The Mondragon Case: Companies Addressing Social Impact and Dialogic Methodologies

Mondragon Cooperative (MC) is one of the most outstanding examples of worker cooperatives in history. It has maintained its cooperative values along its trajectory, being competitive in the international market since 1956, under the motto: ‘Humanity at work’. Recently, scientific research has focused on impact, which has led to the emergence of the Successful Cooperative Actions (SCAs). Based on the case of MC, the scientific literature has identified key actions of this business model that can be transferred to other corporate contexts. Using a methodological approach, it is key to identify the SCAs that MC implements, which could apply to other cooperatives with similar principles but not the same success. This study aims to analyse the methodological innovation in qualitative research when the aim is focused on the transferability of the social impact of MC to other contexts. This paper shows that research focussing on the identification of SCAs modifies qualitative methodology by focussing on the transferability of actions to obtain social impact

Participation and Organizational Commitment in the Mondragon Group

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the National R&D Program under the grant number CSO2011-26179.The scientific literature has shown Mondragon Corporation (MC), with 65 years of history, as a clear example that cooperativism can be highly competitive in the capitalist market while being highly egalitarian and democratic. This cooperative group has focused on its corporate values of cooperation, participation, social responsibility, and innovation. Previous scientific research reports its enormous transformative and emancipatory potential. However, studies on the effects of various types of worker participation on competitiveness and workers’ psychological wellbeing in this cooperative group exist to a lesser extent. Specifically, one aspect that needs further empirical research and that represents a competitive advantage for Mondragon is the degree of commitment and emotional attachment that can be observed in the people who work there. For this reason, this article aims to identify key elements of the democratic participation of workers in these cooperatives that relate to the development of organizational commitment. Based on a communicative and qualitative approach, data collection included 29 interviews to different profiles of workers (senior and junior workers, members and non-members of the cooperative, and researchers involved in the cooperatives) from eight different cooperatives of the Corporation. Through this research methodology, the participants interpret their reality through egalitarian and intersubjective dialogue because their voices are considered essential to measure the social impact. This study found three different ways in which the democratic participation of worker-members in management and ownership contributes to developing affective organizational commitment among those working in Mondragon cooperatives, generating positive psychological and economic outcomes for both workers and cooperatives.Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the National RD Program CSO2011-2617

Believers, Attractiveness and Values

This research and the APC was funded by GRESUD. Research Group in Education to Overcome Inequalities.The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponcig author. The data are not publicly available due to assure anonymity and privacy of the participants.Societies are undergoing an intensive process of transformation, and the role that religion plays in guiding such rapid changes remains underexplored. In recent decades, postmodern discourse has hindered the attractiveness of involvement in religious affairs and reading sacred books, highlighting how "uncool" and useless these practices are in responding to current daily life challenges. Decades of research have evidenced the positive impact of reading the most precious universal literary creations. Since sacred books are considered universal texts, this study explores the potential of dialogic interreligious gatherings (DIGs) focused on sacred books to enhance the attractiveness of key values such as love, kindness, humility, and generosity. These spaces are grounded in strong principles that guarantee the freedom of participants. This context opens up a possibility of discussing sacred books in a dialogic and egalitarian space where everyone's voice is heard. In this context, especially in times where freedom is jeopardized in many spheres, believers from different faiths and nonbelievers engage in dialogues and relate sacred book content to their personal experiences and current social challenges. The communicative analysis conducted shows that DIGs drive the attractiveness of fundamental values present in sacred books, creating possibilities to enhance their effects in spurring personal and social change.GRESU

Dones i ciència. La transversalitat de gènere en el marc de la recerca europea

Postprint (published version

El Papel de las Redes Sociales para Contrarrestar la Estigmatización hacia los Hombres Homosexuales y Bisexuales en Relación con la Viruela del Mono

Research on the effects of social media has evidenced their influence on public opinion concerning health issues. However, there are scarce analyses that pay attention to this influence when health advice generalizes certain groups’ sexual practices. This generalization occurred with monkeypox, men who have sex with men, after two World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations launched in 2022. Therefore, this is the issue that will be deeply explored in the article. Drawing on the methodological strategy of social media analytics (SMA), 2313 tweets have been reviewed focused on people’s reactions in front of WHO’s statements of July 2022 about monkeypox and men who have sex with men behaviours. Findings illustrate that there is positioning against the generalizations caused due to WHO’s statement creating a public discourse against the stigma of homosexual and bisexual men. This positioning is directly linked with people’s claims to follow the evidence and valid claims on public health issues. Using social networks for claiming the use of rigorous data and evidence may contribute to a significant change in public opinion and health organizations.Las investigaciones sobre los efectos de las redes sociales han puesto de manifiesto su influencia en la opinión pública sobre cuestiones de salud. Sin embargo, son escasos los análisis que prestan atención a esta influencia cuando los consejos sanitarios generalizan las prácticas sexuales de determinados grupos. Esta generalización se produjo con la viruela del mono, los hombres que tienen relaciones sexuales con hombres, tras dos recomendaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) lanzadas en 2022. Por lo tanto, esta es la cuestión que se explorará en profundidad en el artículo. A partir de la estrategia metodológica de social media analytics (SMA), se han revisado 2313 tweets centrados en las reacciones de la gente ante las declaraciones de la OMS de julio de 2022 sobre la viruela del mono y los comportamientos de los hombres que tienen sexo con hombres. Los resultados ilustran que existe un posicionamiento en contra de las generalizaciones causadas por la declaración de la OMS creando un discurso público contra el estigma de los hombres homosexuales y bisexuales. Este posicionamiento está directamente relacionado con la reivindicación de las personas de seguir la evidencia y las reivindicaciones válidas en temas de salud pública. El uso de las redes sociales para reivindicar el uso de datos y pruebas rigurosas puede contribuir a un cambio significativo en la opinión pública y en las organizaciones sanitarias

Research agenda to engage citizens in science through social media communicative observations

This article draws on the knowledge created by the coordinator of the H2020 project ALLINTERACT: Widening and diversifying citizen engagement in science. This project was selected and funded by the European Commission under Grant Agreement No. 872396. This work was funded by ALLINTERACT, Widening and Diversifying Citizen Engagement in Science (European Commission, Horizon 2020) under grant agreement No 872396. This work was supported by the European Social Fund and the Spanish Agency of Research under Ramon y Cajal grant number RYC2018-025860-I.Social media has expanded the possibilities for citizens around the world to share knowledge and interact about scientific advancements, facilitating to raise public awareness of and interest in science. Amidst this context, scientists in all disciplines are intensifying the use of social media as a data source to capture what citizens express about their achievements, beyond dissemination purposes. Content analysis is the generalised method used by researchers to explore the interactions of citizens in social media about science. In this commentary paper, we explore the social media communicative observations as an emerging technique in the social media analytics to include the communicative dimension of science in the analysis of interactions between scientists and citizens. The implications to empower dialogically the social media communities interested in science are shared.European Union (EU) European Commission Joint Research Centre 872396ALLINTERACT, Widening and Diversifying Citizen Engagement in Science (European Commission Horizon 2020) 872396European Social Fund (ESF)Spanish Agency of Research under Ramon y Cajal RYC2018-025860-

Create Solidarity Networks: Dialogs in Reddit to Overcome Depression and Suicidal Ideation among Males

The emerging scientific literature examines masculinity and gender roles as risk factors for suicide ideation or suicide in young adults and adolescents. In this vein, recent studies show that certain traditional masculine norms are related to poorer mental health-related outcomes, which influences suicide and suicide ideation. This study contributes with new understandings about the associations between masculinity and suicidal ideation among males through Reddit debates in English. The posts with more interactions referring to masculinity in the topics gender and education have been selected on Reddit, emphasizing transformative personal experiences potentially helping avoid suicide ideation. Through the analysis of Reddit posts, it is shown how users can generate spaces to express the diverse ways to live with masculinity. The discussions on Reddit in the different areas selected demonstrate the existence of proposals on how to overcome fears and facilitate relaxation of norms regarding self-reliance to encourage help-seeking when feeling depressed and therefore at greater risk of suicide ideation. The results highlight the potential importance of platforms such as Reddit to create solidarity networks, showing multiple ways of being a man and demystifying dominant masculinity by sharing different experiences

PI3K Pathway Mutations and PTEN Levels in Primary and Metastatic Breast Cancer

The purpose of this work was to determine whether there are differences in PIK3CA mutation status and PTEN protein expression between primary and matched metastatic breast tumors as this could influence patient management. Fifty-micron paraffin sections were used for DNA extraction and 3-micron slides for immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH). ER, PR and HER2 IHC were repeated in a central laboratory for both primary and metastasis. PTEN levels were assessed by IHC and PI3K pathway mutations detected by a mass spectroscopy-based approach. Median age was 48 years (range, 30 to 83 years). Tumor subtype included 72% hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative, 20% HER2-positive, and less than 7.8% triple receptor negative. Tissues were available for PTEN IHC in 46 primary tumors and 52 metastases. PTEN was lost in 14 (30%) primary tumors and 13 (25%) metastases. There were 5 cases of PTEN loss and eight cases of PTEN gain from primary to metastasis (26% discordance). Adequate DNA was obtained on 46 primary tumors and on 50 metastases for PIK3CA analysis. PIK3CA mutations were detected in 19 (40%) of primary tumors and 21 (42%) of metastases. There were five cases of PIK3CA mutation loss, and four cases of mutation gain (18% discordance). There was an increase of the level of PIK3CA mutations in four cases, and decrease in one from primary to metastasis. There is a high level of discordance in PTEN level, PIK3CA mutations, and receptor status between primary and metastatic disease that may influence patient selection and response to PI3K-targeted therapies

MicroRNA-33b Suppresses Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Repressing the MYC-EZH2 Pathway in HER2+ Breast Carcinoma

Downregulation of miR-33b has been documented in many types of cancers and is being involved in proliferation, migration, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Furthermore, the enhancer of zeste homolog 2-gene (EZH2) is a master regulator of controlling the stem cell differentiation and the cell proliferation processes. We aim to evaluate the implication of miR-33b in the EMT pathway in HER2+ breast cancer (BC) and to analyze the role of EZH2 in this process as well as the interaction between them. miR-33b is downregulated in HER2+ BC cells vs healthy controls, where EZH2 has an opposite expression in vitro and in patients' samples. The upregulation of miR-33b suppressed proliferation, induced apoptosis, reduced invasion, migration and regulated EMT by an increase of E-cadherin and a decrease of ß-catenin and vimentin. The silencing of EZH2 mimicked the impact of miR-33b overexpression. Furthermore, the inhibition of miR-33b induces cell proliferation, invasion, migration, EMT, and EZH2 expression in non-tumorigenic cells. Importantly, the Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a significant association between high miR-33b expression and better overall survival. These results suggest miR-33b as a suppressive miRNA that could inhibit tumor metastasis and invasion in HER2+ BC partly by impeding EMT through the repression of the MYC-EZH2 loop

Loss of Heterozygosity at the CYP2D6 Locus in Breast Cancer: Implications for Germline Pharmacogenetic Studies

Controversy exists regarding the impact of CYP2D6 genotype on tamoxifen responsiveness. We examined loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the CYP2D6 locus and determined its impact on genotyping error when tumor tissue is used as a DNA source