Issues and challenges in business intelligence case studies

Business Intelligence (BI) has embarked on decision-making setting. This has influenced many organizations from different industries that are located in diverse regions to implement BI. Critical Successful Factors (CSF) becomes the guideline for the implementer to adopt BI successfully. However, lack of BI knowledge and weak consideration of BI CSF led to the failure of BI implementation project. Several issues and challenges have been identified during the BI implementation. In addition, other researchers rarely discussed this subject. Thus, the objective of this paper is to recognize the issues and challenges on BI implementation. Through qualitative method, BI practices systematically described the purpose of BI execution on selected organizations, industries and regions. It has given the path towards the issues and challenges of BI implementation. The identified issues and challenges are defining the business goal, data management, limited funding, training and user acceptance as well as the lack of expertise issues. The findings categorized the issues and challenges into three dimensions of CSF for BI implementation, which are Organization, Process and Technology dimension. Limitation in this study requires future researchers to study in details of these issues and challenges including the solutions and the impact of BI implementation

Just One? Solo Dining, Gender and Temporal Belonging in Public Spaces

In recent years, various lifestyle websites have offered tips on eating out alone as well as lists of the best restaurants for solo dining in major cities of the world. Utilising the theoretical concepts of participation units, territories of the self (Goffman 1972[1971]) and belonging (Author B2011, 2013), this paper explores the challenges that spatio-temporal conventions pose for women solo diners in particular. Through the lens of solo dining, we explore being alone and belonging in shared public spaces, and the gendered nature of aloneness and respectability. The papercontributes to existing theory by examining the influence that time has on a woman solo diner’s ‘single’ participation unit, her ability to lay claim to public space and her relationship with the surrounding social environment. The paper concludes by exploring what the new trend of solo dining can offer and the consequences this has for how sociologists conceptualise sociality inpublic spaces

Rattling Europe’s ordoliberal ‘iron cage’ : the contestation of austerity in Southern Europe

This article explains the popular revolt against austerity in Southern Europe as the outcome of profound politico-economic changes that are shaped by the transformation of the European Union’s (EU’s) macro-economic governance. It comprises three parts. The first part demonstrates how ordoliberalism – the Germanic variant of (neo)liberal economic thinking – was embedded in the EU’s new macro-economic governance, in processes that constitutionalise austerity and remove democratic controls over the economy. The second part examines the impact of austerity-driven reforms on welfare and employment in the aftermath of the sovereign debt crisis. These reforms undermined the social reproduction of Southern Europe’s familistic welfare model by destabilising three key pillars of social protection: employment security for households’ primary earners; small property ownership; and pension adequacy. The third part analyses the emergence of anti-austerity social politics in Southern Europe, both parliamentary and grassroots, and assesses their effectiveness in light of the collapse of public trust in both EU and domestic political institutions. The article concludes with our reflections on the fragility of EU’s integration process under the hegemony of ordoliberalism

p53-dependent control of transactivation of the Pen2 promoter by presenilins

The senile plaques found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease are mainly due to the accumulation of amyloid β-peptides (Aβ) that are liberated by γ-secretase, a high molecular weight complex including presenilins, PEN-2, APH-1 and nicastrin. The depletion of each of these proteins disrupts the complex assembly into a functional protease. Here, we describe another level of regulation of this multimeric protease. The depletion of both presenilins drastically reduces Pen2 mRNA levels and its promoter transactivation. Furthermore, overexpression of presenilin-1 lowers Pen2 promoter transactivation, a phenotype abolished by a double mutation known to prevent presenilin-dependent γ-secretase activity. PEN-2 expression is decreased by depletion of β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) and increased by the APP intracellular domain (AICD). We show that AICD and APP complement for Pen2 mRNA levels in APP/APLP1-2 knockout fibroblasts. Interestingly, overexpression of presenilin-2 greatly increases Pen2 promoter transactivation. The opposite effect triggered by both presenilins was reminiscent of our previous study, which showed that these two proteins elicit antagonistic effects on p53. Therefore, we examined the contribution of p53 on Pen2 transcription. Pen2 promoter transactivation, and Pen2 mRNA and protein levels were drastically reduced in p53–/– fibroblasts. Furthermore, PEN-2 expression could be rescued by p53 complementation in p53- and APP-deficient cells. Interestingly, PEN-2 expression was also reduced in p53-deficient mouse brain. Overall, our study describes a p53-dependent regulation of PEN-2 expression by other members of the γ-secretase complex, namely presenilins

The shifting terrain of sex and power: From the 'sexualisation of culture' to Me Too

In this short article we will aim to do three things. First, we want to use this opportunity to reflect on some of the changes we have seen in the scholarly field of gender, sexuality, and intimacy over this period, and on new emerging directions. Second, we want to discuss the move away from discussions of ‘sexualization’ to a more critical and political register interested in a variety of ways in which sex and power intersect. Thirdly, we will discuss MeToo as an example of this shifted form of engagement, and raise some questions about its possibilities and limitations

