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Abstract: The article shows that human resource management (HRM) and human resource development (HRD) activities play a potentially important role in facilitating innovation in organisations. Based on previous research, a conceptual model is presented that displays how an organisation's human resource (HR) function can facilitate innovation by securing and developing the HR supply chain to ensure the healthy and continuous flow of personnel and competence into, within, and out of the organisation (i.e., by securing the appropriate competences for the job and the organisation, by developing and retaining existing competences, and by transferring competences from employees who are leaving to those who remain in the organisation). This article argues that HR practitioners can set the stage for innovations by actively and strategically implementing HR activities that support the creation of an expansive learning environment in which both adaptive and developmental learning can occur

The household effect on electoral participation:A contextual analysis of voter signatures from a French polling station (1982-2007)

We use electoral participation data coded from signature lists to show that patterns of voter turnout, be they related to average participation, versatility or precise moments of voting, are strongly related to what we call “electorate households”, i.e. groups of voters registered in the same polling station and living together. Each household tends to be homogeneous, at levels much higher than chance would explain, so that modelling individual participation without taking this household effect into account ignores much of what actually happens. The status in the household also plays an important role among individual factors of voter participation. Not only do people who live together often participate together, but the precise shape of their relationships influences their behaviour

Formation and evolution of the Lower Terrace of the Rhine River in the area of Basel

The response of fluvial systems to tectonic activity and climate change during the Late Pleistocene influenced sedimentary processes and hence the conditions of river terraces formation. The northern Alpine foreland is well adapted for such studies due to the high sediment input and the variety of depositional environments. This study focuses on sediments of a part of the Rhine River in the area of Basel, at the Border between Switzerland, Germany and France. A detailed evolution of the Lower Terrace is inferred from sedimentological, geomorphologic and pedological observations as well as historical documents, and calibrated using different dating methods (optically stimulated luminescence, uranium series disequilibrium, radiocarbon). The Lower Terrace was deposited during two periods (30-15ka and 13-11ka), which correlate with two cold climatic phases, representing the Last Glaciation of the Alps and the Younger Dryas. These ages underline that main incision of the Lower Terrace braidplain in the area of Basel is restricted to post Younger Dryas times, as sediments of that age (13-11ka) are found atop the highest levels. From then on, a flight of cut-terraces were formed with minor re-accumulation due to Holocene flood events. These findings demonstrate that the surface of a terrace does not always represent the age of sediment aggradation, and this should be remembered when using terraces to reconstruct the tectonic history of an are

Sea-to-air and diapycnalnitrous oxide fluxes in the eastern tropical North Atlantic Ocean

Sea-to-air and diapycnal fluxes of nitrous oxide (N2O) into the mixed layer were determined during three cruises to the upwelling region off Mauritania. Sea-to-air fluxes as well as diapycnal fluxes were elevated close to the shelf break, but elevated sea-to-air fluxes reached further offshore as a result of the offshore transport of upwelled water masses. To calculate a mixed layer budget for N2O we compared the regionally averaged sea-to-air and diapycnal fluxes and estimated the potential contribution of other processes, such as vertical advection and biological N2O production in the mixed layer. Using common parameterizations for the gas transfer velocity, the comparison of the average sea-toair and diapycnal N2O fluxes indicated that the mean sea-toair flux is about three to four times larger than the diapycnal flux. Neither vertical and horizontal advection nor biological production were found sufficient to close the mixed layer budget. Instead, the sea-to-air flux, calculated using a parameterization that takes into account the attenuating effect of surfactants on gas exchange, is in the same range as the diapycnal flux. From our observations we conclude that common parameterizations for the gas transfer velocity likely overestimate the air-sea gas exchange within highly productive upwelling zones

Identification of early molecular markers for breast cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The ductal carcinoma <it>in situ </it>(DCIS) of the mammary gland represents an early, pre-invasive stage in the development of invasive breast carcinoma. Since DCIS is a curable disease, it would be highly desirable to identify molecular markers that allow early detection. Mice transgenic for the WAP-SV40 early genome region were used as a model for DCIS development. Gene expression profiling was carried out on DCIS-bearing mice and control animals. Additionally, a set of human DCIS and invasive mammary tumors were analyzed in a similar fashion. Enhanced expression of these marker genes in human and murine samples was validated by quantitative RT-PCR. Besides, marker gene expression was also validated by immunohistochemistry of human samples. Furthermore <it>in silico </it>analyses using an online microarray database were performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In DCIS-mice seven genes were identified that were significantly up-regulated in DCIS: DEPDC1, NUSAP1, EXO1, RRM2, FOXM1, MUC1 and SPP1. A similar up-regulation of homologues of the murine genes was observed in human DCIS samples. Enhanced expression of these genes in DCIS and IDC (invasive ductal carcinoma) was validated by quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>By comparing murine markers for the ductal carcinoma <it>in situ </it>(DCIS) of the mammary gland with genes up-regulated in human DCIS-samples we were able to identify a set of genes which might allow early detection of DCIS and invasive carcinomas in the future. The similarities between gene expression in DCIS and invasive carcinomas in our data suggest that the early detection and treatment of DCIS is of utmost relevance for the survival of patients who are at high risk of developing breast carcinomas.</p