http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/services/Feed ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6958 Considerable changes in the workforce and in industrial relations legislation have resulted in gaps in the system of representation and industrial relations regulation in Australia. With a falling trade union density the issue of employee voice outside of trade unions is addressed in this paper. The literature on industrial relations “actors” is reviewed and the discussion turns to contemporary developments in the Australian industrial relations system and the emergence of “new” actors. 2013-03-18T05:55:31.604Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12489 A prorenin-angiotensin system (RAS) could, via the (pro)renin receptor (ATP6AP2), have various effects in human intrauterine tissues, either directly by prorenin/ATP6AP2 cell signaling, or indirectly via angiotensin II and/or angiotensin 1-7. Here we describe RAS components in fetal membranes, decidua and placenta collected at elective cesarean section (non-laboring), after spontaneous delivery (after labor, n = 38), and in myometria (n = 16) from elective (non-laboring) or emergency cesarean (laboring) deliveries. Angiotensinogen (AGT), angiotensin-converting enzyme 1 and 2 (ACE; ACE2), angiotensin receptor 1 and 2 (AGTR1; AGTR2) and angiotensin 1-7 receptor (MAS1) mRNAs were measured by qRTPCR and proteins were localized by immunohistochemistry. In myometrium, prorenin (REN), ATP6AP2, and downstream signaling proteins zinc finger and BTB domain-containing protein 16 (ZBTB16), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFβ1) and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) mRNAs were also measured. RAS mRNAs, except AGTR1 and AGTR2, were abundant in decidua and lowest in amnion compared to the other tissues. ACE, AGT and PTGS2 mRNAs were higher in laboring than non-laboring myometrium, suggesting that the myometrial RAS is involved in labor. Angiotensinogen and prorenin staining in amnion, chorion and decidua was pervasive despite their mRNAs being low in amnion and chorion. In placenta, prorenin, angiotensinogen and AGTR2 were present in syncytiotrophoblasts, ACE was in fetal endothelium, while ACE2 distribution was diffuse. AGTR1 and AGTR2 mRNAs and proteins were abundant. No differences were evident in the staining patterns with labor. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that fetal vascular ACE might contribute angiotensin II to the fetus, whilst syncytial ACE2 might hypothetically have a role in converting angiotensin II to angiotensin 1-7 in maternal blood. 2013-01-28T23:50:04.253Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10765 Background: IV bolus oxytocin is used routinely during cesarean delivery to prevent postpartum hemorrhage. Its adverse hemodynamic effects are well known, resulting in a recent change in dose from 10 IU to 5. Whether a 5 IU bolus has any advantages over infusion alone is unclear. We tested the hypothesis that a 5 IU IV bolus of oxytocin before the initiation of a continuous infusion decreases the need for additional uterotonic drugs in the first 24 hours after delivery in women with risk factors for uterine atony undergoing cesarean delivery, compared with infusion alone. Methods: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial was conducted in 143 subjects undergoing cesarean delivery with at least 1 risk factor for uterine atony. Subjects received 5 IU bolus of oxytocin or normal saline IV over 30 seconds after umbilical cord clamping. All subjects received an infusion of 40 IU oxytocin in 500 mL normal saline over 30 minutes, followed by 20 IU in 1 L over 8 hours. The primary outcome was the need for additional uterotonics in the first 24 hours after delivery. Secondary outcomes included uterine tone as assessed by the surgeon (5-point Likert scale: 0 = "floppy," 4 = "rock hard"), estimated blood loss, side effects of bolus administration, and the oxytocin bolus-placental delivery interval. Results: There was no difference in the need for additional uterotonic drugs in the first 24 hours between groups. There was a significant difference in uterine tone immediately after placental delivery (P < 0.01) (2.8 in the oxytocin group [95% confidence interval 2.6-3.0] vs 2.2 in the saline group [95% confidence interval 1.8-2.5]), which disappeared after 5 minutes. There were no differences in observed or reported side effects between groups. Conclusions: We found that a 5 IU IV bolus of oxytocin added to an infusion did not alter the need for additional uterotonic drugs to prevent or treat postpartum hemorrhage in the first 24 hours in women undergoing cesarean delivery with risk factors for uterine atony, despite causing an initial stronger uterine contraction. Our study was not powered to find a difference in side effects between groups. These results suggest that an oxytocin infusion may be adequate without the need for a bolus, even in high-risk patients. 2012-05-08T02:30:25.409Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10509 Despite the increased incidence of preterm labor with intrauterine growth restriction, the mechanisms of the relationship are unclear. In women, functional progesterone withdrawal mediated by changing myometrial progesterone receptor (PR) expression is linked to labor. The objectives of this study were to assess myometrial PR isoform abundance in guinea pig pregnancies associated with growth restriction, induced by disruption of placental blood supply, and in nongravid uterine horns during late gestation and with labor. Myometrial progesterone receptor isoform A (PRA) and B (PRB) abundance were downregulated as labor approached and the expression of both isoforms were markedly higher in the nongravid compared to the gravid uterine horns. The fall in myometrial PRA and B protein levels was delayed in intrauterine growth-restricted (IUGR) pregnancies despite these pregnancies delivering significantly earlier. The results suggest a PR-mediated functional progesterone withdrawal mechanism in guinea pigs that may initiate uterine activation but does not directly stimulate labor and an unexpected role of PR regulation in IUGR-associated pregnancies. 2012-03-25T22:10:05.035Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:5610 In the mid-twentieth century many doctors, supported by private hospitals and conservative politicians, argued that health care should be underwritten by voluntary health insurance. Where this was not possible access should be supported by charity. Based on the premise that health care was a right, not a matter of charity, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) argued for collective responsibility either in the form of cash benefits or direct public provision. Catholics, however, favoured a path advocated in Catholic social teaching, i.e. corporatism – a set of arrangements, which requires the state to work through existing social groups. Consequently they argued for a system of social support based upon the family as the first provider, assisted by intermediate organisations, and only then the state, a relationship predicated upon the principle of subsidiarity. 2012-03-08T01:03:53.486Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:9887 In December 2001, just a few months after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington left the international airline industry reeling, a new Malaysian company called ‘Tune Air’ purchased a small underperforming domestic Malaysian airline known as ‘AirAsia’ for 1 Malaysian ringgit and the assumption of 40 million ringgit in debt. Within 11 months of acquiring the company, Tune Air had fully repaid this debt and by January 2003 the company was operating six aircraft domestically. In 2006, AirAsia boasted a fleet of 35 Boeing 737-300 aircraft and eight Airbus 320 aircraft with orders for 100 more A320s and was forecast to carry nine million passengers to 52 domestic and international destinations. AirAsia's meteoric rise is the result of the confluence of opportunity and skillful application of the low-cost Carrier (LCC) aviation business model. This model, which has its origins in the success of Southwest Airlines and Michael O'Leary's ‘Ryanair’, has been implemented around the world and consists of a number of common elements such as reduced inflight service, point to point travel, high aircraft utilization, single fleet type, ticketless passenger reservation systems and considerable functional flexibility in staffing. In this article we trace the rise of AirAsia's success and the nuances of the low-cost aviation model it has pursued. We draw upon established theory from the fields of strategy and strategic human resource management to explain AirAsia's minimalist approach to human resource management. In particular, we apply Porter's well known theory of generic business strategies and Schuler and Jackson's model linking HR practices to competitive strategy, to argue that the airline's successful quest for market cost leadership has been supported by a strict focus on Legge's ‘hard’ variety of HRM. It is further argued that while a number of the components of the Southwest Airlines model are evident, there are also significant differences in AirAsia's management of human resources. In particular, it is argued that the airline has adopted a far stronger cost minimization and ‘hard’ HRM path that is closer to Ryanair's model, which has proved highly successful for the airline in South East Asia. 2012-02-01T01:30:09.444Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8617 Four features of Antonio Negri's The Labor of Job stand out, at least for one trained in that arcane discipline of biblical criticism: radical homiletics, philosophical commentary, revolutionary readings of the Bible, and the politics of cosmogony. Let me say a little more about each one as I follow the ropes that moor Negri's The Labor of Job to the Bible and biblical criticism. At the heart of the book is what I would like to call a radical homiletics. A discipline much neglected these days, homiletics is really the art of connecting a text like the Bible with the realities of everyday life, moving from the intricacies of textual analysis to the application to life. 2011-08-12T05:30:06.432Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8422 This new edition sees a name change from Industrial Relations to Employment Relations, reflecting an acknowledgement of the greater scope of the latter, its stronger theoretical foundation and its broader analysis. Employment Relations continues the student-focused approach adopted in the previous edition, through both clear exposition of the topics and the use of strong pedagogic features. Employment Relations covers a wider range of topics than the previous edition, particularly by developing the concept of state regulation alongside more traditional notions of bargaining. The final chapters recount the political events of late 2007 and early 2008 by exploring the policy positions of the major political parties as well as the likely legislative and institutional changes that will emerge in the second half of 2008. 