1. |
- Perland, Emelie, 1988-
(author)
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Atypical Solute Carriers : Identification, evolutionary conservation, structure and histology of novel membrane-bound transporters
- 2017
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Solute carriers (SLCs) constitute the largest family of membrane-bound transporter proteins in humans, and they convey transport of nutrients, ions, drugs and waste over cellular membranes via facilitative diffusion, co-transport or exchange. Several SLCs are associated with diseases and their location in membranes and specific substrate transport makes them excellent as drug targets. However, as 30 % of the 430 identified SLCs are still orphans, there are yet numerous opportunities to explain diseases and discover potential drug targets. Among the novel proteins are 29 atypical SLCs of major facilitator superfamily (MFS) type. These share evolutionary history with the remaining SLCs, but are orphans regarding expression, structure and/or function. They are not classified into any of the existing 52 SLC families. The overall aim in this thesis was to study the atypical SLCs with a focus on their phylogenetic clustering, evolutionary conservation, structure, protein expression in mouse brains and if and how their gene expressions were affected upon changed food intake. In Papers I-III, the focus was on specific proteins, MFSD5 and MFSD11 (Paper I), MFSD1 and MFSD3 (Paper II), and MFSD4A and MFSD9 (Paper III). They all shared neuronal expression, and their transcription levels were altered in several brain areas after subjecting mice to food deprivation or a high-fat diet. In Paper IV, the 29 atypical SLCs of MFS type were examined. They were divided into 15 families, based on phylogenetic analyses and sequence identities, to facilitate functional studies. Their sequence relationships with other SLCs were also established. Some of the proteins were found to be well conserved with orthologues down to nematodes and insects, whereas others emerged at first in vertebrates. The atypical SLCs of MFS type were predicted to have the common MFS structure, composed of 12 transmembrane segments. With single-cell RNA sequencing and in situ proximity ligation assay, co-expression of atypical SLCs was analysed to get a comprehensive understanding of how membrane-bound transporters interact. In conclusion, the atypical SLCs of MFS type are suggested to be novel SLC transporters, involved in maintaining nutrient homeostasis through substrate transport.
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2. |
- Ringqvist, Josef
(author)
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When workers unionize : Trade union effects on management-worker conflict and attitudes towards immediate interests versus broader political agendas
- 2024
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Taking its point of departure in the questions of why workers unionize and what happens when they do, this dissertation studies trade union effects on public perceptions and attitudes through the lens of two overarching themes: conflict between management and workers, and tensions between immediate sectional interests versus broader political agendas. These themes are explored empirically through four research papers, studying (1) how union membership, union density, and institutionalization affect perceptions of conflict between management and workers; (2) the impact of trade unions at the workplace level as antecedents of job demands, job autonomy, job control, and training; (3) how union membership and collective bargaining coverage relate to workers’ willingness to prioritize environmental protection above growth and jobs, and; (4) whether and if so how the association between union membership and support for government spending on environmental protection varies internationally based on the level of economic development and environmental performance. Each study draws on extant data from largescale cross-national attitudinal surveys, using multi-level analysis (MLA) to study union effects at several analytical levels. While the studies are cross-sectional, limiting the ability to make strong causal claims, the empirical results indicate that trade unions ameliorate perceptions of management-worker conflict; augment perceptions of job autonomy and control, particularly where demands are high; and transcend immediate sectional interests in favour of broader long-term agendas related to environmental protection. The present overview locates the empirical studies in a broader theoretical context pertaining to the two overarching themes and elaborates on the causal mechanisms underpinning the research hypotheses.
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3. |
- Bergman Bruhn, Åsa, 1972-
(author)
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The double-sided nature of lifestyle-oriented work within the Swedish equine sector : Characteristics and consequences for employee health and well-being
- 2023
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis considers the nature of lifestyle-oriented work, i.e. making a livelihood based on leisure interest or personal lifestyle, and focuses on the perspective of employees within the Swedish equine sector. The purpose was to gain an increased understanding of the characteristics of lifestyle-oriented work and the consequences for health and well-being. The thesis has a case study research design with two embedded units, riding schools and trotting stables, and a mixed methodological approach based on questionnaires and interviews. The findings show that employees experienced their work as both important and attractive with loyalty, relations, and stimulation being important factors for work attractiveness (Paper I). The employees found their work meaningful and worked primarily to achieve self-realization and quality of life. Person–environment fit, task significance, and occupational culture emerged as important factors for meaningfulness. However, the work had an inherent duality as the same factors both promoted and challenged the experiences of work attractiveness and meaningfulness (Paper II). The safety climate was found to be relatively good, despite some risk acceptance (Paper III), although the results indicated shortcomings regarding occupational health and safety management (OHSM) (Papers III and IV). Moreover, motivation, management, occupational culture, and resources affect both participation and compliance in OHSM (Paper IV).Lifestyle-oriented work within the equine sector can be described as double-sided, i.e. both satisfying and demanding. The work is characterized by attraction, meaningfulness, prosocial behavior, and a strong occupational culture but also an acceptance of challenging working conditions, overwork and deficient conditions for OHSM. A systematic OHSM, where both health-promoting factors and risk factors are considered, is necessary to enhance employee health and well-being and to create attractive and sustainable employment.
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4. |
- MacKenzie, Robert, Professor, et al.
(author)
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‘All that is Solid?’ : Class, Identity and the Maintenance of a Collective Orientation amongst Redundant Steel Workers
- 2006
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In: Sociology. - : Sage Publications. - 0038-0385 .- 1469-8684. ; 40:5, s. 833-852
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper explores the importance of class andcollectivism to personal identity, and the role this played during a period ofpersonal and collective crisis created by mass redundancy in the Welsh steelindustry. The research findings demonstrate the importance of occupationalidentity to individual and collective identity formation. The apparent desireto maintain this collective identity acted as a form of resistance to theincreased individualisation of the post-redundancy experience, but rather thanleading to excessive particularism, it served as mechanism through which classbased thinking and class identity were articulated. It is argued that thecontinued concern for class identity reflected efforts to avoid submergence inan existence akin to Beck’s (1992) vision of a class-free ‘individualisedsociety of employees’. These findings therefore challenge the notion of thepervasiveness of individualism and the dismissal of class and collectiveorientations as important influences on identity formation.
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5. |
- Basahal, Abdulrahman, et al.
(author)
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Labour market localisation policies and organizational responses : an analysis of the aims and effects of the Saudi Nitaqat reforms
- 2023
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In: International Journal of Organizational Analysis. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 1934-8835 .- 1758-8561. ; 31:4, s. 1024-1036
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose The aim of this paper is twofold. First, to understand the degree to which the intended outcomes of Saudi's Nitaqat labour market policy corresponds to the actual responses from private companies. Second, to investigate how these gaps between policy intentions and actual outcomes have informed recent changes to Nitaqat policy. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a qualitative approach with a case study design and thematic analysis procedures. Data were obtained from the following three sources: semi-structured interviews completed during the early stage of Nitaqat in 2013-2014 with nine policymakers and 44 key stakeholders from six private Saudi companies; policy documents and gray literature on the aims and effects of the Nitaqat program; and available peer-reviewed literature on the subject. Findings This paper sets out and analyses the following four main goals of Nitaqat: First, to increase the Saudi national employment rate, second, increase company efficiency, third, improve human resource capabilities, and fourth, increase female labour participation. This paper reveals that although Nitaqat has certainly resulted in a positive change in some of these areas, in other areas, there remain gaps between the intentions and the actual effects of Nitaqat. This paper analyses recent changes to Nitaqat and argues that further changes may be needed to achieve the full goals of Nitaqat. Originality/value This paper's originality lies in its analysis of the aims of labour market policies and organisational responses. It highlights the reasons for disconnections between the policy aims and organisational practices and explores how policymakers react and respond to these implementation gaps.
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6. |
- Basahal, Abdulrahman, et al.
