A Comprehensive Review and a Taxonomy Proposal of Team Formation Problems

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Julio Juárez ◽  
Cipriano (Pano) Santos ◽  
Carlos A. Brizuela
Keyword(s):  
Work Teams ◽  
Team Formation ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Open Problems ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Research Opportunities ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Main Components ◽  
Insight Into

With a growing interest in high-performing work teams and how to form them, a new computational challenge, denominated Team Formation Problem (TFP), has emerged. After almost two decades of research on this problem, many works continue to raise particular conceptions of what a TFP is. Any new practitioner, unfamiliar with the problem, may be hindered in discerning what is essential and what is particular in each proposal. Until now, there was a lack of a document serving as a guide, synthesizing and framing what has been done to date. In this review, we mainly introduce two things: (1) a taxonomy proposal for the TFPs and (2) the description of the main components of a TFP. Additionally, we present and discuss some applications, complexity, and resolution methods. Finally, we conclude by describing some perspectives on this topic for future studies, where we give some insight into open problems and research opportunities. The main goal of this review is to facilitate the generalization of research, identify knowledge gaps, and support the development of a theory for the TFP.

The Application of the Blockchain Technology in Voting Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Jun Huang ◽  
Debiao He ◽  
Mohammad S. Obaidat ◽  
Pandi Vijayakumar ◽  
Min Luo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Voting Systems ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Formal Expression ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Peer Network ◽  
Peer To Peer Network ◽  
Insight Into

Voting is a formal expression of opinion or choice, either positive or negative, made by an individual or a group of individuals. However, conventional voting systems tend to be centralized, which are known to suffer from security and efficiency limitations. Hence, there has been a trend of moving to decentralized voting systems, such as those based on blockchain. The latter is a decentralized digital ledger in a peer-to-peer network, where a copy of the append-only ledger of digitally signed and encrypted transactions is maintained by each participant. Therefore, in this article, we perform a comprehensive review of blockchain-based voting systems and classify them based on a number of features (e.g., the types of blockchain used, the consensus approaches used, and the scale of participants). By systematically analyzing and comparing the different blockchain-based voting systems, we also identify a number of limitations and research opportunities. Hopefully, this survey will provide an in-depth insight into the potential utility of blockchain in voting systems and device future research agenda.

scholarly journals Combining Multiple Organizational-level Databases: An Empirical Evaluation of Different Matching Methods

2021 ◽  
pp. 004912412098618
Author(s):  
Tim de Leeuw ◽  
Steffen Keijl
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evaluation ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Random Errors ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Matching Methods ◽  
Matching Process ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Insight Into

Although multiple organizational-level databases are frequently combined into one data set, there is no overview of the matching methods (MMs) that are utilized because the vast majority of studies does not report how this was done. Furthermore, it is unclear what the differences are between the utilized methods, and it is unclear whether research findings might be influenced by the utilized method. This article describes four commonly used methods for matching databases and potential issues. An empirical comparison of those methods used to combine regularly used organizational-level databases reveals large differences in the number of observations obtained. Furthermore, empirical analyses of these different methods reveal that several of them produce both systematic and random errors. These errors can result in erroneous estimations of regression coefficients in terms of direction and/or size as well as an issue where truly significant relationships might be found to be insignificant. This shows that research findings can be influenced by the MM used, which would argue in favor of the establishment of a preferred method as well as more transparency on the utilized method in future studies. This article provides insight into the matching process and methods, suggests a preferred method, and should aid researchers, reviewers, and editors with both combining multiple databases and describing and assessing them.

scholarly journals ¿Cómo entrenar una habilidad compleja en cirugía?: Evaluación cualitativa de una estrategia basada en simulación

2021 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-110
Author(s):  
Juan I. Cobián ◽  
◽  
Federico Ferrero ◽  
Martín P. Alonso ◽  
Alberto M. Fontana
Keyword(s):  
Work Teams ◽  
Technical Skills ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
High Fidelity Simulation ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Overall Performance ◽  
The Impact

Background: Learning complex tasks in surgical requires the coordination and integration of technical and non-technical skills have an impact on the performance of work teams. Objective: The aim of this study is to report the results of a simulation-based educational strategy for training in complex surgical skills considering the participants’ perceptions. Material and methods: In 2019, 10 healthcare professionals participated in a 20-hour course divided in 6 hours of online training and 14 hours of onsite training. The strategy designed included the integration of case resolution activities, role-playing, practice with synthetic and virtual simulators and high-fidelity simulation. At the end of the course, a questionnaire was administered to explore participants’ perceptions on what they had learned and on their attitude changes. Results: Fifty percent of the participants perceived their skills and knowledge improved at the end of the course compared with their perception at the beginning of the course while 80% perceived the impact of the course on their professional activity was good or excellent. All the participants agreed with the need for improving non-technical skills. The experience was rated as positive or very positive by all participants, who were eager to repeat it. Conclusion: The participants’ perceptions of this educational program demonstrates that this method is highly accepted. Raising awareness of non-technical skills during the reflection stage suggests the need for changes in attitude and in self-perception of efficacy. We believe that simulation-based training offers the possibility of improving the overall performance of the surgical team. Future studies should focus on this goal.

