Introduction. Making work better.

From the premise that better work makes for better societies, the challenge, taken up in the introduction to this special issue of Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, is to explore what makes work better, or worse, and how it can be improved. As a wide variety of experiments shape our economies and communities for the future, a key challenge is to engage in shared learning about these processes in order to stimulate a dialogue between the aspiration for better work and the conditions likely to hinder or facilitate making work better. It is an invitation to move from narrow conceptions of job quality to a broader lens of how world-of-work actors strategise, innovate and incorporate uncertainty into their search for sustainable solutions for better work. Key themes include: why work needs to be better (but is often worse); why better work makes for better societies; how work can be made better; the role of institutions in achieving better work; and, finally, how union strategies are essential to processes of experimentation to make work better.

Characterizing estuarine plume discharge into the coastal ocean using fatty acid biomarkers and pigment analysis.

The transformation of estuaries by human activities continues to alter the biogeochemical balance of the coastal ocean. The disruption of this balance can negatively impact the provision of goods and services, including fisheries, commerce and transportation, recreation and esthetic enjoyment. Here we examine a link, between the Elkhorn Slough and the coastal ocean in Monterey Bay, California (USA) using a novel application of fatty acid and pigment analysis. Fatty acid analysis of filtered water samples showed biologically distinct water types between the Elkhorn Slough plume and the receiving waters of the coastal ocean. A remarkable feature of the biological content of the plume entering the coastal ocean was the abundance of bacteria-specific fatty acids, which correlated well with concentrations of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM). Pigment analysis showed that plume waters contained higher concentrations of diatoms and cryptophytes, while the coastal ocean waters showed higher relative concentrations of dinoflagellates. Bacteria and cryptophytes can provide a source of labile, energy-rich organic matter that may be locally important as a source of food for pelagic and benthic communities. Surface and depth surveys of the plume show that the biogeochemical constituents of the slough waters are injected into the coastal waters and become entrained in the northward flowing, nearshore current of Monterey Bay. Transport of these materials to the northern portion of the bay can fuel a bloom incubator, which exists in this region. This study shows that fatty acid markers can reveal the biogeochemical interactions between estuaries and the coastal ocean and highlights how man-made changes have the potential to influence coastal ecological change.