bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recent Trends in Validity Theories of Measurement
Authors: Schwager K. Walter
Published: January 2010

Tendances récentes dans les théories de la validité de la mesure. Depuis 1954, la manière la plus fréquente d'étudier l'adéquation de la mesure a été aux Etats-Unis en psychologie, en sciences de l'éducation et en sociologie, la théorie de la validité. Au départ, on a identifié trois types différentes de validité qui prennent en compte le critère, le contenu et la validation de la construction. Plus récemment, on a constaté des changements importants dans la théorie de la validité où l'on assiste à l'intégration des trois types précédents à l'intérieur de la validation de la construction; puis sont apparues quelques désillusions sur ces concepts de validation de la construction; enfin on s'aperçoit de l'influence croissante de la manière de voir de Donald Campbell en ce qui concerne la mesure. La modélisation de la causalité est maintenant acceptée comme une autre manière d'envisager le test de validité. Le présent texte passe en revue ces modifications et les évalue d'un point de vue méta-théorique.
Liaison Et Information Dans Les Tableaux De Contingence: Comnientaire De L'Article De Frederic Michel
Authors: Cibois Philippe
Published: January 2010

Links and Information in Contingency Tables - Corrimentary on Frédéric Michel's Article. Frédéric Michel's article ("Link Strength and Volume of Information in Contingency Tables- Two Problems of Measure in Data Analysis") published in this Issue, proposes solutions to a certain number of problems. lt would be helpful for research on these problems to sltuate the author's solutions in the framework of preceding research on the question.
The Reliability of Recall Data: a Literature Review
Authors: Dex Shirely
Published: January 2010

La Fiabilité des données de mémoire - Analyse de la littérature scientifique. Cet article analyse la littérature qui tente de tester la fiabilité et la validité des données de mémoire. principalement en ce qui concerne la vie et la carrière professionnelle des individus. Il est important que les concepteurs et analystes d'enquêtes comprennent les contraints de la collecte de données de mémoires fiables et les niveaux de qualité des données collectées. Les références présentées viennent plutôt de scientifiques universitaires en sciences sociales aux Etats-Unis et en Grande-Bretagne, mais aussi de chercheurs gouvernementaux et de psychologues. Les principaux objectifs de l'article sont de présenter l'état des connaissances sur la fiabilité des divers types de données de mémoire et de fournir des informations concernant les choix opérationnels que les concepteurs et les analystes d'enquête doivent faire. Dans ce but, les méthodes, qui ont été utilisées pour tester la validité et la fiabilité des données de mémoire, sont présentées, évaluées et mises en ordre. Dans la pratique, il est très difficile de tester la validité des données de mémoire, mais il y a un certain nombre de méthodes pour en tester la fiabilité.
'New Age' Travellers, Urban Slum Dwellers, Aborigines and Drug Users: Experiences of Collecting Sensitive Data From Marginalised Communities
Authors: Matthews Zoe , Velleman Richard
Published: January 2010

Voyageurs "New Age", habitants de bidonvilles. Aborigènes et toxicomanes - Expériences dans la collecte de données sensibles dans des communautés marginalisées. Cet articles réunit des thèmes communs d'expériences de collecte de données dans deux recherches en cours. Ces projets veulent accroitre la compréhension des comportements et des attitudes dans des communautés marginalisées et touchent des problèmes sensibles: l'un concernant la santé sexuelle (Voyageurs "New Age" dans les sud-ouest de l'Angleterre) et l'autre des expériences de familles de toxicomanes ou d'alcooliques (comparaison d'Aborigènes en Australie. d'habitants de bidonvilles de Mexico et d'habitants du sud-ouest de l'Angleterre). L'hostilité de certains membres de ces communautés envers le projet de recherche a focalisé notre attention sur de méthodes plus adaptées de collecte de données et sur l'utilisation de chercheurs Introduits dans la communauté: ceci montre aussi bien un point fort de l'étude qu'un point critiqué. L'article décrit la méthode de collecte des données pour chacune des études, comprenant la sélection de l'échantillon, les instruments, et la composition de l'équipe de recherche. Une comparaison des expériences des membres des équipes est aussi présentée. Quoique la situation géographique de ces études varie beaucoup, les problèmes de collecte de données montrent des similarités méthodologiques qui peuvent être Importantes pour d'autres chercheurs dans des circonstances analogues.
Closed Structures, Open Structures, Stable Structures: Explaining Structural Form and Temporal Stability of Informal Social Networks in Organizations
Authors: Wittek Rafael
Published: January 2010

