Developing a Web-Based Knowledge Product Outsourcing System at a University

( Mark B. Onte ),( Dave E. Marcial ) 한국정보처리학회 2013 Journal of information processing systems Vol.9 No.4

The availability of technology and the abundance of experts in universities create an ample opportunity to provide a venue that allows a knowledge seeker to easily connect with and request advice from university experts. On the other hand, outsourcing provides opportunities and remains one of the emerging trends in organizations, and can very clearly observed in the Philippines. This paper describes the development of a reliable web-based approach to Knowledge Product Outsourcing (KPO) services in the Silliman Online University Learning system. The system is called an e-Knowledge Box. It integrates Web 2.0 technologies and mechanisms, such as instant messaging, private messaging, document forwarding, video conferencing, online payments, net meetings, and social collaboration together into one system. Among the tools used are WAMP Server 2.0, PHP, BlabIM, Wordpress 3.0, Video Whisper, Red5, Adobe Dreamweaver CS4, and Virtual Box. The proposed system is integrated with the search engine in URLs, Web feeds, email links, social bookmarking, search engine sitemaps, and Web Analytics Direct Visitor Reports. The site demonstrates great web usability and has an excellent rating in functionality, language and content, online help and user guides, system and user feedback, consistency, and architectural and visual clarity. Likewise, the site was was rated as being very good for the following items: navigation navigation, user control, and error prevention and correction.

Deviations from the Law of One Price across Cities: Testing for a Border Effect in Persistence and Volatility

( Mark E. Wohar ) 한양대학교 경제연구소 2010 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH Vol.15 No.2

In this paper, we test for border effects in deviations from the law of one price. With respect to the AR(p) representation of deviations from the law of one price, we test for a border e.ect in both the sum of the autoregressive coefficients (persistence) and the variance of the disturbance term (volatility). Using consumer price index data for a large number of categories of consumer goods and services for Canadian and U.S. cities from Engel and Rogers (1996), we first use the Hansen (1999) grid-bootstrap procedure to generate median-unbiased estimates of the persistence and volatility in deviations from the law of one price for every city pair and CPI category. We then estimate cross-section regression models across city pairs for the estimates of persistence and volatility for each CPI category, and we find that (after controlling for the distance between cities) crossing the Canadian-U.S. border leads to significant increases in both persistence and volatility for nearly all of the CPI categories. We also document a border e.ect in both persistence and volatility using the aggregate consumer price index data for European cities from Engel and Rogers (2001).

Guaranteed GNSS-based Road Charging Applications through User-Level Integrity

Audrey Mark,Joaquí,n Cosmen Schortmann,Miguel Á,ngel Martí,nez Olagü,e,Miguel Romay Merino 한국항해항만학회 2006 한국항해항만학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.2 No.-

Integrity plays a fundamental role in the feasibility of “liability critical” applications. Road charging, e.g. road tolling in urban zones or on highways, represents a series of liability critical applications where a guarantee in integrity could be a true enabler: being the mechanism that prevents the incorrect charging of users and enabling the advancement of these applications using GNSS such as Galileo and EGNOS that provide integrity mechanisms. However, the integrity of the end user position is not guaranteed by the EGNOS and Galileo integrity services alone as provided. Algorithms have been developed to supply a guarantee on the performance attainable at the user level through the provision of a horizontal protection level that responds to local user conditions such as multipath or interference. In addition, an application has been developed that implements road charging mechanisms based on the availability of user-level integrity. Results obtained show that the user-level integrity algorithms provided the required level of integrity guarantee and granularity of the horizontal protection levels necessary for executing urban and rural (highway) road charging. In addition, the road charging application developed shows that the current application domain requirements can be met through the provision of guaranteed integrity and that further reductions in the horizontal protection levels along with increased signal availability will enable future road charging modalities.

