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This research aims to examine non‐union and union representative arrangements at the Eurotunnel call centre and assesses their effectiveness in representing the needs of employees.

The research examines these issues over a five‐year period using a series of employee surveys, interviews and focus groups. This period has also allowed a review of consultation arrangements before and after union recognition and an examination of the outcomes from such arrangements.

The evidence suggests that the non‐union voice structures at Eurotunnel are used as devices for information and communications rather than true consultation mechanisms or bargaining agents. However, the challenge for the trade union at the Eurotunnel call centre is that what can be regarded as a success in some aspects (increased trade union membership and presence) has not resulted in a change in attitudes towards unions by a majority of Eurotunnel employees. This could be seen as one of the major challenges for union‐employer partnership arrangements.

Generalising the findings of this case to other call centres in non‐union workplaces and firms can be problematic, given the unique ownership and structure of Eurotunnel.

These results would suggest that, while trade unions may provide greater voice than non‐union arrangements, the strength of voice is dependent on the legitimacy and effectiveness of trade unions in representing employees' interests at the workplace. Potentially it could have far‐reaching implications for employers, unions and government policy regarding the structures needed for providing effective consultation and representative structures.

Uniquely, it highlights the potential limitations and dangers for employers and unions in not addressing the needs and expectations of workers in any workplace.

Online health question-and-answer (Q&A) forums have developed a new business model whereby listeners (peer patients) can pay to read health information derived from consultations between askers (focal patients) and answerers (physicians). However, research exploring the mechanism behind peer patients' purchase decisions and the specific nature of the information driving these decisions has remained limited. This study aims to develop a theoretical model for understanding how peer patients make such decisions based on limited information, i.e. the first question displayed in each focal patient-physician interaction record, considering argument quality (interrogative form and information details) and source credibility (patient experience of focal patients), including the contingent role of urgency.

The model was tested by text mining 1,960 consultation records from a popular Chinese online health Q&A forum on the Yilu App. These records involved interactions between focal patients and physicians and were purchased by 447,718 peer patients seeking health-related information until this research.

Patient experience embedded in focal patients' questions plays a significant role in inducing peer patients to purchase previous consultation records featuring exchanges between focal patients and physicians; in particular, increasingly detailed information is associated with a reduced probability of making a purchase. When focal patients demonstrate a high level of urgency, the effect of information details is weakened, while the interrogative form is strengthened.

The originality of this study lies in its exploration of the monetization mechanism forming the trilateral relationship between askers (focal patients), answerers (physicians) and listeners (peer patients) in the business model “paying to view others' answers” in the online health Q&A forum and the moderating role of urgency in explaining the mechanism of how first questions influence peer patients' purchasing behavior.

To judge from the published literature, recent conference topics, or any listserv where academic reference issues are discussed, reference service reforms are in the air. A steady increase in the sheer number of users seeking reference help, driven largely by the proliferation of new information technologies, has led to a questioning of the traditional structure and mission of the library reference desk. Brandeis University Libraries' approach, which has been described by Virginia Massey‐Burzio, is one example of such a reform. The essential change that the Brandeis model entailed was this: Brandeis' Main Library had included a reference desk at which one librarian at a time was assisted by one graduate student helper. Under the new model, reference services are divided in two: the graduate assistants staff an information desk, which is responsible for concerns like directional questions and quick look‐ups, while the librarians staff a research consultation office where more substantive questions are dealt with at greater length. The primary goal of this tiered approach, which we call the “research consultation model,” was to improve services to the classes of patrons who most need professional reference assistance, while also increasing professional job satisfaction in the face of the ongoing information explosion. (A more complete description of the model is given below under the heading: “Some characteristics of a research consultation model.”)

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the challenges for public participation in river basin management and planning and to develop a set of guidelines for a successful public consultation.

The current paper describes and analyses the requirements and expectations regarding public participation in river basin planning and identifies some obstacles and recommendations for the process.

The research carried out identified a wide range of challenges for the practical implementation of the public involvement in river basin planning as stated in the Water Framework Directive. The involvement of the public is critical for a successful implementation of the Water Framework Directive. Hence, public participation is greatly emphasised in the Directive. Article 14 of the Water Framework Directive requires that Member States encourage involvement of all stakeholders into the implementation process, especially into the River Basin Management Planning.

The paper may assist river basin managers to design, perform and evaluate the public consultation of river basin management plans.

The paper analyses the obstacles for the public consultation as part of the Water Framework Directive implementation. Based on the analysis the paper defines a range of guidelines and recommendations for the practical consultation design. This work is original, as no such analysis has been carried out before.

With the advent of the Darzi review in 2008, and more recently the White Paper “Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS” (2010), the NHS in England is being redesigned to provide high quality, person‐centred services with improved capacity and performance. In this change oriented scenario, stakeholder consultation has a critical role to play given the widespread advocacy in government policy and healthcare literature. In order to support informed decision making, the purpose of this paper is to: explore healthcare infrastructure planning through various approaches to stakeholder consultation within English Primary Care Trusts (PCTs); and develop a conceptual approach to strategic asset management (SAM) based on the findings of stakeholder consultation and engagement exercises.

A multi‐method triangulation approach including action research has been adopted to evaluate current stakeholder consultation practices with a local PCT and to explore their approach to healthcare infrastructure planning through: a literature review of stakeholder engagement and theory; evaluation of a local consultation exercise; and a web based document review of consultation practices within 149 English PCTs.

PCT estate managers and healthcare planners have to operate within constantly changing dynamic healthcare environments and need to reduce uncertainty and indecision that often surrounds the debate of reconfiguration of healthcare facilities and services. Consultations by the PCTs vary in: the level of detail provided to the public; sample sizes; detail and transparency of the consultation; distribution and analyses of the consultation; and techniques and approaches.

The findings of this study can be used by healthcare policy makers to: inform how clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) could be better involved during patient and public engagement; and determine practical ways of putting patients at the heart of General Practitioners (GP) commissioning.

The research identifies gaps within current stakeholder consultation practices in English PCTs and develops a conceptual approach to SAM that accounts for stakeholder consultation; decision making levels within healthcare infrastructure planning within a wider competency based organisational view, which currently does not exist.

The recent introduction of the European Directive on information and consultation and its forthcoming implementation into United Kingdom (UK) law has increased the focus on workplace representation arrangements. This paper examines the interplay between non-union and union representative arrangements at Eurotunnel (UK) and assesses their effectiveness in representing the needs of employees over a five-year period. Importantly, the paper also examines the pros and cons of both non-union employee representation and union voice arrangements. The findings show that the effectiveness of non-union structures as bodies representing the interests of employees in filling the lack of representation is questionable. However, union recognition through an employer-union partnership agreement has also raised important issues regarding the effectiveness, impact and legitimacy of unions at Eurotunnel. The main implication of this research is that the existence of a mechanism – union or non-union – for communication between management and employees at the workplace may not be a sufficient condition for representation of employee interests. Effective employee voice over workplace issues may be essential for achieving and maintaining employee satisfaction. Voice, the right to be heard and having influence over workplace issues and at times an acknowledgement of differing interests may be essential conditions for more effective decision-making process.

The new Amsterdam Treaty — which incorporates the Social Chapter — was signed in October. The UK will now be affected by a number of European directives from which it had previously opted out. Employee information and consultation is one such directive. This article describes the best practice revealed by Towers Perrin research in implementing this directive. The results point towards the logic of companies taking a strategic look at their communications in order to develop a cohesive policy that takes into account the requirements of this and other forthcoming European social legislation that has communication as its central theme.

The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast research on collaborative information seeking (CIS) and expertise seeking (EXS) to identify focal themes, blind spots, and possibilities for cross-fertilization.

Existing research was reviewed. The review consisted of a content analysis of 70 (CIS) and 72 (EXS) studies with respect to the context, scope, process, and setting of CIS and EXS, supplemented with a bibliometric analysis of the references in the reviewed studies.

In CIS, the context is a group of actors collaborating on a shared task. In EXS, the information need is held by an individual but resolved by consulting other people. While the typical scope of EXS studies is source selection, CIS studies mostly concern the consultation of the sources and the use of the obtained information. CIS and EXS studies also attend differentially to the information-seeking process. Only 4 percent of the references in the reviewed studies are cited in both CIS and EXS research. The author concludes that, at present, CIS and EXS are different discourses about similar issues.

Increased interaction between CIS and EXS will advance research in both areas and prevent duplication of effort. Topics for future research are identified. It should be noted that the findings are limited to the 142 studies reviewed.

By analyzing CIS in the context of EXS, and vice versa, this study provides a fresh look at the information-seeking research that attends to collaboration.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of worker representation and consultation on occupational health and safety in the UK in a context in which, following the 1977 Safety Representatives and Safety Committees (SRSC) Regulations 1977, recognised trade unions have the right to appoint health and safety representatives who have rights to representation and consultation and to access the training and facilities needed to support these activities.

The chemical industry is the chosen site for this enquiry, because, it offers some of the most propitious conditions in which to examine the operation of what has been the preferred model in UK health and safety regulation, namely those in which there are recognised trade unions and where there are likely to be systems and structures of industrial relations in place combined with arrangements for OHS management. Five establishments are examined.

The research suggests joint arrangements make for better safety outcomes and that there is a relation between management consultation on general issues and those of health and safety. Overall, though, management capacity and commitment pose considerable constraints to employee representation on health and safety. The SRSC regulations apply in all five cases but worker representation operated below the level to be expected from the regulations.

A stronger legislative steer on worker consultation and representation in respect of workplace health and safety is required.

Demonstrates that, even in an apparently propitious environment, legal requirements are not being implemented, and that management commitment and support are vital.

The European Works Council (EWC) Directive reflects a shift to a softer style of governance which has been adopted by the EU in recent years. This article sets out to explore how successful this soft style governance is when implemented at the national level.

The paper introduces the literature on the subject and shows that two main theses have been developed to date; one which favours the softer mechanism of governance and one which is critical of it. Two propositions are developed from the literature. The article explores them by examining them in light of the manner in which the Directive has bedded down in the Irish context. It does this through a micro and macro analysis of material available on the EWC in Ireland and a series of interviews. Ireland is regarded as a suitable arena in which to explore these propositions.

The article finds that the EWC Directive was implemented in Ireland in a manner which was deemed suitable for its smooth integration into the Irish context. However, the transposition’s flexible nature is such that it is unclear that it has made any significant contribution to Ireland’s system of industrial relations. It is suggested that the EU may not yet have developed a form of governance suitable for a disparate, expanding community.

The paper provides a micro‐analysis of how the EWC Directive has been transposed in one Member State (Ireland). It combines this with a macro‐analysis which enables us to compare the Irish transposition with other Member States. This approach indicates that the Directive has been applied in a very heterogeneous style throughout the Member States, which tends to reproduce indigenous industrial relations systems rather than reform or challenge them.