Employee involvement in restructuring – the example of the Latvian Builders' Trade Union
A change of political system took place in Latvia in the 1980s and 1990s. On the one hand, this change offered Latvian workers the opportunity to protect their interests by establishing free trade unions, negotiating collective agreements, organising strikes and using other rights established by ILO conventions. On the other hand, there is still a general dislike of the union organisations inherited from the Soviet era, a lack of belief in the power of unions and insufficient information about their activities (Karnite 2005).
Introduction: Challenges of transition and preparations for EU accession
The introductory chapter presents analytical strands of the theoretical framework for transformation processes, and links them to the most important challenges facing societies and trade unions in the CEE accession countries on their way to EU membership. It identifies five interrelated processes which have been shaping the post-socialist development of the CEE accession countries, and which are pushing these countries along their course to join the EU. Firstly, the path taken by democratisation and the subsequent stabilisation of new democracies; secondly, the success of economic restructuring and the integration of national economies into the global and the EU economy; thirdly, the restructuring of the social sector to compensate for market failures; fourthly, the role of trade unions and industrial relations in imposing constraints on market forces and defending the interests of working people; and finally the EU approximation process, i.e. the very process of convergence to the EU acquis, which is helping to determine the speed, quality and targeting of transformation processes in conformity with the requirements of future EU membership.
Application of 2μm Tm Laser on Biomedicine
Continuous wave Thulium laser emits at wavelength of 2.0 mm, which is well suited for tissue ablationand thermally stimulating cutaneous nerves due to its high absorption by water. 2 mm laser can be transmitted suffi-ciently by common quartz fibers and it is safe for eyes. A brief introduction of principle of 2 mm CW Tm Laser is giv-en, analyzing the photothermal modeling of thulium laser-tissue interaction, comparing 2 mm CW Tm Laser with tradi-tional laser.