Structures fermées. structures ouvertes, structures stables - Etude de la forme structurale et de la stabilité temporelle des réseaux sociaux informels dans des organisations. Les hypothèses qui concement la forme structurelle et la stabilité des réseaux sociaux informels dans des organisations viennent de la théorie des organisations et de l'analyse dynamique des réseaux. Un test empirique exploratoire de ces hypothèses est fait avec la ré-analyse d'une étude longitudinale d'un réseau de relations de confiance/méfiance réalisée dans un grand magasin aux Etats-Unis pendant les années 1950. On explore deux questions. D'abord, on montre que le degré de fermeture du réseau est une fonction des arrangements de partage tels qu'ils émergent des interdépendances fonctionnelles dans les groupes de travail. On montre aussi que les effets vont en partie contre les processus anticipés par le modèle commun d'équilibre structurel. Ensuite, on examine pourquoi certaines structures informelles de réseau restent stables, même sous des conditions: où leur dissolution est anticipée; où des encouragements formels favorisent fortement la compétition au lieu de la coopération; et où les structures informelles au niveau de choix individuels reflètent un type d'échanges limités au lieu d'échanges générallsés. On démontre que la stabilité du réseau étudié accroit significativement avec la présence d'intermédiaires tiers dans la structure. Les résultats soulignent l'importance des tiers occupant le rôle d'intermédiaires pour la stabilité des réseaux sociaux informels et fournit un nouveau point de vue sur la supposée fragilité des échanges limitiés prévue par la théorie des échanges.
The Partisan’s Metamorphosis: From Freelance Military Entrepreneur to German Freedom Fighter, 1740 to 1815
Authors: Rink Martin
Published: January 2010

The unreliability of the ‘mercenary’ is legendary. However, this reputation is distorted, and the same is true of the mercenary’s prima facie antagonist, the ‘partisan’. In the eighteenth century the latter term was typically used to designate a regular detachment leader employed in skirmishes. Here, military action and military economic principles had survived, which gave the fighters a seemingly more archaic appearance than the prevailing pattern of standing armies. While the eighteenth-century term ‘partisan’ referred to a detachment leader who was often also a military entrepreneur, it underwent a metamorphosis to ‘freedom fighter’ in the Napoleonic age.
Intelligence Information and the 1909 Naval Scare: The Secret Foundations of a Public Panic
Authors: Seligmann Matthew
Published: January 2010

Many contemporary historians, echoing the views of the radical critics of the day, believe that the 1909 naval scare was a fabricated panic designed to bounce Asquith’s government into ordering extra battleships for the Royal Navy. By examining the intelligence information that lay behind the Admiralty’s claims that Germany had secretly ordered warships in advance of its programme and was covertly collecting materials for their rapid construction, this article contests this view. It demonstrates that the Admiralty really was in receipt of information on these points, that much of this information was accurate, and that the members of the Board were not, therefore, acting disingenuously when pressing the claim for a strong response. In proving this, the article also demonstrates that British intelligence-gathering activities in the era before the foundation of the Secret Service Bureau were more extensive and more successful than had previously been believed.
Social dialogue in Hungary and its influence on EU accession
Authors: Boda Dorottya , Neumann László
Published: January 2010

The paper reviews the positions of the Hungarian social partners on the labour issues relating to EU accession. In addition to the topics dealt with in the 'Social Policy and Employment' chapter in the accession negotiations, the paper also discusses unions' and employers'views on labour migration, as well as how the adaptation of EU regulations in various sectors is likely to affect employment prospects. The paper argues that, on the one hand, social dialogue on EU accession can become more meaningful if employers and unions develop a co-ordinated strategy. On the other hand, appropriate back-up by experts is also required, because social partners ought to influence the complex system of negotiations being conducted, by experts of both the EU Commission and the Hungarian government, behind the scenes of high-level political negotiations.

The authors also analyse the operation of social dialogue fora dedicated to EU accession issues. Hungary was the first East European candidate country to establish a joint committee with the Economic and Social Council (ESC), and within the country labour-related issues of accession have been delegated to the newly founded European Integration Council. In these fora the behaviour of trade unions is largely a consequence of the frustration over the fact that the current right-wing coalition government does not wish to go any further than formally observe the unions' consulting rights on major issues. At the same time organisational weakness and internal divisions still exist on the trade union side.
The concept of labour in a European perspective
Authors: Coenen Harry , Hortulanus Roelof
Published: January 2010

In this article, we first look at the pillars and guidelines of the European Employment Strategy that form the agreed targets of EU countries, and on which they base their National Action Plans concerning employment and labour market policies. In spite of the fundamental changes taking place in society in recent years, these pillars and guidelines have remained basically unchanged. We reflect critically on the EU targets and the principles underlying them, and comment on the implications of the narrow concept of labour inherent to the EU policies. In addition, we will explore how the traditional, narrow labour concept could be confronted with a more differentiated viewpoint, and consider the possible meaning of a basic income within this perspective. Finally, we make some remarks on developing such an alternative point of view, taking the perspective of modernisation of our traditional labour system as our point of departure.
High performance work systems in the U.S. context
Authors: Voos Paula B. , Kim Haejin
Published: January 2010

