The evolution of innovation capability in multinational enterprise subsidiaries: dual network embeddedness and the divergence of subsidiary specialisation in Taiwan

This paper examines how innovation-related capabilities for production, design and marketing develop at the subsidiary level within multinational enterprises (MNEs). We focus on how subsidiary autonomy and changing opportunities to access internal (MNE) and external (host country) sources of capability contribute in a combined way to the accumulation of specialist capabilities in five Taiwan-based MNE subsidiaries in the semiconductor industry. Longitudinal analysis shows how the accumulation process is subject to discontinuities, as functional divisions are (re)opened and closed during the lifetime of the subsidiary. A composite set of innovation output measures also shows significant variations in within-function levels of capability across our sample. We conclude that subsidiary specialisation and unique subsidiary-specific advantages have evolved in a way that is strongly influenced by the above factors.

Genetic diversity and specialisation of Eudarluca caricis on some graminaceous Puccinia species

Eudarluca caricis is a common hyperparasite of rusts. A total of 100 cultures were isolated from six Puccinia species or forms growing on 10 species of British grasses at two sites approximately 3 km apart. 82 isolates collected in 2005 were partially sequenced at the ITS locus, and amplified fragment length polymorphism profiles generated for 86 isolates from 2005 and 12 from 2007. Partial ITS sequences of most isolates grouped closely, in a clade with previously reported graminaceous Puccinia isolates and a number of Melampsora isolates. A second clade was very distinct and contained mostly isolates from P. poarum on Poa trivialis. All isolates had distinct AFLP haplotypes. The P. poarum isolates were very distinct from isolates collected from other rusts at the same site. Isolates from P. brachypodii f. sp. arrehenatheri growing on Arrhenatherum elatius in 2005 and 2007 at the same location were distinct (P < 0.001). Isolates from each rust or grass in one year and site were more similar than expected from overall variation between isolates (P<0.001). Isolates from P. coronata on different grasses clustered together (with isolates from P. brachypodii f. sp. poae-nemoralis), suggesting partial host rust specialisation in E. caricis.

A Generic Deformable Model for Vehicle Recognition

This paper reports the development of a highly parameterised 3-D model able to adopt the shapes of a wide variety of different classes of vehicles (cars, vans, buses, etc), and its subsequent specialisation to a generic car class which accounts for most commonly encountered types of car (includng saloon, hatchback and estate cars). An interactive tool has been developed to obtain sample data for vehicles from video images. A PCA description of the manually sampled data provides a deformable model in which a single instance is described as a 6 parameter vector. Both the pose and the structure of a car can be recovered by fitting the PCA model to an image. The recovered description is sufficiently accurate to discriminate between vehicle sub-classes.

Glucosinolate-accumulating S-cells in Arabidopsis leaves and flower stalks undergo programmed cell death at early stages of differentiation

Plant secondary metabolites glucosinolates (GSL) have important functions in plant resistance to herbivores and pathogens. We identified all major GSL that are accumulated in S-cells in Arabidopsis by MALDI-TOF MS, and estimated by LC-MS that the total GSL concentration in these cells is above 130 mM. The precise locations of the S-cells outside phloem bundles in rosette and cauline leaves and in flower stalks were visualised using sulphur mapping by cryo-SEM/EDX. S-cells contain up to 40% of total sulphur in flower stalk tissues. S-cells in emerging flower stalks and developing leaf tissues show typical signs of Programmed Cell Death (PCD) or apoptosis, such as chromatin condensation in the nucleus and blebbing of the membranes. TUNEL staining for DNA double strand breaks confirmed PCD in S-cells in postmeristematic tissues in the flower stalk as well as in the leaf. Our results show that S-cells in postmeristematic tissues proceed to an extreme degree of metabolic specialisation besides PCD. Accumulation and maintenance of a high concentration of GSL in these cells are accompanied by degradation of a number of cell organelles. The substantial changes in the cell composition during S-cell differentiation indicate the importance of this particular GSL-based phloem defence system. The specific anatomy of the S-cells and ability to accumulate specialised secondary metabolites is similar to that of the non-articulated laticifer cells in latex plants and thus indicates a common evolutionary origin.

