Knowledge Transfer Challenges in ERP Development Networks: The Quest for a Shared Development Model

Contemporary Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system development is conducted in a multi-stakeholder network. It requires the collaboration of different organizations and stakeholders. Knowledge transfer (KT) is difficult and often causes failure in projects, yet it has not been thoroughly investigated from the network’s perspective. Thus, this interpretive case study investigates what makes KT difficult in ERP development networks. As a result, seven categories of KT challenges were found: articulating domain knowledge, unwillingness to communicate, excessive trust, using informal communication channels and methods, different ways of working, missing or unidirectional connections between parties, and unsuitable or missing tools. The main contribution is gaining a deeper understanding of ERP development networks and especially about what makes KT difficult when developing ERP systems in a multistakeholder context. These findings imply that a shared development model for the EDN needs to be created in order to avoid KT challenges

CENTRALIZED AND DISTRIBUTED ERP DEVELOPMENT MODELS: OPERATIONS AND CHALLENGES

Different approaches to enterprise resource planning systems development are often mentioned in the IS literature. However, they are not usually explained thoroughly. The aims of this interpretive case study are thus to introduce two different approaches for developing tailored ERP systems and to explain how they function, i.e., how the information about different kinds of requests flows through the network of actors, from business needs to production. In addition, the challenges in development caused by these development approaches are considered. As a result, we have identified two different models for ERP development: centralized and distributed decision making. The most significant challenges are related to communication channels, transfer of domain knowledge, and the role of key individuals in the development activities. Both approaches are considered successful overall, yet distinctive strengths and defects can be identified from each

The Life Cycle Challenge of ERP System Integration

To serve its purpose as a backbone for business integration, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems need to be integrated with other information systems inside and outside the boundaries of an enterprise. An inductive case study was made to examine a long-term ERP system of a large manufacturing enterprise to better understand the nature and importance of ERP system integration. Our results can be summarized as four findings about the current life cycle models: 1) integration should be a major consideration when choosing ERPs, 2) deployments are continuous, 3) external integration is not just an extension phase after the project and 4) integration remains as a continuous challenge which is never fully achieved due to the constantly changing business requirements and organizational landscape. The results can help managers when making decisions on integration issues, yet effective approaches for integration governance are needed in order to avoid the increased costs and complexity

Validation of IMPROD biparametric MRI in men with clinically suspected prostate cancer: A prospective multi-institutional trial

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with targeted biopsy (TB) is increasingly used in men with clinically suspected prostate cancer (PCa), but the long acquisition times, high costs, and inter-center/reader variability of routine multiparametric prostate MRI limit its wider adoption.Methods and findings: The aim was to validate a previously developed unique MRI acquisition and reporting protocol, IMPROD biparametric MRI (bpMRI) (NCT01864135), in men with a clinical suspicion of PCa in a multi-institutional trial (NCT02241122). IMPROD bpMRI has average acquisition time of 15 minutes (no endorectal coil, no intravenous contrast use) and consists of T2-weighted imaging and 3 separate diffusion-weighed imaging acquisitions. Between February 1, 2015, and March 31, 2017, 364 men with a clinical suspicion of PCa were enrolled at 4 institutions in Finland. Men with an equivocal to high suspicion (IMPROD bpMRI Likert score 3-5) of PCa had 2 TBs of up to 2 lesions followed by a systematic biopsy (SB). Men with a low to very low suspicion (IMPROD bpMRI Likert score 1-2) had only SB. All data and protocols are freely available. The primary outcome of the trial was diagnostic accuracy-including overall accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), and positive predictive value-of IMPROD bpMRI for clinically significant PCa (SPCa), which was defined as a Gleason score >= 3 + 4 (Gleason grade group 2 or higher). In total, 338 (338/364, 93%) prospectively enrolled men completed the trial. The accuracy and NPV of IMPROD bpMRI for SPCa were 70% (113/161) and 95% (71/75) (95% CI 87%-98%), respectively. Restricting the biopsy to men with equivocal to highly suspicious IMPROD bpMRI findings would have resulted in a 22% (75/338) reduction in the number of men undergoing biopsy while missing 4 (3%, 4/146) men with SPCa. The main limitation is uncertainty about the true PCa prevalence in the study cohort, since some of the men may have PCa despite having negative biopsy findings.Conclusions: IMPROD bpMRI demonstrated a high NPV for SPCa in men with a clinical suspicion of PCa in this prospective multi-institutional clinical trial.</p

Validation of IMPROD biparametric MRI in men with clinically suspected prostate cancer : A prospective multi-institutional trial

