Introducing and implementing corporate sustainability poses many challenges to business organizations. In this longitudinal, inductive study, we focus on how such challenges are handled in a Dutch bank that is developing its sustainability policies. We examine why there is such a high degree of tension and conflict within the organization and identify how the development of these policies is affected by the interplay between subcultures and institutional logics. We show how different subcultures affect the enactment of logics by infusing the rational and mindful behavior coming from logics with (sub)cultural values, beliefs, and assumptions. In turn, conflicting logics amplify subcultural characteristics between groups by shaping different behavior and practices. Together, this leads to a magnification of subcultural differences while, at the same time, logics are increasingly being perceived as incompatible.

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Therapeutic pathogen recognition receptor (PRR) ligands are reaching clinical practice following their ability to skew the immune response in a specific direction. We investigated the effects of various therapeutic PRR ligands on bone cell differentiation and inflammation. Following stimulation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity (Day 10), osteocalcin, osteonectin expression (Day 14), and calcium deposition (Day 21) were quantified in bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The osteoclastogenic response was determined by measuring tartrate-resistant acid phosphate (TRAP) activity in human monocytes. TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 expressions were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as an indicator of the ligands’ inflammatory properties. We found that nucleic acid-based ligands Poly(I:C) and CpG ODN C increased early ALP activity in hMSCs by 4-fold without affecting osteoclast formation. These ligands did not enhance expression of the other, late osteogenic markers. MPLA, Curdlan, and Pam3CSK4 did not affect osteogenic differentiation, but inhibited TRAP activity in monocytes, which was associated with increased expression of all measured cytokines. Nucleic acid-based ligands are identified as the most promising osteo-immunomodulators, as they favor early osteogenic differentiation without inducing an exaggerated immune-cell mediated response or interfering in osteoclastogenesis and thus can be potentially harnessed for multifunctional coatings for bone biomaterials.

UITTREKSELGrondlewende invertebrate en kleinere vertebrate is deur middel van put-en muisvalle in onversteurde lang gras en gras wat permanent kort gehou is oor 'n tydperk van 15 maande (Maart 1994 -Mei 1995 ABSTRACT Prey manipulation in a grassland community at an inland airport in South AfricaTerrestrial invertebrates and very small vertebrates were collected using pitfall and mouse traps in undisturbed long grass and grass which were kept permanently short over a period of 15 months (March 1994 -May 1995 INLEIDINGDie gevaar wat voëls vir lugvaart inhou is dekades reeds aan die mens bekend; nietemin neem die aantal en intensiteit van trefongelukke wêreldwyd steeds toe.1-3 Verskeie outeurs is van mening dat voëlgetalle op lughaweterreine op die langtermyn slegs effektief verminder kan word indien die habitat sodanig gewysig word dat die gebied minder aantreklik raak vir voëls. [3][4][5][6][7][8] Een van die mees basiese aantreklikhede in hierdie verband is voedselbeskikbaarheid, 'n aspek wat redelik maklik deur habitatmanipulasie en die gebruik van chemiese middels beïnvloed kan word. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15] In hierdie studie is ondersoek ingestel na moontlike beheermaatreëls, fisies sowel as chemies, om die voëlgevaar op 'n binnelandse lughawe deur middel van prooibeskikbaarheid te verminder. STUDIEGEBIEDDie Bloemfontein-lughawe (29°06 l S; 26°19 l O) is ongeveer 10 km oos van die Bloemfonteinse middestad in die sentrale Vrystaat geleë. Die gebied beslaan 'n oppervlakte van 644 ha en vorm deel van die Suider-Afrikaanse grasveldbioom.16 Die plantegroei van die streek, meer spesifiek, kan as 'n droë Cymbopogon-Themeda-veldtipe beskou word.17 Met 'n hoogte van 1 422 m bo seespieël en 'n gemiddelde jaarlikse reënval van 550 mm word die gebied as 'n semi-ariede somerreën-valstreek geklassifiseer.18 Gemiddelde daaglikse maksimum en minimum temperature wissel van 29.8°C vir Januarie tot -1.7°C in Julie respektiewelik, terwyl die uiterste temperature in die ooreenstemmende tydperk van 39.3°C tot -10.3°C varieer. MATERIAAL EN METODES Fisiese manipulasieTen einde die effek van grashoogte op die voorkoms van potensiële prooi-items van voëlsoorte op die Bloemfonteinlughawe te bepaal, is twee naasliggende grasstroke (c. 15 ha elk) wat deels deur 'n parallellopende aspaltrybaan van mekaar geskei word, as studiegebied gebruik. Die een perseel het uit onversteurde lang gras bestaan, terwyl die gras van die ander perseel periodiek gesny is om dit permanent kort te hou. Alle afgesnyde gras is so gou moontlik in bale gebind en vanaf die terrein verwyder om die totstandkoming van nuwe mikrohabitats te verhoed. Die gemiddelde grashoogte van die onderskeie persele is gebaseer op afmetings van die langste halm van die graspol wat die naaste aan elk van die 180 putvalle wat in die gebied uitgesit is, geleë was. Hoogtebepalings is op 'n maandelikse basis oor 'n tydperk van 15 maande (Maart 1994 -Mei 1995 met behulp van 'n lynmaatband wat op 'n hout meetstok gemonteer is, uitgevoer.Plantopnames van die persele is by twee geleen...

Over a period of eleven years (January 1985 – December 1995) approximately 5 000 individuals representing 51 bird species which, potentially, posed a threat to aviation were collected at the Bloemfontein airport. More than half of the species concerned can be considered as medium sized terrestrial birds of which the crowned plover (Vanellus coronatus) is by far the most important. A similar species composition occurred at the Kimberley airport, in contrast to the greater percentage of water associated birds at the Johannesburg airport. Indirectly, food availability appears to be one of the main environmental factors involved in the presence of the five dominant bird species at the Bloemfontein airport.