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The UK system for social insurance has evolved over the past sixty years in response to both changes in government policy and changing social circumstances. The current system has moved away somewhat from the old Welfare State principles. The current social insurance system in the UK is targeted at supporting people in work to make 'work pay', is largely non-universal, emphasises personal provision (especially in areas such as old age pensions) and is means-tested. Self-employed people form a significant part of the UK labour force, perhaps largely as a result of government policy that has encouraged such a restructuring of the labour market. Self-employed people in the UK are an extremely heterogeneous group and also exhibit important differences in characteristics compared with employees. Self-employed people are more likely to be less well off financially and to be older than employees. ; Das britische System der Sozialversicherung hat sich in den vergangenen sechzig Jahren sowohl in Reaktion auf Änderungen in der Regierungspolitik als auch auf den sozialen Wandel entwickelt. Das gegenwärtige System hat sich dadurch von den ursprünglichen Wohlfahrtsstaatsprinzipen entfernt. Es zielt darauf ab, nach dem Prinzip, dass sich 'Arbeit lohnen' soll ('make work pay') Menschen in Beschäftigung zu bringen, es ist in hohem Maße nichtuniversalistisch, es betont persönlich geleistete Beiträge (besonders in Bereichen wie der Altersvorsorge) und es basiert auf Bedürftigkeitsprüfungen. Selbstständige stellen einen bedeutenden Teil der Erwerbstätigen im Vereinigten Königreich dar. Dies ist möglicherweise auch Folge einer Beschäftigungspolitik, welche die Restrukturierung des Arbeitsmarktes in dieser Weise gefördert hat. Selbstständige sind eine sehr heterogene Gruppe und sie weisen im Vergleich zu den abhängig Beschäftigten deutliche Unterschiede auf. So sind Selbstständige finanziell eher schlechter gestellt und älter als abhängig Beschäftigte.

By the 1980s, UK government research laboratories were an often quirky but always essential part of the state sector. In one of the most radical experiments in the organization and management of scientific research attempted in the UK, successive Conservative governments sought to reform these laboratories by applying the market-based solution of 'New Public Management'. Scrutinising Science explores and critiques that reform process by examining the laboratories' new organizational forms, the new visions of what science is for implicit in the reform agenda and the new forms of scientific knowledge production that have arisen as a consequence

There is a long-running cyclical public debate in the UK and Australia about the level of vice-chancellors' remuneration in publicly funded universities. Whilst governments may promise greater oversight, little appears to change. Similar trends are emerging in some other European countries. This article critically considers the determination of vice-chancellors' remuneration as a governance issue. In the context of corporatised public universities, we consider how reforms in university governance may have contributed to the shifting nature and levels of vicechancellors' remuneration in Australia and the UK. We argue that this area requires urgent governance reform. ; publishedVersion ; Peer reviewed

This paper utilises evidence from the first collapse of a private finance initiative in the UK, that of the National Physical Laboratory, to examine the reality of PFIs in contrast to the rhetoric presented by government. Our conclusions are that the episode provides important evidence of fundamental weaknesses in PFIs.

Résumé  Les tendances récentes en matière de transferts fiscaux vont dans le sens d'une interdépendance croissante des systèmes fiscaux et de protection sociale pour ce qui est de l'accès aux prestations et du montant de ces dernières. C'est notamment le cas en ce qui concerne les prestations liées à l'exercice d'un emploi, comme l'allocation de soutien familial. Le Royaume‐Uni et l'Australie ont adopté des mécanismes d'aide à la famille qui semblent fonctionner de la même manière. Un examen plus approfondi met toutefois en évidence des différences de conception. Le présent article examine tout d'abord la base institutionnelle et politique de la conception du système de transfert d'impôt des ménages dans chaque pays puis les questions soulevées par l'interdépendance des notions de fiscalité et de sécurité sociale dans la conception des prestations liées à l'exercice d'un emploi.

Auszug  Jüngste Tendenzen bei Steuertransfers haben ein zunehmendes Ineinandergreifen von Steuersystemen und Wohlfahrtssystemen bei der Entscheidung über Zugang zu Unterstützungsleistungen und über deren Höhe gezeigt, insbesondere bei erwerbsabhängigen Unterstützungsleistungen wie zum Beispiel Familienförderung. das Vereinigte Königreich und Australien haben Verfahren zur Unterstützung der Familien eingeführt, die scheinbar ähnlich funktionieren; bei genauerem Hinsehen sind jedoch Unterschiede in der zugrunde liegenden Politik der beiden Länder zu erkennen. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht zunächst die institutionellen und politischen Grundlagen für die Gestaltung des Transfersystems der Familiensteuern in den beiden Ländern und an zweiter Stelle die Fragen, die sich aus der gleichzeitigen Anwendung von steuerlichen Grundsätzen und Grundsätzen sozialer Sicherheit bei der Gestaltung erwerbsabhängiger Unterstützungsleistungen ergeben.

Resumen  Las tendencias recientes en materia de transferencias fiscales han observado una interdependencia creciente entre el sistema fiscal y de protección social a la hora de determinar la elegibilidad para obtener prestaciones y su importe, en particular en el caso de las prestaciones por actividad laboral, como las ayudas familiares. Tanto el Reino Unido como Australia han adoptado mecanismos de ayudas familiares que parecen funcionar de manera similar, pero un examen más minucioso refleja las diferencias en la política subyacente de los dos sistemas. Este artículo examina, en primer lugar, el fundamento institucional y político del diseño del sistema de transferencias fiscales familiares en cada sistema y, en segundo, las cuestiones planteadas por la interdependencia de los conceptos de tributación y seguridad social en el diseño de las prestaciones por actividad laboral.

Simulation is becoming a very widely used resource within many professions, and can provide different learning experiences within a safe and secure environment. This article focuses upon the medical/nursing profession but may be related to many other fields of practice.However, it could be argued that without a structured debrief there is little point in running a simulation exercise. It is widely accepted that debriefing is the most crucial part of any simulation exercise and should therefore be a large part of any simulation-based education. Debriefing should allow the learner to reflect on their own practice as well as that of others, optimising the learner experience. Simulation with the immediate provision of a debrief enhances the learning experience. Although recognised, debriefing is not routinely practiced within the theoretical or clinical setting. It is often feedback that is given or mistakenly thought of as debriefing -therefore it is important to acknowledge the difference between feedback and debriefing. To feedback is to give positive constructive criticism or praise to the person or team who have been involved in the simulation by the observer or facilitator, this feedback is based on what they have seen and heard. However, to debrief is to first identify what the participants thought, allowing the discussion to be led by the participant, unpicking the events by first exploring the participants feelings and fixations. These may not have been obvious to the facilitator, the ability to listen and explore the learners experience is key. Without exploring them the learner will not be able to understand and analyse the learning that has taken place.The aim of this article is to explore whether debriefing is useful, in particular for undergraduate nurses, following a simulation exercise, and if so, why.Twenty undergraduate child nursing students were randomly allocated into two groups. Both completed a pre participation questionnaire focusing on previous experience of simulation and debriefing and their expectations of simulation, personally and educationally.Both teams received the same pre brief and orientation to the environment, simulator and equipment.Group one had a debrief immediately followed by the post participation questionnaire. Group Two were asked to complete the post participation questionnaire first, without any discussion, and then received their debrief after approximately half an hour.Results were analysed from the post participation questionnaire using a thematic approach. This study demonstrated that, if a debriefing is not carried out, practitioners may be left feeling highly anxious, under confident and stressed – potentially impacting upon their mental health, confidence and self-esteem.

"The UK system for social insurance has evolved over the past sixty years in response to both changes in government policy and changing social circumstances. The current system has moved away somewhat from the old Welfare State principles. The current social insurance system in the UK is targeted at supporting people in work to make 'work pay', is largely non-universal, emphasises personal provision (especially in areas such as old age pensions) and is means-tested. Self-employed people form a significant part of the UK labour force, perhaps largely as a result of government policy that has encouraged such a restructuring of the labour market. Self-employed people in the UK are an extremely heterogeneous group and also exhibit important differences in characteristics compared with employees. Self-employed people are more likely to be less well off financially and to be older than employees. For the most part, these self-employed workers receive very similar or identical state provisions to their employee counterparts. One major operational difficulty encountered with self-employed people is how to measure their income properly in order to subject them to means-testing. Moreover, the differences in the nature of their work and their different demographic characteristics compared to employees may mean that the social insurance outcomes for self-employed workers may be very different. It may be that social insurance for self-employed people needs to be designed with outcomes in mind rather than inputs." (author's abstract)

An authoritative study of attempts to deregulate and roll back the state in Britain from 1979-1997. Compliance cost assessment was the new tool used by the UK government to evaluate the likely impact of legislative proposals on business. The authors analyze the system and, using case studies, evaluate its performance as a technique of economic appraisal and as a way of controlling civil servants. Comparisons are made with the European Fiche d'impact and the American regulatory impact analysis. Given the considerable importance of CCA, and the dearth of literature on it, the book makes a significant contribution to the understanding of public policy-making.