Interweaving Knowledge Systems Through Sustainability Governance

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Business process modelling and visualisation to support e-government decision making: Business/IS alignment

© 2017 Springer-Verlag. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57487-5_4.Alignment between business and information systems plays a vital role in the formation of dependent relationships between different departments in a government organization and the process of alignment can be improved by developing an information system (IS) according to the stakeholders’ expectations. However, establishing strong alignment in the context of the eGovernment environment can be difficult. It is widely accepted that business processes in the government environment plays a pivotal role in capturing the details of IS requirements. This paper presents a method of business process modelling through UML which can help to visualise and capture the IS requirements for the system development. A series of UML models have been developed and discussed. A case study on patient visits to a healthcare clinic in the context of eGovernment has been used to validate the models

Blockchain and Organizational Characteristics : Towards Business Model Innovation

Blockchain seems to challenge the current business models by providing opportunities for new value creation. However, several research gaps remain in literature in evaluating how firms can leverage new approaches to innovation management and opportunities created by blockchain. Supporting organizational characteristics affecting digital innovation management process also need attention in order to challenge the traditional theories while developing unique fundamental assumptions between innovation processes and outcomes. Thus, blockchain and organizational characteristics need to be understood as an encompassing, overarching and interrelated ecosystem in digital innovation management. Grounding on digitalization and innovation management, this research conceptualizes how blockchain technology and supporting organizational characteristics (i.e., R&D investment, strategic alignment, cultural support, top management knowledge and involvement, insights from customers and end-users) can be integrated for business model innovation. This research develops a conceptual framework involving multi-disciplinary collaborative actions that strengthen and empower business model innovation.©2020 Springer. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Advances in Creativity, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Communication of Design: Proceedings of the AHFE 2020 Virtual Conferences on Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Human Factors in Communication of Design, July 16-20, 2020, USA. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51626-0_9.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Prefracture functional level evaluated by the New Mobility Score predicts in-hospital outcome after hip fracture surgery

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Clinicians need valid and easily applicable predictors of outcome in patients with hip fracture. Adjusting for previously established predictors, we determined the predictive value of the New Mobility score (NMS) for in-hospital outcome in patients with hip fracture. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 280 patients with a median age of 81 (interquartile range 72-86) years who were admitted from their own homes to a special hip fracture unit. Main outcome was the regain of independence in basic mobility, defined as. independence in getting in and out of bed, sitting down and standing up from a chair, and walking with an appropriate walking aid. The Cumulated Ambulation score was used to evaluate basic mobility. Predictor variables were NMS functional level before fracture, age, sex, fracture type, and mental and health status. RESULTS: Except for sex, all predictor variables were statistically significant in univariate testing. In multiple logistic regression analysis, only age, NMS functional level before fracture, and fracture type were significant. Thus, patients with a low prefracture NMS and/or an intertrochanteric fracture would be 18 and 4 times more likely not to regain independence in basic mobility during the hospital stay, respectively, than patients with a high prefracture level and a cervical fracture, respectively. The model was statistically stable and correctly classified 84% of cases. INTERPRETATION: The NMS functional level before fracture, age, and fracture type facilitate prediction of the in-hospital rehabilitation potential after hip fracture surgery

A genome-wide association study identifies protein quantitative trait loci (pQTLs)

There is considerable evidence that human genetic variation influences gene expression. Genome-wide studies have revealed that mRNA levels are associated with genetic variation in or close to the gene coding for those mRNA transcripts - cis effects, and elsewhere in the genome - trans effects. The role of genetic variation in determining protein levels has not been systematically assessed. Using a genome-wide association approach we show that common genetic variation influences levels of clinically relevant proteins in human serum and plasma. We evaluated the role of 496,032 polymorphisms on levels of 42 proteins measured in 1200 fasting individuals from the population based InCHIANTI study. Proteins included insulin, several interleukins, adipokines, chemokines, and liver function markers that are implicated in many common diseases including metabolic, inflammatory, and infectious conditions. We identified eight Cis effects, including variants in or near the IL6R (p = 1.8×10 -57), CCL4L1 (p = 3.9×10-21), IL18 (p = 6.8×10-13), LPA (p = 4.4×10-10), GGT1 (p = 1.5×10-7), SHBG (p = 3.1×10-7), CRP (p = 6.4×10-6) and IL1RN (p = 7.3×10-6) genes, all associated with their respective protein products with effect sizes ranging from 0.19 to 0.69 standard deviations per allele. Mechanisms implicated include altered rates of cleavage of bound to unbound soluble receptor (IL6R), altered secretion rates of different sized proteins (LPA), variation in gene copy number (CCL4L1) and altered transcription (GGT1). We identified one novel trans effect that was an association between ABO blood group and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) levels (p = 6.8×10-40), but this finding was not present when TNF-alpha was measured using a different assay , or in a second study, suggesting an assay-specific association. Our results show that protein levels share some of the features of the genetics of gene expression. These include the presence of strong genetic effects in cis locations. The identification of protein quantitative trait loci (pQTLs) may be a powerful complementary method of improving our understanding of disease pathways. © 2008 Melzer et al

From social ties to embedded competencies: The case of business groups

Our current views of economic competition are still rooted in the imagery of the isolated firm that transacts with its buyers, suppliers, and competitors via largely anonymous factor and product markets. Yet this view is fundamentally at odds with the growing importance of business groups in the global economy. We thus need a reconceptualized version of our idea of economic competition, which is capable of explaining competitive advantage at the group-versus-group rather than firm-versus-firm level of analysis. In the present paper we build on insights derived from organizational sociology and organizational economics to develop a business group-level theory of competition and competitive advantage based on embedded competencies

Institutional distance and foreign subsidiary performance in emerging markets: moderating effects of ownership strategy and host-country experience

Institutional distance has been known to be an important driver of Multinational Enterprises’ strategies and performance in host countries. Based on a large panel dataset of 10562 firms operating in 17 emerging markets and spanning 80 home countries, we re-examine the relationship described by Gaur and Lu (2007) between regulatory institutional distance and subsidiary performance. We extend this research by (1) examining this relationship in the context of emerging markets, (2) examining the moderating effects of ownership strategy and host-country experience within the context of emerging markets and (3) accounting for a greater variety of institutions by including a large number of home and host countries. We find that institutional distance negatively affects subsidiary performance in emerging markets. Our findings also show that the negative effects of institutional distance on subsidiary performance are lesser for subsidiaries with partial ownership (than for subsidiaries with full ownership) and for subsidiaries with greater host-country experience. We discuss our findings with respect to Gaur and Lu’s model, which explores the relationships between these variables in a general context