Wages: A working conditions and industrial relations perspective

[Excerpt] This paper looks at wages from two different angles: from the perspective of individual employees, discussed in conjunction with their working conditions, and from the perspective of the industrial relations system. After a brief overview of EU-level policy developments with a potential impact on national level pay determination, this report gives a comparative overview of the levels of collective wage setting and how they are set throughout Europe and goes on to report on reforms, changes or debates linked to these processes between the different actors at both the Member State and the European level in 2011 and 2012. This includes, for instance, debates on potential changes of indexation mechanisms in Belgium, Luxembourg and Cyprus, as a result of the Commission’s recommendations within the Euro Plus Pact. While in some countries (Estonia, Bulgaria) social partners resumed collective bargaining (either on wages or on minimum wages) and came to agreements, in other countries (Lithuania, Romania), no agreements could be reached. Some changes in the way collective bargaining is organised were recently introduced in Spain, Romania, Greece, Ireland and Portugal. Information on these issues stems from the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO). Furthermore, this paper also summarises the current changes and debates among the social partners and governments in relation to the setting and the level of minimum wages across Europe. It then looks into the area of ‘working poor’, that is people who are in employment but still at risk of poverty. To what extent do governments and social partners put forth policy responses to address the issue of in-work-poverty? And to what extent did the crisis have an impact? In order to answer these questions, the paper draws on Eurofound research on the situation of the ‘Working poor’. Finally the paper presents a collection of recent ‘information updates’ from the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) on various issues in relation to pay from Member States

Foundation Focus: Job Creation, Job Preservation or Job Loss? The Future of Europe\u27s Labour Market

This issue of Foundation Focus looks at the state of play of the European labour market and what governments, social partners and companies are doing to overcome the crisis. Over the last few years, many jobs have been lost, and mass unemployment has become the reality in some Member States. Eurofound’s latest European Quality of Life Survey points to growing inequalities and social exclusion. At the same time, the EU remains committed to the idea of creating and maintaining high-quality jobs. So where are these jobs going to come from? And is job quality being compromised in the attempt to cut costs and maintain competitiveness? All this and more in this issue of Foundation Focus

Greening of Industries in the EU: Anticipating and Managing the Effects on Quantity and Quality of Jobs

[Excerpt] All jobs will be affected as the EU moves to a green economy: new jobs will be created and some will be eliminated, but most existing jobs will be transformed. To ensure a socially responsible transition towards high-quality green jobs, concerted efforts by governments, employees, employers and other stakeholders are crucial in anticipating and managing this process. The research carried out in this study examined green business practices and greening processes aimed at mitigating climate change – if radical mitigation measures are not taken in time, adaptation could eventually prove impossible. The study had two main objectives: to provide an overview at both sectoral and cross-sectoral level in the EU of the effects of greening on the quantity and quality of jobs in 10 sectors (automotive, chemicals, construction, distribution and trade, energy, furniture, non- metallic materials, shipbuilding, textiles and transport); to analyse good practice examples of the anticipation and management of green change at company level in these sectors

Working Time and Work-Life Balance in a Life Course Perspective

[Excerpt] Since the 1980s, most industrial societies have experienced a marked trend towards the diversification, decentralisation and individualisation of working time patterns, driven both by companies’ needs for greater adaptability in order to meet market constraints, and by large changes in the gender division of labour. At the same time, and linked to the increased participation of women in the labour force, various forms of working time arrangements have become more widespread, in particular part-time work. However, it is largely women who have taken advantage of the increased diversity and flexibility of working time. Drawing on data from Eurofound’s fifth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), based on interviews with more than 38,000 respondents in 34 countries, this report documents the prevailing working time patterns of employees, the self-employed and lone parents across five country clusters. It also analyses the relationship between paid employment and domestic activities, work–life balance and working time preferences across the life course

Diagnostic and Prognostic Utility of Procalcitonin in Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department with Dyspnea

Background Among patients in the emergency department, dyspnea is a common complaint and can pose a diagnostic challenge. Biomarkers are used increasingly to improve diagnostic accuracy and aid with prognostication in dyspneic patients. The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical utility of serum procalcitonin (PCT) for the diagnosis of pneumonia in patients presenting to the emergency department with dyspnea. A secondary objective was to evaluate the prognostic value of PCT for death to 1 year. Methods This study pooled the patient populations of 2 prospective cohorts that previously enrolled patients presenting to 2 urban emergency departments with dyspnea. A total of 453 patients had serum samples available for biomarker analysis. Clinician certainty for the diagnosis of acutely decompensated heart failure was reviewed. Discrimination, calibration, and net reclassification improvement for the diagnosis of pneumonia as well as fatal outcomes were considered. The main outcome was accuracy of PCT for diagnostic categorization of pneumonia. The prognostic value of PCT for survival to 1 year was a secondary outcome. Results Pneumonia alone was diagnosed in 30 patients (6.6%), heart failure without pneumonia in 212 patients (47%), and both diagnoses in 30 patients (6.6%). Procalcitonin concentrations were higher in subjects with pneumonia (0.38 vs 0.06 ng/mL; P < .001). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the diagnosis of pneumonia based on PCT was 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.77-0.91; P < .001). Across all levels of clinician-based estimates of heart failure, PCT was sensitive and specific; notably, in patients judged with diagnostic uncertainty (n = 70), a PCT value of 0.10 ng/mL had the optimal balance of sensitivity and specificity (80% and 77%, respectively) for pneumonia. Adding PCT results to variables predictive of pneumonia resulted in a net reclassification improvement of 0.54 (95% CI, 0.24-0.83; P < .001) for both up- and down-reclassifying events. In adjusted analyses, elevated PCT was a predictor of 1-year mortality (hazard ratio 1.8; 95% CI, 1.4-2.3; P < .001) and was additive when elevated in conjunction with natriuretic peptides for this application. Conclusion In emergency department patients with acute dyspnea, PCT is an accurate diagnostic marker for pneumonia and adds independent prognostic information for 1-year mortality

Table 1.

Standard level N-channel MOSFET in TO220 package qualified to 175 °C. This product is designed and qualified for use in a wide range of industrial, communications and domestic equipment. 2. Features and benefits • High efficiency due to low switching and conduction losses • Suitable for standard level gate drive source

Dynamic characteristics

Standard level N-channel enhancement mode Field-Effect Transistor (FET) in a plastic package using TrenchMOS technology. This product is designed and qualified for use in computing, communications, consumer and industrial applications only. 1.2 Features and benefits � Low conduction losses due to low on-state resistance � Suitable for high frequency applications due to fast switching characteristics 1.3 Application

Static characteristics

Logic level N-channel enhancement mode Field-Effect Transistor (FET) in a plastic package using TrenchMOS technology. The devices include TrenchPLUS diodes for clamping, ElectroStatic Discharge (ESD) protection and temperature sensing. This product has been designed and qualified to the appropriate AEC standard for use in automotive critical applications. 1.2 Features and benefits � Allows responsive temperature monitoring due to integrated temperature sensor � Low conduction losses due to low on-state resistance � Q101 compliant 1.3 Applications � 12 V and 24 V high power motor drives � Automotive and general purpose power switchin

Association between hypo- and hyperkalemia and outcome in acute heart failure patients : the role of medications

Background The interaction between chronic medications on admission and the association between serum potassium level and outcome in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) are unknown. Methods Observational intercontinental study of patients admitted with AHF. 15954 patients were included from 12 cohorts in 4 continents. Main outcome was 90-day mortality. Clinical presentation (medication use, hemodynamics, comorbidities), demographic, echocardiographic, and biochemical data on admission were recorded prospectively in each cohort, with prospective adjudication of outcomes. Results Positive and negative linear relationships between 90-day mortality and sK+ above 4.5 mmol/L (hyperkalemia) and below 3.5 mmol/L (hypo-kalemia) were observed. Hazard ratio for death was 1.46 [1.34-1.58] for hyperkalemia and 1.22 [1.06-1.40] for hypokalemia. In a fully adjusted model, only hyperkalemia remained associated with mortality (HR 1.03 [1.02-1.04] for each 0.1 mmol/l change of sK+ above 4.5 mmol/L). Interaction tests revealed that the association between hyperkalemia and outcome was significantly affected by chronic medications. The association between hyperkalemia and mortality was absent for patients treated with beta blockers and in those with preserved renal function. Conclusions In patients with AHF, sK+ > 4.5 mmol/L appears to be associated with 90-day mortality. B-blockers have potentially a protective effect in the setting of hyperkalemia.Peer reviewe

First experience in operating the population of the condition databases for the CMS experiment

Reliable population of the condition databases is critical for the correct operation of the online selection as well as of the offline reconstruction and analysis of data. We will describe here the system put in place in the CMS experiment to populate the database and make condition data promptly available both online for the high-level trigger and offline for reconstruction. The system, designed for high flexibility to cope with very different data sources, uses POOL-ORA technology in order to store data in an object format that best matches the object oriented paradigm for \texttt{C++} programming language used in the CMS offline software. In order to ensure consistency among the various subdetectors, a dedicated package, PopCon (Populator of Condition Objects), is used to store data online. The data are then automatically streamed to the offline database hence immediately accessible offline worldwide. This mechanism was intensively used during 2008 in the test-runs with cosmic rays. The experience of this first months of operation will be discussed in detail.Comment: 15 pages, submitter to JOP, CHEP0