Educating Reflective Practitioners: The Design of an IT Management Masters Program

The IT Management Group at Umeå University, Sweden, has developed a master program in IT management with emphasison incorporating practice in the learning process. The basic premise lies in the use of reflection-in-action as an approach topresenting students with practical problems throughout the program. We discuss the ways in which practice is at the heart ofthe program, both as a tool for exemplifying codified knowledge such as technical skills and methods but also as arenas forsituated knowledge creation and transfer where reflection and action are intertwined. The paper ends with a discussion of theprogram design, challenges in implementing the reflective practice approach and competencies the students need in theirfuture professional roles

Digital Options Theory for IT Capability Investment

While research has shown that investments in IT capability may translate into improved firm performance, how and why they do is still a source of debate. Drawing on financial options thinking, recent research suggests that managers can support appropriate investment decisions by examining digital options. However, current research has not effectively translated the financial options construct into the IT domain, which makes it difficult to rigorously examine digital options. To address this void, we revisit general options theory and review current notions of digital options. To support understanding, we extend current theorizing by offering a rigorous conceptual foundation that defines the digital option lifecycle and relationships to neighboring constructs. To support practice, we present principles for examining digital options for a specific business process. To illustrate the detailed workings of the theory, we examine a production planning process in the dairy industry to arrive at a set of desirable and feasible IT capability investments. Our proposed theory supports managerial practice by offering a rigorous and actionable foundation for digital options thinking. It also sets an agenda for academic research by articulating theory-based constructs and principles that are subject to further empirical and theoretical investigation

Validity of diagnoses, treatment dates, and rating scales in the Swedish national quality register for electroconvulsive therapy

Background The Swedish national quality register for electroconvulsive therapy (Q-ECT) contains data on patients receiving treatment with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in Sweden. Aim This study determined the validity of diagnoses, treatment dates, and rating scales in the Q-ECT by investigating the degree of accordance between data from the Q-ECT and patient records. Materials and methods From January 2016 to December 2017, 200 treatment series were randomly selected from the Q-ECT. The corresponding patient records were requested from the treating hospitals. Data on the indicative diagnosis, dates for the first and the last ECT session, and rating scales were compared between the Q-ECT and patient records using (i) a strict and (ii) a liberal method of assessment. Using the liberal method, each variable was assessed as accordant if it belonged to the same diagnosis group, or if the dates differed by less than 1 week, or ratings differed by only 1 point on the Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI- S), or no more than 3 points on the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale between the Q-ECT and the patient record. Results A total of 179 patient records were received. The strict method of assessment showed an accordance of 89% or higher for all studied variables. The liberal method showed an accordance of 95% or higher. Conclusions We conclude that data on the studied variables in the Q-ECT have high validity. However, limited use of some rating scales makes the results uncertain. Measures can be taken to further improve the data quality.publishedVersio

BIOSAR 2010 - A SAR campaign in support to the BIOMASS mission

The ESA funded campaign BioSAR 2010 was carried out at the forestry test site Remningstorp in southern Sweden, in support to the BIOMASS satellite mission under study. Fully polarimetric SAR data were successfully acquired at L- and P-band using ONERA's multi-frequency system SETHI. In addition with other data types gathered, e.g. LiDAR and in-situ measurements, the compiled data set will be used for analyses and comparisons with biomass estimation results obtained at the same test site in the campaign BioSAR 2007, in which DLR's E-SAR made the SAR imaging. Detection of forest changes, robustness of biomass retrieval algorithms and long-term P-band coherence will be in focus as well as cross-validations between the two SAR sensors

Cell-Mediated Immune Responses and Immunopathogenesis of Human Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus-Infection

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a flavivirus that belongs to the Flaviviridae family. TBEV is transmitted to humans primarily from infected ticks. The virus causes tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), an acute viral disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). Infection can lead to acute neurological symptoms of significant severity due to meningitis or meningo(myelo)encephalitis. TBE can cause long-term suffering and has been recognized as an increasing public health problem. TBEV-affected areas currently include large parts of central and northern Europe as well as northern Asia. Infection with TBEV triggers a humoral as well as a cell-mediated immune response. In contrast to the well-characterized humoral antibody-mediated response, the cell-mediated immune responses elicited to natural TBEV-infection have been poorly characterized until recently. Here, we review recent progress in our understanding of the cell-mediated immune response to human TBEV-infection. A particular emphasis is devoted to studies of the response mediated by natural killer (NK) cells and CD8 T cells. The studies described include results revealing the temporal dynamics of the T cell- as well as NK cell-responses in relation to disease state and functional characterization of these cells. Additionally, we discuss specific immunopathological aspects of TBEV-infection in the CNS

