The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on institutional change processes and the collective capabilities of higher education and research institutions

Funding. This article has received funding from the GEARING-Roles and RESISTIRE European Union's Horizon 2020 projects, under grant agreements 824536 and 101015990, respectively.The COVID-19 pandemic and the public policies adopted to cope with the ensuing crisis had a significant impact on higher education and research institutions, and this captured the attention of numerous scholars. However, most of the analyses, especially those adopting a gender perspective, have focused on the impact of the pandemic on women as individuals (individual capabilities), while little attention has been paid to the impact on institutions and processes of structural change (collective capabilities). The capabilities approach (CA) is useful for analysing gender inequalities in higher education, and has also been used to examine the impact of the crisis on certain groups and situations. Based on the adaptation of this approach by Robeyns (2003) and Baser and Morgan (2008) to emphasise the importance of collective capabilities for individuals, institutions and society at large, this paper examines the institutional impact of the pandemic by drawing from the experiences of the six institutions in the GEARING-Roles project implementing gender equality plans (GEPs). To this end, we combine desk research of secondary sources with qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with representatives of the GEP implementers and observations of project meetings carried out between April 2020 and June 2022. Our findings indicate a considerable impact on the collective capabilities of the change agents in the participating institutions, which stem mainly from a lack of institutional commitment to the gender equality agenda, mobility restrictions and limited social relations. However, some positive elements also emerge, such as the teams' exceptional capacity to adapt to adverse circumstances.La pandèmia de COVID-19 i les polítiques públiques adoptades per fer front a la crisi subsegüent van tenir un impacte significatiu en les institucions d'ensenyament superior (ES) i de recerca, la qual cosa va captar l'atenció de nombrosos estudiosos. No obstant això, la majoria d'aquestes anàlisis, especialment les que adopten una perspectiva de gènere, s'han centrat en l'impacte sobre les dones com a individus (capacitats individuals) i han prestat poca atenció a l'impacte sobre les institucions i els processos de canvi estructural (capacitats col·lectives). L'enfocament de les capacitats (CA) és útil per analitzar les desigualtats de gènere en l'ES i també per examinar l'impacte de la crisi en determinats grups i situacions. Partint de l'adaptació d'aquest enfocament de Robeyns (2003) i de Baser i Morgan (2008) per subratllar la importància de les capacitats col·lectives per als individus, les institucions i la societat en general, aquest article examina l'impacte institucional de la pandèmia basant-se en l'experiència de sis institucions implementadores dels plans d'igualtat de gènere (GEP) en el projecte GEARING-Rols. Per fer-ho, combinem la recerca de fonts secundàries amb l'anàlisi qualitativa d'entrevistes en profunditat realitzades a representants d'aquestes entitats i observacions de reunions del projecte dutes a terme entre abril de 2020 i juny de 2022. Les nostres troballes indiquen un impacte considerable en les capacitats col·lectives dels agents de canvi de les institucions participants, que deriven principalment de la falta de compromís institucional amb l'agenda d'igualtat de gènere, les restriccions de mobilitat i les limitades relacions socials. No obstant això, també emergeixen alguns elements positius, com l'excepcional capacitat dels equips per adaptar-se a circumstàncies adverses.La pandemia de COVID-19 y las políticas públicas adoptadas para hacer frente a la crisis subsiguiente tuvieron un impacto significativo en las instituciones de enseñanza superior (ES) y de investigación, lo que captó la atención de numerosos estudiosos. Sin embargo, la mayoría de estos análisis, especialmente los que adoptan una perspectiva de género, se han centrado en el impacto sobre las mujeres como individuos (capacidades individuales) y han prestado poca atención al impacto sobre las instituciones y los procesos de cambio estructural (capacidades colectivas). El enfoque de las capacidades (CA) es útil para analizar las desigualdades de género en la ES y también para examinar el impacto de la crisis en determinados grupos y situaciones. Partiendo de la adaptación de este enfoque de Robeyns (2003) y de Baser y Morgan (2008) para subrayar la importancia de las capacidades colectivas para los individuos, las instituciones y la sociedad en general, este artículo examina el impacto institucional de la pandemia basándose en la experiencia de seis instituciones implementadoras de los planes de igualdad de género (GEP) en el proyecto GEARING-Roles. Para ello, combinamos la investigación de fuentes secundarias con el análisis cualitativo de entrevistas en profundidad realizadas a representantes de estas entidades y observaciones de reuniones del proyecto llevadas a cabo entre abril de 2020 y junio de 2022. Nuestros hallazgos indican un impacto considerable en las capacidades colectivas de los agentes de cambio de las instituciones participantes, que derivan principalmente de la falta de compromiso institucional con la agenda de igualdad de género, las restricciones de movilidad y las limitadas relaciones sociales. No obstante, también emergen algunos elementos positivos, como la excepcional capacidad de los equipos para adaptarse a circunstancias adversas

