The right to know: disclosure of information for collective bargaining and joint consultation

The legal obligation on employers to provide information to employees has grown since the early 1970s. At that time, the emphasis was on disclosure for collective bargaining. In the 1980s and 1990s, the emphasis shifted more to disclosure for joint consultation. In the context of new legislation, the possibility of further interventions from Europe, and a greater commitment to openness in other areas of company and public life, disclosure of information for collective bargaining and joint consultation at work is again on the agenda. This article focuses on disclosure for both of these processes. Disclosure for collective bargaining is the most developed and potentially significant area of the law from an industrial relations perspective. Disclosure for joint consultation, however, has been the most dynamic area in recent years. Voluntary information provision by firms has also been a significant part of developing human resource management practice. The paper therefore provides a broad examination of the law on disclosure. The UK provisions are conceptualised as constituting an agenda-driven disclosure model; i.e. the trigger for their use lies within the bargaining agenda. By contrast, the provisions stemming from European initiatives are event-driven; i.e. they are triggered by specific employer initiated events that affect employment contracts in other ways irrespective of the representative context. In the final sections, we attempt a broader evaluation of the intent and impact of the legislation and assess the pros and cons of the different approaches

Soil phosphorus status in organic and conventional vegetable farms in Southeast Queensland, Australia

The soil phosphorus (P) status (0-10 cm) of two farming systems (organic (OF) and conventional (CF) vegetable farms) at two locations (Gatton and Stanthorpe) was examined amongst a suite of soil fertility indicators. The P status was similar between farming systems, in contrast to some broad-acre organic systems. Examination of farm management records revealed substantial overlap between P inputs at both localities with CF systems also receiving organic inputs, e.g. green manure and composts. A statistical analysis of the effects of different inputs also indicated that P fertility did not vary significantly between farms. Soil P levels were medium to high across farm types indicating a potential environmental risk for vegetable producers particularly in sandy well drained soils. The three methods of extraction Colwell, Olsen and Resin were well correlated with each other and produced similar results indicating the similar nutrient pools exist between farming system

The Phoenicians in Arcadia Essai de Méthode en Mythologie Grecque: De l' Origine des Cultes Arcadiens: Victor Béraed. Paris: Thorin. 1894. 12fr.5O.

n/

Single Compound Forming A Lyotropic Liquid Crystal At Room Temperature

The compound triethanolammonium oleate forms a lamellar liquid crystal at room temperature. The basis for the lyotropic mesomorphism is the fact that part of the triethanolammonium oleate has changed to triethanolamine and oleic acid. These two compounds serve as solvents in the liquid crystalline structure. © 1984 American Chemical Society

Investigating the adjacent patient radiation dose received during a simulated ward chest X-ray examination

Introduction: A patient having a chest X-ray will inevitably be exposed to radiation from the primary beam. Using a light beam diaphragm (LBD) on the X-ray tube reduces scattered radiation at the X-ray tube through longitudinal and horizontal collimation. But not scattered secondary radiation resulting from interactions of the primary beam. This study aimed to investigate whether lead protection on simulated hospital ward inpatients (opposite and adjacent to a simulated chest X-ray examination) would change the secondary scattered radiation dose received. Method: Two rando phantoms (simulated patients) were positioned at different distances from the simulated patient receiving the chest X-ray. The phantoms were positioned one metre adjacent (either side of the phantom being X-rayed) and two metres opposite. The scattered radiation dose to radiosensitive organs (thyroid, breast, and gonads) was recorded using Thermoluminescent Dosimeters (TLDs). Six exposures were conducted, three with lead protection and three without. The mean radiation dose and standard deviation were compared using a paired two-sample t-test for statistical significance (p>0.05). Results: The lead protection reduced the radiation dose to the radiosensitive organs by 64%-100% (p=0.51-0.18) one metre adjacent and 65%-100% (p=0.65-0.18) two metres opposite. Noticeably the phantom two metres opposite had substantial individual organ dose reductions due to the distance from the primary beam. Conclusion: Lead aprons, thyroid collars, and distance reduced the radiation dose to the radiosensitive organs of the surrounding phantoms (simulated patients) from an adjacent chest X-ray examination and present opportunities for dose reduction techniques during ward chest X-ray examinations

Development and testing of Australian prehospital care quality indicators : study protocol

Introduction: Historically, ambulance services were established to provide rapid transport of patients to hospital. Contemporary prehospital care involves provision of sophisticated ‘mobile healthcare’ to patients across the lifespan presenting with a range of injuries or illnesses of varying acuity. Because of its young age, the paramedicine profession has until recently experienced a lack of research capacity which has led to paucity of a discipline-specific, scientific evidence-base. Therefore, the performance and quality of ambulance services has traditionally been measured using simple, evidence-poor indicators forming a deficient reflection of the true quality of care and providing little direction for quality improvement efforts. This paper reports the study protocol for the development and testing of quality indicators (QIs) for the Australian prehospital care setting. Methods and analysis: This project has three phases. In the first phase, preliminary work in the form of a scoping review was conducted which provided an initial list of QIs. In the subsequent phase, these QIs will be developed by aggregating them and by performing related rapid reviews. The summarised evidence will be used to support an expert consensus process aimed at optimising the clarity and evaluating the validity of proposed QIs. Finally, in the third phase those QIs deemed valid will be tested for acceptability, feasibility and reliability using mixed research methods. Evidence-based indicators can facilitate meaningful measurement of the quality of care provided. This forms the first step to identify unwarranted variation and direction for improvement work. This project will develop and test quality indicators for the Australian prehospital care setting. Ethics and dissemination: This project has been approved by the University of Adelaide Human Research Ethics Committee. Findings will be disseminated by publications in peer-reviewed journals, presentations at appropriate scientific conferences, as well as posts on social media and on the project’s website

The annual cycle of gross primary production, net community production, and export efficiency across the North Pacific Ocean

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2016. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Global Biogeochemical Cycles 30 (2016): 361–380, doi:10.1002/2015GB005318.We measured triple oxygen isotopes and oxygen/argon dissolved gas ratios as nonincubation-based geochemical tracers of gross oxygen production (GOP) and net community production (NCP) on 16 container ship transects across the North Pacific from 2008 to 2012. We estimate rates and efficiency of biological carbon export throughout the full annual cycle across the North Pacific basin (35°N–50°N, 142°E–125°W) by constructing mixed layer budgets that account for physical and biological influences on these tracers. During the productive season from spring to fall, GOP and NCP are highest in the Kuroshio region west of 170°E and decrease eastward across the basin. However, deep winter mixed layers (>200 m) west of 160°W ventilate ~40–90% of this seasonally exported carbon, while only ~10% of seasonally exported carbon east of 160°W is ventilated in winter where mixed layers are <120 m. As a result, despite higher annual GOP in the west than the east, the annual carbon export (sequestration) rate and efficiency decrease westward across the basin from export of 2.3 ± 0.3 mol C m−2 yr−1 east of 160°W to 0.5 ± 0.7 mol C m−2 yr−1 west of 170°E. Existing productivity rate estimates from time series stations are consistent with our regional productivity rate estimates in the eastern but not western North Pacific. These results highlight the need to estimate productivity rates over broad spatial areas and throughout the full annual cycle including during winter ventilation in order to accurately estimate the rate and efficiency of carbon sequestration via the ocean's biological pump.This work was funded by a NDSEG Fellowship from the Office of Naval Research, a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and an ARCS Foundation Fellowship to H.I.P. and by NSF Ocean Sciences (0628663 and 1259055 to P.D.Q.).2016-08-2