Innovation research has long shown that firms depend on their R&D personnel to strengthen their innovation capabilities, sparking scholarly interest in how to best staff R&D departments for competitive advantage, with a focus on gender diversity. However, left unexamined are the mechanisms linking gender diversity in R&D departments and firm-level innovation. Further, despite growing interest in the conditions under which diversity may enhance innovation, researchers have not adequately addressed how department-level gender rank inequality-the disproportionate concentration of men and women at various hierarchical ranks-interacts with numerical diversity to affect innovation outcomes. We address both limitations by integrating insights from the information/decision-making perspective on diversity and research on inequality with research on innovation capabilities. Specifically, we develop and test a model explaining how R&D department gender diversity and gender rank equality jointly affect three firm-level innovation capabilities: breadth of external knowledge search, use of external knowledge, and quality of the innovation implementation process. We also examine the indirect effects of gender diversity on firm-level innovation, conditional on gender rank equality, via these capabilities. Our analyses of 552 corporate R&D departments over 12 years show how gender diversity and gender rank equality in R&D departments jointly relate to higher levels of all three firm-level innovation capabilities and, indirectly, to greater firm-level innovation. Our findings suggest that improving a firm's innovation capabilities and performance requires both increased representation of women in R&D departments and proportional representation of men and women at all ranks of R&D departments.
Reports of resurfaced repressed memories during psychedelic experiences have circulated for decades and still emerge today. However, the veracity of repressed memories remains debated, and the mechanisms through which psychedelics might recover alleged repressed memories are unclear. This scoping review aimed to provide an overview of the literature on repressed memory in the context of psychedelics. It examined how repressed memory was defined, which substances were predominantly discussed, which mechanisms were proposed to explain their effects, and whether these mechanisms were empirically supported. A scoping review was conducted in line with PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO and Google Scholar were searched for relevant publications. Fifty-three sources met eligibility criteria. Data were charted on study design, psychedelic substance, definitions of repressed memory, results, and proposed mechanisms. Most publications focused on lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in relation to repressed memory. Few sources provided a definition of repressed memory. Proposed mechanisms on how psychedelics might influence repressed memory included psychoanalytical reductions of defensive memory blockades and neurobiological alterations of executive control. However, empirical support for these mechanisms was limited. The included literature did not offer a coherent explanation on how psychedelics could recover repressed memories, nor consistent evidence that they did so reliably. Future work should provide clear definitions of repressed memory in the context of psychedelics, test proposed effects of psychedelics on memory and executive control across multiple psychedelic substances, include placebo-controlled designs, and account for the potential occurrence of false memories.
The division of labor in human societies have been mainly analyzed by Adam Smith and & Eacute;mile Durkheim, both from two different perspectives. However, due to the limitations of the state of knowledge and technology in their respective eras, their approach reached the end of its productivity. Contemporarily, the social sciences and life-sciences are to an unprecedented extent melding into one another, necessitating a realignment of these disciplines. With the emergence of studies on occupational neuroplasticity, a more complete and neurologically informed account of the human division of labor becomes possible. This paper aims to integrate social theory on the division of labor with the neuroscience of neuroplasticity to offer a more comprehensive account of both the division of labor and its neuroplastic implications at the collective level. This integrative framework demonstrates how a macro-level social organization (division of labor) shapes the macro-level organization of the cerebral cortex through neuroplastic processes at the neurological micro-level. The account presented here has significant social, economic, and health implications, particularly in understanding how the division of labor directs brain development and organization at the collective level and how shifts in the division of labor shifts the organization of the cerebral cortex at the individual level.
The intestinal barrier is a dynamic interface integrating epithelial integrity, mucus architecture, and immune signaling to maintain host homeostasis. While microbial metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids, secondary bile acids, and tryptophan derivatives regulate this system, translating these insights to human physiology is hindered by experimental models that fail to capture the intestine’s full biological complexity. In this review, we conceptualize intestinal barrier failure as a sequential process comprising junctional remodeling, mucus depletion, and immune-driven permeability. We critically evaluate current in vitro and ex vivo models, highlighting how metabolic biases and reductionist designs in common platforms limit their predictive value. We argue that the primary bottleneck is not a lack of model diversity, but the absence of integrative, human-relevant strategies. Consequently, we propose a stepwise framework linking dynamic microbial fermentation to mechanistic epithelial systems and ex vivo human tissues. This approach moves beyond descriptive modeling toward functionally predictive platforms that align microbial metabolism with host responses across biological scales, ultimately informing clinical translation, precision nutrition, and therapeutic development. In this review, P. de Vos and colleagues discuss how intestinal barrier failure arises, critically assess limitations of current experimental models, and propose an integrative, human-relevant framework linking microbial metabolism to host responses to enable more predictive and translational research.
PurposeWhile emerging research explores the effects of communication cues of warmth and competence in conversational artificial intelligence separately, less is known about their combined impact. This study aims to investigate the interplay between an enthusiastic versus calm tone of voice and a socio-emotional versus task-focused interaction style in service encounters involving embodied conversational agents (ECAs) and customers.Design/methodology/approachThrough a conceptual framework and empirical analysis involving two interactive experiments (n = 298, n = 390) and the Gabor-Granger pricing method (n = 212), this research examines how warmth and competence are conveyed through ECA voice prosody and how interaction styles impact perceptions of believability, rapport and customer service usage and advice compliance intentions.FindingsThis study demonstrates that a complementary configuration of warmth and competence (e.g. enthusiastic voice with task-focused style or calm voice with socio-emotional style) increases ECA believability and influences higher price-point preferences. This study also evidenced a moderated serial mediation process where believability enhances feelings of rapport, amplified by a willingness to suspend disbelief.Research limitations/implicationsThis research advances the understanding of ECAs by highlighting the synergistic effects of voice prosody and interaction style on customer perceptions. It emphasizes the critical role of complementing warmth and competence cues to increase believability and rapport in ECAs that deliver complex services.Practical implicationsThe findings underscore the importance for service providers to strategically align voice prosody and interaction style to optimize customer responses to ECAs. This suggests significant benefits from investing in advanced voice technologies and adaptable interaction styles in ECA design and deployment.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the field by demonstrating that interaction style and voice prosody are not only vital in determining the believability of ECAs as providers of complex services but also that their complementary relationship optimizes ECA dialogue capabilities and has implications for the pricing of such services.