scholarly journals Elucidation and refinement of synthetic receptor mechanisms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hailey I. Edelstein ◽  
Patrick S. Donahue ◽  
Joseph J. Muldoon ◽  
Anthony K. Kang ◽  
Taylor B. Dolberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transmembrane Domain ◽  
Functional Performance ◽  
Resonance Energy Transfer ◽  
Resonance Energy ◽  
Performance Characteristics ◽  
Therapeutic Gene ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Synthetic Receptor ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Insight Into

ABSTRACTSynthetic receptors are powerful tools for engineering mammalian cell-based devices. These biosensors enable cell-based therapies to perform complex tasks such as regulating therapeutic gene expression in response to sensing physiological cues. Although multiple synthetic receptor systems now exist, many aspects of receptor performance are poorly understood. In general, it would be useful to understand how receptor design choices influence performance characteristics. In this study, we examined the modular extracellular sensor architecture (MESA) and systematically evaluated previously unexamined design choices, yielding substantially improved receptors. A key finding that might extend to other receptor systems is that the choice of transmembrane domain (TMD) is important for generating high-performing receptors. To provide mechanistic insights, we adopted and employed a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based assay to elucidate how TMDs affect receptor complex formation and connected these observations to functional performance. To build further insight into these phenomena, we developed a library of new MESA receptors that sense an expanded set of ligands. Based upon these explorations, we conclude that TMDs affect signaling primarily by modulating intracellular domain geometry. Finally, to guide the design of future receptors, we propose general principles for linking design choices to biophysical mechanisms and performance characteristics.

scholarly journals The Performativity of Organizational Culture in a No Excuses Charter School

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Radford
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Charter School ◽  
Multiple Time Scales ◽  
Multiple Time ◽  
Successful Performance ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Clear Insight ◽  
Cyclical Process ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Successes And Failures

Theories developed by academics influence those they study, in some cases fundamentally shaping the world we study. This influential relationship, often called performativity, has gone largely unnoticed and uncommented on in organizational theory and research. The few studies investigating performativity in organizations or other fields typically focus on cases in which the ultimate success of theory's implementation is known. In this paper, I examine how one high-performing charter school sought to turn a prescribed organizational culture into reality. I find that path to successful performance is very narrow and ambiguous. The school succeeded and failed in many steps of the process, making it difficult to assess whether the initiative was successful and to attribute their successes and failures to the theory or their implementation. I conclude that performativity is a cyclical process occurring at multiple time scales. During these cycles, organizations iteratively test new implementations of the theory, seeking to gain clear insight into the success of their strategy and correctly attribute their successes and failures to decide whether the theory actually works or not.

scholarly journals Damage of polyesters by the atmospheric free radical oxidant NO3 •: a product study involving model systems

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 1907-1916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catrin Goeschen ◽  
Uta Wille
Keyword(s):  
Free Radical ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Hot Spots ◽  
Polymer Materials ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Night Time ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Work Model ◽  
Product Study ◽  
Insight Into

Manufactured polymer materials are used in increasingly demanding applications, but their lifetime is strongly influenced by environmental conditions. In particular, weathering and ageing leads to dramatic changes in the properties of the polymers, which results in decreased service life and limited usage. Despite the heavy reliance of our society on polymers, the mechanism of their degradation upon exposure to environmental oxidants is barely understood. In this work, model systems of important structural motifs in commercial high-performing polyesters were used to study the reaction with the night-time free radical oxidant NO3 • in the absence and presence of other radical and non-radical oxidants. Identification of the products revealed ‘hot spots’ in polyesters that are particularly vulnerable to attack by NO3 • and insight into the mechanism of oxidative damage by this environmentally important radical. It is suggested that both intermediates as well as products of these reactions are potentially capable of promoting further degradation processes in polyesters under environmental conditions.

