Brachyelytrum is the earliest diverging genus known relative to other genera of grass subfamily Poöideae. Brachyelytrum erectum inhabits forest understory in temperate eastern North America and possesses the endophyte Epichloë brachyelytri. A genome sequence of E. brachyelytri included genes for biosynthesis of peramine, the loline alkaloid precursor exo-1-acetamidopyrrolizidine (AcAP), and the ergot alkaloid precursor chanoclavine. In a survey of 24 B. erectum populations in Kentucky and southern Indiana, endophytes were genotyped by PCR for alkaloid genes and mating types. All had ppzA1 for peramine whereas genes for AcAP and chanoclavine exhibited presence/absence polymorphism. Approximate alkaloid levels in leaves were, per g dw, 4–15 µg peramine, 2000–5000 µg AcAP and 175–300 µg chanoclavine when the corresponding gene clusters were present. The sexual state of E. brachyelytri was observed on few plants in only two populations, and the overall ratio of mating types A and B was 1.0:4.3, indicating very limited sexual reproduction for this endophyte. We obtained RNA-seq data from 4–12 symbiotic (E+) plants and 2–7 asymbiotic (E–) plants each in seven populations separated by distances of 10–321 km (average = 171 km), then applied our recently described rna-clique method to infer pairwise genetic distance matrices comparing plants in different populations, plants with different endophyte genotypes, and endophytes with different genotypes. Results indicated geographical structure of B. erectum that distinguished even the closest populations. Within populations we observed partial structure of plant subpopulations based on symbiotic status (E+ vs. E–) or endophyte genotype. The relationship of endophyte genetic structure to endophyte genotypes was consistent with infrequent sexual recombination. Overall, the results indicate local adaptation of B. erectum populations for which its functionally and genetically diverse endophyte species plays a role.

Purpose Global talent shortages, new skill demand and rising numbers of unfilled posts are fuelling an increasingly challenging job market, exacerbated by economic uncertainty and transformational digital change. Seeking creative solutions in response, the authors examine talent management’s (TM) theoretical and conceptual foundations, specifically the identification and selection of talent and TM programme design to explore the challenges and benefits of side-of-desk projects as interventions. Design/methodology/approach Taking an inductive qualitative approach, questionnaires, focus groups and semi-structured interviews gathered data from three employee groups in a UK digital communications organisation. Findings The authors reveal inconsistencies in the definition and selection of talent, highlighting programme quality challenges to expose a direct correlation between participant experience and motivation and retention, along with the longer-term challenges of balancing talented human capital, shareholder expectations and sustainable workforce resourcing. Originality/value The authors' research extends existing knowledge concerning the effect of organisational culture, context and workforce demands upon TM programmes, providing theoretical and practical implications for leaders and policymakers in designing enrichment activities to motivate, develop and retain talent. The authors make recommendations to inform the future design of TM programmes, revealing new opportunities to develop hidden talent and presenting a realistic and sustainable toolkit for future practice in the form of an organisational logic model.

Technological change is a feature of contemporary life encompassing interactivity, collaboration and, above all, real-time content sharing and live streaming. The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new dynamics in relation to digitisation and technology usage. Within organisations, these changes have been swift and profound, leading to online meetings, events and virtual team management. An explosion of literature has accompanied these changes and their human impacts. However, the generational and intergenerational issues remain under-examined and therefore constitute an important gap. The paper examines the literature on workplace technology, digitalisation and human impacts in relation to the COVID-19, and particularly, through the lens of different generational adoptive patterns. Taking an inductive qualitative approach, the paper's empirical focus is analyses of semi-structured questionnaire data from intergenerational senior executives. The findings showcase alternative understandings of technology in the late-COVID-19 era and of Xer generational (i.e. born 1961-1981) resilience and operational change dynamics. This allows a number of contributions and implications to be developed.

