The feeding ecology of the European otter (lutra lutra l.) in a marine environment

The bulk of the research took place on the coast of Fetlar, Shetland, in1976-78.Otters were studied by direct observation of individuals recognised by variations in natural markings on the lips and throat, and in addition their diet was studied by means of spraint (faecal) analysis. Most foraging occurred in the sea within 150 m of the shore, a wide variety of fish species being eaten, the majority demersal, as well as some crabs. The pronounced seasonal) variation in dietary composition is considered in the light of available information on the behaviour of the prey species. Detailed observations of an adult female and her cub revealed a significant difference in the composition of their diets, the cub taking a lower proportion of the faster prey species as well as a significant number of crabs which were not predated at all by the adult. Most feeding was localised in bouts in relatively restricted areas. There was no clear correlation between otter activity and the diel or tidal cycles. The adult female and her cub had a home range consisting of 2.5km of coastline with a maximum foraging area of 42.6ha, and their pattern of use of this home range is described. Evidence suggests that for the effective exploitation of foraging areas, breeding females require holt sites (resting places) close by. In 1977 the minimum population density along 11km of coast was 1 otter: 1,2km of coast; and in 1978 along 16km of coast was 1 otter: 0.9km of coast. A positive correlation between dive duration and water depth was noted and it is hypothesised that this is a causal relationship determined by the necessity for minimising the up thrust produced by the air in the lungs during diving. The implications of this for otter foraging behaviour and population distribution are discussed

Revisiting Ralph Sprague’s Framework for Developing Decision Support Systems

Ralph H. Sprague Jr. was a leader in the MIS field and helped develop the conceptual foundation for decision support systems (DSS). In this paper, I pay homage to Sprague and his DSS contributions. I take a personal perspective based on my years of working with Sprague. I explore the history of DSS and its evolution. I also present and discuss Sprague’s DSS development framework with its dialog, data, and models (DDM) paradigm and characteristics. At its core, the development framework remains valid in today’s world of business intelligence and big data analytics. I present and discuss a contemporary reference architecture for business intelligence and analytics (BI/A) in the context of Sprague’s DSS development framework. The practice of decision support continues to evolve and can be described by a maturity model with DSS, enterprise data warehousing, real-time data warehousing, big data analytics, and the emerging cognitive as successive generations. I use a DSS perspective to describe and provide examples of what the forthcoming cognitive generation will bring

Business Intelligence: Past, Present and Future

Business Intelligence (BI) is critical to the performance of many organizations. It isn’t a completely new phenomenon, however, and reflects 40 years of evolution in decision support. These roots are traced in the context of what is important in BI today. Contemporary BI is explored – concepts, applications, technology, and processes – including definitions, frameworks, architectures, OLAP based reporting, dashboards/scorecards, predictive analytics, operational BI, agile development, and more. Also described is the future of BI, including pervasive BI, data visualization, and what can be called the information based organization. Examples are drawn from a variety of companies. The tutorial closes with a discussion of resources for teaching BI

Laboratory studies on the serological phenomena in syphilis

The problems of immunity to the various infective diseases have proved a fruitful field of scientific study whichhas yielded results both of fundamental biological importance and also of far reaching practical application. The recognition of the part played by constituents of the blood serum in protecting the host from invading micro -parasites was one of the early results of immunological study, and the mechanism of the antagonistic effects of serum towards pathogenic organisms still presents unsolved problems of great physiological and pathological interest. Thus, the study of such serum functions, i.e., of serology, has been ancillary to immunological research in its widest aspects and the demonstration of serological reactions by in vitro tests has exerted a great influence on the progress of bacteriological and immuno- logical science. Such studies elicited the fact that the serum of a person or animal possessing an acquired immunity to a particular organism might exert a specific lytic action on this organism both in vivo and in vitro, and the exact analysis of this phenomenon of bacteriolysis resulted from the elucidation by Bordet in 1898 of the analogous process of serum haemolysis, i.e., the lysis of the red blood corpuscles of a particular species towards whose red cells another animal had been immunized in a manner analogous to artificial antibacterial immunization. Bordet showed that serum haemolysis is due to two serum principles - a specific antibody or new "substance" generated by immunization, and a normal principle, complement or alexin. The analysis of bacteriolysis revealed an analogous mechanism. Thus, in the process of immunization against a particular organism, a new principle makes its appearance in the serum which, along with the normal serum complement, may exert a specific bactericidal effect. In vitro study of this process has shown that the immune body combines firmly with the homologous bacteria (i.e., the antigen) and that the antigen plus the combined antibody is then highly susceptible to the cytolytic action of the complement, the complement combining with the complex (antigen plus antibody).MANX MENTAL HOSPITAL: The number of cases examined was 290, of which 46 gave positive results - 23 men and 23 women: 241 were negative - 117 men and 124 women while one man and 2 women were positive with the Flocculation test and negative with the Wassermann reaction. The male patients gave positive results in 16.31 per cent. and the female 15.43.ARGYLL & BUTE MENTAL HOSPITAL.- The number of cases examined was 388 - 185 men and 203 women, and. 39 of/ 228. of the former and 33 of the latter gave positive results. One hundred and thirty -nine men and 169 women gave negative results while one woman was posit- :ive with the Flocculation test and negative with the Wassermann reaction. Seven men gave a doubtful react- :ion with the Flocculation test which were negative with the Wasse/mann reaction. The same result was obtained when these cases were tested one month later. They were tested with 6 different antigens. The male patients gave positive results in 21.08 per cent. and the women in 16.25 per cent.1. In this series of cases studied, the Flocculation test, if not superior to the Wassermann reaction, has not been proved to be in any way inferior, and its application is much simpler. 2. The investigation suggests that while syphilis in mental hospitals is more common among men than among women, there is not such a wide difference as was at one time supposed. 3. By means of laboratory methods the number of positive results can be increased. The percentage has been raised by 12.1 in the case of the Manx patients and by 15.0 for the Scottish Hospital. 4. Better conclusions can be arrived at when a greater number of mental hospitals are available for comparison, especially if the observations are made by the same worker

Tutorial: Mobile BI

Smartphones and tablets are ubiquitous for personal use and are increasingly employed for business purposes. When paired with business intelligence to create mobile BI, workers are able to access information wherever they are, at any time, and through a variety of devices. This use has the potential to increase employee productivity, enhance customer service and satisfaction, improve decision making, provide a competitive advantage, and improve the bottom line. Mobility can make BI pervasive throughout an organization, but it is most likely to be used by executives, mid-level and operational managers, sales representatives, and field and internal technicians. To be successful with mobile BI, we must address various issues and challenges such as creating a roadmap, getting started right, meeting user expectations, creating an appropriate technology infrastructure, designing for screen size, and providing for security. Case studies of U.S.Xpress, a leading trucking company, and GUESS, a leading retailer of clothing and accessories, provide many real-world examples of the concepts, options, and best practices associated with mobile BI. Following mainframe, client/server, and Web-based approaches, mobile BI is the fourth generation of how information is delivered

Reflections on Engaging the Business Community to Support Academic Research

In this historical perspective, I share my thoughts and experiences working with companies to engage and support academic research. I show the process from finding the right topic to deciding when it is time to move on to something new. As I go through my experiences, I will introduce 10 lessons learned to help in your research efforts. I also introduce three example professors who operate in different academic environments, have different academic and personal goals, and take different paths in working with the business community. I close by exploring the four evolutionary stages of academic IS research. The latest stage, big data/machine learning/artificial intelligence, offers new opportunities for engaging the business community, as well as impacting what academic IS research is and how it is conducted

Update Tutorial: Big Data Analytics: Concepts, Technology, and Applications

In 2014, I wrote a paper on big data analytics that the Communications of the Association for Information Systems published (volume 34). Since then, we have seen significant advances in the technologies, applications, and impacts of big data analytics. While the original paper’s content remains accurate and relevant, with this new paper, I update readers on important, recent developments in the area