Sustainability in ICT-Enabled Collaborative Networks

Many organizations form collaborative ICT-enabled networks in order to improve their performance, and we generally understand their motives and benefits in doing so. However, there is little empirical research that focuses on how collaborative relationships are sustained over the longer term. This paper is a first step in addressing this deficiency. Based on a review of the literature on strategic collaboration, we develop a conceptual framework for understanding and exploring the resources and capabilities required to sustain collaborative networks. The framework will provide a theoretical basis for a subsequent empirical investigation

IT Governance in Collaborative Networks: A Socio-Technical Perspective

Research on IT governance has tended to focus on the issue within a single organizational environment. Our understanding of IT governance in an inter-organizational context remains limited. In addition, few have taken a socio-technical perspective. The aim of the study is therefore to empirically explore the impacts of socio-technical factors on the effectiveness of IT governance for a collaborative network by examining three IT governance elements: structure, process and relational mechanism. This paper reports on the findings of the pilot phase of the broader study.The findings indicate that more effective collaborative IT governance is associated with an active involvement of a governing body; a co-ordinated communication process; and the presence of relational culture and attitudinal commitment. Theoretical and managerial implications of the study are discussed. Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/pajais/vol4/iss2/3

Knowledge Management and IT Project Success: A Meta-analytic Review

There are fragmented and contradictory findings in relation to the factors influencing IT project success. The aim of this study is to examine the antecedents of IT project success. A meta-analytic review was undertaken using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software. A systematic review of the literature identified 612 articles on IT project success. Of these, 46 articles used a range of constructs in studying IT project success. The meta-analytic review resulted in 24 antecedents of IT project success. The result could be explained by adopting a knowledge management perspective as the antecedents (such as team environment, team process, team integration and social factors) were necessary for the creation, storage and transfer of knowledge in leading to IT project success. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in relation to understanding the contributions of knowledge management to IT project success

Citizen Adoption in E-Government Systems

Electronic Government (e-Government) refers to a system of information, communication and interaction between government and its citizens. E-Government adoption has been studied for more than a decade with several meta-analytic studies being produced in that time. This study is differentiated from prior meta-analyses as it splits the empirical studies into pre-adoption and post-adoption studies to allow a clearer model of e-Government. We found different determinants and distinct models for pre- and post-adoption of e-Government. In the two models (pre-adoption and post-adoption) trust is only related to pre-adoption studies. Originally, 98 studies were coded but with the focus on pre-adoption and post-adoption, 53 were used in the final models as they contained the attributes of interest

A Multicriteria Analysis Approach for Evaluating the Performance of Agriculture Decision Support Systems for Sustainable Agribusiness

Agriculture decision support systems (DSSs) play an important role in facilitating evidence-based agricultural decision-making for improving agribusiness productivity. Evaluating and selecting the most appropriate agriculture DSS for sustainable agribusiness is, however, challenging due to the existence of production and marketing alternatives, a variety of objective functions from economic to lifestyle to long-term sustainability, and the subjectiveness and imprecision involved in the evaluation process. To help decision makers effectively deal with these issues, this paper presents a multicriteria analysis approach for evaluating and selecting the most appropriate agriculture DSS for sustainable agribusiness. The subjective assessments of decision makers in the evaluation process are formulated using linguistic variables approximated by fuzzy numbers. The concept based on the positive and the negative ideal solutions is applied for producing a performance index value for every agriculture DSS alternative across all evaluation criteria based on which the most appropriate agriculture DSS is. An empirical study is presented for demonstrating the step-wise process for evaluating and selecting the most appropriate agriculture DSS for sustainable agribusiness. The outcome from the performance evaluation process allows agribusinesses to effectively adopt appropriate agriculture DSSs for achieving competitive advantages

Knowledge and certainty about medication administration among nursing students in University Malaysia Sabah

