Pop-up shops for increasing employability and contributing to civil society in times of austerity

This chapter discusses a learning and teaching unit pop-up shop rooted in experiential learning. This pop-up shop learning activity aims to increase employability and educate young learners how to contribute to civil society. The discussion offers a reflection on how lecturers’ roles are changing in response to the austerity informed UK policies and HE measures. Universities are increasingly required to generate larger numbers of enterprising, employment-ready graduates. Increased monitoring of the efficient use of public spending in HE has seen the introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) bringing more focus on employability rates, which in turn help to determine university rankings. These rankings put pressure on HE senior management, which is then passed down through the hierarchy to lecturers. The detailed guidance on how to run pop-up shops offers a pragmatic answer to the outlined challenges to inspire lecturers to develop their learning and teaching strategies. Particular attention is paid to developing reflective skills in learners.N/

Sensitising effects of genetically modified enzymes used in flavour, fragrance, detergence and pharmaceutical production: cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES The use of genetically engineered enzymes in the synthesis of flavourings, fragrances and other applications has increased tremendously. There is, however, a paucity of data on sensitisation and/or allergy to the finished products. We aimed to review the use of genetically modified enzymes and the enormous challenges in human biomonitoring studies with suitable assays of specific IgE to a variety of modified enzyme proteins in occupational settings and measure specific IgE to modified enzymes in exposed workers. METHODS Specific IgE antibodies against workplace-specific individual enzymes were measured by the specific fluorescence enzyme-labelled immunoassay in 813 exposed workers seen in cross-sectional surveys. RESULTS Twenty-three per cent of all exposed workers showed type I sensitisation with IgE antibodies directed against respective workplace-specific enzymes. The highest sensitisation frequencies observed were for workers exposed enzymes derived from α-amylase (44%), followed by stainzyme (41%), pancreatinin (35%), savinase (31%), papain (31%), ovozyme (28%), phytase (16%), trypsin (15%) and lipase (4%). The highest individual antibody levels (up to 110 kU/L) were detected in workers exposed to phytase, xylanase and glucanase. In a subgroup comprising 134 workers, detailed clinical diagnostics confirmed work-related symptoms. There was a strong correlation (r=0.75, p<0.0001) between the symptoms and antibody levels. Workers with work-related respiratory symptoms showed a higher prevalence for the presence of specific IgE antibodies against workplace-specific enzymes than asymptomatic exposed workers (likelihood ratio 2.32, sensitivity 0.92, specificity 0.6). CONCLUSIONS Our data confirm the previous findings showing that genetically engineered enzymes are potent allergens eliciting immediate-type sensitisation. Owing to lack of commercial diagnostic tests, few of those exposed receive regular surveillance including biomonitoring with relevant specific IgE assays

Gender, gender self-perceptions, and workplace leadership

Female leaders display at least equally effective behaviors as male leaders, but female leaders are still underrepresented in leadership positions. Furthermore, it is more difficult for female leaders than for male leaders to achieve positive leadership outcomes. Role congruity theory suggests that a perceived mismatch between feminine gender role and masculine leadership role can create role conflicts that may hinder women’s progression to leadership positions and may negatively affect the evaluation of women, who have achieved leadership positions. Research evidence suggests that role congruity theory can help explain gender differences in leadership emergence and leadership outcomes. Furthermore, role congruity theory can be meaningfully combined with concepts, such as double standards of competence as well as status incongruence. Further research is needed to determine the relative importance of social roles (i.e., gender role, leadership role) and individual attributes (i.e., categorical gender, gender selfperceptions) for the persistence of gender-inequality in the workplace. From a practical perspective, this implies that both organizational level (e.g., gender belief systems) and individual level (e.g., career advancement for women) need to be addressed simultaneously