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The OECD Competition Committee debated Definition of Transaction for the Purpose of Merger Control Review in June 2013. This document includes an executive summary of that debate and the documents from the meeting: an analytical note by the OECD staff and written submissions: Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, the European Union, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation, the Slovak Republic, South Africa, Chinese Taipei, Türkiye, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, BIAC and a summary of the discussion.
The policy debate on accountability in higher education has been vigorous in many countries, but it has focused primarily on broad objectives or approaches. Limited attention has been paid to the mechanisms by which universities would implement accountability objectives and to the critical role of academics in developing ways to assess learning outcomes. Yet, giving members of the professoriate a central role in accountability is vital: implementing accountability requires decentralised implementation linked to the differing circumstances of study fields and levels. Academics must be involved in a sequence of tasks – developing assessments, testing and refining them against new evidence, making sense of accountability results, and responding with changes in programmes or delivery.
This paper outlines a process showing how universities and other tertiary institutions could develop and use outcome measures for student learning. It also recognises that professional and disciplinary associations (e.g. business, education, chemistry, literature and social welfare), nationally and internationally, could contribute to these developments in their specialty fields.
En quoi les professeurs de l’enseignement supérieur peuvent-ils contribuer à « responsabiliser » leurs établissements ?
L’idée d’une responsabilisation de l’enseignement supérieur a donné naissance, dans de nombreux pays, à un débat politique houleux. Toutefois, ce débat vise essentiellement à définir des objectifs ou des approches génériques, et s’intéresse relativement peu aux mécanismes grâce auxquels les universités pourraient avancer sur la voie des objectifs de transparence. De même, il faudrait s’interroger davantage sur le rôle clé que pourraient jouer les universitaires pour concevoir de nouvelles méthodes d’évaluation des retombées de l’apprentissage. Il est en effet essentiel que les membres du corps enseignant jouent un rôle central dans les initiatives visant à accroître la responsabilité et la transparence des systèmes d’enseignement supérieur : pour fonctionner durablement, ces initiatives doivent être menées de façon décentralisée, au vu des spécificités propres à chaque discipline et à chaque niveau d’études. Dans cette optique, les universitaires ont bel et bien un rôle à jouer à différents stades : il leur faut élaborer des outils d’évaluation, mais aussi tester et adapter ces outils au vu des résultats de recherche les plus récents, interpréter les résultats obtenus en termes de responsabilité et modifier si nécessaire les programmes ou les méthodes pédagogiques.
Ce rapport propose un cadre théorique utilisable par les universités et les autres établissements d’enseignement supérieur pour concevoir puis utiliser des outils permettant d’évaluer les retombées de l’apprentissage. L’auteur suggère par ailleurs que certaines professions et disciplines (telles que les entreprises commerciales, le secteur éducatif, l’industrie chimique, le monde littéraire ou encore les organismes de protection sociale) pourraient contribuer, à l’échelon national et international, à promouvoir cette évolution dans leurs domaines respectifs.
This paper develops a taxonomy of 151 industries, mainly defined at the 3-digit level, indicating at which geographical level competition takes place. It classifies 40 industries as competing at the domestic level, 85 at the European level, and 26 at the global level. First, this paper creates a novel dataset that combines production and international trade data for both goods and services industries, defined at a detailed level of industry aggregation for 15 European countries (based on data availability). Then, by comparing domestic sales with international trade flows, and their source/destination, it identifies the geographic level of competition of each industry. The proposed classification can be used in numerous applications, from the design of trade policies to the assessment of competition by antitrust authorities. The paper shows that the taxonomy is broadly consistent with external data sources that provide alternative ways of inferring the degree of internationalisation of each industry.
This paper outlines the need for adopting a more scientific approach to specifying and assessing academic standards in higher education. Drawing together insights from large-scale studies in Australia, it advances a definition of academic standards, explores potential indicators of academic quality and looks at approaches for setting standards. As learner outcomes need to be placed at the forefront of work on academic standards, this paper concludes by exploring the implications of this position for student assessment and institutional change.
Historically, the definition and measurement of academic standards in British higher education have been the exclusive prerogative of the academic community. The calibration of standards across institutions was the responsibility and purpose of the external-examiner system. But the mechanisms in place to achieve these ends have broken down under the weight of the massification of UK higher education, the need to recruit international students to sustain revenue streams, and the league-table or rankings culture that has resulted in academic standards being sacrificed in order to maintain or improve institutional image. In 2008 the House of Commons inaugurated a wide-ranging inquiry into these matters. Its August 2009 report proposes radical solutions, the adoption of which will represent a definitive break with the traditions of the past.
