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- Assarlind, Marcus, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Adopting new ways of working in small and medium-sized enterprises: findings from interventions in 12 European companies
- 2013
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Ingår i: Total Quality Management and Business Excellence. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1478-3371 .- 1478-3363. ; 24:8, s. 945-958
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper elaborates on the factors to be considered in order for interventions (activities aimed at introducing new ways of working through a series of focused activities in an organisation) to lead to long-term effects inside small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Its purpose of it is to describe how interventions can be carried out in order for SMEs to adopt new ways of working by understanding the context, process and content of an intervention. The results of this study suggest that in designing interventions for the SMEs, the context aspects of an intervention must be carefully considered. Not only is the process or context of an intervention important, but so is the content. As a consequence, we suggest content that accomplishes the following: (1) supports the formulation of strategies; (2) encourages dialogue and (3) uses company data. The paper is based on a multiple case study of 12 SMEs from 6 European countries undergoing similar interventions within the FutureSME project. These long-term relationships within a large-scale project have provided access and a rare opportunity to conduct research on this often overlooked business sector. The empirical data have been collected through company presentations, structured reports and narratives. The material has been subject to a cross-case analysis.
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- Assarlind, Marcus, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Designing interventions in SMEs: Experiences from a pan-European multiple case study
- 2012
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 15th QMOD-ICQSS conference. - 9788389333469 ; , s. 123-135
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe how interventions can be carried out in order for small and medium sized companies (SMEs) to adopt new ways of working, by understanding the context, process and content of the intervention. Interventions are defined as activities aimed at introducing new ways of working through a series of focused activities in the organization.Design/methodology/approachThe work was part of an EU-funded project called FutureSME aiming at aiding SMEs in becoming more competitive. This paper is based on a multiple case study of twelve SMEs from six European countries undergoing similar interventions. The empirical data has been collected through presentations by company representatives, A3 reports including structured information about the intervention and its outcome, and case essays containing subjective descriptions of respective company’s experiences from the interventions. The material has been subject to a cross-case analysis.FindingsThis paper elaborates on previous research on important factors to consider in order for interventions to lead to long-term effects in SMEs. The results from this study suggest that in the design of the interventions at SMEs, one needs to carefully consider the context aspects regarding the intervention, which is seen as a deficiency in the project. It is also pointed out that not only the process or context of the intervention is of importance, but also the content. We suggest content that 1) supports the formulation of strategies, 2) encourages dialogue, and 3) uses company data. Hence, when designing an intervention in SMEs it is beneficial if the content have such characteristics, and by inclusion both short-term success and long-term sustainability are more likely as a result of the intervention.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper does not deal with how to motivate SMEs to initiate an intervention process.Originality/valueIntervention studies have mostly focused on larger companies. The special set-up with dedicated external support and a long term relationship within a large-scale project has provided access to a study of twelve SMEs across Europe and has provided a rare opportunity for research.
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- Hoivik, Erling A., et al.
(författare)
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DNA Methylation of Alternative Promoters Directs Tissue Specific Expression of Epac2 Isoforms
- 2013
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 8:7, s. e67925-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Epac 1 and Epac 2 (Epac1/2; exchange factors directly activated by cAMP) are multidomain proteins that mediate cellular responses upon activation by the signaling molecule cAMP. Epac1 is ubiquitously expressed, whereas Epac2 exhibits a restricted expression pattern. The gene encoding Epac2 gives rise to at least three protein isoforms (Epac2A, Epac2B and Epac2C) that exhibit confined tissue and cell specific expression profiles. Here, we describe alternative promoter usage for the different isoforms of Epac2, and demonstrate that the activity of these promoters depend on the DNA methylation status. Bisulfite sequencing demonstrated that the level of methylation of the promoters in different tissues correlates with Epac2 isoform expression. The presented data indicate that the tissue-specific expression of the Epac2 isoforms is epigenetically regulated, and identify tissue-specific differentially methylated promoter regions within the Epac2 locus that are essential for its transcriptional control.
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- Idevall-Hagren, Olof, et al.
(författare)
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Spatial Control of Epac2 Activity by cAMP and Ca2+-Mediated Activation of Ras in Pancreatic beta Cells
- 2013
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Ingår i: Science Signaling. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 1945-0877 .- 1937-9145. ; 6:273, s. ra29-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The cAMP (adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate)-activated guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) Epac2 is an important mediator of cAMP-dependent processes in multiple cell types. We used real-time confocal and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy to examine the spatiotemporal regulation of Epac2, which is a GEF for the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) Rap. We demonstrated that increases in the concentration of cAMP triggered the translocation of Epac2 from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane in insulin-secreting beta cells. Glucose-induced oscillations of the submembrane concentration of cAMP were associated with cyclic translocation of Epac2, and this translocation could be amplified by increases in the cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration. Analyses of Epac2 mutants identified the high-affinity cAMP-binding and the Ras association domains as crucial for the translocation. Expression of a dominant-negative Ras mutant reduced Epac2 translocation, and Ca2+-dependent oscillations in Ras activity synchronized with Epac2 translocation in single beta cells. The cyclic translocation of Epac2 was accompanied by oscillations of Rap GTPase activity at the plasma membrane, and expression of an inactive Rap1B mutant decreased insulin secretion. Thus, Epac2 localization is dynamically controlled by cAMP as well as by Ca2+-mediated activation of Ras. These results help to explain how oscillating signals can produce pulses of insulin release from pancreatic b cells.
