Connecting the dots: relevance of sustainable development principles in addressing environmental protection issues in Nigeria’s oil industry

Sustainable Development Principles are fundamental to addressing environmental protection issues in Nigeria’s oil industry. The paper examined sustainable development in its globally accepted meaning. Furthermore, this principle of environmental protection has in recent years evolved into international standards popularly called global best practices. The objective of the paper is to examine the sustainable development principle and its relevance in addressing the environmental challenges in Nigeria’s oil industry.     

Patterns and issues in health care collective bargaining

Unionization of health care facilities has grown significantly over the last twenty years. More than 20 percent of American hospitals have one or more union contracts and an equal percentage of the industry's labor force is represented for collective bargaining purposes. Union membership is concentrated in the Northeast, Upper Midwest and Pacific Coast and is to be found particularly among large metropolitan hospitals. Although many different unions are actively organizing in the health care industry four labor organizations predominate: American Federation of State, County, Municipal Workers; Service Employees International Union; National Union of Hospital and Health Care Workers - District 1199; and the American Nurses Association.

One of the obstacles to union growth for many years was the absence of Federal legal regulation of labor relations. In 1974 Congress amended the so-called Taft Hartley Act to cover private nonprofit hospitals, the largest component of the industry. Since 1974 the application of Federal labor law has resolved old problems that arose from the lack of a basis to handle recognition disputes but at the same time created new issues. Among these issues are such legal questions as the legitimacy of the ANA to act as a labor organization, the proper bargaining classification for registered nurses, and the proper role in labor relations for hired consultants.

The growth of unions in health care raised concern that collective bargaining would impose onerous new burdens on an industry already hard pressed financially. Research indicates, however, that the impact on hospital costs have not been great -- perhaps on the order of an increase of 10 percent over what would be the case in the absence of unions. The greatest effects seem to be in the area of fringe benefits, working conditions, and the provision for grievance machinery.

Special problems have arisen in conjunction with the unionization of registered nurses. This particular category of health care workers occupies a strategic position in the hospital's work force. After a slow start nurse bargaining activity has come rapidly particularly as nonnursing unions such as 1199, SEIU, and the American Federation of Teachers have forced the ANA to respond to their efforts to make inroads among nurses.

Union growth in the industry seems to have stabilized for the time being without the prospect for much change in the remaining years of the decade. Incidence of conflict has been relatively low compared to other industries and this also shows little likelihood of change. While some visible signs of conflict over representation rights still remain collective bargaining is moving rapidly into an era of mutual accommodation.     

Verkehrssicherungspflicht des Stra?enbaulasttr?gers; Anforderungen an die Sichtprüfung von hohen Stra?enb?umen

Keine Zusammenfassung     

A brush fire forensic case.

In Italy, every summer forest fires attract public attention due to the number of victims, the intensity of the fires, the areas devastated, the environmental damage and the loss of property. Excluding some fires by natural causes, other causes are related to the social, economic, and productive profile of the territory. The erroneous expectation is that wooded areas destroyed by fire can then be used for private interests. Often, a fire, started to clear a small area, can completely change the expected result, producing disaster, loss of property, destruction of entire forests and resident fauna, and kill innocent people. In this case report, the reconstruction of an arson scene, the analytical techniques and the results obtained are illustrated in this paper, with the aim of sharing with other research laboratories the current knowledge on forest fire.     

Slovakia

European Journal of Political Research -