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This paper deals with the role of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) among staff on teaching-only contracts in UK higher education, particularly in contrast with the activities of research-active staff. Drawing on the results of a quantitative study carried out during the summer of 2021 among modern foreign language teachers in 64 UK universities, the questions of the status and purpose of SoTL are addressed. The results of the survey show that, beyond the traditional two-tier division of academic labour based on the research vs. scholarship dichotomy, a third group of academic staff with no research or SoTL responsibilities has emerged in recent years. The paper concludes with recommendations to review the existing divisions between staff on research, SoTL and teaching-only contracts in order to create a more inclusive academic environment where individuals in different types of academic posts can fulfil their scholarly potential.

The increasing casualisation of academic labour over recent years has been noted across the global north. In the UK, this takes a number of forms, including fixed term, hourly paid and zero hours contracts. What tends to characterise them all, however, is a focus on the short-term. In this paper, we draw on a qualitative study with 20 UK-based academics on casualised contracts to consider the implications of the short-term nature of such employment for teaching and pedagogy. We come to this with a temporal perspective, in part in response to Felt's call for a chronopolitical analysis of the changing temporalities of academia. We discuss how short-term temporal logics marked by last-minute or 'just-in-time' modalities can be seen to impact negatively on teaching preparation and pedagogical relationships, raising questions about innovation and criticality, power and in/security, continuity and care.

Adhesion contracts have a strong likelihood of being unconscionable. The laws and principles are further complicated by the introduction of electronic contracts, specifically electronic consumer contracts. The paper touches upon the duty to read doctrine in contracts and electronic contracts. While the doctrine of unconscionability has evolved it has been playing catch up with the demands of consumers. This paper compares the application of this doctrine in the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), and India. The paper also proposes recommendations for consumers and the development of laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to examine the changed nature of public accountability during a supreme emergency and explore how legal and auditing mechanisms have come to the fore, concluding that misappropriation of public monies is not an inevitable outcome. Design/methodology/approach: The paper explores an illustrative example, the UK government's procurement of personal protective equipment during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. Findings: In circumstances of a supreme emergency where parliamentary scrutiny and competitive contract tendering are suspended, other forms of public accountability come to the fore, with civil society actors becoming more evident. Research limitations/implications: The paper relies on illustrative examples based on the Westminster model of government. The study advanced the notion of deferred accountability and identifies areas for further study, potentially in different jurisdictions. Social implications: The paper highlights the need for a variety of active and engaged civil society actors. Originality/value: The paper contributes an empirical case to how an account of government behaviour is established. The paper also contributes to a deeper understanding of the nature and role of legal and government audit accountability mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studies in Applied Linguistics / Studie z Aplikované Lingvistiky is the property of Universita Karlova, Filozoficka Fakulta and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Reliance on fixed‐term contracts and a lack of adequate maternity provision for fixed‐term workers could be contributing to the loss of women from academia―the so called "leaky pipeline"―but evidence on this is lacking. This paper describes variation, between research intensive universities in the UK, in the maternity provision they offer to fixed‐term workers and presents preliminary staff data on the likelihood of returning to work following a period of maternity leave for academic and non‐academic staff on fixed‐term versus open‐ended contracts. A gendered lens is applied, investigating how the intersection between contractual status and maternity provision contributes to gender inequality in academia within the context of hierarchical neoliberal academic organizing and the masculinized "ideal" academic. Staff data was obtained using a Freedom of Information request made to the 24 Russell Group universities in the United Kingdom. The odds of returning to work after maternity leave were 59% lower for staff on fixed‐term compared to open‐ended contracts (pooled odds ratio: 0.41, 95% confidence interval: 0.26–0.64). Maternity provision for fixed‐term workers varied between institutions, with most operating policies that limit access to enhanced maternity pay for staff on fixed‐term contracts. Wider adoption of maternity policies that are more compatible with employment on fixed‐term contracts, including: no continuous service or return to work requirement, full financial support for staff facing redundancy during maternity leave, and appropriate signposting of redeployment obligations, could help to support more women to stay in academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia and the UK, contracts with minors in sports and entertainment are not uncommon. Generally, such contracts are voidable at the option of the minor. However, when contracts fall within the category of beneficial service, as is the case with most professional sports or entertainment contracts, they will be enforceable against the minor. Indian courts do not prescribe to this view holding contracts with minors, void ab initio and unenforceable against contractual parties, with few exceptions. The policy rationale is embedded in protecting minors from their own rash decisions and preventing unscrupulous parties from taking advantage of a minor's nascent mental capacity. By analysing divergent approaches on the validity of