Global Ethics and Nanotechnology: A Comparison of the Nanoethics Environments of the EU and China

The following article offers a brief overview of current nanotechnology policy, regulation and ethics in Europe and The People’s Republic of China with the intent of noting (dis)similarities in approach, before focusing on the involvement of the public in science and technology policy (i.e. participatory Technology Assessment). The conclusions of this article are, that (a) in terms of nanosafety as expressed through policy and regulation, China PR and the EU have similar approaches towards, and concerns about, nanotoxicity—the official debate on benefits and risks is not markedly different in the two regions; (b) that there is a similar economic drive behind both regions’ approach to nanodevelopment, the difference being the degree of public concern admitted; and (c) participation in decision-making is fundamentally different in the two regions. Thus in China PR, the focus is on the responsibility of the scientist; in the EU, it is about government accountability to the public. The formulation of a Code of Conduct for scientists in both regions (China PR’s predicted for 2012) reveals both similarity and difference in approach to nanotechnology development. This may change, since individual responsibility alone cannot guide S&T development, and as public participation is increasingly seen globally as integral to governmental decision-making

Polar Flagellar Biosynthesis and a Regulator of Flagellar Number Influence Spatial Parameters of Cell Division in Campylobacter jejuni

Spatial and numerical regulation of flagellar biosynthesis results in different flagellation patterns specific for each bacterial species. Campylobacter jejuni produces amphitrichous (bipolar) flagella to result in a single flagellum at both poles. These flagella confer swimming motility and a distinctive darting motility necessary for infection of humans to cause diarrheal disease and animals to promote commensalism. In addition to flagellation, symmetrical cell division is spatially regulated so that the divisome forms near the cellular midpoint. We have identified an unprecedented system for spatially regulating cell division in C. jejuni composed by FlhG, a regulator of flagellar number in polar flagellates, and components of amphitrichous flagella. Similar to its role in other polarly-flagellated bacteria, we found that FlhG regulates flagellar biosynthesis to limit poles of C. jejuni to one flagellum. Furthermore, we discovered that FlhG negatively influences the ability of FtsZ to initiate cell division. Through analysis of specific flagellar mutants, we discovered that components of the motor and switch complex of amphitrichous flagella are required with FlhG to specifically inhibit division at poles. Without FlhG or specific motor and switch complex proteins, cell division occurs more often at polar regions to form minicells. Our findings suggest a new understanding for the biological requirement of the amphitrichous flagellation pattern in bacteria that extend beyond motility, virulence, and colonization. We propose that amphitrichous bacteria such as Campylobacter species advantageously exploit placement of flagella at both poles to spatially regulate an FlhG-dependent mechanism to inhibit polar cell division, thereby encouraging symmetrical cell division to generate the greatest number of viable offspring. Furthermore, we found that other polarly-flagellated bacteria produce FlhG proteins that influence cell division, suggesting that FlhG and polar flagella may function together in a broad range of bacteria to spatially regulate division

Novas tecnologias e desempenho operacional: um estudo internacional comparativo

This study investigates the influence of new technology anticipation by manufacturing firms on performance. Complementarily, a comparative analysis between Brazilian and plants located in other countries was performed. To test these issues, data was collected from 337 firms located in 11 countries, including Brazil. Key aspects in Operations Management such as manufacturing strategy, functional integration, supply chain management and supplier partnership were considered as relevant for technology anticipation. Results suggest that manufacturing strategy, functional integration, and supplier partnership are important for firms located abroad, while only functional integration is important for Brazilian firms. Finally, there are evidences suggesting a positive relationship between new technology anticipation and operational performance for international and Brazilian firms

Transformative capacity and local action for urban sustainability.

