Growth phases in the life of a lichen thallus

The growth rates of thalli of foliose saxicolous lichens before and after the linear phase of growth were measured in 1973. Changes in the radial growth rate (measured as mm/year) with thallus size in the prelinear phase (thalli less than approximately 1.5 cm in diameter) were consistent with the hypothesis that early growth of these lichens is loagarithmic. When growth in the prelinear phase was measured as a relative growth rate (measured as sq cm/sq cm/year) there was a rapid rise in growth rate until about 3 mm thallus diameter and then a decline in growth rate. The radial growth rate of non-fragmenting thalli when compared with fragmenting thalli at different stages of fragmentation suggested that radial growth rate does not significantly decline after fragmentation of the thallus. This result is not consistent with a postlinear phase in the radial growth of a lichen thallus.

Investigating global practices in teaching young learners

This project investigated global practices in TEYL. Key aims were to: discover what policy/syllabus documents inform practices globally; investigate major pedagogies used; better understand teachers’ perceptions of their roles and responsibilities, including challenges faced; identify how local solutions to pedagogical issues can be effective and how these may resonate globally.

Beyond theory:an examination of lean new product introduction practices in the UK

Interest is growing around the application of lean techniques to new product introduction (NPI). Although a relatively emergent topic compared with the application of ‘lean’ within the factory, since 2000 there has been an exponential rise in the literature on this subject. However, much of this work focuses on describing and extolling the virtues of the ‘Toyota approach’ to design. Therefore, by way of a stock take for the UK, the present authors' research has set out to understand how well lean product design practices have been adopted by leading manufacturers. This has been achieved by carrying out in-depth case studies with three carefully selected manufacturers of complex engineered products. This paper describes these studies, the detailed results and subsequent findings, and concludes that both the awareness and adoption of practices is generally embryonic and far removed from the theory advocated in the literature.

Manufacturing technology sourcing practices in the USA

Some companies are heavily reliant on the capabilities of their manufacturing technology for product competitiveness. Likewise, the capabilities of a manufacturing technology are dependent on the sourcing policy that the host company practices. This paper describes research that has explored a wide variety of US companies to understand manufacturing technology sourcing policies and how they have been formed. This research finds that there is a preference amongst the US organizations studied not to become involved with equipment manufacture, though some examples of full integration do occur. These policies are not determined by formalized decision processes, rather they are formed implicitly during technology choice. In this research, factors that influence a technology source have been identified. These drivers are then used to establish a methodology that will help practising managers to form a technology sourcing decision. This methodology takes into account the business demands placed on a technology, along with the characteristics of the host company's supplier base.

Terminal galactose residues on transferrin are increased in mid-life adults compared to young adults

Humans undergo biological ageing at different rates. This associates with functional decline in a number of physiological systems and increasing incidence of age-related pathologies. The discovery of robust biomarkers of ageing could be used to identify early divergence from a path of healthy ageing towards age-related disease. In the present study, we undertook proteomic analysis of plasma from healthy young men (mean age = 21.4 ± 1.5 years) and healthy mid-life men (mean age = 57.0 ±1.6 years). We identified twelve spots including transferrin, complement C3b and transthyretin that differed in abundance between the age groups. Transferrin spots showed an acidic pI shift in older males. Sandwich ELISAs were used to investigate the changes further. C3b levels were below the level of detection by ELISA and plasma concentrations of total transferrin or transthyretin were not different between the age groups studied here. However, analysis of transferrin N-glycan structures showed an increase in terminal galactose residues in older men, suggesting that the loss of terminal N-acetyl neuraminic acid residues contributes to the more acid pI of transferrin spots observed with age. Terminal galactosylation of transferrin may be a biomarker of healthy ageing and is now under investigation in the MARKAGE study.

Actin binding proteins:their ups and downs in metastatic life

In order to metastasize away from the primary tumor site and migrate into adjacent tissues, cancer cells will stimulate cellular motility through the regulation of their cytoskeletal structures. Through the coordinated polymerization of actin filaments, these cells will control the geometry of distinct structures, namely lamella, lamellipodia and filopodia, as well as the more recently characterized invadopodia. Because actin binding proteins play fundamental functions in regulating the dynamics of actin polymerization, they have been at the forefront of cancer research. This review focuses on a subset of actin binding proteins involved in the regulation of these cellular structures and protrusions, and presents some general principles summarizing how these proteins may remodel the structure of actin. The main body of this review aims to provide new insights into how the expression of these actin binding proteins is regulated during carcinogenesis and highlights new mechanisms that may be initiated by the metastatic cells to induce aberrant expression of such proteins. © 2013 Landes Bioscience.