Expression profile of an operationally-defined neural stem cell clone

Parker, Mark A.,Anderson, Julia K.,Corliss, Deborah A.,Abraria, Victoria E.,Sidman, Richard L.,Park, Kook In,Teng, Yang D.,Cotanche, Douglas A.,Snyder, Evan Y. Elsevier 2005 Experimental neurology Vol.194 No.2

<P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>Neural stem cells (NSCs) are the most primordial and least committed cells of the nervous system, the cells that exist <I>before</I> regional specification develops. Because immunocytochemically-detectable markers that are sufficiently specific and sensitive to define an NSC have not yet been fully defined, we have taken the strong view that, to be termed a “stem cell” in the nervous system—in contrast to a “progenitor” or “precursor” (whose lineage commitment is further restricted)—a <I>single neuroectodermally-derived cell</I> must fulfill an operational definition that is essentially similar to that used in hematopoiesis. In other words, it must possess the following functional properties: (1) “Multipotency”, i.e., the ability to yield mature cells in all three fundamental neural lineages throughout the nervous system—neurons (of all subtypes), astrocytes (of all types), oligodendrocytes—in multiple regional and developmental contexts and in a region and developmental stage-appropriate manner. (2) The ability to populate a developing region and/or repopulate an ablated or degenerated region of the nervous system with appropriate cell types. (3) The ability to be serially transplanted. (4) “Self-renewal”, i.e., the ability to produce daughter cells (including new NSCs) with identical properties and potential. Having identified a murine neural cell clone that fulfills this strict operational definition—in contrast to other studies that used less rigorous or non-operational criteria for defining an NSC (e.g., the “neurosphere” assay)—we then examined, by comparing gene expression profiles, the relationship such a cell might have to (a) a <I>multipotent</I> somatic stem cell from another organ system (the hematopoietic stem cell [HSC]); (b) a <I>pluripotent</I> stem cell derived from the inner cell mass and hence without organ assignment (an embryonic stem cell); (c) neural cells isolated and maintained primarily as neurospheres but without having been subjected to the abovementioned operational screen (“CNS-derived neurospheres”). ESCs, HSCs, and operationally-defined NSCs—all of which have been identified not only by markers but by functional assays in their respective systems and whose state of differentiation could be synchronized—shared a large number of genes. Although, as expected, the most stem-like genes were expressed by ESCs, NSCs and HSCs shared a number of genes. CNS-derived neurospheres, on the other hand, expressed fewer “stem-like” genes held in common by the other operationally-defined stem cell populations. Rather they displayed a profile more consistent with differentiated neural cells. (Genes of neural identity were shared with the NSC clone.) Interestingly, when the operationally-defined NSC clone was cultured as a neurosphere (rather than in monolayer), its expression pattern shifted from a “stem-like” pattern towards a more “differentiated” one, suggesting that the neurosphere, without functional validation, may be a poor model for predicting stem cell attributes because it consists of heterogeneous populations of cells, only a small proportion of which are truly “stem-like”. Furthermore, when operational definitions are employed, a common set of stem-like genes does emerge across both embryonic and somatic stem cells of various organ systems, including the nervous system.</P>

An Overview on Performamce Control and Efficient Design of Lateral Resisting Moment Frames

Grigorian, Mark,Grigorian, Carl E. Council on Tall Building and Urban Habitat Korea 2013 International journal of high-rise buildings Vol.2 No.2

This paper presents a brief overview of the recently developed performance-control method of moment frame design subjected to monotonously increasing lateral loading. The final product of any elastic-plastic analysis is a nonlinear loaddisplacement diagram associated with a progressive failure mechanism, which may or may not be as desirable as expected. Analytically derived failure mechanisms may include such undesirable features as soft story failure, partial failure modes, overcollapse, etc. The problem is compounded if any kind of performance control, e.g., drift optimization, material savings or integrity assessment is also involved. However, there is no reason why the process can not be reversed by first selecting a desirable collapse mechanism, then working backwards to select members that would lead to the desired outcome. This article provides an overview of the newly developed Performance control methodology of design for lateral resisting frameworks with a view towards integrity control and prevention of premature failure due to propagation of plasticity and progressive P-delta effects.