Abstract Background Although RNA-seq data are traditionally used for quantifying gene expression levels, the same data could be useful in an integrated approach to compute genetic distances as well. Challenges to using mRNA sequences for computing genetic distances include the relatively high conservation of coding sequences and the presence of paralogous and, in some species, homeologous genes. Results We developed a new computational method, RNA-clique, for calculating genetic distances using assembled RNA-seq data and assessed the efficacy of the method using biological and simulated data. The method employs reciprocal BLASTn followed by graph-based filtering to ensure that only orthologous genes are compared. Each vertex in the graph constructed for filtering represents a gene in a specific sample under comparison, and an edge connects a pair of vertices if the genes they represent are best matches for each other in their respective samples. The distance computation is a function of the BLAST alignment statistics and the constructed graph and incorporates only those genes that are present in some complete connected component of this graph. As a biological testbed we used RNA-seq data of tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum), an allohexaploid plant ($$2n = 14\text { Gb}$$ 2 n = 14 Gb ), and bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum), a teleost fish. RNA-clique reliably distinguished individual tall fescue plants by genotype and distinguished bluehead wrasse RNA-seq samples by individual. In tests with simulated RNA-seq data, the ground truth phylogeny was accurately recovered from the computed distances. Moreover, tests of the algorithm parameters indicated that, even with stringent filtering for orthologs, sufficient sequence data were retained for the distance computations. Although comparisons with an alternative method revealed that RNA-clique has relatively high time and memory requirements, the comparisons also showed that RNA-clique’s results were at least as reliable as the alternative’s for tall fescue data and were much more reliable for the bluehead wrasse data. Conclusion Results of this work indicate that RNA-clique works well as a way of deriving genetic distances from RNA-seq data, thus providing a methodological integration of functional and genetic diversity studies.

PurposeElite interviewing is a well-established area of interview research methods. Nevertheless, the actual casting of an "elite" has been generally conducted in a prima facie or broad manner. A consideration of entrepreneurs and owner-managers as "elites" has been less profiled and received less attention, therefore the paper views the entrepreneurs and owner-managers as constituting a form of "local elite" within given and varying sectorial, regional and community boundaries. The authors argue that a consideration of entrepreneurs as "local elites" and transferring knowledge from an elite interviewing perspective may strongly support scholarly research in the entrepreneurship field.Design/methodology/approachThe study conducts a comprehensive narrative literature review of elite interviewing literature and transfers key methodological insights to the entrepreneurship field. The methodological contribution based on literature is complemented by experiences and observations from an extensive inductive interview study with over 30 entrepreneurs of German manufacturing Small and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs) and are used to reflect on, and refine, interview research approaches with entrepreneurs.FindingsThe reflections and discussions in this paper provide valuable insights for other researchers conducting research in entrepreneurship domains regarding the power dynamics of negotiating access, procedural issues of interviews and thereby enhancing the quality of data.Originality/valueThe contribution to knowledge is mainly of a methodological nature. While the paper takes a novel act of recasting elite interviewing in the SME and entrepreneurship context, the paper methodologically contributes to the entrepreneurship and elite interview literature thereby facilitating higher quality interviews.

This paper examines the conceptual development of RBV-KBV within an organizational ambidexterity framework and highlights how regional context, RBV-KBV, and firm dynamics inter-operate and co-create. Rather than viewing regional contexts as taken-as-given entities, it is important to see them as culturally, socially, and historically constructed and rooted phenomena. Drawing empirically on elite semi-structured interviews, our study provides novel insights into how SMEs manage resources and regional social capital in order to expand judiciously into international markets. It presents a novel conceptual ambidextrous organizational framework showing how companies move from a traditional exploitative and conservative form of regional cultural RBV-KBV to a more explorative and innovative internationalising one. Further, our study also contributes fresh insights into the explorative ‘hidden champions’ phenomenon by showing how the latent conservative RBV-KBV and its regional social capital-informed exploitative postures act as persistent moderating drivers of explorative internationalisation.

This paper examines bi-cultural talent in relation to human resource management (HRM) practices in cross-cultural merger and acquisitions (M&A). The intersection of HRM, bi-cultural talent management and cross-cultural M&A literature proposes a conceptual framework to capture the complexity of bi-cultural talent management and reveals the dominant macro-characterization of the extant HRM literature focussing on a more micro-orientated perspective. The paper develops a matrix by underlining spatial dimensions (spanning micro-aspects of the individual employee through to the macro-entity of firm and its location in the macro-national cultural context) and temporal dimensions (consisting of pre-merger, during merger and post-merger phases). This provides a template which examines the multi-level dynamics of bi-cultural talent management. The argument identifies ways in which extant cross-cultural lenses require deeper understanding of bi-cultural talent management in M&A settings. Future research directions and agendas are identified.

