Consortium Management Research Articles

"Stop, Little Pot" as the Motto of Suppressive Management of Various Microbial Consortia.

The unresolved challenges in the development of highly efficient, stable and controlled synthetic microbial consortia, as well as the use of natural consortia, are very attractive for science and technology. However, the consortia management should be done with the knowledge of how not only to accelerate but also stop the action of such "little pots". Moreover, there are a lot of microbial consortia, the activity of which should be suppressively controlled. The processes, catalyzed by various microorganisms being in complex consortia which should be slowed down or completely cancelled, are typical for the environment (biocorrosion, landfill gas accumulation, biodegradation of building materials, water sources deterioration etc.), industry (food and biotechnological production), medical practice (vaginitis, cystitis, intestinal dysbiosis, etc.). The search for ways to suppress the functioning of heterogeneous consortia in each of these areas is relevant. The purpose of this review is to summarize the general trends in these studies regarding the targets and new means of influence used. The analysis of the features of the applied approaches to solving the main problem confirms the possibility of obtaining a combined effect, as well as selective influence on individual components of the consortia. Of particular interest is the role of viruses in suppressing the functioning of microbial consortia of different compositions.

Groundwater scenario under climate change and anthropogenic stress in Ladakh Himalaya, India

ABSTRACT Climate change and human interventions over the past few decades have significantly affected the groundwater resources in Ladakh Himalaya. Sparse or lack of suitable data and knowledge gaps are a major challenge in evaluating these impacts. Here, we synthesize the available data to assess the status of groundwater quantity, quality, withdrawal, and contamination in the Leh district of India. The study shows that glacier area has decreased by 40% whereas its volume has reduced by 25% since the Little Ice Age (∼1650 AD). The glacier melt, which influences the recharge, has reduced significantly. The growth of population by 15% per year, expansion of built-up area by 50%, and changes in the socio-ecology have further stressed the groundwater. The bore wells and groundwater draft have increased at ∼115 wells/year and ∼7 MCM/year, respectively. The increase of groundwater development by ∼26 times has reduced the reserves. Hence, for the sustainability of the resource, modeling and managing the impacts is urgently required. In this direction, this paper provides guidelines for researchers, policymakers, and water users to develop an integrative consortium management strategy for the sustainable utilization of the groundwater.

Glosses in health establishments under state management and consortium management, in Ceará

As part of its regionalization process, Ceará was divided into five Health Regions, which decentralized health services, actions and agreement processes between municipalities and the state. As coordinator of the Health Regions, it has invested in strengthening the internalization of health through the construction of Regional Polyclinics and Regional Dental Specialty Centres (CEOR), enabling the formation of inter-municipal consortia. This is an exploratory, quantitative and descriptive study with a retrospective approach, analyzing the provision of health care costs through a partial economic evaluation. This study aimed to analyze the disallowances and outpatient production presented/informed, the relationship between them and the value of these disallowances, carried out in the 41 establishments of the five health regions under state management and consortium management in the State of Ceará, whose value in the Unified Health System (SUS) table is different from zero, during the years 2019 and 2020. Secondary databases were used from the SUS Outpatient Information System (SIA/SUS) and the website of the Coordination of Regulation, Control, Evaluation and Audit (CORAC). The results were presented by comparing the value of what was presented to the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the value of the disallowances. It was concluded that these establishments need to be monitored in terms of feeding information into systems, in order to show the Ministry of Health that there are insufficient resources to meet the needs that are increasingly growing in quantity and diversity.

Optimizing the Benefits: How Consortium Management Strategies Contribute to Equitable Research Capacity Gains of Partners

Optimizing the Benefits: How Consortium Management Strategies Contribute to Equitable Research Capacity Gains of Partners

A framework for managing health research capacity strengthening consortia: addressing tensions and enhancing capacity outcomes

There has been a steady increase in health research capacity strengthening (HRCS) consortia and programmes. However, their structures and management practices and the effect on the capacity strengthening outcomes have...

Consortium management structures, processes, and approaches: The DELTAS Africa example.

Background: Global efforts to strengthen health research capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have intensified in the past few decades, and these efforts are often implemented by consortia. Our review of the literature indicated that reports on health research capacity strengthening (HRCS) consortia have primarily focused on programme outputs and outcomes while management processes and their contributions to consortia goals have received little attention. This qualitative study sought to identify the consortium management processes employed by 10 DELTAS Africa consortia, factors influencing these processes, and leaders' consortium management experiences. Methods: We conducted 24 key informant interviews with the directors and programme managers of all the 10 DELTAS Africa consortia, and funding actors who worked closely with the consortia. The interviews were supplemented by reviews of DELTAS and consortium-specific documents. Data were analysed using the content analysis approach. Results: The consortia studied employed similar management processes but adopted different strategies in executing these processes. Study results indicate that decision-making in consortia is not always a straightforward process as leaders were often faced with dilemmas when determining management strategies to adopt, and often tried to balance multiple factors which were not always aligned. This was demonstrated as consortia selected partners, determined goals and activities, assigned roles and responsibilities, allocated resources, established governance and partner management systems, and coordinated and monitored consortia activities. Factors that influenced the choice of processes and approaches included previous experiences, funders expectations, and the pressure to deliver research outputs. Consortia's unique approaches to management were due to varying contexts and influences and indicate that management decisions are nuanced and cannot easily be formularized. Conclusion: The study has highlighted the importance of flexibility in consortium management and the need to generate research capacity strengthening (RCS)-specific guidance that can assist consortia in resolving dilemmas and making appropriate management decisions.

Blockchain-Cloud Transparent Data Marketing: Consortium Management and Fairness

Data are generated by Internet of Things (IoT) devices and centralized at a cloud server, that can later be traded with third parties, i.e., data marketing, to enable various data-intensive applications. However, the centralized approach is recently under debate due to the lack of (1) transparent and distributed marketplace management, and (2) marketing fairness for both IoT users (data sellers) and third parties (data buyers). In this paper, we propose a Blockchain-Cloud Transparent Data Marketing (Block-DM) with consortium management and executable fairness. First, we introduce a hybrid data-marketing architecture, where the cloud acts as an efficient data management unit and a consortium blockchain serves as a transparent marketing controller. Under the architecture, consent-based secure data trading and identity privacy for data owners are achieved with the distributed credential issuance and threshold credential openings. Second, with a consortium committee, we design a fair on/off-chain data marketing protocol. By financial incentives and succinct ‘commitments’ of marketing operations, the protocol can achieve the marketing fairness and effective detection of unfair marketing operations. We demonstrate the security of Block-DM with thorough analysis. We conduct extensive experiments with a consortium blockchain network on Hyperledger Fabric to show the feasibility and practicality of Block-DM.

Managing health research capacity strengthening consortia: a systematised review of the published literature

BackgroundLocally relevant research is considered critical for advancing health and development in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Accordingly, health research capacity strengthening (HRCS) efforts have intensified, increasingly through consortia. Yet,...

Organização Intermunicipal: estudo de caso do Consórcio Público de Saúde na Região Fronteira Noroeste do Rio Grande do Sul

O artigo busca compreender a organização intermunicipal do Consórcio Público de Saúde Fronteira Noroeste do Rio Grande do Sul, tendo como meta pesquisar os serviços de saúde de média e alta complexidade, em 25 municípios, ao trilhar os caminhos da abordagem qualitativa, análise de conteúdo, interpretando os dados coletados pelo questionário, os documentos acessados e as verificações teóricas. Isso significa identificar e analisar as relações entre a saúde e as estruturas de saúde que possam contribuir no desenvolvimento da região, onde as dimensões da saúde se apresentam como um direito e com capacidade de mobilizar recursos para o desenvolvimento do ambiente de saúde nos municípios e qualificar a área na busca de melhores condições de vida da população. Para responder aos desafios propostos, utilizamos a coleta de dados, por um questionário com questões abertas, enviado para o gestor do consórcio e para três secretários municipais de saúde consorciadas. As respostas apresentam a importância do consórcio, com a ampliação dos serviços, a presença de profissionais para responder aos serviços de média e alta complexidade, bem como a redução dos custos em 25%. Como desafios a serem superados, destacamos a qualificação da estrutura funcional do consórcio, especialmente a matriz administrativa. Por fim, a pesquisa aponta uma experiência rica do consórcio, ao ampliar o atendimento das necessidades na área da saúde nos 25 municípios, ao promover um ambiente de cooperação e ao potencializar as políticas públicas na região Fronteira Noroeste.

C5 model for the consortium management: SWOT analysis

PurposeThis paper elicits information, an excess of information and the stakeholders’ role in the use of information. The purpose of this paper is to create a “C5 model” (clients, connectivity, content, copyright and cost) for the consortium management to support and improve its academic and administrative decision-making skills and optimize returns.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology used for this study was “strength, weakness, opportunity and threat” (SWOT) analysis. As a tool, it was used as one of the strategic analytical techniques to evaluate various aspects of consortium management. The purpose of choosing this method was to derive a set of strategies for comparing the internal (strengths/weaknesses) and external (opportunities/threats) forces of the “C5 model” of consortium management.FindingsFrom the SWOT analysis of the “C5 model,” it was observed that four combinations, maxi-maxi (strengths/opportunities (SO), mini-maxi (weaknesses/opportunities (WO), maxi-mini (strengths/threats (ST)) and mini-mini (weaknesses/threats (WT)), were drawn to derive a set of strategies to benefit the consortium management. The SO strategies such as building a client-centric resource management system, centralized gateway, collaborative acquisition model, common copyright communication and clearance center and cost-benefit analysis were built on the basis of the strengths and opportunities identified. Likewise, the WO strategies such as organizational planning, equality in ICT infrastructure facilities, quality content, public disclosure of copyright obligations and effective economic models were drawn to minimize the weaknesses of each component by taking advantage of the identified opportunities. The ST strategies were worked out using strengths of the model to possibly mitigate its threats. Similarly, the WT strategies were created to minimize the weaknesses and avoid the threats as much as possible. However, these strategies would not only help consortium management in the decision-making process, but also optimize returns and improve the intellectual outcome of organizations.Originality/valueNot many research studies have been developed regarding the SWOT analysis of the “C5 model” for consortium management. This study attempts to benefit a large community of library and information science professionals, consortia and their clients.

The Italian Agrarian Reform between small property, commons and consortium management (1951-65)

The Italian Agrarian Reform between small property, commons and consortium management (1951-65)

Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer: One Familyʼs Story

Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer (HDGC) is a multi-generational inherited form of diffuse gastric cancer, that represents 2% of gastric cancers, and carries a poor prognosis. The majority of HDGCs are caused by an autosomal dominant genetic mutation in the CDH1 gene, which encodes the cellular adhesion protein, E-cadherin. The presence of the CDH1 gene mutation causes an 80% lifetime risk of gastric cancer in both men and women and also a 60% lifetime risk of lobular breast cancer. The gastric cancer present in HDGC is located as discrete foci below an intact gastric mucosa, making endoscopic surveillance an exceedingly unreliable means of early detection. As such, prophylactic gastrectomy is recommended for individuals above age 20 with the CDH1 gene mutation. It is therefore imperative that a diagnosis of HDGC prompt genetic testing in family members so that life-saving prophylactic measures can be taken. We describe the case of a Caucasian male of Polish descent with recurrent diffuse gastric cancer, who was ultimately found to carry the CDH1 gene mutation and was diagnosed with HDGC. We also describe the patient's pedigree, including the results of his family members' genetic testing, of which fourteen members tested positive for the CDH1 gene mutation.Table 1: CDH1 Related Cancer Risks and International Gastric Cancer Linkage Consortium Management RecommendationsFigure 1

