bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Safety of concomitant treatment with Non-Vitamin K Oral Anticoagulants and SSRI/SNRI antidepressants
Authors: Boguta Piotr , Juchnowicz Dariusz , Wróbel-Knybel Paulina , Biała-Kędra Agnieszka , Karakuła-Juchnowicz Hanna
Published: March 2019

Introduction: Warfarin has been considered as a “gold standard” in the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic events since 1954. Since the introduction of direct oral anticoagulants in the last few years (NOAC-Non-Vitamin K antagonist Oral Anticoagulants) prescriptions volume for apixaban, edoxaban, dabigatran and rivaroxaban have been gradually surpassing warfarin. The benefits include: anticoagulation from day one, fixed daily dosing, elimination for the need of international normalised ratio (INR) monitoring, fewer interactions with food and co-administered medicines with reduced risk of bleeding and better overall life quality.
Objectives: Assessing evidence for the safe use of Non-vitamin K Oral Anticoagulants (NOAC) with Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) and Serotonin and Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRI).
Method: Review of literature published between 2014 and 2016 was made using the key words: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor, Serotonin and Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors, apixaban, dabigatran, edoxaban, rivaroxaban, bleeding, interaction, depression with time description from 2014 to 2018. Evidence within the literature was then compared with guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (UK), British National Formulary (UK), Clinical Excellence Commission (Australia), Thrombophilia and Anticoagulation Clinic (USA) and Summaries of Product Characteristics (SPC).
Results:
1. Serotonin plays a critical role in maintaining homeostasis. Use of SSRI/SNRI compromises its platelet reuptake increasing risk of bleeding.
2. Increased tolerability and safety of NOAC over Warfarin, although caution is advised when NOAC is used with SSRI/SNRI with less evidence suggesting pharmacodynamic interactions.
3. It is not recommended to use NOAC with strong CYP and P-gp inhibitors.
Conclusions: With limited literature evidence, caution is advised when co-prescribed NOACs with SSRI/SNRI, especially with other cofactors and interacting medicines further increasing risk of bleeding.

Keywords: SSRI, SNRI, NOAC, risk of bleeding, drug interactions
Ecological Measures in the Land Consolidation Planning of the Village of Kocurany
Authors: Diviaková Andrea , Kočický Dušan , Belaňová Eliška
Published: March 2019

This paper deals with the application of ecological proposals within the land consolidation project process in Slovakia. Ecological proposals form part of the Local Territorial System of the Ecological Stability project, which is a compulsory material for developing land consolidation projects. The Local Territorial System of Ecological Stability for the cadastral unit of Kocurany village was worked out in 2013. Within the area, 31 localities were selected for the implementation of ecological proposals with a total area of 154.34 ha, namely 3 biocorridors, 2 biocentres, 9 interacting elements, 8 ecostabilising elements and 9 localities with the need of anti-erosion soil cultivation, or delimitation to permanent grasslands. The main task was to analyse the rate of acceptance of the proposed measures. It was found that only 20 localities with a total area of 119.37 ha were accepted into the land consolidation project. In order to improve all the landscape functions, the integration of quality ecological proposals from the Territorial System of Ecological Stability into the land consolidation projects is necessary.
Influence of climatic conditions and air pollution on radial growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Szczecin’s city forests
Authors: Cedro Anna , Cedro Bernard
Published: March 2019

The aim of the present work was to characterize the growth – climate relationship of pines growing in the Szczecin city forests in intensively used recreational areas and to identify the effect of air pollutants emitted by a nearby chemical factory on tree-ring width. Our research area was located in the Głębokie forest complex, which is one of the most frequently visited. The chemical factory Police that produces fertilizers is located at a distance 11 km away from the study plot. The largest emissions of pollutants from the factory in terms of volume occurred in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Wood samples were collected from Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) with the Pressler borer from 30 trees and examined using standard dendrochronological methodology. The result was a local chronology of 169 years from 1848–2016. Dendroclimatological analyses indicated that the weather conditions at the turn from winter to spring are the dominant factors influencing radial growth. For example, higher than average temperatures in February, March and April result in a wide tree-ring in the upcoming growth season. Following Nowacki and Abram’s method, we also determined the relative growth change in order to delimit the timeframe when air pollution potentially alters tree-ring width. Due to the lack of data for the period 1848–1945, the increasing and decreasing relative growth could not be linked to specific events. For the period 1944–1972 however, we observed and increase in the tree-ring width, which in this case can be attributed to favorable weather conditions. The final period, 1973–1991, on the other hand showed the strongest decline in annual growth throughout our chronology and this was largely due to the nearby chemical factories, which released huge amounts of pollution into the atmosphere during this period.

At present, despite new technologies and a decrease in overall production by the nearby chemical factory, we found a negative trend in ring width dynamics indicating a need for pollutant monitoring and further research.
Slenderness of trees in black locust stands
Authors: Bijak Szymon , Orzoł Katarzyna
Published: March 2019

This paper investigates the slenderness of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) trees in relation to the biosocial status of the trees, stand age class, crown parameters and habitat type. The research material was collected on 35 research plots in the Sława Śląska, Sulechów and Głogów forest districts in western Poland and comprises 1058 trees. For each tree, we measured height (h) as well as diameter at breast height (d) and determined its biosocial status (Kraft class), crown length (CL) and relative crown length (rCL). The age class and habitat type were assessed at the plot level. Because the obtained values for slenderness (s=h/d) diverged significantly from the normal distribution, we used Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests to investigate the influence of the above-mentioned parameters on the h/d ratio. Black locust slenderness ranged from 0.31 to 1.95 with an average of 0.91 (standard deviation 0.24). It furthermore differed significantly between Kraft classes (the higher the biosocial status, the lower the slenderness) and age classes (the older the trees, the lower their slenderness). We also found a significant effect of the habitat type (in oligotrophic sites trees formed more slender trunks than in mesotrophic sites) and crown parameters on the h/d ratio (decreasing with increasing crown length and relative crown length). The obtained results suggest that the slenderness of black locust does not differ substantially from native broadleaved trees in Poland.
Composition of the wolf’sCanis lupusL. diet in the Wigry National Park
Authors: Mysłajek Robert W. , Nowak Sabina , Romański Maciej , Tołkacz Katarzyna
Published: March 2019

The diet of wolvesCanis lupusL. was assessed in the Wigry National Park in North-Eastern Poland, which overlaps with the Natura 2000 site “Ostoja Wigierska”. The content of a total of 149 scat samples was collected in 2017 and analysed in order to determine dietary composition. Wolves primarily feed on wild ungulates, which make up 75.4% of food biomass. Despite the fact that wild boarSus scrofaL. and red deerCervus elaphusL. dominate in the ungulate community in the study area, the primary prey species was observed to be roe deerCapreolus capreolusL. with 39.6%, while red deer and wild boar only constituted 18.7% and 8.3% of the food biomass, respectively. Additionally, beaverCastor fiberL. was found to be an important prey (10.9%) as well and livestock accounted for 15.1% of all biomass consumed. The livestock eaten by wolves also included carcasses of domestic animals illegally disposed of in the forest. We therefore conclude that decisions on the management of the wolf’s food base within protected areas, such as national parks or Natura 2000 sites, should be preceded by intensive local studies.
Frequency and thickness of snow cover at the foot of the Babia Góra Massif in the winter seasons 1960/61 to 2014/15
Authors: Franczak Paweł
Published: March 2019

The aim of the study was to gain knowledge about changes in the nival conditions prevailing in the lower part of the Babia Góra massif in the winter, during the period from 1960/61 to 2014/15.

The performed analyses concerned the daily snow cover thickness in the winter seasons of the years 1960/61–2014/15, and were based on data recorded by a meteorological station established by the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management – National Research Institute (IMGW-PIB) in Zawoja (697 m altitude). The study was focused on the period from the first to the last day of the appearance of the snow cover in the season.

Based on long-term measurements carried out in in Zawoja, it was found that the average length of the occurrence of snow cover with the thickness of ≥ 1 cm was 104 days, which showed variability in individual seasons that ranged from 47 days in 2013/14 to 145 days in 1993/94. It was noted that the period of snow cover occurrence was shortened – from 118 days in the decade 1960/61–1969/70 to 96 days in the recent decade (2000/01–2009/10). The potential duration of snow cover was on average 157 days. The snowiest months were February and January, when snow cover occurred for 81% and 75% of all the observation days, respectively. The largest thickness of snow cover was recorded during these two months, with the maximum of 178 cm (January 30, 1976). In contrast, snow cover was not observed in July, August and September. The studied multi-year period was characterised by high variability of the winter snowiness index: from 1.61 in 2013/14 to 8.00 in 1962/63.

In the period 1960/61–2014/15, in Zawoja, there was observed the distinct periodicity (16–19 years) with regard to the number of days with snow cover, the average and total snow cover and the winter snowiness.
Running in forest areas – an analysis of activities undertaken by State Forests
Authors: Ciesielski Mariusz
Published: March 2019

A growing need to lead a healthy lifestyle and to spend more time in nature causes an increased pressure on forests, which renders their social functions more and more important. In order to meet people’s expectations, the State Forests undertake several actions to make forests more available to the public including the organization of running events in forests and the development of a network of recreational and running paths. In order to describe these actions, an online survey was conducted among the workers of forest districts. Additional data such as information published on the State Forests’ website, Facebook and runners’ blogs, was included in the analysis as well. 283 forest districts participated in the electronic survey. The results indicate that the State Forests actively participated in promoting running events in forests totaling 488 running events in 2014 and 779 between January and October 2017, which constitutes an increase by approximately 60%. The average number of running events in the forest districts during the analysed period was 9.5. Most of them took place in forest districts within city agglomerations and in the mountains. The State Forests supported over 20% of running events organised in the areas they administer. They had also started numerous initiatives (such as ‘Wolność w naturze’, ‘Zielony punkt kontrolny’ and ‘BiegamBoLubię Lasy’) that were evaluated positively by their participants (according to Facebook). In conclusion, it is clear that the State Forests do promote recreation in forests and forest education by supporting public events.
Forest policy goals in Poland in light of the current forestry aims in Europe Part 2. Forest policy priorities in Europe
Authors: Kaliszewski Adam
Published: March 2019

The aim of the paper was to evaluate the priorities set for policy-making in forestry formulated under the Forest Europe process and in programmes, policies, strategies and legal acts of the European Union after 1997, which is also the year when the Polish ‘National Forest Policy’ was adopted by the Council of Ministers. During the last two decades, rapid policy development has been occurring Europe-wide. Forest policy goals defined within the Forest Europe process have also been reflected in EU’s strategic documents and legal acts and both processes are complementary as well as influencing each other.

Forest policy priorities after 1997 cover all three major aspects of sustainable forest management (SFM): ecological, economic and social. However, the main emphasis has been put on economic and social aspects of SFM. The key priorities defined in numerous Forest Europe and EU documents are the following: enhancing the role of forests and forest management in mitigating climate change including the promotion of production and wide use of wood; adapting forests to climate change and changing environmental conditions; conserving, protecting and enhancing forest biodiversity; enhancing the role of forests and forest management in rural development; fostering coordination and cross-sectoral cooperation within forestry. The need for enhancing forest research has been pointed out in almost all analysed Forest Europe commitments as well as in numerous EU documents.
Plant communities of the Czerwona Woda River Valley (Stołowe Mountains National Park)
Authors: Pielech Remigiusz , Malicki Marek , Smoczyk Michał , Jagodziński Andrzej M. , Dyderski Marcin K. , Horodecki Paweł , Wierzcholska Sylwia , Skorupski Maciej , Kamczyc Jacek , Kałucka Izabela , Hachułka Mariusz , Gazda Anna
Published: March 2019

The Czerwona Woda River is the main watercourse in the Stołowe Mountains National Park and drains the major part of the Stołowe Mts. It was regulated in the past, but its channel has been spontaneously naturalised. Now, managed spruce forests grow along almost the entire length of this small mountain stream. The aims of the present study were to investigate diversity of plant communities connected with the Czerwona Woda stream and to prepare detailed vegetation maps. The results obtained can potentially be a reference for future restoration projects implemented in the Stołowe Mountains National Park.

As a result of vegetation mapping, there were distinguished 20 plant communities representative of the current vegetation and 3 communities representative of the potential vegetation. Phytosociological data on the vegetation was documented by making 62 phytosociological relevés. Based on these, 9 forest communities were distinguished, of which 3 were classified into associations, 1 – into alliance, 5 – into secondary forest communities. Furthermore, there were distinguished 14 non-forest communities, of which 10 were classified into associations. Several of the phytosociological classes distinguished have been reported for the first time in the Stołowe Mountains National Park.
Preliminary Study on Effect of Agricultural Activities in Pollen Spectrum of Argentinean Honey
Authors: Patrignani Mariela , Fagúndez Guillermina A. , Lupano Cecilia E.
Published: March 2019

Honey floral origin is determined by the harversting region, but anthropogenic factors as agriculture expansion might modify the environmental flora and consequently honey floral origin. Argentina is one of the most important honey producers worldwide which, since the 1990s, has undergone an important agriculture transformation by the adoption of transgenic crops like soybean (Glycine max). However, little is known about the effects of this anthropogenic activity on the floral origin of honey or the statistical tools that could be used to analyse it. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact that these environmental modifications have on the pollen spectrum of honey. In order to achieve this, thirty-two samples of blossom honey were collected from three different ecoregions of the Buenos Aires province: Parana Delta and Islands, Espinal and Pampa, in two different years: 1999 and 2014. The pollen spectrum of honey samples was determined and the data obtained was analysed with multivariate statistical techniques. It could be concluded that the pollen composition of honeys from different ecoregions has significantly changed in the past years because of agriculture expansion and adaptation of transgenic crops (p=0.007). Honey samples harvested in 1999 were characterized by high values of Helianthus annuus, while in 2014 an important presence of Eryngium sp., Gleditsia triacanthos, Baccharis type, Trifolium sp. and Glycine max was observed. The present results show that honey palynological results and multivariate statistical analysis could be used as a preliminary attempt to evaluate environmental modifications.
Geographic Range and Nest Architecture of Cephalotrigona Capitata Smith, 1854 (Apidae: Meliponini) in the State of Bahia, Northeastern Brazil
Authors: Alves Rogério M. D. O. , Waldschmidt Ana M. , Paixão Joana F. , Santos Daiane R. , Carvalho Carlos A. L.
Published: March 2019

