Exploring the potential of the union equality representative

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a qualitative study of the views of a cross-section of union regional activists and officers on the potential of a newly developed equality representative role in promoting greater equality in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach – Findings are based on an analysis of interview data incorporating the views and experiences of 32 officers and activists currently promoting equality in a region of the UK. Findings – Findings suggest that this is an equality initiative whose time may have come. This conclusion, however, is tempered by respondents' belief that the equality representative project can only fulfil its potential if the role is mainstreamed into branch structures, policies and processes and, crucially, that the same statutory recognition enjoyed by other union representatives is granted to the equality representative. Research limitations/implications – The project is at an early stage of development. Therefore, findings are based on the views of significant proponents of union equality initiatives in the region of study. Further research is needed to assess the actual impact of the new representatives as they become active in their branches and organisations. Practical implications – There are clear implications for management in terms of allowing representatives facility time and thus sharing the potential benefits of this new source of equality expertise. For the unions, the challenge is to mainstream the new role at all levels of the union and negotiate adequate facility time for the equality representative. Originality/value – The research is one of the few studies focussing on this new union strategy for better addressing the equality needs of their members and offers a clear insight into its potential success

On the Multilinear Restriction and Kakeya conjectures

We prove $d$-linear analogues of the classical restriction and Kakeya conjectures in $\R^d$. Our approach involves obtaining monotonicity formulae pertaining to a certain evolution of families of gaussians, closely related to heat flow. We conclude by giving some applications to the corresponding variable-coefficient problems and the so-called "joints" problem, as well as presenting some $n$-linear analogues for $n<d$.Comment: 38 pages, no figures, submitte

Entanglement and Collective Quantum Operations

We show how shared entanglement, together with classical communication and local quantum operations, can be used to perform an arbitrary collective quantum operation upon N spatially-separated qubits. A simple teleportation-based protocol for achieving this, which requires 2(N-1) ebits of shared, bipartite entanglement and 4(N-1) classical bits, is proposed. In terms of the total required entanglement, this protocol is shown to be optimal for even N in both the asymptotic limit and for `one-shot' applications

Do union-management learning partnerships reduce workplace conflict?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a qualitative study of the views of a cross-section of managers and union officials engaged in joint learning projects on the impact more generally on the employee relations climate in those organisations. Design/methodology/approach – Findings are based on an analysis of interview data incorporating the views and experiences of 32 union representatives and managers engaged in promoting learning in a number of case study projects in North West England. Findings – Findings suggest that union-led learning and development has a clear impact on pre-empting potential performance issues for individuals in terms of better equipping them with the skills to achieve expected performance levels, assisting individuals with managing work-related stress and also to prevent discrimination against workers. Collectively, the managing of downsizing in particular through union-led learning support to retrain in order to redeploy effected staff or better prepare them for new employment opportunities was also a significant finding. Research limitations/implications – The research suggests that successful union-management learning partnerships can also have a positive impact on managing conflict in those organisations. However, further research is needed to test these assertions in other union organised sectors. Practical implications – There are implications for management in recognising the “added value” that partnership working with their unions on learning can bring in terms of also both pre-empting and resolving individual and collective disputes in the workplace. Originality/value – The research is one of few studies that focuses on the link between promoting learning through union-management partnerships and managing conflict in organisations and offers a clear insight into how this can be achieved in practice

Heat-flow monotonicity of Strichartz norms

Most notably we prove that for $d=1,2$ the classical Strichartz norm $$\|e^{i s\Delta}f\|_{L^{2+4/d}_{s,x}(\mathbb{R}\times\mathbb{R}^d)}$$ associated to the free Schr\"{o}dinger equation is nondecreasing as the initial datum $f$ evolves under a certain quadratic heat-flow.Comment: 11 page

Workplace mediation: the participant experience

This paper reports on a qualitative study of the perceptions and experiences of participants in workplace mediation. In total, 25 individuals, from a variety of occupations and organisations, were interviewed by researchers. The project sought to: explore the trajectory of individual disputes and assess participants’ views of the effectiveness of mediation provision and sustainability of outcomes. Furthermore, the research attempted to examine the broader impact of participation in mediation on the approach of individuals and organisations to the management of conflict

The role of workplace mediation: a critical assessment

Purpose – Interest in mediation as an alternative strategy for managing conflict in the workplace has grown recently both in terms of theory, practice and government policy. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the efficacy of the process as practised in higher education, where its use is quite well developed. Its key aim is to increase the understanding of the process through a more qualitative sectorial analysis. Design/methodology/approach – The research took place over a six-month period in 2011. It is based on the views and experiences of 36 representatives from 16 universities across the North of England and four senior managers from mediation providers serving those organisations. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with an average duration of one hour were undertaken with the majority of respondents with a small number of slightly shorter telephone interviews. All interviews were fully transcribed. Findings – The key findings of the research suggest that universities, whilst having similarities to other organisations in terms of the rationale, implementation and management of workplace mediation, have a practice also informed by some aspects specific to the sector. These include: the ethos of the sector, the nature of the academic labour process, its potential client base and also in its desire to network with others within the sector. Originality/value – The study offers a more in-depth understanding of mediation as practised in a cross-section of organisations in one sector and is in contrast to the predominantly more quantitative approach adopted so far in the mediation literature in the UK. Keywords Higher education, Qualitative, Alternative dispute resolution, Conflict resolution, Workplace mediation, Managing workplace conflict Paper type Research pape

Developing teaching material from a research project: the tutor's guide

It is rightly argued that pedagogic research is crucial in underpinning the practice and development of teaching in the HE sector. The focus of this article, as part of that endeavour, is a reflection on how discipline-based research and its findings can be made accessible for other academics to utilise in their teaching. The aim of the project was, through the dissemination of empirical research, to provide business and management students with a greater understanding of both the theoretical underpinning of but also practical solutions to managing workplace conflict. To that end the discussion highlights the potential efficacy of developing a tutor manual to accompany a research report to share as common resources online

Finite bounds for Holder-Brascamp-Lieb multilinear inequalities

A criterion is established for the validity of multilinear inequalities of a class considered by Brascamp and Lieb, generalizing well-known inequalities of Holder, Young, and Loomis-Whitney. This is a companion to a recent paper by the same authors, containing a different proof and discussing certain variants.Comment: 15 page