Barriers to formal IT Governance practice - insights from a qualitative study

IT Governance (ITG) continues to be a top priority for organizations, public and non-public. While the level of awareness towards ITG is evident, it is hardly manifested in practice. The purpose of this study is to elicit factors that act as barriers to the adoption of formal ITG practice. This qualitative study consists of 9 semi-structured interviews with the key person in charge of ITG adoption and practice within their respective organizations. The interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis, guided by themes previously obtained from the literature and from an earlier pilot study. Findings obtained supported previous findings and also reveal new factors noticeably absent from the ITG literature. The findings will provide useful input towards the development of a causal model on barriers to formal ITG practice

A proposed Australian industrial control system security curriculum

The security of industrial control systems in critical infrastructure is a concern for the Australian government and other nations. There is a need to provide local Australian training and education for both control system engineers and information technology professionals. This paper proposes a postgraduate curriculum of four courses to provide knowledge and skills to protect critical infrastructure industrial control systems. Our curriculum is unique in that it provides security awareness but also the advanced skills required for security specialists in this area. We are aware that in the Australian context there is a cultural gap between the thinking of control system engineers who are responsible for maintaining and designing critical infrastructure and information technology professionals who are responsible for protecting these systems from cyber attacks. Our curriculum aims to bridge this gap by providing theoretical and practical exercises that will raise the awareness and preparedness of both groups of professionals.

Unravelling (e-)government channel selection: A quantitative analysis of individual customer preferences in Germany and Australia

The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of individual differences on service channel selection for e-government services. In a comparative survey of citizens in Germany and Australia (n=1205), we investigate the impact of age, gender, and mobility issues on the selection of personal or mobile communication as channels for service consumption. The results suggest that Australians are more likely to want to use new technology-oriented channels as internet or mobile applications while Germans tend to use classical channels as telephone or in person. Moreover, differences with respect to age, gender, and mobility exist. Implications for practice and issues for future research are discussed.

Systematic evaluation of GoSoapBox in tertiary education : a student response system for improving learning experiences and outcomes

There is currently a wide range of research into the recent introduction of student response systems in higher education and tertiary settings (Banks 2006; Kay and Le Sange, 2009; Beatty and Gerace 2009; Lantz 2010; Sprague and Dahl 2009). However, most of this pedagogical literature has generated ‘how to’ approaches regarding the use of ‘clickers’, keypads, and similar response technologies. There are currently no systematic reviews on the effectiveness of ‘GoSoapBox’ – a more recent, and increasingly popular student response system – for its capacity to enhance critical thinking, and achieve sustained learning outcomes. With rapid developments in teaching and learning technologies across all undergraduate disciplines, there is a need to obtain comprehensive, evidence-based advice on these types of technologies, their uses, and overall efficacy. This paper addresses this current gap in knowledge. Our teaching team, in an undergraduate Sociology and Public Health unit at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), introduced GoSoapBox as a mechanism for discussing controversial topics, such as sexuality, gender, economics, religion, and politics during lectures, and to take opinion polls on social and cultural issues affecting human health. We also used this new teaching technology to allow students to interact with each other during class – both on both social and academic topics – and to generate discussions and debates during lectures. The paper reports on a data-driven study into how this interactive online tool worked to improve engagement and the quality of academic work produced by students. This paper will firstly, cover the recent literature reviewing student response systems in tertiary settings. Secondly, it will outline the theoretical framework used to generate this pedagogical research. In keeping with the social and collaborative features of Web 2.0 technologies, Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (SLT) will be applied here to investigate the effectiveness of GoSoapBox as an online tool for improving learning experiences and the quality of academic output by students. Bandura has emphasised the Internet as a tool for ‘self-controlled learning’ (Bandura 2001), as it provides the education sector with an opportunity to reconceptualise the relationship between learning and thinking (Glassman & Kang 2011). Thirdly, we describe the methods used to implement the use of GoSoapBox in our lectures and tutorials, and which aspects of the technology we drew on for learning purposes, as well as the methods for obtaining feedback from the students about the effectiveness or otherwise of this tool. Fourthly, we report cover findings from an examination of all student/staff activity on GoSoapBox as well as reports from students about the benefits and limitations of it as a learning aid. We then display a theoretical model that is produced via an iterative analytical process between SLT and our data analysis for use by academics and teachers across the undergraduate curriculum. The model has implications for all teachers considering the use of student response systems to improve the learning experiences of their students. Finally, we consider some of the negative aspects of GoSoapBox as a learning aid.

