Disruptive Changes Research Articles

Multicellular adaptation to electrophysiological perturbations analyzed by deterministic and stochastic bioelectrical models.

Cells can compensate a disruptive change in one ion channel by compensatory changes in other channels. We have simulated the adaptation of a multicellular aggregate of non-excitable cells to the electrophysiological perturbation produced by the external blocking of a cation channel. In the biophysical model employed, we consider that this blocking provokes a cell depolarization that opens a voltage-gated calcium channel, thus allowing toxic Ca2+ levels. The cell adaptation to this externally-induced perturbation is ascribed to the multiplicity of channels available to keep the cell membrane potential within a physiological window. We propose that the cell depolarization provokes the upregulated expression of a compensatory channel protein that resets the cell potential to the correct polarized value, which prevents the calcium entry. To this end, we use two different simulation algorithms based on deterministic and stochastic methods. The simulations suggest that because of the local correlations coupling the cell potential to transcription, short-term bioelectrical perturbations can trigger long-term biochemical adaptations to novel stressors in multicellular aggregates. Previous experimental data on planarian flatworms' adaptation to a barium-containing environment is also discussed.

Incremental and Radical Innovations that Contribute to the Survival of Small Businesses in Environments of Crisis

This paper examines the influence of incremental and radical innovations on the survival capacity of micro and small companies (MSE) in contexts of economic crisis.State of the art on innovation points to a lack of a specific methodology to segregate incremental and radical innovation in MSEs. Identifying such a method allows for action to promote innovation in such more assertive companies, contributing to the survival of companies in the most adverse moments, such as crises.In this sense, a methodology was developed to identify the type and degree of innovation based on the level of innovation in the sector of activity and was applied to a sample of 60 companies in the textile retail sector. The dependent variable was business survival, measured by the continuity or cessation of activity in 2020. The estimate of the probability of survival was carried out using a binary logistic regression model.The dimensions of incremental innovation, which are the most common in the business environment, did not significantly affect survival. The dimensions of radical innovation, which imply deeper and more disruptive changes in the business model, had a positive impact. significant impact on survival in all cases. The most complex actions in the Solutions dimension increased the chances of survival by 42%; improving Processes by 39%; and innovation in the Square by 38%. These findings suggest that small businesses that adopt radical innovations have greater adaptability and resilience to adverse situations.

School leadership during disruptive change: an emotional and relational practice

School leadership during disruptive change: an emotional and relational practice

Implementing Person-Centred Lean Six Sigma to Transform Dermatology Waiting Lists: A Case Study from a Major Teaching Hospital in Dublin, Ireland

The study site, a major teaching hospital in Dublin, Ireland, addressed significant challenges within its dermatology service through a comprehensive improvement initiative using a person-centred Lean Six Sigma methodology. Initially, the hospital’s dermatology department faced excessive outpatient waiting times, with 3736 patients awaiting appointments, and 1615 waiting over 12 months. The person-centred Lean Six Sigma approach, which combines Lean techniques to reduce non-value add and Six Sigma methods to eliminate variation through a person-centred lens, was applied to overhaul the referral, triage, and scheduling processes. Key interventions included standardising triage categories, centralising the triage process, and redistributing referrals equitably among consultants. A new centralised triage system was established, leading to a more efficient allocation of appointments and better management of urgent cases. Post-implementation data showed a 40% reduction in the overall waiting list and a 60% reduction in the number of patients waiting over 12 months. The initiative significantly decreased the wait times across all urgency categories, with the most notable improvements in soon and urgent referrals. These changes were also the impetus for a follow-up design-led innovation phase, where the team worked with partners across the educational and healthcare system to enable disruptive change. The success of this project provides a scalable model for improvements in similar healthcare settings.

Mitigating the Charging Rush Hour

Great effort is put into making our mobility system more sustainable in order to mitigate climate change. One corner stone of this endeavour is the transition from internal combustion engines to electric engines for private cars. This transition, however, introduces new challenges, especially regarding the demand for electrical energy from renewable sources. One emerging phenomenon is the so-called charging rush hour, i.e. a sharp demand spike when many people arrive home and begin charging their electric cars. In this study we use an agent-based model calibrated with empirical data on mobility behaviour to investigate strategies for mitigating this charging rush hour. Studied counter strategies include telecommuting and the possibility to charge the car at work. Our findings show that the baseline peak of 65 MW per 100 000 people can only be reduced to 55 MW per 100 000 people even when combining multiple strategies. Thus the small incentives and policy changes investigated here are not enough to solve the problem of the charging rush hour and more disruptive changes to our mobility system are required.

