The demise of a model? The state of collective bargaining and worker representation in Germany.

This article investigates collective bargaining trends in the German private sector since 2000. Using data from the IAB Establishment Panel and the German Establishment History Panel, it provides both cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence on these developments. It confirms that the hemorrhaging of sectoral bargaining, first observed in the 1980s and 1990s, is ongoing. Furthermore, works councils are also in decline, so that the dual system also displays erosion. For their part, any increases in collective bargaining at firm level have been minimal in recent years, while the behavior of newly-founded and closing establishments does not seem to lie at the root of a burgeoning collective bargaining free sector. Although there are few obvious signs of an organic reversal of the process, some revitalization of the bargaining system from above is implied by the labor policies of the new coalition government

Silvery Waves

Ocean waves with ship, moon, and clouds in background; Two seahorses outside of framehttps://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cht-sheet-music/11315/thumbnail.jp

Cover Crop Management in Vineyards of the Lower Orange River Region, South Africa: 2. Effect on Plant Parasitic Nematodes

This study was conducted as part of a larger investigation into the effect of management practices on selected sowncover crops and the effects thereof on grapevine performance. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of thesecover crops on plant parasitic nematode populations under natural field conditions. The trial site was in an own-rootedSultanina vineyard situated in the Lower Orange River of the Northern Cape Province. Three management practiceswere applied selectively to ten cover crop species, with two control treatments consisting of weeds. Nematodes weremonitored for a period of four years. ‘Saia’ oats were indicated as being poor hosts to both root-knot and root-lesionnematodes, while ‘Overberg’ oats showed poor host status against ring nematodes. ‘Midmar’ ryegrass and ‘Paraggio’medic were also poor hosts for root-knot nematodes, while grazing vetch appeared to be a good host for root-knotnematodes. The most notable result from this study was the relatively high numbers of all three nematodes on the vinerow, as opposed to the inter-row where cover crops were established. This indicates that vines were much better hostsfor these nematodes than the cover crops. It is recommended that if more definite trends are to be observed, Brassicaspecies, which have direct toxic/repellant effects on nematodes, should be tested

Effect of Contact Pesticides on Vine Mealybug Parasitoids, Anagyrus sp. near pseudococci (Girault) and Coccidoxenoides perminutus (Timberlake) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

Anagyrus species near pseudococci (Girault) and Coccidoxenoides perminutus (Timberlake) (Hymenoptera:Encyrtidae) are well-known mealybug parasitoids. Both are proven biological control agents of Planococcus ficus(Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in vineyards. These parasitoids are affected by some pesticides used for thecontrol of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and P. ficus in vineyards. To establish which of the vineyard pesticidesis more toxic to parasitoids, pesticide bioassays were carried in the laboratory using adult and pupal parasitoids.Fipronil and α-cypermethrin caused significant acute toxicity of both parasitoids. Low mortality was recorded forall these pesticides for parasitoids emerging from mummies indicating that the mummy case was an effective barrierto pesticides for parasitoids. Buprofezin, mancozeb and an insecticidal soap were not toxic to parasitoids in bothbioassays. Some pesticides have far-reaching negative impacts on parasitoids of orchard and vineyard arthropodpests. A refinement on pest management strategies regarding method and timing of application of pesticides whereparasitoids constitute part of the pest management program is essential

The Alps : Marche Di Bravoura

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-ps/1765/thumbnail.jp

Woodland Echoes

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-ps/1723/thumbnail.jp

Multi-scale coarse-graining of diblock copolymer self-assembly: from monomers to ordered micelles

Starting from a microscopic lattice model, we investigate clustering, micellization and micelle ordering in semi-dilute solutions of AB diblock copolymers in a selective solvent. To bridge the gap in length scales, from monomers to ordered micellar structures, we implement a two-step coarse graining strategy, whereby the AB copolymers are mapped onto ``ultrasoft'' dumbells with monomer-averaged effective interactions between the centres of mass of the blocks. Monte Carlo simulations of this coarse-grained model yield clear-cut evidence for self-assembly into micelles with a mean aggregation number n of roughly 100 beyond a critical concentration. At a slightly higher concentration the micelles spontaneously undergo a disorder-order transition to a cubic phase. We determine the effective potential between these micelles from first principles.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett

Characterization of Navassa National Wildlife Refuge: A preliminary report for NF-06-05 (NOAA ship "Nancy Foster", April 18-30, 2006)

Navassa is a small, undeveloped island in the Windward Passage between Jamaica and Haiti. It was designated a National Wildlife Refuge under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1999, but the remote location makes management and enforcement challenging, and the area is regularly fished by artisanal fishermen from Haiti. In April 2006, the NOAA Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research conducted a research cruise to Navassa. The cruise produced the first high-resolution multibeam bathymetry for the area, which will facilitate habitat mapping and assist in refuge management. A major emphasis of the cruise was to study the impact of Haitian fishing gear on benthic habitats and fish communities; however, in 10 days on station only one small boat was observed with five fishermen and seven traps. Fifteen monitoring stations were established to characterize fish and benthic communities along the deep (28-34 m) shelf, as these areas have been largely unstudied by previous cruises. The fish communities included numerous squirrelfishes, triggerfishes, and parrotfishes. Snappers and grouper were also present but no small individuals were observed. Similarly, conch surveys indicated the population was in low abundance and was heavily skewed towards adults. Analysis of the benthic photoquadrats is currently underway. Other cruise activities included installation of a temperature logger network, sample collection for stable isotope analyses to examine trophic structure, and drop camera surveys to ground-truth habitat maps and overhead imagery. (PDF contains 58 pages

Quantification of Maceration Changes using Post Mortem MRI in Fetuses

BACKGROUND: Post mortem imaging is playing an increasingly important role in perinatal autopsy, and correct interpretation of imaging changes is paramount. This is particularly important following intra-uterine fetal death, where there may be fetal maceration. The aim of this study was to investigate whether any changes seen on a whole body fetal post mortem magnetic resonance imaging (PMMR) correspond to maceration at conventional autopsy. METHODS: We performed pre-autopsy PMMR in 75 fetuses using a 1.5 Tesla Siemens Avanto MR scanner (Erlangen, Germany). PMMR images were reported blinded to the clinical history and autopsy data using a numerical severity scale (0 = no maceration changes to 2 = severe maceration changes) for 6 different visceral organs (total 12). The degree of maceration at autopsy was categorized according to severity on a numerical scale (1 = no maceration to 4 = severe maceration). We also generated quantitative maps to measure the liver and lung T2. RESULTS: The mean PMMR maceration score correlated well with the autopsy maceration score (R(2) = 0.93). A PMMR score of ≥4.5 had a sensitivity of 91%, specificity of 64%, for detecting moderate or severe maceration at autopsy. Liver and lung T2 were increased in fetuses with maceration scores of 3-4 in comparison to those with 1-2 (liver p = 0.03, lung p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: There was a good correlation between PMMR maceration score and the extent of maceration seen at conventional autopsy. This score may be useful in interpretation of fetal PMMR