1,721,130 research outputs found
Why Scrum works in new product development: the role of social capital in managing complexity
No full textMajor changes are currently underway across new product development (NPD) practice, and a number of new NPD management methods and processes are emerging. Managers are faced with an array of possible process models and methods to choose from, including the formal Stage-Gate method as well as multiple emerging variants of Agile. The claimed benefits of Agile methods make it attractive, but its suitability is uncertain. In safety-critical organizations and environments a well-controlled, waterfall-based project model would likely be expected. In an empirical study of an R&D department in a large organization creating and adapting complex air traffic management systems we investigate the use and effects of Scrum, the leading Agile method. Since project coordination is a social phenomenon, we apply social capital and project complexity as theoretical lenses for evaluating the effects of Scrum. We find that Scrum and social capital provide reciprocal benefits, and that the stakeholders found Scrum to be an effective and valuable way of working, mitigating the effects of complexity
How to enable ambidexterity in safety-critical software development
Full text linkIn a competitive environment, continually improving new products and services requires new knowledge and novel solutions. Managing projects also requires the careful control of resources for effective delivery. Ambidexterity, the simultaneous achievement of novelty through exploration and efficiency through exploitation, is challenging to achieve in practice. The ways in which companies can achieve ambidexterity are context dependent. It is especially hard to promote new and uncertain concepts in situations where lives are at stake. This article reports on a case study of a safety-critical IT development project that successfully achieved ambidexterity. Leadership behaviors that support ambidexterity in this setting are critical. We highlight four leadership behaviors key to developing an environment where creative solutions can flourish
The mannan-binding protein of human serum
No full textA previously unreported protein has been isolated from normal human serum and citrated plasma and has been designated mannan-binding protein (MBP) because of its Ca +-dependent binding to yeast mannans. The apparent molecular weight of MBP, estimated by SDS-PAGE, was about 30 x 103. Under non-dissociating conditions in aqueous solution MBP was highly aggregated. MBP is an acidic protein behaving similarly to serum album in an ion exchange chromatography using DE52.This protein appears to be the human equivalent of a mannan-binding protein found in rabbit serum, although the latter is present at much higher levels (400 pg per 100 ml cf 25 pg per 100 ml for human MBP). The published method for the isolation of MBP from rabbit serum was unsuitable for the human protein because of contamination of the product with antimannan antibodies and serum amyloid P-component (SAP). This contamination was partially overcome by the development of an isolation procedure based on the binding of MBP to the glucosyl residues of Sephadex G200. However, SAP was difficult to exclude completely as it was bound by MBP itself. During the project SAP was studied in some detail to determine its relationship to MBP. Using an improved procedure SAP was isolated in a biologically active but unusual, pentameric form. The pI of human SAP was 5.7 - 5.8. Previously unreported binding specificities for phosphate esters and carbohydrates such as L-fucose were identified. The recognition of phosphate esters such as phosphoryl choline emphasises the homology between SAP and other pentraxins. The binding of rabbit MBP to glycoproteins was specific for N-acetyl-Dmannosamine, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and D-mannose residues. Binding to horseradish peroxidase, a mannose-rich glycoprotein, was particularly strong and was inhibited by serum from patients with suspected systemic Candidiasis although not by normal serum. This property could be valuable diagnostically. Previously, no suggestions had been made regarding the biological role of MBP in serum. However, MBP from both human and rabbit serum agglutinated yeast cells demonstrating that MBP is a lectin. Radio-labelled rabbit MBP bound specifically to yeasts and certain bacteria, even in the presence of normal serum. This suggests that MBP could have a role in defence against infection.</p
A study of accountability in two organisational learning frameworks: why accountability for learning is critical
Full text linkIn this paper we examine the complex relationship between accountability and organizational learning through a case study with the UK Royal Air Force (RAF). Accountability is a complex and contradictory construct that has both positive and negative implications for organizational learning. Within the same organization we observed positive effects of accountability in one organizational learning system, and negative effects of accountability in another. This case study adds to the organizational learning and accountability literatures, showing that accountability to hierarchy, rather than preventing learning, can actually promote effective learning, making it more likely that people will report problems quickly and accurately and take follow-up action. This only applies if the learning objectives align with the broader accountability framework, and if reporting on failures will enhance individual reputation. If not, then people will tend to avoid reporting negative events in order to avoid punishment and reputation damage. Accountability to hierarchy is only negative if it conflicts with the learning objectives
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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