Collective Leadership of Local School Systems: Power, Autonomy and Ethics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lumby, Jacky

2009-01-01

The rhetoric of "partnership" is ubiquitous in UK policy at national, regional, local and organizational levels. Self-styled partnership activity is espoused by most schools in England and Wales. This article considers the implications of the growth of partnership for conceptualizing leadership. It draws on evidence of interviews with…

Making Citizens Governable? The Crick Report as Governmental Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pykett, Jessica

2007-01-01

This paper considers the recent introduction of Citizenship Education in England from a governmental perspective, drawing on the later work of Foucault to offer a detailed account of the political rationalities, technologies and subjectivities implicated in contemporary education policy in the formation and governance of citizen-subjects. This is…

Just Suppose...

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coffield, Frank

2008-01-01

This article considers what the learning and skills system would look like if, in line with the rhetoric of ministers, teaching and learning really were made the first priority of policy. The author draws out some of the implications for teachers and managers, and reflects on how the relationship between tutors and learners can be enhanced. He…

Regional Transformation Processes through the Universities-Institutions-Industry Relationship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cassia, Lucio; Colombelli, Alessandra; Paleari, Stefano

2008-01-01

The purpose of this paper is, first, to highlight the role of the relationships between universities, institutions and firms in different regional development processes working towards a knowledge economy, and, second, to draw some implications for local policy makers. Adopting the regional innovation system (RIS) approach, the authors analyse …

Charter Schools and the Risk of Increased Segregation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rotberg, Iris C.

2014-01-01

This article examines a wide array of research on the link between school choice programs and student segregation and draws implications for the Obama Administration's policy promoting the national expansion of charter schools. The research demonstrates how the proliferation of charter schools risks increasing current levels of segregation…

Multicultural Integration in British and Dutch Societies: Education and Citizenship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bagley, Christopher Adam; Al-Refai, Nader

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize published studies and practice in the "integration" of ethnic and religious minorities in Britain and The Netherlands, 1965-2015, drawing out implications for current policy and practice. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is an evaluative review and report of results of…

The Education Ideal of the Democratic Citizen in Germany: Challenges and Changing Trends

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buck, Alexy; Geissel, Brigitte

2009-01-01

This article draws on exploratory qualitative interviews with German education policy experts. We ask whether, as Germany faces new challenges, changes have occurred in respect of the education ideal of the democratic citizen; perceived implications for civic education and schooling are also drawn out. Interviews were conducted with senior…

Educational Testing as an Accountability Measure: Drawing on Twentieth-Century Danish History of Education Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ydesen, Christian

2013-01-01

This article reveals perspectives based on experiences from twentieth-century Danish educational history by outlining contemporary, test-based accountability regime characteristics and their implications for education policy. The article introduces one such characteristic, followed by an empirical analysis of the origins and impacts of test-based…

The Role of Perception in Crisis Management: A Tale of Two Hurricanes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olaniran, Bolanle A.

2007-01-01

The "anticipatory" model of crisis management draws the attention of crisis practitioners and researchers to the precrisis phase of crisis management. The model views institutions' position as a condition that has implications for peoples' perceptions regarding the lack of control over factors such as policies, human resources,…

Peer Learning for Change in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hilsdon, John

2014-01-01

This paper draws upon small scale, qualitative research at a UK university to present a Learning Development (LD) perspective on peer learning. This approach is offered as a lens for exploring social aspects of learning, cultural change in higher education and implications for pedagogy and policy. Views of a small group of peer learning leaders…

On a New Schedule: Transitions to Adulthood and Family Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furstenberg, Frank F., Jr.

2010-01-01

Frank Furstenberg examines how the newly extended timetable for entering adulthood is affecting, and being affected by, the institution of the Western, particularly the American, family. He reviews a growing body of research on the family life of young adults and their parents and draws out important policy implications of the new schedule for the…

Immigrant Children and Youth in the USA: Facilitating Equity of Opportunity at School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adelman, Howard S.; Taylor, Linda

2015-01-01

A great deal has been written about immigrant children and youth. Drawing on work done in the USA, this paper focuses on implications for school improvement policy and practice. Discussed are (1) the increasing influx of immigrants into schools, (2) different reasons families migrate, (3) concerns that arise related to immigrant students, (4)…

The Effect of Postsecondary Coenrollment on College Success: Initial Evidence and Implications for Policy and Future Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Xueli; McCready, Bo

2013-01-01

Drawing upon the latest data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09) and the Postsecondary Education Transcript Data (PETS:09), this study employed propensity score matching and postmatching logistic regression to estimate the extent to which postsecondary coenrollment affects persistence and attainment of students…

"Managing" the Rights of Gays and Lesbians: Reflections from Some South African Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bhana, Deevia

2014-01-01

Against the backdrop of South Africa's policies that guarantee equality on the basis of sexual orientation, this article documents the ways in which school managers negotiate and contest the rights of gays and lesbians at school, analysing the implications. It draws on a queer approach which recognizes relations of heterosexual domination and…

Medical tourism and policy implications for health systems: a conceptual framework from a comparative study of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

PubMed

Pocock, Nicola S; Phua, Kai Hong

2011-05-04

Medical tourism is a growing phenomenon with policy implications for health systems, particularly of destination countries. Private actors and governments in Southeast Asia are promoting the medical tourist industry, but the potential impact on health systems, particularly in terms of equity in access and availability for local consumers, is unclear. This article presents a conceptual framework that outlines the policy implications of medical tourism's growth for health systems, drawing on the cases of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, three regional hubs for medical tourism, via an extensive review of academic and grey literature. Variables for further analysis of the potential impact of medical tourism on health systems are also identified. The framework can provide a basis for empirical, in country studies weighing the benefits and disadvantages of medical tourism for health systems. The policy implications described are of particular relevance for policymakers and industry practitioners in other Southeast Asian countries with similar health systems where governments have expressed interest in facilitating the growth of the medical tourist industry. This article calls for a universal definition of medical tourism and medical tourists to be enunciated, as well as concerted data collection efforts, to be undertaken prior to any meaningful empirical analysis of medical tourism's impact on health systems.

Medical tourism and policy implications for health systems: a conceptual framework from a comparative study of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Medical tourism is a growing phenomenon with policy implications for health systems, particularly of destination countries. Private actors and governments in Southeast Asia are promoting the medical tourist industry, but the potential impact on health systems, particularly in terms of equity in access and availability for local consumers, is unclear. This article presents a conceptual framework that outlines the policy implications of medical tourism's growth for health systems, drawing on the cases of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, three regional hubs for medical tourism, via an extensive review of academic and grey literature. Variables for further analysis of the potential impact of medical tourism on health systems are also identified. The framework can provide a basis for empirical, in country studies weighing the benefits and disadvantages of medical tourism for health systems. The policy implications described are of particular relevance for policymakers and industry practitioners in other Southeast Asian countries with similar health systems where governments have expressed interest in facilitating the growth of the medical tourist industry. This article calls for a universal definition of medical tourism and medical tourists to be enunciated, as well as concerted data collection efforts, to be undertaken prior to any meaningful empirical analysis of medical tourism's impact on health systems. PMID:21539751

Learning Across Time Scales: Science, Policy, Management, and Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, M. M.

2002-05-01

This presentation will draw together common themes raised in the session and discuss lessons learned across time scales and their implications for managers and policy makers concerned with both climate change and variability. Session themes will be examined in the context of the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and considered as opportunities for linking climate change policy discussions with lessons learned from the study of adaptation on seasonal to interannual time scales. The presentation will raise questions about future research directions, discuss recommendations for promoting learning across time scales, and explore options for better communicating the links between climate change and variability.

A Portrait of Young Adolescents in the 1990s: Implications for Promoting Healthy Growth and Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scales, Peter C.

Designed to promote the creation of programs and policies that meet the needs of young adolescents, this report considers trends and forces affecting children between the ages of 10 and 15 and offers recommendations for drawing out adolescents' positive possibilities. Section 1 acknowledges trends that point to an increasing number of at-risk…

Policy Environments That Draw Manufacturers and Create Jobs | State, Local,

Science.gov Websites

and Tribal Governments | NREL Policy Environments That Draw Manufacturers and Create Jobs Policy Environments That Draw Manufacturers and Create Jobs The Solar Technical Assistance Team (STAT

Investigating patients' experiences: methodological usefulness of interpretive interactionism.

PubMed

Tower, Marion; Rowe, Jennifer; Wallis, Marianne

2012-01-01

To demonstrate the methodological usefulness of interpretive interactionism by applying it to the example of a study investigating healthcare experiences of women affected by domestic violence. Understanding patients' experiences of health, illness and health care is important to nurses. For many years, biomedical discourse has prevailed in healthcare language and research, and has influenced healthcare responses. Contemporary nursing scholarship can be developed by engaging with new ways of understanding therapeutic interactions with patients. Research that uses qualitative methods of inquiry is an important paradigm for nurses who seek to explain and understand or describe experiences rather than predict outcomes. Interpretive interactionism is an interpretive form of inquiry for conducting studies of social or personal problems that have healthcare policy implications. It puts the patient at the centre of the research process and makes visible the experiences of patients as they interact with the healthcare and social systems that surround them. Interpretive interactionism draws on concepts of symbolic interactionism, phenomenology and hermeneutics. Interpretive interactionism is a patient-centred methodology that provides an alternative way of understanding patients' experiences. It can contribute to policy and practice development by drawing on the perspectives and experiences of patients, who are central to the research process. It also allows research findings to be situated in and linked to healthcare policy, professional ethics and organisational approaches to care. Interpretive interactionism has methodological utility because it can contribute to policy and practice development by drawing on the perspectives and experiences of patients who are central to the research process. Interpretive interactionism allows research findings to be situated in and linked to health policy, professional ethics and organisational approaches to caring.

Migrant Nurses and Federal Caregiver Programs in Canada: Migration and Health Human Resources Paradox.

PubMed

Salami, Bukola

2016-06-01

Despite the links between health human resources policy, immigration policy, and education policy, silos persist in the policy-making process that complicate the professional integration of internationally educated nurses in Canada. Drawing on the literature on nurse migration to Canada through the Live-in Caregiver Program, this paper sheds light on the contradictions between immigration and health human resources policy and their effect on the integration of internationally educated nurses in Canada. The analysis reveals a series of paradoxes within and across immigration and health human resources policy that affect the process of professional integration of this group of health professionals into the nursing workforce in Canada. I will further link the discussion to the recently implemented Caregiver Program, which provides a unique pathway for healthcare workers, including nurses, to migrate to Canada. Given recent introduction of the Canadian Caregiver Program, major policy implications include the need to bridge the gap between health human resources policy and immigration policy to ensure the maximum integration of migrant nurses in Canada.

The Big Society in an age of austerity: threats and opportunities for Health Consumer and Patients' Organizations in England.

PubMed

Baggott, Rob; Jones, Kathryn

2015-12-01

Health consumer and patients' organizations (HCPOs) seek to influence policy. But how are they affected by developments in the policy context and political environment? The article draws on original research into HCPOs in the UK by the authors, including a major survey undertaken in 1999 and interviews with HCPOs and policymakers between 2000 and 2003 as well as a further survey in 2010. It also draws on a review of key government policies on health and the voluntary sector since 1997. Developments in the political environment and policy context have created both opportunities and threats for HCPOs as they seek to influence policy. These include policies to promote choice and competition in public services; support for a greater role for the voluntary sector and civil society in health and welfare (including the current government's 'Big Society' idea); NHS reorganization; changes to the system of patient and public involvement; and austerity measures. Devolution of powers within the UK with regard to health policy and the rising profile of the EU in health matters have also had implications for HCPOs. This analysis raises key issues for future research in the UK and elsewhere, such as how will HCPOs be able to maintain independence in an increasingly competitive environment? And how will they fare in an era of retrenchment? There are also challenges for HCPOs in relation to maintaining relationships in a new institutional setting characterized by multilevel governance. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Health Activism Targeting Corporations: A Critical Health Communication Perspective.

PubMed

Zoller, Heather M

2017-02-01

Health activists and health social movements have transformed medical treatment, promoted public health policies, and extended civil rights for people with illness and disability. This essay explores health activism that targets corporate-generated illness and risk in order to understand the unique communicative challenges involved in this area of contention. Arguing for greater critical engagement with policy, the article integrates policy research with social movements, subpolitics, and issue management literature. Drawing from activist discourse and multidisciplinary research, the article describes how a wide array of groups groups build visibility for corporate health effects, create the potential for networking and collaboration, and politicize health by attributing illness to corporate behaviors. The discussion articulates the implications of this activism for health communication theory, research, and practice.

Religion and attitudes toward abortion and abortion policy in Brazil.

PubMed

Ogland, Curtis P; Verona, Ana Paula

2011-01-01

This study examines the association between religion and attitudes toward the practice of abortion and abortion policy in Brazil. Drawing upon data from the 2002 Brazilian Social Research Survey (BSRS), we test a number of hypotheses with regard to the role of religion on opposition to the practice of abortion and its legalization. Findings indicate that frequently attending Pentecostals demonstrate the strongest opposition to the practice of abortion and both frequently attending Pentecostals and Catholics demonstrate the strongest opposition to its legalization. Additional religious factors, such as a commitment to biblical literalism, were also found to be significantly associated with opposition to both abortion issues. Ultimately, the findings have implications for the future of public policy on abortion and other contentious social issues in Brazil.

Campaigning on the welfare state: The impact of gender and gender diversity.

PubMed

Ennser-Jedenastik, Laurenz

2017-07-01

Social policy matters have long been considered women's issues. Extant research has documented a strong link between gender and the policies of the welfare state in the legislative, executive and electoral arenas. Yet what determines the strength of this association has largely been left unexplored. Drawing on tokenism theory, this article proposes gender diversity at the group level as a key explanatory factor. It hypothesizes that the gender gap in social policy diminishes as the female representation in a political party increases. To test this argument, it examines almost 8000 press releases issued by over 600 politicians during four election campaigns in Austria between 2002 and 2013. The analysis demonstrates that women talk more about social policy issues during election campaigns than men, but that this emphasis gap disappears for parties with a more equal gender balance. These results have important implications for our understanding of the politics of gender and social policy.

The Energy-Water Nexus: Managing the Links between Energy and Water for a Sustainable Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussey, Karen; Petit, Carine

2010-05-01

Water and energy are both indispensable inputs to modern economies but currently both resources are under threat owing to the impacts of an ever-increasing population and associated demand, unsustainable practices in agriculture and manufacturing, and the implications of a changing climate. However, it is where water and energy rely on each other that pose the most complex challenges for policy-makers. Water is needed for mining coal, drilling oil, refining gasoline, and generating and distributing electricity; and, conversely, vast amounts of energy are needed to pump, transport, treat and distribute water, particularly in the production of potable water through the use of desalination plants and waste water treatment plants. Despite the links, and the urgency in both sectors for security of supply, in existing policy frameworks energy and water policies are developed largely in isolation from one another. Worse still, some policies designed to encourage alternative energy supplies give little thought to the resultant consequences on water resources, and, similarly, policies designed to secure water supplies pay little attention to the resultant consequences on energy use. The development of new technologies presents both opportunities and challenges for managing the energy-water nexus but a better understanding of the links between energy and water is essential in any attempt to formulate policies for more resilient and adaptable societies. The energy-water nexus must be adequately integrated into policy and decision-making or governments run the risk of contradicting their efforts, and therefore failing in their objectives, in both sectors. A series of COST Exploratory Workshops, drawing on on-going research in the energy-water nexus from a number of international teams, identified the implications of the energy-water nexus on the development of (i) energy policies (ii) water resource management policies and (iii) climate adaptation and mitigation policies. A preliminary list of recommendations on how best to account for and integrate these impacts into policy and decision-making processes at various institutional levels was prepared and future research needs in the energy-water nexus were suggested as main outcomes. This presentation draws on the contributions to the COST water-energy-links exploratory workshops and the development of 12 case studies undertaken by researchers from Europe, the United States, Australia and China, which will be published in a Special Feature of Ecology and Society, mid-2010.

Gender, intoxication and the developing brain: Problematisations of drinking among young adults in Australian alcohol policy.

PubMed

Manton, Elizabeth; Moore, David

2016-05-01

In this article, we draw on recent scholarly work in the poststructuralist analysis of policy to consider how policy itself functions as a key site in the constitution of alcohol 'problems', and the political implications of these problematisations. We do this by examining Australian alcohol policy as it relates to young adults (18-24 years old). Our critical analysis focuses on three national alcohol policies (1990, 2001 and 2006) and two Victorian state alcohol policies (2008 and 2013), which together span a 25-year period. We argue that Australian alcohol policies have conspicuously ignored young adult men, despite their ongoing over-representation in the statistical 'evidence base' on alcohol-related harm, while increasingly problematising alcohol consumption amongst other population subgroups. We also identify the development of a new problem representation in Australian alcohol policy, that of 'intoxication' as the leading cause of alcohol-related harm and rising hospital admissions, and argue that changes in the classification and diagnosis of intoxication may have contributed to its prioritisation and problematisation in alcohol policy at the expense of other forms of harm. Finally, we draw attention to how preliminary and inconclusive research on the purported association between binge drinking and brain development in those under 25 years old has been mobilised prematurely to support calls to increase the legal purchasing age from 18 to 21 years. Our critical analysis of the treatment of these three issues - gender, intoxication, and brain development - is intended to highlight the ways in which policy functions as a key site in the constitution of alcohol 'problems'. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Financial Literacy and Economic Outcomes: Evidence and Policy Implications.

PubMed

Mitchell, Olivia S; Lusardi, Annamaria

2015-01-01

This paper reviews what we have learned over the past decade about financial literacy and its relationship to financial decision-making around the world. Using three questions, we have surveyed people in several countries to determine whether they have the fundamental knowledge of economics and finance needed to function as effective decision-makers. We find that levels of financial literacy are low not only in the United States. but also in many other countries including those with well-developed financial markets. Moreover, financial illiteracy is particularly acute for some demographic groups, especially women and the less-educated. These findings are important since financial literacy is linked to borrowing, saving, and spending patterns. We also offer new evidence on financial literacy among high school students drawing on the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment implemented in 18 countries. Last, we discuss the implications of this research for policy.

Financial Literacy and Economic Outcomes: Evidence and Policy Implications

PubMed Central

Mitchell, Olivia S.; Lusardi, Annamaria

2017-01-01

This paper reviews what we have learned over the past decade about financial literacy and its relationship to financial decision-making around the world. Using three questions, we have surveyed people in several countries to determine whether they have the fundamental knowledge of economics and finance needed to function as effective decision-makers. We find that levels of financial literacy are low not only in the United States. but also in many other countries including those with well-developed financial markets. Moreover, financial illiteracy is particularly acute for some demographic groups, especially women and the less-educated. These findings are important since financial literacy is linked to borrowing, saving, and spending patterns. We also offer new evidence on financial literacy among high school students drawing on the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment implemented in 18 countries. Last, we discuss the implications of this research for policy. PMID:28553655

Top income shares in Canada: recent trends and policy implications

PubMed Central

Veall, Michael R

2012-01-01

According to Canadian taxfiler data, over the last thirty years there has been a surge in the income shares of the top 1%, top 0.1% and top 0.01% of income recipients, even with longitudinal smoothing by individual using three- or five-year moving averages. Top shares fell in 2008 and 2009, but only by a fraction of the overall surge. Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario have much more pronounced surges than other provinces. Part of the Canadian surge is likely attributable to U.S. factors, but a comprehensive explanation remains elusive. Even so, I draw implications for policies that might achieve some support from across the political spectrum, including the elimination of tax preferences that favour those with high incomes, the promotion of shareholder democracy and, to maintain Canada's relatively high intergenerational mobility, continued wide accessibility to healthcare and education. PMID:23335814

Nuclear weapons, irrational behavior, and extended deterrence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rhodes, E.J.

1985-01-01

This dissertation examines the problem of extended deterrence deductively develops a theory of commitment-through-contingent irrationality, and draws upon this theory to frame a set of comparatively attractive policy recommendations. To these ends, the dissertation explores the nature, sources, and types of irrationality and irrational behavior, the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of coercive power, the various logical modes of commitment, and the various modes of nuclear coercion. These strands are fused into a theory of nuclear coercion based on contingently irrational behavior that has relevance for the problem of extended deterrence and that has important implications for USmore » policy.« less

Ecosystem change and human health: implementation economics and policy.

PubMed

Pattanayak, S K; Kramer, R A; Vincent, J R

2017-06-05

Several recent initiatives such as Planetary Health , EcoHealth and One Health claim that human health depends on flourishing natural ecosystems. However, little has been said about the operational and implementation challenges of health-oriented conservation actions on the ground. We contend that ecological-epidemiological research must be complemented by a form of implementation science that examines: (i) the links between specific conservation actions and the resulting ecological changes, and (ii) how this ecological change impacts human health and well-being, when human behaviours are considered. Drawing on the policy evaluation tradition in public economics, first, we present three examples of recent social science research on conservation interventions that affect human health. These examples are from low- and middle-income countries in the tropics and subtropics. Second, drawing on these examples, we present three propositions related to impact evaluation and non-market valuation that can help guide future multidisciplinary research on conservation and human health. Research guided by these propositions will allow stakeholders to determine how ecosystem-mediated strategies for health promotion compare with more conventional biomedical prevention and treatment strategies for safeguarding health.This article is part of the themed issue 'Conservation, biodiversity and infectious disease: scientific evidence and policy implications'. © 2017 The Authors.

The financial crisis and global health: the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) policy response.

PubMed

Ruckert, Arne; Labonté, Ronald

2013-09-01

In this article, we interrogate the policy response of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the global financial crisis, and discuss the likely global health implications, especially in low-income countries. In doing so, we ask if the IMF has meaningfully loosened its fiscal deficit targets in light of the economic challenges posed by the financial crisis and adjusted its macro-economic policy advice to this new reality; or has the rhetoric of counter-cyclical spending failed to translate into additional fiscal space for IMF loan-recipient countries, with negative health consequences? To answer these questions, we assess several post-crisis IMF lending agreements with countries requiring financial assistance, and draw upon recent academic studies and civil society reports examining policy conditionalities still being prescribed by the IMF. We also reference recent studies examining the health impacts of these conditionalities. We demonstrate that while the IMF has been somewhat more flexible in its crisis response than in previous episodes of financial upheaval, there has been no meaningful rethinking in the application of dominant neoliberal macro-economic policies. After showing some flexibility in the initial crisis response, the IMF is pushing for excessive contraction in most low and middle-income countries. We conclude that there remains a wide gap between the rhetoric and the reality of the IMF's policy and programming advice, with negative implications for global health.

Making space for belonging: critical reflections on the implementation of personalised adult social care under the veil of meaningful inclusion.

PubMed

Power, Andrew

2013-07-01

This paper critically reflects on the way in which recent adult social care reform has been evolving beneath the alleged policy goal of prioritising the cultivation of meaningful inclusion and 'belonging' in the community. With this goal, there has been a focus away from 'services' for persons with intellectual disabilities, to supporting natural connections within the community. This paper draws on a grounded theory study of the perspectives of those responsible for overseeing community living arrangements for persons with disabilities, drawing on interviews and focus groups with service providers and relevant government officials. It examines the socio-spatial implications of the gradual shift towards 'belonging' as a disability policy goal, as it has evolved in two discrete settings - British Columbia, Canada and Ireland. The findings identify the complexities involved in facilitating active community connection for persons with intellectual disabilities and reveal important cautionary lessons for other jurisdictions where community living policy has arguably been moving away from communal services towards self-managed supports in 'real' communities through personal budgets in an effort to remove barriers to participation. The paper thus critically reflects on the rapid pursuit for transformation in personalised adult social care in government policy, arguing that the process of fostering meaningful community inclusion will and should take time. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Campaigning on the welfare state: The impact of gender and gender diversity

PubMed Central

Ennser-Jedenastik, Laurenz

2017-01-01

Social policy matters have long been considered women’s issues. Extant research has documented a strong link between gender and the policies of the welfare state in the legislative, executive and electoral arenas. Yet what determines the strength of this association has largely been left unexplored. Drawing on tokenism theory, this article proposes gender diversity at the group level as a key explanatory factor. It hypothesizes that the gender gap in social policy diminishes as the female representation in a political party increases. To test this argument, it examines almost 8000 press releases issued by over 600 politicians during four election campaigns in Austria between 2002 and 2013. The analysis demonstrates that women talk more about social policy issues during election campaigns than men, but that this emphasis gap disappears for parties with a more equal gender balance. These results have important implications for our understanding of the politics of gender and social policy. PMID:28751817

Policies for Managing Reductions in Military End Strength: Using Incentive Pays to Draw Down the Force

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-01-01

Michael G. Mattock, James Hosek, Beth J. Asch Policies for Managing Reductions in Military End Strength Using Incentive Pays to Draw Down the...5 Voluntary Separation Incentive and...Using Incentives to Draw Down the Force

Smart food policies for obesity prevention.

PubMed

Hawkes, Corinna; Smith, Trenton G; Jewell, Jo; Wardle, Jane; Hammond, Ross A; Friel, Sharon; Thow, Anne Marie; Kain, Juliana

2015-06-13

Prevention of obesity requires policies that work. In this Series paper, we propose a new way to understand how food policies could be made to work more effectively for obesity prevention. Our approach draws on evidence from a range of disciplines (psychology, economics, and public health nutrition) to develop a theory of change to understand how food policies work. We focus on one of the key determinants of obesity: diet. The evidence we review suggests that the interaction between human food preferences and the environment in which those preferences are learned, expressed, and reassessed has a central role. We identify four mechanisms through which food policies can affect diet: providing an enabling environment for learning of healthy preferences, overcoming barriers to the expression of healthy preferences, encouraging people to reassess existing unhealthy preferences at the point-of-purchase, and stimulating a food-systems response. We explore how actions in three specific policy areas (school settings, economic instruments, and nutrition labelling) work through these mechanisms, and draw implications for more effective policy design. We find that effective food-policy actions are those that lead to positive changes to food, social, and information environments and the systems that underpin them. Effective food-policy actions are tailored to the preference, behavioural, socioeconomic, and demographic characteristics of the people they seek to support, are designed to work through the mechanisms through which they have greatest effect, and are implemented as part of a combination of mutually reinforcing actions. Moving forward, priorities should include comprehensive policy actions that create an enabling environment for infants and children to learn healthy food preferences and targeted actions that enable disadvantaged populations to overcome barriers to meeting healthy preferences. Policy assessments should be carefully designed on the basis of a theory of change, using indicators of progress along the various pathways towards the long-term goal of reducing obesity rates. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Corporate coalitions and policy making in the European Union: how and why British American Tobacco promoted "Better Regulation".

PubMed

Smith, Katherine Elizabeth; Fooks, Gary; Gilmore, Anna B; Collin, Jeff; Weishaar, Heide

2015-04-01

Over the past fifteen years, an interconnected set of regulatory reforms, known as Better Regulation, has been adopted across Europe, marking a significant shift in the way that European Union policies are developed. There has been little exploration of the origins of these reforms, which include mandatory ex ante impact assessment. Drawing on documentary and interview data, this article discusses how and why large corporations, notably British American Tobacco (BAT), worked to influence and promote these reforms. Our analysis highlights (1) how policy entrepreneurs with sufficient resources (such as large corporations) can shape the membership and direction of advocacy coalitions; (2) the extent to which "think tanks" may be prepared to lobby on behalf of commercial clients; and (3) why regulated industries (including tobacco) may favor the use of "evidence tools," such as impact assessments, in policy making. We argue that a key aspect of BAT's ability to shape regulatory reform involved the deliberate construction of a vaguely defined idea that could be strategically adapted to appeal to diverse constituencies. We discuss the theoretical implications of this finding for the Advocacy Coalition Framework, as well as the practical implications of the findings for efforts to promote transparency and public health in the European Union. Copyright © 2015 by Duke University Press.

The implications of community responses to intimate partner violence in Rwanda

PubMed Central

Seyed-Raeisy, Iran; Burgess, Rochelle; Campbell, Catherine

2018-01-01

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has significant impacts on mental health. Community-focused interventions have shown promising results for addressing IPV in low-income countries, however, little is known about the implications of these interventions for women’s mental wellbeing. This paper analyses data from a community-focused policy intervention in Rwanda collected in 2013–14, including focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with community members (n = 59). Our findings point to three ways in which these community members responded to IPV: (1) reconciling couples experiencing violence, (2) engaging community support through raising cases of IPV during community discussions, (3) navigating resources for women experiencing IPV, including police, social services and legal support. These community responses support women experiencing violence by helping them access available resources and by engaging in community discussions. However, assistance is largely only offered to married women and responses tend to focus exclusively on physical rather than psychological or emotional forms of violence. Drawing on Campbell and Burgess’s (2012) framework for ‘community mental health competence’, we interrogate the potential implications of these responses for the mental wellbeing of women affected by violence. We conclude by drawing attention to the gendered nature of community responses to IPV and the potential impacts this may have for the mental health of women experiencing IPV. PMID:29718961

The implications of community responses to intimate partner violence in Rwanda.

PubMed

Mannell, Jenevieve; Seyed-Raeisy, Iran; Burgess, Rochelle; Campbell, Catherine

2018-01-01

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has significant impacts on mental health. Community-focused interventions have shown promising results for addressing IPV in low-income countries, however, little is known about the implications of these interventions for women's mental wellbeing. This paper analyses data from a community-focused policy intervention in Rwanda collected in 2013-14, including focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with community members (n = 59). Our findings point to three ways in which these community members responded to IPV: (1) reconciling couples experiencing violence, (2) engaging community support through raising cases of IPV during community discussions, (3) navigating resources for women experiencing IPV, including police, social services and legal support. These community responses support women experiencing violence by helping them access available resources and by engaging in community discussions. However, assistance is largely only offered to married women and responses tend to focus exclusively on physical rather than psychological or emotional forms of violence. Drawing on Campbell and Burgess's (2012) framework for 'community mental health competence', we interrogate the potential implications of these responses for the mental wellbeing of women affected by violence. We conclude by drawing attention to the gendered nature of community responses to IPV and the potential impacts this may have for the mental health of women experiencing IPV.

Exploring policy makers' perspectives on a clinical controversy: airway surgery for adult obstructive sleep apnoea.

PubMed

Elshaug, A G; Hiller, J E; Moss, J R

2009-10-01

Worldwide, there is increasing focus on measures to reduce ineffective healthcare practices. Upper airway surgeries for the treatment of adult obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) represent a case-study in this area, given recent publications that draw into question their efficacy. Policy stakeholders were canvassed to assess their perspectives on this. Senior health policy stakeholders from Australia were criterion and snowball sampled (to identify opinion leaders). Participants were presented with preparatory material and took part in individual semistructured interviews. These focused on eliciting responses to recently published evidence and a relevant Cochrane review. Questions were posed relating to clinical effectiveness and associated policy implications. Interviews were taped and transcribed for thematic analysis. Participant comments were de-identified. Ten stakeholders were interviewed before saturation was reached. Thematic analysis highlighted participant concern with the diversity of procedures on offer, coupled with limited effectiveness (suggesting potential clinical uncertainty) and considerations therefore of resource allocation (potential opportunity cost). Stakeholders seem aware of the methodological complexities, the ethical issues raised and the role of patients in considerations regarding appropriateness. Finally, policy stakeholders acknowledge that these procedures appear appropriate only for a minority, with consensus that policy level restrictions to government funding for these procedures may be warranted. This report highlights that this clinical controversy is of interest and relevance from a policy perspective with lessons and potential implications for clinical practice. It further highlights the need for clinical consensus on definitions of surgical "success" in treating this condition, as this forms an important pretext to policy considerations.

The transformation of morals in markets: death, benefits, and the exchange of life insurance policies.

PubMed

Quinn, Sarah

2008-11-01

This article adopts an institutional approach to describe the changing secondary market for life insurance in the United States. Since the 1990s, this market, in which investors buy strangers' life insurance policies, has grown in the face of considerable moral ambivalence. The author uses news reports and interviews to identify and describe three conceptions of this market: sacred revulsion, consumerist consolation, and rationalized reconciliation. Differences among the conceptions are considered in view of the institutional legacy of life insurance and its success in organizing practices, perceptions, and understandings about markets and death. From this case, the author draws implications for analyses of morals in markets, an important and emergent topic within economic sociology.

Empathy and nurse education.

PubMed

Williams, Julia; Stickley, Theodore

2010-11-01

It is widely accepted that the ability of nurses to empathise with their patients is a desirable quality. There is however little discussion of the implications of this for nurse educators. This article reviews the nursing and counselling literature related to empathy. We begin with an exploration of different perspectives of empathy; from its behavioural and measurable characteristics to its less tangible, intuitive qualities. By drawing upon both policy and research, it is clear that patients want empathic and emotionally competent nurses. Nurse educators therefore have a responsibility to provide an education that engenders empathic understanding. We explore the implications of these findings for nurse education, identifying key areas for consideration in the preparation of emotionally skilled, empathic student nurses. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using stakeholder analysis to support moves towards universal coverage: lessons from the SHIELD project.

PubMed

Gilson, Lucy; Erasmus, Ermin; Borghi, Jo; Macha, Janet; Kamuzora, Peter; Mtei, Gemini

2012-03-01

Stakeholder analysis is widely recommended as a tool for gathering insights on policy actor interests in, positions on, and power to influence, health policy issues. Such information is recognized to be critical in developing viable health policy proposals, and is particularly important for new health care financing proposals that aim to secure universal coverage (UC). However, there remain surprisingly few published accounts of the use of stakeholder analysis in health policy development generally, and health financing specifically, and even fewer that draw lessons from experience about how to do and how to use such analysis. This paper, therefore, aims to support those developing or researching UC reforms to think both about how to conduct stakeholder analysis, and how to use it to support evidence-informed pro-poor health policy development. It presents practical lessons and ideas drawn from experience of doing stakeholder analysis around UC reforms in South Africa and Tanzania, combined with insights from other relevant material. The paper has two parts. The first presents lessons of experience for conducting a stakeholder analysis, and the second, ideas about how to use the analysis to support policy design and the development of actor and broader political management strategies. Comparison of experience across South Africa and Tanzania shows that there are some commonalities concerning which stakeholders have general interests in UC reform. However, differences in context and in reform proposals generate differences in the particular interests of stakeholders and their likely positioning on reform proposals, as well as in their relative balance of power. It is, therefore, difficult to draw cross-national policy comparisons around these specific issues. Nonetheless, the paper shows that cross-national policy learning is possible around the approach to analysis, the factors influencing judgements and the implications for, and possible approaches to, management of policy processes. Such learning does not entail generalization about which UC reform package offers most gain in any setting, but rather about how to manage the reform process within a particular context.

School Choice in London and Paris – A Comparison of Middle-class Strategies

PubMed Central

Benson, Michaela; Bridge, Gary; Wilson, Deborah

2015-01-01

Education is one major public service in which quasi-markets and other choice-based mechanisms are now established methods of delivery. The types of school people choose, and the extent to which their choices are realized, have a fundamental impact on the outcomes of any mechanism of school choice. In this article, we provide a comparative analysis of the school choice strategies of middle-class families in London and Paris. We draw on approximately 200 in-depth interviews carried out across the two cities. This enables us to investigate the extent to which middle-class school choice strategies transcend the institutional context provided by both the local (state and private) schools market and national education policy in England and France. We discuss these findings in the context of current school choice policy and consider their implications for future policy design. PMID:25750467

Prison Boomers: Policy Implications of Aging Prison Populations

PubMed Central

Psick, Zachary; Ahalt, Cyrus; Brown, Rebecca T.; Simon, Jonathan

2018-01-01

Prison populations worldwide are aging at an unprecedented rate, and associated age-related medical costs have had serious consequences for jurisdictions struggling to respond to the changes. Our examination of the situation in California shows that recognizing the changing healthcare needs of aging prison populations is critical to achieving effective and efficient policies and practices that affect this medically vulnerable and costly population. Chronic prison overcrowding usually accompanies the aging trends, and there is evidence that aging is strongly correlated with desistance from criminal behavior, suggesting an opportunity to at least partially address the challenges through early release of appropriate persons. Some relevant policies do exist, but they have not achieved this goal on a sufficient scale. Drawing lessons from California and available scholarship, we conclude with recommendations for those faced with responding to the unprecedented number of older adults now in prison, most of whom will eventually be released. PMID:28299972

Learning organisations: the challenge of finding a safe space in a climate of accountability.

PubMed

McKee, Anne

2017-03-01

The effects of health policy reforms over a twenty-five year period have changed the NHS as a place in which to work and learn. Some of these changes have had unintentional consequences for learning in the workplace. A recent King's Fund contribution to quality improvement debates included an extensive review of NHS policies encouraging change 'from within' the NHS and renewed calls to develop learning organisations there. I draw upon an action research project designed to develop learning organisations in primary care to locate quality improvement debates amid the realities of practice. The project identified key challenges primary care practices encountered to protect time and space for this form of work based learning, even when they recognised the need for it and wanted to engage in it. Implications for policy makers, primary care practices and health professional educationalists are identified.

The value of unhealthy eating and the ethics of healthy eating policies.

PubMed

Barnhill, Anne; King, Katherine F; Kass, Nancy; Faden, Ruth

2014-09-01

Unhealthy eating can have value for individuals and groups, even while it has disvalue in virtue of being unhealthy. In this paper, we discuss some ways in which unhealthy eating has value and draw out implications for the ethics of policies limiting access to unhealthy food. Discussing the value and disvalue of unhealthy eating helps identify opportunities for reducing unhealthy eating that has little value, and helps identify opportunities for eliminating trade-offs between health and other values by making unhealthy food experiences healthier without eliminating their value. It also helps us think through when it is ethically acceptable, and when it might be ethically unacceptable, to limit valuable experience in order to promote health. Our discussion of the value and disvalue of eating is offered here as a necessary supplement to the familiar discussion of paternalism, autonomous choice, and public policy.

Family-friendly policies: general nurses' preferences and experiences.

PubMed

Robinson, Sarah; Davey, Barbara; Murrells, Trevor

2003-01-01

While European Union policy emphasises that one of the aims of family-friendly working arrangements is to increasing gender equality, in the UK the focus has been primarily on workforce retention. Drawing on a study of Registered General Nurses who returned to work after breaks for maternity leave, this paper considers their preferences and experiences in light of current UK family-friendly policies and the implications of the findings for increasing gender equality. Questionnaires were completed by respondents in three regional health authorities and focused on the four to eight year period after qualification. The following topics were investigated: views about length of maternity break and reasons for returning to work sooner than preferred; hours sought after a return and hours obtained; the availability of preferred patterns of work and of flexible hours; retention of grade on return; the availability and use of workplace crèches, and childcare arrangements when children were unwell.

Integrated mental health services in England: a policy paradox

PubMed Central

England, Elizabeth; Lester, Helen

2005-01-01

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of health care policy on the development of integrated mental health services in England. Data sources Drawing largely from a narrative review of the literature on adult mental health services published between January 1997 and February 2003 undertaken by the authors, we discuss three case studies of integrated care within primary care, secondary care and across the primary/secondary interface for people with serious mental illness. Conclusion We suggest that while the central thrust of a raft of recent Government policies in England has been towards integration of different parts of the health care system, policy waterfalls and implementation failures, the adoption of ideas before they have been thoroughly tried and tested, a lack of clarity over roles and responsibilities and poor communication have led to an integration rhetoric/reality gap in practice. This has particular implications for people with serious mental health problems. Discussion We conclude with suggestions for strategies that may facilitate more integrated working. PMID:16773165

Unequal Effects of Elders' Health Problems on Wealth Depletion across Race and Ethnicity

PubMed Central

Kim, Hyungsoo; Lee, Jinkook

2006-01-01

We investigate the impact of health on wealth depletion of African American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white elders. Using the data from 4,464 elderly households that participated in both the 1993 Asset and Health Dynamics of the Oldest Old and the 1998 Health and Retirement Study, we find that health problems contribute to wealth depletion differently across elders in different racial and ethnic groups. We draw policy implications from the findings regarding ways to help consumers protect their financial security from health shocks in later life. PMID:16773142

Curriculum Reform and the Displacement of Knowledge in Peruvian Rural Secondary Schools: Exploring the Unintended Local Consequences of Global Education Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balarin, Maria; Benavides, Martin

2010-01-01

This paper draws attention to processes of policy implementation in developing contexts, and to the unintended consequences of education policies that follow international policy scripts without enough consideration of local histories and cultures. Drawing on a study of teaching practices in Peruvian rural secondary schools after a period of…

A question of dissemination: Assessing the practices and implications of research in tropical landscapes.

PubMed

Toomey, Anne H; Alvaro, María Eugenia Copa; Aiello-Lammens, Matthew; Loayza Cossio, Oscar; Barlow, Jos

2018-04-24

Current debates in the conservation sciences argue for better integration between research and practice, often citing the importance of the diffusion, dissemination and implementation of scientific knowledge for environmental management and policy. This paper focuses on a relatively well-researched protected area (Madidi National Park) in Bolivia in order to present different interpretations and understandings of the implications and availability of research findings. We draw on findings from quantitative and qualitative methods to determine the extent to which research carried out in the region was disseminated and/or implemented for management actions, and to understand subsequent implications for how local actors perceive the value of research and its role in management and conservation. We discuss the critical consequences of these findings for the future of conservation science and practice in biologically and culturally diverse landscapes, with an explicit call to action for academic institutions to support researchers in developing appropriate dissemination strategies.

Debating science policy in the physics classroom.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayer, Shannon

2010-03-01

It is critically important that national and international science policy be scientifically grounded. To this end, the next generation of scientists and engineers will need to be technically competent, effective communicators of science, and engaged advisors in the debate and formulation of science policy. We describe three science policy debates developed for the physics classroom aimed at encouraging students to draw connections between their developing technical expertise and important science policy issues. The first debate considers the proposal for a 450-megawatt wind farm on public lands in Nantucket Sound and fits naturally into the curriculum related to alternative forms of energy production. The second debate considers national fuel-economy standards for sport-utility vehicles and can be incorporated into the curriculum related to heat engines. The third debate, suitable for the curriculum in optics, considers solid state lighting and implications of recent United States legislation that places stringent new energy-efficiency and reliability requirements on conventional lighting. The technical foundation for each of these debates fits naturally into the undergraduate physics curriculum and the material is suitable for a wide range of physics courses, including general science courses for non-majors.

Drawing causal inferences using propensity scores: a practical guide for community psychologists.

PubMed

Lanza, Stephanie T; Moore, Julia E; Butera, Nicole M

2013-12-01

Confounding present in observational data impede community psychologists' ability to draw causal inferences. This paper describes propensity score methods as a conceptually straightforward approach to drawing causal inferences from observational data. A step-by-step demonstration of three propensity score methods-weighting, matching, and subclassification-is presented in the context of an empirical examination of the causal effect of preschool experiences (Head Start vs. parental care) on reading development in kindergarten. Although the unadjusted population estimate indicated that children with parental care had substantially higher reading scores than children who attended Head Start, all propensity score adjustments reduce the size of this overall causal effect by more than half. The causal effect was also defined and estimated among children who attended Head Start. Results provide no evidence for improved reading if those children had instead received parental care. We carefully define different causal effects and discuss their respective policy implications, summarize advantages and limitations of each propensity score method, and provide SAS and R syntax so that community psychologists may conduct causal inference in their own research.

Drawing Causal Inferences Using Propensity Scores: A Practical Guide for Community Psychologists

PubMed Central

Lanza, Stephanie T.; Moore, Julia E.; Butera, Nicole M.

2014-01-01

Confounding present in observational data impede community psychologists’ ability to draw causal inferences. This paper describes propensity score methods as a conceptually straightforward approach to drawing causal inferences from observational data. A step-by-step demonstration of three propensity score methods – weighting, matching, and subclassification – is presented in the context of an empirical examination of the causal effect of preschool experiences (Head Start vs. parental care) on reading development in kindergarten. Although the unadjusted population estimate indicated that children with parental care had substantially higher reading scores than children who attended Head Start, all propensity score adjustments reduce the size of this overall causal effect by more than half. The causal effect was also defined and estimated among children who attended Head Start. Results provide no evidence for improved reading if those children had instead received parental care. We carefully define different causal effects and discuss their respective policy implications, summarize advantages and limitations of each propensity score method, and provide SAS and R syntax so that community psychologists may conduct causal inference in their own research. PMID:24185755

EXPOsOMICS: final policy workshop and stakeholder consultation.

PubMed

Turner, Michelle C; Vineis, Paolo; Seleiro, Eduardo; Dijmarescu, Michaela; Balshaw, David; Bertollini, Roberto; Chadeau-Hyam, Marc; Gant, Timothy; Gulliver, John; Jeong, Ayoung; Kyrtopoulos, Soterios; Martuzzi, Marco; Miller, Gary W; Nawrot, Timothy; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark; Phillips, David H; Probst-Hensch, Nicole; Samet, Jonathan; Vermeulen, Roel; Vlaanderen, Jelle; Vrijheid, Martine; Wild, Christopher; Kogevinas, Manolis

2018-02-15

The final meeting of the EXPOsOMICS project "Final Policy Workshop and Stakeholder Consultation" took place 28-29 March 2017 to present the main results of the project and discuss their implications both for future research and for regulatory and policy activities. This paper summarizes presentations and discussions at the meeting related with the main results and advances in exposome research achieved through the EXPOsOMICS project; on other parallel research initiatives on the study of the exposome in Europe and in the United States and their complementarity to EXPOsOMICS; lessons learned from these early studies on the exposome and how they may shape the future of research on environmental exposure assessment; and finally the broader implications of exposome research for risk assessment and policy development on environmental exposures. The main results of EXPOsOMICS in relation to studies of the external exposome and internal exposome in relation to both air pollution and water contaminants were presented as well as new technologies for environmental health research (adductomics) and advances in statistical methods. Although exposome research strengthens the scientific basis for policy development, there is a need in terms of showing added value for public health to: improve communication of research results to non-scientific audiences; target research to the broader landscape of societal challenges; and draw applicable conclusions. Priorities for future work include the development and standardization of methodologies and technologies for assessing the external and internal exposome, improved data sharing and integration, and the demonstration of the added value of exposome science over conventional approaches in answering priority policy questions.

Public participation and environmental impact assessment: Purposes, implications, and lessons for public policy making

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

O'Faircheallaigh, Ciaran, E-mail: Ciaran.Ofaircheallaigh@griffith.edu.a

In recent years the need to enhance public participation in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and the efficacy of alternative mechanisms in achieving this goal, have been central themes in the EIA literature. The benefits of public participation are often taken for granted, and partly for this reason the underlying rationale for greater public participation is sometimes poorly articulated, making it more difficult to determine how to pursue it effectively. The reasons for seeking public participation are also highly diverse and not always mutually consistent. There has been limited analysis of the implications of different forms and degrees of public participationmore » for public decision making based on EIA, and little discussion of how experience with public participation in EIA relates to debates about participation in policy making generally. This paper distinguishes various purposes for public participation in EIA, and discusses their implications for decision making. It then draws on some general models of public participation in policy making to consider how approaches to participation in EIA can be interpreted and valued, and asks what EIA experience reveals about the utility of these models. It argues that the models pay insufficient attention to the interaction that can occur between different forms of public participation; and to the fact that public participation raises issues regarding control over decision making that are not subject to resolution, but must be managed through ongoing processes of negotiation.« less

The Importance of Identity in Policy: The Case for and of Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Catherine

2009-01-01

This article draws out one of the core reasons why children should be conceived as active agents in research, particularly policy-related research. The main thesis is that policy inevitably projects and, to an extent, constitutes the subject identities of its intended objects--in this case, that of "children". Drawing on several bodies of…

Expanded HTA, Legitimacy and Independence

PubMed Central

Syrett, Keith

2016-01-01

This brief commentary seeks to develop the analysis of Daniels, Porteny and Urrutia of the implications of expansion of the scope of health technology assessment (HTA) beyond issues of safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness. Drawing in particular on experience in the United Kingdom, it suggests that such expansion can be understood not only as a response to the problem of insufficiency of evidence, but also to that of legitimacy. However, as expansion of HTA also renders it more visibly political in character, it is plausible that its legitimacy may be undermined, rather than enhanced by, independence from the policy process. PMID:27694685

The New Politics of US Health Care Prices: Institutional Reconfiguration and the Emergence of All-Payer Claims Databases.

PubMed

Rocco, Philip; Kelly, Andrew S; Béland, Daniel; Kinane, Michael

2017-02-01

Prices are a significant driver of health care cost in the United States. Existing research on the politics of health system reform has emphasized the limited nature of policy entrepreneurs' efforts at solving the problem of rising prices through direct regulation at the state level. Yet this literature fails to account for how change agents in the states gradually reconfigured the politics of prices, forging new, transparency-based policy instruments called all-payer claims databases (APCDs), which are designed to empower consumers, purchasers, and states to make informed market and policy choices. Drawing on pragmatist institutional theory, this article shows how APCDs emerged as the dominant model for reforming health care prices. While APCD advocates faced significant institutional barriers to policy change, we show how they reconfigured existing ideas, tactical repertoires, and legal-technical infrastructures to develop a politically and technologically robust reform. Our analysis has important implications for theories of how change agents overcome structural barriers to health reform. Copyright © 2017 by Duke University Press.

Dancing on the deck of the Titanic? Adult education, the nation-state and new social movements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torres, Carlos Alberto

2011-08-01

This article begins with a discussion of the implications of CONFINTEA VI having been organised in Brazil - the author uses the term "Brazilian effect" - and the role of social movements challenging neoliberalism. Next, drawing from the experience of Latin America, this paper analyses the counter-hegemonic practice of the new social movements. The concluding section highlights the dilemmas faced by UNESCO in trying to create a democratic and efficient process of policy-making and institutional service in adult education in the nation-states. Furthermore, the proposal of popular education portrayed by the new social movements is described as a tool for empowerment. CONFINTEA VI's recommendation of moving from rhetoric to action in adult education programmes, practices and policies demands that we take the agendas of the new social movements in the post-neoliberalism era seriously.

Prioritizing Sleep Health: Public Health Policy Recommendations.

PubMed

Barnes, Christopher M; Drake, Christopher L

2015-11-01

The schedules that Americans live by are not consistent with healthy sleep patterns. In addition, poor access to educational and treatment aids for sleep leaves people engaging in behavior that is harmful to sleep and forgoing treatment for sleep disorders. This has created a sleep crisis that is a public health issue with broad implications for cognitive outcomes, mental health, physical health, work performance, and safety. New public policies should be formulated to address these issues. We draw from the scientific literature to recommend the following: establishing national standards for middle and high school start times that are later in the day, stronger regulation of work hours and schedules, eliminating daylight saving time, educating the public regarding the impact of electronic media on sleep, and improving access to ambulatory in-home diagnostic testing for sleep disorders. © The Author(s) 2015.

Regenerative medicine and responsible research and innovation: proposals for a responsible acceleration to the clinic.

PubMed

Webster, Andrew

2017-10-01

This paper asks how regenerative medicine can be examined through the 'responsible research and innovation' (RRI) approach which has been developed over the past decade. It describes the drivers to the development of RRI, and then argues for the need to understand innovation itself through drawing on social science analysis rooted in science and technology studies. The paper then identifies a number of highly specific challenges faced by the regenerative medicine field and the implications these have for value creation. It offers a number of examples of how a combined RRI/science and technology studies perspective can identify priority areas for policy and concludes by arguing for a 'responsible acceleration', more likely to foster readiness at a time when much of the policy domain is pushing for ever-rapid access to cell therapies.

What Drives Academic Data Sharing?

PubMed Central

Fecher, Benedikt; Friesike, Sascha; Hebing, Marcel

2015-01-01

Despite widespread support from policy makers, funding agencies, and scientific journals, academic researchers rarely make their research data available to others. At the same time, data sharing in research is attributed a vast potential for scientific progress. It allows the reproducibility of study results and the reuse of old data for new research questions. Based on a systematic review of 98 scholarly papers and an empirical survey among 603 secondary data users, we develop a conceptual framework that explains the process of data sharing from the primary researcher’s point of view. We show that this process can be divided into six descriptive categories: Data donor, research organization, research community, norms, data infrastructure, and data recipients. Drawing from our findings, we discuss theoretical implications regarding knowledge creation and dissemination as well as research policy measures to foster academic collaboration. We conclude that research data cannot be regarded as knowledge commons, but research policies that better incentivise data sharing are needed to improve the quality of research results and foster scientific progress. PMID:25714752

The implications of trade liberalization for diet and health: a case study from Central America

PubMed Central

Thow, Anne Marie; Hawkes, Corinna

2009-01-01

Background Central America has undergone extensive trade liberalization over the past two decades, and has recently signed a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. The region is also experiencing a dual burden of malnutrition with the growth of dietary patterns associated with the global 'nutrition transition'. This study describes the relationship between trade liberalization policies and food imports and availability, and draws implications for diet and health, using Central America as a case study region. Methods Changes in tariff and non-tariff barriers for each country were documented, and compared with time-series graphs of import, production and availability data to show the outcome of changes in trade policy in relation to food imports and food availability. Results Changes in trade policy in Central America have directly affected food imports and availability via three avenues. First, the lowering of trade barriers has promoted availability by facilitating higher imports of a wide range of foods. Second, trade liberalization has affected food availability through promoting domestic meat production. Third, reductions in barriers to investment appear to be critical in expansion of processed food markets. This suggests that changes in trade policies have facilitated rising availability and consumption of meat, dairy products, processed foods and temperate (imported fruits) in Central America. Conclusion This study indicates that the policies of trade liberalization in Central American countries over the past two decades, particularly in relation to the United States, have implications for health in the region. Specifically, they have been a factor in facilitating the "nutrition transition", which is associated with rising rates of obesity and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Given the significant cost of chronic disease for the health care system, individuals and the wider community, it is critical that preventive health measures address such upstream determinants of poor nutrition. PMID:19638196

The implications of trade liberalization for diet and health: a case study from Central America.

PubMed

Thow, Anne Marie; Hawkes, Corinna

2009-07-28

Central America has undergone extensive trade liberalization over the past two decades, and has recently signed a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. The region is also experiencing a dual burden of malnutrition with the growth of dietary patterns associated with the global 'nutrition transition'. This study describes the relationship between trade liberalization policies and food imports and availability, and draws implications for diet and health, using Central America as a case study region. Changes in tariff and non-tariff barriers for each country were documented, and compared with time-series graphs of import, production and availability data to show the outcome of changes in trade policy in relation to food imports and food availability. Changes in trade policy in Central America have directly affected food imports and availability via three avenues. First, the lowering of trade barriers has promoted availability by facilitating higher imports of a wide range of foods. Second, trade liberalization has affected food availability through promoting domestic meat production. Third, reductions in barriers to investment appear to be critical in expansion of processed food markets. This suggests that changes in trade policies have facilitated rising availability and consumption of meat, dairy products, processed foods and temperate (imported fruits) in Central America. This study indicates that the policies of trade liberalization in Central American countries over the past two decades, particularly in relation to the United States, have implications for health in the region. Specifically, they have been a factor in facilitating the "nutrition transition", which is associated with rising rates of obesity and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Given the significant cost of chronic disease for the health care system, individuals and the wider community, it is critical that preventive health measures address such upstream determinants of poor nutrition.

