Understanding whether local employment charters could support fairer employment practices:Research Briefing Note

Employment charters are voluntary initiatives that attempt to describe ‘good’ employment practices and to engage and recognise those employers that meet or aspire to meet these practices. They can operate at different spatial scales, ranging from international and national accreditation schemes to local charters that focus on engaging employers in specific regions or cities. The latter are the focus of this briefing paper. At least six city-regions in England had local employment charters at the time of our research. These areas alone account for over a fifth (21 per cent) of the resident working-age population (based on ONS 2022 population estimates), highlighting the potential reach and significance of these voluntary initiatives in terms of setting employment standards, although the number of employers directly accredited with local schemes is still relatively small. Despite their popularity with policymakers, there is only limited research on local employment charters. A few studies have explored issues relating to the design, implementation and evaluation of charters, reflecting demand from policymakers for toolkits and support to develop local policy initiatives (e.g. Crozier, 2022). But several years into the implementation of some of these charter initiatives, and as more areas look to develop their own, we argue that it is time to revisit some more foundational questions around what local charters are for, and how far they can support ‘good work’ agendas. It remains to be seen which employers can and will engage substantively with these initiatives, how employer commitments might be validated and the good employment criteria enforced, and how local charters will be integrated with local authority commissioning and procurement practices (TUC, 2022). The local charters that have emerged so far within the UK have been conceived predominantly as employer engagement tools, adopting language and approaches designed to appeal to employer interests and priorities and emphasising the value that employers can derive from being part of the initiative. This contrasts with approaches emphasising the engagement of other constituents, like citizens and employees, as a route to influencing employer engagement (Scott, Baylor and Spaulding, 2016; Johnson, Herman and Hughes, 2022). This briefing paper shares findings from a scoping study involving key informants in the North West of England (2022-2023) which explored how local charter initiatives could influence employers to improve their employment practices. Participants in the study shared their views on:1) How voluntary local employment charters could influence employers to change their employment practices? 2) What types of employers local charters could engage and influence?Alongside this study, we have also developed a series of case studies of the charters that have been introduced across six city regions in England. These encompass the Fair Work Standard (London); Good Employment Charter (West of England); Good Work Pledge (North of Tyne Combined Authority); Fair Employment Charter (Liverpool City Region Combined Authority); Good Employment Charter (Greater Manchester) and the Fair Work Charter (West Yorkshire Combined Authority). The case studies are published separately. Our conversations with policymakers, union representatives and campaigners indicate that while there are some potential ‘win-win’ outcomes from promoting good employment practices, there are also some key tensions that should be more clearly acknowledged. In particular, one point of divergence relates to what would be the most effective and meaningful way to engage with employers in order to secure improvements in employment practices. On the one hand, employment charter initiatives could set consistent, clear and relatively high standards of practice that employers could be required to meet from the outset, creating a clear dividing line between those employers who were engaged in some way with the initiative and those who are not. On the other, these initiatives could prioritise engaging as many employers as possible with few or no specific red lines (e.g. around paying the living wage) so that the charter provides an opportunity to work with employers to secure hopefully more substantive commitments down the road.There are challenges and trade-offs associated with both of these viewpoints. One problem with the former strategy of setting a consistent standard is that the principles of employment that the charter promotes may not be particularly stretching in some sectors, or indeed may only describe a minimum set of commitments for certain types of work; whilst in other sectors they may be viewed as being too stringent. A more incremental, flexible strategy of engaging with employers and working with them to change their employment practices, in contrast, relies on sustained commitment from both policymakers and employers. Whether charters can simultaneously offer a ‘safe space’ to employers to share information and change their practices whilst also operating in a more regulatory way appears as a fundamental tension in existing visions for these initiatives. We return to these different views on how to engage employers and secure change in the conclusion to this paper

Sustaining solidarity through social media? Employee social media groups as an emerging platform for collectivism in Pakistan

Forging solidarity or a collective approach amongst seemingly privileged white-collar professionals has been seen as challenging process. However, many banking employees in Pakistan feel marginalized and lack formal collective mechanisms within their workplaces to voice their concerns, leading some to participate in social-media groups. Drawing on various discussions linked to labour process perspectives, we examine how these banking employees use social media as a means to create broader and diverse collective bonds within their profession and build bridges to similar employees in other organizations within the sector. By doing so, we reveal that employees post on social media to express and affirm their concerns, offer broader support with one another, ‘cope’ with existing circumstances, highlight their unrewarded professionalism, and share relevant information around collective issues and experiences. Employees do not solely use social media to voice their immediate criticisms about their work. The paper draws on and contributes to new debates on collectivism and solidarity, revealing the opportunities for actions on social media

Low resistance subgrade 2D numerical simulation stabilized with oversized granular material (boulders)

Among several subgrade stabilization alternatives, the improvement with oversized material (boulders of approximately 10-inches in size) has traditionally been used. The Boulders form a thick mineral skeleton that supports the structure and favors moisture control. Nowadays, this technique is not included within the design protocols of Colombia. In this research, the mechanical properties of the pavement are quantitatively evaluated through 2D-numerical-elastic modeling employing the improvement of soft subgrades with boulders. Comparative studies of performance and analysis of the fundamental variables in pavement design are carried out through 2D-numerical modeling. This way, guidelines to sketch a design protocol are suggested to improve mechanical properties in soft subgrades through the inclusion of oversized material.Dentro de las alternativas de estabilización de subrasantes existe tradicionalmente el mejoramiento con material de sobretamaño o rajón, tamaño aproximado de 10 pulgadas. El rajón forma un esqueleto mineral grueso que soporta la estructura y favorece el control de humedad. Esta técnica no tiene un protocolo de diseño establecido actualmente en Colombia. Esta investigación evalúa mediante simulación numérica elástica 2D, y de manera cuantitativa, el aumento de propiedades mecánicas del conjunto del pavimento, mediante el mejoramiento de subrasantes blandas con material de sobretamaño (rajón). A partir de las modelaciones numéricas 2D se realizan comparativas de comportamiento y análisis de los resultados de variables fundamentales en el diseño de pavimentos. De esta manera, la investigación proporciona lineamientos para un protocolo de diseño para el mejoramiento de propiedades mecánicas de subrasantes blandas, mediante el mejoramiento de las mismas con material de sobretamaño.&nbsp

Factors associated with the number of drugs in darunavir/cobicistat regimens.

Background: Darunavir/cobicistat can be used as mono, dual, triple or more than triple therapy. Objectives: To assess factors associated with the number of drugs in darunavir/cobicistat regimens. Methods: A nationwide retrospective cohort study of consecutive HIV-infected patients initiating darunavir/cobicistat in Spain from July 2015 to May 2017. Baseline characteristics, efficacy and safety at 48 weeks were compared according to the number of drugs used. Results: There were 761 patients (75% men, 98% were antiretroviral-experienced, 32% had prior AIDS, 84% had HIV RNA <50 copies/mL and 88% had ≥200 CD4 cells/mm3) who initiated darunavir/cobicistat as mono (n=308, 40%), dual (n=173, 23%), triple (n=253, 33%) or four-drug (n=27, 4%) therapy. Relative to monotherapy, triple therapy was more common in men aged <50 years, with prior AIDS and darunavir plus ritonavir use, and with CD4 cells <200/mm3 and with detectable viral load at initiation of darunavir/cobicistat; dual therapy was more common with previous intravenous drug use, detectable viral load at initiation of darunavir/cobicistat and no prior darunavir plus ritonavir; and four-drug therapy was more common with prior AIDS and detectable viral load at initiation of darunavir/cobicistat. Monotherapy and dual therapy showed a trend to better virological responses than triple therapy. CD4 responses and adverse effects did not differ among regimens. Discussion: Darunavir/cobicistat use in Spain has been tailored according to clinical characteristics of HIV-infected patients. Monotherapy and dual therapy have been common and preferentially addressed to older patients with a better HIV status, suggesting that health issues other than HIV infection may have been strong determinants of its prescription.The CODAR study (Gesida Study no 9316) was sponsored by Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología-Grupo de Estudio del SIDA (SEIMC-GESIDA). This work was supported by Janssen Cilag S.A. and Red de Investigacion en Sida (RIS): RIS-EST29 and RD12/0017/0001, RD12/0017/0005, RD17/0017/0022 and RD17/0017/0029

