Can employment restructuring be implemented responsibly? A case study of SteelCo's 'Socially Responsible Restructuring' process

This thesis contributes to knowledge about, and understanding of, the implementation of responsible approaches to employment restructuring. The empirical focus is a case study of a UK steel plant (SteelCo) and a restructuring process involving the removal of 1700 jobs across two restructuring programmes from the period 2011-2015. Management described its approach to restructuring as ‘socially responsible restructuring’ (SRR). The central argument of the research is the thesis that the concept of responsible restructuring is more appropriately characterised by a best fit approach that recognises contexts such as the contingencies of local organisational and institutional factors, the particularities of industrial relations, the histories of restructuring and the occupational identity of the workforce. The thesis also presents a conceptual framework that utilises four categories of responsibility based on a synthesis of the prevailing literature that reflects the ways that responsible approaches to restructuring has been researched currently. These categories of responsibility are identified as the regulatory, procedural, communication and employment responsibilities. The research thus explores the rationale, processes, practices, interactions and dynamics of SteelCo’s putative SRR process. The findings identify three contextual variables most pertinent to the implementation of SteelCo’s SRR process. Firstly, the role of trade unions in both supporting affected employees through the restructuring, and the HR team in the design and delivery of the process, suggests that although the unions’ involvement represents an accommodation to management’s decision to restructure, unions can maintain a positive role in the management of change. Secondly, historical, long existing restructuring practices were reframed and repackaged by management through a rhetoric of ‘being responsible’, suggesting that a responsible restructuring strategy offers management a way to legitimise the implementation of an employment restructuring process. Lastly, the findings demonstrate how social, cultural, material and experiential factors associated with the steelworker occupational identity meant that employees had internalised the experience of restructuring. That is, dealing with restructuring and its effects was met with a degree of equanimity by employees, as it had become part of what it meant to work at SteelCo. Following this, the thesis calls for greater attention to be paid to the experiences of a new analytical category of inbetweeners, as employees who fall within the interstices of victim and survivor status

Learning Mixtures of Gaussians in High Dimensions

Efficiently learning mixture of Gaussians is a fundamental problem in statistics and learning theory. Given samples coming from a random one out of k Gaussian distributions in Rn, the learning problem asks to estimate the means and the covariance matrices of these Gaussians. This learning problem arises in many areas ranging from the natural sciences to the social sciences, and has also found many machine learning applications. Unfortunately, learning mixture of Gaussians is an information theoretically hard problem: in order to learn the parameters up to a reasonable accuracy, the number of samples required is exponential in the number of Gaussian components in the worst case. In this work, we show that provided we are in high enough dimensions, the class of Gaussian mixtures is learnable in its most general form under a smoothed analysis framework, where the parameters are randomly perturbed from an adversarial starting point. In particular, given samples from a mixture of Gaussians with randomly perturbed parameters, when n > {\Omega}(k^2), we give an algorithm that learns the parameters with polynomial running time and using polynomial number of samples. The central algorithmic ideas consist of new ways to decompose the moment tensor of the Gaussian mixture by exploiting its structural properties. The symmetries of this tensor are derived from the combinatorial structure of higher order moments of Gaussian distributions (sometimes referred to as Isserlis' theorem or Wick's theorem). We also develop new tools for bounding smallest singular values of structured random matrices, which could be useful in other smoothed analysis settings

High dose, fast delivery magnesium sulphate in a 3-year-old acute severe asthmatic

Acute severe asthma when respiratory failure is imminent is not addressed in world asthma guidelines. Intravenous magnesium sulphate, salbutamol and aminophylline all have advocates but what order, speed of delivery or dosage is left up to the individual physician treating the patient. A child in respiratory failure was given a large, fast dose of intravenous magnesium sulphate before intravenous salbutamol which relaxed bronchial smooth muscle immediately and tracheal intubation and lung ventilation was avoided. Justification for this treatment is discussed

Reconsidering the New Normal: Trauma, Vulnerability & Resilience in Post-Katrina New Orleans

Traumatic anthropogenic or natural disasters can redefine the ecological and social diversity of cities, with "new normal" conditions often emerging in post-trauma urban landscapes. The objective of our ULTRA project is to examine how the pace and trajectory of recovery in post-Katrina New Orleans reflect ecological and social diversity. Specifically, we are examining potential parallels and interactions between ecological and social diversity within and among neighborhoods, and across the New Orleans metropolitan area. We are doing so by (1) organizing and coordinating a network of scholars and practitioners to exchange experience and knowledge and thereby advance understanding of connections between diversity and recovery in post-trauma urban ecosystems; (2) assembling a central data archive on the structure and diversity of ecological communities of New Orleans, which involves conducting an inventory of the post-Katrina urban forest; (4) and conducting a GIS-based spatial analysis of pre- and post-trauma landscape and social metrics derived from satellite imagery and the 2000 and 2010 federal census, analyzed for diversification and compared to stabilization metrics. This citywide study is being supplemented with three fine-grained studies in the neighborhoods of the Lower Ninth Ward, Hollygrove, and Pontchartrain Park. Qualitative data collected in these neighborhoods provides insight into the relationships between trauma and ecological and social diversity, and identify variation in the timing, pace, and trajectory of neighborhood recovery. In the future, we will expand our efforts to consider how diversity reflects the availability and valuation of ecosystem services in post-trauma urban landscapes. Our intent is to develop New Orleans as a natural laboratory for the study of ecological and community resiliency

