Using networks towards global labor standards? Organizing social responsibility in global production chains

"In einer sich globalisierenden Ökonomie wird Arbeit nicht selten in einer Form organisiert, die gegen die elementarsten Menschenrechte verstößt. Dieser Tendenz wird von in Fragen sozial verantwortlicher Unternehmungsführung besonders engagierten Unternehmungen entgegen gewirkt, indem entsprechende Verhaltenskodizes formuliert und nicht nur in der Unternehmung, sondern auch in ihrem globalen Zuliefernetzwerk implementiert werden. Allerdings stößt die Implementierung dort auf zum Teil kaum zu überwindende Schwierigkeiten. Die Organisationsform des Netzwerks wird in Hinblick darauf untersucht, inwiefern und unter welchen Bedingungen sie einer in Hinblick auf die Einhaltung globaler Arbeitsstandards sozial verantwortlichen Unternehmungs- bzw. Netzwerkführung entgegensteht oder aber unterstützt. Die Rolle des institutionellen Kontexts einer sozialverantwortlichen Führung wird dabei berücksichtigt und verschiedene denkbare Regulierungsmodi angesprochen. Die Untersuchung ist von strukturationstheoretischen Grundüberlegungen getragen und basiert empirisch auf der explorativen Analyse von drei Fallstudien aus der Bekleidungsindustrie." (Autorenreferat)"The prosperity of spreading economic globalization often rests on subjecting labor to working conditions which violate elementary human rights. Political, and to a markedly lesser extent, academic controversies over counter-measures have developed with a primarily focus on cases of buyer-driven global commodity chains. With general and judicable global standards non-existent, consumer and shareholder pressure plus internal goals for setting labor standards have led some globally active enterprises to voluntarily adopt codes of conduct as a means of dealing with this problem all along the commodity chain. Using some basic tenets of structuration theory and insights based on an exploratory empirical analysis of three cases from the apparel industry, this paper looks at such codes as a tool of corporate social responsibility. From this, it goes on to ask whether the form and the shape of the inter-organizational network are conducive or a hindrance to achieving acceptable labor standards. Following a brief review of the problems associated with achieving generally recognized global labor standards, the paper concludes with an appraisal of the need to embed corporate social responsibility in a comprehensive institutional framework in the interest of human rights and global labor standards." (author's abstract

Initiating transfer of practices via union involvement

International Framework Agreements (IFAs) represent a still small but growing and particularly interesting contribution to the global regulation of employment relations. IFAs enable global union federations (GUFs) to become actively involved in co-designing employment relations within transnational corporations (TNCs) and their global production networks. Based upon theoretical insights into the challenges of transferring practices in and across organizations, we present and discuss a model of practice transfer for global production networks based on empirical data from a content analysis of IFAs and from interviews with representatives of TNCs, GUFs, and other experts. Our study contributes to an organizational theory of practice transfer. But more importantly, it aims at a better integration of IHRM and international industrial relations by looking more closely at the particular role of GUFs as external actors

A Mixed-Method Approach for the Study of Practices in Interorganizational Settings

A general interest in the study of social practices has been spreading across a diversity of disciplines in organization and management research, relying mostly on rich ethnographic accounts of units or teams. What is often called the “practice-turn”, however, has not reached research on interorganizational networks. This is mainly due to methodological issues that call, in the end, for a mixed-method approach. This paper addresses this issue by proposing a research design that balances well-established social network analysis with a set of techniques of organizational ethnography that fit with the specifics of interorganizational networks. In what we call “network ethnography”, qualitative and quantitative data are collected and analyzed in a parallel fashion. Ultimately, the design implies convergence during data interpretation, hereby offering platforms of reflection for each method towards new data collection and analysis. We discuss implications for mixed- method literature, research on interorganizational networks, and organizational ethnography

Anfänge einer Institutionalisierung grenzüberschreitender Arbeitsbeziehungen? Zur Paradoxie der Internationalen Rahmenabkommen im globalen Dienstleistungssektor

"Im Zentrum des Beitrages steht die paradoxe Beobachtung, dass Internationalisierungsphänomene bei arbeitsintensiven, unternehmensbezogenen Dienstleistungen häufig mit einem Verfall der arbeitspolitischen Institutionen in Verbindung gebracht werden, es aber gleichwohl Internationale Rahmenabkommen zwischen globalen Dienstleistungsunternehmen und dem zuständigen globalen Gewerkschaftsdachverband gibt. Anhand einer exemplarischen Fallstudie wird herausgearbeitet, dass vor allem ein Zusammenfallen von zwei Aspekten den paradoxen Abschluss von Internationalen Rahmenabkommen in arbeitsintensiven Dienstleistungssegmenten begünstigt: Erstens auf Seiten der globalen Gewerkschaft ein Verhandlungskonzept, das ausgehend von den niedrigen Organisationsgraden in den betroffenen Branchen 'Organizing' zum Gegenstand der Aushandlung macht und zweitens auf Seiten des zentralen Managements ein besonderer Legitimationsbedarf des Geschäftsmodells bei gleichzeitig erhöhter Sichtbarkeit des Unternehmens." (Autorenreferat)"This article directs attention to the paradoxical observation that while the deterioration of (national) industrial relations institutions and labor standards are often found in conjunction with the internationalization of labor-intensive industrial services there are unique cases of global (framework) agreements in this sector. These agreements have been concluded between the global union federation representing the private service industries, and several large multinationals. Using an exemplary case study, the authors argue that a combination of two aspects facilitates the paradoxical conclusion of global agreements in labor-intensive services: First, for the global union federation, a negotiation strategy that focuses on how to support 'organizing' in order to tackle low unionization rates in the sector, and second, for central management, pressure to legitimize and further a particular business model owing to the high-profile visibility of their respective companies." (author's abstract

Correlative High-Resolution Imaging of Iron Uptake in Lung Macrophages

Detection of iron at the subcellular level in order to gain insights into its transport, storage, and therapeutic prospects to prevent cytotoxic effects of excessive iron accumulation is still a challenge. Nanoscale magnetic sector secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is an excellent candidate for subcellular mapping of elements in cells since it provides high secondary ion collection efficiency and transmission, coupled with high-lateral-resolution capabilities enabled by nanoscale primary ion beams. In this study, we developed correlative methodologies that implement SIMS high-resolution imaging technologies to study accumulation and determine subcellular localization of iron in alveolar macrophages. We employed transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and backscattered electron (BSE) microscopy to obtain structural information and high-resolution analytical tools, NanoSIMS and helium ion microscopy-SIMS (HIM-SIMS) to trace the chemical signature of iron. Chemical information from NanoSIMS was correlated with TEM data, while high-spatial-resolution ion maps from HIM-SIMS analysis were correlated with BSE structural information of the cell. NanoSIMS revealed that iron is accumulating within mitochondria, and both NanoSIMS and HIM-SIMS showed accumulation of iron in electrolucent compartments such as vacuoles, lysosomes, and lipid droplets. This study provides insights into iron metabolism at the subcellular level and has future potential in finding therapeutics to reduce the cytotoxic effects of excessive iron loading

Everybody’s Hacking:Participation and the Mainstreaming of Hackathons

Hackathons have become a popular tool for bringing people together to imagine new possibilities for technology. Despite originating in technology communities, hackathons have now been widely adopted by a broad range of organisations. This mainstreaming of hackathons means they encompass a very different range of attendees and activities than they once did, to the extent that some events billed as hackathons may involve no coding at all. Given this shift away from production of code, they might instead be seen as an increasingly popular participatory design activity, from which designers and researchers in HCI can learn. Through fieldwork at six hackathons that targeted non-technical communities, we identify the types of activities and contributions that emerge through these events and the barriers and tensions that might exist. In doing so, we contribute a greater understanding of hackathons as a growing phenomenon and as a potential tool for participatory research.Publisher PD

Characterisation of archaeological waterlogged wood by pyrolytic and mass spectrometric techniques

1) Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, via Risorgimento 35. 56126 Pisa, Italy ; 2) IRNAS-CSIC, Seville, Spain; E-mail address: [email protected] combination of two techniques based on analytical pyrolysis and mass spectrometry, including direct exposure-MS (DE-MS) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), was used to study the chemical composition of waterlogged archaeological wood. In particular, the two techniques were used to chemically characterise samples of archaeological wood from the excavation of the Site of the Ancient Ships of Pisa San Rossore in Pisa (Italy). The data were compared to those of native sound wood of the same species. The results highlight that DE-MS is a valuable technique for the characterisation of archaeological wood. DE-MS allows us to use a minimal sample size and to perform the analysis in a few minutes, thus avoiding the long wet-chemical procedures that are commonly used to characterise wood. The results also confirm the importance of Py-GC/MS as a tool for shedding light on the chemical modifications of wood in archaeological objects. The analyses demonstrated that waterlogged wood from the site of Pisa San Rossore have undergone an extensive loss of polysaccharides together with partial demethylation of lignin units, both guaiacyl and syringyl monomers. In fact, catechols and methoxy catechols were identified among the pyrolysis products of the waterlogged wood samples.The authors wish to thank Dott.ssa G. Giachi (Restoration Laboratories of the Archaeological Superintendence of Tuscany, Florence, Italy) for providing archaeological wood samples and for her valuable support and collaboration. Funding was provided by the Archaeological Superintendence of Tuscany and by the Italian MIUR (PRIN Cofin05).Peer reviewe

Structure-Based Prediction of Asparagine and Aspartate Degradation Sites in Antibody Variable Regions

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and proteins containing antibody domains are the most prevalent class of biotherapeutics in diverse indication areas. Today, established techniques such as immunization or phage display allow for an efficient generation of new mAbs. Besides functional properties, the stability of future therapeutic mAbs is a key selection criterion which is essential for the development of a drug candidate into a marketed product. Therapeutic proteins may degrade via asparagine (Asn) deamidation and aspartate (Asp) isomerization, but the factors responsible for such degradation remain poorly understood. We studied the structural properties of a large, uniform dataset of Asn and Asp residues in the variable domains of antibodies. Their structural parameters were correlated with the degradation propensities measured by mass spectrometry. We show that degradation hotspots can be characterized by their conformational flexibility, the size of the C-terminally flanking amino acid residue, and secondary structural parameters. From these results we derive an accurate in silico prediction method for the degradation propensity of both Asn and Asp residues in the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of mAbs