Strategy as practice:recursiveness, adaptation, and practices-in-use

In this article, a social theory framework is developed to explain the common themes of recursive and adaptive practice underpinning the existing strategic management literature. In practice, there is a coexistent tension between recursive and adaptive forms of strategic action that spans multiple levels from macro-institutional and competitive contexts to within-firm levels of analysis to individual cognition. This tension may be better understood by examining how management practices are used to put strategy into practice. Such practices span multiple levels of context and are adaptable to their circumstances of use, serving to highlight both general characteristics and localized idiosyncrasies of strategy as practice. The article develops the concept of management practices-in-use into a research agenda and nine broad research questions that may be used to investigate empirically strategy as practice.

Implementing collaborative practices in the healthcare supply chain:insights into hospital-vendor operations

The paper discusses the characteristics of healthcare supply chains, and puts particular emphasis on the implementation of VMI/CMI in this sector specific context. By the means of case study research the paper provides empirical data on the benefits of the above collaborative practices for both the hospital and vendors. The paper contributes to the stream of research on VMI/CMI in the healthcare sector, where limited research attempts have been conducted so far. In contrast to other surveys this case study shows that specific and measurable cost reductions exist, in addition to other improvements such as better control over the inventories, and also in reduction of administrative work. Results obtained may be also relevant to other hospitals and vendors and as they can form a basis for comparisons. Copyright © 2013 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Employability management practices in the Polish ICT sector

This article examines current career thinking and employability management practices within the Polish Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector. The aim of this contribution is to identify career management problems and to determine obstacles for implementing employability management practices at a company level. Semi-structured interviews aimed at establishing company needs were conducted with 18 managers of small and medium-sized ICT enterprises in Poland. These firms appear to apply various developmental approaches to stimulate competitive advantage. Faced with a more demanding environment, firms aim for versatility rather than adopting simplified solutions. Managing the careers and employability of ICT professionals is acknowledged as vitally important for the survival and development of ICT companies.

A comparison of the environmental management practices in three British universities

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Institutional contradiction and management control innovation:a field study of total quality management practices in a privatised telecommunications company

The purpose of this paper is to theorise the changes surrounding the introduction of a management control innovation, total quality management (TQM) techniques, within Telecom Fiji Limited. Using institutional theory and drawing on empirical evidence from multiple sources including interviews, discussions and documents, the paper explicates the institutionalization of these TQM practices. The focus of the paper is the micro-processes and practice changes around TQM implementation, rather than the influence of the macro-level structures that are often linked with institutional theory. The change agents used Quality Action Teams and the National Quality Council to introduce new TQM routines. The present study extends the scope of institutional analysis by explaining how institutional contradictions impact to create and make space for institutional entrepreneurs, who in turn, modify existing routines or introduce new routines in fluid organizational environments which also exhibit evidence of resistance.

Local resources and procurement practices in humanitarian supply chains:an empirical examination of large-scale house reconstruction projects

Different procurement decisions taken by relief organizations can result in considerably different implications in regards to transport, storage, and distribution of humanitarian aid and ultimately can influence the performance of the humanitarian supply chain and the delivery of the humanitarian aid. In this article, we look into what resources are needed and how these resources evolve in the delivery of humanitarian aid. Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, we develop a framework to categorize the impact of local resources on the configuration of humanitarian supply chains. In contrast to other papers, the importance of localizing the configuration of the humanitarian supply chain is not only conceptually recognized, but empirical investigations are also provided. In terms of methodology, this article is based on the analysis of secondary data from two housing reconstruction projects. Findings indicate that the use of local resources in humanitarian aid has positive effects on programs' overall supply chain performance and these effects are not only related to the macroeconomic perspective, but benefits expand to improvements related to the use of knowledge. At the same time, it was found that local sourcing often comes with a number of problems. For example, in one of the cases, significant problems existed, which were related to the scarcity of local supplies. Both housing reconstruction projects have indicated the continuous need for changes throughout the programs as a dynamic supply chain configuration is important for the long-term sustainability of reconstruction aid. © 2014 Decision Sciences Institute.