Quote for the Week
I’m being a bit naughty here, but I guess sometimes it can be good to pose provocative questions. So here’s this weeks quote:
“Sociology’s great intellectual contribution is to have recognised that the self is very much a social product. Although people have instincts, dreams, private thoughts, human experience is heavily influenced by our membership in important social groups such as family, church, school, neighbourhood, class, race, gender, generation, nation. The self, for every sociologist, is largely but perhaps not entirely, an outcome of social structure - our economies, political systems, cultures, media, religions, military, policing, education. To ignore all of these external influences is to be a psychologist!”
Ben Agger (2004) The Virtual Self, p44, Blackwell.
Lots to discuss here and it doesn’t need to mean that we consign psychology to the dustbin. As so many students now are studying psychology, it might be useful to highlight why there is a bit of tension between sociologists and psychologists around the vexed issue of structure and action. Maybe both subjects have their uses and their limitations?
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesUnit 2.3 Business Communication - the end of email?
Whilst visiting Mumbai for an IB Workshop, I came across an article in The Times of India that claims email could become obsolete within ten years as millions of teenagers switch to other forms of communication.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesLaw in Action
Law in Action is a great reource for law teachers. Clive Coleman puts together broadcasts giving a real insight into key legal issues. Have a look in the archive and you’ll find programmes on A level-relevant topics - everything from murder to juries. Although not all the old programmes are available online, summary articles are available, and more recent programmes such as this interview with the Lord Chief Justice are still online - a good source of insight for students, in this case, on both sentencing and civil courts.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesThe Biz Quiz - 20 November 2009
The latest version of the Biz Quiz is now available
Launch interactive version of the Biz Quiz
Download printable version (pdf)
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesCultural Paradigms
Devdutt Pattanaik looks at the myths of India and of the West. He uses the myths that the two cultures have grown up on to show how these cultural paradigms have affected business and modern life. Well worth a look. Could similarities be drawn between the male and female paradigms? The male paradigm being closer akin to the Western linear ideals and the female paradigm being more cyclical and emotional?
click here for the link
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favorites3 - 2 - 1 Lesson Lift Off!
Just put this on TES and thought I would share it with everyone. I did it today with my Year 10’s.
3 2 1 Lesson Lift Off is a great bellwork activity to get the students working as soon as they walk through the door…
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesGreat interactive data on budget deficits around the world
The BBC have produced a fantastic visual interactive map of budget deficits across the world between 2007 and 2010. It would make a great starter activity or a main part to a lesson on government budgets.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesTesco Law here we come?
The Legal Services Board‘s proposals on the future of legal services may represent a major signpost on the way to opening up the legal profession. A Level Students will already be aware of the Clementi Report (2003) into the future of the profession, which was followed by the Legal Services Act 2007. This week’s report brings the likelihood of new providers (known as Alternative Business Structures, or ASBs) entering the market ever closer. So, will Tesco Law be good for consumers, with low, transparent pricing, or will it hand over clients to less regulated, less experienced players, and affect adversely the quality of advice? Some solicitors were so excercised by this that they protested against it outside the High Court in May, handing out cans of beans to bemused passers-by and holding signs claiming that “not Tesco Law” and “Legal services by supermarkets is as ridiculous as lawyers selling beans.” 
Time will tell, but it seems clear that entities such as the Co-Op will be keen to capitalise on the “Big Bang”.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesPetrol prices set to rise
The cost of a barrel of oil has risen from $40 a year ago to $80 now with the price expected to rise even further in the coming months.
These oil tankers are apparently refusing to dock and unload their contents until the price of oil rises!
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesWhat’s behind the BA and Iberia Merger?
There are lots of resources available (and a video clip to follow) for an interesting business merger case study. What factors have encouraged BA and Iberia to merge? What will it mean for the firm and for its customers?
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesA Broader Perspective
I remember from my Open University teaching that the claims of those who argue that the world has been transformed by globalisation can be somewhat dented when the empirical facts are examined. Take the media for instance. The ‘globalisers’ claim that the world has shrunk and we no longer slavishly follow just our national press and media. Well, the OU sources I read, pointed out that in the UK, in fact, most people consume media products which are made in the UK. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that is still broadly the case. But that seems a pity to me: I’m a keen believer that the social sciences should broaden students minds and we can’t do that if we don’t look at other parts of the world. So why not make use of this resource from the NewYorkTimes? The NY Times has a section called the Learning Network and there you can find some potentially useful lesson ideas. Look under ‘Social Studies’. I particularly liked the look of some lesson plans I saw on age and on gender representations in the media.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesHR Professionals stock up on free pens, and debate their future
Today is the final day of this year’s annual HR Conference and general knees-up, held for the first time in Manchester, having relocated there from its former home in Harrogate.
The CIPD Conference is the opportunity for HR professionals to keep in touch with current developments and trends in HR best practice as well as stock up on free pens, paper-clip dispensers and other marketing freebies.
So what’s been exercising the minds of the nation’s HR Managers this week?
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesEconomics of Government Subsidies - Teacher Presentation
This new AS economics revision presentation looks at the use of subsidies by government for producers and consumers.
Launch interactive presentation on Economics of Government Subsidies
Download pdf handout of slides
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesPrice Volatility in Markets - Teacher Presentation
This new revision presentation looks at the causes and conseqences of price volatility in markets - particularly commodity markets. It includes links to relevant news stories which help illustrate the basic demand and supply theory.
Launch interactive version of presentation on Price Volatility in Markets
Download pdf of slide handouts
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesGoogle Wave: Trade deficits and surpluses
We were back on Wave last night considering some of the wider arguments surrounding persistent trade imbalances. Are trade imbalances a problem?
We are hoping that - as more Economics teachers migrate to Google Wave - we will be able to schedule collaborative sessions (typically lasting between 45 to 60 minutes) where we can generate ideas, arguments and perspectives in real time and support eachother’s teaching on chosen topics or issues.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesStarter Activity - 15 Word Challenge
Ask any pupil to read something, chances are that when they do they do so passively, thinking about what time the lesson finishes or what tonights bush tucker trial will be. Will they read it properly or critically?
I saw this activity done whilst observing another teacher and I did it today with great results…
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesSociety Now
If you don’t know about it already, check out the free downloadable publication called Society Now, available from the ESRC - the Economic and Social Research Council. I might even pick out a few items myself over the next few days. As it contains details of current sociological and social scientific research going on in universities, it’s a very good way of keeping your sociology fresh.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesBOGOF becomes BOGOFL (or BNFNT)
BOGOFL hasn’t quite got the same ring to it has it - but it’s a development that is being used in the latest round of supermarket wars.
BOGOFL stands for “Buy One Get One Free Later”, and involves the customer receiving a voucher at the till which entitles them to a second product free at a later date. It is also referred to as BNFNT (Buy Now Free Next Time)
The idea was first announced by Tesco in October as a response to criticism that BOGOF offers created waste as many of the foodstuffs were going off before customers could use the free product. However, today Tesco’s arch rival Sainsburys, which has seen some positive signs lately, were able to implement the idea before Tesco and launched the offer on two products.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesGreat video on how to use the OECD website
The BBC have created a great short video showing how to use the OECD website. This will be particularly good for the OCR module on global issues.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesAdvertising Coming To A Windows 7 Desktop Near You
In an interesting move, Microsoft has announced the launch of a pilot program that involves selling advertising space on Windows 7 desktops.
A number of high profile brands, including Coca-Cola and Porsche, are participating in the pilot scheme. Advertising will appear in the Windows 7 interface itself as well as add-ons to the Internet Explorer browser, according to Microsoft. There will also be downloadable Windows 7 Themes designed by the brands.
Why are Microsoft making such a move, and will it be effective?
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesWho is hit hardest by unemployment?
One sad consequence of the global recession is rising unemployment. The figure in the US hit 8.6% of the workforce in September 2009 – with further rises anticipated. You may well have given thought both to why these increases are occurring and even how unemployment is measured. Here’s another query: which groups in America have been hardest hit?
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesRound and Round in Circles
Exam Advice: If you want to gain good marks it’s a good idea to avoid giving circular answers to questions. You know the sort of thing I mean. It’s when the question says - ‘Describe what is meant by participant observation’ and the student writes ‘ It is when you participate and observe at the same time’. Ha Ha. The word ‘describe’ means a bit more than throw back the question into the examiners face. On a related theme, the standard joke of course, is this: Oxford Philosophy Final Paper, Question 1. Is this a fair question? Answer: ‘Yes, if this is a fair answer.’ Result: First Class Honours. But, remember, that’s a joke, and it’s old, so if you try it, you will get a well-deserved fail.
Do some students really not see the problem with answers like this? Or are they just embarrassed and desperately trying to fill the paper, or perhaps they think it is amusing?
I really don’t know, but I would just advise all students out there - avoid this like the plague. Make sure you know and can define the basic concepts of your subject. There are many complaints these days about standards, but one thing is constant; you still need to have some knowledge to pass an exam.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesStarter Video Clip for Motivation
This is an amazing, amazing clip to introduce the topic of motivation....
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesThe great fiscal policy debate - this one will run and run….