Medication error always happens among the nurses either the trained out staffs nor in nursing students. These errors may harm any patient that is involved and it may lead tolegislation issue. Therefore, this study aims to identify nursing students knowledge and assurance in medication administration. Methods: This study using a cross-sectional survey design using a convenience sampling method. Ethical approval was obtained from The Fac¬ulty of Medicine and Health Sciences Ethical Committee. Adapted questionnaire divided into three sections with 14 multi-choice questions for each section (pharmacology, drug management and drug calculation) score (0-14) and Self perceived certainty on their correct answer were scored (1-high certainty, 2-moderate and 3-low certainty). Questionnaires were distributed through the online google form to Diploma of Nursing students of year two and three of Faculty Medicine and Health Science of University Malaysia Sabah. Result reported in mean (+SD). Results: Total of71 students volunteered responded to the survey. 42.3% of respondents (n=30) are the Year Two students and 57.7% (n=41) are the Year Three students.In knowledge about pharmacology mean score was 9.33 (2.37) and their certainty mean score was 1.9 (0.55), Drug management mean score was 8.42 (2.55) and their certainty mean score was 1.90 (0.45), While for their drug calculation mean score was 8.04 (3.03) and certainty mean score was 2.13 (0.51). Conclusion: Knowledge in drug management and drug calculation both were below the appropriate score (less than 9) respectively. These indicate that more practices and training on the medication administration should be done to the students in order familiar with the context of medication administration. Their certainty level found moderate indicate that their confidence level on medication administration should be reinforced. Nursing educators need to facilitate the students in their learning process and training periods to gain their confidence before their graduation

Early intervention for incipient insanity: early notions from the 19th century English literature.

AIM: Early intervention programmes in mental illnesses started to bloom in the 1990s, and many programmes have been established worldwide during the past twenty years. However, the concept of early intervention has emerged during the 19th century but it did not make much impact on practice. The aim of this review is to identify the difficulties appeared during that period of time which could provide insight into the modern development of early intervention initiatives. METHODS: A narrative review which focused on English literature about early intervention for insanity during the 19th century was undertaken. RESULTS: Clinicians during the 19th century recognized that treatment would be the most effective at the early stage of the mental illness and they had emphasized the importance of early intervention. However, because of a number of factors, such as the limited roles of asylums, lack of knowledge about mental disorder and the lack of effective treatment, the idea of early intervention did not make impact in clinical service during that period of time. CONCLUSION: During the past two hundred years, understanding towards mental illness has advanced and more effective treatments, such as the use of anti-psychotic medications, have been developed. Reflecting on the past experience and difficulties might shed light on the development of today early intervention in mental disorder.This is the author accepted manuscript. It is currently under an indefinite embargo pending publication by Wiley

In Vivo Electroporation Enhances the Immunogenicity of an HIV-1 DNA Vaccine Candidate in Healthy Volunteers

DNA-based vaccines have been safe but weakly immunogenic in humans to date.We sought to determine the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of ADVAX, a multigenic HIV-1 DNA vaccine candidate, injected intramuscularly by in vivo electroporation (EP) in a Phase-1, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial in healthy volunteers. Eight volunteers each received 0.2 mg, 1 mg, or 4 mg ADVAX or saline placebo via EP, or 4 mg ADVAX via standard intramuscular injection at weeks 0 and 8. A third vaccination was administered to eleven volunteers at week 36. EP was safe, well-tolerated and considered acceptable for a prophylactic vaccine. EP delivery of ADVAX increased the magnitude of HIV-1-specific cell mediated immunity by up to 70-fold over IM injection, as measured by gamma interferon ELISpot. The number of antigens to which the response was detected improved with EP and increasing dosage. Intracellular cytokine staining analysis of ELISpot responders revealed both CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses, with co-secretion of multiple cytokines.This is the first demonstration in healthy volunteers that EP is safe, tolerable, and effective in improving the magnitude, breadth and durability of cellular immune responses to a DNA vaccine candidate.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00545987

Transcriptomic convergence despite genomic divergence drive field cancerization in synchronous squamous tumors

IntroductionField cancerization is suggested to arise from imbalanced differentiation in individual basal progenitor cells leading to clonal expansion of mutant cells that eventually replace the epithelium, although without evidence.MethodsWe performed deep sequencing analyses to characterize the genomic and transcriptomic landscapes of field change in two patients with synchronous aerodigestive tract tumors.ResultsOur data support the emergence of numerous genetic alterations in cancer-associated genes but refutes the hypothesis that founder mutation(s) underpin this phenomenon. Mutational signature analysis identified defective homologous recombination as a common underlying mutational process unique to synchronous tumors.DiscussionOur analyses suggest a common etiologic factor defined by mutational signatures and/or transcriptomic convergence, which could provide a therapeutic opportunity