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

A Comparison of Created and Natural Wetlands and the Effect of Landscape Characteristics on Vegetation, Amphibian and Bird Variables in Freshwater Marshes of Upstate New York

Wetlands provide a number of ecological and social functions, including flood abatement, improvement of water quality, recharge ground water and support for a great diversity of flora and fauna. Despite their many functions and values, wetlands have not always been appreciated. Since the 1780s, it is estimated that 53% of wetland acreage in the United States has been lost due to draining, filling and the subsequent development of land for roads or farms. In 1972, the Clean Water Act (CWA) was established to try to reverse declining wetland acreage in the U.S. According to Section 404 of the CW A, any loss of wetland acreage due to development or other means must be compensated in the form of mitigation wetlands. Mitigation wetlands are created wetlands built to replace both wetland acreage and function. The success of mitigation wetlands is varied, and there are questions as to our ability to replace lost wetland functions. In 2000 and 2001, I surveyed plants, amphibians and birds at nine created and nine natural wetlands and calculated a series of twelve response variables. I used the Wilcoxon paired sample test to look for differences among created and natural wetlands. I found no significant differences between created and natural wetlands for any of the response variables. Wetlands are important components of the landscape and their functions are influenced by their position within the landscape and the watershed. Many wetland animals require and depend on surrounding terrestrial land for foraging, migration, breeding, cover and hibernation. If we are to create wetlands that are ecologically similar to natural wetlands, then we must view and understand them from a larger, landscape perspective. Since I found no significant differences among created and natural wetlands, I combined the wetlands into a larger set of 18. GIS software was used to map each wetland and its surrounding land, and calculate a set of landscape-level predictor variables. I used simple linear regression and best subset multiple regression analyses to look for predictor variables that might account for the variation found in amphibian, bird and plant response variables. I found positive significant relationships between open water classification and plant, amphibian and bird species richness in both years. In addition, open water class was positively associated with bird and amphibian species diversity, and also the number of birds per census in both 2000 and 2001. The only negative significant association with open water class was with the proportion of T. latifolia. Watershed area was a significant positive predictor of amphibian in 2001, and of bird species richness, plant species richness, the number of birds per census and plant species diversity in both years. Wetland area was significant and positively related, in both years, to the number of birds per census and plant species richness. Invasive plant species richness was significant and positively associated with the length of the road in the watershed in both years, while invasive plant species cover was significant and positively associated with the percentage of urban, commercial and industrial land within 1 km of wetlands. Plant species richness and diversity were significant and positively associated with bird species richness and bird species diversity in both years, and with the number of birds per census in 2001. Open water class was part of four of the best subset models in 2000 and five models in 2001. Watershed area was part of seven best subset models in 2000 and five in 2001. The functions of wetlands are influenced by their position within a landscape. Therefore, the selection of an appropriate site for a mitigated wetland project should consider the surrounding landscape properties. The results of my study suggest that mitigated wetlands should be located 1) in large watersheds, 2) far from roads and urban areas, and near other wetlands. Also, mitigated wetlands should be constructed and maintained in a hemimarsh state so that the cover to water ratio is between 1:1 and 1:2, and the establishment and spreading of aggressive plant species such as T. latifolia should be controlled to help maintain a high level of structural diversity

Radio Spectrum and the Disruptive Clarity OF Ronald Coase.

