Mimetic Mechanisms Research Articles

Biomimetic cascade intelligent paper chip sensor based on bimetallic porphyrin-based covalent organic framework with triple-enzyme mimetic activities

Enzyme-induced biological cascade catalysis can achieve selective and efficient transformations of substrates in vivo. Thus, the biomimetic cascade systems have attracted much attention in biological detection on account of their ingenious strategies for signal conduction and amplification. In this study, a porphyrin-based covalent organic framework (COFFe/CoP-Ph) with bimetal-nitrogen-coordinate centers (M − N4) were constructed via Schiff base reaction. The synergistic effect of the highly exposed M − N4 bimetallic active sites and the unique topology overcame the self-limitation of nanozyme, resulting in a significant enhancement of the triple-enzyme mimetic activities of COFFe/CoP-Ph, namely oxidase (OXD)-, peroxidase (POD)-, and catalase (CAT)-like activities. Simultaneously, a multiple enzyme-driven cascade catalysis strategy for signal amplification was proposed utilizing the OXD- and POD-like mimetic mechanisms of COFFe/CoP-Ph, enabling the colorimetric determination of malathion without the addition exogenous H2O2. The established colorimetric sensor exhibited an exceptional linear relationship within the range of 1–18 μM and a low detection limit of 11 nM. Subsequently, a portable smartphone platform was developed by integrating paper chip, facilitating successful malathion point-of-care testing (POCT) in real samples. This work not only creates a bimetallic COF nanozyme and establishes an efficient cascade amplification strategy, but also introduces a novel design approach for development of a low-cost and user-friendly POCT method.

Institutional isomorphism under the test of Non-financial Reporting Directive. Evidence from Italy and Spain

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse the impact of the European Union (EU) Directive on the quality of sustainability reporting under the institutional theory lens. Specifically, the authors evaluate what kind of institutional pressure has the highest impact on the quality of corporate disclosure on sustainability issues.Design/methodology/approachThe authors build a quality index based on the content analysis of sustainability information disclosed, before and after the transposition of the Directive, by Italian and Spanish companies belonging to different industries. The authors use an OLS regression model to analyse the effect of coercive, normative and mimetic forces on the quality of the sustainability reports.FindingsThe results highlight that normative and mimetic mechanisms positively affect the quality of sustainability reporting, whereas there is no evidence regarding coercive mechanisms, indicating that the new requirements do not provide a significant contribution to the development of better reporting practices, at least in the two analysed countries.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the few studies assessing the quality of sustainability reporting through an analysis involving the period before and after the implementation of the EU Directive. It enriches the literature on institutional theory by analysing how the different dimensions of isomorphism affect the quality of information disclosed by companies according to the EU requirements. It contributes to a better understanding of the impact of the non-financial information Directive, and the results of this paper can be relevant for regulators, practitioners and academia, especially in view of the adoption of the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive proposal.

How are family businesses involved in the organizational network of the Communist Party of China: the perspective of organizational sociology

Embedding its own branches in private enterprises is the governance strategy that the Communist Party of China (CPC) controls the grassroots society. This study proposes a framework by incorporating the socioemotional wealth theory into neo-institutionalism to explain how are family businesses involved in the organizational network of the CPC. Findings reveal that there is an organizational isomorphism that the coverage of party organizations expanded from non-family businesses to family businesses. Furthermore, family businesses are not likely to establish party organizations when coercive pressures are low. However, this resistance strategy sharply disappears when coercive pressures are high, and joining state-backed industry associations and mimicking others’ practice both are also positive factors motivating family businesses to establish party organizations, which means that the coercive, normative and mimetic mechanisms jointly shape the organizational isomorphism. This study contributes to the literature of neo-institutionalism and sheds new light on the state-society relationship in China.