In the 1990s, a dominant consensus has been established among industrial relations scholars in the United States regarding the effects of high performance work systems on productivity and firm performance. High performance work systems result in economically meaningful improvements in efficiency and profitability, particularly when they are implemented in an integrated fashion that gives workers significant responsibility and authority to make decisions, provides the needed skills to those workers, and simultaneously gives them appropriate incentives for solving problems. The article reviews the research base for this view, along with challenges to and criticisms of it. One conclusion is that more focus on the effect of these systems on employees is needed. While some recent studies find positive effects on compensation and job security, others are less sanguine, particularly for certain types of employees. The article ends with an overview of how U.S. union policy debates have evolved with increased experience with these work systems.
Pacts for employment and competitiveness – an opportunity to reflect on the role and practice of collective bargaining
Authors: Sisson Keith
Published: January 2010

Pacts for employment and competitiveness (PECs) raise understandable concerns about the potential for ‘concession bargaining', ‘regime competition’ and the fragmentation of the inclusive collective bargaining structures characteristic of most European national systems. PECs are not themselves the source of the problem, however, and are unlikely to be a temporary phenomenon. Rather PECs are a manifestation of wider changes taking place in the process and structure of collective bargaining, reflecting the more complex role collective bargaining is playing in the light of ‘globalisation’ in general and ‘Europeanisation’ in particular. These developments are also bringing about a measure of convergence across EU countries in the form of substantial changes in the levels, scope, form and output of collective bargaining, all of which are being encouraged by the emerging multi-level system of industrial relations in Europe.
Pacts for employment and competitiveness in Europe
Authors: Freyssinet Jacques , Seifert Hartmut
Published: January 2010

This article analyses collectively agreed PECs in 11 EU countries, focusing on their importance for employment and collective bargaining policy. It is shown that, irrespective of differences in emphasis, the agreements reached generally constitute a productive alternative to the prevailing strategy of responding to declining demand primarily by shedding labour. PECs, by contrast, do not rely mainly on short-term cost-cutting, but rather seek to raise both productivity and flexibility by means of comprehensive restructuring measures within the company. The focus is on improving internal flexibility; indeed external flexibility is often reduced by way of job guarantees. An important role is also played by steps to redistribute work via working time reductions.
Getting in gear for global competition: pacts on employment and competitiveness in the EU automobile industry
Authors: Zagelmeyer Stefan
Published: January 2010

During the 1990s, company or plant-level collective agreements on employment and competitiveness were forged at most car producers in the European Union. These pacts aim at maintaining or creating jobs and at improving the competitiveness of the plant or company in intra-conglomerate as well as inter-company competition. This paper analyses these employment pacts and discusses their implications for labour relations. It concludes that these pacts should not just be seen as examples of concession bargaining, but rather as emerging forms of cooperative labour relations, focusing on adjusting the governance of the employment relationship to the imperatives of joint competitive success.
Democratic control of public enterprise in the United States: a history of regulation and liberalisation in the electricity sector
Authors: Oppenheim Jerrold , MacGregor Theo
Published: January 2010

The system of democratic regulation of privately owned utilities that has evolved in the United States over the past century includes five main elements: participation; transparency; a standard of justice and reasonableness; protection against confiscation of utility assets; and prices that are related to costs. After setting these elements forth and explaining how they are balanced, we describe how the system failed in a series of relatively small but highly visible experiments with deregulation in California and elsewhere in the US. Finally, we outline the history of how democratic regulation evolved in the US and how democracy is reversing the failed experiment with deregulation in California.
Banking and finance in France and Germany. New regulations of work and working time - a challenge for the trade unions?
Authors: Haipeter Thomas
Published: January 2010

In response to the globalisation of financial markets and restructuring of national finance systems, the banks in both countries are pursuing far-reaching strategies for reorganisation in accordance with the ‘lean banking’ model. The organisation of working time, initially neglected, has now moved centre-stage in this process of reorganisation, and flexible working practices have become the order of the day. In spite of these common strategic starting points, however, the models of flexibility adopted in these two countries differ fundamentally from one another. The difference is to some extent attributable to the different institutional arrangements, and above all the training system, which in Germany caters for a broad general training but in France is unilaterally geared to the development of sales skills. The article discusses the implications of these different trends for trade unions in the two countries.
Social dialogue in candidate countries: what for?
Authors: Lado Maria , Vaughan-Whitehead Daniel
Published: January 2010

