Business-IT-Alignment in Gemeinden – Qualitative Forschung anhand dreier größerer Berner Gemeinden

Durch die elektronische Vernetzung und die zunehmende Komplexität der IT in Verwaltungsorganisationen und insbesondere Gemeinden nimmt die Bedeutung des Business-IT- Alignments (BIA) zu. Je besser die Ausrichtung der IT am Business, so die Annahme, desto höher ist die Nutzenstiftung durch die IT. Allerdings wird dem BIA sowohl von Firmen als auch öffentlichen Verwaltungen häufig immer noch zu wenig Beachtung geschenkt [LB99], [LPB99]). Eine frühere Untersuchung zeigte, dass bei großen Gemeinden das BIA in der Regel besser ausgebildet ist als bei kleinen [BET13], [WEB14]. Aus diesem Grund beschäftigt sich der vorliegende Beitrag mit dem Thema BIA bei drei großen anonymisierten Berner Gemeinden A, B und C. Deren BIA wird qualitativ und auf Basis eines auf Basis der Literatur abgeleiteten spezifischen Reifegradmodells für das BIA in Gemeinden untersucht. Basierend auf Letzterem erfolgt die Ableitung eines Interviewleitfadens. Das Ziel des vorliegenden Beitrags ist es, die Ausprägungsund Wirkungsarten des strategischen und operativen BIA in großen Gemeinden vertiefter zu untersuchen. Im Hauptteil des vorliegenden Beitrags werden die verschiedenen BIA-Ausprägungen der untersuchten Gemeinden analysiert. Mittels des entwickelten Reifegradmodells ist feststellbar, welche Ausprägung das BIA den Gemeinden hat. Aus der Analyse geht hervor, dass die Reifegradkriterien bezogen auf die Informatik-Abteilungen der untersuchten Gemeinden einen tiefen bis mittleren Reifegrad aufweisen. Dies ist u.a. darauf zurückzuführen, dass die vorhandenen Strategie-Dokumente keinen Bezug zu Legislaturzielen der Gemeinden haben und dazu auch keinen Beitrag leisten. Weiter mangelt es teilweise an der Zusammenarbeit und der Kommunikation mit den internen Informatikkunden (Direktionen). Auch operative Gremien werden als Mittel zum BIA nicht bestmöglich eingesetzt. Zudem sehen sich die Informatik-Abteilungen häufig selbst nur als Dienstleister und Enabler, was ihr Verhalten beeinflusst und sie im proaktiven Handeln hemmt

Wikis, blogs and podcasts: a new generation of Web-based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education

BACKGROUND: We have witnessed a rapid increase in the use of Web-based 'collaborationware' in recent years. These Web 2.0 applications, particularly wikis, blogs and podcasts, have been increasingly adopted by many online health-related professional and educational services. Because of their ease of use and rapidity of deployment, they offer the opportunity for powerful information sharing and ease of collaboration. Wikis are Web sites that can be edited by anyone who has access to them. The word 'blog' is a contraction of 'Web Log' – an online Web journal that can offer a resource rich multimedia environment. Podcasts are repositories of audio and video materials that can be "pushed" to subscribers, even without user intervention. These audio and video files can be downloaded to portable media players that can be taken anywhere, providing the potential for "anytime, anywhere" learning experiences (mobile learning). DISCUSSION: Wikis, blogs and podcasts are all relatively easy to use, which partly accounts for their proliferation. The fact that there are many free and Open Source versions of these tools may also be responsible for their explosive growth. Thus it would be relatively easy to implement any or all within a Health Professions' Educational Environment. Paradoxically, some of their disadvantages also relate to their openness and ease of use. With virtually anybody able to alter, edit or otherwise contribute to the collaborative Web pages, it can be problematic to gauge the reliability and accuracy of such resources. While arguably, the very process of collaboration leads to a Darwinian type 'survival of the fittest' content within a Web page, the veracity of these resources can be assured through careful monitoring, moderation, and operation of the collaborationware in a closed and secure digital environment. Empirical research is still needed to build our pedagogic evidence base about the different aspects of these tools in the context of medical/health education. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION: If effectively deployed, wikis, blogs and podcasts could offer a way to enhance students', clinicians' and patients' learning experiences, and deepen levels of learners' engagement and collaboration within digital learning environments. Therefore, research should be conducted to determine the best ways to integrate these tools into existing e-Learning programmes for students, health professionals and patients, taking into account the different, but also overlapping, needs of these three audience classes and the opportunities of virtual collaboration between them. Of particular importance is research into novel integrative applications, to serve as the "glue" to bind the different forms of Web-based collaborationware synergistically in order to provide a coherent wholesome learning experience

The Persistence of Inflation in Switzerland: Evidence from Disaggregate Data

This paper investigates persistence of Swiss consumer price inflation using aggregate and disaggregate inflation data covering 1983-2008. We document that persistence of sectoral inflation rates is below persistence of aggregate inflation. Our main finding is that inflation persistence significantly declines in the early 1990s. An estimated factor model reveals that inflation persistence stems from a persistent component that is common to inflation rates across sectors. Both the relevance and the persistence of the common component decline over time. Depending on the sample period and aggregation level, 70 to 90 percent of the variance in sectoral inflation rates is accounted for by short-lived sectoral factors

Synthesis of Oleoylethanolamide Using Lipase

An effective process for the enzymatic synthesis of oleoylethanolamide is described in this study. The process included purification of a commercial oleic acid product and then optimization of the reaction between the purified oleic acid and ethanolamine in the presence of hexane and a lipase. Under the optimal amidation reaction conditions identified, oleoylethanolamide was obtained with 96.6% purity. The synthesis was also conducted on a large scale (50 mmol of each of the reactants), and oleoylethanolamide purity and yield after crystallization purification were 96.1 and 73.5%, respectively. Compared to the previous studies, the current method of preparing high-purity oleoylethanolamide is more effective and economically feasible. The scalability and ease for such synthesis make it possible to study the biological and nutritional functions of the cannabinoid-like oleoylethanolamide in animal or human subjects

Translations of new public management: a decentred approach to school governance in four OECD countries

Despite the prevalence of corporate and performative models of school governance within and across different education systems, there are various cases of uneven, hybrid expressions of New Public Management (NPM) that reveal the contingency of global patterns of rule. Adopting a ‘decentred approach’ to governance (Bevir, M. 2010. “Rethinking Governmentality: Towards Genealogies of Governance.” European Journal of Social Theory 13 (4): 423–441), this paper compares the development of NPM in four OECD countries: Australia, England, Spain, and Switzerland. A focus of the paper is how certain policy instruments are created and sustained within highly differentiated geo-political settings and through different multi-scalar actors and authorities yet modified to reflect established traditions and practices

Who Needs Microtubules? Myogenic Reorganization of MTOC, Golgi Complex and ER Exit Sites Persists Despite Lack of Normal Microtubule Tracks

A wave of structural reorganization involving centrosomes, microtubules, Golgi complex and ER exit sites takes place early during skeletal muscle differentiation and completely remodels the secretory pathway. The mechanism of these changes and their functional implications are still poorly understood, in large part because all changes occur seemingly simultaneously. In an effort to uncouple the reorganizations, we have used taxol, nocodazole, and the specific GSK3-β inhibitor DW12, to disrupt the dynamic microtubule network of differentiating cultures of the mouse skeletal muscle cell line C2. Despite strong effects on microtubules, cell shape and cell fusion, none of the treatments prevented early differentiation. Redistribution of centrosomal proteins, conditional on differentiation, was in fact increased by taxol and nocodazole and normal in DW12. Redistributions of Golgi complex and ER exit sites were incomplete but remained tightly linked under all circumstances, and conditional on centrosomal reorganization. We were therefore able to uncouple microtubule reorganization from the other events and to determine that centrosomal proteins lead the reorganization hierarchy. In addition, we have gained new insight into structural and functional aspects of the reorganization of microtubule nucleation during myogenesis

Fabry disease: recent advances in pathology, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Fabry disease (α-galactosidase A deficiency) accumulation of Globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) leads to progressive organ failure and premature death. The introduction of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) was the beginning of a new era in this disorder, and has prompted a broad range of research activities. This review aims to summarize recent developments and progress with high impact for Fabry disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A Pubmed analysis was performed using the search terms "Fabry disease", "Anderson-Fabry disease", "alpha-galactosidase A" and "Gb3". Of the given publications by 31st January 2009 only original articles recently published in peer reviewed journals were included for this review. Case reports were included only when they comprised a new aspect. In addition we included relevant conference abstracts when the results had not already been published as original articles.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Apart from Gb3-accumulation cellular and organ specific damages may be related also to inflammatory and immunological consequences. It will be interesting whether this may lead to new therapeutic strategies in the treatment of Fabry disease. Since newborn screening is still difficult in Fabry disease, detection of patients in populations at risk is of great importance. Undiagnosed patients with Fabry disease may still be found in cohorts of subjects with renal diseases, cardiomyopathy and TIA or stroke. Efforts should be undertaken to identify these individuals and initialise ERT in order to hault disease progression. It has also been demonstrated that Gb3-accumulation leads to pre-clinical damages and it is believed that early treatment may be the only possibility so far to prevent irreversible organ damage.</p