Mimetic Mechanisms and Indigenous Vulnerability in Alexis Wright’s Carpentaria

This article investigates Alexis Wright’s novel Carpentaria (2006) through the lens of the mimetic theory developed by René Girard, which I combined with Jean Price-Mars’ definition of “collective bovarism” and Umberto Eco’s narrative semiotics. In my close reading of the novel, I explore how the author exposes the detrimental mimetic mechanisms hidden behind characters’ behaviours and relationships to articulate a discourse on the risks of assimilation and the necessity for Aboriginal resistance to neocolonialism. I argue that in Carpentaria the emulation of the dominant society’s values and beliefs by assimilated Indigenous characters results in the social disintegration and vulnerability of the Indigenous communities. Not only do mimetic mechanisms negatively affect the epistemic systems of Aboriginal characters in terms of preparedness to climate change, but they also undermine their social cohesion and physical survival. Furthermore, investigating the text at a semiotic level, I identified some thematic isotopies that Wright uses to emphasise the racial bias and dehumanising attitudes towards black people embedded in the neocolonial gaze. Prioritising the textual dimension of the novel, my approach focuses on how the sociocultural and physical vulnerability of the Indigenous characters is depicted at a philosophical, rhetorical and narratological level. My investigation focuses on four narrative places: the dump, the city, the Pricklebush and the ocean.

Institutional Divergence of Digital Item Bank Management in Bureaucratic Hybridization: An Application of SSM Based Multi-Method.

This study aims to analyze institutional divergence of Beckert (2010) by measuring the reframing of three constitutive principles of Digital Weberian Bureaucracy (DWB). In contrast to the studies by Gaus et al. (2017), Sofyani et al. (2018), Muellerleile and Robertson (2018), Turner et al. (2019), and Meilani and Hardjosoekarto (2020), this study explores normative and mimetic mechanisms resulting in the mixed pattern of public administration (Traditional Public Administration (TPA), New Public Management (NPM), and Post NPM), focusing on the transformation of Digital Era Governance (DEG). Employing Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) by Reynolds and Holwell (2010), combined with Text Network Analysis (TNA) by Segev (2020) and Social Network Analysis (SNA) by Borgatti et al. (2014), this study shows the micro dynamics of relationships between actors, the meso dynamics of organizations, and the absence of regulations at the macro level, all of which lead to institutional divergence in the form of fully hybrid governance (as proposed by De Waele et al. (2015)) that is also caused by normative and mimetic mechanisms. Complementing the study of DWB, this study suggests that computer literacy and programming languages are essential to be improved by future bureaucrats as social actors to achieve the success of digital transformation.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11213-021-09579-4.

Dual isomorphic mechanisms and the role of a transnational agent

PurposeCorporate environmental innovation (CEI) is a proactive type of response to increasing public scrutiny regarding firms’ environmental performance. While past studies have overwhelmingly focused on coercive mechanisms and assumed a closed national institutional field, less attention has been given to non-coercive and transnational inter-firm mimetic mechanisms. This paper aims to investigate the joint effect of coercive isomorphic mechanisms from domestic institutions and mimetic isomorphic mechanisms from foreign multinational enterprises (MNE) on CEI adoption in domestic firms.Design/methodology/approachThe study’s empirical analysis is based on data from 1,967 firms from the 2010 Korean Innovation Survey, as well as other official statistics.FindingsThis study reports the following results: the direct effects of domestic institutions on CEI adoption in domestic firms vary according to institution type; foreign MNEs have a positive effect, whether using global or local CEI strategies; and the positive effect of foreign MNEs strengthens when the stringency of domestic environmental regulation increases.Originality/valueThis paper shows that CEI diffusion is driven by both coercive institutional pressures and inter-firm mimetic mechanisms, including their joint effects. Foreign MNEs act as boundary-spanners that activate a dual isomorphic mechanism, affecting social as well as economic development in host countries. Finally, evidence of interaction between domestic coercive and transnational mimetic mechanisms supports the authors’ contention that national institutional fields are increasingly interconnected.

Informações contábeis tempestivas: uma análise dos mecanismos isomórficos do processo de fechamento contábil

Organizações preocupadas com sua continuidade e crescimento despendem considerável esforço para obter eficácia e conferir eficiência aos sistemas de controle gerencial. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo conhecer a influência dos mecanismos isomórficos no processo de fechamento contábil tempestivo. É um estudo de caso acerca dos processos de uma organização multinacional representativa no segmento em que atua. Foram realizadas entrevistas, aplicados questionários e analisados filmes institucionais, para identificar e avaliar a ação das contribuições por meio de exames dos três mecanismos do isomorfismo em relação ao fechamento contábil tempestivo. Constatou-se que não há relação entre os três mecanismos do isomorfismo. Foi identificada uma influência relativa do isomorfismo mimético, por conta do Sistema Toyota de Produção, uma forte influência do mecanismo coercitivo por influência da matriz em relação à tempestividade do fechamento contábil, não tendo sido identificada evidência relativa à influência do isomorfismo normativo.

Protecting Identity: Violence and Its Representations in France, 1815–1830

Research Article| May 01 2018 Protecting Identity: Violence and Its Representations in France, 1815–1830 Ralph Hage Ralph Hage Lebanese University RALPH HAGE is assistant professor of Art History at the Lebanese University. His work focuses on the formation of identity as the outcome of mimetic mechanisms and its effects and expressions in the European artistic movements of the nineteenth century. He is also an artist. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Contagion: Journal of Violence Mimesis and Culture (2018) 25: 49–78. https://doi.org/10.14321/contagion.25.2018.0049 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Ralph Hage; Protecting Identity: Violence and Its Representations in France, 1815–1830. Contagion: Journal of Violence Mimesis and Culture 1 May 2018; 25 49–78. doi: https://doi.org/10.14321/contagion.25.2018.0049 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveMichigan State University PressContagion: Journal of Violence Mimesis and Culture Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © Michigan State University Board of Trustees2018 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Entrepreneurship for Women in Islam: An Institutional Perspective

This study aims at analyzing critical factors for institutionalization of Islamic women entrepreneurship. It focuses on women entrepreneurship from two perspectives: firstly Islamic, and secondly from institutional theory. It develops two types of links: one is women entrepreneurship with Islam and another is Islamic women entrepreneurship with neo-institutional theory. It is evident that women were never forbidden from the involvement of entrepreneurial activities in Islam. But there are certain conditions exclusively for women that are to be strictly followed. The study shows those conditions under three mechanisms of neo-institutional theory: coercive, normative and mimetic mechanisms. In view of coercive mechanism, women entrepreneurs are to comply with the rules and regulations based on Islamic Shariah. Under the normative mechanism, Islamic values and norms are to be followed by the women entrepreneurs. As of mimetic mechanism, Muslim women entrepreneurs can be built following other Muslim women entrepreneurs. It is posited that these three mechanisms can institutionalize Islamic women entrepreneurship at a desired level

Subcultural ostensive luxury as a creative and mimetic process: The case of the Sapeurs Parisiens

Luxury brands use an authoritarian discourse. It governs the ostentatious and conformist consumption that lays down social distances. Some subcultures are adopting luxury brands for ostensive practices that blur social distinctions. Such consumption can be problematic for luxury brands, which lose control over their discourse and have to satisfy both their traditional clients and this new clientele. The purpose of this research is to understand the practices, processes and individual and collective effects of subcultural ostensive use of luxury brands and the mimetic mechanisms found therein. An empirical study was carried out on the Sapeurs Parisiens, a subculture of African dandies. An interpretive analysis was carried out on interviews as well as photographic, videographic and netnographic observations. This enables us to understand this subculture as an individuating practice involving luxury items which takes place through a process of hybridisation and creates a specific grotesque genre. This research contributes to the distinction between ostentatious and ostensive luxury and a better understanding of creative mimetic processes. Ostensive luxury is an interesting source of co-creativity and raises questions about the risks facing brands.

Information system security commitment: A study of external influences on senior management

This paper investigated how senior management is motivated to commit to information system (IS) security. Research shows senior management participation is critical to successful IS security, but has not explained how senior managers are motivated to participate in IS security. Information systems research shows pressures external to the organization have greater influence on senior managers than internal pressures. However, research has not fully examined how external pressures motivate senior management participation in IS security. This study addressed that gap by examining how external pressures motivate senior management participation in ISS through the lens of neo-institutional theory. The research design was survey research. Data collection was through an online survey, and PLS was used for data analysis. Sample size was 167 from a study population of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a mix of industries in the south-central United States. Results supported three of six hypotheses. Mimetic mechanisms were found to influence senior management belief in IS security, and senior management belief in IS security was found to increase senior management participation in IS security. Greater senior management participation in IS security led to greater IS security assimilation in organizations. Three hypotheses were not supported. Correlation was not found between normative influences and senior management belief, normative influences and senior management participation, and coercive influences and senior management participation. This study shows IS security-related mimetic influences have greater impact on senior leaders of SMEs than coercive or normative influences, which may be explained by the absorptive capacity of SMEs. Absorptive capacity refers to the ability of an organization to assimilate a technology. However, absorptive capacity may affect more than just technology assimilation, and may extend to how senior management responds to external influences.

Institutional conformance and tourism performance: an efficiency analysis in developing Pacific Island countries

ABSTRACTUsing a multi-level approach that exploits the synergism between hospitality and tourism, this study examines conceptual and empirical linkages between institutional isomorphism and tourism performance in developing Pacific Island countries. To this end, data envelopment analysis is used to examine how coercive, normative, and mimetic conformity mechanisms are related to optimally efficient tourism performance models. The results provide useful insights for policymakers and development strategists at the macro level by identifying the tourism models that do, and do not, lead to such efficiency. At the micro level, the results can help tourism and hospitality operators move toward more judicious uses of resources in environments characterized by both constrained tourism development potential and constrained rationality. Finally, research on institutional isomorphism in tourism and hospitality is scarce, and thus this study advances an interesting theoretical lens for future research in this area.

Abstract B58: BIM, a key player in apoptosis induction and acquired venetoclax resistance in follicular lymphoma cells

Abstract The chromosomal translocation t(14;18) in follicular lymphoma (FL) cells is a primary oncogenic event resulting in BCL-2 over-expression. BCL-2 is not directly responsible for growth of tumor cells, but it protects them against death by binding pro-apoptotic proteins. This study investigates in vitro and in vivo activity of the BH3 mimetic venetoclax (ABT-199) and mechanisms of acquiring resistance in FL. Primary FL cells with similar expression of anti-apoptotic proteins, such as BCL-2 and MCL-1, showed variable sensitivity to treatment, which correlated with expression of BIM. To further study this correlation we used two t(14;18)+ cell lines, WSU-FSCCL and FC-TxFL2. As with primary cells, FC-TxFL2 cells with higher expression of BIM protein were more sensitive to venetoclax-induced apoptosis. The treatment caused dissociation of BCL-2/ BIM complexes, decreased mitochondrial potential, activation of caspase-3 and caspase-7, and PARP cleavage. Interestingly the population of cells that survived venetoclax treatment showed an increase of phospho-ERK1/2 and phospho-BIM (S69), as well as a decrease of total BIM levels. Venetoclax treatment of murine xenografts of FC-TxFL2 cells resulted in significant delay in tumor growth. However, viable cells isolated from treated tumors showed a decrease of sensitivity to venetoclax exposure (IC50 increased almost 10 times) in comparison with the cells from the mice treated with vehicle only. These cells contained higher levels of MCL-1 and lower levels of BIM protein compared to control cells. BCL-2 levels remained unchanged. Venetoclax resistant cells prepared in vitro by continuous treatment with increasing concentrations of venetoclax initially showed elevated levels of p-AKT, p-FOX01/3a, MCL-1, dissociation of BIM/BCL-2/BECLIN1 complex, decrease of p62 level (a sign of an increased autophagy) together with a slight decline of BIM expression. After a stable resistant cell line was established, a significant reduction of BCL-2 levels and almost total absence of BIMEL, BIML and BIMS isoforms was observed. Detailed knowledge of venetoclax action and the mechanisms for acquired resistance in t(14;18)+ cells may help inform biomarker strategies and dosing schedules in future clinical trials. Inhibition of pathways activated in order to protect the FL cells (e.g. by down-regulating BIM (ERK or AKT pathway) or by autophagy) can significantly augment venetoclax potency and decrease incidence of acquired resistance. Citation Format: Juraj Bodo, Xiaoxian Zhao, Andrew J. Souers, Darren C. Phillips, Mitchell R. Smith, Eric D. Hsi. BIM, a key player in apoptosis induction and acquired venetoclax resistance in follicular lymphoma cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2015 Nov 5-9; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2015;14(12 Suppl 2):Abstract nr B58.

