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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.

Purpose: Institution-wide staff turnover in universities might be considered "satisfactory", but can mask wide counterbalancing patterns between departments and different staff. This paper aims to explore the benefits of detailed turnover analysis in managing talent in the complex changing landscape of Higher Education in the UK. Design/methodology/approach: Staff turnover was analysed for both new recruits and staff leaving, as well as net turnover. The inverted Nomogramma di Gandy highlighted overall patterns and outliers. Staff characteristics examined included age, gender, staff type and contractual status. Findings: There were (wide) variations in staff turnover for age, gender and type of contract, with particularly high turnover for research staff (influenced by the use of fixed-term contracts). This disproportionately affected younger staff, who are more likely than their elders to seek employment elsewhere, but might stay if there are career opportunities and development. Practical processes are suggested to improve intelligence that enables the best talent to be identified and retained, support a life-span perspective and inform emerging issues such as gender pay differentials. Originality/value: Given the increasing complexity of managing talent in universities, with their predominantly knowledge-type employees, the research serves to highlight that high localized staff turnover can adversely impact on a university's research capacity, which in turn presents risks to the achievement of its strategic aims and objectives. Therefore, detailed scrutiny of staff turnover dynamics can pinpoint where recruitment and retention policies and practice require focus.

Presents a discussion paper on a contract for medical assistants in Great Britain. Minimization of the necessity for accountability; Details on the maximum possible working week; Distinction between whole-time and part-time practitioners.

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.)

Purpose - This paper focuses on the application of the postal rule to email, due to the controversy surrounding the application of the "instantaneous" test to emails. Methodology/approach/design - This article analyses standards and literature on the formation of contract under English law. Findings - Although the postal rule is an invention of its time, this rule could still play a role regarding emails. Indeed, due to the difficulties in applying the "instantaneous" test to emails, emails would still be subject to the postal rule. Of course, the postal rule in its current form is no more fitting the reality. However, the benefits that such rule provides should not be lost, instead a new rule could be drafted based on the postal rule. Practical implications - This article discusses the possible improvements to the already existing framework. Originality/value - This paper analyses the use of the postal rule to electronic contracts in the UK, a topic that is not much researched but could have great importance when doing electronic business. [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]

Purpose - Whilst e-procurement has significant potential to reduce the purchasing costs of an organisation, the realisation of these savings requires user compliance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which user-perceived e-procurement quality (EPQ) (operationalised through the dimensions of professionalism, processing, training, specification, content, and usability) influences both system and contract compliance. Design/methodology/approach - User perceptions of EPQ were examined in four UK organisations using survey data from 274 respondents. Findings - Strong evidence was found of a positive relationship between user-perceived EPQ and both system and contract compliance. System compliance was most strongly influenced by professionalism and content dimensions, whilst contract compliance was most strongly influenced by processing, specification, and content dimensions. Research limitations/implications - Data were collected from e-procurement users in four organisations, which may limit the extent to which findings can be generalised. Practical implications - User perceptions of e-procurement provision significantly influence system and contract adoption. Practitioners should pay attention to management of different dimensions of perceived quality as they may have different effects on both contract and system compliance. Originality/value - This paper is the first to empirically assess the relationship between user-perceived EPQ and compliance. Its findings challenge the assumption that the monopolistic dynamics common within internal services, such as e-procurement provision, are sufficient to ensure compliance. Dissatisfied individuals invariably find ways to circumvent mandatory systems and contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the enormous growth of contract in the public sector over the last twenty years as part of the development of the "new public management." In the United Kingdom, the most penetrating assessment of the significance of this growth for the law of contract, its theory and its use, is Peter Vincent-Jones's The New Public Contracting, the thrust of which has been the basis of Vincent-Jones's contribution to this issue, The New Public Contracting: Public versus Private Ordering? In this paper, the author examines the welfarism of public sector contracting by means of a comment on Vincent-Jones's excellent account of the contractualization of the public sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2003 the Commission on European Contract Law (hereinafter: CECL) published the Principles of European Contract Law Part III (hereinafter: PECL III) which contained the provisions on EU set-off (hereinafter: EU model law of set-off). These are soft law provisions whose text was the result of the work of the most prominent academics from EU Member States. Considering that the Germanic, Romanic, and English set-off models coexist on the territory of the EU, the EU model law of set-off represents a reconciliation of the different private law traditions and models of set-off. During the 25 years since the adoption of the EU model law of set-off, several significant changes have occurred in the EU, which relate to its set-off law directly and indirectly. The most significant change is certainly the issue of Brexit and the possibility of Great Britain leaving the EU. Furthermore, it is important to note that automatic set-off was abandoned in France, which means it has replaced the Romanic set-off model with the German model. This paper starts with the context in which the European set-off rules were adopted. Then, the author identifies the nomotechnical and practical deficiencies in the EU model law of set-off in the context of the changed circumstances in the EU. The final part of the paper presents propositions for the change of the existing EU model law of set-off, which would help overcome the identified deficiencies and gaps. Consideration is also given to the question of whether, after Brexit and the change in the French set-off rules, the provisions of the EU model law of set-off which were influenced by English and French set-off laws should be removed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the resources and skills of military contractors were a crucial component of the war-making capacity of the British state in the mid-eighteenth century. Contractors used product knowledge, access to capital and credit, market intelligence, and personal and professional connections to perform contracts effectively, and by doing so contributed towards operational capability and combat readiness. Contracting not only reveals the diversity of the domestic economy but also the degree of connectivity between different sectors. Problems of scale, cost, and risk were overcome by harnessing and channelling broad expertise across different sectors. If modern states were highly innovative in fiscal-military terms, contractors were no less so in managing extensive supply operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explain the final version of the Remuneration Code, published by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in December 2010, which deals with remuneration in the financial services industry and incorporates requirements contained in the latest version of the European Union (EU) Capital Requirements Directive (CRD3). Design/methodology/approach – The paper gives an overview of the Code, focusing on its scope; the deadlines for compliance; the constraints on variable remuneration; the proportional application of the Code through the division of businesses covered by the Code into four tiers, each with different compliance requirements; and voiding provisions – i.e. provisions which render certain contractual terms on variable remuneration void if they breach Code requirements. It also summarizes the related and new obligations on disclosure of remuneration, which were published by the FSA at the same time as the Code. Findings – The overriding objective of the Code is to ensure that remuneration policies, procedures and practices do not undermine effective risk management. Practical implications – Now the details have been published and deadlines for compliance set, it is imperative that those in the financial services industry with UK operations, whether in the UK or elsewhere, start taking steps straightaway to ensure that their remuneration policies, practices and procedures are compliant with the new regulatory regime. Originality/value – The paper provides practical guidance from experienced securities lawyers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper traces the development of the law relating to liquidated damages in Australia, New Zealand, England, and Singapore. The examination reveals that there is little difference because the courts in each jurisdiction have drawn on common precedents. The paper canvasses the distinction between a genuine pre-estimate of the likely damage and a penalty. Where a party has sought to guarantee compliance with a contract by use of a liquidated damages provision that coerces his or her contractual partner, there is a potential for the clause to be held to be void as a penalty. However, there is a developing reluctance on the part of the courts to interfere with the bargain made by the parties. The use of liquidated damages clauses adds to the predictability of the outcomes of construction contracts. The consequences of a liquidated damages provision being held to be void are discussed. The work concludes with an examination of situations where a party can elect to claim the damages assessed by common law principles in lieu of liquidated damages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (UCTA) and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (UTCCR) 1999, two legislations associated with unfair terms in Great Britain. Outline of the UCTA; Framework of the UTCCR; Implementation of the directives on providing a legislative regime.