<i>Alteromonas stellipolaris</i> sp. nov., a novel, budding, prosthecate bacterium from Antarctic seas, and emended description of the genus <i>Alteromonas</i>

Seven novel, cold-adapted, strictly aerobic, facultatively oligotrophic strains, isolated from Antarctic sea water, were investigated by using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The isolates were Gram-negative, chemoheterotrophic, motile, rod-shaped cells that were psychrotolerant and moderately halophilic. Buds were produced on mother and daughter cells and on prosthecae. Prostheca formation was peritrichous and prosthecae could be branched. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that these strains belong to the γ-Proteobacteria and are related to the genus Alteromonas, with 98·3 % sequence similarity to Alteromonas macleodii and 98·0 % to Alteromonas marina, their nearest phylogenetic neighbours. Whole-cell fatty acid profiles of the isolates were very similar and included C16 : 0, C16 : 1 ω7c, C17 : 1 ω8c and C18 : 1 ω8c as the major fatty acid components. These results support the affiliation of these isolates to the genus Alteromonas. DNA–DNA hybridization results and differences in phenotypic characteristics show that the strains represent a novel species with a DNA G+C content of 43–45 mol%. The name Alteromonas stellipolaris sp. nov. is proposed for this novel species; the type strain is ANT 69aT (=LMG 21861T=DSM 15691T). An emended description of the genus Alteromonas is given

Gender mainstreaming and evaluation in the EU: comparative perspectives from feminist institutionalism

This article presents a focused comparative analysis of the institutionalization of two governance practices in the European Commission that levy distinct challenges to the gender status quo: gender mainstreaming (which overtly challenges gender bias) and evaluation (which does not have explicit feminist aspirations). With reference to five dimensions, we identify evaluation as relatively strongly institutionalized, and gender mainstreaming as relatively weakly institutionalized. We draw on the explanatory power of feminist institutionalism to unpack these findings, arguing that a feminist institutional perspective can shed light on this variation, as it provides greater insight into the formal and informal institutions that constrain, enable and shape the implementation of evaluation and gender mainstreaming. We assert that the notion of path dependency, the logic of appropriateness, and the concept of layering serve as useful tools to understand the gendered nature of the European Commission. This research provides insights into the institutional factors that impact the implementation of gender equality strategies (such as gender mainstreaming). In turn, this contributes to the development of more effective strategies to promote institutional change toward greater equality

Policy evaluation and gender mainstreaming in the European Union: The perfect (mis)match?

This article assesses the ability of the European Commission’s current approach to policy evaluation to evaluate gender mainstreaming and, in turn, other cross-cutting social agendas (Articles 8–10 TFEU). Taking European Union research policy as a case study, through our analysis, we reveal mismatches between current evaluation standards adopted within the Better Regulation framework and requirements for effectively assessing progress towards cross-cutting social objectives, such as gender equality. The article concludes with a series of recommendations to overcome the identified shortcomings. Our analysis constitutes a key contribution to the development of feminist scholarship on the post-implementation phase of the policy process

Caenibacterium thermophilum is a later synonym of Schlegelella thermodepolymerans

Recently, two strains of Schlegelella thermodepolymerans Elbanna et al. 2003 and an independently isolated bacterium, Caenibacterium thermophilum Manaia et al. 2003, were described in parallel as gen. nov., sp. nov. Analysis of the 16S rRNA genes revealed similarity between C. thermophilum and the two strains of S. thermodepolymerans of 99?8 and 99?6%, respectively. DNA–DNA hybridization experiments revealed mean DNA reassociation levels of 97–98% among C. thermophilum and the two strains of S. thermodepolymerans, thereby confirming the close relationship and indicating that C. thermophilum is a later synonym of S. thermodepolymerans.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio