Exploring distributed collaboration and the potential of blockchain as an enabling technology

Since the emergence of the internet, the growth and development of communication technologies have presented new opportunities for collaboration. Practitioners in almost every industry can now collaborate with the skilled personnel across a range of fields, regardless of their geographic location. This contemporary working arrangement is referred to as Distributed Collaboration, which I define as the pursuit of a shared objective by groups that include non-proximate members, whose participation is facilitated by ICT. However, Distributed Collaboration is not without drawbacks. The dispersed and volatile nature of numerous participants makes these groups vulnerable to many challenges, primarily, free-riding, production blocking, evaluation apprehension, and perceptions of fairness. Meanwhile, Blockchain technology has emerged over the last decade, initially to facilitate the cryptocurrency market. However, research interest has recently focused on its potential to support non-financial use-cases such as the ability to track assets, both digital and physical, in a secure, transparent, and immutable manner. These technological capabilities of Blockchain would suggest it has the potential to support Distributed Collaboration by tracking individual contributions across a distributed ledger. Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to explore Distributed Collaboration and the potential of Blockchain as an enabling technology. This research was initiated by examining the potential of Blockchain to enable Distributed Collaboration from a macro-level perspective through the lens of the cryptocurrency market. The market can be considered a network of distributed participants, communicating to evaluate Blockchain as a technology. The findings show that in the absence of established factors and methods to evaluate cryptocurrencies, market participants rely on social cues to evaluate the assets. Next, I conducted a first iteration of Design Science Research (DSR) by exploring the potential for Blockchain to address the issue of free-riding in cross-functional groups. This endeavour found that there was potential. However, a more comprehensive understanding of the components of this research was required in order to extract theoretical and practical contributions. Therefore, a systematic literature review was performed to synthesise a comprehensive definition of Distributed Collaboration, as well as developing an understanding of the factors which lead to the success of these groups. Following this, qualitative interview data were gathered and analysed from practitioners operating in Distributed Collaboration to develop an understanding of the challenges faced when operating in this environment and the necessary components for a potential system to alleviate these issues. Finally, I completed a second iteration of DSR to rigorously investigate the potential of Blockchain to support Distributed Collaboration. A Blockchain-enabled system was developed, implementing the design construct of Creative Ancestry to improve perceptions of fairness in Distributed Collaboration. Findings show that Blockchain increases perceptions of fairness and thus improves overall collaboration. My research has implications for theory, practice, and future research. I provide a core model for successful Distributed Collaboration and detail how to implement a Blockchain-enabled system that addresses key issues. I also illustrate the presence of herding behaviour in the cryptocurrency market and how market participants are prone to amplified reactions to changes in the price of assets. These findings and their implications are discussed at length in the final chapter

Ultrasonic imaging of electrofusion welded polyethylene pipes employed in utilities industry

Electrofusion welding (EFW) is a widely used technique for joining polyethylene pipes in the oil, gas and water industry. Like many welding and joining methods, the joints created by EFW can exhibit a range of flaw types that can be attributed to process variables such as: poor preparation of the parent material, contamination of the weld surfaces prior to welding and operator and/or equipment failure during the welding process. This paper describes ultrasonic testing using 128-channel linear array with a DYNARAY system to acquire data from a range of joints created using EFW. The samples were created in the laboratory with a range of defects that represent those commonly observed in the field. The samples were subsequently destructively tested using tensile testing of the coupling-pipe interface. Good corroboration was achieved between the observed weld quality from the ultrasonic data and the weld strength determined by the destructive testing

Induction and repression of the sty operon in Pseudomonas putida CA-3 during growth on phenylacetic acid under organic and inorganic nutrient-limiting continuous culture conditions

The effects of various nutrient-limiting conditions on expression of the sty operon in Pseudomonas putida CA-3 were investigated. It was observed that limiting concentrations of the carbon source phenylacetic acid, resulted in high levels of phenylacetyl coenzyme A (CoA) ligase activity, this was accompanied also by upper pathway styrene monooxygenase enzyme activity. The introduction of inorganic nutrient limitations, (nitrate, sulfate and phosphate), caused a dramatic reduction in detectable levels of phenylacetyl CoA ligase activity, particularly in the presence of the primary carbon source, succinate. Under these conditions it was no longer possible to detect styrene monooxygenase activity. Reverse transcription PCR analysis of total RNA, isolated under each of the continuous culture conditions examined, revealed that variations in the levels of enzyme activity coincided with altered patterns of corresponding paaK (phenylacetyl CoA ligase) and styA (styrene monooxygenase) gene expression. Transcription of the upper pathway regulatory sensor kinase gene styS was also observed to be growth condition-dependent. These observations suggest that induction/repression of the sty operon in P. putida CA-3, during growth on phenylacetic acid under continuous culture conditions, involves regulatory mechanisms coordinately affecting both the upper and lower pathways and acting at the level of gene transcriptio

Recovery of neurofilament following early monocular deprivation

Postnatal development of the mammalian geniculostriate visual pathway is partly guided by visually driven activity. Disruption of normal visual input during certain critical periods can alter the structure of neurons, as well as their connections and functional properties. Within the layers of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN), a brief early period of monocular deprivation can alter the structure and soma size of neurons within deprived-eye-receiving layers. This modification of structure is accompanied by a marked reduction in labeling for neurofilament protein, a principle component of the stable cytoskeleton. This study examined the extent of neurofilament recovery in monocularly deprived cats that either had their deprived eye opened (binocular recovery), or had the deprivation reversed to the fellow eye (reverse occlusion). The loss of neurofilament and the reduction of soma size caused by monocular deprivation were ameliorated equally and substantially in both recovery conditions after 8 days. The degree to which this recovery was dependent on visually driven activity was examined by placing monocularly deprived animals in complete darkness. Though monocularly deprived animals placed in darkness showed recovery of soma size in deprived layers, the manipulation catalyzed a loss of neurofilament labeling that extended to non-deprived layers as well. Overall, these results indicate that both recovery of soma size and neurofilament labeling is achieved by removal of the competitive disadvantage of the deprived eye. However, while the former occurred even in the absence of visually driven activity, recovery of neurofilament did not. The finding that a period of darkness produced an overall loss of neurofilament throughout the dLGN suggests that this experiential manipulation may cause the visual pathways to revert to an earlier more plastic developmental stage. It is possible that short periods of darkness could be incorporated as a component of therapeutic measures for treatment of deprivation-induced disorders such as amblyopia

Understanding OA Ebook Usage: Toward a Common Framework

Redacted version of narrative for a proposal to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the development of international standards and practices for measuring and reporting usage of open-access ebooksSubmitted to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation on April 27, 2018https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143840/1/Redacted Grant Narrative - OA Ebook Usage_FINAL SUBMISSION_042718.pdfDescription of Redacted Grant Narrative - OA Ebook Usage_FINAL SUBMISSION_042718.pdf : Grant Narrativ

Towards A Theoretical Framework for Social Impact Bonds

Governments in some of the world’s richest nations appear to be caught in a double challenge of declining social budgets even as social needs are increasing. In this context Outcomes Based Commissioning (OBC), has been suggested as one way in which ‘more’ social services can be provided for ‘less’ public resources. These forms of commissioning are often linked with a new financing tool for social services, referred to in the US as ‘Pay for Success and Payment by Results in the UK or as a ‘Social Impact Bond’ (SIB). However, to date, this approach is under-theorised and this is a limiting factor both for shaping a research and evaluation agenda around SIBs and in understanding how such instruments might develop in future. Without a theoretical rationale for SIBs, it is not straightforward to assess whether and how well they have achieved their goals and how they might be developed further. In this paper we consider two broad approaches to theorising SIBs. One draws on public administration theories, the other on innovation theories. To date, SIBs have often been theorised as the logical next step in the New Public Management (NPM). But NPM itself is a contested theory and recent theoretical innovations in public administration, particularly the concept of New Public Governance might provide a more useful theoretical framework. A second broad approach through which to understand SIBs is their potential to improve the rate and dissemination of innovation. There are many different innovation models that might be applied to better understanding SIBs. We look first at the concept of Open Innovation with its focus on distributed innovation processes in which knowledge flows across organisational boundaries and more recent articulations – Open Innovation 2.0 – which place greater emphasis on mixed economy collaborations involving: industry; government; universities; and communities and users (the so-called ‘quadruple helix’) to solve societal challenges. We go on to consider social innovation, with its clearer focus on using social means to deliver social outcomes and whether SIBs can be theorised through this lens. No model is entirely satisfactory as an explanatory framework for SIBs and we conclude by suggesting that a supporting theory combining NPG with elements of Open Innovation 2.0 and social innovation might be a productive approach for shaping future research and, in addition, might suggest some future directions for the next generation of SIBs

