A Framework for Managing Flexibility in the Information Systems Function

Competitive pressures are forcing organizations to be agile and flexible. Response to changing environmental conditions is an important factor in determining corporate performance. Organizational flexibility is in turn closely related to the management of information systems. Organizations with flexible IS functions are in a position to be more responsive and take advantage of changes in both their internal and external environments. Conversely, inflexibility in IS can inhibit organizational growth and put a company in a competitive disadvantage. This paper argues that IS flexibility is a multidimensional concept. Grounded theory methodology is used to empirically derive a taxonomy of several types of flexibility and flexibility management strategies

HCI Requirements for eBusiness Computing

This paper provides an examination and categorization of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) requirements for the support of Electronic Business (eBusiness) and Electronic Commerce (eCommerce) in the context of intranets, extranets, and the Internet. The relationship of these HCI requirements to eBusiness is explored. Several methods are used to develop the requirements, including the application of grounded theory. The requirements uncovered are included in a framework to better enable the understanding of eBusiness requirements for the computer desktop

The Subsidy and Social Welfare Implications of E-Commerce Sales Tax

There is importance and timeliness in the issue of Internet taxation. Internet commerce is growing exponentially. With this growth comes the potential for tremendous tax revenue, as well as criticism for receiving an unfair tax advantage. One of the benefits of the Internet is its lack of national and geographical boundaries. However, this lack of boundaries makes taxation and regulation of the Internet difficult, as historically geographical boundaries have helped to determine policies. One of the needs of a taxation policy for e-commerce is that it is consistent with established taxation policies both domestically and internationally. The tax policy chosen for internet commerce in the U.S. will, as a result, affect not only the internet commerce in the U.S., but also other forms of commerce within and outside of the U.S. This paper will address the implications of the current tax exemption on efficiency and social welfare

Reflections of Culture in Global Corporate Web Sites

Hofstede (1980) found that national cultures differ along several dimensions. He believed that national cultural values and differences have existed for a long period of time and are stable. Subsequent research has both confirmed and challenged the validity of Hofstede’s conclusions for the long term. With the advent of the Internet and related networking and communication technologies, many have speculated that the ubiquitous nature of these technologies has a homogenizing effect and contributes to cultural convergence. The main objective of this study is to determine if differences in national culture are evident in the web sites of global corporations or if national cultures, as reflected through these web sites, have converged as a result of Internet usage

Renormalization constants of local operators for Wilson type improved fermions

Perturbative and non-perturbative results are presented on the renormalization constants of the quark field and the vector, axial-vector, pseudoscalar, scalar and tensor currents. The perturbative computation, carried out at one-loop level and up to second order in the lattice spacing, is performed for a fermion action, which includes the clover term and the twisted mass parameter yielding results that are applicable for unimproved Wilson fermions, as well as for improved clover and twisted mass fermions. We consider ten variants of the Symanzik improved gauge action corresponding to ten different values of the plaquette coefficients. Non-perturbative results are obtained using the twisted mass Wilson fermion formulation employing two degenerate dynamical quarks and the tree-level Symanzik improved gluon action. The simulations are performed for pion masses in the range of 480 MeV to 260 MeV and at three values of the lattice spacing, a, corresponding to beta=3.9, 4.05, 4.20. For each renormalization factor computed non-perturbatively we subtract its perturbative O(a^2) terms so that we eliminate part of the cut-off artifacts. The renormalization constants are converted to MS-bar at a scale of mu=2 GeV. The perturbative results depend on a large number of parameters and are made easily accessible to the reader by including them in the distribution package of this paper, as a Mathematica input file.Comment: 36 pages, 11 figures and 6 tables. The results are included in electronic form (Mathematica files

Tourists’ perceptions regarding the use of anthropomorphic robots in tourism and hospitality

Purpose Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, service organizations rushed to deploy robots to serve people in quarantine, again igniting the ongoing dispute regarding robots in tourism. This study aims to investigate tourists’ perceptions regarding the use of robots and, more specifically, anthropomorphic robots in the tourism domain. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative inquiry was used to delve deep into the issue of tourists’ perceptions regarding the usage of anthropomorphic robots in tourism, with a total number of 78 interviews with tourists being retained in the study. Findings The findings reveal that tourists favor the use of anthropomorphic robots over any other type of robot. The use of anthropomorphic robots in tourism may result in an overall enhanced experiential value. Even so, informants also expressed frustration, sadness and disappointment vis-à-vis the use of robots in a human-driven industry. Research limitations/implications A conceptual continuum of tourists’ perceptions and concerns over the use of robots is presented that can guide future studies. Tourism stakeholders may look at the possibility of incorporating carefully designed anthropomorphic robots in key service positions, but should not give the impression that robots are replacing the human face of the organization. Practical implications Tourism stakeholders may look at the possibility of incorporating carefully designed anthropomorphic robots in key service positions, but should not give the impression that robots are replacing the human face of the organization. Originality/value Tourism organizations that make use of robots run the risk of being perceived as nonanthropocentric. This leads to the conclusion that anthropomorphism could be used but should not replace the sector’s anthropocentrism. The study conveys tourists’ concerns over technological (robot) determinism

Tensin1 expression and function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

open access articleChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) constitutes a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Genome wide association studies have shown significant associations between airflow obstruction or COPD with a non-synonymous SNP in the TNS1 gene, which encodes tensin1. However, the expression, cellular distribution and function of tensin1 in human airway tissue and cells are unknown. We therefore examined these characteristics in tissue and cells from controls and people with COPD or asthma. Airway tissue was immunostained for tensin1. Tensin1 expression in cultured human airway smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) was evaluated using qRT-PCR, western blotting and immunofluorescent staining. siRNAs were used to downregulate tensin1 expression. Tensin1 expression was increased in the airway smooth muscle and lamina propria in COPD tissue, but not asthma, when compared to controls. Tensin1 was expressed in HASMCs and upregulated by TGFβ1. TGFβ1 and fibronectin increased the localisation of tensin1 to fibrillar adhesions. Tensin1 and α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) were strongly co-localised, and tensin1 depletion in HASMCs attenuated both αSMA expression and contraction of collagen gels. In summary, tensin1 expression is increased in COPD airways, and may promote airway obstruction by enhancing the expression of contractile proteins and their localisation to stress fibres in HASMCs