Examining the potential impacts of climate change on international security: EU-Africa partnership on climate change.

PubMed

Dodo, Mahamat K

2014-01-01

Climate Change like many global problems nowadays is recognized as a threat to the international security and cooperation. In theoretical terms, it is being securitized and included in the traditional security studies. Climate change and its accompanying environmental degradation are perceived to be a threat that can have incalculable consequences on the international community. The consequences are said to have more effects in small island developing nations and Africa where many States are fragile and overwhelmed with mounting challenges. In recent years, the security implications of the climate change are being addressed from national, regional and multilateral level. Against this backdrop, this paper intends to contribute to the debate on climate change and international security and present a broader perspective on the discussion. The paper will draw from the EU-Africa partnership on climate change and is structured as follows: the first part introduces the background of the international climate change policy and its securitization, the second part covers the EU-Africa relations and EU-Africa partnership on climate change, and the third part discusses the Congo Basin Forest Partnership as a concrete example of EU-Africa Partnership on Climate Change. Lastly, the paper concludes by drawing some conclusions and offers some policy perspectives and recommendations. Q54; 055; 052; 01;

Collaboration in Arctic Research: Best Practices to Build and Sustain Successful Cross- and Trans-disciplinary Efforts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiggins, H. V.; Rich, R. H.

2015-12-01

The rapid physical and social changes currently underway in the Arctic - and changes in the way in which we study and manage the region -- require coordinated research efforts to improve our understanding of the Arctic's physical, biological, and social systems and the implications of change at many scales. At the same time, policy-makers and Arctic communities need decision-support tools and synthesized information to respond and adapt to the "new Arctic". There are enormous challenges, however, in collaboration among the disparate groups of people needed for such efforts. A carefully planned strategic approach is required to bridge the scientific disciplinary and organizational boundaries, foster cooperation between local communities and science programs, and effectively communicate between scientists and policy-makers. Efforts must draw on bodies of knowledge from project management, strategic planning, organizational development, and group dynamics. This poster presentation will discuss best practices of building and sustaining networks of people to catalyze successful cross-disciplinary activities. Specific examples and case studies - both successes and failures -- will be presented that draw on several projects at the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS; www.arcus.org), a nonprofit membership organization composed of universities and institutions that have a substantial commitment to research in the Arctic.

Pacific connections for health, ecosystems and society: new approaches to the land-water-health nexus.

PubMed

Parkes, Margot W

2016-03-01

Renewed effort to understand the social-ecological context of health is drawing attention to the dynamics of land and water resources and their combined influence on the determinants of health. A new area of research, education and policy is emerging that focuses on the land-water-health nexus: this orientation is applicable from small wetlands through to large-scale watersheds or river basins, and draws attention to the benefits of combined land and water governance, as well as the interrelated implications for health, ecological and societal concerns. Informed by research precedents, imperatives and collaborations emerging in Canada and parts of Oceania, this review profiles three integrative, applied approaches that are bringing attention to the importance the land-water-health nexus within the Pacific Basin: wetlands and watersheds as intersectoral settings to address land-water-health dynamics; tools to integrate health, ecological and societal dynamics at the land-water-health nexus; and indigenous leadership that is linking health and well-being with land and water governance. Emphasis is given to key characteristics of a new generation of inquiry and action at the land-water-health nexus, as well as capacity-building, practice and policy opportunities to address converging environmental, social and health objectives linked to the management and governance of land and water resources.

Reducing inequalities in health: political and organisational implications for the British National Health Service.

PubMed

Hunter, D J

1983-12-01

Tackling health inequalities with any hope of success requires an understanding and appreciation of a number of issues concerning the nature and operation of services. Focussing on the British experience, the paper considers notions of need and demand insofar as these have a bearing on health inequalities. Need and demand are not finite, absolute states but are relative notions which are affected by users' attitudes and knowledge and by providers' preferences and interests. Drawing upon recent work, the paper argues that the existence of the National Health Service (NHS) has not fundamentally altered the nature of health inequalities in Britain. Those living in the North of the country generally enjoy poorer health than those living in the South. Inequalities between socio-economic groups are also much in evidence. The paper considers possible policy implications and comes out in favour of process change rather than major structural change of the kind witnessed in recent years in Britain where the NHS has undergone two major upheavals within a decade. This disruption has had the effect of diverting attention away from important policy issues at all levels of service planning and provision.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Teacher Education for Inclusive Practice--Responding to Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexiadou, Nafsika; Essex, Jane

2016-01-01

This article draws on research in one teacher education course in England and examines the ways in which the programme prepares student-teachers for inclusive practice in science teaching. We frame our analysis by drawing on aspects of institutional mediation of official policy in teacher education, as well as theories around inclusion and…

Language Policy as a Sociocultural Tool: Insights from the University of Cape Town

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karjalainen, Magda

2016-01-01

This theoretically oriented article draws on the author's previous research, which examined language policy and planning (LPP) of the University of Cape Town within the context of post-apartheid transformation driven by need to redress inequalities of the past, and demands of globalization. Drawing on critical linguistics, but indicating…

Governing by Inspection? European Inspectorates and the Creation of a European Education Policy Space

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grek, Sotiria; Lawn, Martin; Ozga, Jenny; Segerholm, Christina

2013-01-01

This paper draws on the first, completed phase of a research project on inspection as governing in three European inspection systems. The data presented here draw attention to the rather under-researched associational activities of European inspectorates and their developing practices of policy learning and exchange, and highlight their…

The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence

PubMed Central

Lusardi, Annamaria; Mitchell, Olivia S.

2017-01-01

This paper undertakes an assessment of a rapidly growing body of economic research on financial literacy. We start with an overview of theoretical research which casts financial knowledge as a form of investment in human capital. Endogenizing financial knowledge has important implications for welfare as well as policies intended to enhance levels of financial knowledge in the larger population. Next, we draw on recent surveys to establish how much (or how little) people know and identify the least financially savvy population subgroups. This is followed by an examination of the impact of financial literacy on economic decision-making in the United States and elsewhere. While the literature is still young, conclusions may be drawn about the effects and consequences of financial illiteracy and what works to remedy these gaps. A final section offers thoughts on what remains to be learned if researchers are to better inform theoretical and empirical models as well as public policy. PMID:28579637

The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence.

PubMed

Lusardi, Annamaria; Mitchell, Olivia S

2014-03-01

This paper undertakes an assessment of a rapidly growing body of economic research on financial literacy. We start with an overview of theoretical research which casts financial knowledge as a form of investment in human capital. Endogenizing financial knowledge has important implications for welfare as well as policies intended to enhance levels of financial knowledge in the larger population. Next, we draw on recent surveys to establish how much (or how little) people know and identify the least financially savvy population subgroups. This is followed by an examination of the impact of financial literacy on economic decision-making in the United States and elsewhere. While the literature is still young, conclusions may be drawn about the effects and consequences of financial illiteracy and what works to remedy these gaps. A final section offers thoughts on what remains to be learned if researchers are to better inform theoretical and empirical models as well as public policy.

Methods for estimating population density in data-limited areas: evaluating regression and tree-based models in Peru.

PubMed

Anderson, Weston; Guikema, Seth; Zaitchik, Ben; Pan, William

2014-01-01

Obtaining accurate small area estimates of population is essential for policy and health planning but is often difficult in countries with limited data. In lieu of available population data, small area estimate models draw information from previous time periods or from similar areas. This study focuses on model-based methods for estimating population when no direct samples are available in the area of interest. To explore the efficacy of tree-based models for estimating population density, we compare six different model structures including Random Forest and Bayesian Additive Regression Trees. Results demonstrate that without information from prior time periods, non-parametric tree-based models produced more accurate predictions than did conventional regression methods. Improving estimates of population density in non-sampled areas is important for regions with incomplete census data and has implications for economic, health and development policies.

Biodiversity and Habitat Markets—Policy, Economic, and Ecological implications of Market-Based Conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pindilli, Emily J.; Casey, Frank

2015-10-26

This report is a primer on market-like and market-based mechanisms designed to conserve biodiversity and habitat. The types of markets and market-based approaches that were implemented or are emerging to benefit biodiversity and habitat in the United States are examined. The central approaches considered in this report include payments for ecosystem services, conservation banks, habitat exchanges, and eco-labels. Based on literature reviews and input from experts and practitioners, the report characterizes each market-based approach including policy context and structure; the theoretical basis for applying market-based approaches; the ecological effectiveness of practices and tools for measuring performance; and the future outlook for biodiversity and habitat markets. This report draws from previous research and serves as a summary of pertinent information associated with biodiversity and habitat markets while providing references to materials that go into greater detail on specific topics.

Methods for Estimating Population Density in Data-Limited Areas: Evaluating Regression and Tree-Based Models in Peru

PubMed Central

Anderson, Weston; Guikema, Seth; Zaitchik, Ben; Pan, William

2014-01-01

Obtaining accurate small area estimates of population is essential for policy and health planning but is often difficult in countries with limited data. In lieu of available population data, small area estimate models draw information from previous time periods or from similar areas. This study focuses on model-based methods for estimating population when no direct samples are available in the area of interest. To explore the efficacy of tree-based models for estimating population density, we compare six different model structures including Random Forest and Bayesian Additive Regression Trees. Results demonstrate that without information from prior time periods, non-parametric tree-based models produced more accurate predictions than did conventional regression methods. Improving estimates of population density in non-sampled areas is important for regions with incomplete census data and has implications for economic, health and development policies. PMID:24992657

Forced Migration: Refugee Populations

PubMed Central

Boyle, Joyceen S.

2015-01-01

Undocumented migration is a global phenomenon that manifests in various contexts. This article describes the impact of the movement of large numbers of people in several African countries, producing a unique type of migrant—the refugee. We describe issues that refugee movements create on fragile health care systems, situations that precipitate refugee movements, certain human rights violations that are of particular concern such as gender based violence (GBV) and child soldiers, and lastly, implications for nursing practice and policy. We use examples from several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Mozambique. Drawing on key documents from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, current literature, as well as the international experience of the authors, this article presents an overview of forced migration and discusses opportunities for nurses to impact research, practice and policy related to refugee health. PMID:25645484

Sustainable diet policy development: implications of multi-criteria and other approaches, 2008-2017.

PubMed

Lang, Tim; Mason, Pamela

2017-12-04

The objective of the present paper is to draw lessons from policy development on sustainable diets. It considers the emergence of sustainable diets as a policy issue and reviews the environmental challenge to nutrition science as to what a 'good' diet is for contemporary policy. It explores the variations in how sustainable diets have been approached by policy-makers. The paper considers how international United Nations and European Union (EU) policy engagement now centres on the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Climate Change Accord, which require changes across food systems. The paper outlines national sustainable diet policy in various countries: Australia, Brazil, France, the Netherlands, Qatar, Sweden, UK and USA. While no overarching common framework for sustainable diets has appeared, a policy typology of lessons for sustainable diets is proposed, differentiating (a) orientation and focus, (b) engagement styles and (c) modes of leadership. The paper considers the particularly tortuous rise and fall of UK governmental interest in sustainable diet advice. Initial engagement in the 2000s turned to disengagement in the 2010s, yet some advice has emerged. The 2016 referendum to leave the EU has created a new period of policy uncertainty for the UK food system. This might marginalise attempts to generate sustainable diet advice, but could also be an opportunity for sustainable diets to be a goal for a sustainable UK food system. The role of nutritionists and other food science professions will be significant in this period of policy flux.

Trans-Pacific Air Pollution and NAAQS Attainment: Domestic and International Policy Options

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolsak, N.; Jaegle, L.

2002-12-01

Observational data and models of global air pollution increasingly indicate that Asian air pollution caused by fossil fuel burning is transported across the Pacific, thereby affecting local air quality in the United States. This may have policy ramifications for a number of counties in the U.S. struggling to meet the NAAQS. This problem will be exacerbated as the EPA tightens the standards for Ozone and PM. As the new 8-hour, 80 ppb ozone standard and the new PM2.5 standards are implemented, the number of counties considered to be in non-attainment is estimated to double (for ozone) and quadruple (for PM2.5), respectively. State Implementation Plans that rely only on local emission reductions may not be enough to meet the new NAAQS if a considerable proportion of the background concentrations come from Asia or other distant sources. Further, reducing emissions locally may not be the most cost-effective way of meeting the new EPA standards. This presentation will draw on observational data in the western U.S. and global models, such as GEOS-CHEM, to examine the significance of trans-pacific pollution (background pollution as well as episodic impacts) to air quality in the Western United States in their attempts to meet the new NAAQS for Ozone and Particulate Matter. The size of Asian economies, their reliance on fossil fuels, and their rapid industrialization suggests that the importance of trans-pacific air pollution will increase. This presentation will examine policy implications of Asian emissions under three of the IPCC future emission scenarios. We will also identify an array of domestic policies that States and counties in non-attainment areas may consider to reduce the concentrations of ozone and PM. Further, we will examine the potential for reducing local concentrations by devising policy instruments for reducing emissions where they can be reduced at a lower cost. For this work, we will draw on policy experience from regional air pollution in the European Union and evaluate options for devising policy instruments within the institutional framework of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.

The spatial politics of place and health policy: Exploring Sustainability and Transformation Plans in the English NHS.

PubMed

Hammond, Jonathan; Lorne, Colin; Coleman, Anna; Allen, Pauline; Mays, Nicholas; Dam, Rinita; Mason, Thomas; Checkland, Kath

2017-10-01

This paper explores how 'place' is conceptualised and mobilized in health policy and considers the implications of this. Using the on-going spatial reorganizing of the English NHS as an exemplar, we draw upon relational geographies of place for illumination. We focus on the introduction of 'Sustainability and Transformation Plans' (STPs): positioned to support improvements in care and relieve financial pressures within the health and social care system. STP implementation requires collaboration between organizations within 44 bounded territories that must reach 'local' consensus about service redesign under conditions of unprecedented financial constraint. Emphasising the continued influence of previous reorganizations, we argue that such spatialized practices elude neat containment within coherent territorial geographies. Rather than a technical process financially and spatially 'fixing' health and care systems, STPs exemplify post-politics-closing down the political dimensions of policy-making by associating 'place' with 'local' empowerment to undertake highly resource-constrained management of health systems, distancing responsibility from national political processes. Relational understandings of place thus provide value in understanding health policies and systems, and help to identify where and how STPs might experience difficulties. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The national suicide prevention strategy for England: the reality of a national strategy for the nursing profession.

PubMed

Anderson, M; Jenkins, R

2006-12-01

Suicide is recognized as a global phenomenon and many countries now have national suicide prevention strategies. International guidance on suicide prevention and accepted epidemiological and treatment-based research underpins healthcare policy relating to suicide reduction. There has been an established comprehensive strategy in England since 2002. However, the rate of suicide continues to be a concern and nurses hold a key role in the implementation of national, regional and local policy into practice. The aim of this paper is to consider the current implications of the national suicide prevention strategy in England for nursing. This discussion paper draws upon both empirical evidence-based literature, governmental guidance and policy-related documentation. The national suicide prevention strategy for England currently continues to have a multifaceted impact on the nursing profession. This ranges from clinical practice issues such as risk assessment through to broader public health responsibilities. If nurses and allied health professionals are to be effective in their role within suicide prevention, they will need to be supported in building awareness of the wider context of the national policy. In particular, this will mean working effectively and collaboratively with the voluntary sector, service users and other non-medical agencies.

The affective (re)production of refugee representations through educational policies and practices: Reconceptualising the role of emotion for peace education in a divided country

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zembylas, Michalinos

2012-08-01

Drawing into a discussion of the politicisation of emotion, this paper develops a framework to analyse some of the processes and strategies by which educational policies and pedagogical practices "emotionalise" the representation of refugees in conflict-ridden societies such as Cyprus and explores the implications for peace education. In particular, this paper aims to refine our understanding of how emotions affect the ways in which educational policies and practices reproduce self-other dichotomies through certain representations of the refugee experience. It is argued that these dichotomies are relevant to the emotional reactions against peace education initiatives. Second, this paper examines alternative possibilities of promoting peaceful coexistence, while taking into consideration the affective (re)production of refugee representations yet without undermining the refugee experience. Better understanding of how emotion is involved will help educational policymakers and teachers in divided societies to take into account the hitherto poorly developed aspects of the ways in which emotions, the refugee experience and peace education are inextricably intertwined.

Supporting medical students with learning disabilities in Asian medical schools

PubMed Central

Majumder, Md. Anwarul Azim; Rahman, Sayeeda; D’Souza, Urban JA; Elbeheri, Gad; Abdulrahman, Khalid Bin; Huq, M Muzaherul

2010-01-01

Learning disabilities (LDs) represent the largest group of disabilities in higher education (HE) institutes, including medical schools, and the numbers are continuing to rise. The worrying concern is that two-thirds to half of these students with LDs remain undiagnosed when they start their undergraduate education and may even graduate without having their disabilities diagnosed. These students struggle with their academic abilities, receive poor grades and, as a result, develop lower perceptions of their intellectual abilities than do those students without LDs. All these ultimately hamper their professional practice, employment, and career progression. Appropriate and adequate educational policies, provisions, and practices help students to progress satisfactorily. In Asian countries, public and professional awareness about LDs is low, supportive provisions are limited, legislations are inadequate, data are scarce, and equal-opportunity/widening-participation policies are not implemented effectively in the HE sector. This article discusses the issues related to LDs in medical education and draws policy, provision, and practice implications to identify, assess, and support students with LDs in medical schools, particularly in an Asian context. PMID:23745060

Informatics, evidence-based care, and research; implications for national policy: a report of an American Medical Informatics Association health policy conference.

PubMed

Bloomrosen, Meryl; Detmer, Don E

2010-01-01

There is an increased level of activity in the biomedical and health informatics world (e-prescribing, electronic health records, personal health records) that, in the near future, will yield a wealth of available data that we can exploit meaningfully to strengthen knowledge building and evidence creation, and ultimately improve clinical and preventive care. The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) 2008 Health Policy Conference was convened to focus and propel discussions about informatics-enabled evidence-based care, clinical research, and knowledge management. Conference participants explored the potential of informatics tools and technologies to improve the evidence base on which providers and patients can draw to diagnose and treat health problems. The paper presents a model of an evidence continuum that is dynamic, collaborative, and powered by health informatics technologies. The conference's findings are described, and recommendations on terminology harmonization, facilitation of the evidence continuum in a "wired" world, development and dissemination of clinical practice guidelines and other knowledge support strategies, and the role of diverse stakeholders in the generation and adoption of evidence are presented.

Managing crime through migration law in Australia and the United States: a comparative analysis.

PubMed

Hoang, Khanh; Reich, Sudrishti

2017-01-01

This article examines the intertwining of migration law and criminal law - termed 'crimmigration' by scholars - in Australia and the United States of America, and its implications for non-citizens who engage in criminal conduct. Our comparison of the two systems demonstrates that the laws and policies in both jurisdictions are similar to a significant degree. Both have strong exclusionary policies characterised by sweeping visa cancellation/removal powers, a heavy focus on enforcement, and limited review rights. In Australia, legislative amendments in 2014 have given the executive greater powers to cancel visas and remove non-citizens on character grounds as a means of ensuring national security and public safety. This has coincided with a new law enforcement body created within the Australian Department of Immigration. These changes reflect a repurposing of migration law as a tool for managing criminal threats based on the concept of 'risk management'. Drawing on the experience of the United States - where such a 'risk management' approach is entrenched - we query the utility of this shift and highlight the potential pitfalls of pursuing such a policy for Australia.

Producing alcohol and other drugs as a policy 'problem': A critical analysis of South Africa's 'National Drug Master Plan' (2013-2017).

PubMed

Pienaar, Kiran; Savic, Michael

2016-04-01

The strong symbolic value of illicit drug use makes it a contested issue, which attracts mixed public opinion, intense media attention and close political scrutiny. This means that the formulation of plausible, authoritative policies governing illicit drugs must navigate fraught political terrain. In a country like South Africa with its long unique history of institutionalised oppression of the black majority, the issues confronting drug policy are particularly complex and the need for carefully formulated policy responses especially urgent. Yet despite this, the area of drug policy development in South Africa has received little scholarly attention to date. This paper explores the complexities of policymaking in the South African context by drawing on feminist scholar Carol Bacchi's poststructuralist approach to policy analysis, which focuses on how policy helps to produce the problems it purports to solve. Taking as its empirical focus, South Africa's current drug policy, the third National Drug Master Plan (NDMP), 2013-2017, the paper analyses how the policy constitutes the 'problem of alcohol and other drugs' (AODs). We identify three central policy proposals through which specific problematisations emerge: (1) the proposal that drug use is a global issue requiring a coordinated policy response, (2) appeals to evidence-based policy proposals and (3) the proposal that AOD 'use' and 'abuse' be treated interchangeably. We suggest that these proposals reveal a tendency towards inflating the 'problem of AODs' and thus work to justify punitive policy measures. In an effort to explore the implications of particular problematisations for effecting social change, we clarify the ways in which the policy may work to undermine the interests of those it seeks to aid by reinforcing stigma and marginalisation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Strategic policy and process: An assessment of the evolution of American nuclear strategy, its determinants, and its implications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lehman, C.M.

1993-01-01

This dissertation examines the evolution of American strategic nuclear policy with particular emphasis on the substantial change in nuclear doctrine which occurred during the first and second Administrations of President Richard M. Nixon. The dissertation argues that this period saw the emergence of a new and substantially different strategic nuclear policy which changed fundamentally the basis upon which America's nuclear deterrence rested. It argues, further, that this policy has remained largely unchanged through the course of five succeeding administrations. The dissertation describes and analyzes the evolution of the defense policy formulation process of the United States government from the yearsmore » of the Truman Administration to the Bush Administration. Primary attention is directed towards identifying the specific policies of each Administration highlighting the factors which appear to have been the most significant in prompting changes in American strategic nuclear policy. An in-depth examination of strategic nuclear policy formulation and implementation is provided for the period of the Nixon Administration. The Administration's policies are analyzed and the full constellation of forces that brought about a major adjustment in the strategic nuclear policy of the Unites States are identified and analyzed. Particular emphasis is placed on tracking and assessing the role that Congress has played in the development of nuclear policy before, during, and after Nixon years. Specific attention is directed to defining the [open quotes]determinants[close quotes] of strategic nuclear policy and to a careful delineation of the dangers associated with a divergence between public policy pronouncements an the actual employment or targeting practices governing the potential use of nuclear weapons. A final section draws conclusions and postulates several basic guidelines for the formulation of future US strategic nuclear policy.« less

The many meanings of evidence: a comparative analysis of the forms and roles of evidence within three health policy processes in Cambodia.

PubMed

Walls, Helen; Liverani, Marco; Chheng, Kannarath; Parkhurst, Justin

2017-11-10

Discussions within the health community routinely emphasise the importance of evidence in informing policy formulation and implementation. Much of the support for the evidence-based policy movement draws from concern that policy decisions are often based on inadequate engagement with high-quality evidence. In many such discussions, evidence is treated as differing only in quality, and assumed to improve decisions if it can only be used more. In contrast, political science scholars have described this as an overly simplistic view of the policy-making process, noting that research 'use' can mean a variety of things and relies on nuanced aspects of political systems. An approach more in recognition of how policy-making systems operate in practice can be to consider how institutions and ideas influence which pieces of evidence appear to be relevant for, and are used within, different policy processes. Drawing on in-depth interviews undertaken in 2015-2016 with key health sector stakeholders in Cambodia, we investigate the evidence perceived to be relevant to policy decisions for three contrasting health policy examples, namely tobacco control, HIV/AIDS and performance-based salary incentives. These cases allow us to examine the ways that policy-relevant evidence may differ given the framing of the issue and the broader institutional context in which evidence is considered. The three health issues show few similarities in how pieces of evidence were used in various aspects of policy-making, despite all being discussed within a broad policy environment in which evidence-based policy-making is rhetorically championed. Instead, we find that evidence use can be better understood by mapping how these health policy issues differ in terms of the issue characteristics, and also in terms of the stakeholders structurally established as having a dominant influence for each issue. Both of these have important implications for evidence use. Contrasting concerns of key stakeholders meant that evidence related to differing issues could be understood in terms of how it was relevant to policy. The stakeholders involved, however, could further be seen to possess differing logics about how to go about achieving their various outcomes - logics that could further help explain the differences seen in evidence utilisation. A comparative approach reiterates that evidence is not a uniform concept for which more is obviously better, but rather illustrates how different constructions and pieces of evidence become relevant in relation to the features of specific health policy decisions. An institutional approach that considers the structural position of stakeholders with differing core goals or objectives, as well as their logics related to evidence utilisation, can further help to understand some of the complexities of evidence use in health policy-making.

"Goodbye Dolly?" The ethics of human cloning.

PubMed Central

Harris, J

1997-01-01

The ethical implications of human clones have been much alluded to, but have seldom been examined with any rigour. This paper examines the possible uses and abuses of human cloning and draws out the principal ethical dimensions, both of what might be done and its meaning. The paper examines some of the major public and official responses to cloning by authorities such as President Clinton, the World Health Organisation, the European parliament, UNESCO, and others and reveals their inadequacies as foundations for a coherent public policy on human cloning. The paper ends by defending a conception of reproductive rights of "procreative autonomy" which shows human cloning to be not inconsistent with human rights and dignity. PMID:9451604

A child sexual abuse research project: a brief endnote.

PubMed

Roberts, Susan; Vanstone, Maurice

2014-01-01

There is a dearth of research on sexual abuse perpetrated by educators. Although the problem is receiving increasing attention, little emphasis has been placed on abuse directed at younger schoolchildren and on offenders' accounts of this form of abuse. Here, we attempt to address this gap in knowledge by exploring the narratives of five convicted, imprisoned male child sexual abusers, each of whom worked with children in educational settings in the United Kingdom. We draw on four themes that emerged from detailed interviews with offenders, namely: the power of reputation, authority and control, the "front of invulnerability," and disclosure of abuse. We conclude by considering the implications of our work for policy and practice.

The forensic evaluation and report: an agenda for research.

PubMed

Buchanan, Alec; Norko, Michael

2013-01-01

The written report is a central component of forensic psychiatric practice. In the report, an evaluator assembles and organizes data, interprets results of an evaluation, and offers an opinion in response to legal questions. The past 30 years have seen substantial development in principles and practice of forensic report writing. Drawing on recent advances in the psychiatric report, the authors explore topics including narrative, forensic ethics, coercion within the justice system, and implications of limitations on data in forming forensic opinions. They offer an analysis of unanswered questions in these areas, suggesting opportunities for further empirical study and theoretical development. This proposed agenda is important in training, in the development of policy, and in establishing professional guidelines.

STRUCTURAL INEQUALITY AND SOCIAL SUPPORT FOR WOMEN PRISONERS RELEASED TO RURAL COMMUNITIES

PubMed Central

Nicdao, Ethel G.; Trott, Elise M.; Kellett, Nicole C.

2016-01-01

Incarceration and community reentry for rural women reflect gendered processes. We draw upon in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus groups to examine the return of women prisoners to underserved rural communities, while attending to the perspectives of their closest social supporters. Our findings underscore the complexity of the reentry process for rural women and its particular impact on their families. We challenge dominant discourses of personal responsibility that detract from the structura violence and injustice shaping reentry experiences for women and their social supporters. We also consider the policy implications of discharge and reentry planning for rural women and their families, as well as strategies to reduce recidivism. PMID:27274615

The "Good Governance" of Evidence in Health Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Benjamin; Parkhurst, Justin

2016-01-01

Calls for evidence-based policy often fail to recognise the fundamentally political nature of policy making. Policy makers must identify, evaluate and utilise evidence to solve policy problems in the face of competing priorities and political agendas. Evidence should inform but cannot determine policy choices. This paper draws on theories of…

A Cross-Continental Study on Children's Drawings of Football Players: Implications for Understanding Key Issues and Controversies in Human Figure Drawings.

PubMed

Baluch, Bahman; Duffy, Linda J; Badami, Rokhsareh; Pereira, Elisangela C Ap

2017-08-01

Professionals examine various aspects of girls' and boys' drawings as a way of understanding their intelligence, personality and emotional state. However, the extent to which such measures could be universally generalised or attributed to a specific cultural norm is still a debatable issue. In the present study five key features of children's drawings namely: the size (height) of the drawings, profile or full face, figure in action or static, shaded or non-shaded and the nature of additional details were examined from a cross-cultural perspective, and by providing a topic (football) for which children's drawing of a human figure could provide opportunities for the latter indices to manifest and flourish. Children from three countries; England, Iran and Brazil, representing three continents took part in this study. The participants were asked to draw a football player from their own country and from the other participating countries. The results showed that Brazilian children differ from Iranian and English children by drawing significantly smaller figures and putting more football action in the drawings. Shading of the figure drawn was more prevalent amongst English children. Such findings have implications for the interpretation of key aspects of children's drawings in educational, clinical and therapeutic settings and from a universal vs. culturally-specific viewpoint.

Corporate coalitions and policymaking in the European Union: How and why British American Tobacco promoted ‘Better Regulation’

PubMed Central

Smith, Katherine E.; Fooks, Gary; Gilmore, Anna B.; Collin, Jeff; Weishaar, Heide

2015-01-01

Over the past fifteen years, an inter-connected set of regulatory reforms, known as Better Regulation, has been adopted across Europe, marking a significant shift in the way European Union (EU) policies are developed. There has been little exploration of the origins of these reforms, which include mandatory ex-ante impact assessment. Drawing on documentary and interview data, this paper discusses how and why large corporations, notably British American Tobacco (BAT), worked to influence and promote these reforms. Our analysis highlights: (i) how policy entrepreneurs with sufficient resources (such as large corporations) can shape the membership and direction of advocacy coalitions; (ii) the extent to which ‘think tanks’ may be prepared to lobby on behalf of commercial clients; and (iii) why regulated industries (including tobacco) may favour the use of ‘evidence-tools’, such as impact assessments, in policymaking. We argue a key aspect of BAT’s ability to shape regulatory reform involved the deliberate construction of a vaguely defined idea that could be strategically adapted to appeal to diverse constituencies. We discuss the theoretical implications of this finding for the ‘Advocacy Coalition Framework’, as well as the practical implications of the findings for efforts to promote ‘transparency’ and public health in the EU. PMID:25646389

Lessons from first generation biofuels and implications for the sustainability appraisal of second generation biofuels☆

PubMed Central

Mohr, Alison; Raman, Sujatha

2013-01-01

Aims The emergence of second generation (2G) biofuels is widely seen as a sustainable response to the increasing controversy surrounding the first generation (1G). Yet, sustainability credentials of 2G biofuels are also being questioned. Drawing on work in Science and Technology Studies, we argue that controversies help focus attention on key, often value-related questions that need to be posed to address broader societal concerns. This paper examines lessons drawn from the 1G controversy to assess implications for the sustainability appraisal of 2G biofuels. Scope We present an overview of key 1G sustainability challenges, assess their relevance for 2G, and highlight the challenges for policy in managing the transition. We address limitations of existing sustainability assessments by exploring where challenges might emerge across the whole system of bioenergy and the wider context of the social system in which bioenergy research and policy are done. Conclusions Key lessons arising from 1G are potentially relevant to the sustainability appraisal of 2G biofuels depending on the particular circumstances or conditions under which 2G is introduced. We conclude that sustainability challenges commonly categorised as either economic, environmental or social are, in reality, more complexly interconnected (so that an artificial separation of these categories is problematic). PMID:24926117

Lessons from first generation biofuels and implications for the sustainability appraisal of second generation biofuels.

PubMed

Mohr, Alison; Raman, Sujatha

2013-12-01

The emergence of second generation (2G) biofuels is widely seen as a sustainable response to the increasing controversy surrounding the first generation (1G). Yet, sustainability credentials of 2G biofuels are also being questioned. Drawing on work in Science and Technology Studies, we argue that controversies help focus attention on key, often value-related questions that need to be posed to address broader societal concerns. This paper examines lessons drawn from the 1G controversy to assess implications for the sustainability appraisal of 2G biofuels. We present an overview of key 1G sustainability challenges, assess their relevance for 2G, and highlight the challenges for policy in managing the transition. We address limitations of existing sustainability assessments by exploring where challenges might emerge across the whole system of bioenergy and the wider context of the social system in which bioenergy research and policy are done. Key lessons arising from 1G are potentially relevant to the sustainability appraisal of 2G biofuels depending on the particular circumstances or conditions under which 2G is introduced. We conclude that sustainability challenges commonly categorised as either economic, environmental or social are, in reality, more complexly interconnected (so that an artificial separation of these categories is problematic).

Sex, gender, and secondhand smoke policies: implications for disadvantaged women.

PubMed

Greaves, Lorraine J; Hemsing, Natalie J

2009-08-01

Although implementation of secondhand smoke policies is increasing, little research has examined the unintended consequences of these policies for disadvantaged women. Macro-, meso-, and micro-level issues connected to secondhand smoke and women are considered to illustrate the range of ways in which sex, gender, and disadvantage affect women's exposure to secondhand smoke. A review of current literature, primarily published between 2000 and 2008, on sex- and gender-based issues related to secondhand smoke exposure and the effects of secondhand smoke policies for various subpopulations of women, including low-income girls and women, nonwhite minority women, and pregnant women, was conducted in 2008. These materials were critically analyzed using a sex and gender analysis, allowing for the drawing of inferences and reflections on the unintended effects of secondhand smoke policies on disadvantaged women. Smoke-free policies do not always have equal or even desired effects on low-income girls and women. Low-income women are more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke, may have limited capacity to manage their exposure to secondhand smoke both at home and in the workplace, and may experience heightened stigmatization as a result of secondhand smoke policies. Various sex- and gender-related factors, such as gendered roles, unequal power differences between men and women, child-caring roles, and unequal earning power, affect exposure and responses to secondhand smoke, women's capacity to control exposure, and their responses to protective policies. In sum, a much more nuanced gender- and diversity-sensitive framework is needed to develop research and tobacco control policies that address these issues.

Self-rated health, generalized trust, and the Affordable Care Act: A US panel study, 2006-2014.

PubMed

Mewes, Jan; Giordano, Giuseppe Nicola

2017-10-01

Previous research shows that generalized trust, the belief that most people can be trusted, is conducive to people's health. However, only recently have longitudinal studies suggested an additional reciprocal pathway from health back to trust. Drawing on a diverse body of literature that shows how egalitarian social policy contributes to the promotion of generalized trust, we hypothesize that this other 'reverse' pathway could be sensitive to health insurance context. Drawing on nationally representative US panel data from the General Social Survey, we examine whether the Affordable Care Act of 2010 could have had influence on the deteriorating impact of worsening self-rated health (SRH) on generalized trust. Firstly, using two-wave panel data (2008-2010, N = 1403) and employing random effects regression models, we show that a lack of health insurance coverage negatively determines generalized trust in the United States. However, this association is attenuated when additionally controlling for (perceived) income inequality. Secondly, utilizing data from two separate three-wave panel studies from the US General Social Survey (2006-10; N = 1652; 2010-2014; N = 1187), we employ fixed-effects linear regression analyses to control for unobserved heterogeneity from time-invariant factors. We demonstrate that worsening SRH was a stronger predictor for a decrease in generalized trust prior (2006-2010) to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Further, the negative effect of fair/poor SRH seen in the 2006-2010 data becomes attenuated in the 2010-2014 panel data. We thus find evidence for a substantial weakening of the previously established negative impact of decreasing SRH on generalized trust, coinciding with the most significant US healthcare reforms in decades. Social policy and healthcare policy implications are discussed. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Making Ends Meet After Prison

PubMed Central

Harding, David J.; Wyse, Jessica J.B.; Dobson, Cheyney; Morenoff, Jeffrey D.

2014-01-01

Former prisoners are at high risk of economic insecurity due to the challenges they face in finding employment and to the difficulties of securing and maintaining public assistance while incarcerated. This study examines the processes through which former prisoners attain economic security, examining how they meet basic material needs and achieve upward mobility over time. It draws on unique qualitative data from in-depth, unstructured interviews with a sample of former prisoners followed over a two to three year period to assess how subjects draw upon a combination of employment, social supports, and public benefits to make ends meet. Findings reveal considerable struggle among our subjects to meet even minimal needs for shelter and food, although economic security and stability could be attained when employment or public benefits were coupled with familial social support. Sustained economic security was rarely achieved absent either strong social support or access to long-term public benefits. However, a select few were able to leverage material support and social networks into trajectories of upward mobility and economic independence. Policy implications are discussed. PMID:25584015

Emissions Scenario Portal for Visualization of Low Carbon Pathways

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedrich, J.; Hennig, R. J.; Mountford, H.; Altamirano, J. C.; Ge, M.; Fransen, T.

2016-12-01

This proposal for a presentation is centered around a new project which is developed collaboratively by the World Resources Institute (WRI), Google Inc., and Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP). The project aims to develop an online, open portal, the Emissions Scenario Portal (ESP),to enable users to easily visualize a range of future greenhouse gas emission pathways linked to different scenarios of economic and energy developments, drawing from a variety of modeling tools. It is targeted to users who are not modelling experts, but instead policy analysts or advisors, investment analysts, and similar who draw on modelled scenarios to inform their work, and who can benefit from better access to, and transparency around, the wide range of emerging scenarios on ambitious climate action. The ESP will provide information from scenarios in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand manner that enable these users to recognize the opportunities to reduce GHG emissions, the implications of the different scenarios, and the underlying assumptions. To facilitate the application of the portal and tools in policy dialogues, a series of country-specific and potentially sector-specific workshops with key decision-makers and analysts, supported by relevant analysis, will be organized by the key partners and also in broader collaboration with others who might wish to convene relevant groups around the information. This project will provide opportunities for modelers to increase their outreach and visibility in the public space and to directly interact with key audiences of emissions scenarios, such as policy analysts and advisors. The information displayed on the portal will cover a wide range of indicators, sectors and important scenario characteristics such as macroeconomic information, emission factors and policy as well as technology assumptions in order to facilitate comparison. These indicators have been selected based on existing standards (such as the IIASA AR5 database, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and accounting literature) and stakeholder consultations. Examples for use cases include: technical advisers for governments NGO/Civil Society advocates Investors and bankers Modelers and academics Business sustainability officers

Challenging Political Spectacle through Grassroots Policy Dialogues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winton, Sue; Evans, Michael P.

2014-01-01

Can simply talking about policy strengthen democracy? Drawing on data collected for case studies of one Canadian and two U.S. grassroots organizations, we demonstrate that taking part in policy dialogues hosted by grassroots organizations enables participants to gain greater clarity regarding policy issues, policy processes, and citizens'…

Achieving social justice for children: How can children's rights thinking make a difference?

PubMed

Smith, Anne B

2016-01-01

This article draws on themes from the author's book, Children’s Rights: Toward Social Justice , that emerge from surveying children’s rights issues in different childhood contexts; the family, education, child protection, and health services. The author has selected five examples of application of children’s rights to a policy area and identified the implications for policy and practice. There are four core rights that cut across all children’s rights issues that are mentioned before discussing specific areas. First, children, regardless of race, sex, language, religion, disability, or class, are entitled to rights. In other words, all children should enjoy their rights and should not be discriminated against. Second, “the best interests of the child” should be “a primary consideration” in actions or decisions concerning children. Third, children have the right to survival and development. And fourth, children have the right to be consulted and have their views heard in matters that affect them. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved

Mingling, observing, and lingering: everyday public spaces and their implications for well-being and social relations.

PubMed

Cattell, Vicky; Dines, Nick; Gesler, Wil; Curtis, Sarah

2008-09-01

The rejuvenation of public spaces is a key policy concern in the UK. Drawing on a wide literature and on qualitative research located in a multi-ethnic area of East London, this paper explores their relationship to well-being and social relations. It demonstrates that ordinary spaces are a significant resource for both individuals and communities. The beneficial properties of public spaces are not reducible to natural or aesthetic criteria, however. Social interaction in spaces can provide relief from daily routines, sustenance for people's sense of community, opportunities for sustaining bonding ties or making bridges, and can influence tolerance and raise people's spirits. They also possess subjective meanings that accumulate over time and can contribute to meeting diverse needs. Different users of public spaces attain a sense of well- being for different reasons: the paper calls for policy approaches in which the social and therapeutic properties of a range of everyday spaces are more widely recognised and nurtured.

Is Science for Us? Black Students' and Parents' Views of Science and Science Careers.

PubMed

Archer, Louise; Dewitt, Jennifer; Osborne, Jonathan

2015-03-01

There are widespread policy concerns to improve (widen and increase) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics participation, which remains stratified by ethnicity, gender, and social class. Despite being interested in and highly valuing science, Black students tend to express limited aspirations to careers in science and remain underrepresented in post-16 science courses and careers, a pattern which is not solely explained by attainment. This paper draws on survey data from nationally representative student cohorts and longitudinal interview data collected over 4 years from 10 Black African/Caribbean students and their parents, who were tracked from age 10-14 (Y6-Y9), as part of a larger study on children's science and career aspirations. The paper uses an intersectional analysis of the qualitative data to examine why science careers are less "thinkable" for Black students. A case study is also presented of two young Black women who "bucked the trend" and aspired to science careers. The paper concludes with implications for science education policy and practice.

Translating models of antisocial behavioral development into efficacious intervention policy to prevent adolescent violence.

PubMed

Dodge, Kenneth A; McCourt, Sandra N

2010-04-01

Adolescent chronic antisocial behavior is costly but concentrated in a relatively small number of individuals. The search for effective preventive interventions draws from empirical findings of three kinds of gene-by-environment interactions: (1) parenting behaviors mute the impact of genes; (2) genes alter the impact of traumatic environmental experiences such as physical abuse and peer social rejection; and (3) individuals and environments influence each other in a dynamic developmental cascade. Thus, environmental interventions that focus on high-risk youth may prove effective. The Fast Track intervention and randomized controlled trial are described. The intervention is a 10-year series of efforts to produce proximal change in parenting, peer relations, social cognition, and academic performance in order to lead to distal prevention of adolescent conduct disorder. Findings indicate that conduct disorder cases can be prevented, but only in the highest risk group of children. Implications for policy are discussed. (c) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The diversity of the ecosystem services concept and its implications for their assessment and management.

PubMed

Lamarque, Pénélope; Quétier, Fabien; Lavorel, Sandra

2011-05-01

The ecosystem services concept is used in different scientific disciplines and is spreading into policy and business circles to draw attention to the benefits that people receive from biodiversity and ecosystems. However, the concept remains multiform and is used interchangeably with a range of other terms such as ecological, landscape or environmental services. We argue that lexical differences, in fact, result from different understandings of the concept, which could slow its use in nature conservation or sustainable resource use. An application to semi-natural grasslands shows that such differences could lead to very different assessments, of quality, quantity and location of ecosystem services. We argue that a compromise must be found between a broad and simple definition, which is useful for communicating the concept and large-scale policies, and a more refined definition for research and implementation goals such as environmental management and national and international assessments and accounting. Copyright © 2010 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

The new front in the war on doping: Amateur athletes.

PubMed

Henning, April D; Dimeo, Paul

2018-01-01

The war on drugs is usually associated with criminal policies aimed at stemming consumption of drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and cannabis, less so with enhancement drugs like those used in sport. As drug use in sport, or doping, has become more visibly widespread, policies aimed at combating the issue have become more restrictive, intrusive, and harsh. In this article we draw new comparisons between the wider war on drugs and recent developments in sports anti-doping. We identify a growing trend towards criminalisation of traffickers and users, and associate that with another growing trend: the testing of amateur athletes. This article reviews the current anti-doping system, including the recent amateur policies, then considers of the results of one such program in amateur cycling. We then shift to consider the possible implications for amateurs of criminal doping laws and the recent debates about allowing medical exemptions for therapeutic use of banned substances. We show that drug use in sport can be understood as a new front in the war on drugs, with some extreme measures and many negative unintended consequences. To remedy this, we argue that amateur athletes require a separate anti-doping policy focused on minimising harms of use. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Cross-Continental Study on Children's Drawings of Football Players: Implications for Understanding Key Issues and Controversies in Human Figure Drawings

PubMed Central

Baluch, Bahman; Duffy, Linda J.; Badami, Rokhsareh; Pereira, Elisangela C. Ap

2017-01-01

Professionals examine various aspects of girls’ and boys’ drawings as a way of understanding their intelligence, personality and emotional state. However, the extent to which such measures could be universally generalised or attributed to a specific cultural norm is still a debatable issue. In the present study five key features of children’s drawings namely: the size (height) of the drawings, profile or full face, figure in action or static, shaded or non-shaded and the nature of additional details were examined from a cross-cultural perspective, and by providing a topic (football) for which children’s drawing of a human figure could provide opportunities for the latter indices to manifest and flourish. Children from three countries; England, Iran and Brazil, representing three continents took part in this study. The participants were asked to draw a football player from their own country and from the other participating countries. The results showed that Brazilian children differ from Iranian and English children by drawing significantly smaller figures and putting more football action in the drawings. Shading of the figure drawn was more prevalent amongst English children. Such findings have implications for the interpretation of key aspects of children's drawings in educational, clinical and therapeutic settings and from a universal vs. culturally-specific viewpoint. PMID:28904595

Restructuring patient flow logistics around patient care needs: implications and practicalities from three critical cases.

PubMed

Villa, Stefano; Barbieri, Marta; Lega, Federico

2009-06-01

To make hospitals more patient-centered it is necessary to intervene on patient flow logistics. The study analyzes three innovative redesign projects implemented at three Italian hospitals. The three hospitals have reorganized patient flow logistics around patient care needs using, as proxies, the expected length of stay and the level of nursing assistance. In order to do this, they have extensively revised their logistical configuration changing: (1) the organization of wards, (2) the hospital's physical lay-out, (3) the capacity planning system, and (4) the organizational roles supporting the patient flow management. The study describes the changes implemented as well as the results achieved and draws some general lessons that provide useful hints for those other hospitals involved in such type of redesign projects. The paper ends by discussing some policy implications. In fact, the results achieved in the three cases investigated provide interesting material for further discussion on clinical, operational, and economic issues.

Organizational rationality, performance, and social responsibility: results from the hospital industry.

PubMed

Becker, Edmund R; Potter, Sharyn J

2002-01-01

Drawing on stakeholder theory and Weber's distinction between formal and substantive rationality, we posit that: (1) for-profit organizations manage stakeholders in ways that result in the organization being more efficient and less socially responsible than organizations that are not as profit oriented, and (2) organizations with major corporate relationships that are not local manage stakeholders in a manner that results in the organization being more efficient and less socially responsible than organizations without such arrangements. We test these hypotheses with 1994 data on 4,705 of the nation's short-term general hospitals using two measures of hospital efficiency and four measures of social responsibility. Results confirm that for-profit hospitals and hospitals lacking local ties are managing stakeholder relationships in ways that increases the efficiency of these hospitals but decreases their social responsiveness. We conclude by speculating that organizational efficiency and social responsibility may be inversely related and then summarize some of the academic, managerial, and policy implications, with emphasis on the implications for stakeholder theory.

Disciplinary Texts: A Policy Analysis of National and Local Behaviour Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ball, Stephen; Hoskins, Kate; Maguire, Meg; Braun, Annette

2011-01-01

Drawing on ESRC-funded research this paper considers some characteristics of the policy process in schools using the construction of behaviour policy in four English secondary schools as a case in point. It argues that behavior policy, like other policies, is enacted in particular and distinct institutional contexts with their own histories; that…

Illicit drugs and the media: models of media effects for use in drug policy research.

PubMed

Lancaster, Kari; Hughes, Caitlin E; Spicer, Bridget; Matthew-Simmons, Francis; Dillon, Paul

2011-07-01

Illicit drugs are never far from the media gaze and although identified almost a decade ago as 'a new battleground' for the alcohol and other drug (AOD) field there has been limited research examining the role of the news media and its effects on audiences and policy. This paper draws together media theories from communication literature to examine media functions. We illustrate how each function is relevant for media and drugs research by drawing upon the existing literature examining Australian media coverage during the late 1990s of escalating heroin-related problems and proposed solutions. Media can influence audiences in four key ways: by setting the agenda and defining public interest; framing issues through selection and salience; indirectly shaping individual and community attitudes towards risk; and feeding into political debate and decision making. Each has relevance for the AOD field. For example, media coverage of the escalating heroin-related problems in Australia played a strong role in generating interest in heroin overdoses, framing public discourse in terms of a health and/or criminal issue and affecting political decisions. Implications AND CONCLUSION: Media coverage in relation to illicit drugs can have multifarious effects. Incorporating media communication theories into future research and actions is critical to facilitate understanding of the short- and long-term impacts of media coverage on illicit drugs and the avenues by which the AOD field can mitigate or inform future media debates on illicit drugs. © 2010 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

More Policies, Greater Inclusion? Exploring the Contradictions of New Labour Inclusive Education Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roulstone, Alan; Prideaux, Simon

2008-01-01

The era of New Labour government has witnessed unprecedented growth in inclusive education policies. There is, however, limited evidence that policies have increased disabled children's inclusion. This article explores reasons for this contradiction. Drawing on sociological insights, it is argued that New Labour policies on inclusive education…

Accelerated Learning Options: A Promising Strategy for States. Policy Insights

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michelau, Demaree

2006-01-01

This issue of Policy Insights draws on findings from WICHE's report Accelerated Learning Options: Moving the Needle on Access and Success, to lay out some of the important policy issues that decision makers might consider when adopting new state policy related to accelerated learning or modifying policies already in existence. The publication…

Adapting to the Effects of Climate Change on Inuit Health

PubMed Central

Ford, James D.; Willox, Ashlee Cunsolo; Chatwood, Susan; Furgal, Christopher; Harper, Sherilee; Mauro, Ian; Pearce, Tristan

2014-01-01

Climate change will have far-reaching implications for Inuit health. Focusing on adaptation offers a proactive approach for managing climate-related health risks—one that views Inuit populations as active agents in planning and responding at household, community, and regional levels. Adaptation can direct attention to the root causes of climate vulnerability and emphasize the importance of traditional knowledge regarding environmental change and adaptive strategies. An evidence base on adaptation options and processes for Inuit regions is currently lacking, however, thus constraining climate policy development. In this article, we tackled this deficit, drawing upon our understanding of the determinants of health vulnerability to climate change in Canada to propose key considerations for adaptation decision-making in an Inuit context. PMID:24754615

Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse: The Case of Pacific Islanders.

PubMed

Xiao, Hong; Smith-Prince, Jaynina

2015-01-01

A number of factors influence the disclosure of child sexual abuse by survivors. While the influence of race and ethnicity on disclosure patterns is getting more attention, little has been written on abused children of Pacific Islanders, due in part to both lack of relevant data and a relatively small Pacific Islander population in the United States. Drawing on interviews with Pacific Islander women who were sexually abused in childhood and who delayed revealing their victimization, we explore the reasons for delayed disclosure. Findings suggest that cultural norms and family dynamics affect disclosure decisions. Concerns for the family and self-blame were the most common reasons for delay and lack of disclosure. We discuss implications of the findings and make policy recommendations.

Islamophobia and Public Health in the United States.

PubMed

Samari, Goleen

2016-11-01

Anti-Muslim sentiments are increasingly common globally and in the United States. The recent rise in Islamophobia calls for a public health perspective that considers the stigmatized identity of Muslim Americans and health implications of Islamophobic discrimination. Drawing on a stigma, discrimination, and health framework, I expand the dialogue on the rise of Islamophobia to a discussion of how Islamophobia affects the health of Muslim Americans. Islamophobia can negatively influence health by disrupting several systems-individual (stress reactivity and identity concealment), interpersonal (social relationships and socialization processes), and structural (institutional policies and media coverage). Islamophobia deserves attention as a source of negative health outcomes and health disparities. Future public health research should explore the multilevel and multidimensional pathways between Islamophobia and population health.

Adapting to the effects of climate change on Inuit health.

PubMed

Ford, James D; Willox, Ashlee Cunsolo; Chatwood, Susan; Furgal, Christopher; Harper, Sherilee; Mauro, Ian; Pearce, Tristan

2014-06-01

Climate change will have far-reaching implications for Inuit health. Focusing on adaptation offers a proactive approach for managing climate-related health risks-one that views Inuit populations as active agents in planning and responding at household, community, and regional levels. Adaptation can direct attention to the root causes of climate vulnerability and emphasize the importance of traditional knowledge regarding environmental change and adaptive strategies. An evidence base on adaptation options and processes for Inuit regions is currently lacking, however, thus constraining climate policy development. In this article, we tackled this deficit, drawing upon our understanding of the determinants of health vulnerability to climate change in Canada to propose key considerations for adaptation decision-making in an Inuit context.

Islamophobia and Public Health in the United States

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Anti-Muslim sentiments are increasingly common globally and in the United States. The recent rise in Islamophobia calls for a public health perspective that considers the stigmatized identity of Muslim Americans and health implications of Islamophobic discrimination. Drawing on a stigma, discrimination, and health framework, I expand the dialogue on the rise of Islamophobia to a discussion of how Islamophobia affects the health of Muslim Americans. Islamophobia can negatively influence health by disrupting several systems—individual (stress reactivity and identity concealment), interpersonal (social relationships and socialization processes), and structural (institutional policies and media coverage). Islamophobia deserves attention as a source of negative health outcomes and health disparities. Future public health research should explore the multilevel and multidimensional pathways between Islamophobia and population health. PMID:27631738

Geoengineering: A humanitarian concern

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suarez, Pablo; van Aalst, Maarten K.

2017-02-01

The humanitarian sector is active at the global frontline of climate impacts, and has a track record in influencing the climate change policy agenda. Geoengineering is a humanitarian concern: the potential for deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth's climate system has major implications in terms of impacts on the most vulnerable. Yet, so far the humanitarian community has largely been absent from geoengineering deliberations. Geoengineering may be perceived as too theoretical, too complex, and not imminent enough to merit attention. However, early engagement by the sector is imperative to ensure that humanitarian considerations are integrated into policy decisions. Those who can suffer the worst outcomes need to be involved; especially given the plausibility of "predatory geoengineering" where recklessly self-concerned actions may result in harmful consequences to others. This paper explores the humanitarian dimensions of geoengineering, specifically relating to solar radiation management (SRM). Drawing from the engagement of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre in SRM discussions, we discuss how to improve linkages between science, policy and humanitarian practice. We further propose the creation of a geoengineering risk management framework to ensure that the interests of the most vulnerable are considered and addressed - including the voices of all stakeholders.

The management of conflict in nutrition policy formulation: choosing growth-monitoring indicators in the context of dual burden.

PubMed

Hoey, Lesli; Pelletier, David L

2011-06-01

We argue in this paper that a shared desire to find a solution to malnutrition and agreement at a broad level concerning priority, evidence-based interventions are important but not sufficient conditions for effective policy development. This paper illustrates this point, and draws out general implications, through a detailed analysis of a case in which conflict emerged when committed nutrition policy actors began discussing the details of program design and implementation. The case involves one country's effort to select "the best" anthropometric indicator for use in its national child growth-monitoring program. In this case the interested parties approached this deceptively simple decision for different reasons, using different sources and standards of evidence and focusing their attention on opposite, but equally critical, operational considerations, while being heavily influenced by global, national, and interorganizational events and relationships. We suggest that actors seeking to translate political commitment for nutrition into effective action should recognize the technical and sociopolitical complexity of seemingly simple decisions related to intervention design and employ more systematic, intentional, and inclusive decision-making procedures. Without attention to such practical matters, the current window of opportunity to reduce malnutrition on a global scale may quickly close.

A novel framework for analyzing conservation impacts: evaluation, theory, and marine protected areas.

PubMed

Mascia, Michael B; Fox, Helen E; Glew, Louise; Ahmadia, Gabby N; Agrawal, Arun; Barnes, Megan; Basurto, Xavier; Craigie, Ian; Darling, Emily; Geldmann, Jonas; Gill, David; Holst Rice, Susie; Jensen, Olaf P; Lester, Sarah E; McConney, Patrick; Mumby, Peter J; Nenadovic, Mateja; Parks, John E; Pomeroy, Robert S; White, Alan T

2017-07-01

Environmental conservation initiatives, including marine protected areas (MPAs), have proliferated in recent decades. Designed to conserve marine biodiversity, many MPAs also seek to foster sustainable development. As is the case for many other environmental policies and programs, the impacts of MPAs are poorly understood. Social-ecological systems, impact evaluation, and common-pool resource governance are three complementary scientific frameworks for documenting and explaining the ecological and social impacts of conservation interventions. We review key components of these three frameworks and their implications for the study of conservation policy, program, and project outcomes. Using MPAs as an illustrative example, we then draw upon these three frameworks to describe an integrated approach for rigorous empirical documentation and causal explanation of conservation impacts. This integrated three-framework approach for impact evaluation of governance in social-ecological systems (3FIGS) accounts for alternative explanations, builds upon and advances social theory, and provides novel policy insights in ways that no single approach affords. Despite the inherent complexity of social-ecological systems and the difficulty of causal inference, the 3FIGS approach can dramatically advance our understanding of, and the evidentiary basis for, effective MPAs and other conservation initiatives. © 2017 New York Academy of Sciences.

The Policy Dispositif: Historical Formation and Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bailey, Patrick L. J.

2013-01-01

This paper proposes a new way of conceptualising education policy and also begins to develop a new method of policy analysis. In both instances, it draws on the theoretical and conceptual tools of Foucault, and in particular his concept "dispositif." It posits an historical and ontological formation -- a policy dispositif -- with…

Policy Critics and Policy Survivors: Who Are They and How Do They Contribute to a Department Policy Role Typology?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Golding, Jennie

2017-01-01

This paper considers the policy "roles" adopted by teachers enacting policy in a department. It draws on a longitudinal study of two secondary mathematics departments endeavouring to make deep change aligned with a demanding curriculum policy. The study validates aspects of an existing typology, demonstrates the existence of a variety of…

Perceptions on the Role of Evidence: An English Alcohol Policy Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toner, Paul; Lloyd, Charlie; Thom, Betsy; MacGregor, Susanne; Godfrey, Christine; Herring, Rachel; Tchilingirian, Jordan

2014-01-01

This paper explores the competing influences which inform public health policy and describes the role that research evidence plays within the policy-making process. In particular it draws on a recent English alcohol policy case study to assess the role of evidence in informing policy and practice. Semi-structured interviews with key national,…

From the Pews to Policy: Specifying Evangelical Protestantism's Influence on States' Sexual Orientation Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scheitle, Christopher P.; Hahn, Bryanna B.

2011-01-01

It is often assumed that the religious culture of a state can shape policies within the state, particularly concerning morality issues such as abortion or homosexuality. However, the precise manner in which religion shapes these policies has not been clearly specified. Drawing from social movements and policy literature, we argue that the…

Regional and inter-regional economic rules and the enforcement of the right to health: The case of Colombia

PubMed Central

Rodríguez, Liliana Lizarazo; De Lombaerde, Philippe

2015-01-01

The regional policy level is often seen as a (potential) source of progressive policy-making in health (and in social policy more widely), complementing or substituting national policy levels, which are perceived as underperforming. While it can certainly be argued that there are important opportunities to adopt regional approaches to tackle border-crossing health issues, this article draws the attention to the fact that the linkage between (inter-)regional and national policy levels is not uni-directional. While in some instances the regional level may indeed take the lead in the promotion of (the right to) health, in other instances it may well be the other way round. This article focuses on the case of Colombia, where international economic rules have deeply permeated public policies in the health sector. On one hand, Colombia has been opening markets through the conclusion of regional integration arrangements (e.g. Andean Community and the Pacific Alliance) and the new generation of Free Trade Agreements. On the other hand, Colombia has been one of the most active emerging countries in promoting the right to health as a justiciable fundamental right, in line with the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights of the United Nations mainly due to the judicial activism of the Colombian Constitutional Court with interesting implications for regional social governance. The article shows that national courts can play an important role in the protection of the right to health in a context of economic integration and the absence of regional balancing policies. PMID:26635499

Regional and inter-regional economic rules and the enforcement of the right to health: The case of Colombia.

PubMed

Rodríguez, Liliana Lizarazo; De Lombaerde, Philippe

2015-12-01

The regional policy level is often seen as a (potential) source of progressive policy-making in health (and in social policy more widely), complementing or substituting national policy levels, which are perceived as underperforming. While it can certainly be argued that there are important opportunities to adopt regional approaches to tackle border-crossing health issues, this article draws the attention to the fact that the linkage between (inter-)regional and national policy levels is not uni-directional. While in some instances the regional level may indeed take the lead in the promotion of (the right to) health, in other instances it may well be the other way round. This article focuses on the case of Colombia, where international economic rules have deeply permeated public policies in the health sector. On one hand, Colombia has been opening markets through the conclusion of regional integration arrangements (e.g. Andean Community and the Pacific Alliance) and the new generation of Free Trade Agreements. On the other hand, Colombia has been one of the most active emerging countries in promoting the right to health as a justiciable fundamental right, in line with the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights of the United Nations mainly due to the judicial activism of the Colombian Constitutional Court with interesting implications for regional social governance. The article shows that national courts can play an important role in the protection of the right to health in a context of economic integration and the absence of regional balancing policies.

The state of aging policy and politics in the trump era.

PubMed

Miller, Edward Alan; Nadash, Pamela; Gusmano, Michael K; Simpson, Elizabeth; Ronneberg, Corina R

2018-05-25

The surprise election of Donald J. Trump to the presidency of the United States marks a singular turning point in the American republic - not only because of his idiosyncratic approach to the office, but also because the Republican Party now holds the Presidency and both houses of Congress, presenting an historic opportunity for change. The role of older Americans has been critical in both shaping and reacting to this political moment. Their political orientations and behaviors have shaped it through their electoral support for Republican candidates, but they also stand as highly invested stakeholders in the policy decisions made by the very officials they elected, and as beneficiaries of the programs that Republicans have targeted. This article draws on the content of this issue to explore the ways in which Trump administration policies are likely to significantly undermine the social safety net for near-elderly and older Americans, including with respect to long-term care, housing, healthcare, and retirement. It also draws on issue content to speculate on the ways that these policy changes might shape politics and political behavior. It concludes that the response of older voters in the 2018 mid-term elections to efforts by the Trump administration and its Republican allies in Congress to draw back on the federal government's commitment to programs and policies affecting them will shape the direction of aging policy and politics in the years to come.

Symbolic use of size and color in freehand drawing of the tree: myth or reality?

PubMed

Picard, Delphine; Lebaz, Samuel

2010-03-01

In this study, we tested whether children and young adults varied the size and color of their tree drawings based on hypotheses related to the emotional characterization of the drawn topic. We asked a sample of 80 5- to 11-year-old children and adults to draw a tree (baseline drawing) and then a happy versus sad tree from their imagination. Results indicate that size, but not color, is used to express emotion under free drawing conditions. We discuss implications for clinical psychologists and practitioners interpreting drawings of the tree.

Understanding human resource management practices in Botswana's public health sector.

PubMed

Seitio-Kgokgwe, Onalenna Stannie; Gauld, Robin; Hill, Philip C; Barnett, Pauline

2016-11-21

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the management of the public sector health workforce in Botswana. Using institutional frameworks it aims to document and analyse human resource management (HRM) practices, and make recommendations to improve employee and health system outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws from a large study that used a mixed methods approach to assess performance of Botswana's Ministry of Health (MOH). It uses data collected through document analysis and in-depth interviews of 54 key informants comprising policy makers, senior staff of the MOH and its stakeholder organizations. Findings Public health sector HRM in Botswana has experienced inadequate planning, poor deployment and underutilization of staff. Lack of comprehensive retention strategies and poor working conditions contributed to the failure to attract and retain skilled personnel. Relationships with both formal and informal environments affected HRM performance. Research limitations/implications While document review was a major source of data for this paper, the weaknesses in the human resource information system limited availability of data. Practical implications This paper presents an argument for the need for consideration of formal and informal environments in developing effective HRM strategies. Originality/value This research provides a rare system-wide approach to health HRM in a Sub-Saharan African country. It contributes to the literature and evidence needed to guide HRM policy decisions and practices.

Anthropology and School Reform: To Catalog or Critique?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hess, G. Alfred, Jr.

1992-01-01

Discusses anthropology's role in policy-relevant educational research, drawing on experiences in evaluating Chicago (Illinois) city schools' restructuring. Questions raised by case studies in school restructuring include qualitative researchers' role in studying educational policy, issues of objectivity in policy research, and networking…

Media Accounts of School Performance: Reinforcing Dominant Practices of Accountability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baroutsis, Aspa

2016-01-01

Media reportage often act as interpretations of accountability policies thereby making the news media a part of the policy enactment process. Within such a process, their role is that of policy reinforcement rather than policy construction or contestation. This paper draws on the experiences of school leaders in regional Queensland, Australia, and…

Knowledge Activism: Bridging the Research/Policy Divide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillies, Donald

2014-01-01

How research can better inform policy and how policy can have a better research base are longstanding issues both in educational research and across public policy generally. Drawing on the work of Hannah Arendt, this article argues that progress in increasing the impact of research can be made through a clearer understanding of the nature of…

An Epidemic of Education Policy: (What) Can We Learn from Each Other?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levin, Benjamin

1998-01-01

Draws on Canadian, U.S., and British policy documents and personal experience to examine how countries and their subjurisdictions are learning from each other about the nature of policy change and reform in education. Concludes that "mutual learning" does not necessarily describe such policy movements; analogies to diseases and epidemics…

Guidelines for Development of School Policies Regarding Smoking.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept., Albany. Bureau of Drug Education.

This guide was developed by the New York State Education department to assist schools in the formation, review, or redesign of school smoking policies. Basic considerations and policy rationale are discussed. A description of policy establishment involves: (1) formation of a task force, drawing members from school and community; (2) selection of…

PISA Data: Raising Concerns with Its Use in Policy Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillis, Shelley; Polesel, John; Wu, Margaret

2016-01-01

This article considers the role played by policy makers, government organisations, and research institutes (sometimes labelled "think tanks") in the analysis, use and reporting of PISA data for the purposes of policy advice and advocacy. It draws on the ideas of Rizvi and Lingard (Globalizing Education Policy, 2010), Bogdandy and…

Teacher Education Research and Education Policy-Makers: An Australian Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Simone

2016-01-01

As teacher educators, we want our research to be influential in contributing to educational policy and practice, but there remains little understanding about ways in which teacher educators might more productively engage with each other and policy-makers so as to maximise their research impact. Drawing on an empirical study and policy document…

Framing Literacy Policy: Power and Policy Drivers in Primary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mills, Colin

2011-01-01

This article is linked to the theme of the special issue through its focus on micropolitical analysis of the changing role of "policy drivers", mediating national policy through interactions with primary school heads and teachers. The central arguments draw on case studies undertaken in two primary schools where changes related to…

When School Policies Backfire: How Well-Intended Measures Can Harm Our Most Vulnerable Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottfried, Michael A., Ed.; Conchas, Gilberto Q., Ed.

2016-01-01

Like medical practitioners, educators share the moral obligation to "first, do no harm." But as this provocative volume shows, education policies do not always live up to this ideal, especially policies intended to help our most vulnerable students. "When School Policies Backfire" draws our attention to education policies…

Translations of Policy and Shifting Demands of Teacher Professionalism: From CPD to Professional Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Cate; Michael, Maureen K.

2016-01-01

This article concerns policy implementation and examines the processes of translation through which policy may be enacted at local level. In particular, it focuses on education policy and constructions of teacher professionalism, drawing on a framework of critical logics--social, political and fantasmatic--which examine different dimensions of…

Globalization, the Strong State and Education Policy: The Politics of Policy in Asia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lim, Leonel

2016-01-01

Much of the scholarship around the workings of education policy has focused on the global West and has taken for granted the state's limited abilities in the control of policies as both text and discourse. Drawing upon policy texts from the Singapore Ministry of Education and ethnographic data collected in a Singapore school, this paper explores…

Research That Counts: OECD Statistics and "Policy Entrepreneurs" Impacting on Australian Adult Literacy and Numeracy Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Black, Stephen; Yasukawa, Keiko

2016-01-01

This paper analyses research that has impacted on Australia's most recent national policy document on adult literacy and numeracy, the National Foundation Skills Strategy (NFSS). The paper draws in part on Lingard's 2013 paper, "The impact of research on education policy in an era of evidence-based policy", in which he outlines the…

Relationship between directionality and orientation in drawings by young children and adults.

PubMed

Taguchi, Masanori; Noma, Yutaka

2005-08-01

The present study examined the relationship between directionality of drawing movements and the orientation of drawn products in right-handed adults and young children for 27 Japanese kindergartners and 29 Japanese university students who were asked to draw with each hand fishes in side view and circles from several starting points. Significant values of chi2 for distributions of frequencies of orientation of the fish drawings and the direction of circular drawing movement indicated that adult right-handers drawing the fish facing to the left tended to draw a circle clock-wise when they drew with the dominant hand, while there was no such significant relationship in young children's drawings. This result may suggest that the reading and writing habits may be implicated in the direction of drawing movements with the dominant hand, and this directional bias of drawing movement in the dominant hand can appear in the orientation of finished drawings.

Perceptions of Americans and the Iraq Invasion: Implications for Understanding National Character Stereotypes

PubMed Central

Terracciano, Antonio; McCrae, Robert R.

2008-01-01

This study examines perceptions of the “typical American” from 49 cultures around the world. Contrary to the ethnocentric bias hypothesis, we found strong agreement between in-group and out-group ratings on the American profile (assertive, open-minded, but antagonistic); Americans in fact had a somewhat less desirable view of Americans than did others. Within cultures, in-group ratings were not systematically more favorable than out-group ratings. The Iraq invasion had a slight negative effect on perceptions of the typical American, but people around the world seem to draw a clear distinction between U.S. foreign policy and the character of the American people. National character stereotypes appear to have a variety of sources and to be perpetuated by both cognitive mechanisms and socio-cultural forces. PMID:18618011

A narrative review of alcohol consumption as a risk factor for global burden of disease.

PubMed

Rehm, Jürgen; Imtiaz, Sameer

2016-10-28

Since the original Comparative Risk Assessment (CRA) for alcohol consumption as part of the Global Burden of Disease Study for 1990, there had been regular updates of CRAs for alcohol from the World Health Organization and/or the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. These studies have become more and more refined with respect to establishing causality between dimensions of alcohol consumption and different disease and mortality (cause of death) outcomes, refining risk relations, and improving the methodology for estimating exposure and alcohol-attributable burden. The present review will give an overview on the main results of the CRAs with respect to alcohol consumption as a risk factor, sketch out new trends and developments, and draw implications for future research and policy.

A capacity-based approach for addressing ancillary care needs: implications for research in resource limited settings.

PubMed

Bright, Patricia L; Nelson, Robert M

2012-11-01

A paediatric clinical trial conducted in a developing country is likely to encounter conditions or illnesses in participants unrelated to the study. Since local healthcare resources may be inadequate to meet these needs, research clinicians may face the dilemma of deciding when to provide ancillary care and to what extent. The authors propose a model for identifying ancillary care obligations that draws on assessments of urgency, the capacity of the local healthcare infrastructure and the capacity of the research infrastructure. The model lends itself to a decision tree that can be adapted to the local context and resources so as to provide procedural guidance. This approach can help in planning and establishing organisational policies that govern the provision of ancillary care.

Floodplain conflicts: regulation and negotiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pardoe, J.; Penning-Rowsell, E.; Tunstall, S.

2011-10-01

In the continuing shift from engineered solutions towards more holistic methods of managing flood risk, spatial planning has become the primary focus of a conflict between land and water, water and people. In attempting to strike a balance between making space for water and making space for people, compromises are required. Through five case studies in the UK, this paper analyses the effectiveness of Planning Policy Statement 25 (PPS 25) and the processes of negotiation that it promotes. This assessment allows us to draw conclusions on the nature of the compromises this kind of negotiation can achieve and the implications of this for flood risk management. What emerges is that the beneficial impacts of decisions to develop floodplain areas are given a proper hearing and sensible conditions imposed, rather than arguments to prevent such development remaining unchallenged.

Inclusive Education Policies: Discourses of Difference, Diversity and Deficit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardy, Ian; Woodcock, Stuart

2015-01-01

This paper provides an analysis of inclusive education policies across international, and Anglo-American national and provincial/state jurisdictions to reveal how policies discursively construct inclusion under current, increasingly neoliberal conditions. In making this case, the paper draws upon primary UNESCO and Organisation for Economic…

A White Veneer: Education Policy, Space and "Race" in the Inner City

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gulson, Kalervo

2006-01-01

This paper explores how neo-liberal education policy change and urban renewal in inner Sydney and London has interacted with "raced" and classed educational identities. I draw on two examples of policy change, the "Building the Future" policy development in the inner city area of Sydney and the "Excellence in Cities"…

The Politics of Educational Policy Studies: A Preliminary Analysis of Leading Educational Policy Journal Publications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardy, Ian

2009-01-01

This paper argues that the content, analytical approaches and institutional affiliations of authors of articles published in the latest issues of two leading educational policy studies journals provide useful insights into the contested nature of educational policy studies. The paper draws upon a selection of articles published in 2007/08 issues…

Misdiagnosing the Teacher Quality Problem. CPRE Policy Briefs. RB-49

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingersoll, Richard M.

2007-01-01

This issue of CPRE Policy Briefs summarizes the findings on issues related to teacher quality in the chapter by the author in the book, "The State of Education Policy Research" (Cohen, Fuhrman, Mosher, Eds., 2007). This report also draws on discussions that took place during a summer, 2006, policy briefing on teacher labor-market issues…

Educational Change in Scotland: Policy, Context and Biography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Priestley, M.; Miller, K.

2012-01-01

The poor success rate of policy for curriculum change has been widely noted in the educational change literature. Part of the problem lies in the complexity of schools, as policy-makers have proven unable to micro-manage the multifarious range of factors that impact upon the implementation of policy. This article draws upon empirical data from a…

Transformation and Regulation: A Century of Continuity in Nursery School and Welfare Policy Rhetoric

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Read, Jane

2015-01-01

This article explores policy development for under-fives and its implementation in nursery schools in the first two decades of the twentieth century and draws parallels with current policy initiatives such as Sure Start and the "Troubled Families" programme. It interrogates how discourse on British racial health shaped policy and…

The Role of the Sheffield Model on the Minimum Unit Pricing of Alcohol Debate: The Importance of a Rhetorical Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal; Hilton, Shona; Bond, Lyndal

2016-01-01

The minimum unit pricing (MUP) alcohol policy debate has been informed by the Sheffield model, a study which predicts impacts of different alcohol pricing policies. This paper explores the Sheffield model's influences on the policy debate by drawing on 36 semi-structured interviews with policy actors who were involved in the policy debate.…

Approaches to rationing antiretroviral treatment: ethical and equity implications.

PubMed Central

Bennett, Sara; Chanfreau, Catherine

2005-01-01

Despite a growing global commitment to the provision of antiretroviral therapy (ART), its availability is still likely to be less than the need. This imbalance raises ethical dilemmas about who should be granted access to publicly-subsidized ART programmes. This paper reviews the eligibility and targeting criteria used in four case-study countries at different points in the scale-up of ART, with the aim of drawing lessons regarding ethical approaches to rationing. Mexico, Senegal, Thailand and Uganda have each made an explicit policy commitment to provide antiretrovirals to all those in need, but are achieving this goal in steps--beginning with explicit rationing of access to care. Drawing upon the case-studies and experiences elsewhere, categories of explicit rationing criteria have been identified. These include biomedical factors, adherence to treatment, prevention-driven factors, social and economic benefits, financial factors and factors driven by ethical arguments. The initial criteria for determining eligibility are typically clinical criteria and assessment of adherence prospects, followed by a number of other factors. Rationing mechanisms reflect several underlying ethical theories and the ethical underpinnings of explicit rationing criteria should reflect societal values. In order to ensure this alignment, widespread consultation with a variety of stakeholders, and not only policy-makers or physicians, is critical. Without such explicit debate, more rationing will occur implicitly and this may be more inequitable. The effects of rationing mechanisms upon equity are critically dependent upon the implementation processes. As antiretroviral programmes are implemented it is crucial to monitor who gains access to these programmes. PMID:16175829

The Policy Implications of College and Career Assessment Findings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lenning, Oscar T.

This paper considers social policy and institutional practice policy implications of findings reported by Ernest Pascarella and Patrick Terenzini concerning student career choice and economic benefits of college. Sixteen social policy implications are identified. These include: beating the Japanese; overcoming the "pipeline mentality"; revising…

Is Science for Us? Black Students’ and Parents’ Views of Science and Science Careers

PubMed Central

DEWITT, JENNIFER; OSBORNE, JONATHAN

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT There are widespread policy concerns to improve (widen and increase) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics participation, which remains stratified by ethnicity, gender, and social class. Despite being interested in and highly valuing science, Black students tend to express limited aspirations to careers in science and remain underrepresented in post‐16 science courses and careers, a pattern which is not solely explained by attainment. This paper draws on survey data from nationally representative student cohorts and longitudinal interview data collected over 4 years from 10 Black African/Caribbean students and their parents, who were tracked from age 10–14 (Y6–Y9), as part of a larger study on children's science and career aspirations. The paper uses an intersectional analysis of the qualitative data to examine why science careers are less “thinkable” for Black students. A case study is also presented of two young Black women who “bucked the trend” and aspired to science careers. The paper concludes with implications for science education policy and practice. PMID:28579645

Health and economic development: introduction to the symposium.

PubMed

Clay, Joy A; Mirvis, David M

2008-01-01

This symposium explores the role of health as an 'economic engine' in the lower Mississippi River Delta region of the United States. The health as an economic engine model proposes that health is an important and perhaps critical determinant of economic growth and development. This model is the reverse of the more commonly considered paradigm in which economic conditions are major determinants of health status. This reframing of the conventional pathway draws upon an existing and extensive internationally-based body of knowledge, predominantly from research done in Africa and Asia. We suggest, in this symposium, that the health as an economic engine model can also be applied within the United States, particularly in regions that are economically underdeveloped and have poor health. This reframing has significant implications for population health policy as public health advancement can be legitimately argued to be an investment rather than just an expense. Viewing health as an economic engine supports a call to community-based participatory action on the part of policy makers, researchers, and educators to further both public and private investment in health, particularly for children and the poor.

Securing a Better Living Environment for Left-Behind Children: Implications and Challenges for Policies

PubMed Central

Lam, Theodora; Ee, Miriam; Anh, Hoang Lan; Yeoh, Brenda S.A.

2014-01-01

Migration is an increasingly significant driver of transformations in family configurations and caregiving practices as well as living arrangements. The sustainability of geographically-split family formations is dependent on several factors, including the presence and strength of care support networks among migrants and their left-behind families, access to communication infrastructure and the stability of the families’ financial resources. Drawing on both a selective review of relevant academic literature as well as key findings from the CHAMPSEA Project, the article first examines the effects of these three factors on the well-being of migrants’ left-behind family members, especially children. The article also considers major implications of the project’s findings, as well as possible challenges for migration and development policies. One area of concern for migration and development policy arising from our research findings is the need to provide better support for left-behind caregivers or carers who are substituting for the absent migrant in childcare and domestic work but who may also need care and support themselves. Another area relates to the need to improve communication infrastructure to help migrants and their families maintain their relationships across transnational spaces; while a third lies with the importance of minimizing migrant families’ economic stress stemming from the cycle of debts resulting from exorbitant broker fees and the mismanagement of remittances. By acknowledging both the social and economic costs of international labor migration on families, governments of labor-sending countries can create a more effective legal and institutional framework as well as design suitable supporting mechanisms for left-behind families. There is then a stronger possibility that migration can become a sustainable development strategy for transnational families in South-East Asia. PMID:24954965

Lifelong Learning Policies, Paradoxes and Possibilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tett, Lyn

2014-01-01

This paper argues that there are many ways of conceptualising lifelong learning and examines EU and Scottish lifelong learning policies in order to identify their underlying assumptions. Through an analysis of these policies, it is demonstrated that they draw on a number of inter-related fallacies that prioritise lifelong learning mainly in…

"Mind the Gap": Researchers Ignore Politics at Their Own Risk.

PubMed

Feder, Judith

2016-02-01

No matter how distasteful researchers find policy politics, effective policy requires that they engage. Drawing on her career bridging the research/politics gap in health care policy, the author makes a case for why and how researchers can do just that. Copyright © 2016 by Duke University Press.

The Surveillance of Learning: A Critical Analysis of University Attendance Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macfarlane, Bruce

2013-01-01

Universities have recently strengthened their class attendance policies along with associated practices that intensify the surveillance of learning: a series of administrative and pedagogic strategies that monitor the extent to which students conform with behavioural expectations associated with learning. Drawing on university policy statements,…

The Uses of Affect in Education: Chilean Government Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matus, Claudia

2017-01-01

This article draws attention to the uses of affect to produce specific subjectivities and moralities in educational policies. It highlights the connections between specific ideas of the educated subject, the family role presented in governmental educational policies in Chile, and the ways these ideas are linked to the subjectivities and…

Beliefs in Context: Understanding Language Policy Implementation at a Systems Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hopkins, Megan

2016-01-01

Drawing on institutional theory, this study describes how cognitive, normative, and regulative mechanisms shape bilingual teachers' language policy implementation in both English-only and bilingual contexts. Aligned with prior educational language policy research, findings indicate the important role that teachers' beliefs play in the policy…

Absolute Zero.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Rebecca

1997-01-01

So far the courts have supported most schools' zero-tolerance policies--even those banning toy weapons, over-the-counter drugs, and unseemly conduct. However, wide-ranging get-tough policies can draw criticism. Policy experts advise school boards to ask the community, decide what people want, allow some wiggle room, create an appeals process,…

Exploring the differences between pet and non-pet owners: Implications for human-animal interaction research and policy

PubMed Central

Saunders, Jessica; Parast, Layla; Babey, Susan H.; Miles, Jeremy V.

2017-01-01

There is conflicting evidence about whether living with pets results in better mental and physical health outcomes, with the majority of the empirical research evidence being inconclusive due to methodological limitations. We briefly review the research evidence, including the hypothesized mechanisms through which pet ownership may influence health outcomes. This study examines how pet and non-pet owners differ across a variety of socio-demographic and health measures, which has implications for the proper interpretation of a large number of correlational studies that attempt to draw causal attributions. We use a large, population-based survey from California administered in 2003 (n = 42,044) and find that pet owners and non-pet owners differ across many traits, including gender, age, race/ethnicity, living arrangements, and income. We include a discussion about how the factors associated with the selection into the pet ownership group are related to a range of mental and physical health outcomes. Finally, we provide guidance on how to properly model the effects of pet ownership on health to accurately estimate this relationship in the general population. PMID:28644848

Learning from history, predicting the future: the UK Dutch elm disease outbreak in relation to contemporary tree disease threats

PubMed Central

Potter, Clive; Harwood, Tom; Knight, Jon; Tomlinson, Isobel

2011-01-01

Expanding international trade and increased transportation are heavily implicated in the growing threat posed by invasive pathogens to biodiversity and landscapes. With trees and woodland in the UK now facing threats from a number of disease systems, this paper looks to historical experience with the Dutch elm disease (DED) epidemic of the 1970s to see what can be learned about an outbreak and attempts to prevent, manage and control it. The paper draws on an interdisciplinary investigation into the history, biology and policy of the epidemic. It presents a reconstruction based on a spatial modelling exercise underpinned by archival research and interviews with individuals involved in the attempted management of the epidemic at the time. The paper explores what, if anything, might have been done to contain the outbreak and discusses the wider lessons for plant protection. Reading across to present-day biosecurity concerns, the paper looks at the current outbreak of ramorum blight in the UK and presents an analysis of the unfolding epidemiology and policy of this more recent, and potentially very serious, disease outbreak. The paper concludes by reflecting on the continuing contemporary relevance of the DED experience at an important juncture in the evolution of plant protection policy. PMID:21624917

Scarcity discourses and their impacts on renal care policy, practices, and everyday experiences in rural British Columbia

PubMed Central

Brassolotto, Julia; Daly, Tamara

2017-01-01

Drawing from a qualitative case study in rural British Columbia, Canada, this paper examines the discourse of kidney scarcity and its impact on renal care policies and practices. Our findings suggest that at different levels of care, there are different discourses and treatment foci. We have identified three distinct scarcity discourses at work. At the macro policy level, the scarcity of transplantable kidneys is the dominant discourse. At the meso health care institution level, we witnessed a discourse regarding the scarcity of health care and human resources. At the micro community level, there was a discourse of the scarcity of health and life-sustaining resources. For each form of scarcity, particular responses are encouraged. At the macro level, renal care and transplant organizations emphasize the benefits of kidney transplantation and procuring more donors. At the meso level, participants from the regional health care system increasingly encourage home hemodialysis and patient-led care. At the micro level, community health care professionals push for rural renal patients to attend dialysis and maintain their care plans. This work contributes to critical, interdisciplinary organ transfer discourse by contextualizing kidney scarcity. It reveals the tension between these discourses and the implications of pursuing kidney donations without addressing the conditions in which individuals experience kidney failure. PMID:26854624

Implications of food insecurity on global health policy and nursing practice.

PubMed

Kregg-Byers, Claudia M; Schlenk, Elizabeth A

2010-09-01

The purpose is to discuss the concept of food insecurity (FI) and its impact on current global health policy and nursing practice. Food insecurity. Literature review. FI means a nonsustainable food system that interferes with optimal self-reliance and social justice. Individuals experiencing FI lack nutritionally adequate and safe foods in their diet. Resources play a significant role in FI by affecting whether or not people obtain culturally, socially acceptable food through regular marketplace sources as opposed to severe coping strategies, such as emergency food sources, scavenging, and stealing. Persons who are living in poverty, female heads of household, single parents, people living with many siblings, landless people, migrants, immigrants, and those living in certain geographical regions constitute populations at risk and most vulnerable to FI. FI influences economics through annual losses of gross domestic product due to reduced human productivity. FI affects individuals and households and is largely an unobservable condition, making data collection and analysis challenging. Policy and research have focused on macronutrient sufficiency and deprivation, making it difficult to draw attention and research dollars to FI. Persons experiencing FI exhibit clinical signs such as less healthy diets, poor health status, poor diabetes and chronic disease management, and impaired cognitive function. Nurses can recognize the physical, psychosocial, and personal consequences that those with FI face and manage daily.

Retaining Meanings of Quality in Australian Early Childhood Education and Care Policy History: Perspectives from Policy Makers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Logan, Helen

2018-01-01

This paper presents lesser known accounts from policy makers whose experiences as elite informants span 40 or so years in Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy history between 1972 and 2009. Drawing on a post-structuralist theoretical frame, this paper employs a Foucauldian-influenced approach to discourse analysis. Given the…

The Crucial Role of Educational Stakeholders in the Appropriation of Foreign Language Education Policies: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peláez, Oscar; Usma, Jaime

2017-01-01

Drawing on the concept of policy appropriation, this study investigates how different education stakeholders in a rural region of Colombia perceive foreign language education policies, and how these perceptions shape the way they recreate these reforms at the ground level. Contributing to the field of language policy analysis in Colombia and…

Admissions Policies and Risks to Equity and Educational Inclusion in the Context of School Reform in England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rayner, Stephen M.

2017-01-01

Policy discourses in support of school reform in England have linked the objective of raising standards with that of tackling inequality. The assumption that a single policy strategy can tackle both objectives simultaneously is problematic. In this article, I examine issues of equity by studying admissions policy and practice. Drawing on a…

Elimination of Coast Guard plan review for non-critical engineering systems and cargo barges

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-06-21

The purpose of this Circular is to publish policy that provides for the elimination of Coast Guard review and approval of certain engineering system drawings for all vessels as well as structural drawings for Coast Guard inspected non-self propelled ...

Children's drawings as facilitators of communication: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Driessnack, Martha

2005-12-01

In an attempt to explore new methods for accessing children's voices, this meta-analysis explores the facilitative effects of offering children the opportunity to draw as an interview strategy as compared with a traditional directed interview. Based on this analysis, introducing the opportunity to draw appears to be a relatively robust interview strategy with a large overall effect size (d = .95). Both research and clinical implications are discussed.

Meanings of blood, bleeding and blood donations in Pakistan: implications for national vs global safe blood supply policies

PubMed Central

Mumtaz, Zubia; Bowen, Sarah; Mumtaz, Rubina

2012-01-01

Contemporary public policy, supported by international arbitrators of blood policy such as the World Health Organization and the International Federation of the Red Cross, asserts that the safest blood is that donated by voluntary, non-remunerated donors from low-risk groups of the population. These policies promote anonymous donation and discourage kin-based or replacement donation. However, there is reason to question whether these policies, based largely on Western research and beliefs, are the most appropriate for ensuring an adequate safe blood supply in many other parts of the world. This research explored the various and complex meanings embedded in blood using empirical ethnographic data from Pakistan, with the intent of informing development of a national blood policy in that country. Using a focused ethnographic approach, data were collected in 26 in-depth interviews, 6 focus group discussions, 12 key informant interviews and 25 hours of observations in blood banks and maternity and surgical wards. The key finding was that notions of caste-based purity of blood, together with the belief that donors and recipients are symbolically knitted in a kin relationship, place a preference on kin-blood. The anonymity inherent in current systems of blood extraction, storage and use as embedded in contemporary policy discourse and practice was problematic as it blurred distinctions that were important within this society. The article highlights the importance—to ensuring a safe blood supply—of basing blood procurement policies on local, context-specific belief systems rather than relying on uniform, one-size-fits-all global policies. Drawing on our empirical findings and the literature, it is argued that the practice of kin-donated blood remains a feasible alternative to the global ideal of voluntary, anonymous donations. There is a need to focus on developing context-sensitive strategies for promoting blood safety, and critically revisit the assumptions underlying contemporary global blood procurement policies. PMID:21372061

Local Partnerships: Blowing in the Wind of National Policy Changes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haynes, Gill; Lynch, Sarah

2013-01-01

Drawing on data from a three-year study (2008-2011) of partnerships of schools and colleges delivering the 14-19 Diplomas in England, this article examines how the dynamics of local partnerships were shaped by a contradictory policy landscape in which some policies strongly promoted collaborative working whilst others reinforced competition…

Constructing Teacher Agency in Response to the Constraints of Education Policy: Adoption and Adaptation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Sarah

2012-01-01

Drawing on agency literature, this paper demonstrates how teachers' professional agency emerged when seemingly conflicting strategies were imposed on them in policy reform. Policy discourse is often linked to performance and accountability measures, which teachers respond to in a number of ways. Some education researchers identify tensions caused…

Education Policy Research in the Big Data Era: Methodological Frontiers, Misconceptions, and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Yinying

2017-01-01

Despite abundant data and increasing data availability brought by technological advances, there has been very limited education policy studies that have capitalized on big data--characterized by large volume, wide variety, and high velocity. Drawing on the recent progress of using big data in public policy and computational social science…

Putting the Steam Back into Critique? "Gathering" for Critical-Dissensual Collaborations in Education Policy Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heimans, Stephen; Singh, Parlo

2018-01-01

Bruno Latour famously asked, "Why has critique run out of steam?". In this paper we draw on his ideas to present some resources for "gathering"--for doing education policy research with others--which we term "critical-dissensual collaboration". We believe that our education policy research "critique from…

Policy and Practice in Madrid Multilingual Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pastor, Ana Maria Relano

2009-01-01

This article focuses on Spain's most recent implementing of education policies designed to address the needs of immigrant students. It overviews how the latest education policies do not meet the needs of a diverse body of students, drawing on information provided in focus group interviews from several Madrid schools, as well as from other official…

Framing Teacher Education: Conceptions of Teaching, Teacher Education, and Justice in Chilean National Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernández, M. Beatriz

2018-01-01

Chile shows high inequity and socioeconomic stratification in both K-12 education and teacher preparation. Drawing on the notion of frames, this critical policy analysis examines how teaching, teacher education, and justice were conceptualized in Chile's teacher preparation policies between 2008-2015. It also analyzes the narrative stories…

Tensions in Constructions of Quality in Australian Early Childhood Education and Care Policy History

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Logan, Helen

2017-01-01

In pronouncements of early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy the importance of quality appears as a seemingly irrefutable concept. Yet, attention to ECEC policy history reveals tensions between discourses that construct quality in ways that endure whereas other ways are ostensibly forgotten. Drawing on a Foucauldian-influenced…

The PhD Dissertation Defense in Canada: An Institutional Policy Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Shuhua

2008-01-01

Drawing upon publicly accessible information on the websites of ten Canadian research universities, this paper aims to shed some light on the assumed variation of institutional policies regarding the PhD dissertation defense in Canada. It discusses "How are the institutional policies on the doctoral dissertation defense different across…

Language Policy, In-Migration and Discursive Debates in Wales

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Catrin Wyn

2017-01-01

Drawing on theory from critical language policy literature, this article explores the impact of discourses on in-migration on Welsh language policy. By focussing on discursive debates surrounding the subject of in-migration, the article analyses how a range of actors produce and reproduce discourses on in-migration in Wales and how these…

Beyond Inclusion: Reconsidering Policies, Curriculum, and Pedagogy for Roma Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miskovic, Maja; Curcic, Svjetlana

2016-01-01

This paper investigates the policies and politics of including European Roma students in mainstream educational systems within the context of two European Union (EU) policies: the Decade of Roma Inclusion (2005-2015) and EU National Roma Integration Strategies (2013-2020). Drawing on the scholarship about inclusion and its practical achievements,…

How Will Welfare Reform Affect Childbearing and Family Structure Decisions? Discussion Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peters, H. Elizabeth; Plotnick, Robert D.; Jeong, Se-Ook

This paper summarizes changes in key elements of welfare policy and in closely related policies on child support enforcement and sex education and family planning programs. Drawing on a conceptual framework that highlights how incentives created by public policy can affect demographic behaviors, the paper concludes that, as Congress intended,…

Creating change in government to address the social determinants of health: how can efforts be improved?

PubMed

Carey, Gemma; Crammond, Brad; Keast, Robyn

2014-10-20

The evidence base for the impact of social determinants of health has been strengthened considerably in the last decade. Increasingly, the public health field is using this as a foundation for arguments and actions to change government policies. The Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach, alongside recommendations from the 2010 Marmot Review into health inequalities in the UK (which we refer to as the 'Fairness Agenda'), go beyond advocating for the redesign of individual policies, to shaping the government structures and processes that facilitate the implementation of these policies. In doing so, public health is drawing on recent trends in public policy towards 'joined up government', where greater integration is sought between government departments, agencies and actors outside of government. In this paper we provide a meta-synthesis of the empirical public policy research into joined up government, drawing out characteristics associated with successful joined up initiatives.We use this thematic synthesis as a basis for comparing and contrasting emerging public health interventions concerned with joined-up action across government. We find that HiAP and the Fairness Agenda exhibit some of the characteristics associated with successful joined up initiatives, however they also utilise 'change instruments' that have been found to be ineffective. Moreover, we find that - like many joined up initiatives - there is room for improvement in the alignment between the goals of the interventions and their design. Drawing on public policy studies, we recommend a number of strategies to increase the efficacy of current interventions. More broadly, we argue that up-stream interventions need to be 'fit-for-purpose', and cannot be easily replicated from one context to the next.

Dark clouds or silver linings? A stigma threat perspective on the implications of an autism diagnosis for workplace well-being.

PubMed

Johnson, Tiffany D; Joshi, Aparna

2016-03-01

This article unpacks the stigma associated with a developmental disability at work, specifically autism spectrum disorders (ASD), by presenting findings from 2 studies-one interview-based and the other survey-based. Drawing on in-depth interviews with individuals on the autism spectrum, the first study showed that a clinical diagnosis of autism is a milestone event that triggered both positive (silver linings) and negative (dark clouds) responses to work. These positive and negative responses were shaped by the age at which the diagnosis occurred as well as specific work-related contingencies-identity management (disclosing or not disclosing), the importance of the social demands imposed by the job, and organizational support policies for autism. The second study developed and tested propositions derived from the qualitative data by using survey data gathered from working adults with ASD. Results showed that, compared with individuals diagnosed later in life, individuals who were diagnosed at an earlier age experienced greater organization-based self-esteem and lower perceived discrimination when they disclosed their disability, worked in jobs that placed lower social demands on them, or were employed in organizations that offered policies to support workers with ASD. We conclude that, depending on the age of diagnosis, attributes of the employment context can trigger stigma-related threat in different ways and we outline important practical implications of these findings. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

A Call for Greater Transparency in Health Policy Development: Observations from an Analysis of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibson, Jenny; Kelvin, Raphael; Goodyer, Ian

2015-01-01

In this paper we describe a systematic attempt to determine whether child and adolescent mental health policy demonstrably draws upon peer-reviewed evidence, and to discover which other sources of evidence could be considered influential in policy development. In brief, we found that the scientific evidence base had been underutilised. However,…

A School Evaluation Policy with a Dual Character: Evaluating the School Evaluation Policy in Hong Kong from the Perspective of Curriculum Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeung, Sze Yin Shirley

2012-01-01

This article reports research conducted recently into evaluation policy. The research comprises two parts: a questionnaire survey and qualitative interviews. Drawing from data collected in a survey of 65 curriculum leaders and interviews with 12 from the group, the article discusses how school evaluation policy functions to help make schools…

Business strategy and financial structure: an empirical analysis of acute care hospitals.

PubMed

Ginn, G O; Young, G J; Beekun, R I

1995-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between business strategy and financial structure in the U.S. hospital industry. We studied two dimensions of financial structure--liquidity and leverage. Liquidity was assessed by the acid ratio, and leverage was assessed using the equity funding ratio. Drawing from managerial, finance, and resource dependence perspectives, we developed and tested hypotheses about the relationship between Miles and Snow strategy types and financial structure. Relevant contextual financial and organizational variables were controlled for statistically through the Multivariate Analysis of Covariance technique. The relationship between business strategy and financial structure was found to be significant. Among the Miles and Snow strategy types, defenders were found to have relatively high liquidity and low leverage. Prospectors typically had low liquidity and high leverage. Implications for financial planning, competitive assessment, and reimbursement policy are discussed.

Power and confidence in professions: lessons for occupational therapy.

PubMed

Clark, Florence A

2010-12-01

Powerful professions have the capacity to obtain leadership positions, advocate successfully in the policy arena, and secure the resources necessary to achieve their professional goals. Within the occupational therapy profession, cultivating power and confidence among our practitioners is essential to realize our full capacity for meeting society's occupational needs. Drawing from a historical analysis of the medical and nursing professions, this paper discusses the implications of power and disempowerment among health professions for their practitioners, clients, and public image. Theoretical perspectives on power from social psychology, politics, organizational management, and post-structuralism are introduced and their relevance to the profession of occupational therapy is examined. The paper concludes with recommendations for occupational therapy practitioners to analyze their individual sources of power and evaluate opportunities to develop confidence and secure power for their professional work--in venues both in and outside the workplace.

Using military friendships to optimize postdeployment reintegration for male Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom veterans.

PubMed

Hinojosa, Ramon; Hinojosa, Melanie Sberna

2011-01-01

Social relationships are important to health out comes. The postdeployment family reintegration literature focuses on the role of the civilian family in facilitating the transition from Active Duty military deployment to civilian society. The focus on the civilian family relationship may miss other important personal connections in veterans' lives. One such connection is the relationship many veterans have with former military unit members who served with them when deployed. Drawing on interviews with male Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom veterans conducted from 2008 to 2009, we argue that the members of a military unit, especially during armed conflict, should be considered a resource to help the "family" reintegration process rather than impede it. This research has implications for current reintegration policy and how best to assist veterans transitioning into civilian society.

Nataniel, NAFTA, and Public Health at the U.S.-Mexico Border.

PubMed

Olson, Tom; Tapia, Sergio

2009-01-01

Advocating overall improvements in health for individuals and communities is a daunting but important task for nurses in particular, and for health care professionals in general. This is particularly true when focusing on the population along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, a unique region in which distinct cultures, economies, and political systems meet. The purpose of this paper is to confront the assumption that trade and economic expansion automatically translate into improved public health, and to explore policy implications of the public health situation at the border. It uses a meta-narrative, an overarching story that draws on and illustrates collective stories from 300 participants in a study of mental health disparities, to argue for a more nuanced and complex understanding of health among the largely Hispanic population in this region.

Implications of the "My School" Website for Disadvantaged Communities: A Bourdieuian Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mills, Carmen

2015-01-01

Drawing on the theoretical constructs of Pierre Bourdieu, this article explores implications of the Australian "My School" website for schools located in disadvantaged communities. These implications flow from the legitimisation of certain cultural practices through the hidden linkages between scholastic aptitude and cultural heritage…

Food Prices and Obesity: Evidence and Policy Implications for Taxes and Subsidies

PubMed Central

Powell, Lisa M; Chaloupka, Frank J

2009-01-01

Context: Pricing policies have been posited as potential policy instruments to address the increasing prevalence of obesity. This article examines whether altering the cost of unhealthy, energy-dense foods, compared with healthy, less-dense foods through the use of fiscal pricing (tax or subsidy) policy instruments would, in fact, change food consumption patterns and overall diet enough to significantly reduce individuals' weight outcomes. Methods: This article examined empirical evidence regarding the food and restaurant price sensitivity of weight outcomes based on a literature search to identify peer-reviewed English-language articles published between 1990 and 2008. Studies were identified from the Medline, PubMed, Econlit, and PAIS databases. The fifteen search combinations used the terms obesity, body mass index, and BMI each in combination with the terms price, prices, tax, taxation, and subsidy. Findings: The studies reviewed showed that when statistically significant associations were found between food and restaurant prices (taxes) and weight outcomes, the effects were generally small in magnitude, although in some cases they were larger for low–socioeconomic status (SES) populations and for those at risk for overweight or obesity. Conclusions: The limited existing evidence suggests that small taxes or subsidies are not likely to produce significant changes in BMI or obesity prevalence but that nontrivial pricing interventions may have some measurable effects on Americans' weight outcomes, particularly for children and adolescents, low-SES populations, and those most at risk for overweight. Additional research is needed to be able to draw strong policy conclusions regarding the effectiveness of fiscal-pricing interventions aimed at reducing obesity. PMID:19298422

Food prices and obesity: evidence and policy implications for taxes and subsidies.

PubMed

Powell, Lisa M; Chaloupka, Frank J

2009-03-01

Pricing policies have been posited as potential policy instruments to address the increasing prevalence of obesity. This article examines whether altering the cost of unhealthy, energy-dense foods, compared with healthy, less-dense foods through the use of fiscal pricing (tax or subsidy) policy instruments would, in fact, change food consumption patterns and overall diet enough to significantly reduce individuals' weight outcomes. This article examined empirical evidence regarding the food and restaurant price sensitivity of weight outcomes based on a literature search to identify peer-reviewed English-language articles published between 1990 and 2008. Studies were identified from the Medline, PubMed, Econlit, and PAIS databases. The fifteen search combinations used the terms obesity, body mass index, and BMI each in combination with the terms price, prices, tax, taxation, and subsidy. The studies reviewed showed that when statistically significant associations were found between food and restaurant prices (taxes) and weight outcomes, the effects were generally small in magnitude, although in some cases they were larger for low-socioeconomic status (SES) populations and for those at risk for overweight or obesity. The limited existing evidence suggests that small taxes or subsidies are not likely to produce significant changes in BMI or obesity prevalence but that nontrivial pricing interventions may have some measurable effects on Americans' weight outcomes, particularly for children and adolescents, low-SES populations, and those most at risk for overweight. Additional research is needed to be able to draw strong policy conclusions regarding the effectiveness of fiscal-pricing interventions aimed at reducing obesity.

British Nuclear Policymaking,

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-01-01

policy hut much less so than in the United States. TRADE UNIONS Drawing a distinction between political parties and a pressure group such as trade...policy issues. The Campaign for Democratic Socialism, a pressure group against unilateral disarmament, was set up to counter unionist unilateral

"Educational Regionalization" and the Gated Global: The Construction of the Caribbean Educational Policy Space

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jules, Tavis D.

2015-01-01

This article draws on "regime theory," particularly on the concepts of cooperation, compatibility of interests, and proclivity to compromise, to examine the rise of the Caribbean Educational Policy Space (CEPS). In making this argument, with the aid of a content analysis of 26 educational policies from the 15 member states of the…

Teacher-Advocates Respond to ESSA: "Support the Good Parts--Resist the Bad Parts"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Denisha; Khalil, Deena; Dixon, R. Davis

2017-01-01

Although researchers consider them powerful, teacher policy advocates are among the least studied stakeholders in U.S. public education reform today. Although plenty of attention has been given to the impact of policy on teachers' work, little research explores how teachers interpret or interact with policy. Drawing on the work of Spillane,…

Michel De Certeau, Everyday Life and Policy Cultures: The Case of Parent Engagement in Education Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saltmarsh, Sue

2015-01-01

This paper draws on theoretical insights from Michel de Certeau to formulate a response to questions of whether, and in what ways, poststructural policy analysis can "transcend critique to offer potential grounds for alternative social and political strategies in education". The paper offers a discussion of how Certeau's concern with how…

Neoliberal Common Sense and Race-Neutral Discourses: A Critique of "Evidence-Based" Policy-Making in School Policing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nolan, Kathleen

2015-01-01

The author of this paper uses critical discourse analysis and draws on critical social theory and policy studies to analyze the interdiscursivity between neoliberal common sense discourses around crime and safety and race-neutral discourses, "evidence-based" policy, and the research that supports school policing programs. The author…

A Human Development and Capabilities "Prospective Analysis" of Global Higher Education Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Melanie

2010-01-01

In global times, university education policy that holds the greatest promise for social responsibility is the focus here; the argument made is that such policy ought to be conceptualised using a normative human development and capabilities approach, drawing on the work of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. Their ideas offer a values-based way of…

Speaking Back to Educational Policy: Why Social Inclusion Will Not Work for "Disadvantaged" Australian Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smyth, John

2010-01-01

The Labor government in Australia has recently embarked on an extremely ambitious program of social inclusion for the most marginalized groups in society. Drawing upon the approach of "policy scholarship" this paper examines some federal government "policy texts" to describe what has occurred and asks questions about what is…

Knowing and Doing Vocational Education and Training Reform: Evidence, Learning and the Policy Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGrath, Simon; Lugg, Rosemary

2012-01-01

Much of VET policy internationally draws on a toolkit that has been seriously questioned for its logic, international relevance and effectiveness by considerable amounts of academic research. Reflecting primarily on our experiences of leading a complex, multi-country policy study, we develop an account that seeks to explore ways in which the…

Samoa's Education Policy: Negotiating a Hybrid Space for Values

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuia, Tagataese Tupu; Iyer, Radha

2015-01-01

This paper analyses the education policy of Samoa to examine the values that are presented within as relevant to the education system. Drawing on the theory of postcolonialism and globalization, we illustrate how the global and local interact within the education policy to create a hybrid, heterogeneous mix of values and, while the policy…

Inclusion "All Present and Correct?" A Critical Analysis of New Labour's Inclusive Education Policy in England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodkinson, Alan

2013-01-01

Drawing on Derrida this paper considers how inclusive education in England was defined and operationalised within New Labour's educational policy and by those teachers who reconstructed this policy within the confines of schools and individual classrooms. The paper has two critical ambitions. First it argues that the epistemology of inclusion was…

Networks in Action: New Actors and Practices in Education Policy in Brazil

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shiroma, Eneida Oto

2014-01-01

This paper focuses on the role of networks in the policy-making process in education and discusses the potential of network analysis as an analytical tool for education policy research. Drawing on publically available data from personal or institutional websites, this paper reports the findings from research carried out between 2005 and 2011.…

Making the Most of Obesity Research: Developing Research and Policy Objectives through Evidence Triangulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliver, Kathryn; Aicken, Catherine; Arai, Lisa

2013-01-01

Drawing lessons from research can help policy makers make better decisions. If a large and methodologically varied body of research exists, as with childhood obesity, this is challenging. We present new research and policy objectives for child obesity developed by triangulating user involvement data with a mapping study of interventions aimed at…

From Policies to Implementation of Open Distance Learning in Rwanda: A Genealogical and Governmentality Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mukama, Evode

2018-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the interplay between policy formulation and implementation in terms of the historical practices of open distance learning (ODL) in Rwanda. This paper draws on the Foucauldian genealogical and governmentality analysis. The paper examines government aspirations as depicted in policy statements starting from…

Intercultural Education "in situ": Examining Intercultural Policy in Cyprus in the Context of European Integration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hadjisoteriou, Christina; Angelides, Panayiotis

2016-01-01

Purpose: The overarching purpose of this paper is to explore the transformation of intercultural education in Cyprus in the context of European integration. More specifically, it indicates the ways in which intercultural policy has been formed by complex and often counteractive influences. The analysis draws upon policy documents collected from…

Teacher Professional Development as an Effect of Policy and Practice: A Bourdieuian Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardy, Ian; Lingard, Bob

2008-01-01

This article draws on Bourdieu's field theory and related concepts of habitus and capitals, to explore policy implementation in relation to a particular case of teacher professional development in Queensland, Australia. This implementation process is described as an effect of the interplay between what is called the policy field and the field of…

A New Equity Deal for Schools: A Case Study of Policy-Making in Queensland, Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singh, Parlo; Taylor, Sandra

2007-01-01

In this paper we draw on concepts from policy sociology to analyse the new equity deal for schools in Queensland, Australia. We examine this "new deal" through an analysis of the language of "inclusion" and "educational risk" in key policy documents associated with a major reform of public education in Queensland. In…

A Binary System of Tertiary Education: Past Ideas, Contemporary Policy and Future Possibilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beddie, Francesca M.