This paper considers a recent U.K. legal dispute where a supplier sued a large organization, which had been a long-term customer, for breach of implied contract. It uses this case to discuss aspects of the nature of trust between organizations. The discussion encompasses a consideration of the distinction between trust and reliability; and, why the concept of blanket trust is not helpful. In conclusion, by contrasting business-to-business and personal relationships, the paper suggests that firms in their relationships with other institutions should never follow an unquestioning form of strong trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of open access (OA) via the payment of article processing charges (APCs) in hybrid journals has been a key feature of the approach to OA in the UK. In response, Jisc Collections has been piloting 'offsetting agreements' that explicitly link subscription and APCs, seeking to reduce one as the other grows. However, offsetting agreements have become increasingly contentious with institutions, advocates and publishers. With reference to issues such as cost, administrative efficiency, transparency and the transition to open access, this paper provides an update on the status of UK negotiations, reflects on the challenges and opportunities presented by such agreements, and considers the implications for the path of future negotiations. [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]

The development of new technologies has different effects on the existing law. Smart contracts are one of the forms of the new technologies that questions the application of the traditional contract law on commercial transactions using smart contracts. Italy was among the first jurisdictions to recognize full legal validity and enforceability of smart contracts. However, this issue is still being discussed in the United Kingdom. In that context, the enforceability of contractual transactions concluded in the form of smart contracts represents one of the major legal questions. Moreover, the question is whether the existing English contract law needs to be modified in order to secure the enforceability of smart contracts. These issues will be accordingly examined in this paper with the aim to understand better the relationship of the traditional contract law, on the one side, and, smart contracts, on the other side. [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]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering is the property of Canadian Science Publishing 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.)

Background: The 2003 revision of the UK GMS contract rewards general practices for performance against clinical quality indicators. Practices can exempt patients from treatment, and can receive maximum payment for less than full coverage of eligible patients. This paper aims to estimate the gap between the percentage of maximum incentive gained and the percentage of patients receiving indicated care (the pay-performance gap), and to estimate how much of the gap is attributable respectively to thresholds and to exception reporting. Methods: Analysis of Quality Outcomes Framework data in the National Primary Care Database and exception reporting data from the Information Centre from 8407 practices in England in 2005 -- 6. The main outcome measures were the gap between the percentage of maximum incentive gained and the percentage of patients receiving indicated care at the practice level, both for individual indicators and a combined composite score. An additional outcome was the percentage of that gap attributable respectively to exception reporting and maximum threshold targets set at less than 100%. Results: The mean pay-performance gap for the 65 aggregated clinical indicators was 13.3% (range 2.9% to 48%). 52% of this gap (6.9% of eligible patients) is attributable to thresholds being set at less than 100%, and 48% to patients being exception reported. The gap was greater than 25% in 9 indicators: beta blockers and cholesterol control in heart disease; cholesterol control in stroke; influenza immunization in asthma; blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol control in diabetes; seizures in epilepsy and treatment of hypertension. Conclusion: Threshold targets and exception reporting introduce an incentive ceiling, which substantially reduces the percentage of eligible patients that UK practices need to treat in order to receive maximum incentive payments for delivering that care. There are good clinical reasons for exception reporting, but after unsuitable patients have been exempted from treatment, there is no reason why all maximum thresholds should not be 100%, whilst retaining the current lower thresholds to provide incentives for lower performing practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the significance, as a matter both of political and of legal analysis, of the considerable and growing use in the UK of ostensibly contractual or contract-like arrangements between public authorities and members of society whose behaviour it is judged necessary to manage and control. We argue that these new arrangements often amount to instruments of illiberal policy, both in procedure and implementation. Drawing on a model of contractual relations found in social work policy, we assess the manifestation of contract-like features in recent government policy toward young offenders and workfare participants. We then provide a detailed application of the illiberal argument in respect of the contractual arrangement promoted in the UK Government's New Deal programme and Jobseekers' Allowance. We conclude that illiberal tendencies in these workfare schemes may have unintended but nonetheless significant brutalising effects upon both participants and administrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article suggests a way in which the psychological contract can be reconceptualized as a construct with multiple foci. It presents an argument for examining psychological contracts with importance placed on work groups. Previous conceptualizations of the psychological contract have almost exclusively focused on the single relationship between the employee and the organization. It is argued here, however, that the psychological contract is multifarious in nature and employees hold psychological contracts with all organizational constituents, the strength of which is determined by the proximity of the employee to the constituent. The most proximal relationships are generally those that exist in workgroups or teams and tend to be of a collective nature, rather than a single agreement between two individuals. This research paper draws a parallel between psychological contract theory and organizational commitment research. A number of researchers have found a significant and direct relationship between organizational commitment and psychological contracts however, the taken-for-granted assumptions provided by commitment theorists in terms of multiple constituencies has failed, until now, to be adopted in terms of psychological contract research.