Long-Term Pyrene Exposure of Grass Shrimp, \u3ci\u3ePalaemonetes pugio\u3c/i\u3e, Affects Molting and Reproduction of Exposed Males and Offspring of Exposed Females

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of long-term pyrene exposure on molting and reproduction in the model estuarine invertebrate, the grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio). Grass shrimp were exposed to measured concentrations of 5.1, 15.0, and 63.4 ppb (mu g/L) pyrene for 6 weeks, during which time we determined molting and survivorship. At the end of the exposure, we immediately sacrificed some of the shrimp for biomarker (CYP1A and vitellin) analyses. The remaining shrimp were used to analyze fecundity and embryo survivorship during an additional 6 weeks after termination of pyrene exposure. Male shrimp at the highest pyrene dose (63 ppb) experienced a significant delay in molting and in time until reproduction, and showed elevated ethoxycoumarin o-deethylase (ECOD) activity immediately after the 6-week exposure period. In contrast, 63 ppb pyrene did not affect these parameters in female shrimp. Females produced the same number of eggs per body weight, with high egg viability (98-100%) at all exposure levels, but with decreased survival for the offspring of the 63-ppb pyrene-exposed females. In addition, vitellin levels were elevated only in females at 63 ppb pyrene after the 6-week exposure. We hypothesize that the elevated vitellin binds pyrene and keeps it biologically unavailable to adult females, resulting in maternal transfer of pyrene to the embryos. This would account for the lack of effect of pyrene exposure on ECOD activity, molting, and reproduction in the adult females, and for reduced survival of their offspring

'10% of your medical students will cause 90% of your problems': a prospective correlational study

• Objectives Our aim was to explore the relationship between medical student Conscientiousness Index scores and indicators of later clinical performance held in the UK Medical Education Database. Objectives were to determine whether conscientiousness in first and second year medical students predicts later performance in medical school and in early practice. Policy implications would permit targeted remediation where necessary or aid in selection. • Design Prospective correlational study • Setting A single UK medical school and early years of practice, 2005-2018. • Participants Data were obtained from the UK Medical Education Database (UKMED) on 858 students. Full outcome data was available for variable numbers of participants, as described in the text. • Main outcome measures Scores on the UK Foundation Programme Office’s Situational Judgement Test (SJT) and Educational Performance Measure (EPM), the Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA), and Annual Review of Competency Progression (ARCP) outcomes. • Results Linear regression analysis shows Conscientiousness Index scores significantly correlate with pre- and postgraduate performance variables,: SJT scores (R=0.373, R2=0.139, B=0.066, p<0.001, n=539); PSA scores (R=0.249, R2=0.062, B=0.343, p<0.001, n=462); EPM decile scores for the 1st (lowest) decile are significantly lower than the remaining 90% (P=0.003, n=539), as are PSA scores (p<0.001, n=463), and ARCP Year 2 scores (p=0.019, n=517). The Odds Ratio that students in the 1st decile fail to achieve the optimum ARCP outcome is 1.6126 (CI 1.1400 to 2.2809, p=0.0069, n=618). • Conclusions Conscientiousness Index scores in Year 1 and 2 of medical school have predictive value for later performance in knowledge, skills and clinical practice. This trait could be used either for selection, or for targeted remediation to avoid potential problems in the future

A study to investigate the effectiveness of SimMan® as an adjunct in teaching preclinical skills to medical students

Background: Following the GMC’s report on Tomorrow’s Doctors, greater emphasis has been placed on training in clinical skills, and the integration of clinical and basic sciences within the curriculum to promote the development of effective doctors. The use of simulation in the learning environment has the potential to support the development of clinical skills in preclinical medical students whilst in a ‘safe’ environment, but currently there is little evidence on its effectiveness. Methods: Seventy nine year one medical students were divided into two groups. A pre-test was conducted by both groups, after which one group performed chest examination on their peers whilst the other group examined the SimMan® manikin. Both groups subsequently performed a mid-test and crossed over so that the group that conducted peer examination examined the manikin and vice-versa. Finally a post-test was conducted. The students were scored for formative feedback whilst performing examinations. Students completed a feedback questionnaire at the end of the session. Data were analysed using a one-way ANOVA, independent t-test and 2- proportion Z test. Results: When the two groups were compared, there was no significant difference in their pre-test and post-test knowledge scores, whereas mid-test knowledge scores increased significantly (P < 0.001), with the group using SimMan® initially scoring higher. A significant increase in the test scores was seen in both groups after using SimMan® (P < 0.001). Students’ confidence increased significantly in differentiating between normal and abnormal signs (P < 0.001). Students highly valued the use of the manikin in the session with 96% of students reporting that it enhanced their learning experience. Conclusions: The study demonstrated a significant improvement in the students’ knowledge after examining the manikin and students also reported an increase in their confidence. Students’ feedback was generally very positive and they perceived the incorporation of manikin-based examinations useful to prepare them for future patient contact. The use of simulation in this context supports an integrated learning approach when used as an adjunct to peer examination, and can benefit the acquisition of clinical skills in preclinical medical students