Policy Lessons from the Fifth EWCS: The Pursuit of More and Better Jobs

[Excerpt] This report examines the evidence and policy lessons that can be drawn from the findings of the fifth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) carried out in 2010. The focus is on the links between working conditions and labour market participation in the light of the EU’s longstanding policy pursuit of more and better jobs. The report also assesses how the EWCS is valued by policy users and researchers, and where its further development or usage could enhance EU policy on employment and social developments. The contribution of the fifth EWCS was assessed on the basis of the mix of evidence available to policymakers, including: the extent to which EWCS data or findings are cited or used by representatives of European and national authorities, research centres and researchers; secondary analyses of EWCS data and other research which addresses current policy concerns; interviews with key users of EWCS data, especially those working in EU-level policymaking and research centres. The current economic and social policy concerns and objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy are not dramatically different from those in earlier times. However, there has been a steady increase in the level of cooperation between Member States around a mutual learning and target-based approach, supported by greater use of monitoring indicators. While the EWCS initially focused on evidence on working conditions, it has progressively developed its coverage. Today it embraces a range of issues including workplace organisation and innovation, patterns of working time and job quality. The EWCS has been particularly successful in highlighting trends, convergences and divergences through the development of indicators of policy concerns such as the quality of jobs or workplace risks (physical or psychological). It has provided new insights and understanding – often through innovative multidisciplinary research – on matters such as the relationship between different aspects of life at the workplace, and between the workplace and the household

Two new methods to increase the contrast of track-etch neutron radiographs

In one method, fluorescent dye is deposited into tracks of radiograph and viewed under ultraviolet light. In second method, track-etch radiograph is placed between crossed polaroid filters, exposed to diffused light and resulting image is projected onto photographic film

Platelet Collapse Model of Pulsar Glitches

A platelet collapse model of starquakes is introduced. It displays self-organized criticality with a robust power-law behavior. The simulations indicate a near-constant exponent, whenever scaling is present.Comment: Figures available by sending request to Ivan Schmidt: [email protected]

Investigating the evolutionary changes in Crabtree-negative yeasts during a long-term evolution experiment : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Genetics at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

The Crabtree effect is a metabolic strategy that allows yeast to ferment in the presence of oxygen. This is of interest as not all yeasts display this strategy, and nearly 100 years after its discovery it is still unclear what the overall benefit is. Two key theories attempt to explain the emergence of this phenomenon, the make-accumulate-consume theory and the rate/yield trade-off theory. The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether a trade-off between rate and yield develops in Crabtree-negative yeasts over the course of 1500 generations in a high sugar environment. Chapter Two demonstrates that growth rate is more likely to increase than decrease while growth yield is more likely to decrease than increase in the isolate-derived populations of yeast. We find that species that started out relatively fast, changed little while the slower species had more significant gains in growth rate. With growth yield, the species with initially high yield lost more significantly than the already low yield species. This could suggest there is an overall optimum growth rate and growth yield, that the species are evolving towards. In Chapter Three, ethanol production was measured using colorimetric tests and no change was observed to support the development of the Crabtree effect in these populations after 1500 generations. In Chapter Four growth yield was investigated using flow cytometry and it was found that several yeast populations both increased in cell size and decreased in growth yield. This is an interesting observation that has been observed in several previous experimental evolution experiments. In Chapter Five, as cell size is often associated with ploidy changes, DNA content was measured using DAPI and SYTOX DNA stains, detected by flow cytometry. This did not provide any statistically significant conclusions but highlighted the importance of employing further techniques to analyse the DNA content of these populations. This thesis has illustrated the importance of studying the competitive behaviours of microorganisms in isolation, where selfish traits appear to thrive

Reforming the Contested Convention: Rethinking the Presidential Nomination Process

The presidential nomination process could be substantially improved through a few minor tweaks that would reduce unnecessary uncertainty, bolster its democratic underpinnings, and improve the connections among its various components. First, certain fundamental rules governing national conventions should be determined well in advance of the presidential nominating process, before any primaries or caucuses are held or delegates selected, and not be subject to change or suspension at the convention itself. Second, parties should enhance the democratic moorings of their national conventions by requiring presidential candidates to win a greater number of presidential preference votes to be placed into nomination. Third, state parties should tie the various components of the presidential nomination process more closely together by adopting a blend of the Democratic and Republican Parties’ current approaches. When a candidate is allotted national convention delegates based on the results of a presidential preference vote, the candidate should have a voice in selecting those delegates, and those delegates in turn should be bound to vote for that candidate, at least during the first round of voting at the national convention

Mixed Experiences: a study of the childhood narratives of mixed race people related to risks to their mental health and capacity for developing resilience

Background: The mixed race child population is growing proportionately faster than any other group. Whilst there is a body of research in this country, albeit small, that looks at the experiences of mixed race children, none of this research examines specifically the risks for mental health and the possibilities for developing resilience which may be related to growing up as a mixed race child. Methods: Twenty-one adults, recruited through the internet, were asked to reflect on their childhood experiences in relation to being mixed race. They were offered a choice of response methods. The majority chose to provide a written account. A thematic analysis was carried out, within a phenomenological framework. A further analysis was undertaken to assess whether risks to mental health or opportunities to develop resilience could be identified in the findings from the phenomenological analysis using known risk and resilience factors relating to the mental health of children and young people. Results: The data show that there are some additional risks to the mental health of mixed race young people. As well as difficulties experienced in establishing personal identity, they show that there are specific difficulties in secondary school and that young people of mixed race experience racism and prejudice from both black and white peers. The data indicate a capacity for building resilience, necessitated by their mixedness, linked to supportive families. Conclusions: The overarching findings from this study mirror many of those from other mixed race studies. However this study shows how mixed race young people may experience some additional risks to mental health which need to be understood and considered by professionals in health, social care, education and justice systems