Lancashire Trade, University Work: The University of Manchester and the Regional Economy, c.1930–39

THE Council of the University of Manchester has announced its decision to revive the second chair in the Faculty of Commerce and Administration, which has been in abeyance since 1932, with the title of “Chair of Social Economics”. Mr. John Jewkes, who has been in charge of the Economics Research Section of the Faculty, which has been responsible for such important investigations as the industrial surveys of Lancashire and also Cumberland and Furness, undertaken for the Board of Trade, and the study of juvenile unemployment, has been elected to the chair as from September next. The duties will include the conduct of research and supervision of the work in the Economics Research Section, the creation of which was a new development in Great Britain in the organization of economic research within a university. It has now passed the experimental stage, and Mr. Jewkes's appointment is a recognition of it as an integral and permanent part of the work of the Department of Economics at the University of Manchester. Among a number of important inquiries which are in hand may be mentioned a study of the case histories of 2,000 juveniles in Lancashire who left school at Easter 1934; a study of the location of British industry, the changes proceeding and the forces behind them; a re-assessment of the industrial situation in Lancashire, being carried out at the invitation of the Lancashire Industrial Development Council; and a study of the systems of wage payment and labour conditions in the Lancashire cotton-weaving industry.

With the acceleration of globalization and informatization, regional economic forecasting becomes more and more complicated and important. Traditional economic trend forecasting methods are often faced with the problems of high data complexity, difficulty in model selection and low accuracy of results. Therefore, how to effectively predict regional economic trends, especially in dynamic and changeable environments, has become the focus of research in economics, computer science and artificial intelligence. In this paper, a hybrid artificial bee colony optimization algorithm (Hybrid ABCO) based on the multi-agent system (MAS) and induced ordered weighted average (IOWA) operators is proposed, aiming at more accurate prediction of regional economic trends by integrating these technologies. First, we use MAS to simulate the interaction and economic decision-making process of different economic actors (such as enterprises, consumers, and governments), so as to reflect the complexity and dynamics of regional economy more truly. MAS can provide multi-dimensional information input for regional economy and provide diversified initial conditions for optimization algorithm by simulating the interaction of various economies in a region. Second, the IOWA operator is introduced into the model to process all kinds of information output by the MAS, and carry out reasonable weighting according to its weight, so as to improve the accuracy of regional economic prediction. IOWA operator can be dynamically adjusted according to the weight of historical data to further improve the flexibility and adaptability of the model. In the optimization process, we use Hybrid ABCO algorithm, which combines the global search capability and local optimization strategy of traditional ABC algorithm to improve the accuracy of regional economic forecast. The artificial bee colony optimization algorithm simulates the foraging process of bees, searches for the optimal solution through multiple iterations, and avoids falling into the local optimum by using the global search ability, which ensures the performance of the algorithm on large-scale datasets. The experimental results show that the method based on Hybrid ABCO is more accurate and robust than traditional forecasting methods such as support vector machine (SVM) and artificial neural network (ANN) in predicting regional economic trends. By introducing MAS and induced weighted average operator, the proposed method not only improves the prediction accuracy of the model, but also shows strong adaptability when dealing with complex regional economic data. The research in this paper provides a new way of thinking and method for regional economic forecasting, especially in the face of large-scale, multi-dimensional and dynamic data environment, it can effectively improve the performance of the forecasting system. In the future, the hybrid optimization algorithm proposed in this paper can be further applied to other fields, such as market trend prediction, socio-economic development planning and environmental change prediction.

A realist review is a theory-driven approach to literature synthesis that seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions in a contextualized way. Realist research, which includes review and program evaluation, is a relatively recent development. Pioneered by Pawson,1-3 this approach has proliferated in health services because realist research acknowledges that program interventions are complex, and context is fundamental to understanding how outcomes are mediated. The foundational premise of realism is that interventions work differently in different contexts and for different people. In medical education, realist reviews have been conducted to understand internet-based medical education,4 balancing health professional education and patient care,5 productive research environments,6 clinical reasoning,7 and interprofessional programs.8 (See the Box for a case example of an interprofessional education realist review.)The purpose of a realist review is to build theory and new understandings of causal mechanisms from existing research by focusing on the relationship between context and outcomes. A critical feature of complex interventions is that "as they are delivered, they are embedded in social systems. It is through the workings of entire systems of social relationships that any changes in behaviours, events and social conditions are effected."3 Complex interventions include multiple interrelated components, which occur over time, in intricate environments, with multiple stakeholders. In a realist review, context is more than a setting or a community; it includes individual, institution, practice, social, technical, and other layers, as described by Bates and Ellaway.9The key realist research question is typically: What intervention works, for whom, how, and in what circumstances?Realist reviews differ from other reviews in approach to causality and attention to mechanisms of change and human action. Given that interventions are embedded within social systems, causality is understood as dependent on the whole context of an intervention.11 How an intervention or program causes an outcome is not simple, linear, or deterministic. Programs will have multiple mechanisms that lead to different outcomes, both positive and negative.Understanding mechanisms is the crux of understanding realist reviews. While there is no consensus on a single definition, broadly speaking, mechanisms cause things to happen. Mechanisms can be defined as the "underlying entities, processes, or structures which operate in particular contexts to generate outcomes of interest."12 A mechanism may cause changes in individual beliefs, values, or reasoning or may change the social structures and resources available to individuals.13 Mechanisms are not necessarily visible but can mediate effects in certain contexts. For example, trust might be a mechanism by which feedback could lead a trainee to change their behavior in the context of a supervisory relationship. Motivation might be another mechanism for how feedback interventions work. It is not difficult to accept that both can operate in any single feedback intervention, which is why multiple mechanisms may be identified in a single review.Realist reviews seek to unpack mechanisms that mediate outcomes within specific contexts. These context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations may occur in regular patterns, also called demi-regularities, which is another defining feature of realist reviews. The term demi-regularity is used to indicate that these patterns of human choice and agency manifest in a semipredictable manner.3 While the role of context is essential, generalizable abstractions are also required to implement changes that may work in other contexts. Therefore, if researchers can identify abstract mechanisms that work within and possibly across contexts, then policy makers can develop interventions and policies for real world effects (see the Table).CMO configurations should help to explain why particular interventions succeed or fail, and how they influence outcomes. These theoretical explanations of influence are referred to as middle-range theories, that is, ones which involve abstraction yet remain close to the observed data.15 Such theoretical explanations connect empirical evidence, the rationale for practice, and contextual issues through a review of the literature. According to Pawson,1 there are 3 characteristics of middle-range theories: (1) sufficient abstraction advancing beyond descriptions or empirical generalizations; (2) logical derivation, that is, making transparent connections to empirical evidence; and (3) adaptive, cumulative explanations, which means accepting that theory will evolve and change with circumstances and new evidence.When designing an education program, educators consider what the program will achieve and how, but may not base decisions on formal educational theories such as constructivism. Realist researchers seeking to understand how an intervention or program works start by articulating underlying explanations for how the interventions (feedback for example) are expected to work. These are referred to as preliminary explanatory theories, initial program theory, or initial rough theory. Researchers then interrogate the existing evidence to adjudicate between initial theories and ascertain whether they are relevant in understanding mechanisms and observed outcomes. Hence, primary research is examined for its contribution to the developing theory.16For example, in a recent realist review undertaken by the authors,14 we sought to explain how feedback programs and interventions might lead to changes in behavior in learners. Our preliminary program theory took account of 3 theories for their potential explanatory powers: self-regulated learning (SRL),17 the educational alliance,18 and self-determination theory (SDT).19 All 3 theories have been used to explain feedback processes and tend to focus on what the trainee does. They also fit with our assumption that feedback is not solely due to the input of teachers, but how it is interpreted also influences learning. SRL might help us understand how feedback could support trainee goal construction, monitoring of performance, information seeking, and closing the gap. The educational alliance might offer different mechanisms for how feedback might influence some trainees within a certain context (eg, through relationship, dialogue, and co-construction). SDT as a theory of motivation might attune us to the conditions that promote trainees' internal motivations to engage with feedback processes. As you can see, all 3, at face value, offer a way to understand how feedback might work, for whom, and under what circumstances. The job of the realist reviewer is to test and refine these initial theories, by seeking evidence in the literature, understanding the relationships between different components based on existing research, and extending program theory in relation to the phenomenon under study.Realism as advanced by Pawson and Tilley2 is the underlying philosophy of realist research. Pawson1 translates Bhaskar's critical realism to a more pragmatic and operational perspective that enables empirical research into how a program works. According to Pawson,3 realism occupies a midpoint between constructivism and post-positivism. Pawson holds that there is a concrete view of reality—a material reality. In other words, reality exists but can only be imperfectly known as processed through human senses, brains, language, and culture. Realism holds that "while our knowledge will always be partial and imperfect, it can accrue over time."20Pawson and colleagues21 describe the key steps for undertaking a realist review. Like other qualitative literature syntheses, a realist review is not a technical process that follows a set protocol, rather, judgements are made about the relevance and robustness of specific data for the purposes of answering the research question.20The initial phase of scoping the literature is iterative and non-linear. It can include grey literature or advance along different pathways. An important aspect of scoping is developing the program theory—an explanation for why and how a program works. Initial program theories might be developed through brainstorming, speaking with experts in the field, familiarity with the literature, and initial scoping of literature. These are then tested and refined through the analysis process.Searching the literature can be iterative and subsets of educational programs might be reviewed. Questions may be narrow or broad. For example, a review of effective research environments might include searches of specific interventions such as building research capacity, mentoring, or protected time. Resources, time, funding, etc will limit the breadth of the search; therefore, it is necessary to contain or focus the review by deciding on priorities for the lines of investigation. Issues of scale that might need to be managed include time frames, cultures, and countries. As with other reviews, snowballing (ie, identification of references from included papers) forms part of the search strategy. Librarian input is advised to guide researchers through the multitude of databases and the development of a parsimonious search strategy.Relevance and rigor are 2 commonly used criteria for appraising the literature. Relevance is a determination of whether the paper contributes to theory building. Rigor refers to the quality and robustness of the methods. Authors may use holistic appraisal of relevance and rigor or specific analytical tools such as the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklists (https://casp-uk.net/casp-tools-checklists/). Software such as Covidence can make this step more manageable across a research team.This step focuses on identifying CMO configurations. Realist analysis involves applying a realist philosophical lens to the data. This may be done in an Excel spreadsheet, comments in a PDF, or with software such as NVivo or Covidence. Data extraction is often qualitative and can be inductive and deductive.A researcher will seek out the CMO configurations in each paper, then seek to identify CMO configurations across the data set. As mentioned, there may be a series of mechanisms required to achieve outcomes. As you can imagine, this leads to multiple circular conversations about what constitutes the CMO configuration. Returning to our feedback example, if trust (M) exists between a supervisor and trainee (C), then feedback (intervention) leads to improved performance (O). Further, CMO configurations are not linear. For example, having feedback conversations can lead to increased trust and motivation. Therefore, we also can think of these causal links as reciprocal.22This stage relates to articulating an explanation of the patterns of CMO configurations identified in the previous stage. At issue is whether the identified CMO configuration can be used to justify, refute, or extend the program theory.When a particular explanatory program theory fails to explain the data, new ones are sought. In keeping with the example above in relation to feedback, an overwhelming number of demi-regularities supported SDT as an explanatory theory. Given that the context of this review was undergraduate-level, open-ended, written tasks, it is possible that a realist review of trainee feedback in clinical environments might lead to a different refined program theory.Publication standards have been established for the dissemination of realist reviews.15 A guideline priority is the need for transparency of process and reasoning, which can be shown through document flow diagrams such as PRISMA,15 tables, quotations, or diagrams showing the preliminary and refined program theories.The strength of realist reviews is clear: their ability to build and refine middle-range theory to explain how a program works and why it might not. Realist reviews enable the drawing of connections across different contexts.Working with qualitative and quantitative source papers is both a strength and a challenge. Together they strengthen theory development, which brings richness to the analysis. However, researchers need to be able to judge the quality of both approaches and to interpret findings in relation to the review research question. Quantitative studies can identify effects of a program on outcomes but not necessarily elucidate the mechanisms that mediate the effect. Alternatively, by their nature qualitative studies might highlight context and mechanisms, but not quantitative outcome measures.There are multiple limitations to consider when undertaking a realist review. Initial program theories are drawn from multiple sources. The breadth and depth of the researchers' knowledge of theory will affect the direction of the review. In addition, the data analysis and synthesis stage of a realist review is particularly time consuming, as is the challenge of identifying CMO configurations.Realist inquiry seeks to unpack the patterns of context-mechanism-outcome relationships which might explain why particular interventions succeed or fail, and how they influence outcomes in complex, open, adaptive systems. Put simply, realist inquiry asks what it is about the program or intervention that generates change. Thus, realist synthesis plays a key role in advancing theoretical explanations of interventions in medical education.

The Troubles with Pinkies

With the rapid changes in China's external economic environment, regional energy and economic problems have become increasingly prominent, and the research on the synergy between regional energy and economy has received more and more attention. From the perspective of system analysis, this paper constructs the index system of regional energy and regional economy and uses AHP-CRITIC (Analytic hierarchy process-Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation) method to calculate the coupling weight of indicators. The ordered model of the two subsystems of regional energy and economy and a composite system synergetic degree model are constructed based on synergy theory. Taking the relevant data on energy and economic development in Shanxi Province from 2010 to 2020 as samples, this research analyzes the synergetic development of regional energy and regional economy in Shanxi Province. The results show that the order degree of regional energy and economic subsystems in Shanxi Province shows an overall upward trend, but the synergy degree of the two systems shows a fluctuating trend of alternating increase and decrease. The stability of the development synergy effect is poor, and it is vulnerable to external environmental impacts. The endogenous synergistic development mechanism has not yet been formed.

Regional development disparities, especially in developing countries, have traditionally been one of the central issues of empirical research in regional economics. However, this rapid change is accompanied by profound changes in the spatial distribution of economic activities in China, the formation of regional economic “blocks,” the widening of regional disparities, and the geographical concentration of economic growth efficiency are important issues highlighted in this change. Therefore, it is important to explore the spatial clustering characteristics and patterns of regional economic growth to provide a scientific basis for relevant government departments to formulate reasonable regional development strategies and promote the balanced and stable development of economic growth. Clustering analysis is an important research topic in the field of data mining, which is used to discover unknown object classes in large-scale data sets. This paper proposes a density-clustering algorithm based on the regional economic competitiveness of China and analyzes its spatial aggregation characteristics. From the perspective of spatial structure theory, economic development is a dynamic process, and to optimize the spatial pattern of China’s regional economic development and improve the efficiency of economic interaction between regions, it is necessary to fully exploit the diffusion and trickle-down effects of important growth poles in the region to the surrounding areas. The experimental results show that the error rate of KSNN is very small, and the error rate of K-means and PSO has increased to a certain extent. Therefore, it can be obtained that the density-clustering algorithm based on the regional economic competitiveness zoning method in China can find out the correct clustering results without the given clustering individual cases. Thus, it is important to grasp the current situation of regional economic agglomeration and reveal the driving factors of agglomeration formation to promote the coordinated development of regional economy and guide the spatial layout of economic development.

Journal of Business Finance & AccountingVolume 30, Issue 9-10 p. 1211-1233 Deflators, Net Shareholder Cash Flows, Dividends, Capital Contributions and Estimated Models of Corporate Valuation Saeed Akbar, Saeed AkbarSearch for more papers by this authorAndrew W. Stark, Andrew W. Stark The authors are respectively from the University of Liverpool and Manchester Business School. The financial support of the Economic and Social Research Council (R000237663) is gratefully acknowledged. (Paper received March 2002, revised and accepted October 2002)Search for more papers by this author Saeed Akbar, Saeed AkbarSearch for more papers by this authorAndrew W. Stark, Andrew W. Stark The authors are respectively from the University of Liverpool and Manchester Business School. The financial support of the Economic and Social Research Council (R000237663) is gratefully acknowledged. (Paper received March 2002, revised and accepted October 2002)Search for more papers by this author First published: 15 December 2003 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0306-686X.2003.05514.xCitations: 70 Andrew W. Stark, Professor of Accounting, Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester, Booth Street West, Manchester M15 6PB, UK. e-mail: astark@man.mbs.ac.uk Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume30, Issue9-10December 2003Pages 1211-1233 RelatedInformation

From the study Farming in the Economy: Brazil and Rio Grande do Sul published in 2005 by NEAD - Nucleus of Agrarian Studies and Rural Development Ministry of Agrarian Development, the perception of the importance of agriculture in the economy has gained special dimension, which showed that the average share of it in the Brazilian economy reached almost 10%. With the creation of Secretariat of Agricultural Development in 2007, the Government of Ceara State comes to recognize the as a strategic sector for sustainable development of its economy, considering the importance of the social relations of production in rural areas. It is worth mentioning that the concept is established around the term family farm is not necessarily associated with the small production and low income agriculture , so as not condemn the to stagnation and underdevelopment. Sensitive to this fact, Agropolis Institute of Ceara, in partnership with the Bank of Northeast Brazil, even commissioned the study to the Foundation Studies and Economic Research - FIPE, to define and quantify the productive chains of farming in Ceara. The study The Participation of Family Farming in Ceara's GDP, presented here considered the same methodology, also for FIPE in 2005. Under the guidance of Professors Joaquim Jose Martins and Carlos Roberto Azzoni Guilhoto, affiliated to the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy University of Sao Paulo, known for its specialized structural analysis of national and regional economy, this document becomes an important reference tool for continuous monitoring of short production chains related to rural Ceara. We seek, therefore, increase dialogue and strengthen relations between government agencies, universities, research centers and organizations linked to rural development, to improve public policies directed to the sector.

The use of game theory in regional economics: A quantitative retrospective

Caring for nature while using them effectively is a fundamental problem of sustainable development management. Economic research in recent years has rarely considered issues of natural resources at the regional level. The relevance of the study of the theoretical aspects of sustainable development is due to the emergence in recent years of a whole galaxy of theories and concepts that significantly expand views on the mechanisms of careful and at the same time effective use of natural resources and management of natural spaces. The article summarizes modern concepts and theoretical approaches of an interdisciplinary nature, allowing the most fully and adequately modern technologies and lifestyle of the population to unlock the potential of the region to increase the level of comfort and competitiveness of the regional economy. The concept of «natural space» in the economy of the region is proposed. The authors examined the theories of the city as a forest, enrichment by nature, forests in urbanism, concepts of biophilia, green infrastructures, sustainable urban development, and ecosystem services. It is shown that natural recreational areas in the urban area and beyond have great potential and can contribute to the sustainable development of the region's economy and socio-economic development, performing tasks such as creating new jobs, improving overall well-being, developing small and medium-sized businesses, and other areas related to recreation and the provision of related goods and services. The conclusions of the impression economy allow us to emphasize the role of natural spaces in the development of the creative economy of the region. The additional advantages and benefits of using natural spaces to stimulate the local economy, attract tourists, preserve local cultural heritage and creativity are shown. Thus, interdisciplinary theories and concepts considering natural spaces and their impact on health, economics, ecology, and other factors, as well as the possibility of using them in the creative economy and the economy of impressions, can be used for the sustainable development of the region's economy.

