Constructing the other: managerial rhetorics of diversity.

In this article, we examine how HR managers rhetorically construct diversity as discourses of Otherness. Our analysis relies on argument schemes developed by the classical rhetoric tradition. HR managers talk about diverse employees as visible, hearable and enjoyable Others, measure Otherness in terms of time, pace and rhythm, and evaluate the Other in terms of his/her compliance. While these discourses are varied and sometimes contradict the dominant (negative) Discourses of Otherness, they remain at the same time monolithic. The construction and valorisation of Otherness is predominantly deployed in function of reinforcing dominant managerial Discourses of discipline, compliance and control.Employment; Expected; Managers; Studies;

Engaging with (diversity) management: An analysis of minority employees' agency.

This study analyses how minority employees engage with (diversity) management to construct their organizational identities and, by so doing, comply with, accommodate and/or resist managerial control. Differently from most studies of diversity as a discourse, which consider diversity discourses as direct forms of control, we approach diversity as an identity-regulating discourse, controlling minority employees indirectly by offering them specific organizational identities. Further, these identity-regulating discourses combine with the specific material structure of the organization, creating a particular mix of direct and indirect control. We analyze four minority employees' identities in two organizations, a technical drawing company and a hospital. We show that minority employees actively engage, as agents, with both types of control, which constrain them but also open up possibilities for resistance, and even forms of (micro-)emancipation. The paper contributes to the reconceptualization of diversity as an identity-regulating discourse and to the further theorization of identity regulation and emancipation.Agency; Companies; Control; Diversity; Emancipation; Employees; Management; Materiality; Open; Regulation; Resistance; Structure; Studies;

Many diversities for many customers: contextualizing diversity (management) in four service companies.

Diversity studies generally define diversity by referring to one or more employees' demographic traits such as gender, race, ethnicity, and age, and examine subsequently the effects of these differences onto a variety of organizational practices and outcomes (see Milliken & Martins, 1996 for a review). In recent years, however, a few diversity scholars have increasingly expressed dissatisfaction with this kind of approach. The major point of critique is that, while focusing on the effects of diversity, research has left the notion of diversity itself undertheorized (Nkomo & Cox, 1996). The unproblematized use of demographic traits as independent variables to operationalize diversity has de facto led to an understanding of diversity as a given, fixed individual or group essence (Litvin, 1997). The anchoring of diversity within the individual or the group bears two major related consequences, further limiting the current understanding of diversity. First, it defines diversity independently of the specific context under study, obscuring the active role organizations play in the production of specific understandings of diversity (Ely, 1995; Foldy, 2002). Second, by so doing, it conceals how specific understandings of diversity reflect organizational power relations (Zanoni & Janssens, 2004).Effects; Studies; Variables;

Diversity management as identity regulation in the Post-Fordist productive space.

Management; Regulation; Research; Space;

Diversiteit als contextueel verschil: een retorische analyse.

In dit artikel tonen we hoe HR managers de notie van diversiteit op een verschillende manier invullen afhankelijk van organisationele contexten. Wij onderscheiden hierbij constructies van diversiteit in productieve en in niet-productieve contexten. Op basis van een retorische analyse van tekstfragmenten uit 25 interviews illustreren we hoe argumenten van diversiteit retorisch opgebouwd zijn. Wij analyseren hierbij de kenmerkende retorische schema's en de verschillende maatschappelijke Discoursen naar welke de HR managers verwijzen. In productieve contexten beschouwen zij diversiteit als gebrek maar ook als surplus. Diversiteit als productief gebrek wordt voornamelijk geconstrueerd door retorische schema's gebaseerd op de structuur van de realiteit en door organisationele Discoursen van klantgerichtheid, kwaliteit, teamwerk en veiligheid. Diversiteit als productief surplus wordt geconstrueerd door retorische schema's die een nieuwe realiteitsstructuur creëren en door Discoursen die naar morele waarden verwijzen zoals loyaliteit, betrouwbaarheid en flexibiliteit. Tot slot, constructies van diversiteit in niet-productieve contexten leggen de nadruk op de ambiguïteit van de realiteit, opgelost door 'gezond verstand.' Positieve sociale relaties worden verder geconstrueerd door te verwijzen naar zorg en culturele Discoursen.

Influence of Lactobacillus kefiri on Intestinal Microbiota and Fecal IgA Content of Healthy Dogs

The increasing incidence of gastrointestinal tract pathologies in dogs and the worrisome topic of antibiotic resistance have raised the need to look for new therapeutic frontiers. Of these, the use of probiotics represents a potential therapeutic alternative. Lactobacillus kefiri (Lk) is a species of Lactobacillus isolated from kefir. Previous studies have demonstrated that its administration in mice downregulates the expression of proinflammatory mediators and increases anti-inflammatory molecules in the gut immune system. It also regulates intestinal homeostasis, incrementing immunoglobulin A (IgA) secretion. Since Lk has never been studied as a single probiotic in dogs, the aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of Lk in dogs, and its effect on IgA secretion and on intestinal microbiota composition. Ten healthy dogs without a history of gastrointestinal diseases were included. The dogs received Lk at a dose of 107 live microorganisms orally, once daily for 30 days. The fecal samples were tested before administration, in the middle, at the end, and 30 days after discontinuation. The IgA secretion concentration and the microbiota composition were evaluated on the fecal samples. The results in this study suggested that Lk did not influence the concentration of IgA, nor significant changes of the intestinal microbiota were observed during and after the treatment. Therefore, additional studies are needed to investigate if a higher daily dosage of Lk can influence the intestinal homeostasis of dogs

Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2018.

Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell death pathways are unveiled, we propose an updated classification of cell death subroutines focusing on mechanistic and essential (as opposed to correlative and dispensable) aspects of the process. As we provide molecularly oriented definitions of terms including intrinsic apoptosis, extrinsic apoptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, entotic cell death, NETotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy-dependent cell death, immunogenic cell death, cellular senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, we discuss the utility of neologisms that refer to highly specialized instances of these processes. The mission of the NCCD is to provide a widely accepted nomenclature on cell death in support of the continued development of the field

Diversity in the lean automobile factory: doing class through gender, disability and age

This study advances a critical re-conceptualization of ‘diversity’ through class. Drawing on the case of CarCo, the Belgian branch of a North American automobile company, I show how the discursive constructions of various socio-demographic identities reflect underlying class relations between labour and capital and are, in turn, implicated in their reproduction. Reflecting the instrumental conceptualization of labour as the source of economic value in the capitalist mode of production, female, older and disabled workers were discursively constructed as unable or unwilling to perform as expected within the factory lean production system. These negative identities in turn legitimized the elimination of ‘different’ workers in the company restructuring and the outsourcing of the phases of the production process that could be carried out by them, materially reproducing class relations. The analysis unveils the ‘dark’ business case against diversity at CarCo, a company which was renowned as a ‘best’ case for diversity in Belgium. I argue that the re-conceptualization of diversity through class offers a powerful analytical tool to better understand how unequal power relations are played out in contemporary organizations