Knowledge management in production alliances

This paper develops a managerial model of production network organizations (PNOs), inter-firm alliances for product development and delivery, in which inter-firm network structure and knowledge management practices play a major role in venture performance. The paper addresses the issue of alignment between the adopted network structure, the scope of the joint production task, and consequent inter-firm information flow requirements, hypothesizing that venture performance is a joint function of network structure and task integration scope. In situations with a difficult alignment between the chosen network structure, joint task scope, and information flow requirements, knowledge management investments across the PNO are proposed as a moderating factor leading to improved venture performance. The paper demonstrates the proposed model with three case studies, providing preliminary verification of the key proposition that knowledge management interventions can mediate the impact of loose integrating structures for joint production ventures that are undertaking complex joint tasks.     

Effect of warfarin on activated partial thromboplastin time in patients receiving heparin

BACKGROUND: The activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) is used to adjust heparin sodium dosage. However, warfarin sodium is often administered concomitantly with heparin and may also affect the APTT and, therefore, heparin dose. We performed a prospective cohort study to quantify the effect of warfarin on the APTT in patients who are being treated with heparin. METHODS: Serial assays of APTT, international normalized ratio, heparin levels, and functional levels of prothrombin (factor II) and factors VII and X were performed in 24 patients with acute venous thromboembolism who were treated with concomitant continuous intravenous heparin and warfarin. The effects of warfarin, as expressed by international normalized ratio and coagulation factor levels, on APTT were determined. RESULTS: Warfarin markedly affected APTT; for each increase of 1.0 in the international normalized ratio, the APTT increased 16 seconds (95% confidence interval, 10-22 seconds). The effects of warfarin and heparin on APTT were additive. Consequently, warfarin markedly altered the relationship between APTT and heparin levels; of the 29 blood samples with supratherapeutic APTT, 13 had a therapeutic heparin level and 10 had a subtherapeutic heparin level. CONCLUSIONS: In patients receiving concomitant heparin and warfarin therapy, APTT reflects the combined effects of both drugs. Because of the marked effect of warfarin on the APTT, decreasing heparin dose in response to a high APTT frequently results in subtherapeutic heparin levels.     

An apparent ensemble effect in the oxidative coupling of methane on hydroxyapatites with incorporated lead

The introduction of small quantities of lead into calcium hydroxyapatite catalysts produces marked increases in the selectivity to C₂₊ hydrocarbons, while the conversion of methane remains relatively constant. Small surface concentrations of lead are sufficient to achieve C₂₊ selectivities of 80 and 90%, with oxygen and nitrous oxide, respectively, in contrast with 18 and 46%, respectively, obtained in the absence of lead. Since surface concentration of lead species sufficient to stabilize pairs of methyl radicals in close proximity to each other would be expected to facilitate the formation of C₂ hydrocarbons, an ensemble effect appears to be extant.     

Interaction of NO and NO2 on 12-tungstophosphoric acid

On exposure of the solid 12-tungstophosphoric acid (H₃PW₁₂O₄₀· nH₂O (HPW)) to NO₂ at 150°C NO₂ is sorbed, while HNO₃ is produced. NO₂ is found to penetrate into the bulk structure whose reaction occurs with the water hydrogen-bonded to the protons to produce HNO₃. The NO₂ retained on the catalyst is stoichiometrically equivalent to the total number of protons on and in the solid. This, together with infrared spectra, suggests that NO₂ is associating (1/1) with the protons, producing a nitronium salt of the solid acid. Although insignificant quantities of NO are taken up by HPW, after exposure to NO₂, approximately stoichiometric quantities of NO are sorbed and the infrared spectra show the presence of N₂O₃.     

The oxidative coupling of methane on alkali- and alkaline earth-phosphate catalysts

The oxidative coupling of methane has been tested over alkali- and alkaline earth-phosphate catalysts at 700 and 775 °C with and without the introduction of a small quantity of tetrachloromethane (TCM) to the feedstream. In general, the conversion of methane was enhanced by the addition of TCM but the effect on selectivity was dependent on the catalyst being examined. The selectivity to C₂ and higher hydrocarbons and that to oxidation products have been shown to have a dependence on the cation radius/charge ratio.     

Marketing with Metadata – How Metadata Can Increase Exposure and Visibility of Online Content

The concept of metadata is briefly introduced and the benefits of exposing metadata for publishers and content providers are discussed. Various approaches for standardised exposure of metadata are described including; harvesting via OAT-PMH, distributed searching via Z39.50 & SRU/SRW, and exposure of content for syndication via RSS. Case studies are used throughout to provide illustrative examples of these methods in action and a range of typical concerns relating to metadata sharing issues are addressed.     

Capturing the response of players to a location-based game

Location-based games offer opportunities for us to learn more about people’s interactions and feelings towards the environment they are in as well as to understand more about the mental models and locations associated with known environments, e.g. a university campus with its associations of learning. In our study, we wanted to manipulate the activities in a game to take advantage of certain locations in the hope of producing certain emotional reactions. However, it is not enough to simply produce these reactions; one must also have a way of capturing any emotions produced whether these are the ones expected or not. The objective of this paper, therefore, was to trial a new methodology for location-based games that aims at capturing the players’ emotional reactions to the activities in a game whilst in certain locations. In order to test the methodology, we designed a location-based game that can be played on any Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone that has an accelerometer. The game has been designed to interweave with a persons’ normal activity. As a result, there is little distinction between gaming time and non-gaming time.     

The Post-Yield Behaviour of an Internally Pressurised Cylinder having a Pad Attachment

Abstract:  A study of pressurised cylinders having attached pads was made. The possibility of a fatigue crack developing along one side of the pad was noted. For both defect-free components and components having axial crack-like defects, finite element and limited experimental studies of the local and global deformations were made and results were found to be in close agreement. Both welded and integrally machined pads were studied. It was observed that for defect-free components, the method of pad attachment has little effect on the burst pressure. The presence of a pad was found to increase the burst pressure of cracked components by a small but significant margin. A finite element-based parametric study of pipes with part-penetrating defects and a range of pad geometries has demonstrated that pad size has little influence on the limit load for any of the cracked cases considered. However, pipes with penetrating defects were strengthened by the presence of pads, particularly for thin-walled sections.     

Experimental evaluation of geosynthetics as reinforcement for shotcrete

One of the commonly used stabilization systems for rock tunnels is shotcrete. This fine aggregate mortar is usually reinforced for improving its tensile and shear strength. In deep tunnels, its capacity to absorb energy has been recently considered for design purposes, as large displacements of the wall are expected. Two of the most used materials of reinforcement are steel welded-wire mesh and fibers (steel or polypropylene) in the shotcrete mix. This study presents the results and discussion of an experimental test program conducted to obtain the load-deformation curves of reinforced shotcrete, according to ASTM C 1550, using geosynthetics grids and geotextiles as alternative reinforcement materials. In addition, plain shotcrete and steel welded-wire mesh reinforced shotcrete specimens are also considered in the experimental program as benchmark cases. The experimental results are analyzed in terms of maximum strength and toughness. Results show that the use of geosynthetics as a reinforcement material is a promising alternative to obtain shotcrete with energy absorption capacity comparable with the most common reinforcement materials used.     

A Tree-based Mergesort

We demonstrate that if standard Mergesort is implemented using finger search trees instead of arrays it optimally adapts to a set of measures of presortedness not fulfilled by any other algorithm. Received: 7 October 1993 / 18 July 1996