Second-generation colon capsule endoscopy compared with colonoscopy

Colon capsule endoscopy (CCE) represents a noninvasive technology that allows visualization of the colon without requiring sedation and air insufflation. A second-generation colon capsule endoscopy system (PillCam Colon 2) (CCE-2) was developed to increase sensitivity for colorectal polyp detection compared with the first-generation system. OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility, accuracy, and safety of CCE-2 in a head-to-head comparison with colonoscopy. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective, multicenter trial including 8 European sites. PATIENTS: This study involved 117 patients (mean age 60 years). Data from 109 patients were analyzed. INTERVENTION: CCE-2 was prospectively compared with conventional colonoscopy as the criterion standard for the detection of colorectal polyps that are >/=6 mm or masses in a cohort of patients at average or increased risk of colorectal neoplasia. Colonoscopy was independently performed within 10 hours after capsule ingestion or on the next day. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: CCE-2 sensitivity and specificity for detecting patients with polyps >/=6 mm and >/=10 mm were assessed. Capsule-positive but colonoscopy-negative cases were counted as false positive. Capsule excretion rate, level of bowel preparation, and rate of adverse events also were assessed. RESULTS: Per-patient CCE-2 sensitivity for polyps >/=6 mm and >/=10 mm was 84% and 88%, with specificities of 64% and 95%, respectively. All 3 invasive carcinomas were detected by CCE-2. The capsule excretion rate was 88% within 10 hours. Overall colon cleanliness for CCE-2 was adequate in 81% of patients. LIMITATIONS: Not unblinding the CCE-2 results at colonoscopy; heterogenous patient population; nonconsecutive patients. CONCLUSION: In this European, multicenter study, CCE-2 appeared to have a high sensitivity for the detection of clinically relevant polypoid lesions, and it might be considered an adequate tool for colorectal imaging

Outcomes of elective liver surgery worldwide: a global, prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study

Background: The outcomes of liver surgery worldwide remain unknown. The true population-based outcomes are likely different to those vastly reported that reflect the activity of highly specialized academic centers. The aim of this study was to measure the true worldwide practice of liver surgery and associated outcomes by recruiting from centers across the globe. The geographic distribution of liver surgery activity and complexity was also evaluated to further understand variations in outcomes. Methods: LiverGroup.org was an international, prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study following the Global Surgery Collaborative Snapshot Research approach with a 3-month prospective, consecutive patient enrollment within January–December 2019. Each patient was followed up for 90 days postoperatively. All patients undergoing liver surgery at their respective centers were eligible for study inclusion. Basic demographics, patient and operation characteristics were collected. Morbidity was recorded according to the Clavien–Dindo Classification of Surgical Complications. Country-based and hospital-based data were collected, including the Human Development Index (HDI). (NCT03768141). Results: A total of 2159 patients were included from six continents. Surgery was performed for cancer in 1785 (83%) patients. Of all patients, 912 (42%) experienced a postoperative complication of any severity, while the major complication rate was 16% (341/2159). The overall 90-day mortality rate after liver surgery was 3.8% (82/2,159). The overall failure to rescue rate was 11% (82/ 722) ranging from 5 to 35% among the higher and lower HDI groups, respectively. Conclusions: This is the first to our knowledge global surgery study specifically designed and conducted for specialized liver surgery. The authors identified failure to rescue as a significant potentially modifiable factor for mortality after liver surgery, mostly related to lower Human Development Index countries. Members of the LiverGroup.org network could now work together to develop quality improvement collaboratives

Joint Observation of the Galactic Center with MAGIC and CTA-LST-1

MAGIC is a system of two Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), designed to detect very-high-energy gamma rays, and is operating in stereoscopic mode since 2009 at the Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos in La Palma, Spain. In 2018, the prototype IACT of the Large-Sized Telescope (LST-1) for the Cherenkov Telescope Array, a next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory, was inaugurated at the same site, at a distance of approximately 100 meters from the MAGIC telescopes. Using joint observations between MAGIC and LST-1, we developed a dedicated analysis pipeline and established the threefold telescope system via software, achieving the highest sensitivity in the northern hemisphere. Based on this enhanced performance, MAGIC and LST-1 have been jointly and regularly observing the Galactic Center, a region of paramount importance and complexity for IACTs. In particular, the gamma-ray emission from the dynamical center of the Milky Way is under debate. Although previous measurements suggested that a supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* plays a primary role, its radiation mechanism remains unclear, mainly due to limited angular resolution and sensitivity. The enhanced sensitivity in our novel approach is thus expected to provide new insights into the question. We here present the current status of the data analysis for the Galactic Center joint MAGIC and LST-1 observations