Knowledge Management Hybrid Strategy with People, Technology and Process Pillars

The importance of knowledge management (KM) contributes organizational competitiveness, which is widely addressed and became a central topic of management agenda in the last decade. This chapter examines three major KM pillars, including people, process, and technology, for effective KM deployment. Based on a questionnaire‐based survey, the study investigates the perceived importance of three KM pillars that influence organizational inclinations of KM strategies and ultimately affect organizational performance. Quantitative findings are sought from 44 key informants in organizations. The results show a hybrid strategy that balances the importance of people, process, and technology pillars brings desirable impact on organizational performance, comparing with the KM strategy inclined to a particular KM pillar. Recommendations of KM endeavors on three KM pillars are provided to suggest the joint efforts from both management and employees

A Refinery of an Internet-Based Search Tool – Exploring Perceptions from Information Systems Practitioners

In today’s dynamic business environment, the capability to understand the needs and responses of stakeholders is critical as such management can devise effective plans and course of actions for long-term strategies. The advancement of the internet and its related search tools such as Google, has helped management to collect various information in order to keep abreast of time of business environment and their business communities. Yet, the management has encountered problem and uncertainty on the information quality such as content, currency, accuracy and presentation. Therefore, a new backlink search tool, namely Redips was developed. This tool has been tested by students subjects with satisfaction. However, in order to gain acceptance from the management (i.e., the end-users), the perceptions and expectations on the tool should not be overlooked. This study presents a wide range of perceptions from a group of Information Systems practitioners on the potential use of Redips

A Fallacy of Division: The Failure of Market Concentration as a Measure of Competition in U.S. Banking

Empirical literature and related legal practice using concentration as a proxy for competition measurement are prone to a fallacy of division, as concentration measures are appropriate for perfect competition and perfect collusion but not intermediate levels of competition. Extending the classic Cournot-type competition model of Cowling and Waterson (1976) and Cowling (1976) used to derive the Hirschman-Herfindahl Index (HHI) of market concentration, we propose an adaptation of this model that allows collusive rents for all, none, or some of the firms in a market. Application of our model to data for U.S. commercial banks in the period 1984-2004 confirms that concentration measures are unreliable competition metrics. While collusion is prevalent in the banking industry at the state level, the critical market shares at which market power is achieved, rents earned from collusion, and collusive concentration levels vary widely across states. These and other results lead us to conclude that a fallacy of division exists in concentration-based competition tests.SCP hypothesis, competition, Cournot, conjectural variation, efficiency hypothesis

Effective E-Teaching: The Case of Hong Kong

Despite the heavy promotion by the local government, the plentiful provision of IT educational tools, and the sufficient IT skills of prospective users, the adoption of IT in classroom education by primary and secondary school teachers in Hong Kong is still minor. By focusing on the use of IT educational Websites, which are freely available for teachers, this paper attempts to investigate the factors that influence the adoption of e-teaching in classrooms among primary and secondary school teachers in Hong Kong. With reference to the paradigms of information technology, cognitive thinking and organizational learning, a research model, together with a preliminary outline of the operationalization of the measures and data collection method for model testing, are presented in this paper. It is believed that the findings of the study proposed here could contribute to a more in-depth understanding on the adoption of IT tools by teachers, which is crucial for software developers to excel in this potentially enormous industry

Collecting Chinese Art in Hong Kong from 1949 to 1997: Collectors, Museums and the Art Market

This thesis is a study of Chinese art collecting in Hong Kong during the second half of the 20th century. Through reconstructing the biographies of four representative collectors, who also held other roles as art dealer, adviser, scholar or museum donor, it demonstrates the diversity of collecting practices which thrived in this British colony and characterises how individuals and their networks shaped private and public collections, Chinese art scholarship and developments in the art market. Four representative collectors are examined to show how the multicultural environment of Hong Kong enabled collecting activities to thrive, and how collectors in turn contributed to enriching the collecting environment in Hong Kong. Firstly, Edward T. Chow’s collecting is viewed in relation to the impact of Shanghai dealers and collectors in bringing their expertise and collections to Hong Kong; secondly, Dr Ip Yee’s collecting activities epitomise how a new group of Western-educated middle-class professionals built institutional as well as private collections while furthering scholarship on specific categories of Chinese art such as bamboo carving; thirdly, the Singaporean collector Low Chuck-Tiew demonstrates the sense of nationalism, shared by many Cantonese diasporic communities, which motivated him to collect Chinese art and ultimately donate his collection to Hong Kong; lastly, T. T. Tsui’s method of sharing art with a global audience through opening a private museum and sponsoring international institutions reveals how collecting in Hong Kong became intertwined with business and diplomacy around the time of the handover of Hong Kong to China. By comparing these four collectors’ approaches to collecting and reflecting upon the roles they played in private collecting, museums and the art market from 1949 to 1997 in Hong Kong and beyond, the current research identifies distinctive characteristics of Hong Kong collecting which were unique to this eventful time and place

