The Role of Information Technology Support Mechanisms in Coordination Managementfor Virtual Organizations

Technology offers real potential for changing the way in which people work (Daniels, 1995). Perhaps for the first time it may be possible to build organizations in the way people want, not constrained by information requirements and availability (Daniels, 1995). Companies are forming international collaborative arrangements as the basis for developing competitive advantage from technology (Bailetti and Callahan, 1993), and coordination of IT management presents a challenge to these firms with dispersed, decentralized IT practices (DeSanctis and Jackson, 1994).Virtual enterprises are emerging that reflect the current situation, with previously well-defined structures beginning to lose their edges, seemingly permanent things starting to change continuously, and products and services adapting to match our desires (Davidow and Malone, 1992). Virtual organizations are: reliant on cyberspace (the medium in which electronic communications flow and software operates), enabled by new computing and communications developments, and initially will exist only across conventional organizational structures (Barnatt, 1995). Currently,four different versions of the virtual organization have been identified: telecommuting, hot desk environment, hotelling, and virtual teams (Barnatt, 1995). This research will focus on virtual teams within existing corporations as representative of virtual organizations.To remain competitive in today\u27s business environment requires new levels of cooperation and coordination of both intra-and inter-organizational systems. DeSanctis and Jackson (1994) explored three major mechanisms for facilitating interunit coordination of IT management: structural design approaches, functional coordination modes, and computer-based communication systems. The authors presented a three-dimensional model consisting of: Coordination Structures (cross-functional teams, task forces, designated liaison roles, direct contact, reporting requirements), Coordination Modes (information sharing, procedural, structural, task outputs, task dialogue), and IT Support Mechanisms (document sharing, bulletin boards/E-Mail, computer conferencing, electronic meeting software, discussion databases).A next logical step in developing this work includes expanding its coverage to ongoing and ad-hoc intraorganizational groups serving as representatives for virtual organizations. In addition, further development is needed for each dimension of the proposed three-dimensional model. This research will attempt to identify the components of the IT Support Mechanisms dimension of the model and measure those components in organizations which exhibit virtual organization characteristics in their group operation

Using the Data Modeling Worksheet to Improve Novice Data Modeler Performance

This research reports on use and evaluation of the data modeling worksheet as a pedagogical tool for improving a student\u27s ability to learn the extended entity-relationship data modeling methodology. A laboratory experiment using a modified posttest only, control group design compared the performance of two student subject groups. One group used the data modeling worksheet as an integral component of their instruction on database design. A second control group did not use the worksheet, but that group received comparable training in every other respect. Subjects were tasked to develop a data model that represented a textual description of a data modeling problem. The data analysis used a one-way ANOVA to evaluate eight hypotheses, each representing a facet of the data modeling methodology. The results indicate that the data modeling worksheet significantly improved student learning with regard to their ability to identify entities, entity identifier attributes, and ternary relationships

Why Isn\u27t Everyone an Early Adopter?

The adoption and use of information technology (IT) innovations within an organization are critical to deriving the benefits of IT, yet many innovations are underused or never used. Theoretical perspectives that have been used to analyze individual behavior regarding IT usage include innovation diffusion theory (IDT) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB). IDT states that adoption of an innovation is influenced by attributes of the innovation. TPB posits that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control will influence an individual’s decision to adopt. While most adoption and diffusion research concentrates on why people adopt an innovation, this research will compare how innovation characteristics and TPB components are perceived by both early and late adopters. We then investigate late adopters’ perceptions at the time of the innovation introduction and the time of actual adoption to determine which, if any, innovation perceptions have changed

Ages at menarche- and menopause-related genetic variants in relation to terminal duct lobular unit involution in normal breast tissue

PURPOSE: Reduced levels of terminal duct lobular unit (TDLU) involution, as reflected by higher numbers of TDLUs and acini per TDLU, have been associated with higher breast cancer risk. Younger age at menarche and older age at menopause have been previously related to lower levels of TDLU involution. To determine a possible genetic link, we examined whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously established in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for ages at menarche and menopause are associated with TDLU involution. METHODS: We conducted a pooled analysis of 862 women from two studies. H&E tissue sections were assessed for numbers of TDLUs and acini/TDLU. Poisson regression models were used to estimate associations of 36 menarche- and 21 menopause-SNPs with TDLU counts, acini counts/TDLU, and the product of these two measures, adjusting for age and study site. RESULTS: Fourteen percent of evaluated SNPs (8 SNPs) were associated with TDLU counts at p<0.05, suggesting an enrichment of associations with TDLU counts. However, only menopause-SNPs had >50% that were either significantly or nonsignficantly associated with TDLU measures in the directions consistent with their relationships shown in GWAS. Among 10 SNPs that were statistically significantly associated with at least one TDLU involution measure (p<0.05), seven SNPs (rs466639: RXRG; rs2243803: SLC14A2; rs2292573: GAB2; rs6438424: 3q13.32; rs7606918: METAP1D; rs11668344: TMEM150B; rs1635501: EXO1) were associated in the consistent directions. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the loci associated with ages at menarche and menopause may influence TDLU involution, suggesting some shared genetic mechanisms. However, larger studies are needed to confirm the results

Neurologic Involvement in Children and Adolescents Hospitalized in the United States for COVID-19 or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome

This article is made available for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.Importance Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects the nervous system in adult patients. The spectrum of neurologic involvement in children and adolescents is unclear. Objective To understand the range and severity of neurologic involvement among children and adolescents associated with COVID-19. Setting, Design, and Participants Case series of patients (age <21 years) hospitalized between March 15, 2020, and December 15, 2020, with positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 test result (reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and/or antibody) at 61 US hospitals in the Overcoming COVID-19 public health registry, including 616 (36%) meeting criteria for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. Patients with neurologic involvement had acute neurologic signs, symptoms, or diseases on presentation or during hospitalization. Life-threatening involvement was adjudicated by experts based on clinical and/or neuroradiologic features. Exposures Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Main Outcomes and Measures Type and severity of neurologic involvement, laboratory and imaging data, and outcomes (death or survival with new neurologic deficits) at hospital discharge. Results Of 1695 patients (909 [54%] male; median [interquartile range] age, 9.1 [2.4-15.3] years), 365 (22%) from 52 sites had documented neurologic involvement. Patients with neurologic involvement were more likely to have underlying neurologic disorders (81 of 365 [22%]) compared with those without (113 of 1330 [8%]), but a similar number were previously healthy (195 [53%] vs 723 [54%]) and met criteria for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (126 [35%] vs 490 [37%]). Among those with neurologic involvement, 322 (88%) had transient symptoms and survived, and 43 (12%) developed life-threatening conditions clinically adjudicated to be associated with COVID-19, including severe encephalopathy (n = 15; 5 with splenial lesions), stroke (n = 12), central nervous system infection/demyelination (n = 8), Guillain-Barré syndrome/variants (n = 4), and acute fulminant cerebral edema (n = 4). Compared with those without life-threatening conditions (n = 322), those with life-threatening neurologic conditions had higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios (median, 12.2 vs 4.4) and higher reported frequency of D-dimer greater than 3 μg/mL fibrinogen equivalent units (21 [49%] vs 72 [22%]). Of 43 patients who developed COVID-19–related life-threatening neurologic involvement, 17 survivors (40%) had new neurologic deficits at hospital discharge, and 11 patients (26%) died. Conclusions and Relevance In this study, many children and adolescents hospitalized for COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children had neurologic involvement, mostly transient symptoms. A range of life-threatening and fatal neurologic conditions associated with COVID-19 infrequently occurred. Effects on long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes are unknown