2015-01-01

This paper draws on a project examining the binary policy of higher education formulated in Australia in the mid-1960s. Its purpose is to discuss history as a policy tool and research impact. The historical analysis identified several enduring problems--beyond the central matter of funding--in tertiary education: insufficient diversity; obstacles…

Representations of a High-Quality System of Undergraduate Education in English Higher Education Policy Documents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashwin, Paul; Abbas, Andrea; McLean, Monica

2015-01-01

This article examines the ways in which a high-quality system of undergraduate education is represented in recent policy documents from a range of actors interested in higher education. Drawing on Basil Bernstein's ideas, the authors conceptualise the policy documents as reflecting a struggle over competing views of quality that are expressed…

Multilingualism as Policy and Practices in Elementary School: Powerful Tools for Inclusion of Newly Arrived Pupils

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wedin, Åsa; Wessman, Anneli

2017-01-01

In this article, language policy is analysed in relation to multilingual practices in primary school through an understanding of the policy on different levels--as management, perception and practice. The article is based on longitudinal ethnographic action research that was conducted parallel to local school development. Here we draw on material…

Creativity and the Biopolitical Commons in Secondary and Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Means, Alexander

2013-01-01

This article draws on autonomist theory in order to examine the role of creativity in educational policy and governance. Drawing examples primarily from the North American context, it suggests that extant efforts to manage creativity in secondary and higher education are ultimately unstable, revealing what the Edu-factory collective has referred…

Teaching Matters: How State and Local Policymakers Can Improve the Quality of Teachers and Teaching. CPRE Policy Briefs RB-48

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corcoran, Thomas B.

2007-01-01

This issue of CPRE Policy Briefs summarizes the findings on issues related to teacher quality in the chapter authored by Thomas B. Corcoran in the book, "The State of Education Policy Research." The report also draws on discussions that took place during a 2006 policy briefing on teacher labor-market issues held in Chicago and sponsored by the…

Crisis crowdsourcing framework: designing strategic configurations of crowdsourcing for the emergency management domain

USGS Publications Warehouse

Liu, Sophia B.

2014-01-01

Crowdsourcing is not a new practice but it is a concept that has gained significant attention during recent disasters. Drawing from previous work in the crisis informatics, disaster sociology, and computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) literature, the paper first explains recent conceptualizations of crowdsourcing and how crowdsourcing is a way of leveraging disaster convergence. The CSCW concept of “articulation work” is introduced as an interpretive frame for extracting the salient dimensions of “crisis crowdsourcing.” Then, a series of vignettes are presented to illustrate the evolution of crisis crowdsourcing that spontaneously emerged after the 2010 Haiti earthquake and evolved to more established forms of public engagement during crises. The best practices extracted from the vignettes clarified the efforts to formalize crisis crowdsourcing through the development of innovative interfaces designed to support the articulation work needed to facilitate spontaneous volunteer efforts. Extracting these best practices led to the development of a conceptual framework that unpacks the key dimensions of crisis crowdsourcing. The Crisis Crowdsourcing Framework is a systematic, problem-driven approach to determining the why, who, what, when, where, and how aspects of a crowdsourcing system. The framework also draws attention to the social, technological, organizational, and policy (STOP) interfaces that need to be designed to manage the articulation work involved with reducing the complexity of coordinating across these key dimensions. An example of how to apply the framework to design a crowdsourcing system is offered with with a discussion on the implications for applying this framework as well as the limitations of this framework. Innovation is occurring at the social, technological, organizational, and policy interfaces enabling crowdsourcing to be operationalized and integrated into official products and services.

Quantitative and qualitative synthesis of socio-hydrological research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, L.; Gober, P.; Wheater, H. S.; Kajikawa, Y.

2017-12-01

The challenge of climate change adaptation has raised awareness of the feedbacks and interconnections in complex human-natural coupled water systems. This has reinforced the call for a socio-hydrological approach to better understand, and represent in models, the associated system dynamics. Such models can potentially provide the tools to link knowledge about complex water systems to decision-making and policy frameworks. Socio-hydrology, as the subfield of human-natural coupled systems analysis, has been dramatically developed in the past few years. The purpose of this study is to empirically examine work that has been framed under the umbrella of socio-hydrology, to provide insights into the participants and their disciplinary perspectives, and to draw conclusions about where the field is headed. In doing so, we used a combined quantitative and qualitative approach to synthesise current knowledge of socio-hydrology and to propose some promising future directions in this subfield of water sciences. The general statistics of the existing literature showed that socio-hydrological research has become an emerging topic and is drawing more concern and engagement of hydrologists. However, the participation of social scientists is inadequate and greater cross-disciplinary integration is desirable. Current concerns in this subfield of water research centre on two basic challenges: (1) the need to embrace the social dimensions of water-related risks, and (2) the importance of interactions and feedbacks in dynamic socio-hydrological systems. A third challenge identified here relates to the large-scale implications of 1) and 2) above, i.e. virtual water flows as a mechanism to track the human use of water at the global scale. Accordingly, we propose five potential directions with regard to socio-hydrological models, interdisciplinary collaboration and transdisciplinary studies, the science-policy interface, resilience in socio-hydrological systems, and data sharing for human-water system studies.

Sub-federal ecological modernization: A case study of Colorado's new energy economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giannakouros, Stratis

European nations have often employed policies of explicit government intervention as a preferred means of addressing environmental and economic challenges. These policies have ranged from grey industrial policies focused solely on industrial growth, competitiveness and innovation to policies of stronger ecological modernization, which seek to align industrial interests with environmental protection. In recent years these policies have been mobilized to address the threat of climate change and promote environmental innovation. While some US Administrations have similarly recognized the need to address these challenges, the particular historical and political institutional dynamics of the US have meant that explicit government intervention has been eschewed in favor of more indirect strategies when dealing with economic and environmental challenges. This is evident in the rise of sub-federal policies at the level of US states. Supported by federal laboratories and public research, US states have adopted policies that look very much like sub-federal versions of industrial or ecological modernization policy. This thesis uses the Colorado case to highlight the importance of sub-federal institutions in addressing environmental and economic challenges in the US and explore its similarities to, and differences from, European approaches. To achieve this goal it first develops an analytical scheme within which to place policy initiatives on a continuum from grey industrial policy to strong ecological modernization policy by identifying key institutions that are influential in each policy type. This analytical scheme is then applied to the transitional renewable energy policy period from 2004-2012 in the state of Colorado. This period starts with the adoption of a renewable energy portfolio in 2004 and includes the `new energy economy' period from 2007-2010 as well as the years since. Looking at three key turning points this paper interprets the `new energy economy' strategy using the analytical scheme developed and identifies the political and social institutions that frame this transition. Drawing upon these findings, the paper analyses the implications of the Colorado case for understanding sub-federal initiatives in the US and concludes with a summary of the broader comparative institutional lessons.

Best of enemies: Using social network analysis to explore a policy network in European smoke-free policy.

PubMed

Weishaar, Heide; Amos, Amanda; Collin, Jeff

2015-05-01

Networks and coalitions of stakeholders play a crucial role in the development and implementation of policies, with previous research highlighting that networks in tobacco control are characterised by an antagonism between supporters and opponents of comprehensive tobacco control policies. This UK-based study used quantitative and qualitative network analysis (drawing on 176 policy submissions and 32 interviews) to systematically map and analyse a network of actors involved in the development of European Union (EU) smoke-free policy. Policy debates were dominated by two coalitions of stakeholders with starkly opposing positions on the issue. One coalition, consisting primarily of health-related organisations, supported comprehensive EU smoke-free policy, whereas the other, led by tobacco manufacturers' organisations, opposed the policy initiative. The data suggest that, aided by strong political commitment of EU decision makers to develop smoke-free policy, advocates supporting comprehensive EU policy were able to frame policy debates in ways which challenged the tobacco industry's legitimacy. They then benefited from the stark polarisation between the two coalitions. The paper provides empirical evidence of the division between two distinct coalitions in tobacco policy debates and draws attention to the complex processes of consensus-seeking, alliance-building and strategic action which are integral to the development of EU policy. Highlighting network polarisation and industry isolation as factors which seemed to increase tobacco control success, the study demonstrates the potential significance and value of FCTC article 5.3 for tobacco control policy-making. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Manpower Policies and the Disadvantaged; A Summary Report on Labor Market Information Systems and the Disadvantaged, with Emphasis on Policy Implications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Charles A.

The report highlights policy implications of research conducted on formal and informal labor market information systems and the disadvantaged. Policy implications are developed at the end of each of eight sections reviewing studies in the areas of: insurance, an inner-city training program, newspaper ads, the Job Bank system, immigrant labor,…

Trends and Group Differences in the Association between Educational Attainment and U.S. Adult Mortality: Implications for Understanding Education’s Causal Influence*

PubMed Central

Hayward, Mark D.; Hummer, Robert A.; Sasson, Isaac

2014-01-01

Has the shape of the association between educational attainment and U.S. adult mortality changed in recent decades? If so, is it changing consistently across demographic groups? What can changes in the shape of the association tell us about the possible mechanisms in play for improving health and lowering mortality risk over the adult life course? This paper develops the argument that societal technological change may have had profound effects on the importance of educational attainment – particularly advanced education – in the U.S. adult population for garnering health advantages and that these changes should be reflected in changes in the functional form of the association between educational attainment and mortality. We review the historical evidence on the changing functional form of the association, drawing on studies based in the United States, to assess whether these changes are consistent with our argument about the role of technological change. We also provide an updated analysis of these functional form patterns and trends, contrasting data from the early 21st Century with data from the late 20th Century. This updated evidence suggests that the shape of the association between educational attainment and U.S. adult mortality appears to be reflecting lower and lower adult mortality for very highly educated Americans compared to their low-educated counterparts in the 21st Century. We draw on this review and updated evidence to reflect on the question whether education’s association with adult mortality has become increasingly causal in recent decades, why, and the potential research, policy, and global implications of these changes. PMID:25440841

Addiction research centres and the nurturing of creativity. RAND's Drug Policy Research Center.

PubMed

Reuter, Peter; Pacula, Rosalie Liccardo; Caulkins, Jonathan P

2011-02-01

In September 1989, amid an emotional and ideological debate regarding problematic drug use in the United States and the 'war on drugs', RAND's Drug Policy Research Center (DPRC) was created through private foundation funds. The purpose of this new research center was to provide objective empirical analysis on which to base sound drug policy. Twenty years later, RAND's DPRC continues its work, drawing on a broad range of analytical expertise to evaluate, compare and assess the effectiveness of a similarly broad range of drug policies. More than 60 affiliated researchers in the United States and Europe make up the Center, which attempts to provide objective empirical analyses to better inform drug policies within the United States and abroad. This paper provides a look back at the creation, evolution and growth of the Center. It then describes how the Center operates today and how it has maintained its clear identity and focus by drawing on the analytical capabilities of a talented group of researchers from a broad range of academic disciplines. © 2010 The Authors, Addiction © 2010 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Access to Elementary Education in India: Politics, Policies and Progress. CREATE Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 44

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, Angela W.

2010-01-01

This monograph examines progress in, and policies for, access to elementary education over the past 60 years, the role played by political factors in the process of policy formulation and implementation and the drivers and inhibitors of the implementation of reforms in elementary education in recent years in India. Drawing on interviews and…

Fifteen Years Looking at the Mirror: On the Presence of PISA in Education Policy Processes (Portugal, 2000-2016)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carvalho, Luís Miguel; Costa, Estela; Gonçalves, Catarina

2017-01-01

This article describes and discusses what happens when knowledge for policy generated within PISA is received by its target audience: what have the Portuguese policy actors been doing with PISA data and analysis when they consider, express and justify their choices? Drawing on previous and current studies, using interview materials and formal and…

Social Exclusion, and Educational Opportunity: The Case of British Education Policies within a European Union Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexiadou, Nafsika

2005-01-01

This paper first examines the New Labour government's redefinition of equality of opportunity in Britain, mainly with regard to education and the ways in which it mediates "opportunity". In doing so, it also draws on wider social policy issues, such as the use of education policies to combat social exclusion. Second, the paper reviews…

Restrictive and Expansive Policy Learning--Challenges and Strategies for Knowledge Exchange in Upper Secondary Education across the Four Countries of the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodgson, Ann; Spours, Ken

2016-01-01

This article examines the challenges and possibilities for UK policy learning in relation to upper secondary education (USE) across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (NI) within current national and global policy contexts. Drawing on a range of international literature, the article explores the concepts of "restrictive" and…

Considerations When Including Students with Disabilities in Test Security Policies. NCEO Policy Directions. Number 23

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazarus, Sheryl; Thurlow, Martha

2015-01-01

Sound test security policies and procedures are needed to ensure test security and confidentiality, and to help prevent cheating. In this era when cheating on tests draws regular media attention, there is a need for thoughtful consideration of the ways in which possible test security measures may affect accessibility for some students with…

Inequality and Redistribution Policy Issues: Principles and Swedish Experience; Comment on Lindbeck's Paper [and] Discussion Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindbeck, Assar

Alternative methods of redistribution policy in mixed economies are compared in this paper. The paper deals with the objectives, methods, and problems in redistribution policy. The chief objective is to highlight principles and general problems, drawing heavily on the experiences of Sweden. This country is chosen as a case study since attempts to…

Beyond Declines in Student Body Diversity: How Campus-Level Administrators Understand a Prohibition on Race-Conscious Postsecondary Admissions Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garces, Liliana M.; Cogburn, Courtney D.

2015-01-01

Guided by a bottom-up policy implementation framework, this study draws from semi-structured interviews of 14 campus-level administrators charged with implementing diversity policy at the University of Michigan to investigate how an affirmative action ban (Proposal 2) influenced their efforts in support of racial/ethnic diversity at the…

"Please Do Not Leave Any Notes for the Cleaning Lady, as Many Do Not Speak English Fluently": Policy, Power, and Language Brokering in a Multilingual Workplace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonçalves, Kellie; Schluter, Anne

2017-01-01

This article investigates the covert language policy and micro-language planning practices of one female Brazilian-American entrepreneur, Magda, within her multilingual cleaning company. Because Magda is plurilingual (Spolsky in "Language policy." Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004), she is able to draw on her metalinguistic…

We Are the New Nation (Nous Sommes La Nouvelle Nation). The Metis and National Native Policy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daniels, Harry W.

A compilation of six policy statements, the booklet is intended to draw attention to the suppression of the rights of indigenous peoples (specifically, the Canadian Metis) by an inflexible federalist system of government, misguided national policies, and land claim settlements such as the 1978 COPE settlement. It is also intended to propose…

Educating Citizens for Participatory Democracy: A Case Study of Local Government Education Policy in Pelotas, Brazil

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCowan, Tristan

2006-01-01

A case study was undertaken of Pelotas, a large town in southern Brazil, where a recent government of the Workers' Party (PT) implemented a range of social policy reforms. The study draws on interviews with key members of the Municipal Secretariat of Education and policy documents, analyzing them in relation to theoretical literature on…

The Changing Faces of Adult Literacy, Language and Numeracy: Literacy Policy and Implementation in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hillier, Yvonne

2009-01-01

This article draws upon a research project funded by the ESRC (R000239387) that tracked the development of adult literacy, numeracy and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) from the 1970s to 2000 in England using life-history interviews and documentary policy analysis to compare policy, practitioner and learner perspectives. The article…

Riding the Waves of Policy? The Case of Basic Skills in Adult and Community Learning in England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodgson, Ann; Edward, Sheila; Gregson, Maggie

2007-01-01

This paper draws on data from secondary sources and in-depth interviews to explore the question: What is the impact of policy on teaching, learning, assessment and inclusion in Adult and Community Learning (ACL) "Skills for Life" (SfL) provision? In particular, it focuses on the government's use of five policy-steering…

Understanding Policy: Why Health Education Policy Is Important and Why It Does Not Appear to Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, John; Davies, Brian; Rich, Emma; DePian, Laura

2013-01-01

Drawing on research investigating the impact of health imperatives around obesity, diet and exercise on the actions of teachers and pupils in schools, this paper offers a reflexive account of the relationships between the "noise" of obesity discourse in the public domain, policies forged to tackle health issues and the realities of…

"Emboldened Bodies": Social Class, School Health Policy and Obesity Discourse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Pian, Laura

2012-01-01

This paper examines the multiple ways in which health policy relating to obesity, diet and exercise is recontextualised and mediated by teachers and pupils in the context of social class in the UK. Drawing on a case study of a middle-class primary school in central England, the paper documents the complexity of the policy process, its uncertainty,…

Towards a European Policy Discourse on Compulsory Education: The Case of Sweden

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nordin, Andreas

2017-01-01

The aim of this article is to show how the European Union (EU) and the Swedish government have recently become co-producers of education policy that increasingly emphasises compulsory education. The paper draws on the following two kinds of empirical material: 1) an analysis of central official policy documents produced by the EU and the Swedish…

Symposium on "Shut Out Youth" (Strasbourg, France, October 25-30, 1987).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Council of Europe, Strasbourg (France).

Many aspects of social policy affect the lives of shut out youth in Europe. The purpose of a symposium held at the European Youth Center (Strasbourg, France) was to draw attention to these issues and recommend ways to coordinate the social policies that affect the well-being of youth. The relevance of current policies was assessed in local,…

Educating for a High Skills Society? The Landscape of Federal Employment, Training and Lifelong Learning Policy in Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibb, Tara; Walker, Judith

2011-01-01

Government reports and documents claim that building a knowledge economy and innovative society are key goals in Canada. In this paper, we draw on critical policy analysis to examine 10 Canadian federal government training and employment policies in relation to the government's espoused priorities of innovation and developing a high skills society…

Early Childhood Care and Education and Other Family Policies and Programs in South-East Asia. Early Childhood and Family Policy Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kamerman, Sheila B.

This report describes early childhood care and education (ECCE) and other family support policies and programs in seven southeast Asian countries: Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The report draws primarily on background country reports prepared by officials in these countries to focus on the context in…

"Where You Stand Depends on Where You Sit": The Social Construction of Policy Enactments in the (English) Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maguire, Meg; Braun, Annette; Ball, Stephen

2015-01-01

Drawing on a study of education policy enactments in four English secondary schools, this paper argues that different "types" of policies call-up different forms of enactments, and that teachers and others who work in schools will have different orientations towards some of these possible ways of "doing" school. Through…

Linguistic Ideologies in Multilingual South African Suburban Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Makoe, Pinky; McKinney, Carolyn

2014-01-01

Existing research on language in South African schooling frequently draws attention to the problematic hegemony of English and the lack of access to quality education in the home language of the majority of learners, often drawing on the metaphor of a gap or a disjuncture between post-apartheid language in education policy (LiEP) and its…

Can legality verification enhace local rights to forest resources? Piloting the policy learning protocol in the Peruvian forest context

Treesearch

B. Cashore; I. Visseren-Hamakers; P. Caro Torres; W. de Jong; A. Denvir; D. Humphreys; Kathleen McGinley; G. Auld; S. Lupberger; C. McDermott; S. Sax; D. Yin

2016-01-01

This report, “Can Legality Verification Enhance Local Rights to Forest Resources? Piloting the policy learning protocol in the Peruvian forest context,” reports on the testing of the application of the 11-step Policy Learning Protocol in Peru in 2015-16. The Protocol (Cashore et al. 2014) enables actors to draw from international policy initiatives in order to improve...

77 FR 37248 - Delegations of Authority for the Office of Housing-Federal Housing Administration (FHA...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-20

... office develops and implements policies and guidelines for the loan origination, construction, asset.... It develops and implements policies and guidelines for plans and specifications, construction contracts, construction monitoring, construction draws, and closeout of the facility construction. This...

Children's Drawings of Physical Activity: Implications for Needs Assessment and Programming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharpe, Patricia A.; Greaney, Mary L.; Royce, Sherer W.; Fields, Regina M.

2004-01-01

This article shows how to explore children's perceptions of physical activity through content analysis of their artwork. Ninety-one children drew pictures of what they perceived to be "physical activity" and created a slogan for promoting physical activity in their community. Drawing content revealed types of popular activities,…

The productive techniques and constitutive effects of 'evidence-based policy' and 'consumer participation' discourses in health policy processes.

PubMed

Lancaster, K; Seear, K; Treloar, C; Ritter, A

2017-03-01

For over twenty years there have been calls for greater 'consumer' participation in health decision-making. While it is recognised by governments and other stakeholders that 'consumer' participation is desirable, barriers to meaningful involvement nonetheless remain. It has been suggested that the reifying of 'evidence-based policy' may be limiting opportunities for participation, through the way this discourse legitimates particular voices to the exclusion of others. Others have suggested that assumptions underpinning the very notion of the 'affected community' or 'consumers' as fixed and bounded 'policy publics' need to be problematised. In this paper, drawing on interviews (n = 41) with individuals closely involved in Australian drug policy discussions, we critically interrogate the productive techniques and constitutive effects of 'evidence-based policy' and 'consumer participation' discourses in the context of drug policy processes. To inform our analysis, we draw on and combine a number of critical perspectives including Foucault's concept of subjugated knowledges, the work of feminist theorists, as well as recent work regarding conceptualisations of emergent policy publics. First, we explore how the subject position of 'consumer' might be seen as enacted in the material-discursive practices of 'evidence-based policy' and 'consumer participation' in drug policy processes. Secondly, we consider the centralising power-effects of the dominant 'evidence-based policy' paradigm, and how resistance may be thought about in this context. We suggest that such interrogation has potential to recast the call for 'consumer' participation in health policy decision-making and drug policy processes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Compulsive Buying among College Students: An Investigation of Its Antecedents, Consequences, and Implications for Public Policy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, James A.

1998-01-01

This study investigated the incidence, antecedents, consequences, and policy implications of compulsive buying among college students (n=300). Details contributing factors and discusses the relationship between credit card use and compulsive buying. Discusses the implications for consumer policy and suggestions for further research. (JOW)

'One health' and development priorities in resource-constrained countries: policy lessons from avian and pandemic influenza preparedness in Zambia.

PubMed

Mwacalimba, Kennedy Kapala; Green, Judith

2015-03-01

'One World, One Health' has become a key rallying theme for the integration of public health and animal health priorities, particularly in the governance of pandemic-scale zoonotic infectious disease threats. However, the policy challenges of integrating public health and animal health priorities in the context of trade and development issues remain relatively unexamined, and few studies to date have explored the implications of global disease governance for resource-constrained countries outside the main centres of zoonotic outbreaks. This article draws on a policy study of national level avian and pandemic influenza preparedness between 2005 and 2009 across the sectors of trade, health and agriculture in Zambia. We highlight the challenges of integrating disease control interventions amidst trade and developmental realities in resource-poor environments. One Health prioritizes disease risk mitigation, sidelining those trade and development narratives which speak to broader public health concerns. We show how locally important trade and development imperatives were marginalized in Zambia, limiting the effectiveness of pandemic preparedness. Our findings are likely to be generalizable to other resource-constrained countries, and suggest that effective disease governance requires alignment with trade and development sectors, as well as integration of veterinary and public health sectors. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

Analysis of prices paid by low-income countries - how price sensitive is government demand for medicines?

PubMed

Srivastava, Divya; McGuire, Alistair

2014-07-30

Access to medicines is an important health policy issue. This paper considers demand structures in a selection of low-income countries from the perspective of public authorities as the evidence base is limited. Analysis of the demand for medicines in low-income countries is critical for effective pharmaceutical policy where regulation is less developed, health systems are cash constrained and medicines are not typically subsidised by a public health insurance system This study analyses the demand for medicines in low-income countries from the perspective of the prices paid by public authorities. The analysis draws on a unique dataset from World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Action International (HAI) using 2003 data on procurement prices of medicines across 16 low-income countries covering 48 branded drugs and 18 therapeutic categories. Variation in prices, the mark-ups over marginal costs and estimation of price elasticities allows assessment of whether these elasticities are correlated with a country's national income. Using the Ramsey pricing rule, the study's findings suggest that substantial cross-country variation in prices and mark-ups exist, with price elasticities ranging from -1 to -2, which are weakly correlated with national income. Government demand for medicines thus appears to be price elastic, raising important policy implications aimed at improving access to medicines for patients in low-income countries.

Moving toward policy development on assigning publication credit for oncology nurses' contributions to scholarly and scientific work.

PubMed

Ginn, D; Butler, L J

1998-05-01

The policy implications of a 1996 national nursing survey on the allocation of publication credit form of this paper. An earlier article (Butler & Ginn, 1997) describes and analyzes the outcome of the survey; the purpose here is to draw on that analysis, and on the relevant literature, to propose a starting place for discussion within the specialty of oncology and the nursing profession regarding assignment of credit for various contributions to collaborative scholarly work. After identifying the growing need for such a discussion and briefly highlighting the findings of the survey, the paper goes on to examine unacceptable practices in scholarly work and identify issues which should be resolved before collaborative work is undertaken. The final portion of the paper makes tentative suggestions as to principles and guidelines which might be applied to avoid disputes about the value of different contributions to a collaborative project. It is emphasized that the intention is not to advocate acceptance of the guidelines suggested here, but to create sufficient interest so that an approach to allocation of publication credit may be developed which will be consistent and relevant to the needs of the nursing profession.

‘We view that as contraceptive failure’: Containing the ‘multiplicity’ of contraception and abortion within Scottish reproductive healthcare

PubMed Central

Beynon-Jones, Siân M.

2013-01-01

Within contemporary Scottish policy guidance, abortion is routinely configured as evidence of a resolvable problem with the healthcare provision of contraception. This article draws on 42 semi-structured interviews with Scottish health professionals conducted during 2007–2008, in order to explore how, and in what form, realities of contraception/abortion are sustained within abortion practice. In addition to providing empirical insights concerning this sociologically neglected aspect of reproductive healthcare, it demonstrates how a novel conceptual approach could be used to develop existing social scientific analyses of the provision of techniques of fertility prevention. Science and Technology Studies (STS) has highlighted the importance of studying the complex socio-material practices through which realities are enacted (or ‘performed’). Mobilising this insight, my analysis illustrates the complex socio-material work required to enact abortion as evidence of a ‘problem’ with contraception that is resolvable within the healthcare consultation. This work, I argue, renders visible the ontologically ‘multiple’ (Mol, 2002) nature of contraception/abortion, with important implications for both social science and policy approaches to these techniques of fertility prevention. PMID:23287458

Constraints on global temperature target overshoot.

