The interpretations and uses of fitness landscapes in the social sciences

__Abstract__ This working paper precedes our full article entitled “The evolution of Wright’s (1932) adaptive field to contemporary interpretations and uses of fitness landscapes in the social sciences” as published in the journal Biology & Philosophy (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10539-014-9450-2). The working paper features an extended literature overview of the ways in which fitness landscapes have been interpreted and used in the social sciences, for which there was not enough space in the full article. The article features an in-depth philosophical discussion about the added value of the various ways in which fitness landscapes are used in the social sciences. This discussion is absent in the current working paper. Th

Institutional Analysis and Collective Mobilisation in a comparative assessment of two Cooperatives in India

There is a strong case for studying cooperatives as alternative forms of work organisation. In their reach and economic significance cooperatives may offer an alternative organisational form for creating and maintaining employment in the current global economic climate. Yet, their importance is underestimated because the debate between the proponents and sceptics of cooperatives remain at a high level of abstraction and oscillates between two extremes: their alternative potential as an emancipatory organisational form; a context of radical struggles that is difficult to sustain indefinitely; and the degeneration of their principles and values when distorted by the market competition of the capitalist system. This chapter argues that an institutional analysis, in conjunction with the role of collective mobilisation, may yield a more fruitful way forward in the assessment of cooperatives. The analysis undertaken in this chapter restates the tension between the workplace emancipatory potential of cooperatives vis-a-vis the wider competitive environment at an intermediate level of analysis. Conceptualising the cooperatives as settlement of political processes, the chapter aims to show that it is the dialectics of institutional development and class mobilisation that influence and determine the differing nature and trajectory of cooperatives through a comparative analysis of two cooperative in two states in India

Juno is the egg Izumo receptor and is essential for mammalian fertilization

Fertilisation occurs when sperm and egg recognise each other and fuse to form a new, genetically distinct organism. The molecular basis of sperm-egg recognition is unknown, but is likely to require interactions between receptor proteins displayed on their surface. Izumo1 is an essential sperm cell surface protein, but its egg receptor has remained a mystery. Here, we identify Juno as the receptor for Izumo1 on mouse eggs, and show this interaction is conserved within mammals. Female mice lacking Juno are infertile and Juno-deficient eggs do not fuse with normal sperm. Rapid shedding of Juno from the oolemma after fertilisation suggests a mechanism for the membrane block to polyspermy, ensuring eggs normally fuse with just a single sperm. Our discovery of an essential receptor pair at the nexus of conception provides opportunities for the rational development of new fertility treatments and contraceptives