Introducing a corporate concept into organisational practices: a case study of domestication and organisational choice

This article discusses a case of introducing and launching a new corporate concept, a so-called company-specific production system (XPS), into an organisation. Such concepts are at present very commonly used, but what does it take to implement a new logic into an existing organisation? As a theoretical point of departure, the process was understood as a process of domestication, where the imported concept moves from being external, general and unfamiliar to becoming internal and known, owned by the organisational culture and embedded in its practices. Domestication is a process where the import has to be rescripted through how the organisation, as individual members and as various collectives, enacts it, makes sense of it and understands it. The organisation in this case study had a rich tradition of participation, and in the process under study, members from most levels and functions were involved in the attempts to transform the general concept into something workable and company-specific. This paper takes a socio-technical design approach, which argues that organisations importing new technology or new organisational concepts are faced with choices, not with something inevitable. The study reveals the challenges of the domestication process and how the organisation faces not one choice but a multiplicity of interdependent choices, and how handling the process calls for an untraditional, complex and participatory approach.publishedVersio

Deliberative and material organizational becoming : Sociotechnical leadership of digital transformation

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Vocal learning in songbirds: the role of syllable order in song recognition.

Funder: Dynamics of Youth (DoY) strategic research program of Utrecht UniversitySongbird vocal learning has interesting behavioural and neural parallels with speech acquisition in human infants. Zebra finch males sing one unique song that they imitate from conspecific males, and both sexes learn to recognize their father's song. Although males copy the stereotyped syllable sequence of their father's song, the role of sequential information in recognition remains unclear. Here, we investigated father's song recognition after changing the serial order of syllables (switching the middle syllables, first and last syllables, or playing all syllables in inverse order). Behavioural approach and call responses of adult male and female zebra finches to their father's versus unfamiliar songs in playback tests demonstrated significant recognition of father's song with all syllable-order manipulations. We then measured behavioural responses to normal versus inversed-order father's song. In line with our first results, the subjects did not differentiate between the two. Interestingly, when males' strength of song learning was taken into account, we found a significant correlation between song imitation scores and the approach responses to the father's song. These findings suggest that syllable sequence is not essential for recognition of father's song in zebra finches, but that it does affect responsiveness of males in proportion to the strength of vocal learning. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'

Компаративний аналіз привабливості стратегічних зон господарювання підприємства

Запропоновано методику компаративного аналізу привабливості стратегічних зон господарювання підприємства з використанням методів багатокритеріального оцінювання.Предложена методика компаративного анализа привлекательности стратегических зон хозяйствования предприятия с использованием методов многокритериального оценивания.The article proposed a method for comparative analysis of attractiveness of enterprise strategic bussines unit using methods of multi-criteria evaluation

Designing a business model to reduce CO2 emissions from construction machinery: Aligning business and environmental objectives

The literature on sustainable business models suggests a large potential for radical environmental benefits in many industries based upon current technological opportunities. However, there is a lack of empirical knowledge on how to design, implement and spread such business models in complex value chains. Based on a qualitative exploratory study, a concept for sustainable business models to reduce carbon emission when using construction machinery has been developed and measures needed to implement and design such a model within the construction industry is identified. The study is based upon interviews, study visits and a workshop, with participants representing all important actors in the value-chain. In conclusion, business and environmental objectives can be aligned through a result-oriented business model, supported by life-cycle data, contractual incentives, standardised emission measures and driver visualization. The concept is generalisable to the greening of value chains beyond carbon reduction and also to other complex business to business value-chains

Web Platforms Integrating Supply and Demand for Energy Renovations

OTB ReseachOTB Research Institute for the Built Environmen

Peripheral Blood Immune Cell Composition After Autologous MSC Infusion in Kidney Transplantation Recipients

Tacrolimus is the backbone of immunosuppressive agents to prevent transplant rejection. Paradoxically, tacrolimus is nephrotoxic, causing irreversible tubulointerstitial damage. Therefore, infusion of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) 6 and 7 weeks post-transplantation was assessed to facilitate withdrawal of tacrolimus in the randomized phase II TRITON trial. Here, we performed detailed analysis of the peripheral blood immune composition using mass cytometry to assess potential effects of MSC therapy on the immune system. We developed two metal-conjugated antibody panels containing 40 antibodies each. PBMC samples from 21 MSC-treated patients and 13 controls, obtained pre-transplant and at 24 and 52 weeks post-transplantation, were analyzed. In the MSC group at 24 weeks, 17 CD4+ T cell clusters were increased of which 14 Th2-like clusters and three Th1/Th2-like clusters, as well as CD4+FoxP3+ Tregs. Additionally, five B cell clusters were increased, representing either class switched memory B cells or proliferating B cells. At 52 weeks, CCR7+CD38+ mature B cells were decreased. Finally, eight Tc1 (effector) memory cytotoxic T cell clusters were increased. Our work provides a comprehensive account of the peripheral blood immune cell composition in kidney transplant recipients after MSC therapy and tacrolimus withdrawal. These results may help improving therapeutic strategies using MSCs with the aim to reduce the use of calcineurin inhibitors. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT02057965.</p

Elucidating nematode diversity and prevalence in moose across a wide latitudinal gradient using DNA metabarcoding

Parasitic nematodes are ubiquitous and can negatively impact their host by reducing fecundity or increasing mortality, yet the driver of variation in the parasite community across a wildlife host’s geographic distribution remains elusive for most species. Based on an extensive collection of fecal samples (n = 264) from GPS marked moose (Alces alces), we used DNA metabarcoding to characterize the individual (sex, age class) and seasonal parasitic nematode community in relation to habitat use and migration behavior in five populations distributed across a wide latitudinal gradient (59.6◦N to 70.5◦N) in Norway. We detected 21 distinct nematode taxa with the six most common being Ostertagia spp., Nematodirella spp., Trichostongylus spp., T. axei, Elaphostrongylus alces, and an unclassified Strongylida. There was higher prevalence of livestock parasites in areas with larger sheep populations indicating a higher risk of spillover events. The individual level nematode richness was mostly consistent across study areas, while the number and type of nematode taxa detected at each study area varied considerably but did not follow a latitudinal gradient. While migration distance affected nematode beta-diversity across all sites, it had a positive effect on richness at only two of the five study areas suggesting population specific effects. Unexpectedly, nematode richness was higher in winter than summer when very few nematodes were detected. Here we provide the first extensive description of the parasitic nematode community of moose across a wide latitudinal range. Overall, the population-specific impact of migration on parasitism across the distribution range and variation in sympatry with other ruminants suggest local characteristics affect hostparasite relationships. Alces alces Migration Habitat use Moose Nematode diversitypublishedVersio