98 research outputs found
Advancing understanding on industrial relations in multinational companies: key research challenges and the INTREPID contribution
peer-reviewedThis paper has three principal aims. It firstly provides some theoretical background on
the key current research issues and challenges in regard to industrial relations in multinational
companies. It then presents a concise review of scholarship to date on industrial
relations in multinational companies using INTREPID (Investigation of Transnationals Employment Practices: an International Database) data. Finally, the paper identifies some of
the main industrial relations issues that remain to be addressed, in effect charting a form
of research agenda for future work using the INTREPID data, with particular focus on
the potential contribution from âlate joinersâ to the INTREPID project.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe
Between Boston and Berlin: American MNCs and the shifting contours of industrial relations in Ireland
peer-reviewedDrawing on detailed qualitative case studies and utilizing a national business system lens, we explore a largely underrepresented debate in the literature, namely the nature of change in a specific but critical element of business systems, that is the industrial relations (IR) institutions of the State and the impact of MNCs thereon. Given the critical mass of US investment in Ireland, we examine how US MNCs manage IR in their Irish subsidiaries, how the policies and practices they pursue have impacted on the Irish IR system, and more broadly their role in shaping the host institutional environment. Overall, we conclude that there is some evidence of change in the IR system, change that we trace indirectly to the US MNC sector. Further, the US MNC sector displays evidence of elements of the management of IR that is clearly at odds with Irish traditions. Thus, in these firms we point to the emergence of a hybrid system of the management of IR and the establishment of new traditions more reflective of US business system.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe
Microbial ecology of hot desert edaphic systems
A significant proportion of the Earth's surface is desert or in the process of desertification. The extreme environmental conditions that characterize these areas result in a surface that is essentially barren, with a limited range of higher plants and animals. Microbial communities are probably the dominant drivers of these systems, mediating key ecosystem processes. In this review, we examine the microbial communities of hot desert terrestrial biotopes (including soils, cryptic and refuge niches and plant-root-associated microbes) and the processes that govern their assembly. We also assess the possible effects of global climate change on hot desert microbial communities and the resulting feedback mechanisms. We conclude by discussing current gaps in our understanding of the microbiology of hot deserts and suggest fruitful avenues for future research.South African
National Research Foundation, the University of Pretoria
and the Genomics Research Institute.http://femsre.oxfordjournals.org2016-03-31hb201
Ecology and biogeochemistry of cyanobacteria in soils, permafrost, aquatic and cryptic polar habitats
Polar Regions (continental Antarctica and the Arctic) are characterized by a
range of extreme environmental conditions, which impose severe pressures on biological
life. Polar cold-active cyanobacteria are uniquely adapted to withstand the environmental
conditions of the high latitudes. These adaptations include high ultra-violet
radiation and desiccation tolerance, and mechanisms to protect cells from freezeâthaw
damage. As the most widely distributed photoautotrophs in these regions, cyanobacteria
are likely the dominant contributors of critically essential ecosystem services, particularly
carbon and nitrogen turnover in terrestrial polar habitats. These habitats include
soils, permafrost, cryptic niches (including biological soil crusts, hypoliths and
endoliths), ice and snow, and a range of aquatic habitats. Here we review current
literature on the ecology, and the functional role played by cyanobacteria in various
Arctic and Antarctic environments. We focus on the ecological importance of
cyanobacterial communities in Polar Regions and assess what is known regarding the
toxins they produce. We also review the responses and adaptations of cyanobacteria to
extreme environments.University of Pretoria Research Development
Program (TPM),Genomics Research Institute,The National Research Foundation (NRF) of SouthAfricaâs
National Antarctic Program (SANAP program) (TPM, AV, EG.MW VG, DAC) and Ministeriode Economıa y Competitividad (Spain) : Grantref CTM 2011-28736 (DV,AQ).http://link.springer.com/journal/105312016-03-10hb201
Diet Prevents Social Stress-Induced Maladaptive Neurobehavioural and Gut Microbiota Changes in a Histamine-Dependent Manner