Stephanie Flanders, the BBC Economics Editor, is assessing what might happen to fiscal policy after the election next year. She has produced reports for the BBC news which can be accessed from her Stephanomics blog, and produced a discussion piece which draws upon current opinion as well as historical evidence to predict the likely differences and similarities between the political parties. As she says, both parties would expect to announce tough budget plans if elected - and both would tend to delay most of the pain until 2011 or 2012, when the economy is more firmly on the mend. There is a nice historical piece about Geoffrey Howe’s tax raising budget in 1981, and a reference to the pro’s and con’s of Vince Cable’s proposal to raise revenue by a “mansion tax” on houses worth more than £1m - one problem being that there are rather fewer of those houses now than there were a few months ago.
Many A level students will be voting for the first time in this most important of elections, in which fiscal policy is surely going to be one of the hottest topics, and I would love to give them some of the elements of this discussion to evaluate as they prepare to be some of the better informed new generation of the electorate.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesThe heat is on
There are a raft of useful articles on party politics in the papers at the minute, and great as a basis for any media lessons.
In the Times yesterday they focused on the forthcoming Queen’s speech and the likelihood that it will kick off a massive political tussle over the coming months.
See the features here and here.
Polly Toynbee in the Guardian at the weekend penned an article calling for Labour MPs to do the honorable thing and force GB to step aside. There is a strong feeling in the Labour Party that the election may not be winnable with a new leader but the party is likely to suffer a crushing defeat if he remains in power. Toynbee suggests that it’s still all to play for if a new person gets in. See the article here.
Personally I have accepted that barring disaster David Cameron will be PM from May 2010 onwards, and that Labour should start preparing for life in opposition. At the moment there is no sense of what will happen next and the worry is that the party will lose direction. It’s happened before. Think Labour after 1979, or the Tories after 1997.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesDeflation - Teacher Presentation
This new revision presentation examines the causes and effects of deflation and the possible economic policy responses.
Launch interactive presentation on deflation
Download pdf handout of presentation slides
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesNationalisation - Teacher Presentation
This new revision presentation arose out of our first experiment with Google Wave. It looks at the topical issue of nationalisation.
Launch interactive presentation on Nationalisation
Download pdf handout of presentation slides
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesConsumption externalities in Singapore
The excellent Jason Welker has a superb post on aspects of consumption externalities in Singapore.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesA First Test of Google Wave
Mo Tanweer and I got stuck into Google Wave tonight and I think we found the experience really exciting from a teaching perspective.
In little over an hour we made big progress in developing a fresh set of teaching notes on the issue of nationalisation. I chose the initial topic (it ties in with my teaching this week) and Mo has chosen trade deficits as our second wave topic. We started by adding in examples of state-owned enterprises both here in the UK and from overseas (often more exciting and interesting for discussion) before editing some notes on arguments for and against nationalisation.
The real time collaborative messaging system is easy to grasp and use. Within sixty minutes we generated many more ideas than had we worked at it alone - and it is thrilling and awesome to be able to edit each other’s points, add examples, embed video into waves, add other links and chat live. Imagine the whole department using this to come up with a worksheet on a tricky topic - you’d be able to do it in 1/4 of the time and come away with a real sense of a team effort in drafting, shaping and pulling a document together.
Google has thrown open the source code so expect a wealth of apps to be developed in the next 6 months as Google Wave hits the ground running when it comes out of preview mode. Mo reckons this could work really well when editing / commenting on UCAS statements or essays with kids when they are at home! Online revision takes on a new dimension with Google Wave. We think a critical mass of perhaps four or five contributors at any one time works well - but perhaps we are underestimating the capacity of students to embrace this type of collaborative software - instant messaging on steroids!
Google Wave invites seem to be thin on the ground at the moment, but if there are other economics teachers out there with access, we would love to hear from you and invite you to join in a few waves! Come on in, the water is lovely.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesSupercomputing the Brains Secrets
Henry Markram has built a brain in a supercomputer. He has a theory that metal illness, memory and perception all relate to neurons and electric signals, and are therefore re-creatable. He has a theory that the brain itself creates a version of the universe and then projects it around us. Markram tries to answer whether the brain is capable of perceiving itself. He argues our decisions are the key things that support out perceptual bubble. 99% of what we see is what we infer but not what comes through our eyes.
During his study he has developed a way of converting visual stimulus into music in order for the visually impared to ‘see’ through sound. He refers to our experience of the world being a ‘symphony of perception’.
One has to ask whether the super computer he builds that simulates the brain is capable of experiencing a sense of ‘I’
click here for the link to Henry Markram’s TED talk Supercomputing the Brain’s Secrets
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesCarlill v Carbolic Smokeball Co
A2 Contract law teachers - for something different, Radio 4 have a fab 15-minute podcast on this famous case here. Why not do a listening exercise for the auditory learners in your class? Good for stretch and challenge too. Be quick though - it’s only on iPlayer for two more days!
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesA tale of two bakers
Tom White’s excellent piece on the rapid growth and success of Greggs could be used to compare and contrast with a piece of bad news for those of us here in Yorkshire used to getting our lunchtime nibbles from Ainsley’s…
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesEmerging markets drive demand for oil
A neat graphic on The Economist website this week helps illustrate the rapid economic growth of emerging markets such as India & China. It breaks down the historical demand for oil from the key economies, highlighting the changes between 1980 and the latest forecasts for 2030 by the International Energy Agency. The oil market is a good example to use when illustrating the dynamics of changing supply and demand on market prices. And there is a good discussion to have with students about why an emerging economy such as China, Malaysia or India would experience such a significant increase in demand for oil (rapid industrialisation; wider car ownership etc)
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesHow do we see things?
Beau Lotto argues that the sensory information that falls in through our eyes is meaningless unless we know how to interpret it. Perception is all important.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesQuestion Time - 15 November 2009
Our weekly politics quiz returns…
Launch Question Time for 15 November 2009
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesBeating the import threat - luxury furniture
I came across this super short case study in the FT (Oct 09) which is a great example to use to illustrate one strategy of dealing with cheap imports....
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesGoing once… going twice… Still going once… going twice…
(A hat-tip to C. Gee for spotting this!)
For those of you who enjoyed Nudge, here is Professor Thaler in the New York Times discussing an interesting behavioural analysis of the website Swoopo.com. (If you haven’t visited the site yet, it’s very interesting to watch!).
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesPolice Powers
The topic of police powers is an accessible one for students. For an example of (alleged) abuse of police powers, there’s a fantastic video below of the arrest of two “FitWatch” protestors. Very good for prompting a discussion of the need to balance liberty and security!
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesA shifting US electorate
The Washington Post has produced time slider to see how Democratic and Republican candidates have fared in presidential and congressional elections over the past 50 years. Here is the link.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesPay freezes and macro performance
The forum post I am setting my AS macro students this week focuses on the possible economic impact of wage cuts and pay freezes. I am hoping it will help to develop their evaluative skills and get them to apply some AD/SRAS concepts. As the UK economy continues to experience a recession, pay is under pressure. The average wage in Britain, including bonuses, fell by 0.4 per cent in the three months to March 2009 – knocking about £95 off annual salaries to £24,000. People working in the private sector are at highest risk of a wage freeze or actual wage cut and public sector workers are also at risk of pay freezes in the months ahead.
Suggested reading
Half of UK firms plan a pay freeze (Telegraph)
Pay freeze in deal to save car plants (Independent)
Osborne plans one-year public sector wage freeze (Independent)
Outlook for jobs will remain grim for several years (The Times)
Wage cuts might condemn the economy to more misery (Telegraph)
FTSE bosses get big salary rise (BBC news)
Examine some ways in which a move towards wage cuts or pay freezes might affect the macroeconomic performance of the UK economy
The forum posting is designed to encourage students to read around the subject, develop a concise written style and build evaluation skills. The Moodle system is set up so that students can only see the postings of others once they have submitted their only entry. I will post a couple of replies later on in the week.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesBottom Line on Business Clusters
Evan Davis and his guests were on fine form this week in the edition of the Bottom Line on Radio 4. They discussed the development of business clusters in different localties and regions - a topic highly relevant to economic geography and one that links in well to external economies of scale and international competitiveness - two A2 topics. The Open University site is recommended for a range of follow-up resources.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesOyster Cards and Pricing on the Tube
I am hoping that my A2 micro students will be able to apply some of the concepts we have been looking at in recent weeks to this short forum question on pricing on the London Underground. Scratching beneath the surface there is much that can be applied! I will post a selection of answers / thoughts later on in the week.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesDirect or indirect taxes – You decide
I have been asking my year 11 students which taxes they would raise to reduce the UK’s massive budget deficit. These two articles would be perfect to help with the debate. The first shows a disadvantage of direct taxes as 50 millionaire hedge fund traders are leaving the city for Geneva to hide from the 50% income tax rate with fears that many will follow.
The second article reveals how retailers are worried that VAT will be increased in the new year to 20%. A big disadvantage of increasing indirect taxes such as VAT is it could reduce spending. An interesting lesson activity would be to set up a debate about the pros and cons of direct and indirect taxes using the two articles as case studies.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesTED Talk: Edward Burtynsky photographs the landscape of oil
Edward Burtynsky photographs the landscape of oil from extraction to refinement and to the end of oil - cars, tyres, planes, and the environmental impact. His manufactured landscapes DVD is a tremendous resource.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesEasy Coast line becomes state owned
A change of ownership for the much loved London to Edinburgh East Coast Line. East Coast is now operating the service - having taken over from the beleagured National Express. This BBC news report asks whether anything has really changed?