ASSET SPECIFICITY AND CHANNEL INTEGRATION

Hidesuke Takata,Mark E. Parry 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2018 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2018 No.07

Introduction An important decision that a manufacturer has to make in distributing a product to customers is the degree of forward channel integration (Aulakh & Kotabe, 1997; Coughlan et al., 2001; John & Weitz, 1988). Transaction cost economics (TCE) developed by Williamson (1975, 1985, 1986, 1999) has been one of the leading theoretical frameworks used to explain the channel integration decision (Frazier, 1999; Watson et al., 2015). TCE is generally a theory for explaining the choice of an efficient governance structure in transactions and includes asset specificity, uncertainty, and frequency as its explanatory variables. According to Williamson (1985, 1986, 1999), much of the explanatory power of TCE is driven by asset specificity. TCE-based channel integration studies argue that as asset specificity increases, firms are expected to increase the degree of channel integration. This study proposes to extend existing research in four important ways. First, existing studies have not examined individual dimensions of asset specificity. This study examines two important dimensions discussed by TCE: human asset specificity and physical asset specificity. Second, existing studies have tended to measure asset specificity in a particular way (i.e., with a particular set of questionnaire items). This study examines the robustness of the estimated asset specificity-integration relationship to alternative measures of asset specificity. Third, existing studies have focused on firms in one country such as the United States, Canada, or Germany. This study empirically examines the roles and relative importance of human and physical asset specificity in channel integration in two countries with different cultures, the United States and Japan. Fourth, existing studies have not investigated the possibility of endogeneity between asset specificity and channel integration. This study tests whether asset specificity is endogenous in explaining channel integration through an instrumental variables and two-stage least squares (IV-2SLS) approach. Literature Review In the context of distribution channels, asset specificity refers to the extent to which durable, transaction-specific investments in human and/or physical assets are needed to distribute the product in question (John & Weitz, 1988; Klein et al., 1990; Shervani et al., 2007). Examples of such investments include (1) the time and effort employed to acquire the firm-specific, product-specific, and customer-specific knowledge needed for distribution activities, and (2) specialized physical equipment and facilities (e.g., warehouses, deliver vehicles, refrigeration equipment, demonstration facilities, and repair and service centers) (Anderson, 1985; Bello & Lohtia, 1995; Brettel et al., 2011a, 2011b; John & Weitz, 1988; Shervani et al., 2007; Williamson, 1985, 1986). According to TCE, when the assets needed to distribute a product are non-specific, the use of independent channels is a priori more efficient than the use of integrated channels based on the benefits of distribution specialists and competition in the market place (Anderson, 1985). Conversely, a high level of specific assets, whether human or physical, has important implications for the degree of channel integration. The primary consequence is to reduce a large number of relationships between a manufacturer and independent channel members to a small number of relationships, which may expose the transaction in question to opportunistic behavior. Because the unique productive value created by a high level of specific assets makes it costly to switch to a new relationship, the use of independent channels will not be effective as a safeguard against opportunism (John & Weitz, 1988; Shervani et al., 2007). Channel integration provides a safeguard against opportunism by permitting (1) the better monitoring and surveillance of integrated channels relative to independent channels, and (2) the reduction of profits from opportunistic behavior since employees in integrated channels do not ordinarily have claims to profit streams (John & Weitz, 1988). As a result, as asset specificity increases, manufacturers are expected to increase the degree of channel integration to exercise greater control over the channels (John & Weitz, 1988; Shervani et al., 2007). This leads to the following basic TCE hypothesis concerning asset specificity and channel integration: TCE hypothesis. Asset specificity will be positively related to the degree of channel integration. Existing studies of channel integration tend to provide support or partial support for the hypothesized positive relationship between asset specificity and channel integration. One limitation of key studies is that they have not fully explored the dimensions of asset specificity because they treat asset specificity as unidimensional or examine only one dimension of asset specificity. Specifically, Anderson and Schmittlein (1984), Anderson (1985), Anderson and Coughlan (1987), and Krafft et al. (2004) focus on human asset specificity. While John and Weitz (1988), Shervani et al. (2007), and Brettel et al. (2011a) consider both human and physical asset specificity in their theoretical discussions, their empirical analyses focus only on human asset specificity. Klein et al. (1990), Aulakh and Kotabe (1997), and Brettel et al. (2011a) use a single measure of asset specificity that contains distinct items measuring human and physical asset specificity. Importantly, none of these studies has examined the dimension of physical asset specificity while controlling for the impact of human asset specificity. These observations suggest that further research is needed that explicitly measures and evaluates the relative importance of human and physical asset specificity in the channel integration decision. Research Hypotheses Based on the above literature review, we seek to