Corporate Cultures in Global Interaction: People, Strategies, and Success

Markets and environmental conditions are in a continual state of flux, put growing pressure on corporations, and forcing them to adapt. New technologies are being created, new markets are emerging, and large new corporations are being founded on almost a daily basis. Furthermore, the emerging economies are already producing corporations which are operating on a global scale. This internationalization of the markets goes hand in hand with the increasingly transnational activities of corporations and thus with the enhanced cooperation between them and their employees and partners, competitors and colleagues from completely different cultures. Corporate culture is influenced by regional, national and international elements, so that the diversity and complexity of the action space in which a corporation operates are continually on the increase and need to be managed in an active manner at the executive level

Qualität ist uns wichtig

Weil Hochschulen wichtige Stätten der Wissensproduktion sind, hat die Qualität ihrer Leistungen heutzutage eine hohe volkswirtschaftliche Bedeutung. Das macht die externe Qualitätssicherung bildungspolitisch interessant; deshalb wird sie mit umfassenden Kompetenzen ausgestattet. Kompetenz hat jedoch etwas damit zu tun, dass sich Zuständigkeit, Fähigkeit und Bereitschaft in Deckung befinden. Augrund einer Kompetenzverwirrung ist die externe Qualitätssicherung für Dinge zuständig, zu denen sie nicht fähig ist. Deswegen bleibt die intendierte Leistungsfähigkeit und Wirksamkeit bei ihrer Implementierung auf der Strecke und die neuerdings in Mode geratenen 'Impact Studies' sind Ausdruck der mittlerweile vorhandenen Skepsis gegenüber der eigenen Wirksamkeit. 22.03.2013 | Kurt Sohm (Wien

Constitutive Extracellular Polysaccharide (EPS) Production by Specific Isolates of Crocosphaera watsonii

Unicellular dinitrogen (N2) fixing cyanobacteria have only recently been identified in the ocean and recognized as important contributors to global N2 fixation. The only cultivated representatives of the open ocean unicellular diazotrophs are multiple isolates of Crocosphaera watsonii. Although constituents of the genus are nearly genetically identical, isolates have been described in two size classes, large ∼5 μm and small ∼3 μm cell diameters. We show here that the large size class constitutively produces substantial amounts of extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) during exponential growth, up to 10 times more than is seen in the small size class, and does so under both N2 fixing and non-N2 fixing conditions. The EPS production exceeds the amount produced by larger phytoplankton such as diatoms and coccolithophores by one to two orders of magnitude, is ∼22% of the total particulate organic C in the culture, and is depleted in N compared to cellular material. The large difference in observed EPS production may be accounted for by consistently higher photochemical efficiency of photosystem II in the large (0.5) vs. small (∼0.35) strains. While it is known that Crocosphaera plays an important role in driving the biological carbon (C) pump through the input of new nitrogen (N) to the open ocean, we hypothesize that this species may also contribute directly to the C cycle through the constitutive production of EPS. Indeed, at two stations in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, ∼70% of large Crocosphaera cells observed were embedded in EPS. The evolutionary advantage of releasing such large amounts of fixed C is still unknown, but in regions where Crocosphaera can be abundant (i.e., the warm oligotrophic ocean) this material will likely have important biogeochemical consequences

Phosphorus Cycling in the Sargasso Sea: Investigation Using the Oxygen Isotopic Composition of Phosphate, Enzyme-Labeled Fluorescence, and Turnover Times

Dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) concentrations in surface water of vast areas of the ocean are extremely low (\u3c10 nM) and phosphorus (P) availability could limit primary productivity in these regions. We explore the use of oxygen isotopic signature of dissolved phosphate (δ18OPO4) to investigate biogeochemical cycling of P in the Sargasso Sea, Atlantic Ocean. Additional techniques for studying P dynamics including 33P-based DIP turnover time estimates and percent of cells expressing alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity as measured by enzyme-labeling fluorescence are also used. In surface waters, δ18OPO4 values were lower than equilibrium by 3–6%, indicative of dissolved organic phosphorous (DOP) remineralization by extracellular enzymes. An isotope mass balance model using a variety of possible combinations of enzymatic pathways and substrates indicates that DOP remineralization in the euphotic zone can account for a large proportion on P utilized by phytoplankton (as much as 82%). Relatively short DIP turnover times (4–8 h) and high expression of AP (38–77% of the cells labeled) are consistent with extensive DOP utilization and low DIP availability in the euphotic zone. In deep water where DOP utilization rates are lower, δ18OPO4 values approach isotopic equilibrium and DIP turnover times are longer. Our data suggests that in the euphotic zone of the Sargasso Sea, DOP may be appreciably remineralized and utilized by phytoplankton and bacteria to supplement cellular requirements. A substantial fraction of photosynthesis in this region is supported by DOP uptake

Construcción de significados en mujeres víctimas de violencia sexual en la guerra

El presente trabajo de grado indaga en la experiencia de dos mujeres víctimas de violencia sexual por motivo del conflicto armado colombiano, busca adentrarse en los impactos psicosociales que surgen a raíz del hecho, sus recursos de afrontamiento tanto a nivel individual como colectivo y también indaga en los espacios de encuentro psicosocial con la intención de brindar una perspectiva de la violencia sexual por motivo del conflicto armado como fenómeno.The following degree work inquires in the experience of two women who were victims of sexual violence due to Colombian armed conflict, it seeks to deepen into the psychosocial impacts that arise from the experience, their individual coping mechanisms as well as their collective coping mechanisms and it also explores the category of psychosocial encounters with the intention of providing a perspective of sexual violence due to the armed conflict as a phenomenon.Psicólogo (a)Pregrad

The p53 binding protein PDCD5 is not rate-limiting in DNA damage induced cell death

The tumour suppressor p53 is an important mediator of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in response to DNA damage, acting mainly by transcriptional regulation of specific target genes. The exact details how p53 modulates this decision on a molecular basis is still incompletely understood. One mechanism of regulation is acetylation of p53 on lysine K120 by the histone-acetyltransferase Tip60, resulting in preferential transcription of proapoptotic target genes. PDCD5, a protein with reported pro-apoptotic function, has recently been identified as regulator of Tip60-dependent p53-acetylation. In an effort to clarify the role of PDCD5 upon DNA damage, we generated cell lines in which PDCD5 expression was conditionally ablated by shRNAs and investigated their response to genotoxic stress. Surprisingly, we failed to note a rate-limiting role of PDCD5 in the DNA damage response. PDCD5 was dispensable for DNA damage induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest and we observed no significant changes in p53 target gene transcription. While we were able to confirm interaction of PDCD5 with p53, we failed to do so for Tip60. Altogether, our results suggest a role of PDCD5 in the regulation of p53 function but unrelated to cell cycle arrest or apoptosis, at least in the cell types investigated.FP06 RTN ‘ApopTrain’Tyrolean Science FundKrebshilfe-Tyro

Essais de fluage confinés et thermorégulés sur enrobés bitumineux : expérimentation et modélisation

Pour étudier les déformations permanentes des enrobés bitumineux, un essai triaxial thermorégulé à pression de confinement constante a été developpé. Des essais de fluage à contrainte imposée ont permis d'étudier l'influence des paramètres pression de confinement, déviateur de contraintes et température sur le comportement des enrobés. Ils ont aussi permis de valider le principe d'équivalence temps température en grandes déformations. Un modèle élasto-visco-plastique pouvant être intégré dans un calcul structurel, a été développé pour simuler les essais de fluage