Mobile medical applications for melanoma risk assessment: False assurance or valuable tool?

With the smartphone revolution, consumer-focused mobile medical applications (apps) have flooded the market without restriction. We searched the market for commercially available apps on all mobile platforms that could provide automated risk analysis of the most serious skin cancer, melanoma. We tested 5 relevant apps against 15 images of previously excised skin lesions and compared the apps' risk grades to the known histopathologic diagnosis of the lesions. Two of the apps did not identify any of the melanomas. The remaining 3 apps obtained 80% sensitivity for melanoma risk identification; specificities for the 5 apps ranged from 20%-100%. Each app provided its own grading and recommendation scale and included a disclaimer recommending regular dermatologist evaluation regardless of the analysis outcome. The results indicate that autonomous lesion analysis is not yet ready for use as a triage tool. More concerning is the lack of restrictions and regulations for these applications.

Complexity of collaborative work in residential aged care facilities: An analysis of information exchange for medication management

Information exchange (IE) is a critical component of the complex collaborative medication process in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). Designing information and communication technology (ICT) to support complex processes requires a profound understanding of the IE that underpins their execution. There is little existing research that investigates the complexity of IE in RACFs and its impact on ICT design. The aim of this study was thus to undertake an in-depth exploration of the IE process involved in medication management to identify its implications for the design of ICT. The study was undertaken at a large metropolitan facility in NSW, Australia. A total of three focus groups, eleven interviews and two observation sessions were conducted between July to August 2010. Process modelling was undertaken by translating the qualitative data via in-depth iterative inductive analysis. The findings highlight the complexity and collaborative nature of IE in RACF medication management. These models emphasize the need to: a) deal with temporal complexity; b) rely on an interdependent set of coordinative artefacts; and c) use synchronous communication channels for coordination. Taken together these are crucial aspects of the IE process in RACF medication management that need to be catered for when designing ICT in this critical area. This study provides important new evidence of the advantages of viewing process as a part of a system rather than as segregated tasks as a means of identifying the latent requirements for ICT design and that is able to support complex collaborative processes like medication management in RACFs. © 2012 IEEE.