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]

The use of Post Tender Negotiation (PTN) procedure in the United Kingdom (UK) public sector procurements is restricted to exceptional cases. The proponents of these restrictions, including the European Union (EU) and the UK's Office for Government Commerce (OGC) cite ethical reasons. They argue that the procedure could stifle competition as the actions of the buyer could be unethically tilted in favour of certain suppliers. This paper argues that the restrictions deprive public sector buyers from reaping the benefits associated with the procedure and recommends relaxation of the restrictions. This is because findings from this study indicate positive effects of PTN for both buyer and supplier. The buyers can use the PTN procedure to negotiate for VFM procurement, while the suppliers can modify a bid to negotiate for contract which is within their resource capabilities to execute. Furthermore, the ethical reasons cited for the restrictions are narrowly premised as evidence in literature suggests that individual's ethical behaviour may be due to cultural beliefs and not necessarily rules set by authorities. [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.)

Training through apprenticeship provided the main mechanism for occupational human capital formation in pre-industrial England. This paper demonstrates how training premiums (fees) complemented the formal legal framework surrounding apprenticeship to secure training contracts. Premiums varied in response to scarcity rents, the expected productivity of masters and apprentices, and served as compensation for the anticipated risk of default. In most trades premiums were small enough to allow access to apprenticeship training for youths from modest families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of physicians work a weekly timetable consisting of programmed activities (PAs) defined by the consultant contract. This paper describes the implementation of an annualised contract within a gastroenterology department, which is located across two district general hospital sites within the same trust. The perceived benefits of the system include the introduction of a new out-of-hours emergency endoscopy service, more efficient backfilling of vacant endoscopy lists and greater transparency of work patterns and workload between colleagues and within the trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the determinants of vertical integration. We first derive a number of predictions regarding the relationship between technology intensity and vertical integration from a simple incomplete contracts model. Then, we investigate these predictions using plant-level data for the UK manufacturing sector. Most importantly, and consistent with the theoretical predictions, we find that the technology intensity of downstream (producer) industries is positively correlated with the likelihood of integration whereas the intensity of upstream (supplier) industries is negatively correlated with it. Also consistent with theory, both correlations are stronger when the supplying industry accounts for a large fraction of the producer's costs. These results are generally robust and hold with alternative measures of technology intensity, with alternative estimation strategies, and with or without controlling for a number of firm- and industry-level characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For over two decades there have been attempts across many countries to reform the management of public services and substitute market based provision for bureaucracy. But while these changes have been pursed vigorously, doubts about their appropriateness, feasibility and effectiveness remain. The aim of this paper is to contribute to this debate focusing on the specific case of social care markets in the UK. Drawing on ideas from institutional theory and a range of secondary sources it is argued that, in the UK, broad policy objectives of moving towards a mixed economy have been largely successful. However this review also points to costs associated with implementation and the reliance on low trust arms length contractual relations. Social care organisations are now seeking to manage these costs by attempting to move towards more collaborative networks, although the effectiveness of this change is open to question given prevailing institutional conditions in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While some forms of public-private partnerships are a feature of hospital construction and operation in all countries with mixed economies, there is increasing interest in a model in which a public authority contracts with a private company to design, build and operate an entire hospital. Drawing on the experience of countries such as Australia, Spain, and the United Kingdom, this paper reviews the experience with variants of this model. Although experience is still very limited and rigorous