Industry engagement in work-integrated learning - exploring the benefits, challenges and realities

Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to identify benefits and challenges for businesses serving as hosts for business students involved in work integrated learning (WIL) initiatives. A student and educator perspective on WIL targeting businesses is also identified. A literature review is applied for analyzing work integrated learning in a business perspective. This perspective is supplied with statistical data from a survey of business students and business educators revealing the extent and relevance of connectedness to businesses within curriculum and learning process. Four gaps between business schools and businesses are identified, which should be closed for a successful WIL. These are related to institutional support systems, the student mentor at the business school versus the host firm mentor, the student versus the host firm mentor/business peers, and gaps between curriculum and business cases/tasks. The findings have primarily implications for the business school both on institutional level and on mentor level. It is assumed that WIL has a marginal focus within businesses unless students are directly contributing in solving real business problems. Literature employing a business perspective on WIL is limited, and calls for further empirical research in order to design realistic and relevant WIL assignment in a business context

The Principles of Campus Conception: A Spatial and Organizational Genealogy.What knowledge Can We Use from a Historical Study in Order to Analyse the Design Processes of a New Campus?

International audienceThis chapter participates to the interest of scholars concerning the relationship between spatial structure and organisational practice. Most researches analyse this relationship through built-up spaces and few studies are focusing on design phase. The study of design processes – organisational and spatial – raises methodological challenges and interrogate how the relationship between these processes could be analysed. In order to discuss the nature of the relationship between both designs: organisational and spatial, this contribution relies on an analysis of the conception processes of a campus.The hypothesis is that a genealogical approach of the history of campus architecture could reveal some specific properties of the campus and could generate a tool – an analytical framework – in order to explore the campus design project processes

Beyond links and chains in food supply: a community OR perspective

This theoretical paper complements traditional OR approaches to improve micro-businesses’ performance. When looking at local micro-businesses, we find that current supply chain and operations theory that focuses on efficiency and economic-based criteria for chain and network integration, is inapplicable and external organisation inappropriate. An illustration shows how traditional modelling exercises may fall short in better-informing independent-minded micro-entrepreneurs on how to collaborate, even though they recognise benefits from such endeavour. The illustration concerns consideration of food micro-producers, not as links constituting a chain, but as members of a community. This paper explores two different approaches to apply Community OR research principles. On one hand, the application of OR methods to phenomena in the ‘community’; on the other, the development of research on ‘community operations’; which are symbolised as C+OR and CO+R respectively. These approaches are associated to two different research languages: of needs and for interactions. Main contributions of this paper are: first, we show that collaboration does not always need shared aims. Second, we offer a circular process where the identification of collective actions may help organisations to improve individually; and vice versa. Third, we suggest how to develop the role of a stronger collective actor by means of collaboration

Investigation of the Enantioselectivity of Acetylcholinesterase and Butyrylcholinesterase upon Inhibition by Tacrine-iminosugar Heterodimers

The copper-catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition was applied to prepare three enantiomeric pairs of heterodimers containing a tacrine residue and a 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-D-arabinitol (DAB) or 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-L-arabinitol (LAB) moiety held together via linkers of variable lengths containing a 1,2,3-triazole ring and 3, 4, or 7 CH2 groups. The heterodimers were tested as inhibitors of butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The enantiomeric heterodimers with the longest linkers exhibited the highest inhibition potencies for AChE (IC50 = 9.7 nM and 11 nM) and BuChE (IC50 = 8.1 nM and 9.1 nM). AChE exhibited the highest enantioselectivity (ca. 4-fold). The enantiomeric pairs of the heterodimers were found to be inactive (GI50 > 100 µM), or to have weak antiproliferative properties (GI50 = 84–97 µM) against a panel of human cancer cells.Gobierno de España PID2020-116460RB-I00, PID2021-123059OB-I00European Commission. Fondo Social Europeo TESIS202001005

Synthesis of trans-dihydronaphthalene-diol and evaluation of their use as standards for PAH metabolite analysis in fish bile by GC-MS

Phenols and trans-1,2-dihydro-1,2-diols are metabolites commonly formed in vivo in fish upon exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These metabolites are excreted via the bile and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of bile is becoming more frequently used for evaluating PAH exposure levels in fish. Current protocols focus on the detection and quantification of phenols formed during in vivo oxidation of PAHs, leaving out analyses and quantification of other oxidation products such as trans-1,2-dihydro-1,2-diols, potentially underestimating exposure levels. Herein, four trans-1,2-dihydro-1,2-diols, namely trans-1,2-dihydronaphthalene-1,2-diol, trans-6-methyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene-1,2-diol, trans-5,7-dimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene-1,2-diol, and trans-4,6,7-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene-1,2-diol, were successfully prepared and used as standards in the GC-MS analysis, aiming to further develop this qualitative and quantitative analytical method for the determination of PAH exposures. This study shows that the currently used GC-MS analysis, including sample workup, is not suitable for determining the quantity of the corresponding diols derived from naphthalene and methylated naphthalenes. Alternative approaches are needed to provide a correct estimate of PAH exposure levels.publishedVersio

Investigation of the enantioselectivity of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase upon inhibition by tacrine-iminosugar heterodimers

The copper-catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition was applied to prepare three enantiomeric pairs of heterodimers containing a tacrine residue and a 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-D-arabinitol (DAB) or 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-L-arabinitol (LAB) moiety held together via linkers of variable lengths containing a 1,2,3-triazole ring and 3, 4, or 7 CH2 groups. The heterodimers were tested as inhibitors of butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The enantiomeric heterodimers with the longest linkers exhibited the highest inhibition potencies for AChE (IC50 = 9.7 nM and 11 nM) and BuChE (IC50 = 8.1 nM and 9.1 nM). AChE exhibited the highest enantioselectivity (ca. 4-fold). The enantiomeric pairs of the heterodimers were found to be inactive (GI50 > 100 µM), or to have weak antiproliferative properties (GI50 = 84–97 µM) against a panel of human cancer cells.</p

International joint ventures research on Africa: A systematic literature review, propositions, and contextualization

This study reviewed the research on international joint ventures (IJVs) in Africa up to 2017. The authors performed a systematic search of peer-reviewed good quality research using the 6W procedure and ensuring the quality of the review by using the 5Cs quality criteria. The content analysis was focused on four research questions. A total of 22 relevant studies were found. Overall, only about one-third of the lead authors were affiliated with African universities. A majority of the studies were quantitative, and 78% of the studies were done for three countries: Ghana, Morocco, and Nigeria. There was either just one or no study on trust and conflict, partner selection, and human resource management (HRM). At the contextual level, it seems that the most important factor influencing IJV strategy and success is institutions. We therefore suggest a greater use of institutional theory. Finally, we present a summary conceptual framework and four propositions to guide future research.©2021 Wiley. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Oguji, N., Degbey, W. Y. & Owusu, R. A. (2021). International joint ventures research on Africa: A systematic literature review, propositions, and contextualization, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/tie.21993. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.Version of Record online: 04 June 2018fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed