Enterprise bargaining as an organising opportunity - case study of a campaign by NTEU at one university

In the context of an increasingly de-regulated industrial relations' environment, enterprise bargaining has been viewed by unions as an opportunity for organising and increasing membership at the grass roots level. This paper uses a case study approach detailing the process at one university where the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) utilised organising tactics of the type currently promoted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). The campaign is described and assessed relative to outcomes at other NTEU sites during the same round of bargaining. It is concluded, that, firstly, the tactics used at this site succeeded in producing greater membership growth and mobilisation than at comparable sites. Secondly, the tactics used are applicable to a university workforce including academic and general staff. Thirdly, industrial campaigning in enterprise bargaining does not by itself result in membership growth.

Requirement for the cell division protein DivIB in polar cell division and engulfment during sporulation in Bacillus subtilis

During spore formation in Bacillus subtilis, cell division occurs at the cell pole and is believed to require essentially the same division machinery as vegetative division. Intriguingly, although the cell division protein DivIB is not required for vegetative division at low temperatures, it is essential for efficient sporulation under these conditions. We show here that at low temperatures in the absence of DivIB, formation of the polar septum during sporulation is delayed and less efficient. Furthermore, the polar septa that are complete are abnormally thick, containing more peptidoglycan than a normal polar septum. These results show that DivIB is specifically required for the efficient and correct formation of a polar septum. This suggests that DivIB is required for the modification of sporulation septal peptidoglycan, raising the possibility that DivIB either regulates hydrolysis of polar septal peptidoglycan or is a hydrolase itself. We also show that, despite the significant number of completed polar septa that form in this mutant, it is unable to undergo engulfment. Instead, hydrolysis of the peptidoglycan within the polar septum, which occurs during the early stages of engulfment, is incomplete, producing a similar phenotype to that of mutants defective in the production of sporulation-specific septal peptidoglycan hydrolases. We propose a role for DivIB in sporulation-specific peptidoglycan remodelling or its regulation during polar septation and engulfment.

Estimation of the dietary requirement for vitamin D in healthy adults

Background: Knowledge gaps have contributed to considerable variation among international dietary recommendations for vitamin D.

Objective: We aimed to establish the distribution of dietary vitamin D required to maintain serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations above several proposed cutoffs (ie, 25, 37.5, 50, and 80 nmol/L) during wintertime after adjustment for the effect of summer sunshine exposure and diet.

Design: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind 22-wk intervention study was conducted in men and women aged 20–40 y (n = 238) by using different supplemental doses (0, 5, 10, and 15 µg/d) of vitamin D3 throughout the winter. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured by using enzyme-linked immunoassay at baseline (October 2006) and endpoint (March 2007).

Results: There were clear dose-related increments (P < 0.0001) in serum 25(OH)D with increasing supplemental vitamin D3. The slope of the relation between vitamin D intake and serum 25(OH)D was 1.96 nmol·L–1·µg–1 intake. The vitamin D intake that maintained serum 25(OH)D concentrations of >25 nmol/L in 97.5% of the sample was 8.7 µg/d. This intake ranged from 7.2 µg/d in those who enjoyed sunshine exposure, 8.8 µg/d in those who sometimes had sun exposure, and 12.3 µg/d in those who avoided sunshine. Vitamin D intakes required to maintain serum 25(OH)D concentrations of >37.5, >50, and >80 nmol/L in 97.5% of the sample were 19.9, 28.0, and 41.1 µg/d, respectively.

Conclusion: The range of vitamin D intakes required to ensure maintenance of wintertime vitamin D status [as defined by incremental cutoffs of serum 25(OH)D] in the vast majority (>97.5%) of 20–40-y-old adults, considering a variety of sun exposure preferences, is between 7.2 and 41.1 µg/d.

Relative responsiveness of bargaining solutions to changes in status-quo payoffs

It is a well-known fact that several prominent bargaining solutions are responsive to changes in status-quo (i.e., disagreement or fallback) payoffs. When an agent’s status-quo payoff increases, his solution payoff either stays the same or increases. A fully general result for these solutions’ status-quo point ranking is impossible to establish. In this paper, using an important class of bargaining problems, a ranking of the relative status-quo point responsiveness of prominent bargaining solutions is obtained. Using the Constant Elasticity of Substitution class of bargaining problems, regardless of the concavity of the Pareto frontier and the level of increase in one’s status-quo payoff, we find the equal gains solution is the most responsive with respect to changes in status-quo payoffs, followed by the Nash solution. The equal sacrifice solutions is the least responsive, followed by the Kalai/Smorodinsky solution.

Reference functions and balanced concessions in bargaining

In bargaining, agents expect their concessions to be reciprocated. Using the 'reference function' concept of Thomson (1981), this paper constructs a class of solutions the outcomes of which lead to balanced concessions by agents as prescribed by the reference function adopted. The Kalai/Smorodinsky solution arises as a special case. Another solution in this class, which depends on the entire feasible set, is generated by using the centre of gravity as the reference function.