Perceptions of Illegitimate Power in IT Projects

When IT projects are initiated because of personal benefits then the initiator acts contrary the legitimate power of their organisational position. Due to their expertise and technical knowledge, IT managers may believe that during the initiation of an IT project power boundaries were crossed and hence, develop perceptions of power misuse, or as termed in the literature, perceptions of illegitimate power. Building on existing work in the area of organisational power and resistance, we examine the extent to which four factors (IT project complexity, IT project benefit creation ability, top management commitment, and formal project management) influence an IT manager’s perceptions of illegitimate power in IT projects. Our empirical analysis confirmed that three of four factors affect perceptions of illegitimate power; only the hypothesis between formal project management and perceived illegitimate power was not significant. This paper contributes to IS research because it is an initial attempt to capture factors that trigger perceived illegitimate power. The research has practical implications because it demonstrates how illegitimate power perceptions emerge

End User Query Performance: The Interaction of User Characteristics and Information Request Ambiguity

This paper investigates the effects of personality characteristics on individuals’ abilities to resolve ambiguity in an information retrieval environment. In particular, this research examines the effects on query performance of the interaction of personality characteristics (as measured using the NEO PI-R) with information requests that contained extraneous, syntactic, or both extraneous and syntactic ambiguities. The results indicate that ambiguity affected performance. The results also show that various personality dimensions significantly affect end-users’ abilities to compose accurate queries. Neuroticism, agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness affected the number of errors made in the query formulations. Conscientiousness affected the length of time taken to compose the queries and neuroticism affected the confidence end users had in the accuracy of their queries. In addition, the results indicated that, while the personality dimensions affected performance, there was no interaction between the personality dimensions and ambiguity

Standard Business Reporting in Australia: efficiency, effectiveness, or both?

The benefits of using eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) as a business reporting standard have been widely canvassed in the extant literature, in particular, as the enabling technology for standard business reporting tools. One of the key benefits noted is the ability of standard business reporting to create significant efficiencies in the regulatory reporting process. Efficiency-driven cost reductions are highly desirable by data and report producers. However, they may not have the same potential to create long-term firm value as improved effectiveness of decision making. This study assesses the perceptions of Australian business stakeholders in relation to the benefits of the Australian standard business reporting instantiation (SBR) for financial reporting. These perceptions were drawn from interviews of persons knowledgeable in XBRL-based standard business reporting and submissions to Treasury relative to SBR reporting options. The combination of interviews and submissions permit insights into the views of various groups of stakeholders in relation to the potential benefits. In line with predictions based on a transaction-cost economics perspective, interviewees who primarily came from a data and report-producer background mentioned benefits that centre largely on asset specificity and efficiency. The interviewees who principally came from a data and report-consumer background mentioned benefits that centre on reducing decision-making uncertainty and decision-making effectiveness. The data and report consumers also took a broader view of the benefits of SBR to the financial reporting supply chain. Our research suggests that advocates of SBR have successfully promoted its efficiency benefits to potential users. However, the effectiveness benefits of SBR, for example, the decision-making benefits offered to investors via standardised reports, while becoming more broadly acknowledged, remain not a priority for all stakeholders

The effects of user characteristics on query performance in the presence of information request ambiguity

This paper investigates the effects of personality characteristics on individuals' abilities to compose queries from information requests containing various types of ambiguity. In particular, this research examines the effects of user personality characteristics on query performance in the presence of information requests that contained no extraneous, syntactic, or both extraneous and syntactic ambiguities. The results indicate that personality characteristics significantly affect users' abilities to compose accurate queries. Neuroticism, agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness significantly affected the number of errors made in the query formulations. Conscientiousness affected the length of time taken to compose the queries and neuroticism affected the confidence users had in the accuracy of their queries. Although several personality dimensions affected query performance, no significant interactions between personality dimensions and ambiguity were detected. Furthermore, both query complexity and information request ambiguity exhibited greater impacts on query performance than personality characteristics. Hence, organizations should attempt to train users to deal with query complexity and information request ambiguity before modifying their training programs for personality characteristics

Genetic Drivers of Heterogeneity in Type 2 Diabetes Pathophysiology

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a heterogeneous disease that develops through diverse pathophysiological processes1,2 and molecular mechanisms that are often specific to cell type3,4. Here, to characterize the genetic contribution to these processes across ancestry groups, we aggregate genome-wide association study data from 2,535,601 individuals (39.7% not of European ancestry), including 428,452 cases of T2D. We identify 1,289 independent association signals at genome-wide significance (P \u3c 5 × 10-8) that map to 611 loci, of which 145 loci are, to our knowledge, previously unreported. We define eight non-overlapping clusters of T2D signals that are characterized by distinct profiles of cardiometabolic trait associations. These clusters are differentially enriched for cell-type-specific regions of open chromatin, including pancreatic islets, adipocytes, endothelial cells and enteroendocrine cells. We build cluster-specific partitioned polygenic scores5 in a further 279,552 individuals of diverse ancestry, including 30,288 cases of T2D, and test their association with T2D-related vascular outcomes. Cluster-specific partitioned polygenic scores are associated with coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease and end-stage diabetic nephropathy across ancestry groups, highlighting the importance of obesity-related processes in the development of vascular outcomes. Our findings show the value of integrating multi-ancestry genome-wide association study data with single-cell epigenomics to disentangle the aetiological heterogeneity that drives the development and progression of T2D. This might offer a route to optimize global access to genetically informed diabetes care

Genetic drivers of heterogeneity in type 2 diabetes pathophysiology

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a heterogeneous disease that develops through diverse pathophysiological processes1,2 and molecular mechanisms that are often specific to cell type3,4. Here, to characterize the genetic contribution to these processes across ancestry groups, we aggregate genome-wide association study data from 2,535,601 individuals (39.7% not of European ancestry), including 428,452 cases of T2D. We identify 1,289 independent association signals at genome-wide significance (P &lt; 5 × 10-8) that map to 611 loci, of which 145 loci are, to our knowledge, previously unreported. We define eight non-overlapping clusters of T2D signals that are characterized by distinct profiles of cardiometabolic trait associations. These clusters are differentially enriched for cell-type-specific regions of open chromatin, including pancreatic islets, adipocytes, endothelial cells and enteroendocrine cells. We build cluster-specific partitioned polygenic scores5 in a further 279,552 individuals of diverse ancestry, including 30,288 cases of T2D, and test their association with T2D-related vascular outcomes. Cluster-specific partitioned polygenic scores are associated with coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease and end-stage diabetic nephropathy across ancestry groups, highlighting the importance of obesity-related processes in the development of vascular outcomes. Our findings show the value of integrating multi-ancestry genome-wide association study data with single-cell epigenomics to disentangle the aetiological heterogeneity that drives the development and progression of T2D. This might offer a route to optimize global access to genetically informed diabetes care.</p

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018):a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines

The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points