In their negotiations for accession to the EU, candidate countries have made important social policy commitments. These include the promotion of social dialogue up to EU standards and the application of the principles and values that prevail in this area. Accordingly, governments of candidate countries are trying to promote appropriate conditions for such social dialogue to take place, while social partners are reinforcing their structures to play their full role in the social dialogue process. Nevertheless, there has been little debate about the real objectives of social dialogue in the candidate countries. What is social dialogue for, what has it achieved so far, and why is it so important to develop it further? Who are expected to be the ultimate beneficiaries of social dialogue mechanisms and practices? What implications might current features of social dialogue in candidate countries have in the enlarged European Union? This article provides a first tentative assessment of the coverage of social dialogue - and thus of the effectiveness of social dialogue mechanisms - in the candidate countries.
European Works Councils: what is the current state of play?
Authors: Waddington Jeremy , Kerckhofs Peter
Published: January 2010

The European Works Council (EWC) Directive of 1994 allowed for the creation of European works councils, which were envisaged as supranational institutions with sufficient regulatory powers to constitute a potential cornerstone of a European industrial relations system. This article examines the extent to which the expectations placed in EWCs have been met. The article comprises four sections: an assessment of the number of EWC agreements and the coverage of the Directive; a review of the content of the EWC agreements and the factors that influence their terms; an identification of the principal items dealt with by EWCs; and a presentation of the views of EWC representatives on an agenda to improve the functioning of EWCs. The article argues that EWCs are an institution in process; the coverage of EWCs has been extended, but insufficient attention has been devoted to developing the agenda of those EWCs that are in place. Although the European Industry Federations have taken the initiative to develop EWCs in many areas, it is unclear whether they have the resources to deepen the activities of the EWCs.
European policy on immigration
Authors: Solé Carlota
Published: January 2010

This article deals with European immigration control and integration policies as public policies. Control and integration are the two main drivers of immigration policy. From a comparative perspective, the distinction between economic and political migration is made and the occupational and labour situation for northern and southern European countries is presented. Some of the differences between European countries in the interplay of control and integration policies are analysed in relation to transnationalism and the construction of a European identity.
The process of recruitment of immigrants in the construction sector. The cases of Italy and Portugal
Authors: Fellini Ivana , Góis Pedro , Marques José Carlos
Published: January 2010

This article deals with the recruitment and employment of foreign workers in the Italian and Portuguese construction sectors. The two countries show a very similar structure and organisation of the sector. Nevertheless, Italy only ‘imports’ immigrants for the sector whereas Portugal both imports foreign labour and exports construction workers on the European market. On the basis of a comparative analysis of the occupational structure of foreign workers and of interviews with construction employers in the two countries this article examines such differences and discusses how (also with reference to irregular work and the underground economy) and why the construction sector represents a key sector for the economic insertion and adaptation of immigrants in the Mediterranean area. Skills shortages and labour cost issues are highlighted as factors affecting recruitment of foreigners in a sector characterised by a very high level of deregulation and informality, and in which processes of downsizing on the one hand and externalisation on the other have had as an important outcome the nearly exclusive role of subcontracting in the recruitment of semi- and low-skilled workers.
Trouble with EMU: fiscal policy and its implications for inter-country adjustment and the wage-bargaining process
Authors: Allsopp Christopher , Watt Andrew
Published: January 2010

This article takes a somewhat unusual line on the Stability and Growth Pact. While the Pact clearly suffers from very considerable defects, in fact many of the problems encountered in the area of fiscal policy originate elsewhere, notably in monetary policy and in the neglected problems of inter-country adjustment in a common currency area. The linkáges between these areas and the Pact, with its asymmetrical form of operation, are discussed, along with reform ideas for the Pact. The authors conclude that a greater focus on national inflation targets - implying stronger coordination with wage trends - rather than the present focus on unattainable deficit targets is an avenue that needs to be explored.
The European social dialogue in the 1990s: institutional innovations and new paradigms
Authors: Goetschy Janine
Published: January 2010

This article describes the major changes undergone by social dialogue in the 1990s. Two distinct periods are covered. The first, following in the wake of the Maastricht Social Agreement annexed to the Maastricht Treaty (1992), did not produce the expected new impetus and results. The novel institutional device of ‘collective bargaining in the shadow of the law’, though an advantage in some respects, was also a source of weakness for the social dialogue. The most striking feature of the second period, covering the later part of the 1990s, is the impressive diversification of institutional forms of social dialogue, a development that ought to multiply its chances of success, even if the new forms tend to be rather less ambitious. Four main new developments are described:

• Diversification of the forums for discussion;

• Increase in the number and type of topics covered;

• Use of OMC tools in the context of the social dialogue;

• Search for new ways of establishing connections between different forms and levels of social dialogue.

