Utilisation of intranets for knowledge sharing : a socio-technical study

Although intranets appear to be ideal environments for employees to share knowledge quickly and efficiently, usage in practice appears limited. We report findings from two case studies that highlight three key issues limiting intranet utilisation for knowledge sharing: organisational structures and strategies, the impact of the receiver on sharer choices, and the availability of alternative channels for knowledge sharing. This study suggests that for companies to obtain more effective intranets, they need to better align organisational structures and strategies with intranet objectives, develop a comprehensive corporate communication plan, and find new ways to better link sharers with receivers&rsquo; knowledge needs.<br /

IT security certifications : stakeholder evaluation and selection

Information technology (IT) security certifications have proliferated in recent years. However they differ in regards to stakeholder considerations of credibility, accessibility and relevance. Key stakeholders with an interest in selecting an IT security certification (IT security professionals, employers, governments and higher education institutes) lack a systematic approach for differentiating between candidate certifications and selecting the &ldquo;best&rdquo; certification to satisfy requirements. The paper focuses on reporting a confirmatory focus group from a recent research project. It provides a framework for supporting stakeholder evaluation and selection of IT security certifications and discusses key implications for the IT security industry, IT security certifications, and the higher education sector.<br /

Improved ambient stability of thermally annealed zinc nitride thin films

Zinc nitride films are known to readily oxidize in an ambient atmosphere, forming a ZnO/Zn(OH)2 medium. We report that post-growth thermal annealing significantly improves the stability of zinc nitride with a three-order magnitude increase in degradation time from a few days in un-annealed films to several years after annealing. A degradation study was performed on samples annealed under a flow of nitrogen at 200–400 °C, which showed that the stability of the films depends strongly on the annealing temperature. We propose a mechanism for this improvement, which involves a stabilization of the native oxide layer that forms on the surface of zinc nitride films after exposure to ambient conditions. The result holds significant promise for the use of zinc nitride in devices where operational stability is a critical factor in applications

Generalized information entropies depending only on the probability distribution

Systems with a long-term stationary state that possess as a spatio-temporally fluctuation quantity $\beta$ can be described by a superposition of several statistics, a "super statistics". We consider first, the Gamma, log-normal and $F$-distributions of $\beta$. It is assumed that they depend only on $p_l$, the probability associated with the microscopic configuration of the system. For each of the three $\beta-$distributions we calculate the Boltzmann factors and show that they coincide for small variance of the fluctuations. For the Gamma distribution it is possible to calculate the entropy in a closed form, depending on $p_l$, and to obtain then an equation relating $p_l$ with $\beta E_l$. We also propose, as other examples, new entropies close related with the Kaniadakis and two possible Sharma-Mittal entropies. The entropies presented in this work do not depend on a constant parameter $q$ but on $p_l$. For the $p_l$-Gamma distribution and its corresponding $B_{p_l}(E)$ Boltzmann factor and the associated entropy, we show the validity of the saddle-point approximation. We also briefly discuss the generalization of one of the four Khinchin axioms to get this proposed entropy.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Structural, electrical, and optical characterization of as grown and oxidized zinc nitride thin films

Zinc Nitride (Zn3N2) films were grown by DC sputtering of a Zn target in a N2 plasma under a variety of different growth conditions, which resulted in the deposition of films with variable compositions. The as deposited films exhibited a polycrystalline Zn3N2 structure, which was converted to a ZnO-based structure after several weeks of ambient exposure. Zn3N2 films that were N-poor exhibited electrical properties indicative of a natively doped semiconductor and reached a minimum carrier concentration in the order of 1018 cm3 at compositions, which approached the stoichiometric ratio of Zn3N2. A maximum carrier mobility of 33 cm2 V1 s 1 was obtained in N-rich films due to an improved microstructure. The Zn3N2 films had an optical band gap of 1.31–1.48 eV and a refractive index of 2.3–2.7. Despite a wide range of Zn3N2 samples examined, little variation of its optical properties was observed, which suggests that they are closely related to the band structure of this material. In contrast to the as grown films, the oxidized film had a band gap of 3.44 eV and the refractive index was 1.6–1.8, similar to ZnO and Zn(OH)2

IUPHAR-DB: An Expert-Curated, Peer-Reviewed Database of Receptors and Ion Channels

The International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology database (IUPHAR-DB) integrates peer-reviewed pharmacological, chemical, genetic, functional and anatomical information on the 354 non-sensory G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), 71 ligand-gated ion channel subunits and 141 voltage-gated ion channel subunits encoded by the human, rat and mouse genomes. These genes represent the targets of about a third of currently approved drugs and are a major focus of drug discovery and development programs in the pharmaceutical industry. Individual gene pages provide a comprehensive description of the genes and their functions, with information on protein structure, ligands, expression patterns, signaling mechanisms, functional assays and biologically important receptor variants (e.g. single nucleotide polymorphisms and splice variants). The phenotypes resulting from altered gene expression (e.g. in genetically altered animals) and genetic mutations are described. Links are provided to bioinformatics resources such as NCBI RefSeq, OMIM, PubChem, human, rat and mouse genome databases. Recent developments include the addition of ligand-centered pages summarising information about unique ligand molecules in IUPHAR-DB. IUPHAR-DB represents a novel approach to biocuration because most data are provided through manual curation of published literature by a network of over 60 expert subcommittees coordinated by NC-IUPHAR. Data are referenced to the primary literature and linked to PubMed. The data are checked to ensure accuracy and consistency by the curators, added to the production server using custom-built submission tools and peer-reviewed by NC-IUPHAR, before being transferred to the public database. Data are reviewed and updated regularly (at least biennially). Other website features include comprehensive database search tools, online and downloadable gene lists and links to recent publications of interest to the field, such as reports on receptor-ligand pairings. The database is freely available at &#x22;http://www.iuphar-db.org&#x22;:http://www.iuphar-db.org. Curators can be reached at curators [at] iuphar-db.org. We thank British Pharmacological Society, UNESCO (through the ICSU Grants Programme), Incyte, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Servier and Wyeth for their support

