Age Affects the Expression of Maternal Care and Subsequent Behavioural Development of Offspring in a Precocial Bird

Variations of breeding success with age have been studied largely in iteroparous species and particularly in birds: survival of offspring increases with parental age until senescence. Nevertheless, these results are from observations of free-living individuals and therefore, it remains impossible to determine whether these variations result from parental investment or efficiency or both, and whether these variations occur during the prenatal or the postnatal stage or during both. Our study aimed first, to determine whether age had an impact on the expression of maternal breeding care by comparing inexperienced female birds of two different ages, and second, to define how these potential differences impact chicks’ growth and behavioural development. We made 22 2-month-old and 22 8-month-old female Japanese quail foster 1-day-old chicks. We observed their maternal behaviour until the chicks were 11 days old and then tested these chicks after separation from their mothers. Several behavioural tests estimated their fearfulness and their sociality. We observed first that a longer induction was required for young females to express maternal behaviour. Subsequently as many young females as elder females expressed maternal behaviour, but young females warmed chicks less, expressed less covering postures and rejected their chicks more. Chicks brooded by elder females presented higher growth rates and more fearfulness and sociality. Our results reveal that maternal investment increased with age independently of maternal experience, suggesting modification of hormone levels implied in maternal behaviour. Isolated effects of maternal experience should now be assessed in females of the same age. In addition, our results show, for first time in birds, that variations in maternal care directly induce important differences in the behavioural development of chicks. Finally, our results confirm that Japanese quail remains a great laboratory model of avian maternal behaviour and that the way we sample maternal behaviour is highly productive

Contracting outsourced services with collaborative key performance indicators

While service outsourcing may benefit from the application of performance‐based contracts (PBCs), the implementation of such contracts is usually challenging. Service performance is often not only dependent on supplier effort but also on the behavior of the buying firm. Existing research on performance‐based contracting provides very limited understanding on how this challenge may be overcome. This article describes a design science research project that develops a novel approach to buyer–supplier contracting, using collaborative key performance indicators (KPIs). Collaborative KPIs evaluate and reward not only the supplier contribution to customer performance but also the customer's behavior to enable this. In this way, performance‐based contracting can also be applied to settings where supplier and customer activities are interdependent, while traditional contracting theories suggest that output controls are not effective under such conditions. In the collaborative KPI contracting process, indicators measure both supplier and customer (buying firm) performance and promote collaboration by being defined through a collaborative process and by focusing on end‐of‐process indicators. The article discusses the original case setting of a telecommunication service provider experiencing critical problems in outsourcing IT services. The initial intervention implementing this contracting approach produced substantial improvements, both in performance and in the relationship between buyer and supplier. Subsequently, the approach was tested and evaluated in two other settings, resulting in a set of actionable propositions on the efficacy of collaborative KPI contracting. Our study demonstrates how defining, monitoring, and incentivizing the performance of specific processes at the buying firm can help alleviate the limitations of traditional performance‐based contracting when the supplier's liability for service performance is difficult to verify

Friends and Foes: The Dynamics of Dual Social Structures

This paper investigates the evolutionary dynamics of a dual social structure encompassing collaboration and conflict among corporate actors. We apply and advance structural balance theory to examine the formation of balanced and unbalanced dyadic and triadic structures, and to explore how these dynamics aggregate to shape the emergence of a global network. Our findings are threefold. First, we find that existing collaborative or conflictual relationships between two companies engender future relationships of the same type, but crowd out relationships of the different type. This results in (a) an increased likelihood of the formation of balanced (uniplex) relationships that combine multiple ties of either collaboration or conflict, and (b) a reduced likelihood of the formation of unbalanced (multiplex) relationships that combine collaboration and conflict between the same two firms. Second, we find that network formation is driven not by a pull toward balanced triads, but rather by a pull away from unbalanced triads. Third, we find that the observed micro-level dynamics of dyads and triads affect the structural segregation of the global network into two separate collaborative and conflictual segments of firms. Our empirical analyses used data on strategic partnerships and patent infringement and antitrust lawsuits in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals from 1996 to 2006

Aggressive dominance can decrease behavioral complexity on subordinates through synchronization of locomotor activities