三种藏药材的化学成分研究

本学位论文报道了西藏产三种藏族传统植物药材的化学成分研究。论文由四章组成，前三章是实验部分，分别报道了尼泊尔黄堇(Corydalis hendersonii Hemsl.)、藏波罗花(Incarvillea younghusbandii Sprague)和全缘叶绿绒蒿(Meconopsis interifolia Franch.)的化学成分研究结果。从这三种青藏高原药用植物中共分离鉴定出33 个化合物，其中1 个是新化合物。第四章概述了罂粟科紫堇属植物的化学和药理研究进展。 第一章为尼泊尔黄堇的化学成分研究。通过正、反相硅胶柱色谱等分离方法从药用植物尼泊尔黄堇的地上部分共分离纯化得到12 个化合物。运用MS、1H-NMR、13C-NMR、DEPT、HMBC、NOESY 等现代波谱学方法将它们的结构鉴定为：刺罂粟碱(1) ， 普托品(2) ， 新那亭(3) ， 斯可任(4) ， tetrahydrothalifendine (5) ，9-methyl-decumbenine C (6)，tetrahydroberberrubine (7)，隐品碱(8)，α-别隐品碱(9)，6,7-methylenedioxy-1(2H)-oxoisoquinolinone (10)，6-丙酮基-5,6 -二氢血根碱(11)和β-谷甾醇(12)。其中化合物6 为新化合物，为首次发现的分子骨架上C-9 位连有甲基的苯肽异喹啉类型生物碱。另外，除化合物1 和2 外，其它9 个生物碱（3～11）均为首次从该种植物中分离得到。同时，我们还对对尼泊尔黄堇中的总生物碱进行了串联质谱分析。 第二章为藏波罗花的化学成分研究。从该药用植物的地上部分共分离得到16个化合物，通过理化常数和波谱数据鉴定为：异佛手柑内酯(1)，6-甲氧基当归素(2)，欧前胡素(3)，花椒毒内酯(4)，珊瑚菜素(5)，水合氧化前胡素(6)，rivulobirin A (7)，齐墩果酸甲酯(8)，咖啡酸甲酯(9)，银桦酸(10)，(D)-boschniakinic acid (11)，对羟基苯甲酸(12) ， tert-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(R)-heraclenol (13) ， 5-methoxy-8-O-β-D-glucopyranosyloxypsoralen (14)，前胡苷V(15)和苯乙醇-O-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖-(1→2)-O-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖苷(16)。所有以上化合物均为首次从该种植物中分离得到。另外我们还首次对藏波罗花挥发油的化学成分进行了气相色谱-质谱(GC-MS)联用分析，共鉴定出39 个挥发性成分。 第三章为全缘叶绿绒蒿化学成分的分离鉴定。从传统藏药材全缘叶绿绒蒿地上部分共分离纯化出8 个化合物。通过理化常数和波谱数据将他们的结构分别鉴定为：去甲血根碱(1)，β-谷甾醇(2)，3-羟基-齐墩果烷-12(13)-烯-30-酸(3)，6-丙酮基-5,6-二氢血根碱(4)，木犀草素(5)，胡萝卜苷(6)，quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranoside (7)和普托品(8)。其中化合物1，4 和7 为首次从该种药用植物中分离得到。 第四章为综述，总结和归纳了近年来罂粟科紫堇属植物的化学和药理研究进展。 This dissertation consists of four parts. The first, second and third parts report the studies on the chemical constituents from the medicinal plants of Corydalis hendersonii, Incarvillea younghusbandii and Meconopsis interifolia. The forth part reviews the progress of the studies on Corydalis species. The first chapter is about the isolations and identifications of alkalids from the aerial parts of C. hendersonii which is a traditional Tibetan medicine to treat febrifuge, high blood pressure and hepatitis. A new isoquinoline alkaloid, 9-methyl-decumbenine C (6), together with ten known alkaloids, stylopine (1), protopine (2), canadine (3), scoulerine (4), tetrahydrothalifendine (5), tetrahydroberberrubine (7), cryptopine (8), α-allocryptopine (9), 6,7-methylenedioxy-1(2H)-isoquinolinone (10) and 6-acetonyl-5,6-dihydrosanguinarine (11), and β-sitosterol (12) were isolated. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Furthermore, the total alkaloids were analyzed by ESI-MSn. The second chapter is about the isolations and identifications of chemical constituents from the aerial parts of I. younghusbandii. Sixteen compounds were isolated and purified by normal and reversed phase silica gel column chromatography. By spectral analysis, there structures were identified as isobergapten (1), sphondin (2), imperatorin (3), xanthotoxin (4), phellopterin (5), heraclenol (6), rivulobirin A (7), methyl oleanolate (8), methyl caffeate (9), grevillic acid (10), (D)-boschniakinic acid (11), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (12), tert-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(R)-heraclenol (13), 5-methoxy-8-O-β-D-glucopyranosyloxypsoralen (14), decuroside Ⅴ(15), and phenylethyl-O-β-Dglucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranoside (16). All of these compounds were isolated from this plant for the first time．By the way, the chemical components of the essential oil from I. younghusbandii were analyzed by GC-MS for the first time. The third chapter is about the the isolations and identifications of the chemical constituents of M. interifolia. Eight compounds were isolated and identified as norsanguinarine (1), β-sitosterol (2), 3-hydroxyolean-12(13)-en-30-oic acid (3), 6-acetonyl-5,6-dihydrosanguinarine (4), luteolin (5), daucosterol (6), quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranoside (7) and protopine (8). The compounds 1, 4 and 7 were isolated from this herb for the first time. The last chapter is a review of the research progress of the studies on Corydalis species, which includes the chemical constituents in this genus and their pharmacology.

