Reconceptualizing digital service quality : a call-to-action and research approach

The nature of services and service delivery has been changing rapidly since the 1980’s when many seminal papers in services research were published. Services are increasingly digital, or have a digital component. Further, a large and heterogeneous literature, with competing and overlapping definitions, many of which are dated and inappropriate to contemporary digital services offerings is impeding progress in digital services research. In this conceptual paper, we offer a critical review of some existing conceptualizations of services and digital services. We argue that an inductive approach to understanding cognition about digital services is required to develop a taxonomy of digital services and a new vocabulary. We argue that this is a pre-requisite to theorizing about digital services, including understanding quality drivers, value propositions, and quality determinants for different digital service types. We propose a research approach for reconceptualising digital services and service quality, and outline methodological approaches and outcomes.

Using the Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork (EAST) to explore conflict between different road user groups when making right hand turns at urban intersections

Collisions between different types of road users at intersections form a substantial component of the road toll. This paper presents an analysis of driver, cyclist, motorcyclist and pedestrian behaviour at intersections that involved the application of an integrated suite of ergonomics methods, the Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork (EAST) framework, to on-road study data. EAST was used to analyse behaviour at three intersections using data derived from an on-road study of driver, cyclist, motorcyclist and pedestrian behaviour. The analysis shows the differences in behaviour and cognition across the different road user groups and pinpoints instances where this may be creating conflicts between different road users. The role of intersection design in creating these differences in behaviour and resulting conflicts is discussed. It is concluded that currently intersections are not designed in a way that supports behaviour across the four forms of road user studied. Interventions designed to improve intersection safety are discussed.

Fine-mapping the HOXB region detects common variants tagging a rare coding allele : evidence for synthetic association in prostate cancer

The HOXB13 gene has been implicated in prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility. We performed a high resolution fine-mapping analysis to comprehensively evaluate the association between common genetic variation across the HOXB genetic locus at 17q21 and PrCa risk. This involved genotyping 700 SNPs using a custom Illumina iSelect array (iCOGS) followed by imputation of 3195 SNPs in 20,440 PrCa cases and 21,469 controls in The PRACTICAL consortium. We identified a cluster of highly correlated common variants situated within or closely upstream of HOXB13 that were significantly associated with PrCa risk, described by rs117576373 (OR 1.30, P = 2.62×10(-14)). Additional genotyping, conditional regression and haplotype analyses indicated that the newly identified common variants tag a rare, partially correlated coding variant in the HOXB13 gene (G84E, rs138213197), which has been identified recently as a moderate penetrance PrCa susceptibility allele. The potential for GWAS associations detected through common SNPs to be driven by rare causal variants with higher relative risks has long been proposed; however, to our knowledge this is the first experimental evidence for this phenomenon of synthetic association contributing to cancer susceptibility.

Pharmacokinetics and tumor disposition of PEGylated, methotrexate conjugated poly-l-lysine dendrimers

Dendrimers have potential for delivering chemotherapeutic drugs to solid tumours via the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect. The impact of conjugation of hydrophobic anticancer drugs to hydrophilic PEGylated dendrimer surfaces, however, has not been fully investigated. The current study has therefore characterised the effect on dendrimer disposition of conjugating α-carboxyl protected methotrexate (MTX) to a series of PEGylated 3H-labelled poly-L-lysine dendrimers ranging in size from generation 3 (G3) to 5 (G5) in rats. Dendrimers contained 50% surface PEG and 50% surface MTX. Conjugation of MTX generally increased plasma clearance when compared to conjugation with PEG alone. Conversely, increasing generation reduced clearance, increased metabolic stability and reduced renal elimination of the administered radiolabel. For constructs with molecular weights >20 kDa increasing the molecular weight of conjugated PEG also reduced clearance and enhanced metabolic stability but had only a minimal effect on renal elimination. Tissue distribution studies revealed retention of MTX conjugated smaller (G3-G4) PEG570 dendrimers (or their metabolic products) in the kidneys. In contrast, the larger G5 dendrimer was concentrated more in the liver and spleen. The G5 PEG1100 dendrimer was also shown to accumulate in solid Walker 256 and HT1080 tumours and comparative disposition data in both rats (1 to 2% dose/g in tumour) and mice (11% dose/g in tumour) are presented. The results of this study further illustrate the potential utility of biodegradable PEGylated poly-L-lysine dendrimers as long circulating vectors for the delivery and tumour-targeting of hydrophobic drugs.

