Innovation and technical change: A case study of the U.K. tractor industry, 1957 1977

In previous work it was established that the U.K. tractor industry was characterised by a high degree of technical change and that this was brought about by a process of more or less continuous incremental innovation. What was lacking was an analysis of how much technical change had been introduced and an indication of the role played by technical change in determining the performance of the U.K. tractor industry internationally. This paper concludes that on the average technical change in the industry had increased by as much as 150 percent during the years 1959–1977, though there is some indication that the rate of change might now be slowing somewhat.In order to determine the relative importance of technical change a method was developed to operationalise the distinction between price and non-price competition as well as the idea of intrinsic (technical) and associative (non-technical) factors as constituents of the latter. Based on cross-sectional data for the year 1978, it has been possible to show that British manufacturers tend to produce moderately priced tractors of low to medium technical sophistication: that German manufacturers produced the most technically sophisticated tractors; that the Italian manufacturers are not generally more sophisticated, technically, than the British producers except with respect to their development of four-wheel drive; and that COMECON-based producers combine a very low price with some degree of technical sophistication. Finally, it has been possible to show that the tractors with the highest sales are among the less sophisticated in each of the power ranges investigated and that new entrants used technical sophistication as an element of their entry strategy. The answer to the question of what allows the market leader to be market leader required the development of measures for associative non-price factors, such as the availability of a dealer network brand loyalty, resale prices of tractor models, etc. By performing a regression analysis on these measures along with previously derived measures of quality-adjusted price and relative technical sophistication it has been possible to show that market leadership is achieved as a result of a balance of a number of factors, the most important of which are the size of the dealer network, warrants cost, advertising, technical sophistication and price.     

School quality, child wellbeing and parents’ satisfaction

Child wellbeing at school and enjoyment of the learning environment are important economic outcomes, in particular because a growing body of research shows they are strongly linked to later educational attainments and labour market success. However, the standard working assumption in the economics of education is that parents choose schools on the basis of test-score performance, and concerns about child happiness are largely ignored. In this paper, we address this omission and investigate to what extent parents’ and children's views of their school are linked to test-score based performance, and to what extent parents’ judgements of school quality are linked to their child's happiness. To do so, we use information on stated attitudes from the Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England (LSYPE) matched to administrative records on pupil achievements in England. Our results suggest that test-score based measures of school quality tend to dominate parental satisfaction with the learning environment. However, school quality along this dimension is not strongly associated with pupil happiness and wellbeing at school.     

A process for the critical analysis of instructional theory

Some have argued for a common language in the field of instructional design in an effort to reduce misunderstandings and simplify a multitude of synonymous terms and concepts. Others feel that this goal is undesirable in that it precludes development and flexibility. In this article we propose an ontology-building process as a way for readers to compare and analyze terms and concepts across theories. This process entails the development of categories that emerge from the literature, and the comparison of theories across categories. Such a process can reveal broader concepts that exist beyond specific theoretical terminology, differences in meanings behind common terms used by theorists, a greater understanding of the theorists’ intent, and discontinuities and gaps within the theoretical literature.     

Addressing the Needs of First‐Generation College Students: Lessons Learned From Adults From Low‐Education Families

The fact that 1st‐generation college students have lower retention rates than their peers and confront barriers hindering college success is well known. However, less information exists about the effect that 1st‐generation college status has after college completion. In this qualitative study, the career development experiences of adults from families without college education were examined. Three themes were identified: the role of the father, expectations about career, and expectations about college. Implications for college counselors are provided.     

What makes a youth-produced film good? The youth audience perspective

In this article, we explore how youth audiences evaluate the quality of youth-produced films. Our interest stems from a dearth of ways to measure the quality of what youth produce in artistic production processes. As a result, making art in formal learning settings devolves into either romanticized creativity or instrumental work to improve skills in core content areas. We conducted focus groups with 38 youth participants where they viewed four different films produced by the same youth media arts organization that works with young people to produce short-form, autobiographical documentaries. We found that youth focused their evaluations on identifying the films' genre and content and on assessing how well the filmmakers' creative decisions fit with identifications of genre and content. Evaluations were mediated by audiences' expectations and seemed to inform judgments of quality and creativity. We hope that our work can inform the design of formal learning spaces where young people are producing narrative art.