SOBREVIVÊNCIA ORGANIZACIONAL DAS ADMINISTRADORAS DE CONSÓRCIO NO BRASIL: UMA ABORDAGEM EVOLUCIONÁRIA

RESUMO A sobrevivência das empresas é tema teórico recorrente no campo da administração e da economia e tem sido explorado, sobretudo, no campo das teorias evolucionárias. O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a sobrevivência organizacional das administradoras de consórcio no Brasil a partir dessa perspectiva evolucionária. A abordagem é qualitativa, baseada em dados secundários do Banco Central e dados primários coletados por meio de entrevistas com diretores de administradoras de consórcios. Os dados foram analisados segundo a técnica da análise de conteúdo. A análise com base na ecologia populacional e na economia evolucionária permitiu identificar: movimento de fusões e aquisições e seus motivos; mudanças ambientais; alinhamento estratégico; relação entre os agentes; efeitos de idade e tamanho e aspectos da gestão, como financiamento interno, perfil da carteira de clientes e recursos humanos, além da inovação. Conclui-se que as dissoluções são predominantes nessa indústria (dinamismo); a sobrevivência se deve ao atendimento diferenciado e, principalmente, à inovação (alinhamento estratégico); provavelmente as mais fortes barreiras de entrada de novos competidores são a idade e o tamanho das instituições e, quanto à gestão interna, a liberdade para a fixação das taxas de administração tem sido benéfica ao diferenciar as administradoras. Palavras-chave: Teoria evolucionária. Sobrevivência organizacional. Administradoras de Consórcios. ABSTRACT Organizational survival is a recurring theme in the literature on management and economics, and has been explored, in particular, in the field of evolutionary theories. The purpose of this article is to analyze the organizational survival of Brazilian consortium managers, based on this evolutionary perspective. The approach is qualitative, using secondary data from the Central Bank and primary data collected through interviews with the directors of consortium managers. Data were analyzed using the technique of content analysis. The analysis is based on population ecology and evolutionary economics, and resulted in the identification of: a movement of mergers and acquisitions, and the reasons behind them, environmental changes, strategic alignment, relationship between the agents, effects of age and size, and aspects of management such as internal financing, profile of the customer portfolio and human resources, and innovation. It is concluded that breakups are prevalent in the industry (dynamism); survival is due to the differentiated service and especially, to innovation (strategic alignment); the strongest entry barriers faced by new competitors are probably the age and size of the institutions, and in relation to internal management, the freedom to fix management fees has been beneficial in differentiating consortium managers. Key-words: Evolutionary theory. Organizational survival. Consortium Managers.

The Partners in Recovery program: mental health commissioning using value co-creation.

The Australian Government's Partners in Recovery (PIR) program established a new form of mental health intervention which required multiple sectors, services and consumers to work in a more collaborative way. Brisbane North Primary Health Network applied a value co-creation approach with partners and end users, engaging more than 100 organisations in the development of a funding submission to PIR. Engagement platforms were established and continue to provide opportunities for new co-creation experiences. Initially, seven provider agencies - later expanded to eight to include an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander provider organisation - worked collaboratively as a Consortium Management Committee. The co-creation development process has been part of achieving the co-created outcomes, which include new initiatives, changes to existing interventions and referral practices, and an increased understanding and awareness of end users' needs.

RETRACTED: Network congregating: A practice-based perspective on absorptive capacity at the organization-network nexus in a semiconductor industry consortium Management Learning 1350507612450135, first published on June 26, 2012 as doi:10.1177/13505076124

We put forward a practice perspective on absorptive capacity. We illustrate this by network congregating, i.e. repeatedly exchanging face-to-face ideas at interorganizational venues such as conferences, which Intel Corporation attends as a leading member of the semiconductor industry network SEMATECH. Hereby, our findings contribute to the discourse by highlighting the role of practices, in particular against the organization-network nexus. Network congregating is carefully choreographed by Intel and helps the organization to acquire knowledge from network partners and utilize the information internally. Moreover, Intel disseminates information among the network partners by means of congregating in order to influence the knowledge evaluation processes of the network. We suggest tentatively that this reciprocal flow of information at the organization-network nexus is also worth considering, as not only Intel, but also other dominant network partners try to influence the value attribution of new knowledge (e.g. technological trends) among other network partners.

Attitudes of teachers and headteachers towards inclusion in Lebanon

In the Arabic region, the drive towards inclusive practices in mainstream schools is at a relatively early stage, although, in Lebanon, the recent initiative of the National Inclusion Project (NIP), a project managed by a consortium of four organisations aimed at addressing the exclusion experienced by people with a disability, has the potential to promote rapid change in provision. This study explores the attitudes of teachers and headteachers towards people with a disability in mainstream primary schools in Lebanon, a middle-income Arab country. A mixed method approach was used to collect data. Forty teachers from mainstream schools within the Project completed questionnaires, and key headteachers as well as the consortium managers were interviewed. The sample was purposively selected in order to examine the attitudes of participants with previous experience of students with disabilities. In general, the findings indicate positive attitudes towards the inclusion of students in mainstream schools. However, participants expressed reservations about including all students, especially those with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Further challenges include limited training, availability of qualified specialist teachers and the high cost of supporting inclusion. These findings will inform future research, as more studies regarding the implementation of inclusive education in the Middle East are warranted.