There is a consensus about the strategic importance of cities and urban areas for achieving a global transformation towards sustainability. While there is mounting interest in the types of qualities that increase the capacity of urban systems to attain deep transformations, empirical evidence about the extent to which existing institutional and material systems exhibit transformative capacity is lacking. This paper thereby seeks to determine the extent to which sustainability initiatives led by local governments and their partners reflect the various components that the literature claims can influence the emergence of transformative capacity as a systemic property of urban settings. Using an evaluative framework consisting of ten components of transformative capacity and associated indicators, the specific objective is to identify patterns in these initiatives regarding the presence of individual components of transformative capacity and their interrelations with other components. The analysis of 400 sustainability initiatives reveals thin evidence of transformative capacity. When detected, evidence of transformative capacity tended to emerge in relation to wider processes of institutional- and social-learning and initiatives that linked outcomes to a city-wide vision of planning and development. However, instances of such initiatives were rare. This widespread lack of evidence for transformative capacity raises concerns that this set of attributes normalised in the literature is in fact rarely found in sustainability action on the ground

Strategic leadership in liminal space: Framing exploration of digital opportunities at hierarchical interfaces

Research Summary: We investigate how strategic leaders of an incumbent firm frame exploration of digital opportunities at the interfaces of organizational hierarchy. Digital technologies create an unbounded array of opportunities that may pose challenges to the strategic coherence of corporate entrepreneurship activity. Our analysis reveals that top management teams (TMTs) adopt a paradoxical framing of exploration, thereby creating a liminal space with unstable boundaries between exploration activities aligned with core resources (i.e., convergent) and those perceived as divergent. We show that middle managers (MMs) skillfully navigate this space by combining framing with substantive and symbolic actions to blur the boundaries of exploration. Drawing on our findings, we theorize the role of framing at the interfaces between the TMT and MMs in setting boundaries for exploration. Managerial Summary: The process of digital transformation can be overwhelming for established companies as managers encounter a myriad of new opportunities. Our study of a large telecommunications company found that both senior and MMs play important roles in guiding the development of new digital businesses. Senior managers encourage creative thinking and promote exploring multiple innovation opportunities. However, they also set boundaries to prevent innovation activities from becoming too risky by venturing into very distant domains. This contradictive requirement creates a “gray zone” for MMs to imaginatively use their skills to navigate restrictions without compromising exploration of new opportunities. This approach involves both top‐down and bottom‐up communication between senior and MMs that helps avoid short‐sightedness and overspending when it comes to innovating with digital technologies

Crisis? What Crisis? Framing Legitimacy of a New Ecosystem During Geopolitical Turbulence

This study examines the leadership role of platform sponsors in framing ecosystem legitimacy amidst crises, focusing on the geopolitical turbulence between the US and China and Huawei’s Harmony OS development. We emphasize how crises, often seen as obstacles, can become catalysts through strategic framing. Analyzing Huawei's strategic communications, public engagements, and internal documentation, we identify three primary forms of framing: nascent ecosystem actualization, fraternization, and incentivization. These strategic actions help construct a shared understanding, establish collaborative mechanisms, and articulate platform sponsor commitments for ecosystem legitimation. Our findings reveal that strategic framing addresses cognitive and normative concerns of potential complementors while integrating performative actions to substantiate these frames. By strategically framing actions and imbuing them with meaning, leaders ensure mutual understanding and maintain trust, transforming external crises into support for legitimacy. This study contributes to the literature on ecosystem development and strategic leadership, showing how leaders accelerate legitimation and growth of nascent ecosystems during crises. Our model highlights the dynamic interplay between micro-level discursive and performative actions for legitimation in turbulent settings, offering theoretical insights and practical implications

Exploring the asymmetric complementarity between external knowledge search and management innovation

This paper hypothesizes about and tests the conditions under which firms experience substitutional and complementary effects from the synchronous deployment of innovation search—in the form of external knowledge sourcing, and management innovation—in the form of new organizational processes, practices, and structures, on innovative performance. Theoretically, this represents an interesting puzzle as the extant literature offers two contradictory explanations regarding their synchronous effects, built on fundamentally different problem-solving mechanisms that expose distinct managerial challenges for coordinating external search activities. Specifically, we predict the existence of a substitutional effect between external search depth and management innovation, and a complementary effect between external search breadth and management innovation. We found strong evidence relevant to our theoretical predictions. Our study offers new theoretical insights regarding the synchronicity of innovation search and management innovation