APATITIC NANOPOWDERS AND COATINGS: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
RAVINDER PAL SINGH ◽  
UMA BATRA
Keyword(s):  
Sol Gel ◽  
Dip Coating ◽  
Clinical Applications ◽  
Hard Tissue ◽  
Preparation Methods ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Metallic Substrates ◽  
Surface Modification Techniques ◽  
Dental Applications ◽  
Insight Into

The use of artificial biomaterials has been acclaiming potential therapeutic scope in diverse clinical applications. This review started with the description of the basics of biomaterials, and desirable properties, which are the prerequisites to understand biomaterials. The orthopedic biomaterials, their classification and the importance of calcium phosphate (CaP) materials for hard-tissue applications were utterly discussed. Furthermore, among the various CaP biominerals, the importance of hydroxyapatite (HAP) and its synthesis techniques was comprehensively reviewed. The sol–gel route for the synthesis of HAP nanoparticles and deposition of coatings were systematically studied. Among the metallic substrates, Ti6Al4V alloy remained the focus of this study. Moreover, several film pre-preparation methods were also given due importance. The importance of other surface modification techniques, especially in the context of Ti6Al4V substrates, was also discussed. Among several coating techniques to deposit CaP coatings, special attention was paid to the spin and dip coating techniques. In addition to monolithic HAP coatings, reinforced and antimicrobial HAP coatings were also reviewed from broad perspectives. Therefore, this review provides an in-depth insight into the preparation and properties of apatitic nanoparticles and their coatings for orthopedic and dental applications.

Corporate Sustainability

2021 ◽  
pp. 26-43
Author(s):  
Iwona Bąk ◽  
Katarzyna Cheba
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Business Organizations ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
The Web

This research provides a comprehensive review of corporate sustainability literature in various application areas. The chapter also highlights the gaps in clearly explaining the scope for it extending and incorporating the term of corporate sustainability into other research areas. The main advantage of this study is that it provides an insight into the state of the art of corporate sustainability in various application areas and future development and research directions. In addition to the literature review in this area, the chapter also presents numerous examples of the understanding of corporate sustainability by various business organizations. The chapter analyses nearly 200 different publications in this field available in the Web of Science database. In addition to quantitative analyses, in-depth qualitative research was also carried out.

scholarly journals Validation of Arnaud’s ethical climate index by public sector auditors in Malaysia

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-358
Author(s):  
Chew Har Loke ◽  
Suhaiza Ismail ◽  
A.H. Fatima
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Ethical Climate ◽  
Climate Index ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethical Work Climate ◽  
Main Components

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically test Arnaud’s (2010) ethical climate index (ECI) of measuring ethical work climate (EWC) in the context of Malaysian public sector auditors (PSAs). Design/methodology/approach EWC is conceptualized as four main components with two sub-components. Questionnaires were distributed to the population of PSAs in the Malaysian National Audit Department (NAD). Factor analysis (principal component analysis [PCA]) was used to verify the components of EWC. Findings Results from PCA revealed that EWC, indeed, has four main components. Therefore, the findings of this study provide empirical evidence that validates Arnaud’s (2010) EWC model, although tested on PSAs in Malaysia. Research limitations/implications This paper has a limited purpose, which is to test whether the ECI could be applied to PSAs in Malaysia to derive the original four main components of Arnaud’s EWC. Thus, this study does not evaluate the EWC of PSAs or determine causal relationships between EWC and other variables; these are left to future studies. Practical implications The findings of this study confirm that Arnaud’s (2010) ECI is sufficiently resilient to be applied to the context of PSAs in Malaysia. Hence, future studies could use this index to measure EWC not only in the public sector but also in the private sector. Future research could also further test this index in different contexts. Originality/value Arnaud’s (2010) ECI was originally applied in the context of the private sector in a developed country. Hence, this study adds value by extending the ECI to the public sector in a developing country, Malaysia.

Morphometric and molecular characterization of an expanding Ionian population of the fireworm Hermodice carunculata (Annelida)

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (7) ◽  
pp. 1569-1577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Righi ◽  
Isabella Maletti ◽  
Ferruccio Maltagliati ◽  
Alberto Castelli ◽  
Michele Barbieri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Demographic History ◽  
Generalist Predator ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Mitochondrial Coi ◽  
Hermodice Carunculata ◽  
Scuba Divers ◽  
History Analysis ◽  
Individual Size ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractThe amphinomid fireworm Hermodice carunculata is a potentially invasive species reported throughout the subtropical Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, which is known as a generalist predator and opportunistic feeder. The ongoing climate changes and seawater warming may favour fireworm poleward range expansions and density increases. Our results provide the first investigation into a population which has purportedly been spreading widely in the Salento Peninsula (Apulia, Italy). The specimens were analysed using allometric variables and molecular markers. The best morphometric parameters to estimate individual size were determined as key information for future studies on fireworm population dynamics. To phylogeographically characterize the Apulian population, sequences of the mitochondrial COI and 16S rDNA regions were obtained from a pool of individuals and treated together with those of Atlantic specimens retrieved from GenBank. The estimates of genetic variability for Apulian population were consistent with those recently reported in the literature. Inferences on demographic history analysis confirmed a recent expansion event in Apulia, as has been recounted by fishermen and scuba divers during recent years. Overall, these results constitute a crucial step in the characterization of present-day H. carunculata populations, and provide greater insight into fireworm population ecology.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document