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Disputes under the New Engineering Contract (NEC) 2nd Edition involve a new approach to the role of Adjudicator. Clauses 90–93 have been radically revised. They reflect the recommendations of Latham's Report Constructing the Team, and growing international practice (e.g. the Channel Tunnel Disputes Panel). Also clarified are some questions over the 1 st Edition. The independent Adjudicator provides a mandatory third‐party neutral settlement process. The decision is final and binding, unless and until revised by the eventual tribunal (court or arbitration) after completion of the works, or termination. Legal drafting is achieved in the NEC style of plain English and present tense. Latham's objectives are reminiscent of traditional decisions of an independent Engineer, or of modern short form arbitration; but the new substantive approach is distinguished from both. The Adjudicator's decision determines the parties' rights and obligations. It does not depend on the Project Manager's implementation, but the latter is free to choose in accordance with the decision, e.g. by changing the Works Information as a compensation event. Distinctive of the NEC is the openness of procedure for the Adjudicator, and even‐handedness between the parties as to the continuing works while the Adjudicator is acting. The parties, by contract, given the independent Adjudicator jurisdiction to settle by its decision all disputes arising under or in connection with the contract. This is neither expert determination nor arbitration. The Adjudicator is to act fairly, not judicially. Some jurisdictional issues may remain, and are explored. There must be a proper substantive characterization of the new role, according to its true context and the parties' expressed intentions. NEC 2nd edition has clarified and enhanced the definition of the first third‐party stage fully to meet Latham's objectives, and to encourage by rapid but effective early resolution of disputes, within the overall NEC philosophy, a substantial reduction in the incidence of disputes.

This paper aims to identify, through a literature review, key issues regarding how online role plays can be designed and to apply them when designing a role play on conflict management.

By drawing on the key issues identified in the literature review, a role play on conflict management was designed and evaluated. Data were collected by developing a survey that focused on perceived learning, participation and satisfaction.

Overall, a majority of the students felt that they learned and participated in the role play. The most positive finding was that the students were satisfied with their role play experience.

Researchers are urged to further develop the dimensions and measures of online role play success. The measures that were developed for evaluating perceived learning, participation and satisfaction with role plays can be further developed and tested. It is suggested that the effects on learning need to be further explored.

It is suggested that teachers take the identified key issues of online role play design into account. An important challenge seems to be to encourage students to reflect and do additional reading and research in relation with online role plays.

Online collaboration is commonly argued as beneficial from an e‐learning perspective. However, a challenge for research and practice is to learn how collaborative e‐learning activities may be developed. This paper contributes by focusing on how online role plays can be designed and evaluated.

The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act (which has been amended by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975) provides:

The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.

The purpose of this paper is to show how activity theory transcends the boundary between workplace learning and organizational learning.

Activity‐theoretical analyses examine collectives and organizations as learners. On the other hand, activity theory is committed to pedagogical and interventionist actions to change and learning characteristic of workplace learning.

Activity‐theoretical studies put an emphasis on the object, i.e. on what is done and learned together in inter‐organizational networks, instead of studying only connections and collaboration of networks. The theory of expansive learning enables a longitudinal and rich analysis of inter‐organizational learning and makes a specific contribution in outlining the historical transformation of work and organizations by using observational as well as interventionist designs in studies of work and organization.

The paper shows that activity theory and the theory of expansive learning provide useful analytical tools for the enrichment of studies in workplace learning, as reported in the articles included in this special issue.

The Howard Shuttering Contractors case throws considerable light on the importance which the tribunals attach to warnings before dismissing an employee. In this case the tribunal took great pains to interpret the intention of the parties to the different site agreements, and it came to the conclusion that the agreed procedure was not followed. One other matter, which must be particularly noted by employers, is that where a final warning is required, this final warning must be “a warning”, and not the actual dismissal. So that where, for example, three warnings are to be given, the third must be a “warning”. It is after the employee has misconducted himself thereafter that the employer may dismiss.

This work explores the effectiveness of an innovative inclusion model that is based on the development and operationalization of the inclusion coach (IC) role in one school district (in Ontario, generally referred to as a ‘board’). This model has implications for school systems that desire a change in practice but may perceive challenges to this change in their local capacity. In this model, internal school district funding and existing structures were reallocated to convert teaching positions into IC positions. This staffing change was designed to support the desegregation of stand-alone special education classes at the elementary and secondary levels within that school district. While significantly decreasing the number of segregated settings, the intervention was not without its challenges. Challenges and successes will be examined through the perspectives of school principals, ICs and classroom teachers. This school district created an effective and sustainable model to promote inclusion, through internal staffing adjustments, and role redefinition. Utilizing a shared focus and support for staff, this school district was successfully able to transition beliefs and practices from segregated special education to full inclusion for students with special education needs.

The purpose of this paper is to describe how, from 2004‐2006, a New Zealand research team experimented with the “change laboratory” learning process to create a new method of government policy development and implementation, referred to as “practice‐making”. The apple industry in Hawke's Bay was chosen because of the level of tension among government agencies and small/medium‐sized firms in the industry, particularly around the scarcity of seasonal labour, amid growing concerns about the possible collapse of the industry.

The team stimulated a cycle of expansive learning among the network of activity systems in the industry. Laboratory participants were growers, labour contractors, pack house operators, quality controllers, horticultural consultants and government officials. The expansive learning cycle is a core concept in developmental work research (DWR) and cultural‐historical activity theory (CHAT).

Participants created a shared “object” for apple production and its government policy and regulation built around quality, making a substantive shift from adaptive learning to transformational learning, and creating a major redesign of the industry. Many of the new practices are now being implemented in the industry and government.

The CHAT/DWR approach seems particularly well suited for complex problem solving in any network where there are intractable systems contradictions and a strong desire among participants to make real change.

It is understood that this is the first time a change laboratory process has been used for government “practice‐making” with industry, in contrast with traditional policy development and implementation that frequently does not address systemic problems.

Wonders whether companies actually have employees best interests at heart across physical, mental and spiritual spheres. Posits that most organizations ignore their workforce – not even, in many cases, describing workers as assets! Describes many studies to back up this claim in theis work based on the 2002 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference, in Cardiff, Wales.