Library: Best sellers

To outsource or not to outsource its internal IT department? That is the question that many firms have been asking themselves. Outsourcing has been around for more then 20 years in the different manufacturing areas. At first, companies decided to outsource the manufacturing of components in countries which would be bringing cost benefits by reducing the overall cost of their products. With the Internet gaining momentum as a quick and reliable source of information transmission, many manufacturing firms are now evaluating the possibility to outsource their IT functions in order to focus ...

This research paper is the culmination of three years as a Visiting Scholar at The Anderson School and reflects the author's theories based on his research, personal practical experience, principles of economics learned from the Austrian School of Economic Thought, and the writings, research and teachings of Philip Fisher, Benjamin Graham, Murray Rothbard, and Ludwig Von Mises.

The telecommunications industry has evolved into a very competitive industry since 1980. Aggressive competition is the norm in the long distance, equipment, operator services and many other segments of the industry. The remaining segment of the market without widespread meaningful competition is the “last-mile” wireline service to the customer premise. Incumbent local exchange carriers enjoy a monopoly to serve nearly all residences and most business customers, collecting over 99% of all local exchange service revenues. Using their monopoly status, incumbents have developed a cross-subsidy...

The carotid body initiates reflexes aimed principally at the homeostatic maintenance of blood gas tensions. This thesis tested the hypothesis that the carotid body is also a physiological glucosensor, with a role in mediating exercise hyperpnoea. In anaesthetised rats, insulin-induced hypoglycaemia (from ca. 6.5 to 2.8 mmol L-1) caused an ca. two-fold increase of oxygen consumption that was associated with a significant, carotid body-dependent increase in ventilation (from ca. 420 to 640 ml min-1 kg-1) without change in blood gas tensions. This hypoglycaemic hyperpnoea was associated with hypo...

This research used the online experiment, the Berkana Community of Conversations (BCC), as a case study to explore learning and leadership in a self-organizing online microworld (an internet “small world” with rules of engagement simulating complex adaptive organization(s)). Based on theories of learning (Papert, 1996), biology of consciousness (Maturana and Varela, 1992), and integral models (Wilber, 1996), an integral methodological design, analyzed languaging and relationships as key data sources. Leadership was mapped as a continuum of behaviors that created effective processes for ...

In recent years, due to expanding populations and industries, regulatory authorities have imposed tighter discharge limits on nutrients from wastewater treatment facilities to avoid eutrophication in water streams. Common methods, such as metal salt precipitation, are being used to lower phosphorus concentrations which are a main contribution. However, alternate phosphorus removal techniques, such as phosphorus crystallisation, can provide further benefits. Precipitated solid can be utilised as a marketable fertiliser. Principles of magnesium and ammonia phosphate precipitation, working with a...

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo five times over five years while Prime Minister. As a result, Japan's relations with China and Korea have declined to their worst state since the end of World War Two. However, Prime Minister Koizumi has accused the two of meddling in Japan’s internal affairs – he does not see this as an international issue. For China, Korea, and others the fact that the shrine also includes 14 Class A War Criminals makes the Prime Minister’s visits to the Shrine, official or not, an issue of international concern....

The main problem addressed by this work is how to model and combine bodies of knowledge (or evidence) while maintaining the representation of the unkowledge and of the conflict among the bodies. This is a problem with far-reaching applications in many knowledge segments, in particular for the fields of artificial intelligence, product design, decision making, knowledge engineering and uncertain probability. It must be kept in mind that knowledge based systems depend on algorithms able to relate the inputs of a system to a correct answer coming out of the knowledge-base, and both the inputs an...

The elements of menace and terror are crucial aspects of Elizabeth Bowen's pervasive theme of betrayal in her investigation of human relationships. Bowen introduces menace into the familiar and predictable environment of her characters and threatens their sense of security and safety.

This study describes data that was gathered in 2004 from fieldwork conducted by students from four schools in Singapore, around tasks of wayfinding and debate. The fieldwork tasks were designed specifically to permit participants to exercise their powers of observation, as opposed to more traditional tasks of collection of empirical data. To this end, the study was constructed such that students were given opportunities to collaboratively explore and navigate unfamiliar environments using text- and picture-messaging, as well as to engage in debate, and use multimedia evidence recorded in the ...