs, particularly TTM containing 10:1 mol MDEA (MTPPB-MDEA 1:10) exhibited an equilibrium loading capacity approaching 1 mol CO2 per mole solvent at high pressure, revealing their high potential for CO2 capture. A comparison showed that the CO2 solubility in the studied solvents was higher than that of existing deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and other TTMs as well as several ionic liquids (ILs) to date. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the CO2 solubility in phosphonium-base TTMs containing MDE