minors' contracts in three common law jurisdictions—Australia, India and the UK—the authors highlight inadequacies in legal pronouncements by Indian courts. In India, the legal non-existence and unenforceability of service contracts with minors renders it futile for them or their representatives from negotiating favourable contractual terms beyond welfare measures provided by law as these are unlikely to be upheld. This paper argues that India's narrow approach fails to acknowledge practical realities of minors' participation in the increasingly commercialised sports and entertainment industry. In light of more practical approaches in other common law jurisdictions, the authors set out policy recommendations and suggest reforms to the legal position on minors' capacity to contract in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the aviation industry, the issuance of airside passes often encounters significant delays, posing logistical challenges and hindering crucial operations. This study delves into the potential of implementing blockchain technology, particularly smart contracts, to streamline and expedite airport security processes. Our analysis of data from leading UK airports reveals notable inefficiencies in the current airside pass issuance procedures, necessitating a transformative solution. We advocate for the integration of blockchain smart contracts as a pioneering approach to substantially reduce processing times. By automating execution based on predefined conditions, smart contracts have the potential to revolutionize airport security operations. This research signifies a groundbreaking advancement in the use of smart contracts within the airline industry, underscoring the substantial efficiency improvements that can be achieved. As we conclude this study, we foresee further research and practical implementations to unlock the full transformative impact of blockchain technology on aviation security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large and increasing proportion of teaching in UK universities is being fulfilled by staff on casual, rather than permanent, contracts. This paper examines how the proportion of teaching by casual staff affected student satisfaction in 2014–15. We find that an increased proportion of casual teaching leads to lower student satisfaction, even when controlling for respondent's subject, university and faculty. This suggests a trade-off between increasing casualisation and student satisfaction, which could have implications for future student demand. These results can be generalised to the rest of the economy and highlight potential perverse effects arising from casual contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers a vertically related industry where an upstream supplier simultaneously and independently negotiates linear tariffs with two asymmetrically capacity constrained downstream retailers endowed with (possibly) asymmetric bargaining powers over the purchase of an input. We introduce price leadership as the type of downstream competition. An increase in the upstream supplier's bargaining power toward the large firm induces a positive externality on the small firm's tariff. We also obtain that, a priori the small firm may end up (i) demanding a larger stock of the input and (ii) paying less for it. Our model also proves useful to show that the well‐known countervailing buyer power hypothesis could not hold because an integrated downstream firm might negotiate a better input price without any pass‐through to the final consumers. We mainly relate our analysis to the UK grocery market and to the recent empirical evidence regarding its functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Administrative contracts, as a type of contract concluded by the state, not for the purpose of performing its primary functions, but for the purpose of achieving generally useful goals, both for the society and the state, travel a long way from their origin to eventual final acceptance in all legal systems. In this paper, the author explains the administrative contracts in France-the country where the institute "administrative contract" is established, versus the legal systems of Germany and Austria. Even though in the common law countries, such as Great Britain and United States of America the administrative contract is not present as known as in the French legal system, there is a certain type of contract where different rules apply than those of private law and in which one contractual party is a public authority. These contracts in the common law can be found under the name "public contracts", "government contracts" or "state contracts". It is emphasized that the administrative contract does not have to be regulated and legalized in order to function and be legitimate. Emphasis is placed on the legal nature of these contracts and on the similarities and differences that exist in different legal systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our analysis makes use of three comparative European datasets to investigate the nature and meaning of working with 'No Contract' across a range of European societies in the mid-2010s. Using the EU Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS, 1995-2015), European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS, 1995-2015), and European Social Survey (ESS, 2002-2016) we show that the presence of workers with 'No Contract' is a significant feature of the labour market for a small number of Mediterranean countries, Ireland and the UK. We analyse how respondents describe their employment situation in different countries, given different possible contract categories; the subjective perception of their labour market insecurity by workers in various contract situations; and investigate how 'No Contract' working relates to other key variables in particular work and employment configurations. The paper reveals two primary patterns of 'No Contract' working. The first is related to 'temporary contract' work, with 'No Contract' employment serving as a related form of casualised work in the Mediterranean economies in particular. This also suggests that estimates of precarity are somewhat under-estimated in Mediterranean and Liberal economies in Europe. The second is present only in the UK and Ireland and represents a group of 'No Contract' workers primarily in market services, whose situation is best analysed as a particular, potentially more uncertain, form of permanent work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Career