Multi-level marketing companies (MLMs) such as Amway, Herbalife, or Tupperware differ from most other companies. They market their products and services by means of self-employed distributors who ...typically work from home, sell products to end consumers, and recruit, motivate, and educate new distributors to do the same. Although the industry's growth seems to illustrate the attractiveness of MLMs, the industry has been facing several legal and ethical problems. In this paper, we focus on these problems and argue that an extended MLM model may help us to understand why such problems continue to occur, despite the countermeasures that have been implemented. By explicating how problems relate to a specific but often overlooked characteristic of MLMs, i.e., the socalled distributor network, we provide an extended understanding of (a) MLMs' mode of operation, (b) the sources of their legal and ethical problems, and (c) the reason that currently implemented and suggested countermeasures may not suffice. Moreover, based on our extended understanding of MLMs and their problems, we propose additional countermeasures.
In the contemporary conditions of neoliberal governmentality, and the emerging ‘gig economy,’ standard employment relationships appear to be giving way to precarious work. This article examines the ...mechanisms of biopower and techniques of managerial control that underpin—and produce consent for—precarious work and nonstandard work arrangements. Based on an ethnographic study, the article shows how a globally operating direct sales organization deploys particular techniques of government to mobilize and manage its precarious workers as a network of enterprise-units: as a community of active and productive economic agents who willingly reconstitute themselves and their lives as enterprises to pursue self-efficacy, autonomy and self-worth as individuals. The article contributes to the literature on organizational power, particularly Foucauldian studies of the workplace, in three ways: (1) by building a theoretical analytics of government perspective on managerial control that highlights the nondisciplinary, biopolitical forms of power that underpin employment relations under the conditions of neoliberal governmentality; (2) by extending the theory of enterprise culture to the domain of precarious work to examine the mechanisms of biopower that underpin ongoing transformations in the sphere of work; and (3) by shifting critical attention to the lived experience of precarious workers in practice.
Abstract It has been argued that organizational structures (the way tasks are defined, allocated, and coordinated) can influence moral agency in organizations. In particular, low values on different ...structural parameters (functional concentration, specialization, separation, and formalization) are said to foster an organizational context (allowing for relating to the goals and output of the organization, moral deliberation, and social connectedness) that is conducive to moral agency. In this paper, we investigate the relation between the organizational structure and moral agency in the case of a.s.r. (a large Dutch insurance company). While our empirical results fit the thesis that low values on structural parameters positively relate to moral agency, they also refine our understanding of the influence of structural parameters. In particular, our data suggest that the influence of functional concentration not only depends on whether it is low, but also on the type of criterion used for identifying business units; they suggest that the specific organizational context may put a limit to lowering design parameters and points at several non-structural factors that have an influence on the relation between structure and moral agency. In all, the paper contributes to a more detailed understanding of the conditions conducive to moral agency in organizations.
Public Professional Accountability Vriens, Dirk; Vosselman, Ed; Groß, Claudia
Journal of business ethics,
12/2018, Letnik:
153, Številka:
4
Journal Article
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In the past decades, profession(al)s have increasingly been called to account. Several authors have reported that this increased public professional accountability, in the form of showing that ...professional conduct meets predefined standards or rules, has had severe negative consequences for professionals, their clients and society, and call for ‘intelligent’ forms of accountability; forms of accountability that may inform a wider public about professional conduct but do not harm it. In this paper, we propose a form of ‘intelligent’ public professional accountability. Taking Freidson’s (Professionalism. The third logic, Polity Press, Cambridge, 2001) notion of institutional ethics as a point of departure, we develop a form of accountability that seeks to account for the conditions required for professional conduct. The paper first discusses the current ‘dilemma of professional accountability,’ describes ‘ideal-type professional conduct’ and goes into the conditions it requires. Next, it shows what accounting for these conditions entails and that this form of accountability fits the criteria for intelligent accountability, as set by O’Neill (in: Morris and Vines (eds.) Capital failure: rebuilding trust in financial services, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2014).
Transforming growth factor beta 3 (TGFβ3) promotes tenogenic differentiation and may enhance tendon regeneration in vivo. This study aimed to apply TGFβ3 absorbed in decellularized equine superficial ...digital flexor tendon scaffolds, and to investigate the bioactivity of scaffold-associated TGFβ3 in an in vitro model. TGFβ3 could effectively be loaded onto tendon scaffolds so that at least 88% of the applied TGFβ3 were not detected in the rinsing fluid of the TGFβ3-loaded scaffolds. Equine adipose tissue-derived multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) were then seeded on scaffolds loaded with 300 ng TGFβ3 to assess its bioactivity. Both scaffold-associated TGFβ3 and TGFβ3 dissolved in the cell culture medium, the latter serving as control group, promoted elongation of cell shapes and scaffold contraction (
< 0.05). Furthermore, scaffold-associated and dissolved TGFβ3 affected MSC musculoskeletal gene expression in a similar manner, with an upregulation of tenascin c and downregulation of other matrix molecules, most markedly decorin (
< 0.05). These results demonstrate that the bioactivity of scaffold-associated TGFβ3 is preserved, thus TGFβ3 application via absorption in decellularized tendon scaffolds is a feasible approach.
