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There is a pervasive problem in academia of principal investigators who abuse their powers and mistreat their trainees. Here I share suggestions that would help protect the trainees and ultimately reduce the number of toxic supervisors.

The term `mobbing' is defined as antagonistic behaviors with unethical communication directed systematically at one individual by one or more individuals in the workplace. This cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted for the purpose of determining the mobbing behaviors encountered by nursing school teaching staff in Turkey, its effect on them, and their responses to them. A large percentage (91%) of the nursing school employees who participated in this study reported that they had encountered mobbing behaviors in the institution where they work and 17% that they had been directly exposed to mobbing in the workplace. The academic staff who had been exposed to mobbing behaviors experienced various physiological, emotional and social reactions. They frequently `worked harder and [were] more organized' and `worked very carefully to avoid criticism' to escape from mobbing. In addition, 9% of the participants stated that they `thought about suicide occasionally'.

AbstractResponding to recent calls from within critical MOS and organizational ethics studies to explore questions of difference and inclusion ‘beyond unity and fixity’, this paper seeks to enrich the debate on difference and its negotiation in organizations, thereby foregrounding difference as the contested and ever-changing outcome of power-invested configurations of practice. The paper presents an ethnographic study conducted in a psychosocial day-care centre that positions itself as a ‘space of multiplicity’ wherein ‘it is normal to be different’. Highlighting the context-specific challenges and struggles encompassing mental ill-health as a category of difference deviating from the norm, our paper contributes to a critical-affirmative understanding of difference. We foster an approach that values normative orientations such as ‘egalitarian difference’ and ‘difference as multiplicity’ yet avoids idealising portrayals of an ethics of difference that challenges normalcy and unconditionally favours otherness and calls for ‘radically other kinds of difference’.

Multi-stakeholder initiatives involve actors from several spheres of society (market, civil society and state) in collaborative arrangements to reach objectives typically related to sustainable development. In political CSR literature, these arrangements have been framed as improvements to transnational governance and as being somehow democratic. We draw on Mouffe's works on agonistic pluralism to problematize the notion that consensus-led multi-stakeholder initiatives bring more democratic control on corporate power. We examine two initiatives which address two very different issue areas: the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (The Accord). We map the different kinds of adversarial relations involved in connection with the issues meant to be governed by the two initiatives, and find those adversarial relations to take six main shapes, affecting the initiatives in different ways: (1) competing regulatory initiatives; (2) pressure-response relations within multi-stakeholder initiatives; (3) pressure-response relations between NGOs and states through multi-stakeholder initiatives; (4) collaboration and competition between multi-stakeholder initiatives and states; (5) pressure-response relations between civil society actors and multi-stakeholder initiatives; and (6) counter-hegemonic movements against multi-stakeholder initiatives as hegemonic projects. We conclude that multi-stakeholder initiatives cannot be democratic by themselves, and we argue that business and society researchers should not look at democracy or politics only internally to these initiatives, but rather study how issue areas are regulated through interactions between a variety of actors—both within and without the multi-stakeholder initiatives—who get to have a legitimate voice in this regulation.

In this article, we analyse the global consensus on the UN’s partnership approach to businesses through an agonistic lens. In doing so, we seek to understand the positioning of states, particularly those in the Global South, towards the partnership approach. We draw on Mouffe’s conceptualisation of ‘the political’, in which the appearance of consensus is always an expression of hegemony accompanied by exclusion and dissensus. First, we show that the partnership approach was initially promoted by the Global North, in particular European states together with UN leadership, against fears and criticism raised by Global South states. Second, we show that Global South states have not fundamentally challenged the idea of engaging in partnerships with businesses, but they have questioned how these partnerships should be designed to shape a more equally beneficial global economy. With this article, we contribute to the literature on the UN and business ethics by identifying how the evolution of the consensus on business partnerships has been a hegemonic arrangement since the 2000s. Furthermore, we illustrate the role that states have had in forming this consensus. We also contribute to business ethics studies engaging with dissensus by problematising the potential of ‘agonistic deliberation’ at the UN level in supporting the interests of the Global South.

Although the sense of smell in pigs is widely recognized as being highly developed, surprisingly little is known about their sensory ability. This study aimed to (a) identify which non-social odors pigs were able to detect and distinguish between, (b) investigate the types of behavior expressed when exploring odors and, (c) compare pigs' responses to the different odors to evaluate their interest in the odors. Growing pigs ( = 192) of crossbred commercial breeds were enrolled in the experiment (32-110 days of age, weighing 64.9 ± 10.1kg). Littermate pairs of opposite sex were tested in test pens with two odor insertion points in the pen wall, 55 cm apart. All pigs were habituated to the test pens and experimenters. Twelve odors were tested (eight essential oils and four synthetic perfumes) in groups of three odors, with each pig pair tested once with one set of three odors (all possible orders of the three odors were tested on 24 pairs in total), always against a non-odor control (demineralized water). In a test, each of the three odors were presented during three trials in a row (a total of 9 trials per test; trial duration: 1 min; inter-trial breaks: 2 min; total test duration: 25 min). Response variables included: duration of sniffing, feeding-related behavior (licking, biting and rooting), agonistic behavior (biting, displacement and pushing) and no approach of the odor or control, recorded throughout each 1-min odor presentation. All pigs sniffed an odor less when repeatedly presented (LMM: all odors < 0.05), and significantly longer at the subsequent presentation of a new odor [LMM (3 vs. 1 presentations): < 0.001]. Specific odor and odor type (essential oil vs. synthetic perfume) had no significant effect on sniffing duration. Overall, feeding-related behavior and agonistic behavior were expressed significantly more when pigs explored the odor compared with the control insertion point (Paired -tests: < 0.001), and specific odor only affected the expression of feeding-related behavior. Collectively, pigs express sniffing, agonistic, and feeding-related behavior when exploring odors, which suggests that pigs perceive odors of non-social origin as a resource. Odors may thus constitute relevant enrichment material for pigs.

The commercially available drug-eluting stent with limus (rapamycin, everolimus, etc.) or paclitaxel inhibits smooth muscle cell (SMC), reducing the in-stent restenosis, whereas damages endothelial cell (EC) and delays stent reendothelialization, increasing the risk of stent thrombosis (ST) and sudden cardiac death. Here we present a new strategy for promoting stent reendothelialization and preventing ST by exploring the application of precise molecular targets with EC specificity. Proteomics was used to investigate the molecular mechanism of EC injury caused by rapamycin. Endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) was screened out as a crucial EC-specific effector. Limus and paclitaxel repressed the EPCR expression, while overexpression of EPCR protected EC from coating (eluting) drug-induced injury. Furthermore, the ligand activated protein C (APC), polypeptide TR47, and compound parmodulin 2, which activated the target EPCR, promoted EC functions and inhibited platelet or neutrophil adhesion, and enhanced rapamycin stent reendothelialization in the simulated stent environment and in vitro. In vivo, the APC/rapamycin-coating promoted reendothelialization rapidly and prevented ST more effectively than rapamycin-coating alone, in both traditional metal stents and biodegradable stents. Additionally, overexpression or activation of the target EPCR did not affect the cellular behavior of SMC or the inhibitory effect of rapamycin on SMC. In conclusion, EPCR is a promising therapeutical agonistic target for pro-reendothelialization and anti-thrombosis of eluting stent. Activation of EPCR protects against coating drugs-induced EC injury, inflammatory cell, or platelet adhesion onto the stent. The novel application formula for APC/rapamycin-combined eluting promotes stent reendothelialization and prevents ST. [Display omitted] •Limus and paclitaxel promote thrombosis by downregulating EPCR expression.•EPCR is a promising therapeutical agonistic target for pro-reendothelialization and anti-thrombosis of eluting stent.•Activation of the target EPCR protects against coating drugs-induced endothelial injury, inflammatory cell adhesion, and platelet adhesion.•The application of APC/rapamycin-combined coating stent promotes the stent reendothelialization process and prevents stent thrombosis.