Host niches and defensive extended phenotypes structure parasitoid wasp communities

Oak galls are spectacular extended phenotypes of gallwasp genes in host oak tissues and have evolved complex morphologies that serve, in part, to exclude parasitoid natural enemies. Parasitoids and their insect herbivore hosts have coevolved to produce diverse communities comprising about a third of all animal species. The factors structuring these communities, however, remain poorly understood. An emerging theme in community ecology is the need to consider the effects of host traits, shaped by both natural selection and phylogenetic history, on associated communities of natural enemies. Here we examine the impact of host traits and phylogenetic relatedness on 48 ecologically closed and species-rich communities of parasitoids attacking gall-inducing wasps on oaks. Gallwasps induce the development of spectacular and structurally complex galls whose species- and generation-specific morphologies are the extended phenotypes of gallwasp genes. All the associated natural enemies attack their concealed hosts through gall tissues, and several structural gall traits have been shown to enhance defence against parasitoid attack. Here we explore the significance of these and other host traits in predicting variation in parasitoid community structure across gallwasp species. In particular, we test the "Enemy Hypothesis,'' which predicts that galls with similar morphology will exclude similar sets of parasitoids and therefore have similar parasitoid communities. Having controlled for phylogenetic patterning in host traits and communities, we found significant correlations between parasitoid community structure and several gall structural traits (toughness, hairiness, stickiness), supporting the Enemy Hypothesis. Parasitoid community structure was also consistently predicted by components of the hosts' spatiotemporal niche, particularly host oak taxonomy and gall location (e.g., leaf versus bud versus seed). The combined explanatory power of structural and spatiotemporal traits on community structure can be high, reaching 62% in one analysis. The observed patterns derive mainly from partial niche specialisation of highly generalist parasitoids with broad host ranges (>20 hosts), rather than strict separation of enemies with narrower host ranges, and so may contribute to maintenance of the richness of generalist parasitoids in gallwasp communities. Though evolutionary escape from parasitoids might most effectively be achieved via changes in host oak taxon, extreme conservatism in this trait for gallwasps suggests that selection is more likely to have acted on gall morphology and location. Any escape from parasitoids associated with evolutionary shifts in these traits has probably only been transient, however, due to subsequent recruitment of parasitoid species already attacking other host galls with similar trait combinations.

Vertex splitting and connectivity augmentation in hypergraphs

We consider problems of splitting and connectivity augmentation in hypergraphs. In a hypergraph G = (V +s, E), to split two edges su, sv, is to replace them with a single edge uv. We are interested in doing this in such a way as to preserve a defined level of connectivity in V . The splitting technique is often used as a way of adding new edges into a graph or hypergraph, so as to augment the connectivity to some prescribed level. We begin by providing a short history of work done in this area. Then several preliminary results are given in a general form so that they may be used to tackle several problems. We then analyse the hypergraphs G = (V + s, E) for which there is no split preserving the local-edge-connectivity present in V. We provide two structural theorems, one of which implies a slight extension to Mader’s classical splitting theorem. We also provide a characterisation of the hypergraphs for which there is no such “good” split and a splitting result concerned with a specialisation of the local-connectivity function. We then use our splitting results to provide an upper bound on the smallest number of size-two edges we must add to any given hypergraph to ensure that in the resulting hypergraph we have λ(x, y) ≥ r(x, y) for all x, y in V, where r is an integer valued, symmetric requirement function on V*V. This is the so called “local-edge-connectivity augmentation problem” for hypergraphs. We also provide an extension to a Theorem of Szigeti, about augmenting to satisfy a requirement r, but using hyperedges. Next, in a result born of collaborative work with Zoltán Király from Budapest, we show that the local-connectivity augmentation problem is NP-complete for hypergraphs. Lastly we concern ourselves with an augmentation problem that includes a locational constraint. The premise is that we are given a hypergraph H = (V,E) with a bipartition P = {P1, P2} of V and asked to augment it with size-two edges, so that the result is k-edge-connected, and has no new edge contained in some P(i). We consider the splitting technique and describe the obstacles that prevent us forming “good” splits. From this we deduce results about which hypergraphs have a complete Pk-split. This leads to a minimax result on the optimal number of edges required and a polynomial algorithm to provide an optimal augmentation.

Visual surveillance using deformable models of vehicles

This paper presents recent developments to a vision-based traffic surveillance system which relies extensively on the use of geometrical and scene context. Firstly, a highly parametrised 3-D model is reported, able to adopt the shape of a wide variety of different classes of vehicle (e.g. cars, vans, buses etc.), and its subsequent specialisation to a generic car class which accounts for commonly encountered types of car (including saloon, batchback and estate cars). Sample data collected from video images, by means of an interactive tool, have been subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) to define a deformable model having 6 degrees of freedom. Secondly, a new pose refinement technique using “active” models is described, able to recover both the pose of a rigid object, and the structure of a deformable model; an assessment of its performance is examined in comparison with previously reported “passive” model-based techniques in the context of traffic surveillance. The new method is more stable, and requires fewer iterations, especially when the number of free parameters increases, but shows somewhat poorer convergence. Typical applications for this work include robot surveillance and navigation tasks.

