Home About us Contact | |||
Dynamic Interplay (dynamic + interplay)
Selected AbstractsInteractions of Temperament and Culture: The Organization of Diversity in Samoan InfancyETHOS, Issue 2 2009Harold L. Odden Although most are minor adaptations, some culturally patterned adjustments can have profound organizational effects on the niche and the child's developmental trajectory. Research conducted in Samoa suggests at least two distinct adaptations of the modal developmental niche for infants and toddlers keyed to different temperamental profiles: interpersonally assertive and behaviorally restrained. I argue that these two different variants of the modal niche emerge from dynamic interplay of different temperamental profiles, ethnotheories of child development, and child-rearing practices. These different niches can be developmentally significant in that they channel the individual's development in contrastive ways and introduce different future developmental challenges and opportunities. My larger point is that these different manifestations of the developmental niche represent one way in which social, cultural, and ecological factors on the one hand, and individual diversity on the other hand, interact to organize and constrain individual diversity. [Child development, temperament, infancy, developmental niche, Samoa] [source] Behavioral phenotyping enhanced , beyond (environmental) standardizationGENES, BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR, Issue 1 2002H. Würbel It is basic biology that the phenotype of an animal is the product of a complex and dynamic interplay between nature (genotype) and nurture (environment). It is far less clear, however, how this might translate into experimental design and the interpretation of animal experiments. Animal experiments are a compromise between modelling real world phenomena with maximal validity (complexity) and designing practicable research projects (abstraction). Textbooks on laboratory animal science generally favour abstraction over complexity. Depending on the area of research, however, abstraction can seriously compromise information gain, with respect to the real world phenomena an experiment is designed to model. Behavioral phenotyping of mouse mutants often deals with particularly complex manifestations of life, such as learning, memory or anxiety, that are strongly modulated by environmental factors. A growing body of evidence indicates that current approaches to behavioral phenotyping might often produce results that are idiosyncratic to the study in which they were obtained, because the interactive nature of genotype-environment relationships underlying behavioral phenotypes was not taken into account. This paper argues that systematic variation of genetic and environmental backgrounds, instead of excessive standardization, is needed to control the robustness of the results and to detect biologically relevant interactions between the mutation and the genetic and environmental background of the animals. [source] Development Imperative, Terrae Incognitae: a Pioneer Soil Scientist 1912,1951GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2010J.M. POWELL Abstract James Arthur Prescott was a prominent soil scientist whose career responded to an increasingly complex, recognisably Australian web of interpenetrating spatial scales, served to promote revolutionary global advances in his chosen field, and in the process negotiated the blurred boundaries between ,pure' and ,applied' research. Encounters with this instructive life suggest that, while resolutions of pivotal anxieties might turn on ineluctably personal qualities, they also reflect a dynamic interplay between international, imperial, national and state contexts. Prescott's innovative contributions to soil science, fruits of a tenaciously consolidated career, influenced resource appraisal and environmental management across a prodigious continental expanse. A sustained focus on local and regional development brought him into contact with a wide range of contemporaries, including pioneering geographers, and culminated in his election to a Fellowship of the Royal Society. [source] Drivers of Unsustainable Land Use in the Semi-Arid Khabur River Basin, SyriaGEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009FRANK HOLE Abstract The semi-arid zone of Southwest Asia, known as the Fertile Crescent, is under unprecedented stress because of agricultural development. Where rain-fed agriculture and transhumant herding had prevailed over ten millennia, today intensive cultivation with irrigation threatens future sustainability. A number of interconnected, but uncoordinated drivers of change combine to shape the landscape and its future, and their changes make it hard to anticipate future requirements and opportunities, as well as to implement policies, whether by local stakeholders or at the national level. Among the factors that comprise the socio-natural systems are (1) climate, (2) water and soil resources, (3) history of land use, (4) social, economic and political factors, (5) infrastructural developments (6) interstate impacts, and (7) legacies of the past. The example of the Khabur River drainage in northeastern Syria shows the dynamic interplay among these factors over the past 70 years, with implications for the way future policies and practices are developed. [source] Toward a More Embedded Production System?GROWTH AND CHANGE, Issue 3 2009Automotive Supply Networks, Localized Capabilities in Poland ABSTRACT The article addresses the embeddedness of automotive production in Poland in terms of supply networks. A comprehensive analysis of more than 550 suppliers, supported by company interviews, shows that foreign-owned producers become embedded in Poland in the automotive supplier networks they have largely created themselves. Numerous local suppliers gain access to export markets and become integrated in a Europe-wide production system. This trend has been accompanied by significant upgrading of foreign affiliates and domestic firms in terms of product quality, cost efficiency, adaptability, and fast response, but far less in nonproduction competences such as R&D. It is argued that the competences of automotive suppliers in Poland are built upon the localized