Background Utilization of institutional delivery services could be hampered by women’s experience of disrespectful and abusive care during childbirth. However, such experiences are not well documented and taken into consideration id planning maternal health services in many developing countries. The aim of this study was to describe women’s experience of disrespect and abuse during giving birth at health facilities in northern Ethiopia. Methods A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted in Tigray, Ethiopia. Focus group discussions (FGDs) with primipara and multipara women were conducted to collect the necessary information. All study participants had their last delivery at a health facility in the year preceding the study. A semi-structured discussion guide was used to elicit discussion. Discussions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim in the local language and then translated to English. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis approach assisted by the Open Code qualitative data management software. Results The study participants described disrespect and abuse as serious obstacles to utilization of maternal health services. Women reported experiencing feelings of being infantilized, losing self-control, being overlooked, being informed bad news without proper preparation, repeated examination without being properly communicated/informed, disallow companions, and left unattended during labor. Facility related issues include women’s perception of incompetence of professionals attending delivery, unhygienic facilities, and unavailability of basic supplies. Conclusion Women consider health facilities not fully prepared to provide respectful maternal care. Sustainable increase in institutional delivery requires ensuring quality, compassionate and caring services in all health facilities.

Climate change and the policy responses to it have implications in terms of (in)justice. Research in fields such as political ecology and environmental justice emphasizes the importance of policy-making addressing and responding to climate injustices. It, moreover, stresses that democratic engagement is imperative, since no universal agreement on the meaning of “justice” exists. Democratic engagement on climate (in)justice is, however, hampered by the predominance of technocratic policy frames. Considering this, knowledge of ways to promote democratic engagement is called for. This study develops such knowledge related to policy-making for climate change adaptation and resilience at the local level, in developed country contexts. Specifically, it draws on the “what’s the problem represented to be?” approach to conceptualize different styles of democratic engagement and examine the possibilities and limitations of each. From the data, comprised of previous research, representations of three styles of democratic engagement are identified and analyzed: (1) closure-oriented engagement centered on changing behaviors, (2) closure-oriented engagement centered on changing the systemic production of unjust practices, and (3) disruptive engagement centered on changing the systemic production of unjust practices. The contributions of this study are relevant to researchers, policymakers, activists and others interested in how to promote a democratization of climate policy-making.

Missing cooperation between farmers and nature conservationists is an obstacle to conflictive social-ecological transformation processes of agro-systems in Germany. Conflict psychology research shows that agonistic conflict frames play a crucial role in the parties’ response to and perception of conflicts. However, the role of conflict frames regarding farmers’ response to conservation conflicts in Germany, which are a recurrent expression of social-ecological transformation, is yet unclear. To address this knowledge gap, we investigate whether farmers have different agonistic conflict frames and whether these are related to their perceptions of specific conflicts. To answer these questions, we developed a cluster analysis of farmers’ attitudes towards conflicts over river restoration in order to find indications for different conflict frames. We used data from a telephone survey from 2021 that was conducted with 300 farmers on the topic of river restoration conflicts. We captured conflict frames using four categories: rejection of others’ attitudes, perceived threat, perceived integrated potential, and delegitimization. In the second and third steps, we looked for differences between the groups with regard to the perception of concrete conflict and economic factors. The results of this explorative study show that it is possible to distinguish six agonistic conflict frames within the four categories. Moreover, the six groups show differences in how they perceive a concrete river restoration conflict. In five out of six groups, the perceived threat is indicated as high. The findings show that farmers have different perspectives on the conflict, indicating possible differences in needs and differences regarding the openness to communicative strategies. The groups differ in their concrete conflict perception, and only weak characterization with regard to the economic situation could be found. This knowledge can help policymakers and practitioners find practical and communicative strategies that constructively address farmers' different conflict frames.