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Showing papers by "Lehigh University published in 2004"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Intramolecular pairs of Alu elements are identified as a major target for editing in the human transcriptome and it is suggested that modification of repetitive elements is a predominant activity for RNA editing with significant implications for cellular gene expression.
Abstract: RNA editing by adenosine deamination generates RNA and protein diversity through the posttranscriptional modification of single nucleotides in RNA sequences. Few mammalian A-to-I edited genes have been identified despite evidence that many more should exist. Here we identify intramolecular pairs of Alu elements as a major target for editing in the human transcriptome. An experimental demonstration in 43 genes was extended by a broader computational analysis of more than 100,000 human mRNAs. We find that 1,445 human mRNAs (1.4%) are subject to RNA editing at more than 14,500 sites, and our data further suggest that the vast majority of pre-mRNAs (greater than 85%) are targeted in introns by the editing machinery. The editing levels of Alu-containing mRNAs correlate with distance and homology between inverted repeats and vary in different tissues. Alu-mediated RNA duplexes targeted by RNA editing are formed intramolecularly, whereas editing due to intermolecular base-pairing appears to be negligible. We present evidence that these editing events can lead to the posttranscriptional creation or elimination of splice signals affecting alternatively spliced Alu-derived exons. The analysis suggests that modification of repetitive elements is a predominant activity for RNA editing with significant implications for cellular gene expression.

697 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The NUBEAM module as mentioned in this paper is a comprehensive computational model for Neutral Beam Injection (NBI) in tokamaks, which is used to compute power deposition, driven current, momentum transfer, fueling, and other profiles.

636 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review examines the neural pathways from fuel detectors to the central effector system and examines the role of hormones, catecholamines, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and chemical messengers involved.

503 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual model of innovation generation in buyer-seller relationships in upstream supply chains is proposed, and factors internal and external to the relationship that moderate the link between interaction and innovation generation.
Abstract: Innovation generation has increasingly been recognized as an outcome of interaction between a firm and various outside entities. According to this view, supplier involvement and alliances are routes to innovation generation. Despite this realization, there is a dearth of research, both conceptual and empirical, focusing on innovation generation in buyer-seller relationships in supply chains. In an attempt to fill this void, this article develops a conceptual model of innovation generation in buyer-seller relationships in upstream supply chains. The authors propose that innovation generation in supply chain relationships, both incremental and radical, is a consequence of interactions between buyers and sellers. They also delineate factors internal and external to the relationship that moderate the link between interaction and innovation generation. Finally, the authors discuss managerial implications of their research and offer guidelines for future empirical research.

405 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed and tested a resource-based framework for entry mode choice and ascertained the extent to which the determinants of foreign market entry modes choice in the manufacturing sector apply to foreign market entries in the non-separable service sector, using mail survey data collected from top level managers of US firms that had been engaged in international business.
Abstract: This research has two major purposes: developing and testing a resource‐based framework for entry mode choice and ascertaining the extent to which the determinants of foreign market entry mode choice in the manufacturing sector apply to foreign market entry mode choice in the non‐separable service sector. Using mail survey data collected from top‐level managers of US firms that had been engaged in international business, the article tests a number of research hypotheses concerning foreign market entry mode choice in the manufacturing and service sectors. The managerial and research implications of the findings are delineated and directions for future research are offered.

355 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Current knowledge of the processes that lead to GJ biosynthesis and degradation are reviewed, comparisons to other membrane proteins are drawn, novel findings are highlighted, point out contradictory observations, and some provocative suggestive solutions are provided.

302 citations


Proceedings ArticleDOI
01 Dec 2004
TL;DR: The optimal detector in the Neyman-Pearson sense is developed and analyzed for the statistical MIMO radar, and an optimal detector invariant to the signal and noise levels is also developed and analyze.
Abstract: Inspired by recent advances in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, this paper introduces the statistical MIMO radar concept. The fundamental difference between statistical MIMO and other radar array systems is that the latter seek to maximize the coherent processing gain, while statistical MIMO radar capitalizes on the diversity of target scattering to improve radar performance. Coherent processing is made possible by highly correlated signals at the receiver array, whereas in statistical MIMO radar, the signals received by the array elements are uncorrelated. It is well known that in conventional radar, slow fluctuations of the target radar cross-section (RCS) result in target fades that degrade radar performance. By spacing the antenna elements at the transmitter and at the receiver such that the target angular spread is manifested, the MIMO radar can exploit the spatial diversity of target scatterers opening the way to a variety of new techniques that can improve radar performance. In this paper, we focus on the application of the target spatial diversity to improve detection performance. The optimal detector in the Neyman-Pearson sense is developed and analyzed for the statistical MIMO radar. An optimal detector invariant to the signal and noise levels is also developed and analyzed. In this case as well, statistical MIMO radar provides great improvements over other types of array radars.

298 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the fracture initiation in graded coatings under sliding contact loading was studied and a series of analytical benchmark solutions for examining the influence of such factors as material inhomogeneity constants, the coefficient of friction and various length parameters on the critical stresses that may have a bearing on the fatigue and fracture of the coating.

242 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
Chaim Kaufmann1
TL;DR: The marketplace of ideas failed to fulfill this function in the 2002-03 U.S. foreign policy debate over going to war with Iraq as mentioned in this paper, and there is a broad agreement that the threat assessments that President George W. Bush and his administration used to justify the war against Iraq were greatly exaggerated, and on some dimensions wholly baseless.
Abstract: such as the United States are generally believed to be better at making foreign policy than other regime types. Especially, the strong civic institutions and robust marketplaces of ideas in mature democracies are thought to substantially protect them from severe threat inflation and "myths of empire" that could promote excessively risky foreign policy adventures and wars. The marketplace of ideas helps to weed out unfounded, mendacious, or self-serving foreign policy arguments because their proponents cannot avoid wide-ranging debate in which their reasoning and evidence are subject to public scrutiny.1 The marketplace of ideas, however, failed to fulfill this function in the 2002-03 U.S. foreign policy debate over going to war with Iraq. By now there is broad agreement among U.S. foreign policy experts, as well as much of the American public and the international community, that the threat assessments that President George W. Bush and his administration used to justify the war against Iraq were greatly exaggerated, and on some dimensions wholly baseless.

236 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a silicon-chip based microreactor has been successfully fabricated and tested for carrying out the reaction of methanol reforming for micro-scale hydrogen production, where a network of catalyst-packed parallel microchannels of depths ranging from 200 to 400 /spl mu/m with a catalyst particle filter near the outlet was fabricated using photolithography and deep-reactive ion etching (DRIE).
Abstract: A silicon-chip based microreactor has been successfully fabricated and tested for carrying out the reaction of methanol reforming for microscale hydrogen production. The developed microreactor in combination with a micro fuel cell is proposed as an alternative to conventional portable sources of electricity such as batteries due to its ability to provide an uninterrupted supply of electricity as long as a supply of methanol and water can be provided. The microreformer-fuel cell combination has the advantage of not requiring the tedious recharging cycles needed by conventional rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. It also offers significantly higher energy storage densities, which translates into less frequent "recharging" through the refilling of methanol fuel. The microreactor consists of a network of catalyst-packed parallel microchannels of depths ranging from 200 to 400 /spl mu/m with a catalyst particle filter near the outlet fabricated using photolithography and deep-reactive ion etching (DRIE) on a silicon substrate. Issues related to microchannel and filter capping, on-chip heating and temperature sensing, introduction and trapping of catalyst particles in the microchannels, flow distribution, microfluidic interfacing, and thermal insulation have been addressed. Experimental runs have demonstrated a methanol to hydrogen molar conversion of at least 85% to 90% at flow rates enough to supply hydrogen to an 8- to 10-W fuel cell.