capabilities, which are a product of the dynamic interplay between the activity of foreign firms and the changing local environment comprising various stakeholders. The localized capabilities constitute elements of a company's sunk costs and are embedding automotive producers in Poland. At the same time, the dependence on decisions and innovations from abroad and the limited development of local design and brands may constrain the future role of suppliers from the semiperipheral economy of Poland. [source] Organizational entrepreneurship: Theoretical background, some empirical tests, and directions for future researchHUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 1 2005Mariusz Bratnicki The widely held contemporary perspective on entrepreneurship is dangerously premature. Currently existing theories are insufficient to understand the dynamic interplay among entrepreneurship, the state, and external environment forces, as well as the organization's capacity to facilitate entrepreneurship and resulting effectiveness. In this exploratory paper I identify organizational architecture variables that help to shape a firm's entrepreneurship. The topic of organizational enablers is introduced. The primary purpose of the investigation falls under a category of exploration of dialectics' potential for entrepreneurship theory and development concept that refers to strategic contradictions, organizational enablers, and entrepreneurial behaviors. In particular, it focuses on understanding the organizational context of entrepreneurship and understanding the entrepreneurial reconciliation made by managers who seek to increase their company's growth. I investigate empirically how reconciliation of primary and secondary contradictions is related to entrepreneurial behaviors. The in-depth examination of organizational enablers and entrepreneurial behavior is only one example of how a dialectical approach can reshape our understanding of the complex, multilevel entrepreneurship process, which may have less to do with the behavior of individual members than with impersonal and seemingly insignificant forces. Finally, implications for future research are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 15: 15,33, 2005. [source] Interferon-, activation of polymorphonuclear neutrophil functionIMMUNOLOGY, Issue 1 2004Terri N. Ellis Summary As current research illuminates the dynamic interplay between the innate and acquired immune responses, the interaction and communication between these two arms has yet to be fully investigated. Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) and interferon-, (IFN-,) are known critical components of innate and acquired immunity, respectively. However, recent studies have demonstrated that these two components are not entirely isolated. Treatment of PMNs with IFN-, elicits a variety of responses depending on stimuli and environmental conditions. These responses include increased oxidative burst, differential gene expression, and induction of antigen presentation. Many of these functions have been overlooked in PMNs, which have long been classified as terminal phagocytic cells incapable of protein synthesis. As this review reports, the old definition of the PMN is in need of an update, as these cells have demonstrated their ability to mediate the transition between the innate and acquired immune responses. [source] Consumer morality in times of economic hardship: evidence from the European Social SurveyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 2 2010*Article first published online: 1 FEB 2010, Cláudia Abreu Lopes Abstract Crimes of everyday life, often referred to as unfair or unethical practices committed in the marketplace by those who see themselves and are seen as respectable citizens, have burgeoned as a result of the transformations in the European economy in the late 20th century, namely the transition to neo-liberal markets and the emergence of consumer society. A ,cornucopia of new criminal opportunities' has given rise to a new range of crimes such as ripping software, making false insurance claims or paying cash on hand to circumvent taxes. These shady behaviours (legal or not) are part of people's experience, albeit they are collectively regarded as morally dubious. Taken collectively, crimes of everyday life are indicators of the moral stage of a particular society and therefore a valuable instrument for social and political analysis. This paper addresses the question of whether and under which conditions feelings of economic hardship trigger crimes of everyday life. A multilevel theoretical and empirical perspective that integrates theories stemming from political science, sociology, and social psychology is adopted. I start by exploring the embeddedness of economic morality in social institutions, followed by an elaboration of the concept of market anomie to account for deviant behaviour in the marketplace, to finally step down to the examination of the correspondence between social attitudes and consumer behaviour, as postulated by the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The empirical study relies on micro data from the European Social Survey (ESS) (Round 2) and attempts to model, for each country, a formative measure of crimes of everyday life based on socio-demographic variables and the current economic situation, as it is perceived by the individual (taken as a measure of relative deprivation). The resultant country-specific regression coefficients are mapped onto the broader economic and normative context of 23 European countries. The results reveal that crimes of everyday life are driven by feelings of economic hardship only in countries where normative factors dictate their deviance. In countries where fraudulent behaviour is more generalized, inner motivations to offend play a secondary role as the more privileged consumers are more likely to commit fraud as they interact more often with the market. In turn, normative aspects result from a dynamic interplay of cultural and economic factors. As the economy grows faster, the tendency to offend in the market becomes more visible, but only in countries whose gross domestic product (GDP) stands above the European average. In countries with low GDP, the normative landscape is shaped by cultural factors that seem to obfuscate the power of economic factors favourable to consumer fraud. [source] Strategic processes @ Nike,making and doing knowledge managementKNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 1 2008George Stonehouse This paper contrasts theory with practice through a case study of strategic processes of knowledge management (KM) at Nike Incorporated. From its origins as a small specialist enterprise in 1972 to a multi-billion dollar global brand, the corporation has been continuously at the forefront of developments in management practice and business innovation. This case study has been compiled from interviews with senior managers and numerous secondary sources. The paper begins with a discussion of an insider perspective on the trajectory of the organization in terms of its strategic goals and decisions on markets, customers, products, services and business processes. It then goes on to explore and critique the dynamic interplay of the processes of strategizing, learning, creativity and innovation at Nike as the basis for its knowledge-based competitive advantage (CA). The case thus represents KM as a unique combination of processes in which learning; strategy and creativity are organized and strategically embedded within a large global organization. This has implications for future theorizing in KM, which, as we illustrate in this paper, demands a more integrative approach to research and practice. One of the key lessons for practice is that span of activity, as well as strategy, will influence the relationship between strategizing, organizing and learning and this interplay determines the success (or failure) of KM. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Escherichia coli prereplication complex assembly is regulated by dynamic interplay among Fis, IHF and DnaAMOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2004Valorie T. Ryan Summary Initiator DnaA and DNA bending proteins, Fis and IHF, comprise prereplication complexes (pre-RC) that unwind the Escherichia coli chromosome's origin of replication, oriC. Loss of either Fis or IHF perturbs synchronous initiation from oriC copies in rapidly growing E. coli. Based on dimethylsulphate (DMS) footprinting of purified proteins, we observed a dynamic interplay among Fis, IHF and DnaA on supercoiled oriC templates. Low levels of Fis inhibited oriC unwinding by blocking both IHF and DnaA binding to low affinity sites. As the concentration of DnaA was increased, Fis repression was relieved and IHF rapidly redistributed DnaA to all unfilled binding sites on oriC. This behaviour in vitro is analogous to observed assembly of pre-RC in synchronized E. coli. We propose that as new DnaA is synthesized in E. coli, opposing activities of Fis and IHF ensure an abrupt transition from a repressed complex with unfilled weak affinity DnaA binding sites to a completely loaded unwound complex, increasing both the precision of DNA replication timing and initiation synchrony. [source] Spiritual development: A missing priority in youth developmentNEW DIRECTIONS FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, Issue 118 2008Peter L. Benson Addressing the spiritual development of young people has the potential to strengthen youth work and its outcomes. Spiritual development matters because it is an intrinsic part of being human and because young people themselves view it as important. This article reviews the research that points to positive impacts of spiritual development for youth and notes that in an increasingly pluralistic society, everyone needs to build skills for negotiating religious and spiritual diversity. The authors propose that spiritual development involves, in part, the dynamic interplay of three dimensions: belonging and connecting, awareness and awakening, and a way of living. Three initial challenges and opportunities are emerging: empowering youth to explore core developmental issues, motivation and focus, and multisector engagement. [source] Genetic analysis of response regulator activation in bacterial chemotaxis suggests an intermolecular mechanismPROTEIN SCIENCE, Issue 11 2002Sandra Da Re Abstract Response regulator proteins of two-component systems are usually activated by phosphorylation. The phosphorylated response regulator protein CheY,P mediates the chemotaxis response in Escherichia coli. We performed random mutagenesis and selected CheY mutants that are constitutively active in the absence of phosphorylation. Although a single amino acid substitution can lead to constitutive activation, no single DNA base change can effect such a transition. Numerous different sets of mutations that activate in synergy were selected in several different combinations. These mutations were all located on the side of CheY defined by ,4, ,5, ,5, and ,1. Our findings argue against the two-state hypothesis for response regulator activation. We propose an alternative intermolecular mechanism that involves a dynamic interplay between response regulators and their effector targets. [source] Host responses to a versatile commensal: PAMPs and PRRs interplay leading to tolerance or infection by Candida albicansCELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 7 2009Thierry Jouault Summary The molecular interactions between commensal microorganisms and their host are basically different from those triggered by pathogens since they involve tolerance. When the commensal is genetically equipped to become an opportunistic pathogen, as is the case with Candida albicans, the picture becomes more complex. In this case, the balance between protection and invasion depends on host reactivity to altered microbial expression of ligands interacting with innate immune sensors. Based on experimental evidence obtained with C. albicans, we discuss the different molecular processes involved in the sensing of this important opportunistic human pathogen by a panel of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) according to the numerous pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) that can be exposed at its surface. Beneficial or deleterious immune responses that either maintain a commensal state or favour damage by the yeast result from this dynamic interplay. [source] |