Augmenting human memory using personal lifelogs

Memory is a key human facility to support life activities, including social interactions, life management and problem solving. Unfortunately, our memory is not perfect. Normal individuals will have occasional memory problems which can be frustrating, while those with memory impairments can often experience a greatly reduced quality of life. Augmenting memory has the potential to make normal individuals more effective, and those with significant memory problems to have a higher general quality of life. Current technologies are now making it possible to automatically capture and store daily life experiences over an extended period, potentially even over a lifetime. This type of data collection, often referred to as a personal life log (PLL), can include data such as continuously captured pictures or videos from a first person perspective, scanned copies of archival material such as books, electronic documents read or created, and emails and SMS messages sent and received, along with context data of time of capture and access and location via GPS sensors. PLLs offer the potential for memory augmentation. Existing work on PLLs has focused on the technologies of data capture and retrieval, but little work has been done to explore how these captured data and retrieval techniques can be applied to actual use by normal people in supporting their memory. In this paper, we explore the needs for augmenting human memory from normal people based on the psychology literature on mechanisms about memory problems, and discuss the possible functions that PLLs can provide to support these memory augmentation needs. Based on this, we also suggest guidelines for data for capture, retrieval needs and computer-based interface design. Finally we introduce our work-in-process prototype PLL search system in the iCLIPS project to give an example of augmenting human memory with PLLs and computer based interfaces

Progress with the control of oestrus and ovulation in farm livestock

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Cultural adaptation in Chinese-Western supply chain partnerships: dyadic learning in an international context

Article"This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited."Purpose: Inter-firm learning, or dyadic learning, has been studied extensively in recent years however very little attention has been devoted to extending the concept to an international context and no formal definition exists. We propose ‘cultural adaptation’ as a special form of international dyadic learning and link it to supply relationship performance. Design/methodology/approach: Case studies in four Chinese-Western buyer-supplier relationships, providing cross-case replication, employing qualitative and quantitative methods. Data are triangulated by questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and documentation. Findings: Qualitative and quantitative evidence shows that cultural adaptation can lead to mutual benefits (relationship rents) and inbound spillover rents for both parties in a supply relationship. Research limitations/implications: Using four cases and a small sample of key informants completing the questionnaire limits generalisability of findings. Practical implications: 1. We develop the causal relationship between cultural adaptation and mutual benefits motivating managers to adapt culturally. 2. We emphasize that the current relationship performance measures should include guanxi quality in order to adapt to the Chinese context. Originality/value: Building on Extended Resource Based Theory, stating that strategic resources may lie beyond a firm’s boundary and that relational and inbound spillover rents may be obtained from the relationship, the research contributes to dyadic or inter-organisational learning literature by empirically building causal relationships between cultural adaptation (as a form of international dyadic learning) and associated mutual benefits (relational and inbound spillover rents), using multiple data sources and methods and tentatively redefining the dyadic learning concept

A framework for sustainable supply networks: alternative routes for the identification of sustainability-oriented innovations in industrial supply networks

This article presents a conceptual framework for Sustainable Supply Networks. To build this framework, we reviewed existing sustainability frameworks and found that innovation was highlighted as a key factor in sustainability. However, we also found little consideration given to how to discover innovations that address sustainability issues. Through an examination of the Supply Chain Management and Network literature, we uncovered three alternative and sometimes contradictory routes to discovering Sustainability-Oriented Innovation. The Supply Chain Management literature proposes strong ties with a few strategic suppliers to benefit from the knowledge and technology that spills over from supplier to the firm during the New Product Development process. In contrast, the network literature calls for the creation of multiple weak ties to non-strategic suppliers to increase the opportunities for identifying innovation. The network literature further suggests a third and potentially more promising route: building weak ties to suppliers that bridge structural holes in the network. We posit that strong ties with strategic suppliers will lead to the development of incremental Sustainability-Oriented Innovations, whilst weak ties with multiple suppliers and with suppliers that bridge structural holes will tend to lead to radical Sustainability-Oriented Innovations. Finally, we suggest that once Sustainability-Oriented Innovations are identified, they should be transferred to other suppliers and implemented in their operations to increase the sustainability performance of the focal fir

