Social synchronization of circadian rhythms with a focus on honeybees

Many animals benefit from synchronizing their daily activities with conspecifics. In this hybrid paper, we first review recent literature supporting and extending earlier evidence for a lack of clear relationship between the level of sociality and social entrainment of circadian rhythms. Social entrainment is specifically potent in social animals that live in constant environments in which some or all individuals do not experience the ambient day-night cycles. We next focus on highly social honeybees in which there is good evidence that social cues entrain the circadian clocks of nest bees and can override the influence of conflicting light-dark cycles. The current understanding of social synchronization in honeybees is consistent with self-organization models in which surrogates of forager activity, such as substrate-borne vibrations and colony volatiles, entrain the circadian clocks of bees dwelling in the dark cavity of the nest. Finally, we present original findings showing that social synchronization is effective even in an array of individually caged callow bees placed on the same substrate and is improved for bees in connected cages. These findings reveal remarkable sensitivity to social time-giving cues and show that bees with attenuated rhythms (weak oscillators) can nevertheless be socially synchronized to a common phase of activity. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.

Value chain organization models of Taiwanese electronic information enterprises in Mainland China and their spatiotemporal evolution processes

This study examines Taiwanese investment in Mainland China as it is an important part of cross-strait economic cooperation. Using sample data from Taiwanese-listed electronic information enterprises in Mainland China (1990–2016), this study combines ArcGIS spatial visualization and case analysis to investigate their value chain organization models and spatiotemporal evolution regularity. The results show that the value chain of the electronic information industry for Taiwanese investments in Mainland China has three models: vertical integration, modularization in production sharing, and production extension. Vertical integration is the main production organization model of these Taiwanese listed electronic information enterprises, expanding from single production to the entire manufacturing value chain, followed by sales, and finally R&D. This model is still in use in the Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone, whereas the other four Taiwanese investment agglomerations, namely the Bohai Economic Rim, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Western Delta Economic Circle, began to expand to both ends of the production link, particularly to the sales link. High-value -added enterprises adopting production sharing models began to show a trend of expansion to inland cities, and enterprises adopting the manufacturing–sales model (a production expansion model) had the widest distribution. Finally, at the city level, the value chain fragmentation structure of Taiwanese and developed countries’ cross-border (multinational) enterprises in Mainland China were consistent, that is, they matched the Chinese city hierarchy; at the regional level, however, the Western Delta Economic Circle pioneered to become a hub for Taiwanese electronic to information enterprises set up their R&D and sales links in Mainland China. Investigating chain-alike spatiotemporal expansion of Taiwanese investment in Mainland China is important for the integration and development of the value chain, production network, and enterprise spatial organization theories.

Impact of different work organizational models on gender differences in exposure to psychosocial and ergonomic hazards at work and in mental and physical health

Purpose To examine differences between genders in exposure to psychosocial and ergonomic factors at work and in work-related health, according to different work organization models. Methods The study population included a sample of 9749 (women: 37.1%) and 10,374 (women: 39.9%) employees who participated in the 2010 and 2015 European Working Conditions Surveys, respectively. Multiple Correspondence Analysis was applied to work characteristics reported by workers to estimate principal components, followed by Hierarchical Clustering on principal components to identify clusters of work organization models. Gender differences in exposure to work hazards and health outcomes were assessed through Poisson robust regression. Differences of PRs across organizational models were tested through interaction between gender and type of work organization. Results Three organizational models were identified in 2010, including lean production, Tayloristic production, and a “reflexive production” model, whereas in 2015, a “simple” or traditional model was also found. In 2010, women employed in companies adopting the Tayloristic or the lean production models were more likely than men to be exposed to unfavourable psychosocial and physical work factors, and to report musculoskeletal pain, compared to those belonging to reflexive production. In 2015, a significantly higher female/male ratio persisted in lean production for exposure to high job strain and for carrying/moving heavy loads, whereas gender differences in Tayloristic and traditional production were quite similar to those of reflexive production. Conclusions Our results suggest that employment in workplaces characterized by lower monotony, repetitiveness, and production constraints may contribute to reduce exposure to job strain among working women.

Implementando o Gitflow para Gerencia de Configuração em um Projeto de Desenvolvimento de Software Ágil: Um Relato de Experiência

In software engineering, Software Configuration Management is a set of support activities that allows for the orderly absorption of changes inherent to software development. For that, organization models for code versioning like Gitflow have been proposed. In Gitflow, two fixed branches (master and develop) are used to store the project history and be the starting point for changes. Despite the popularity of Gitflow for being considered a simple workflow, there are few: (a) reports of its use in practice and / or (b) documentation on how to deploy it in a real environment. This paper presents the process of adapting Gitflow and creating rules for its application in a real software development project. This adaptation took into account the opinions of managers and developers of a team of approximately 30 people within an agile Scrum life cycle. As a result, definitions and documents were generated to keep track of development, in addition to defining the necessary steps for its application considering the development process adopted by the team.