Exposure to repeated social stress may cause maladaptive emotional reactions that can be reduced by healthy nutritional supplementation. Histaminergic neurotransmission has a central role in orchestrating specific behavioural responses depending on the homeostatic state of a subject, but it remains to be established if it participates in the protective effects against the insults of chronic stress afforded by a healthy diet. By using C57BL/6J male mice that do not synthesize histamine (Hdc(â/â)) and their wild type (Hdc(+/+)) congeners we evaluated if the histaminergic system participates in the protective action of a diet enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin A on the deleterious effect of chronic stress. Behavioural tests across domains relevant to cognition and anxiety were performed. Hippocampal synaptic plasticity, cytokine expression, hippocampal fatty acids, oxylipins and microbiota composition were also assessed. Chronic stress induced social avoidance, poor recognition memory, affected hippocampal long-term potentiation, changed the microbiota profile, brain cytokines, fatty acid and oxylipins composition of both Hdc(â/â) and Hdc(+/+) mice. Dietary enrichment counteracted stress-induced deficits only in Hdc(+/+) mice as histamine deficiency prevented almost all the diet-related beneficial effects. Interpretation: Our results reveal a previously unexplored and novel role for brain histamine as a mediator of many favorable effects of the enriched diet. These data present long-reaching perspectives in the field of nutritional neuropsychopharmacology
Multinational companies and HRM in Ireland during recession: a retrospective from a highly globalized economy
peer-reviewed                         Â
This paper provides a retrospective
investigation of the impact of the recent great recession on human resource
management (HRM) in multinational companies (MNCs) in Ireland. Ireland
represents a particularly fitting location  within which to address this topic given
its standing as one of the world s most
economically globalized and MNC-dependent economies and also  because the country was very severely impacted
by the global financial crisis. Using both primary and secondary data from a
variety of sources, our analysis considers the impact of recession on HRM in
MNCs, with particular focus on employment, pay and benefits, industrial
relations and the role of the HR function. The findings suggest that HR
practitioners played a central role in implementing a series of initiatives,
many of which were operational in nature, to improve business performance. In
so doing we argue that practitioners in MNCs in Ireland have behaved as
archetypical conformist innovators during the recent recession, delivering
operational HR responses to improve their organization s bottom line.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe
The development and growth of the software industry in Ireland: an institutionalized relationship approach
peer-reviewedIreland's software industry emerged in the 1970s and 1980s due to significant international developments and, more importantly, the industrial policy approach adopted in Ireland. The attraction of software foreign direct investment during these decades was followed by the emergence of an internationally competitive Irish software sector. A multitude of factors combine to explain the trajectory of software in Ireland: from developments related to globalization and international trade, to policy makers' efforts to promote an industry where Ireland could forge a comparative advantage internationally. An analysis of industrial dynamics and institutionalized relationships (IRs) furthers our understanding of significant developments in the industry in terms of interactions between firms, government and other stakeholders. This paper makes a novel contribution by analysing Ireland's software industry within the IR framework. The IR approach we employ focuses on the finance IR, the purchase IR, the employment IR, and the commercial IR. The adoption of the IR framework approach is particularly insightful in the Irish case as it facilitates a multifaceted analysis of the complex relationships that have moulded the Irish software industry. Such an approach also facilitates a study of the policy implications and policy prescriptions that are pertinent to the software sector.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe
"Courting the multinational": Subnational institutional capacity and foreign market insidership
peer-reviewedSignificant contemporary challenges face an internationalizing firm, including the non-ergodic nature of investment, and the liability of outsidership. Recent revisions to the Uppsala internationalization process model reflect these challenges, whereby âinsidershipâ is represented as realized, successful foreign market entry. Drawing upon socio-spatial concepts from international business and economic geography, this paper demonstrates the endogeneity of subnational institutions in shaping foreign market insidership within an advanced economy. Employing a multi-method research design with almost 60 subnational actors, the role and interaction of subnational institutions within the internationalization process are explored. Our findings illustrate how customized coalitions of subnational institutions effectively initiate, negotiate and accelerate insidership of inward investment within the foreign market both prior to and during formal entry. Key aspects of this dynamic include communicating tangible and intangible locational resources, initiating functional and relevant business relationships, and facilitating access to codified and tacit knowledge. This paper embellishes the Uppsala internationalization process model by demonstrating the capacity of subnational institutions to participate actively with foreign market insidership, and in so doing advances understanding of how the risk and uncertainty associated with foreign market entry are currently navigated.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe
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