The bees of the genus Cephalotrigona (locally known as “mombucas”) play a key role in natural environments but their bioecological features, required to design proper management and conservation strategies, are scarce in most species. Thus, the goal of the present study was to map the occurrence sites of C. capitata in the state of Bahia, north-eastern Brazil, and to provide useful information about nest architecture to their technical management. This species was recorded in fifteen municipalities in Bahia, totaling forty-one nests. The range of C. capitata varied from locations at sea level to seasonal ombrophilous forests at an altitude of 600 m high. The nests were built in trees with a mean diameter of 19.8 ±3.0 cm. The nest architecture was similar to that reported in other stingless bee species, with a variation in analyzed parameters. The thermoregulation was more efficient in highly populated boxes. The present results can be used for the conservation and management of this species, which represents a potential source of income for local farmers.
The Three Seas Initiative as a Political Challenge for the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: Górka Marek
Published: March 2019

The Three Seas Initiative (TSI) is an informal association that focuses mainly on the economic integration of EU member states through the cooperation of specific sectors. It is meant to strengthen the single market and bonds among countries in Central and Eastern Europe. It also seeks to reduce developmental differences between these countries and the older EU member states. This study explores the background of the TSI, which was jointly conceived by the presidents of Poland and Croatia with the goal of strengthening ties among countries in the area between the Black, Baltic and Adriatic seas. The association brings together 12 states across Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania and Austria. As well as enhancing their political ties, it aims to develop cross-border cooperation and implement macro-regional projects. The analysis highlights both the diverging interests of the TSI countries and their common predicament. These states are connected by the fact that they stand to lose the most from the two-speed Europe idea that some Western politicians have imposed. They are also at a clear disadvantage when it comes to infrastructure investments. In the past, the European Union has emphasized East–West cooperation and overlooked the North–South communication and energy corridors. The Three Seas Initiative founders are trying to determine the best form of cooperation for the Central and Eastern Europe region.
Handling Missing Entries in Monitoring a Woman’s Monthly Cycle and Controlling Fertility
Authors: Łupińska-Dubicka Anna
Published: March 2019

Even a small percentage of missing data can cause serious problems with analysis, reducing the statistical power of a study and leading to wrong conclusions being drawn. In the case of monitoring a woman’s monthly cycle, missing entries can appear even in a woman experienced in fertility awareness methods. Due to the fact that in a system of controlling a woman’s fertility, it is the most important to predict the day of ovulation and, ultimately, to determine the fertile window as much precisely as possible, much attention should be paid to the quality of the used data. This paper presents the results of handling missing observations as far as predicting the time during the cycle when a woman can become pregnant is concerned. Data taken from a multinational European study of daily fecundability was used to learn the quantitative part of the variety of a higher-order dynamic Bayesian network modeling a woman’s monthly cycle. The main goal of this paper is to examine whether omitting observations has an influence on the model’s reliability. The accuracy of comparison was examined based on two measures: the average percentage length of the infertile time during the monthly cycle and average percentage of days inside the fertile window classified as infertile.
The Influence of Rotational Training on Muscle Activity of Young Adults in Thermographic Imaging
Authors: Zuzda Jolanta G. , Topczewska Magdalena , Borkowski Piotr , Latosiewicz Robert
Published: March 2019

The aim of this paper is to describe and assess the energetic-metabolic activity of selected muscles of upper and lower extremities during Rotational Training (RT). The influence of RT on temperature changes in the biceps and triceps brachii muscles as well as the quadriceps and biceps femoris muscles of healthy university students were verified, in addition to temperature differences between the left and right side before and after RT. The study was conducted on 18 subjects. RT was conducted in accordance with accepted forms of training methodology of collective fitness. An important part of RT was the performance of circular and rotational movements. Thermograms taken before and immediately after RT focused on 4 regions of selected agonists and synergists in the upper and lower body. The camera used was the infrared hand-held CEDIP Titanium 560M IR (USA), located at a distance of 10 m from the subject. After RT, median Tsk
(skin temperature) decreased in almost all of the examined ROIs, except for the left and right Qf (the quadriceps femoris, rectus femoris, and sartorius muscles) as well as the left Tb (triceps brachii) in female subjects. In male subjects, left and right Tsk
of Qf increased both for the left and right Tb. Left-Right ΔTsk
(temperature difference) was statistically significant (p <0.05) for Of, Bf, Bb, Tb in female as well as male subjects. It was concluded that thermography is a non-invasive, safe, and low-cost method for the recording of physiological response of the skin to RT.
Observation of Eurasian Otter’s Diel Activity Using Camera Trapping in Central-Eastern Romania
Authors: Bouroş G. , Ionescu D. T. , Hodor C.
Published: March 2019

