bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Abortion, Value and the Sanctity of Life
Authors: Belshaw Christopher
Published: March 2003

In Life's Dominion Dworkin argues that the debate about abortion is habitually misconstrued. Substantial areas of agreement are overlooked, while areas of disagreement are, mistakenly, seen as central. If we uncover a truer picture, then hope of a certain accord may no longer seem vain. I dispute many of these claims.

Dworkin argues that both sides in the debate are united in believing that life is sacred, or intrinsically valuable. I disagree. I maintain that only in a very attenuated sense of intrinsic value will this be agreed upon. I consider how an account of such value might be further fleshed out, but suggest, if this is done on any plausible lines, agreement will fall away. Dworkin argues, also, that the issue of personhood, does not, contrary to widespread belief, keep the parties apart. Again I disagree. We need to distinguish the question of whether there is in fact dispute over this issue from that of whether there is, in truth, good reason for dispute. And I argue that, rightly or wrongly, the issue of personhood remains central. Dworkin suggests that the purported proximity between the two sides offers some hope of an eventual reconciliation. At least, they will agree to differ, accepting that in this area freedom of choice is paramount. I am sceptical. Even this measure of reconciliation depends upon conservatives giving up positions which, I argue, they will continue to maintain.

There is a further point. Dworkin appears to be, in many ways, cautiously optimistic. I appear, in contrast, to be pessimistic. I argue, however, that only so long as we do disagree over matters of substance is there much hope that our differences might be resolved.
Postmodern Personhood: A Matter of Consciousness
Authors: Rich Ben A.
Published: March 2003

The concept of person is integral to bioethical discourse because persons are the proper subject of the moral domain. Nevertheless, the concept of person has played no role in the prevailing formulation of human death because of a purported lack of consensus concerning the essential attributes of a person. Beginning with John Locke's fundamental proposition that person is a ‘forensic term’, I argue that in Western society we do have a consensus on at least one necessary condition for personhood, and that is the capacity for conscious experience. When we consider the whole brain formulation of death, and the most prominent defense of it by the President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research, we can readily identify the flaws that grow out of the failure to define human death as the permanent loss of the capacity for conscious experience. Most fundamental among these flaws is a definition of human death that reduces persons to the capacity of the brain to regulate purely physiological functioning. Such a formulation would, in theory, apply to any member of the animal kingdom. I suggest that an appropriate concept of death should capture what it is about a particular living being that is so essential to it that the permanent loss of that thing constitutes death. What is essential to being a human being is living the life of a person, which derives from the capacity for conscious experience.
Bioethics and Political Ideology: The Case of Active Voluntary Euthanasia
Authors: Häyry Heta
Published: March 2003

In different countries responses to important bioethical issues are different, as exemplified by the attitudes towards the voluntary and active forms of medical euthanasia. But why is this the case? My suggestion is that the roots of the variety are, to a considerable degree, ideological.

The most important present‐day political ideologies all have their roots in the prevailing doctrines of moral and social philosophy. In the paper these doctrines are outlined and the predicted response towards active voluntary euthanasia within each model is sketched. The conclusion reached is that while it would in some countries be dangerous to allow euthanasia in the prevailing circumstances, the solution is not to hinder the legalization process but to alter the circumstances.
The Debate over Risk‐related Standards of Competence
Authors: Wilks Ian
Published: March 2003

This discussion paper continues the debate over risk‐related standards of mental competence which appears in Bioethics 5. Dan Brock there defends an approach to mental competence in patients which defines it as being relative to differing standards, more or less rigorous depending on the degree of risk involved in proposed treatments. But Mark Wicclair raises a problem for this approach: if significantly different levels of risk attach, respectively, to accepting and refusing the same treatment, then it is possible, on this account, for a patient to be considered competent to accept, but not refuse, the treatment, or vice versa. I argue that this puzzle does not constitute a genuine problem for a risk‐related standard.

To this end I focus on the situation where, of two mutually exclusive options, one is riskier, but offering more pronounced benefit, while the other is safer, but offering less benefit. I argue for this proposition: it can take far less insight to know that the safe option is good than to know that the risky option is better. Now say one is actually informed enough to know that the safe option is good, but not enough to know whether the risky option is better; in such a case one is competent to say yes to that first option (the safe one), but not to say yes to the other. (I argue in passing that Pascal's Wager can be interpreted as having precisely this deliberative structure.)

I thus conclude that cases do indeed exist where one can be competent to say yes but not no, or vice versa; and that it is thus not an anomaly in the risk‐related standard that it entails the existence of such cases.
Choosing the Sexual Orientation of Children
Authors: Stein Edward
Published: March 2003

Many people believe that a person's sexual orientation is genetic. Given the widespread prejudice against, and hatred of, homosexuals in many societies, it seems likely that many parents will be interested in using genetic technologies to prevent the birth of children who will not be heterosexual. This paper considers the moral and legal implications of such procedures (whether or not they would work). It is argued that the availability of procedures to select the sexual orientation of children would contribute to discrimination and prejudice against lesbians, gay men and bisexuals and, more generally, undermine the maintenance of a just society. These effects carry significant weight in determining whether genetic technologies should be developed and whether their use is, or should be, legally permissible and morally acceptable.
Racism and Sexism in Medically Assisted Conception
Authors: Berkowitz Jonathan M. , Snyder Jack W.
Published: March 2003

Despite legislation and public education, racism and sexism are alive and well. Though pre‐conceptive gender selection may enhance procreative liberty, this technology presents two disturbing questions. First, does sex selection represent underlying parental sexism? Second, by performing gender selection, do medical professionals perpetuate sexism?

It will be maintained that pre‐conceptive sex selection is sexist as it reflects parental anticipation of stereotypical gender based behavior. Perhaps even more incriminating, sex selection forces parents to prefer one sex over another, to place a value on gender. This emphasis on sex conflicts with societal goals which urge, and often legally require, individuals to ignore gender. We will assert that pre‐conceptive gender selection exemplifies sexism in its purest most blatant form as prior to conception, before parents can possibly know anything about their child, gender dominates the calculus of a child’s worth. We will also emphasize that physicians, by facilitating sex selection, legitimize the motivations of their patients and provide de facto support of sexism. In a similar vein, arguments against pre‐conceptive race selection will be made.
Corruption and Research
Authors: Luna Florencia
Published: March 2003

Last year there was a heated debate regarding clinical trials with AZT carried out in developing countries. AIDs vaccine trials also posed various dilemmas and ethical problems. In this paper I will consider the possibility of corruption in bioethics, and international multi‐centre research will be taken as an example. International clinical trials will be seen from another perspective. I will try to show that the possibility of systemic corruption should be considered when designing an international multi‐centre research trial which may involve countries in very different situations regarding corruption. I will analyze three different approaches to this problem and suggest some strategies regarding their capacity to exclude the possibility of corruption.
End‐of‐life Decisions of Physicians in the city of Hasselt (Flanders, Belgium)
Authors: Mortier Freddy , Deliens Luc , Bilsen Johan , Cosyns Marc , Ingels Koen , Vander Stichele Robert
Published: March 2003

Objectives: The objective of this study is to estimate the proportion of different types of end‐of‐life decisions (ELDs) of physicians in the city of Hasselt (Flanders, Belgium). The question is addressed to what degree these ELD meet legal constraints and the ethical requirements for prudent practice.

Methodology: All physicians of the city of Hasselt who signed at least one death certificate in 1996 (N=166) received an anonymous self‐administered mail questionnaire per death case (max. 5/doctor)

Results: the response rate was 55% (N=269). In 37.3% of all cases at least one ELD was made (16.5% non‐treatment decisions; 16% potential life‐shortening by intensifying the treatment of pain and symptoms; 4.8% administration, supply or prescription of lethal drugs). In 59.5% of the cases were an ELD was made that decision was legally questionable. Patient characteristics were clearly related to the type of ELD. There was no influence of physician characteristics, except for commitment to life‐stance. In 71.3% of the cases the ELD was in no way discussed with the patient. 8.1% of the ELD‐cases were in response to a direct request from the patient

Conclusions: The incidences of ELDs in Hasselt are consistent with earlier findings. The study shows that religious commitment influences the behaviour of physicians at the end of their patients' life. The patient's and her family's entitlements to participation in the decision making process were rather poorly respected.
Competency and Risk‐relativity
Authors: Buller Tom
Published: March 2003

In this paper I discuss the view that the appropriate concept of competence is a decision‐relative one: that a person may be competent to make one decision but not another. The argument that I present is that neither of the two competing theories supporting the decision‐relative approach, internalism and externalism, can provide a coherent explanation of why a person’s competence should be thought to be relative to a particular decision. On the one hand, internalism, which regards competence as exhaustively a matter of the person’s understanding, fails to identify the specific skills or content that would warrant linking a specific decision with competence, and thus cannot provide an account of decision‐relative that parallels task‐relative. On the other hand, externalism, which regards competence as a matter of the person’s understanding in relation to external elements such as risk, cannot adequately defend why a person’s competence to make a decision should ‘track’ the level of probable harm that results from the decision.
Data Sharing in Medical Research: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Reidpath Daniel D. , Allotey Pascale A.
Published: March 2003

Background:

Scientific research entails systematic investigation. Publishing the findings of research in peer reviewed journals implies a high level of confidence by the authors in the veracity of their interpretation. Therefore it stands to reason that researchers should be prepared to share their raw data with other researchers, so that others may enjoy the same level of confidence in the findings.

