Managing temporary workers in higher education: still at the margin?

Purpose – To evaluate whether “numerical flexibility” – specifically a form of temporary and precarious employment – hourly-paid part-time teaching in the UK higher education sector – adds strategic value and demonstrates good practice. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on new evidence drawn from five case study organisations in which a range of managers was interviewed in depth. Findings – Analysis identifies a continuum of strategies from integration into the main workforce through to “deepened differentiation”. Although integration is somewhat problematic when applied to a diverse group, differentiation seems predicated on a defensive, risk management approach designed to further marginalise this activity. Also, differentiation fails to address the aspirations of many employees, creating tensions between institutional strategy and the needs of academic heads. Research limitations/implications – The number of case studies is limited. These case studies were selected because they had the most proactive strategies on this issue, which infers that the majority of employers in HE have not been rather less strategic or proactive. Practical implications – The paper is of particular value to HR professionals considering the use of numerical flexibility approaches. It also contributes to the academic debate on the strategic value of such approaches. Originality/value – The paper explores a neglected but important area of the workforce. The paper notes that some supposed benefits of numerical flexibility might be illusory, such as the deployment of allegedly “cheap and disposable” substitute workers which may be offset by unintentional consequences including rigidities in an organisation's human resource systems

LOW PAY: THE IRISH EXPERIENCE. ESRI Working Paper No. 15, December 1989

The aim of this paper is to summarise the state of knowledge about the extent of low pay in Ireland. At the outset, some of the underlying elements which influence low pay are outlined. In relation to this, some of the changes in the labour market in recent years, which have a bearing on the incidence of low pay, are briefly discussed. There follows an outline of the current knowledge about the main features of low pay. The emphasis here is on presenting some initial findings from an analysis of the 1987 ESRI survey of income distribution, poverty and usage of State services. At the same time, some reference back to earlier work is made. At the end of the paper, some policy questions which arise from the paper are raised

EFFECT OF FOOTWEAR ON CENTER OF PRESSURE MOVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE IN RIFLE SHOOTING

In the rifle shooting disciplines, the offhand (standing) position is considered one of the most difficult of competitive events because rifle and body movements are harder to control and minimize compared to more stable shooting positions. Shooters attempt to increase stability by relying on a static skeleton that is dependent on the adopted postural position as well as the apparel worn by the shooter. In the offhand position, competitive shooters have pushed the limits of the rules by relying on specialized shoot ing apparel in order to stabilize and reduce the body's natural tendency to sway and fatigue (Buhlman et al., 2002). One article of clothing that is commonly worn is a specialized shooting boot. The contribution to which the boot makes to postural stability and shooting performance is unclear. The purpose of this study was to objectively measure the effect of footwear on the stability and performance in rifle shooting in the offhand position

Heat flow and geothermal potential of Kansas

Temperature, thermal-conductivity measurements, and heat-flow values are presented for four holes in Kansas originally drilled for cooperative water-resources investigations by the Kansas Geological Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey. These holes cut most of the sedimentary section and were cased and allowed to reach temperature equilibrium. Several types of geophysical logs were run for these holes. Temperature data from an additional five wells also are presented. Temperature gradients in the sedimentary section vary over a large range (over 4:1), and significantly different temperatures occur at the same depth in different portions of the state. Temperatures as high as 34°C (93°F) occur at a depth of 500 m (1,650 ft) in the south-central portion of the state but are 28°C (82°F) or lower at that depth in other parts of the state. In addition to cuttings measurements, thermal conductivities were estimated from geophysical well-log parameters; useful results suggest more use of the technique in the future. With these results, geophysical well logs can be used to predict temperatures as a function of depth in areas for which no temperatures are available if heat flow is assumed. The extreme variation in gradients observed in the holes occurs because of the large contrast in thermal-conductivity values. Shale thermal-conductivity values appear to have been overestimated in the past; Paleozoic shales in Kansas have thermal-conductivity values of approximately 1.18 ± 0.03 Wm-1K-1. Conversely, evaporite and dolomite units have thermal conductivities of over 4 Wm-1K-1. In spite of the large variations of gradient, the heat-flow values throughout the holes do not vary more than 10%, and any water-flow effects which might be present from the lateral motion on any of the aquifers are less than 10%. The best estimates for heat flow in the four holes come from carbonate units below the base of the Pennsylvanian and range in value from 48 mWm-2 to 62 mWm-2. Two of the holes were drilled to the basement, and correlation of the heat flow with basement radioactivity suggests that the heat-flow/heat-production line postulated for the midcontinent by Roy, Blackwell, and Birch (1968) applies to these data. Because of the low thermal conductivity of the shales, the radiogenic-pluton concept should apply to the midcontinent. Thus, if very radioactive plutons can be identified, much higher temperatures may occur in the sedimentary section than have been thought possible in the past. However, the past overestimation of the shale-conductivity values suggests that some previous high heat-flow values in the midcontinent probably are not correct, and the high gradients are due instead to normal heat flow and very low thermal-conductivity values. In spite of the presence of-low thermal-conductivity values in the midcontinent region, significant use could be made of geothermal energy in Kansas for space heating, thermal assistance, and heat-pump applications because the temperatures in the sedimentary section in much of Kansas are in excess of 40°C (104°F)