How Organization Models Impact the Governing of Industrial Symbiosis in Public Wastewater Management. An Explorative Study in Sweden

The industrial symbiosis (IS) landscape is evolving rapidly. While previous studies have argued for the importance of municipalities participating in the governing of IS, research on the implications of different forms of municipal organization is still lacking. This paper aims to investigate how municipal administration and municipally-owned corporations, as two forms of organization, impact the governing of IS in the water and sewage sector. This is explored in relation to the Swedish municipality Simrishamn, which recently underwent changes in the form of organization. Results show that municipal administration contributes to a more inclusive process where many actors can influence and bring ideas and perspectives on how to develop an IS. The risk, however, is that other issues within the municipality are seen as more pressing and, therefore, get prioritized before IS. In corporate form, the development of IS becomes more business-like as the focus is kept on core business. Technology development is strengthened as skills and competencies are promoted through the expertise of the employees. Drawbacks include processes becoming less transparent and political goals, such as citizen welfare not receiving the same level of priority as within municipal administration. There is also a risk that fewer perspectives are included in the process of developing IS, which may inhibit innovation, even if the results also indicate that an increased business focus of the corporate form strengthens the innovation capacity.

Collaborative Organization Models for Sustainable Development in the Agri-Food Sector

It is widely recognized that the adoption of collaborative organization models in the agri-food sector can help farmers in rural areas to reach sustainable development goals. In any case, a holistic and coherent view of sustainability, organizational models and supporting technologies in the agri-food sector is still not present in the scientific literature. With this paper, we aim to fill this gap and to propose a framework that is useful to help scholars and practitioners in analyzing and designing sustainable Collaborative Networks in the agri-food sector

Spatial Organization Models of Socio-Economic Systems: Experience of Regional Development Strategies

Aim. The presented study identifies spatial organization models of territorial socio-economic systems based on the experience of strategic planning of spatial transformations in Russian regions.Tasks. The authors determine the place of spatial aspects of development in each regional socio-economic development strategy by examining the structural features of the document and objectives outlined in the sections on spatial transformation prospects; systematize the experience of strategic modeling of spatial organization by meaningfully analyzing elements of regional strategies related to spatial transformation.Methods. This study uses general methods of cognition (analysis and synthesis) to examine socioeconomic development strategies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, identify and systematize general aspects of spatial transformation guidelines outlined in them.Results. Regional socio-economic development strategies are categorized by the degree to which spatial transformation issues are addressed. It was found that only 13.4% of documents ignore spatial development. Variations in the directions of spatial transformation outlined in strategies are indicated, and the ratio of the number of documents focusing on different changes is determined (in most documents, there is no clearly defined vision of projected spatial transformations). Four spatial organization models for territorial socio-economic systems are distinguished depending on the underlying vector of strategic transformations (a priority development model for territories with the greatest potential, a model for facilitating the development of lagging territories, a functional zoning model, and a hierarchical spatial organization model).Conclusions. The results of systematization of spatial organization models proposed by regional socioeconomic development strategies reflect options for optimizing the spatial characteristics of territories (related both to the development of individual spatial elements and to the inclusion of all spatial components into transformation processes) and can be useful for local authorities at different levels when setting spatial transformation goals.

Differentiated service delivery models for HIV treatment in Malawi, South Africa, and Zambia: A landscape analysis

Introduction: Many countries in Africa are scaling up differentiated service delivery (DSD) models for HIV treatment, but most existing data systems do not describe the models in use. We surveyed organizations that were supporting DSD models in 2019 in Malawi, South Africa, and Zambia to describe the diversity of DSD models being implemented at that time. Methods: We interviewed DSD model implementing organizations for descriptive information about each model of care supported by the organization. We described the key characteristics of each model, including population of patients served, location of service delivery, frequency of interactions with patients, duration of dispensing, and cadre(s) of provider involved. To facilitate analysis, we refer to one organization supporting one model of care as an organization-model. Results: The 34 respondents (8 in Malawi, 16 in South Africa, 10 in Zambia) interviewed described a total of 110 organization-models, which included 19 facility based individual models, 21 out-of-facility based individual models, 14 healthcare worker led groups, and 3 client led groups; jointly, these encompassed 12 service delivery strategies. Over 2/3 (n=78) of the organization-models were limited to clinically stable patients. Almost all organization-models (n=96) continued to provide clinical care at established healthcare facilities; medication pickup took place at facilities, external pickup points, and adherence clubs. Required numbers of provider interactions per year varied widely, from a low of 2 to a high of 12. Dispensing intervals were typically 3 or 6 months in Malawi and Zambia and 2 months in South Africa. Individual models relied more on clinical staff (doctors, nurses, pharmacists), while group models made greater use of lay personnel (community health workers, counselors). Conclusions: As of 2019, there was a large variety of differentiated service models being offered for HIV treatment in Malawi, South Africa, and Zambia, serving diverse patient populations.