Apples, oranges and money: II

Monetary policy - United States ; Money

Exploring the potential of the union equality representative

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a qualitative study of the views of a cross-section of union regional activists and officers on the potential of a newly developed equality representative role in promoting greater equality in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach – Findings are based on an analysis of interview data incorporating the views and experiences of 32 officers and activists currently promoting equality in a region of the UK. Findings – Findings suggest that this is an equality initiative whose time may have come. This conclusion, however, is tempered by respondents' belief that the equality representative project can only fulfil its potential if the role is mainstreamed into branch structures, policies and processes and, crucially, that the same statutory recognition enjoyed by other union representatives is granted to the equality representative. Research limitations/implications – The project is at an early stage of development. Therefore, findings are based on the views of significant proponents of union equality initiatives in the region of study. Further research is needed to assess the actual impact of the new representatives as they become active in their branches and organisations. Practical implications – There are clear implications for management in terms of allowing representatives facility time and thus sharing the potential benefits of this new source of equality expertise. For the unions, the challenge is to mainstream the new role at all levels of the union and negotiate adequate facility time for the equality representative. Originality/value – The research is one of the few studies focussing on this new union strategy for better addressing the equality needs of their members and offers a clear insight into its potential success

Apples, oranges and money: I

Monetary policy - United States ; Money

Receipt from Joseph Bennett

https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/ochre-court/1233/thumbnail.jp

Workplace mediation: the participant experience

This paper reports on a qualitative study of the perceptions and experiences of participants in workplace mediation. In total, 25 individuals, from a variety of occupations and organisations, were interviewed by researchers. The project sought to: explore the trajectory of individual disputes and assess participants’ views of the effectiveness of mediation provision and sustainability of outcomes. Furthermore, the research attempted to examine the broader impact of participation in mediation on the approach of individuals and organisations to the management of conflict

Vector Reflectometry in a Beam Waveguide

We present a one-port calibration technique for characterization of beam waveguide components with a vector network analyzer. This technique involves using a set of known delays to separate the responses of the instrument and the device under test. We demonstrate this technique by measuring the reflected performance of a millimeter-wave variable-delay polarization modulator

Half-Heusler semiconductors as piezoelectrics

One of the central challenges in materials science is the design of functional and multifunctional materials, in which large responses are produced by applied fields and stresses. A rapidly developing paradigm for the rational design of such materials is based on the first-principles study of a large materials family, the perovskite oxides being the prototypical case. Specifically, first-principles calculations of structure and properties are used to explore the microscopic origins of the functional properties of interest and to search a large space of equilibrium and metastable phases to identify promising candidate systems. In this paper, we use a first-principles rational-design approach to demonstrate semiconducting half-Heusler compounds as a previously-unrecognized class of piezoelectric materials, and to provide guidance for the experimental realization and further investigation of high-performance materials suitable for practical applications.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figues, 3 table

Space proof complexity for random 3-CNFs

We investigate the space complexity of refuting 3-CNFs in Resolution and algebraic systems. We prove that every Polynomial Calculus with Resolution refutation of a random 3-CNF φ in n variables requires, with high probability, distinct monomials to be kept simultaneously in memory. The same construction also proves that every Resolution refutation of φ requires, with high probability, clauses each of width to be kept at the same time in memory. This gives a lower bound for the total space needed in Resolution to refute φ. These results are best possible (up to a constant factor) and answer questions about space complexity of 3-CNFs

The Effect of Symmetry Lowering on the Dielectric Response of BaZrO3BaZrO_3

We use first-principles density functional theory calculations to investigate the dielectric response of BaZrO$_3$ perovskite. A previous study [Arkbarzadeh {\em et al.} Phys. Rev. B {\bf 72}, 205104 (2005)] reported a disagreement between experimental and theoretical low temperature dielectric constant $\epsilon$ for the high symmetry BaZrO$_3$ structure. We show that a fully relaxed 40-atom BaZrO$_3$ structure exhibits O$_6$ octahedral tilting, and $\epsilon$ that agrees with experiment. The change in $\epsilon$ from high-symmetry to low-symmetry structure is due to increased phonon frequencies as well as decreased mode effective charges.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure