The Use of Information Systems in Collocated and Distributed Teams: A Test of the 24-Hour Knowledge Factory

Recent academic and policy studies focus on offshoring as a cost-of-labor driven activity that has a direct impact on employment opportunities in the countries involved. This paper broadens this perspective by introducing and evaluating the 24-hour knowledge factory as a model of information systems offshoring that leverages other strategic factors beyond cost savings. A true 24-hour knowledge factory ensures that progress is being made on information systems related tasks at all times of day by utilizing talented information systems professionals around the globe. Many organizations currently implement other variants of offshoring that appear similar but are fundamentally distinct. The typical model is a service provider framework in which an offshore site provides service to the central site, often with two centers and a distinction between a primary center and secondary center. Entire tasks are often outsourced to the lower-cost overseas site and sent back when completed. In contrast, the 24-hour knowledge factory involves continuous and collaborative round-the-clock knowledge production achieved by sequentially and progressively distributing the knowledge creation task around the globe, completing one cycle every 24 hours. Thus, the 24-hour knowledge factory creates a virtual distributed team, in contrast to a team that is collocated in one site, either onshore or offshore. By organizing knowledge tasks in this way, the 24-hour knowledge factory has the potential to work faster, to provide cheaper solutions, and to achieve better overall performance. Previous studies have examined individual teams over time and explored various benefits of distributing work to distant teams, but have not directly compared the effect of collocation versus geographic distribution on the use of information systems and the overall performance over time of two real-world teams working on a similar task in controlled conditions. This paper highlights the concept of the 24-hour knowledge factory and tests the model in a controlled field experiment that directly compares the use of information systems and subsequent performance in collocated and globally distributed software development teams. The central finding is that while collocation versus geographic distribution changes the way teams use information systems and interact at key points during a project, each type of team has the potential to use information systems to leverage its inherent advantages, to overcome disadvantages, and ultimately, to perform equally well. In other words, one organizational structure is not inherently superior nor must structure pre-determine performance. Geographic distance introduces new challenges but these can be overcome – and even leveraged for strategic advantage. In sum, our findings suggest that firms can apply the 24-hour knowledge factory model to transition from a service provider framework in which offshoring is a short-term and unilateral cost-saving tactic to a strategic partnership between centers in which offshoring becomes a core component of a global corporate strategy

Using Virtual Models to Evaluate Real Products For Real Bodies

We study the effects of self-perception on consumer creation of avatars (virtual models) for evaluating digital representations of bodyinvolving products (apparel) to be used on their real body in the real world. In our experiments, consumers used online tools to create virtual models of themselves and virtually "try on" clothing before making purchase decisions. Results show that consumer use of interactive online tools and prompting heightened awareness of their actual physical appearance significantly influences online evaluation of body-involving products. Individual differences in body esteem and preference for visual style of processing also influence consumer evaluation and use of avatars

Can the internet reduce the loneliness of 50+ living alone?

Published online: 12 May 2020Living alone has been indicated as a key variable to explain loneliness in older adults. In contemporary society, where technology has become one of the main means of communication and personal interaction, has the internet influenced the relationship between living alone and loneliness? This paper aims to answer this research question by using a sample of 64,297 individuals who were surveyed in SHARE project wave 6 – in European countries with different welfare regimes (Portugal, Greece, Italy and Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Poland, Czech Republic; Slovenia, Estonia, and Croatia). The results of the regression analysis evidence the moderating role of the internet on the relationship between living alone and feelings of loneliness in individuals aged 50 and over, so that the impact of living alone on loneliness is diminished for internet users as compared to their peers who do not use the internet. The results therefore reinforce the importance of policies aimed at fostering e-inclusion as a way of reducing the loneliness of older adultsThis work was supported by European Commission; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia; U.S National Institute on Aging; Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian; German Ministry of Education and Researc

A contractile injection system stimulates tubeworm metamorphosis by translocating a proteinaceous effector

The swimming larvae of many marine animals identify a location on the sea floor to undergo metamorphosis based on the presence of specific bacteria. Although this microbe–animal interaction is critical for the life cycles of diverse marine animals, what types of biochemical cues from bacteria that induce metamorphosis has been a mystery. Metamorphosis of larvae of the tubeworm Hydroides elegans is induced by arrays of phage tail-like contractile injection systems, which are released by the bacterium Pseudoalteromonas luteoviolacea. Here we identify the novel effector protein Mif1. By cryo-electron tomography imaging and functional assays, we observe Mif1 as cargo inside the tube lumen of the contractile injection system and show that the mif1 gene is required for inducing metamorphosis. Purified Mif1 is sufficient for triggering metamorphosis when electroporated into tubeworm larvae. Our results indicate that the delivery of protein effectors by contractile injection systems may orchestrate microbe–animal interactions in diverse contexts

Peptidyl-Prolyl Isomerase 1 Regulates Ca(2+) Handling by Modulating Sarco(endo)plasmic Reticulum Calcium ATPase and Na(2+)/Ca(2+) Exchanger 1 Protein Levels and Function

BACKGROUND: Aberrant Ca(2+) handling is a prominent feature of heart failure. Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms responsible for aberrant Ca(2+) handling is essential for the development of strategies to blunt pathological changes in calcium dynamics. The peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase peptidyl-prolyl isomerase 1 (Pin1) is a critical mediator of myocardial hypertrophy development and cardiac progenitor cell cycle. However, the influence of Pin1 on calcium cycling regulation has not been explored. On the basis of these findings, the aim of this study is to define Pin1 as a novel modulator of Ca(2+) handling, with implications for improving myocardial contractility and potential for ameliorating development of heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS: Pin1 gene deletion or pharmacological inhibition delays cytosolic Ca(2+) decay in isolated cardiomyocytes. Paradoxically, reduced Pin1 activity correlates with increased sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum calcium ATPase (SERCA2a) and Na(2+)/Ca(2+) exchanger 1 protein levels. However, SERCA2a ATPase activity and calcium reuptake were reduced in sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes isolated from Pin1-deficient hearts, suggesting that Pin1 influences SERCA2a function. SERCA2a and Na(2+)/Ca(2+) exchanger 1 associated with Pin1, as revealed by proximity ligation assay in myocardial tissue sections, indicating that regulation of Ca(2+) handling within cardiomyocytes is likely influenced through Pin1 interaction with SERCA2a and Na(2+)/Ca(2+) exchanger 1 proteins. CONCLUSIONS: Pin1 serves as a modulator of SERCA2a and Na(2+)/Ca(2+) exchanger 1 Ca(2+) handling proteins, with loss of function resulting in impaired cardiomyocyte relaxation, setting the stage for subsequent investigations to assess Pin1 dysregulation and modulation in the progression of heart failure

Museo de Anatomía: su gestión por parte del personal auxiliar docente

Desde abril de 2011, en el hall central del primer piso de nuestra facultad funciona el Museo de Anatomía Humana Normal "Dr. Poli". A instancias del actual Prof. Titular, Dr. Julio C Hijano, las tareas operativas se encuentran a cargo de la planta Auxiliar Docente, estudiantes de la carrera de Medicina que se desempeñan como ayudantes alumnos ad honorem y rentados en la Cátedra de Anatomía B.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

Reversal of Fragile X Phenotypes by Manipulation of AβPP/Aβ Levels in Fmr1KO Mice

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of inherited intellectual disability and the leading known genetic cause of autism. Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), which is absent or expressed at substantially reduced levels in FXS, binds to and controls the postsynaptic translation of amyloid β-protein precursor (AβPP) mRNA. Cleavage of AβPP can produce β-amyloid (Aβ), a 39–43 amino acid peptide mis-expressed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Down syndrome (DS). Aβ is over-expressed in the brain of Fmr1KO mice, suggesting a pathogenic role in FXS. To determine if genetic reduction of AβPP/Aβ rescues characteristic FXS phenotypes, we assessed audiogenic seizures (AGS), anxiety, the ratio of mature versus immature dendritic spines and metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR)-mediated long-term depression (LTD) in Fmr1KO mice after removal of one App allele. All of these phenotypes were partially or completely reverted to normal. Plasma Aβ1–42 was significantly reduced in full-mutation FXS males compared to age-matched controls while cortical and hippocampal levels were somewhat increased, suggesting that Aβ is sequestered in the brain. Evolving therapies directed at reducing Aβ in AD may be applicable to FXS and Aβ may serve as a plasma-based biomarker to facilitate disease diagnosis or assess therapeutic efficacy

Museo de Anatomía: su gestión por parte del personal auxiliar docente

Desde abril de 2011, en el hall central del primer piso de nuestra facultad funciona el Museo de Anatomía Humana Normal "Dr. Poli". A instancias del actual Prof. Titular, Dr. Julio C Hijano, las tareas operativas se encuentran a cargo de la planta Auxiliar Docente, estudiantes de la carrera de Medicina que se desempeñan como ayudantes alumnos ad honorem y rentados en la Cátedra de Anatomía B.Facultad de Ciencias Médica