Managing risks in public-private partnership formation projects

While sourcing by means of Public-Private Partnerships has been lauded over recent years, increasingly risks appear to jeopardise public organisations' unique societal tasks. Integrated Risk Management has not yet been applied to public organisations getting involved in PPP in the sense of understanding risk management capabilities. This article explores risk awareness and risk management practices underpinning maintenance partnership formation by means of a dual case study of two PPP projects and a short industry survey. The results suggest that organisations face several “intolerable risks” linked to project governance and project management responsibilities: insufficient representation of qualified employees, absence of a shared performance system, assignment of responsibilities and decision-making authority, impractical or inappropriate partnership agreement, and timing of the partnership initiative. Cross-case analysis revealed the role of different levels of risk awareness and senior management involvement. Drawing on these findings, a framework for risk management for PPP formation projects is developed.     

Wrapping of Web Sources with restricted Query Interfaces by Query Tunneling

Information sources in the World Wide Web usually offer two different schemes to their users, an Interface Schema which the user can query and a Result Schema which the user can browse. Often the Interface Schema is more restricted than the Result Schema, moreover many sources offer keyword-search interfaces only. Thus query capabilities of such sources are very small and a useful integration into a mediator-based information system using query capabilities is almost impossible. We propose the Query Tunnelling architecture for the wrapping of these restricted web sources. Wrapping of sources by Query Tunneling hides restrictive query interfaces and makes such sources fully queryable based on their result schema. The process of Query Tunneling is divided into two main steps, Query Relaxation to make a higher order query suitable to a restricted interface and Result Restriction in order to filter the results using the original query.     

ICT for socio-economic development: A citizens’ perspective

There is a widespread belief that information and communication technologies (ICTs) can play a significant role in the socio-economic development of a developing country. ICT has the potential to affect many aspects of economic and societal activities such as GDP growth, employment, productivity, poverty alleviation, quality of life, education, and healthcare. While the literature provides a myriad of definitions and elements of socio-economic development, the focus tends to be on theoretical conceptualizations from various disciplines and impacts from isolated individual projects. In particular, the impact of ICT on socio-economic development has not been carefully examined from the viewpoint of the ultimate stakeholder, the citizens of a country, who are the final consumers of the technology. This study fills this gap by focusing on the citizens’ view in describing ICT-driven socio-economic development in a developing country. A theoretical framework influenced by the “capabilities approach” was developed to guide this research, and the interpretive stance was used to conduct the study. More specifically, the narrative research method, which is seldom used in IS research but is appropriate for this study, was used. Narratives allow deeper and profound insights into social representations and participants' beliefs about the role of ICT in socio-economic development. Using this methodology, a model of the impact dimensions of socio-economic development is presented.     

Post-Catch-Up Strategy for Medium-Sized South Korean Firms: Improving Technological Capabilities by Balancing R&D Intensity and Open Innovation

Abstract

This study examines how R&D intensity and open innovation affect the technological capabilities of firms in newly-developed countries, such as South Korea. East Asian latecomers are transitioning from a catch-up phase toward becoming leaders, and they are engaging in open innovation activities to drive this transition. This research quantitatively analyzes three kinds of open innovation activities—outside-in, inside-out, and coupled—to investigate their influence upon technological capabilities, while also considering the effect of R&D intensity. Data from 75 South Korean medium-sized firms were analyzed, and two major findings are reported. First, technological capabilities are enhanced by some open innovation activities and by R&D intensity. Second, R&D intensity negatively moderates the impact of open innovation activities on technological capabilities. Therefore, it may be concluded that firms with relatively low R&D intensity will gain the most benefit from increasing their open innovation activities.     