Method:

In a prospective study, 29 corresponding authors of original research articles in a medical journal (the British Medical Journal) were contacted to ascertain their preparedness to share the data from their research. The email contact was in one of two forms, a general request and a specific request. The type of request a researcher received was randomly allocated.

Findings:

Researchers receiving specific requests for data were less likely, and slower, to respond than researchers receiving general requests. Only one researcher released data. Most researchers were reluctant to release their data. Some required further information, clarification, or authorship.

Interpretation:

The general reluctance of researchers to consider requests for their data is of concern. It raises questions about the level of confidence that should be placed on their interpretations of the data. It also highlights an unfortunate situation where researchers are more concerned with losing an advantage than advancing science.
Divisibility and the Moral Status of Embryos
Authors: Munthe Christian
Published: March 2003

The phenomenon of twinning in early fetal development has become a popular source for doubt regarding the ascription of moral status to early embryos. In this paper, the possible moral basis for such a line of reasoning is critically analysed with sceptical results. Three different versions of the argument from twinning are considered, all of which are found to rest on confusions between the actual division of embryos involved in twinning and the property of early embryos to be divisible, to be based on highly questionable ethical assumptions, or to imply inconsistent claims regarding the moral importance of potentiality and/or the moral status of embryos. This is taken to expose a number of related inconsistencies in the moral basis of pro‐life positions. In particular, ascribing moral significance to the property of being (in)divisible is found to be incompatible with the claim that human individuals possess unique values which could underpin an absolute moral ban on murder.
Procreative Beneficence: Why We Should Select the Best Children
Authors: Savulescu Julian
Published: March 2003

Eugenic selection of embryos is now possible by employing in vitro fertilization (IVF) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). While PGD is currently being employed for the purposes of detecting chromosomal abnormalities or inherited genetic abnormalities, it could in principle be used to test any genetic trait such as hair colour or eye colour.

Genetic research is rapidly progressing into the genetic basis of complex traits like intelligence and a gene has been identified for criminal behaviour in one family. Once the decision to have IVF is made, PGD has few ‘costs’ to couples, and people would be more inclined to use it to select less serious medical traits, such as a lower risk of developing Alzheimer Disease, or even for non‐medical traits. PGD has already been used to select embryos of a desired gender in the absence of any history of sex‐linked genetic disease.

I will argue that: (1) some non‐disease genes affect the likelihood of us leading the best life; (2) we have a reason to use information which is available about such genes in our reproductive decision‐making; (3) couples should select embryos or fetuses which are most likely to have the best life, based on available genetic information, including information about non‐disease genes. I will also argue that we should allow selection for non‐disease genes even if this maintains or increases social inequality. I will focus on genes for intelligence and sex selection.

I will defend a principle which I call Procreative Beneficence: couples (or single reproducers) should select the child, of the possible children they could have, who is expected to have the best life, or at least as good a life as the others, based on the relevant, available information.
What Research with Stored Samples Teaches Us About Research with Human Subjects
Authors: Wendler David
Published: March 2003

There is widespread discussion concerning the safeguards appropriate for human research subjects. Less discussed is the fact that the safeguards one deems appropriate depend, in large part, on the model of research participation that one assumes. Therefore, to determine what safeguards are appropriate, it is necessary first to clarify the competing models of research participation. The ostensibly obscure debate over informed consent for research on stored biological samples is of particular interest in this regard because such research can involve varying subsets of the three central elements of research involvement. As a result, analysis of this debate provides an opportunity to identify the competing models of research participation. Based on this analysis, this paper describes a new model of research participation that is emerging, and considers its implications for clinical research.
The Fivefold Root of an Ethics of Surgery
Authors: Little Miles
Published: March 2003

Surgical ethics have generally been framed as general medical ethics applied to surgical contexts. This model is helpful, but may miss some of the special features of the surgical process and relationship. It is suggested in this paper that there are five categories of experience and relationship which are especially important in surgery —rescue, proximity, ordeal, aftermath and presence. The sense of rescue, the feeling of relational proximity, the ordeal and the aftermath of surgery are things which the patient experiences. Understanding these experiences allow surgeons to understand what may be asked of them in an ethical sense. Recognition of the reality and validity of each category in the surgical process highlights the importance of presence, the acts by which the surgeon demonstrates that he is present to the patient throughout the surgical process and its aftermath. While the teaching of communication skills may never compensate for insensitivity, the ideal of presence as virtue and duty can be taught by precept and example.
The Claim from Adoption
Authors: Søbirk Petersen Thomas
Published: March 2003

In this article several justifications of what I call ‘the claim from adoption’ are examined. The claim from adoption is that, instead of expending resources on bringing new children into the world using reproductive technology and then caring for these children, we ought to devote these resources to the adoption and care of existing destitute children.

Arguments trading on the idea that resources should be directed to adoption instead of assisted reproduction because already existing people can benefit from such a use of resources whereas we cannot benefit individuals by bringing them into existence are rejected. It is then argued that a utilitarian argument proposed by Christian Munthe that supports the claim from adoption in some situations should be rejected because the support it offers does not extend to certain situations in which it seems morally obvious that resources should be expended on adoption rather than assisted reproduction. A version of the Priority View improves upon Munthe’s utilitarianism by supporting the claim from adoption in the cases in which Munthe’s argument failed. Some allegedly counterintuitive implications of the Priority View are then discussed, and it is concluded that the Priority View is more plausible than utilitarianism.

n a concluding section on policy issues it is argued that, even though the claim from adoption can be justified in a variety of situations, it does not follow that, in these situations, governments should direct resources away from assisted reproduction and towards adoption.
Focus on Practice: Teaching French in a School for Children with Moderate Learning Difficulties
Authors: Riley Margaret
Published: March 2003

Margaret Riley, who teaches at Woodside Senior School, Bolton, considers approaches to the teaching of a modern foreign language in a school for children with moderate learning difficulties.
Focus on Practice: Assertive Discipline in a school for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties
Authors: Swinson Jeremy , Cording Mike
Published: March 2003

The management of difficult and disruptive behaviour continues to be an issue in many classrooms. In this article, Jeremy Swinson, a senior educational psychologist and honorary lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, and Mike Cording, an education consultant working in Southport, consider the impact of in‐service training on the use of Assertive Discipline in a school for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD). Swinson and Cording report improved rates of ‘on‐task’ behaviour for pupils across the age range and reduction in numbers of disruptive incidents. These changes in pupil behaviour mirror an increase in teachers’ use of positive feedback and praise. Swinson and Cording argue that these techniques are effective even for those pupils who are seen as being disaffected or very discouraged.
Focus on Practice: Let’s keep in contact with Europe — a joint European research project about lifelong education for adults with learning difficulties
Authors: Fernandez Samuel , Kovari Janos , Vulterini Paola , Williams Val
Published: March 2003

The authors of this article come from a range of professional backgrounds in agencies across Europe. Samuel Fernandez lectures at the University of Oviedo in Spain; Janos Kovari works at the Kerek Vilag Foundation in Hungary; Paola Vulterini works for Capodarco, a service provider in Italy; and Val Williams is a researcher at the Norah Fry Research Centre at the University of Bristol. Using funding from the European Commission, the team undertook research into the curriculum provided for adults with learning difficulties in a variety of centres in their four home countries. Fernandez, Kovari, Vulterini and Williams find some interesting similarities and some significant differences in provision. They also seek the views of service users about a common core curriculum derived from their research and present a case for further work in this important area.
Focus on Practice: Reactive attachment disorder
Authors: Chapman Sue
Published: March 2003

This single case study, written from the personal perspective of an adoptive parent, tells the story of Anna, a child who experienced many difficulties adjusting to her life at home and at school. Sue Chapman, who is a teacher as well as being Anna’s mother by adoption, describes her frustration with the ineffective behaviour management strategies she is initially encouraged to use. Her discovery of information about reactive attachment disorder and her consequent use of ‘re‐nurturing’ approaches led to a transformation in Anna’s behaviour, outlook and achievements. This successful experience encourages Sue Chapman to speculate about the relevance of these approaches.
Research Section: The effectiveness and rationale of the ‘nurture group’ approach to helping children with emotional and behavioural difficulties remain within mainstream education
Authors: O’Connor Tina , Colwell John
Published: March 2003

Researchers, policy makers and practitioners continue to be interested in the impact of nurture groups on the inclusion of young children with emotional and behavioural difficulties in mainstream schools. Nurture groups were originally established in schools in the London Borough of Enfield in the 1980s and it is now possible to review evidence of their effectiveness in both the short and long term. In this article, Tina O’lConnor, teacher at Oakthorpe Primary School, London Borough of Enfield, and John Colwell, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at De Montfort University, compare scores on the Developmental Diagnostic Profile for a sample of pupils on entry to a nurture group; on exit; and after at least two years of mainstream reintegration. Their work reveals evidence of improvements in both the short and long term. In discussing their findings, the authors call for more in‐depth, longitudinal research into nurture groups and the development and impact of whole school nurturing approaches.
Social and Educational Disadvantage: Reconnecting Special Needs Education
Authors: Dyson Alan
Published: March 2003

