Organizational Developments Research Articles

Microfluidic-based Growth and Imaging of Bacterial Biofilms

Biofilms are a ubiquitous form of growth for bacteria on surfaces in most environments, natural or manmade. Here we present a protocol using the Bioflux microfluidic system to investigate the organized structure and development of these multicellular communities. Microfluidic systems present an opportunity to grow biofilms in a stable, physiologically maintained environment that is readily observable via time-lapse microscopy.

Giving advice to callers with mental illness: adaptation among telenurses at Swedish Healthcare Direct

ABSTRACT Purpose: Our aim was to describe Swedish Healthcare Direct (SHD) and its features as a complex system. Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 SHD telenurses, covering their experiences and skills when encountering and advising callers with mental illness. Complexity science was used as an a priori theoretical framework to enhance understanding of the complex nature of telenursing. Results: SHD was described as a complex system as nurses were constantly interacting with other agents and agencies. During these interactions, dynamic processes were found between the agents in which the nurses adapted to every new situation. They were constantly aware of their impact on the care-seekers, and perceived their encounters with callers with psychiatric illness as “balancing on a thin line”. SHD was also described as both an authority and a dumping ground. The openness of the system did not give the nurses possibility to control the number of incoming calls and the callers’ intentions. Conclusions: These new insights into SHD have important implications for organization developers and nursing management in terms of overcoming linear thinking.

The authoritarian origins of well-organized opposition parties: The rise of Chadema in Tanzania

Abstract This article concerns the organizational expansion undertaken by the opposition party, Chadema, in Tanzania between 2003 and 2015. It argues that Chadema’s extensive party-building enabled it to mobilize on the ground. These organizational developments, as much as elite action, underpinned recent changes in the party system and the opposition’s improved showing in recent elections. Chadema established branches even though many of the prerequisite circumstances typically recognized in the literature were absent. This makes Chadema a deviant case and this deviance has implications for the historical institutionalist literature on party-building. This article complicates Rachel Riedl’s account of state substitution. She links the incorporation or substitution of social actors to different paths of party system institutionalization. This article demonstrates that the character and consequences of state substitution depend upon the balance of power between state and social actors. It also builds on accounts by Adrienne LeBas and others that when social actors are strong, they can endow opposition parties with resources which make branch establishment possible, and when they are weak, they can only act as surrogate party branches. This article illustrates that when social actors are absent from partisan politics, parties have no way to organize except by founding green-site branches.

Introduction

This article serves as an introduction to this special issue on recent developments in civil society organization and strategies in Russia. Despite the widespread assumption that the increased restrictions placed on NGO activity by the state in recent years have hampered their ability to operate, we argue that civil society in Russia continues to show signs of vitality. This is demonstrated by the fact that protests by ordinary Russians have grown and have often led to the formation of new groups and movements which have had some success in campaigning on specific issues. As the articles in this special issue highlight, one of the key tools affecting whether or not such movements can be successful in achieving their aims is that of framing. When organizations are able to frame the issue they are campaigning on in such a way as to resonate with ordinary people and avoid directly challenging the balance of power within Russia’s political system, they tend to enjoy more success than those groups which tend to take a more confrontational stance and thus face greater pushback and sanction from the authorities. This serves to highlight that NGOs and other civil society groups in Russia employ a range of different strategies and enjoy very different relationships with the authorities as a result.

TOWARDS ECO-NEIGHBORHOODS, SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, CONSTRUCTION AND ENERGY SAVING TECHNOLOGIES

Global interest in the concept of sustainability has prompted the swift and extensive developments of green technologies, products, competitions, organizations, and resources. As evidenced by international environmental agreements and conferences held that aim to resolve global warming such as the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the world is becoming focused on sustainable policies and practices (Tibi, Ghaddar, & Ghali, 2012). This research will address the urban problems in present in Arab countries including environmental pollution and the evident social problems like disintegration and isolation by studying the three zones of Mar Mikhael, Arab el-Maslakh, and Nour Hajin which are known to be economically unequal. The methodology of this research is based on the analytical study of the three interdependent components of sustainable development and design which are society/people, the environment, and economics applying on each case study. This paper will identify solutions relative to environmental, technological, energy saving, as well as sustainable and green buildings in urban design. Some of the remaining solutions target solving environmental pollution and social problems. Others target to improve the quality of the economic level of the neighborhood. The result of this research will a number of recommendations on several levels (Governmental level, Local NGOs). Another type of results will be as architectural design solution for environmental issue and urban problems based on data collection of case study at several items by team of students attending in local competition of urban design.

