The way in which states formulate national positions is just as important to EU decision-making as their bargaining strength in the Council.

Which states get their way most often in the EU’s legislative process? Responding to an earlier EUROPP article, Stuart A Brown argues that analyses of Council decision-making must also account for the way in which states formulate their preferences prior to negotiations. While Council agreements on EU legislation appear to be more closely in line with the positions of smaller states like Finland, this does not necessarily mean that they have the most influence over the EU policy process as a whole

An evaluation of learning resources in the teaching of formal philosophical methods

In any discipline, across a wide variety of subjects, there are numerous learning resources available to students. For many students the resources that will be most beneficial to them are quickly apparent but, because of the nature of philosophy and the philosophical method, it is not immediately clear which resources will be most valuable to students for whom the development of critical thinking skills is crucial. If we are to support these students effectively in their learning we must establish what these resources are how we can continue to maintain and improve them, and how we can encourage students to make good use of them. In this paper we describe and assess our evaluation of the use made by students of learning resources in the context of learning logic and in developing their critical thinking skills. We also assess the use of a new resource, electronic handsets, the purpose of which is to encourage students to respond to questions in lectures and to gain feedback about how they are progressing with the material

Brussels blog round up for 17– 23 November: Budget troubles, France is downgraded, and are European young farmers facing extinction?

Chris Gilson and Stuart A Brown take a look at the week in Brussels blogging

An internal variable constitutive model for the large deformation of metals at high temperatures

The advent of large deformation finite element methodologies is beginning to permit the numerical simulation of hot working processes whose design until recently has been based on prior industrial experience. Proper application of such finite element techniques requires realistic constitutive equations which more accurately model material behavior during hot working. A simple constitutive model for hot working is the single scalar internal variable model for isotropic thermal elastoplasticity proposed by Anand. The model is recalled and the specific scalar functions, for the equivalent plastic strain rate and the evolution equation for the internal variable, presented are slight modifications of those proposed by Anand. The modified functions are better able to represent high temperature material behavior. The monotonic constant true strain rate and strain rate jump compression experiments on a 2 percent silicon iron is briefly described. The model is implemented in the general purpose finite element program ABAQUS

Book Review: Euroscepticism within the EU institutions: diverging views of europe

Since its origins, there have been competing views concerning the nature, scope and objectives of the process of integration and of the European Union. Attitudes towards Europe and European integration, both among political elites and citizens, have been much studied over the last 15 years. But there is no comprehensive analysis of these competing views of Europe at the supranational level. Stuart A. Brown reviews Nathalie Brack and Olivier Costa’s edited collection on the divergence in views about the European Union, which lends insight into its consequences for the functioning of the EU and its institutions