Workforce participation: developing a theoretical framework for longitudinal research

This paper describes and evaluates an action research project on workforce participation at Viewpoint Research Community Interest Company (CIC). By setting out the research protocols devised by Viewpoint to stimulate and study co-operative management, it is possible to abstract a theoretical framework that emerged from a pilot case study. The paper contributes to theory by highlighting not only the potential of action research to catalyse interest in co operative management but also how to engage theoretically with the paradox of a workforce voting to limit its own participation in ownership, governance and management. In this study, the authors interpreted that participants did not automatically equate participatory management with workplace democracy leading to a theoretical perspective that “democratic management is the propensity and capacity of management systems to respond to members’ desires regarding the scope, depth, level and quality of participation in management”. The paper concludes by evaluating the efficacy of Viewpoint’s action research methodology as a strategy for deepening knowledge on workforce participation in co-operatives and employee-owned businesses

Workforce Participation: developing a theoretical framework for longitudinal research

This paper describes an action research methodology and theoretical framework developed during a pilot study into workforce participation at Viewpoint Research CIC. The study suggests a set of protocols for generating case studies that describe the framing, operationalisation and evaluation of workforce participation in organisations. In the paper's conclusions, the authors argue that the concept of workplace democracy needs reframing to takes account of the level of alignment between the systems of participations that are desired by workforce members and those designed by the organisation's managers

Member-Employee Engagement Project: Developing a Theoretical Model for Funded and Commercial Research

This document provides feedback on a Member-Employee Engagement Methodology piloted by Viewpoint Research CIC in collaboration with Sheffield Business School. This project, funded by a Business Link Innovation Voucher, is a discussion document for the staff at Viewpoint Research CIC that is being shared with sector, professional and industry bodies, client organisations, and policy makers who want further information on the underlying principles and purposes behind Viewpoint's member-engagement methodology and survey research instrument

Workforce Participation: developing a theoretical framework for longitudinal research

This paper describes an action research methodology and theoretical framework developed during a pilot study into workforce participation at Viewpoint Research CIC. The study suggests a set of protocols for generating case studies that describe the framing, operationalisation and evaluation of workforce participation in organisations. In the paper's conclusions, the authors argue that the concept of workplace democracy needs reframing to takes account of the level of alignment between the systems of participations that are desired by workforce members and those designed by the organisation's managers

Journal of the Oriental Society of Australia : JOSA

The gut microbiota affects a wide spectrum of host physiological traits, including development [ 1–5 ], germline [ 6 ], immunity [ 7–9 ], nutrition [ 4, 10, 11 ], and longevity [ 12, 13 ]. Association with microbes also influences fitness-related behaviors such as mating [ 14 ] and social interactions [ 15, 16 ]. Although the gut microbiota is evidently important for host wellbeing, how hosts become associated with particular assemblages of microbes from the environment remains unclear. Here, we present evidence that the gut microbiota can modify microbial and nutritional preferences of Drosophila melanogaster. By experimentally manipulating the gut microbiota of flies subjected to behavioral and chemosensory assays, we found that fly-microbe attractions are shaped by the identity of the host microbiota. Conventional flies exhibit preference for their associated Lactobacillus, a behavior also present in axenic flies as adults and marginally as larvae. By contrast, fly preference for Acetobacter is primed by early-life exposure and can override the innate preference. These microbial preferences are largely olfactory guided and have profound impact on host foraging, as flies continuously trade off between acquiring beneficial microbes and balancing nutrients from food. Our study shows a role of animal microbiota in shaping host fitness-related behavior through their chemosensory responses, opening a research theme on the interrelationships between the microbiota, host sensory perception, and behavior

Data from: Gut microbiota modifies olfactory-guided microbial preferences and foraging decisions in Drosophila

The file contains the raw data set for the Manuscript with the title mentioned above. Files are separated by figures, each in its individual tab within the Excel file. Variable names are self-explanatory