Strike Situation Research Articles

The Optics of MAGIC: FDR’s 1941 SIGINT Stumbles and Japan’s Hidden Plans for America (1940–1941)

Abstract Since the 1941 Japanese attack against Pearl Harbor, numerous politicians, government analysts, and scholars have questioned how the Roosevelt administration could have been caught so unawares and incurred such heavy casualties at the onset of the Second World War. The postwar disclosure that President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his senior advisers had access to Japan’s diplomatic message system through a small joint Army–Navy cryptologic program, called MAGIC, further complicated the search for answers. Although many historians have cited the value of MAGIC linked to Pearl Harbor, few have looked at the overall intelligence value of Japan’s American targets for data collection beyond the first strike situation. Marshall’s ordered comprehensive review of the MAGIC cables in the days following the December 7 attack failed to explain the reason for a Japanese data dump of several hundred messages in length. What did military intelligence miss? What does Signals Intelligence show us about Japan’s post-Pearl Harbor plans for the United States? A deep read of the material contextualized by other intelligence reports reveals administrative optics likely blinded the American nation to Japan’s intended wartime game plan, setting up the potential for a disaster as great as the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

Customs duties due to COVID-19 extra shipping costs. A force majeure?

Sea freight prices have risen sharply due to the COVID-19 crisis, global shortages of ships, declining competition in the field, and containers of contagious demand. In Israel, the value for customs purposes includes the transportation costs, as in Singapore and the majority of the states. On the contrary, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, have chosen to exclude transportation costs for customs value purposes. Therefore, the increase in transportation costs leads to the increase in the value of goods for customs purposes. This increase lead to an additional collection of customs duties in Israel. The Israeli Law allows the state to facilitate importers and waive the extra customs duties, and similar and other facilitations have been made in the past, for example, in a war or strike situation. Therefore, all that is required is the flexibility and activation of goodwill on the part of the State when interpreting the Law to relieve the importers from extra duties caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

Les grèves de médecins en République Démocratique du Congo : quels repères éthiques généralisables?

Depuis plusieurs années, la République Démocratique du Congo est le théâtre de grèves menées par les médecins du pays. Les revendications des grévistes en question sont essentiellement financières et statutaires, et visent à faire pression sur le gouvernement. Dans ce pays, comme c’est le cas presque partout dans le monde, les grèves médicales sont autorisées. Tout travailleur a le droit de dénoncer par la grève des conditions de travail jugées inacceptables. Mais les médecins sont-ils des travailleurs comme les autres? N’ont-ils pas des obligations morales particulières liées aux spécificités de leur profession? Pour éclairer ces questions, les auteurs de cet article proposent trois repères moraux essentiels généralisables à des situations de grèves médicales ailleurs dans le monde. Le premier porte sur la reconnaissance du droit de grève pour les médecins, y compris pour des motifs strictement financiers. On ne peut demander à des professionnels de santé d’exercer leur métier dans des conditions de travail inhumaines ou sans un salaire permettant de faire vivre leur famille. Le deuxième repère estime que l’on ne peut pas accepter que ce droit de grève s’exerce en sacrifiant les patients les plus fragiles et en niant ainsi l’essence même de la profession médicale. Un troisième repère vient complexifier la réflexion en rappelant que l’extrême délabrement du système de santé congolais rend impossible l’organisation d’un service minimum de qualité en cas de grève. Pour sortir de ces difficultés, nous proposons une alliance thérapeutique nationale entre les médecins et les citoyens pour replacer les patients au centre des préoccupations du système de santé.

