3,798 research outputs found
Competition and the Retreat from Collective Bargaining, NIESR Discussion Paper No. 318
For most of the twentieth century, collective bargaining provided the terms on which labour was commonly employed in Britain. However, the quarter century since 1980
has seen the collapse of collectivism as the main way of regulating employment. Our argument is that the tacit settlement between organized labour and employers was undermined by increasing product market competition. The paper first provides an overview of the changing map of collective bargaining, focusing on the private sector.
It then moves on to ask why the retreat took place, and to explore the part played by product market competition and, in particular, by the profitability of different
industries. The paper concludes with an analysis of the consequences of privatisation
A terminal guidance scheme for lifting body entry vehicles
Perturbation feedback guidance for terminal phase of lifting body entry vehicl
Optimal Control of Superconducting N-level quantum systems
We consider a current-biased dc SQUID in the presence of an applied
time-dependent bias current or magnetic flux. The phase dynamics of such a
Josephson device is equivalent to that of a quantum particle trapped in a D
anharmonic potential, subject to external time-dependent control fields, {\it
i.e.} a driven multilevel quantum system. The problem of finding the required
time-dependent control field that will steer the system from a given initial
state to a desired final state at a specified final time is formulated in the
framework of optimal control theory. Using the spectral filter technique, we
show that the selected optimal field which induces a coherent population
transfer between quantum states is represented by a carrier signal having a
constant frequency but which is time-varied both in amplitude and phase. The
sensitivity of the optimal solution to parameter perturbations is also
addressed
Limiting Behaviour of the Mean Residual Life
In survival or reliability studies, the mean residual life or life expectancy
is an important characteristic of the model. Here, we study the limiting
behaviour of the mean residual life, and derive an asymptotic expansion which
can be used to obtain a good approximation for large values of the time
variable. The asymptotic expansion is valid for a quite general class of
failure rate distributions--perhaps the largest class that can be expected
given that the terms depend only on the failure rate and its derivatives.Comment: 19 page
Stress analyses of flat plates with attached nozzles. Vol. 3. Experimental stress analyses of a flat plate with two closely spaced nozzles of equal diameter attached
The complete test results for a flat plate with two closely spaced nozzles attached are presented. Test loadings were 1:1, 1:2, and 2:1 biaxial planar tension loadings on the plate, axial thrust loadings applied separately to the nozzles, and bending moment loadings applied to the nozzles both within and normal to the plane of symmetry containing the nozzle axes. The test plate was 36 x 36 x 0.375 in., and the attached nozzles had outer diameters of 2.625 in. and wall thicknesses of 0.250 in. The nozzles were located in the center of the plate with their centers 3.0 in. apart and were considered to be free of weld distortions and irregularities in the junction region. 6 references. (auth
Optimal Control of Quantum Dynamics : A New Theoretical Approach
A New theoretical formalism for the optimal quantum control has been
presented. The approach stems from the consideration of describing the
time-dependent quantum system in terms of the real physical observables, viz.,
the probability density rho(x,t) and the quantum current j(x,t) which is well
documented in the Bohm's hydrodynamical formulation of quantum mechanics. The
approach has been applied for manipulating the vibrational motion of HBr in its
ground electronic state under an external electric field.Comment: 4 figure
Open Space – a collaborative process for facilitating Tourism IT partnerships
The success of IT projects depends on the success of the partnerships on which they are based. However past research by the author has identified a significant rate of failure in these partnerships, predominantly due to an overly technical mindset, leading to the question: “how do we ensure that, as technological solutions are implemented within tourism, due consideration is given to human-centred issues?” The tourism partnership literature is explored for additional insights revealing that issues connected with power, participation and normative positions play a major role. The method, Open Space, is investigated for its ability to engage stakeholders in free and open debate. This paper reports on a one-day Open Space event sponsored by two major intermediaries in the UK travel industry who wanted to consult their business partners. Both the running of the event and its results reveal how Open Space has the potential to address some of the weaknesses associated with tourism partnerships
A Transiting Jupiter Analog
Decadal-long radial velocity surveys have recently started to discover
analogs to the most influential planet of our solar system, Jupiter. Detecting
and characterizing these worlds is expected to shape our understanding of our
uniqueness in the cosmos. Despite the great successes of recent transit
surveys, Jupiter analogs represent a terra incognita, owing to the strong
intrinsic bias of this method against long orbital periods. We here report on
the first validated transiting Jupiter analog, Kepler-167e (KOI-490.02),
discovered using Kepler archival photometry orbiting the K4-dwarf KIC-3239945.
With a radius of , a low orbital eccentricity
() and an equilibrium temperature of K,
Kepler-167e bears many of the basic hallmarks of Jupiter. Kepler-167e is
accompanied by three Super-Earths on compact orbits, which we also validate,
leaving a large cavity of transiting worlds around the habitable-zone. With two
transits and continuous photometric coverage, we are able to uniquely and
precisely measure the orbital period of this post snow-line planet
( d), paving the way for follow-up of this mag
target.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures. Accepted to ApJ. Posteriors available at
https://github.com/CoolWorlds/Kepler-167-Posterior
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