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Unions face a series of common problems which have been expressed in declining union membership, the growth of non‐union employment, and a decline of influence and power inside and beyond the workplace. The problems include changes in economic structure and labour markets, the effects of government's neo‐ liberal economic policies, a hostile legal environment, and wider social and political changes.

Identify the different types of experiences of European Works Council (EWC) members based on the four fields of interaction of EWCs and evaluate their relative presence.

Latent profile analysis using survey data of over 1600 EWC representatives from more than 300 EWCs.

Five different types of EWC experience are identified (marginalized, dominated, spearhead, participative and transnational forum). After 22 years of experience with EWCs, only a small minority of EWC representatives consider their EWC to be a participative structure. While trade union support and training increase the value of belonging to a well-functioning EWC type, they are not enough to circumvent structural obstacles. Additionally the analysis shows that domination by some countries in the functioning of an EWC is not always negative as this experience is present in both well- and ill-functioning EWC types.

The article argues that research should focus more on the moments of regression which EWCs face; and take a more nuanced approach to the domination by some countries of how EWCs function.

The article adds to the growing body of evidence that argues for structural intervention to improve EWC functioning.

This article uses insights from comparative case study research to cross-validate the findings using quantitative methods.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between community type classifications and police strength. Prior research has examined other correlates, but no attempts have been made previously to examine the relationship between community type (as outlined and defined by Chinni and Gimpel, 2010) and police staffing levels.

Using a combination of NDLEA data on police strength, Uniform Crime Report data on crime, census data, and Chinni and Gimpel’s (2010) community classifications, this paper analyzes the relationship between a variety of correlates and police strength in 15,917 communities.

The study found that police staffing does differ by community type as well as by a variety of other key community characteristics.

This implies that further research on appropriate tools to determine appropriate staffing levels is needed.

This work indicates that traditional “peer benchmarking” approaches used to determine police strength should not be considered the best practice. Other approaches may be more appropriate and should be examined.

This is the first study to incorporate classifications of community type in the analysis of police strength.

Genetic and environmental factors are associated with psychosis risk, but the latter present more tangible markers for prevention. We conducted a theoretical exercise to estimate the proportion of psychotic illnesses that could be prevented if we could identify and remove all factors that lead to increased incidence associated with ethnic minority status and urbanicity. Measures of impact by population density and ethnicity were estimated from incidence rate ratios [IRR] obtained from two methodologically‐similar first episode psychosis studies in four UK centres. Multilevel Poisson regression was used to estimate IRR, controlling for confounders. Population attributable risk fractions [PAR] were estimated for our study population and the population of England. We considered three outcomes; all clinically relevant ICD‐10 psychotic illnesses [F10‐39], non‐affective psychoses [F20‐29] and affective psychoses [F30‐39]. One thousand and twenty‐nine subjects, aged 18‐64, were identified over 2.4 million person‐years. Up to 22% of all psychoses in England (46.9% within our study areas) could be prevented if exposures associated with increased incidence in ethnic minority populations could be removed; this is equivalent to 66.9% within ethnic minority groups themselves. For non‐affective psychoses only, PAR for population density was large and significant (27.5%); joint PAR with ethnicity was 61.7%. Effect sizes for common socio‐environmental risk indicators for psychosis are large; inequalities were marked. This analysis demonstrates potential importance in another light: we need to move beyond current epidemiological approaches to elucidate exact socio‐environmental factors that underpin urbanicity and ethnic minority status as markers of increased risk by incorporating gene‐environment interactions that adopt a multi disciplinary perspective.

Big data are indispensable in scientific endeavours ranging from nuclear research to climate studies. However, there is a growing misperception that congeries of data can be easily reconstructed into competitive business insights. Such notions have been encouraged by a plethora of mainstream techno-utopian forecasts.

This paper investigated such claims and related big data developments, including its “systems-first” and oligopolistic orientations. Due to the paucity of current scholarship on an admittedly pessimistic topic, the paper studied contrarian developments in the industry by relying on secondary data. The study of experts and scholars; industrial trends; and discrepancies and critical gaps in the mainstream data narrative were sourced to prognosticate the likely trajectory of many data giants.