Temperature dependence of the band gap of zinc nitride observed in photoluminescence measurements

We report the photoluminescence properties of DC sputtered zinc nitride thin films in the temperature range of 3.7–300 K. Zinc nitride samples grown at 150 °C exhibited a narrow photoluminescence band at 1.38 eV and a broad band at 0.90 eV, which were attributed to the recombination of free carriers with a bound state and deep-level defect states, respectively. The high-energy band followed the Varshni equation with temperature and became saturated at high excitation powers. These results indicate that the high-energy band originates from shallow defect states in a narrow bandgap. Furthermore, a red-shift of the observed features with increasing excitation power suggested the presence of inhomogeneities within the samples

Community awareness of green roofs in Sydney

There are environmental, economic and social benefits of installing green roofs and walls on city buildings. The environmental benefits are lower building related operational carbon emissions, reductions in the urban heat island, increases in bio-diversity and reductions in storm-water run-off. Economically, the benefits are reduced roof maintenance costs, lower running costs, higher capital and rental values for commercial buildings. Finally the social or community gains are the creation of aesthetically pleasing spaces, landmarksand cultural capital as well as provision of recreational spaces. Furthermore social, psychological and therapeutic gains accrue when the roof or wall is visible to people andis used for social interaction and leisure activities. The perceived drawbacks are perceived greater risk of building leaks, high costs of installation and maintenance, and access and security issues. Whilst the technology to design and install green roofs and walls has existed for hundreds of years the uptake and the demand for green roofs and walls has not been high. Overall, the environmental social and economic gains are not perceived sufficient to create significant demand to set up green roofs and walls. In Sydney Australia, the existing number of green roofs and walls are testimony to this observation. With the aim of addressing the barriers to the uptake of green roofs and walls; it is essential to understand the way in which the key stakeholders; here the community, perceive the technology. With this knowledge it is then feasible to develop an agenda to mitigate any erroneous perceptions that exists. This research reports on a survey with the Sydney community to determine their perceptions of green roofs and walls

The estrogenic activity of phthalate esters in vitro

A large number of phthalate esters were screened for estrogenic activity using a recombinant yeast screen. a selection of these was also tested for mitogenic effect on estrogen-responsive human breast cancer cells. A small number of the commercially available phthalates tested showed extremely weak estrogenic activity. The relative potencies of these descended in the order butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) > dibutyl phthalate (DBP) > diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) > diethyl phthalate (DEP) > diisiononyl phthalate (DINP). Potencies ranged from approximately 1 x 10(6) to 5 x 10(7) times less than 17beta-estradiol. The phthalates that were estrogenic in the yeast screen were also mitogenic on the human breast cancer cells. Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) showed no estrogenic activity in these in vitro assays. A number of metabolites were tested, including mono-butyl phthalate, mono-benzyl phthalate, mono-ethylhexyl phthalate, mon-n-octyl phthalate; all were wound to be inactive. One of the phthalates, ditridecyl phthalate (DTDP), produced inconsistent results; one sample was weakly estrogenic, whereas another, obtained from a different source, was inactive. analysis by gel chromatography-mass spectometry showed that the preparation exhibiting estrogenic activity contained 0.5% of the ortho-isomer of bisphenol A. It is likely that the presence of this antioxidant in the phthalate standard was responsible for the generation of a dose-response curve--which was not observed with an alternative sample that had not been supplemented with o,p'-bisphenol A--in the yeast screen; hence, DTDP is probably not weakly estrogenic. The activities of simple mixtures of BBP, DBP, and 17beta-estradiol were assessed in the yeast screen. No synergism was observed, although the activities of the mixtures were approximately additive. In summary, a small number of phthalates are weakly estrogenic in vitro. No data has yet been published on whether these are also estrogenic in vitro. No data has yet been published on whether these are also estrogenic in vivo; this will require tests using different classes of vertebrates and different routes of exposure

On high-speed turning of a third-generation gamma titanium aluminide

Gamma titanium aluminides are heat-resistant intermetallic alloys predestined to be employed in components suffering from high mechanical stresses and thermal loads. These materials are regarded as difficult to cut, so this makes process adaptation essential in order to obtain high-quality and defect-free surfaces suitable for aerospace and automotive parts. In this paper, an innovative approach for longitudinal external high-speed turning of a third-generation Ti-45Al-8Nb- 0.2C-0.2B gamma titanium aluminide is presented. The experimental campaign has been executed with different process parameters, tool geometries and lubrication conditions. The results are discussed in terms of surface roughness/integrity, chip morphology, cutting forces and tool wear. Experimental evidence showed that, due to the high cutting speed, the high temperatures reached in the shear zone improve chip formation, so a crack-free surface can be obtained. Furthermore, the use of a cryogenic lubrication system has been identified in order to reduce the huge tool wear, which represents the main drawback when machining gamma titanium aluminides under the chosen process condition