Mutation screening of patients with Alzheimer disease identifies APP locus duplication in a Swedish patient

BACKGROUND: Missense mutations in three different genes encoding amyloid-β precursor protein, presenilin 1 and presenilin 2 are recognized to cause familial early-onset Alzheimer disease. Also duplications of the amyloid precursor protein gene have been shown to cause the disease. At the Dept. of Geriatric Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden, patients are referred for mutation screening for the identification of nucleotide variations and for determining copy-number of the APP locus. METHODS: We combined the method of microsatellite marker genotyping with a quantitative real-time PCR analysis to detect duplications in patients with Alzheimer disease. RESULTS: In 22 DNA samples from individuals diagnosed with clinical Alzheimer disease, we identified one patient carrying a duplication on chromosome 21 which included the APP locus. Further mapping of the chromosomal region by array-comparative genome hybridization showed that the duplication spanned a maximal region of 1.09 Mb. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of an APP duplication in a Swedish Alzheimer patient and describes the use of quantitative real-time PCR as a tool for determining copy-number of the APP locus

Increased Expression of PS1 Is Sufficient to Elevate the Level and Activity of γ-Secretase In Vivo

Increase in the generation and deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) plays a central role in the development of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Elevation of the activity of γ-secretase, a key enzyme required for the generation for Aβ, can thus be a potential risk factor in AD. However, it is not known whether γ-secretase can be upregulated in vivo. While in vitro studies showed that expression of all four components of γ-secretase (Nicastrin, Presenilin, Pen-2 and Aph-1) are required for upregulation of γ-secretase, it remains to be established as to whether this is true in vivo. To investigate whether overexpressing a single component of the γ-secretase complex is sufficient to elevate its level and activity in the brain, we analyzed transgenic mice expressing either wild type or familial AD (fAD) associated mutant PS1. In contrast to cell culture studies, overexpression of either wild type or mutant PS1 is sufficient to increase levels of Nicastrin and Pen-2, and elevate the level of active γ-secretase complex, enzymatic activity of γ-secretase and the deposition of Aβ in brains of mice. Importantly, γ-secretase comprised of mutant PS1 is less active than that of wild type PS1-containing γ-secretase; however, γ-secretase comprised of mutant PS1 cleaves at the Aβ42 site of APP-CTFs more efficiently than at the Aβ40 site, resulting in greater accumulation of Aβ deposits in the brain. Our data suggest that whereas fAD-linked PS1 mutants cause early onset disease, upregulation of PS1/γ-secretase activity may be a risk factor for late onset sporadic AD

Cancer worry among Norwegian male BRCA1/2 mutation carriers

This qualitative study explored the experiences of Norwegian men after being identified as BRCA 1/2 mutation-positive. Only limited knowledge is available on this topic; therefore, the aim of this study was to gain a deeper insight from the men’s own perspectives. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with 15 men and seven of their partners. The participants described fear of cancer development, and two main narrative patterns were identified: fear for their own health, including fear of developing cancer, and negative feelings about responsibility for others’ health. The men expressed fear of developing cancer themselves and described a need for genetic risk information. They were also deeply concerned about how the mutation might affect their children and other relatives. There is a need for guidelines concerning genetic risk information and follow-up programs for male BRCA 1/2 mutation carriers. This study adds valuable contextual insights into their experiences of living with fear of cancer

Development of SNP markers present in expressed genes of the plant-pathogen interaction: Theobroma cacao - Moniliophtora perniciosa

We report the detection, validation and analysis of SNPs in the plant-pathogen interaction between cacao and Moniliophthora perniciosa ESTs using resequencing. This analysis in 73 EST sequences allowed the identification of 185 SNPs, 57% of them corresponding to transversion, 29% to transition and 14% to indels. The ESTs containing SNPs were classified into 14 main functional categories. After validation, 91 SNPs were confirmed, categorized and the parameters of nucleotide diversity and haplotype were calculated. Haplotype-based gene diversity and polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.559 to 0.56 and 0.115 to 0.12; respectively. Also, it was the advantage when considering haplotypes structure for each locus in place of single SNPs. Most of the gene fragments had a major haplotype combined to a series of low frequency haplotypes. Thus, the re-sequencing approach proved to be a valuable resource to identify useful SNPs for wide genetic applications. Furthermore, the cacao genome sequence availability allow a positional selection of DNA fragments to be re-sequenced enhancing the usefulness of the discovered SNPs. These results indicate the potential use of SNPs markers to identify allelic status of cacao resistance genes through marker-assisted selection to support the development of promising genotypes with high resistance to witch's broom disease. (Résumé d'auteur