Needing a new programme : why is union membership so low among software workers?

In terms of employee characteristics, software workers represent a particularly fascinating and important group of workers to explore in terms of their behaviour towards unions. They represent an expanding cohort of so-called knowledge workers in the UK and other countries, many possessing considerable latent power through their proximity to and involvement with electronic means of production and accumulation. An early study of technical workers' unionism by Smith (1987) provides evidence that computer personnel possess at least some of Batstone et al's (1978) four potential sources of industrial power, namely: skill scarcity, strategic position, immediate impact on production, and potential to create uncertainty (Smith 1987: 104). Other writers, however, have hinted that software workers are no less immune to management pressures to routinise and Taylorise their work than are any other group of skilled workers (Kraft and Dubnoff 1986; Beirne et al 1998). Software workers also enjoy familiarity with information technology, an increasingly effective tool in organising union membership both in the USA (Fiorito et al 2002) and the UK (Diamond and Freeman 2002)

Voting at 16 – lessons for the future from the Scottish Referendum

The 2014 Referendum on Scottish independence raised many issues about the future of Scotland. It also produced an innovation as regards the electoral process by making 16 years the minimum age of participation. This article examines issues surrounding the voting age and draws on a schools-based study, which shed light on teacher and pupil opinion about this lower than usual threshold for voting. It is also concerned with how schools cover the teaching of politics and prepared students for the Referendum debate within a context of expected neutrality on a highly divisive matter. Some implications of extending the lower voting age for future elections are discussed

Learners’ confusion: faulty prior knowledge or a metacognitive monitoring error?

Research often treats confusion as a turning point of the learners’ cognitive-affective dynamics in digital environments (e.g. D’Mello, Grasser and colleagues). The origin of confusion, however, is a topic of a debate. Could inaccurate prior knowledge serve as a source of confusion, or does confusion relate to metacognitive processes? In this paper we are attempting to address this question by employing case study analysis with fourteen participants who worked through simulated learning problems with feedback in a digital environment. Physiological and self-reported data were combined to examine problem-solving patterns. Preliminary findings highlighted the role of metacognitive monitoring in confusion development and its interrelation with inaccurate prior knowledge.5 page(s

Muon spin rotation studies of niobium for superconducting RF applications

In this work we investigate superconducting properties of niobium samples via application of the muon spin rotation/relaxation (muSR) technique. We employ for the first time the muSR technique to study samples that are cutout from large and small grain 1.5 GHz radio frequency (RF) single cell niobium cavities. The RF test of these cavities was accompanied by full temperature mapping to characterize the RF losses in each of the samples. Results of the muSR measurements show that standard cavity surface treatments like mild baking and buffered chemical polishing (BCP) performed on the studied samples affect their surface pinning strength. We find an interesting correlation between high field RF losses and field dependence of the sample magnetic volume fraction measured via muSR. The muSR line width observed in ZF-muSR measurements matches the behavior of Nb samples doped with minute amounts of Ta or N impurities. An upper bound for the upper critical field Hc2 of these cutouts is found.Comment: 20 pages, 14 figure

Environmentally friendly anti-icing

The present invention describes an aqueous, non-electrolytic, non-toxic, biodegradable, continuous single phase liquid anti-icing or deicing composition for use on the surfaces of, for example, aircraft, airport pavements, roadways, walkways, bridges, entrances, structures, canals, locks, components, vessels, nautical components, railroad switches, and motor vehicles. The anti-icing or deicing composition comprises: (a) water; (b) a non-toxic freezing point depressant selected from the group consisting of monohydric alcohols having from 2 to 6 carbon atoms, polyhydric alcohols having from 3 to 12 carbon atoms, monomethyl or ethyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols having from 3 to 12 atoms or mixtures thereof, wherein the freezing point depressant present is between about 14 to 60 percent by weight; (c) a thickener which is present in between about 0.01 and 10 percent by weight; and (d) optionally a corrosion inhibitor which is present in between about 0.01 and 0.1 percent by weight of the total composition. In one embodiment, the deicing composition further includes (e) a monohydric primary aliphatic unbranched alcohol as a means of forming a thin layer of the composition on the surface of the structure to be given ice protection, and/or as means of forming a homogenized foam with xanthan thickener; which alcohol is selected from the group consisting of alcohols having between 8 to 24 carbon atoms, preferably, 1-dodecanol. Compositions of water, propylene glycol, and/or propanol and xanthan are preferred

Stretched exponential relaxation in the mode-coupling theory for the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation

We study the mode-coupling theory for the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation in the strong-coupling regime, focusing on the long time properties. By a saddle point analysis of the mode-coupling equations, we derive exact results for the correlation function in the long time limit - a limit which is hard to study using simulations. The correlation function at wavevector k in dimension d is found to behave asymptotically at time t as C(k,t)\simeq 1/k^{d+4-2z} (Btk^z)^{\gamma/z} e^{-(Btk^z)^{1/z}}, with \gamma=(d-1)/2, A a determined constant and B a scale factor.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages, 1 figur