The current situation of the country requires a fundamental scientific approach to solving many economic problems. The implementation of scientific research will find ways out of the crisis, identify promising areas of economic development and its entry into a civilized market environment, assess the possibilities of using foreign experience of economic development to solve the problems of Ukraine’s economy. Differences in the classification of sciences determine the specific direction of scientific research. The peculiarity of economic research is that they are complex, i.e. they study social processes in different areas and with different tools. Peculiarities of economic scientific research are also connected with the peculiarities of economic processes themselves, which are the object of scientific research in economics. In economics, the coexistence of contradictory and even mutually exclusive theories is possible. Economic research and results that have long been considered indisputable can be adjusted, supplemented and even refuted over time. Economics, associated with the description of society, is constantly changing views and theoretical approaches to the analysis of social processes. Therefore, the same economic phenomenon, object or process can be described by several theories, and all of them will be new and original. Despite their specific features, economic research has its own subject area, which differs from other areas of scientific knowledge. This area is most clearly defined in the passports of the relevant scientific specialties. The content of a particular economic specialty has a clear distinction with other specialties, which allows to differentiate the research itself. The key to assigning a specific study to a particular specialty is the field of research. A key mistake in understanding the role of economics in solving problems is to give science itself a natural form, i.e. the belief that the presence of complex theoretical constructions (especially in the form of mathematical models) allows them to be effectively implemented in practice. An important result of scientific research in the economy is participation in projects and implementation of scientific developments in the real sector of the economy.

Using the tools of regional dynamic models for analyzing the economy of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, in particular, for studying regional business cycles is currently an urgent task. It is determined by the need to develop system conceptions about the factors, conditions and prerequisites for the development of regions, about the features and trends of the dynamics of their sector and territorial structure. The purpose of the article is to develop a dynamic stochastic multi-sector model for analyzing the effects of regional economic policy. The scientific novelty of the research concerns the development and implementation of dynamic models with microeconomic justification to formalize the processes of regional development, the sustainability of regional policy and spatial development. Similar class of models, that forms the theoretical foundation of contemporary macro-economics, is currently used for the analysis of national economy mostly. Models of such class that describe the processes in the regional economy are practically absent. The original tools for the construction of a regional dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model, suggested by the authors, describe the structure of a real sector of the economy of Sverdlovsk region. Parameterization of the model was made on the empirical data basis about the economy of Sverdlovsk region for 2003–2016. The behaviour of the following economic operators has been considered in the model: households; firms operating in the real sector of economy, the regional and federal government, and the Central Bank. Fiscal multipliers for three sectors of the economy – tradable goods sector, non-tradable goods sector and resource sector have been calculated with impulse response functions. The analysis of fiscal multipliers has revealed that the shock of the effective tax rate on individual income and the sock of regional costs have the most significant effect on the output in the above considered sectors of economy among all the rest fiscal shocks. The use of the tools in the form of a historical decomposition of regional variables demonstrates the results of the impact of supply and demand shocks in a time perspective on the output in the three sectors of the regional economy. The results of temporal decomposition of the variations of the endogenous variables mentioned above suggest that the cyclic processes in the regional economy of Sverdlovsk region during the study period are largely due to factors of supply rather than demand. The research results may be used both for the analysis of the regional economic policy priorities and for the development of measures aimed at the decrease of possible crisis phenomena in the regional economy. The trend to the construction of multi-sector models of regional economy in the framework of general equilibrium approach with the macroeconomics justification and rational expectations of economic operators described in the article stresses the importance and prospects of further studies. In particular, to reflect the specifics of the regions, it is necessary to take into account the institutional factors of each region in the model. This issue is an interesting theme for further research in the field of modeling of regional social and economic systems. Keywords region, regional economic policy, dynamic stochastic model, tradable and non-tradable goods sector, resource sector, fiscal multipliers, demand shocks, supply shocks, impulse response functions, historical decomposition of variations of endogenous variables. Acknowledgements The article has been written according to the Plan of Research and Development of the Institute of Economics, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences for 2019–2021.

The standard economics that dominates large parts of the mainstream is teeming with dualistic concepts striving to understand the behaviour of our increasingly interconnected economies. The integration of finance-economy-nature (climate) interactions has failed to meaningfully materialise in the literature. In this paper, a form of textual critique and philosophical inquiry is proposed, the deconstruction approach, advocated by the French thinker Jacques Derrida. Established hierarchical polarities populating standard economic analysis are identified, interpreted, criticised, and questioned. Neoclassical-driven economics views disequilibrium as a fall from equilibrium, whilst subordinating monetary dynamics, nature, and the climate to the prevailing importance of the productive economy. The rethinking of economics for improved sustainability governance would need to start from the premise of viewing the economy as a dynamic social construct, subjected to contextual conditions and historicity. Money, the non-human natural world, and our climate need to play more defining temporal and differential roles in economic analysis. The paper encourages reflexivity in economics research. It adopts an exploratory and epistemological approach. The paper should be seen under continuous work in progress.Keywordseconomic methodologyDerrida and deconstructionrhetoric and economicsmacroeconomicsneoclassical economicsmonetary dynamicsclimate changeenvironmentJEL ClassificationB40A13Z10E10E13E40Q54

The relationship between science and technology is one of the most controversial problems confronting historians and philosophers interested in technology and its history. As John Staudenmaier has pointed out, they have argued ceaselessly over competing interpretations of the relationship.' Some of them-notably, the philosopher Mario Bunge-have maintained that successful technological practice depends on the systematic application of scientific knowledge.2 Others take the opposite position. They have expanded Donald Cardwell's thesis to argue that the growth of science owes a great deal to technological practice because it has often disclosed new areas for scientific inquiry and because technological artifacts have provided equally often the techniques necessary for exploring these new areas.' In more recent years an increasing number of historians, dissatisfied with these first two positions, have taken up Edwin Layton's more radical one that science and technology are separate and distinct bodies of knowledge and practices.4 They argue that, even though scientific and technological discourses have focused on a common object-the natural world-the aims of each are so different that accounts of the same object will be radically different. These historians of technology claim therefore that neither science nor technology DR PALLADINO is a research fellow of the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine at the University of Manchester. He wishes to thank the Economic and Social Research Council (grant WB 07250007) and the Wellcome Trust for supporting the research for this article. Thanks also to Deborah Fitzgerald, Jonathan Harwood, Barbara Kimmelman, and Robert Olby for their helpful criticism of earlier drafts. 'John M. Staudenmaier, Technology's Storytellers: Reweaving the Human Fabric (Cam

The National Centre for e-Social Science (NCeSS) was established by the U.K. Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in 2004 as its contribution to the U.K. e-Science program. NCeSS’s mission is to enable social scientists to exploit innovations in digital infrastructure so that they are able to address key challenges in their substantive research fields in new ways. This infrastructure, known as the ‘Grid’ or increasingly commonly as ‘e-Infrastructure’ (or ‘Cyberinfrastructure’ in the U.S.), comprises networked, interoperable, service-oriented, scalable computational tools and services. The Centre forms part of the ESRC’s strategy to develop leading-edge methodological tools and techniques to enhance the U.K. social science research community’s capacity to collect, discover, access, manipulate, link, share, analyze and visualize both quantitative and qualitative data.1 To achieve its aims, NCeSS coordinates a program of e-Social Science research and makes available information, training, advice and support. The Centre is leading the development of an e-Infrastructure for the Social Sciences and is also responsible for providing advice to the ESRC on the future strategic direction of e-Social Science. NCeSS has a distributed structure, with a coordinating Hub at the University of Manchester, and a set of major three-year research Nodes and smaller one-year projects distributed across the U.K. The Hub acts as the central resource base for e-Social Science issues and activities in the U.K., integrating them with ESRC research methods initiatives and the U.K. e-Science core program. In this chapter, we review the progress of the NCeSS program, report on its current impact on social science research, reflect on the development of the research roadmap and, taking into account factors likely to influence future adoption, consider its trajectory over the next five years.