Value stream mapping of information system activities

Industries and organizations struggle to remain viable and competitive. Toyota Motor Company developed Lean Thinking and its continuous incremental improvement of processes through relentless settings, businesses benefit from applying lean prinicples to their organizations. This paper presents an overview of lean methodologies with a focus on Value Stream Mapping (VSM). It discusses the benefits that might be realized when an IS organization supports lean methods and shows how VSM can play an important function in evaluating current and future Information System processes

Collaborative Tools Used to Organize a Library Camp Unconference

From July to October, 2008, Laura Crossett, Joseph Kraus and Steve Lawson organized the Library Camp of the West (http://librarycampwest.pbwiki.com/). This was an unconference that took place on October 10, 2008 at the University of Denver. The authors used many technology tools to organize the event, such as email, wikis, blogs, two tools from Google, the Doodle scheduling Website, Flickr and more. This article will explain how they used those tools to prepare for the unconference

Comparing Visitor Perceptions, Characteristics, and Support for Management Actions Before and During a Pilot Timed Entry System at Arches National Park

Over the past decade, many national park units in the United States broke visitation records. Arches National Park (UT, USA) is no exception. Between 2011 and 2021, visitation increased 74%. As part of considering management options to address the issues from sustained and concentrated visitation, Arches implemented a pilot timed entry system from 3 April to 3 October 2022. This article compares visitor perceptions, characteristics, and support for management actions before and during the pilot timed entry system using data from visitor intercept surveys. Findings suggest visitors experience quality improved across the park and on hiking trails during the pilot timed entry system. Visitor characteristics were extremely similar, and there were no differences in local residency, group size, vehicle occupancy, race, ethnicity, first time visitation, education level, or household income. Visitors were more likely to plan for the trip further in advance and were less likely to re-enter the park during the pilot timed entry system. Lastly, visitors demonstrated more support for timed entry and lower levels of support for expanding parking, site specific reservations, and temporary closures during the pilot timed entry system. These results reflect unique insights for managers considering managed access systems like timed entry to sustainably manage visitor use in parks and protected areas

Marshall University Music Department Presents the 2010 SCI National Student Conference: Concert Three

https://mds.marshall.edu/music_perf/1529/thumbnail.jp

Efficacy of once-daily extended-release topiramate (USL255): A subgroup analysis based on the level of treatment resistance

AbstractResults from a previously conducted global phase III study (PREVAIL; NCT01142193) demonstrate the safety and efficacy of once-daily USL255, Qudexy™ XR (topiramate) extended-release capsules, as adjunctive treatment of drug-resistant partial-onset seizures (POSs). In this study, we report a post hoc analysis of PREVAIL data according to patient level of treatment resistance (based upon the number of concomitant antiepileptic drugs [AEDs] and lifetime AEDs) at baseline, with patients defined as either having “highly” drug-resistant seizures (≥2 concurrent AEDs and ≥4 lifetime AEDs) or having “less” drug-resistant seizures (1 concurrent AED or <4 lifetime AEDs) at baseline. For each subgroup, median percent reduction in POS frequency (primary endpoint), responder rate, Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGI-C), and Quality of Life in Epilepsy — Problems (QOLIE-31-P) survey were assessed. Of 249 PREVAIL patients, 115 were classified as having highly drug-resistant seizures (USL255: n=52, placebo: n=63), and 134 were classified as having less drug-resistant seizures (USL255: n=72, placebo: n=62) at baseline. For the primary endpoint, USL255 resulted in significantly better seizure outcomes compared with placebo regardless of drug-resistant status (P=.004 and P=.040 for “highly” and “less”, respectively). Responder rate was also significantly improved in patients with highly drug-resistant group (P=.023). The CGI-C scores indicated significant improvement in both subgroups (P=.003 and P=.013 for “highly” and “less”, respectively). On the QOLIE-31-P, a significant improvement on the seizure worry subscale for the group with less drug-resistant seizures was noted in USL255-treated patients compared with placebo-treated patients (P=.003); the overall score and all other subscales were not significantly different for both subgroups. We conclude that USL255 led to significant improvements across multiple outcomes compared with placebo, including in those classified as having highly drug-resistant seizures to prior treatment, making it a valuable treatment option for patients with epilepsy

A common co-ordinate system for mid-sagittal articulatory measurement

A standard practice in EMA articulatory measurement is to set the origin of the measurement space near the boundary of the upper incisors and gum, on a standard reference coil. A conventional horizontal dimension is defined as being parallel to the speaker's unique bite (occlusal) plane. We propose that this convention be extended to other instrumentation, with a focus on how it can be achieved for ultrasound tongue imaging (UTI) in particular, using a disposable and hygienic vacuum-formed bite plate of known size. A bite plane trace, like a palate trace, provides a consistent reference to allow images to be rotated and translated in case the probe is in a new location relative to a speaker's cranial space. The bite plane also allows speakers with differently shaped palates to be overlaid, and for ultrasound data to share a coordinate space with EMA. We illustrate the proposal using a sample of six speakers. The average bite plane slope could be used to retrospectively rotate ultrasound data that lacks bite-plane measurementcaslpub3597pu

High C3 photosynthetic capacity and high intrinsic water use efficiency underlies the high productivity of the bioenergy grass Arundo donax

AbstractArundo donax has attracted interest as a potential bioenergy crop due to a high apparent productivity. It uses C3 photosynthesis yet appears competitive with C4 grass biomass feedstock’s and grows in warm conditions where C4 species might be expected to be that productive. Despite this there has been no systematic study of leaf photosynthetic properties. This study determines photosynthetic and photorespiratory parameters for leaves in a natural stand of A. donax growing in southern Portugal. We hypothesise that A. donax has a high photosynthetic potential in high and low light, stomatal limitation to be small and intrinsic water use efficiency unusually low. High photosynthetic rates in A. donax resulted from a high capacity for both maximum Rubisco (Vc,max 117 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1) and ribulose-1:5-bisphosphate limited carboxylation rate (Jmax 213 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1) under light-saturated conditions. Maximum quantum yield for light-limited CO2 assimilation was also high relative to other C3 species. Photorespiratory losses were similar to other C3 species under the conditions of measurement (25%), while stomatal limitation was high (0.25) resulting in a high intrinsic water use efficiency. Overall the photosynthetic capacity of A. donax is high compared to other C3 species and comparable to C4 bioenergy grasses.</jats:p