PurposeThis paper explores the challenges, issues and benefits of reflective practice faced by work-based practitioners undertaking negotiated experiential learning. The study focuses upon the case of a ground-breaking UK-based Senior Leader Master's Degree Apprenticeship (SLMDA) programme which requires learners to develop and apply reflective practice skills through comprehensive work-based learning and research activities. Degree apprenticeships represent a significant opportunity for providers and employers to become more closely aligned in the joint development and promotion of innovative learning opportunities, yet the efficacy of individually negotiated, experiential learning and reflective practice for senior leaders within a challenging healthcare environment remains relatively unexplored from a tripartite perspective. This paper investigates the role of reflective practice within a leading degree apprenticeship programme which embraces this pedagogic approach and considers the potential barriers and benefits for learners and their organisations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper begins by discussing the nature of reflective practice in the workplace and explores the growing importance of this activity in contemporary organisations. Theoretical and conceptual foundations relating to experiential learning and reflective practice are analysed and discussed. The SLMDA programme and NHS case organisation are described in detail. Qualitative data drawn from semi-structured interviews undertaken with learners, employers and personal academic tutors (PATs) are then analysed to identify the key issues and challenges encountered.FindingsThe study identifies the benefits of reflective practice, explores the challenges and issues that act as barriers to reflective practice and highlights the importance of the role of the personal academic tutor (PAT) and that of employers in supporting and developing reflective practice in one of the first SLMDA programmes to launch within the UK.Originality/valueAlthough reflective practice and work-based research have attracted considerable scholarly activity, investigations have overwhelmingly been focused upon professions such as teaching and nursing and have explored challenges and issues from the perspective of the provider. This study explores reflective practice from the viewpoint of learners, employers and PATs and thereby seeks to complement and expand current understanding by developing a more holistic approach. This work will inform future programme design, practitioner skills development and employer support procedures as learners plan and prepare to facilitate work-based research projects within their organisations.

Eine Vielzahl von Maßnahmen, in denen sich mittelständische Unternehmen engagieren, können unter dem Begriff CSR subsumiert werden, allerdings sind sich die Unternehmen dessen nur eingeschränkt bewusst. Die durchgeführten Maßnahmen sind stark personenbezogen und hängen sehr von den einzelnen Akteuren in den Unternehmen ab. Weiterhin scheinen diese nur eingeschränkt einer systematischen Steuerung zu unterliegen. Der Freiraum für ein gesellschaftliches Engagement stellt sich für die Unternehmen sehr unterschiedlich dar. Dieser scheint weniger von der Größe des Unternehmens abzuhängen, sehr wohl jedoch von der persönlichen Motivation der Leitung bzw. der Eigentümer des Unternehmens und auch von den Marktgegebenheiten in denen das Unternehmen arbeitet. Üblicherweise verfügt die Leitung dieser Unternehmen über eine stark intrinsische Motivation, sich gesellschaftlich zu engagieren und kann durch die Erfahrungen in diesem Bereich die bürokratischen Erfordernisse der Formalisierung mit überschaubarem Aufwand bewältigen und einen Nutzen aus den Instrumenten ziehen. Ein ausgeprägtes gesellschaftliches Engagement scheint gelebte Praxis in diesen Unternehmen zu sein. Auf der anderen Seite gibt es jedoch Firmen, deren Ressourcen durch die Bewältigung der täglichen operativen Herausforderungen absorbiert werden.

The First-Year Engineering (FYE) program at the University of Kentucky (UK) is a three course sequence intended to recruit and retain engineering and computer science students by engaging them in exploration and design experiences. Transfer students are also welcomed into the College of Engineering through a course developed specifically for students entering the College with a previous degree or ...

Following the publication of this article [1], the authors informed us of the following error.

Evolutionary hypotheses provide important underpinnings of biological and medical sciences, and comprehensive, genome-wide understanding of evolutionary relationships among organisms are needed to test and refine such hypotheses. Theory and empirical evidence clearly indicate that phylogenies (trees) of different genes (loci) should not display precisely matching topologies. The main reason for such phylogenetic incongruence is reticulated evolutionary history of most species due to meiotic sexual recombination in eukaryotes, or horizontal transfers of genetic material in prokaryotes. Nevertheless, many genes should display topologically related phylogenies, and should group into one or more (for genetic hybrids) clusters in poly-dimensional “tree space”. Unusual evolutionary histories or effects of selection may result in “outlier” genes with phylogenies that fall outside the main distribution(s) of trees in tree space. We present a new phylogenomic method, CURatio, which uses ratios of total branch lengths in gene trees to help identify phylogenetic outliers in a given set of ortholog groups from multiple genomes. An advantage of CURatio over other methods is that genes absent from and/or duplicated in some genomes can be included in the analysis. We conducted a simulation study under the coalescent model, and showed that, given sufficient species depth and topological difference, these ratios are significantly higher for the “outlier” gene phylogenies. Also, we applied CURatio to a set of annotated genomes of the fungal family, Clavicipitaceae, and identified alkaloid biosynthesis genes as outliers, probably due to a history of duplication and loss. The source code is available at https://github.com/QiwenKang/CURatio, and the empirical data set for Clavicipitaceae and simulated data set are available at Mendeley https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/mrxts7wjrr/1.

