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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.

This paper is based on findings from an email interview study with 20 academics (17 women, 3 men) in the UK on short-term, insecure or 'casualised' contracts. The paper focuses on their perceptions of the effect their contract status has on the lecturer/student relationship: particularly in regard to student perceptions of their legitimacy and status. Using a poststructuralist theoretical lens, we explore lecturers' concerns or anxieties as to whether they may be interpreted as less legitimate than permanent staff; and the emotional labour involved in the work done to 'cover' for the difficulties that a lecturer's contract status causes for the quality of their teaching content and organisation. We also explore the considerations of some participants to voluntarily 'disclose' their status to students and the possibilities of such acts as a form of resistance to dominant discourses of the legitimate academic.

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.

Research on sustainability and innovation-driven economic growth has exposed a lack of sufficient knowledge in the governance literature about the appropriate extent of government involvement. This paper focuses on the governance of innovation and the intermediary role of the state. The author synthesizes the literature on governance and regulation and introduces the concept of intermediation in the innovation process. The paper employs the Triple Helix model, which describes interactions and intermediation between government, industry and universities, and extends it by looking at the role played by intermediaries, including public and private institutions, government bodies and independent organizations. A new theoretical framework for the analysis of intermediation and the governance of innovation is developed and applied to four case studies of intermediaries in the health technology cluster in the Greater South East region of the UK. The empirical findings demonstrate the heuristics of the intermediation concept and the application of the intermediation framework. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.)

Since the Brexit referendum in 2016, and the formal act of triggering article 50 by Theresa May's cabinet in 2017, the UK has entered a period of negotiations, the outcome of which, and also the terms of the post-exiting phase, are still uncertain. In this period of uncertainty, the mobility of people is one of the main issues at stake. The topic is important for the higher education sector where the percentage of (other) European Union staff in UK universities has grown at an impressive rate in recent years before the Brexit referendum. This paper draws from official Higher Education Statistic Agency (HESA) data to investigate if there is any inversion of this trend in the British system, arguing that some 'Brexodus' of academic staff--meaning a decrease in the percentage of other EU nationals--has already started for some academics, namely the youngest and the brightest.

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.

Features the white paper and the details to the government contract for general practitioners in Great Britain. Reduction of the working hours of junior doctors; Views of rural practitioners of the new contract; Discussion on the anxiety among honorary secretaries of the British Medical Association on the annual gathering.

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]

Data show that educated workers earn higher wages and are unemployed less often. Some researchers believe that education improves a worker's productivity (or "human capital"), making them more desirable on the job market, while others believe that it improves a worker's network (or "social capital"), giving them more information about lucrative openings and more resources to secure a job (such as references from peers). Much of the research on human and social capital focuses on quantifying the various impacts of schooling on workers and often overlooks how economic systems actually manage to produce those outcomes. This paper develops an agent-based complex adaptive system featuring formal schooling and on-the-job training, social networks, labour market search and durable employment contracts to explain the process linking education to labour market outcomes and economic performance in New Zealand (and similar economies). Sample simulations show that human capital accumulation explains many of the novel facts seen in the data, while social capital alone is not enough.

Higher education managers are under increasing pressure from governments to reduce costs by adopting more flexible staffing practices and tensions can arise as institutions seek to sustain motivation and morale across a diversifying workforce. This paper considers how institutional management and governance practices facilitate innovative developments whilst also providing a supportive and inclusive environment. It draws on interviews in seven institutions to describe three models that reflect integrated, private-sector and partnership approaches, exploring the implications of these for the psychological contract between institutions and their staff, including different interpretations of the employment package; the establishment of processes that are seen as equitable and transparent, although not necessary identical; and the adoption of a range of communication channels, both at the level of the individual and collectively. (Contains 2 tables.)

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.)

