EQUAL PAY – THE TIME-BOMB UNDER PAY STRUCTURES IN ROMANIA

One of the major consequences of Romania joining the European Union is its obligation to implement European Directives with regard to employment protection. One aspect of that is likely to have major social and cost implications is the legislation regarding equal pay for men and women. The dimension of equal pay for work that is the same or broadly similar is relatively straightforward. The more complicated and more far reaching requirement is for equal pay for men and women for work of equal value. In determining whether jobs are of equal value regard has to had in particular to effort, skill and decision making. Comparisons are valid with other jobs in the same organisation but not between organisations. In addition comparisons are only legally valid if they are on the basis that a person of the opposite sex is being paid more for work of equivalent value. Such comparisons are subjective and often very complicated. Job evaluation schemes can help in creating a framework for comparison but being inherently subjective are open to challenge. The situation is further complicated by the fact that comparisons can also be made on any one element of the remuneration package. Experience in the U.K. and other member EU countries is that equal pay claims are very much on the rise, can take years to resolve and can be hugely expensive. Although legal costs can be significant the main costs are in settling group claims and the ‘knock-on’ effect on the rest of an organisation’s pay structure. Whilst it may take time for this development to gather pace in Romania now is the time for organisations to review their pay structures and take preventative action to try and reduce the conflict that will inevitably occur.employment protection, equal pay, equal pay for work of equal value, pay structures

Nitrogen fixation and soil nitrogen in organic ley arable rotations

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. Nitrogen (N) fixation in a white clover/ryegrass mixture was measured in 1,2,3 and 4-year-old organically managed leys during 2000. N fixation varied between 73.7 in 1-year-old leys and 33.5 kg ha-1 in 4-year-old leys. Soil nitrate-N, grass N yield and N content of grass and clover were all lowest in 2-year-old leys and highest in 3-year-old leys. The proportion of clover nitrogen derived from the atmosphere (pNdfa) was significantly lower in 3-year-old leys

How new technologies are violating women’s rights in Saudi Arabia

Christine Chinkin and Madeleine Rees consider the scope and content of International Law at the intersection of new technologies, violence against women and war

Commentary on Security Council resolution 2467: continued state obligation and civil society action on sexual violence in conflict

Resolution 2467, the latest UN Security Council (SC) Resolution on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), adopted on 23 April 2019, has been greeted with scepticism and dismay with respect to advancement of the WPS agenda. Two concerns predominate: that this Resolution – along with the previous eight WPS Resolutions – lacks binding legal force; and that this Resolution in particular weakens the WPS agenda and thus the ability of civil society to use it for advancing women’s rights during and in the aftermath of conflict. In this Commentary we argue that there are reasons for optimism with respect to these issues and that this Resolution, in conjunction with the earlier WPS Resolutions, ensures continuation of State legal obligations and the basis for civil society action for implementation of those obligations

Our male leaders declared war on the pandemic. our response must match that.

Since the pandemic began the language used has been one of war where militarism has been the default position in our response. Christine Chinkin and Madeleine Rees tell us why we must seek an alternative to this militarised thinking, and why now is the time to challenge the current system of power and patriarchy, to revive the women, peace and security agenda, and set a post-pandemic framework based on wellbeing not political gain

Reversible Protonated Resting State of the Nitrogenase Active Site

Protonated states of the nitrogenase active site are mechanistically significant since substrate reduction is invariably accompanied by proton uptake. We report the low pH characterization by X-ray crystallography and EPR spectroscopy of the nitrogenase molybdenum iron (MoFe) proteins from two phylogenetically distinct nitrogenases (Azotobacter vinelandii, Av, and Clostridium pasteurianum, Cp) at pHs between 4.5 and 8. X-ray data at pHs of 4.5–6 reveal the repositioning of side chains along one side of the FeMo-cofactor, and the corresponding EPR data shows a new S = 3/2 spin system with spectral features similar to a state previously observed during catalytic turnover. The structural changes suggest that FeMo-cofactor belt sulfurs S3A or S5A are potential protonation sites. Notably, the observed structural and electronic low pH changes are correlated and reversible. The detailed structural rearrangements differ between the two MoFe proteins, which may reflect differences in potential protonation sites at the active site among nitrogenase species. These observations emphasize the benefits of investigating multiple nitrogenase species. Our experimental data suggest that reversible protonation of the resting state is likely occurring, and we term this state “E_0H+”, following the Lowe–Thorneley naming scheme

JorumOpen - customising DSpace for a national repository of Open Educational Resources

Jorum, a JISC-funded service in development begun in 2002, has been committed to collecting and sharing learning and teaching materials within the UK Further and Higher Education community. With the growing interest in and increase in "open" content, Jorum released a new option in January 2010 - JorumOpen, which provides a focus to find nationally hosted learning materials developed by the UK Further and Higher Education sector. JorumOpen allows any user, from any country, free and unrestricted access to learning materials licensed under a Creative Commons licence. The central component of JorumOpen is an open source digital repository based on a modified version of DSpace 1.5.2

JorumOpen - customising DSpace for a national repository of Open Educational Resources

Jorum, a JISC-funded service in development begun in 2002, has been committed to collecting and sharing learning and teaching materials within the UK Further and Higher Education community. With the growing interest in and increase in "open" content, Jorum released a new option in January 2010 - JorumOpen, which provides a focus to find nationally hosted learning materials developed by the UK Further and Higher Education sector. JorumOpen allows any user, from any country, free and unrestricted access to learning materials licensed under a Creative Commons licence. The central component of JorumOpen is an open source digital repository based on a modified version of DSpace 1.5.2

Climate simulation of the latest Permian: Implications for mass extinction

This report presents the results of climate modeling research which indicates that elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at the end of the Permian period led to climatic conditions inhospitable to both marine and terrestrial life. The Permian-Triassic boundary (about 251 million years ago) was the time of the largest known mass extinction in Earth's history, when greater than ninety percent of all marine species, and approximately seventy percent of all terrestrial species, died out. The model, which used paleogeography and paleotopography correct for the time period, indicated that warm high-latitude surface air temperatures and elevated carbon dioxide levels may have resulted in slowed circulation and stagnant, anoxic conditions in Earth's oceans. The report also suggests that the excess carbon dioxide (and sulfur dioxide) may have originated from volcanic activity associated with eruption of the Siberian Trap flood basalts, which took place at the same time. Educational levels: Undergraduate lower division, Undergraduate upper division, Graduate or professional