The crisis of public sector trade unionism: evidence from the Mid Staffordshire hospital crisis

This article contends that there is a growing, if uneven, crisis in public sector trade unionism masked by relatively high membership figures that obscure a weakening of trade unions in the workplace, leaving hollowed out organisation vulnerable to further legislative and employer-led onslaughts. The weakening is not inevitable but to overcome it requires a refocusing of organising efforts on the everyday concerns of members such as understaffing and the provision of better public services. Only with an engaged membership will national issues and wider campaigns have material force. Having outlined a general argument, the article takes as illustrative the nature and performance of trade unions, and particularly UNISON, during the Mid Staffordshire hospital crisis

The leadership component of Kelly’s Mobilisation Theory : contribution, tensions, limitations and further development

This reassessment of Kelly’s analysis of the relationship of activist leadership to collective action within the overall jigsaw of mobilisation theory draws on social movement literature, studies by industrial relations scholars utilising aspects of Kelly’s approach – including this author’s own work – and related research on union leadership within collective mobilisation. In the process, it identifies and celebrates how Kelly’s work, whilst contributing a distinct and substantive actor-related approach, recognised that leadership is one ingredient amongst other factors, including important structural opportunities and constraints. It considers three potential ambiguities/tensions within Kelly’s conceptualisation of leadership related to the social construction of workers’ interests, spontaneity of workers’ action and the ‘leader/follower’ interplay. The review also identifies two important limitations, related to the union member/bureaucracy dynamic and the role of left-wing political leadership, and concludes by signalling different forms of leadership relationships on which further refinement and development would be fruitful

Smooth goodness of fit tests for categorised composite null hypotheses

In this paper we construct a class of smooth goodness of fit tests of a composite multinomial null hypothesis. This class includes the Pearson--Fisher X2 test and its components, composite extensions of Rayner's (1987) overlapping tests and cell focusing tests. Simulations are given for a Poisson null.Components goodness of fit Pearson--Fisher X2 test score test size smooth alternatives

Inquiry-based project learning in early childhood: Time to develop localised understanding of this pedagogical approach

Ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te ao The child is the centre of the universe Who is the child in the 21st century? Industry 4.0 He kakano i ruia mai i Rangiatea What does the 21st Century child need to know? Inquiry based project work The issues and rationale for the research Aim of the study Data collection Findings: The dominance of the international discourse Evidence of localised curriculum and the influence of National discourse A need for further guidance on processes Discussion, cultural knot