Increasingly in recent years, the involvement of disabled people as co-researchers has been regarded as "good practice." This has been informed by growing participatory and emancipatory research paradigms as well as user-focused policy imperatives. The benefits of these shifts apply to the research itself (improved definition, direction, applicability and impact), to non-disabled researchers (personal growth and enhanced understanding of the reflexive research process), to people with disabilities involved as researchers or collaborators (personal growth and enhanced opportunities), and (if externally funded) to the funder whose ways of operating are likely to be challenged profoundly. In this paper, Ann Lewis, Sarah Parsons and Christopher Robertson (based at the University of Birmingham), Anthony Feiler, Beth Tarleton and Debby Watson (based at the University of Bristol) and Richard Byers, Jill Davies, Ann Fergusson and Claire Marvin (based at the University of Cambridge) discuss the work of three independent research teams carrying out concurrent projects. The authors share their experiences of trying to take seriously the participation of disabled people in research. All three projects were informed, to a significant degree, by their respective reference groups of disabled people. The work of these groups in each of the three projects is outlined and then discussed in relation to five common themes: formal contracts with members of reference groups; considerations concerning drawing on an established reference group; planning for reference group involvement; style of reference group involvement; and building on good practice.

In this article, the author discusses the process of organizational change, focusing on the distinction between contractual terms and conditions and non-contractual working conditions and the effect this distinction has on changes, and on contract termination and redundancy procedures. He then outlines the United Kingdom's Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) Regulations 2006 as they apply to outsourcing in general and by universities in particular. (Contains 4 footnotes.) [This is part one of a paper based on a Keynote presentation delivered at the AUA Annual Conference, Promoting excellence in HE Management, at the University of Nottingham, 2-4 April 2007.]

Raises concerns about collaborative contractual arrangements that provide educational services to international students within British institutions of higher education. Reports that evaluation of a course for international students designed and delivered with a private partner found the course commercially successful but educationally and professional hazardous. (DB)

Examines the organization of contract research in the United Kingdom and the current system's benefits and problems for employers, employees, and sponsors, as well as policy initiatives. Concludes that the current system is deeply flawed and policy has failed to address the real issues. Fundamental changes are recommended. (Author/MSE)

Purpose This paper aims to note how in-line the laws of each country are with the current best recommendations. The focus will be on the UAE and the UK for the purpose of creating a contrast between countries which have different regulations in general and between contrasting countries.Design/methodology/approach This paper seeks to critically analyze the state of e-commerce contract laws in terms of what forms a part of the law normally and to what extent the similarities have been enacted in the international laws. A critical analysis of the information derived through the search was undertaken. This methodology was to ascertain the viability of the information in terms of its consistency with the contemporary laws in each country relating to e-commerce. Comparisons were made on topic-by-topic basis within the searches.Findings It was clear through the information reviewed from both the UAE and the UK that both countries’ laws are advanced in terms of being inclusive of the best common practices noted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This shows that both countries, through their vastly different legal structures, have implemented similar laws with regard to e-commerce.Originality/value This report is original in its value to e-commerce laws, as it is the first to consider how different countries e-commerce contract laws lineup to the OECD-recommended rules related to it. The value of this research is to show to what degree is there cohesion within the e-commerce laws on an international level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zagreb Law Review is the property of University of Zagreb Law School / Pravni fakultet Sveucilista u Zagrebu 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: Against the background of the biggest arts festival in the world, there have been some shocking findings recently about the treatment of performers and other workers at the Fringe. The purpose of this paper is to consider the type of treatment a significant number of Fringe workers experience and how it might be dealt with under the law. The mistreatment of workers includes being: required to work excessively long hours, paid low wages or no wages, subject to sexual or street harassment, lookism, ageism or deprivation of other employment rights. What is unusual about Fringe workers is they normally only work for a short time (often a maximum of two months). Also, in respect of performers and other theatre workers, they might be inclined to work on a voluntary, unpaid basis to gain the necessary experience to kickstart their careers. Employers will often be theatrical promoters in charge of productions at a number of venues. This paper highlights the issues surrounding working at the Fringe and identifies the employment law issues for its workers. This involves identifying likely breaches of legislation under the civil law and contract law by employers. Also, the consideration of how the criminal law could apply to the treatment of workers is undertaken. Finally, it involves an analysis of how the rights of Fringe workers could be better protected. The findings and recommendations in this paper will have application to any situation where someone is employed as a volunteer or worker in an artistic setting on a short-term basis. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is a review of sources drawn from articles in law journals, newspapers, etc. Findings: The findings of this paper suggest that there is a need for reform of the law. Research limitations/implications: This paper focuses on improving the rights of Fringe workers who have a history of being neglected or abused. Practical implications: This paper ensures improved rights for Fringe workers. Social implications: This paper analyses issues that are relevant for all workers in the arts at festivals, etc., throughout the UK. Originality/value: This paper is extremely original. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