Définition des critères de qualité et évaluation des performances universitaires : Une perspective britannique
Traditionnellement, la définition des critères de qualité et l’évaluation des performances universitaires dans l’enseignement supérieur britannique étaient la prérogative exclusive de la communauté universitaire. L’étalonnage des critères de qualité dans l’ensemble des établissements relevait de la responsabilité du système d’examinateurs externes dont c’était l’objectif.
Cependant, les mécanismes mis en place à cette fin se sont effondrés sous le poids de la massification de l’enseignement supérieur britannique, la nécessité de recruter des étudiants internationaux pour maintenir les flux de revenus, et la culture des classements qui a conduit au sacrifice de la qualité afin de préserver ou d’améliorer une image institutionnelle. En 2008, la Chambre des Communes a inauguré une vaste enquête sur ces questions. Son rapport d’août 2009 propose des solutions radicales, dont l’adoption constituera une rupture définitive avec les traditions du passé.
This paper aims to support better-targeted and more homogeneous data collection and comparative analysis of regulatory oversight bodies (ROBs). To do so, it builds on relevant academic literature and available data to sharpen the definition of ROB used in OECD analytical work and policy discussions. It also discusses ROBs’ role within the regulatory governance cycle as well as various aspects related to regulatory oversight and co-ordination, with special attention to the overall institutional setting (including the relationships between various ROBs), context and objectives of regulatory reform, tasks and responsibilities, and associated accountability arrangements.
This document serves both as a conceptual and practical guide for defining and classifying AI, in order to help stakeholders analyse and understand its impact on the workplace. It first discusses how AI can be defined and provides a selection of AI use cases to help stakeholders identify AI and distinguish it from other advanced technologies. The document then provides a framework for classifying AI according to its impact on the workplace, consisting of a set of questions intended to help stakeholders evaluate any AI application from a workplace perspective (either a priori or ex post) and to promote informed discussion so that AI is implemented in a way that empowers and complements workers and improves job quality, and that no one is left behind.
The paper examines how “green” investments are defined across different asset classes (equities, bonds and alternative investments), as well as providing some estimates of the size of these markets. The paper concludes that, given the lack of consensus on the usage and definition of the term “green”, the most productive approach could be to take an open and dynamic stance towards definitions and standards, with international institutions and governments adopting a “governance approach to green investment”.
This paper was prepared as background for a discussion held at the OECD in November 2016 on the definition of geographical markets across national borders. It describes the process with an emphasis on markets that may extend beyond national borders. It also discusses how geographic market definition fits relative to competitive assessment, and the tendency of some authorities to leave definition open in cases where no competition concerns are present.
As AI use grows, so do its benefits and risks. These risks can lead to actual harms ("AI incidents") or potential dangers ("AI hazards"). Clear definitions are essential for managing and preventing these risks. This report proposes definitions for AI incidents and related terms. These definitions aim to foster international interoperability while providing flexibility for jurisdictions to determine the scope of AI incidents and hazards they wish to address.
As all safety systems in the majority of existing nuclear power plants use the preferred power supply, any voltage surges in these systems could lead to common-cause failures. In the event of an unusual electrical system transient, it is essential that safety-related equipment be isolated or protected from the fault in order to ensure its ability to safely shut down the reactor and remove decay heat.
Based on the analysis of the voltage surges observed at Forsmark-1 in 2006 and Olkiluoto-1 in 2008, this technical opinion paper summarises the current state of knowledge of in-plant and external grid-related challenges to nuclear power plant safety-related electrical equipment. It will be of particular interest to nuclear safety regulators, nuclear power plant operators and grid system regulators and operators.
Deepening regional integration within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will raise potential growth for all member countries. Integrated economies will increase market size, trade opportunities and improve resource allocation across member countries. Key pillars of functioning regional integration are the free circulation of goods and services, mobility of workers and interconnected infrastructure. To boost regional integration, remaining tariff barriers and non-tariffs barriers should be removed. Ensuring greater compliance to agreements by SADC members will also facilitate intra-regional trade and cross-investments. More co-operation between competition authorities should facilitate harmonisation of competition rules in particular in services and transport-related services which would ease circulation of good and services. The other key pillars of regional integration (industrial policy, infrastructure, investment, financial integration and tax) are also reviewed.