Learning from the development of two Integrated Care Pathways for dementia

Introduction: There is an increasing emphasis on the use of Integrated Care Pathways for dementia in the hospital environment. Despite this, the Irish National Audit of Dementia Care in Acute Hospitals De Siun et al. 2014 found that 94% of acute hospitals did not have a dementia care pathway in operation. The Health Service Executive HSE and Genio provided funding to three hospitals in Ireland to develop an ICP for dementia care. An independent evaluation was conducted to uncover the strengths and challenges of the ICPs developed, as well as to collate learning from the sites to further develop ICPs for those living with dementia. Methods: Mixed methods were used to evaluate two of the ICPs developed to date. This included analysis of service provider and service user data, as well as audit and Hospital Inpatient Enquiry HIPE data. Ethical approval was secured from the Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committees in Trinity College Dublin and relevant hospital Ethics Committees. Results: The complexity involved in developing and rolling out an ICP for dementia was highlighted. Findings demonstrated a number of facilitators and challenges in the development of ICPs. Facilitators included: project leadership; organisational support; dedicated project personnel; project responsiveness; and dovetailing with other clinical, educational or organisational developments. Challenges identified included: competing initiatives and acuity of care demands; absence of standardisation; deficits in communication; and pressure on resources. Discussion and conclusions: The person with dementia and their individualised needs should be central to any innovations in integrated dementia care. A dementia-friendly orientation needs to be embedded in the strategic objectives and operational planning of an organisation in order for meaningful impact to be achieved. Innovation in the development of ICPs needs well-defined governance and visionary leadership. Dedicated resources are required by such leaders to support dementia care development. Findings demonstrated that a consortium approach is beneficial for projects to design, test and implement innovations to develop integrated dementia care. ICP development and dementia-friendly environmental design are protracted and require extensive planning to include process mapping of the care journey, evidence review and multi stakeholder consultation. Therefore, such projects should make consideration of sufficient lead-in time to devise related interventions. Such planning activities should be viewed as sub-components of the overall intervention. In cases where dementia-specific roles are shown to have positively influence project impact, commitment and resources are required to maintain these roles in order to maximise and further develop gains.

Nonprofit organizations as interpretive communities: responses to policy reforms and the shaping of civil society in Ecuador

ABSTRACTWhile they are often lumped together as one sector, nonprofit organizations represent diverse activities and objectives in the policy process. It is surprising that given this diversity, there are limited studies about the “multiple realities” that exist within a “nonprofit sector”. This article examines the multiple realities found among nonprofit organizations. It explores how government creates regulatory policy targeting nonprofit organizations and how nonprofit organizations interpret and respond using the case of Ecuador in South America. The article asks: What do regulatory policies do and what target populations do they create? How do different nonprofit organizations interpret these policies? Given the answers to these questions, what are the political and social consequences for the development of civil society? Through an interpretive framework, the article contributes to the literature about how government creates target populations through policy, how policies act upon different nonprofits in different ways and how they interpret and respond to policy. The research considers what this might mean for organized civil society and development in general.

A plant chitinase controls cortical infection thread progression and nitrogen-fixing symbiosis.

Morphogens provide positional information and their concentration is key to the organized development of multicellular organisms. Nitrogen-fixing root nodules are unique organs induced by Nod factor-producing bacteria. Localized production of Nod factors establishes a developmental field within the root where plant cells are reprogrammed to form infection threads and primordia. We found that regulation of Nod factor levels by Lotus japonicus is required for the formation of nitrogen-fixing organs, determining the fate of this induced developmental program. Our analysis of plant and bacterial mutants shows that a host chitinase modulates Nod factor levels possibly in a structure-dependent manner. In Lotus, this is required for maintaining Nod factor signalling in parallel with the elongation of infection threads within the nodule cortex, while root hair infection and primordia formation are not influenced. Our study shows that infected nodules require balanced levels of Nod factors for completing their transition to functional, nitrogen-fixing organs.

Developing organizational capabilities to deliver lean and green project outcomes using BIM

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the process through which an organization develops organizational capabilities by tapping the technical skills and social skills of its employees in the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) to deliver lean and green project outcomes. The resulting framework for BIM-based organizational capabilities development comprising of three hierarchical layers – technology, process and outcomes – is explained.Design/methodology/approachFor this study, BIM has been identified as an enabler and a process for achieving lean and green outcomes on construction projects. Based on a detailed literature review, this paper identifies the organizational capabilities needed by the architecture, engineering and construction organizations to effectively implement BIM on construction projects. The study has been conducted through a sequential mixed-method approach involving semi-structured interviews, focus groups and qualitative comparative analyses.FindingsIt was discovered that to attain desired project outcomes, an organization needs to embrace an underlying BIM adoption culture not only within its project teams but also within the organization as a whole. The study also concluded that an integrated approach to BIM usage – connecting it with lean and green initiatives – on construction projects resulted in improved project outcomes, especially ones targeting lean and green aspects of improvements.Practical implicationsThe proposed outline for BIM-based organizational capabilities will help the organizations focus on the “human factors” along with the technical factors while striving for successful usage within their organizations.Originality/valueUsing the organizational capabilities matrix, this paper highlights the importance of technical and social skill sets of an individual employee and their role in developing the organizational capabilities to gain the desired lean and green outcomes.

Professions and (new) management occupations as a contested terrain: Redefining jurisdictional claims

In this article, we discuss how research on professions and organizations may benefit from a better understanding of the emergence and prevalence of 'new' management occupations or 'corporate professions' and their interactions with 'traditional' professions. To this end, we explore the theoretical and empirical implications of selected studies, analysing how professional and occupational jurisdictions, as well as inter-occupational relationships, are redefined. This occurs as new areas of management expertise emerge and gain influence in relation to broader organizational, technical and institutional developments.

Evaluating hospital websites in Kuwait to improve consumer engagement and access to health information: a cross-sectional analytical study

BackgroundCurrent advances in information and communication technology have made accessing and obtaining health-related information easier than ever before. Today, many hospital websites use a patient-centric approach to promote engagement and encourage learning for better health-related decision making. However, little is known about the current state of hospital websites in the State of Kuwait. This study aims to evaluate hospital websites in Kuwait and offer recommendations to improve patient engagement and access to health information.MethodsThis study employs a cross-sectional analytical approach to evaluate hospital websites in Kuwait in 2017. The websites of hospitals that provide in-patient services were identified through a structured search. Only active websites that were available in either English or Arabic were considered. The evaluation of the websites involved a combination of automated and expert- based evaluation methods and was performed across four dimensions: Accessibility, Usability, Presence, and Content.ResultsNine hospitals met the inclusion criteria. Most of the websites fell short in all four dimensions. None of the websites passed the accessibility guidelines. The usability of websites varied between hospitals. Overall, the majority of hospitals in Kuwait have rudimentary online presence and their websites require careful reassessment with respect to design, content, and user experience. The websites focus primarily on promoting services provided by the hospital rather than engaging and communicating with patients or providing evidence-based information.ConclusionsHealthcare organization and website developers should follow best-practices to improve their websites taking into consideration the quality, readability, objectivity, coverage and currency of the information as well as the design of their websites. Hospitals should leverage social media to gain outreach and better engagement with consumers. The websites should be offered in additional languages commonly spoken by people living in Kuwait. Efforts should be made to ensure that health information on hospital websites are evidence-based and checked by healthcare professionals.

Gender, Work and Organization developments in 2018

<i>Gender, Work and Organization</i> developments in 2018

Black Print Unbound: The Christian Recorder, African American Literature, and Periodical CultureThe Black Newspaper and the Chosen Nation

Black Print Unbound: The <i>Christian Recorder</i>, African American Literature, and Periodical CultureThe Black Newspaper and the Chosen Nation

Origins and effects of the 2014–2016 national strategy for palliative care in Croatia

Croatia is among the last countries in Europe to develop organized palliative care at the national level. Real changes in this area started after the parliamentary elections in 2011 and culminated in the 2013 adoption of the Strategic Plan for Palliative Care Development 2014–2016. The National Board for Palliative Care (NBPC), appointed by the Ministry of Health, was in charge of creating a scalable palliative care model and national guidelines. The Board drew on experiences from both neighbouring countries with similar societies and/or health care models (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland) and an international leader in palliative care (United Kingdom). It recognised that provision of palliative care in Croatia, thus far based on volunteering and isolated enthusiastic activities, needed to be improved through professionalization, regulation, and organized development. A variety of policy measures was used to implement these changes, including the introduction of professional guidelines and new payment models. The development of new palliative care structures and services significantly increased the number of patients who could access palliative care, from around 1–2% of patients needing such care in 2011 to 20–35% in 2014. It also ensured the provision of more appropriate services at each point of the palliative care pathway. The Strategy was extended for the 2017–2020 period.

Integrated thinking leading to integrated reporting: case study insights from a global player

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between integrated thinking (IT) and integrated reporting (IR) in a global player. It seeks to shed light on how IT develops organically, using their IR as a source. Bourdieu’s theory of practice is utilised to explain the concept of IT and how it is established in the case organisation through publicly available corporate information.Design/methodology/approachVideo, document/text and interview material are used to investigate the perception and status quo of IT at the case organisation. Data were analysed in two coding stages to derive at the categories/themes that have the most explanatory power regarding the phenomenon under study.FindingsThe study contributes the organisational habitus of handling uncertainty and disruption, which governs the IT and IR initiative and development in the case organisation. Furthermore, it illustrates an empirical example of how an organisation has grown its IT approach over time and has introduced IR as a result of that, as a reflection on the IT approach.Originality/valueThis paper investigates a global organisation, the first provider of an integrated report in their geographical region, and its IT and reporting approach. The findings reflect on the organisational habitus of handling uncertainty and disruption, which leads to IT and ultimately IR. The case organisation constitutes a “natural integrated thinker” in their agile asset-light approach to their business and their integration of stakeholders beyond the organisation. They are the regional vanguard of sustainability and integration, as a result of which they have become one of the few global players of their region.

‘How can you enjoy sports if you are under control by others?’ Self-organized lifestyle sports and youth development

While research shows a positive association between participation in organized sports and youth development, research on alternative and unorganized sport settings is lacking. This paper analyzes developmental processes in a sample of unorganized lifestyle sport contexts, drawing on a Relational Developmental Systems approach to human development. Based on observation and interviews with young practitioners in four lifestyle sport contexts, we found many similarities in these contexts and the possibilities they offered for youth development. Results suggest the contexts studied should not be considered unorganized but self-organized. These contexts may support positive development, not in spite of, but because of the lack of strict rules, formal leaders or a priori performance goals. The studied contexts are understood as embracing and tolerant, yet not accessible for all. Self-organized lifestyle sport contexts need more detailed research to understand how they can provide opportunities for positive development among some hard to reach groups.