Single-cell proteomic analysis of glucosinolate-rich S-cells in Arabidopsis thaliana

Single-cell analysis is essential for understanding the processes of cell differentiation and metabolic specialisation in rare cell types. The amount of single proteins in single cells can be as low as one copy per cell and is for most proteins in the attomole range or below; usually considered as insufficient for proteomic analysis. The development of modern mass spectrometers possessing increased sensitivity and mass accuracy in combination with nano-LC-MS/MS now enables the analysis of single-cell contents. In Arabidopsis thaliana, we have successfully identified nine unique proteins in a single-cell sample and 56 proteins from a pool of 15 single-cell samples from glucosinolate-rich S-cells by nanoLC-MS/MS proteomic analysis, thus establishing the proof-of-concept for true single-cell proteomic analysis. Dehydrin (ERD14_ARATH), two myrosinases (BGL37_ARATH and BGL38_ARATH), annexin (ANXD1_ARATH), vegetative storage proteins (VSP1_ARATH and VSP2_ARATH) and four proteins belonging to the S-adenosyl-l-methionine cycle (METE_ARATH, SAHH1_ARATH, METK4_ARATH and METK1/3_ARATH) with associated adenosine kinase (ADK1_ARATH), were amongst the proteins identified in these single-S-cell samples. Comparison of the functional groups of proteins identified in S-cells with epidermal/cortical cells and whole tissue provided a unique insight into the metabolism of S-cells. We conclude that S-cells are metabolically active and contain the machinery for de novo biosynthesis of methionine, a precursor for the most abundant glucosinolate glucoraphanine in these cells. Moreover, since abundant TGG2 and TGG1 peptides were consistently found in single-S-cell samples, previously shown to have high amounts of glucosinolates, we suggest that both myrosinases and glucosinolates can be localised in the same cells, but in separate subcellular compartments. The complex membrane structure of S-cells was reflected by the presence of a number of proteins involved in membrane maintenance and cellular organisation.

Limiting factors in the restoration of UK grassland beetle assemblages

Grasslands restoration is a key management tool contributing to the long-term maintenance of insect populations, providing functional connectivity and mitigating against extinction debt across landscapes. As knowledge of grassland insect communities is limited, the lag between the initiation of restoration and the ability of these new habitats to contribute to such processes is unclear. Using ten data sets, ranging from 3 to 14 years, we investigate the lag between restoration and the establishment of phytophagous beetle assemblages typical of species rich grasslands. We used traits and ecological characteristics to determine factors limiting beetle colonisation, and also considered how food-web structure changed during restoration. For sites where seed addition of host-plants occurred the success in replicating beetle assemblages increased over time following a negative exponential function. Extrapolation beyond the existing data set tentatively suggested that success would plateau after 20 years, representing a c. 60% increase in assemblage similarity to target grasslands. In the absence of seed addition, similarity to the target grasslands showed no increase over time. Where seed addition was used the connectance of plant-herbivore food webs decreased over time, approaching values typical of species rich grasslands after c. 7 years. This trend was, however, dependent on the inclusion of a single site containing data in excess of 6 years of restoration management. Beetles not capable of flight, those showing high degrees of host-plant specialisation and species feeding on nationally rare host plants take between 1 and 3 years longer to colonise. Successful grassland restoration is underpinned by the establishment of host-plants, although individual species traits compound the effects of poor host-plant establishment to slow colonisation. The use of pro-active grassland restoration to mitigate against future environmental change should account for lag periods in excess of 10 years if the value of these habitats is to be fully realised.

The role of prophage-like elements in the diversity of Salmonella enterica serovars

The Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi CT18 (S. Typhi) chromosome harbours seven distinct prophage-like elements, some of which may encode functional bacteriophages. In silico analyses were used to investigate these regions in S. Typhi CT18, and ultimately compare these integrated bacteriophages against 40 other Salmonella isolates using DNA microarray technology. S. Typhi CT18 contains prophages that show similarity to the lambda, Mu, P2 and P4 bacteriophage families. When compared to other S. Typhi isolates, these elements were generally conserved, supporting a clonal origin of this serovar. However, distinct variation was detected within a broad range of Salmonella serovars; many of the prophage regions are predicted to be specific to S. Typhi. Some of the P2 family prophage analysed have the potential to carry non-essential "cargo" genes within the hyper-variable tail region, an observation that suggests that these bacteriophage may confer a level of specialisation on their host. Lysogenic bacteriophages therefore play a crucial role in the generation of genetic diversity within S. enterica. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing continental-scale risks for generalist and specialist pollinating bee species under climate change

Increased risks of extinction to populations of animals and plants under changing climate have now been demonstrated for many taxa. This study assesses the extinction risks to species within an important genus of pollinating bees (Colletes: Apidae) by estimating the expected changes in the area and isolation of suitable habitat under predicted climatic condition for 2050. Suitable habitat was defined on the basis of the presence of known forage plants as well as climatic suitability. To investigate whether ecological specialisation was linked to extinction risk we compared three species which were generalist pollen foragers on several plant families with three species which specialised on pollen from a single plant species. Both specialist and generalist species showed an increased risk of extinction with shifting climate, and this was particularly high for the most specialised species (Colletes anchusae and C. wolfi). The forage generalist C. impunctatus, which is associated with Boreo-Alpine environments, is potentially threatened through significant reduction in available climatic niche space. Including the distribution of the principal or sole pollen forage plant, when modelling the distribution of monolectic or narrowly oligolectic species, did not improve the predictive accuracy of our models as the plant species were considerably more widespread than the specialised bees associated with them.

