Attempts to quantify mitochondrial DNA deletions in Single Drosophila melanogaster flies

Research to date has not clearly described the role mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions may have in normal ageing. Therefore, a high throughput method of mtDNA deletion detection and quantification is required. The goal of this project was to develop such an assay using individual Drosophila melanogaster, which allowed for rapid generation of aged animals and manipulation of conditions which could affect deletion generation. An assay composed of DNA extraction and Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (QPCR) was designed for deletion amplification. Primers were designed to amplify deletions within the cytochrome oxidase (COX) region with primers in nadh ubiquinone oxidoreductase 1 (ND1) used as a control to quantify total mtDNA. Optimising QPCR methods for specific primer pairs improved target amplification and replicability. Redesign of an existing DNA extraction kit improved overall mtDNA yield for assay development but still lacked consistency. QPCR inhibitors present in commercial extraction kits were present in minor concentrations in extracts and likely impacted amplification efficiency. The lack of sufficient mtDNA extraction from single Drosophila for consistent deletion amplification lead to mispriming and nonspecific amplification of nuclear DNA (nDNA). Repeated amplification of one deletion across multiple extracts suggests QPCR preferentially amplifies the shortest available target sequence, corresponding to the largest deletion. Redesign of the DNA extraction method to yield higher mtDNA concentration whilst reducing inhibitors would assist in reducing nonspecific amplification. mtDNA enrichment may be required to remove nDNA if nonspecific amplification still occurs. Differential amplification of deletions depending on size renders comparison and quantification difficult. Targeted amplification of a specific common deletion may eliminate this issue at the cost of quantifying just one deletion. The likelihood of single Drosophila harbouring sufficient numbers of a specific deletion should be determined to assess if quantification of mtDNA deletion levels in single Drosophila is viable

Why everyone does better when employees have a say in the workplace

In February, workers in a Tennessee Volkswagen plant voted against union representation, something that William Lazonick and Tony Huzzard say is unfortunate. They write that to compete on the world stage, a strong employee voice in the workplace matters. Using case-studies of automotive companies in Germany, Sweden and the U.S., they argue that compromises between the financial interests of shareholders and the productive interests of employees can lead to considerable success. High-performance workplaces, characterized by “high road” jobs in which productivity improvements and pay increases go hand in hand, are critical to sustained competitive advantage

Transnational communities for dismantling detention: From Manus Island to the UK

Behrouz Boochani published No Friend but the Mountains: Writing From Manus Prison in 2018 which went on to win the 2019 Victorian Prize for Literature while he was still incarcerated in Manus Prison. Since its publication the book has attracted a great deal of worldwide attention, particualrly from UK academics – it was released in the UK in 2019. Prior to winning Australia’s richest literary award his film Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time had its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival and its international premiere at the BFI London Film Festival. The feature-length film has also been screened at numerous UK universities. In February 2020 Behrouz and translator Omid Tofighian engaged with academics and activists in the UK over a series of events; this article is an edited version of various conversations that emerged from these collaborations and critically discusses the global nature of border violence and the colonial ideology at the heart of immigration detention

A small-N cross-sectional study of British unions' environmental attitudes and activism - and the prospect of a green-led renewal

Unions understand the environmental agenda as a technocentric one but also believe it can function as a vehicle for renewal. It is developing slowly, with unions behaving cautiously—resources are scarce. Although popular with members, there is limited evidence that it is effective as a recruitment tool and whilst employers are willing to work in partnership with unions on it, this may confer only phony insider status. Overall, the agenda has limited appeal to the types of employees and employers unions must recruit in order to grow. Identifying a clear environmental premium for members may help

Academic Arrhythmia: Disruption, Dissonance and Conflict in the Early-Career Rhythms of CMS Academics

Starting a career on the margins of the neoliberal business school is becoming increasingly challenging. We contribute to the understanding of the problems involved and to potential solutions by developing a theoretically-informed approach to the rhythms of academic life and drawing on interviews with 32 Critical Management Studies (CMS) early-career academics (ECAs) in 14 countries. Bringing together Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis (and his concepts of polyrhythmia, eurhythmia and arrhythmia), Zerubavel’s sociology of time, and identity construction literature, we examine the rhythm-identity implications of the recent HE changes. We show how the dynamics between the broader pressures, institutional strategies, and our interviewees’ attempts to reassert themselves are creating a vicious circle of arrhythmia – a debilitating condition characterized by rhythmic disruption, dissonance and conflict. Within the circle, identity insecurity and regulation, CMS ECAs’ identity work, and arrhythmia are mutually co-constructive, so that it is hard for individuals to break out. We consider the possibilities and limitations of individual coping strategies and, drawing out lessons for business schools, advocate for more collective and structural solutions. In so doing, we contribute to the reimagining of business schools as more eurhythmically polyrhythmic places where ECAs of all intellectual orientations have the time to learn and develop

Gendering the careers of young professionals: some early findings from a longitudinal study. in Organizing/theorizing: developments in organization theory and practice

Wonders whether companies actually have employees best interests at heart across physical, mental and spiritual spheres. Posits that most organizations ignore their workforce – not even, in many cases, describing workers as assets! Describes many studies to back up this claim in theis work based on the 2002 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference, in Cardiff, Wales