Social environments are known to influence behavior. Moreover, within small social groups, dominant/subordinate relationships frequently emerge. Dominants can display aggressive behaviors towards subordinates and sustain priority access to resources. Herein, Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were used, given that they establish hierarchies through frequent aggressive interactions. We apply a combination of different mathematical tools to provide a precise quantification of the effect of social environments and the consequence of dominance at an individual level on the temporal dynamics of behavior. Main results show that subordinates performed locomotion dynamics with stronger long-range positive correlations in comparison to birds that receive few or no aggressions from conspecifics (more random dynamics). Dominant birds and their subordinates also showed a high level of synchronization in the locomotor pattern, likely emerging from the lack of environmental opportunities to engage in independent behavior. Findings suggest that dominance can potentially modulate behavioral dynamics through synchronization of locomotor activities.publishedVersionAlcala, Rocio. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentina.Caliva, Jorge Martín. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentina.Caliva, Jorge Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; Argentina.Flesia, Ana Georgina. Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía, Física y Computación; Argentina.Flesia, Ana Georgina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigación y Estudios de Matemática; Argentina.Marin, Raúl Hector. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentina.Marin, Raúl Hector. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; Argentina.Kembro, Jackelyn Melissa. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentina.Kembro, Jackelyn Melissa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; Argentina

Approches thérapeutiques des fentes labio-maxillo-palatines : pour une croissance faciale normale Un protocole et des techniques au service de la ventilation nasale

Les défauts de croissance maxillaire très fréquents des opérés de fentes labio-maxillo-palatines contrastent avec la croissance normale des adultes non opérés de leur fente. Il y a un fort consensus pour en accuser les cicatrices des opérations primaires, surtout celles du palais qui succèdent à l'épithélialisation secondaire des zones osseuses ou muqueuses dénudées. D'innombrables protocoles tentent de réduire, d'une façon empirique, les troubles de croissance sans que se dessine une tendance qui validerait l'un d'entre eux, mais avec des différences sensibles, qui témoignent du rôle essentiel joué par chaque équipe. Convaincus que les troubles de croissance relèvent d'une hypoplasie inhérente à la malformation, certains auteurs se contentent de cette situation qu'ils trouvent acceptable. Pourtant toutes les possibilités ne nous semblent pas avoir été explorées. Nous pensons que les troubles de la ventilation nasale, si fréquents chez ces patients du fait des déformations initiales et des rétractions cicatricielles, suffisent à expliquer leurs défauts de croissance maxillaire. Après avoir proposé il y a 22 ans le rétablissement de la ventilation nasale à partir de l'âge de 6 ans, et observé les difficultés particulières qu'ont ces patients pour changer leur mode de ventilation, nous pensons que la seule réponse adaptée à ce problème est d'établir un mode de ventilation nasale dès la première opération. Notre protocole actuel le permet de façon très constante depuis 6 ans, avec une influence évidente sur l'évolution des maxillaires. Un recul plus important sera nécessaire pour confirmer son efficacité mais, dès maintenant, tous ceux qui savent le rôle essentiel de la ventilation nasale pour une croissance maxillaire normale ne peuvent que souscrire à cette démarche

À propos de la chirurgie du septum et des cornets chez l’enfant

Les orthodontistes observent quotidiennement les conséquences des habitudes de ventilation buccale sur leurs patients, et rencontrent les limites de leurs traitements orthopédiques et orthodontiques dès que cette dysfonction persiste. S’ils peuvent obtenir l’assistance de l’O.R.L. pour le traitement de l’hypertrophie adénoïdienne et amygdalienne, il n’en va pas de même pour la chirurgie du septum, et des cornets chez l’enfant jeune qui reste très déconseillée. La chirurgie des fentes labio-maxillo-palatines est elle-même empêtrée dans les mêmes interdits dogmatiques. Chez ces patients, le potentiel de croissance est considéré comme limité et imprévisible, alors que 75 % de ceux traités d’une fente totale uni ou bilatérale sont des ventilateurs oraux prépondérants. Il est en fait probable que l’on a d’une façon générale omis d’accorder une attention suffisante à la ventilation nasale. Depuis 30 ans, nous l’avons rétabli vers l’âge de 6 ans, et le faisons maintenant entre 4 et 5 ans. Depuis 13 ans, nous installons d’emblée un mode de ventilation nasale par une chirurgie ambitieuse mais rigoureuse dans toutes les fentes totales à l’âge de 6 mois. Les résultats actuels sur la croissance nasale et maxillaire de cette génération sont un encouragement à poursuivre dans cette voie, en attendant pour bientôt une confirmation en fin de croissance