Knowledge transfer in IT offshoring relationships: the roles of social capital,efficacy and outcome expectations

Information technology (IT) development in global organisations relies heavily on the transfer of tacit and complex knowledge from onshore units to offshore subsidiaries. A central concern of such organisations is the development of social capital, which is known to facilitate the smooth transfer of knowledge. However, only a few studies in IS research have explicitly examined the role of social capital for knowledge transfer in an IT offshoring context. In this paper, we argue that such knowledge transfer mechanisms can be understood better by considering social capital in concert with knowledge senders' efficacy and outcome expectations, two of the potentially key motivational drivers of knowledge transfer. We develop our arguments through a qualitative case study of a large German multinational company. German IT developers in this firm provided in‐depth accounts of their experience with offshore colleagues in an Indian captive subsidiary unit. Drawing on our analysis, we develop a model that depicts the influence of social capital, efficacy and outcome expectations on onshore IT developers' ability and willingness to transfer knowledge to offshore colleagues. Through the model, we also explain how social capital, efficacy and outcome expectations are interrelated and generate three interlocked, self‐reinforcing circles of knowledge transfer success in IT offshoring relationships.     

Durability of fire retardant treated wood products at humid and exterior conditions review of literature

Fire retardants may considerably improve the fire properties of wood products, but the durability, e.g. in exterior applications, has not been addressed fully. This paper reviews the existing knowledge and experience mainly from the USA with the aim of supporting further development in Europe. The review is concentrated on pressure impregnated fire retardant treated wood products which have the best opportunities for increased durability. Copyright © 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Zum Verbesserungspotenzial schriftlicher Aufklärungsmaterialien zu (bio)medizinischen Forschungsvorhaben – Empirische Analyse von Antragsunterlagen einer Forschungsethikkommission

Background

One of the elementary prerequisites for medical research on and with humans is the patients’ or probands’ informed consent. To ensure informed consent, study participants must be—among other things—provided with high-quality information. We developed criteria to assess and evaluate the quality of various written patient information material.

Methods

Based on a catalogue addressing 117 single criteria, we assessed the quality of 128 randomly selected documents from study proposals submitted to the ethical committee of Luebeck University in 2006. Each criterion refers to one of six quality areas (such as “readability and comprehensibility” or “potential benefit and harm”).

Results

The documents on average satisfied half of the criteria with a range from 20–76% for single items. The area with the highest quality score was “consent form” (64%), while “potential benefit and harm” (35%) was the lowest. Material from drug trials showed a significantly higher quality than that from other study types. Only 21 out of 117 criteria were met in more than 80% of all relevant documents.

Conclusion

The study provides evidence for significant deficits in the information material from basic and clinical research projects presented to one academic research ethics committee. Researchers need support in developing and writing informed consent documents. Our set of criteria could be used to make them more sensitive to the various demands involved.     

Validation and comparison of a sandwich ELISA,two competitive ELISAs and a real-time PCR method for the detection of lupine in food

Methods applied in food allergen analysis should be specific, sensitive and applicable to both raw and highly processed foods. The performance of the most commonly used methods, ELISA and real-time PCR, may, however, be influenced by food processing steps, e.g., heat treatment. The present study compares the applicability of four in-house developed methods, one sandwich ELISA, two competitive ELISAs and a real-time PCR method, for the detection of lupine in four different food matrices, comprising bread, biscuits, rice patties and noodles. In order to investigate the influence of food processing on the detectability, not only the heat treated model foods but also the corresponding doughs were analysed. The sandwich ELISA proved to be the most sensitive method. The LOD was found to be 10 ppm lupine, independent from the food matrix and independent if the dough or the heat treated food was analysed. In addition, the methods were applied to the analysis of commercial foodstuffs differing in their labelling.     

Performance of carbon-carbon supercapacitors based on organic, aqueous and ionic liquid electrolytes

Properties of capacitors working with the same carbon electrodes (activated carbon cloth) and three types of electrolytes: aqueous, organic and ionic liquids were compared. Capacitors filled with ionic liquids worked at a potential difference of 3.5 V, their solutions in AN and PC were charged up to the potential difference of 3 V, classical organic systems to 2.5 V and aqueous to 1 V. Cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charging/discharging and impedance spectroscopy were used to characterize these capacitors. The highest specific energy was recorded for the device working with ionic liquids, while the highest power is characteristic for the device filled with aqueous H₂SO₄ electrolyte. Aqueous electrolytes led to energy density an order of magnitude lower in comparison to that characteristic of ionic liquids.     