In the Federal Communications Commission, Ronald Coase (1959) exposed deep foundations via normative argument buttressed by astute historical observation. The government controlled scarce frequencies, issuing sharply limited use rights. Spillovers were said to be otherwise endemic. Coase saw that Government limited conflicts by restricting uses; property owners perform an analogous function via the "price system." The government solution was inefficient unless the net benefits of the alternative property regime were lower. Coase augured that the price system would outperform the administrative allocation system. His spectrum auction proposal was mocked by communications policy experts, opposed by industry interests, and ridiculed by policy makers. Hence, it took until July 25, 1994 for FCC license sales to commence. Today, some 73 U.S. auctions have been held, 27,484 licenses sold, and $52.6 billion paid. The reform is a textbook example of economic policy success. We examine Coase‘s seminal 1959 paper on two levels. First, we note the importance of its analytical symmetry, comparing administrative to market mechanisms under the assumption of positive transaction costs. This fundamental insight has had enormous influence within the economics profession, yet is often lost in current analyses. This analytical insight had its beginning in his acclaimed early article on the firm (Coase 1937), and continued into his subsequent treatment of social cost (Coase 1960). Second, we investigate why spectrum policies have stopped well short of the property rights regime that Coase advocated, considering rent-seeking dynamics and the emergence of new theories challenging Coase‘s property framework. One conclusion is easily rendered: competitive bidding is now the default tool in wireless license awards. By rule of thumb, about$17 billion in U.S. welfare losses have been averted. Not bad for the first 50 years of this, or any, Article appearing in Volume II of the Journal of Law & Economics.

Radio Spectrum and the Disruptive Clarity of Ronald Coase

In the Federal Communications Commission, Ronald Coase exposed deep foundations via normative argument buttressed by astute historical observation. The government controlled scarce frequencies, issuing sharply limited use rights. Spillovers were said to be otherwise endemic. Coase saw that Government limited conflicts by restricting uses; property owners perform an analogous function via the “price system.” The government solution was inefficient unless the net benefits of the alternative property regime were lower. Coase augured that the price system would outperform. His spectrum auction proposal was mocked by communications policy experts, opposed by industry interests, and ridiculed by policy makers. Hence, it took until July 25, 1994 for FCC license sales to commence. Today, some 73 U.S. auctions have been held, 27,484 licenses sold, and $52.6 billion paid. The reform is a textbook example of economic policy success. Herein, we examine Coase’s seminal 1959 paper on two levels. First, we note its analytical symmetry, comparing administrative to market mechanisms under the assumption of positive transaction costs. This fundamental insight had its beginning in Coase’s acclaimed article on the firm, and continued with his subsequent treatment of social cost. Second, we investigate why spectrum policies have stopped well short of the property rights regime that Coase advocated, considering rent-seeking dynamics and the emergence of new theories challenging Coase’s property framework. One conclusion is easily rendered: competitive bidding is now the default tool in wireless license awards. By rule of thumb, about$17 billion in U.S. welfare losses have been averted. Not bad for the first 50 years of this, or any, Article appearing in Volume II of the Journal of Law & Economics

Radio Spectrum and the Disruptive Clarity of Ronald Coase

In the Federal Communications Commission, Ronald Coase exposed deep foundations via normative argument buttressed by astute historical observation. The government controlled scarce frequencies, issuing sharply limited use rights. Spillovers were said to be otherwise endemic. Coase saw that Government limited conflicts by restricting uses; property owners perform an analogous function via the “price system.” The government solution was inefficient unless the net benefits of the alternative property regime were lower. Coase augured that the price system would outperform. His spectrum auction proposal was mocked by communications policy experts, opposed by industry interests, and ridiculed by policy makers. Hence, it took until July 25, 1994 for FCC license sales to commence. Today, some 73 U.S. auctions have been held, 27,484 licenses sold, and $52.6 billion paid. The reform is a textbook example of economic policy success. Herein, we examine Coase’s seminal 1959 paper on two levels. First, we note its analytical symmetry, comparing administrative to market mechanisms under the assumption of positive transaction costs. This fundamental insight had its beginning in Coase’s acclaimed article on the firm, and continued with his subsequent treatment of social cost. Second, we investigate why spectrum policies have stopped well short of the property rights regime that Coase advocated, considering rent-seeking dynamics and the emergence of new theories challenging Coase’s property framework. One conclusion is easily rendered: competitive bidding is now the default tool in wireless license awards. By rule of thumb, about$17 billion in U.S. welfare losses have been averted. Not bad for the first 50 years of this, or any, Article appearing in Volume II of the Journal of Law & Economics

