Lifelong learning in Palestine

Palestine's universities are recognised as being involved in outstanding work in the difficult conditions of a belligerent occupation. Internal travel restrictions and over 600 checkpoints and barriers have unsuccessfully tried to atomise higher education. Lifelong Learning in Palestine (LLIP) is a Tempus project that sees universities as central influences in broader societal change. LLIP works on cooperating in formal and informal education and training that give the organic connections of a future learning society. This paper outlines the aims and objectives of the LLIP project that began in 2011 and runs up to October 2013. LLIP is exploring new student-centred pedagogies that create a learning culture that sees Palestinians determining their own future as any other people around the world and participating in the creation of a global knowledge based society

Beyond sustainable buildings: eco-efficiency to eco-effectiveness through cradle-to-cradle design

Sustainable building development focuses on achieving buildings that meet performance and functionality requirements with minimum adverse impact on the environment. Such eco-efficiency strategies are however not feasible for achieving long-term economic and environmental objectives as they only result in damage reduction without addressing design flaws of contemporary industry. The cradle-to-cradle (C2C) design philosophy which has been described as a paradigm changing innovative platform for achieving ecologically intelligent and environmentally restorative buildings appears to offer an alternative vision which, if embraced, could lead to eco-effectiveness and the achievement of long-term environmental objectives. Adoption of C2C principles in the built environment has however been hindered by several factors especially in a sector where change has always been a very slow process. From a review of extant literature, it is argued that the promotion of current sustainable and/or gree n building strategies - which in themselves are not coherent enough due to their pluralistic meanings and sometimes differing solutions - are a major barrier to the promotion of C2C principles in the built environment. To overcome this barrier to C2C implementation, it is recommended that research should focus on developing clearly defined and measurable C2C targets that can be incorporated into project briefs from the inception of development projects. These targets could enable control, monitoring and comparison of C2C design outcomes with eco-efficient measures as well as serve as a guide for project stakeholders to achieve eco-effective “nutrient” management from the project conceptualization phase to the end of life of the building

Multinational tactics in a traditional coal mining community, conflict in Spennymoor

The sociological effects of three multinational corporations on Spennymoor, a former traditional coal mining community in County Durham, is examined. Effects of the multinationals on community life, on the work place environment, and on trade union structures receive particular attention. The study focuses on specific research findings in respect of the Spennymoor community made during 1976-1977 and draws a comparative analysis of the impact of the three multinationals. Two of the companies are English-based multinationals: The Thorn subsidiary Smart and Brown and Courtaulds, Ltd. , whereas, the third, Black and Decker, Ltd. , is an American-based multi national managed by and employing British personnel in Great Britain. The method of data collection used in the study included a combination of in-depth interviews, direct observation and social interaction in Spennymoor. Persons interviewed collectively form a diverse cross-section of male and female subjects. The study presents arguments indicating multinational corporations possess worldwide hegemony outside the rule of effective international law to regulate their actions in the world economy. SiAstantial consideration is given in this work to the Alternational Investment Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises formulated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in an attempt to provide a fair social framework and equitable operating procedures with which multinationals are to abide. This study investigates whether or not the multinationals in Spennymoor have complied with the OECD Guidelines. Four major social conflicts are revealed: the traditional community society in conflict with international corporatism; the conflict of workers versus multinational managers and district governmental bureaucrats; the conflict between female workers and a male dominated society within which sexist discrimination has been reinforced by multinational management practises rather than alleviated; and lastly, but of most pervasive importance, the conflict between multinational industrial strategy and fair collective bargaining by trade unions. The study concludes that a great preponderance of power lies with the multinationals to determine the destiny of the Spennymoor workers and of Spennymoor itself. A need exists for effective international regulation of multinationals and a strong worldwide organisation of workers, such as combine committees, united in their alms to bargain collectively from a position of united power in order for the workers to control their jobs and the destiny of their local communities

Exposure of U.S. workers to environmental tobacco smoke.

The concentrations of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) to which workers are exposed have been measured, using nicotine or other tracers, in diverse workplaces. Policies restricting workplace smoking to a few designated areas have been shown to reduce concentrations of ETS, although the effectiveness of such policies varies among work sites. Policies that ban smoking in the workplace are the most effective and generally lower all nicotine concentrations to less than 1 microg/m3; by contrast, mean concentrations measured in workplaces that allow smoking generally range from 2 to 6 microg/m3 in offices, from 3 to 8 microg/m3 in restaurants, and from 1 to 6 microg/m3 in the workplaces of blue-collar workers. Mean nicotine concentrations from 1 to 3 microg/m3 have been measured in the homes of smokers. Furthermore, workplace concentrations are highly variable, and some concentrations are more than 10 times higher than the average home levels, which have been established to cause lung cancer, heart disease, and other adverse health effects. For the approximately 30% of workers exposed to ETS in the workplace but not in the home, workplace exposure is the principal source of ETS. Among those with home exposures, exposures at work may exceed those resulting from home. We conclude that a significant number of U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous levels of ETS