Research Summary
This paper describes Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth (ABSPY), a community‐led, place‐based, data‐driven initiative to improve community safety and reduce crime ...involving young people at hot spots in Seattle, Washington. The ABSPY model puts crime prevention into the hands of the community, compared to traditional problem‐solving approaches that may involve community stakeholders but are led by the police. We evaluated the initiative using a quasi‐experimental research design comparing the five hot spots in the Rainier Beach neighborhood, where ABSPY was implemented, to five similarly situated hot spots elsewhere in the city. We used 9 years of police calls for service and offense reports, from 2011 to 2019, to assess ABSPY's effects on crime and a five‐wave community survey conducted pre‐ and 4 years post‐implementation to examine community perceptions. Although there were no significant effects on calls for service or crime, ABSPY significantly improved community members’ perceptions of serious crime and the police in the short and medium term.
Policy Implications
Our results show positive changes in community perceptions that offer a foundation for relationship and capacity building in problem‐solving efforts. Although ABSPY is not associated with reductions in crime, our results suggest that even communities with entrenched crime problems can leverage this capacity to reduce crime in the longer term. Community coalitions also offer some benefits relative to police‐led efforts, such as shared culture and values; stability; and consistency. However, community coalitions must build capacity for action as well as community engagement, and consider if and how the police should be involved, ensuring that the specific expertise of each coalition member is leveraged. Furthermore, our study highlights the importance of identifying measures of crime that are not affected by increased trust and collaboration between the police and the community.
Age-related degenerative changes in tendon tissue represent a common cause for acute tendon pathologies. Although the regenerative potential of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) was ...reported to restore functionality in injured tendon tissue, cellular mechanisms of action remain partly unclear. Potential tenogenic differentiation of applied MSC is affected by various intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The current study presents an in vitro model to evaluate the combined extrinsic effects of decellularized equine tendon matrix, transforming growth factor beta 3 (TGFβ3) and bone morphogenetic protein 12 (BMP12) on the tenogenic fate of equine adipose tissue-derived MSC. Monolayer MSC cultures supplemented with TGFβ3 and BMP12 as well as MSC cultured on tendon matrix scaffolds preloaded with the growth factors were incubated for 3 and 5 days. Histological evaluation and real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed that growth factor-mediated tenogenic induction of MSC was modified by the conditions of the surrounding microenvironment. While the gene expression pattern in monolayer cultures supplemented with TGFβ3 or TGFβ3 and BMP12 revealed an upregulation for collagen 1A2, collagen 3A1, tenascin c, scleraxis and mohawk (p < 0.05), the presence of tendon matrix led to an upregulation of decorin and osteopontin as well as to a downregulation of smad8 (p < 0.05). Preloading of scaffolds with either TGFβ3, or with TGFβ3 and BMP12 promoted a tenocyte-like phenotype and improved cell alignment. Furthermore, gene expression in scaffold culture was modulated by TGFβ3 and/or BMP12, with downregulation of collagen 1A2, collagen 3A1, decorin, scleraxis, smad8 and osteopontin, whereas gene expression of tenascin c was increased. This study shows that growth factor-induced tenogenic differentiation of equine MSC is markedly altered by topographical constraints of decellularized tendon tissue in vitro. While TGFβ3 represents an effective mediator for tenogenic induction, the role of BMP12 in tenogenesis may be of modulatory character and needs further evaluation.
The appendix gives rise to goblet cell carcinoids, which represent special carcinomas with distinct biological and histological features. Their genetic background and molecular relationship to ...colorectal adenocarcinoma is largely unknown. We therefore performed a next-generation sequencing analysis of 25 appendiceal carcinomas including 11 goblet cell carcinoids, 7 adenocarcinomas ex-goblet cell carcinoid, and 7 primary colorectal-type adenocarcinomas, using a modified Colorectal Cancer specific Panel comprising 32 genes linked to colorectal and neuroendocrine tumorigenesis. The mutational profiles of these neoplasms were compared with those of conventional adenocarcinomas, mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinomas, and neuroendocrine carcinomas of the colorectum. In addition, a large-scale pan-cancer sequencing panel covering 409 genes was applied to selected cases of goblet cell carcinoid/adenocarcinoma ex-goblet cell carcinoid (n=2, respectively). Mutations in colorectal cancer-related genes (eg, TP53, KRAS, APC) were rare to absent in both, goblet cell carcinoids and adenocarcinomas ex-goblet cell carcinoid, but frequent in primary colorectal-type adenocarcinomas of the appendix. Additional large-scale sequencing of selected goblet cell carcinoids and adenocarcinomas ex-goblet cell carcinoid revealed mutations in Wnt-signaling-associated genes (USP9X, NOTCH1, CTNNA1, CTNNB1, TRRAP). These data suggest that appendiceal goblet cell carcinoids and adenocarcinomas ex-goblet cell carcinoid constitute a morphomolecular entity, histologically and genetically distinct from appendiceal colorectal-type adenocarcinomas and its colorectal counterparts. Altered Wnt-signaling associated genes, apart from APC, may act as potential drivers of these neoplasms. The absence of KRAS/NRAS mutations might render some of these tumors eligible for anti-EGFR directed therapy regimens.
In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations, moderate to severe changes of the distal sesamoidean impar ligament (DSIL) were found in horses with lameness localized to their feet. Histologic ...abnormalities were detected more commonly in lame horses. Because of its heterogeneity and small thickness, evaluation of the DSIL in MRI can be challenging. The aim of the study was to determine the optimal sequence and the ideal transverse perpendicular angle for visualization of the DSIL before and after arthrography of the distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ). Twenty-five cadaver forelimbs were examined with low-field MRI. Sagittal, frontal, and three different angled transverse planes were obtained before and after arthrography of the DIPJ. All planes were acquired in T1w (weighted) Gradient Recall Echo (GRE), T2∗w GRE, T2w Fast Spin Echo (FSE), and Short Tau Inversion Recovery (STIR) FSE and visualization of the DSIL was scored by two observers. Visualization of the DSIL was best on sagittal T2w FSE and STIR FSE images. All transverse planes were inferior compared with sagittal sequences. After arthrography of the DIPJ, visualization of the DSIL origin improved in sagittal T2w FSE sequences, and agreement between observers increased for sagittal T2w FSE and STIR FSE images. Sagittal T2w FSE and STIR FSE images allowed good visualization of the DSIL in low-field MRI. Visualization of the DSIL did not improve for altered angled transverse sequences but increased with arthrography of the DIPJ. Subjective influence between different observers was found but decreased with DIPJ arthrography.
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•Visualization of the distal sesamoidean impar ligament is poor in low-field magnetic resonance imaging.•Sagittal T2w FSE and STIR sequences were considered superior to other sequences.•Distension of the DIPJ increased interobserver agreement.
Goltz syndrome (GS) is a X-linked disorder defined by defects of mesodermal- and ectodermal-derived structures and caused by PORCN mutations. Features include striated skin-pigmentation, ocular and ...skeletal malformations and supernumerary or hypoplastic nipples. Generally, GS is associated with in utero lethality in males and most of the reported male patients show mosaicism (only three non-mosaic surviving males have been described so far). Also, precise descriptions of neurological deficits in GS are rare and less severe phenotypes might not only be caused by mosaicism but also by less pathogenic mutations suggesting the need of a molecular genetics and functional work-up of these rare variants.
We report two cases: one girl suffering from typical skin and skeletal abnormalities, developmental delay, microcephaly, thin corpus callosum, periventricular gliosis and drug-resistant epilepsy caused by a PORCN nonsense-mutation (c.283C > T, p.Arg95Ter). Presence of these combined neurological features indicates that CNS-vulnerability might be a guiding symptom in the diagnosis of GS patients. The other patient is a boy with a supernumerary nipple and skeletal anomalies but also, developmental delay, microcephaly, cerebral atrophy with delayed myelination and drug-resistant epilepsy as predominant features. Skin abnormalities were not observed. Genotyping revealed a novel PORCN missense-mutation (c.847G > C, p.Asp283His) absent in the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD) but also identified in his asymptomatic mother. Given that non-random X-chromosome inactivation was excluded in the mother, fibroblasts of the index had been analyzed for PORCN protein-abundance and -distribution, vulnerability against additional ER-stress burden as well as for protein secretion revealing changes.
Our combined findings may suggest incomplete penetrance for the p.Asp283His variant and provide novel insights into the molecular etiology of GS by adding impaired ER-function and altered protein secretion to the list of pathophysiological processes resulting in the clinical manifestation of GS.
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