2011-07-21T02:50:04.219Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:7714 In normal birth there should be a valid reason to interfere with normal processes. Yet, active management of third stage labor is being imposed on women who have no known risks of postpartum hemorrhage. This article examines the evidence from existing randomised trials comparing active and physiological third stage care for its relevance and validity to the effectiveness of physiological third stage care for women who are at low risk of postpartum hemorrhage. Consideration is given to midwifery and medical perspectives of the following definitions: ‘postpartum hemorrhage’; ‘low-risk status’; ‘active’; ‘expectant’ and ‘physiological’ third stage care. A systematic search of the research literature regarding the third stage of labour is described. Four randomised trials and a meta-analysis by Cochrane were considered. These studies are examined in terms of their potential generalisability to women who are at low risk of postpartum hemorrhage. All trials included women who were at high risk of postpartum hemorrhage. The existing research does not provide relevant and valid evidence about the effectiveness of physiological third stage care, as defined by midwives, for women who are at low risk of postpartum hemorrhage. 2011-05-12T06:30:12.373Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:7032 Background: No good evidence exists to support the practice of routinely checking for the nuchal cord, yet it is a common medical intervention in birth. Some evidence shows damage to the baby because the practice more frequently leads to premature cord-cutting and the vaginal examination, required by such routine checking, may be physically and/or emotionally damaging to the women. Our objective was to learn what training midwives have received and what their current practice is in relation to a possible nuchal cord at birth? Method: Questions about nuchal cord at birth were posted to two online midwifery discussion forums and responses were invited. Twenty-six midwives from 10 countries responded to questions on nuchal cord practices. Results: The teaching and practice of routinely checking for the nuchal cord at birth is widespread, according to at least some participants from all 10 countries. Other midwives from the same countries argued that, although they were aware that the procedure is the dominant midwifery practice, many midwives neither teach it nor perform it routinely. Conclusion: In the absence ofclear evidence, firmly entrenched positions are being argued for and against routine checking. The debate is infused with high emotion. Those arguing for routine checking cite safety for the baby as their main concern. Those arguing against checking cite the need to keep birth normal and the well-being of the baby as their primary concerns. There is a need to reconsider how the possibility of nuchal cord at birth should be conceptualised from a midwifery perspective to ensure woman-centred decision-making. 2011-02-03T04:50:06.127Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6401 This paper presents a new dynamic model of union density that exhibits multiple equilibria and pathdependency. The model builds upon (Freeman, R.B., 1998. Spurts in union growth: defining moments and social processes. In: Bordo, M., Goldin, C., White, E. (Eds.), The Defining Moment: The Great Depression and the American Economy in the 20th Century. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago) who identified the importance of union spending on organizing and business spending on opposing unions. It emphasizes the demand for union representation that depends on wage bargaining outcomes, the state of labor law, and socio-economic factors impacting public attitudes to unions. The model is used to provide a narrative account of the historical evolution of union density in the U.S. and to identify factors important for its future evolution. 2010-06-10T03:10:03.048Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:1977 Objective: This study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) patches in comparison with β2 sympathomimetics (β2) for the treatment of preterm labor. Study design: A multicenter, multinational, randomized controlled trial was conducted in tertiary referral teaching hospitals. Women in threatened preterm labor with positive fetal fibronectin or ruptured membranes between 24 and 35 weeks' gestation were recruited and randomly assigned to either β2 or GTN with rescue β2 tocolysis if moderate-to-strong contractions persisted at 2 hours. Obstetric and neonatal outcomes were assessed. Results: Two hundred thity-eight women were recruited and randomly assigned, 117 to β2 and 121 to GTN. On a strict intention-to-treat basis, there was no significant difference in the time to delivery using Kaplan-Meier curves (P = .451). At 2 hours, 27% of women receiving β2 had moderate or stronger contractions compared with 53% in the GTN group (P < .001). This led to 35% of women in the GTN group receiving rescue treatment. If delivery or requirement for β2 rescue are regarded as treatment failure, then a significant difference was observed between the 2 arms (P = .0032). There were no significant differences in neonatal outcomes. Conclusion: GTN is a less efficacious tocolytic compared with β2 sympathomimetics. 