Redefining organizational digitality: a relational-ontological approach inspired by new materialism.

Organizations, as central actors in societal structure, undergo significant transformations due to the impact of digitalization, often resulting in disruptive changes. Consequently, organizations increasingly view digitalization as an ongoing process of negotiation, which has led to the emergence of new operational modes and organizational norms. In this context, the interaction between organizations and digital technologies is characterized by recursive dynamics, which blur conventional boundaries. This presents a challenge in defining the distinct domains of the digital and the organizational within the framework of recursivity. This article draws upon new materialism and agential realism to propose an ontological-relational approach to understanding organizational digitality. This approach suggests a reconceptualization of organizational digitality as a mechanism that generates relational entities, thereby reshaping their inherent meanings. By transcending traditional boundaries between organizations and digital, this perspective provides a nuanced understanding of digital phenomena within organizational contexts.

ASPECTOS RELEVANTES NO GERENCIAMENTO DE DECISÕES

the intention of the present work is to bring theoretical support to the decision management process. It is to leave the mistaken impressions that this process can be done in any way based only on empirical experiences. It is to understand that objective and subjective factors have their influence so that decisions can be more assertive and that not taking them into account will cause losses felt immediately with consistent effects. It is to understand that disruptive changes have led many companies to leave the comfort zone when developing business management models capable of meeting the social aspirations of a more dynamic and changing market. In this sense, investment in technology is a stimulated behavior, in view of the need to use tools capable of reducing the time for decision making by condensing data and transforming it into information shared with the different sectors of the organization. The implementation of Business Intelligence and ERP as relevant factors for delivering results, which in isolation, does not disqualify the importance of human capital in the organization.

Data-driven assessment of business process resilience

Process resilience represents a core competence for organizations in light of an increasing number of process disruptions, such as sudden increases in case arrivals or absences in the workforce. It reflects an organization’s ability to restore a process to its acceptable performance level after a disruption. In this regard, the first key step for organizations towards achieving resilience is to understand how resilient their processes actually are. Although recognized as important, few works focus on such resilience assessment in a data-driven manner, thus barring organizations from gaining the necessary insights into how much their processes are affected by disruptions and how long it takes them to recover. To address this problem, we propose an approach for automated resilience assessment, based on recorded event data. Our approach interprets relevant process characteristics, such as the average lead time or arrival rate, as time series, which capture the development of the process execution over time. Based on these time series, it uses statistical modeling, specifically a vector autoregressive model, to determine the inter-relations between those characteristics and assess how the process performance responds to a disruption, i.e., a significant and temporal change in one of the process characteristics. We validate our approach by comparing its accuracy with a what-if analysis using a simulation model and demonstrate its effectiveness by assessing the resilience of the same process to diverse disruptions across different organizations.

Systemic Perspective on Companies and the Digital Transformation: A Prototypical Methodological Approach as a Solution to Complex Business Problems

Due to changing market conditions, customer needs and environmental influences, organisations are facing increased pressure to transform in today’s world. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have made many organisations aware of the importance of digital transformation in order to remain successful even in times of disruptive change. However, the pandemic has also shown how connected and complex the world is. The aim of this work is to answer the question of what a possible systematic method for dealing with complex business problems might look like. Dealing with complexity is a critical factor for any organisation and determines how resilient it can position itself in the face of dynamic environmental influences. To answer the research question, a prototype was first developed based on Niklas Luhmann’s systems theory, from which a systematic method was derived. The prototypes were then further developed and validated in qualitative expert interviews. A systems theory approach was chosen because it claims to construct a holistic picture of the company as a social system and thus to capture the interactions of all system components. Qualitative interviews based on a semi-standardised approach were used to test the prototypes for comprehensibility, applicability, and validity. German experts in the fields of system technology, change management and digital transformation were interviewed.

‘Everything everywhere all at once’: Paradigm shifts, the dynamics of agency, and the January 6th assault on the US capitol

To unpack the underlying causes of the events of January 6th, 2021, by supporters of outgoing President Trump, this essay pursues two lines of inquiry. Firstly, drawing on insights from Kuhn and Bion into, respectively, paradigm shifts and group dynamics, we argue support for Trump’s promise to ‘make American great again’ is rooted in anxiety triggered by various disruptive changes facing Americans. Followers alleviate this by becoming dependent upon Trump, thereby affording him undue influence. January 6th itself, we argue, was a paradigm shifting event, constituting a shattering betrayal of a sitting President’s fundamental duty to uphold the Constitution and keep the country safe from harm. Secondly, we examine the MAGA worldview, drawing on social identity theory, its offshoot regarding leadership, and notions of agency. We highlight its deleterious effects on how Trump and his followers exercised their agency and, simultaneously, how it legitimated Trump’s reckless betrayal of his responsibilities. Through our analysis of these underlying causes, we conclude that January 6th was no mere aberration in terms of what Trump and his supporters are capable of doing. Rather we contend the same forces animating what happened that day remain a clear and present danger to democracy in America.

Experiences of ecosystem changes on food services of mopane woodland communities in Vhembe, South Africa

Mopane woodlands have been shifting. While it is important to understand the spatial patterns that characterise this phenomenon, it is even more important to understand the impacts of shifting Mopane woodlands on rural communities that rely on them. This study sought to establish the impacts of shifting mopane woodlands on the production of indigenous plant food in Ward 12 of Musina local municipality in the Vhembe District municipality in the Limpopo province of South Africa. To accomplish this, the study utilised a hybrid inductive approach involving thematic-based questionnaire interviews and an exploratory view to gain insight into the narratives of focus group participants. Results revealed that seven (7) out of eleven (11) indigenous plant foods are becoming extinct, thereby limiting food sources of indigenous and local people who used to rely on them. The spatial pattern of the plant foods that are still available has now changed as they no longer grow within the reach of local communities. The community members are struggling to adapt to these changes. From these observations, we recommend that local and regional levels’ policies related to natural resource management should consider the unique challenges faced by communities experiencing disruptive ecosystem changes and provide the necessary support for sustainable adaptation.

Innovation in Local Digital Media: The Case of Sevilla Directo

The journalistic industry is undergoing a process of continuous transformation in response to an ongoing crisis. In this scenario, marked by disruptive technological changes and shifts in audience and advertiser behaviour, a new communication ecosystem is emerging that facilitates the rise of novel media outlets. Community social media, data journalism, and specialisation are some of the key features present in these emerging business models. This research aims to identify and understand the role of innovation in media adaptation to the current communication paradigm. Methodology: We employ a case study approach, analysing Sevilla Directo, a native digital medium in a city of approximately 700,000 inhabitants. Data collection techniques include observation, website analysis, in-depth interviews, focus groups with journalists, and analysis of sector reports and databases. Results and Discussion: Our findings indicate that technological advancements and the reach of social networks are fundamental to the growth of local media. However, we observe that adaptive changes predominate with little disruption and minimal focus on R&D&I. The organisation under study lacks a business model that guarantees its long-term sustainability and relies primarily on traditional income streams. Concurrently, social capital emerges as a key element in financing.

Precisely Tunable Instantaneous Carbon Rearrangement Enables Low-Working-Potential Hard Carbon Toward Sodium-Ion Batteries with Enhanced Energy Density.

As the preferred anode material for sodium-ion batteries, hard carbon (HC) confronts significant obstacles in providing a long and dominant low-voltage plateau to boost the output energy density of full batteries. The critical challenge lies in precisely enhancing the local graphitization degree to minimize Na+ ad-/chemisorption, while effectively controlling the growth of internal closed nanopores to maximize Na+ filling. Unfortunately, traditional high-temperature preparation methods struggle to achieve both objectives simultaneously. Herein, a transient sintering-involved kinetically-controlled synthesis strategy is proposed that enables the creation of metastable HCs with precisely tunable carbon phases and low discharge/charge voltage plateaus. By optimizing the temperature and width of thermal pulses, the high-throughput screened HCs are characterized by short-range ordered graphitic micro-domains that possess accurate crystallite width and height, as well as appropriately-sized closed nanopores. This advancement realizes HC anodes with significantly prolonged low-voltage plateaus below 0.1V, with the best sample exhibiting a high plateau capacity of up to 325mAhg-1. The energy density of the HC||Na3V2(PO4)3 full battery can therefore be increased by 20.7%. Machine learning study explicitly unveils the "carbon phase evolution-electrochemistry" relationship. This work promises disruptive changes to the synthesis, optimization, and commercialization of HC anodes for high-energy-density sodium-ion batteries.

Development of Heutogogy Model as a Framework to Prepare Self-Determined Educator: A Case Study in Indonesia

This study aims to develop a heutogogy learning model which determines indigenous resources to improve numeracy literacy for high school educator to prepare their educator against disruptive education. This type of research is development research by using the ADDIE method according to two stages, namely (a) exploratory research to identify educator characteristics and needs, and (b) development research to develop a heutogogy model based on educators' needs. Heutogogy model succeeded in increasing educator numeracy literacy in high school as a preparation to create competent educators in a disruptive education era. This model has also succeeded in improving the literacy-numerical skills of teachers as primary agents of the information literacy movement in schools. By improving the educators' numerical skills, the model contributes to their overall information literacy, empowering them to better guide students in the rapidly evolving educational landscape characterized by disruptive changes. Need further research to implement this model on the different competencies with more deep user validation. This research can boost educators' literacy-numerical abilities, which are needed by the world of education in the next 10 years.

Techno-Service-Profit Chain: The Impacts of IoT-Enabled Algorithmic Customer Service Systems from an Interdisciplinary Perspective

The infusion of emerging technologies (e.g., IoT-enabled algorithmic customer service systems [IACSs]) often brings disruptive changes to customer service. In particular, the agentic nature of these technologies challenges prominent service theories. Among these challenges, recent scholarly calls have pushed for more research on the infusion of emerging technologies into the service-profit chain (SPC) framework, advocating for the importance of extended knowledge to develop a techno-infused version of the SPC. Thus, from an interdisciplinary perspective, we draw upon role theory and propose a technoservice-profit chain (TSPC). Specifically, we contextualize the SPC in the technoservice context with different approaches, including decomposing context-specific constructs and theorizing IACS implementation as a contextual factor that moderates TSPC relationships. Using a sequential mixed methods design combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, we tested our research model by conducting multiwave surveys and follow-up interviews in a large business-to-business service firm with data from employees, supervisors, and customers before and after IACS implementation. This interdisciplinary study contributes to the information systems, service marketing, and management literatures by enriching the compositions of core SPC constructs, theorizing interactions between human agents and technology agents, and scrutinizing the impacts of technology agents on the linkages between internal employee management and external customer service. Our results further reveal the emerging issues of competing bosses (i.e., supervisors and IACSs), competing employees (i.e., employees and IACSs), and the unintended dehumanization effects of IACSs on supervisors and employees.

Future-Proofing Leadership: Cultivating Adaptability and Alignment in Times of Change

Abstract: This article examines how organizational leaders can develop agility to enable successful navigation of disruptive change and uncertainty. It first reviews research on organizational agility and identifies key traits of sensing, deciding, and acting that agile companies exhibit. Next, it outlines the responsibilities of senior leaders to serve as catalysts for adaptability through establishing a shared vision and strategy, building alignment, developing agile talent, reinforcing an adaptive culture, removing obstacles, empowering distributed leadership, and embracing uncertainty. The article then provides specific strategies leaders can implement to fulfill these imperatives, such as co-creating visions, rewarding risk-taking, decentralizing decision-making, and establishing a "learning from failures" mindset. Overall, the article argues that cultivating an agile culture focused on continuous learning, empowerment, and strategic adaptation will allow organizations to thrive amid disruptive uncertainty in coming decades.