(author)
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The role of HR capabilities during external change in Saudi Arabia
- 2020
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In: Journal of human resource management. - Slovakia : Comenius University in Bratislava. - 2453-7683. ; 23:2, s. 15-27
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose – State-led initiatives in Saudi Arabia have focused on ‘localisation’, a term, which here istaken to mean a state-led process to increase employment of workers from the local labour market,and displace workers from other countries. In Saudi Arabia, the ‘Nitaqat’ regulations in 2011 requiredprivate sector firms to recruit more Saudi nationals, limiting their access to the non-Saudi labourmarket, and penalising firms that did not comply. To cope with these staffing requirements, firmshave been incentivised to upgrade their approaches to HRM. Drawing on the concept of DynamicCapabilities, this study examines the development and use of human resource capabilities shortly afterthese regulations were implemented.Aim – To understand the role of operational and dynamic HR capabilities in organisations’ abilitiesto manage external change.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a case study design and drew on both primaryand secondary data collected in 2013-2014. Data were 17 primary semi-structured interviews with keydecision makers of three private firms, and secondary government documentation on Nitaqat wereanalysed by means of a content analysis approach.Findings – The present research reveals that HRM capabilities do not automatically lead to innovationor successful adaptation to external change, but rather, outcomes depend on how HR strategiesinteract with, and are shaped by other contextual, environmental factors.Limitations of the study – The study is limited by its relatively small number of cases, and focus ona single country context.Practical implications – The results may bring awareness as to the role of socio-cultural context inoperational and dynamic HR capabilities and this knowledge can benefit companies that face similarexternal pressures in the successful development of their capabilities.Originality/value – The originality of the paper lies in its detailed consideration of how HRcapabilities shape, enable and constrain strategic choices during external change. It also points to thevital importance of sociocultural context in understanding how firms navigate change, with the useof HR capabilities being shaped considerably by this context
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8. |
- Ciupijus, Zinovijus, et al.
(author)
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Micro- and meso-regulatory spaces of labour mobility power : The role of ethnic and kinship networks in shaping work-related movements of post-2004 Central Eastern European migrants to the United Kingdom
- 2020
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In: Population, Space and Place. - : WILEY. - 1544-8444 .- 1544-8452. ; 26:5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- European Union (EU) enlargement in 2004 produced a multi-layered regulatory space structuring labour mobility between Central Eastern Europe and the United Kingdom. Building on a critical revaluation of the concept of labour mobility power as a phenomenon that cannot be reduced to earnings' maximisation, the paper contends that although post-2004 migration was nested in the macro-regulatory mechanism of EU freedom of movement of labour, kinship and ethnic networks constituted additional layers in regulating migrants' mobility trajectories. Drawing on migratory biographies, the analysis examines how these regulatory mechanisms shaped migrants' actions and intentions related to transnational exit, contributed in creating linkages through which migrants sought to actualise their labour power on a transnational scale, and provided directions for labour mobility power's use within the receiving country. By embedding labour mobility power within kinship (micro) and ethnic (meso) networks, this paper offers a complimentary understanding of labour mobility power that takes it beyond the homo economicus explanatory model.
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9. |
- Ciupijus, Z., et al.
(author)
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The worker branch in Yorkshire as a way of organising Polish migrants : exploring the process of carving out diasporic spaces within the trade union structure
- 2020
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In: Journal of ethnic and migration studies. - : Routledge. - 1369-183X .- 1469-9451. ; 46:15, s. 3406-3421
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While post-2004 Polish labour migration to the UK was underpinned by diasporic spaces instrumental in facilitating social and labour market adjustments, the institutions of the host society such as trade unions also sought to establish links with migrants. The analysis of interactions between UK unions and EU migrants focused on organising strategies and specific provisions such as English language learning. However, the discussion tended to ignore the impacts of diasporic influences, from ethnicity and native languages of migrants to the outcomes of migrant worker organising. Drawing on ethnographic and qualitative data, this paper discusses how Polishness, in its ethnic, historic and linguistic manifestations, has affected the internal dynamics of a migrant worker organisation created by a major UK trade union. The explicit acknowledgement of diasporic particularities of post-2004 Polish migrants not only enabled labour organising activities but also shaped the migrant worker organisation from within. The strength of diasporic influences on one hand and the chosen form of union organising on the other created conditions for the development of diasporic spaces within the institution of the host society.
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10. |
- Cook, Hugh, et al.
(author)
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HRM and performance : the vulnerability of soft HRM practices during recession and retrenchment
- 2016
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In: Human Resource Management Journal. - Hoboken, NJ, USA : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0954-5395 .- 1748-8583. ; 26:4, s. 557-571
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This multi-method case explores how change in HRM implementation can impact performance metrics in a recessionary climate. Qualitative HR outcome data are mapped against financial metrics to explore adoption of hard-line HRM practices in a major UK retailer. Despite record profits throughout the recession, the organisation responded strategically to worsening conditions in the labour market, firstly to maintain operational flexibility, but then to opportunistically enlarge jobs and intensify work to help achieve immediate gains in financial metrics, including a gain of 37 per cent in profit per employee over 3 years. These gains were achieved by derailing commitment-based approaches to HRM, pointing towards the vulnerability of soft HRM systems during times of austerity or retrenchment.
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