#Metoo in the Swedish forest sector: testimonies from harassed women on sexualised forms of male control

ABSTRACTThis study adds to the literature on the gendered culture of the forest sector by examining testimonies of sexual harassment in relation to the gendering of forestry-related competence and organisations and the consequences that the sexualisation of social relations in organisations has, mainly for women. The empirical base of the study comprised testimonies within the campaign #slutavverkat published on Instagram to highlight experiences of sexual harassment of women in the Swedish forest sector. Qualitative content analysis of the testimonies suggested that the situations described in the testimonies in #slutavverkat comprise controlling actions that diminish women’s power in the forest sector. Sexualised forms of male control and harassment thus work to remind women that they are first and foremost a representation of women, rather than of forestry professions and knowledge. In that sense, sexualised forms of male control and harassment are part of, rather than deviating from, the overall gendering of forestry as a men-dominated sphere. The study adds to organisational understandings and policy developments on discrimination and harassment and suggests that researchers and policy-makers interested in reducing inequality in forestry need to pay more attention to issues of harassment and sexualisation of social relations.

China’s Nonprofit Policymaking in the New Millennium

The global “associational revolution” (Salamon 1994) in the 1990s led to significant growth and change in the nonprofit sector worldwide (Almog-Bar and Young 2016). Even in authoritarian regimes, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have become an important concern of the dominant political parties. This is the case of China, where substantial organizational developments and policy initiatives have occurred. In this introductory article, we frame these developments by discussing the policy styles, purposes and drivers of nonprofit policymaking in China in recent years.

Bacterial Viruses Organize Subcellular Environments to Mediate Heterogeneous Development

Spatial organization underpins biological processes in lifeforms. For complex organisms, body parts must develop properly in space, and within the cells making up these organisms, membranes separate organelles with different functions. Simpler organisms, like bacteria, lack intracellular membranes, but possess alternate strategies for organization, where certain proteins are confined to specific cellular locations to consolidate their functions. Viruses, among the simplest lifeforms, have also been reported to display organized development, further underscoring the essentiality of structure in biology.Bacterial viruses, known as bacteriophages or phages, are utilized as model systems for studying advanced cellular functions. Phage lambda infects Escherichia coli and propagates via distinct pathways, either lysis or lysogeny, where this fate‐selection is a paradigm for cellular decision‐making. Recent efforts probing decision‐making at the subcellular level have discovered that phages behave as individual interacting intracellular entities when processing decisions, generating considerable insights into how complex decision‐making may occur. However, little is known about this phage's spatial development within its host and how spatial organization might affect cellular decision‐making.Here, we characterize how phage lambda develops in subcellular space, from infection through lysis, using multiple fluorescence reporters targeting phage DNA replication, essential host resources, phage transcription, and phage assembly. We observe that these processes coalesce into distinct areas of the host cell during infection to coordinate phage development, reminiscent of virus factories, where multiple factories may be present in single cells. Remarkably, different intracellular factories quantitatively diverge at the viral DNA, mRNA and protein levels, suggesting the existence of bona‐fide microenvironments within cells. We propose that individual viruses drive the formation of disparate territories, implying that phages may sense separate environments during decision‐making and development. The conclusions from this work may shed significant light on the detailed molecular mechanisms of cell‐fate bifurcation.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01GM107597).This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

A case of mature cystic teratoma with intestinal structures harboring intestinal-type low-grade mucinous neoplasm

The formation of gastrointestinal-type epithelium is found in 7–13% of mature cystic teratomas, which are the most common germ cell tumors of the ovary. Few cases harboring organized gastrointestinal tract formation have been reported, and a mucinous neoplasm arising in them is further rare. Here, we report a case of an ovarian mature cystic teratoma with intestinal structures harboring intestinal-type mucinous neoplasm, mimicking low-grade appendiceal mucinous cystadenoma. A 66-year-old female, with remarkably increased serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level, underwent total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy due to the ovarian tumor. The immunoprofile of the tumor showed CK7−/CK20+. We review the past literatures, and then consider that the existence of mucinous neoplasm should be kept in mind if we find elevated level of serum CEA and the organized gastrointestinal development in an ovary. The immunoprofile of CK7/CK20 is useful to determine the origin of mucinous tumors associated with mature cystic teratomas.