WP 40 - Boxing and dancing: Dutch trade union and works council experiences revisited

h3. English summary This paper contains a quantitative analysis of approaches and results of 67 projects of Dutch company union groups and Works Councils to influence technological and organisational change, in three generations between 1975 and 1996. The effectiveness of problem-solving activities jointly undertaken with management (‘dancing’) in realizing advances in quality of working life proved to be higher than that of own activities solely undertaken by union groups and Works Councils. Yet, such activities were more effective in improving their own position vis-à-vis their constituency and/or vis-à-vis management. The scores on own activities were on average substantially higher than on joint problem-solving: even in these projects, active union groups and Works Councils mostly chose for a strong own profile, related to ‘boxing’ practices. This has notably been the case in manufacturing, in larger organizations and where relatively high union densities prevail. h3. Nederlandse samenvatting Dit paper bevat een kwantitatieve analyse van benaderingen en resultaten van 67 projecten die door Nederlandse vakbondsgroepen en Ondernemingsraden zijn ondernomen om technologische en organisatorische veranderingen te beinvloeden, in drie generaties van 1975 tot 1996. De effectiviteit van activiteiten gericht op het gezamenlijk met management zoeken naar oplossingen (‘dansen’) bleek ten aanzien van het verbeteren van de kwaliteit van de arbeid groter dan die van louter eigen activiteiten van bondsgroepen en OR’en. Daarentegen waren zulke eigen activiteiten effectiever voor het versterken van de eigen positie tegenover de achterban en/of tegenover het management. Gemiddeld kwamen de scores op eigen activiteiten hoger uit dan die op gezamenlijke probleemoplossing: zelfs in deze projecten kozen bondsgroepen en OR’en er meestal voor om zichzelf flink te profileren, een praktijk die verbonden is met ‘boksen’. Dit blijkt vooral het geval te zijn geweest in de industrie, in grotere organisaties en bij een relatief hoge organisatiegraad.

Validation of Kalman Filter alignment algorithm with cosmic-ray data using a CMS silicon strip tracker endcap

A Kalman Filter alignment algorithm has been applied to cosmic-ray data. We discuss the alignment algorithm and an experiment-independent implementation including outlier rejection and treatment of weakly determined parameters. Using this implementation, the algorithm has been applied to data recorded with one CMS silicon tracker endcap. Results are compared to both photogrammetry measurements and data obtained from a dedicated hardware alignment system, and good agreement is observed.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures. CMS NOTE-2010/00

Polyclonal B-cell activation by a synthetic analogue of bacterial lipoprotein is functionally different from activation by bacterial lipopolysaccharide

The reactivity of 38 murine strains to a synthetic analogue of bacterial lipoprotein, tripalmitoyl-pentapeptide (TPP), was tested and compared with the reactivity to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). These strains include common laboratory mice and H-2 recombinant inbred lines, as well as some newly bred lines originating from animals recently captured in different regions of Europe. All animals analysed were reactive to TPP and polyclonally activated to proliferation and immunoglobulin synthesis. Large differences in mitogen reactivities of various H-2 recombinant inbred strains suggest that MHC or closely linked gene products influence the reactivity to the LPS and TPP mitogens. By analysing the frequencies of precursor cells reactive to TPP or LPS and the isotype patterns obtained after stimulation, we demonstrated that both mitogens activate individual B cells in different ways.Peer reviewe

Development of phonological and orthographic processing in reading aloud, in silent reading, and in spelling: a four-year longitudinal study.

International audienceThe development of phonological and orthographic processing was studied from the middle of Grade 1 to the end of Grade 4 (age 6; 6-10 years) using the effects of regularity and of lexicality in reading aloud and in spelling tasks, and using the effect of pseudohomophony in a silent reading task. In all the tasks, signs of reliance on phonological processing were found even when indicators of reliance on orthographic processing appeared. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine which early skills predict later reading achievement. Pseudoword and irregular word scores were used as measures for phonological and orthographic skills, respectively. Only middle of Grade 1 phonological reading skills accounted for independent variance in end of Grade 4 orthographic skills. Conversely, from the middle to the end of Grade 1, and from the end of Grade 1 to the end of Grade 4, both orthographic and phonological skills accounted for independent variance in later orthographic skills. In the prediction of phonological skills, only the unique contribution of earlier phonological skills was significant. Thus, phonological and orthographic processing appear to be reciprocally related, rather than independent components of written word recognition. However, very early reliance on the phonological procedure seems to be the bootstrapping mechanism for reading acquisition

Whispering gallery mode resonator based ultra-narrow linewidth external cavity semiconductor laser

We demonstrate a miniature self-injection locked DFB laser using resonant optical feedback from a high-Q crystalline whispering gallery mode resonator. The linewidth reduction factor is greater than 10,000, with resultant instantaneous linewidth less than 200 Hz. The minimal value of the Allan deviation for the laser frequency stability is 3x10^(-12) at the integration time of 20 us. The laser possesses excellent spectral purity and good long term stability.Comment: To be published in Optics Letter

Dielectronic Recombination of Fe XV forming Fe XIV: Laboratory Measurements and Theoretical Calculations

We have measured resonance strengths and energies for dielectronic recombination (DR) of Mg-like Fe XV forming Al-like Fe XIV via N=3 -> N' = 3 core excitations in the electron-ion collision energy range 0-45 eV. All measurements were carried out using the heavy-ion Test Storage Ring at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany. We have also carried out new multiconfiguration Breit-Pauli (MCBP) calculations using the AUTOSTRUCTURE code. For electron-ion collision energies < 25 eV we find poor agreement between our experimental and theoretical resonance energies and strengths. From 25 to 42 eV we find good agreement between the two for resonance energies. But in this energy range the theoretical resonance strengths are ~ 31% larger than the experimental results. This is larger than our estimated total experimental uncertainty in this energy range of +/- 26% (at a 90% confidence level). Above 42 eV the difference in the shape between the calculated and measured 3s3p(^1P_1)nl DR series limit we attribute partly to the nl dependence of the detection probabilities of high Rydberg states in the experiment. We have used our measurements, supplemented by our AUTOSTRUCTURE calculations, to produce a Maxwellian-averaged 3 -> 3 DR rate coefficient for Fe XV forming Fe XIV. The resulting rate coefficient is estimated to be accurate to better than +/- 29% (at a 90% confidence level) for k_BT_e > 1 eV. At temperatures of k_BT_e ~ 2.5-15 eV, where Fe XV is predicted to form in photoionized plasmas, significant discrepancies are found between our experimentally-derived rate coefficient and previously published theoretical results. Our new MCBP plasma rate coefficient is 19-28% smaller than our experimental results over this temperature range

Critical adsorption at chemically structured substrates

We consider binary liquid mixtures near their critical consolute points and exposed to geometrically flat but chemically structured substrates. The chemical contrast between the various substrate structures amounts to opposite local preferences for the two species of the binary liquid mixtures. Order parameters profiles are calculated for a chemical step, for a single chemical stripe, and for a periodic stripe pattern. The order parameter distributions exhibit frustration across the chemical steps which heals upon approaching the bulk. The corresponding spatial variation of the order parameter and its dependence on temperature are governed by universal scaling functions which we calculate within mean field theory. These scaling functions also determine the universal behavior of the excess adsorption relative to suitably chosen reference systems