2010-04-27T06:57:24.245Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2250 In the 1970s Australian New Left theorists used the Technocratic Labor thesis to criticize the ALP. This held that middle-class university educated people were taking over the ALP and moving it to the right. Thirty years later there appears to be much substance to their argument. The ALP has increasingly been led by middle-class people and has moved to the right. It has also narrowed the recruiting base for its national parliamentarians, most of who are now groomed within the party and its affiliates rather than being drawn from the wider community. Nonetheless, the political utility of the argument may be questioned since most of the Australian workforce is now in the services sector and many are also middle class and university educated. 2010-04-27T06:56:54.956Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:968 Human parturition is effected by a cascade of factors, of which many are unknown. We aim to identify the genes that are changed by labor in the human myometrium by suppression subtractive hybridization . We also seek to ascertain whether these genes are differentially expressed in the myometrium at the upper or fundal and lower segments of the uterus. Term myometrial tissues were obtained from laboring and nonlaboring women undergoing cesarean section after obtaining informed consent. Total RNA was used in suppression subtractive hybridization (CLONTECH PCR Select) to produce two subtracted cDNA libraries enriched for genes expressed during or before labor, labor and not-in-labor libraries, respectively. Dot blot screening of 400 positive clones, constituting 20% of the two subtracted libraries, revealed 30 differentially expressed clones, 14 of which were up-regulated by labor. Among the 10 known genes that were up-regulated in labor, 6 had apparent immune regulatory and inflammatory roles. Three are well-known inflammatory mediators and modulators that were previously linked with parturition: IL-8, manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), and metalloproteinase-9. Three others, interferon-inducible 1-8d gene, elongation factor 1α, and nucleophosmin, have not been previously linked with labor. Constitutively expressed genes, including cyclophilin and α-actin, were found to be altered by labor. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR using Taqman probes further confirmed the up-regulation of some of these genes. The amounts of the specific genes assayed were standardized to 18S ribosomal RNA and are expressed as mean ± SEM. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR showed that IL-8 mRNA rose from 0.003 ± 0.002 in nonlaboring samples (n = 38) to 0.24 ± 0.11 (n = 20) in gestational-age-matched spontaneously laboring women (P = 0.035). Similarly, MnSOD rose from 0.11 ± 0.02 (n = 24) to 1.23 ± 0.56 (n = 24) in gestational-age-matched women (P = 0.047). Additionally, cyclophilin, often used as a constitutive or housekeeping gene marker, increased from 0.0008 ± 0.0002 (n = 6) to 0.002 ± 0.0004 (n = 6; P = 0.008) during labor. Notably, MnSOD mRNA was differentially distributed between the upper (0.63 ± 0.18) and lower (0.15 ± 0.05; n = 15; P = 0.022) segments of the uterus, but IL-8 was not (n = 17; P = 0.97). Induced labor further showed significantly higher levels of IL-8 (0.63 ± 0.21; n = 14) than spontaneous labor (0.22 ± 0.11; n = 20; P = 0.046), but not MnSOD (P = 0.1). This work identifies novel as well as known genes that were not previously associated with parturition. It extends previous data indicating that there is differential expression of some, but not all genes within the gravid human uterus. Inflammatory genes constitute a major proportion of the known genes found to be up-regulated in labor, lending support to the hypothesis of an inflammatory mechanism for human parturition. This work further indicates that many factors associated with human labor and their complex interactions remain to be elucidated. 2010-04-27T06:40:37.157Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:1213 This article traces the development of policies designed to reduce gender workforce inequality in Australia. In contrast to earlier centralized and collective approaches, current strategy is founded on individualism and direct workplace bargaining. The location of reform is now the enterprise, with direct bargaining replacing collective standards. Current policy developments have seen gender subsumed under market imperfections and family responsibilities. These policies will remove many of the safeguards of minimum pay and conditions for women workers, especially those who are most vulnerable. When combined with the growth of "nonstandard" jobs the picture is bleak for many workers, especially the low paid. The onus for corrective action now rests with individual employees and workplace managers, with trade unions being marginalized. The authors suggest that a continuation of the current policy will wind back the clock on the employment conditions of women workers in Australia. 2010-04-27T06:39:22.375Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2353 Regulation of myometrial functions during gestation, labor and birth are in the forefront of research in reproductive sciences. The complexity of the problem is reflected by our scant understanding of the intimate cellular and molecular events underlying these phenomena, despite extensive efforts spanning several decades. Unlike other smooth muscles, the myometrium is, to a large extent, under hormonal control. Of these, the steroid hormones, progesterone and estrogen, play dominant roles in terms of uterine growth, the maintenance of quiescence during gestation and the preparation of the uterus for labor and delivery. In addition to steroid hormones, there are a number of factors that modulate myometrial contractility (oxytocin, prostaglandins, endothelin, platelet activating factor) and relaxation (corticotropin releasing hormone, prostacyclin, nitric oxide). Although notable advances have been made towards understanding some of the key steps in receptor signaling that define the actions of these factors, a good deal of new information is needed to fully understand this fundamental life process. Pharmaceutical agents have been used extensively to induce labor or to prolong pregnancy in the case of preterm labor that represents the major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Because preterm labor is a syndrome of multiple etiologies, pharmacologic agents will have to be targeted accordingly. This review attempts to present a critical overview of these topics. 2010-04-27T06:31:30.799Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2467 The prostaglandin (PG)-inactivating enzyme 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (PGDH) is highly expressed in the chorion leave. To assess the involvement of PGDH in the regulation of intrauterine PG levels, we have determined the mechanisms that control chorionic PGDH expression in women at term and preterm labor. PGDH gene activity decreased at term and during normal labor. PGDH mRNA abundance also decreased at term due to changing splice variant distribution. Gene activity predicted PGDH mRNA abundance preterm and after normal labor, but not at term before labor. PGDH mRNA decayed rapidly in cultured tissues and was stabilized by transcriptional arrest. PGDH protein levels varied without being significantly different between the patient groups. PGDH mRNA levels predicted PGDH protein levels at term, but not preterm and after labor. PGDH gene activity, mRNA variant, and immunoreactive protein levels were not different between the preterm labor and preterm not in labor groups. Thus, PGDH mRNA is transiently down-regulated before term labor by a posttranscriptional mechanism(s). Protein turnover controls PGDH protein abundance at preterm and after normal labor. At term, PGDH protein levels become dependent on the rapidly turning over PGDH mRNA. This may allow rapid changes in PGDH protein abundance and uterotonic PG concentrations promoting labor. 2010-04-27T06:24:08.410Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:4801 At term, amniotic fluid contents may mediate the onset of labor through the activation of amniotic fluid macrophages and their migration into the myometrium. To test this concept, the authors examine the histological changes that occur in myometrial biopsies at term prior to (n = 53) and during (n = 15) labor. Biopsies were stained with an antimacrophage antibody, anti-CD34 (endothelial cells), and anti-caspase 3 (apoptotic cells). The samples showed a variable inflammatory infiltrate of neutrophils and macrophages, with a greater infiltrate in the samples obtained during labor (P<.001, Fisher exact test). Prior to labor, there were prominent changes in the myometrial fibers that reflected shearing, shrinkage, edema, and particularly apoptosis; endothelial cells of thin-walled vessels prominent in the biopsies displayed marked nuclear biotinylation, and the vascular lumen contained fibrin and platelet thrombi, microparticles, desquamated endothelial cells, amniotic squamous cells, and mucoid material. These changes were also present in samples obtained during labor. In an additional 10 patients in labor with male fetuses, myometrial samples were examined for the presence of macrophages carrying a Y chromosome indicative of a fetal origin, but none were observed. These findings suggest that endothelial cell damage and amniotic fluid embolism are very common at term prior to clinical labor and provide a mechanism by which surfactant protein A and phospholipids present in the amniotic fluid may access myometrial cells and provoke the inflammatory response that occurs during parturition. The authors' studies give no support to the suggestion that fetal macrophages might invade the human myometrium at term. 2010-04-27T05:33:34.457Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:5736 This volume contains a selection of papers which go back to a conference on new employment actors, held at the University of Sydney in November 2006. The book contends that employment relations must be broadened to examine the new actors and processes and the role these play in the regulation and experience of work. It demonstrates this in the context of recent developments in Australia. In addition, the contributions evaluate the extent to which new employment actors either reinforce or replace the activities of the more established trade union, management, and state-based actors. It is argued that an inclusion of these new actors and processes is a more comprehensive way of understanding and explaining industrial society in the 21st century. 2010-04-27T04:36:15.765Z ]]>