The design, development and implementation of cognitive acceleration through technology education (CATE)

This paper outlines the design and development of a cognitive intervention programme in design and technology education to Key Stage 3 students in the United Kingdom. Included is an interim evaluation of effects on students and teachers. Data has been collected and analysed after two years of the developmental programme. Use has been made of: • Piagetian Reasoning tasks as pre/post tests instruments • NFER Cognitive Ability Tests and end of Key Stage 3 assessments in order to monitor for far transfer effects • a teacher interview technique to monitor teacher attitudes towards the project. The interim evaluation described in this paper suggests that design and technology education has been enhanced at a number of levels by the intervention programme and that there is a little evidence that far transfer effects have occurred

Heat flow and geothermal potential of Kansas

Temperature, thermal-conductivity measurements, and heat-flow values are presented for four holes in Kansas originally drilled for cooperative water-resources investigations by the Kansas Geological Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey. These holes cut most of the sedimentary section and were cased and allowed to reach temperature equilibrium. Several types of geophysical logs were run for these holes. Temperature data from an additional five wells also are presented. Temperature gradients in the sedimentary section vary over a large range (over 4:1), and significantly different temperatures occur at the same depth in different portions of the state. Temperatures as high as 34°C (93°F) occur at a depth of 500 m (1,650 ft) in the south-central portion of the state but are 28°C (82°F) or lower at that depth in other parts of the state. In addition to cuttings measurements, thermal conductivities were estimated from geophysical well-log parameters; useful results suggest more use of the technique in the future. With these results, geophysical well logs can be used to predict temperatures as a function of depth in areas for which no temperatures are available if heat flow is assumed. The extreme variation in gradients observed in the holes occurs because of the large contrast in thermal-conductivity values. Shale thermal-conductivity values appear to have been overestimated in the past; Paleozoic shales in Kansas have thermal-conductivity values of approximately 1.18 ± 0.03 Wm-1K-1. Conversely, evaporite and dolomite units have thermal conductivities of over 4 Wm-1K-1. In spite of the large variations of gradient, the heat-flow values throughout the holes do not vary more than 10%, and any water-flow effects which might be present from the lateral motion on any of the aquifers are less than 10%. The best estimates for heat flow in the four holes come from carbonate units below the base of the Pennsylvanian and range in value from 48 mWm-2 to 62 mWm-2. Two of the holes were drilled to the basement, and correlation of the heat flow with basement radioactivity suggests that the heat-flow/heat-production line postulated for the midcontinent by Roy, Blackwell, and Birch (1968) applies to these data. Because of the low thermal conductivity of the shales, the radiogenic-pluton concept should apply to the midcontinent. Thus, if very radioactive plutons can be identified, much higher temperatures may occur in the sedimentary section than have been thought possible in the past. However, the past overestimation of the shale-conductivity values suggests that some previous high heat-flow values in the midcontinent probably are not correct, and the high gradients are due instead to normal heat flow and very low thermal-conductivity values. In spite of the presence of-low thermal-conductivity values in the midcontinent region, significant use could be made of geothermal energy in Kansas for space heating, thermal assistance, and heat-pump applications because the temperatures in the sedimentary section in much of Kansas are in excess of 40°C (104°F)

Public Data In Use: A Case Study of Ireland

Public Data In Use: A Case Study of Irelan