How Information Technology Capabilities Influence Organizational Innovation: Exploratory Findings from Two Case Studies

This paper is based on research-in-progress that examines how a firm’s information technology (IT) capabilities affect its ability to innovate. Prior research has identified five dimensions of IT capability and three activities related to innovation. The current research draws on these themes and examines the interplay among these factors. We used a multiple case study method and studied innovation activities at three case sites. The findings so far have revealed that the different aspects of IT capability do indeed affect an organization’s ability to innovate and influence the innovation process in different ways. The paper explains how and why this is so, and identifies areas for further enquiry

Performance and Competence of Learning Disabled and High-Achieving High School Students on Essential Cognitive Skills

This research was published by the KU Center for Research on Learning, formerly known as the University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities.This study was designed to measure performance differences of learning disabled and high-achieving high school students judged crucial to academic learning and to determine teacher performance standards on those same crucial learning skills, Results showed that high achievers performed significantly batter than LD students across the complex, and within every domain, of learning skills assessed. In addition, significantly greater proportions of LD students fall below teacher-derived standards of minimal competence in all skill areas assessed than do high-achieving students

The Growth of Government, Trust in Government, and Evidence on Their Coevolution

The coevolution of trust in government alongside the growth of government is an aspect of the latter topic that has not been explored. Moreover, trust is viewed as part of social capital, facilitating social and economic transactions and the governance of society, and its decline has caused concern. We consider this coevolution in the context of a political economy model and a public interest view of government growth, incorporating the role of trust in government. Though a negative association of the growth in government with trust in government is broadly consistent with the historical data since the late 1950s, we present an econometrically sophisticated, time series analysis of the data. We find strong evidence that two aspects of government size—transfer payments and regulatory activity—align with the political economy model where government growth erodes trust. Specifically, we find cointegration indicating the following: negative associations of trust and lobbying activity and of trust and each of these two measures of government, and a positive association of trust and productivity. Though other measures of government size do not produce such robust findings, we do not find evidence of positive associations of trust and government size nor of trust and lobbying, as might be expected from a public interest view of government

Coronal X-ray emission from an intermediate-age brown dwarf

We report the X-ray detection of the brown dwarf (BD) companion TWA 5B in a $\simeq 12$ Myr old pre-main sequence binary system. We clearly resolve the faint companion (35 photons) separated from the X-ray luminous primary by 2 arcsec in a {\it Chandra} ACIS image. TWA 5B shows a soft X-ray spectrum with a low plasma temperature of only 0.3 keV and a constant flux during the 3 hour observation, of which the characteristics are commonly seen in the solar corona. The X-ray luminosity is 4$\times10^{27}$ erg s$^{-1}$ (0.1--10 keV band) or $\log L_X/L_{bol} = -3.4$. Comparing these properties to both younger and older BDs, we discuss the evolution of the X-ray emission in BDs. During their first few Myr, they exhibit high levels of X-ray activity as seen in higher mass pre-main sequence stars. The level in TWA 5B is still high at $t \simeq 12$ Myr in $\log L_X/L_{bol}$ while $kT$ has already substantially cooled

Patches for Repairing Ceramics and Ceramic-Matrix Composites

Patches consisting mostly of ceramic fabrics impregnated with partially cured polymers and ceramic particles are being developed as means of repairing ceramics and ceramic-matrix composites (CMCs) that must withstand temperatures above the melting points of refractory metal alloys. These patches were conceived for use by space-suited, space-walking astronauts in repairing damaged space-shuttle leading edges: as such, these patches could be applied in the field, in relatively simple procedures, and with minimal requirements for specialized tools. These design characteristics also make the patches useful for repairing ceramics and CMCs in terrestrial settings. In a typical patch as supplied to an astronaut or repair technician, the polymer would be in a tacky condition, denoted as an A stage, produced by partial polymerization of a monomeric liquid. The patch would be pressed against the ceramic or CMC object to be repaired, relying on the tackiness for temporary adhesion. The patch would then be bonded to the workpiece and cured by using a portable device to heat the polymer to a curing temperature above ambient temperature but well below the maximum operating temperature to which the workpiece is expected to be exposed. The patch would subsequently become pyrolized to a ceramic/glass condition upon initial exposure to the high operating temperature. In the original space-shuttle application, this exposure would be Earth-atmosphere-reentry heating to about 3,000 F (about 1,600 C). Patch formulations for space-shuttle applications include SiC and ZrO2 fabrics, a commercial SiC-based pre-ceramic polymer, and suitable proportions of both SiC and ZrO2 particles having sizes of the order of 1 m. These formulations have been tailored for the space-shuttle leading-edge material, atmospheric composition, and reentry temperature profile so as to enable repairs to survive re-entry heating with expected margin. Other formulations could be tailored for specific terrestrial applications