An Address delivered in the Mercer Street Church at the funeral of the Hon. Benjamin Franklin Butler

Address

An address delivered on the occasion of the funeral of the Rev. William James

Address

Factores relacionados con el manejo quirúrgico de estrechez de la unión pieloureteral en niños

Objetivo: Describir los factores relacionados con la toma de decisión de manejo quirúrgico en pacientes con hidronefrosis secundaria a estrechez de la unión pieloureteral en el servicio de Urología Pediátrica de una institución de IV nivel. Materiales y Métodos: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo retrospectivo. Se seleccionaron por conveniencia a 100 pacientes con diagnóstico antenatal de hidronefrosis, 37 fueron llevados a manejo quirúrgico por estrechez de la unión pieloureteral (EUPU) entre los años 2009 y 2012. Se evaluaron los factores que llevaron a la toma| de esta decisión. Resultados: Los pacientes con diagnóstico postnatal de EUPU representaron el 37% de la población, la indicación de manejo quirúrgico en 13 pacientes (35,1%) fue dilatación caliceal (SFU 3), en 21 pacientes (56,8%) de deterioro de la función renal y en los restantes (8,1%) infección urinaria recurrente. Se encontró una progresión de 30% en la severidad de la dilatación en el periodo postnatal, habían 9 pacientes (24% de la muestra) SFU de 3 y 4 en el periodo prenatal y 20 (54%) en el periodo postnatal que fueron llevados a manejo quirúrgico. De los pacientes que disponíamos de datos precisos de valores de variación porcentual de gammagrafía 16% de la muestra, se encontró que había una variación del 50% en deterioro de la función renal. Conclusión: En el grupo de pacientes colombianos de la consulta externa del servicio de urología pediátrica estudiado se encontró que la decisión de manejo quirúrgico en pacientes con EUPU, está en concordancia con lo encontrado en la literatura mundial, siendo estos la presencia de dilatación caliceal deterioro de la función renal en gammagrafía DMSA.

Carcinoma de tiroides una verdadera pandemia?

El diagnóstico de cáncer de tiroides se ha incrementado y las posibilidades de detección de una enfermedad subclínica son altas, toda vez que disponemos de herramientas de detección más sensibles y de fácil acceso. Por ende, el clínico requiere conocer la historia natural del nódulo tiroideo y del carcinoma papilar de tiroides de bajo riesgo para brindar a su paciente el mejor tratamiento basado en la evidencia clínica. El objetivo de esta revision es reconocer los elementos clínicos que han condicionado el aumento inusitado de casos de cáncer de tiroides. Conclusión: El sobrediagnóstico del cáncer de tiroides es una realidad, que se posibilita por el uso extendido de biopsia por aspiración con aguja fina ((BACAF)) después de la detección de un nódulo tiroideo, en gran parte de manera incidental, sin acarrear la mayoría de las veces un mejor pronóstico después de su tratamiento.

Representaciones sociales de la medicina complementaria y alternativa (MCA) para el cáncer en estudiantes universitarios de carreras de ciencias de la salud

Se realizó un estudio cualitativo exploratorio con estudiantes de carreras de Ciencias de la Salud con el objetivo de comprender las representaciones sociales que tienen acerca de la Medicina Complementaria y Alternativa (MCA) para el cáncer. Se desarrollaron grupos focales y la información obtenida fue analizada a través del Análisis Temático e interpretada con base en la Teoría de las Representaciones Sociales. Se encontraron diversas representaciones sociales asociadas con la definición, los objetivos, los tratamientos, la eficacia, las fuentes de información y el origen de la MCA. En conclusión se evidenció una alta tendencia a la aceptación y a la manifestación de una actitud positiva, aunque ambivalente frente a la MCA, además de un desconocimiento por la diferenciación conceptual entre este tipo de Medicina y la Medicina Popular. La cultura y las creencias sociales predominan en las representaciones sociales que tienen los estudiantes de la MCA para el cáncer, pese a su formación académica.

