This article explores how the occupation of branding and the work it encompasses are discursively constituted and ‘made up’. It starts with the premise that branding is a cultural intermediary occupation about whose norms and practices we cannot assume certainty, stability or homogeneity.The study illustrates how branding is comprised of multiple social and occupational discourses, namely, ‘creati

This article explores how postfeminist and prosperity gospel discourses intersect in an organizational context to produce a particular ideal of feminine subjectivity that reproduces a neoliberal agenda. We focus on narratives written by female national vice presidents in a multi-national network marketing organization headquartered in America. Network marketing tends to attract a vast number of wo

Access to safe drinking water and sanitation is essential for both individual and population health as well as for quality of life and dignity. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require nations to ensure adequate water supply and sanitation for all. For Kazakhstan, this means that rural areas will need a much stronger attention as they have been rather neglected in efforts to comply with

In the science education research field there is a large body of literature on the 'nature of science' (NOS). NOS captures issues about what characterizes the research process as well as the scientific knowledge. Here we, in line with a broad body of literature, use a wide definition of NOS including also e.g. socio-cultural aspects. It is argued that NOS issues, for a number of reasons, should be

Density functional theory has been used to study the mechanism and stereospecificity of the catalytic reaction of human glyoxalase I. We used the quantum mechanical cluster method to model the enzyme active site. Glyoxalase I accepts both enantiomers of the hemithioacetal between methylglyoxal and glutathione and converts them to the S-D enantiomer of lactoylglutathione. We have compared several p

Monitoring the aquatic environment and the life of free-floating organisms remains on the borderline of our technical capabilities. Therefore, our insights into aquatic habitats, such as, abundance and behavior of organisms are limited. In order to improve our understanding of aquatic life, we have developed a low-cost inelastic hyperspectral lidar with unlimited focal depth and enough sensitivity

MOTIVATION: Depletion of loss-of-function (LoF) mutations may provide a rank of genic functional intolerance and consequently susceptibility to disease.RESULTS: Here we have studied LoF mutations in 60 706 unrelated individuals and show that the most intolerant quartile of ranked genes is enriched in rare and early onset diseases and explains 87% of de novo haploinsufficient OMIM mutations, 17% mo

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Salt-inducible kinases (SIKs) are related to the metabolic regulator AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). SIK2 is abundant in adipose tissue. The aims of this study were to investigate the expression of SIKs in relation to human obesity and insulin resistance, and to evaluate whether changes in the expression of SIKs might play a causal role in the development of disturbed glucose

A strategy for the detection of aflatoxin B1 using a capacitive biosensor has been studied. The use of proteins for the generation of sites with high specificity against aflatoxin B1 are produced via bioimprinting. This technique has become a tool for the detection of aflatoxin B1 using a capacitive biosensor. The results demonstrate the ability to generate specific interactions with aflatoxin B1

Enterprise risk management (ERM) has emerged as a framework for more holistic and integrated risk management with an emphasis on enhanced governance of the risk management system. ERM should theoretically reduce the volatility of cash flows, agency risk, and information risk—ultimately reducing a firm's default risk. We empirically investigate the relationship between the degree of ERM implementat

Streptococcal pharyngitis is among the most common bacterial infections, but the molecular mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. Here we investigate the interactions among three major players in streptococcal pharyngitis: streptococci, plasma, and saliva. We find that saliva activates the plasma coagulation system through both the extrinsic and the intrinsic pathways, entrapping the bacter

China has become the biggest mobile communication carrier in the world since 2001. Advanced technologies create a communication revolution, and the individual, through the advent of mobile media, has become an active participant in this process. This study investigates the mobile phone’s impact upon the developments of public participation, social inclusion and citizenship through the case study o

The neglect of broader social and cultural contexts in crisis communication research raises the question of the applicability of Western originated theories in nonwestern contexts. To address the issue, this study revisits Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) in Chinese contexts by taking an online discussion on Weibo about a high-profile homicide in a McDonald’s restaurant as the case.

The concept of smart specialization has attracted great interest and has been adopted widely in European regional and innovation policy. Foresight is an important part of creating smart specialization strategies. However, both the smart specialization concept and foresight have been criticized for lacking an empirical and theoretical foundation that can help guide their application in practice. Th