Obesity and hypertension have differing oxidant handling molecular pathways in age-related chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in ageing is a burden on health systems worldwide. Rat models of age-related CKD linked with obesity and hypertension were used to investigate alterations in oxidant handling and energy metabolism to identify gene targets or markers for age-related CKD. Young adult (3 months) and old (21–24 months) spontaneously-hypertensive (SHR), normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and Wistar rats (normotensive, obese in ageing) were compared for renal functional and physiological parameters, renal fibrosis and inflammation, oxidative stress (hemeoxygenase-1/HO-1), apoptosis and cell injury (including Bax:Bcl-2), phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated forms of oxidant and energy sensing proteins (p66Shc, AMPK), signal transduction proteins (ERK1/2, PKB), and transcription factors (NF-κB, FoxO1). All old rats were normoglycemic. Renal fibrosis, tubular epithelial apoptosis, interstitial macrophages and myofibroblasts (all p < 0.05), p66Shc/phospho-p66 (p < 0.05), Bax/Bcl-2 ratio (p < 0.05) and NF-κB expression (p < 0.01) were highest in old obese Wistars. Expression of phospho-FoxO/FoxO was elevated in old Wistars (p < 0.001) and WKYs (p < 0.01). SHRs had high levels in young and old rats. Expression of PKB, phospho-PKB, ERK1/2 and phospho-ERK1/2 were significantly elevated in all aged animals. These results suggest that obesity and hypertension have differing oxidant handling and signalling pathways that act in the pathogenesis of age-related CKD

Phosphorylation of caveolin-1 is anti-apoptotic and promotes cell attachment during oxidative stress of kidney cells

Aims: Caveolin-1 (cav1) is reported to have both cell survival and pro-apoptotic characteristics. This may be explained by its localisation or phosphorylation in injured cells. This study investigated the role of cav1 in kidney cells of different nephron origin and developmental state after oxidative stress. Methods: Renal MCDK distal tubular, HK2 proximal tubular epithelial cells and HEK293T renal embryonic cells were treated with 1mM hydrogen peroxide. Apoptosis, loss of cell adhesion, and cell survival were compared with expression of cav1 in its non-phosphorylated and phosphorylated (p-cav1) forms. Cav1 was transfected into the HEK293T cells, or caveolae were disrupted with filipin or nystatin in HK2 cells, to investigate functions of cav1 and p-cav1. Results: Oxidative stress induced more apoptosis in HK2s than MDCKs (p<0.05). HK2s had lower endogenous cav1 and p-cav1 than MDCKs (p<0.05). Both cell lines had increased p-cav1, but not cav1, with oxidative stress. This increase was greatest in MDCKs (p<0.01). Cav1 was located mainly in the plasma membrane of untreated cells and translocated to the cytoplasm with oxidative stress in both cell lines, more so in MDCKs. Disruption of caveolae caused cytoplasmic translocation of cav1 in HK2s, but did not alter high levels of oxidative stress-induced apoptosis. When HEK293Ts lacking endogenous cav1 were transfected with cav1, oxidant-induced apoptosis and loss of cell adhesion was decreased (p<0.01), and p-cav1 was induced by treatment. Conclusion: Cav1 expression and localisation in kidney cells is not anti-apoptotic, but increased expression of p-cav1 may promote cell survival after oxidative stress. © 2008 Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia.

Rethinking the value of simulation methods in the information systems research field : a call for reconstructing contribution for a broader audience

The impact of simulation methods for social research in the Information Systems (IS) research field remains low. A concern is our field is inadequately leveraging the unique strengths of simulation methods. Although this low impact is frequently attributed to methodological complexity, we offer an alternative explanation – the poor construction of research value. We argue a more intuitive value construction, better connected to the knowledge base, will facilitate increased value and broader appreciation. Meta-analysis of studies published in IS journals over the last decade evidences the low impact. To facilitate value construction, we synthesize four common types of simulation research contribution: Analyzer, Tester, Descriptor, and Theorizer. To illustrate, we employ the proposed typology to describe how each type of value is structured in simulation research and connect each type to instances from IS literature, thereby making these value types and their construction visible and readily accessible to the general IS community.

