The impact of unique characteristics of projects and project-based organisations on knowledge transfer

Knowledge has been recognised as an important organisational asset that increases in value when shared; the opposite to other organisational assets which decrease in value during their exploitation. Effective knowledge transfer in organisations helps to achieve and maintain competitive advantage and ultimately organisational success. So far, the research on knowledge transfer has focused on traditional (functional) organisations. Only recently has attention been directed towards knowledge transfer in projects. Existing research on project learning has recognised the need for knowledge transfer within and across projects in project-based organisations (PBOs). Most projects can provide valuable new knowledge from unexpected actions, approaches or problems experienced during the project phases. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the impact of unique projects characteristics on knowledge transfer in PBO. This is accomplished through review of the literature and a series of interviews with senior project practitioners. The interviews complement the findings from the literature. Knowledge transfer in projects occurs by social communication and transfer of lessons learned where project management offices (PMOs) and project managers play significant roles in enhancing knowledge transfer and communication within the PBO and across projects. They act as connectors between projects and the PBO ‘hub’. Moreover, some project management processes naturally facilitate knowledge transfer across projects. On the other hand, PBOs face communication challenges due to unique and temporary characteristics of projects. The distance between projects and the lack or weakness of formal links across projects, create communication problems that impede knowledge transfer across projects. The main contribution of this paper is to demonstrate that both social communication and explicit informational channels play important role in inter-project knowledge transfer. Interviews also revealed the important role organisational culture play in knowledge transfer in PBOs.

Determinants of knowledge transfer and learning in hybrid public private alliances

This paper uses the case study of a hybrid public-private strategic alliance as data to complement and contrast with the traditional views on knowledge transfer and learning between alliance partners. In particular, the paper explores whether the concept of competitive collaboration conceptualized by Hamel (1991) in his seminal work holds true for all forms of strategic alliances. Conceptualizing the knowledge boundaries of organisations in alliances as a ‘collaborative membrane’, we focus attention on the permeability of these boundaries rather than the actual location of the boundaries. In this vein, we present a case study of a major public sector organization that illustrates how these principles have allowed it to start rebuilding its internal capabilities adopting a more collaborative stance and ensuring their knowledge boundaries are highly porous as they move more major projects into hybrid public private alliance contracts.

Zero- one- and two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded structures in the 1:1 proton-transfer compounds of 4,5-dichlorophthalic acid with the monocyclic heteroaromatic Lewis bases 2-aminopyrimidine, nicotinamide and isonicotinamide

The structures of the anhydrous 1:1 proton-transfer compounds of 4,5-dichlorophthalic acid (DCPA) with the monocyclic heteroaromatic Lewis bases 2-aminopyrimidine, 3-(aminocarboxy) pyridine (nicotinamide) and 4-(aminocarbonyl) pyridine (isonicotinamide), namely 2-aminopyrimidinium 2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate C4H6N3+ C8H3Cl2O4- (I), 3-(aminocarbonyl) pyridinium 2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate C6H7N2O+ C8H3Cl2O4- (II) and the unusual salt adduct 4-(aminocarbonyl) pyridinium 2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate 2-carboxymethyl-4,5-dichlorobenzoic acid (1/1/1) C6H7N2O+ C8H3Cl2O4-.C9H6Cl2O4 (III) have been determined at 130 K. Compound (I) forms discrete centrosymmetric hydrogen-bonded cyclic bis(cation--anion) units having both R2/2(8) and R2/1(4) N-H...O interactions. In compound (II) the primary N-H...O linked cation--anion units are extended into a two-dimensional sheet structure via amide-carboxyl and amide-carbonyl N-H...O interactions. The structure of (III) reveals the presence of an unusual and unexpected self-synthesized methyl monoester of the acid as an adduct molecule giving one-dimensional hydrogen-bonded chains. In all three structures the hydrogen phthalate anions are

Unusual hydrate stabilization in the two-dimensional layered structure of quinacrinium bis(2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate) tetrahydrate, a proton-transfer compound of the drug quinacrine

The crystal structure of the hydrated proton-transfer compound of the drug quinacrine [rac-N'-(6-chloro-2-methoxyacridin-9-yl)-N,N-diethylpentane-1,4-diamine] with 4,5-dichlorophthalic acid, C23H32ClN3O2+ . 2(C8H3Cl2O4-).4H2O (I), has been determined at 200 K. The four labile water molecules of solvation form discrete ...O--H...O--H... hydrogen-bonded chains parallel to the quinacrine side chain, the two N--H groups of which act as hydrogen-bond donors for two of the water acceptor molecules. The other water molecules, as well as the acridinium H atom, also form hydrogen bonds with the two anion species and extend the structure into two-dimensional sheets. Between these sheets there are also weak cation--anion and anion--anion pi-pi aromatic ring interactions. This structure represents only the third example of a simple quinacrine derivative for which structural data are available but differs from the other two in that it is unstable in the X-ray beam due to efflorescence, probably associated with the destruction of the unusual four-membered water chain structures.

The “Iranian ART Revolution”: infertility, assisted reproductive technology, and third-party donation in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Infertility is a social onus for women in Iran, who are expected to produce children early within marriage. With its estimated 1.5 million infertile couples, Iran is the only Muslim country in which assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) using donor gametes and embryos have been legitimized by religious authorities and passed into law. Th is has placed Iran, a Shia-dominant country, in a unique position vis-à-vis the Sunni Islamic world, where all forms of gamete donation are strictly prohibited. In this article, we first examine the “Iranian ART revolution” that has allowed donor technologies to be admitted as a form of assisted reproduction. Then we examine the response of Iranian women to their infertility and the profound social pressures they face. We argue that the experience of infertility and its treatment are mediated by women’s socioeconomic position within Iranian society. Many women lack economic access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) technologies and fear the moral consequences of gamete donation. Thus, the benefits of the Iranian ART revolution are mixed: although many Iranian women have been able to overcome their infertility through ARTs, not all women’s lives are improved by these technologies.