Occupational pay comparisons: Easier said than done?

Purpose - The article aims to analyse the challenges in undertaking occupational pay comparisons and why this matters for evidence-based reward management, union bargaining strategies and perceptions of pay equity. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on the extant literature on pay and undertakes detailed quantitative analysis of teachers pay in Scotland relative to teachers elsewhere in the UK, graduates and other professional occupations in the private and public sectors. Findings - The key finding of this article is that alternative ways of analysing pay comparability produce significantly different outcomes – occupational pay comparisons require the identification of an appropriate comparator and appropriate measures of pay and hours, yet this is not straightforward. Different approaches to comparability may lead to key stakeholders holding widely differing views about pay equity, with employment relations implications. Research limitations/implications - Quantitative analyses of pay using large scale survey data are crucial to understanding relative occupational pay. However, quantitative analyses cannot provide in-depth and nuanced understanding of the nature of particular occupations. Moreover, the paper focuses at the occupational level and does not assess individual employee characteristics that may influence pay. Practical implications - These findings should inform employers (especially HR managers), employees and unions on pay policy, pay settlements and bargaining strategies. Originality/value - There is relatively little contemporary literature on the importance of, and challenges in undertaking, occupational pay comparisons

Use of the 9-arm self-boring pressure meter to measure horizontal in situ stress, stress anisotropy, and stress-strain behavior in soft clay

Self-boring pressuremeter (SBPM) tests were conducted at Interstate I-95 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Hamilton Air Force Base in Novato, California, in clays of low and high plasticity, respectively. Both sites were subjects of significant previous research. Field testing, conducted at and away from the toe of an existing highway embankment, indicated that the SBPM is capable of measuring horizontal stress changes and stress anisotropy when stress differences are more significant than the measurement error of the test equipment and error due to insertion disturbance effects. Finite element modeling was used to assess the embankment stress effects as a basis for comparison to the SBPM measured horizontal stresses. The SBPM was used to evaluate shear strength, shear modulus, the horizontal coefficient of consolidation, and other stress-strain parameters in both K\sb{\rm o} and non-K\sb{\rm o} stress conditions. SBPM shear strength was found to be significantly greater than field vane results at Pease AFB, however, SBPM and vane results were similar at Hamilton AFB. These results seem to indicate that clays which mobilize peak strength at high strain are better suited to SBPM shear strength measurement than clays that peak at low strain. A 9-arm Cambridge SBPM was used for the field testing which allowed improved definition of cavity deformation compared to conventional 3-arm versions. The 9-strain arms of the probe were found to be useful in predicting the trend of shear strength with depth. The results from the extra arms also suggest that the effect of deviation from plane strain conditions due to the limited length of the probe may not affect shear strength results to the extent previously reported. Laboratory testing was conducted to assess mechanical characteristics and environmental effects on the SBPM. Findings from these tests facilitated development of a method of assessing excess pore pressures due to SBPM deployment and improvements to conventional membrane stiffness correction necessary for accurate horizontal stress determination

Hydrostatic Pressure at a Soil-Structure Interface

A case history of hydrostatic pressure development along the soil-structure interfaces of a water retaining structure is discussed in this paper to illustrate the use of instrumentation to verify expected performance during construction. For the project described, the development of hydrostatic pressure along the soil-structure interface during and after head pond watering was monitored using pneumatic piezometers. Monitoring of the piezometers detected a high hydrostatic pressure caused by a leaky contraction joint seal. Subsequent repair of the seal reduced water levels along the interface to expected levels, resulting in successful operation of the facility

The Effects of Music on the Recognition of Sight Vocabulary of First Grade Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect music had on the recognition of sight vocabulary of first grade students. The research that had been documented previous to this study indicated that music should be used in an environment that includes an abundance of printed materials as in a language experience or whole language approach. Through this, the lyrics were made visible to the students. A sample population of forty students was used for this study and it was conducted over an eight week period. The treatment group was instructed through the use of music and charted lyrics. The control group was instructed through the use of a basal reader. A comparison was made through the use of a two-tailed t test to compare the posttest scores of the group that used the basal and the group that used music. There was no significant difference found, yet further implications suggest further investigation may prove to be of use

Weight changes following lower limb arthroplasty : a prospective observational study

The aim of this study was to assess patterns of weight loss/gain following total hip or knee joint replacement. Four hundred and fifty primary lower limb arthroplasty patients, where the current surgery was the last limiting factor to improved mobility, were selected. Over a one year period 212 gained weight (mean 5.03kg), 92 remained static, and 146 lost weight. The median change was a weight gain of 0.50Kg (p=0.002). All patients had a significant improvement in Oxford outcome scores. Hip arthroplasty patients were statistically more likely to gain weight than knee arthroplasty patients. A successful arthroplasty, restoring a patient's mobility, does not necessarily lead to subsequent weight loss. The majority of patients put on weight with an overall net weight gain. No adverse effect on functional outcome was noted

Does Migration Make You Happy?:A Longitudinal Study of Internal Migration and Subjective Well-Being

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) (RES-625-28-0001). This project is part of the ESRC Centre for Population Change (CPC). Financial support from the Marie Curie programme under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) / Career Integration Grant n. PCIG10-GA-2011-303728 (CIG Grant NBHCHOICE, Neighbourhood choice, neighbourhood sorting, and neighbourhood effects).The majority of quantitative studies on the consequences of internal migration focus almost exclusively on the labour-market outcomes and the material well-being of migrants. We investigate whether individuals who migrate within the UK become happier after the move than they were before, and whether the effect is permanent or transient. Using life-satisfaction responses from twelve waves of the British Household Panel Survey and employing a fixed-effects model, we derive a temporal pattern of migrants’ subjective well-being around the time of the migration event. Our findings make an original contribution by revealing that, on average, migration is preceded by a period when individuals experience a significant decline in happiness for a variety of reasons, including changes in personal living arrangements. Migration itself causes a boost in happiness, and brings people back to their initial levels. The research contributes, therefore, to advancing an understanding of migration in relation to set-point theory. Perhaps surprisingly, long-distance migrants are at least as happy as short-distance migrants despite the higher social and psychological costs involved. The findings of this paper add to the pressure to retheorize migration within a conceptual framework that accounts for social well-being from a life-course perspective.PostprintPeer reviewe

The role of stress-derived vesicles in the bystander effect and cancer related cachexia

Extracellular vesicles are small, lipid bound structures that are involved in intercellular signalling. They are known to be involved in numerous processes within the body, including in disease. One interesting function of EVs appears to be the induction of the bystander effect. The bystander effect refers to the non-targeted effects of stress, whereby stressed cells induce damage in neighbouring cells. EVs released from cells following irradiation have previously been shown to induce the bystander effect. EVs have also been implicated in the induction of cancer-cachexia, a muscle wasting disease. This disease is common in patients with cancer and is often linked to poor prognosis. In this project the ability of EVs released from heat shocked cells to induce bystander effects has been assessed. EVs released from cancer cells following 45°C treatment induced the bystander effect and the bystander cells were shown to be more resistant to subsequent stress treatment. EVs retained this functionality for up to two weeks when stored at -80°C. EVs released following short, 70°C treatment were also able to induce bystander effects. The ability of EVs from both stressed (cisplatin) and unstressed cancer cells to induce cachexia was also examined. Cancer EVs were able to reduce differentiation in vitro, but no effects were observed when these EVs were injected into mice. The proteome of these EVs and their parent cells was also identified via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and pathway analysis was carried out on these proteins. These data suggest possible roles for EVs in cell-cell communication during stress and disease, with EVs being able to induce bystander effects and alter muscle development in vitro