What we talk about when we talk about "global mindset": managerial cognition in multinational corporations

Recent developments in the global economy and in multinational corporations have placed significant emphasis on the cognitive orientations of managers, giving rise to a number of concepts such as “global mindset” that are presumed to be associated with the effective management of multinational corporations (MNCs). This paper reviews the literature on global mindset and clarifies some of the conceptual confusion surrounding the construct. We identify common themes across writers, suggesting that the majority of studies fall into one of three research perspectives: cultural, strategic, and multidimensional. We also identify two constructs from the social sciences that underlie the perspectives found in the literature: cosmopolitanism and cognitive complexity and use these two constructs to develop an integrative theoretical framework of global mindset. We then provide a critical assessment of the field of global mindset and suggest directions for future theoretical and empirical research

A comparison of responses to raised extracellular potassium and endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) in rat pressurised mesenteric arteries

The present study examined the hypothesis that potassium ions act as an endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) released in response to ACh in small mesenteric arteries displaying myogenic tone. Small mesenteric arteries isolated from rats were set up in a pressure myograph at either 60 or 90 mmHg. After developing myogenic tone, responses to raising extracellular potassium were compared to those obtained with ACh (in the presence of nitric oxide synthase and cyclo- oxygenase inhibitors). The effects of barium and ouabain, or capsaicin, on responses to raised extracellular potassium or ACh were also determined. The effects of raised extracellular potassium levels and ACh on membrane potential, were measured using sharp microelectrodes in pressurised arteries. Rat small mesenteric arteries developed myogenic tone when pressurised. On the background of vascular tone set by a physiological stimulus (i.e pressure), ACh fully dilated the small arteries in a concentration-dependent manner. This response was relatively insensitive to the combination of barium and ouabain, and insensitive to capsaicin. Raising extracellular potassium produced a more inconsistent and modest vasodilator response in pressurised small mesenteric arteries. Responses to raising extracellular potassium were sensitive to capsaicin, and the combination of barium and ouabain. ACh caused a substantial hyperpolarisation in pressurized arteries, while raising extracellular potassium did not. These data indicate that K+ is not the EDHF released in response to ACh in myogenically active rat mesenteric small arteries. Since the hyperpolarization produced by ACh was sensitive to carbenoxolone, gap junctions are the likely mediator of EDH responses under physiological conditions

TRPA1 is essential for the vascular response to environmental cold exposure

This work was supported by the British Heart Foundation and a Capacity Building Award in Integrative Mammalian Biology. It was also supported by Arthritis Research UK and XK is supported by a British Pharmacological Society AJ Clark studentship

Environmentally Realistic Exposure to the Herbicide Atrazine Alters Some Sexually Selected Traits in Male Guppies

Male mating signals, including ornaments and courtship displays, and other sexually selected traits, like male-male aggression, are largely controlled by sex hormones. Environmental pollutants, notably endocrine disrupting compounds, can interfere with the proper functioning of hormones, thereby impacting the expression of hormonally regulated traits. Atrazine, one of the most widely used herbicides, can alter sex hormone levels in exposed animals. I tested the effects of environmentally relevant atrazine exposures on mating signals and behaviors in male guppies, a sexually dimorphic freshwater fish. Prolonged atrazine exposure reduced the expression of two honest signals: the area of orange spots (ornaments) and the number of courtship displays performed. Atrazine exposure also reduced aggression towards competing males in the context of mate competition. In the wild, exposure levels vary among individuals because of differential distribution of the pollutants across habitats; hence, differently impacted males often compete for the same mates. Disrupted mating signals can reduce reproductive success as females avoid mating with perceptibly suboptimal males. Less aggressive males are at a competitive disadvantage and lose access to females. This study highlights the effects of atrazine on ecologically relevant mating signals and behaviors in exposed wildlife. Altered reproductive traits have important implications for population dynamics, evolutionary patterns, and conservation of wildlife species

Current Status of a Model System: The Gene Gp-9 and Its Association with Social Organization in Fire Ants

The Gp-9 gene in fire ants represents an important model system for studying the evolution of social organization in insects as well as a rich source of information relevant to other major evolutionary topics. An important feature of this system is that polymorphism in social organization is completely associated with allelic variation at Gp-9, such that single-queen colonies (monogyne form) include only inhabitants bearing B-like alleles while multiple-queen colonies (polygyne form) additionally include inhabitants bearing b-like alleles. A recent study of this system by Leal and Ishida (2008) made two major claims, the validity and significance of which we examine here. After reviewing existing literature, analyzing the methods and results of Leal and Ishida (2008), and generating new data from one of their study sites, we conclude that their claim that polygyny can occur in Solenopsis invicta in the U.S.A. in the absence of expression of the b-like allele Gp-9b is unfounded. Moreover, we argue that available information on insect OBPs (the family of proteins to which GP-9 belongs), on the evolutionary/population genetics of Gp-9, and on pheromonal/behavioral control of fire ant colony queen number fails to support their view that GP-9 plays no role in the chemosensory-mediated communication that underpins regulation of social organization. Our analyses lead us to conclude that there are no new reasons to question the existing consensus view of the Gp-9 system outlined in Gotzek and Ross (2007)

Metaphor in Chemistry: An Examination of Chemical Metaphor

The function of metaphor in science has been labeled as decorative, persuasive, heuristic, instrumental, facilitating or obstructing. It has sometimes been regarded as inspiring, provoking, perverting or destroying rational thought. Metaphor’s positive role has been noted by philosophers, historians of chemistry, and science education researchers. It has been hailed as a descriptive and explanatory device that stimulates and shapes concept development. I discuss how metaphor functions in science generally, then refine this idea through an examination metaphor’s role in chemical thinking in three contexts: the history and philosophy of chemistry, laboratory research practice, and chemical education. I aim to show how metaphor is already operative in the chemist’s use of the concept of chemical element and that this understanding characterizes chemical thinking in general. The chapter concludes with a discussion of a specifically chemical understanding of metaphor