Bewegung im Betrieb: Organizing-Projekte und die Revitalisierung der industriellen Beziehungen

Der Beitrag argumentiert, dass gewerkschaftliche Organisierung im Rahmen von betrieblichen Organizing-Projekten den Charakter von sozialen Bewegungen annimmt und damit die Verfasstheit der industriellen Beziehungen in Deutschland herausfordert. Während das duale System der Interessenvertretung repräsentative, auf Ausgleich und Kompromiss angelegte und zudem stark verrechtlichte Verhandlungssysteme etabliert, werden im Rahmen von Organizing-Prozessen die Beschäftigten selbst zur aktiven Gestaltung der Interessenpolitik im Betrieb motiviert. Dabei kommt es zu einer bemerkenswerten beteiligungsorientierten Erweiterung des dualen Systems auf betrieblicher Ebene, mit der auch Potenziale für die Revitalisierung der industriellen Beziehungen verbunden sind.The article argues that union organizing within corporate organizing projects takes on the character of social movements and thus represents a challenge for the constitutional nature of German industrial relations. Whilst the German system establishes representative bargaining systems, based on compensation and compromise as well as strong legalization, the organizing processes in contrast motivates employees to shape actively their policy interests at the company level. This results in a noteworthy participation-oriented expansion of the dual system at the workplace, which in turn has the potential for revitalizing industrial relations (institutions)

Individual behavioural responses of an intermediate host to a manipulative acanthocephalan parasite and the effects of intra-specific parasite competition

© 2018 Timo Thünken. Background: Parasites with complex life cycles depend on the ingestion of their intermediate host by the final host. To complete their life cycle successfully, parasites frequently manipulate the behaviour and appearance of the intermediate host. Within host–parasite systems, there is considerable variation in the intermediate host’s behavioural response to infection. Aim: Identify sources of parasite-induced variation in intermediate hosts’ traits by focusing on intra- and inter-individual variation in behavioural responses to parasitic manipulation, taking infection intensity – and thus parasitic competition – into account. Organism: The acanthocephalan parasite Polymorphus minutus, which alters the phototactic behaviour and activity of its intermediate host, Gammarus pulex, thereby increasing the probability of being eaten by the final host. Methods: We repeatedly examined the behaviour of individual G. pulex varying in intensity of infection with P. minutus from uninfected to multiple-infected. We analysed phototactic responses and activity. Results and conclusions: Individual gammarids differed in phototactic behaviour and in activity patterns, with repeatability ranging from 20% to 50%. Infected gammarids showed greater between-individual variation in phototaxis but not activity than uninfected gammarids. All uninfected gammarids were photophobic, whereas the phototactic behaviour of infected gammarids ranged from photophobia to photophilia. On average, multiple-infected gammarids were similarly photophobic as uninfected ones. Single-infected gammarids were less photophobic than uninfected and multiple-infected conspecifics. This suggests that intra-specific parasitic competition affects the manipulative abilities of parasites. Both groups of infected gammarids were on average less active than uninfected ones, and this effect was mainly driven by some infected individuals. In conclusion, behavioural variation of gammarids was caused both by individual differences in responses to manipulation/infection, and by the reduced manipulative capacities of parasites facing intra-specific competition

Male mate choice scales female ornament allometry in a cichlid fish

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies addressing the adaptive significance of female ornamentation have gained ground recently. However, the expression of female ornaments in relation to body size, known as trait allometry, still remains unexplored. Here, we investigated the allometry of a conspicuous female ornament in <it>Pelvicachromis taeniatus</it>, a biparental cichlid that shows mutual mate choice and ornamentation. Females feature an eye-catching pelvic fin greatly differing from that of males.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show that allometry of the female pelvic fin is scaled more positively in comparison to other fins. The pelvic fin exhibits isometry, whereas the other fins (except the caudal fin) show negative allometry. The size of the pelvic fin might be exaggerated by male choice because males prefer female stimuli that show a larger extension of the trait. Female pelvic fin size is correlated with individual condition, suggesting that males can assess direct and indirect benefits.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The absence of positive ornament allometry might be a result of sexual selection constricted by natural selection: fins are related to locomotion and thus may be subject to viability selection. Our study provides evidence that male mate choice might scale the expression of a female sexual ornament, and therefore has implications for the understanding of the relationship of female sexual traits with body size in species with conventional sex-roles.</p

(Ent-)Demokratisierung der Betriebe – Union Busting und der Kampf um die Mitbestimmung

Der Beitrag untersucht sogenannte „Union Busting-Methoden“, bei denen Arbeitgeber*innen Beschäftigte von der Wahl eines Betriebsrates abzuhalten versuchen, die Arbeit eines vorhandenen Betriebsrats erschweren oder die gewerkschaftliche Organisierung behindern, indem sie – im weitesten Sinne – systematisch und wiederholt gesetzliche Regelungen missachten oder sogar bewusst überschreiten. Zunächst wird der gesellschaftspolitische Kontext erörtert und anschließend Befunde vorhandener Studien vorgestellt und diskutiert. Der Beitrag schließt mit einem Vorschlag für erste Systematisierungen, die im Rahmen eines laufenden Forschungsprojekts zur Anwendung kommen