Surface characterization and osteoblast-like Cells culture on collagen modified PLDLA scaffolds

Surface modification techniques based on the grafting of chemical functional groups and immobilization of bioactive molecules have been used to improve biocompatibility and clinical performance of bioabsorbable scaffolds in tissue engineering and medicine regenerative applications. This study aimed at developing and characterizing a biomimetic surface to stimulate bone regeneration by a simple and low-cost method of surface biofunctionalization of the poly (L-co-D,L lactic acid)-PLDLA scaffolds. The method was obtained by grafting reaction of carboxyl groups (-COOH) on their surface via acrylic acid (AAc) polymerization process, followed by immobilization of collagen type I (Col). Such approach resulted in a surface morphology markedly modified after treatment, with increase of pores and roughness on PLDLA-AAc surfaces and a network of fibrillar collagen deposition in non-specific areas of PLDLA-Col surfaces. The cytocompatibility of collagen-immobilized scaffolds was significantly improved in terms of cellular adhesion, proliferation, collagen synthesis and maintenance of osteoblast-like phenotype, indicating, therefore, the fundamental role of collagen protein over the biological interactions that occur by bio-recognition mimetic mechanisms at biomaterials interface. These results indicate that the surface modification method used here may be useful as a strategy to develop biofunctional scaffolds, which provide a more successful clinical application of biomaterials in the tissue engineering field.

The Institutional Organizational Theory As A New Research Framework For Understanding Contemporary Organizations

Abstract This paper presents basic postulates of the institutional, organizational theory as a new research framework for understanding contemporary organizations structuring and functioning. More and more structures in modern societies are being institutionalized due to changes in technical, social, and political spheres. Organizations in institutionalized sectors do not prove their legitimacy by their rationality and effectiveness, but by implementation of the current institutional pattern. Institutional pattern has its regulatory, normative, and cultural-cognitive components, and it is imposed on organizations within a sector by means of coercive, normative, and mimetic mechanisms. The consequence of implementing of a uniform institutional pattern in the structuring and functioning of all organizations within a sector is organizational isomorphism. The described elements of the institutional, organizational theory are applied in the analysis of structuring and functioning of universities and faculties in the higher education sector in Europe and Serbia. It is shown how the Bologna Higher Education Model, as a typical institutional pattern, impacts structuring and functioning of all universities and faculties in the European higher education area, thereby implicating their organizational isomorphism.