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesThe Biz Quiz - 13 November 2009
Here is this weel’s edition of The Biz Quiz
Launch interactive version of The Biz Quiz - 13 November 2009
Download printable handout version
Download SCORM-VLE import file
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesInflation - Measurement (Teacher Presentation)
This updated and extended revision presentation looks at the main measures of inflation - and some of the challenges and problems of measurement
Launch interactive presentation on Measuring of Inflation
Download printable pdf handout of presentation slides
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesInflation - Causes and Effects (Teacher Presentation)
This updated revision presentation takes a detailed look at the causes and effects of inflation. It explains the theory behind demand pull and cost push inflation, and examines recent trends in data on average earnings, commodity prices and the output gap. There are also some new weblinks to great interactive resources on inflation.
Launch interactive presentation on Inflation: Causes & Effects
Download printable pdf handout of presentation slides
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesChristianity Survey
I’ve just spotted that the OU/BBC have a very useful Christianity survey up on their site. I’m sure teachers can make good use of this. And remember - be careful in how you interpret the results. How valid is the survey? How representative are the results?
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesBit of fun on a Saturday morning - Youth unemployment
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesGreat video on BA and Iberia merger
Following on from my blog yesterday I have found a great video clip on the proposed merger of BA and Iberia. Willie Walsh talks about the synergies that are going to occur due to the merger.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesBoP Question
The Korean National Pension Fund (the world’s fifth largest pension fund) is reportedly interested in purchasing UK commercial property. How might this affect the UK balance of payments in the short term and medium term? I will throw this to my students on Monday.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesEconomists on Google Wave
Are there any Economics teaching colleagues out there with access to Google Wave? I am starting to use it and seek like minded Economists who might want to test a few waves on different topics. My wave email is tutor2uecon@googlewave.com. Thanks
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesQuote for the Week
I think I missed a quote last week. Here’s one for now though. I don’t know if this will go down as well as Foucault the other week, but let’s just see. To all the teachers out there I would though respectfully suggest that this one is useful and really can and should be used in the classroom. It’s from Manuel Castells:
“Only ‘bad news,’ relating to conflict, drama, unlawful deals, or objectionable behavior, is interesting news. Since news is increasingly framed to parallel (and compete with) entertainment shows, or sports events, so is its logic. It requires drama, suspense, conflict, rivalries, greed, deception, winners and losers, and, if possible, sex and violence. Following the pace,and language, of sports casting, “horse race politics” is reported as an endless game of ambitions, maneuvers, strategies and counter-strategies, with the help of insider confidences and constant opinion polling from the media themselves.”
M. Castells, The Power of Identity, p32, OUP.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesBusiness Resource Update - 13 November 2009
More resources added to the Business Studies blog which you might want to look at…
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesBusiness Teacher Resource Update - 13 November 2009
A quick note to highlight some resources you might want to look at:
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesBA and Iberia - economies of scale
The proposed merger of British Airways and Iberia shows types of economies of scale very nicely. Economies of scale occur when a firm grows larger its long run average costs fall. If we remember the mnemonic we used for types of economies of scale - Really, Fun, Mums, Try, Making, Pies, we can then apply this to the merger.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesReasons to expect a Nike Swoosh recovery
A failure of trust in global financial markets lies at the heart not just of the current recession but prospects for a sustained recovery in spending and jobs. Whilst journalists play the game of alphabet soup to describe the likely shape of the economic cycle, we might be better off thinking in terms of a Nike Swoosh. World growth is responding to an unprecedented policy stimulus but there is a real danger that the rebound inactivity will be constrained by a set of negative forces pushing down on growth. This was the message from Paul Donovan, Managing Director of Global Economics for UBS in his presentation to the Eton College Keynes Society last night.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesEurostar’s competitive forces
Eurostar has been transporting passengers through the Channel Tunnel from London to Paris and Brussels for 15 years now, and is deemed a success. The company say that they have had over 100 million passenger, with 10 million expected to do so this year. Eurostar now accounts for 80% of all rail or air passengers travelling directly between London and Paris, while London’s airports share the remaining 20% between them – while it is little value to passengers travelling to or from other UK regions, it is clearly much more convenient for passengers in the London area to travel from the centre of one city to the centre of the other, avoiding the need to travel to the airport at each end of the journey.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesGoogle and Average Revenue Product of Labour
Google’s headcount quadrupled between 2005 and 2009 but for some years the revenue per employee was in decline. This is now in reverse and income from each worked employed is now at a 3-year high at just over $300,000 a year! I might use this chart as a teaching aid when teaching labour market economics - Google is perhaps the world’s biggest advertising agency and it finds even more ways to monetise its services from month to month - whilst keeping the bulk of core functions free to users.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesGold price brings prospectors to the Highlands
The high price of gold, reported by Geoff yesterday, is giving a clear signal to a mining company in the Highlands of Scotland that it should start production from a gold mine that was first drilled 20 years ago, but has never been commercially worked because the price of gold did not provide enough incentive to the producers. However with the price of gold now at $1100 per ounce, mining operations could become profitable. Scotgold owns the Coronish mine near Tyndrum, a small village which is en route to Glen Coe, Fort William and Skye. Next month it will apply for planning permission begin mining operations in 2010 and this report from The Guardian says that Cononish is expected to start producing 200kg of gold a year at the mine site when full-scale mining begins in 2011 – enough to produce 30,000 wedding rings a year – and another 500kg each year by sending rocks for processing elsewhere.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesWill they… won’t they… will they?
