Derek L. Bosworth

Truancy and Pupil Performance

This paper uses the matched sample from sweeps 1–3 the Youth Cohort Study (YCS) III to explore the influences on young peoples attitudes towards school, their truancy behaviour and their examination performance at age 16. A review of the literature suggests a range of possible variables, many of which are available from the YCS. The results demonstrate a clear role for many socio-economic and local area characteristics. It is shown that adverse attitudes are closely linked to absenteeism from school. In addition, unfavourable attitudes and truancy both adversely affect the examination performance of young people. Two aspects of self-selection were investigated which revealed that: first, young people who take the examinations have unobserved characteristics which lead to higher scores; second, the group selected into TVEI were those likely to perform less well, but that the scheme had a significant positive effect on their scores.

Who does workforce planning well? : workforce review team rapid review summary

PURPOSEnThis paper sets out to disseminate new knowledge about workforce planning, a crucial health sector issue. The Health Select Committee criticised NHS Englands failure to develop and apply effective workforce planning. The Workforce Review Team (WRT) commissioned the Institute for Employment Research, Warwick University, to undertake a rapid review of global literature to identify good practice. A workforce planning overview, its theoretical principles, good practice exemplars are provided before discussing their application to healthcare.nnnDESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACHnThe literature review, undertaken September-November 2007, determined the current workforce planning evidence within and outside health service provision and any consensus on successful workforce planning.nnnFINDINGSnMuch of the literature was descriptive and there was a lack of comparative or evaluative research-based evidence to inform U.K. healthcare workforce planning. Workforce planning practices were similar in other countries.nnnPRACTICAL IMPLICATIONSnThere was no evidence to challenge current WRT approaches to NHS England workforce planning. There are a number of indications about how this might be extended and improved, given additional resources. The evidence-base for workforce planning would be strengthened by robust and authoritative studies.nnnORIGINALITY/VALUEnSystematic workforce planning is a key healthcare quality management element. This review highlights useful information that can be turned into knowledge by informed application to the NHS. Best practice in other sectors and other countries appears to warrant exploration.

Skill Shortages: An Overview

This brief article pulls together a number of general themes. In particular, it looks at a number of influences on the extent and nature of skill shortages, including: the growth of the economy; technological change; organisational change; international competition; changes in industrial structure; increased demands for a more formally qualified workforce; training; demographic changes; labour market flexibility; wastage rates, retention and recruitment; movement to a Single European Market. Finally it provides a number of more general comments which, in essence, serve to highlight the central role played by training.

Unemployment and the Intensity and Method of Job Search

The Labour Force Survey is a rich data source for investigation of the factors influencing unemployment. The initial results are based on a linear probability model. They highlight some of the influences on job search, the choice of methods, the intensity and the duration of search. The probability of search is positively related to claimancy status and is higher for males and for those in younger‐age and shorter‐duration unemployment categories. Family responsibilities had quite different effects on male and female job search probabilities, except in the case of single parents. The intensity of search was noticeably higher in males, for claimants, for younger‐age groups and shorter‐duration categories. Reliance on job centres fell significantly with age, tended to be higher amongst the less well qualified and lower social classes. With the exception of Northern Ireland, individuals in higher unemployment areas made greater use of job centres. All of the results were duration‐related: the probability and ...

The transition to a highly qualified workforce

Globalization is putting increasing pressure on jobs in the United Kingdom, particularly among less skilled activities. The European response through the Lisbon Strategy has been diffuse, while UK policy appears much more focused, concentrating on the need to raise education and skill levels. The present paper examines the transition towards a more highly qualified workforce in the United Kingdom, including an assessment of probable future developments given recent trends towards greater participation in higher education. It describes two complementary forecasting exercises, whereby a stock‐flow model is used to produce UK‐wide estimates and, then, a multi‐logit equation is used to disaggregate these forecasts by region. The result is a set of estimates of the likely developments in the pattern of qualification attainment across the different parts of the United Kingdom, running through to 2014. It focuses upon the numbers of individuals broken down by level of qualification, gender, age and region. These forecasts suggest that, based on past trends (and consistent with meeting government targets), there will be substantial increases in the numbers and proportions of more qualified individuals and corresponding reductions among the less qualified. Further policy initiatives that may result from the Leitch Review are likely to further accentuate these changes.

Local Taxation and the Relationship between Incomes and Property Values

The authors concern is with the relationship between household income and property value, within the context of the debate about the fairness of council tax—the property-based system of local taxation in England. Although located within this particular debate, the fundamental issue of the relationship between household income and property value is of relevance to systems of property taxation the world over. Although the empirical literature to date makes reference to the links between property values and income levels in the context of debates about the fairness of council tax, the relationship between the two has not been empirically tested. The authors provide evidence of this relationship and show that, although there is a strong positive relationship between property values and income amongst higher income households, there is evidence of a ‘U-shaped’ relationship among lower income households. In addition, there is very strong evidence, that the elasticity of property prices with respect to income is not constant, but follows a bell-shaped distribution which is skewed to the right.

The market for training : a human capital approach

Considers the optimal training decisions of firms and individuals, and provides a number of reasons why there may be underinvestment in the market for training. Reflects on the individual′s decision to invest in training in the context of dynamic labour supply theories. This is combined with a model of the firm′s decision‐making process to provide a “market for training” in which wage‐training‐employment contracts are determined.

Professional Skill Shortages

The most highly qualified occupational group, comprising individuals who work primarily in activities involving high levels of technical and organisational skills, is focused on. It is a group which, overall, has shown remarkable growth in recent years. Certain specialisms, such as IT skills, experienced relatively buoyant labour markets which even transcended the effects of the last major recession. In the main, such skills were associated with unusual demand conditions, caused, for example, by the diffusion of microelectronics and by the changes in company organisation and management. Since the recession, specific skill shortages have been transformed into more general shortfalls. Demand for individuals with high levels of formal education and training is expected to continue growing. Supply is not expected to keep pace, a situation which will be aggravated by the downturn in the youth cohort. There are other significant events on the horizon which make the market outcome more uncertain, such as the mov...

Infrastructure for Technological Change: Intellectual Property Rights

The patent system is, in certain respects, unique in the context of the law governing monopolies and restrictive trade practices. For various reasons which are explored in more depth below, the government chooses to give a monopoly right to those who produce (and/or own) certain intellectual property. Within this system of protection, the drafting and examination of patent specifications are of paramount importance. As a consequence, the law affords Patent Agents and, in effect, the Patent Office, a privileged position with a view to ensuring that this process is carried out expertly. This paper reports on research undertaken by the authors for the Office of Fair Trading, prior to its ruling (for a more detailed discussion see OFT, 1986; Bosworth and Wilson, 1988).

DEFINITION AND MEASUREMENT

This chapter presents the definition and measurement of what constitutes a patentable invention, as applied by the body that issues the intellectual property data. A patent is a certificate of ownership that confers a monopoly right for a limited period for a given piece of intellectual property with an industrial application. The patent is given in recognition that the inventor has produced and disclosed knowledge of a kind that can be used to produce a substantially different product or process. An invention is considered as new if it does not form part of the state of the art. The state of the art is something that is made available to the public by means of a written or oral description by use or in any other way, before the date of the patent application or of a foreign application, the priority of which is validly claimed.