Purpose The overall goal of this chapter is to critique the purported business case for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability, which persists as a major contentious force in convincing companies to become more sustainable. Extant literature on sustainability, CSR and Socially Responsible Investments (SRIs) generally tends to focus on company perspectives decision-making and approaches. This chapter considers an alternative and under-developed perspective and examines CSR from a consumer/public perspective situated in a German context.

In the twenty-first century, resilience has emerged as aseminal and important topic linked to calls for adaptability, well-being and organizational performance. Extant strategic human resource management (HRM) literature and practices have developed many insights into resilience. However, overall, they have a propensity to conceptualise resilience as being associated with macro-' and extreme' situations. This paper complements the prevailing perspective by developing a micro-focus on resilience through the conceptual framework of organizational ambidexterity surfacing under-examined individual resilience in connection with HRM practices. Methodologically, the paper adopts a qualitative approach presenting data from two illustrative contexts: an everyday' quasi-governmental institution and a prima facie extreme' pan-international military organization. Using template analysis, a number of valuable themes and similarities are identified. The findings and discussion underline the managerial challenges in handling organizational ambidextrous dynamics and tensions surrounding resilience, positive and sceptical approaches in relation to individual and organizational stances towards HRM practices. As such, the results point at value in HRM managers and practices recontextualising and appreciating extremes' and resilience more as an everyday (rather than exceptional) phenomenon wherein myriad micro-moments are highly significant in constructing and influencing macro-contexts. This also implies a need to see cynical resistance as normative rather than automatically negatively.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to highlight the role of positive emotions in generating workplace impacts and examine it through the application of an adapted appreciative inquiry process in the context of a work-based project aimed at promoting integrated working under challenging organisational circumstances. Design/methodology/approach - The paper adopts a case study methodology which highlights how an organisation facing difficult circumstances (such as austerity measures, siloed cultures, constant threats of reorganisation, and requirement to work across occupational boundaries) adapted an appreciative inquiry intervention/method. Findings - This paper found, first, that the utilisation of appreciative inquiry in the context of an adapted work-based project in difficult organisational circumstances generated positive emotions manifest through a compelling vision and action plans, second, that the impacts (such as a vision) can become entangled and therefore part of the wider ecological context which promotes pathways to such impact, but that, third, there are a various cultural and climate features which may limit the implementation of actions or the continuation of psychological states beyond the time-bound nature of the work-based project. Practical implications - The paper illustrates how an organisation adapted a form of appreciative inquiry to facilitate organisational change and generated outcomes which were meaningful to the various occupational groupings involved. Originality/value - This paper offers new evidence and insight into the adaptation of appreciative inquiry under challenging circumstances in the context of a work-based learning project. It also provides a richer picture of how positive emotion can manifest in ways which are meaningful to a localised context.

This conceptual paper evolved from an extensive literature review and a consultancy project conducted via a UK University Business School/commercial sector collaboration. The paper explores how the digital age is presenting challenges for destination and place marketing agencies. Key trends in consumer behaviour are identified and their significance is examined. The context is largely the European tourism sector with a particular focus on the UK. The paper argues that many place and destination marketing agencies are not responding to the challenges of the digital era. With this as the backdrop, a novel conceptualisation of the customer journey model is offered which can be tested empirically. A vignette supports the model and this illustrates the complexities in consumer behaviour that are involved in a decision over where to take a city break. The paper concludes with strategic recommendations for destination and place marketing agencies.

This paper undertakes a conceptual examination of the emergence of digital marketing in recent decades. It identifies a number of key trends in consumer behaviour and manners in which the medium is evolving. The argument progresses to examine and challenge predominant conceptualisations of the buyer behaviour process and considers how these have been recast in the advent of digital technologies. This provides the backdrop to develop a novel diagrammatic representation of digital marketing buyer behaviour processes which can be tested empirically. The model is illustrated through the use of a vignette which points up the complexities which the model aims to represent. The paper concludes with an appeal for the continued development, modelling and empirical testing of the evolving world of digital buyer behaviour.