Using Real Options Analysis for Evaluating Uncertain Investments in Information Technology: Insights from the ICIS 2001 Debate

Business and information systems (IS) executives continue to grapple with issues of risk and uncertainty in evaluating investments in information technology (IT). Despite the use of net present value (NPV) and other investment appraisal techniques, executives are often forced to rely on instinct when finalizing IT investment decisions. Recognizing the shortcomings of NPV, real options analysis has been suggested as an alternative approach, one that considers the risks associated with an investment while recognizing the ability of corporations to defer an investment until a later period or to make a partial investment instead. Responding to a growing interest in real options analysis among the IS community, a debate involving four prominent researchers was convened at the 2001 International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS). In addition to offering a tutorial overview of real options, the goal of the debate was to assess the state of research in this area and to identify avenues for future research. This paper describes the outcomes of the debate, culminating in a series of research questions and topics that set the stage for future research in IT and real options analysis. A transcript of the debate and an overview of real options analysis are included as appendices

Leadership, urban structure and place: Evidence from Bristol and Dorset

Local leadership has become of increasing interest in the context of a renewed focus on local government and local development. In parallel, new interpretations of thinking about leadership drawing on Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Foucault suggest that leadership needs to engage with a wider range of participants. In the modern context, one way of understanding this engagement has been termed ‘facilitative leadership’. Using this literature, we analyse leadership in two contrasting ‘places’ (urban and rural) and we discuss how prevailing conditions facilitate, or hinder, the emergence of ‘facilitative leadership’ in relation to urban structure, economic structure, institutional capacity, and identity. The wider implications for leadership and local development are then briefly discussed

Origin of the pseudogap phase: Precursor superconductivity versus a competing energy gap scenario

In the last few years evidence has been accumulating that there are a multiplicity of energy scales which characterize superconductivity in the underdoped cuprates. In contrast to the situation in BCS superconductors, the phase coherence temperature Tc is different from the energy gap onset temperature T*. In addition, thermodynamic and tunneling spectroscopies have led to the inference that the order parameter $\Delta_{sc}$ is to be distinguished from the excitation gap $\Delta$; in this way, pseudogap effects persist below Tc. It has been argued by many in the community that the presence of these distinct energy scales demonstrates that the pseudogap is unrelated to superconductivity. In this paper we show that this inference is incorrect. We demonstrate that the difference between the order parameter and excitation gap and the contrasting dependences of T* and Tc on hole concentration $x$ and magnetic field $H$ follow from a natural generalization of BCS theory. This simple generalized form is based on a BCS-like ground state, but with self consistently determined chemical potential in the presence of arbitrary attractive coupling $g$. We have applied this mean field theory with some success to tunneling, transport, thermodynamics and magnetic field effects. We contrast the present approach with the phase fluctuation scenario and discuss key features which might distinguish our precursor superconductivity picture from that involving a competing order parameter.Comment: 4 pages, 2 EPS figures, use LaTeX package espcrc2.sty from Elsevier, submitted to SNS'01 conference proceeding

Insights into the role of DNA methylation in diatoms by genome-wide profiling in Phaeodactylum tricornutum

DNA cytosine methylation is a widely conserved epigenetic mark in eukaryotes that appears to have critical roles in the regulation of genome structure and transcription. Genome-wide methylation maps have so far only been established from the supergroups Archaeplastida and Unikont. Here we report the first whole-genome methylome from a stramenopile, the marine model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Around 6% of the genome is intermittently methylated in a mosaic pattern. We find extensive methylation in transposable elements. We also detect methylation in over 320 genes. Extensive gene methylation correlates strongly with transcriptional silencing and differential expression under specific conditions. By contrast, we find that genes with partial methylation tend to be constitutively expressed. These patterns contrast with those found previously in other eukaryotes. By going beyond plants, animals and fungi, this stramenopile methylome adds significantly to our understanding of the evolution of DNA methylation in eukaryotes.Fil: Veluchamy, Alaguraj. Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure; FranciaFil: Lin, Xin. Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure; Francia. Xiamen University; ChinaFil: Maumus, Florian.Fil: Rivarola, Maximo Lisandro.Fil: Bhavsar, Jaysheel.Fil: Creasy, Todd.Fil: O'Brien, Kimberly.Fil: Sengamalay, Naomi A..Fil: Tallon, Luke J..Fil: Smith, Andrew D..Fil: Rayko, Edda.Fil: Ahmed, Ikhlak.Fil: Crom, Stéphane Le.Fil: Farrant, Gregory K..Fil: Sgro, Jean-Yves.Fil: Olson, Sue A..Fil: Bondurant, Sandra Splinter.Fil: Allen, Andrew.Fil: Rabinowicz, Pablo D..Fil: Sussman, Michael R..Fil: Bowler, Chris.Fil: Tirichine, Leïla

The draft genome and transcriptome of Cannabis sativa

Background: Cannabis sativa has been cultivated throughout human history as a source of fiber, oil and food, and for its medicinal and intoxicating properties. Selective breeding has produced cannabis plants for specific uses, including high-potency marijuana strains and hemp cultivars for fiber and seed production. The molecular biology underlying cannabinoid biosynthesis and other traits of interest is largely unexplored. Results: We sequenced genomic DNA and RNA from the marijuana strain Purple Kush using shortread approaches. We report a draft haploid genome sequence of 534 Mb and a transcriptome of 30,000 genes. Comparison of the transcriptome of Purple Kush with that of the hemp cultivar 'Finola' revealed that many genes encoding proteins involved in cannabinoid and precursor pathways are more highly expressed in Purple Kush than in 'Finola'. The exclusive occurrence of \u3949-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid synthase in the Purple Kush transcriptome, and its replacement by cannabidiolic acid synthase in 'Finola', may explain why the psychoactive cannabinoid \u3949-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is produced in marijuana but not in hemp. Resequencing the hemp cultivars 'Finola' and 'USO-31' showed little difference in gene copy numbers of cannabinoid pathway enzymes. However, single nucleotide variant analysis uncovered a relatively high level of variation among four cannabis types, and supported a separation of marijuana and hemp. Conclusions: The availability of the Cannabis sativa genome enables the study of a multifunctional plant that occupies a unique role in human culture. Its availability will aid the development of therapeutic marijuana strains with tailored cannabinoid profiles and provide a basis for the breeding of hemp with improved agronomic characteristics.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Archéologie du bâti : du mètre au laser

Née au début xixe siècle et renouvelée dans les années 1980, l’archéo­logie du bâti entre à nouveau dans un de ces mouvements browniens qui bouleversent une science, la faisant devenir elle-même. Le mètre, le relevé manuel et l’échafaudage ont été l’essentiel de la pratique, et ils en restent le cœur : le contact physique avec l’édifice est irremplaçable. Mais aujourd’hui, la collaboration des sciences exactes et des technologies de pointe l’ont profondément transformée : l’archéométrie qui i..

Optimism and pessimism in games

This paper considers the impact of ambiguity in strategic situations. It extends the existing literature on games with ambiguity-averse players by allowing for optimistic responses to ambiguity. We use the CEU model of ambiguity with a class of capacities introduced by Jaf-fray and Philippe (1997), which allows us to distinguish ambiguity from ambiguity-attitude, and propose a new solution concept, Equilibrium under Ambiguity (EUA), for players who may be characterized by ambiguity-preference. Applying EUA, we study comparative sta-tics of changes in ambiguity-attitude in games with strategic complements. This extends work in Eichberger and Kelsey (2002) on the e¤ects of increasing ambiguity if players are ambiguity averse

Brownfield regeneration and the shifting of financial risk: Between plans and reality in public-private partnerships

Internationally, brownfield regeneration projects are deliveredthrough public-private partnerships that form complex legal andstructural delivery mechanisms. Utilizing private-sector finance andskills is an accepted practice to reduce financial risk for the publicsector while delivering profits for the private sector. This articleexplores three international brownfield regeneration schemes. Ithighlights how and why financial risk remains within the publicsector from the outset or returns to the public sector over time,despite the initial rhetoric for this burden to be carried mainly bythe private sector. The analysis improves the empirical understandingof financial risk dynamics in brownfield regeneration

Galaxies in Southern Bright Star Fields I. Near-infrared imaging

As a prerequisite for cosmological studies using adaptive optics techniques, we have begun to identify and characterize faint sources in the vicinity of bright stars at high Galactic latitudes. The initial phase of this work has been a program of K_s imaging conducted with SOFI at the ESO NTT. From observations of 42 southern fields evenly divided between the spring and autumn skies, we have identified 391 additional stars and 1589 galaxies lying at separations 60" from candidate guide stars in the magnitude range 9.0 R 12.4. When analyzed as a "discrete deep field" with 131 arcmin^2 area, our dataset gives galaxy number counts that agree with those derived previously over the range 16 K_s 20.5. This consistency indicates that in the aggregate, our fields should be suitable for future statistical studies. We provide our source catalogue as a resource for users of large telescopes in the southern hemisphere.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted by A&A; Table 3 is available at http://www.rzg.mpg.de/~ajb/data.html pending upload to CD

Magnetic Field Effects in the Pseudogap Phase: A Competing Energy Gap Scenario for Precursor Superconductivity

We study the sensitivity of T_c and T^* to low fields, H, within the pseudogap state using a BCS-based approach extended to arbitrary coupling. We find that T^* and T_c, which are of the same superconducting origin, have very different H dependences. This is due to the pseudogap, \Delta_{pg}, which is present at the latter, but not former temperature. Our results for the coherence length \xi fit well with existing experiments.We predict that very near the insulator \xi will rapidly increase.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, RevTe