Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

Econometric policy evaluation: A critique

Purpose – To provide a thorough analysis of the role of the internet in survey research and to discuss the implications of online surveys becoming such a major force in research.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is divided into four major sections: an analysis of the strengths and potential weaknesses of online surveys; a comparison of online surveys with other survey formats; a discussion on the best uses for online surveys and how their potential weaknesses may be moderated; and an overview of the online survey services being offered by the world's largest research firms.Findings – If conducted properly, online surveys have significant advantages over other formats. However, it is imperative that the potential weaknesses of online surveys be mitigated and that online surveys only be used when appropriate. Outsourcing of online survey functions is growing in popularity.Practical implications – The paper provides a very useful source of information and impartial advice for any professional who is co...

The value of online surveys

Author Ray Pawson presents a devastating critique of the dominant approach to systematic review namely the 'meta-analytic' approach as sponsored by the Cochrane and Campbell collaborations. In its place is commended an approach that he terms 'realist synthesis'. On this vision, the real purpose of systematic review is better to understand program theory, so that policies Author Ray Pawson presents a devastating critique of the dominant approach to systematic review namely the 'meta-analytic' approach as sponsored by the Cochrane and Campbell collaborations. In its place is commended an approach that he terms 'realist synthesis'. On this vision, the real purpose of systematic review is better to understand program theory, so that policies can be properly targeted and developed to counter an ever-changing landscape of social problems. The book will be essential reading for all those who loved (or loathed) the arguments developed in Realistic Evaluation (Sage, 1997). It offers a complete blueprint for research synthesis, supported by detailed illustrations and worked examples from across the policy waterfront.

Evidence-based Policy: A Realist Perspective

This article introduces a special section concerned with precariousness and cultural work. Its aim is to bring into dialogue three bodies of ideas — the work of the autonomous Marxist `Italian laboratory'; activist writings about precariousness and precarity; and the emerging empirical scholarship concerned with the distinctive features of cultural work, at a moment when artists, designers and (new) media workers have taken centre stage as a supposed `creative class' of model entrepreneurs. The article is divided into three sections. It starts by introducing the ideas of the autonomous Marxist tradition, highlighting arguments about the autonomy of labour, informational capitalism and the `factory without walls', as well as key concepts such as multitude and immaterial labour. The impact of these ideas and of Operaismo politics more generally on the precarity movement is then considered in the second section, discussing some of the issues that have animated debate both within and outside this movement, wh...

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In the social factory? Immaterial labour, precariousness and cultural work

Argues that the way in which the UK Government, through its various departments and quangos, approaches designed to approve the effectiveness of the small business sector, is based on a flawed understanding of how small businesses actually operate. Argues that this naive, over‐simplistic understanding of the motivation of those in the small business sector means that many government interventions that are made, are blunt instruments destined to fail, given the limited understanding shown of the complexity of the small business market. Presents evidence from two recent studies amongst small firms; a series of large‐scale qualitative studies undertaken for a blue chip company and a mixed study on the Business Link network. The emphasis is based on – using qualitative research – getting to grips with the emotion, ambiguity and complexity that characterises this market.

An emotional business: a guide to understanding the motivations of small business decision takers

Addressing the issue of the embeddedness of labour markets, this paper compares the processes of finding employment in the film industry within two local labour markets. Drawing on studies of freelance film crews in London (UK) and Los Angeles (US), the paper concludes that the importance of social networks in job mobility in both contexts is a consequence of common production structures. However, common labour market practice varies in each geographical space as industry processes and structures are mediated by local institutional contexts.

https://uhra.herts.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/2299/2254/100886.pdf;sequence=1

From London to Los Angeles: a comparison of local labour market processes in the US and UK film industries

Keith Randle and Nigel Culkin, 'Getting in and Getting on in Hollywood: Freelance Careers in an Uncertain Industry' in Alan McKinlay and Chris Smith Eds., Creative Labour: Working in the Creative Industries, (Baskingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), ISBN: 978-0-230-22200-7

Getting in and Getting on in Hollywood: Freelance Careers in an Uncertain Industry

Purpose – The growth in popularity of the regional innovation system approach has, in part, been driven by the need for economies to respond to the after shocks of the global financial crisis. At the same time, the author sees the term anchor institutions are used increasingly to describe organisations that have an important presence in the local community and make some strategic contribution to the local economy. The purpose of this paper is to consider the needs of the micro and small business (MSB) ecosystem through the lens of the entrepreneurial university as a regional anchor institution. Design/methodology/approach – Asheim et al. (2011) refers to regional innovation systems as, an emphasis on economic and social interaction between agents, spanning the public and private sectors to engender and diffuse innovation within regions embedded in wider national and global systems. According to Doloreux and Parto (2005) three dimensions underpin the use of the regional innovation systems concept, namely: ...

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Entrepreneurial universities in the region: the force awakens?

Original article can be found at : http://www.ijmr.com/ Copyright World Advertising Research Center [Full text of this article is not available in the UHRA]

Nigel Culkin

Papers

An emotional business: a guide to understanding the motivations of small business decision takers

From London to Los Angeles: a comparison of local labour market processes in the US and UK film industries

Getting in and Getting on in Hollywood: Freelance Careers in an Uncertain Industry

Entrepreneurial universities in the region: the force awakens?

Producing Work-Ready Graduates: The Role of the Entrepreneurial University: