Latest Articles

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  Section: Organization Studies ; Topics: Business and Management, Political sciences, Sociology

  Thousand plateaus: A rhizomatic approach of collaborations among organizations

  Berkowitz, Heloise;   Bor, Sanne  

  10.24072/pcjournal.669 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e11

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  Collaborations among organizations may happen through a variety of inter-organizational arrangements, such as alliances, supply networks, industrial districts, policy networks or meta-organizations. We join recent efforts in analysing this plurality and diversity of organizations by drawing on the concept of rhizome to study inter-organizational arrangements. We aim to provide tools which can help analysis, comparison and cumulating knowledge about inter-organizational collaborations by moving beyond categories (which are often specific to one field, theory, sector, and so forth). To do so, we build on Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of rhizome and develop an analytical rhizomatic framework focusing on connections among members, heterogeneity of members, multiplicity of interactions and connections, asignifying rupture in the connections, cartography of interactions, and decalcomania in the adoption of knowledge. On this basis, we develop an inter-organizational web approach of collaborations among organizations and outline possible applications and research venues.

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  Section: Nutrition ; Topics: Sustainability science, Health sciences

  Does eating more frequently at the university cafeteria promote healthier and more environmentally friendly diets in French students?

  Arrazat, Laura;   Teil, Fanny; Nicklaus, Sophie;   Marty, Lucile  

  10.24072/pcjournal.678 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e10

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  As public institutions, French university cafeterias have the potential to favour student well-being and academic performance by offering affordable, high-quality meals. More than half of the student population ate in these facilities at least once a week, with 17% eating there daily. However, limited data exists on students' actual food choices in this context. This study aimed to investigate the role of university catering in student diets, focusing on nutritional quality and environmental impact. Two hundred and fifty-three students were recruited using a non-probability quotas-based sampling method at the entrance of a large university cafeteria in Dijon during autumn 2023. Participants were 56% women and 20.2 (2.6) years old on average; they ate at this cafeteria at least once a week. They were asked to take pictures of their meal tray each time they ate at this cafeteria during three months. They also completed online questionnaires assessing their sociodemographic characteristics, overall diet using a 125-item food frequency questionnaire and attendance at university catering. The nutritional quality and environmental impact of students' food choices at the university cafeteria and of their overall diets were assessed as adherence to French recommendations, sPNNS-GS2 score, and greenhouse gas emissions, kg eCO₂ and calculated for a standard 2000 kcal intake. The results indicated significant potential for improving the nutritional quality and environmental impact of both the students' food choices at the university cafeteria and of their overall diets. While frequent attendance at university catering was associated with healthier food choices (β=0.15, p=0.027) this did not translate into a broader improvement in the overall nutritional quality of students' diets (β=0.09, p=0.222). No associations were found between attendance at university catering with neither environmental impact of food choices (β=0.03, p=0.170) nor of overall diets (β=0.05, p=0.291). These findings suggest that although university catering has the potential to promote healthier and more sustainable eating habits, its full potential has yet to be realised notably by increasing the availability of healthier and more environmentally-friendly options such as legume-based dishes.

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  Section: Organization Studies ; Topics: Environmental sciences, History, Sociology

  Global North-South science inequalities due to language and funding barriers

  Turba, Rachel;   Thoré, Eli S.J.;   Bertram, Michael G.;   Bridg, Hannia;   Sabet, Saeed Shafiei;   Gamboa, Maribet;   Ríos-Orjuela, Juan Camilo;   Takola, Elina;   Capa Salinas, Jose;   Sampaio Franco, Ana Clara;   Marín, César  

  10.24072/pcjournal.677 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e9

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  Delving into the persistent impacts of colonialism within the sphere of modern science, we explore some of the deep-seated disparities between the Global North and South with regards to the scientific enterprise. Central to this inequality are the hurdles of language and financial support. As such, this work discusses the often-overlooked obstacles that Global South scientists face, including the additional efforts non-native English speakers must invest in reading and publishing, their higher rejection rates, and the widespread neglect of publications in languages other than English. These challenges not only hinder the advancement of science but also deepen existing divides. Furthermore, we examine the double-edged sword of and the geopolitical limits of open science. While these policies democratize access to scientific knowledge, they can inadvertently exacerbate the North-South inequalities due to, for example, the prohibitive costs associated with open-access publishing—a financial burden that is often unmanageable for researchers with limited funding. This funding gap severely restricts the Global South’s scientific capabilities and impact, affecting everything from conducting comprehensive research to attending scientific meetings. The culmination of these disparities not only diminishes the impact of Global South researchers in their fields but also traps them in a cycle of reduced funding and limited global networking opportunities. In addressing these complex issues, the contributions in this work highlight some of the most common and pronounced issues related to scientific inequalities, as well as suggesting possible ways of bridging these gaps in order to reach a more equitable distribution of resources and recognition in the global scientific community.

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  Section: Infections ; Topics: Agricultural sciences, Plant biology

  CMV can spread through plant to plant contact: implications for experimental practices

  Chateau, Lola; Szadkowski, Marion; Théodore, Jérémy; Rimbaud, Loup  

  10.24072/pcjournal.675 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e8

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  Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is a major plant pathogen with a worldwide distribution and the widest host range among all known plant viruses. It affects numerous crop species and can cause symptoms that significantly reduce yield. CMV is primarily transmitted by aphids and more sporadically through seeds. It is frequently studied in laboratory settings with the aim of developing effective control strategies. In many experiments, infected plants are placed in direct contact with healthy ones assuming that CMV cannot be transmitted in this way. However, this has not been formally demonstrated. Therefore, this study aimed to assess whether CMV can be transmitted through plant-to-plant contact. Infected plants were first rubbed against healthy ones and then left in contact for 28 days. Target plants were subsequently tested using DAS-ELISA to detect potential transmission. We applied this protocol in two separate experiments totalizing 15 combinations of plant species including pepper (Capsicum annuum) and five weed species commonly found in Espelette pepper fields (Capsella bursa-pastoris, Cerastium glomeratum, Stellaria media, Stachys arvensis and Trifolium repens). We found that CMV could be transmitted through contact between pepper and all tested weed species except T. repens. These findings highlight the importance of verifying whether a virus is capable of contact transmission before carrying out experiments in conditions that could lead to such contacts. In case of transmission, appropriate precautions will be crucial to avoid unintended transmissions.