The determinants of local population growth: a study of Oxfordshire in the nineteenth century

This paper presents a new econometric model for analysing population growth at the village and town level. It develops and applies a theory of the equilibrium distribution of population over space. The theory emphasises geographical fundamentals, such as rivers as transport corridors, and soil types that govern agricultural specialisation; also institutional factors such as town government, market charters and the concentration of land ownership. Nineteenth century Oxfordshire is used as a case study, but the method can also be applied at a multi-county and national level. The results show that the development of railways in nineteenth-century Oxfordshire accelerated a long-term shake-out in the market system, whereby rural markets disappeared and urban markets grew. This shake-out had significant implications for population growth at the local level.

The economic theory of the firm as a foundation for international business theory

The economic theory of the firm is central to the theory of the multinational enterprise. Recent literature on multinationals, however, makes only limited reference to the economic theory of the firm. Multinationals play an important role in coordinating the international division of labour through internal markets. The paper reviews the economic principles that underlie this view. Optimal internalisation equates marginal benefits and costs. The benefits of internalisation stem mainly from the difficulties of licensing proprietary knowledge, reflecting the view that MNEs possess an ‘ownership’ or ‘firm-specific’ advantage. The costs of internalisation, it is argued, reflect managerial capability, and in particular the capability to manage a large firm. The paper argues that management capability is a complement to ownership advantage. Ownership advantage determines the potential of the firm, and management capability governs the fulfilment of this potential through overcoming barriers to growth. The analysis is applied to a variety of issues, including out-sourcing, geographical dispersion of production, and regional specialisation in marketing.

Atypical processing of voice sounds in infants at risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show a reduced sensitivity (degree of selective response) to social stimuli such as human voices. In order to determine whether this reduced sensitivity is a consequence of years of poor social interaction and communication or is present prior to significant experience, we used functional MRI to examine cortical sensitivity to auditory stimuli in infants at high familial risk for later emerging ASD (HR group, N = 15), and compared this to infants with no family history of ASD (LR group, N = 18). The infants (aged between 4 and 7 months) were presented with voice and environmental sounds while asleep in the scanner and their behaviour was also examined in the context of observed parent-infant interaction. Whereas LR infants showed early specialisation for human voice processing in right temporal and medial frontal regions, the HR infants did not. Similarly, LR infants showed stronger sensitivity than HR infants to sad vocalisations in the right fusiform gyrus and left hippocampus. Also, in the HR group only, there was an association between each infant's degree of engagement during social interaction and the degree of voice sensitivity in key cortical regions. These results suggest that at least some infants at high-risk for ASD have atypical neural responses to human voice with and without emotional valence. Further exploration of the relationship between behaviour during social interaction and voice processing may help better understand the mechanisms that lead to different outcomes in at risk populations.

MOLES3: implementing an ISO standards driven data catalogue

ISO19156 Observations and Measurements (O&M) provides a standardised framework for organising information about the collection of information about the environment. Here we describe the implementation of a specialisation of O&M for environmental data, the Metadata Objects for Linking Environmental Sciences (MOLES3). MOLES3 provides support for organising information about data, and for user navigation around data holdings. The implementation described here, “CEDA-MOLES”, also supports data management functions for the Centre for Environmental Data Archival, CEDA. The previous iteration of MOLES (MOLES2) saw active use over five years, being replaced by CEDA-MOLES in late 2014. During that period important lessons were learnt both about the information needed, as well as how to design and maintain the necessary information systems. In this paper we review the problems encountered in MOLES2; how and why CEDA-MOLES was developed and engineered; the migration of information holdings from MOLES2 to CEDA-MOLES; and, finally, provide an early assessment of MOLES3 (as implemented in CEDA-MOLES) and its limitations. Key drivers for the MOLES3 development included the necessity for improved data provenance, for further structured information to support ISO19115 discovery metadata export (for EU INSPIRE compliance), and to provide appropriate fixed landing pages for Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) in the presence of evolving datasets. Key lessons learned included the importance of minimising information structure in free text fields, and the necessity to support as much agility in the information infrastructure as possible without compromising on maintainability both by those using the systems internally and externally (e.g. citing in to the information infrastructure), and those responsible for the systems themselves. The migration itself needed to ensure continuity of service and traceability of archived assets.