Bioenergetic Alterations of Metabolic Redox Coenzymes as NADH,FAD and FMN by Means of Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Techniques

Metabolic FLIM (fluorescence lifetime imaging) is used to image bioenergetic status in cells and tissue. Whereas an attribution of the fluorescence lifetime of coenzymes as an indicator for cell metabolism is mainly accepted, it is debated whether this is valid for the redox state of cells. In this regard, an innovative algorithm using the lifetime characteristics of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) (NAD(P)H) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) to calculate the fluorescence lifetime induced redox ratio (FLIRR) has been reported so far. We extended the FLIRR approach and present new results, which includes FLIM data of the various enzymes, such as NAD(P)H, FAD, as well as flavin mononucleotide (FMN). Our algorithm uses a two-exponential fitting procedure for the NAD(P)H autofluorescence and a three-exponential fit of the flavin signal. By extending the FLIRR approach, we introduced FLIRR1 as protein-bound NAD(P)H related to protein-bound FAD, FLIRR2 as protein-bound NAD(P)H related to free (unbound) FAD and FLIRR3 as protein-bound NAD(P)H related to protein-bound FMN. We compared the significance of extended FLIRR to the metabolic index, defined as the ratio of protein-bound NAD(P)H to free NAD(P)H. The statistically significant difference for tumor and normal cells was found to be highest for FLIRR1.     

Aspects of high hydrostatic pressure food processing: Perspectives on technology and food safety

The last two decades saw a steady increase of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) used for treatment of foods. Although the science of biomaterials exposed to high pressure started more than a century ago, there still seem to be a number of unanswered questions regarding safety of foods processed using HHP. This review gives an overview on historical development and fundamental aspects of HHP, as well as on potential risks associated with HHP food applications based on available literature. Beside the combination of pressure and temperature, as major factors impacting inactivation of vegetative bacterial cells, bacterial endospores, viruses, and parasites, factors, such as food matrix, water content, presence of dissolved substances, and pH value, also have significant influence on their inactivation by pressure. As a result, pressure treatment of foods should be considered for specific food groups and in accordance with their specific chemical and physical properties. The pressure necessary for inactivation of viruses is in many instances slightly lower than that for vegetative bacterial cells; however, data for food relevant human virus types are missing due to the lack of methods for determining their infectivity. Parasites can be inactivated by comparatively lower pressure than vegetative bacterial cells. The degrees to which chemical reactions progress under pressure treatments are different to those of conventional thermal processes, for example, HHP leads to lower amounts of acrylamide and furan. Additionally, the formation of new unknown or unexpected substances has not yet been observed. To date, no safety-relevant chemical changes have been described for foods treated by HHP. Based on existing sensitization to non-HHP-treated food, the allergenic potential of HHP-treated food is more likely to be equivalent to untreated food. Initial findings on changes in packaging materials under HHP have not yet been adequately supported by scientific data.     

Plant-Origin Stabilizer as an Alternative of Natural Additive to Polymers Used in Packaging Materials

Over the past 25 years, cannabis plants have gained major popularity in the research community. This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant capacity and stabilization efficiency of cannabidiol (CBD) extract in two different polymers: polylactide (PLA) and ethylene–norbornene copolymer (Topas) that are used in packaging materials more often. The research technology included weathering in a special chamber, surface free energy and color change measurements, surface morphology and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, thermogravimetry, and determination of the oxidation induction time or temperature (OIT) values, based on which the effectiveness of the cannabidiol extract could be estimated. Obtained results showed that the addition of CBD to polymer mixtures significantly increased their resistance to oxidation, and it can be used as a natural stabilizer for polymeric products. Moreover, samples with cannabidiol changed their coloration as a result of weathering. Therefore, this natural additive can also be considered as a colorimetric indicator of aging that informs about the changes in polymeric materials during their lifetime. On the other hand, surface properties of samples with cannabidiol content did not alter much compared to pure Topas and PLA.     

Isoelectric focusing and sodium dodecylsulphate electrophoresis of buffer soluble seed proteins of twelve varieties of winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus L.)

Buffer-soluble seed proteins of 12 varieties of winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus L.) were separated by ultrathin-layer isoelectric focusing (IEF) and sodium dodecylsulphate electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE). Whereas the molecular weight spectra of the proteins obtained by SDS-PAGE were identical for all varieties studied, the IEF patterns showed variety specificity for each sample. Most of the variety specific protein bands were identified as glycoproteins. The zymograms of the isoelectically focused trypsin inhibitors were variety specific in both activity and isoelectric point distribution.     

Vitamin E-Stoffwechsel der Lunge

Vitamin E Metabolism of the Lung . Experimental and clinical data have provided evidence for the involvement of oxygen free radicals in the development of acute and chronic lung diseases. Alveolar surfactant is the prime target of oxidative air pollutants. Lung surfactant consists to 90% of lipids and contains vitamin E as most important lipophilic antioxidant. Recently, we showed that alveolar surfactant is supplemented with vitamin E during its synthesis in type II pneumocytes. Hyperoxia is very often a necessary therapeutic intervention which seems to impose oxidative stress on lung tissue. Hyperoxia caused an increase in vitamin E turnover, measured in type II pneumocytes, lamellar bodies and lung lavages. In contrast, the turnover of surfactant cholesterol and surfactant lipids does not change. Hyperoxia caused an increase in vitamin E uptake by type II pneumocytes an enrichment of vitamin E in lamellar bodies.