Alan Dyson, Professor of Special Needs Education at the University of Newcastle on Tyne (in BJSE's ‘The New Professors’ series) argues that special needs education has, at a time when there are concerns over falling standards in education generally, lost sight of the relationship between children's difficulties in school and wider patterns of socio‐economic disadvantage and inequality, and suggests that special needs education in the late 1990s is incapable of addressing basic failings and inequities in our education system and within society as a whole.
Where and When do Speech and Langauge Therapists Work with Teachers?
Authors: Wright Jannet A. , Graham Jackie
Published: March 2003

Jannet A. Wright, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Human Communication Science, University College, London, and Jackie Graham, Advisory Teacher, Hertfordshire, investigate the context in which collaborative working practices exist between teachers and speech and language therapists, and explore the benefits of such professional partnerships.
Another One Flew Over: ‘Maladjusted’ Jack’s Perception of his Label
Authors: Wearmouth Janice
Published: March 2003

Janice Wearmouth, lecturer in the School of Education at the Open University, interviewed a group of adult male prisoners in 1995 about their school experiences, as part of a wider study concerned with spoiled identity. One of them, Jack, had been classified as ‘maladjusted’ during the 1970s, and the interview with him provides powerful evidence of important definitional differences between his own perceptions of his abilities and the impressions of those who labelled him.
The impact of current developments in post‐compulsory education on young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities
Authors: Cooper Deborah
Published: March 2003

Deborah Cooper, Economy and Learning Manager with Milton Keynes Council and previously Chief Executive of Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities, considers ways in which opportunities for children with special educational needs in England and Wales are being affected by current developments in post‐compulsory education.
World–processing and Writing Skills: Practical Applications to Language Teaching Text Books
Authors: Jarvis Huw
Published: March 2003

This paper demonstrates the viability and usefulness of word processing as a pedagogical tool for developing writing skills in the language classroom. Although the specific context is English as a Foreign Language (EFL), the applications are relevant to all language teachers working in primary, secondary or tertiary levels.

The paper illustrates some possible ways into this important and ever growing aspect of education technology. It is written for language teachers who are either completely new to this field or who have some experience which they would like to develop further.
Information Technology in the Mathematics National Curriculum: Policy Begets Practice?
Authors: Andrews Paul
Published: March 2003

185 secondary teachers of mathematics responded to a questionnaire asking them to rate their competence with and classroom use of databases, spreadsheets, Logo and Basic. In addition they were invited to offer curricular justifications for each of the four pieces of software. Overall there was a wide spread of competence with, and classroom use of, all four pieces of software. Databases were perceived to have limited curricular value with justifications focusing on narrow aspects of data handling. Logo was viewed positively with justifications addressing issues such as motivation and covering a range of geometrical topics. Spreadsheets were seen as the most versatile software with justifications being spread across a range of curriculum areas. With few exceptions Basic was dismissed as being of little use. Competent teachers who used software regularly tended to have shorter lengths of service, better qualifications and were more likely to be male than female. The converse was also found to be true.
Group Work with Multimedia in Mathematics: The Role of the Technology and of the Teacher
Authors: Hudson Brian
Published: March 2003

This paper reports on a study involving the evaluation and use of the National Curriculum Council sponsored multimedia package World of Number. The project was carried out in a South Yorkshire comprehensive school during the Spring Term of 1994. The intended mode of use of the package was unclear from the initial evaluation and also from initial teacher feedback. In addition little attention seemed to have been given to the role of the teacher. Examples of episodes of classroom interaction between the teacher/researcher and a small group of pupils working at the multimedia system are presented and an interpretation, which takes account of the role of the technology and of the teacher from a Vygotskian perspective, is offered.
A user‐centred approach to the design of an expert system for training
Authors: Borges Marcos Augusto Francisco , Baranauskas M. Cecília C.
Published: March 2003

This paper reports the objectives, design approach and first results of a research project that aims to develop an intelligent computer‐based learning environment for industrial applications. Jonas, an expert system, is part of a modelling/simulation environment which enables shopfloor workers to test and to put new philosophies of work into practice in the context of manufacture. Our approach is focused on three main ideas: the Intelligence Augmentation paradigm, user‐centred system design and the constructionist theory of learning. The architecture of the modelling environment and the main features of Jonas are presented as an illustration of the design ideas discussed in the paper.
The Design, Development and Use of a CD‐ROM Resource Library for an Open University Course
Authors: Jones Mark , Kear Karen , Reilly Andy
Published: March 2003

A CD‐ROM containing a resource library for students of a course on “Information Technology and Society” has been produced by a multidisciplinary team at the Open University. This inter‐faculty course adopts a resource‐based approach to its subject, and students are encouraged to search the contents of the CD‐ROM to find material relevant to the topics they are studying. To facilitate this searching, the articles in the library are electronically indexed using a set of course‐related themes. The development of the CD‐ROM gave rise to a number of issues: the content, which was based on printed publications, had to be adapted to suit the electronic medium; methods had to be devised to ensure the quality of the delivered product; and the roles of staff had to be adapted to accommodate electronic production methods. Feedback from students, via the course's conferencing system and a course survey, shows that the CD‐ROM was well received, and that students adapted successfully to the resource‐based approach.
ICT, Education, and Visual Impairment
Authors: Douglas Graeme
Published: March 2003

This paper provides an overview of developments in the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in the education of children with a visual impairment. The context is set by summarising the population of children with a visual impairment in this country, and presenting World Health Organisations classification of disability as a criteria by which the relevance of ICT can be measured. Case‐studies of the use of different types of educational and access technology are presented and it is argued that information and communications technology has a valuable role in providing opportunities for children with a visual impairment to participate more fully in education.
Building a theoretical framework of web‐based instruction in the context of distance education
Authors: Jung Insung
Published: March 2003

This study attempts to analyze teaching and learning processes of web‐based instruction (WBI) as shown in recent literature, and to develop a theoretical framework of WBI using a prominent existing distance education theory called Transactional Distance Theory in order to provide better understanding of the essential pedagogical components of WBI. Recent studies have shown that the key elements of the structure of WBI are (1) content expandability, (2) content adaptability, and (3) visual layout. And also three emerging types of interaction, or three aspects of dialogue, in WBI have been identified through the studies. Those types were: (1) academic interaction, (2) collaborative interaction, and (3) interpersonal interaction. Finally, both learner collaboration (or learner collaboravity, if we create a new term) and learner autonomy seem to have emerged in Web‐based learning environments.
ICT and resource–based learning: implications for the future
Authors: McNicol Sarah , Nankivell Clare , Ghelani Tilusha
Published: March 2003

Current learning and teaching methods, such as resource–based learning, require children to make use of a range of resources within and outside school. However, access to learning resources, especially ICT (information and communications technology), depends on the facilities available within a child’s school, home and local community. A research project entitled “Children, Access and Learning: Resource–based Learning and the Impacts of Environment and Learning Cultures” was undertaken by CIRT (Centre for Information Research) at the University of Central England in Birmingham, UK between March 2000 and September 2001. This research emerged from concerns that circumstances in and beyond school may disadvantage those children without easy access to resources. This article outlines some of the findings of the research in the context of current debates surrounding the growing importance of ICT in education.
Formative Automated Computer Testing (FACT)
Authors: Hunt Nicoll , Hughes Janet , Rowe Glenn
Published: March 2003

This study describes the context for the development of a tool to formatively assess information technology skills of students. The tool provides a reliable and valid assessment of word processing competency, utilizing automation to apply the test instrument via the Microsoft Office package. Tests can be designed directly by tutors, and delivered via a network. Evaluation of the tests suggests that immediate automated testing is preferred by students compared to a traditional written test. There is evidence that the tool improves the IT skills of its users, whereas a traditional written test has no such beneficial effect.
Trade Unions, Political Fund Ballots and the Labour Party
Authors: Leopold John W.
Published: March 2003

The Trade Union Act 1984 required trade unions to reballot their members on continuation of their political funds. All unions voted for retention. A second wave of balloting has now taken place: the results are broadly similar to those in 1985/6. This paper examines the outcome of the 1994/6 voting, compares the results with those from 1985/6 and considers the implications of the results on the relationship between unions and the Labour Party. The distancing of the relationship between unions and Labour is related to the political fund campaign which stressed union rights to campaign politically rather than their specific political links with the Labour Party.
Institutions Matter: Union Solidarity in Hungary and East Germany
Authors: Frege Carola M. , To´th Andra´s
Published: March 2003

This study examines the extent of union solidarity in two post‐communist countries, Hungary and east Germany. It tests the hypothesis that post‐communist union members are sceptical and unsupportive of their new interest representation owing to a legacy of disappointing experiences with their former communist unions. A survey of the union members, the first of its kind, in the Hungarian and east German clothing industry revealed strong differences between members’ attitudes in both countries: east Germans were highly committed and supportive of their new union and works councils, whereas Hungarians lacked support for their institutions. The study points to the complexities of former and current attitudes and rejects the generic use of a communist legacy thesis. Instead, it links members’ attitudes to the different institutional context of interest representation in the two countries. It argues that the dual system of interest representation in Germany facilitates members’ trust in their new institutions, whereas the decentralized, overlapping institutions on Hungarian shop‐floors impede union solidarity.
Organizing the Next Generation: Influences on Young Workers’ Willingness to Join Unions in Canada
Authors: Lowe Graham , Rastin Sandra
Published: March 2003

This paper argues that union attitudes and behaviour are important but neglected features of the school–work transition process. Using longitudinal panel data from a study of high school and university graduates in three Canadian cities, we examine how young people’s previous union membership, attitudes and educational, labour market and workplace experiences shape their willingness to join unions. This paper establishes that views about unions are emergent during youth, solidifying with age and experience. The implications of these findings for industrial relations, school–work transitions research and labour movement organizing are discussed.
Between Flexibility and Regulation: Rights, Equality and Protection at Work
Authors: McKay Sonia
Published: March 2003

The year 2000 represented the real year of delivery on Labour’s proposals for industrial relations and employment rights. This review focuses on the content of the government’s legislative programme, taking account of the impact of public policy at European level and its relationship with national legislation. The government’s programme included a number of measures designed to target discrimination and promote equality, and the review examines the form and significance of these changes, in the light of continuing discrimination in the labour market. It then turns to examine the most fundamental legal reform of the year, the introduction of the statutory right to recognition.
Managers' Perceptions of their Identity: A Comparative Study between the Czech Republic and Britain
Authors: Pavlica Karel , Thorpe Richard
Published: March 2003

After a period of more that 40 years of Communism, the Czech Republic is in the midst of an economic transformation. One aspect of this transformation is the development of a new managerial ethos, important to manage the current infrastructural changes and ensure that Czech organizations are able to compete in international markets.

This paper reports research that examines what Czech managers think about themselves and their roles, and contrasts these perceptions with those of their British counterparts. Many of the concepts and development approaches being applied in the Czech Republic are closely related to concepts and development approaches in the West and have often been accepted unchallenged even though they are being applied in very different circumstances. The focus of this research was to understand how Czech and British managers view their jobs; how their different views relate to the techniques and approaches they adopt. The method chosen was discourse analysis applied to responses from a questionnaire, interviews and repertory grid technique. Using this approach a very different kind of understanding was gained in the way Czech managers think about management than has hitherto been assumed.

The research takes a matched group of Czech and British managers and contrasts their respective views. Our findings give important new insights for management and management development practice for both the Czech Republic and Great Britain.
Evaluating the Applicability of the Miles and Snow Typology in a Regulated Public Utility Environment
Authors: Ghobadian Abby , James Philip , Liu Jonathan , Viney Howard
Published: March 2003

This paper examines and evaluates the applicability of the Miles and Snow organizational strategy, structure and process model to the electricity distribution and supply industry of England and Wales (ESI), and specifically the regional electricity companies (RECs). In the past such generic strategy models have principally been applied to industries that conform to the traditional free‐market paradigm, and doubt has been cast upon their applicability in non‐traditional environments. This paper argues in contrast that generic strategies are of considerable value in the regulated industries, especially those developing new strategies to address major change, such as the approach of full competition. As a feature of this process, the paper also examines some of the differences and similarities between the ESI and the traditional free‐market paradigm. However, having argued for the use of such strategies, it is necessary to make various amendments to enhance the applicability of the model. These amendments and the characteristics of new generic strategies are described.
Constructing British Industrial Relations
Authors: Howell Chris
Published: March 2003

One can identify the construction and transformation of three distinct systems of industrial relations in Britain over the last century. In contrast to the view that the state has been largely abstentionist in the sphere of industrial relations, or that, where intervention has taken place, it has been ad hoc, incoherent and reactive, this article makes two arguments in explaining this pattern of institutional construction. First, that the British state has been a central actor in the construction and ‘embedding’ of industrial relations institutions. Secondly, that broad processes of economic restructuring have created the context and trigger for state action. It is the timing and character of economic restructuring which explain the distinctive evolution of British industrial relations.
Losing the Voters' Trust: Evaluations of the Political System and Voting at the 1997 British General Election
Authors: Pattie Charles , Johnston Ron
Published: March 2003

