Business continuity of business models: Evaluating the resilience of business models for contingencies

Company business models are vulnerable to various contingencies in the business environment that may unexpectedly render their business logic ineffective. In particular, technological advancements, such as the Internet of things, big data, sharing economy and crowdsourcing, have enabled new forms of business models that can effectively and abruptly make traditional business models obsolete. By disrupting or even diminishing companies’ revenue streams, environmental contingencies may present a significant threat to business continuity (BC). Evaluating the resilience of business models against these contingencies should therefore be a core area of BC. However, existing BC approaches tend to focus on the continuity of the resources and processes through which a particular business model is accomplished in practice but omit the business model itself. We argue that in order for BC approaches to become holistic and strategic, business models need to become a part of the BC considerations, entailing an expansion of the scope of BC from value preservation to value creation. We propose an approach of Strategic Business Continuity Management, which consists of two parts: (1) sustaining the continuity of the company business model (value preservation) and (2) evaluating and modifying the business model (value creation). We illustrate conceptually the value creation part with an example drawn from the sharing economy.</p

Metagenomic Evaluation of Bacteria from Voles

Voles (Arvicolinae, Rodentia) are known carriers of zoonotic bacteria such as Bartonella spp. and Francisella tularensis. However, apart from F. tularensis, the bacterial microbiome of voles has not previously been determined in Finland and rarely elsewhere. Therefore, we studied liver samples from 61 voles using 16S ribosomal RNA gene PCR analysis, followed by Sanger sequencing. Twenty-three of these samples were also studied with tag-encoded pyrosequencing. The samples originated from 21 field voles (Microtus agrestis), 37 tundra voles (Microtus oeconomus), and 3 bank voles (Myodes glareolus). With the more conventional 16S rDNA PCR analysis, 90 (33%) of the recovered 269 sequence types could be identified to genus level, including Bartonella, Francisella, Mycoplasma, Anaplasma, and Acinetobacter in 31, 15, 9, 9, and 9 sequences, respectively. Seventy-five (28%) matched best with sequences of uncultured bacteria, of which 40/75 could be classified to the order Clostridiales and, more specifically, to families Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae. Pyrosequencing from 23 samples revealed comparable and similar results: clinically relevant bacterial families such as Mycoplasmataceae, Bartonellaceae, Anaplasmataceae, and Francisellaceae were recognized. These analyses revealed significant bacterial diversity in vole livers, consisting of distinct and constant sequence patterns reflecting bacteria found in the intestinal gut, but including some known zoonotic pathogens as well. The molecular bacterial sequence types determined with the two different techniques shared major similarities and verified remarkable congruency between the methods.Peer reviewe

First trimester screening for Down syndrome

Abstract The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of the first trimester screening for Down syndrome (DS) in an unselected low-risk Finnish population. The study involved 4,617 women who attended screening between the 8th and 14th weeks of pregnancy in 1998-2000. They gave a blood sample for the measurement of pregnancy associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) and free beta human chorionic gonadotrophin (β-hCG). Of these women, 3,178 also had an ultrasound examination for the measurement of fetal nuchal translucency (NT). The risk figure for every screened woman was calculated using a computerized risk figure program. The risk 1 in 250 was used as a cut-off. The subgroup of screen positives comprised 5.8% of the study group. There were 16 DS cases. The combined method (maternal age, NT and the biochemical markers) detected 77% of the affected pregnancies. NT combined with maternal age gave a detection rate of 69%. Serum markers without NT combined with maternal age found 75% of the Down's. In 49 consecutive singleton in-vitro-fertilization pregnancies, the β-hCG value was more often elevated compared to spontaneous pregnancies, increasing the false positive rate. In 67 twin pregnancies, the serum marker levels were approximately double those in singletons. Smoking reduced PAPP-A by 20% making the smokers more likely to get a positive screening result. To determine the impact of the screening on the live born incidence of DS, two historical populations were compared. The first group was screened by second trimester serum samples (β-hCG and AFP) and the second group by first trimester ultrasound examination. When detection rates were at the same level, the second trimester screening reduced the number of live born Down's children more effectively. In conclusion, the first trimester combined method (maternal age, NT, β-hCG and PAPP-A) for Down syndrome screening is efficient in an unselected low risk population. The biochemical screening is not recommended in IVF-pregnancies

System Sciences (HICSS), 2013 46th Hawaii International Conference on

A major concern for IS managers is that information security policies seldom produce expected outcomes. Previously, scholars have studied motivations underlying non-conformance to policies and proposed approaches for motivating employees. However, the socio-cognitive aspects that shape employees' perceptions of the policies and implications for policy outcomes have received modest attention. This study draws on socio-cognitive concept of frames and on literature on information security policies to suggest a theoretical and analytical concept of Information Security Policy Frames of Reference (ISPFOR). The concept provides a sensitizing device to interpret how the frames influence organizational groups' perceptions of policies and the implications of the perceptions on policy outcomes. Three frame categories were uncovered through an interpretive case study at large multinational internet service provider. Findings suggest frames shape perceptions of policies and provide an explanation for unanticipated policy outcomes. Implications for research and practice are discussed