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The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate concerning the compatibility of variable pay schemes (VPS) and trade unions, by investigating the effects of the managerial function (to increase management control over employees) and market function (to attract and retain suitably qualified employees) of VPS for trade unions.

A critical case study approach was used to verify how the two varying functions of VPS affect the trade union of a large multi-establishment Irish financial institution. Data are based on a total of 60 in-depth interviews with key informants (trade unions, managers and non-managerial employees) at various levels in the organisational hierarchy and a representative survey of employees.

While the findings confirmed the a priori expectation that the managerial function of VPS is more likely to damage unions than the market function, this study revealed that the interplay between the two functions varied over time and across outlets, and was primarily contingent on the disposition of line management towards the use of VPS and the market context.

The consequences of the shift to a managerial function of VPS following the 2008 economic crisis could only be assessed in a preliminary manner due to the time frame of the study.

Trade unions, managers and employees need to consider the potential gaps between the intended purposes of VPS and their actual implementation to assess whether they are of potential benefit.

This paper contributes to the existing literature in two main ways. First, it adds that the market function of VPS serves managers’ aims not only in aiding them attract, retain and motivate suitably qualified employees as indicated by Flanders (1970), but also in helping them gain great control over labour costs, which in turn, has mixed effects for trade unions. Second, in addition to the pragmatic reasons identified by previous studies, the findings show that a key determinant in unions’ acceptance of VPS involves earlier experiences of unions fighting unsuccessfully against the adoption of VPS.

This study aims to evolve an enhanced butterfly optimization algorithm (BOA) with respect to convergence and accuracy performance for numerous benchmark functions, rigorous constrained engineering design problems and an inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) image motion compensation.

Adaptive BOA (ABOA) is thus developed by incorporating spatial dispersal strategy to the global search and inserting the fittest solution to the local search, and hence its exploration and exploitation abilities are improved.

The accuracy and convergence performance of ABOA are well verified via exhaustive comparisons with BOA and its existing variants such as improved BOA (IBOA), modified BOA (MBOA) and BOA with Levy flight (BOAL) in terms of various precise metrics through 15 classical and 12 conference on evolutionary computation (CEC)-2017 benchmark functions. ABOA has outstanding accuracy and stability performance better than BOA, IBOA, MBOA and BOAL for most of the benchmarks. The design optimization performance of ABOA is also evaluated for three constrained engineering problems such as welded beam design, spring design and gear train design and the results are compared with those of BOA, MBOA and BOA with chaos. ABOA, therefore, optimizes engineering designs with the most optimal variables. Furthermore, a validation is performed through translational motion compensation (TMC) of the ISAR image for an aircraft, which includes blurriness. In TMC, the motion parameters such as velocity and acceleration of target are optimally predicted by the optimization algorithms. The TMC results are elaborately compared with BOA, IBOA, MBOA and BOAL between each other in view of images, motion parameter and numerical image measuring metrics.

The outperforming results reflect the optimization and design successes of ABOA which is enhanced by establishing better global and local search abilities over BOA and its existing variants.

The subject of part‐time work is one which has become increasingly important in industrialised economies where it accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total employment. It is estimated that in 1970, average annual hours worked per employee amounted to only 60% of those for 1870. Two major factors are attributed to explaining the underlying trend towards a reduction in working time: (a) the increase in the number of voluntary part‐time employees and (b) the decrease in average annual number of days worked per employee (Kok and de Neubourg, 1986). The authors noted that the growth rate of part‐time employment in many countries was greater than the corresponding rate of growth in full‐time employment.

This study aims to focus on how reactive diluents with mono- and di-functionalities affect the properties of resin formulation developed from bioderived precursors. A hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) terminated urethane acrylate oligomer was synthesized and characterized to study its application in stereolithography 3D printing with different ratios of isobornyl acrylate and hexanediol diacrylate.

Polyester polyol was synthesized from suberic acid and butanediol. Additionally, isophorone diisocyanate, polyester polyol and HEMA were used to create urethane acrylate oligomer. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ¹H NMR were used to characterize the polyester polyol and oligomer. Various formulations were created by combining oligomer with reactive diluents in concentrations ranging from 0% to 30% by weight and curing with ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The cured coatings and 3D printed specimens were then evaluated for their properties.

The findings revealed an improvement in thermal stability, contact angle value, tensile strength and surface properties of the product which indicated its suitability for use as a 3D printing material.

This study discusses how oligomers that have been cured by UV radiation with mono- and difunctional reactive diluents give excellent coating characteristics and demonstrate suitability and stability for 3D printing applications.

Employers of part‐time labour generally regard it as a means of overcoming scheduling problems either be‐cause of peak demands, staff shortages or when the work itself does not justify full‐time hours. For women, part‐time schedules provide a means of reconciling two, often conflicting, forms of work activity within and outside the home. “The presence of children and the age of the youngest child are, therefore, major determinants of whether women work full or part‐time. Part‐time work is for women a frequent means of re‐entry into the labour force”. (Daly 1986)

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the genesis, operation, and effects of a dispute resolution body known as the National Implementation Body (NIB). The NIB was established by employers, unions, and the State in Ireland and was active between 2000 and 2009. It recorded significant success in resolving major disputes. A distinctive feature of the NIB was its networked character: the body involved key employer and union leaders and senior public servants, who exerted informal pressure on the parties in dispute to reach a settlement either within the NIB process itself or in the State’s mainstream dispute resolution agencies.

The research draws on case studies of disputes and interviews with key members of the NIB.

The findings reveal how the NIB mobilized networks to resolve a series of major disputes that threatened to derail national pay agreements or cause significant economic disruption.

The chapter examines the operation of networked dispute resolution in detail and considers the wider implications of networked dispute resolution in both Continental European and other Anglo-American countries.

The purpose of this paper is to explore attitudes to employment law and the consequent impact of legislation on Irish employment relations practice.

The paper adopts a comparative approach using two separate pieces of employment law governing race equality, and employee information and consultation, respectively. Semi‐structured interviews with key informants are the main data source, augmented in the case of the information and consultation legislation by focus groups in individual workplaces.

The empirical evidence presented suggests that legislation is not the primary initiator of change. In the case of race equality the market was found to be a key determinant of practice (termed “market‐prompted voluntarism”). However, it is argued that regulation can influence change in organisations, depending on the complex dynamic between a number of contingencies, including the aspect of employment being regulated, the presence of supportive institutions, and organisation‐specific variables.

The comparative findings in this research allow some important inferences to be made regarding the use of law to mandate change in employment relations practice. They, in turn, provide useful lessons for future policy makers, managers, trade unionists and workers.

This paper is unique in its comparison of two separate pieces of legislation. In both cases considered, the legislation was prompted by EU Directives, and the obligation on member states to transpose these Directives into national law. The findings suggest that readiness for legislation, based on length of national debate and acceptance of the underlying concept, can influence its impact. The concept of equality seems to have gained widespread acceptance since the debate provoked by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, understanding and acceptance of the concept of employee voice has been much less pronounced in the Anglo‐Saxon world.