ERP project’s internal stakeholder network and how it influences the project’s outcome

So far little effort has been put into researching the importance of internal ERP project stakeholders’ mutual interactions, realizing the project’s complexity, influence on the whole organization, and high risk for a useful final outcome. This research analyzes the stakeholders’ interactions and positions in the project network, their criticality, potential bottlenecks and conflicts. The main methods used are Social Network Analysis, and the elicitation of drivers for the individual players. Information was collected from several stakeholders from three large ERP projects all in global companies headquartered in Finland,together with representatives from two different ERP vendors, and with two experienced ERP consultants. The analysis gives quantitative as well as qualitative characterization of stakeholder criticality (mostly the Project Manager(s), the Business Owner(s) and the Process Owner(s)) , degree of centrality, closeness , mediating or bottleneck roles, relational ties and conflicts (individual, besides those between business and project organizations) , and clique formations. A generic internal stakeholder network model is established as well as the criticality of the project phases. The results are summarized in the form of a list of recommendations for future ERP projects to address the internal stakeholder impacts .Project management should utilize the latest technology to provide tools to increase the interaction between the stakeholders and to monitor the strength of these relations. Social network analysis tools could be used in the projects to visualize the stakeholder relations in order to better understand the possible risks related to the relations (or lack of them).ERP; Social networks ; Enterprise resource planning; Stakeholders

ERP project’s internal stakeholder network and how it influences the project’s outcome

So far little effort has been put into researching the importance of internal ERP project stakeholders’ mutual interactions, realizing the project’s complexity, influence on the whole organization, and high risk for a useful final outcome. This research analyzes the stakeholders’ interactions and positions in the project network, their criticality, potential bottlenecks and conflicts. The main methods used are Social Network Analysis, and the elicitation of drivers for the individual players. Information was collected from several stakeholders from three large ERP projects all in global companies headquartered in Finland,together with representatives from two different ERP vendors, and with two experienced ERP consultants. The analysis gives quantitative as well as qualitative characterization of stakeholder criticality (mostly the Project Manager(s), the Business Owner(s) and the Process Owner(s)) , degree of centrality, closeness , mediating or bottleneck roles, relational ties and conflicts (individual, besides those between business and project organizations) , and clique formations. A generic internal stakeholder network model is established as well as the criticality of the project phases. The results are summarized in the form of a list of recommendations for future ERP projects to address the internal stakeholder impacts .Project management should utilize the latest technology to provide tools to increase the interaction between the stakeholders and to monitor the strength of these relations. Social network analysis tools could be used in the projects to visualize the stakeholder relations in order to better understand the possible risks related to the relations (or lack of them)

Bombali Virus in Mops condylurus Bat, Kenya

Bombali virus (genus Ebolavirus) was identified in organs and excreta of an Angolan free-tailed bat (Mops condylurus) in Kenya. Complete genome analysis revealed 98% nucleotide sequence similarity to the prototype virus from Sierra Leone. No Ebola virus-specific RNA or antibodies were detected from febrile humans in the area who reported contact with bats.Peer reviewe

Copy number loss in SFMBT1 is common among Finnish and Norwegian patients with iNPH

Objective To evaluate the role of the copy number loss in SFMBT1 in a Caucasian population. Methods Five hundred sixty-seven Finnish and 377 Norwegian patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) were genotyped and compared with 508 Finnish elderly, neurologically healthy controls. The copy number loss in intron 2 of SFMBT1 was determined using quantitative PCR. Results The copy number loss in intron 2 of SFMBT1 was detected in 10% of Finnish (odds ratio [OR] = 1.9, p = 0.0078) and in 21% of Norwegian (OR = 4.7, p <0.0001) patients with iNPH compared with 5.4% in Finnish controls. No copy number gains in SFMBT1 were detected in patients with iNPH or healthy controls. The carrier status did not provide any prognostic value for the effect of shunt surgery in either population. Moreover, no difference was detected in the prevalence of hypertension or T2DM between SFMBT1 copy number loss carriers and noncarriers. Conclusions This is the largest and the first multinational study reporting the increased prevalence of the copy number loss in intron 2 of SFMBT1 among patients with iNPH, providing further evidence of its role in iNPH. The pathogenic role still remains unclear, requiring further study.Peer reviewe

Application of non-HDL cholesterol for population-based cardiovascular risk stratification: results from the Multinational Cardiovascular Risk Consortium.