Seeking better IT value conceptualization : some meta-theoretical considerations

Information Technology (IT) value is amongst the most important concepts in the Information Systems (IS) research field. Yet, a clear, well-formulated conceptualization of IT value, cumulatively built upon, is lacking. Drawing from the Facet Theory literature, this paper broaches several meta-theoretical considerations addressing an “ideal” conceptualization of IT value. We argue these considerations may shed light on the advancement of IT value conceptualization methodology.

A new approach to estimating trends in chlamydia incidence

Objectives Directly measuring disease incidence in a population is difficult and not feasible to do routinely. We describe the development and application of a new method of estimating at a population level the number of incident genital chlamydia infections, and the corresponding incidence rates, by age and sex using routine surveillance data. Methods A Bayesian statistical approach was developed to calibrate the parameters of a decision-pathway tree against national data on numbers of notifications and tests conducted (2001-2013). Independent beta probability density functions were adopted for priors on the time-independent parameters; the shape parameters of these beta distributions were chosen to match prior estimates sourced from peer-reviewed literature or expert opinion. To best facilitate the calibration, multivariate Gaussian priors on (the logistic transforms of) the time-dependent parameters were adopted, using the Matérn covariance function to favour changes over consecutive years and across adjacent age cohorts. The model outcomes were validated by comparing them with other independent empirical epidemiological measures i.e. prevalence and incidence as reported by other studies. Results Model-based estimates suggest that the total number of people acquiring chlamydia per year in Australia has increased by ~120% over 12 years. Nationally, an estimated 356,000 people acquired chlamydia in 2013, which is 4.3 times the number of reported diagnoses. This corresponded to a chlamydia annual incidence estimate of 1.54% in 2013, increased from 0.81% in 2001 (~90% increase). Conclusions We developed a statistical method which uses routine surveillance (notifications and testing) data to produce estimates of the extent and trends in chlamydia incidence.

Perturbed Lignification Impacts Tree Growth in Hybrid Poplar-A Function of Sink Strength, Vascular Integrity, and Photosynthetic Assimilation

The effects of reductions in cell wall lignin content, manifested by RNA interference suppression of coumaroyl 3'-hydroxylase, on plant growth, water transport, gas exchange, and photosynthesis were evaluated in hybrid poplar trees (Populus alba 3 grandidentata). The growth characteristics of the reduced lignin trees were significantly impaired, resulting in smaller stems and reduced root biomass when compared to wild-type trees, as well as altered leaf morphology and architecture. The severe inhibition of cell wall lignification produced trees with a collapsed xylem phenotype, resulting in compromised vascular integrity, and displayed reduced hydraulic conductivity and a greater susceptibility to wall failure and cavitation. In the reduced lignin trees, photosynthetic carbon assimilation and stomatal conductance were also greatly reduced, however, shoot xylem pressure potential and carbon isotope discrimination were higher and water-use efficiency was lower, inconsistent with water stress. Reductions in assimilation rate could not be ascribed to increased stomatal limitation. Starch and soluble sugars analysis of leaves revealed that photosynthate was accumulating to high levels, suggesting that the trees with substantially reduced cell wall lignin were not carbon limited and that reductions in sink strength were, instead, limiting photosynthesis.

The internet, globalization, and IT professional services

This editorial aims (1) to define IT Professional Services (ITPS) as an increasingly important area of research endeavor, and (2) to consider the impact of the Internet on globalization and the ITPS sector.

A framework for qualitative analysis of focus group data in information systems

Focus groups are a popular qualitative research method for information systems researchers. However, compared with the abundance of research articles and handbooks on planning and conducting focus groups, surprisingly, there is little research on how to analyse focus group data. Moreover, those few articles that specifically address focus group analysis are all in fields other than information systems, and offer little specific guidance for information systems researchers. Further, even the studies that exist in other fields do not provide a systematic and integrated procedure to analyse both focus group ‘content’ and ‘interaction’ data. As the focus group is a valuable method to answer the research questions of many IS studies (in the business, government and society contexts), we believe that more attention should be paid to this method in the IS research. This paper offers a systematic and integrated procedure for qualitative focus group data analysis in information systems research.