Whether this proliferation of ‘entry points’, arenas and discussion topics will serve to strengthen the actors and improve the results of the European social dialogue remains an open question.
Is the societal dialogue at the local level the future of social dialogue?
Authors: Boulin Jean-Yves , Mückenberger Ulrich
Published: January 2010

The modern ‘network society’ restructures the system of ‘voice’ as it has come down from the past. Decision-making is drifting away from particular plants, organisations and institutions, and is becoming fluid — whereas voice remains fixed to plants, organisations and institutions. The tentative thesis put forward in this article is that only both regional/local and global ‘voice networking’ may be capable of coping with the decision-making character of the network society. This leads to efforts to integrate, into the bargaining processes, also representatives of civil society — NGOs on a European and supranational level, various ‘stakeholders' on a local and regional level. This gives two new roles to social dialogue: it has to take place not only on a sectoral, but also on a territorial level (‘la négociation sociale territorialisée’); and it has to ‘open up’ towards the territorial stakeholders (‘le dialogue sociétal’). Local time policies are taken as an example for such a new function of territorial social dialogue.
International Framework Agreements: global industrial relations between rights and bargaining
Authors: Hammer Nikolaus
Published: January 2010

This paper examines the emergence and the main features of International Framework Agreements (IFAs). IFAs originated in the 1980s and proliferated after 2000. They aim to secure core labour rights across multinational corporations' global supply chains. Global Union Federations, as well as other global (World Company and Works Councils), regional (European Works Councils or European Industry Federations) and national trade union structures, are parties to IFAs. Based on various features of international trade union activity, such as World Company Councils, codes of conduct, the trade and labour rights campaign or international social dialogue, IFAs constitute an important and innovative tool of international industrial relations. An analysis of the substantive and procedural provisions of IFAs leads to an analytical distinction between ‘rights' agreements and ‘bargaining’ agreements. The article assesses the substantive and procedural aspects of the 38 IFAs concluded before June 2005. Finally, key issues such as the scope of agreements, trade union capacity, and global supply chains are discussed in the context of international labour's campaigning, organising and negotiation activities.
The Vaxholm case from a Swedish and European perspective
Authors: Ahlberg Kerstin , Bruun Niklas , Malmberg Jonas
Published: January 2010

The Vaxholm (or Laval) case concerns an industrial action undertaken on a building site in Vaxholm, a town not far from Stockholm, Sweden. The work was performed by Latvian workers employed by a Latvian company. In order to put pressure on the company to conclude a collective agreement the Swedish Building workers' union initiated industrial action, including a ban on all building and installation. This blockade was supported by the Electricians' Union through a secondary action. Both the primary and the secondary actions were lawful under Swedish law. The case raises the question whether the industrial action or Swedish law is contrary to Community law on the free movement of services or the Posted Workers Directive. The case is now pending before the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The aim of this article is to present the background and context of the Vaxholm case for a non-Swedish audience and to outline the main issues of legal interpretation at stake, as well as their background in the Swedish industrial relations system and in Swedish and European law. The authors also point to some probable solutions in the light of earlier case-law of the ECJ.
Dynamic neo-corporatism - regulating work and welfare in Denmark
Authors: Mailand Mikkel
Published: January 2010

This article describes how the interaction between the state and the social partners in Denmark has developed in four welfare-related policy areas (pensions, activation, continuous training, and maternity/paternity leave) and to what extent the interaction has led to corporatist arrangements. It is argued, first, that corporatism continues to play a role in Danish labour market and welfare state regulation, mostly in the form of ad hoc agreements on policy formulation and permanent involvement in implementation within specific policy areas and, secondly, that the ‘grey zone’, where the division of responsibilities between state and social partners is unclear, has been extended. The state and the social partners therefore have to define a new division of responsibilities.
Gender and the quality of work: an overview of European and national approaches
Authors: Scheele Alexandra
Published: January 2010

At the Lisbon Summit in 2000 the EU Member States agreed to create more and better jobs over the coming decade. The quality of work is also part of the European Employment Strategy. This article examines how the quality of work is defined and how it is linked to gender issues. The article presents the differing levels and types of women's and men's integration into the labour market and discusses the limitations of the existing concepts of quality of work and their national implementation.
Employee participation, ethics and corporate social responsibility
Authors: Daugareilh Isabelle
Published: January 2010