Adoption framework for advanced manufacturing technologies

The paper examines the adoption of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT). The general proposition is that the adoption of AMT reflects an interactive learning process, which is described by the extant use of AMT, firm-specific AMT knowledge accumulation, and the transfer of AMT ideas among networks of firms, suppliers, industry associations and government. This general proposition was specified as a structural equation model of Adoption of AMT. Data were based on the experiences of 224 Australian manufacturing companies that have invested and succeeded in using AMT. The results suggest that the adoption of AMT is primarily a function of a firm's assets for AMT, which comprise the resources, capabilities, and competences for developing and using AMT. The relationship between the adoption of AMT and assets for AMT was reciprocal, which implied a process of dynamic accumulation of both technology and human assets — a view consonant with the competence perspective of the firm. Overall, assets for AMT represent the AMT knowledge base of firms, and were shown to have a crucial role in determining the adoption of AMT.     

Configuring Capabilities for Integrated Solutions: Evidence from the IT Sector

This paper investigates the way that firms' environmental context and organizational structure influence their strategic choices and lead to different capabilities configurations. Drawing on contingency theory and the resource‐based view, we explore integrated solutions—an emerging business model in which firms bundle products and services—in the IT sector, which is a particularly appropriate context due to its novelty, high‐technology characteristics and implications for capabilities development. This study contributes to research and practice by identifying how organizational and environmental/market factors co‐evolve with firms' strategy and how firms' distinct strategic decisions lead to differences in capabilities configurations.     

Capabilities evaluation of WSEM,milling and hobbing for meso-gear manufacturing

This paper describes manufacturing capabilities evaluation of wire spark erosion machining (WSEM), milling and hobbing to manufacture meso straight bevel gear (MSBG) and meso helical gear (MHG) made of SS 304 using microgeometry, macrogeometry, flank surface topology, surface finish, microstructure, microhardness, manufacturing time and cost, and gear material loss. Experiments were conducted using the parameters of WSEM, milling and hobbing processes optimized through trial experiments. This study reveals that WSEM manufactured MSBG and MHG possess better microgeometry (DIN 5-7), macrogeometry (29, 33, and 46?µm deviation in span, tooth thickness and outside diameter for MHG), topology, higher microhardness, superior microstructure, lower manufacturing time (25 and 20?min, respectively) and cost ($ 4 for both), smaller loss of gear material but poor surface finish (1.07 and 6.60?µm as average and maximum surface roughness for MHG and 1.04 and 6.16?µm for MSBG) than milled MSBG and hobbed MHG. Microstructure study showed presence of burrs and marks of the cutting tool on the flanks of the best quality hobbed MHG and milled MSBG. It proves that WSEM is a superior, economical, material efficient, and environment friendly process to manufacture meso-sized cylindrical and conical gears of higher accuracy and better quality with excellent repeatability.     

英语语篇教学与综合能力培养

语篇是指一系列连续的语段或句子构成的语言整体，是在语篇水平上进行的语言信息交流。语篇教学从所学的语言文字材料及相关的信息入手，培养学生英语听，说，读，写的综合英语应用能力，是实现《大学英语课程要求》的重要手段之一。     

Rights to Housing: Reviewing the Terrain and Exploring a Way Forward

Exacerbated by the specificity of housing as a welfare good, debates on housing, citizenship and rights are complex and often confusing. This article attempts to clarify the debate on rights-based approaches in the field of housing, shelter and homelessness. It focuses on the philosophical distinction between “natural” and “socially constructed” rights, and suggests that a plausible “third way” may be found by using Martha Nussbaum’s “central human capabilities” approach as a foundation for universal human rights. “Citizenship” is proposed as a conceptual bridge between the philosophical discourse on rights and its practical application in specific political contexts. For this purpose, T.H. Marshall’s classic division between “civil” and “social” citizenship rights is translated into a distinction between “legal” and “programmatic” rights to housing. The article demonstrates that it is possible to object to the notion of natural and/or human rights in the housing field, and still be in favour of clearly delimited legal rights to housing for homeless people and others in acute need. Conversely, one may be in sympathy with the discourse of universal moral rights, but be sceptical about the allegedly “atomizing” implications of individually enforceable legal rights.