Development of a Novel Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for the Sensitive Detection of Schistosoma Japonicum in Human Stool

Background Elimination and control of Schistosoma japonicum, the most virulent of the schistosomiasiscausing blood flukes, requires the development of sensitive and specific diagnostic tools capable of providing an accurate measurement of the infection prevalence in endemic areas. Typically, detection of S. japonicum has occurred using the Kato-Katz technique, but this methodology, which requires skilled microscopists, has been shown to radically underestimate levels of infection. With the ever-improving capabilities of next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic analysis tools, identification of satellite sequences and other highly repetitive genomic elements for use as real-time PCR diagnostic targets is becoming increasingly common. Assays developed using these targets have the ability to improve the sensitivity and specificity of results for epidemiological studies that can in turn be used to inform mass drug administration and programmatic decision making. Methodology/Principal findings Utilizing Tandem Repeat Analyzer (TAREAN) and RepeatExplorer2, a cluster-based analysis of the S. japonicum genome was performed and a tandemly arranged genomic repeat, which we named SjTR1 (Schistosoma japonicum Tandem Repeat 1), was selected as the target for a real-time PCR diagnostic assay. Based on these analyses, a primer/probe set was designed and the assay was optimized. The resulting real-time PCR test was shown to reliably detect as little as 200 ag of S. japonicum genomic DNA and as little as 1 egg per gram of human stool. Based on these results, the index assay reported in this manuscript is more sensitive than previously published real-time PCR assays for the detection of S. japonicum. Conclusions/Significance The extremely sensitive and specific diagnostic assay described in this manuscript will facilitate the accurate detection of S. japonicum, particularly in regions with low levels of endemicity. This assay will be useful in providing data to inform programmatic decision makers, aiding disease control and elimination efforts

Two-Photon Laser Scanning Microscopy of the Transverse-Axial Tubule System in Ventricular Cardiomyocytes from Failing and Non-Failing Human Hearts

Objective. The transverse-axial tubule system (TATS) of cardiomyocytes allows a spatially coordinated conversion of electrical excitation into an intracellular Ca2+ signal and consequently contraction. Previous reports have indicated alterations of structure and/or volume of the TATS in cardiac hypertrophy and failure, suggesting a contribution to the impairment of excitation contraction coupling. To test whether structural alterations are present in human heart failure, the TATS was visualized in myocytes from failing and non-failing human hearts. Methods and Results. In freshly isolated myocytes, the plasmalemmal membranes were labeled with Di-8-ANEPPS and imaged using two-photon excitation at 780 nm. Optical sections were taken every 300 nm through the cells. After deconvolution, the TATS was determined within the 3D data sets, revealing no significant difference in normalized surface area or volume. To rule out possible inhomogeneity in the arrangement of the TATS, Euclidian distance maps were plotted for every section, allowing to measure the closest distance between any cytosolic and any membrane point. There was a trend towards greater spacing in cells from failing hearts, without statistical significance. Conclusion. Only small changes, but no significant changes in the geometrical dimensions of the TATS were observed in cardiomyocytes from failing compared to non-failing human myocardium

Ceramic Paste for Patching High-Temperature Insulation

A ceramic paste that can be applied relatively easily, either by itself or in combination with one or more layer(s) of high-temperature ceramic fabrics, such as silicon carbide or zirconia, has been invented as a means of patching cracks or holes in the reinforced carbon-carbon forward surfaces of a space shuttle in orbit before returning to Earth. The paste or the paste/fabric combination could also be used to repair rocket-motor combustion chambers, and could be used on Earth to patch similar high-temperature structures. The specified chemical composition of the paste admits of a number of variations, and the exact proportions of its constituents are proprietary. In general, the paste consists of (1) silicon carbide, possibly with addition of (2) hafnium carbide, zirconium carbide, zirconium boride, silicon tetraboride, silicon hexaboride, or other metal carbides or oxides blended with (3) a silazane-based polymer. Because the paste is viscous and sticky at normal terrestrial and outer-space ambient temperatures, high-temperature ceramic fabrics such as silicon carbide or zirconia fabric impregnated with the paste (or the paste alone) sticks to the damaged surface to which it is applied. Once the patch has been applied, it is smoothed to minimize edge steps as required [forward-facing edge steps must be < or equal to 0.030 in. (< or equal to 0.76 mm) in the original intended space-shuttle application]. The patch is then heated to a curing temperature thereby converting it from a flexible material to a hard, tough material. The curing temperature is 375 to 450 F (approx.190 to 230 C). In torch tests and arc-jet tests, the cured paste was found to be capable of withstanding a temperature of 3,500 F (approx. 1,900 C) for 15 minutes. As such, the material appears to satisfy the requirement, in the original space-shuttle application, to withstand re-entry temperatures of approx.3,000 F (approx. 1,600 C)