Employee participation is deemed necessary in the name of good governance and corporate social responsibility. For this reason it forms an essential aspect of legal instruments drafted by international public institutions and aimed at multinational enterprises. Despite this, enterprises clearly prefer to take a unilateral approach in the rules they adopt to implement CSR policies, and an individual approach to employee relations, to the detriment of collective labour relations. CSR thus presents two radically different facets: one of which is favourable to transnational social dialogue, while the other presents firms with an opportunity to regain areas of control over their employees at the expense of public freedoms and fundamental rights. The co-existence of these two aspects of CSR confronts public authorities with the following dilemma: either they allow self-regulation to take its course, and risk seeing violations of international labour law and national legislation, or they intervene in order to ensure compliance with existing international instruments.
Citizenship, the market and democracy
Authors: Cella Gian Primo
Published: January 2010

The recent waves of privatisation and liberalisation have affected not only forms of economic regulation but also the very nature of citizenship and democracy. It is one thing to privatise a bank or airline; while it is quite another for government to withdraw from directly delivering public welfare services or from the major public utilities. This article analyses the way in which the latest phase of liberalisation and privatisation has transformed the very nature of that citizenship which, in the vision of T. H. Marshall, made it possible to construct a genuine industrial citizenship. To this end we develop the thinking and research which led some to speak of the advent of ‘post-democracy’. The argument that the opportunities granted by ‘exit’ (typical of market choice) are overestimated proves to be the crucial one, especially where the quality of social services are concerned. We therefore revisit Hirschman's well-known ‘exit/voice’ model before, in the concluding section, making a few proposals as to how a fresh approach could be taken to the problem of choosing between forms of regulation, in which a significant role could be played by ‘encompassing’ organisations such as major trade union confederations.
New immigration and labour markets in western Europe: a trade-off between unemployment and job quality?
Authors: Reyneri Emilio , Fullin Giovanna
Published: January 2010

New immigrants have been integrated into the labour markets of receiving countries in very different ways. In the ‘old’ receiving countries of central and northern Europe their unemployment rate has proved much higher than that of natives, while those in jobs have found reasonably skilled work in line with their educational credentials. In the ‘new’ receiving countries of southern Europe, by contrast, the unemployment rate of immigrants is only slightly higher than that of natives, but even the best-educated among them occupy very poor-quality jobs. This article sets out to explain the reasons for this discrepancy, which lie not only in the different methods of entry and variations in welfare state generosity, but also in the diverse composition of the demand for labour. We conclude by highlighting some short- and medium-term problems posed by this state of affairs.
The focus of the new trade union. Opinions of members and non-members regarding social differences and trade union priorities in the Netherlands
Authors: Meer Marc Van Der , Abeelen Roos Van Os Van Den , Visser Jelle
Published: January 2010

Trade union legitimacy at national level is increasingly coming under pressure due to the new social challenges arising from the shifting of decision making from national to both international and decentralised levels. In this article we discuss representative opinion research on the social differences perceived by Dutch citizens and the priorities on which trade unions should focus. This allows us to relate the emerging criticisms of the unbalanced composition of Dutch trade union membership to issues of ‘positive’ coordination and policy-making legitimacy in light of internal trade union democracy and the representation of younger labour market cohorts.
Equal opportunity for women and men and the employment policy of the EU - a critical review of the European Union's approach
Authors: Rubery Jill , Maier Friederike
Published: January 2010

At the Essen Summit the promotion of equality of opportunity for men and women was identified alongside the fight against unemployment as the paramount tasks of the European Union and its member states. According equal priority to equal treatment and combating unemployment should in principle do much to raise awareness of equality issues in discussions of labour market policies and labour market analysis. Higher employment rates and reduced unemployment, the objectives reaffirmed by the Essen summit, are essential for progress to be made towards equal treatment. However, equality of priority also implies recognising the potential contradictions between specific policies which may be advocated in the name of reducing unemployment on the one hand, with the objective of increasing gender equality on the other. Our article is organised as follows: in the first section we discuss the analysis of the employment problems faced by the EU and develop the argument, why the White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment failed to identify the interaction between gender equality and employment. In the second section we discuss how a "gender perspective" could help to sharpen and inform the analysis, not only of the White paper, but of policy making as well. To illustrate our arguments, we concentrate on three aspects of future labour market and employment developments: the working time issue, job creation in service sector industries and the development of training and further training. In the third section we discuss the necessity of an integrated policy approach towards equal opportunity and employment policy.
Flexible employment practices and working time patterns: the potential for and limits of ecological impact
Authors: Garcia Ernest , La Roca Francese , Hildebrandt Eckart , Kühleis Christoph
Published: January 2010

The discussion about the relationship between employment policy and environment policy has been predominantly about the extent to which environmental issues can be brought into industrial relations policy. Environmental problems are perceived as additional factors of influence, which have an impact on job security and working conditions, and which have so far not been adequately taken into account in standards and rules. From the current viewpoint of union representatives, conservation of the environment is being brought into discussion in the form of an "employment policy extended to include the environment". Progress made in this field in recent years is increasingly undermined by radical changes in the labour market. The current phase is being determined by high and rising rates of unemployment, growing numbers of casual and temporary jobs and stagnating pay levels. The strategies of management focus on increasing the flexibility of the workforce, in the form of flexible employment conditions, and more flexible use of laboúr. These changes in the crucial framework conditions for paid employment are bound to have a significant influence on the attitudes and behaviour of employees with regard to conservation of the environment.

