Paradigm Shifts in Economic Theory and Policy

In most countries, mainstream economic policy has not yet undergone any significant change, and there is little consensus on what, if anything, ought to replace it. However, there are some signs of an emerging transition, at several levels.     

Completion deadlines,adaptive learning assignments,and student performance

The authors examine effects on student performance, from applying different deadline strategies to online assignments in face-to-face principles of macroeconomics courses. Students in one section were required to complete weekly adaptive learning assignments. Students in the second section were required to complete the adaptive assignments only before each of the three exams administered in the course, thereby giving students more control over when to complete them. The findings show that the presence of rigid deadlines detracted from student participation with the adaptive learning assignments. However, the assignments contributed positively to performance in the traditional assessment categories of homework and exams.     

Has Advertising Lost Its Meaning? Views of UK and US Millennials

The findings of a study of Millennials in USA and the UK—an increasingly important and digitally savvy segment of consumers—reveal that they see advertising as Companies promoting a product or service to people through media. Their perception is simple and all-encompassing with no evidence that they distinguish between different types of media or different types of communication. Some variation between the views of Millennials in the two countries is also identified, although this is less than expected. The findings contribute to an important and continuing debate among academics and marketing practitioners over how advertising should be defined in today’s multichannel environment. The findings are also compared with other recent definitions of advertising, and their implications are discussed.     

The Purpose and Process of Science: Contrasting Understandings in UK Research Establishments

This paper is based on an ESRC-funded study into scientists' perceptions of management. Changes in the organisation, purpose and process of science were heralded with the publication of the White Paper (Cm2250 1993). However, to date there has been little empirical work into how research scientists understand such issues. Our research, based on qualitative interviews conducted with scientist/managers in seven government-funded research establishments, found that scientists' notions of scientific purpose varied, not just according to the nature of their work, but also evolved as careers progressed and the contexts within which they worked changed (in particular as the need to generate income through commissioned work has increased). The data also reveal a diversity in scientists' understanding of the relationship between discovery and applied science. Of central importance to R&D managers is the extent to which these scientists saw their aspirations as achievable within the changing context of public sector science. From the data we generate an Ideal Type model of approaches that may be taken to reconcile the imperatives of applied and fundamental research and develop an understanding of the key role of senior management in creating an effective interface with external stakeholders and the development of culture and vision within the laboratory that will enable effective synergy.     

Police Pay and Bargaining in the UK, 1978–2000

Police pay and conditions in the UK are governed by a unique mechanism, the Police Negotiating Board. This paper reviews the circumstances in which it was set up and examines the outcomes, relative to other public service workers, over the first twenty years of its operation. Recent developments highlight the role of ministerial intervention and raise questions about the relationship between the PNB negotiating system and working practice at police force level.