An iterative consumer-centric and technology-driven product innovation strategy based on selective and dynamic consumer attention

Consumer attention is a critical factor in driving consumer-centric innovation characterized by selectivity and dynamism. However, existing literature has emphasized the selectivity but overlooked the dynamism vital for frequent iterative innovation. This study addresses the gap by exploring innovation strategies with dynamic consumer attention. We constructed a data-driven agent-based model (ABM) with two decision-making entities: manufacturers and consumers. Aspect-based sentiment analysis (ABSA) results obtained from consumer reviews are used to shape consumer agents with selective and dynamic attention. A comparative experiment, utilizing manufacturers insights based on various consumer-generated knowledge, was devised to evaluate iterative innovation efficacy. The findings highlight benefits of innovation strategies considering consumer attention drivers, especially consumer self-learning and social influence behaviors. Additionally, we identified consumers' observation bias in product attributes exhibits a notable inverted U-shaped effect on new product adoption, and negatively impacting repeat purchases. Moreover, our results show that as technology for new products matures, incremental iteration based on consumer attention becomes the optimal strategy. However, rapid technological advancements or disruptive changes could make attention-focused strategies less reliable. These insights offer valuable implications for manufacturers to optimize product innovation strategies by understanding consumer characteristics, limited innovation resources, and current technological conditions.

The Urgency of Digitizing Learning for Madrasah Aliyah Islamic Boarding School Students in The Era Of Society 5.0

Digitized learning in Islamic boarding schools is an opportunity and, at the same time, the challenge of continuing to transform to make the learning process massively more efficient and comprehensive in every aspect of human life. In the current era of disruption, technological and industrial change is facing a significant revolution and is known as the Society 5.0 era. Of course, in facing the era of society 5.0, the world of education has an important contribution to make in adapting to current developments in improving the quality of human resources. This research aims to describe the urgency of digitizing learning for Madrasah Aliyah Islamic Boarding School students in the Society 5.0 era. This research uses a qualitative method with a descriptive approach. Data collection techniques include observation, interviews, and a literature study. The research results show the importance of digitalization learning in the era of society 5.0 in Islamic boarding school-based Madrasah Aliyah, activists and stakeholders in education, get an overview of the application of technology learning, which is more specific to communication tools, the challenges of implementing digitalization learning, and the efforts that need to be made to maximize digitalization learning in Islamic boarding school-based Islamic schools.

Smart recommender for the configuration of software project development teams

The development of Social Media has caused an incredible change in the way people communicate and share information. It provides a set of platforms, web-based applications and services that facilitate the collaborative creation of content and the sharing of ideas and interests. Since its inception, Social Media technologies have been increasingly used in different fields that have integrated them into their daily lives. In Software Engineering, for example, it has caused a disruptive change in the software development model, changing the way that the projects are approached by promoting collaborative environments. This effect has led to the proliferation of the software development communities where huge amounts of information are published every day. Therefore, when a project is started and a development team needs to be assembled, it is difficult to select and identify the most suitable developer profiles for such a project by considering all the disseminated information. To solve this problem, we have proposed an ontology-based system to help find a suitable group of developers to develop a project. The system uses web services to extract user profiles from GitHub, and semantic technologies to represent and annotate the features of the extracted data. Then, when the system receives the natural language description of the project to be developed, it identifies and extracts relevant concepts such as technologies, platforms, tools, among others. As a result, it analyzes the extracted information and lists the most suitable developers to assemble a team of developers with the right technical skills to tackle the software project. For evaluation purposes, we generated a random list of GitHub profiles, and collected a corpus of documents describing research projects and patents. The system produced very promising results, achieving a MAP@5 and F-Measure of 0.68.

Innovation in Local Digital Media: The Case of Sevilla Directo

Introduction: The journalistic company is immersed in a process of permanent transformation to overcome a crisis context. In this scenario, marked by disruptive changes in technology and in the behaviour of audiences and advertisers, a communication ecosystem emerges that facilitates the emergence of new media. Community social media, data journalism, and specialisation are some of the characteristics present in these business models. The objective of this research is to identify and understand the role of innovation in media adaptation to the current communication paradigm. Methodology: The case study will be used. For this, we will analyse a digital native medium in a city of approximately 700,000 inhabitants, Sevilla Directo. The techniques of information collection have been observation, analysis of websites, in-depth interviews, a discussion group between journalists, and reports and databases of the sector. Results and discussion: The results show that technological advances and the reach of social networks are fundamental for the growth of local media. However, it is observed that adaptive changes predominate with little disruption and little concern for R&D&I. The organisation under study lacks a business model that guarantees its long-term sustainability and bases its subsistence on traditional income routes. At the same time, social capital stands as a key element in financing.