research has focused on the changing structures of careers, mainly in the private sector. Recent literature on employment patterns in the public sector suggests that career structures are evolving, gradually moving away from their signature traditional structures to contemporary ones. However, empirical evidence of this change is scarce and inconclusive. This qualitative study examines the changes currently unfolding in the career structure of the civil service by eliciting the experiences and views of senior Foreign Offices (FOs) staff in four countries: 198 state ambassadors from the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Denmark were interviewed about their career trajectories. The data were analyzed using a thematic analysis framework. The findings revealed a gradual breakdown of the structures and policies that support traditional careers, and the emergence of new principles and practices that characterize contemporary careers. However, as they were captured midway through the process of change, all FOs display a combination of traditional and contemporary career structures at this point. The findings offer unique insights into the drivers of this evolution and highlight some of the consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Definition: The management of expectations in doctoral education relates to the negotiation and agreement of a learning contract denoting actions and initiatives between a student and a supervisor. A learning contract is a set of understandings of what things, actions and initiatives might reasonably be expected from whom, in the course of learning, where there is a natural power imbalance. This is important so that both scholarly and material progress can be made along all points of the doctoral learning experience, i.e., that learning is personalised, professional and productive towards an original contribution of knowledge. It is the evidencing of this continual learning process through research that is deemed to be doctoral at the final examination stage. A doctoral student is a learner on the highest degree pathway that is available at all UK universities. This typically results in a thesis, marking the end point of being supervised whereupon an assessment or examination takes place, which, in UK universities, is called a viva voce (Latin: the living voice). This is a verbal account or defence of the thesis document by the student, made to two or three examiners who comprise the examination team. In the UK, the viva examination is a private event, while elsewhere, for example, across Europe and North America, the examination can be a public event. A student on a doctoral programme usually has a period of registration that is 3 years full-time or 6 years part-time. Other terms that can be used interchangeably around doctoral supervision are candidate (for the student) and candidature, which is their period of registration. Supervisors also have roles denoted as the Director of Studies (DoS) or Principal Investigator (PI). The supervision team is led by a Director of Studies (or PI) who is often the most experienced scholar who teaches, guides and mentors their student's learning through the research they conduct. There are usually at least two supervisors in a supervision team in the UK, but there can be more as required depending upon the specialisms and topics being researched. Expectations formed by either the student or the supervisor(s) can be about physical resources to embark upon a passage of learning through a doctoral programme, or more typically, the discussion of expectations relates to managing the behaviours of students and supervisors in their respective roles. Managed expectations help to achieve a balance between the intellectual sharing of expertise by the supervisor with the self-directed initiatives for learning, which are taken by the student. The aim of managing expectations is to help a student move from dependence in their learning at the start of their programme to becoming an independent doctoral-level scholar who, once graduated as doctor, can act autonomously to conduct their own research, or even embark upon supervising others' research in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: The United Kingdom has been triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty on 29th March 2017 and formally has been begun Britain’s exit from EU. The Withdrawal Agreement entered into force on 1 February 2020. The very announcement of Brexit aroused many concerns and uncertainty. The Withdrawal has taken place in an orderly manner, the UK and the EU remain in close partnership with new agreements. Such a significant institutional change also may affect economy and indirectly macroeconomic stability. Aim: This research aims to identify and assess the changes in macroeconomic stability in United Kingdom, from the year before the Brexit referendum to the first year outside the EU, i.e. in 2015–2021. Results: The method used in the study is a comparative analysis that employs a macroeconomic stabilization pentagon model (MSP). The macroeconomic stabilization pentagon is based on the GDP growth rate, the unemployment rate, the inflation rate, the budget balance and the current account balance. Time range of research is 2015–2021. The MSP indicators for United Kingdom and EU-27 are compared. In the period 2015–2018, i.e. during the uncertainty as to the results of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiation, the MSP index fluctuates slightly, which we interpret as very small changes in macroeconomic stability. The UK’s macroeconomic stability has fallen dramatically in 2020, the first year out of the EU. It is worth emphasizing that the UK’s macroeconomic stability was lower than EU-27one throughout the period studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outcome-based contracting (OBC) seeks to improve public services by paying for service outcomes rather than service activities. This article explores the link between how outcomes are contractually specified and how much is paid for their achievement. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, we test a framework for assessing the strength of outcome specifications in 34 UK-based social impact bonds, a particular form of OBC. Results show that contract features which define intended participant cohorts and include deadweight estimation approaches help constrain suppliers' ability to appropriate value and thus reduce the likelihood that public managers pay for social outcomes of questionable value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study mainly focuses on the comparative study of the "change of circumstances system" in the contract law of China and the UK. This system is described differently in Chinese and English law. Chinese contract law describes it as "change of circumstances", and English contract law describes it as "contract frustration". Although there are differences in legal descriptions, the connotation and purpose of the two systems are generally similar. Generally speaking, it refers to the occurrence of unforeseen circumstances between the two parties after the conclusion of the contract, which leads to fundamental changes in the basis of performance. If the performance is illegal or fundamentally deviates from the main purpose of the contract, the status of the contract shall be changed or terminated. The purpose of the system is to maintain the fairness of the contract parties, reduce the risk of the contract parties, and promote the stability of the trading market. Some differences have emerged in the judicial practice and legislative expression of the system in the two countries. This study believes that the main reasons are the large differences in the business environment and the theoretical basis of the system between the two countries. Therefore, this study will first compare the theoretical basis of the change of circumstances system in the two countries, and then specifically compare the legislative expression and judicial practice of the system in China and the UK, and analyse the reasons for the difference. It should be stated that this comparative study aims to analyse the differences and find out the reasons for the differences and does not involve the evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do global trade rules evolve? This article argues that agreements create precedent that shapes subsequent negotiations, and policymakers exploit this precedent. Specifically, states sequence agreements, using negotiations with likeminded or relatively less important partners to establish model rules for subsequent use where negotiations will be more challenging. By institutionalizing negotiating positions where stakes are low, negotiators seek to improve the odds of replicating preferred terms in later, more challenging deals. A two-stage regression analysis on trade agreement design from 1965 to 2016 and qualitative probes from the UK and New Zealand support the argument: agreements with less important partners are presented as strategic opportunities to innovate and set precedent. Legal language has a way of sticking around, and states know it. States sign agreements with an eye to the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Care Act 2014 gave English local authorities a duty to 'shape' social care markets and encouraged them to work co-productively with stakeholders. Grid-group cultural theory is used here to explain how local authorities have undertaken market shaping, based on a four-part typology of rules and relationships. The four types are: procurement (strong rules, weak relationships); managed market (strong rules, strong relationships); open market (weak rules, weak relationships); and partnership (weak rules, strong relationships). Qualitative data from English local authorities show that they are using different types of market shaping in different parts of the care market (e.g. residential vs home care), and shifting types over time. Challenges to the sustainability of the care system (rising demand, funding cuts, workforce shortages) are pulling local authorities towards the two 'strong rules' approaches which run against the co-productive thrust of the Care Act. Some local authorities are experimenting with hybrids of the two 'weak rules' approaches but the rival cultural biases of different types mean that hybrid approaches risk antagonising providers and further unsettling an unstable market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the time it voted to exit in 2016, the UK was a leading economy within the EU. It contributed about 16 percent of the EU GDP, while the other EU countries accounted for almost half of UK's total trade. This study attempts to answer two research questions: First, how Brexit affected the EU–UK trade and second, how it affected the trade between remaining 27 EU members. To answer these questions, quarterly data are exploited for the period from 2005Q1 to 2022Q3 covering a total of 53 trading partners including the EU members. A gravity model that controls for unobserved bilateral heterogeneity and multilateral resistance is estimated by PPML. Three phases of Brexit (the referendum, transition, and post transition [under the TCA]) are analysed. The results indicate that the Brexit referendum phase depressed UK–EU trade by around 10.5%, and transition phase by around 15%. In both cases, particularly for the transition phase, the effect is greater on the UK imports from EU than the UK exports to EU. We do not find a significant effect due to the post transition (TCA) phase. Estimates show some mild but positive effect on intra‐EU trade of about 1.5% and 4.6% due to Brexit referendum and post Brexit respectively, but no significant effect from the transition phase. This suggests that some EU trade with the UK was redirected to other EU members. Hence UK should aggressively seek out new trade agreements with other countries and trade blocs as well as refine the workings of the trade and cooperation agreement signed with the EU to minimise the loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although outcome measurement is a key element of outcome-based contracting, the main challenges related to the measurement processes in these programs are still under-investigated. To fill this gap, this article examinates the challenges and opportunities of measuring social outcomes in outcome-based contracting, focusing particularly on three main areas: the design of measurement processes; the definition of outcomes, metrics, and targets; and the practical implications of the measurement processes. The analysis focuses on four case studies in the UK. Regarding the measurement of payment outcomes, our results bring into question the viability of outcome-based contracting for providing evidence that can inform policymaking. However, the results highlight the opportunities emerging from the measurement of outcomes not related to the payment mechanism and from involving