Trades Union Congress

This paper reports the exploration of standard CMOS polysilicon resistors (with and without silicide) for thermal conductivity-based gas sensing. Our approach utilizes standard CMOS layers, with a transient measurement technique based on the thermal time constant (τ). This technique enables robust gas sensing while dramatically reducing sensitivity to drift in the sense resistance. By relying exclusively on resistors already available in a standard CMOS PDK, we present a pathway for scalable and industry-compatible gas sensing solutions.

Abstract The resurgence of labor unions in the U.S., evidenced by recent unionization successes across various industries, reflects a broader revival of organized labor's role in workplace advocacy. These developments counter a long-term decline in union membership, with global efforts also seeing modest gains. As is demonstrated in this series of contributions, labor unions remain critical in promoting occupational health and safety, mitigating workplace hazards, and addressing psychosocial risks such as stress and harassment. Historically, unions have shaped labor standards and influenced the development of safety regulations. Today, they contribute to broader societal benefits, including democratic participation, workplace well-being, and public health innovation. Despite their significant contributions, unions face challenges from globalization, technological changes, the rise of non-standard work arrangements, and political polarization. Despite the critical role unions play in occupational health and organizations more generally, organizational scientists have paid relatively little attention to unions. In response, this series of contributions highlights the need for renewed scholarly attention, particularly in industrial-organizational psychology, to support unions in safeguarding workers' rights and well-being.

As plantas medicinais são utilizadas como uma medida para aliviar ou curar doenças através da deglutição de ervas e folhas. Os vegetais simbolizam a maior fonte de substâncias ativas usadas em tratamentos terapêuticos, decorrente da sua complexa estrutura metabólica. O Brasil é um país com uma grande variabilidade de plantas devido a sua miscigenação. Esse conjunto de diversidade étnica e cultural, auxilia a difundir conhecimentos associados ao uso tradicional de plantas medicinais. A Stryphnodendron adstringens é uma espécie nativa do cerrado, conhecida popularmente como: barbatimão, barba-de-timão, borrãozinho roxo, casca-da virgindade, casca-da-mocidade. Na medicina popular o Barbatimão é bastante utilizado por possuir atividades farmacológicas como: antifúngica, antimicrobiana, antiúlcera, angiogênica, antioxidante, antisséptica. OBJETIVO: Abordar por meio de uma revisão narrativa, as principais atividades farmacológicas da planta medicinal Stryphnodendron adstringens. METODOLOGIA: Foi realizada uma revisão narrativa sobre as atividades biológicas e farmacológicas do Stryphnodendron adstringens, em publicações catalogadas nas bases de dados PubMed, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Cochrane Library Online e Google Acadêmico. RESULTADOS: É crescente o interesse na confirmação e validação científica do efeito de plantas medicinais usadas na medicina popular. As propriedades medicinais do Stryphnodendron adstringens estão principalmente associadas aos taninos, produtos naturais de composição polifenólica, que são produzidos pelo metabolismo secundário da planta em reação ao ataque de insetos e microrganismos. Logo, essa espécie apresenta grande potencial econômico, principalmente na área farmacêutica em decorrência da grande quantidade de taninos produzidos em suas cascas, até 40%, e nas folhas, cerca de 30%. CONCLUSÃO: Evidencia-se crescentes investigações sobre as propriedades medicinais da Stryphnodendron adstringens, estudos confirmam o seu potencial farmacológico, podendo ser utilizada como uma alternativa terapêutica mais acessível à população. Entretanto, a toxicidade da planta precisa ser melhor investigada.

anti-strikes bill is unethical and unworkable

The incidence of drug-related deaths in Scotland has reached crisis proportions. Comparable only to the rust belt States in the US these figures point to the impact of the rapid scale of deindustrialisation and a global neoliberal economy, based on austerity, deepening class divisions and a return to a more naked form of capitalism. The question is, does a critical pedagogy have a role to play in understanding and addressing the challenges involved? In other words, how can a practice of such a pedagogy allow participants to deconstruct and decode the structures of domination that oppress and divide them/us? Such pedagogy has undergone differing degrees of reassessment as it no longer serves as an ‘adequate platform from which to mount a vigorous challenge to the current social division of labour’. However, the need for a critical pedagogy, rooted in a Freirean notion of hope, for such communities has never been more apparent. This article will attempt to resolve the extent to which such a pedagogy translate from its esoteric detachment to one rooted in history, place and practices, and one capable of engaging with the most disadvantaged, and colonialised fraction of the Scottish society.

Background. The competitive positions of countries and their companies largely depend on the nature of participation in international economic interaction. It has been proven that countries with high levels of economic development are benefiting from foreign trade through liberalization. However, it remains debatable how much positive expectations identified in trade liberalization theory can be put into practice in economically peripheral countries. The fundamental scientific basis for studying the correlation of economic openness in the context of the impact on economic growth, including ambiguous and contradictory impact of trade liberalization, have been studied by various scholars. However, since antagonists of trade liberalization theory often do not fully understand all the positive effects of its application, research in this area is relevant. The goal of this study is to analyze the development and foundations of trade liberalization theory, as well as to compare projections of the effects of trade liberalization between Ukraine and the EU under the terms of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) and the practical realities. The main results of the research. International trade theory provides explanations for the impact of international trade and the distribution of the gains from trade and particularly trade liberalisation through preferential trade agreements. Classical trade theory supports free trade and advocates against tariffs and restrictions. The assumptions behind the classical trade theory are the following: Completely free trade; no subsidies, tariffs, or commercial restrictions; Frictionless inter-sectoral transfer of labour. However these assumptions do not hold in the real world and gives rise to the debate on the conditions under which free trade provides Gains from Trade. In the Heckscher-Ohlin model of trade, each nation's comparative advantage is traced to its particular endowments of different factors of production: that is, basic inputs such as land, labour, and capital. Since the costs of these inputs in each country will depend on their availability, differences in factor endowments across countries will create differences in comparative advantage. Each country will tend to export items whose production requires intensive use of the factors with which it is abundantly endowed relative to other nations; conversely, each country will import goods whose production requires intensive use of factors that are relatively scarce. Therefore, countries well endowed with land, like Australia and Canada, and indeed Ukraine, are thus expected to export agricultural products (e.g., wheat and wool), while importing products that require the intensive use of labour (e.g., textiles and footwear). The article emphasized that Classical theory and Heckscher-Ohlin theory is further developed by the factor price equalization theory, by Paul A. Samuelson. Economic theory of equalization of factors and prices implies that free trade should lead to trends in the equalization of income, capital and labour in different countries. The example of graphical models illustrates what to expect in an economy that can move from protection to free trade. It has been shown that this will lead to a net increase in welfare. This made it possible to formulate a scientific understanding of why trade theory supports trade liberalization through preferential trade agreements, such as the DCFTA between the EU and Ukraine. The results of this agreement, as shown by the systematization of short— and long-term expectations, should be to increase trade, more effective allocation of resources, equalise wages and stimulate economic growth. According to forecasts, six sectors in Ukraine were expected to generate additional increases in Exports to the EU of over 20% net. However, we stressed that Ukrainian business entities will only gain access to the domestic market if European standards are established and technical regulations are complied with. At the same time, the cost of implementation of EU standards and retrofitting of production should be compensated by the flow of European investment which is going to stimulate restructuring and retrofitting of companies, facilitate new businesses and, as the result, increase the state' revenues. Our personal research has revealed that with 4 years of data since the effective application of DCFTA provisions on Ukraine's exports to the EU, it shows that Ukraine's exports have not significantly improved under the DCFTA. This runs contrary to both the EU and Ukrainian policy objective of the DCFTA as well as traditional economic theory. Conclusions. According to the traditional economic theory, trade liberalization brings not only traditional "static gains" from specialization, but also the adoption of new technologies and skills, leading to "dynamic gains" from trade — to higher productivity. But in the case of the practical implementation of the DCFTA on Ukraine's exports to the EU, the opposite consequences were found. It is noted that the results obtained during this study can be used for further research towards optimizing the processes of liberalization and upholding national economic interests in the context of the objective growth of world trade. Our data can also be used to find the real reasons that did not allow the country to benefit from the implementation of the DCFTA, as well as to develop measures to eliminate or minimize the negative effects.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reflect on how the UK’s Trade Union Congress, in the 150th year of its formation, has been responding to the significant changes in the labour market, working practices and union decline. The paper considers Trades Union Congress (TUC) initiatives to recruit and organise new groups of workers as it struggles to adapt to the new world of work many workers are experiencing. Although the paper reviews progress in this regard it also considers current and future challenges all of which are becoming increasingly urgent as the current cohort of union membership is aging and presents a demographic time bomb unless new strategies and tactics are adopted to bring in new groups of workers – particularly younger workers.Design/methodology/approachThis is a review paper so it mainly draws on writings (both academic and practitioner) on trade union strategy and tactics in relations to organising approaches and in particularly the TUC’s initiatives from the period of “New Unionism” onwards.FindingsThe authors note that while unions have managed to retain a presence in workplaces and industries where they membership and recognition, there has, despite a “turn to organising” been less success than was perhaps hoped for when new organising initiatives were introduced in 1998. In order to expand the bases of organisation into new workplaces and in new constituencies there needs to be a move away from the “institutional sclerosis” that has prevented unions adapting to the changing nature of employment and the labour market restructuring. The paper concludes that in order to effect transformative change requires leaders to develop strategic capacity and innovation among staff and the wider union membership. This may require unions to rethink the way that they operate and be open to doing thing radically different.Originality/valueThe paper’s value is that it provides a comprehensive overview of the TUC’s role in attempting to inject an organising culture with the UK union movement by drawing out some of the key debates on this topic from both scholarly and practitioner writings over the last few decades.