Organisational fitness searches in the Anthropocene : integrating paradox and corporate sustainability

In this paper I explore the notion that ‘organisational fitness’ as conceptualised in complexity theories represents an inherent and enduring paradox in corporate evolution. More specifically, in a changing world – increasingly characterised as the Anthropocene – firms’ fitness is significantly determined by the ability to manage the persistent trade-offs between maximising profit and survival. I develop proposals to suggest that firms with stronger corporate sustainability efforts are institutionalising organisational search and change processes, and therefore that those that internalise the resulting paradoxes as part of their identity are likely to be better adapted and more resilient. In doing so I attempt to explain why corporate sustainability efforts represent an extension of other paradoxes in general organisational evolution and thus contribute to the complementarity of a systems view on sustainability research and paradox theory

Role of proteasomes in disease

A functional ubiquitin proteasome system is essential for all eukaryotic cells and therefore any alteration to its components has potential pathological consequences. Though the exact underlying mechanism is unclear, an age-related decrease in proteasome activity weakens cellular capacity to remove oxidatively modified proteins and favours the development of neurodegenerative and cardiac diseases. Up-regulation of proteasome activity is characteristic of muscle wasting conditions including sepsis, cachexia and uraemia, but may not be rate limiting. Meanwhile, enhanced presence of immunoproteasomes in aging brain and muscle tissue could reflect a persistent inflammatory defence and anti-stress mechanism, whereas in cancer cells, their down-regulation reflects a means by which to escape immune surveillance. Hence, induction of apoptosis by synthetic proteasome inhibitors is a potential treatment strategy for cancer, whereas for other diseases such as neurodegeneration, the use of proteasome-activating or -modulating compounds could be more effective

The Lenses of Gender: Transforming the Debate on Sexual Inequality

A Review of The Lenses of Gender: Transforming the Debate on Sexual Inequality by Sandra Lipsitz Be

Guidelines for Effective Adaptive Learning: A Meta-Analysis

Adaptive learning adjusts to the student’s needs to improve learning outcomes, but adaptive learning platforms approach this goal in vastly different ways. When tested, these platforms also show varying levels of success in improving learning. The goal of this meta-analysis is to develop guidelines for the creation and implementation of adaptive learning based on studies where adaptive learning was utilized

Federal Accident Investigations: Civil Litigation Viewpoint

While aviation accident investigations have come a long way from the days when they were completely shrouded in secrecy, friction still remains between investigation and litigation. Investigations are key for identifying facts, witnesses, and areas of focus. The investigation reports, however, might be excluded from trial, and litigation experts can be excluded from trial as well if they rely solely on investigation findings without conducting their own analysis. Although the federal government spends money and effort investigating accidents, the reports are not completed with evidentiary admissibility in mind. Courts are increasingly concerned by double hearsay and other evidentiary problems that arise when using investigation reports in litigation. In the biggest civil tort lawsuit in recent years, arising from the Deepwater Horizon explosion and BP oil spill, the U.S. District Judge excluded all investigation materials from both depositions and the trial, completely separating the litigation from the high-profile investigations. This article addresses some of the nuances of the role of federal accident investigations in civil tort litigation, primarily investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The article will look at the history behind the statute forbidding the use of the NTSB probable cause determination in litigation, the current state of the law on the use of NTSB reports, some privileges that apply to federal accident investigations, and hearsay topics. A recurring issue in aviation tort litigation is the NTSB’s backlog, which can cause lengthy delays in lawsuits as the parties wait for the investigators to release data or wreckage. The article concludes that early access to factual material, as well as clear, early rulings from courts on the use of investigation materials, would save money and increase efficiency for litigants and courts

The role of umbrella agreements in achieving sustainability goals : energy efficiency at the Empire State building

In this paper we investigate whether innovative and flexible contractual arrangements can support the process of achieving ambitious sustainability goals. We explore this question through an analysis of the role of umbrella agreements in driving energy savings in the building sector. Drawing on a case study of the iconic Empire State building, we examine the typical challenges faced by clients and contractors in devising suitable agreements that facilitate managing contractual and performance risks, as well as the sharing of responsibilities and cooperation between multiple project stakeholders. We find that the project arrangements appear to exhibit the adoption of the key characteristics commonly found in umbrella agreements which incorporate sustainability measures that maximize income through efficient delivery of outcomes. Specifically, this means that they need to enable stakeholders to manage repeated review cycles, complex perceptions and expectations, and different tacit assumptions and codes of behaviour, as well as managing and communicating in networks and obtaining agreement also from non-contractual parties. Moreover, we demonstrate that umbrella agreements can facilitate a network perspective of business relationships by emphasizing value co-creation and the embeddedness of firms within a network of interactions

Sustainable supply chain management and partner engagement to manage climate change information

Climate change poses significant new risks and challenges for businesses and their supply chains. Additionally, in many sectors scope 3 indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from the sourcing and distribution of goods and services are larger than firms’ own carbon footprints. Here we study how firms engage their key stakeholders in their supply chains in obtaining, processing and transferring relevant climate change related information designed to overcome information asymmetry and drive sustainable development. Grounded in organisational information processing theory (OIPT), we draw on data from the Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP) Climate Change Supply Chain initiative for a qualitative content analysis of a large sample of global firms. Consistent with OIPT, we find that while firms primarily engage their supply chain partners in a variety of ways to reduce information uncertainty around indirect emissions data, effectively interpreting and managing broader sustainability information equivocality becomes a growing priority. Our findings further suggest that firms engage suppliers, customers and other supply chain partners through basic, transactional and collaborative types of engagement. We contribute to literatures on inter-organisational information processing and sustainable supply chain management by providing a more detailed understanding of how firms engage supply chain partners in the context of climate change