This paper argues that the terms on which GPs entered the NHS, as self-employed contractors, have proved remarkably resistant to the managerial pressures which have come to dominate other sections of the National Health Service. However, this traditional mode of financing and organizing the delivery of a key element of the National Health Service has become increasingly incompatible with wider health policy objectives — the development of an integrated network of good-quality, equitable and well-coordinated primary and community health services which are responsive to local needs. Furthermore, primary health services have themselves come to play a crucially important role in securing other strategic changes in the wider health policy arena, such as securing and sustaining a shift in the traditional balance between hospital and community-based health services and controlling expenditure in a needs-led service. The paper argues that, notwithstanding the change of government, the 1997. NHS (Primary Care) Act and the White Paper "The New NHS" are both integral to the achievement of wider strategic health policy objectives, such as improving the quality and coherence of services, and increasing professional accountability for the financial consequences of clinical decisions. However, the greatest significance of these and other related measures is that they shift the emphasis of health policy from commissioning and purchasing by primary care to commissioning and contracting for primary care. They thereby extend the exposure of GP-based services to managerialist scrutiny and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the UK government's proposals for the reform of legal aid, which are based on block franchising. We identify several potential incentive-compatibility problems mainly concerned with the possibility of chiseling on quality after contracts are awarded or with supplier control of access to legal aid. Our suggestions for improving the scheme are based around awarding vouchers for legal aid. [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]