extend existing research by distinguishing between two types of asset specificity, human and physical asset specificity. As already explained, TCE and TCE-based channel integration studies argue that both human and physical asset specificity are positive drivers of the degree of channel integration. Thus, our research hypotheses are the following: Hypothesis 1. Human asset specificity will be positively related to the degree of channel integration. Hypothesis 2. Physical asset specificity will be positively related to the degree of channel integration. Research Methodology As shown in Table 1, previous empirical studies attempt to test the basic TCE hypothesis concerning asset specificity and channel integration using (1) a particular measure of asset specificity, (2) data from a single national survey of firms in the United States, Canada, or Germany, and (3) methods such as an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis and a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach. In contrast with these studies, we seek to test the above two hypotheses concerning two types of asset specificity and channel integration using (1) different measures of asset specificity, (2) data from parallel national surveys of firms in two countries with different cultures, the United States and Japan, and (3) the methods used in prior empirical analyses and an IV-2SLS approach, which is a widely accepted method for investigating the potential endogeneity problem of focal explanatory variables (Antonakis et al., 2010, 2014; Zaefarian et al., 2017). This research strategy is partly based on the guidelines for high-quality replication studies articulated by Bettis et al. (2016b). The aims are to assess the generalizability of important prior results using different survey data drawn from different research contexts and to assess the robustness of these results using different measures and methods, thereby providing important additional evidence that contributes to the establishment of repeatable cumulative knowledge (Bettis et al., 2016a, 2016b). We developed the survey questionnaire in several steps. Following John and Weitz (1988), Shervani et al. (2007), and Brettel et al. (2011b), the dependent variable, channel integration, was operationalized by the percentage of sales through direct channels. We measured the focal explanatory variable, asset specificity, in four ways: (1) a four-item scale of human asset specificity used by Shervani et al. (2007), (2) a four-item scale of physical asset specificity based on Bello and Lohtia (1995) and Klein et al. (1990), (3) a six-item scale of human and physical asset specificity used by Klein et al. (1990), and (4) a four-item scale of human and physical asset specificity used by Brettel et al. (2011a). We also included four control variables: environmental uncertainty, behavioral uncertainty, financial performance, and channel members’ capabilities. Based on existing studies, manufacturers of electronic and telecommunication, metal, and chemical products in industrial (business-to-business) markets were selected as the setting for the empirical test. The unit of analysis was the domestic channel integration decision made at a product-market level. Respondents were sales/marketing managers (or executives) knowledgeable about channel design and strategies. In the United States, a professional marketing research company administered the data collection. In Japan, respondents were surveyed by mail. In total, we obtained 235 usable responses from US managers and 279 responses from Japanese managers. Results and Conclusions Following similar studies (John & Weitz, 1988; Shervani et al., 2007), an OLS regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The results, shown in Table 1, exhibit significant explanatory power for each model. As expected, (1) human asset specificity exhibits significant positive relationships with the degree of channel integration in both the United States and Japan (Models 1 & 2). These findings support Hypothesis 1. Conversely, (2) physical asset specificity does not have the expected significant positive relationships with the degree of channel integration in both the United States and Japan (Models 1 & 3). These findings do not support Hypothesis 2. Also, (3) asset specificity (Klein et al., 1990) and (4) asset specificity (Brettel et al., 2011a), two composite measures of human and physical asset specificity, exhibit the expected significant coefficients (Models 4 & 5). Additionally, we conducted a similar analysis using a structural equation modelling approach. The results mirrored those of OLS regression, thus providing further support for it. To assess the problem of potential endogeneity between asset specificity and channel integration, we employed IV-2SLS. We used (1) the level of the product’s technical content and (2) the need for coordination between production and distribution activities as instruments for human/physical asset specificity. Our instruments were individually significant predictors of asset specificity and met the exclusion restriction. However, the endogeneity test revealed no evidence of endogeneity. Thus, asset specificity was treated as exogenous in the model. In summary, our preliminary results suggest that human asset specificity, not physical asset specificity, is relevant to the channel integration decision. This finding is significant in that TCE-based channel integration studies tend to measure only one type of asset specificity. We are currently conducting additional analyses to better understand the relationship between human and physical asset specificity, for example, (1) the effects of human and physical asset specificity on different kinds of direct distribution, and (2) a multiple equation model in which human asset specificity is a function of physical asset specificity and direct distribution is a function of both human and physical asset specificity. We believe that our results will have important implications for the ways in which managers approach the channel integration decision.

