Human Minds

Articl

Institutions and Rules.

This short statement has three aims. First, it suggests that rules and institutionsare a convenient and productive entrypoint for analysing capitalism and mainstream proposals for its reform. But it also suggests that analyses cannot stop there if adequate critiques and alternative strategies are to be developed. Above all we need to move beyond rules and institutions to examine the microfoundations of institutions in particular subjectivities, cognitive frames, modes of calculation, norms of conduct, and forms of embodiment; and to study the macro-contexts that emerge from interaction among institutions and shape this interaction in a complex dialectic of path-shaping and path-dependency. It also suggests how to move beyond rules and institutions. Second, this statement proposes a distinctive theoretical approach based on a combination of trans- and post-disciplinary modes of inquiry. It argues that these can inform both our collective intellectual endeavours and also provide the basis for a critical popular pedagogy. And, third, it identifies some key issues for a research agenda on the political and ethical dimensions of contemporary economic activities. In the spirit of the PEKEA project, our statement is not concerned to provide yet another critique of orthodox economics (for which, see Hodgson 1989; North 1990; Rutherford 1994). Instead we emphasize the socially embedded, socially regularized nature of market economies and address changing economic norms and modes of calculation. This leads us to approach capitalism very broadly in terms of the overall ensemble of socially embedded, socially regularized and strategically selective institutions, organizations, social forces and actions that are involved in sustaining the wage-relation, a labour process and more general system of production organized in terms of profitand- loss, and a complex balance between competition and cooperation among different capitals. Seen in these terms capitalist relations of production are not just economic but is also (always, necessarily) extra-economic. In pursuing these ideas should help to provide a clearer account of the inherently political aspects of contemporary capitalism

Meeting their potential: the role of education and technology in overcoming disadvantage and disaffection in young people

This report is a review of literature, policy and reported practice, exploring the potential of technology to mitigate disaffection and disadvantage in education and raise attainment of those young people who are under-achieving in school or other educational settings

The relevance of university adult education for labour market policies

Lifelong learning plays a key role in labor market policies in the EU. In the context of the increasing rate of people with higher education and changes in markets for skilled jobs, universities have begun to engage in adult education and active labor market policies. The article presents the results of studies of unrepresentative cases of university adult education programs conducted in seven European countries with special focus on middle-aged people, who are increasingly vulnerable socially. One of the salient features of the case studies was the social effectiveness of university adult education programs from the point of view of access to jobs and the quality of work / life. The results of the case studies along with analysis of the results of other European projects permitted a continuous training scheme the essential dimensions of universities in adult education for socially effective

New Tools for the Governance of the Academic Research in Italy: the Role of Research Evaluation

Evaluation has been put on the agenda of most Governments as a central process to enhance the public research institutions’ performance (Geuna, 1999, Geuna and Martin, 2003, Shapira and Kuhlman, 2003). New agencies or intermediate bodies have been settled up, both at the Government and at the institutions’ level, aiming to assess the quality of research and its impact on the socio-economic environment. In Italy, the pressure for a greater accountability of the public research institutions started at the beginning of nineties, but the system was deeply modified in 1999. Moreover, the Government at the beginning of 2004 launched a formalised evaluation exercise (the VTR), aimed to assess the research performance of all the public institutions (Universities and public research agencies) across scientific fields, for a three-years period. The modification recently introduced in the Government criteria for the core funding allocation to the Universities would assure the impact of VTR results on funding decisions. Different key interested groups, both from academics (Conference of Rectors) and from stakeholders (mainly Industrial Associations), contributed to the development of the described process, by interacting with the Government and with the intermediate bodies in charge for establishing the evaluation procedures. The aim of the paper is to investigate how the new evaluation procedures, even at this early stage, have been implemented by the public research institutions, and how these procedures are changing the internal models of research direction and organisation. The paper was prepared for the Sociology of the Sciences Yearbook Conference on “Changing Knowledge Production through Evaluation” Bielefeld, 9-11 June 2005Academic research; Governance; Research Evaluation; Accountability; Research assessment

Quality Services, Better Outcomes: A Quality Framework for Achieving Outcomes.

The Childhood Development Initiative (CDI) is an innovative, community based response to a comprehensive consultation process undertaken in Tallaght West. Working with a wide range of locally established service providers, CDI is delivering services to children and families which meet identified needs. Etch of these is being rigorously evaluated, and considerable attention is being given to quality assurance, promotion of reflective practice, and professional training and support. The insights gained, and techniques developed during this process are central to delivering high quality services with the view to improving our understanding of what enables children to meet their potential, gain their developmental milestones within appropriate timeframes and become healthy and active citizens. This Workbook describes key processes relating to practice, organisational culture and systems change which support the implementation of evidence-based and evidence-informed programmes and practices. From CDI's experience, implementing evidence-based programmes not only requires specific structures and processes in place to support programme implementation and fidelity (e.g. training, coaching, and supervision) but also necessities a focus on the more generic aspects of delivering quality services (e.g. engaging in reflective practice in order to promote and maintain fidelity to a programme). The Workbook also addresses some fundamental areas in relation to monitoring and evaluation as a way of determining whether an intervention was effective or not. In effect, this Workbook hopes to explain the 'what', 'why', 'how' and 'did we?' of evidence-based practice. The Workbook is intended to provide readers with a comprehensive introduction to both the shared language and concepts underpinning the science and practice of implementation. It complements the 'What Works Process' guide published by the Centre for Effective Services (CES, 2011) which supports services in assessing how effective they are in improving outcomes for children and helps them to think about what works

Social capital and social media: the effects of Facebook use on social capital and perceived community involvement

The purpose of this paper is to look at the effect of social media use on social capital. This paper attempts to establish a dichotomy between 'real' and 'perceived' social capital and the effect of social media use on both. I use a survey instrument measuring both the social media use and `real' social capital of one group compared with the social media use and `perceived' social capital of the second group. I find that while social media use is related with survey respondents feeling more involved politically and in their community, there is no correlation between actual political/community involvement for other respondents

Synthesis report of workshop on assessing the impact of policy-oriented social science research in Scheveningen, The Netherlands, November 12-13 2001

Economists have engaged for some time in developing methodologies for assessing the economic impact of agricultural research and in undertaking empirical studies to measure this impact. In recent years, they have documented more than 1,800 estimates of rates of return to agricultural research. Economists have paid little attention, however, to how to evaluate the impact of social science research. A symposium conducted by IFPRI in 1997 was one of the first attempts to address this knowledge gap. In November 2001, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and IFPRI brought together a group of researchers to follow up on the earlier symposium. Their conclusions fell into two broad categories: how to measure or value the economic impact of policy-oriented social science research and how to enhance the effectiveness of such research in policymaking environments. A number of lessons emerged from the workshop for donors, governments, and researchers about how to enhance the effectiveness of policy-oriented social science research....Because much remains to be learned about evaluating the impact of policy-oriented social science research, the workshop participants concluded that IFPRI should take the lead in developing a consortium to help improve interdisciplinary methods of assessing impact. The consortium would consist of institutions, donors, and individuals and would work in partnership with developing countries. Institutions could learn from each other about best practices and in the process exploit synergies, thereby increasing effectiveness and reducing the costs of what is an expensive undertaking.Agricultural research Economic aspects. ,Evaluation. ,Rate of return. ,Social sciences Research Evaluation. ,Research Economic aspects Congresses. ,

Shopping Centre Choice: A Behavioural Perspective

This thesis examines the use of behavioural and cognitive-behavioural models, to determine whether they can explain consumer shopping centre choice. Two studies were conducted, to examine how well different theoretical models previously used to explain consumer purchase behaviour can explain patronage behaviour with respect to shopping centres. The stimulus-organism-response (SOR) and behavioural perspective model (BPM) were the models examined in this thesis, as the SOR has previously been used to examine store patronage, and the BPM is widely used in consumer research to explain different types of consumer behaviour. Original scale measures were developed across the two studies where necessary to measure variables in new ways. The thesis explores the use of verbal reporting to measure learning history and consequences at an individual level. The BPM presents a good frame with which to explain consumer patronage responses, while the SOR model applied did not. The BPM showed that social and physical stimuli in the environment act as the main drivers of patronage response, with consequences and learning history also offering some contribution to explain this behaviour. The model was extended to consider the effect of behaviour setting stimuli on emotional response, determining that part of the impact of physical and social stimuli on patronage response is mediated by pleasure. The thesis confirmed that the BPM is a suitable model to extend into application for patronage decisions at the shopping centre level, but that it is more applicable at this level when emotional response is also considered