Non-Standard Contracts and the National Living Wage: A Report for the Low Pay Commission

This research explores the relationship between contractual arrangements and the payment of the National Living Wage (NLW). Its focus is non-standard employment arrangements; specifically zero hours contracts (ZHCs), Minimum Hours contracts (MHCs), agency work (effectively zero hours in this research) and dependent self-employment. In this report the term ‘dependent self-employed’ (DS-E) is used to refer to workers who are to all intents and purposes employees, but who are defined as self-employed, for example to achieve a more favourable tax and national insurance regime; the so-called ‘bogus self-employed’ (BS-E). Overall, these contractual forms may mean that workers receive variable pay from week to week and that once hours worked and related costs are taken into account, they may be paid below the NLW, and/or dependent upon in-work benefits to supplement pay. Using qualitative data collection the research contributes a set of worker case studies - 36 in total - drawn from six low paying industry sectors where the types of contracts under investigation are known to be in use. The approach allows detailed scrutiny of hours and their relationship with earnings and consideration of whether the NLW is achieved, taking into account fluctuations and paid and unpaid components of working time. The case studies explore elements of unpaid working time, highlighted in homecare (travel and waiting time), but increasingly in other sectors1. They capture the organisation of working time, the notion of unsocial hours and, concretely, the payment of premia. The case studies identify changes in contractual arrangements and pay and grading structures (compression or removal of differentials) in the light of the NLW, along with perceptions of employer behaviour in relation to its introduction. The report identifies factors driving contractual arrangements and the extent to which these represent individual preference or are involuntary, including where workers are deemed ‘self-employed’ and particularly in the context of recent Employment Tribunal cases. The impacts of contractual forms on work and the work-effort bargain are explored. Finally the research illustrates how workers survive in the context of wider household and familial relationships, including interaction with the tax and benefits systems. In focusing upon the ways that workers are formally or informally removed from employment protection, including the NLW, the report addresses a number of issues that the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices2 proposes might, in the future, fall within the remit of the Low Pay Commission (LPC)

From teaching physics to teaching children : beginning teachers learning from pupils

This paper discusses the development of beginning physics teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in the context of teaching basic electricity during a one-year Professional Graduate Diploma in Education course (PGDE) and beyond. This longitudinal study used repeated semi-structured interviews over a period of four-and-a-half years. The interview schedule followed a line of development through the secondary school electrical syllabus in Scotland. Fifteen student teachers were interviewed during the PGDE year. Six of them were followed up at the end of the Induction Year (their first year as a newly qualified teacher), and again two-and-a-half years later. Thematic analysis of the interviews showed that before the beginning teachers had taught any classes, their initial focus was on how to transform their own subject matter knowledge (SMK) about electricity into forms that were accessible to pupils. As the beginning teachers gained experience working with classes, they gave vivid descriptions of interacting with particular pupils when teaching electricity which showed the development of their pedagogical knowledge. This played a significant role in the teachers' change of focus from teaching physics to teaching children as they transformed their SMK into forms that were accessible to pupils and developed their general pedagogical knowledge

Strategies to Reduce the Harmful Effects of Extreme Heat Events: A Four-City Study

Extreme heat events (EHEs) are becoming more intense, more frequent and longer lasting in the 21st century. These events can disproportionately impact the health of low-income, minority, and urban populations. To better understand heat-related intervention strategies used by four U.S. cities, we conducted 73 semi-structured interviews with government and non-governmental organization leaders representing public health, general social services, emergency management, meteorology, and the environmental planning sectors in Detroit, MI; New York City, NY; Philadelphia, PA and Phoenix, AZ—cities selected for their diverse demographics, climates, and climate adaptation strategies. We identified activities these leaders used to reduce the harmful effects of heat for residents in their city, as well as the obstacles they faced and the approaches they used to evaluate these efforts. Local leaders provided a description of how local context (e.g., climate, governance and city structure) impacted heat preparedness. Despite the differences among study cities, political will and resource access were critical to driving heat-health related programming. Upon completion of our interviews, we convened leaders in each city to discuss these findings and their ongoing efforts through day-long workshops. Our findings and the recommendations that emerged from these workshops could inform other local or national efforts towards preventing heat-related morbidity and mortality

Strategies to reduce the harmful effects of extreme heat events: A four-city study