This paper discusses the relationship between regulation and contracts in infrastructure industries and the role of regulation, particularly the role of regulatory agencies in the review, revision, and renegotiation of contracts. The paper starts with a short survey of relevant economic and legal issues. Examples are presented of how and why infrastructure contracts, including concession contracts, have been combined with monitoring and enforcement by external regulatory agencies. The examples discussed include historical UK experience, recent French experience, and developing country experience. The paper concludes with a discussion of the role that regulatory entities can play to reinforce trust and sustain contracts by enabling simpler contracts, resolving contract misunderstandings, and providing processes for ordered renegotiations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brexit would significantly influence the United Kingdom's trade and external economic relations. While the eventual Brexit outcome is unclear, the UK's trade policy has become noticeably active in anticipation of Brexit. This is evident from efforts to craft bilateral trade agreements with countries that have such deals with the EU. However, new trade agreements are also being explore by the UK, including with India. The challenges in reaching such an agreement are substantial. This paper is an attempt to contextualize the prospects of a trade agreement between India and the UK in the backdrop of Brexit and its potential implications. The paper examines issues likely to dominate trade talks between India and the UK, including tariffs and movements of people. Highlighting the contrasts in approaches to trade and trade deals between India and UK, the paper concludes, notwithstanding multiple challenges, positive intentions can produce gainful outcomes on a trade deal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolving nature of atypical work arrangements is studied. A particular focus is placed on one such form of work relation: zero-hours contracts (ZHCs). The paper uses existing secondary data and new survey data collected for the specific purpose of studying alternative work arrangements to describe the nature of ZHC work in the UK labour market. The interaction with labour market policy is explored, in the context of the 2016 introduction of the UK's National Living Wage. ZHC work is shown to be an important feature of today's work arrangements, and the wage cost shock induced by the new, higher minimum wage resulted in an increased use of ZHCs in the UK social care sector, and in low wage sectors more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Since the first launch of the new engineering contract (NEC) in 1993, early warning of problems has been widely recognized as an important approach of proactive management during a construction or engineering project. Is early warning really effective for the improvement of problem solving and project performance? This is a research question that still lacks a good answer. For this reason, an empirical investigation was made in the United Kingdom (U.K.) to answer the question. This study adopts a combination of literature review, expert interview, and questionnaire survey. Nearly 100 questionnaire responses were collected from the U.K. construction industry, based on which the use of early warning under different forms of contract is compared in this paper. Problem solving and project performance are further compared between the projects using early warning and the projects not using early warning. The comparison provides clear evidence for the significant effect of early warning on problem solving and project performance in terms of time, cost, and quality. Subsequently, an input-process-output model is developed in this paper to explore the relationship among early warning, problem solving, and project performance. All these help construction researchers and practitioners to better understand the role of early warning in ensuring project success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores trade union strategies to protect wages in the face of EU migration after the enlargement of the European Union. We argue that unions have three instruments at their disposal to deal with the risks linked to downward wage pressure: closure through immigration control, equalisation through collective bargaining and minimum wages, and the organisation of migrant workers. Using comparative case studies of Sweden, Germany and the UK, we show how different types of power resources shape union strategies: unions with substantial organisational resources (in Sweden) relied on a large membership to pursue an equalisation strategy and expected to be able to 'afford' openness. German unions with low membership but access to the political system pushed for a mix of closure and equality drawing on political intervention (e.g. minimum wages). British unions, unable to pursue either, focused their efforts on organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines corporate governance mechanisms which aim to ensure financial accountability in the context of long-term Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contracts in Britain, and assesses the degree to which they provide taxpayers with control and accountability. The corporate governance arrangements are drawn from the private sector, and therefore downplay the traditional concepts of probity and stewardship, in part due to the British Treasury's adoption of private sector financial reporting. The paper draws on Shaoul et al.'s (2012a) governance-based reporting framework to critique the corporate governance mechanisms of structure, financial reporting, contracts, and scrutiny in relation to British PPP projects. It shows that the way these mechanisms are set up means there is a lack of control by the public sector, thus rendering public accountability ineffective. [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]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a comparative analysis of the main objectives of international institutional partnerships in four UK leading universities. Based on the presented case studies, the paper outlines a model for objectives and implementation of international partnership. Design/methodology/approach – Using a multiple case study approach, the paper employs three sources of data: templates of international partnerships, actual agreements of international partnerships and interviews with senior and very senior managers concerned with internationalisation at the four universities. The analysis includes inter-university comparative analysis and templates-agreements-interviews comparative analysis for each of the four universities separately. Findings – It is found that, for the four universities, the objectives of international partnerships are related to both students and staff with relative importance given to the student dimension. While the student dimension refers to any overseas partnerships where the core topic of the partnership is the student whether it is related to student exchange, collaborative programs, student recruitment, etc.; the staff dimension refers to any overseas partnerships that are more related to the staff topic, such as joint research, collaborative teaching, staff exchange, etc. Research limitations/implications – The comparative analysis of templates-agreements- interviews show some gaps in international strategy design in one of the universities, and some gaps in international strategy implementation in the other three universities. Practical implications – The comparative analysis is developed into a model for international strategy design and implementation. This model can assess university managers in running their international business. Originality/value – The paper highlights the importance of adopting a realistic strategy by university managers. The realistic strategy is the strategy that gives equivalent attention to the two dimensions: the design and the implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the concept of the 'relational contract' has been invoked in the courts with greater visibility and regularity in recent years, the doctrinal import of relational contract theory remains for the most part unclear to contract and commercial lawyers. This paper offers a broad framework for understanding the different ways through which relational theory might have an impact on contract doctrine going forward, and evaluates the promises and perils of doing so. [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]

The attempt to combine the contractual interests properly so-called with the restitution interest in the Fuller and Purdue three interests model of remedies for breach of contract is ineradicably incoherent. Stimulated by reflection on contemporary restitution doctrine's understanding of the quasi-contractual remedies of recovery and quantum meruit, this paper argues that the complete elimination from the law of contract of the restitution interest, which incorporates those remedies into the three interests model, would improve both the coherence of the model of contractual interests and the substantive law of remedies for breach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]