Patterns of Employee Particpation and Industrial Democracy in UK ESOPs

This paper examines the institutional characteristics of UK ESOPs and considers the extent to which ESOPs extend employee participation and industrial democracy. It is suggested that ESOPs in themselves do not extend industrial democracy. Instead patterns of employee participation are substantially determined by the goals of those primarily responsible for establishing the ESOP. Three constellations of ESOPs are discerned on the basis of their participative characteristics: `technical ESOPs' where there is little or no development of industrial democracy; `paternalist ESOPs' which tend to develop individualistic forms of employee participation; and `representative ESOPs' where new institutions are created to give some opportunity for involvement of employee representatives in top decisions.

Validation of a Scaled Plane Strain Hypervelocity Gouging Model

The phenomenon of high speed impact is of great interest to the Air Force of Scientific Research and the Air Force Research Laboratory\u27s Holloman High Speed test track. Rocket sled tests at the facility frequently are limited to velocities lower than actually attainable due to damage to the rail in the form of gouges. Direct observation of the gouging phenomenon is not currently possible. This leaves computational modeling as the only means to study the phenomenon. A computer model has previously been used to model the development of gouging at the Holloman High Speed Test Track. However, this model has not been experimentally verifiable due to its complexity. This research is primarily concerned with comparing experiment and analysis of a simplified gouging model. This simplified gouging experiment utilized a 30 mm powder gun to shoot cylindrical projectiles at a target at oblique angles. Computer simulations of the event overestimated penetration depths by 13 to 29 percent, which is well within acceptable limits. Using dimensional analysis, the simplified gouging model was scaled up to an equivalent sled system model. While this equivalent system does not actually exist, it does give reasonable estimates for similar sized systems

Introducing the Game Design Matrix: A Step-by-Step Process for Creating Serious Games

The Game Design Matrix makes effective game design accessible to novice game designers. Serious Games are a powerful tool for educators seeking to boost the level of student engagement and application in academic environments, but the can be difficult to incorporate into existing courses due to availability and the cost of quality game design. The Game Design Matrix was used by two educators, novice game designers, to create a serious game. The games were assessed in an academic setting and observed to be effective in engagement, interaction, and achieving higher levels of learning

The Statistics of the BATSE Spectral Features

The absence of a BATSE line detection in a gamma-ray burst spectrum during the mission's first six years has led to a statistical analysis of the occurrence of lines in the BATSE burst database; this statistical analysis will still be relevant if lines are detected. We review our methodology, and present new simulations of line detectability as a function of the line parameters. We also discuss the calculation of the number of ``trials'' in the BATSE database, which is necessary for our line detection criteria.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, AIPPROC LaTeX, to appear in "Gamma-Ray Bursts, 4th Huntsville Symposium," eds. C. Meegan, R. Preece and T. Koshu

NASA SSERVI Contributions to Lunar Science and Exploration

NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) represents a close collaboration between science, technology and exploration that will enable deeper understanding of the Moon and other airless bodies as we move further out of low-Earth orbit. The new Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) will focus on the scientific aspects of exploration as they pertain to the Moon, Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) and the moons of Mars. The Institute focuses on interdisciplinary, exploration-related science centered around all airless bodies targeted as potential human destinations. Areas of study reported here will represent the broad spectrum of lunar, NEA, and Martian moon sciences encompassing investigations of the surface, interior, exosphere, and near-space environments as well as science uniquely enabled from these bodies. We will provide a detailed look at research being conducted by each of the 9 domestic US teams as well as our 7 international partners. The research profile of the Institute integrates investigations of plasma physics, geology/geochemistry, technology integration, solar system origins/evolution, regolith geotechnical properties, analogues, volatiles, ISRU and exploration potential of the target bodies

Time Dependent Clustering Analysis of the Second BATSE Gamma-Ray Burst Catalog

A time dependent two-point correlation-function analysis of the BATSE 2B catalog finds no evidence of burst repetition. As part of this analysis, we discuss the effects of sky exposure on the observability of burst repetition and present the equation describing the signature of burst repetition in the data. For a model of all burst repetition from a source occurring in less than five days we derive upper limits on the number of bursts in the catalog from repeaters and model-dependent upper limits on the fraction of burst sources that produce multiple outbursts.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, uuencoded compressed PostScript, 11 pages with 4 embedded figure

Using Schlossberg\u27s transition theory to identify coping strategies of welfare recipients attending postsecondary institutions.