Working environment interventions – Bridging the gap between policy instruments and practice

In spite of progress in intervention research, our understanding of the transformation of knowledge from the research into national working environment programmes is limited. Research in state regulation is mainly aimed at compliance and efficiency of public administration, while little attention is paid to why and how public and private organisations subsequently are to improve their working environment. This paper suggests a model which can bridge this gap. It is based on a combination of theories about basic policy instruments (regulation, incentives and information) with realistic analysis focusing on mechanisms and context, and finally institutional theory proposing coercive, normative and mimetic mechanisms as explanations for organisational behaviour.The model is applied to an intervention aimed at reduction of the risk of musculoskeletal disorders among bricklayers in Denmark. Our analysis of the case shows how various actors, including the authorities, employers, unions and bi-partite committees, developed a programme combining the policy instruments over a considerable period of time and that all three institutional mechanisms affected the outcome. This integration of various actors and instruments, which was not necessarily planned from the beginning, proved to be an effective way of facilitating the implementation of new preventive measures in bricklaying. The analysis also indicates new intermediary mechanisms, such as programme development, as an iterative process, and the importance of joint messages from employers and unions. The model thus provides new insights into the relationship between policy instruments and workplace health and safety outcomes.

Converging Divergence: the Diffusion of the Green State in Latin America

Global processes of policy diffusion result in different types of state development. A broad view of environmentalist reform in Latin America easily reads as top-down diffusion of blueprints and institutional convergence. But such a thesis is reductionist and ultimately misleading, case studies demonstrate. First, diffusion mechanisms matter for divergence: when normative and mimetic mechanisms are relatively strong vis-a-vis coercive forces, formal state change is followed by more meaningful real state change; when the coercive mechanism rules unmatched, green state change ends up being formal for the most part. Secondly, institutional entrepreneurs face shifting opportunity structures for political change; because these opportunities are never uniform, national experiences will differ. Thirdly, national institutional environments provide contrasting domestic resources and cultures for the building of green states; legacy, in short, will condition translation by entrepreneurs. A bridging institutionalist framework helps us make sense of “converging divergence”.

When in China … The HRM practices of Chinese and foreign-owned enterprises during a global crisis

Human resource management practices change rapidly in China, at the initiative of both multinational corporations and local enterprises. Yet multinational corporations have greater experience transferring their practices across various cultural and institutional contexts. Thus, despite some differences, local environment considerations and mimetic mechanisms lead to the convergence of practices between multinational corporations and local enterprises. The ongoing global crisis context also affects both types of firms similarly, though its effects do not reach the same level of influence as the enforcement of a new labour law, which began in January 2008.

Social Network Influences Decision Making During Collective Movements in Brown Lemurs (Eulemur fulvus fulvus)

Many animal species live as a group and must therefore move as such. Several authors have suggested that the mechanisms underlying collective movements in primate species appear to rely on complex cognitive skills, given their high level of cognitive abilities. However, recent studies have highlighted the fact that complex patterns do not necessarily imply complex mechanisms. We used a modeling approach to investigate the patterns of collective movement in a semi-free-ranging group of brown lemurs. We recorded via digital video cameras the order and joining latencies of the 11 individuals of the group during the departure time of spontaneous group movements. We then assessed whether mimetic mechanisms or the existence of a leader were underlying conditions for the joining process by testing 5 computer models relying respectively on 5 hypotheses: the independence of individuals, an anonymous mimetism, a mimetism according to kinship, a mimetism according to affiliation, and eventually the existence of a leader. We found that departure latencies, associations, and the order of individuals at departure time could all be explained by the mimetism according to affiliation model. Thus, an individual’s decision to join the collective movement or not depended on the decision taken by its preferred social partners. These results show the importance of social parameters in primate decision making and that the high cohesion displayed by the group members might not be constrained merely by ecological factors such as predation or foraging consideration.

Institutionalizing sustainability: an empirical study of corporate registration and commitment to the United Nations global compact guidelines

Drawing upon institutional and stakeholder theories, we explore the ‘causal’ mechanisms of institutionalization and their influence on Sustainable Development initiatives. To test our arguments, we study the registration patterns of 394 large corporations from 12 Western European and Latin American countries into the United Nations Global Compact. Results indicate that the normative and mimetic mechanisms of institutionalization (i.e., academe and peer influence) are better indicators of Sustainable Development initiatives than the coercive one (i.e., government regulation). The implications of these findings are consequential if SD practices continue as an ethical choice, and not a mandated obligation, for corporate decision makers.