El desenvolupament professional del professor universitari com a docent. 'El desarrollo profesional del profesor universitario como docente'.

Conocer la orientación pedagógica del profesor universitario y los elementos que inciden en el desarrollo profesional de su carrera como docente. Se lleva a cabo un muestreo probabilístico, estratificado por áreas científicas en la UAB, de cual se obtienen 12 departamentos (3 por área científica) que suponen 891 profesores, y aleatorio simple en la UPC, donde se seleccionan 12 departamentos con un total de 751 profesores. Para las entrevistas se escogen 14 profesores, 7 de cada universidad. El estudio se compone de diferentes fases: primero se estudia la literatura y se profundiza en los modelos desarrollados por Kugel, Robertson y Nyquist y Sprague para corroborar su validez. Después se desarrolla un cuestionario sobre el desarrollo de las orientaciones pedagógicas y se realizan entrevistas para corroborar e ilustrar los estadios propuestos por estos autores. También se analizan los principales documentos sobre docencia universitaria. Triangulación de métodos. Entre otras conclusiones, el desarrollo del profesor no sigue un curso fijo sino que cada uno sigue su ritmo, es continuado, acumulativo y progresa de comportamientos simples a complejos. Los niveles de enseñanza que exhiben los profesores tienen relación con el nivel de aprendizaje de la tarea docente en la universidad, con el nivel de madurez pedagógica. Los profesores universitarios conciben la docencia principalmente de tres maneras: como impartición de conocimiento, como desarrollo de destrezas y motivación y como facilitación o soporte al aprendizaje de los estudiantes, mostrando diferentes estilos docentes, el transmisivo, el interactivo y el reflexivo.

El ProFI : programa de formación inicial del ICE de la UPC.

Resumen basado en el que aporta la revista

Site Safety and Food Affect Movements of Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) Migrating Through the Upper Bay of Fundy

The upper Bay of Fundy is a critical stopover site for Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) during their fall migration. However, little is known about factors that influence selection of feeding and roosting sites by these birds, or the extent to which birds move between different sites during their time in the region. Using radio-telemetry, we studied movement patterns, examined habitat use, and tested hypotheses associated with factors influencing foraging and roost-site selection. Movements of radio-tagged sandpipers were tracked in the upper Bay of Fundy in August 2004 and 2005. In 2004, sandpipers from the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia and Chignecto Bay, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, were tracked, and in 2005, sandpipers were tracked only in Chignecto Bay. Sandpipers were highly mobile in both the Minas Basin 2004 and Chignecto Bay 2005, making daily movements of up to 20 km between foraging and roosting sites, although very little movement was detected in Chignecto Bay in 2004. Migrating sandpipers appeared to select foraging sites based on relative safety, as measured by distance to cover, provided that these sites offered an adequate food supply. Similarly, roosting sandpipers preferred sites that were far from nearby trees that might offer cover to predators. This preference for safe sites became more apparent later in their stay in the Bay of Fundy, when birds were heavier and, therefore, possibly more vulnerable to predation. Semipalmated Sandpipers appear to be flexible during their time in the upper Bay of Fundy, displaying year-to-year and site-to-site variability in movement and mudflat usage. Therefore, multiple, synchronized population counts should be conducted at known roost sites in order to more accurately estimate Semipalmated Sandpiper abundance in this region. Furthermore, in a highly dynamic system where food can be variable, landscape features such as distance to cover may be important factors to consider when selecting candidate sites for shorebird conservation measures.