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There is potentially tension between world class research and global standards on the one hand and local contexts of engineering and development practice on the other. One aims at scientific status and entirely new knowledge, suggesting just one standard of quality. The other at building products and processes that might bring socio‐economic development, often prizing pragmatism and bricolage. The UK‐funded programme 'Understanding Sustainable Energy Solutions in Developing Countries' (USES) was set up on the understanding that such tensions, if they exist, can be transcended. It was funded by two organisations, the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the UK international development agency, Department for International Development. This paper analyses the USES research programme, looking at the processes of its establishment, partnership building, the research undertaken and its early impact. The paper shows that the USES programme goes beyond 'normal' pure versus applied, research versus policy and low‐tech versus high‐tech dualities. Instead, it throws up a complex series of issues that require attention if research is to lead to long standing and sustainable economic and social development. The paper suggests that the concept 'liquid engineering' might be a good way to conceptualise the ways in which the programme, without denying the tensions of dualistic realities, has moved towards a more fluid process to take account of its multiple and complex goals. The programme highlights that progress can be made towards engineering and development being accepted as a legitimate area of engineering theory and practice. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents news and developments relevant to engineering in Great Britain compiled as of May 2003. Development of a Structural Integrity Monitoring Network by SimoNet with funding from the industry and government organizations; Launch of a forum on engineering structural integrity; Membership with the Society of Environmental Engineers; Survey of finite element analysis.

The article comments on the paper of engineers A.G. Jordan and J.J. Richardson regarding the fascinating account of the long and complex saga of negotiation following an official report on the engineering profession in Great Britain. To judge by their ability to document events, opinions and committee papers they have turned good access to participants and papers into a very fruitful project through diligent research. Their weave of brisk narrative and intriguing commentary is a valuable addition to the knowledge of state-profession relations, political responses to economic malaise, and the world of engineers and engineering. Yet their paper is much less convincing on their claim to demonstrate a good test of the system's capacity for policy innovation.

THE purpose of this paper is to explain the nature, purposes and functions of 'Shop Steward "Combine Committees" ' in the British 'Engineering industry'. Actually, the so-called 'engineering industry'[1] is a complex of many different industries which produce a large variety of different products. In the context of this paper the 'engineering industry' or the metal trades refers to those firms whose employees' wages and conditions fall within the joint negotiating jurisdiction of the Engineering and Allied Employers' National Federation and the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions. Thousands of firms with an employing power estimated at 570,000 workers do not belong to the Federation but are nevertheless within the Federation's jurisdictional area because they produce products that are included in the 'engineering industry'. Consequently, the terms negotiated by the Federation and the Confederation tend to become the minimum terms even for non-federated firms; under section 8 of the Terms and Conditions of Employment Act, 1959, the Federation and/or the Confederation have a statutory right to invoke, through the Minister of Labour, the adjudication of the Industrial Court in cases where an employer in the engineering industry (be he federated or non-federated) is not observing the recognized terms and conditions of employment as laid down by collective agreements. This great industry with its vast numbers of products and great differences in production techniques can only be defined within the institutional context of its collective bargaining system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In studying these two reports certain ambiguities or imprecisions in both the statements and the figures have become apparent. These ambiguities or imprecisions can be divided into two categories, internal or external. The first, the internal ones, relate to lack of Consistency and clarity in the reports themselves; the second, external to inadequacies in the statistical sources. Of these two categories of imprecisions the internal one is the main concern of this paper, for a comparative study of the two reports revealed among others the following areas of difficulty: unexplained change in the base figure for components; obscure comparison of the totals for Electronics; non-differentiation between a part and the whole of the valve and semi-conductor sector. From a general pragmatic point of view N.E.D.C. provides a quantitative statement against which actual changes in the industries can be assessed. N.E.D.C. also-provides a most valuable stimulus to industry by encouraging it to examine in a rational and coordinated way its present position and future prospects.

This article focuses on the relation between the pressure of internal demand and the British export performance. A high pressure of demand, somehow defined, leads to a situation in which manufacturers divert productive resources away from meeting the export orders, towards satisfying home demand. Such a shift of resources leads to lengthening of the order-delivery lags for export orders on the supply side. On the demand side lengthening of the lads may lead to a fall in the new orders. In this paper, distributed-lag model is proposed and estimated.

Reports on personnel developments related to engineering in Great Britain. Appointment of Eddie O'Brien as president of the Society for Experimental Mechanics; Election of Olivier Allix as member of editorial board for 2005 in the journal "Strain;" Designation of Fabrice Pierron as one of the members of the editorial board of "Strain" for 2005.

The article discusses the "Innovation Nation" white paper released by the British government. The white paper lays out plans to trigger innovation and enterprise in Great Britain with the goal of making the nations the most enterprising economy in the world. The paper stated that each government should come up with its own innovation procurement plan. There are earmarks included in the white paper such as those for Project Enthuse and the Wellcome Trust. According to the Campaign for Science & Engineering (CaSE), the significance of science and engineering to the economy of the nation was not highligted in the white paper.

Abstract: We have considerable understanding of the obstacles that women engineers encounter and the reasons that they leave the field, but we know less about what enables them to remain. Adopting an interpretivist approach, this article examines how a group of British women engineers in two FTSE 100 companies account for “staying on” in their male‐dominated work settings. We delineate four specific forms of help that facilitate women's retention in the field. We argue that exposure to help leads to women developing a habitus that enables them to continue working in engineering. To conclude, we draw on our findings to outline HR practices that will facilitate supportive relationships in the workplace and pave the way towards developing more positive organisational climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the need to develop a standardized operating procedure for the facilitation of an effective practice in critical care nursing in Great Britain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics covered include the evolution of critical care nursing for patients with COVID-19, the establishment of the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety model for hospital preparedness and the delivery of critical care, and the importance of establishing a standard intensive care unit.

UK research and technology organizations (RTOs) compete globally by offering engineering, technology and innovation services. Although associated historically with specific industries, UK RTOs have expanded into nontraditional markets and sectors. This article profiles 15 UK RTOs and we suggest that UK RTOs have unique technology and innovation capabilities, which cut across industrial boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses recent empirical data to explain why the youth labour market has disappeared over the last 20 years. The findings demonstrate that some young people stayed in education to acquire credentials, while others did so merely as a substitute for unemployment. Government policy is discussed in the light of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Birmingham City Development Unit, the Engineering Industry Training Board and Birmingham Polytechnic in Great Britain have joined forces to set up the Midlands Quality Centre, as part of a combined effort to regenerate and support Midlands industry, particularly in relation to quality awareness and capability. The Centre will enable local industry and academic institutions to exchange information on methods and training. The Centre will open officially on January 28, 1987, but organizers expect it to be functioning before then.

The article explores the reversal of skill differentials in payment by results (PBR) systems. It highlights the results of a report by the Prices and Incomes Board on PBR systems in Great Britain. The article uses data from the engineering sector to investigate the problem over a wider sample of plants, and attempts to construct some precise measures of its incidence. The types of overlap between the earnings of semi-skilled and unskilled workers in local labor markets are presented.

The article focuses on the institutional proliferation of engineering profession in Great Britain from 1847 to 1914. British engineering underwent a remarkable expansion in the nineteenth century, a result of the spread of industrialization and the need for men to provide the machines and expertise for canal and railway building, dock and lighthouse construction, urban development, and the manufacture of a great range of mechanical equipment. Several explanations may be advanced for these apparent anomalies. It could be argued that institutional proliferation was a response to professional success in a laissez-faire society, with educational conservatism reflecting a commitment to the ideal of self help. Alternatively, it is possible that the proliferation of institutions represented a measure of reaction--a withdrawal into congenial company within a largely hostile environment--and that the objection to all proposals for systematic engineering education stemmed from a prejudice against outside interference. The third possibility is that the effectiveness of proliferation thoroughly justified such a policy.

The article focuses on the impact of the market on the mechanical engineering industries in Great Britain between 1860 and 1914. There has been virtually no analysis at all of engineering technology in Britain. The development of the techniques of standardization and interchangeable manufacture, for example, has been studied almost entirely from the American point of view. Knowledge of production techniques in the manufacture of steam-engines-- stationary and marine--is scarce, but when the market was right, interchangeability was aimed for and achieved from an early date. Clearly the market is not a complete answer to all our questions. To understand more fully the lags and successes of British engineering there is need for more detailed study of its training and institutional patterns. It may be that mechanical engineering differs in important respects from other industries, but in that field at least it is arguable that the slowing down of British industrial growth after 1870 was due more to objective economic factors than has previously been recognized.