Labor Costs and the Social Dumping Debate in the European Union

This study examines the labor cost incentive for capital movement in manufacturing within the European Union, a key aspect of the social dumping debate in Western Europe. The authors find that the percentage differences in unit labor costs between the more developed and less developed countries in the Union not only were large in 1980 but actually grew between 1980 and 1986, and separate estimates of compensation and productivity growth rates do not indicate that significant convergence occurred over the remainder of the 1980s. Although these findings apparently confirm that a labor cost incentive for capital mobility does exist, analysis of foreign direct investment data indicates that during the period 1980-88 capital flows to the lower labor cost countries actually were not much larger than capital flows to the higher labor cost countries

Change and Transformation in Asian Industrial Relations

Authors argue that industrial relations systems change due to shifts in the constraints facing those systems, and that the most salient constraints facing IR systems in Asia have shifted from those of maintaining labor peace and stability in the early stages of industrialization, to those of increasing both numerical and functional flexibility in the 1980s and 1990s. The evidence to sustain the argument is drawn from seven “representative” Asian IR systems: Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, India, and China. They also distinguish between systems that have smoothly adapted (Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines) and systems that have fundamentally transformed (China and South Korea), and hypothesize about the reasons for this difference

Industrial Relations System Transformation

This paper analyzes the concept of “transformation” that many allege has occurred recently in a wide variety of national industrial relations systems. After a summary of the debate, with particular reference to the contentious case of Germany, the authors attempt to develop a definition of industrial relations system transformation on the basis of biological analogies and, in particular, the “punctuated equilibrium” theory. They examine the cases of the United States, Sweden, South Africa, and New Zealand, and conclude that the application of the biological frameworks raises a set of fundamental questions that must be addressed in order for the debate over the existence of industrial relations transformation to move forward

Recent Developments in Employment Relations in the Philippines

We seek to describe recent developments in employment relations in the Philippines, placing these developments in the contexts of the distinctive elements of the Philippine social/political/industrial relations systems as well as the ongoing trade-based and functional integration of international markets and the recent regional economic crisis. We find that, while some firms are pursuing functional flexibility and more cooperative employment relations, the logic of competition has primarily induced firms to adopt practices that promote numerical flexibility such that a core-periphery workforce is created. We argue that the labor movement in the Philippines has been hampered in its efforts to effectively counter employer strategies by its low density, its fragmentation, and an unfavorable public policy environment; Philippine labor unions have, however, made some recent gains in organizing and inter-union coordination. We also argue that governments, both national and regional, have not done enough to counteract the negative effects of market integration on workers nor to evolve the Philippines into a higher value-added exporter

Systems, methods and apparatus for implementation of formal specifications derived from informal requirements

Systems, methods and apparatus are provided through which in some embodiments an informal specification is translated without human intervention into a formal specification. In some embodiments the formal specification is a process-based specification. In some embodiments, the formal specification is translated into a high-level computer programming language which is further compiled into a set of executable computer instructions

Systems, methods and apparatus for verification of knowledge-based systems

Systems, methods and apparatus are provided through which in some embodiments, domain knowledge is translated into a knowledge-based system. In some embodiments, a formal specification is derived from rules of a knowledge-based system, the formal specification is analyzed, and flaws in the formal specification are used to identify and correct errors in the domain knowledge, from which a knowledge-based system is translated

Experiences with a Requirements-Based Programming Approach to the Development of a NASA Autonomous Ground Control System

Requirements-to-Design-to-Code (R2D2C) is an approach to the engineering of computer-based systems that embodies the idea of requirements-based programming in system development. It goes further; however, in that the approach offers not only an underlying formalism, but full formal development from requirements capture through to the automatic generation of provably-correct code. As such, the approach has direct application to the development of systems requiring autonomic properties. We describe a prototype tool to support the method, and illustrate its applicability to the development of LOGOS, a NASA autonomous ground control system, which exhibits autonomic behavior. Finally, we briefly discuss other areas where the approach and prototype tool are being considered for application

Designing a solution to enable agency-academic scientific collaboration for disasters

© The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ecology and Society 22 (2017): 18, doi:10.5751/ES-09246-220218.As large-scale environmental disasters become increasingly frequent and more severe globally, people and organizations that prepare for and respond to these crises need efficient and effective ways to integrate sound science into their decision making. Experience has shown that integrating nongovernmental scientific expertise into disaster decision making can improve the quality of the response, and is most effective if the integration occurs before, during, and after a crisis, not just during a crisis. However, collaboration between academic, government, and industry scientists, decision makers, and responders is frequently difficult because of cultural differences, misaligned incentives, time pressures, and legal constraints. Our study addressed this challenge by using the Deep Change Method, a design methodology developed by Stanford ChangeLabs, which combines human-centered design, systems analysis, and behavioral psychology. We investigated underlying needs and motivations of government agency staff and academic scientists, mapped the root causes underlying the relationship failures between these two communities based on their experiences, and identified leverage points for shifting deeply rooted perceptions that impede collaboration. We found that building trust and creating mutual value between multiple stakeholders before crises occur is likely to increase the effectiveness of problem solving. We propose a solution, the Science Action Network, which is designed to address barriers to scientific collaboration by providing new mechanisms to build and improve trust and communication between government administrators and scientists, industry representatives, and academic scientists. The Science Action Network has the potential to ensure cross-disaster preparedness and science-based decision making through novel partnerships and scientific coordination.The authors thank the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for a grant to undertake this project and enable participation of a wide range of participants and interviewees. We thank the Center for Ocean Solutions and ChangeLabs for their oversight and support

Developmental dysplasia of the hip: Linkage mapping and whole exome sequencing identify a shared variant in CX3CR1 in all affected members of a large multi-generation family.

Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) is a debilitating condition characterized by incomplete formation of the acetabulum leading to dislocation of the femur, suboptimal joint function, and accelerated wear of the articular cartilage resulting in arthritis. DDH affects 1 in 1000 newborns in the United States with well defined pockets of high prevalence in Japan, Italy and other Mediterranean countries. Although reasonably accurate for detecting gross forms of hip dysplasia, existing techniques fail to find milder forms of dysplasia. Undetected hip dysplasia is the leading cause of osteoarthritis of the hip in young individuals causing over 40% of cases in this age group. A sensitive and specific test for DDH has remained a desirable yet elusive goal in orthopaedics for a long time. A 72 member, four generation affected family has been recruited, and DNA from its members retrieved. Genome-wide linkage analysis revealed a 2.61 Mb candidate region (38.7-41.31 Mb from the p term of chromosome 3) co-inherited by all affected members with a maximum LOD score of 3.31. Whole exome sequencing and analysis of this candidate region in four severely affected family members revealed one shared variant, rs3732378, that causes a threonine (polar) to methionine (non-polar) alteration at position 280 in the trans-membrane domain of CX3CR1. This mutation is predicted to have a deleterious effect on its encoded protein which functions as a receptor for the ligand fractalkine. By Sanger sequencing this variant was found to be present in the DNA of all affected individuals and obligate heterozygotes. CX3CR1 mediates cellular adhesive and migratory functions and is known to be expressed in mesenchymal stem cells destined to become chondrocytes. A genetic risk factor that might to be among the etiologic factors for the family in this study has been identified, along with other possible aggravating mutations shared by 4 severely affected family members. These findings might illuminate the molecular pathways affecting chondrocyte maturation and bone formation