Background Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with targeted biopsy (TB) is increasingly used in men with clinically suspected prostate cancer (PCa), but the long acquisition times, high costs, and inter-center/reader variability of routine multiparametric prostate MRI limit its wider adoption. Methods and findings The aim was to validate a previously developed unique MRI acquisition and reporting protocol, IMPROD biparametric MRI (bpMRI) (NCT01864135), in men with a clinical suspicion of PCa in a multi-institutional trial (NCT02241122). IMPROD bpMRI has average acquisition time of 15 minutes (no endorectal coil, no intravenous contrast use) and consists of T2-weighted imaging and 3 separate diffusion-weighed imaging acquisitions. Between February 1, 2015, and March 31, 2017, 364 men with a clinical suspicion of PCa were enrolled at 4 institutions in Finland. Men with an equivocal to high suspicion (IMPROD bpMRI Likert score 3-5) of PCa had 2 TBs of up to 2 lesions followed by a systematic biopsy (SB). Men with a low to very low suspicion (IMPROD bpMRI Likert score 1-2) had only SB. All data and protocols are freely available. The primary outcome of the trial was diagnostic accuracy-including overall accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), and positive predictive value-of IMPROD bpMRI for clinically significant PCa (SPCa), which was defined as a Gleason score >= 3 + 4 (Gleason grade group 2 or higher). In total, 338 (338/364, 93%) prospectively enrolled men completed the trial. The accuracy and NPV of IMPROD bpMRI for SPCa were 70% (113/161) and 95% (71/75) (95% CI 87%-98%), respectively. Restricting the biopsy to men with equivocal to highly suspicious IMPROD bpMRI findings would have resulted in a 22% (75/338) reduction in the number of men undergoing biopsy while missing 4 (3%, 4/146) men with SPCa. The main limitation is uncertainty about the true PCa prevalence in the study cohort, since some of the men may have PCa despite having negative biopsy findings. Conclusions IMPROD bpMRI demonstrated a high NPV for SPCa in men with a clinical suspicion of PCa in this prospective multi-institutional clinical trial.Peer reviewe

Qlu-laatukriteeristön kehittäminen

Kuulolaitteet helpottavat kuulovammaisia monissa tilanteissa, mutta ongelmia esiintyy yleisesti esimerkiksi virastoissa ja teattereissa käydessä. Induktiosilmukka on yleisin järjestelmä, jolla mikrofonista tai muusta äänilähteestä ääni saadaan siirrettyä suoraan kuulokojeeseen välttäen häiritsevän ympäröivän melun ja akustiikasta johtuvat ongelmat, kuten kaiun. Induktiosilmukka hyödyntää sähkömagneettista induktiota, joten siinäkin voi esiintyä sähköisiä häiriöitä. Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli selvittää, miten yleisimmät häiriötyypit induktiosilmukassa vaikuttavat kuullunymmärtämiseen ja kuinka voimakkaina häiriöt voivat esiintyä. Lopputuloksena pyrittiin luomaan yhtenäinen induktiosilmukan laatukriteeristö kuulokojeen tyypistä ja kuulovammasta riippumatta. Opinnäytetyö tehtiin Qlu Oy:n tilauksesta, joka tarvitsi tieteellisesti tehdyn tutkimuksen laatukriteeristön pohjaksi. Tutkimuksen testi suoritettiin kuulokojeiden käyttäjillä. Tutkimukseen valittiin 36 henkilöä, iältään 20–80-vuotiaita. Testi suoritettiin kuulotestityyppisesti. Testissä henkilöiden tehtävänä oli testin ensimmäisessä vaiheessa vertailla kahta eri tavalla muokattua ääninäytettä keskenään miellyttävyyden mukaan. Toisessa vaiheessa annettiin laatua kuvaava arvosana 0–12 muokatulle näytteelle. Tulokset olivat käyttäjien välillä paikoitellen ristiriitaisia, joten kompromisseja tuloksia koostaessa joutui tekemään. Tuloksista saatiin tehtyä jokaiselle häiriötyypille taulukot, joissa näkyy yhteisvaikutus laatuun kokonaisvaimennuksen kanssa. Saadut tulokset toimivat hyvänä pohjana lisätutkimuksille, joita tarvitaan tulosten varmistamiseksi.Hearing aids are made to decrease challenges in normal life but in offices and theatres there still occurs some problems. Induction loop is the best-known system to transfer audio from microphone and other sources directly to the hearing aid without acoustic distractions like echo. The function of induction loop is based on electromagnetic induction and therefore electric interferences can be occurred. The goal of the thesis was to research how listening with induction loop is affected by general distractions and how big amplitude of distractions can be allowed. The goal for the outcome was to create coherent rating of the quality regardless the type and the hearing disability. The rating was developed for Qlu inc. They needed a scientific research for the base of the rating. The test of the study was carried out with 36 hearing aid users age between 20–80 years. The study was implemented as a hearing test. The first task for the subjects was to compare two differently modified samples between each other by amenity. The second task was to compare the quality of the sample by giving grades 0–12 for the modified sample. The results were partly contradictory and therefore compromises were made to compose the outcome. In outcome combined effect of the interferences and attenuation can be seen in composed charts. The outcome can be used as a good base for the further research

Selvitys uinnin ydintaidoista ja niiden opettamisesta koulu-uinnissa

Perusopetussuunnitelman perusteiden mukaan liikunnan opetuksen tarkoitus on ohjata oppilasta ymmärtämään liikunnan terveydellinen merkitys ja tarjota sellaisia taitoja, tietoja ja kokemuksia, jotka auttavat omaksumaan liikunnallisen elämän tavan. Yhtenä osana tätä valtakunnallista suunnitelmaa on uimataidon opettaminen. Tämän työn tavoitteena oli etsiä uusi näkökulma koulu-uinnin opettamiseen, joka huomioi luokkien oppilaiden taitojen heterogeenisyyden, käytettävissä olevan tuntikehyksen ja nykytietämyksen liikuntataitojen opettamisesta. Sen tarkoitus on tehdä näkyväksi uinnin erikoinen luonne verrattaessa muihin liikuntataitoihin ja samalla osoittaa yhtäläisyyksiä niihin taitojen harjoittelussa. Työn tuotoksena vedessä opeteltavat taidot ryhmiteltiin hengityksen säätelytaitoihin, tasapainotaitoihin ja liikkumistaitoihin. Mallina käytettiin perusmotoristen taitojen luokittelua. Taitojen opetusta ja sisältöä muuttamalla saatiin aikaan opetuspolku, joka mahdollistaa koko luokan samanaikaisen harjoittelun. Erot harjoitteissa tulevat oppilaiden suoritusten laadullisessa toteuttamisessa. Uinnin ydintaitojen monipuolisen ja riittävän harjoittelun todettiin avaavan tien kaikkiin uinnin lajitaitoihin. Kaksi toisen luokan luokanopettajaa arvioi altaalla tapahtunutta luokkansa opetusta. Samoin sisältöjä ja niiden toimivuutta arvioitiin aktiivisesti opetuksen aikana itse. Tähän työhön pohjautuen tullaan tekemään opas uinnin perustaitojen opettamiseen.Finish national core curriculum states in its physical education part that its goal is to guide pupils to understand the connection between physical activity and health. Like-wise its purpose is to provide skills, knowledge and experiences out of witch students are able to adopt a physically active way of life. The conventional way to teach swimming does not correspond to these goals. The objective of this thesis was to find a better way to teach swimming based on modern theories for teaching motor skills. During a four year-period of different teaching methods, rehearsals and learning paths were tested in fieldwork. In addition to fieldwork testing research was made to find different approaches and methods to teach swimming. Testing was made to first, second and third graders. A core-based motor teaching was selected as a teaching method to teach swimming. Swimming skills were divided into three core-skill groups: breath control, balance and movement skills. An order to teach these core skills was determined. Breath control is to be taught before balance skills are possible. These two core-skills are to be mastered before moving skills. This thesis suggests that in physical education swimming the ruling conventional method is discarded and replaced with core-based motor teaching. In school physical education the main focus should be to teach basic aquatic skills until fourth grade. Based on this thesis a guide how to teach core-based swimming skills will be made

Explaining the challenges in ERP development networks with triggers, root causes, and consequences

Many organizations still find it painful to implement an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Although ERP projects are collaborative efforts that many separate organizations conduct, academic research has not investigated ERPs fully from this perspective. To identify the challenges in ERP development networks (EDNs), we carried out an interpretive empirical study by using grounded theory to analyze data. After identifying 10 EDN challenges and analyzing the associations between the challenges further, we constructed a model that explains the challenges in ERP development networks. Relationship conflicts (root causes) create or reinforce one or more operational problems (consequences). Changes in the EDN structure initiate or reinforce the other two types. Whereas the existing literature has discussed ERP challenges mainly separately, we offer a more profound explanation of how they emerge and interrelate. Our findings aid practitioners in recognizing and focusing on the root causes of challenges ratherthan firefighting consequences. The findings can provide useful insights into collaborative and dynamic environments where multiple organizations interact.Peer reviewe