An Aesthetic Factor Priority List of the Female Breast in Scandinavian Subjects

Background: There is little consensus about the relative determinative value of each individual factor in female breast aesthetics. When performing breast surgery with an aesthetic goal, certain factors will be more important than others. The purpose of this study was to make an aesthetic factor rank list to determine the relative contributions to overall breast aesthetics. Method: Volunteers were scanned using the 3-dimensional Vectra system. Ten Scandinavian plastic surgeons rated 37 subjects, using a validated scoring system with 49 scoring items. The correlation between specific aesthetic factors and overall breast aesthetic scores of the subjects were calculated using Pearson's r, Spearman's rho, and Kendall's tau. Results: A very strong correlation was found between overall breast aesthetic score and lower pole shape (0.876, P <0.0001). This was also true for upper pole shape (0.826, P <0.0001) and breast height (0.821, P <0.0001). A strong correlation was found between overall breast aesthetic score and nipple position (0.733, P <0.0001), breast size (0.644, P <0.0001), and breast width (0.632, P <0.0001). Factors that were only moderately correlated with aesthetic score were intermammary distance (0.496, P = 0.002), nipple size and projection (0.588, P <0.0001), areolar diameter (0.484, P <0.0001), and areolar shape (0.403, P <0.0001). Perceived symmetry was a weak factor (0.363, P = 0.027). Conclusions: Aesthetic factors of the female breast can be ranked in a priority list. Shape of the lower pole and upper pole and breast height are primary factors of female breast aesthetics. These should be prioritized in any aesthetic breast surgery. Vertical dimensional factors seem to be more determinative than horizontal factors.Peer reviewe

Robust T Cell Immunity in Convalescent Individuals with Asymptomatic or Mild COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cells will likely prove critical for long-term immune protection against COVID-19. Here, we systematically mapped the functional and phenotypic landscape of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses in unexposed individuals, exposed family members, and individuals with acute or convalescent COVID-19. Acute-phase SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells displayed a highly activated cytotoxic phenotype that correlated with various clinical markers of disease severity, whereas convalescent-phase SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were polyfunctional and displayed a stem-like memory phenotype. Importantly, SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were detectable in antibody-seronegative exposed family members and convalescent individuals with a history of asymptomatic and mild COVID-19. Our collective dataset shows that SARS-CoV-2 elicits broadly directed and functionally replete memory T cell responses, suggesting that natural exposure or infection may prevent recurrent episodes of severe COVID-19.Fil: Sekine, Takuya. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Perez Potti, André. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Rivera Ballesteros, Olga. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Strålin, Kristoffer. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Gorin, Jean Baptiste. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Olsson, Annika. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Llewellyn Lacey, Sian. University Hospital of Wales; Reino UnidoFil: Kamal, Habiba. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Bogdanovic, Gordana. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Muschiol, Sandra. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Wullimann, David J.. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Kammann, Tobias. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Emgård, Johanna. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Parrot, Tiphaine. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Folkesson, Elin. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Rooyackers, Olav. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; Suecia. Karolinska University Hospital; SueciaFil: Eriksson, Lars I.. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Henter, Jan Inge. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Sönnerborg, Anders. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Allander, Tobias. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Albert, Jan. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Nielsen, Morten. Technical University of Denmark; Dinamarca. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Klingstrom, Jonas. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Gredmark Russ, Sara. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Björkström, Niklas K.. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Sandberg, Johan K.. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Price, David A.. Cardiff University School of Medicine; Reino UnidoFil: Ljunggren, Hans Gustaf. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Aleman, Soo. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Buggert, Marcus. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; Sueci

Robust T cell immunity in convalescent individuals with asymptomatic or mild COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cells will likely prove critical for long-term immune protection against COVID-19. Here, we systematically mapped the functional and phenotypic landscape of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses in unexposed individuals, exposed family members, and individuals with acute or convalescent COVID-19. Acute-phase SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells displayed a highly activated cytotoxic phenotype that correlated with various clinical markers of disease severity, whereas convalescent-phase SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were polyfunctional and displayed a stem-like memory phenotype. Importantly, SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were detectable in antibody-seronegative exposed family members and convalescent individuals with a history of asymptomatic and mild COVID-19. Our collective dataset shows that SARS-CoV-2 elicits broadly directed and functionally replete memory T cell responses, suggesting that natural exposure or infection may prevent recurrent episodes of severe COVID-19

Making IT visible : the paradox of ubiquitous services in practice

In this chapter, the authors investigate the role of ICT in dealing with environmental challenges facing contemporary industrial organizations. Green IS research can essentially be divided into two groups, focusing on technology per se or on providing tools that decreases environmental impact. Building on a planned research project the authors propose innovation of ICT-based services, and especially collaborative services, as useful strategies for providing firms with sense and respond capabilities in relation to environmental challenges. They also argue research that research relevance and multi-disciplinary competencies are key themes that IS researcher needs to acknowledge in order to contribute to practitioners efforts

Age-independent transfer after successful associative mnemonic training

Generalization of training to support the performance on new tasks—transfer—has been much studied. One hypothesis is that transfer occurs if overlapping neuronal circuits are engaged in both training and transfer tasks. Here, we investigated transfer effects in the domain of episodic memory by following 356 participants between 20 and 83 years who downloaded and used a smart phone application to practice the method of loci (MoL) over 3 months. We measured transfer of MoL training to three associative memory tasks with hypothesized neurocognitive overlap (binding in the hippocampus) with the trained task. Transfer tasks were administered at the beginning of training and when two specific proficiency levels in Loci training were reached. Results showed robust transfer effects across the age span at both levels. These results indicate that app-based strategy training can lead to enhancement of episodic memory beyond the specific training task, which may have clinical implementations