Direct participation and employee learning at work

The creation of a learning environment at work has been seen as an essential concomitant of the growth of an advanced economy. This article explores the implications of direct participation for different types of employee learning, drawing upon the British Skills and Employment Surveys of 2006 and 2012. It confirms that direct participation is strongly associated with enhanced learning opportunities at work but finds important differences in the benefits of specific forms of direct participation. Moreover, direct participation was found to be particularly important for those in less favorable work contexts with respect to technological level and skill

Molecules Altering the Intracellular Thiol Content Modulate NF-kB and STAT-1/IRF-1 Signalling Pathways and IL-12 p40 and IL-27 p28 Production in Murine Macrophages

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in the production of Th1 cytokines, namely IL-12 and IL-27, when the intra-macrophage redox state was altered by different chemical entities such as GSH-C4, which is reduced glutathione carrying an aliphatic chain, or I-152, a pro-drug of N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) and betamercaptoethylamine. We had already demonstrated that GSH-C4 and I-152 could shift the immune response towards Th1 in Ovalbumin-immunized mice as well as enhance Th1 response in HIV-1 Tat-immunized mice. Methodology/Principal Findings: By a new high performance liquid chromatography method, we found that 20 mM GSHC4 provided a number of thiol species in the form of GSH, while 20 mM I-152 decreased GSH and increased the thiols in the form of NAC and I-152. Under these experimental conditions, GSH-C4 and I-152 enhanced and suppressed respectively the mRNA expression levels of IL-12 p40 induced by LPS/IFN-c as assessed by Real-Time PCR. The protein production of IL-12 p40 was increased by GSH-C4 and decreased by I-152 as determined by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Western immunoblot and electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that Nuclear Factor -kB (NF-kB) activation was inhibited by I- 152 and prolonged by GSH-C4. Twenty mM I-152 stimulated IL-27 p28 gene expression and sustained Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT)-mediated interferon regulator factor 1 (IRF-1) de novo synthesis. By contrast, 20 mM GSHC4 did not exert any effect on IL-27 p28 gene expression. Conclusions and Significance: an increase in the intra-macrophage redox state by GSH-C4 and I-152 enhances Th1 cytokine production although the chemical structure and the intra-cellular metabolism influence differently signalling pathways involved in IL-27 or IL-12 production. GSH-C4 and I-152 may be used as Th1 immunomodulators in some pathologies and in ageing where GSH depletion may contribute to the Th1/Th2 imbalance, and in new immunization strategies

Governance learning: building a network around managerial innovations

International audienceWhen stakeholders in a territory are faced with new managerial innovations, they have to develop new knowledge and new behaviours to seize these innovations and use them to create a vision of the territory. This is part of what we call governance learning, or the ability of individuals to create new knowledge and behaviour for collective action within the territory. Starting from a case study of a periurban territory in the South of France, we analyse how the board members of a Community of Communes can learn to work together to build a new territory. Using Actor-Network Theory, we first explore the enrolment process necessary to "build" the network and interest them in using the innovation. Using the theories of organisational learning, we then identify three types of governance learning that turn the network into an actual collective: sensemaking, instrument-seizing, and sensegiving. Finally, using the concept of organisational myths, we show how these myths are necessary to turn collective knowledge into organisational knowledge. This research brings new light to the understanding of how territorial governance can be developed and how managerial innovations can provoke learning situations, and more specifically how stakeholders learn to define common goals and a shared vision of their territory to enable collective action

Bioresponsive Small Molecule Polyamines as Noncytotoxic Alternative to Polyethylenimine

Nonviral gene therapy continues to require novel synthetic vectors to deliver therapeutic nucleic acids effectively and safely. The majority of synthetic nonviral vectors employed in clinical trials to date have been cationic liposomes; however, cationic polymers are attracting increasing attention. One of the few cationic polymers to enter clinical trials has been polyethylenimine (PEI); however, doubts remain over its cytotoxicity, and in addition it displays lower levels of transfection than viral systems. Herein, we report on the development of a series of small molecule analogues of PEI that are bioresponsive to the presence of pDNA, forming poly(disulfide)s that are capable of efficacious transfection with no associated toxicity. The most effective small molecule developed, a cyclic disulfide based upon a spermine backbone, is shown to form very well-defined polyplexes (100−200 nm in diameter) that mediate murine lung transfection in vivo to within an order of magnitude of in vivo jetPEI, and at the same time display a much improved cytotoxicity profile