A key finding was that the big data industry faces an untenable market bubble worth trillions of dollars. This will have severe consequences for common digital access and social stability worldwide. Evidence presented also suggests that the data industrial complex may undergo a function creep by facilitating a transition from surveillance capitalism to surveillance society.

Primary data for a study of this nature may take years to materialize. This is a “first-pass” study that seeks to illuminate latent dangers facing the big data/AI sector. There is a paucity of scholarly study that even remotely touches on this topic. Therefore, supporting arguments was sourced from contemporary reports and expert study (secondary data).

As control of data may have geostrategic implications, balkanization of the wired ecosystem may be underway with Russia and China leading the way. Future superpowers may be defined by the way they handle data. The concentration of data in fewer hands may also affect citizen innovation.

A break-down of the data industrial complex may lead to social mayhem as the monetization of presently free software, blogs and social media platforms may be unfeasible.

This topic has hardly been explored due to the novelty of big data, its applications and the daily hype over its potentials. This paper boldly describes dark countercurrents in the industry.

CONSCIOUS OF the problem and convinced of the case for public library involvement the Public Library Research Group decided in May of last year to set up a working party on adult illiteracy. They were encouraged in this by a growing concern about the implications for public librarians of the plans of various national bodies and the evidence of the profession's response to a number of short courses.

The long controversy that has waxed furiously around the implementation of the EEC Directives on the inspection of poultry meat and hygiene standards to be observed in poultry slaughterhouses, cutting‐up premises, &c, appears to be resolved at last. (The Prayer lodged against the Regulations when they were formally laid before Parliament just before the summer recess, which meant they would have to be debated when the House reassembled, could have resulted in some delay to the early operative dates, but little chance of the main proposals being changed.) The controversy began as soon as the EEC draft directive was published and has continued from the Directive of 1971 with 1975 amendments. There has been long and painstaking study of problems by the Ministry with all interested parties; enforcement was not the least of these. The expansion and growth of the poultry meat industry in the past decade has been tremendous and the constitution of what is virtually a new service, within the framework of general food inspection, was inevitable. None will question the need for efficient inspection or improved and higher standards of hygiene, but the extent of the

Presents 35 abstracts from the 2001 Employment Research Unit Annual conference held at Cardiff Business School in September 2001. Attempts to explore the theme of changing politics of employment relations beyond and within the nation state, against a background of concern in the developed economies at the erosion of relatively advanced conditions of work and social welfare through increasing competition and international agitation for more effective global labour standards. Divides this concept into two areas, addressing the erosion of employment standards through processes of restructuring and examining attempts by governments, trade unions and agencies to re‐create effective systems of regulation. Gives case examples from areas such as India, Wales, London, Ireland, South Africa, Europe and Japan. Covers subjects such as the Disability Discrimination Act, minimum wage, training, contract workers and managing change.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between general practitioners (GPs) and social care professionals by reflecting on a project (the Home Truths project) which sought to improve joint working between general practice and social care though an action-research process.

iMPOWER's Home Truths project involved gathering local data regarding joint working in local areas and using this data as a catalyst for change. The Institute of Local Government Studies and the Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham were asked to act as a critical friend to the project. This involved supporting the design of the data collection, offering advice on the process and to carrying out a short evaluation of the impact of the first wave. The paper reflects on the collected data from the sites and information from the impact evaluation.

The paper highlights the poor quality of the relationship between GPs and social workers. Findings that illustrate this include GPs’ poor knowledge of social care services; a perception that social care services were of poor quality and rating the quality of their relationships with social workers as poor. However GPs felt that knowing more about social care could help prevent their patients going into residential care earlier than necessary and wanted to work more closely with social care to exploit the benefits and opportunities. The interventions that have been put in place to try and improve relationships focus on the day-to-day working lives of the professionals rather than attempting to introduce new initiatives.

The response rate from GPs in the areas was low (average response rate was 10 per cent in each area) and it may be that only those GPs who are interested in working with social care responded. The initiatives that have been developed appear to be reasonable responses to the issues identified. However, a lack of discrete outcomes through which to measure improvement will make it difficult to demonstrate the impact of the interventions.

This paper underlines that despite many years of policy makers promoting better integration, the relationship between the key gate-keepers within the health and social care systems is still poor. The findings from the Home Truths surveys and action plans has gone some way to address the gap identified in the evidence base about the relationships between GPs and social workers.