Trade unions play a critical role in labour law, in representing workers, negotiating terms and conditions of employment by collective bargaining, lobbying for stronger legislation to improve working conditions and enhance job security, and assisting in the enforcement of legal rights before courts and tribunals. Employers are often hostile to trade unions, and workers need legal protection from the consequences of such hostility. In this Chapter we consider the legislation designed to protect workers from exclusion, blacklisting, discrimination, and victimization because of their trade union membership and activities. We also examine the right not to be a trade union member, as well as the purpose and implications of such a right.T

Executive function is an umbrella term used to describe a collection of complex cognitive processes, which include decision-making, acting as a mechanism of integration rather than a function in itself. It is thought to consist of three main elements: inhibition, working memory and cognitive flexibility – each of which is important in the execution of decisions. Executive functions, like decision-making, are especially difficult to understand and conceptualise due to their abstract nature. Abstract thinking refers to an ability to form ideas that are not concrete, or that cannot be perceived in the present environment – a key contributor to complex decisions that involve integration of past experiences and planning ahead.

Oscillator circuits, categorized into relaxation and sinusoidal types, are introduced. Three examples of relaxation oscillators are given and analyzed: the SCR sawtooth, the transistor astable, and the 555 astable. Monostable operation of the 555 timer is also discussed. For sinusoidal oscillators, examples include a transistor RC, an op-amp Wien bridge, a Hartley, and a Pierce oscillator. Oscillator stability is discussed. Electromagnetic communications (AM and FM) are discussed as applications of oscillators.

This chapter presents some of the biomaterials used in different clinical applications. Examples of current commercially available devices are presented, together with the advantages of the biomaterials used for each application and the rationale behind the choice.

The common law permits employers to fix the wages payable under the contract of employment and also upholds a broad principle of no work–no pay. Statute protects employees against deductions from their wages that are not authorised by the terms of their contract. Subject to the express terms of the contract, in some circumstances employers may be under a duty to provide work so that employees can earn a living. These rules embrace a principle of mutuality that protects the expectation of the employer that work will be performed and of the employee that work will be remunerated. The National Minimum Wage sets a floor on wages for all workers. The chapter describes the method of assessing whether the minimum wage is paid in various kinds of jobs. It concludes by assessing the various types of enforcement mechanisms, including HMRC inspectors, penalties and civil claims, and assesses the effectiveness of the law.

Capacitors and inductors are introduced, along with their equivalent circuit laws. Switched RC circuits are thoroughly analyzed. The response of an RC circuit to a sinusoidal drive voltage is analyzed and leads to a discussion of high- and low-pass filters, phase shifters, integrators, and differentiators. The use of complex numbers in circuit analysis is introduced and applied to sinusoidally driven series RC, LR, and LRC circuits as well as the switched LRC circuit. Fourier analysis and its meaning are presented. The operation of transformers is introduced.

One of the key functions of trade unions is to engage with employers or groups of employers to regulate terms and conditions of employment by collective bargaining. In the United Kingdom, the state historically played a key role in promoting and sustaining collective bargaining procedures on a sector-wide basis. There has since been a decentralization of collective bargaining activity to enterprise level, a process encouraged by the state, giving employers more control and flexibility over working conditions. This chapter examines the statutory procedures that were introduced in 1999 to support trade unions seeking to establish collective bargaining arrangements at enterprise level, and considers the statutory rights which exist to support collective bargaining, whether secured by voluntary or statutory means. Addressing specifically employer union-avoidance techniques, the analysis concludes by assessing the marginal impact of the law in practice, and considers proposals for reform.

Several neurotransmitter systems play a key role in decision-making. The serotonergic system plays a neuromodulatory role, and is very widely connected, influencing a very wide variety of behaviours including sleep, mood, sexual behaviour, eating and memory. The norodrenergic system has a key connection to the prefrontal cortex, which we know is vital in decision-making. Noradrenaline also has a role in sleep. The dopaminergic system is important for working memory, novelty-seeking and attention. All of these contribute to decision-making.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the field of diplomatic history took a cultural turn – or rather, a series of turns. Inspired by a host of factors internal and external to the discipline as a whole, a number of foreign relations historians came to feel that there were forces other than strategy, economics, politics, or national interest narrowly defined, at play in the shaping of American policy. The symbolic anthropologist Clifford Geertz had already had enormous influence on social and cultural history, emphasizing what he called -borrowing from Max Weber – the “webs of significance” that shaped the everyday experience of human beings. Borrowing from Geertz, and from scholars of cultural and subaltern studies, historians explored the impact on US relations with others of ritual, gesture, body language, identity (e.g., race, gender, and religion), language, emotion, and the senses. The cultural turn, significantly, led to a greater interest in imperialism and colonialism, and, with that, to greater appreciation for the participation of all sides in international encounters. The study of culture invites self-reflection, allowing historians who deploy it to think hard about the assumptions, stereotypes, prejudices, and emotions that they bring to their work.

US foreign relations historians could benefit from more explicit attention to methods and methodology. Sharp debates around approaches and methodologies arising out of the cultural and linguistic turns were waged in the 1990s, with some traditionalists suggesting the new approaches were “intellectual junk.” Since then, however, practitioners have adopted a broad-minded stance, welcoming virtually all topics and all ways of studying them. This harmony has come at the cost of stimulating open debate about how we do what we do. Historians make choices based on often implicit theories about human behavior, causation, and other issues; greater discussion of how to make those choices, and how to find and analyze sources, could spur innovation, provide greater transparency, and foster connections with other disciplines. The chapters in this volume offer advice about methodology and methods with the aim of spurring reflection and discussion.