233 citations


ReportDOI
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: DLDB, a knowledge base system that extends a relational database management system with additional capabilities for DAML+OIL inference is presented, and a lightweight implementation that makes use of a common RDBMS and the FaCT description logic reasoner is described.
Abstract: : We present DLDB, a knowledge base system that extends a relational database management system with additional capabilities for DAML+OIL inference. We discuss a number of database schemas that can be used to store RDF data and discuss the tradeoffs of each. Then we describe how we extend our design to support DAML+OIL entailments. The most significant aspect of our approach is the use of a description logic reasoner to precompute the subsumption hierarchy. We describe a lightweight implementation that makes use of a common RDBMS (MS Access) and the FaCT description logic reasoner. Surprisingly, this simple approach provides good results for extensional queries over a large set of DAML+OIL data that commits to a representative ontology of moderate complexity. As such, we expect such systems to be adequate for personal or small-business usage.

Book ChapterDOI
07 Nov 2004
TL;DR: It is concluded that existing systems need to place a greater emphasis on scalability in relation to use in large OWL applications.
Abstract: In this paper, we present an evaluation of four knowledge base systems (KBS) with respect to use in large OWL applications. To our knowledge, no experiment has been done with the scale of data used here. The smallest dataset used consists of 15 OWL files totaling 8MB, while the largest dataset consists of 999 files totaling 583MB. We evaluated two memory-based systems (OWL Jess KB and memory-based Sesame) and two systems with persistent storage (database-based Sesame and DLDB-OWL). We describe how we have performed the evaluation and what factors we have considered in it. We show the results of the experiment and discuss the performance of each system. In particular, we have concluded that existing systems need to place a greater emphasis on scalability.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Nucleation rate increased 4-fold between G(2) and prophase and continued to rise through anaphase and telophase, reaching a maximum of 7 times interphase rates, implying the presence of additional regulatory processes.
Abstract: Understanding how cells regulate microtubule nucleation during the cell cycle has been limited by the inability to directly observe nucleation from the centrosome. To view nucleation in living cells, we imaged GFP-tagged EB1, a microtubule tip-binding protein, and determined rates of nucleation by counting the number of EB1-GFP comets emerging from the centrosome over time. Nucleation rate increased 4-fold between G2 and prophase and continued to rise through anaphase and telophase, reaching a maximum of 7 times interphase rates. We tested several models for centrosome maturation, including γ-tubulin recruitment and increased centrosome size. The centrosomal concentration of γ-tubulin reached a maximum at metaphase, and centrosome size increased through anaphase, whereas nucleation remained high through telophase, implying the presence of additional regulatory processes. Injection of anti-γ-tubulin antibodies significantly blocked nucleation during metaphase but was less effective during anaphase, suggesting that a nucleation mechanism independent of γ-tubulin contributes to centrosome function after metaphase.

Journal ArticleDOI
13 Apr 2004-Langmuir
TL;DR: It is suggested that the main cause for velocity amplification is related to resonant shape fluctuation, which can be illustrated by periodically deforming and relaxing the drop at low frequencies.
Abstract: The motions of liquid drops of various surface tensions and viscosities were investigated on a solid substrate possessing a gradient of wettability. A drop of any size moves spontaneously on such a surface when the contact angle hysteresis is negligible; but it has to be larger than a critical size in order to move on a hysteretic surface. The hysteresis can, however, be reduced or eliminated with vibration that allows the drop to sample various metastable states, thereby setting it to the path of global energy minima. Significant amplification of velocity is observed with the frequency of forcing vibration matching the natural harmonics of drop oscillation. It is suggested that the main cause for velocity amplification is related to resonant shape fluctuation, which can be illustrated by periodically deforming and relaxing the drop at low frequencies.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A series of supported gold catalysts (0.25, 0.5, 1.0 wt% Au/graphite) have been investigated for the oxidation of glycerol and propan-1,2-diol as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: A series of supported gold catalysts (0.25, 0.5, 1.0 wt% Au/graphite) have been investigated for the oxidation of glycerol and propan-1,2-diol. The 1 wt% Au/graphite catalyst is found to give 100% selectivity to the mono acid product, isolated as the sodium salt, as long as NaOH is present. The catalysts are characterized by TEM and cyclic voltammetry. By TEM, active catalysts all comprise fairly broad-size distributions (5–50 nm diameter) for the gold nanoparticles, although most are ca. 25 nm in diameter. An inactive 1 wt% Au/graphite is shown to have considerably larger particle sizes (>50 nm) and this indicates that there may be an optimum particle size for the desired catalysis. Characterization using cyclic voltammetry of active Au/graphite catalysts carried out in NaOH reveals the presence of an oxide species that may be responsible for the observed catalysis. In contrast, the inactive 1 wt% Au/graphite catalyst shows no oxidation in the cyclic voltammetry experiments.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, conditions under which different dimensions of flow facilitate different aspects of Internet shopping behaviors (browsing, one-time purchases, and repeat purchases) and how this relationship is moderated by consumer-related factors (perceived risk, willingness to buy, consumer self-confidence), the nature of the product (goods vs. service), and the time of the purchase occasion (planned vs. impulse).

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, an analysis of the current knowledge base of social skills training (SST) with students with, or at risk for, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) is provided.
Abstract: This article provides an analysis of the current knowledge base of social skills training (SST) with students with, or at risk for, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD). This knowledge base is evaluated with respect to issues regarding construct, internal, external, and social validity of the SST literature. Research syntheses investigating construct validity suggest that the three domains of social interaction, prosocial behavior, and social-cognitive skills adequately represent the social skills construct. Internal validity analyses based on the results of six meta-analyses suggested that SST is an effective intervention strategy for students with EBD, showing a 64% improvement rate relative to controls using the Binomial Effect Size Display. External validity analyses showed that SST is effective across a broad range of behavioral difficulties, such as aggression externalizing behaviors, internalizing behaviors, and antisocial behavior patterns. Some weaknesses were noted in the social validity of ...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The mitotic function of TOGp (human homolog of XMAP215/Dis1) is probed using siRNA, indicating that toGp and MCAK contribute to spindle bipolarity, without major effects on MT stability.
Abstract: The XMAP215/Dis1 MAP family is thought to regulate microtubule plus-end assembly in part by antagonizing the catastrophe-promoting function of kin I kinesins, yet XMAP215/Dis1 proteins localize to centrosomes. We probed the mitotic function of TOGp (human homolog of XMAP215/Dis1) using siRNA. Cells lacking TOGp assembled multipolar spindles, confirming results of Gergely et al. (2003. Genes Dev. 17, 336-341). Eg5 motor activity was necessary to maintain the multipolar morphology. Depletion of TOGp decreased microtubule length and density in the spindle by approximately 20%. Depletion of MCAK, a kin I kinesin, increased MT lengths and density by approximately 20%, but did not disrupt spindle morphology. Mitotic cells lacking both TOGp and MCAK formed bipolar and monopolar spindles, indicating that TOGp and MCAK contribute to spindle bipolarity, without major effects on MT stability. TOGp localized to centrosomes in the absence of MTs and depletion of TOGp resulted in centrosome fragmentation. TOGp depletion also disrupted MT minus-end focus at the spindle poles, detected by localizations of NuMA and the p150 component of dynactin. The major functions of TOGp during mitosis are to focus MT minus ends at spindle poles, maintain centrosome integrity, and contribute to spindle bipolarity.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, displacement-controlled peeling of a flexible plate from an incision-patterned thin adhesive elastic layer was investigated. And the authors found that crack initiation from a single incision on the film occurs at a load much higher than that required to propagate it on a smooth adhesive surface; multiple incisions thus cause the crack to propagate intermittently.
Abstract: Inspired by the observation that many naturally occurring adhesives arise as texturedthin films, we consider the displacement-controlled peeling of a flexible plate from an incision-patterned thin adhesive elastic layer. We find that crack initiation from an incision on the film occurs at a load much higher than that required to propagate it on a smooth adhesive surface; multiple incisions thus cause the crack to propagate intermittently. Microscopically, this mode of crack initiation and propagation in geometrically confined thin adhesive films is related to the nucleation of cavitation bubbles behind the incision which must grow and coalesce before a viable crack propagates. Our theoretical analysis allows us to rationalize these experimental observations qualitatively and quantitatively and suggests a simple design criterion for increasing the interfacial fracture toughness of adhesive films.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the role of variables beyond attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) symptoms and cognitive mediators was examined as predictors for concurrent achievement outcomes (standardized achievement test scores and report card grades) in math and reading.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There are differences in the types of firm structures, cultures and university policies for intellectual property rights (IPR), patent ownership, and licensing that facilitated knowledge transfer activities compared to those that facilitated technology transfer activities.
Abstract: Knowledge transfer and technology transfer are often used interchangeably and while both knowledge transfer and technology transfer are highly interactive activities, they serve different purposes. Knowledge transfer implies a broader, more inclusive construct that is directed more toward understanding the "whys" for change. In contrast, technology transfer is a narrower and more targeted construct that usually embodies certain tools for changing the environment. Grounding our work in the 7-S framework, we examine the role of key organizational factors in facilitating knowledge transfer and technology transfer activities. Survey data for this study were collected from 189 industrial firms representing 21 different industrial sectors. Results show that there are differences in the types of firm structures, cultures and university policies for intellectual property rights (IPR), patent ownership, and licensing that facilitated knowledge transfer activities compared to those that facilitated technology transfer activities. Specifically, firms with more mechanistic structures and more stable direction-oriented cultures were associated with higher levels of knowledge transfer. Conversely, firms with more organic structures, more flexible change-oriented cultures, and more customized university policies for IPR, patent ownership, and licensing were associated with higher levels of technology transfer. The firm's trust in its university research center partner was equally important for both activities. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for future research and management practice.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors extended the research on the Family Involvement Questionnaire for Early Childhood (FIQ-EC) by further developing the measure and testing its use with low-income urban elementary students.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 2004-Genetics
TL;DR: The findings document a novel role for Chl1p in sister-chromatid cohesion and provide new insights into the possible mechanisms through which DNA helicases may contribute to cancer progression when mutated.
Abstract: From the time of DNA replication until anaphase onset, sister chromatids remain tightly paired along their length. Ctf7p/Eco1p is essential to establish sister-chromatid pairing during S-phase and associates with DNA replication components. DNA helicases precede the DNA replication fork and thus will first encounter chromatin sites destined for cohesion. In this study, I provide the first evidence that a DNA helicase is required for proper sister-chromatid cohesion. Characterizations of chl1 mutant cells reveal that CHL1 interacts genetically with both CTF7/ECO1 and CTF18/CHL12, two genes that function in sister-chromatid cohesion. Consistent with genetic interactions, Chl1p physically associates with Ctf7p/Eco1p both in vivo and in vitro. Finally, a functional assay reveals that Chl1p is critical for sister-chromatid cohesion. Within the budding yeast genome, Chl1p exhibits the highest degree of sequence similarity to human CHL1 isoforms and BACH1. Previous studies revealed that human CHLR1 exhibits DNA helicase-like activities and that BACH1 is a helicase-like protein that associates with the tumor suppressor BRCA1 to maintain genome integrity. Our findings document a novel role for Chl1p in sister-chromatid cohesion and provide new insights into the possible mechanisms through which DNA helicases may contribute to cancer progression when mutated.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the behavior of high strength square concrete filled steel tube (CFT) beam columns subjected to constant axial load and cyclically varying flexural loading was investigated experimentally.
Abstract: The behavior of high strength square concrete filled steel tube (CFT) beam columns subjected to constant axial load and cyclically varying flexural loading was investigated experimentally The effe

Proceedings ArticleDOI
07 Mar 2004
TL;DR: A key idea is to prioritize packets based on a per-packet score which estimates the legitimacy of a packet given the attribute values it carries, and perform score-based selective packet discarding where the dropping threshold is dynamically adjusted based on the score distribution of recent incoming packets.
Abstract: Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is a critical threat to the Internet. Currently, most ISPs merely rely on manual detection of DDoS attacks after which offline fine-grain traffic analysis is performed and new filtering rules are installed manually to the routers. The need of human intervention results in poor response time and fails to protect the victim before severe damages are realized. The expressiveness of existing filtering rules is also too limited and rigid when compared to the ever-evolving characteristics of the attacking packets. Recently, we have proposed a DDoS defense architecture that supports distributed detection and automated on-line attack characterization. We focus on the design and evaluation of the automated attack characterization, selective packet discarding and overload control portion of the proposed architecture. Our key idea is to prioritize packets based on a per-packet score which estimates the legitimacy of a packet given the attribute values it carries. Special considerations are made to ensure that the scheme is amenable to high-speed hardware implementation. Once the score of a packet is computed, we perform score-based selective packet discarding where the dropping threshold is dynamically adjusted based on (1) the score distribution of recent incoming packets and (2) the current level of overload of the system.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article explored the relationship among teachers' knowledge of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), knowledge of common treatments for ADHD, and acceptability of acceptability for these treatments.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to begin to explore the relationship among teachers' knowledge of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), knowledge of common treatments for ADHD, and accepta...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The important implication is that aquatic organisms that depend heavily on DNA repair processes may be less able to survive high UV exposure in low temperature environments, and photoprotection may be more effective under the low temperature, high UV conditions such as are found in early spring or at high elevations.
Abstract: In temperate lakes, asynchronous cycles in surface water temperatures and incident ultraviolet (UV) radiation expose aquatic organisms to damaging UV radiation at different temperatures. The enzyme systems that repair UV-induced DNA damage are temperature dependent, and thus potentially less effective at repairing DNA damage at lower temperatures. This hypothesis was tested by examining the levels of UV-induced DNA damage in the freshwater crustacean Daphnia pulicaria in the presence and absence of longer-wavelength photoreactivating radiation (PRR) that induces photoenzymatic repair (PER) of DNA damage. By exposing both live and dead (freeze-killed) Daphnia as well as raw DNA to UV-B in the presence and absence of PRR, we were able to estimate the relative importance and temperature dependence of PER (light repair), nucleotide excision repair (NER, dark repair), and photoprotection (PP). Total DNA damage increased with increasing temperature. However, the even greater increase in DNA repair rates at higher temperatures led net DNA damage (total DNA damage minus repair) to be greater at lower temperatures. Photoprotection accounted for a much greater proportion of the reduction in DNA damage than did repair. Experiments that looked at survival rates following UV exposure demonstrated that PER increased survival rates. The important implication is that aquatic organisms that depend heavily on DNA repair processes may be less able to survive high UV exposure in low temperature environments. Photoprotection may be more effective under the low temperature, high UV conditions such as are found in early spring or at high elevations.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of variations in the geometrical parameters on crystal growth and microstructure development in the melt pool were studied by means of mathematical modeling and experiments.

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on preconscious triggering and pursuit of temporarily adopted goals, and examine the theory and evidence that provides the rationale and support for the preconscient regulation of temporary goals.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on preconscious triggering and pursuit of temporarily adopted goals. It introduces seeming paradoxes of preconscious control, such as the notions of unintended intentions and uncontrolled control, and examines the theory and evidence that provides the rationale and support for the preconscious regulation of temporary goals. There are three theoretical points that provide the basis for implicit volition model: goals are knowledge structures that can be triggered by relevant cues in the environment without the person's awareness that any given knowledge structure has attained a state of heightened fluency or accessibility; goal can come to be automatically activated through frequent and habitual pairing of specific goals with specific features of the environment; and an aversive state is experienced when a goal has not been met. The chapter determines that a goal can be consciously selected but trigger implicit processes regulating movement toward successfully attaining the goal. The goal itself can be implicitly triggered and lead to both explicit and implicit operations aimed at goal attainment.

Journal ArticleDOI
Ned Kock1
01 May 2004
TL;DR: A review of the research methods literature presents and discusses three main threats inherent in action research, called "uncontrollability", "contingency", and "subjectivity"; and three methodological antidotes to deal with these three action research threats.
Abstract: This paper provides a brief historical discussion of action research (AR), from its emergence as a distinct research approach after World War II to its relatively recent use in the field of information systems (IS). Based on a review of the research methods literature, it presents and discusses three main threats inherent in action research, called "uncontrollability", "contingency", and "subjectivity"; and three methodological antidotes to deal with these three action research threats, called "unit of analysis", "grounded theory", and "multiple iterations". Both the threats and the antidotes are discussed in the context of a real information systems action research study that investigated the impact of computer support on the success of group-based business process improvement (BPI) attempts.