Cluster Turbulence: Simulation Insights

Cluster media are dynamical, not static; observational evidence suggests they are turbulent. High-resolution simulations of the intracluster media (ICMs) and of idealized, similar media help us understand the complex physics and astrophysics involved. We present a brief overview of the physics behind ICM turbulence and outline the processes that control its development. High-resolution, compressible, isothermal MHD simulations are used to illustrate important dynamical properties of turbulence that develops in media with initially very weak magnetic fields. The simulations follow the growth of magnetic fields and reproduce the characteristics of turbulence. These results are also compared with full cluster simulations that have examined the properties of ICM turbulence.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures. To appear the proceedings of the conference "Non-thermal Phenomena in Colliding Galaxy Clusters" (Nice, 15-18 November, 2010), Memorie della Societa Astronomica Italiana, vol 82, n

Advances in Salish Sea Acoustic Telemetry: 2015 Array Deployments and Promising Transmitter Performance

The first fish tracking arrays were deployed in the Salish Sea over a decade ago. These arrays have yielded a rich data set which have provided the first direct estimates of early marine-survival and migratory behavior for acoustic-tagged juvenile sockeye, Chinook, Coho and steelhead \u3e130 mm in fork length (FL). In spring of 2015, as part of the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project, the Pacific Salmon Foundation, the Ocean Tracking Network and Kintama Research deployed additional arrays in the Discovery Islands and Johnstone Strait (north of the Strait of Georgia) to provide higher resolution survival data. These new arrays use receivers that can detect VEMCO acoustic tags that transmit at 69 kHz, as well as new, smaller tags that transmit at 180 kHz. These new tags can be implanted into smaller salmon smolts (\u3e100 mm FL), but the disadvantage is reduced detection range and battery life. When designing the array, we considered the tradeoffs between detection efficiency, survival estimation, array design, and costs, and then tested the performance of the smaller tag by double-tagging 50 steelhead smolts with both tag types. We used high powered 69 kHz V9 tags to estimate presence because these tags have had excellent detection efficiency in past studies. The smaller 180 kHz V4 tag programming emulated the programming typically used to track small salmon smolts through the SOG. To estimate the detection efficiency of the smaller tag, we compared the number of 180 kHz ID codes to the number of 69 kHz ID codes detected on each array. The resulting detection efficiency of the V4 tag on the Discovery Islands sub-array was 74% (SE=0.10). Thus for the many salmon populations that migrate north through the Salish Sea (e.g. many Fraser River populations), it is now possible to estimate early-marine survival over a wider range of smolts sizes

Altered Macrophage Phenotype Transition Impairs Skeletal Muscle Regeneration

Monocyte/macrophage polarization in skeletal muscle regeneration is ill defined. We used CD11b-diphtheria toxin receptor transgenic mice to transiently deplete monocytes/macrophages at multiple stages before and after muscle injury induced by cardiotoxin. Fat accumulation within regenerated muscle was maximal when ablation occurred at the same time as cardiotoxin-induced injury. Early ablation (day 1 after cardiotoxin) resulted in the smallest regenerated myofiber size together with increased residual necrotic myofibers and fat accumulation. However, muscle regeneration after late (day 4) ablation was similar to controls. Levels of inflammatory cells in injured muscle following early ablation and associated with impaired muscle regeneration were determined by flow cytometry. Delayed, but exaggerated, monocyte [CD11b+(CD90/B220/CD49b/NK1.1/Ly6G)−(F4/80/I-Ab/CD11c)−Ly6C+/−] accumulation occurred; interestingly, Ly6C+ and Ly6C− monocytes were present concurrently in ablated animals and control mice. In addition to monocytes, proinflammatory, Ly6C+ macrophage accumulation following early ablation was delayed compared to controls. In both groups, CD11b+F4/80+ cells exhibited minimal expression of the M2 markers CD206 and CD301. Nevertheless, early ablation delayed and decreased the transient accumulation of CD11b+F4/80+Ly6C−CD301− macrophages; in control animals, the later tissue accumulation of these cells appeared to correspond to that of anti-inflammatory macrophages, determined by cytokine production and arginase activity. In summary, impairments in muscle regeneration were associated with exaggerated monocyte recruitment and reduced Ly6C− macrophages; the switch of macrophage/monocyte subsets is critical to muscle regeneration