Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to report on the results of research into the precedence of the maturity factors, or key turning points in business process maturity (BPM) implementation efforts. A key turning point is a component of BPM that stabilizes within an organization and leads to the next maturity level. Design/methodology/approach-Several years of data from over 1,000 companies in the USA, Europe, China, and Brazil that have completed a BPM assessment are analyzed to identify which components of BPM stabilize, when and in what order. Different analysis methods are employed in order to identify global commonalities and differences. Findings-The paper identifies key turning points from several different perspectives using several different approaches and develops some conclusions common to all methods used in this research. Research limitations/implications-The relationship between the components (dependencies) is only suggested but not statistically analyzed. Several data sets are also on the low end of sample size for the methods used and some parts of the research used ad hoc selection of companies of arbitrarily distributed companies into different groups. Practical implications-The results can be useful for leaders and teams that are attempting the journey to process maturity. The guide-posts, milestones, and measures can help answer the question "Where am I on this journey and what is next?" Originality/value-A plethora of maturity models has emerged that claim to guide an organization through the process of building levels of maturity that lead to competitive advantage. To date, there has been a lack of quantitative studies documenting these road-maps. The paper provides global, quantitative evidence of the critical maturity components associated at each level of maturity.

Abstract. To realise an Ambient Intelligence environment, it is paramount that applications can dispose of information about the context in which they operate, preferably in a very general manner. For this purpose various types of information should be assembled to form a representation of the context of the device on which aforementioned applications run. To allow interoperability in an Ambient Intelligence environment, it is necessary that the context terminology is commonly understood by all participating devices. In this paper we propose an adaptable and extensible context ontology for creating context-aware computing infrastructures, ranging from small embedded devices to high-end service platforms. The ontology has been designed to solve several key challenges in Ambient Intelligence, such as application adaptation, automatic code generation and code mobility, and generation of device specific user interfaces.

The benefits of using urine for the detection of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA have been evaluated in disease surveillance, epidemiological studies, and screening for cervical cancers in specific subgroups. HPV DNA testing in urine is being considered for important purposes, notably the monitoring of HPV vaccination in adolescent girls and young women who do not wish to have a vaginal examination. The need to optimize and standardize sampling, storage, and processing has been reported.In this paper, we examined the impact of a DNA-conservation buffer, the extraction method, and urine sampling on the detection of HPV DNA and human DNA in urine provided by 44 women with a cytologically normal but HPV DNA-positive cervical sample. Ten women provided first-void and midstream urine samples. DNA analysis was performed using real-time PCR to allow quantification of HPV and human DNA.The results showed that an optimized method for HPV DNA detection in urine should (a) prevent DNA degradation during extraction and storage, (b) recover cell-free HPV DNA in addition to cell-associated DNA, (c) process a sufficient volume of urine, and (d) use a first-void sample.In addition, we found that detectable human DNA in urine may not be a good internal control for sample validity. HPV prevalence data that are based on urine samples collected, stored, and/or processed under suboptimal conditions may underestimate infection rates.

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Purpose -In contemporary businesses, the importance of knowledge workers and the knowledge intensive business processes (KIBPs) is ever increasing, yet they seem very hard to control and manage. The purpose of this paper is to grasp the specific characteristics of KIBPs and how they differ from non-knowledge intensive business processes (non-KIBP), also to question how organizations are using business process management (BPM) to manage and improve KIBPs. The differences in maturity and effectiveness of both types of processes are also evaluated. Design/methodology/approach -Data for this research were collected through an online survey. The survey was designed based on a previously conducted exploratory study with semi-structured interviews as well as the literature. The target group was BPM practitioners and the final sample included 98 respondents. Due to non-normality, the analyses were conducted with non-parametric tests. The research questions were analysed using Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman's correlations. Findings -It was found that KIBP and non-KIBP have clearly different characteristics, such as the level of complexity, repeatability and creativity required. Also it was found that these processes are not managed or improved differently than non-KIBPs, and suggest that organizations need to take these differences into consideration while managing and improving these processes. Furthermore, the results suggest that applying methodologies that aim to provide operational improvements may not necessarily produce the best results for KIBPs. Originality/value -The paper answers a call for further development of the body of knowledge on knowledge-intensive business processes, a rapidly emerging field of interest for BPM practitioners, where a clear gap in literature exists.

The objective of this study is twofold: (1) to draw up a scale for the measurement of the construct ‘provocation’, and (2) to study the communication effects of provocation in print advertisements. On the basis of an initial set of eighty‐nine print advertisements, a fifteen‐item internally consistent provocation scale is constructed. A set of twenty provocative and non‐provocative stimuli is extensively tested with a group of 170 respondents. Provocation seems to be a phenomenon which, overall, occurs to the same extent in all consumer segments. Provocation leads to less product category and brand name recognition and to a more negative attitude towards the advertisement (Aad), although it does not seem to affect the attitude towards the brand (Ab) nor the intention to buy the product. Negative attitudes towards the advertisements are not carried over into negative attitudes towards the brands, which can also be inferred from the weak correlation between Aad and Ab.

Collaborative robots or co-bots are a category of robots that are designed to work together with humans. By combining the strength of the robot such as precision and strength with the dexterity and problem-solving ability of the human, it is possible to achieve tasks that cannot be fully automated and improve the production quality and working conditions of workers. This paper presents the results of the ClaXon project which aims to study and implement interactions between humans and collaborative robots in factories. The project has led to the integration of a co-bot in the car manufacturing production plant of Audi Brussels in Belgium. Proofs of concepts were realized to study multimodal perceptions for human-robot interaction. The project addressed technical challenges regarding the introduction of collaborative robots on the factory floor. Social experiments were conducted with factory workers to assess the social acceptance of co-bots and study the interactions between the human and the robot.

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