Using Schlossberg\u27s transition theory as the conceptual framework, this case study explored and identified the coping strategies used by seven welfare recipients attending postsecondary institutions. Three participants were enrolled in the local community college, three in a local 4-year research intuition and one attended four-year private institution. The case study used semi-structured interviews and each participant were interviewed three times over a three-month period. The findings identified multiple personal and psychological barriers to persistence. The participants had histories of childhood sexual abuse, rape, and domestic violence. Friends and community agencies, rather than family, provided the primary sources of emotional and financial support. To extend TANF benefits participants used school loans circumventing Temporary Assistant for Needy Families (TANF) work requirement. Sources of stress included time management, problems with caseworkers and the recertification process and male relationships. The study found that prayer/ spirituality was the primary coping strategy used by all the participants. Other coping strategies included brainstorming/writing, avoidance, and wishful thinking

The migration of radioactive caesium and strontium through a bentonite-like clay

A number of leaks of radioactive liquors to ground are known to have occurred from several plant buildings, vaults and disposal trenches within and around the Separation area at the Sellafield nuclear site over the past 50 years1. The most significant of these leaks have occurred from the Magnox Silo, the Caesium Extraction Plant, the Magnox Reprocessing Pump House, the Sludge Storage Tanks, the Burial Pits and the Medium Active Evaporation and Thermal Denitration Plant. The radioactive contamination will be accompanied by other components of spent fuel reprocessing, including inorganic salts from neutralised acids, solvents and other organic compounds along with the typical contaminants commonly associated with large industrial activity such as heavy metals, fuel, oils, degreasing agents etc. The research in this thesis describes the effects of common industrial contaminants on the behaviour of Cs and Sr sorption to bentonite and montmorillonite clay minerals. Batch sorption experiments of Cs and Sr uptake onto bentonite and montmorillonite in a number of complex systems were investigated as follows: 1.Initial batch sorption experiments investigating the normal behaviour of the clay minerals. 2.Introduction of anthropogenic organic ligands EDTA, NTA and picolinic acid into the system and their influence on Sr and Cs uptake. 3.Time dependent studies investigating the effect that residence time of the anthropogenic organic ligands has on the sorption properties of montmorillonite and bentonite. 4.Quaternary systems where simulant Magnox sludge equilibrated water, at a number of concentrations, was introduced to ternary systems containing anthropogenic organic ligands. 5.Time dependent studies investigating the effect of hydrocarbons TCE, toluene and naphthalene on the uptake of Cs and Sr to bentonite and montmorillonite. The batch sorption experiments show that the presence of anthropogenic organic ligands reduces the uptake of Cs and Sr by both montmorillonite and bentonite. It is also shown that the presence of simulant Magnox sludge in quaternary systems can also reduce the uptake of Cs and Sr, with significant reductions in sorption observed for Sr sorption in EDTA quaternary systems. Further, the uptake of Cs and Sr to bentonite and montmorillonite appears to decrease with increasing anthropogenic organic ligand residence time. This suggests that the ligands are altering the surface of the clay minerals reducing the number of available binding sites. The influence of hydrocarbons shows a significant decrease in sorption after 3 months for Cs and Sr sorption to montmorillonite. There were no further significant changes for all other hydrocarbon systems investigated

Infrared studies of dust grains in infrared reflection nebulae

IR reflection nebulae, regions of dust which are illuminated by nearby embedded sources, were observed in several regions of ongoing star formation. Near IR observation and theoretical modelling of the scattered light form IR reflection nebulae can provide information about the dust grain properties in star forming regions. IR reflection nebulae were modelled as plane parallel slabs assuming isotropically scattering grains. For the grain scattering properties, graphite and silicate grains were used with a power law grain size distribution. Among the free parameters of the model are the stellar luminosity and effective temperature, the optical depth of the nebula, and the extinction by foreground material. The typical results from this model are presented and discussed