In the following article, we shall be looking at two aspects: Garcia and La Roca (1) deal with the increase in casual and temporary jobs, and Hildebrandt and Kühleis (2) deal with new patterns of working hours. This different emphasis relates to different aspects of "increased flexibility" . On the one hand, flexibility can be seen as a sign of increasing job insecurity, with the consequence that the scope for sustainable attitudes and behaviour is less than before. If, on the other hand, increased flexibility is seen as an opportunity for negotiating more leisure time and power for workers to allocate their time as they want - as in the German case - the room for manoeuvre is greater and it opens up possibilities for a sustainable way of life. The remarks in the first section deal with a representative survey of current attitudes in Spain, and lead to predominantly ' negative results. The second section deals with new models of working hours, and in this context, it examines the conditions and opportunities for positive changes in the lifestyle of employees.

The approaches in the first and second section are not directly comparable, but they do provide insight into possible consequences of new management strategies for ecological commitment among employees in their working and leisure time.
Pension systems in the European Union and aspects of socio-economic change
Authors: Döring Diether
Published: January 2010

The European Union has different traditions concerning the main concept of social security in general, and of retirement and pension benefits. Different political decisions dictate the range of personal coverage, how benefits are calculated and how the systems are financed. Within this paper, the author will try to distinguish the different types of core systems and will present a rough grouping of twelve national systems.

The systems that provide social protection in old age have entered a period of massive socioeconomic change. This includes changes in the structure of employment, and of family life. At the same time, most European countries have become countries of immigration. The author does not intend to make a detailed analysis of these changes themselves, but rather to select elements of them, and examine different types of old age security systems within these changes.
Delivering the goods - trade unions and public sector reform
Authors: Martin Brendan
Published: January 2010

Public sector reform has found what many would see as unlikely champions, argues Brendan Martin - the public sector workers and their unions. Caricatured as bent on defending their power and privileges, they have in recent years come up with original and imaginative ideas on how to deliver high-quality, low-cost services. The key lies in trusting the front-line staff, and allowing them a lot more say in designing, and controlling their work. Not surprisingly, this has met with resistance from managers and politicians. Many of them are now showing that their real concern was political - a deep-rooted hostility to any form of collective provision - or financial - focusing on costs, rather than cost-effectiveness. Brendan Martin backs his case by looking at two rival models: the Tilburg model, based on a town council in the Netherlands, which turned a budget deficit into six annual surpluses by consulting and involving staff and unions; and the Lewisham model, based on the inner London borough of Lewisham, where the local authority earned awards for its clean streets, but at the price of mass lobbies, strike threats, and a soured industrial relations atmosphere. The Tilburg model is creaking now, as Brendan Martin concedes. But it, rather than the Lewisham approach, has pointed the way forward and has been developed by other local authorities in Europe. And he argues that it focuses attention on the real questions: how do we measure value in the public services? When we use those services, are we citizens or clients or customers? And how do we balance the three imperatives of keeping costs low, and quality and labour standards high?
Trade Unionists and Politics: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Armingeon Klaus
Published: January 2010

The article is concerned with the political attitudes and electoral behaviour of trade union members in western Europe from 1973 to 1995. To what extent has there been a decline of ideology among European trade unionists? How different are political stances of white-collar union members compared to the traditional core blue-collar membership and to non-organised employees? These are the guiding questions. Based on a re-analysis of large surveys, little evidence can be mobilised for the end-of-ideology hypothesis. Union members have had and continue to have different political attitudes and behaviour than non-unionised employees. However, these differences are not so great—neither in the 1990s nor in the 1970s. Many of the assumptions about declining affiliation of union members to particular political parties and programmes in the 1990s might be due to an overestimation of the strength of this affiliation in the past.
Working time reduction in the Netherlands: past developments and future prospects
Authors: Plantenga Janneke , Dur Robert A. J.
Published: January 2010