Adaptation of supply management towards a hybrid culture: the case of a Japanese automaker

Purpose – This paper aims to identify problems caused by cultural differences between Japan and China that face supply chain managers by applying Japanese-style supply management practices within supply networks in China and present solutions to this problem. Design/methodology/approach – A single, longitudinal case study conducting two waves of data collection (i.e. interviews and observation) plus the collection of much archival data was performed. It goes beyond the dyad by examining supply management of a Japanese company’s supply chain up to three tiers in China. Findings – The four supply cultural differences between Japan and China, which caused the cultural clashes between JVCo and some of its suppliers were revealed and a model of adaptation of Japanese supply management to the Chinese business system was developed. Adaptation involves creating new supply management practices out of selective adaptation, innovation and change of existing Japanese and Chinese supply management practices rooted in different Japanese, Chinese and Western cultures. A list of organisational factors affecting the adaptation has also been provided. Research limitations/implications – Due to the adoption of a single case study method, caution should be given to generalising the findings to all Japanese firms. Practical implications – The Japanese, Chinese and Western managers were provided with insights on how to mitigate the problems caused by cultural differences within supply relationships in China and some innovative ideas on how managers from all three cultures could blend the elements of the three cultures to form a hybrid culture and reduce cultural clashes. Originality/value – This is one of the few attempts to study the transfer of Japanese supply management practice to China. Organizational theory (i.e. transfer of organizational practice and hybridization) is applied and provides a robust framework to explain the supply management practice. This study also answers the call for a global supplier relationship management paradigm

Engaging Youth as Active Citizens: Lessons from Youth Workforce Development Programs

This article identifies youth engagement strategies in programs funded by the federal Workforce Investment Act in California. The strategies demonstrate that youth can be meaningfully engaged at all stages of the policy process, including design, implementation, and evaluation. Our data come from a comparative case study evaluation that examined youth programs in 10 of California\u27s 50 local workforce areas. Youth engagement requires effort, but improves the quality of services, promising greater long-term payoffs that warrant increased public investment. Armed with youth development theory and research, Cooperative Extension personnel can be valuable contributors to local Youth Councils and Workforce Investment Boards

Synthesis of N-heterocycles as anti-asthma drugs and compounds with antimycobacterial properties

Part A: Synthesis of N-heterocycles with dual pharmacology for the treatment of asthma The most common and effective anti-inflammatory asthma treatment is carried out through use of steroids but these can have significant side effects. An alternative non-steroidal oral treatment is montelukast which targets the leukotriene inflammatory pathway, but is less effective at controlling asthma symptoms. The asthma inflammation pathway is complex involving many inflammatory mediators, and it was anticipated that a compound with dual pharmacology which impacted both leukotriene and prostaglandin pathways simultaneously would yield compounds with an enhanced ability to treat asthma. An attractive novel dual target strategy was the inhibition of the 5-lipoxygenase activating protein (FLAP) and antagonism of the prostaglandin D2 receptor CRTh2. A combination of GlaxoSmithKline and literature SAR studies were elaborated in the design of the target compounds, incorporating known pharmacophores for FLAP inhibitors and CRTh2 antagonists. Synthetic routes towards the target compounds were developed and their biological activity against the intended targets determined. Part B: Synthesis of tetrahydroisoquinolines, tetrahydrobenzazepines and profens and their antimycobacterial properties Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogen. The increasing prevalence of drug resistant strains of M. tuberculosis means there is an urgent need to develop new anti-TB drugs with novel modes of action. Aporphine alkaloid natural products and synthetic tetrahydroisoquinolines have demonstrated a specific antimycobacterial effect, as well as M. tuberculosis MurE inhibitory activity. The tetrahydroisoquinoline skeleton therefore provides a unique template for the development of new anti-TB drugs. Recently we developed biomimetic reaction conditions for the Pictet-Spengler condensation of aldehydes and amines into tetrahydroisoquinolines. The reaction is mediated by phosphate and proceeds under mild reaction conditions. The scope of the phosphate mediated Pictet-Spengler reaction was investigated in order to access novel alkaloid structures and identify new leads for mycobacterial growth inhibitors. Studies into asymmetric versions of the reaction using chiral phosphates and extending the reaction for the construction of larger ring sizes were explored. Another interesting class of compounds recently identified as active against mycobacterial growth were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen. Analogues of profen compounds were synthesised for evaluation as mycobacterial growth inhibitors

