Problem-solving in teaching/learning packages for Technology

In the project Technology in Secondary Education: Problem-solving in Teaching/learning Packages, two experiments regarding a construction problem and an explanation problem were conducted, in which two variants of a teching/learning package (strongly structuredvs. weakly structured) were compared. Only with the strongly structured instructional variant of the package for the explanation problem did the pupils come to a quick solution of the problem. In both experiments, the factors that influenced the problem-solving processes of the pupils were investigated. The results are of importance for curriculum developers and the authors of teaching/learning packages for Technology but further research into the factors influencing the problem solving process of pupils is necessary.     

The market for surrogate motherhood contracts

Surrogate motherhood is a controversial subject, and has not previously been formally modelled by economists. In this paper, a neoclassical model of the market for surrogate motherhood contracts is developed, based on the utility maximizing decisions of potential surrogate mothers and commissioning parties. The presence of both altruistic and self-interested behaviour generates unusual market outcomes.     

Determinants of internal and external R&D: Some Dutch evidence

Summary Innovating firms can choose to engage in either internal or external R&D, or in both. In the current study, we shall examine internal and external R&D separately to determine empirically the market structure characteristics explaining the external R&D share and the differences in market structure determinants between internal and external R&D. Our results indicate that a government policy that aims at stimulating technological progress by offering external research facilities is particularly interesting for smaller, capital-intensive firms operating in less concentrated markets.We would like to thank Alfred Kleinknecht for providing the R&D data and Kees Bakker and Yvonne Prince for providing the market structure data. We thank Alfred Kleinknecht, Bart Nooteboom and an anonymous referee for their comments and suggestions We acknowledge a research grant from the Stichting KMO Fonds.     

Fortress Bethesda

Critics within and outside the National Institutes of Health say that NIH's central administration is hostile and defensive and needs to be shaken up. They hope a new director will do just that.     

Organizational climate factors and the evaluation of technical ideas

Based on data obtained from 359 idea evaluators, canonical correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship between several organizational factors and a set of criteria used in the evaluation of technical ideas. In contrast to other studies, it was found that organizational factors—assessed in terms of organizational climate—could be explained in terms of two dimensions: organizational clarity and risk. Technical evaluation criteria could be explained in terms of professional self-gratification and organizational responsibility. In light of the multivariate relationship among the two sets of factors, a number of organizational design implications are outlined.