Lost in translation? An actor-network approach to HRIS implementation

Available evidence suggests that the adoption of IT-enabled Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) has not produced the widely predicted transformation of Human Resources (HR) to a strategic business partner. We examine the relationship between HRIS and the HR function by applying actor-network theory (ANT) to an HRIS implementation project. The focus on how actor networks are formed and reformed during implementation may be particularly well suited to explaining why the original aims of the HRIS can be displaced or lost in translation. We suggest that the approach afforded by ANT enables us to better understand the ongoing and contingent process of HRIS implementations.     

Influence of ash on mass transfer and interfacial reaction between natural graphite and liquid iron

The interfacial reaction is a factor that plays an important role in governing the rate of many metallurgical processes. In the direct iron smelting process, interfacial reactions of carbonaceous materials, such as coals, with molten iron is one of the key factors that dictate the rate of carbon transfer from the carbonaceous materials into molten iron and establish a carbon concentrated melt to reduce iron oxide in the slag phase. In the current investigation, wetting of natural graphite, which contains 8.8 pct ash, by iron was studied in a horizontal tube furnace at 1600 °C using the sessile drop approach to establish a fundamental understanding of the influence of ash on interactions between graphite and iron. The mass-transfer phenomena between the solid substrate and the iron droplet were studied by withdrawing the assembly at different time intervals. After the wetting experiment, the contacting surface of the iron droplet was observed by a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The components of the interfacial layer formed during the experiment were examined by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The change in the carbon and sulfur contents of the droplet at different time intervals during the wetting experiment was analyzed by a LECO carbon and sulfur analyzer. It was found that the formation of an ash interfacial layer between the carbonaceous materials and the liquid iron has a strong influence on the mass transfer and interfacial reaction. This article is based on a presentation made in the “Geoffrey Belton Memorial Symposium,” held in January 2000, in Sydney, Australia, under the joint sponsorship of ISS and TMS.     

The oxide electrochemistry of ruthenium and its relevance to trench liner applications in damascene copper plating

There is considerable interest in the use of ruthenium as an ultrathin trench liner in damascene copper plating used to fabricate on-chip interconnects. The problem is that when freshly deposited ruthenium films are exposed to air, their surfaces tend to undergo spontaneous oxidation, and such deposits (as demonstrated here) are reluctant to undergo reduction. Copper deposition in an acid plating bath occurs readily on the oxidized ruthenium, but the presence of oxide is known to have a detrimental effect both on the copper superfilling process and copper adhesion at the Ru/Cu interface.     

Crystal Structure of Human Soluble Adenylate Cyclase Reveals a Distinct,Highly Flexible Allosteric Bicarbonate Binding Pocket

Soluble adenylate cyclases catalyse the synthesis of the second messenger cAMP through the cyclisation of ATP and are the only known enzymes to be directly activated by bicarbonate. Here, we report the first crystal structure of the human enzyme that reveals a pseudosymmetrical arrangement of two catalytic domains to produce a single competent active site and a novel discrete bicarbonate binding pocket. Crystal structures of the apo protein, the protein in complex with α,β‐methylene adenosine 5′‐triphosphate (AMPCPP) and calcium, with the allosteric activator bicarbonate, and also with a number of inhibitors identified using fragment screening, all show a flexible active site that undergoes significant conformational changes on binding of ligands. The resulting nanomolar‐potent inhibitors that were developed bind at both the substrate binding pocket and the allosteric site, and can be used as chemical probes to further elucidate the function of this protein.     

The Epigenetic Role of Vitamin C in Neurodevelopment

The maternal diet during pregnancy is a key determinant of offspring health. Early studies have linked poor maternal nutrition during gestation with a propensity for the development of chronic conditions in offspring. These conditions include cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and even compromised mental health. While multiple factors may contribute to these outcomes, disturbed epigenetic programming during early development is one potential biological mechanism. The epigenome is programmed primarily in utero, and during this time, the developing fetus is highly susceptible to environmental factors such as nutritional insults. During neurodevelopment, epigenetic programming coordinates the formation of primitive central nervous system structures, neurogenesis, and neuroplasticity. Dysregulated epigenetic programming has been implicated in the aetiology of several neurodevelopmental disorders such as Tatton-Brown-Rahman syndrome. Accordingly, there is great interest in determining how maternal nutrient availability in pregnancy might affect the epigenetic status of offspring, and how such influences may present phenotypically. In recent years, a number of epigenetic enzymes that are active during embryonic development have been found to require vitamin C as a cofactor. These enzymes include the ten-eleven translocation methylcytosine dioxygenases (TETs) and the Jumonji C domain-containing histone lysine demethylases that catalyse the oxidative removal of methyl groups on cytosines and histone lysine residues, respectively. These enzymes are integral to epigenetic regulation and have fundamental roles in cellular differentiation, the maintenance of pluripotency and development. The dependence of these enzymes on vitamin C for optimal catalytic activity illustrates a potentially critical contribution of the nutrient during mammalian development. These insights also highlight a potential risk associated with vitamin C insufficiency during pregnancy. The link between vitamin C insufficiency and development is particularly apparent in the context of neurodevelopment and high vitamin C concentrations in the brain are indicative of important functional requirements in this organ. Accordingly, this review considers the evidence for the potential impact of maternal vitamin C status on neurodevelopmental epigenetics.     

Involvement of a metastable surface state in the electrocatalytic, electrodeposition and bath additive behaviour of copper in acid solution

Copper in aqueous sulphuric acid solution at room temperature displays a low level active (metastable) surface state redox transition well within the double layer region, at ca. −0.7±0.1 V (SMSE). The latter is an important feature of this electrode system as it apparently coincides with (a) the transition from activation to transport control in acid sulphate copper plating baths, (b) a major change in the inhibiting properties of several plating bath additives, and (c) the onset/termination potential of electrocatalytic processes, e.g. nitrate reduction, at copper in acid. The nature and influence of this active surface state behaviour, which is assumed to be relevant to Damascene copper plating, is discussed.     

Surface active state involvement in electrocatalytic reductions at copper in acid solution

The electrocatalytic behaviour of copper in acid is dominated by a metastable state interfacial redox transition which occurs within the double layer region, at ca. −0.7 (±0.1) V (SMSE). The transition in question is apparently based on the presence of low coverage, redox active, copper surface clusters which function as active sites or mediators and thus facilitate electron transfer across the interface; copper in acid exhibits a remarkably high overpotential of ca. 1.2 V for oxygen reduction. The effect of copper plating bath additives on the electrocatalytic properties of copper was surveyed and it was demonstrated that with a compound such as thiourea, the presence in solution of a species such as nitrate, which under additive-free conditions undergoes rapid mediated reduction, exacerbates the surface deactivating effect of the additive.