BACKGROUND: The relevance of blood lipid concentrations to long-term incidence of cardiovascular disease and the relevance of lipid-lowering therapy for cardiovascular disease outcomes is unclear. We investigated the cardiovascular disease risk associated with the full spectrum of bloodstream non-HDL cholesterol concentrations. We also created an easy-to-use tool to estimate the long-term probabilities for a cardiovascular disease event associated with non-HDL cholesterol and modelled its risk reduction by lipid-lowering treatment. METHODS: In this risk-evaluation and risk-modelling study, we used Multinational Cardiovascular Risk Consortium data from 19 countries across Europe, Australia, and North America. Individuals without prevalent cardiovascular disease at baseline and with robust available data on cardiovascular disease outcomes were included. The primary composite endpoint of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease was defined as the occurrence of the coronary heart disease event or ischaemic stroke. Sex-specific multivariable analyses were computed using non-HDL cholesterol categories according to the European guideline thresholds, adjusted for age, sex, cohort, and classical modifiable cardiovascular risk factors. In a derivation and validation design, we created a tool to estimate the probabilities of a cardiovascular disease event by the age of 75 years, dependent on age, sex, and risk factors, and the associated modelled risk reduction, assuming a 50% reduction of non-HDL cholesterol. FINDINGS: Of the 524 444 individuals in the 44 cohorts in the Consortium database, we identified 398 846 individuals belonging to 38 cohorts (184 055 [48·7%] women; median age 51·0 years [IQR 40·7-59·7]). 199 415 individuals were included in the derivation cohort (91 786 [48·4%] women) and 199 431 (92 269 [49·1%] women) in the validation cohort. During a maximum follow-up of 43·6 years (median 13·5 years, IQR 7·0-20·1), 54 542 cardiovascular endpoints occurred. Incidence curve analyses showed progressively higher 30-year cardiovascular disease event-rates for increasing non-HDL cholesterol categories (from 7·7% for non-HDL cholesterol <2·6 mmol/L to 33·7% for ≥5·7 mmol/L in women and from 12·8% to 43·6% in men; p<0·0001). Multivariable adjusted Cox models with non-HDL cholesterol lower than 2·6 mmol/L as reference showed an increase in the association between non-HDL cholesterol concentration and cardiovascular disease for both sexes (from hazard ratio 1·1, 95% CI 1·0-1·3 for non-HDL cholesterol 2·6 to <3·7 mmol/L to 1·9, 1·6-2·2 for ≥5·7 mmol/L in women and from 1·1, 1·0-1·3 to 2·3, 2·0-2·5 in men). The derived tool allowed the estimation of cardiovascular disease event probabilities specific for non-HDL cholesterol with high comparability between the derivation and validation cohorts as reflected by smooth calibration curves analyses and a root mean square error lower than 1% for the estimated probabilities of cardiovascular disease. A 50% reduction of non-HDL cholesterol concentrations was associated with reduced risk of a cardiovascular disease event by the age of 75 years, and this risk reduction was greater the earlier cholesterol concentrations were reduced. INTERPRETATION: Non-HDL cholesterol concentrations in blood are strongly associated with long-term risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. We provide a simple tool for individual long-term risk assessment and the potential benefit of early lipid-lowering intervention. These data could be useful for physician-patient communication about primary prevention strategies. FUNDING: EU Framework Programme, UK Medical Research Council, and German Centre for Cardiovascular Research

Spatiotemporal prevalence of cowpox virus in Finnish field voles

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Serological Survey of Rodent-Borne Viruses in Finnish Field Voles

In northern Europe, rodent populations display cyclic density fluctuations, which can be correlated with the human incidence of zoonotic diseases they spread. During density peaks, field voles (Microtus agrestis) become one of the most abundant rodent species in northern Europe, yet little is known of the viruses they host. We screened 709 field voles, trapped from 14 sites over three years, for antibodies against four rodent-borne, potentially zoonotic viruses or virus groups: hantaviruses, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), Ljungan virus (LV) and orthopoxviruses (OPV). Antibodies against all four viruses were detected. However, seroprevalence of hantaviruses, LV and LCMV was low. OPV antibodies (most likely cowpox) were more common but restricted geographically to southeast Finland. Within these sites, antibody prevalence showed delayed density-dependence in spring and direct density-dependence in fall. Higher seroprevalence was found in spring than fall. These results substantially increase knowledge of the presence and distribution of viruses of field voles in Finland, as well as CPXV infection dynamics.peerReviewe

Range Expansion of Bombali Virus in Mops condylurus Bats, Kenya, 2019

Previously identified only in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and southeastern Kenya, Bombali virus-infected Mops condylurus bats were recently found approximate to 750 km away in western Kenya. This finding supports the role of M. condylurus bats as hosts and the potential for Bombali virus circulation across the bats range in sub-Saharan Africa.Peer reviewe