An exploratory evaluation of three IS project performance measurement methods

Information systems projects play an important strategic role in organisations and are key drivers to the delivery of change. Given this prominence it is essential to find measurement methods that effectively analyse and communicate the performance to its stakeholders. Further, to assure contribution to both research and practice it is essential to verify the utility of the artefacts (i.e. methods) developed to help validate or justify that the solutions are suitable for practice, and fit the needs and contexts for which it is created. Grounded in the design science paradigm, this paper reports an exploratory evaluation of the perception of certain qualities of two recently developed measurement methods (The Project Performance Scorecard and Project Objectives Measurement Model) against the traditional Triple Constraint method. An analytic scenario-based survey of fifty-one (51) participants, comprising of three (3) sets of independent sample of seventeen (17) respondents each was used. The study analysed dimensions of task performance, ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived semantic qualities and user satisfaction from the perspective of the participants. The preliminary study revealed encouraging results for the new methods and the general design process which can help guide current use and further refinements. The limitations of the study and future research directions are discussed

LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE IN VIRTUAL TEAM: EXPLORING THE EFFECTS OF E-LEADERS’BEHAVIORAL COMPLEXITY

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key roles that enable e-leaders to build high-quality exchanges with their team members. We use behavioral complexity theory to analyze the roles played by leaders of virtual teams, and helping them to develop effective leader-member exchanges (LMX). We draw up a research model to explain how e-leaders build cooperative and collaborative relationships through social-related and work-related activities. We then test the research model using a large survey of 193 virtual team members. Our findings show that apart from coordination and monitoring roles, open systems roles, roles of rational pursuit of goals and human relations roles have a positive and significant effect on LMX

Le management des équipes virtuelles: Conscience de groupe - E-leadership - Créativité.

Ce papier se propose de relater trois travaux de thèse complémentaires, soutenus ou en cours, dans le domaine des équipes ou communautés virtuelles. Il se veut plutôt didactique et synthétique, par une comparaison des approches méthodologiques utilisés et des modèles validés ou en cours de validation. Dans un enchaînement logique, c’est d’abord la question de la conscience collective qui est abordée. Cette étude, outre la validation d’un modèle de recherche, a mis en évidence l’importance de l’e-leadership dans les équipes virtuelles. Dans la seconde partie, l’explication d’un modèle sur l’e-leadership, en cours de construction, est développée. Enfin, les travaux confiés aux équipes virtuelles peuvent être multipliples (prises de décision, partages de connaissances, conception de nouveaux produits, …). Dans une troisième partie, c’est le processus de création et la créativité qui sont examinés, dans le cadre d’équipes virtuelles. La recherche a mis en évidence un processus de création en 6 phases : la préparation, la génération, l’incubation, l’émanation, la sélection et la finalisation. Le processus de création peut être appréhendé comme une suite d’interactions entre le conscient et l’inconscient des équipes. La créativité semble être conditionnée par deux facteurs : l’émanation et l’usage de la technologie.E-management; leadership; confiance; inconscient; création; créativité; conscience de groupe; communauté virtuelle; équipe virtuelle;

Simultaneous use of solution, solid-state NMR and X-ray crystallography to study the conformational landscape of the Crh protein during oligomerization and crystallization

We explore, using the Crh protein dimer as a model, how information from solution NMR, solid-state NMR and X-ray crystallography can be combined using structural bioinformatics methods, in order to get insights into the transition from solution to crystal. Using solid-state NMR chemical shifts, we filtered intra-monomer NMR distance restraints in order to keep only the restraints valid in the solid state. These filtered restraints were added to solid-state NMR restraints recorded on the dimer state to sample the conformational landscape explored during the oligomerization process. The use of non-crystallographic symmetries then permitted the extraction of converged conformers subsets. Ensembles of NMR and crystallographic conformers calculated independently display similar variability in monomer orientation, which supports a funnel shape for the conformational space explored during the solution-crystal transition. Insights into alternative conformations possibly sampled during oligomerization were obtained by analyzing the relative orientation of the two monomers, according to the restraint precision. Molecular dynamics simulations of Crh confirmed the tendencies observed in NMR conformers, as a paradoxical increase of the distance between the two β1a strands, when the structure gets closer to the crystallographic structure, and the role of water bridges in this context

Modelling forest–savanna mosaic dynamics in man-influenced environments: effects of fire, climate and soil heterogeneity