The authors illustrate how, in the case of the Netherlands, different periods have been characterised by different forms of working time reduction. Whereas, during the periods between 1970 and 1975 and between 1980 and 1985, collectively agreed working time fell by over 8 per cent and by almost 6 per cent respectively, the emphasis since the mid-eighties has been on the spread of part-time employment. Without the strong reduction in working time, the "employment miracle" of the Netherlands could not be explained. In parallel with working time reduction, there has been a lengthening of plant operation times and the introduction of variable working time patterns. Now that unemployment levels have fallen considerably, the pressure for a further reduction of working time has let off.
The role of the social partners in the European employment strategy
Authors: Foden David
Published: January 2010

This article considers the part played by the social partners in the development of the European employment strategy over recent months, and in particular their role with reference to the European employment policy guidelines for 1999. The guidelines and national implementation reports are central to the "Luxembourg process" defined in the Employment Title of the Amsterdam Treaty (which has been in force since May 1999, though the Employment Title was largely implemented by political agreement from 1997 onwards). Much of the European-level debate on employment during 1999 has concerned the "European pact for employment", which was heralded by the Vienna European Council of December 1998, and which all the relevant actors were urged to support. Agreement on the pact was reached at the June 1999 European Council in Cologne. This article begins, therefore, by describing the different elements which constitute the pact. The role of the social partners in relation to these components, including the Luxembourg process where it is most developed, is set out in the core of the article, with greater emphasis on trade union than employer involvement. The concluding section provides an overview.
Classical and/or alternative NF-κB pathway activation in multiple myeloma
Authors: Demchenko Yulia N. , Glebov Oleg K. , Zingone Adriana , Keats Jonathan J. , Bergsagel P. Leif , Kuehl W. Michael
Published: January 2010

Mutations involving the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway are present in at least 17% of multiple myeloma (MM) tumors and 40% of MM cell lines (MMCLs). These mutations, which are apparent progression events, enable MM tumors to become less dependent on bone marrow signals that activate NF-κB. Studies on a panel of 51 MMCLs provide some clarification of the mechanisms through which these mutations act and the significance of classical versus alternative activation of NF-κB. First, only one mutation (NFKB2) selectively activates the alternative pathway, whereas several mutations (CYLD, NFKB1, and TACI) selectively activate the classical pathway. However, most mutations affecting NF-κB–inducing kinase (NIK) levels (NIK, TRAF2, TRAF3, cIAP1&2, and CD40) activate the alternative but often both pathways. Second, we confirm the critical role of TRAF2 in regulating NIK degradation, whereas TRAF3 enhances but is not essential for cIAP1/2-mediated proteasomal degradation of NIK in MM. Third, using transfection to selectively activate the classical or alternative NF-κB pathways, we show virtually identical changes in gene expression in one MMCL, whereas the changes are similar albeit nonidentical in a second MMCL. Our results suggest that MM tumors can achieve increased autonomy from the bone marrow microenvironment by mutations that activate either NF-κB pathway.
Hepatic zonation of carbon and nitrogen fluxes derived from glutamine and ammonia transformations
Authors: Comar Jurandir F , Suzuki-Kemmelmeier Fumie , Constantin Jorgete , Bracht Adelar
Published: January 2010

Background

Glutaminase predominates in periportal hepatocytes and it has been proposed that it determines the glutamine-derived nitrogen flow through the urea cycle. Glutamine-derived urea production should, thus, be considerably faster in periportal hepatocytes. This postulate, based on indirect observations, has not yet been unequivocally demonstrated, making a direct investigation of ureogenesis from glutamine highly desirable.

Methods

Zonation of glutamine metabolism was investigated in the bivascularly perfused rat liver with [U-14C]glutamine infusion (0.6 mM) into the portal vein (antegrade perfusion) or into the hepatic vein (retrograde perfusion).

Results

Ammonia infusion into the hepatic artery in retrograde and antegrade perfusion allowed to promote glutamine metabolism in the periportal region and in the whole liver parenchyma, respectively. The results revealed that the space-normalized glutamine uptake, indicated by14CO2production, gluconeogenesis, lactate production and the associated oxygen uptake, predominates in the periportal region. Periportal predominance was especially pronounced for gluconeogenesis. Ureogenesis, however, tended to be uniformly distributed over the whole liver parenchyma at low ammonia concentrations (up to 1.0 mM); periportal predominance was found only at ammonia concentrations above 1 mM. The proportions between the carbon and nitrogen fluxes in periportal cells are not the same along the liver acinus.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the results of the present work indicate that the glutaminase activity in periportal hepatocytes is not the rate-controlling step of the glutamine-derived nitrogen flow through the urea cycle. The findings corroborate recent work indicating that ureogenesis is also an important ammonia-detoxifying mechanism in cells situated downstream to the periportal region.