A Network of Substrates of the E3 Ubiquitin Ligases MDM2 and HUWE1 Control Apoptosis Independently of p53

Kurokawa, Manabu,Kim, Jiyeon,Geradts, Joseph,Matsuura, Kenkyo,Liu, Liu,Ran, Xu,Xia, Wenle,Ribar, Thomas J.,Henao, Ricardo,Dewhirst, Mark W.,Kim, Wun-Jae,Lucas, Joseph E.,Wang, Shaomeng,Spector, Neil L AAAS 2013 Science signaling Vol.6 No.274

<P><B>Breaking Down to Build Resistance</B></P><P>Chemotherapeutic resistance often arises because of the rewiring of signaling pathways in cancer cells. Kurokawa <I>et al.</I> found that the ubiquitin E3 ligase MDM2 triggered the breakdown of another ubiquitin E3 ligase, HUWE1. In breast cancer cells that died when exposed to the HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib, MDM2 was degraded, which enabled HUWE1 to trigger the degradation of a prosurvival protein and promote assembly and activation of a protein complex required for the execution of cell death. However, MDM2 degradation did not occur in lapatinib-resistant breast cancer cells, and thus, the abundance of HUWE1 was decreased, promoting cell survival. In a mouse xenograft model, an inhibitor of MDM2 reduced the growth of tumors generated from lapatinib-resistant breast cancer cells. Thus, MDM2 could be targeted to circumvent resistance to lapatinib in breast cancers.</P>

Reduction and Simultaneous Removal of ⁹⁹Tc and Cr by Fe(OH)₂(s) Mineral Transformation

Saslow, Sarah A.,Um, Wooyong,Pearce, Carolyn I.,Engelhard, Mark H.,Bowden, Mark E.,Lukens, Wayne,Leavy, Ian I.,Riley, Brian J.,Kim, Dong-Sang,Schweiger, Michael J.,Kruger, Albert A. American Chemical Society 2017 Environmental science & technology Vol.51 No.15

<P>Technetium (Tc) remains a priority remediation concern due to persistent challenges, including mobilization due to rapid reoxidation of immobilized Tc, and competing comingled contaminants, e.g., Cr(VI), that inhibit Tc(VII) reduction and incorporation into stable mineral phases. Here Fe(OH)(2)(s) is investigated as a comprehensive solution for overcoming these challenges, by serving as both the reductant, (Fe(II)), and the immobilization agent to form Tc-incorporated magnetite (Fe3O4). Trace metal analysis suggests removal of Tc(VII) and Cr(VI) from solution occurs simultaneously; however, complete removal and reduction of Cr(VI) is achieved earlier than the removal/reduction of comingled Tc(VII). Bulk oxidation state analysis of the final magnetite solid phase by XANES shows that the majority of Tc is Tc(IV), which is corroborated by XPS measurements. Furthermore, EXAFS results show successful, albeit partial, Tc(IV) incorporation into magnetite octahedral sites. Cr XPS analysis indicates reduction to Cr(III) and the formation of a Cr-incorporated spinel, Cr2O3, and Cr(OH)(3) phases. Spinel (modeled as Fe3O4), goethite (alpha-FeOOH), and feroxyhyte (delta-FeOOH) are detected in all reacted final solid phase samples analyzed by XRD. Incorporation of Tc(IV) has little effect on the spinel lattice structure. Reaction of Fe(OH)(2)(s) in the presence of Cr(III) results in the formation of a spinel phase that is a solid solution between magnetite (Fe3O4) and chromite (FeCr2O4).</P>

