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Coping with decarbonisation: An inventory of strategies from resistance to transformation
Get PDFDecarbonisation is progressing rapidly and different actors respond to its impacts in different ways. Whether these responses seek to resist decarbonisation, adapt to new realities, or fundamentally transform the social and economic conditions that define decarbonisation contexts depends on the actor groups in question and the resources they are able to draw upon. This paper provides an overview of the kinds of “coping strategies” used by different actor groups in response to decarbonisation policy by inventorying these responses across eleven European carbon intensive regions in transitions. Using newspaper data, local level focus groups and elite interviews, a data set of 651 responses was created. Actions were grouped into 8 themes and 34 discrete strategies. These strategies reveal a wide range of responses. They demonstrate that resistance responses often reflect unaddressed injustices, that many governments are focused on decarbonisation strategies that substitute renewables for fossil fuels without changing wider socioeconomic conditions, and that there is broad appetite on the part of publics for more transformative strategies that allow deeper participation and representation, and reshape who benefits, and how, from the reorganisation of energy systems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Differential effects of positive versus negative contact: The importance of distinguishing valence from intensity
Get PDFMore and more research is considering the effects of both positive and negative intergroup contact on intergroup attitudes. To date, little is known about what factors may differentially influence these effects. We propose that differentiating not only between positive and negative contact (i.e., its valence), but also considering the intensity (i.e., low or high positivity/negativity) of contact valence is critical to understanding contact effects. We predicted that intensifying positivity in the realm of positive contact would have a stronger effect on outgroup attitudes than intensifying negativity. We report evidence supporting this hypothesis from three experiments which manipulated the quality of feedback given during a cooperation task by a confederate who acted as a member of a student outgroup (two online: N = 87, N = 169; one in person: N = 78), summarized in an internal meta-analysis and a large survey of White British majority and Asian British minority members (N = 2,994). Our results suggest that intensity of valenced intergroup contact may be a key factor for resolving inconsistencies in the current literature on valenced intergroup contact.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
A multilevel review of artificial intelligence in organizations: Implications for organizational behavior research and practice
Get PDFThe rising use of artificially intelligent (AI) technologies, including generative AI tools, in organizations is undeniable. As these systems become increasingly integrated into organizational practices and processes, understanding their impact on workers' experiences and job designs is critical. However, the ongoing discourse surrounding AI use in the workplace remains divided. Proponents of the technology extol its benefits for enhancing efficiency and productivity, while others voice concerns about the potential harm to human workers. To provide greater clarity on this pressing issue, this article presents a systematic review of empirical research that sheds light on the implications of AI use at work. Organized under five inductively generated themes within a multilevel framework, we uncover individual, group, and organizational factors that shape the interplay between humans and AI. Specifically, the themes are: (1) human–AI collaboration; (2) perceptions of algorithmic and human capabilities; (3) worker attitudes towards AI; (4) AI as a control mechanism in algorithmic management of platform-based work; and (5) labor market implications of AI use. Our review offers insights into these themes and identifies five pathways for future research. Finally, we provide practical recommendations for organizational leaders seeking to implement AI technologies while prioritizing their employees' well-being.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
EEG hyperexcitability and hyperconnectivity linked to GABAergic inhibitory interneuron loss following traumatic brain injury