The observation of elusive mammals, is still problematic, particularly in flowing waters or wetlands. But with the usage of camera traps, it was possible to obtain valuable information about otters. The aim of this study was finding the diel activity of the otters that live in Central-Eastern Romania. The diel activity of the Eurasian otter along its habitat was studied from March 2011 to April 2016 over 1356 days & nights of camera trapping. The camera traps have recorded a total of 222 otter visits at all 10 observation sites. Otters, passing through the observation sites, were strongly nocturnal and displayed a trimodal diel activity pattern, one occurring just before dawn (between 04:00 and 06:30 h), the second one occuring just after dusk (between 18:30 and 22:00 h) and the third one occurring in the middle of the night (between 00:30 and 01:30). Otters have been also active during the Civil Twilight (7.2 %), more active during the dusk (5 %) than during the dawn (2.3 %). Seasonally the Eurasian otters were more active during winter (39.6 %) and progressively less active in spring (31.5 %) summer (9 %) or autumn (19.8 %).
Looking at Innovation through CCT Glasses: Consumer Culture Theory and Google Glass Innovation
Authors: Pace Stefano
Published: March 2019

Today innovation can be so radical and futuristic that common models of innovation diffusion might not be enough. The success of an innovation relies on the functional features of the new product, but also on how consumers shape the meaning of that innovation. Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) can help managers by focusing on the cultural determinants of consumer behaviour. The work provides a preliminary analysis of how consumers elaborate the cultural platform that will determine the degree of success of the upcoming innovation Google Glass.
Creating a sustainable innovation environment within large enterprises: a case study on a professional services firm
Authors: Kliewe Thorsten , Davey Todd , Baaken Thomas
Published: March 2019

This paper considers the question of which structures, strategies and practical activities large firms can use to successfully create a sustainable innovation environment within an organisation with special focus given to communication activities used to support this change process. Using the ADKAR change management model as the underlying framework, this study analyses the story of a large professional service firm’s national innovation program to show and discuss a successful example. The paper shows how the firm successfully managed both the change project and the stakeholder change to transform the nature of their organisation. The paper provides valuable insights for professionals, practitioners, consultants and academics involved in or studying the creation of innovation and how to affect this within large organisations.
Inspiring mobility for banking enterprises
Authors: Bagaria Sandeep
Published: March 2019

Mobile banking is taking the world by storm, accounting for over 590 million users worldwide, which is expected to double to exceed 1 billion by 2017.  Today consumers will not bank with a Bank that does not have internet banking. Tomorrow consumers will not bank with a Bank that does not have mobile banking.In order for banks to create a successful mobile banking strategy, banks need to do more than just provide their internet banking on the mobile phone. They have to focus on innovation and user experience to deliver leading edge mobile banking applications.This article describes how banks in Asia Pacific have leveraged innovation and user-experience to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Payment Habits as a Determinant of Retail Payment Innovations Diffusion: the Case of Poland
Authors: Harasim Janina , Klimontowicz Monika
Published: March 2019

New and innovative methods for electronic funds transfer are emerging globally. These new payment tools include extensions of the established payment systems as well as new payment methods that are substantially different from traditional transactions. They have made the retail payments faster, cheaper, easier and more convenient for customers. Simultaneously, these payment innovations influence retail payment market around the world. During the last few decades it has changed remarkably and has become a very competitive one. Financial institutions are increasingly in competition with technology companies and other organizations to be the preferred providers of consumer payment services. There are huge differences between retail payment markets in developing countries and those in the mature markets. Payment habits are mostly influenced by local cultural drivers, so global trends are few and far between. Nevertheless, as consumer expectations and habits are becoming more homogenized and financial institutions start to be interested in new markets, the opportunities to learn from the experiences of other economies appear. The paper discusses theoretical and empirical foundation of retail payment innovations diffusion, presents the retail payment taxonomy and the results of a survey held in Poland in 2013. It is concluded that Polish experience can be assessed as a benchmark for searching determinants of retail payment markets development. However, copying success factors for sustainable market development is rather impossible with regard to payment culture, experiences and habits.
Towards standardization during research – the Service Modelling Language
Authors: Zelm Martin
Published: March 2019