different stakeholders in the measurement process. Finally, we discuss future research on the influence of governance and bargaining power on the measurement of outcome-based contracting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contract terms can be express or implied. But what does that mean? I argue that the distinction can be illuminated by reference to the philosophy of language. Express terms are best understood by reference to the truth-conditional content of the parties' agreement; implied terms are derived from express terms by a process of reasoning, albeit one aimed at establishing the parties' commitments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conditions under which people labour in mental health research affect how and what knowledge is produced – and who benefits or doesn't from involvement in health research systems. There has been, however, little sustained investigation of the uneven modalities of labour exploitation across what are increasingly financialised systems of mental health research. This theoretical paper advances conceptual and empirical investigations of labour in health research – outlining how material precarity and epistemic precarity often go hand in hand, and largely drawing on examples from the UK. The intertwining of labour relations and epistemic cultures can be understood by bringing together insights from two bodies of knowledge not commonly in contact with one another – survivor/service user research and critical research on universities and academic labour. The article addresses how mental health research makes significant use of the labour of (i) contract researchers (many of whom work on precarious and exploitative contracts); (ii) lay contributors (through 'patient and public involvement'); and (iii) research participants (where the conditions underpinning participation in various kinds of research increasingly blur the distinction between volunteering, and 'gig' work). Labour relations affect, and are affected by, efforts to change epistemic cultures and reduce epistemic inequalities, and epistemic and material precarity make efforts to improve research culture much more difficult. Those experiencing both material and epistemic precarity in health research systems need to be at the heart of efforts to combat both. • Labour conditions in mental health research affect how and what knowledge is produced. • Health research systems frequently rely on exploited labour. • Material and epistemic precarity frequently go hand in hand in mental health research. • Improving research cultures in mental health research demands addressing labour relations. • Those experiencing material/epistemic precarity should be core to improvement efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Al-Adab / Al-ādāb is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paucity of reported case law on dance copyright indicates that choreographers have not been as active as other authors, such as composers or writers, in seeking the powers bestowed through copyright ownership. I examine the historical context of choreographers' inability or reluctance to resort to litigation to establish their copyrights in light of the socio-economic and political factors that dominate the choreographers' professional lives. I conclude that choreographers' attitudes to copyright are changing as their awareness grows regarding the dangers of losing control of the bundle of rights bestowed on choreographers by the US and UK copyright laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Review of Contract Law is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article explores It is a rare business sector that has not been impacted by the computer revolution. Although a basic product may have changed only to a limited extent, whether in the goods or services sector the manner of producing and delivering it has changed almost beyond recognition. The involvement of computers has brought many advantages and is often seen as the cure for all business ills but IT projects also pose threats.

We exploit the large rise in relative performance awards in the United Kingdom over the last two decades to investigate whether these contracts improve the alignment between CEO pay and firm performance. We first document that corporate governance appears to be stronger when institutional ownership is greater. Then, using hand-collected data from annual reports on explicit contracts, we show that (1) CEO pay still responds more to increases in the firms' stock performance than to decreases, and, importantly, this asymmetry is stronger when corporate governance is weak as measured by low institutional ownership; and (2) "pay for luck" persists as remuneration increases with random positive shocks, even when the CEO has equity awards that explicitly condition on firm performance relative to peer firms in the same sector. A major reason why relative performance contracts do not eliminate pay for luck is that CEOs who fail to meet the terms of their past performance awards are able to obtain more generous new equity rewards in the future in weakly governed firms. We show the mechanism operates both through the quantum of shares and the structure of new contracts. These findings suggest that reforms to the formal structure of CEO pay contracts are unlikely to align incentives in the absence of strong corporate governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article argues that the fetters on the exercise of unilateral contractual discretionary powers that were defined in Braganza v BP Shipping Ltd and the limits on damages clauses as redefined in Cavendish Square Holding BV v Talal El Makdessi are imposed to prevent the abuse of contractual rights or freedoms and this is suggestive that a broader principle against the abuse of rights might be at work in English contract law. Whilst English law has traditionally been understood as rejecting a free‐standing and general doctrine of abuse of rights, the article explains why this should not be regarded as an obstacle to the proposed analysis. In both the context of contractual discretion and damages clauses, the central importance of abuse is evident from the tests that are applied, the factors that the authorities tell us are relevant to their application and both the high bar for the court to intervene and the flexibility of the relevant standards, which filter out only the most egregious and inadmissible cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]