The right to know: disclosure of information for collective bargaining and joint consultation

The legal obligation on employers to provide information to employees has grown since the early 1970s. At that time, the emphasis was on disclosure for collective bargaining. In the 1980s and 1990s, the emphasis shifted more to disclosure for joint consultation. In the context of new legislation, the possibility of further interventions from Europe, and a greater commitment to openness in other areas of company and public life, disclosure of information for collective bargaining and joint consultation at work is again on the agenda. This article focuses on disclosure for both of these processes. Disclosure for collective bargaining is the most developed and potentially significant area of the law from an industrial relations perspective. Disclosure for joint consultation, however, has been the most dynamic area in recent years. Voluntary information provision by firms has also been a significant part of developing human resource management practice. The paper therefore provides a broad examination of the law on disclosure. The UK provisions are conceptualised as constituting an agenda-driven disclosure model; i.e. the trigger for their use lies within the bargaining agenda. By contrast, the provisions stemming from European initiatives are event-driven; i.e. they are triggered by specific employer initiated events that affect employment contracts in other ways irrespective of the representative context. In the final sections, we attempt a broader evaluation of the intent and impact of the legislation and assess the pros and cons of the different approaches

Creating European Rights: National Values and Supranational Interests

This Article develops an explanation for the emergence of individual rights before the European Commission, one of the oldest and most powerful international organizations in existence today. I argue that, in the early days of the European Community, rights before the Commission were patterned on the laws and legal traditions of the dominant Member States. Changing political circumstances largely outside the control of the Commission and other European institutions gave rise to a number of discrete, historical challenges to their authority. Most of these challenges came from citizens with allegiances to minority, national constitutional symbols and practices who were determined to retain them in the face of European integration. To preserve and extend their authority, European institutions adopted these constitutional ideals and hence altered the nature of European rights. In developing this explanation, I draw upon a number of theories in political science. One of the longest-running debates over European integration is the balance between sovereign states and supranational institutions in setting the pace of European integration. While some scholars argue that traditional state interests and the balance of power among states are critical, others take supranational institutions--and their interest in expanding their powers and pushing forward integration--as the decisive force behind integration. My review of the origins of rights before the Commission shows that both sets of actors, at different points in time, were agents of rights. More importantly, the empirical analysis brings to light two important constraints on the ability of states and supranational institutions to design European rights to their advantage, often overlooked in the political science literature. The first is history writ large: understandings of fair and democratic government developed within the nation-state and representing the accumulation of experiences, beliefs, and norms over generations. The second is history writ small: episodic, external challenges to the authority of European institutions that serve as the context in which such institutions further their interests. These factors should be taken into account in explaining the rights that define what it is to be a European citizen today

Intuitive and rational approaches to decision making in education

The key question that this research focuses on is: How do head teachers make decisions? In addition, there are a range of sub questions that are worthy of consideration within the remit of this study. What strategies do head teachers use in making decisions? How do factors such as accountability, metrics, complexity and uncertainty affect decision making? What is the impact of experience on decision making? Does increased accountability lead to a greater choice of rational or intuitive decision making strategies? To what extent do head teachers rely on their "gut feelings" in making decisions? What mix of rational and intuitive strategies do head teachers use in making decisions and do head teachers make use of their staff to explore different perceptions and frames?In considering what is the best research approach to answer these questions, reference can be made to a new branch of research known as Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) which has arisen over the past fifteen years. The proponents of NDM have questioned both the application and validity of the rational methods. One of the major proponents of this approach is Gary Klein who has undertaken research into decision making within a wide range of professional domains such as fire fighting, health and the armed forces. His research (1999) suggests that, in real life situations, experts employ a range of strategies very different from the oft espoused rational models of decision making. Instead they habitually use strategies that rely very heavily on domain specific knowledge developed through extensive experience. They do not involve the generation of alternative options but rather use perception and mental simulations, for example, as tools for decision making. The decision making strategies that experts employ mark them out from novices and can perhaps give us an insight into the acquisition of expertise. In this thesis the application of NDM to the work of primary head teachers will be considered.In chapter one the relationship between education leadership, accountability and decision making will be explored making reference to the many changes that have influenced and created the current educational context. The extent to which decision making strategies may be influenced by the context in which they are made will also be considered.In chapter two an overview of theoretical approaches to decision making will be provided, drawing out the many distinctions between rationalistic methods and what can be termed "intuitive" methods such as those "discovered" by NDM. The relationship and tension between rationalistic and intuitive approaches to decision making will be considered. This will involve exploring the well worn battleground between these two age old competing ideologies within Western civilisation: "Traditionally, two forms of cognition analysis and intuition have been distinguished. This sharp dichotomy was made early; indeed, it is as old as the history of thought. Plato, Aristotle, Hume, and Kant all recognized that the difference between the two forms of cognition is fundamental. Even today, almost every study of human judgment employs these concepts, implicitly or explicitly" (Hammond, 1996, p.60).A definition of "intuitive" and "rational" will be provided in this chapter and will be used throughout the thesis to highlight the differences between these two approaches.Chapter three will give a detailed account and critique of the work of Gary Klein discussing the model of decision making he has developed and his ideas on recognition, mental simulations, stories, decisions within teams and decision making mistakes.Chapters four and five will consider research methodology and the practical application of research to this thesis. Details of how the research was conducted, head teachers recruited and interviewed and basic data analysis will be described. Chapter six will provide a quantitative analysis of the interview data to provide the reader with a context for understanding and judging the research findings.Chapter seven is at the heart of this research project. Here the qualitative analysis of the research data will be outlined using substantial quotations from the interview transcripts to enhance credibility and ensure that the findings are truly grounded in the research evidence. Issues such as accountability, working with staff and, most importantly, head teachers' preferred decision making styles will be discussed and illuminated.Chapter eight will then summarise the main findings of the research and discuss possible implications arising from the findings including a description of decision making to aid our understanding of this subject.A postscript will retrospectively consider the work of Klein in the light of this research as well as provide a reflection on the research process

AICPA Technical Practice Aids, as o June 1, 2003, Volume 2

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/2551/thumbnail.jp

Context matters:the power of single-cell analyses in identifying context-dependent effects on gene expression in blood immune cells

The human immune system is a complex system that we still do not fully understand. No two humans react in the same way to attacks by bacteria, viruses or fungi. Factors such as genetics, the type of pathogen or previous exposure to the pathogen may explain this diversity in response. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) is a new technique that enables us to study the gene expression of each cell individually, allowing us to study immune diversity in much greater detail. This increased resolution helps us discern how disease-associated genetic variants actually contribute to disease. In this thesis, I studied the relation between disease-associated genetic variants and gene expression levels in the context of different cell types and pathogen exposures in order to gain insight into the working mechanisms of these variants. For many variants we learnt in which cell types and under which pathogen exposures they affect gene expression, and we were even able to identify changes in gene co-expression, suggesting that disease-associated variants change how our genes interact with each other. With the single-cell field being so new, much of my work was showing the feasibility of using scRNA-seq to study the interplay between genetics and gene expression. To set up future research, we created guidelines for these analyses and established a consortium that brings together many major scientists in the field to enable large-scale studies across an even wider variety of contexts. This final work helps inform current and future large-scale scRNA-seq research

AICPA Technical Practice Aids, as of June 1, 2004, Volume 2

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/2554/thumbnail.jp

AICPA Technical Practice Aids, as of June 1, 2005, Volume 2

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/2584/thumbnail.jp