Parents' experiences of flexible work arrangements in changing European workplaces

Various leaves and other forms of flexible working arrangements have been implemented in workplaces to support employees with family commitments. Some are a response to public policy, others developed voluntarily. However, research examining the effectiveness of these policies in a search for “good practices” often neglects the impact of specific national and workplace contexts. Some researchers are calling for more attention to social systems, especially at the macro and meso levels, and the relationships between them, to extend understanding of work family processes and experiences. We argue that this is critical for evaluating work-family policies and practices. However it is important to recognize that social systems are not static. They are dynamic and changing, particularly in the context of globalization processes. Drawing on data from six case studies of private sector organizations undergoing rapid change and transformation, carried out in six European states, as part of a qualitative cross-national EU project (Transitions)1 , this paper explores the impact of multiple layers of context on parents’ experiences of flexible working arrangements for managing work and family boundaries. The study shows that although various aspects of macro layers of context are important and it is easier to make use of flexibility to combine work and parenting in some national and workplace contexts than others, changes taking place at the workplace level in response to global competition and efficiency drives can undermine both regulatory and voluntary initiatives to enhance flexibility for parents. This is occurring across national boundaries. Some implications for debates on “good practices” and for future work-family research are discussed

Live Imaging of Type I Collagen Assembly Dynamics in Osteoblasts Stably Expressing GFP and mCherry-Tagged Collagen Constructs

Type I collagen is the most abundant extracellular matrix protein in bone and other connective tissues and plays key roles in normal and pathological bone formation as well as in connective tissue disorders and fibrosis. Although much is known about the collagen biosynthetic pathway and its regulatory steps, the mechanisms by which it is assembled extracellularly are less clear. We have generated GFPtpz and mCherry-tagged collagen fusion constructs for live imaging of type I collagen assembly by replacing the α2(I)-procollagen N-terminal propeptide with GFPtpz or mCherry. These novel imaging probes were stably transfected into MLO-A5 osteoblast-like cells and fibronectin-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts (FN-null-MEFs) and used for imaging type I collagen assembly dynamics and its dependence on fibronectin. Both fusion proteins co-precipitated with α1(I)-collagen and remained intracellular without ascorbate but were assembled into α1(I) collagen-containing extracellular fibrils in the presence of ascorbate. Immunogold-EM confirmed their ultrastuctural localization in banded collagen fibrils. Live cell imaging in stably transfected MLO-A5 cells revealed the highly dynamic nature of collagen assembly and showed that during assembly the fibril networks are continually stretched and contracted due to the underlying cell motion. We also observed that cell-generated forces can physically reshape the collagen fibrils. Using co-cultures of mCherry- and GFPtpz-collagen expressing cells, we show that multiple cells contribute collagen to form collagen fiber bundles. Immuno-EM further showed that individual collagen fibrils can receive contributions of collagen from more than one cell. Live cell imaging in FN-null-MEFs expressing GFPtpz-collagen showed that collagen assembly was both dependent upon and dynamically integrated with fibronectin assembly. These GFP-collagen fusion constructs provide a powerful tool for imaging collagen in living cells and have revealed novel and fundamental insights into the dynamic mechanisms for the extracellular assembly of collagen

Hollowing out national agreements in the NHS? The case of "Improving Working Lives" under a "Turnaround" plan

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consider the resilience of a national-level initiative (Improving Working Lives (IWL)) in the face of local-level initiative (Turnaround) in an NHS hospital and compare to Bach and Kessler’s (2012) model of public service employment relations. Design/methodology/approach: Case study research consisting of 23 in-depth semi-structured interviews from a range of participants. Findings: The principles behind IWL were almost entirely sacrificed in order to meet the financial objectives of Turnaround. This indicates the primacy of localised upstream performance management initiatives over the national-level downstream employee relations initiatives that form the basis of the NHS’ claim to model employer aspiration. Research limitations/implications: The case study was conducted between 2007 and 2009. While the case study falls under previous government regime, the dualised system of national-level agreements combined with localised performance management – and the continued existence of both Turnaround and IWL – makes the results relevant at the time of writing. Originality/value: Some studies (e.g. Skinner et al., 2004) indicated a perception that IWL was not trusted by NHS staff. The present study offers reasons as to why this may be the case