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Academics have long been accustomed to playing multiple roles (teacher, researcher, expert and critic). But as university management needs increasingly to demonstrate its relevance and value to the economy and society, so consultancy has assumed greater significance. This article explores the emerging fractures in the landscape of academic consulting, focusing on how consultancy activity impacts on research standards, and the ability of academics to maintain their critical roles as independent figures capable of holding government and other public organizations to account, so that their contribution to improving public policy can be maximized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically reviews how the Scottish Executive's approach to transport has developed since devolution. Although there is much to commend, a number of concerns can be identified, including the possibility that a number of strategic infrastructure schemes appear to have been approved on political rather than on technical grounds. It is difficult to know whether the current set of transport infrastructure investment plans represents good value for public money. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]