Teaching Data Analytics Using Real Estate Data

Data analytics, especially statistics, can be intimidating due to its jargon, symbols, and obscure terminologies. This teaching case demonstrates how to make these abstract and technical concepts much more concrete and approachable by having students participate in the process of putting together a real estate dataset. Real estate data collected from real estate websites are excellent for teaching data analytics, particularly statistics, because they are easy to understand, produce strong and predictable results, and demonstrate core machine learning concepts and tangible applications. This case provides example data collection survey, in-class exercises, and templates for calculating statistics from the real estate dataset

Knowledge Management Systems: Linking Contribution, Refinement and Use

Electronic knowledge repositories represent one of the fundamental tools for knowledge management (KM) initiatives. Existing research, however, has largely focused on supply-side driven research questions, such as employee motivation to contribute knowledge to a repository. This research turns attention to the dynamic relationship between the supply-side issue of knowledge contribution and demand-side issue of knowledge usage, as repository systems are successful only to the extent that their content is actively utilized by organizational members to enhance their work performance. There are two primary objectives of this dissertation research. The first is to examine determinants of high quality knowledge contribution, the knowledge refinement process, and effective knowledge use, by drawing on organizational and dyadic factors. The second purpose is to expand the current understanding of knowledge contribution and use beyond conventional constructs that are based on quantity or frequency. New theoretical frameworks are proposed to conceptualize knowledge quality, knowledge refinement, and knowledge use. Towards these goals, informal qualitative interviews and a survey study with a matched-triad design were conducted with users of Eureka, a successful global knowledge repository system of the Xerox company. Results reveal that procedural justice significantly contributed to the quality of refined knowledge and the extent of knowledge use. However, procedural justice had little impact on the quality of knowledge contribution. In addition, expertise gap and communication frequency significantly influenced the quality of refined knowledge, whereas shared understanding made little contribution. These findings are discussed with respect to implications for knowledge management research and managerial practices

SimChain: Simulator for Supply Chain Decision Making with Blockchain

The deployment of distributed ledger technologies (DLT) and, more specifically, blockchain, has promised to transform supply chain management. However, there has been relatively little investigation of how visualization of blockchain data may impact supply chain decision making. SimChain is a web application for the simulation of a small supply chain with or without the integration of blockchain technologies. Blockchain offers potential opportunities to improve supply chain decision making, and SimChain is designed to support empirical examinations of such benefits through the visualization of blockchain data. Most remarkably, SimChain allows the administrator to configure environmental variables to simulate event-based interruptions to the supply chain. SimChain is built using the Django framework for web deployment, and Python scripts and MySQL for data simulation. SimChain is highly configurable, allowing administrators to configure nearly 50 different supply chain settings

Knowledge Creation and Firm Performance: Mediating Processes from an Organizational Agility Perspective

Knowledge creation has emerged as a critical area in information systems research in the past decade (Nonaka 1994). However, the mechanism through which knowledge creation enhances firm performance remains unclear. This paper examines the role of organization agility as a mediator between knowledge creation processes and firm performance. Our survey study of 134 firms indicates that two forms of organizational agility – customer agility and operational agility, significantly and fully mediate the effect of knowledge creation on firm performance. Our findings extend prior research by providing insights into the role of organizational agility in facilitating the effect of knowledge creation processes on firm performance. Implications for researchers and managers are discussed

The Impact of Anonymous Peripheral Contributions on Open Source Software Development

Online peer production communities such as open source software (OSS) projects attract both identified and anonymous peripheral contributions (APC) (e.g., defect reports, feature requests, or forum posts). While we can attribute identified peripheral contributions (IPC) to specific individuals and OSS projects need them to succeed, one cannot trace back anonymous peripheral contributions (APC), and they can have both positive and negative ramifications for project development. Open platforms and managers face a challenging design choice in deciding whether to allow APC and for which tasks or what type of projects. We examine the impact that the ratio between APC and IPC has on OSS project performance. Our results suggest that the OSS projects perform the best when they contain a uniform anonymity level (i.e., they contain predominantly APC or predominantly IPC). However, our results also suggest that OSS projects have lower performance when the ratio between APC and IPC nears one (i.e., they contain close to the same number of APC and IPC). Furthermore, our results suggest that these results differ depending on the type of application that a project develops. Our study contributes to the ongoing debate about the implications of anonymity for online communities and informs managers about the effect that anonymous contributions have on their projects

The Impact of Person-Organization Fit on Turnover in Open Source Software Projects

Participant turnover in open source software development is a critical problem. Using Schneider’s (1987) Attraction Selection and Attrition Framework and the notion of Person- Organization fit, we hypothesize about the relationship between a participant\u27s fit with an open source project and turnover. Specifically we predict that value fit, needs-supplies fit and demandsabilities fit between a participant and a particular project will have a negative association with participant turnover and that the role of the participant in the project acts a moderator. An empirical study is designed to examine the hypotheses using a combination of survey and archival data. Since for-profit companies are increasingly leveraging open source software development, implications of our findings will be useful for project managers seeking to retain talented contributors in the absence of financial compensation

Knowledge Creation and Organizational Performation: An Organizational Agility Perspective

This paper is an extended summary of a research that examines the role of organizational agility as a mediator between knowledge creation processes and organizational performance. The moderating role of two knowledge characteristics, tacitness and institutionalization, in the mediation processes are also analyzed. Our results indicate that organizational agility significantly mediated the effect of knowledge creation on organizational creativity, which, in turn, affects organizational performance

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Feasibility, safety and pharmacokinetic study of hepatic administration of drug-eluting beads loaded with irinotecan (DEBIRI) followed by intravenous administration of irinotecan in a porcine model

Irinotecan eluting embolization beads (DEBIRI) are currently being evaluated in the clinic for the treatment of colorectal cancer metastases to the liver. The aim of this study was to determine the safety and pharmacokinetics associated with two cycles of hepatic embolization using DEBIRI followed by intravenous administration of irinotecan. Pigs were embolized with DEBIRI (100–300 μm, 100 mg dose, n = 6) and blood samples taken over 24 h to determine plasma levels of irinotecan and SN-38 metabolite and for haematology and biochemistry. At 24 h an IV infusion of 250 mg/m2 of irinotecan was administered and the plasma levels taken again. This cycle was repeated 3 weeks later. A single animal was subjected to a more aggressive regimen of embolization with 200 mg bead dose and IV of 350 mg/m2 for two cycles. Three animals were sacrificed at 6 weeks and the remaining four (n = 3 standard dose, n = 1 high dose) animals at 12 weeks and detailed histopathology performed. All animals tolerated the treatments well, with only minor changes in haematological and biochemical parameters. There was no overlap in drug plasma levels observed from the bead and IV treatments when given 24 h apart and no difference between the pharmacokinetic profiles of the two cycles separated by 3 weeks. Irinotecan plasma AUC values were similar in both the embolization and IV arms of the study. Cmax values obtained during the IV arms of the study are approximately double that of the embolization arms whilst Tmax times are shorter in the IV arms, supporting extended release of drug from the beads. Bioavailability for bead-based delivery was double that for IV administration, which was attributed to reduced clearance of the drug when delivered by this route. No additive toxicity was observed as a consequence of the combined treatments. The combination of irinotecan delivery via drug eluting bead and IV was well-tolerated with no significant clinical effects. Pharmacokinetic analyses suggest the bioavailability from bead-based delivery of drug is double that of IV infusion, attributable to reduced drug clearance for the former.Andrew L. Lewis, Rachel R. Holden, S. Ting Chung, Peter Czuczman, Timothy Kuchel, John Finnie, Susan Porter, David Foste