Sulfonated Poly(arylene sulfide sulfone nitrile) Multiblock Copolymers with Ordered Morphology for Proton Exchange Membranes

Shin, Dong Won,Lee, So Young,Lee, Chang Hyun,Lee, Kwan-Soo,Park, Chi Hoon,McGrath, James E.,Zhang, Mingqiang,Moore, Robert B.,Lingwood, Mark D.,Madsen, Louis A.,Kim, Young Taek,Hwang, Inchul,Lee, Youn American Chemical Society 2013 Macromolecules Vol.46 No.19

<P>Ordered morphologies in disulfonated poly(arylene sulfide sulfone nitrile) (SPSN) copolymers were generated via thermal annealing followed by multiblock copolymer synthesis. While SPSN random copolymers (R-SPSN) showed featureless morphologies, the SPSN multiblock copolymers (B-SPSN) exhibited cocontinuous lamellar morphologies with a center-to-center interdomain size of up to 40 nm. In spite of the well-ordered, interconnected hydrophilic domains, the water self-diffusion coefficient (e.g., <I>D</I> = (0.7–2.0) × 10<SUP>–10</SUP> m<SUP>2</SUP> s<SUP>–1</SUP>) and proton conductivity (e.g., σ = 0.16–0.20 S cm<SUP>–1</SUP> in deionized water at 30 °C) through B-SPSN were lower than those of the corresponding R-SPSN (e.g., <I>D</I> = (3.5–3.9) × 10<SUP>–10</SUP> m<SUP>2</SUP> s<SUP>–1</SUP> and σ = 0.21 S cm<SUP>–1</SUP>) due to the relatively lower water uptake of the B-SPSN after thermal annealing. The reduced water uptake of B-SPSN was beneficial to reduction of peroxide degradation rate. Thermal annealing produced significant gains in morphological ordering and finer control over desired membrane properties for proton conduction applications.</P><P><B>Graphic Abstract</B> <IMG SRC='http://pubs.acs.org/appl/literatum/publisher/achs/journals/content/mamobx/2013/mamobx.2013.46.issue-19/ma400889t/production/images/medium/ma-2013-00889t_0010.gif'></P><P><A href='http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/ma400889t'>ACS Electronic Supporting Info</A></P>

Publisher Correction: Direct imaging of the electron liquid at oxide interfaces

Song, Kyung,Ryu, Sangwoo,Lee, Hyungwoo,Paudel, Tula R.,Koch, Christoph T.,Park, Bumsu,Lee, Ja Kyung,Choi, Si-Young,Kim, Young-Min,Kim, Jong Chan,Jeong, Hu Young,Rzchowski, Mark S.,Tsymbal, Evgeny Y.,E Nature Publishing Group UK 2018 Nature nanotechnology Vol.13 No.7

In the version of this Letter originally published, in two instances in Fig. 1 the layers in the cross-sectional view of the (001) interface were incorrectly labelled: in Fig. 1b SrO<SUP>+</SUP> should have read SrO<SUP>0</SUP>; in Fig. 1c LaO<SUP>+</SUP>, AlO<SUB>2</SUB><SUP>–</SUP>, LaO<SUP>+</SUP>, TiO<SUB>2</SUB><SUP>0</SUP>, SrO<SUP>+</SUP>, TiO<SUB>2</SUB><SUP>0</SUP> should have read LaO<SUB>3</SUB><SUP>3–</SUP>, Al<SUP>3+</SUP>, LaO<SUB>3</SUB><SUP>3–</SUP>, Ti<SUP>4+</SUP>, SrO<SUB>3</SUB><SUP>4–</SUP>, Ti<SUP>4+</SUP>. In Fig. 3c the upper-right equation read –σ<SUB>s</SUB> = –e/2a<SUP>2</SUP> but should have read –σ<SUB>s</SUB> = e/2a<SUP>2</SUP> and in Fig. 3f the lower-right equation read –σ<SUB>s</SUB> = –e/2√3a<SUP>2</SUP> but should have read σ<SUB>s</SUB> = –e/2√3a<SUP>2</SUP>. These errors have now been corrected in the online version of the Letter.