Inside Out: Detecting Learners' Confusion to Improve Interactive Digital Learning Environments

Confusion is an emotion that is likely to occur while learning complex information. This emotion can be beneficial to learners in that it can foster engagement, leading to deeper understanding. However, if learners fail to resolve confusion, its effect can be detrimental to learning. Such detrimental learning experiences are particularly concerning within digital learning environments (DLEs), where a teacher is not physically present to monitor learner engagement and adapt the learning experience accordingly. However, with better information about a learner's emotion and behavior, it is possible to improve the design of interactive DLEs (IDLEs) not only in promoting productive confusion but also in preventing overwhelming confusion. This article reviews different methodological approaches for detecting confusion, such as self-report and behavioral and physiological measures, and discusses their implications within the theoretical framework of a zone of optimal confusion. The specificities of several methodologies and their potential application in IDLEs are discussed

Identification. The missing link between joint attention and imitation

In this paper we outline our hypothesis that human intersubjective engagement entails identifying with other people. We tested a prediction derived from this hypothesis that concerned the relation between a component of joint attention and a specific form of imitation. The empirical investigation involved “blind” ratings of videotapes from a recent study in which we tested matched children with and without autism for their propensity to imitate the self-/other-orientated aspects of another person's actions. The results were in keeping with three a priori predictions, as follows: (a) children with autism contrasted with control participants in spending more time looking at the objects acted upon and less time looking at the tester; (b) participants with autism showed fewer “sharing” looks toward the tester, and although they also showed fewer “checking” and “orientating” looks, they were specifically less likely to show any sharing looks; and, critically, (c) within each group, individual differences in sharing looks (only) were associated with imitation of self–other orientation. We suggest that the propensity to adopt the bodily anchored psychological stance of another person is essential to certain forms of joint attention and imitation, and that a weak tendency to identify with others is pivotal for the developmental psychopathology of autism

A comparison of systems for measuring methane emissions from sheep

Two experiments were conducted, at ADAS Drayton in the autumn and winter 1996/1997, to compare methane (CH4) emissions from sheep housed either in a polytunnel system or in open-circuit respiration chambers. In each system, the sheep received maintenance levels of either cut grass or high temperature dried grass pellets (HTDG). All experiments in the tunnel were conducted on concrete to avoid any interactions of the CH4 with the soil/plant environment. The results suggested that CH4 production from the open-circuit chambers was greater than from the tunnel system (26·9±0·46 v. 31·7±0·35 l/kg dry matter intake (±S.E.) for open circuit respiration chambers and tunnel, respectively). Recovery tests gave similar results for both systems (95·5–97·9% for tunnels and 89·2–96·7% for chambers), and confirmed that both methods give good quantitative recovery of added CH4, and can therefore be assumed to provide reliable estimates of emissions from animals. There is no technical explanation, therefore, for the different estimates of emissions provided by the two systems. Further studies are required to understand the reasons for the differences and in particular, the possible links between animal behaviour induced by the two systems and CH4 emission rates

Patterns of variability of retinol levels in a harbour porpoise population from an unpolluted environment

Organochlorine compounds (OC) are known to induce vitamin A (retinoids) deficiency in mammals, which may be associated with impairment of immunocompetence, reproduction and growth. This makes retinoids a potentially useful biomarker of organochlorine impact on marine mammals. However, use of retinoids as a biomarker requires knowledge about its intrapopulation patterns of variation in natural conditions, information which is not currently available. We investigated these patterns in a cetacean population living in an unpolluted environment. 100 harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena from West Greenland were sampled during the 1995 hunting season. Sex, age, morphometrics, nutritive condition, and retinol (following saponification) and OC levels in blubber were determined for each individual. OC levels found were extremely low and therefore considered unlikely to affect the population adversely: mean blubber concentrations, expressed on an extractable basis, were 2.04 (SD = 1.1) ppm for PCBs and 2.76 (SD = 1.66) ppm for tDDT. The mean blubber retinol concentration for the overall population was 59.66 (SD = 45.26) mu g g(-1). Taking into account the high contribution of blubber to body mass, blubber constitutes a significant body site for retinoid deposition in harbour porpoises. Retinol concentrations did not differ significantly between geographical regions or sexes, but they did correlate significantly (p <0.001) with age. Body condition, measured by determining the lipid content of the blubber, did not have a significant effect on retinol levels but the individuals examined were considered to be in an overall good nutritive condition. It is concluded that measurement of retinol concentrations in blubber samples is feasible and has a potential for use as a biomarker of organochlorine exposure in cetaceans. However, in order to do so, biological information, particularly age, is critical for the correct assessment of physiological impac