evaluations lacking, four issues have emerged: cost, quality, flexibility and complexity. New facilities have, in general, been more expensive than they would have been if procured using traditional methods. Compared with the traditional system, new facilities are more likely to be built on time and within budget, but this seems often to be at the expense of compromises on quality. The need to minimize the risk to the parties means that it is very difficult to "future-proof" facilities in a rapidly changing world. Finally, such projects are extremely, and in some cases prohibitively, complex. While it is premature to say whether the problems experienced relate to the underlying model or to their implementation, it does seem that a public-private partnership further complicates the already difficult task of building and operating a hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the extent to which effective relationships and legal factors are used to determine performance outcomes in public–private-partnership (PPP) procurement in the United Kingdom. The purpose is to demonstrate means for service improvement on PPP projects. PPP was formerly the public finance initiative for the construction and operation of complex services and facilities. Design, build, finance, and operate and design, build, and operate type contracts are considered. A legal-relational continuum is developed, relationships being assessed in terms of trust as an indicator of robustness, data being mobilized through action research and quantitative survey methods. It was found that there is variance in the perceived trustworthiness of clients in the context of their understanding and experience of PPP, and variance in support given to staff by their departments in developing relations was found to affect performance. A long-term tendency was identified to relinquish partnership relations in favor of legal and potentially adversarial contracting. Relationship management principles were also found to be lacking in both the public and private sector, relational contracting being predominantly reliant upon the behavior of individuals in their teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voluntary and negotiated agreements are becoming increasingly popular instruments for regulating industry's environmental performance. Although their main purpose is to modify the behaviour of individual firms, the coordinating role of trade (or industry) associations is often critical to their environmental effectiveness. Thus, a clear and mutually agreed understanding of associations' role in the agreement process is essential. This paper examines the nature of trade associations' input into the negotiation and implementation of environmental agreements, using the case study of United Kingdom Climate Change Agreements. Results show associations serving a range of coordinating roles, including the aggregation of members' viewpoints, negotiation of agreements, provision of regulatory and technical knowledge and collation of performance data. We conclude that further involvement of trade associations in negotiated and voluntary agreements can bring appreciable, though not uncontested, benefits in terms of environmental effectiveness. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implications of the 1997 (Primary Care) Act have been largely overlooked in the rush to establish Primary Care Groups. Allowing health authorities to develop local contracts for primary care has far-reaching implications and is an important departure from the national system of negotiation that has characterized general practice to date. This paper describes a content analysis of a sample of Personal Medical Services (PMS) pilot contracts. In the first year little attention has been given to achieving cost savings or greater efficiency and few contracts promote clinical guidelines. The difficulties of specifying services sensitive to local health needs are highlighted and the national Statement of Fees and Allowances (the 'Red Book') may not be swiftly supplanted. However, The pilots have introduced innovations such as salaried general practitioners, nurse-led services and NHS trust-managed care. The development of local contracts provides a valuable learning experience for general practitioners and health authorities in advance of the establishment of Primary Care Trusts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the economic theory on the issue of contracts for the National Health Service (NHS) of Great Britain. The NHS quasi-market established a conceptual and operational separation between purchasers and providers of health services. Provision of health services is required to be governed by contracts between purchasers and providers. With NHS contracting, it is important to distinguish between privately owned providers and NHS providers which are still part of the NHS and NHS trusts are also required to price services at cost.

U.K. business startup data is used to examine the role of contract parameters in solving the bank's problem of lending under asymmetric information. Margins are found to be a direct function of the probability of failure and an inverse function of security (for given loan size) consistently with collateral being invoked to solve the Moral Hazard problem. Business survival is also found to be enhanced by owner equity inputs (for given debt) again consistent with a requirement for owner financial inputs to enhance (unobservable) effort. Security rises along with loan size and survival chances, a finding consistent with (a) a firm loan size effect (larger borrowers have lower marginal admin cost to the bank), and with (b) positive borrower self-selection (better borrowers offer collateral because they are less likely to experience forfeiture.) Observable business characteristics are found to play an important intermediary role in the solution to the moral hazard problem. More mature proprietors have more experience, business commitment, assets for borrowing and the willingness to use them for loan collateral. Their contract parameters reflect these facts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mail service between the West Indies and Great Britain had, since 1842, been maintained by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. under successive contracts with Her Majesty's Government. The existing agreement, due to expire in June 1905, embraced a fortnightly trunk time to Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica and branches to the remaining British colonies in the West Indies. The service had recently proved unremunerative. Royal Mail enjoyed a small surplus in 1896 and 1897 but by 1903 the annual loss was over 75,000 pounds. In March 1905, as a result of twice calling for tenders, the government provisionally awarded the forthcoming West Indian mail contract to Elder Dempster. Royal Mail's tenders had proved unacceptable in terms of cost and through a disinclination to agree to certain restrictive conditions. Elder Dempster on the other hand, submitted offers some 3,000 pounds lower, conforming exactly to the government's requirements. The government now awaited the approval of a preponderance of the West Indian colonies before ratifying the contract with Elder Dempster. The alternative was no contract.

Since contracts form a basic institution of every legal order, the interdisciplinary orientation of concepts of contracts reveals socio-legal inclinations of a legal order more broadly. Contrasting the UK and US Common Law of contracts with developments under German law, this Article examines the relation between normative and social science approaches, notably rooted in economics, economic sociology, and social theory in the genealogy of contract law. A shared leitmotif over the 20th century has been the drive to account for the societal embeddedness of contract. However, conceptualizations of "Contract and Society" differ considerably between legal orders in their disciplinary ingredients and design. In the US, and to a lesser extent also in the UK, the rather continuous reception of legal realism has paved the way for broad interdisciplinary perspectives on contract law, ranging from classical socio-legal, empirical work (e.g., Macaulay), economics (e.g., Williamson), sociology (e.g., Powell), and critical theory (e.g., Kennedy) to today's landscape, where essentially instrumental and ideal-normative theories compete. Alternatively, in Germany, where the realist heritage was more ephemeral, the transformations of contract law were processed from within legal discourse and foremost in their effects on private autonomy as conceptualized, for example, in German idealism, discourse theory and critical theory. Similarly, the "constitutionalization" of contract law—even if championed for fostering private law's reflexivity—has, for the most part, defied a socio-legal orientation. Finally, the Article highlights the path dependencies with which these different starting points translate in current debates around the role of contract in transnational governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the prevalence and nature of zero hours contracts (ZHCs) in the UK labour market. It is widely argued that the headline count of ZHC workers based on the Labour Force Survey historically underestimated the number of workers in ZHC jobs. Here, we argue that this likely continues to be the case, particularly if one considers other, similar, no‐guaranteed‐hours jobs alongside ZHCs. ZHC jobs and workers are heterogeneous, but ZHCs have become increasingly concentrated among young workers, full‐time students, migrants, black and minority ethnic workers, in personal service and elementary occupations, and in the distribution, accommodation and restaurant sector over time. Compared to other forms of employment, median wages in ZHC jobs have also fallen. The most common prior labour market state for ZHC workers is non‐ZHC employment, particularly part‐time employment, with part of the reported growth in ZHCs driven by reclassification of existing employment relationships. Finally, we show that growth in public awareness of ZHCs contributed substantially to recent growth in reported ZHCs, particularly over the period 2013/14. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literary agent is a recent addition to the publishing industry, yet in a relatively short space of time has become instrumental in the production of literature. This article examines the origins and development of the A.P. Watt literary agency to explore how it became a dominant organisation in the late nineteenth century. It analyses how its founder Alexander Pollock Watt, despite being met with resistance, gained legitimacy to be accepted by authors and publishers. Through an analysis of historical sources this article argues that by using contract law, Watt was able to disrupt existing business practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]