Forests and savannas are the major ecotypes in humid tropical regions. Under present climatic conditions, forest is in a phase of natural expansion over savanna, but traditional human activities, especially fires, have strongly influenced the succession. We here present a new model, FORSAT, dedicated to the forest–savanna mosaic on a landscape scale and based on stochastic modelling of key processes (fire and succession cycle) and consistent with common field data. The model is validated by comparison between the qualitative emergent behaviour of the model and results of biogeographical field studies. Three types of forest succession are shown: progression of the forest edge, formation and coalescence of clumps in savanna and global afforestation of savanna. The parameters (frequency of savanna fires, climate and soil fertility) appear to have comparable effects and there is a sharp threshold between a forest edge progression scenario and the cluster formation one. Moreover, pioneer seed dispersal pattern and recruitment are determinant: peaked curves near a seed source and far dispersal combine to increase the fitness of the pioneers

Study of spatter ejections during laser-powder bed fusion process for aluminum alloys

During L-PBF process on aluminum alloys, instabilities such as spatter ejections result from the laser-matter interaction. These spatters create a variety of defects and affect the mechanical properties of the final parts. To help understanding this phenomenon, a global method was developed, combining experimental study and image analysis. This system provides statistic information on spatter population (radius, velocity, direction and emission rate) and the idea of pollutant spatter is defined. Four aluminum alloys are compared. The results show the oxygen content in the fabrication chamber has no effect on the spatter ejection dynamic. The spatter velocity, angle of ejection and size increase with the intensity. Also, significant differences are noticed between the different alloys

Geometrically Repatterned Immunological Synapses Uncover Formation Mechanisms

The interaction of T cells and antigen-presenting cells is central to adaptive immunity and involves the formation of immunological synapses in many cases. The surface molecules of the cells form a characteristic spatial pattern whose formation mechanisms and function are largely unknown. We perform computer simulations of recent experiments on geometrically repatterned immunological synapses and explain the emerging structure as well as the formation dynamics. Only the combination of in vitro experiments and computer simulations has the potential to pinpoint the kind of interactions involved. The presented simulations make clear predictions for the structure of the immunological synapse and elucidate the role of a self-organizing attraction between complexes of T cell receptor and peptide–MHC molecule, versus a centrally directed motion of these complexes

Laser surface melting of nickel-based alloy reduces nickel release in the primary cooling system of a nuclear power plant

The surface of Ni-based alloy 690 was treated using a sub-microsecond pulsed laser in order to reduce the amount of nickel released when the surface is exposed to the primary cooling system of pressurized water nuclear reactors. A 2D array of laser treatment parameter sets was investigated. The results on sample surfaces was characterized using interferometric microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectrometry (GDOES) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometry (XPS). The treatment leading to a continuous and defect-free chromine surface having the minimum nickel content over about the first two nanometers and no subsurface chromium depletion was selected for the nickel release test. This selection criterion proved to be very efficient as the total amount of nickel released in a standard qualification test using a simulated primary coolant was reduced, compared to a non-treated surface, by a factor of 7 during the heating phase and by a factor of 3.7 on average over the whole month-long test

A dominant gain-of-function mutation in universal tyrosine kinase <i>SRC </i>causes thrombocytopenia, myelofibrosis, bleeding, and bone pathologies

The Src family kinase (SFK)member SRC is amajor target in drug development because it is activated in many human cancers, yet deleterious SRC germline mutations have not been reported. We used genome sequencing and Human Phenotype Ontology patient coding to identify a gain-of-function mutation in SRC causing thrombocytopenia, myelofibrosis, bleeding, and bone pathologies in nine cases. Modeling of the E527K substitution predicts loss of SRC's self-inhibitory capacity, whichwe confirmedwith in vitro studies showing increased SRC kinase activity and enhanced Tyr419 phosphorylation in COS-7 cells overexpressing E527K SRC. The active form of SRC predominates in patients' platelets, resulting in enhanced overall tyrosine phosphorylation. Patientswith myelofibrosis have hypercellular bone marrow with trilineage dysplasia, and their stem cells grown in vitro form more myeloid and megakaryocyte (MK) colonies than control cells. These MKs generate platelets that are dysmorphic, low in number, highly variable in size, and have a paucity of a-granules. Overactive SRC in patient-derived MKs causes a reduction in proplatelet formation, which can be rescued by SRC kinase inhibition. Stem cells transduced with lentiviral E527K SRC formMKs with a similar defect and enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation levels. Patient-derived and E527K-transduced MKs show Y419 SRC- positive stained podosomes that induce altered actin organization. Expression of mutated src in zebrafish recapitulates patients' blood and bone phenotypes. Similar studies of platelets andMKs may reveal the mechanism underlying the severe bleeding frequently observed in cancer patients treated with next-generation SFK inhibitors. © 2016 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science; all rights reserved