The Integration of Lean and Socio-technical Practices in Sweden

Abstract: Though has its origin in the Toyota Production System (TPS), it has become popular across various industries. During this process, a striking situation has occurred in Sweden, particularly in its service industry. This paper aims to discuss the background and context of this phenomenon. In Sweden, work and management styles based on the tradition of socio-technical systems (STS), as embodied in Volvo's Uddevalla plant, used to be competing with as a collection of practices observed in the Japanese automobile industry. However, once was viewed as a management approach that aims to create a smooth flow of value towards the customer, the integration of the two occurred. To illustrate this point, a case of a school is considered. It shows that reflection by autonomous teams of teachers play an important role in problem solving that accompanies the implementation of Such an integrated style draws out workers' intrinsic motivation through involvement in problem solving, and thereby embodies the for the people philosophy in TPS. It is expected to be suitable particularly for the service context.Keywords: socio-technical systems, lean, Toyota Production System, reflection, respect for people1. IntroductionThis paper aims to describe the integration of and practices of socio-technical systems (STS) in Sweden while considering its background and context.Toyota Production System (TPS) was formulated and developed in a high-mix, low-volume environment in post-war Japan, and a quarter century has passed since it was conceptualized in the West as production (Womack, Jones, 8s Roos, 1990). Lean has not only been an important paradigm in manufacturing, but has also been transferred to a wide range of industries (Hines, Holweg, 8s Rich, 2004). For instance, its applicability has been reported in supply chain, banking and insurance, healthcare and other social services, and software services since the latter half of the 1990s.Although the concept has become influential throughout the world, circumstances in Scandinavia, and especially Sweden, deserve particular attention (see Sederblad, 2013). After the initial boom in the early 1990s, there has been a renewed interest in lean at a national level. Particularly, lean has been implemented in the large public sector that is in need of efficiency improvement. As of 2012, 80% of healthcare organizations and 30% of municipalities implemented lean in one form or another. In addition, critical government agencies such as the immigration office, tax agency, and police department are a part of this movement (Hillberg, 2012). Currently, labor unions are also starting to participate in it (Johansson, Abrahamsson, 8s Johansson, 2013).Why has lean been implemented to such an extent in Sweden, particularly in its service industry? Sweden is a country known for specific work and management styles based on principles and practices of STS (Trist 8s Bamforth, 1951) that emphasize the humanization of work and quality of working life. Furthermore, STS and have traditionally been viewed as competing concepts. Therefore, the above circumstances seem paradoxical and confusing to Swedish researchers (see Sederblad, 2013). This paper examines this paradox based on the literature and the author's own observations. Specifically, this paper focuses on conceptualizations of lean. Initially, U.S.-based researchers of the International Motor Vehicle Program (I MVP) viewed characteristics of the in the Japanese automobile industry, typified by TPS, as minimum waste, and labeled it as lean (Womack et al., 1990). Since then, however, there has been no agreed-upon definition, resulting in conceptual confusion (Shah 8s Ward, 2007). In order to deal with this issue, this paper focuses on the flow-management aspect of Japanese manufacturing that is at the heart of minimum waste operations. …

Plasma Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin in Kidney Transplantation and Early Renal Function Prediction

This prospective observational study aimed to assess the relevance of serial postoperative plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) measurements on prediction of early renal transplant function. Plasma NGAL (pNGAL) was measured (Triage NGAL Test; Biosite Inc., Inverness Medical) in 41 patients scheduled for kidney transplantation from deceased or living donors, immediately before and after surgery, and at 12 hr, day 1, day 3, and day 7. A delayed graft function (DGF) was defined as the need for dialysis during the first week. The results were expressed as median (Q1, Q3). Of the 41 consecutive patients enrolled, all had a high preoperative pNGAL level: 453 ng/mL (382, 595). Fifteen (36.6%) presented a DGF. In patients with DGF, pNGAL was significantly higher at 12 hr (571 [467, 634] vs. 242 [158, 299] ng/mL, P<0.0001) and at day 1 (466 [356, 627] vs. 165 [91, 248] ng/mL, P<0.0001). A pNGAL higher than 400 ng/mL 12 hr after transplantation predicted DGF with a sensitivity of 93.3%, a specificity of 88.5%, and an odds ratio of 63.2 (P=0.0004). This predictive performance was higher than for plasma creatinine. pNGAL level early and accurately predicted DGF after renal transplantation. pNGAL measurements allowed monitoring of the renal function in this striking situation of ischemia-reperfusion aggression. Early identification of patients at risk of DGF, before graft lesions are consolidated, opens the field of a precise monitoring of renal injury and the impact of future protective therapeutics.