Extreme heat events (EHEs) are becoming more intense, more frequent and longer lasting in the 21st century. These events can disproportionately impact the health of low-income, minority, and urban populations. To better understand heat-related intervention strategies used by four U.S. cities, we conducted 73 semi-structured interviews with government and non-governmental organization leaders representing public health, general social services, emergency management, meteorology, and the environmental planning sectors in Detroit, MI; New York City, NY; Philadelphia, PA and Phoenix, AZ—cities selected for their diverse demographics, climates, and climate adaptation strategies. We identified activities these leaders used to reduce the harmful effects of heat for residents in their city, as well as the obstacles they faced and the approaches they used to evaluate these efforts. Local leaders provided a description of how local context (e.g., climate, governance and city structure) impacted heat preparedness. Despite the differences among study cities, political will and resource access were critical to driving heat-health related programming. Upon completion of our interviews, we convened leaders in each city to discuss these findings and their ongoing efforts through day-long workshops. Our findings and the recommendations that emerged from these workshops could inform other local or national efforts towards preventing heat-related morbidity and mortality

No evidence for a fundamental visual motion processing deficit in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

It has been suggested that atypicalities in low-level visual processing contribute to the expression and development of the unusual cognitive and behavioral profile seen in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, previous investigations have yielded mixed results. In the largest study of its kind (ASD n = 89; non-ASD = 52; mean age 15 years 6 months) and testing across the spectrum of IQ (range 52–133), we investigated performance on three measures of basic visual processing: motion coherence, form-from-motion and biological motion (BM). At the group level, we found no evidence of differences between the two groups on any of the tasks, suggesting that there is no fundamental visual motion processing deficit in individuals with an ASD, at least by adolescence. However, we identified a tail of individuals with ASD (18% of the sample) who had exceptionally poor BM processing abilities compared to the non-ASD group, and who were characterized by low IQ. For the entire sample of those both with and without ASD, performance on the BM task uniquely correlated with performance on the Frith–Happé animations, a higher-level task that demands the interpretation of moving, interacting agents in order to understand mental states. We hypothesize that this association reflects the shared social–cognitive characteristics of the two tasks, which have a common neural underpinning in the superior temporal sulcus

Exotic lagomorph may influence eagle abundances and breeding spatial aggregations: A field study and meta- analysis on the nearest neighbor distance

The introduction of alien species could be changing food source composition, ultimately restructuring demography and spatial distribution of native communities. In Argentine Patagonia, the exotic European hare has one of the highest numbers recorded worldwide and is now a widely consumed prey for many predators. We examine the potential relationship between abundance of this relatively new prey and the abundance and breeding spacing of one of its main consumers, the Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle (Geranoaetus melanoleucus). First we analyze the abundance of individuals of a raptor guild in relation to hare abundance through a correspondence analysis. We then estimated the Nearest Neighbor Distance (NND) of the Black-chested Buzzard-eagle abundances in the two areas with high hare abundances. Finally, we performed a metaregression between the NND and the body masses of Accipitridae raptors, to evaluate if Black-chested Buzzard-eagle NND deviates from the expected according to their mass. We found that eagle abundance was highly associated with hare abundance, more than with any other raptor species in the study area. Their NND deviates from the value expected, which was significantly lower than expected for a raptor species of this size in two areas with high hare abundance. Our results support the hypothesis that high local abundance of prey leads to a reduction of the breeding spacing of its main predator, which could potentially alter other interspecific interactions, and thus the entire community.Fil: Barbar, Facundo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Ignazi, Gonzalo Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Hiraldo, Fernando. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Estación Biológica de Doñana; EspañaFil: Lambertucci, Sergio Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentin

Plasma Proteomic Profiling in HIV-1 Infected Methamphetamine Abusers

We wanted to determine whether methamphetamine use affects a subset of plasma proteins in HIV-infected persons. Plasma samples from two visits were identified for subjects from four groups: HIV+, ongoing, persistent METH use; HIV+, short-term METH abstinent; HIV+, long term METH abstinence; HIV negative, no history of METH use. Among 390 proteins identified, 28 showed significant changes in expression in the HIV+/persistent METH+ group over the two visits, which were not attributable to HIV itself. These proteins were involved in complement, coagulation pathways and oxidative stress. Continuous METH use is an unstable condition, altering levels of a number of plasma proteins

Pharmacological agents for preventing morbidity associated with the haemodynamic response to tracheal intubation

Background: Several drugs have been used in attenuating or obliterating the response associated with laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation. These changes are of little concern in relatively healthy patients but can lead to morbidity and mortality in the high risk patient population.Objectives: The primary objective of this review was to determine the effectiveness of pharmacological agents in preventing the morbidity and mortality resulting from the haemodynamic changes in response to laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation in adult patients aged 18 years and above who were undergoing elective surgery in the operating room setting.SEARCH Methods: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (2011, Issue 6), MEDLINE (1950 to June 2011), EMBASE (1980 to June 2011), and the bibliographies of published studies. We reran our search from June 2011 to December 2012 and will deal with these studies when we update the review.SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared a drug used as an intervention for preventing or attenuating the haemodynamic response to tracheal intubation to a control group, and that mentioned mortality, major morbidity, arrhythmia or electrocardiogram (ECG) evidence of ischaemia in the methodology, results, or discussion section of the reports.DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted the outcome data.MAIN Results: We included 72 RCTs. The included trials studied the effects of 32 drugs belonging to different pharmacological groups. Only two trials mentioned the primary outcome of morbidity and mortality related to the haemodynamic response to tracheal intubation. Of the secondary outcomes, 40 of the included trials observed arrhythmia only, 11 observed myocardial ischaemia only and 20 observed both arrhythmias and myocardial ischaemia. Arrhythmias were observed in 2932 participants and myocardial ischaemia in 1616 participants. Arrhythmias were observed in 134 out of 993 patients in the control group compared to 80 out of 1939 in the intervention group. The risk of arrhythmias was significantly reduced with pharmacological interventions in the pooled data (Peto odds ratio (OR) 0.19, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.26, P \u3c 0.00001, I(2)= 47%). Local anaesthetics, calcium channel blockers, beta blockers and narcotics reduced the risk of arrhythmia in the intervention group compared to the control group. Myocardial ischaemia was observed in 21 out of 604 patients in the control group compared to 10 out of 1012 in the treatment group; the result was statistically significant (Peto OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.92, P = 0.03, I(2) = 19%). However, in subgroup analysis only local anaesthetics significantly reduced the ECG changes indicating ischaemia, but this evidence came from one study. The majority of the studies had a negative outcome. Hypotension and bradycardia were reported with 40 g kg(-1) intravenous alfentanil, chest rigidity with 75 ug kg(-1) alfentanil, and increased bronchomotor tone with sympathetic blockers.There were 17 studies which included high risk patients. Pharmacological treatment in this group resulted in the reduction of arrhythmias when the data from nine trials looking at arrhythmias were pooled (Peto OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.59, P = 0.005, I(2) = 80%). The analysis from four studies was not included. Three of these trials looked at the effect of sympathetic blockers but arrhythmias or myocardial ischaemia was observed throughout the perioperative period in two studies and some patients had arrhythmias due to atropine premedication in the third study. In the fourth study the authors mentioned myocardial ischaemia in the objectives section but did not report it in the results.AUTHORS\u27 CONCLUSIONS: The risk of arrhythmias associated with tracheal intubation was significantly reduced with pre-induction administration of local anaesthetics, calcium channel blockers, beta blockers and narcotics compared to placebo. Pharmacological intervention also reduced the risk of ECG evidence of myocardial ischaemia in the pooled data. Lignocaine pretreatment showed a significant effect but evidence came from one study only. The data suggested that there may be a reduction in ECG evidence of myocardial ischaemia with beta blocker pretreatment but this difference was not statistically significant. There is a need to focus on outcomes rather than haemodynamic measurements alone when studying this response in future trials

New insights into the role of motion and form vision in neurodevelopmental disorders

A selective deficit in processing the global (overall) motion, but not form, of spatially extensive objects in the visual scene is frequently associated with several neurodevelopmental disorders, including preterm birth. Existing theories that proposed to explain the origin of this visual impairment are, however, challenged by recent research. In this review, we explore alternative hypotheses for why deficits in the processing of global motion, relative to global form, might arise. We describe recent evidence that has utilised novel tasks of global motion and global form to elucidate the underlying nature of the visual deficit reported in different neurodevelopmental disorders. We also examine the role of IQ and how the sex of an individual can influence performance on these tasks, as these are factors that are associated with performance on global motion tasks, but have not been systematically controlled for in previous studies exploring visual processing in clinical populations. Finally, we suggest that a new theoretical framework is needed for visual processing in neurodevelopmental disorders and present recommendations for future research