Research and standardization are often considered concepts that exclude each other or follow one another with a time distance of years. On the other hand standards can be very beneficial to ease all kinds of interoperability problems in and between enterprises to integrate system components. Since based on consensus between many stakeholders, the time to develop standards is high.  The article presents an example of early involvement in standardisation of product related services in Future Manufacturing Ecosystem during its research and development phase in the European project MSEE.
Illumination in times of Uncertainty: Fifty Shades of Innovation for Societal Impact
Authors: Pinto Ferreira João José , Mention Anne-Laure , Torkkeli Marko
Published: March 2019

Innovate or die. This observation is nothing new; yet it is probably more true and topical than ever. Over the last decades, innovation has expanded in an unprecedented manner and is now part of most firms’ strategies, if not the nexus of their strategies.  Originally, mainly centred around the introduction of manufactured novelties, innovation is now perceived and depicted by as many adjectives, categories and attributes as one can think of: service, organisational, process,  marketing, social, environmental, strategic, business model, and so on. This extension of the nature, types and forms of innovation goes hand in hand with the development of the academic literature focusing not only on the tangibility nature of novelties, but also on the intangibility character of some, or even most, of those. Moreover, and, as the analysis of leading-edge companies shows, innovation is nowadays never restricted to a single specific form. Innovation now embraces bundles of products and services, which are subject to new business models, distributed through new channels increasingly benefitting from an accrued interaction with customers, enrolling them in the development and marketing processes. The boundaries between goods and services innovations have blurred over time, leading to an abundant literature stemming from the convergence or synthesis streams, aiming at building a unified theory for innovation, and highlighting the convergence between the typical features of product innovation (such as the tangibility and the standardization) and those of service innovation (customer-centric, less structured, intangible), as argued by e.g. Evangelista (2006) and Gallouj and Savona (2009). (...)
Services and crisis: stop shooting at the ambulance!
Authors: Djellal Faridah , Gallouj Faiz
Published: March 2019

Paradoxically, despite the extent of their contribution to wealth and employment, services are regularly blamed (in both political discourses and certain theoretical works) to be directly or indirectly responsible for the economic crisis. This short note aims at refuting such a paradox, arguing that the service economy is an economy of knowledge, skills and innovation.
E-transparency as an organizational innovation in financial services – the case of Lithuania
Authors: Railiene Ginta
Published: March 2019

The development of e-transparency culture requires certain organizational changes related to innovative ways of organizing, structuring and presenting information to interested parties and employing digital technologies. This paper presents the discussion of concepts needed to be researched in order to disclose the e-transparency level of finance institution. It is suggested to focus on content of required and voluntary information (content quality) and on channels for information dissemination (channel quality). The methodology is employed in defining the e-transparency level of Lithuanian credit providers and assessing how innovative finance institutions are in disseminating the regulatory and voluntary information. The research results indicate that Lithuanian banks are contributing to legal requirements, but voluntary presentation of data is rather brief and ways used for information dissemination are poor compared to IT possibilities. The e-transparency culture and organizational innovations in credit unions are under development.
Community of Practice as a Tool for Company Performance in Strategic Context
Authors: Pohjola Ilpo Antero
Published: March 2019

The objective of this study is to examine communities of practice (CoP) as a strategic tool for expanding methods of collective learning and knowledge creation and sharing. Through the case study, I analyze how CoP increase personnel capabilities to improve company performance and achieve strategic goals. In this study, qualitative methods have been used to answer the research question ‘How are communities of practice used as a strategic tool in the case company?’ The literature related to CoP for strategic advantage is reviewed. Then, in the empirical portion, I describe in detail participant observations, document analysis and semi-structured interviews with experts from the case company. Based on the literature review and empirical findings, I construct the model for virtual collaboration in the CoP. The model provides practical guidelines for effective competence creation. Five organizational development areas are identified: (1) the strategy of a firm; (2) motivation to work in CoP according to the strategy; (3) knowledge creation and sharing through CoP; (4) feedback and benefits; and (5) strategy improvements and best practices (business processes). CoP findings indicate that the case company should work on all five development areas simultaneously. In conclusion, top management should encourage personnel to improve personal skills and support an open learning atmosphere. The main suggestion for improving virtual collaboration in the CoP on an organizational level at the case company is the establishment of informal networks. The relationship between CoP and their stakeholders should be strengthened because, in the absence of these relations, the collaboration will never begin. In particular, the case company should improve its social networks and encourage personnel to join CoP. This study paves the way for further research into experiments on the practical implementation of CoP.
The Evolution of Open Innovation
Authors: Curley Martin
Published: March 2019

The discipline of Innovation is constantly evolving and we are now arguably at a strategic inflection point where a new paradigm of innovation is emerging. In the last century often it was a brilliant scientist at a Bell Lab or IBM lab which drove new inventions and subsequent innovations. Then along came Open Innovation which was neatly conceptualized by Henry Chesbrough (2003) and concerns a systematic process where ideas can pass to and from different organizations and travel on different exploitations vectors for value creation.  Open Innovation was based on the idea that not all of the smart people in the world can work for your company or organization and that you also have to look outside the organization for ideas. At this point Open Innovation was still seen a linear process which had an emphasis on licensing of technologies. (...)
Lean start-up companies by means of crowdsourcing
Authors: Erkinheimo Pia , Jussila Jari , Kärkkäinen Hannu
Published: March 2019

Lean start-up approach provides both small and larger companies a novel, important and useful way to organize their business development, while reducing related high risks. Traditional start-ups face a multitude of significant challenges and risks. A study by Ghosh showed that as many as 75% of all start-ups fail. Earlier research has preliminarily demonstrated that crowdsourcing has the potential to reduce the risks of failure of start-ups, as well as overcome some of the inherent challenges lean start-ups face. We argue that crowdsourcing can significantly improve the leanness and agility of start-ups’ business functions.
The power of technology: A Fact or Fiction for Majority?
Authors: Torkkeli Marko , Mention Anne-Laure , Pinto Ferreira João José
Published: March 2019

This Fall Issue will discuss about the power of technology and Internet. Innovation is taking place everywhere through new and emerging technologies changing the way we think, live, breathe, travel, and do shopping to name a few areas. Funny enough is that some of us believe that the most important technologies are on the market available to please customers and users, and nothing more important will show up later. We, as humans, systematically underestimate the power of technology and its impact on daily life. There are several well-known quotations from very smart people which have turned ridiculous after some time by basically shifting initial assumptions into market knowledge. Whatever is too expensive and complex today becomes a commodity in no time and shortly after doesn’t bring competitive advantage any longer (the S-curve effect, see e.g Bayus, 1998 or Rogers, 1962, for different explanations). Several notable studies illustrate (like the well cited and used BCG tools) how rapidly diffusion is influencing production costs and consequently, accelerates the speed of diffusion itself. The question here stems from where the balance between the minority of ‘crazy’ developers and the majority of pioneering consumers willing to try something new lies.  (...)
Co-creating a digital service for small business owners’ finance management
Authors: Päivi Heikkilä , Antikainen Maria Johanna
Published: March 2019

This paper presents a small-scale qualitative study exploring the everyday finance management of small business owners. The study was conducted by carrying out contextual interviews, combining the approach of business and social sciences. Insights from five study cases were utilised in co-creating a novel digital service targeted to facilitate finance management in the areas identified as challenging or lacking suitable services. The benefits and challenges of the co-creation process are also discussed. The findings increase the current understanding and bring practical implications to the understudied area of co-creation of financial services. For example, the needs for integration of services and graphical presentation of financial data are not met with current service offering and should be supported better. Gamification and social aspects, as well as, the need for mobile use, are seen as interesting elements for future research.
Building Interactive Communication Tools to Support Interdisciplinary Responsible Innovation
Authors: Flipse Steven , Oude Vrielink Joric , Van der Sanden Maarten
Published: March 2019

Recent science policy encourages the installation of Responsible Research & Innovation (RRI) practices, which should help solve grand societal challenges and be more readily adopted by society. RRI may be implemented by setting up interdisciplinary innovation development teams, bringing together technical and non-technical experts from various disciplines and backgrounds, enabling engineers to let their work become inspired by – or even partly co-shaped by – societal insights and viewpoints, while societal actors get acquainted with techno-scientific context. We developed a Decision Support Tool to support interdisciplinary innovation teams, that visualizes innovation project performance and success chances. It supports communication and collaboration in interdisciplinary teams by proposing practical improvement areas, based on shared expertise, including socio-ethical, societal, economic and management related aspects. Still, further investigation is needed to learn how such a tool can be used to systematically integrate RRI in practice, to harness its full innovative potential.
Innovation and Big Data in Smart Service Systems
Authors: Maglio Paul P. , Lim Chie-Hyeon
Published: March 2019

As traditionally measured, services, which include everything from transportation to retail to healthcare to entertainment to hospitality and more, account for most economic activity. Taking a more modern view, we define service as value creation that occurs within systems of interacting economic actors. Service systems have been getting smarter over time, as big data analytics have been used to generate information and automate operations that create ever more value for people in the service systems. In this short letter, we describe some of our perspective on the use of big data analytics in smart service systems, suggesting one framework for thinking about big data in this context and outlining a set of research issues.
Data, Dialogue, and Innovation: Opportunities and Challenges for “Open Government” in Canada
Authors: Roy Jeffrey
Published: March 2019

