Impact evaluation workplace employment relations survey and european social survey: Final report to the ESRC

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) commissioned the University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE) to undertake an impact evaluation of the Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS) and the European Social Survey (ESS) focusing on the extent to which research utilising WERS and ESS data has influenced policy and practice across the UK to date. Specifically, the research was designed to:• Identify and study specific policy and practice impacts, and the potential for the same arising from WERS and ESS data• Study the mechanisms through which WERS and ESS have achieved and could in the future achieve impact through the use of data by other organisations and individuals based in the UK.• Identify the range of organisations and/or individuals who have made use of the WERS and ESS, and the ways in which the data have been used within the UK.• Study the role of think tanks, and other intermediaries and knowledge brokers, as transmission routes through which WERS and ESS data may have influenced policy, through comparative activity, identify best practice and lessons for impact generation within research infrastructure investments.• Critically reflect upon the methods used to assess and identify research infrastructure impact.This report summarises the findings of the study

How do knowledge brokers work? The case of WERS

A resource-based view of organizations suggests that internal knowledge is amongst the most important sources of competitive advantage. Regardless of whether these ideas are exaggerated, it is not necessary to buy into them all to accept the significance of knowledge as a resource. Knowledge is complex, multi-faceted, intangible, often tacit and specialised; consequently, it is difficult to manage exchange. This has implications for narrowing the gap between academic research and policy impact, and for developing policy-relevant academic research. One way of improving the exchange and flow of knowledge is to use knowledge brokers (KBs), who bridge the gap between creators and users of knowledge. The function of a KB may vary according to context. In the case of specialised knowledge, some have gone as far as to suggest that KBs are part of a creative process, where knowledge-broking may be a way of codifying, translating and sharing difficult-to-disseminate knowledge. This idea has been expanded upon in the literature with KBs engaged in the process of the creation of new knowledge.This paper examines how one particular study, the Workplace Employment Relations Study (WERS), uses KBs to bridge the gap between research and practical knowledge. the findings indicate that KBs in both government and academia have been essential in the effective deployment of WERS research in policy-making and commercial practice

Acoustic and Netting Surveys of Western Ozark Highlands Bats with Habitat Suitability Models for Three Threatened and Endangered Species

Bats in the United States and Canada are experiencing major population declines because of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease that kills bats hibernating in caves. First discovered in New York in 2006, WNS has rapidly spread south and west across the United States. Camp Gruber Training Center (CGTC) is a United States National Guard training facility in Muskogee County, Oklahoma. Muskogee County is adjacent to three counties that are suspect for WNS infection as of 2017. I performed acoustic and mist net surveys at CGTC to determine composition of the chiropteran community of the area and if bats in Muskogee County have been exposed to WNS by looking for characteristic damage on wing membranes. Acoustic and mist net surveys determined that the bat community of CGTC is likely dominated by non-endangered species that have not suffered high mortality from white-nose syndrome (Nycticeius humeralis and Lasiurus borealis). There are at least 2 species that occur rarely within CGTC that are federally endangered (Myotis grisescens and Myotis sodalis) that, along with the non-endangered Perimyotis subflavus, have been known to contract WNS. I found no evidence of WNS symptoms on the bats of CGTC as of summer 2017. I used maximum entropy species distribution modeling (Maxent) to create habitat suitability models for three species that occur in the Ozark Highlands around CGTC, Myotis grisescens (endangered), M. septentrionalis (threatened), and M. sodalis (endangered). These models help explain the community composition of CGTC by revealing habitat preferences of these species and may suggest future range expansions or possible locations of unknown colonies for all three species. I also found that M. septentrionalis and M. sodalis are highly similar in their habitat preferences, supporting the United States Fish and Wildlife Service decision to combine summer survey guidelines for these species.Zoolog

Caspase-1 cleavage of the TLR adaptor TRIF inhibits autophagy and β-interferon production during pseudomonas aeruginosa infection

Bacterial infection can trigger autophagy and inflammasome activation, but the effects of inflammasome activation on autophagy are unknown. We examined this in the context of Pseudomonas aeruginosa macrophage infection, which triggers NLRC4 inflammasome activation. P. aeruginosa induced autophagy via TLR4 and its adaptor TRIF. NLRC4 and caspase-1 activation following infection attenuated autophagy. Caspase-1 directly cleaved TRIF to diminish TRIF-mediated signaling, resulting in inhibition of autophagy and in reduced type I interferon production. Expression of a caspase-1 resistant TRIF mutant enhanced autophagy and type I interferon production following infection. Preventing TRIF cleavage by caspase-1 in an in vivo model of P. aeruginosa infection resulted in enhanced bacterial autophagy, attenuated IL-1β production, and increased bacterial clearance. Additionally, TRIF cleavage by caspase-1 diminished NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Thus, caspase-1 mediated TRIF cleavage is a key event in controlling autophagy, type I interferon production, and inflammasome activation with important functional consequences