Designing, Producing and Using Artifacts in the Structuration of Firm Knowledge: Evidence from Proprietary and Open Processes of Software Development.

In the paper we study the recursive nature of artifacts in the production and the socialization of organizational knowledge. In this respect, artifacts are interpreted both as the product (output) of organizational knowledge processes and, at the same time, as tools easing the development of other artifacts. We compare different practices of knowledge creation and diffusion in complex software production processes with the aim of understanding the effects of interplay between (1) coordination and control practices, (2) mediating artifacts and development tools, and (3) interactions between different actors in the development process. We aim at identifying the peculiar traits emerging in contrasting development paradigms, namely the closed, fully proprietary one widespread in the gaming console industry, and the open model of free/open source software developmentvideo/computer game industry; artifacts; free/open source software; video game consoles

Designing, Producing and Using Artifacts in the Structuration of Firm Knowledge: Evidence from Proprietary and Open Processes of Software Development.

In the paper we study the recursive nature of artifacts in the production and the socialization of organizational knowledge. In this respect, artifacts are interpreted both as the product (output) of organizational knowledge processes and, at the same time, as tools easing the development of other artifacts. We compare different practices of knowledge creation and diffusion in complex software production processes with the aim of understanding the effects of interplay between (1) coordination and control practices, (2) mediating artifacts and development tools, and (3) interactions between different actors in the development process. We aim at identifying the peculiar traits emerging in contrasting development paradigms, namely the closed, fully proprietary one widespread in the gaming console industry, and the open model of free/open source software development.video/computer game industry; artifacts; free/open source software; video game console

Assessing the economic impact of public industrial policies: an empirical investigation on subsidies.

Empirical literature findings do not provide a clear-cut interpretation of the effects of public aid on firms’ performances. We contribute to this literature analysing the effects of public regional subsidies on investment using a new dataset covering all the firms in the Italian province of Trento, along with a record of public aid granted in the last 15 years. We find permanent positive effects of aid on firms’ size, but no effect is found on factor substitution, nor on technical change. Moreover, subsidies do not improve either profitability or productivity. These results help better define the scope for local aid.regional policy; public subsidies; propensity score matching

The role of competencies and interests in developing complex IT-artefacts: the case of a metering system.

In this paper we aim at contributing to the ongoing debate on the relationship between artefacts and organizational structuration. Current literature emphasises the role of artefacts as mediators between interests of different categories of actors, namely between designers and users. Alternatively, it concentrates on the processes of learning and interacting between each actor and the artefacts themselves. We explore an arrangement which is not captured by these characterizations, and yet is becoming more and more common, that is situations in which complexity imposes an integration of different actors focusing on knowledge domains which are only partly overlapping. To explore these issues, we examine the dynamics surrounding the design of a complex artefact: an electronic metering system developed by a consortium of firms. The main results emerging from the case study are 1) the relevance of each actor's interests as the main rationale for explaining the technical features of the artefact; 2) the role of negotiation and consensus in determining the final shape of the artefact in term of its features; 3) the bundling/unbundling of features within the physical object as the cooperative effort rises/falls.artefacts; interests; ambiguity; competencies

Organizational choices as drivers of work intensity

In this paper we offer some new insights into the interpretation of the relationship between the introduction of Information Technology devices and their effects on working time. Prevailing theories suggest a mechanistic link between technology adoption and its effects on work, both in terms of quantity and quality. In contrast, we claim that technology adoption is a means to implement organizational choices regarding both the technical and the social structure of tasks. Drawing our evidence from a case study describing the introduction of a new ERP system in a car rental company, we show how these organizational changes affect the pace of work activities, the balance between working and leisure time and the balance between production and learning time

