A View from the Top: International Politics, Norms and the Worldwide Growth of NGOs

This article provides a top-down explanation for the rapid growth of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the postwar period, focusing on two aspects of political globalization. First, I argue that international political opportunities in the form of funding and political access have expanded enormously in the postwar period and provided a structural environment highly conducive to NGO growth. Secondly, I present a norm-based argument and trace the rise of a pro-NGO norm in the 1980s and 1990s among donor states and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), which has actively promoted the spread of NGOs to non-Western countries. The article ends with a brief discussion of the symbiotic relationship among NGOs, IGOs, and states promoting international cooperation

DESIGNING ALIGNMENT AND IMPROVISING CHANGE: EXPERIENCES IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR USING THE SPRINT METHODOLOGY

If information systems (IS) are to yield real benefits for organisations, it is critical that they support the business goals of the enterprise and that they are successfully assimilated into routine use by organisational members. The conventional solutions to the achievement of strategic alignment and the management of change in IS development are typically top-down, relying in both areas on a rational, planned approach. This paper describes a BPR framework, known as SPRINT, which adopts a different strategy. Following Ciborra (1997), it is argued that alignment is most effectively achieved when “designed into ” the whole IS life-cycle (including evaluation) as an omnipresent issue of ongoing concern to all participants. Regarding change, an incremental approach is advocated, drawing on the improvisational change model of Orlikowski and Hoffman (1997). The paper provides an overview of SPRINT followed by a case study illustrating its use in a local authority on a project to re-engineer IS support for the authority’s decision-making process. The methodology has now been deployed on a number of projects, with generally positive results. This is adduced as strong evidence for the methodological validity of the framework, especially in the two key areas of alignment and change. Other aspects of SPRINT are discussed, in particular the use of methodology as a tool for knowledge management

Designing Alignment and Improvising Change: Experiences in the Public Sector Using the Sprint Methodology

If information systems (IS) are to yield real benefits for organisations, it is critical that they support the business goals of the enterprise and that they are successfully assimilated into routine use by organisational members. The conventional solutions to the achievement of strategic alignment and the management of change in IS development are typically top-down, relying in both areas on a rational, planned approach. This paper describes a BPR framework, known as SPRINT, which adopts a different strategy. Following Ciborra (1997), it is argued that alignment is most effectively achieved when “designed into” the whole IS life-cycle (including evaluation) as an omnipresent issue of ongoing concern to all participants. Regarding change, an incremental approach is advocated, drawing on the improvisational change model of Orlikowski and Hoffman (1997). The paper provides an overview of SPRINT followed by a case study illustrating its use in a local authority on a project to re-engineer IS support for the authority’s decision-making process. The methodology has now been deployed on a number of projects, with generally positive results. This is adduced as strong evidence for the methodological validity of the framework, especially in the two key areas of alignment and change. Other aspects of SPRINT are discussed, in particular the use of methodology as a tool for knowledge management

Stereochemical congruence of Baeyer-Villigerases

The enantiomeric bicyclic ketones 1, 3 and the tricyclic ketone 5 undergo stereochemically congruent Baeyer-Villiger oxidations with CHMO from Acinetobacter sp,, CPMO from Pseudomonas sp, as well as 2,5-DKCMO, 3,6-DKCMO and MO2 from P, putida; in every case the tricyclic ketone 5 is transformed with > 96% ee, N-terminal sequences for the FAD/NADPH linked enzymes from Acinetobacter sp,, Pseudomonas sp, and a novel CHMO from R, coprophilus have high homology with each other but no homology with the FMN/NADH linked enzymes; 2,5-DKCMO and 3,6-DKCMO