Trade union managers: invisible actors in Trade union dramas

This paper is concerned with a group of people who are almost entirely absent from the literature on trade union governance, trade union managers. It looks at various governance models and seeks to make links between that literature and analogous literature in the management field, in particular between that on the polyarchal theory of trade union organisation and that on stakeholder management. It concludes that managers have become visible and that they seek to manage their organisations subject to a number of constraints arising in some cases from the fact that management remains a somewhat problematic concept in unions. Although the values of trade union managers result in their taking a positive attitude to the democratic process, the boundaries between their roles and the roles of elected activists in the governance structures are unclear and are consequently contested.School of Managemen

Book Review: In Search of Identity: Debates on Religious Conversion in India

A review of In Search of Identity: Debates on Religious Conversion in India by Sebastian C. H. Kim

Book Review: Christian Inculturation in India

A review of Christian Inculturation in India by Paul Collins

Book Review: Spiritual But Not Religious? An Oar Stroke Closer to the Farther Shore

A review of Spiritual But Not Religious? An Oar Stroke Closer to the Farther Shore by Reid B. Locklin

Same-sex parented families in Australia

This paper reviews and synthesises Australian and international literature on same-sex parented families. Introduction: This research paper reviews and synthesises Australian and international literature on same-sex parented families. It includes discussion of the different modes of conception or family formation, different family structures, and the small number of studies on bisexual and transgender parents. Particular attention is paid to research on the emotional, social and educational outcomes for children raised by lesbian and gay parents, and the methodological strengths and weaknesses of this body of work. Key Messages: About 11% of Australian gay men and 33% of lesbians have children. Children may have been conceived in the context of previous heterosexual relationships, or raised from birth by a co-parenting gay or lesbian couple or single parent. Overall, research to date considerably challenges the point of view that same-sex parented families are harmful to children. Children in such families do as well emotionally, socially and educationally as their peers from heterosexual couple families. Some researchers have concluded there are benefits for children raised by lesbian couples in that they experience higher quality parenting, sons display greater gender flexibility, and sons and daughter display more open-mindedness towards sexual, gender and family diversity. The possible effect of important socio-economic family factors, such as income and parental education, were not always considered in the studies reviewed in this paper. Although many Australian lesbian-parented families appear to be receiving good support from their health care providers, there is evidence that more could be done to develop policies and practices supportive of same-sex parented families in the Australian health, education, child protection and foster care systems. Additional key messages, relating to specific family structures and psychosocial outcomes for children raised by lesbian and gay parents, are included throughout the paper

Effects of exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia on limb muscle fatigue and performance

1. Reductions in arterial O2 saturation (−5% to −10% SaO2 below rest) occur over time during sustained heavy-intensity exercise in a normoxic environment, caused primarily by the effects of acid pH and increased temperature on the position of the HbO2 dissociation curve. 2. We prevented the desaturation incurred during exercise at ∼90% √O2 MAX via increased fraction of inspired O2 (FiO2) (0.23 to 0.29) and showed that exercise time to exhaustion was increased. 3. We used supramaximal magnetic stimulation (1–100 Hz) of the femoral nerve to test for quadriceps fatigue. We used mildly hyperoxic inspirates (FiO2 0.23 to 0.29) to prevent O2 desaturation. We then compared the amount of quadriceps fatigue incurred following cycling exercise at SaO2 91% vs 98% with each trial carried out at identical work rates and for equal durations. 4. Preventing the normal exercise-induced O2 desaturation prevented about one-half the amount of exercise-induced quadriceps fatigue; plasma lactate and effort perception were also reduced. In a subset of less fit subjects who showed only minimal arterial hypoxaemia during sustained exercise (SaO2 ∼95%), breathing a mildly hypoxic inspirate (FiO2 0.17; SaO2 ∼88%) exacerbated the quadriceps fatigue. 5. We conclude that the normal exercise-induced O2 desaturation during heavy-intensity endurance exercise contributes significantly to exercise performance limitation in part because of its effect on locomotor muscle fatigue

A policy context - eLib and the emergence of the subject gateways

This brief paper outlines some of the features of the policy environment which led to the setting up of the influential 'subject gateways' as part of the Electronic Libraries Programme. It has the modest and partial ambition of putting some of the discussions of the time on record. It should be read as a companion piece to two other articles. The first, Law 1994, develops the historical context for the emergence of the data centres, a central component of JISC information infrastructure, and collaterally discusses the broad thrust of JISC's developing informational activity. The second, Dempsey 2000, upon which this piece is partly based, provides a broad discussion of the emergence of the subject gateways and the historical trajectory which led to the setting up of the Resource Discovery Network (RDN), which now provides an umbrella for JISC-funded subject-gateway activity. This article has a particular focus: it looks at some aspects of the policy background which led to the funding of the subject gateways. It does not discuss emerging services and approaches that also influenced developments