Ahead of President Obama’s visit to Asia, earlier this week, the Chinese central bank issued a report signalling its intention to perhaps consider allowing a more flexible exchange rate regime come into force.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesWomen Drivers
You can thank my wife for today’s posting - she suggested this was worthy of inclusion.
Today the BBC have reported that the RAF Red Arrows have appointed their first female pilot. The film clip by the way, made me feel sick.
So, no cracks from the guys about women drivers. One sociological question about this however, might be why it has taken so long for us to reach this landmark appointment. Clue - check out the Equal Opportunities Act and the Sex Discrimination Act in the 1970s. Also note changes in the education system which may have helped.
Prof. David Held of the LSE, would I’m sure - because he’s pointed to things like this before - say that this shows what a success sociology has been. Yes folks, Flt Lt. Moore can partly thank Sociology for her success! Why? Because, according to Prof Held, its the work done by Sociologists which has, over a long period of time, helped to change social attitudes.
But another question; does this mean that men and women are now equal? Have all the old attitudes gone forever? I’ll leave you to find evidence for or against that.
Finally - that thing about women drivers. Ever heard of ‘essentialism’? It’s the concept that each sex has ‘essential’ or fixed characteristics which are natural and cannot be changed. Part of their essential nature. Flt Lt Moore shows that essentialism must be wrong: if one women can do it, so can others. So, it can’t be down to sex.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesDeath to the Deficit
Following last week’s excellent “Analysis” programme on Economics comes another useful programme. This week, Frances Cairncross presented a programme on the government deficit and argued that tax rises won’t be enough; cuts in public spending across the board will be needed. The programme is repeated on Sunday at 9.30 pm and the podcast and accompanying article can be downloaded here.
Next Monday should also be useful: what would happen if we were to leave the EU? Radio 4 at 8.30 pm.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesOffice of National Statistics publishes annual survey of hours and earnings
As reported in the press today, the latest annual survey of hours and earnings is just out and it provides an amazing insight into wages across the UK.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesCash flow Clue-doh! The Mystery is Revealed…
Over 1,500 colleagues have now downloaded our cash-flow murder mystery activity - Cash Flow Clue-doh! And we’re getting an increasing number of enquiries asking what the solution is!
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesPeak Gold
If world supply of gold is now past its peak, the bull run for gold on world bullion markets may have some distance to travel, This is the interpretation of this article in the Telegraph which reports that global gold output has been falling by roughly 1m ounces a year since the start of the decade. Total mine supply has dropped by 10pc as ore quality erodes, implying that the roaring bull market of the last eight years may have further to run. This BBC video report looks at the decision of India’s government to purchase of 200 tonnes from the International Monetary Fund - the single biggest gold purchase by a central bank in the past 30 years. The government is exchanging US dollars for their gold equivalent - a hedge against rising world inflation and a weakening dollar.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesApple’s cash mountain
Apple is amassing a huge cash pile - I might use this when teaching opportunity cost - and ask students why cash is important for businesses in a recession, how Apple has managed to accumulate so much, and what they might do with it. This BBC video provides a support.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesThe power of words…
Some say that “words have meaning and names have power”. Well when Mervyn King speaks, markets listen. And sell the pound too.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesEconomics of Saving - Teacher Presentation
This revision presentation examines recent data on the extent of saving in the UK economy.
Launch interactive presentation on the Economics of Saving
Download printable pdf of slides
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesBBC releases salary details of top managers - superb online resource
For an inside view of the organisational structure and salaries of the top 100 managers in the BBC, look no further than this superb online chart published today.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesUK Recession and Business Capacity - Teacher Presentation
This streamed presentation provides a snapshot of the latest economic data on UK business capacity. The slump in output in the British economy has left many businesses and industries with a huge amount of spare capacity and the negative output gap is expected to grow beyond 6% of GDP in 2010 according to the OECD. A high level of spare capacity (or productive slack) has important consequences for jobs, inflationary pressures, planned investment and business profits.
Launch interactive presentation on Recession & Capacity
Download pdf handout of slides
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesStarter Activity - Spot the Difference
My two daughters love playing spot the difference. Come to think of it, so do I. If I love it, and my daughters love it, then maybe my students will love it.
So, thinking of a different way to deliver Hard and Soft HRM, I came up with this very, very simple idea. Spot the difference.
On a sheet of paper I had two stories of two different businesses. One who adopted a hard approach and one who adopted a soft approach. Wrote the stories myself I did. Both stories contained the key features of both approaches (temp contracts, autocratic management etc for hard and the opposite for soft) and lots of data (increasing labour turnover and absenteeism for hard, declining for soft etc etc etc).
Then, my students had to play spot the difference.
The results, well, each student had built up a complete picture of the difference between both approaches along with the key features and the pros and cons of each approach.
It worked a treat. Didn’t feel as though they were being taught at all. Far better than running through the differences on the board.
We then analysed the issues and did some evaluation.
Job done.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesLong Run Aggregate Supply - Teacher Presentation
This updated revision presentation looks at the AS Macro topic of Long Run Aggregate Supply
Launch interactive presentation on Long Run Aggregate Supply
Download pdf of presentation slides
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favorites8 million economically inactive – Unemployment definition
A common mistake I noticed whilst marking GCSE papers this summer, involved students writing that an unemployed person is someone who has not got a job. I will use this article in an unemployment lesson to show that to be unemployed you must be willing and able to find a job, but currently out of work. The article shows that 7.9 million (one in five of working age) people in the UK are out of work and are not trying to find a job. They are considered to be economically inactive.
Another article which would be very useful for an unemployment lesson clearly explains the difference between the two main measures of unemployment, the Claimant Count and the ILO survey.
Click read more for some questions on unemployment
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesOn this day…40 years ago – Technological unemployment
This interesting article from the Guardian, written 40 years ago, is a fantastic example of technological unemployment. Maureen O’Connor warns ‘Girls need more careers advice before the computers really take over’. The article estimated that in the United States, 25% of secretaries would be redundant within seven years due to computers rapidly being introduced into offices.
After reading the article students could be asked to think of any current examples of technological unemployment.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesA broader measure of unemployment
The eminently readable Edmund Conway over at the Telegraph has written a blog post looking at a wider measure of unemployment than the published claimant count or labour force survey measure. This measure of unemployment includes: official unemployment, those classed as economically inactive who actually want a job and part time workers who would rather be working full time. The evidence is that this measure has grown by over 1.2million since the start of 2008 and is now pushing 5.7 million. Details here.
This is part of a wider debate about the scale of under-employment in modern economies and also the economic and social costs of deep-rooted, persistent unemployment and economic inactivity.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesWoolworths dominance
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have granted Woolworths permission to go ahead with its proposed takeover of hardware wholesaler Danks. Despite concerns about the dominant power that Woolworths yield, the planned takeover is going ahead.
Concerns are being raised that this is another sector of the market that Woolworth will end up wielding its powerful position in.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesFast growing developing countries may mean end of era of cheap oil
A good video to use here when teaching the economics of the oil market/
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesJunk Food tax?
The Economist has a good feature this week on taxing junk food. It is generating support in America, a country with rising obesity rates. Congress is considering a tax on sugary drinks to help pay for the planned expansion of health-care coverage. Some analysts would like to see broader duties on junk food. On July 27th the Urban Institute, a think-tank in Washington, DC, proposed a 10% tax on “fattening food of little nutritional value” that, it claimed, would raise $500 billion over ten years.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesNews Just in from Pennsylvania
It’s important for sociology teachers - and students - not to be parochial. Or present-fixated. The sociologist Loic Wacquant has been fashionable to quote (or name drop?) in academic sociology for some time now. Read this review in The Daily Pennsylvanian to find out why and get a bit of taste for his brand of sociology.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesPolitics Pen - Palatable Taxes
A great idea from Newsnight - invite Newsnight viewers to think about ideas for raising tax revenue to help curb the budget deficit and get them to pitch them to a panel of experts including Matthew Taylor and Sir Digby Jones. It raises issues about the canons of taxation - what makes a good tax? Here is the link to the video.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesToy Story
The Go Go Hamster is set to be one of the top toys this Christmas. But this, and other toys in high demand, might be subject to a shortage of supply. Retailers had their fingers burned last year as demand for toys fell by 12% and many were left with excess supply after the Christmas period. Many toy retailers make over 50% of their sales in November-December, but the early stages of global recession reduced demand for toys in 2008, shifting the demand curve to the left so that, in order to clear excess stocks, retailers had to reduce prices. In a textbook example of cobweb theory, many have ordered fewer toys this year thus reducing supply, but in fact the early signs on both sides of the Atlantic and across Europe is that demand is, at least partly, restored, so there is now a risk of excess demand.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesJing for the Mac
Snag-It by Techsmith is a superb screen capture tool for teachers - once downloaded you will use it at least half a dozen times a day! A version for the Mac is under development but for the moment Jing looks like the best alternative - free to download and use. Here is the link.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesToy shortage at Christmas?!