ENGLISH

A single library has limitations of maintaining books/documents/journals and other materials demanded by its client or users. To overcome these types of problems, cooperation among the libraries was initiated and a new concept “Library Consortium” came into existence with a wide coverage. The paper describes the concept of library consortia, networking and consortia management techniques and future of consortia efforts. http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/djlit.27.3.133

The paradox in international cooperation: Institutionally embedded universities in a global environment

As a response to processes of globalisation and regional integration, internationalisation activities in universities have changed. Flows have become more massive, the range of activities has broadened, and internationalisation has shifted from a marginal activity to a central institutional issue with strategic importance (van der Wende 2001, European Journal of Education 36(4), 431–441). These shifts can also be observed in international cooperation among universities. One of the manifestations of this shift is the increase and change of inter-organisational arrangements in higher education. One type of such arrangements – higher education consortia – are analysed in detail in the study. This analysis takes inter-organisational diversity as a starting point (Parkhe 1991, Journal of International Business Studies 22(4), 579–601). The basic thesis is that partners need to be similar, yet different, or in other words, there needs to be sufficient complementarity as well as sufficient compatibility among the participating universities. The article also explores the ways in which the management of consortia can improve the levels of complementarity and compatibility and thus the success of such consortia.

New York-Structural GenomiX Research Consortium (NYSGXRC): A Large Scale Center for the Protein Structure Initiative

Structural GenomiX, Inc. (SGX), four New York area institutions, and two University of California schools have formed the New York Structural GenomiX Research Consortium (NYSGXRC), an industrial/academic Research Consortium that exploits individual core competencies to support all aspects of the NIH-NIGMS funded Protein Structure Initiative (PSI), including protein family classification and target selection, generation of protein for biophysical analyses, sample preparation for structural studies, structure determination and analyses, and dissemination of results. At the end of the PSI Pilot Study Phase (PSI-1), the NYSGXRC will be capable of producing 100-200 experimentally determined protein structures annually. All Consortium activities can be scaled to increase production capacity significantly during the Production Phase of the PSI (PSI-2). The Consortium utilizes both centralized and de-centralized production teams with clearly defined deliverables and hand-off procedures that are supported by a web-based target/sample tracking system (SGX Laboratory Information Data Management System, LIMS, and NYSGXRC Internal Consortium Experimental Database, ICE-DB). Consortium management is provided by an Executive Committee, which is composed of the PI and all Co-PIs. Progress to date is tracked on a publicly available Consortium web site (http://www.nysgxrc.org) and all DNA/protein reagents and experimental protocols are distributed freely from the New York City Area institutions. In addition to meeting the requirements of the Pilot Study Phase and preparing for the Production Phase of the PSI, the NYSGXRC aims to develop modular technologies that are transferable to structural biology laboratories in both academe and industry. The NYSGXRC PI and Co-PIs intend the PSI to have a transforming effect on the disciplines of X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy of biological macromolecules. Working with other PSI-funded Centers, the NYSGXRC seeks to create the structural biology laboratory of the future. Herein, we present an overview of the organization of the NYSGXRC and describe progress toward development of a high-throughput Gene-->Structure platform. An analysis of current and projected consortium metrics reflects progress to date and delineates opportunities for further technology development.

Project evaluation in the presence of multiple embedded real options: evidence from the Taiwan High-Speed Rail Project

Trigeorgis [(1991) 309] identifies the analysis of case study applications based on data from actual projects, as perhaps the single most important prerequisite for underpinning the future development of the real options literature. This paper partially fills the void, and makes the following contributions. First, we apply an accepted real options valuation methodology (log-transformed binomial numerical analysis) to the actual dataset which formed the basis for project evaluation of the Taiwan High-Speed Rail (THSR) Project. We believe this is among the first empirical analysis in the real options literature to use such comprehensive, actual project data. Second, we compare our results to a static cash-flow valuation benchmark. The benchmark is shown to underestimate the real value of the project. Moreover, the value placed by Taiwan High-Speed Rail Consortium (THSRC) management on the flexibility to adapt decisions in the light of future contingencies is not only significant, but appears necessary to justify the project’s economic viability. Third, the analysis evaluates both individual real options and also considers their interaction. We corroborate previous theoretical results which maintain that interactions among real options generally make their individual values non-additive.