Retour aux origines et aux années 1820 : de l’atelier de charronnage primitif anglais aux premiers dépôts organisés en France par Marc Seguin

Cet article interroge l’idée reçue d’un « commencement » du chemin de fer en France à partir de l’initiation de ce système technologique outre-Manche, au cours des premières décennies du XIXe siècle. En effet, son auteur entend montrer que cette époque prétendument fondatrice est en réalité héritière d’un long passé ferroviaire remontant en Grande-Bretagne au XVIe siècle. Il se saisit dans cette intention du cas de l’importation par Marc Seguin (1786-1875), dans les années 1820, des premières machines anglaises et d’un savoir ferroviaire non balbutiant mais déjà bien établi au sujet d’un moyen de transport industriel reconnu – vieux de plus de 150 ans – et faisant l’objet depuis plus de trente ans déjà d’essais en traction vapeur. S’appuyant sur un ensemble iconographique, l’auteur dresse d’abord un panorama ferroviaire de la Grande-Bretagne à l’époque de Marc Seguin, avant de détailler la démarche très informée de l’homme d’affaires français qui était imprégné des conceptions de l’époque : premiers ateliers-remises dédiés aux réparations d’urgence, exploitation individuelle par le mécanicien de chaque machine, modèle rectangulaire des dépôts britanniques qui fit ignorer à Seguin les rotondes à pont tournant (qui vont se multiplier en France) lorsqu’il mit en chantier la ligne de Lyon à Saint-Etienne. Tout aussi défiant vis-à-vis de la vapeur que des concentrations d’ouvriers mal contrôlées, Seguin établit des principes d’organisation de ses « ateliers-dépôts » inspirés de ses séjours outre-Manche où l’entretien n’était pas distingué de la construction et de l’amélioration des machines. En conclusion, l’article souligne que Marc Seguin fut un visionnaire dans le domaine du tracé des lignes, conçues bien avant l’heure selon des préceptes très modernes (longs rayons de courbure, faible déclivité), davantage que dans celui des dépôts et du matériel roulant, où il se cantonna à une posture peu ambitieuse (et peut-être réaliste) d’imitation ou d’importation du savoir-faire britannique.This paper questions the received idea of a "beginning" of railway in France from the initiation of this technological system in Great Britain in the early decades of the 19th Century. Indeed, the author intends to show that this allegedly founding era is actually heir to a long railway history dating back in Britain in the 16th Century. To this end, he presents the case of the importation by Marc Séguin (1786-1875), in the 1820’s, of the first English machines. The railway knowledge he also imported was not in its infancy but already well-established in industrial transportation, being more than 150 years old and already the object of more than 30 years of experiments in steam traction. Relying on an iconographic corpus, the author first draws a panorama of railway in Great Britain at the time of Marc Seguin. Then he details the well informed approach of the French businessman which is imbued of the ideas of his time: first shed-workshops buildings dedicated to emergency repair, individual holding of each machine by the driver, British rectangular model of repairs-delivery buildings – Seguin will ignore the rotundas with swing bridge (which will multiply in France) when he starts the line Lyon- Saint-Etienne. Mistrustful of the steam as well as of poorly controlled concentrations of workers, Seguin established the principles of organization of its "workshops-depots" largely under the inspiration of his trips across the Channel. Maintenance was not distinguished from the construction and improvement of machines. In conclusion, the article notes that Marc Séguin was a visionary mostly in the field of railway lines’ drawing, designed well before the time according to very modern precepts (long radii of curvature, low slope). By contrast, he kept a modest (and perhaps realistic) posture of imitation and importation of British expertise concerning depots and rolling stock manufacturing