Lean towards learning: connecting Lean Thinking and human resource management in UK higher education

From its origins in the automotive industry, Lean Thinking is increasingly being seen as a solution to problems of efficiency and quality in other industries and sectors. In recent years attempts have been made to transfer Lean principles and practice to the higher education sector with indications of mixed consequences and debate over its suitability. This paper contributes to the debate by drawing evidence from thirty-four interviews conducted across two UK universities that have implemented Lean in some of their activities and we pay particular attention to the role of the HR function in facilitating its introduction. The findings suggest there are problems in understanding, communicating and transferring Lean Thinking in the higher education context; that, despite HR systems being vital facets of Lean, HR professionals are excluded from participation; and that as a consequence the depth and breadth of Lean application in the two institutions is very limited

Cultivar‐dependent increases in mycorrhizal nutrient acquisition by barley in response to elevated CO2

Societal Impact Statement Modern agriculture is under pressure to meet yield targets while reducing reliance on finite resources to improve sustainability. Climate change represents an additional challenge—elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations may increase plant growth and boost yield, but the nutritional value of crops grown at elevated CO2 is often reduced. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can improve plant nutrition, although how this symbiosis will be affected by climate change is unclear. Here, we demonstrate mycorrhizal contribution to nitrogen and phosphorus nutrition in barley under current and future CO2 concentrations. In one cultivar, AMF substantially increased phosphorus uptake at elevated CO2 and prevented phosphorus dilution, suggesting the symbiosis may become more important for crop nutrient uptake in the future. Summary Globally important cereals such as barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) often engage in symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The impact of elevated atmospheric CO2 on nutrient exchange between these symbionts remains unknown. In controlled environment experiments, we used isotope tracers (15N, 33P, 14C) to quantify nutrient fluxes between two barley cultivars (Moonshine and Riviera) and their associated AMF at ambient (440 ppm) and elevated (800 ppm) CO2. Elevated CO2 reduced shoot N concentration in Moonshine, and shoot N and P concentration in Riviera. Elevated CO2 substantially increased mycorrhizal 33P acquisition in Moonshine. Mycorrhizal contribution to P uptake in Moonshine may have prevented dilution of tissue P concentration at elevated CO2. In Riviera, AMF did not improve 33P acquisition. Both cultivars received 15N from their AMF symbionts, and this acquisition was not influenced by CO2 concentration, although Moonshine received more 15N than Riviera. Our results suggest that AMF may provide substantial contributions to barley nutrition at current and projected future CO2 concentrations. This is especially noteworthy for barley, which is generally considered to have low mycorrhizal receptivity. AMF may help alleviate or avoid nutrient dilution normally observed at elevated CO2. Variation between cultivars indicates that mycorrhizal contribution to cereal nutrition could be improved through selective breeding practices

New technologies for 3D realization in Art and Design practice

As digital design technologies become ever more widespread, CAD-CAM, virtual and rapid prototyping techniques are increasingly being exploited by creative practitioners working in areas outside the industrial design and engineering contexts in which these technologies are currently predominantly employed. This review paper aims to critically examine work by artists, craft practitioners, and designer-makers who creatively engage with these new and rapidly emerging technologies and, by doing so, extend their own practice and push at the boundaries of art and design disciplines. Historic precedents for new 3D technologies in the fine and applied arts are identified, and writing by Heidegger, Baudrillard, and Virilio informs the critical review of work by art and design practitioners in sculpture, metalwork, jewellery, and ceramics. The discussion reflects on relationships between art and technology and physical and virtual making, and concludes by pointing to the possibility of new “hybrid” forms of practice which bridge the gap between physical and virtual design worlds. The paper closes by suggesting that the notion of “truth to materials” in the arts and crafts might now be extended to one of “truth to virtual materials”, as practitioners creatively negotiate relationships between digital cause and physical effect

Development Discourse and Practice: Alternatives and New Directions from Postcolonial Perspectives

Development and aid programs, such as those aimed at promoting economic growth and prosperity in ‘Third World’ nations and transition economies, often arise out of Western and neo-liberal policy ideologies and practices. These programs may, in some cases, provide useful guidelines for restructuring institutional structures and governance mechanisms in nations that have long struggled with poverty, economic instability, health crises, and social and political turmoil. However, a growing number of critical voices are raising concerns over the guiding assumptions and inclusiveness of these policies and programs in their aims to promote economic development and social well-being in non-Western nations. We join these critical perspectives by way of postcolonial frameworks to highlight some of the problematic assumptions and oversights of development programs, while offering new alternatives and directions. By doing so, we contribute to organizational theorizing in a global context, as postcolonial insights provide much needed engagement with international aid policies and programs, as well as development organizations and institutions. To accomplish this, we offer a historical perspective on development, present a critique of the policies and practices guiding many aid programs, and conclude with suggestions emanating from postcoloniality

Building the New Europe: Western and Eastern Roads to Social Partnership

[Excerpt] While the ways in which neoliberalism and economic integration undermine social partnership and the welfare state have been extensively studied, less attention has been given to the ways in which such economic forces may push actors together, in reinvigorated bargaining relationships, to find workable solutions to difficult problems. In his article, we examine the contemporary status of social partnership in four case study countries—Germany, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria and Poland—as well as for Europe as a whole. In the west, while Germany presents a case of established social partnership under pressure, the United Kingdom has stood over the past two decades on the opposite neoliberal side. In the east, Bulgaria is one of the more developed cases of post-communist tripartism, while Poland exemplifies a weaker tripartism that emerged at a later stage of the transformation process. In selecting more and less developed social partnership cases in both west and east, we test the argument that the rise of Thatcher/Reagan/ Friedman ‘free market economics’ is paradoxically driving a resurgence and consolidation of social partnership relations across the new (both western and eastern) Europe

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Chemical Defence : Effects of Colonisation on Aboveground and Belowground Metabolomes

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) colonisation of plant roots is one of the most ancient and widespread interactions in ecology, yet the systemic consequences for plant secondary chemistry remain unclear. We performed the first metabolomic investigation into the impact of AMF colonisation by Rhizophagus irregularis on the chemical defences, spanning above- and below-ground tissues, in its host-plant ragwort (Senecio jacobaea). We used a non-targeted metabolomics approach to profile, and where possible identify, compounds induced by AMF colonisation in both roots and shoots. Metabolomics analyses revealed that 33 compounds were significantly increased in the root tissue of AMF colonised plants, including seven blumenols, plant-derived compounds known to be associated with AMF colonisation. One of these was a novel structure conjugated with a malonyl-sugar and uronic acid moiety, hitherto an unreported combination. Such structural modifications of blumenols could be significant for their previously reported functional roles associated with the establishment and maintenance of AM colonisation. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), key anti-herbivore defence compounds in ragwort, dominated the metabolomic profiles of root and shoot extracts. Analyses of the metabolomic profiles revealed an increase in four PAs in roots (but not shoots) of AMF colonised plants, with the potential to protect colonised plants from below-ground organisms

Current progress in positive and negative ion modes of a laser ionization mass spectrometer equipped with CosmOrbitrap development - Applicability to in situ analysis of ocean worlds

Since the beginning of the space era, mass spectrometry is a reliable technique for in situ characterisation of ions and molecules detected in various planetary environments. It has been crucial for the analysis of compounds found in ocean worlds vicinity, such as Enceladus’ plumes. The study of the chemical complexity of the environments of the ocean worlds would benefit from the design of a new generation of instruments to allow an exhaustive characterization of them. Among the many objectives of space missions is the search for potential chemical biosignatures on ocean worlds. The precise and unequivocal identification of these biosignatures would be done by mass spectrometers able to perform analyses with a high mass resolving power and high mass accuracy. Efforts are on-going to develop for future space explorations High Resolution Mass Spectrometer instruments (Arevalo et al., 2020) with a space qualified version of the Orbitrap mass analyser, the CosmOrbitrap. Coupled with a commercial laser ionization source, it has demonstrated promising performances in positive ion mode in terms of mass resolution, mass accuracy and isotopic ratio measurements. This work focuses on the performance achievements with the negative ion mode recently implemented. A study has been performed with a ruggedized spaceflight CosmOrbitrap mass analyser at technical readiness level of 5 at the dual ion polarity to determine the efficiency of the instrument to detect and identify organic molecules of prebiotic interest when embedded in magnesium and sodium salts matrix. These results illustrate the potential of the CosmOrbitrap mass analyser for future in situ analysis of ocean worlds as Europa and Enceladus