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- Osvalder, Anna-Lisa, 1961, et al.
(författare)
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Older Children’s Sitting Postures, Behaviour and Comfort Experience during Ride – A Comparison between an Integrated Booster Cushion and a High-Back Booster
- 2013
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Ingår i: Proceedings 2013 IRCOBI Conference, 11-13 September, Gothenburg, Sweden. - 2235-3151. ; , s. 882-885
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sitting postures and comfort experience were analysed from six children aged 7-9 (131-145 cm) seated on an Integrated Booster Cushion (IBC) and a high-back Booster (hbB) during 1 hour on-road drives respectively. Data was collected from video recordings, questionnaires and interviews. When seated on the IBC the most frequent posture was with the entire back and shoulders against the backrest and the head upright. On the hbB, the shoulders were seldom against the backrest. The most frequent lateral sitting posture for both boosters was upright with the seat belt in contact with the neck or mid-shoulder. Moderate and extreme forward and lateral postures occurred occasionally. A positive attitude was found towards the IBC due to possibilities to move freely, the soft seat cushion and the absence of torso supports, but the short seat cushion created some inconvenience. The hbB was perceived hard, created a locked-in feeling and felt unpleasant due to movements when changing postures. The combination of objective and subjective measures provided valuable information regarding children’s sitting behaviour. It is obvious that children do not always sit as in crash tests. Their activities and perceived discomfort influenced the selection of sitting posture and seat belt positions.
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- Raghavan, Maanasa, et al.
(författare)
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The genetic prehistory of the New World Arctic
- 2014
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 345:6200, s. 1020-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The New World Arctic, the last region of the Americas to be populated by humans, has a relatively well-researched archaeology, but an understanding of its genetic history is lacking. We present genome-wide sequence data from ancient and present-day humans from Greenland, Arctic Canada, Alaska, Aleutian Islands, and Siberia. We show that Paleo-Eskimos (similar to 3000 BCE to 1300 CE) represent a migration pulse into the Americas independent of both Native American and Inuit expansions. Furthermore, the genetic continuity characterizing the Paleo-Eskimo period was interrupted by the arrival of a new population, representing the ancestors of present-day Inuit, with evidence of past gene flow between these lineages. Despite periodic abandonment of major Arctic regions, a single Paleo-Eskimo metapopulation likely survived in near-isolation for more than 4000 years, only to vanish around 700 years ago.
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| 10. |
- Raghavan, Maanasa, et al.
(författare)
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Upper Palaeolithic Siberian genome reveals dual ancestry of Native Americans
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 505:7481, s. 87-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The origins of the First Americans remain contentious. Although Native Americans seem to be genetically most closely related to east Asians(1-3), there is no consensus with regard to which specific Old World populations they are closest to(4-8). Here we sequence the draft genome of an approximately 24,000-year-old individual (MA-1), from Mal'ta in south-central Siberia(9), to an average depth of 1x. To our knowledge this is the oldest anatomically modern human genome reported to date. The MA-1 mitochondrial genome belongs to haplogroup U, which has also been found at high frequency among Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic European hunter-gatherers(10-12), and the Y chromosome of MA-1 is basal to modern-day western Eurasians and near the root of most Native American lineages(5). Similarly, we find autosomal evidence that MA-1 is basal to modern-day western Eurasians and genetically closely related to modern-day Native Americans, with no close affinity to east Asians. This suggests that populations related to contemporary western Eurasians had a more north-easterly distribution 24,000 years ago than commonly thought. Furthermore, we estimate that 14 to 38% of Native American ancestry may originate through gene flow from this ancient population. This is likely to have occurred after the divergence of Native American ancestors from east Asian ancestors, but before the diversification of Native American populations in the New World. Gene flow from the MA-1 lineage into Native American ancestors could explain why several crania from the First Americans have been reported as bearing morphological characteristics that do not resemble those of east Asians(2,13). Sequencing of another south-central Siberian, Afontova Gora-2 dating to approximately 17,000 years ago(14), revealed similar autosomal genetic signatures as MA-1, suggesting that the region was continuously occupied by humans throughout the Last Glacial Maximum. Our findings reveal that western Eurasian genetic signatures in modern-day Native Americans derive not only from post-Columbian admixture, as commonly thought, but also from a mixed ancestry of the First Americans.
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