Get PDFTraumatic brain injury represents a significant global health burden and has the highest prevalence among neurological disorders. Even mild traumatic brain injury can induce subtle, long-lasting changes that increase the risk of future neurodegeneration. Importantly, this can be challenging to detect through conventional neurological assessment. This underscores the need for more sensitive diagnostic tools, such as electroencephalography, to uncover opportunities for therapeutic intervention. Progress in the field has been hindered by a lack of studies linking mechanistic insights at the microscopic level from animal models to the macroscale phenotypes observed in clinical imaging. Our study addresses this gap by investigating a rat model of mild blast traumatic brain injury using both immunohistochemical staining of inhibitory interneurons and translationally relevant electroencephalography recordings. Although we observed no pronounced effects immediately post-injury, chronic time points revealed broadband hyperexcitability and increased connectivity, accompanied by decreased density of inhibitory interneurons. This pattern suggests a disruption in the balance between excitation and inhibition, providing a crucial link between cellular mechanisms and clinical hallmarks of injury. Our findings have significant implications for the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of traumatic brain injury. The emergence of electroencephalography abnormalities at chronic time points, despite the absence of immediate effects, highlights the importance of long-term monitoring in traumatic brain injury patients. The observed decrease in inhibitory interneuron density offers a potential cellular mechanism underlying the electroencephalography changes and may represent a target for therapeutic intervention. This study demonstrates the value of combining cellular-level analysis with macroscale neurophysiological recordings in animal models to elucidate the pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury. Future research should focus on translating these findings to human studies and exploring potential therapeutic strategies targeting the excitation-inhibition imbalance in traumatic brain injury.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Impact of reciprocal peer observation on teacher collaboration perceptions
Get PDFThis study aims to assess the effectiveness of recipro-cal peer observation (RPO) as a form of professional collaboration among teachers in enhancing their perceptions of teacher collaboration within a school setting. The Teacher Collaboration Perceptions Questionnaire (TCPQ) was specifically designed and validated for this purpose, using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The study employed a longitudinal observational design, with 400 teachers in a pre/post-test study. The impact of RPO was examined on three dimensions related to professional collaboration: collaborative school culture, collective agency and teachers' attitudes towards collaboration. The results revealed that par-ticipants' perceptions of collaboration improved sig-nificantly after the implementation of RPO. The study confirms the utility of RPO as a professional col-laborative practice that can foster changes in teach-ers' perceptions of the collaborative school culture, teachers' sense of collective agency and teachers' preference for collaboration over individual work. The study concludes with a discussion of its educational implications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Effect of a nutritional intervention based on an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet on environmental impact
Get PDFObjective
To estimate the environmental impact of a dietary intervention based on an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) after one year of follow-up.
Methods
Baseline and 1-year follow-up data were used for 5800 participants aged 55–75 years with metabolic syndrome in the PREDIMED-Plus study. Food intake was estimated through a validated semiquantitative food consumption frequency questionnaire, and adherence to the MedDiet was estimated through the Diet Score. Using the EAT-Lancet Commission tables we assessed the influence of dietary intake on environmental impact (through five indicators: greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), land use, energy used, acidification and potential eutrophication). Using multivariable linear regression models, the association between the intervention and changes in each of the environmental factors was assessed. Mediation analyses were carried out to estimate to what extent changes in each of 2 components of the intervention, namely adherence to the MedDiet and caloric reduction, were responsible for the observed reductions in environmental impact.
Results
We observed a significant reduction in the intervention group compared to the control group in acidification levels (−13.3 vs. -9.9 g SO2-eq), eutrophication (−5.4 vs. -4.0 g PO4-eq) and land use (−2.7 vs. -1.8 m2).
Adherence to the MedDiet partially mediated the association between intervention and reduction of acidification by 15 %, eutrophication by 10 % and land use by 10 %. Caloric reduction partially mediated the association with the same factors by 55 %, 51 % and 38 % respectively. In addition, adherence to the MedDiet fully mediated the association between intervention and reduction in GHG emissions by 56 % and energy use by 53 %.
Conclusions
A nutritional intervention based on consumption of an energy-reduced MedDiet for one year was associated with an improvement in different environmental quality parameters.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
From propenolysis to enyne metathesis: tools for expedited assembly of 4a,8a-azaboranaphthalene and extended polycycles with embedded BN
No full textThe synthesis of BN-containing molecules, which have an interesting isosteric relationship to their parent all-C cores, has drawn a great deal of attention as an avenue to alter and tune molecular function. Nevertheless, many cores with embedded BN are still hard to synthesize, and thus, further effort is required in this direction. Herein, we present an integrated approach to BN-containing polycycles rooted in an exceptionally clean B–N condensation of amines with a tri-allylborane. Having released propene as the only byproduct, the resulting BN precursors are seamlessly telescoped into BN-containing polycyclic cores via a set of additional methodologies, either developed here ad-hoc or applied for the first time for the synthesis of BN-cycles. As the “sharpening stone” of the process, BN-embedded naphthalene, which has previously only been obtained in low yield, can now be synthesized efficiently through propenolysis, ring-closing metathesis and a new high-yielding aromatization. As a more advanced application, an analogously obtained BN-containing bis-enyne is readily converted to BN-containing non-aromatic tetra-, penta- and hexacyclic structures via ring-closing enyne metathesis, followed by the Diels–Alder cycloaddition. The resulting air-sensitive structures are easily handled by preventive hydration (quaternization) of their B–N bridge; reverting this hydration restores the original Bsp2–Nsp2 structure. In the future, these structures may pave the way to BN-anthracenes and other π-extended BN-arenes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The Transition to Industry 4.0 in the Catalan Chemical Industry. Baseline 2020
Get PDFThe baseline for the state of implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the Catalan chemical industry in 2020 is established using the model proposed by the Industry 4.0 Commission of the Institution of Engineers of Catalonia. Two panels are convened, one comprising AIQS experts and the other industry executives. The responses from both panels exhibit similar trends. Among the levers used by the model, Inventory Control emerges as the most successfully implemented in the industry, followed by Cybersecurity, Production Planning, Monitoring and Control, and Environmental Efficiency. However, certain deficiencies are noted in the implementation of advanced maintenance practices. Industry executives generally express satisfaction with the current level of Industry 4.0 technology implementation. However, they exhibit lower satisfaction levels with levers such as Relationships with Suppliers, Data Collection, and Process Modelling. Anticipated impacts of Industry 4.0 technology implementation are expected to be highly favourable and desirable, particularly in the realm of manufacturing processes. Additionally, a projection of Industry 4.0 technology implementation with a horizon extending to 2025 is conducted, which will require comparison with future studies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Women, sport and francoism in Catalonia: perceptions of sportswomen from the early yearsof the dictatorship (1939–1961)
Get PDFThis research delves into the lives and perspectives of women who embraced physical and sporting pursuits in Catalonia during the tumultuous post-war era and the early years of the Franco dictatorship (1939–1961). It explores the biographies of the sportswomen and uncovers the intricate tapestry of moral and religious dynamics that coloured their experiences. The strategies used to collect data were a document and literature examination, in-depth interviews to 32 women (ranging in age from 73 to 100 years old), and a discussion group. Subsequently, content analysis was conducted using version 7 of the Atlas.ti software. We identified five categories of analysis for the moral sphere, which enabled us to construct a story to help understand the sportswomen’s experiences in the early years of Francoism. Without a doubt, practising sport was not common among women between 1939 and 1961 because it diverged from the model promoted by the Franco regime based on religious, scientific-medical and educational arguments. Within this context of women’s invisibility in the public practice of sport, the interviewees’ voices recounted the influences which led them to start practising sport and the moral pressures exerted by a highly moralised national-Catholic society influenced by the traditional Church, which hindered women from practising sport.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
La crisis del progreso como promesa secular. Una lectura teológico-política del giro reaccionario en la segunda década del siglo XXI
Get PDFA través del examen de fenómenos políticos recientes en Estados Unidos y Rusia, junto con los discursos ideológicos y filosóficos que los respaldan (QAnon, Dugin), el actual artículo analiza el resurgir de un discurso teológico-político que impulsa corrientes antimodernas en la segunda década del siglo XXI. Este giro reaccionario puede entenderse como una pulsión escatológica surgida a raíz del colapso de la promesa del progreso en su intento continuo de convertirse en una categoría secular. Para respaldar esta afirmación se usarán elementos del teorema de la secularización aplicado a la idea de progreso según Löwith. Finalmente se explorará la propuesta de neutralización escatológica en Marquard como posible respuesta.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio