The Impact of Online Mobile Office Applications on the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Mobile Workers Behavior: A Field Experiment in the IT Services Sector

The wireless application protocol (WAP) is an example of technology that has found itself ìstuck in the middle.î Its introduction is not a clear success, especially when compared to the high expectations during its launch at the end of the 1990s. However, it is not dead. There is a significant number of users, and the telecommunications and content industry continue to invest. The interesting phenomenon is that ìnonbelieversî say, ìWe donít need WAP,î and that ìbelieversî say, ìWait until we have resolved the technical problems.î This paper discusses a field experiment that tested the hypothesis that mobile workers benefit from a specific kind of WAP technology: the mobile office. In an 8-week pilot, 40 mobile workers of an IT services company in the Netherlands received a WAP phone providing them with mobile access to their agenda, mail, directory services, outstanding invoices information, and resource availability. They could also access public infor- mation services such as stock market information, weather forecasts, and traffic information. For research purposes, we distinguished two groups of workers: relationship managers and technicians. We expected that relationship managers would benefit more from their WAP phone than technicians. During the 8-week period, all participants were closely monitored on a daily basis. We collected data on perceived usefulness and on the impact of using the mobile office on the efficiency and effectiveness of the work of relationship managers and technicians. The results show a clear increase in perceived usefulness and also in effectiveness, especially for relationship managers. In our discussion section, we argue there is indeed hope for the believers. Mobile workers have a positive attitude towards WAP if it brings their working environment within reach at any place. As the initial focus for WAP application was on mass private market services, this may explain the initial lack of success of WAP

Cardiac troponin in ischemic cardiomyocytes: Intracellular decrease before onset of cell death

Aim: Cardiac troponin I (ant) and T (cTnT) are the most important biomarkers in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Nevertheless, they can be elevated in the absence of AMI. It is unclear if such elevations represent irreversible cardiomyocyte-damage or leakage from viable cardiomyocytes. Our objective is to evaluate whether cTn is released from viable cardiomyocytes in response to ischemia and to identify differences in the release of cTn and its molecular forms. Methods and results: HL-1 cardiomyocytes (mouse) were subjected to ischemia (modeled by anoxia with glucose deprivation). The total contents and molecular forms of cTn were determined in culture media and cell lysates. Cell viability was assessed from the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Before the release of LDH, the intracellular cTn content in ischemic cells decreased significantly compared to control (52% for cTnI; 23% for cTnT) and was not matched by a cTn increase in the medium. cTnI decreased more rapidly than cTnT, resulting in an intracellular cTnT/cTnI ratio of 25.5 after 24 h of ischemia. Western blots revealed changes in the relative amounts of fragmented cTnI and cTnT in ischemic cells. Conclusions: HL-1 cardiomyocytes subjected to simulated ischemia released cTnl and cTnT only in combination with the release of LDH. We find no evidence of cTn release from viable cardiomyocytes, but did observe a significant decrease in cTn content, before the onset of cell death. Intracellular decrease of cTn in viable cardiomyocytes can have important consequences for the interpretation of cTn values in clinical practice