A computable version of Banach’s Inverse Mapping Theorem

Given a program of a linear bounded and bijective operator T , does there exist a program for the inverse operator T − 1 ? And if this is the case, does there exist a general algorithm to transfer a program of T into a program of T − 1 ? This is the inversion problem for computable linear operators on Banach spaces in its non-uniform and uniform formulation, respectively. We study this problem from the point of view of computable analysis which is the Turing machine based theory of computability on Euclidean space and other topological spaces. Using a computable version of Banach’s Inverse Mapping Theorem we can answer the first question positively. Hence, the non-uniform version of the inversion problem is solvable, while a topological argument shows that the uniform version is not. Thus, we are in the striking situation that any computable linear operator has a computable inverse while there exists no general algorithmic procedure to transfer a program of the operator into a program of its inverse. As a consequence, the computable version of Banach’s Inverse Mapping Theorem is a powerful tool which can be used to produce highly non-constructive existence proofs of algorithms. We apply this method to prove that a certain initial value problem admits a computable solution. As a preparation of Banach’s Inverse Mapping Theorem we also study the Open Mapping Theorem and we show that the uniform versions of both theorems are limit computable, which means that they are effectively Σ 2 0 -measurable with respect to the effective Borel hierarchy.

Ärztestreik 2006: Psychische und körperliche Belastungen streikender Ärztinnen und Ärzte

From March to June 2006 doctors at university hospitals in Germany went on strike. As they are part of the caring profession, doctors are exposed to extraordinary moral misgivings and ethical conflicts when it comes to striking. Against this background this study investigated for the first time effects of walkout on working relations, individual capacity and mental symptoms among striking doctors. In a cross-sectional study 42 female and 64 male doctors, average age 33.6 years, at the Tübingen University Hospitals Center were surveyed by questionnaire at the climax of the walkout. They were asked about changes in working relations with superiors and fellow colleagues, their physical and mental burden and symptoms of depression or aggressiveness (modified Symptom Checklist SCL-90-R). 54.8 % of those interviewed described the contact with their superiors during the strike as having been more difficult. This was most notable for doctors in surgical disciplines. 85.5 % thought that solidarity among fellow colleagues had improved. 47.2 % found their mental coping ability and 25.5% their physical capacity to have decreased. Surgeons and female doctors felt most affected. A higher level of aggressiveness was measured in 36 % and 13.6 % showed low-grade depressive symptoms. This study has demonstrated remarkable changes in working relations and individual capacity during the walkout. Solidarity among doctors of at a corresponding hierarchical (peer) level was noted to have risen, while contact with superiors had become more difficult. A higher level of aggressiveness and lower mental capacity may stem from psychological conflicts arising in strike situations. The burden of the strike is higher in those doctors working in surgical disciplines. It is likely that effects of strike-related changes extend beyond the walkout period. These should be investigated in future studies.

Opening the Closed Shop: The Galveston Longshoremen's Strike of 1920-1921

Opening the Closed Shop:The Galveston Longshoremen's Strike of 1920–1921 Joseph Abel (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. The Mallory steamship line's coastwise docks in Galveston as they appeared during the 1920s. Courtesy of the Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas. [End Page 316] On June 25, 1920, an anonymous writer submitted a poem to the Union Review in Galveston. It read Forth went the Hobby mandate / Throughout this Texas land To mobilize the National Guard / That was his stern command. Ho! Martial law and war declared / "By my halidom," said he, "I'll humble that Galveston / Galveston by-the-Sea." In olden days in Ancient Rome / When Carthage did annoy The Romans sent their Scipio/ That Carthage to destroy. A modern pigmy Scipio / This Hobby, he would be, And make a modern Carthage of / Galveston by-the-Sea. Several pompous Generals / And Colonels too galore, And Majors bold and Captains / And Lieutenants by the score, All riding fast and furious / With eagerness and glee To capture poor old Galveston / Galveston by-the-Sea. But what of those, the rank and file / Those Texas' mothers' sons Who must obey this mandate / And handle murderous guns? Have they forsworn their manhood? / Must they automatons be? And murder men and mothers / In Galveston by-the-Sea. "Oh, Liberty! Oh, Liberty!" / Once cried a famous dame; "Alas! Alas! The awful crimes / Committed in thy name!" 'Tis thus may cry Galveston / As to tyranny she bends her knee For outraged homes and human rights / Galveston by-the-Sea.1 [End Page 317] These stanzas illustrate the frustration of the island's coastwise longshoremen in late June 1920 —on strike for a 25 percent wage increase since March 19. Day after day, hundreds of strikebreakers worked an increasing number of ships tied up along the docks of the Morgan Line and Mallory shipping companies. No strangers to conflict, the longshoremen were used to such tactics, but the event that inspired these verses caught them completely off guard. On June 7, the "modern pigmy Scipio" Gov. William P. Hobby declared martial law and took control of the strike situation in Galveston. Within days, more than one thousand soldiers occupied the island and for the next four months, the striking dockworkers indeed bent their knees to what they believed was tyranny, watching as "pompous Generals" and "Majors bold" trampled upon their rights. By the time the troops left in October, the union stronghold of Galveston bore at least a metaphorical similarity to ancient Carthage—although the city remained physically intact, its entire organized labor movement lay in ruins, especially the longshore unions. Much like their Roman predecessors, business leaders and their allies in Austin hoped to prevent future annoyances from this modern Carthage; rather than salt the earth, however, these men planted and nurtured the antiunion doctrines of the open shop. Ultimately, the Galveston longshoremen's strike was a major turning point in the history of the Texas labor movement. Supported by bayonets and rifles, Texas's business interests joined the nationwide assault on the American working class and launched the capital-state alliance that would prove so disastrous for organized labor through the 1920s.2 When the 1,600 members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) Locals 385 and 807 walked off their jobs on March 19, 1920, they had no idea that their actions would have such dramatic repercussions. The weeks and months leading up to the strike had demonstrated the longshoremen's continued faith in the wartime bargaining power granted them by the federal government through the National Adjustment Commission (NAC). The origins of the strike lay in two hearings held between ILA representatives, the shipping companies, and the NAC in October and December 1919. Presented with a demand for higher wages, the shipping representatives stubbornly refused, arguing instead that Congress must first [End Page 318] allow an increase in freight rates. The newly reorganized peacetime NAC, meanwhile, backed off, stating that the privately owned shipping companies bore full responsibility for resolving the wage dispute, thus effectively eschewing its functions as arbitrator. By March 1920, the longshoremen had had enough of this back-and-forth. Following the lead...

After the Strike: Changing the Teacher-Board Relationship

This paper describes four strike situations, following which teachers and school boards tried to engineer changes to theirprestrike relationships. The authors analyse these situations and identify some ofthefactors which appeared to distinguish the successes from the fallures.

Ineffectiveness in Teacher Bargaining: The Anatomy of a First Strike

The objective of this paper is to identify characteristics which distinguish first strike situations from other strike actions. It is based on both collective bargaining and conflict resolution literature as well as the detailed analysis of a recent walkout by a public school teachers' union.

Policing Labour in Canada

Recent research on the policing of labour disputes suggests that there have been substantial historical changes in policing practices and policies in North America and Europe. Much of the literature points to a postwar movement from reactive policing grounded in the threat and use of force to a more preventive consent-based approach which relies on communication, negotiation and self-policing. At the same time, there have been conflicting reports of increased use of police force and confrontation with labour in some countries such as Britain, while police actions in a number of recent anti-globalization protests in Canada, the United States and Europe have demonstrated readiness of the police to use substantial force in certain public disorder situations. These developments speak to the need to examine more fully the ways in which the police construct their role and the role of labour unions in labour strikes and public protests. Based on interviews with police in 38 different cities and 10 provincial jurisdictions across Canada, this article looks at the ways in which the police understand and implement policies in strike and protest situations. It is argued that the police in most services have constructed a minimalist role for themselves in "normal" strike and protest situations which is grounded in processes of responsibilization, flexible policing and privatization. As they understand most situations, the "best way" to maintain order is to limit the show and use of force, while relying on negotiation and persuasion to resolve conflicts, and civil court or labour board proceedings and the threat of court imposed fines. At the same time, in contexts where the police perceive a clear threat to public interest or safety, in particular when unions or more typically other radical groups refuse to play by the rules of the game, police thinking shifts markedly to the view that extraordinary force is necessary and justified both to prevent and control public disorder.

Survey on the metal contamination of agricultural soils in Georgia

There is only sparse information on the metal contamination of agricultural soils in the former Soviet Union and the development of impacts during the process of transformation to a private structure of production. In this study a first overview on the metal load (Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Mn) of agricultural soils in central and eastern regions of Georgia is given using 251 subsamples from 106 profiles on 37 plots. While the data sets for lead (Pb) and chromium (Cr) are rather homogeneous and range only within narrow limits, the contents of zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) vary much more. Additionally, manganese (Mn) was tested. Here the data vary largely, which is probably due to the natural soil loads. Very low loads for all investigated metals are typical for communally used pastures (Allmende) and especially for a biologically managed farm. On the contrary, Cu loads frequently exceed the median by more than five to ten times (the maximum value is 1023 mg kg−1) in vineyards. The comparison of complete soil profiles proves that this is due to the application of copper sulphate for pest control. In the Bolnisi region south of Tbilisi extremely high loads in the upper soil horizons are found not only for Cu, but for Zn as well, ranging up to 794 mg kg−1. Compared to all other data, the loads for Pb and Cr are also high in several samples. Cu, Zn and Pb are significantly correlated to one another in the Bolnisi region. This striking situation most probably results from the frequent irrigation of the plots by industrially contaminated water from the Mashawera River. Due to economic deficiencies the application of chemicals in Georgian agriculture has dropped heavily since 1990. Consequently, the metal contamination of agricultural soils in general is rather low, being far below western European tolerance limits. Intensive pasturing might even cause values close to the natural loads due to erosion and/or the export by the way of plants and livestock. On the other hand, some specific types of land use cause serious environmental problems. This is especially true for vineyards and plots that are irrigated with contaminated water. Overgrazed plots tend to soil erosion. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fans' Judgments About the 1994-95 Major League Baseball Players' Strike

In this study, we used a multilevel analysis to examine how strike tactics influenced fans' support of the 1994-95 Major League Baseball player's strike. Strike tactics were discounted ticket prices for season games, replacement players in games, and picket lines of striking players. Tactics were varied within judgment scenarios (i.e., baseball game announcements) and fans' responses to scenarios were used as within-person variables to estimate tactic influences. Fans' perceptions of themselves (e.g., extent of fanship) and the strike situation (e.g., extent to which the dispute was perceived as a labor dispute) were used as between-person variables to predict individual differences in tactic influences. Results indicated that more replacement players has a positive influence on support for the strike and higher discounted prices had a negative influence on strike support. The influences of replacement players on judgments was not associated with individual differences, whereas the influence of discounted prices on judgments did show such differences. The findings were used to discuss implications for winning support from consumers in a professional entertainment workers' strike.

Supervisor Support for the Permanent Replacement of Economic Strikers

Sixty-one supervisors were surveyed to examine the importance of organization commitment, union approval, and quality of union-management relationship in explaining supervisor support for hiring permanent replacements in short and long strike situations. Organization commitment and union approval exhibited a unique negative relationship with support for hiring replacements in a short strike, and union approval exhibited a unique negative relationship with support for hiring replacements in a long strike situation.

Emergency Strikes Revisited

From 1946 to the 1970s, the emergency strike procedures of the Taft-Hartley Act, special health care boards, and railroad and airline emergency boards under the Railway Labor Act were all used frequently in strike situations. By the 1980s, the use of these procedures had declined substantially in railroads and ceased almost entirely in other industries; Congressional action to delay or end rail stoppages has, however, become relatively common. The author documents and analyzes these trends, concluding that amending existing legislation to accommodate to the changed conditions is almost certainly undesirable.

Nurses autonomy and job satisfaction

Nurses' autonomy is structurally limited by physicians' close supervision and control. A prolonged physicians' strike in Israel in 1983 created a special situation where for 3 months nurses had to provide primary health care services without physicians. This study, undertaken at the end of the strike, focuses on nurses' comparative perceptions of autonomy and job satisfaction with relation to role performance during the strike and in usual work conditions. Data were collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Sixty one percent ( n = 1144) of the primary health care nurses in Israel responded. The strike situation increased the normal work load of the nurses, but it also gave many nurses the opportunity to initiate and carry out special programs in their clinics and communities. The majority of nurses report that in general they are satisfied with their work and perceive it as autonomous. The increase in routine as well as self-initiated activities was found to be positively but weakly correlated with an increase in job satisfaction and in the perception of role autonomy during the strike. These findings suggest that even after, or perhaps because of, being exposed to a significant change in contextual autonomy (working without physicians for a prolonged period of time) most Israeli primary care nurses do not appear to desire increased autonomy in the work place.

Problems for social work in a strike situation: professional, ethical, and value considerations.

1. See H. W. Demone, Jr., and M. Gibel man, Reaganomics: Its Impact on the Vol untary Not-for-Profit Sector, Social Work, 29 (September-October 1984), pp. 421-427. 2. B. Stokes and K. K. Allen, Volun teers: Two Views, Nation's Cities Weekly, 5 (February 1, 1982), pp. 5-6. 3. S. Langston, The New Voluntarism, Journal of Voluntary Action Research, 10 (January-March 1981), p. 9. 4. As opposed to knowledge, which explains what is, values express what ought to be. Ethics are based upon values and are, therefore, the operationalization of those values held by a profession.Issues in ethics come about when there is disa

Essential quantum instability of the perturbative Yang-Mills vacuum

We prove that there exist gauge field configurations whose energy density is lower than that of the perturbative Yang-Mills vacuum by a quantity ΔE∼ bΛ4 (Λ is the ultraviolet cut-off) whereb remains finite wheng → 0. This striking physical situation, which prevents the use of perturbation theory even at extremely short distances, is what has been calledessential instability.

Professionalism or Unionism — The Therapists' Dilemma?

Professionalism and Unionism are defined and compared. Some reasons for professionals electing to become unionised are suggested. In the context of the relationship of therapists with unions in British Columbia, two examples of labour action are described; how were occupational therapists involved in the issues which resulted in strike situations? What were the conflicts between the professional code of ethics and the union directives? How did individuals resolve these conflicts and what were the consequences? Occupational therapists must decide how they can be accountable to the profession and when that lifelong commitment takes precedence over union loyalties.

Impact of a nurses strike on a medical center emergency department

A strike of registered nurses in a large voluntary teaching hospital required changes in prehospital and emergency department delivery of services. An explanation of how the strike was handled by one emergency department is offered, as are comments on implications for emergency physicians and lessons for future strike situations.