Public Sector Employment Under Siege
This article was prepared for a symposium at Indiana University Maurer School of Law on Labor and Employment Law under the Obama Administration. The article analyzes the current spate of attacks on public employees with particular reference to three sub-topics: teacher tenure and evaluation “reform,” the periodic cycles of public sector fiscal crises, and the unilateral modification of public sector collective bargaining agreements. The article concludes with the assessment that cyclical attacks on public sector workers reflect a skewed viewpoint that public employees owe first-class obligations but possess only second-class rights.
Servant Leadership and Public Administration: Solving the Public Sector Financial Problems Through Service
The financial problems facing many states and local governments have caused some to take unilateral actions concerning the terms and conditions of employment in unionized environments governed by collective bargaining agreements. The unilateral actions by the public sector have fostered an adversarial tension between unions and management in public administration. Servant leadership is an emerging leadership paradigm, which proponents believe has universal applicability among various organizations. This paper seeks to present a preliminary literature review and framework seeking to understand if servant leadership can be applied in an adversarial public administration setting.
Thermodynamics on the Carbochlorination of Titanium-bearing Ores
The equilibrium compositions of the multi-component, multi-phase and multi-reaction system of carbochlorination of titanium-bearing ores are calculated with HSC, a computational chemistry software. The thermodynamic equilibrium calculation of the reaction system shows that a complete conversion of titanium-bearing ores is feasible at a temperature near 200oC. At temperatures ranging from 800 to 1600oC, the products of the reaction system are all in gaseous phase. Thermodynamic analysis accords with the industrial practice. The simulated results provide reasonable scientific basis for improving suitable technological conditions of the carbochlorination reduction.