Have toy manufacturers misjudged the amount of sales this Christmas? With the UK still in a recession toy manufacturers could have presumed that Santas budget was much lower this year and therefore produced fewer toys.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesEconomics GTP Vacancy - Tiffin School
News of a super GTP vacancy for Economics at Tiffin School…
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesCoffee – and sausage rolls – still a huge hit on the High Street
A nice case study that we’re all familiar with, just by checking out our local high street. One isn’t a surprise in the current climate: the booming business of Greggs the baker. But I am surprised by the other trend. I was convinced that the froth on the coffee bubble would be blown away by the recession, but so far I’m wrong. Coffee shops continue to spring up across the land.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesStock control in toy shops and the run up to Christmas
Am I allowed to talk about Christmas yet? You might think it comes earlier each year, but pity the toy retailers who have to start their planning months in advance. Half of all the toys sold during a year are purchased in the run up to Christmas.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesShort Run Aggregate Supply - Teacher Presentation
Our revision presentation on short run aggregate supply has just been updated. Here are the links:
Launch interactive revision presentation on Short Run Aggregate Supply
Download pdf of slide handouts
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesWhat parents might do to get the right school
I know this case turned out to absolve the parents, but it does raise one issue which tends to get neglected by the press focus on surveillance; how far will parents go to get their children into what they consider a ‘decent’ school?
Here’s a link to the BBC take on the matter.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesDon’t mess with Texas?
For reasons that are possibly too mundane to go into I have just read the special report on Texas from a summer edition of the Economist.
It is absolutely fascinating as a means of gaining a deeper insight into a rapidly changing state, and is a treasure trove of Americana. Did you know for instance that Texas is one of four states where whites are a minority, or that tequila was invented there?
I recommend:
Lone Star rising
The best and worst of Texas
The red and the blue
The new face of America
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesA Republican revival?
Once a week my students are expected to contribute something to our media sessions. A useful way to break a double, to be sure, but these are designed to supplement learning. I usually keep something up my sleave just in case discussion doesn’t flow—though thus far it has yet to be a problem.
Here was last week’s from the Independent’s Big Question series.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesUS Unemployment - Breaking Down the Data
A fascinating interactive infographic from the New York Times which allows you to segment the trends in US unemployment by a series of variables, including ethicity, age and educational background. Well worth a quick look
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesAQA AS Business (BUSS1) - Key Topic Revision Checklist
Here is a key topic revision checklist which students preparing for BUSS1 might find helpful for their revision note files:
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesAQA AS Business (BUSS1) - Exam Topic Tracker
This might be helpful for centres who are getting students ready for BUSS1 in January 2010. As each exam sitting of a new specification passes, it is a useful exercise to track which parts of the specification have been tested and in what way. Of course some topics soon become examiner favourites - tested again and again if students consistently perform poorly. So beware question-spotting.
The questions set in the first two sittings of AQA AS Business Studies (BUSS1) are summarised in our BUSS1 Topic Tracker, which you can download here:
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesUK trade deficit worsens - Q&A
This is often a topic that GCSE Economists struggle with. An interesting article on the BBC explains how the UK trade deficit has worsened due to the car scrappage scheme.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesThe UK: A nation of accidental managers
Some very useful and provocative research from the Chartered Management Institute indicating that the UK is losing its competitive edge as a result of poor management training
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesHistory Resource Update - 10 November 2009
A quick note to highlight some new entries on the History Blog which you might find useful:
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesHealth & safety in action - the 1 million stroller recall
Bad news for British manufacture Maclaren. Maclaren are having to recall around 1 million pushchairs and buggies in the USA because of 12 reports of fingertip amputations after children caught their hands in the hinge mechanism.
Add this entry to my favorites
Return to article | View my favoritesNew Regulatory Agencies Begin Work Today
In A2 micro today we were discussing price-capping by industry regulators as a way of overcoming some of the welfare losses created by monopoly. The new much-expanded regime of regulatory agencies charged with monitoring prices and setting caps when appropriate is available here - can colleagues suggest some more? !!