Evaluación de proyectos de inversión en la actividad vitícola

La provincia de Mendoza es la región vitivinícola más importante de Argentina, representando más del 75% de la producción nacional. Sus condiciones naturales como la altitud (entre 500 y 1500 metros sobre el nivel del mar), aridez y suelos pedregosos y una marcada amplitud térmica entre el día y la noche, son el marco ideal para el cultivo de la vid. En la región Este se encuentra Rivadavia, uno de los departamentos con mayor ubicación a la viticultura del ámbito provincial. Si bien se está reconvirtiendo paulatinamente el área de plantación de vid, desde las criollas a las finas, en Rivadavia predominan los grandes volúmenes (Fundación ProMendoza, 2013). La actividad vitícola en el distrito Los Campamentos, Rivadavia, se encuentra castigada por factores de riesgo climático como son el granizo y las heladas, además el calentamiento global ha afectado la cantidad de agua en Mendoza, elemento fundamental para el desarrollo de los viñedos. Estas problemáticas hacen que el viñatero se vea obligado a evaluar, con vistas al largo plazo, alternativas de inversión que le permitan disminuir estos riesgos y un mejor aprovechamiento del agua. En principio la finca, en la que hemos de centrar nuestro trabajo, está ubicada en una zona que era rica en agua pero con alto riesgo de granizo. Hoy la realidad es otra, el riesgo de granizo subsiste pero se enfrentan problemas de insuficiencia de agua debido a la disminución de la dotación, al agotamiento de las napas menos profundas y el alto costo de realizar perforaciones. Además son problemas que envuelven también la cuestión lo referido a los beneficios, gastos de la inversión, costos que se deja de erogar al aplicar las distintas alternativas, qué herramientas existen para hacer frente al granizo y a la escasez de agua, cómo puede el viñatero financiar los proyectos, cuál será el periodo de recuperación de la inversión y cuál será la vida útil del bien en el cual se invierta.Fil: Mammana, Pablo Daniel. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas.Fil: Zamarian, Florencia Belén. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas

The Origins of the Oxford Conference Within the Networks of 1930s Student Activism

It is sixty years since the Oxford Conference of 1958, which established the present-day model of British architectural education as a primarily intellectual pursuit carried out within a university environment. This paper traces the origins of this model to a network of young activists of the 1930s led by Leslie Martin, Richard Llewelyn Davies, Richard Sheppard, Max Lock, Justin Blanco White, and others. Walter Gropius addressed a number of key student meetings of the period, offering a major stimulus to the radicalism of the young. The resulting network sought to reform architectural education through student activism, aiming to produce architects adapted to the technical and intellectual challenges of modernism, and fit to work in the increasingly large and ambitious architectural offices of the public sector. The Oxford Conference is commonly portrayed as the culmination of a campaign hatched by a coterie of official architects infiltrating the RIBA. This paper adds to the understanding of the conference by demonstrating its origins within the fevered and energetic climate of 1930s student activism pervading not just the Architectural Association but national organisations such as the Northern Architectural Students’ Association and the RIBA Junior Members’ Committee. As architectural education once again comes under scrutiny, this paper rediscovers the atmosphere of student-led optimism, belief in progress, and passionate commitment to architecture as a public service which underpinned the origins of the current educational landscape. It also offers a reminder that reforming architectural education can be a slow and lengthy process

Noi per Genova. The coordination of volunteers in the Genoa flood of 2014 / Noi per Genova. Il coordinamento dei volontari durante l’alluvione di Genova del 2014

Volunteers represent a valuable asset during emergencies caused by natural phenomena. A recent flurry of contributions has underscored the capabilities of so-called digital volunteers to provide effective contributions by providing useful information, helping mitigate the damage and supporting the recovery in the aftermath of disasters. Social media have been identified as specific enablers of volunteer work, as they provide a bottom-up coordination tool. We contend that albeit useful for broadcasting information and corroborating other sources of information, the use of social media by a vast network of volunteers cannot substitute for the highly contextual knowledge developed locally on the scene. We explore the issue by analyzing volunteer work – both digital and physical – occurring during the Genoa flood of 2014

Características técnicas, estéticas e mercadológicas da bracatinga (Mimosa scabrella Bentham) na fabricaçao de móveis

Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a madeira de bracatinga (Mimosa scabrella Bentham), a fim de verificar se esta possui as características necessárias que permitam o seu uso no design de móveis, contribuindo para um incremento na oferta de matéria-prima para o setor. Para tanto, foi analisado o desempenho desta madeira no mobiliário em relação às suas características estéticas e técnicas, como resistência, trabalhabilidade, entre outros fatores pertinentes ao design de móveis, assim como as características mercadológicas para aceitação comercial no segmento. Os resultados positivos obtidos contribuem para que a bracatinga tenha um fim comercial nobre, oferecendo melhores oportunidades de desenvolvimento da comunidade rural. Uma vez que a espécie teve excelente aceitação no mercado de móveis, suas propriedades organolépticas valorizaram-na em condições naturais frentes às outras espécies de reflorestamento e possui condições satisfatórias de trabalhabilidade para ser empregada no setor. Conclui-se que a madeira de bracatinga pode ser usada como material sólido de qualidade, em partes aparentes de móveis, bem como em partes estruturais, para atingir o mercado consumidor das classes média e alta. Percebe-se a importância de estudos futuros que favoreçam o cultivo da bracatinga direcionados à produção de móveis em escala comercial

Avaliação histológica do processo de reparo em falhas ósseas induzidas em tíbias de coelhos tratados com decanoato de nandrolona

Orientadora: Profª. Drª. Erica Cristina Bueno do Prado GuirroCo-orientador: Prof. Dr. Olicies da CunhaDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Palotina, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência Animal. Defesa: Palotina, 24/11/2014Inclui referênciasÁrea de concentração : Saúde animalResumo: O decanoato de nandrolona é um esteroide anabólico que parece interferir no processo de reparo ósseo por meio dos fatores de crescimento aumentando a osteogênese e inibindo a reabsorção óssea. Este estudo teve por objetivo verificar se o decanoato de nandrolona interfere no tratamento de fraturas e no processo de reparação óssea. Trinta e seis coelhos foram submetidos a um defeito tibial monocortical e tratados conforme o grupo experimental: G1 (n=18) foi o grupo controle e recebeu injeção de NaCl 0,9%; G2 (n=18) foi tratado com decanoato de nandrolona. No 15°, 30° e 45° dias de pós-operatório, seis animais de cada grupo foram submetidos à eutanásia para que as tíbias fossem avaliadas de forma macro e microscópica. Foram avaliados parâmetros como presença de hematoma, integridade da medula óssea, consolidação do orifício, integridade da cortical, inflamação aguda, necrose, tecido de granulação, tecido conjuntivo fibroso, angiogênese, hiperplasia de periósteo, tecido ósseo neoformado, número de osteoclastos e altura do calo ósseo. Não foi observada diferença estatística entre G1e G2 nos tempos determinados, porém ao longo do tempo, quando comparados os tempos 15 e 45 e 30 e 45 dias, o decanoato de nandrolona foi capaz de interferir na contagem de osteoclastos e acelerar o processo de reparo ósseo. Palavras-Chave: calo ósseo, coelhos, fraturas, nandrolona, osteoclastos, reparo ósseoAbstract: The nandrolone decanoate is an anabolic steroid that seems to interfere in the process of bone repair by growth factors, enhancing osteogenesis and inhibiting bone resorption. This study was realized in order to verify if the nandrolone decanoate interferes with treatment of fractures or with the bone repair process. Thirty-Six rabbits were submitted to a monocortical tibial defect and treated as the experimental group: G1 (n=18) was the control group which received injection of NaCl 0.9 % ; G2 (n=18) was treated with nandrolone decanoate. At 15°, 30° and 45° days post - op, six rabbits of each group were euthanized so the tibias could be macroscopically and microscopically evaluated. Parameters such as: presence of hematoma; bone marrow integrity; consolidation of the perforation; cortical integrity; acute inflammation; necrosis; granulation tissue; fibrous connective tissue; angiogenesis; hyperplasia of the periosteum; the newly formed bone tissue; number of osteoclasts and bone callus height, were evaluated. No statistical difference between G1 and G2 were noticed during the observation period, however, over time, comparisons between 15° and 45° days and between 30° and 45° demonstrates that the nandrolone decanoate was able to interfere with osteoclast count and speed up the bone repair process. Key words: bone callus, rabbits, fractures, nandrolone, osteoclasts, bone repair