Questions of standards in public life came to the fore of British politics during the 1992–1997 parliament. Concerns were expressed over the probity of individual politicians and of political parties and worries extended to the health of the British system of government as a whole. Underlying these news stories, however, were wider issues concerning attitudes towards government. Furthermore, these concerns about standards were also extensively reported during the 1997 election campaign, and were widely held, in popular accounts, to have played a part in the Conservative government's dramatic defeat. But, surprisingly, few academic analyses have tried to gauge either the extent of public concerns in 1997, or whether they really had an impact on party support. More generally, recent political science interest has focused on fears of declining public trust in the democratic system, throughout the western world. This article explores British voters' trust in their polity.
The Slow Death of a Governing Party: The Erosion of Conservative Local Electoral Support in England 1979–97
Authors: Rallings Colin , Thrasher Michael , Johnston Ron
Published: March 2003

This article first describes the decline in Conservative Party representation in local government over the period 1979–97. It then explores a number of factors to account for the nature and depth of that decline, including: differential abstention; the desertion of heartland voters; tactical voting at local level; and electoral bias. Clearly, the Conservatives' performance at local elections was worse than might have been expected given the party's overall electoral popularity. It appears that Conservative council candidates largely fell victim to the changing pattern of party competition and the apparent ability of rival parties to target seats more effectively. Furthermore, the impact of these factors was compounded by the operation of biases within the electoral system.
A Note on Modelling Money Demand in Growing Economies
Authors: Basu Parantap , Salyer Kevin D.
Published: March 2003

A prominent feature of US data is the lack of cointegration between nominal interest rates and M1 velocity. Yet, most general‐equilibrium monetary models that have been used for empirical analysis have imposed cointegration between these two series. This paper presents as an alternative a money‐in‐the‐utility function model which does not imply cointegration even though a well‐defined stationary monetary equilibrium exists.
Monetary Policy and Stock Returns
Authors: Ewing Bradley T.
Published: March 2003

The Standard & Poor stock market composite index is examined to determine how much of the variance in returns can be explained by monetary policy. The note employs the econometric technique of generalized forecast error variance decomposition developed by Koop et al. (Journal of Econometrics, vol. 74, 1996, pp.119–47) and Pesaran and Shin (Economics Letters, vol. 58, pp.17–29). Unlike the traditional orthogonalized decomposition, the generalized version is invariant to the ordering of the variables in the underlying vector autoregression. The results provide important information about the relationship between monetary policy and the stock market.
Does the Long–run PPP Hypothesis Hold for Africa? Evidence from a Panel Cointegration Study
Authors: Nagayasu Jun
Published: March 2003

The long–run purchasing power parity (PPP) concept is empirically studied using the parallel market exchange rates of 17 African countries and employing the panel cointegration method. This approach is particularly useful when analysing African countries, which do not have long time–series. This paper presents results that support the weak–form of the long–run PPP hypothesis in Africa, which does not require a homogeneity restriction on prices.
Italian Business Ills and Cures
Authors: Lago Umberto , Castoldi Roberto
Published: March 2003

The world’s press may have lost interest in the ongoing enquiry into the deep‐rooted corruption in Italian business. But what exactly was going on, and what can be done to improve matters? The writers of this authoritative study are Faculty members of the prestigious Italian Business School, SDA Bocconi, Via F. Bocconi 8, 8‐20136 Milano, where Umberto Lago lectures in Strategy and Roberto Castoldi in Accounting. They both lecture on the Business Policy course at Bocconi University.
Advances in Information Ethics
Authors: Rogerson Simon
Published: March 2003

The versatility and adaptability of information technology offer many potential benefits to society, its organisations and its citizens; but there are also many associated risks. The social and ethical implications of this technology warrant special attention and have resulted in the creation of information ethics as a discrete area complementary to business ethics. Simon Rogerson is Director of the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility at De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH, UK. (email: srog@dmu.ac.uk and web site http://www.cms.dmu.ac.uk/CCSR/)
Building the Ethical Infrastructure of the Market in Post–Communist Countries: The Case of Bulgaria
Authors: Rangelova Rossitsa
Published: March 2003

This study considers major problems involved in seeking to build a post–communist ethical infrastructure for business transactions in Bulgaria. After an analysis of the basic economic and political realities of the present transition period, some recent empirical findings are presented concerning the emerging ethics and business culture, concluding with practical recommendations for the future. The author is Senior Research Associate and she also teaches the Social and Business Dimensions of Business in the Institute of Economics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 3, Aksakov Str., 1040 Sofia, Bulgaria; e–mail; ineco@bgearn.acad.bg.