The impact of the women of the Technical Section of the Admiralty Air Department on the structural integrity of aircraft during World War One

In 1917, as the air war raged in Europe, some of Britain's finest mathematicians, engineers and scientists engaged in their own battle to understand the fundamentals of aerodynamics and aircraft construction. In London, Wing Commander Alec Ogilvie led the Technical Section of the Admiralty Air Department, which included a number of individuals dedicated to addressing aircraft structural issues; amongst them were three women, Hilda Hudson, Letitia Chitty and Beatrice Cave-Browne-Cave. In this article I describe the aeronautical landscape in Britain during the second decade of the 1900s, the place of these women within it, and their contributions to the structural integrity of early, British military aircraft

Everything and Nothing Changes: Fast-Food Employers and the Threat to Minimum Wage Regulation in Ireland

YesIreland’s selective system of collective agreed minimum wages has come under significant pressure in recent years. A new fast-food employer body took a constitutional challenge against the system of Joint Labour Committees (JLCs) and this was strengthened by the discourse on the negative effects of minimum wages as Ireland’s economic crisis worsened. Taking a historical institutional approach, the article examines the critical juncture for the JLC system and the factors which led to the subsequent government decision to retain but reform the system. The article argues that the improved enforcement of minimum wages was a key factor in the employers’ push for abolition of the system but that the legacy of a collapsed social partnership system prevented the system’s abolition

McStrike! Framing, (political) opportunity and the development of a collective identity: McDonald’s and the UK Fast-Food Rights Campaign

The article examines the development of the UK ‘Fast-Food Rights Campaign’ and the formation of a collective identity amongst McDonald’s UK workers. We illustrate how, despite an acquiescent and fragmented workforce, workers diagnostically frame (recognize, articulate and attribute) perceived injustices relating to their pay and working conditions. However, our main focus is on prognostic framing which brings people ‘together’ to find a ‘consensus’ for a solution to perceived injustices. Prognostic framing also requires the ability to process and interpret information in a holistic way and to reach out for support to external stakeholders such as trade unions. We apply Bourdieu’s theory of capital and the concept of political opportunity to help us ‘unpick’ prognostic framing. In this context, we examine the cultural and social capital of worker leaders, in particular their personal characteristics and, their perceptions about the level of support in the external environmen

Industrial relations in European hypermarkets: Home and host country influences

YesIn this article we examine the industrial relations practices of three large European food retailers when they transfer the hypermarket format to other countries. We ask, first, how industrial relations in hypermarkets differ from those in other food retailing outlets. Second, we examine how far the approach characteristic of each company’s country-of-origin (Germany, France and the UK) shapes the practices adopted elsewhere. Third, we ask how they respond to the specific industrial relations systems of each host country (Turkey, Poland, Ireland and Spain)

The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29

The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies

The work of British women mathematicians during the First World War

Air superiority became a significant aspect of warfare during World War I. Some of Britain’s finest mathematicians, engineers, and scientists were thus engaged in the quest to understand and advance many aspects of aeronautics, including aircraft construction and performance. Optimizing the trajectory of anti-aircraft fire to improve the chances of bringing down enemy aircraft was also a pressing concern. In this chapter we describe part of the aeronautical landscape in Britain during the second decade of the 1900s and consider the backgrounds, roles, and salient contributions of a number of contemporary women mathematicians and scientists

‘low-road americanization’ and the global ‘mcjob’: a longitudinal analysis of work, pay and unionization in the international fast-food industry

This article examines the employment practices of McDonald\u27s and other US-owned multinational corporations (MNCs) in the global fast-food industry from the 1970s to date. It focuses on the impact that different host institutions have had on pay and working conditions in different countries in the industry. The author argues that US fast-food MNCs still adopt the underlying principles of their US practices, even if the practices themselves could not be imposed in their entirety, often keeping unions out of workplaces and preserving their management prerogative, even when sector-level collective agreements have been imposed, and often limiting the impact of such agreements. Whilst some improvements have been achieved in some countries, adequate representation remains a serious problem, with many employees experiencing low pay, inadequate hours, insecure work, unpaid hours and sometimes hazardous and intimidating working conditions. The theoretical effect of host-country influences cannot therefore be automatically assumed; rather, the variations that arise across countries, while indicating national diversity, also emphasize variation within national systems and a limited form of convergence or \u27low-road Americanization\u27 in this sector

The dominance effect? multinational corporations in the italian quick-food service sector

This paper is based on a study of the employment practices of one Italian-owned multinational corporation (MNC) and one US-owned MNC in the Italian quick-food service sector and examines such issues as work organization, unionization, employee representation and pay and conditions. The paper focuses on the concept of \u27dominance\u27 and the related convergence and divergence theses. The findings suggest that dominance can not only be interpreted as a mode of employment or production emanating from one country, but could also be associated with one dominant MNC in one sector. Consequently, it is argued that while the effect of host and home country influences may be significant factors in cross-border employment relations practices, more attention needs to be paid to organizational contingencies and the sectoral characteristics within which firms operate

Low-road Americanization' and the global 'McJob': a longitudinal analysis of work, pay and unionization in the international fast-food industry

This article examines the employment practices of McDonald's and other US-owned multinational corporations (MNCs) in the global fast-food industry from the 1970s to date. It focuses on the impact that different host institutions have had on pay and working conditions in different countries in the industry. The author argues that US fast-food MNCs still adopt the underlying principles of their US practices, even if the practices themselves could not be imposed in their entirety, often keeping unions out of workplaces and preserving their management prerogative, even when sector-level collective agreements have been imposed, and often limiting the impact of such agreements. Whilst some improvements have been achieved in some countries, adequate representation remains a serious problem, with many employees experiencing low pay, inadequate hours, insecure work, unpaid hours and sometimes hazardous and intimidating working conditions. The theoretical effect of host-country influences cannot therefore be automatically assumed; rather, the variations that arise across countries, while indicating national diversity, also emphasize variation within national systems and a limited form of convergence or ‘low-road Americanization’ in this sector