Mental Health Intervention Strategies for Youth in Rural Northeast TN

Title: MENTAL HEALTH INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR YOUTH IN RURAL NORTHEAST TN Introduction: A major need in Hawkins County entails lack of access to mental health resources. As a rural Appalachian county, this scarcity is especially felt by the area’s youth, who are subject to peer pressure, higher ACE scores, and may lack the autonomy to seek out professional help. Methods: The community-based intervention spanned in three consecutive weekly small-group sessions. Eligible participants were recruited from the afterschool program at the Boys and Girls Club of Hawkins County and must have been in the 5th to 8th grade (middle school) during the course of the study (n=13). Each participant completed a pre-­intervention assessment, a series of short weekly surveys (one per session) and a post-­intervention assessment to determine effectiveness and retention of the material presented. Statistical significance was determined using a paired T-Test. Results: Results did not provide any statistically significant relationships but trends were observed in perceived stress which decreased overall from pre-survey to post-survey (p=0.716), as did the self-reported use of negative coping strategies in the group (p=0.193). There was also a slight increase (p=0.653) in self-reported use of positive coping skills. A trend for greater change in the male participants was also observed. The mindfulness activity was perceived with a higher affinity than the baseline knowledge (Unpacking Mental Health) session (p=0.017). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that short 1-hour interventions per week, especially those incorporating mindfulness strategies, can influence attitudes and coping strategies in rural adolescent children compared to mental health knowledge sessions alone (p=0.017). Trends in gender differences could underlie cultural and societal norms. Due to the limited number of mental health providers, evaluating behaviors were considered but not utilized. These trends, especially in mindfulness activities, could help further guide community partner mental health strategies for youth in rural Appalachia. Overall, these initial trends warrant further work in a much larger sample size and power of the study to draw definitive results

IL-33 ameliorates Alzheimer’s disease-like pathology and cognitive decline

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating condition with no known effective treatment. AD is characterized by memory loss as well as impaired locomotor ability, reasoning, and judgment. Emerging evidence suggests that the innate immune response plays a major role in the pathogenesis of AD. In AD, the accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) in the brain perturbs physiological functions of the brain, including synaptic and neuronal dysfunction, microglial activation, and neuronal loss. Serum levels of soluble ST2 (sST2), a decoy receptor for interleukin (IL)-33, increase in patients with mild cognitive impairment, suggesting that impaired IL-33/ST2 signaling may contribute to the pathogenesis of AD. Therefore, we investigated the potential therapeutic role of IL-33 in AD, using transgenic mouse models. Here we report that IL-33 administration reverses synaptic plasticity impairment and memory deficits in APP/PS1 mice. IL-33 administration reduces soluble Aβ levels and amyloid plaque deposition by promoting the recruitment and Aβ phagocytic activity of microglia; this is mediated by ST2/p38 signaling activation. Furthermore, IL-33 injection modulates the innate immune response by polarizing microglia/macrophages toward an antiinflammatory phenotype and reducing the expression of proinflammatory genes, including IL-1β, IL-6, and NLRP3, in the cortices of APP/PS1 mice. Collectively, our results demonstrate a potential therapeutic role for IL-33 in AD

Early post-operative interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α levels after single-port laparoscopic varicocelectomy in children

PURPOSE: Laparoendoscopic single-site surgery has recently been described in children and regarded as an improved technology leading to less pain and better cosmetic outcome. Compared to the traditional three-port method, it is not known if the single-port method is less invasive. The aim of this study was thus to investigate the post-operative acute inflammatory response in order to evaluate surgical stress in the two surgical approaches in children. METHODS: A prospective, single blinded, case-control study was carried out. Thirteen male patients who presented with unilateral varicocele were divided into two groups. Six children underwent single-port laparoscopic procedure, while the other seven children underwent three-port laparoscopic procedure. Pre-operative and post-operative blood samples were taken for the measurement of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) using ELISA. Demographics including the operation time, and complications were recorded. Data between the two groups were analyzed using unpaired t-test and a p value of <0.05 was taken as statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 14.5 years (range 12-19 years). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of operative time, nor there was any complication recorded. The change in serum TNF-alpha and IL-6 concentrations pre- and post-operatively between the single-port group and three-port group was not statistically significant. Overall, patients in the two groups showed excellent satisfaction in terms of post-operative cosmesis. CONCLUSION: Single-port laparoscopic varicocelectomy is safe, effective and produces excellent cosmesis with minimal surgical stress.published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201