In a rapidly evolving online environment where the inter-relationship between information and innovation is evolving from primarily closed and inward structures to much more open and networked governance arrangements, the public sector faces growing pressures and new opportunities to reform and adapt. Open data and big data are now widely embraced initiatives to spur innovation both inside of and outside of the public sector. Their capacity to foster innovation is nonetheless shaped by critical tensions between traditional government structures and culture on the one hand and more open and participative notions of governance on the other hand. Within such a context, this article examines the current Government of Canada Open Government Action Plan and its three main dimensions: information, data, and dialogue. The analysis reveals that despite some progress in the realm of open data, information and dialogue are constrained by the aforementioned tensions and the need for wider reforms to various architectural facets of the public sector – administratively, technologically, politically, and socially. Across each of these layers, we consider the sorts of wider reforms required in order to facilitate systemic innovation within the government and across sectors.
The Democratization of Science: Blue Ocean or Chimera?
Authors: Mention Anne-Laure , Pinto Ferreira João José , Torkkeli Marko
Published: March 2019

Knowledge builds on itself. Scientific progress is achieved through piecewise advances, and is based on the enlightenment of prior evidence and discoveries. Accessing prior information has been a tremendously complex venture for centuries, and restricted to the privileged few. Technological progress and namely, the advent of Internet have opened a world of possibilities, including the instant sharing and diffusion of information. Reaping the full benefits of technological advances has however been prevented by the prerogatives of the publishing industry, which have been increasingly challenged over the last two decades. Major historical milestones include the creation of ArXiv.org, an online repository of electronic preprints in 1991; the launch of SciELO in Brazil in 1997 and its extension to 14 countries; the foundation of PLOS by the Public Library of Science, established as an alternative to traditional publishing and nowadays known as PLOS ONE, which is by far the world’s largest series of journals with over 30,000 papers published in 2015; the Budapest Declaration on Open Access in 2002; the campaign Access2Research and the US Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act, a foundational piece in the establishment of Open Access in the USA; and the initiative of the European Commission to require all research publications funded under Horizon2020 to be openly accessible, free of charge.  All these initiatives converged towards the same aim: fostering free and unrestricted access to publications, so as to ensure the widespread and rapid diffusion of research findings within, across and outside scientific communities. (...)
Exploring Digital Service Innovation Process Through Value Creation
Authors: Häikiö Juha , Koivumäki Timo
Published: March 2019

Value is generated through the whole service innovation process in a complex collaborative networked ecosystem. This study aims to enhance understanding of value generation in digital service innovation process with an emphasis on information technology by developing an extended value generation process framework and evaluating on how it is applicable in a real-life networked retail service innovation context. The findings of the study suggest that multiple information technology (IT), process and business related factors affect value creation during the digital service innovation process. The role of information technology is multifaceted, providing both new opportunities and challenges in the service innovation context. The extended framework for exploring the service innovation process provides a more structured way to examine the complex, networked, service innovation ecosystems.
Coopetition at Elevator Pitch Events? A Case Study of Micro-activities at a Business Innovation Event
Authors: Rusko Rauno , Härkönen Katja , Liukkonen Sofia
Published: March 2019

Although coopetition studies often focus on innovations and knowledge creation, these studies often ignore three perspectives: coopetitive micro-activities, short-term coopetitive activities and short-term coopetitive micro-activities, especially as sources of innovations. This study takes the initiative to fill this gap using a case study example of the first (elevator) pitch event held in Finnish Lapland. The outcomes imply that management and innovation studies should also consider the importance of short-term innovation events and micro-activities in the coopetition and knowledge creation processes. These types of short-term collaborative and coopetitive micro-activities and practices might have long-term effects in the innovation paths of business.
Self-Transcendence: Maslow’s Answer to Cultural Closeness
Authors: J. Venter Henry
Published: March 2019

In the editorial, Revisiting Openness: A Must for Society (Mention, Ferreira & Torkkeli, 2016), the authors addresses the issue that despite predominance of openness in contemporary organizations – porous boundaries, virtual and agile teams, as well as interconnectedness, - Western Societies and some of their elected leaders are currently advocating closeness. They raised the questions: How we can build an inclusive society while rejecting difference? How can we achieve innovation when turning our backs on variety and diversity? And could the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs help the mechanics of these trends? This paper shows how Abraham Maslow, before he died, identified a sixth tier of need – self-transcendence – and how a worldwide focus among academia, organizational leaders and political leaders of countries can prevent closeness and isolation among countries and cultures all over the world.