Understanding manager resistance to blockchain systems

Blockchain technology has received much attention in the media and there is an increasing interest amongst organizations within financial services due to the potential benefits. As blockchain-based systems are a nascent technology, the requirements of the technology need to be understood, to allow blockchain systems to be successfully integrated within financial service organizations. There are gaps in academic research in understanding how managers evaluate the value of a blockchain-based system. This study develops a model to explain manager resistance to implementing blockchain-based systems in financial services organizations. This research advances the theoretical understanding of managers’ perspectives on blockchain-based systems and models their resistance to blockchain technology

Exploring Open Access Ebook Usage

This white paper was prepared by the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) as part of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funded project, Understanding OA Ebook Usage: Toward a Common Framework. Primary authors are: Brian O’Leary (BISG) and Kevin Hawkins (University of North Texas). The project team, who contributed editing and improvements, include Charles Watkinson (University of Michigan), Lucy Montgomery (Curtin University/KU Research), Cameron Neylon (Curtin University/KU Research), and Katherine Skinner (Educopia Institute). Copyright for this white paper is held by BISG and licensed to the general public under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license

Lysosomal Disorders Drive Susceptibility to Tuberculosis by Compromising Macrophage Migration.

A zebrafish genetic screen for determinants of susceptibility to Mycobacterium marinum identified a hypersusceptible mutant deficient in lysosomal cysteine cathepsins that manifests hallmarks of human lysosomal storage diseases. Under homeostatic conditions, mutant macrophages accumulate undigested lysosomal material, which disrupts endocytic recycling and impairs their migration to, and thus engulfment of, dying cells. This causes a buildup of unengulfed cell debris. During mycobacterial infection, macrophages with lysosomal storage cannot migrate toward infected macrophages undergoing apoptosis in the tuberculous granuloma. The unengulfed apoptotic macrophages undergo secondary necrosis, causing granuloma breakdown and increased mycobacterial growth. Macrophage lysosomal storage similarly impairs migration to newly infecting mycobacteria. This phenotype is recapitulated in human smokers, who are at increased risk for tuberculosis. A majority of their alveolar macrophages exhibit lysosomal accumulations of tobacco smoke particulates and do not migrate to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The incapacitation of highly microbicidal first-responding macrophages may contribute to smokers' susceptibility to tuberculosis.This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R37AI054503, LR, R01NS082567, CBM, 5F30HL110455, RB, 1DP2-OD008614, DMT), the Wellcome Trust (LR), the National Institute of Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (LR), the Health Research Board of Ireland (HRA_POR/2013/387, MO’S and CSA/2012/16, JK), and The Royal City of Dublin Hospital Trust (Grant 146, JK).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Cell Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.02.034

Apportioning sources of organic matter in streambed sediments: An integrated molecular and compound-specific stable isotope approach

We present a novel application for quantitatively apportioning sources of organic matter in streambed sediments via a coupled molecular and compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) of long-chain leaf wax n-alkane biomarkers using a Bayesian mixing model. Leaf wax extracts of 13 plant species were collected from across two environments (aquatic and terrestrial) and four plant functional types (trees, herbaceous perennials, and C3 and C4 graminoids) from the agricultural River Wensum catchment, UK. Seven isotopic (δ13C27, δ13C29, δ13C31, δ13C27–31, δ2H27, δ2H29, and δ2H27–29) and two n-alkane ratio (average chain length (ACL), carbon preference index (CPI)) fingerprints were derived, which successfully differentiated 93% of individual plant specimens by plant functional type. The δ2H values were the strongest discriminators of plants originating from different functional groups, with trees (δ2H27–29 = − 208‰ to − 164‰) and C3 graminoids (δ2H27–29 = − 259‰ to − 221‰) providing the largest contrasts. The δ13C values provided strong discrimination between C3 (δ13C27–31 = − 37.5‰ to − 33.8‰) and C4 (δ13C27–31 = − 23.5‰ to − 23.1‰) plants, but neither δ13C nor δ2H values could uniquely differentiate aquatic and terrestrial species, emphasizing a stronger plant physiological/biochemical rather than environmental control over isotopic differences. ACL and CPI complemented isotopic discrimination, with significantly longer chain lengths recorded for trees and terrestrial plants compared with herbaceous perennials and aquatic species, respectively. Application of a comprehensive Bayesian mixing model for 18 streambed sediments collected between September 2013 and March 2014 revealed considerable temporal variability in the apportionment of organic matter sources. Median organic matter contributions ranged from 22% to 52% for trees, 29% to 50% for herbaceous perennials, 17% to 34% for C3 graminoids and 3% to 7% for C4 graminoids. The results presented here clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of an integrated molecular and stable isotope analysis for quantitatively apportioning, with uncertainty, plant-specific organic matter contributions to streambed sediments via a Bayesian mixing model approach