A reassessment of non-union employee representation in the UK: developments since the 'ICE' age

In light of new legislation pertaining to information and consultation in the UK, the need to reassess the realms of employee involvement and participation, especially non-union forms, is critically apparent. This article explores the character of non-union employee representation arrangements established in the context of the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004, drawing on case study evidence from two UK-based manufacturing organisations. The findings highlight some important dynamics concerning the use of non-union employee representation; not least that the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations have impacted in very different ways from those anticipated by the legislation.

Late palaeozoic global changes affecting high-latitude environments and biotas : an introduction

The Late Palaeozoic Ice Age (LPIA), spanning approximately from ~320 Ma (Serpukhovian, late Mississippian) to 290 Ma (mid-Sakmarian, Early Permian), represents the vegetated Earth’s largest and most long-lasting regime of severe and multiple glaciations, involving processes and patterns probably comparable to those of the Last Ice Age. Accompanying the LPIA occurred a number of broadly synchronous global environmental and biotic changes. These global changes, as briefly reviewed and summarized in this introductory paper, comprised (but are not limited to) the following: massive continental reorganization in the lead up to the final assembly of Pangea resulting in profound changes in global palaeogeography, palaeoceanography and palaeobiogeogarphy; substantially lowered global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (pCO₂), coupled with an unprecedented increase in atmospheric oxygen concentrations reaching Earth's all-time high in its last 600 million year history; sharp global temperature and sea-level drops (albeit with considerable spatial and temporal variability throughout the ice age); and apparently a prolonged period of global sluggish macro-evolution with both low extinction and origination rates compared to other times. In the aftermath of the LPIA, the world's climate entered into a transitional climate phase through the late Early to Middle Permian before its transformation into a greenhouse state towards the end-Permian. In recent years, considerable amount of data and interpretations have been published concerning the physical evidence in support of the LPIA, its broad timeframe and eustatic and ecosystem responses from the lower latitudes, but relatively less attention has been drawn to the impact of the ice age on late Palaeozoic high-latitude environments and biotas. It is with this mission in mind that we have organized this special issue, with the central focus on late Palaeozoic high latitude regions of both hemispheres, that is, Gondwana and northern Eurasia. Our aim is to gather a set of papers that not only document the physical environmental changes that had occurred in the polar regions of Gondwana and northern Eurasia during the LPIA, but also review on the biotic responses at different taxonomic, ecological and spatial scales to these physical changes in a refined chronological timeframe.

This introductory paper is designed to provide a global context for the special issue, with a brief review of key late Palaeozoic global environmental changes (including: changes in global land-sea configurations, atmospheric chemistry, global climate regimes, global ocean circulation patterns and sea levels) and large -scale biotic (biogeographic and evolutionary) responses, followed by a summary of what we see as unresolved scientific issues and various working hypotheses concerning late Palaeozoic global changes and, in particular, the LPIA, as a possible reference to future research.

Palaeobiogeographic distribution patterns and processes of neochonetes and fusichonetes (brachiopoda) in the late palaeozoic and earliest mesozoic

The global palaeobiogeographic distributions of two resembling genera, Neochonetes and Fusichonetes (Brachiopoda), from the Carboniferous to Griesbachian are analysed. This analysis provides insight into the biotic response of two related genera to changing palaeoclimate, regional tectonics, and environmental crises. Neochonetes originated in the equatorial area in the Mississippian, and it mostly retained this position during the peak of the glaciation in the Carboniferous–Permian ice age (namely in the Pennsylvanian). Neochonetes then dispersed globally during the Cisuralian when the climate became warmer and the ice sheet started to retreat. In the Guadalupian and Lopingian, following the closure of the Ural seaway at the end of the Cisuralian and the regression at the end-Guadalupian, Neochonetes almost disappeared in the western part of Gondwana. Subsequently during the Lopingian the genus retracted to the middle- and low-latitude Palaeo-Tethys and Tethys. In comparison, Fusichonetes originated in the equatorial area in the late Guadalupian and was still present in that area in the Lopingian. Both genera occurred only in South China in the Griesbachian. It is inferred that this could be related, not only to the deteriorated palaeoenvironmental conditions (e.g., anoxia, global warming) leading up to the extinction of most of the Neochonetes and Fusichonetes species in other areas, but also to the better physiological adaptation of the smaller shells of Neochonetes and Fusichonetes species in South China.

Prediction of children's flavour preferences. Effect of age and stability in reported preferences

The present study investigated whether children were able to communicate stable flavour preferences and whether mothers’ ability to correctly identify their child's flavour preferences is related to the stability of their child's flavour preferences. On 2 consecutive days, 75 girls and 77 boys (3–10 years, mean age = 7.1 ± 2.3 years) carried out a preference ranking task for five ice-cream flavours: mint, coffee, chocolate and two variants of vanilla. Without input from their child, mothers ranked four of these flavours according to their own understanding of their child's flavour preferences. Spearman rank order correlations suggest that older aged children (5–10 years) have more stable flavour preferences than younger aged children (3–5 years) (p < 0.05). Only 39% of mothers were able to correctly predict children's most preferred flavour, but significantly more parents (61%) were able to predict children's least preferred flavour (p < 0.05). Mothers’ ability to correctly predict their children's least preferred flavour seemed to be facilitated by children's ability to communicate their least preferred flavours in a consistent manner (p < 0.05). It is recommended to apply proper sensory methodologies with children rather than relying on mothers’ report when interested in children's likes. When interested in children's dislikes mothers’ report might be suitable.

Environmental and senescent related variations in Weddell seal body mass : implications for age-specific reproductive performance

Recent studies have found age-specific variations in reproductive performance amongst Weddell seals, Leptonychotes weddellii, and we hypothesized age-related variations in maternal body mass as a mechanism linking maternal age and the observed patterns of reproductive performance. We evaluated the effects of maternal traits such as age and reproductive experience and the effects of environmental variations on maternal body mass at parturition. Maternal body mass at parturition showed substantial age- and environmental-related variations. Maternal body mass increased with age through the young and middle ages, and evidence of senescent declines in body mass was found amongst the oldest ages. Additionally, body mass at parturition was strongly influenced by environmental variations during the pregnancy period, specifically sea-ice extent and the state of the El-Niño Southern Oscillation. Patterns of age-specific variations in body mass were consistent with age-specific patterns of offspring survival probability, which supported our hypothesis that changes in body mass link maternal age and reproductive performance in the Weddell seal. Further, environmental conditions during pregnancy may be an important component of Weddell seal reproductive performance.