PubMed

Ricke, K L; Millar, R J; MacMartin, D G

2017-11-07

In the aftermath of the Paris Agreement, the climate science and policy communities are beginning to assess the feasibility and potential benefits of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C or 2 °C above preindustrial. Understanding the dependence of the magnitude and duration of possible temporary exceedance (i.e., "overshoot") of temperature targets on sustainable energy decarbonization futures and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) removal rates will be an important contribution to this policy discussion. Drawing upon results from the mitigation literature and the IPCC Working Group 3 (WG3) scenario database, we examine the global mean temperature implications of differing, independent pathways for the decarbonization of global energy supply and the implementation of negative emissions technologies. We find that within the scope of scenarios broadly-consistent with the WG3 database, the magnitude of temperature overshoot is more sensitive to the rate of decarbonization. However, limiting the duration of overshoot to less than two centuries requires ambitious deployment of both decarbonization and negative emissions technology. The dependencies of temperature target overshoot's properties upon currently untested negative emissions technologies suggests that it will be important to consider how climate impacts depend on both the magnitude and duration of overshoot, not just long term residual warming.

Foster Care Dynamics and System Science: Implications for Research and Policy.

PubMed

Wulczyn, Fred; Halloran, John

2017-10-05

Although system is a word frequently invoked in discussions of foster care policy and practice, there have been few if any attempts by child welfare researchers to understand the ways in which the foster care system is a system. As a consequence, insights from system science have yet to be applied in meaningful ways to the problem of making foster care systems more effective. In this study, we draw on population biology to organize a study of admissions and discharges to foster care over a 15-year period. We are interested specifically in whether resource constraints, which are conceptualized here as the number of beds, lead to a coupling of admissions and discharges within congregate care. The results, which are descriptive in nature, are consistent with theory that ties admissions and discharges together because of a resource constraint. From the data, it is clear that the underlying system exerts an important constraint on what are normally viewed as individual-level decisions. Our discussion calls on extending efforts to understand the role of system science in studies of child welfare systems, with a particular emphasis on the role of feedback as a causal influence.

Drawing a dog: The role of working memory and executive function.

PubMed

Panesi, Sabrina; Morra, Sergio

2016-12-01

Previous research suggests that young children draw animals by adapting their scheme for the human figure. This can be considered an early form of drawing flexibility. This study investigated preschoolers' ability to draw a dog that is different from the human figure. The role of working memory capacity and executive function was examined. The participants were 123 children (36-73 months old) who were required to draw both a person and a dog. The dog figure was scored on a list of features that could render it different from the human figure. Regression analyses showed that both working memory capacity and executive function predicted development in the dog drawing; the dog drawing score correlated with working memory capacity and executive function, even partialling out age, motor coordination, and drawing ability (measured with Goodenough's Draw-a-Man test). These results suggest that both working memory capacity and executive function play an important role in the early development of drawing flexibility. The implications regarding executive functions and working memory are also discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Factor Analysis of Drawings: Application to college student models of the greenhouse effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Libarkin, Julie C.; Thomas, Stephen R.; Ording, Gabriel

2015-09-01

Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify models underlying drawings of the greenhouse effect made by over 200 entering university freshmen. Initial content analysis allowed deconstruction of drawings into salient features, with grouping of these features via factor analysis. A resulting 4-factor solution explains 62% of the data variance, suggesting that 4 archetype models of the greenhouse effect dominate thinking within this population. Factor scores, indicating the extent to which each student's drawing aligned with representative models, were compared to performance on conceptual understanding and attitudes measures, demographics, and non-cognitive features of drawings. Student drawings were also compared to drawings made by scientists to ascertain the extent to which models reflect more sophisticated and accurate models. Results indicate that student and scientist drawings share some similarities, most notably the presence of some features of the most sophisticated non-scientific model held among the study population. Prior knowledge, prior attitudes, gender, and non-cognitive components are also predictive of an individual student's model. This work presents a new technique for analyzing drawings, with general implications for the use of drawings in investigating student conceptions.

The Professional-Bureaucratic Conflict: Origins, Implications, Resolution.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Angona, Judith; Williams, Leonard B.

1981-01-01

Examines the literature on the inevitable conflict in modern organizations between the professional's training for self-administration and bureaucratic denial of individual initiative and draws implications for administrative techniques that can help win the loyalty of a professional staff. (Author/WD)

Conclusions, Reflections, and Prospects for Future Research, Policy, and Programming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark-Kazak, Christina

2012-01-01

This concluding chapter draws together some of the key themes from the contributions and proposes some recommended areas for future research, policy, and programming. It highlights the artificiality of categorization processes related to both migration and childhood that independent child migrants encounter, and problematizes the…

Globalization and Educational Policymaking: A Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Sandra; Henry, Miriam

2000-01-01

This case study illuminates the process of globalization in the public policy domain of vocational education, drawing on the relation between Australia and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The paper argues that educational globalization does not necessarily imply policy homogenization, but rather that tensions exist…

The Effects of Gendered Immigration Enforcement on Middle Childhood and Schooling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallo, Sarah

2014-01-01

Drawing from an ethnographic study on Mexican immigrant fathers and their second-grade children, this article examines the masked realities behind current immigration policies that equate "illegal" with "Mexican immigrant" and how the enforcement of these policies, which overwhelmingly target Mexican immigrant men, affect…

Japanese children's family drawings and their link to attachment.

PubMed

Behrens, Kazuko Y; Kaplan, Nancy

2011-09-01

This study explored the applicability of family drawings as a tool to estimate attachment security in a sample of Japanese six-year-olds (N = 47), applying Kaplan and Main's ( 1986 ) Family Drawing system. Maternal secure/insecure attachment status judged by the Adult Attachment Interview predicted family drawings' secure/insecure distinction produced by Japanese six-year-olds. However, insecure Japanese drawings took forms not seen in the original Berkeley drawings, such as a lineup of faces alone. Further examination of the Japanese children's drawings using global rating scales (Fury, Carlson, & Sroufe, 1997 ) yielded significant gender differences, rarely reported in the attachment literature, with girls scoring higher in scales that predict attachment security and boys scoring higher in scales that predict attachment insecurity. However, attachment security, as captured in the drawings, was not related to attachment security, observed behaviorally using Main and Cassidy's ( 1988 ) sixth-year reunion system. Implications of the findings are discussed in light of measurements, gender, and culture.

Fighting A Strong Headwind: Challenges in Communicating The Science of Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mann, M. E.

2008-12-01

Communicating science to the public is an intrinsic challenge to begin with. An effective communicator must find ways to translate often technical and complex scientific findings for consumption by an audience unfamiliar with the basic tools and lexicon that scientists themselves take for granted. The challenge is made all the more difficult still when the science has implications for public policy, and the scientists face attack by institutions who judge themselves to be at threat by the implications of scientific findings. Such areas of science include (but certainly are not limited to) evolution, stem cell research, environmental health, and the subject of this talk--climate change. In each of these areas, a highly organized, well funded effort has been mounted to attack the science and the scientists themselves. These attacks are rarely fought in legitimate scientific circles such as the peer-reviewed scientific literature or other scholarly venues, but rather through rhetorically-aimed efforts delivered by media outlets aligned with the views of the attackers, and by politicians and groups closely aligned with special interests. I will discuss various approaches to combating such attacks, drawing upon my own experiences in the public arena with regard to the scientific discourse on climate change.

A measure of knowledge flow between specific fields: Implications of interdisciplinarity for impact and funding

PubMed Central

Solomon, Gregg E. A.; Youtie, Jan; Porter, Alan L.

2017-01-01

Encouraging knowledge flow between mutually relevant disciplines is a worthy aim of research policy makers. Yet, it is less clear what types of research promote cross-disciplinary knowledge flow and whether such research generates particularly influential knowledge. Empirical questions remain as to how to identify knowledge-flow mediating research and how to provide support for this research. This study contributes to addressing these gaps by proposing a new way to identify knowledge-flow mediating research at the individual research article level, instead of at more aggregated levels. We identify journal articles that link two mutually relevant disciplines in three ways—aggregating, bridging, and diffusing. We then examine the likelihood that these papers receive subsequent citations or have funding acknowledgments. Our case study of cognitive science and educational research knowledge flow suggests that articles that aggregate knowledge from multiple disciplines are cited significantly more often than are those whose references are drawn primarily from a single discipline. Interestingly, the articles that meet the criteria for being considered knowledge-flow mediators are less likely to reflect funding, based on reported acknowledgements, than were those that did not meet these criteria. Based on these findings, we draw implications for research policymakers. PMID:29016631

Preserving the pot and water: a traditional concept of reproductive health in a Yoruba community, Nigeria.

PubMed

Adetunji, J A

1996-12-01

Within the background of the outcome of the 1994 Cairo Conference, this paper describes a traditional conceptualization of prenatal care in a Nigerian community and draws their implication for effective delivery of reproductive health services in the area. The data used were from qualitative interviews during 2 field trips to the community in 1988-89 and 1991. The finding of the study highlights a local metaphor that likened the risks of pregnancy and child birth to a group of women that trekked to a local brook to fetch water with their earthen pots: some fell, broke their pots; some missed steps and spilt their water but kept their pots, and others returned without any mishap. The first group represented cases of maternal mortality; the second group were cases of miscarriage, still-births or infant deaths, and the third group represented successful outcomes for both pregnancy and the resultant baby. Various steps that were traditionally taken to ensure that the mother neither lost her pot nor spilled her water are described. The implications of these findings for policy and research are discussed in the paper.

The relationship of maternal work characteristics to childcare type and quality in rural communities

PubMed Central

De Marco, Allison; Crouter, Ann C.; Vernon-Feagans, Lynne

2010-01-01

Drawing on data from the Family Life Project collected in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, this paper examines the relationship between maternal work characteristics and childcare type and quality in rural communities. Research is limited on the childcare experiences of rural families. Rural areas have less access to formal childcare and families often commute long distances for work, restricting childcare options. Employed mothers using childcare were selected (n = 441). Logistic and OLS regression was used to examine which characteristics, including workplace support, objective occupational measures, hours, wage, and shift, predicted care type and quality. Results indicated that most families were using informal care. Those with more hazardous work conditions and working night shifts were less likely to use centers. Higher quality care was related to more workplace support, center use, and higher wages. Implications for social policy and practice are discussed. PMID:20664710

Environmental Risk Factors influencing Bicycle Theft: A Spatial Analysis in London, UK.

PubMed

Mburu, Lucy Waruguru; Helbich, Marco

2016-01-01

Urban authorities are continuously drawing up policies to promote cycling among commuters. However, these initiatives are counterproductive for the targeted objectives because they increase opportunities for bicycle theft. This paper explores Inner London as a case study to address place-specific risk factors for bicycle theft at the street-segment level while controlling for seasonal variation. The presence of certain public amenities (e.g., bicycle stands, railway stations, pawnshops) was evaluated against locations of bicycle theft between 2013 and 2016 and risk effects were estimated using negative binomial regression models. Results showed that a greater level of risk stemmed from land-use facilities than from area-based socioeconomic status. The presence of facilities such as train stations, vacant houses, pawnbrokers and payday lenders increased bicycle theft, but no evidence was found that linked police stations with crime levels. The findings have significant implications for urban crime prevention with respect to non-residential land use.

The privileged normalization of marijuana use - an analysis of Canadian newspaper reporting, 1997-2007.

PubMed

Haines-Saah, Rebecca J; Johnson, Joy L; Repta, Robin; Ostry, Aleck; Young, Mary Lynn; Shoveller, Jeannie; Sawatzky, Richard; Greaves, Lorraine; Ratner, Pamela A

2014-03-01

The objective of this study was to systematically examine predominant themes within mainstream media reporting about marijuana use in Canada. To ascertain the themes present in major Canadian newspaper reports, a sample ( N = 1999) of articles published between 1997 and 2007 was analyzed. Drawing from Manning's theory of the symbolic framing of drug use within media, it is argued that a discourse of 'privileged normalization' informs portrayals of marijuana use and descriptions of the drug's users. Privileged normalization implies that marijuana use can be acceptable for some people at particular times and places, while its use by those without power and status is routinely vilified and linked to deviant behavior. The privileged normalization of marijuana by the media has important health policy implications in light of continued debate regarding the merits of decriminalization or legalization and the need for public health and harm reduction approaches to illicit drug use.

Consultation and participation with children in healthy schools: choice, conflict and context.

PubMed

Duckett, Paul; Kagan, Carolyn; Sixsmith, Judith

2010-09-01

In this paper we report on our use of a participatory research methodology to consult with children in the UK on how to improve pupil well-being in secondary schools, framed within the wider social policy context of healthy schools. We worked with children on the selection of our research methods and sought to voice the views of children to a local education authority to improve the design of school environments. The consultation process ultimately failed not because the children were unforthcoming with their views on either methods or on well-being in schools, but because of difficulties in how their views were received by adults. We show how the socio-economic, cultural and political context in which those difficulties were set might have led to the eventual break down of the consultation process, and we draw out a number of possible implications for consultative and participatory work with children in school settings.

Developing spatial inequalities in carbon appropriation: a sociological analysis of changing local emissions across the United States.

PubMed

Elliott, James R; Clement, Matthew Thomas

2015-05-01

This study examines an overlooked dynamic in sociological research on greenhouse gas emissions: how local areas appropriate the global carbon cycle for use and exchange purposes as they develop. Drawing on theories of place and space, we hypothesize that development differentially drives and spatially decouples use- and exchange-oriented emissions at the local level. To test our hypotheses, we integrate longitudinal, county-level data on residential and industrial emissions from the Vulcan Project with demographic, economic and environmental data from the U.S. Census Bureau and National Land Change Database. Results from spatial regression models with two-way fixed-effects indicate that alongside innovations and efficiencies capable of reducing environmentally harmful effects of development comes a spatial disarticulation between carbon-intensive production and consumption within as well as across societies. Implications for existing theory, methods and policy are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Drink and Think: Impact of Alcohol on Cognitive Functions and Dementia - Evidence of Dose-Related Effects.

PubMed

Gutwinski, Stefan; Schreiter, Stefanie; Priller, Josef; Henssler, Jonathan; Wiers, Corinde E; Heinz, Andreas

2017-09-26

Regular alcohol consumption affects cognitive performance and the development of dementia. So far, findings are contradicting, which might be explained in part by dose-related effects. For this narrative review, we undertook a literature search for surveys investigating the impact of alcohol consumption on cognitive performance and the development of dementia. The majority of studies observed a U-shaped relationship between regular alcohol consumption and cognitive function: frequent heavy consumption of alcohol alters brain functions and decreases cognitive performance; regular light and moderate consumption may have protective impact. In many studies, total abstainers show an inferior cognitive performance than people with moderate or light consumption. Nevertheless, policy implications are difficult to draw for at least 2 reasons: (1) the possible risks associated with alcohol consumption and (2) the potential confounders in the group of non-consumers and heavy consumers. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AND MIXED-STATUS FAMILIES: THE EFFECTS OF RISK OF DEPORTATION ON MEDICAID USE

PubMed Central

Vargas, Edward D.

2015-01-01

As Congress priorities the immigration debate on increased border security, the fate of an estimated 11 million undocumented citizens remains uncertain. Stuck in between partisan politics and practical solutions are mixed-status families in which some members of the family are U.S. citizens while other members are in the country without proper authorization. This paper, examines the relationship between risk of deportation and Medicaid use drawing from a nationally sample of mothers from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Survey. These data are then merged with data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to create a contextual risk of deportation measure. Findings suggest that an increase in risk of deportation is associated with a decrease in Medicaid use. The implications of this work have tremendous impacts for health service providers and policy makers interested in preventing and reducing health disparities in complex family structures. PMID:26435562

Risk for Arrest: The Role of Social Bonds in Protecting Foster Youth Making the Transition to Adulthood

PubMed Central

Cusick, Gretchen Ruth; Havlicek, Judy R.; Courtney, Mark E.

2012-01-01

This study examines a sample of foster youth at the onset of the transition to adulthood and explores how social bonds are related to the risk of arrest during adulthood. Drawing from official arrest records, event history models are used to examine the time to arrest. Because individuals may be at risk for different types of crime, competing risk regression models are used to distinguish among arrests for drug-related, nonviolent, or violent crimes. Between the ages of 17–18 and 24, 46% of former foster youth experience an arrest. Arrests were evenly distributed across drug, nonviolent, and violent crimes columns. Although findings fail to support the significance of social bonds to interpersonal domains, bonds to employment and education are associated with a lower risk for arrest. Child welfare policy and practice implications for building connections and protections around foster youth are discussed. PMID:22239390

Service quality and maturity of health care organizations through the lens of Complexity Leadership Theory.

PubMed

Horvat, Ana; Filipovic, Jovan

2018-02-01

This research focuses on Complexity Leadership Theory and the relationship between leadership-examined through the lens of Complexity Leadership Theory-and organizational maturity as an indicator of the performance of health organizations. The research adopts a perspective that conceptualizes organizations as complex adaptive systems and draws upon a survey of opinion of 189 managers working in Serbian health organizations. As the results indicate a dependency between functions of leadership and levels of the maturity of health organizations, we propose a model that connects the two. The study broadens our understanding of the implications of complexity thinking and its reflection on leadership functions and overall organizational performance. The correlations between leadership functions and maturity could have practical applications in policy processing, thus improving the quality of outcomes and the overall level of service quality. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Forced migration: health and human rights issues among refugee populations.

PubMed

Lori, Jody R; Boyle, Joyceen S

2015-01-01

Undocumented migration is a global phenomenon that is manifest in diverse contexts. In this article, we examine the situations that precipitate the movement of large numbers of people across several African countries, producing a unique type of undocumented migrant--the refugee. These refugee movements impact already fragile African health care systems and often involve human rights violations that are of particular concern, such as gender-based violence and child soldiers. We use examples from several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Mozambique. Drawing on key documents from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, current research, and our personal international experiences, we provide an overview of forced migration and discuss implications and opportunities for nurses to impact research, practice, and policy related to refugee health. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact of Gender Binarism on Hijras' Life Course and Their Access to Fundamental Human Rights in Pakistan.

PubMed

Alizai, Aurangzaib; Doneys, Philippe; Doane, Donna L

2017-01-01

This study adds to the growing body of knowledge on gender nonconformity aspects of heteronormativity by examining its impact on the life course of hijras and their access to fundamental human rights in Pakistan. Drawing on 50 semistructured interviews conducted in two sites, the findings suggest that the participants' lived experiences associated with gender nonconformity significantly influenced the direction of their life course and their ability to have access to human rights. These experiences spanned from childhood to elderhood across a wide range of settings, such as family, school, guru dera (residence headed by a hijra guru), workplace, and interactions with authorities. The participants' human rights were not recognized, resulting in abuse, social stigma, discrimination against them, and their exclusion from mainstream society. Finally, implications are drawn for public policy and future research on third gender concerns in Pakistan and elsewhere.

Our land, our language: connecting dispossession and health equity in an indigenous context.

PubMed

Brown, Helen J; McPherson, Gladys; Peterson, Ruby; Newman, Vera; Cranmer, Barbara

2012-06-01

For contemporary Indigenous people, colonial relations (past and present) intersect with neoliberal policies and practices to create subtle forms of dispossession.These undermine the health of Indigenous peoples and create barriers restricting access to appropriate health services. Integrating insights from the critical geographer David Harvey, the authors demonstrate how the dispossession of land and language threaten health and well-being and worsen existing illness conditions. Drawing on the qualitative findings from a program of community-based research with the 'Namgis First Nation in the Canadian province of British Columbia, the authors argue for an account of how neoliberal mechanisms operate to further the "accumulation by dispossession" associated with historical and ongoing colonialism. Specifically, they show how neoliberal ideologies operate to sustain medical colonialism and health inequities for Indigenous peoples. The authors discuss the implications for nursing actions to achieve health equity in rural First Nations communities.

Long-run consequences of parental paid work hours for child overweight status in Canada.

PubMed

Phipps, Shelley A; Lethbridge, Lynn; Burton, Peter

2006-02-01

This paper explores the connection between the labour market and child overweight status in Canada. The labour market is a social institution which plays a critical role in determining how families live their day-to-day lives, for example, how much time and which parts of the day are available for cooking, eating and exercise. Using longitudinal data from the Statistics Canada National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, we find that a history of higher hours of paid work by mothers (but not fathers) is associated with a higher probability of being 'at risk of overweight'/overweight for children aged 6-11. The policy implication we draw from this work is that additional support to better enable parents to engage in paid work without penalty to their own health or that of their children is clearly warranted.

Psychosocial development in racially and ethnically diverse youth: conceptual and methodological challenges in the 21st century.

PubMed

Swanson, Dena Phillips; Spencer, Margaret Beale; Harpalani, Vinay; Dupree, Davido; Noll, Elizabeth; Ginzburg, Sofia; Seaton, Gregory

2003-01-01

As the US population becomes more diverse in the 21st century, researchers face many conceptual and methodological challenges in working with diverse populations. We discuss these issues for racially and ethnically diverse youth, using Spencer's phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST) as a guiding framework. We present a brief historical background and discuss recurring conceptual flaws in research on diverse youth, presenting PVEST as a corrective to these flaws. We highlight the interaction of race, culture, socioeconomic status, and various contexts of development with identity formation and other salient developmental processes. Challenges in research design and interpretation of data are also covered with regard to both assessment of contexts and developmental processes. We draw upon examples from neighborhood assessments, ethnic identity development, and attachment research to illustrate conceptual and methodological challenges, and we discuss strategies to address these challenges. The policy implications of our analysis are also considered.

Analysing the Present: Drawing on the Legacy of Vere Foster in Public Policy Debate on Futures of Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carr, John; Beckett, Lori

2016-01-01

This paper sets out a framing analysis for a public policy debate on the future of schools that resonates with practitioners in teaching and teacher education on the island of Ireland, north and south, but also in other countries. This is informed by a democratic impulse to facilitate public policy debates, particularly on the ways schools and…

Choosing for Quality or Inequality: Current Perspectives on the Implementation of School Choice Policy in Sweden

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bunar, Nihad

2010-01-01

A policy of school choice has, in various shapes, been implemented in educational systems across the world during the last decades. Drawing on various empirical and theoretical sources, the aim of this article is to distinguish the key defining elements of the Swedish school choice policy and to present and discuss some of its outcomes in terms of…

National Policy Brokering and the Construction of the European Education Space in England, Sweden, Finland and Scotland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grek, Sotiria; Lawn, Martin; Lingard, Bob; Ozga, Jenny; Rinne, Risto; Segerholm, Christina; Simola, Hannu

2009-01-01

This paper draws on a comparative study of the growth of data and the changing governance of education in Europe. It looks at data and the "making" of a European Education Policy Space, with a focus on "policy brokers" in translating and mediating demands for data from the European Commission. It considers the ways in which…

Promoting Instructional Improvement or Resistance? A Comparative Study of Teachers' Perceptions of Teacher Evaluation Policy in Korea and the USA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Jihyun; Youngs, Peter

2016-01-01

This study draws on institutional theory to examine teachers' and principals' perceptions of new teacher evaluation policies, factors that influence such perceptions and how such perceptions shape the implementation of the policies in Seoul (Korea) and Michigan (USA). The study featured in-depth interviews of 11 elementary school teachers and 4…

Market Mobilities/Immobilities: Mutation, Path-Dependency, and the Spread of Charter School Policies in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Dan

2017-01-01

Over the past 25 years charter school policies have spread through the United States at a rapid pace. However, despite this rapid growth these policies have spread unevenly across the country with important variations in how charter school systems function in each state. Drawing on case studies in Michigan and Oregon, this article argues that…

Drawing on the Past for Insight and Direction: Ten Considerations in Legislative and Policy Development for Art Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bolin, Paul E.

2006-01-01

In June 1869, a coalition of 12 individuals and two businesses presented the Massachusetts state legislature with a carefully crafted petition. This document called for lawmakers to take action in requesting that the State Board of Education develop a plan to initiate drawing instruction in Massachusetts public schools, or to establish educational…

Exposing the Impact of Opp(reg)ressive Policies on Teacher Development and on Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodriguez, Alberto J.

2010-01-01

This case study draws attention to Pedro's story, a Grade 6 Latino teacher who, along with other grade 4-6 teachers, participated in a three-year professional development research project. By using data analyzed from multiple ethnographic interviews with teachers and students, and by drawing from the quantitative analyzes of concept map unit…

Drawing-Voice as a Methodological Tool for Understanding Teachers' Concerns in a Pilot Hmong-Vietnamese Bilingual Education Programme in Vietnam

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lavoie, Constance; Benson, Carol

2011-01-01

This paper illustrates how a methodological tool called "drawing-voice" can be used to demonstrate qualitatively what statistical and policy data are not able to reveal regarding the educational realities of Hmong minority communities in northern Vietnam, particularly with regard to the role of local language and culture in school. This…

Epistemologies in Multilingual Education: Translanguaging and Genre--Companions in Conversation with Policy and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heugh, Kathleen

2015-01-01

This paper draws attention to the central concern of authors in this issue, which is to offer translanguaging and genre theory as two promising pedagogical responses to education systems characterised by linguistic as well as socio-economic diversity. It also draws attention to the agency of teachers in the processes of engaging with the…

The role of the Sheffield model on the minimum unit pricing of alcohol debate: the importance of a rhetorical perspective.

PubMed

Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal; Hilton, Shona; Bond, Lyndal

2016-11-01

The minimum unit pricing (MUP) alcohol policy debate has been informed by the Sheffield model, a study which predicts impacts of different alcohol pricing policies. This paper explores the Sheffield model's influences on the policy debate by drawing on 36 semi-structured interviews with policy actors who were involved in the policy debate. Although commissioned by policy makers, the model's influence has been far broader than suggested by views of 'rational' policy making. While findings from the Sheffield model have been used in instrumental ways, they have arguably been more important in helping debate competing values underpinning policy goals.

The Male Role in Contraception: Implications for Health Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chng, Chwee Lye

1983-01-01

Many males still perceive contraception as a woman's responsibility. This paper describes male contraceptives and their effectiveness and draws implications for school and community health education professionals. More equitable sharing of the responsibility for contraception might result in more effective contraception. (PP)

Key Informants' Perspectives on Teacher Learning in Scotland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Aileen; Christie, Donald; Fraser, Christine; Reid, Lesley; McKinney, Stephen; Welsh, Mary; Wilson, Alastair; Griffiths, Morwenna

2008-01-01

This article outlines the policy context for teachers' learning and continuing professional development in Scotland and considers this in relation to the perspectives of key informants gained through interview. The analysis draws on a triple-lens conceptual framework and points to some interesting contradictions between the policy text and the…

Care in Academia: An Exploration of Student Parents' Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moreau, Marie-Pierre; Kerner, Charlotte

2015-01-01

While student parents now represent a significant proportion of the higher education population in England, this group has been given limited consideration in policy circles. Using a social constructivist and feminist theoretical framework, this paper draws on a research project investigating the role of higher education policies in supporting…

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Special Education Policy and Practice in Australia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prosser, Brenton; Reid, Robert; Shute, Rosalyn; Atkinson, Ivan

2002-01-01

Outlines Australian special education policy and practice regarding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in public schools. Drawing on U.S. comparisons, considers how recent government legislation may have made the label "disability" appear pragmatic to those seeking special education assistance. Proposes that an emphasis on…

Education and Emigration: The Case of the Iranian-American Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mossayeb, Sina M.; Shirazi, Roozbeh

2006-01-01

This paper explores the plausibility of a hypothesis that puts forth perceived educational opportunity as a significant pull factor influencing Iranians' decisions to immigrate to the United States. Drawing on various literatures, including research on educational policy in Iran, government policy papers, and figures from recent studies and census…

Admission Policy Evolution in Emerging Professional Programs: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holley, Paul W.

2006-01-01

Professional program admission at U.S. universities has become increasingly competitive in the last 20 years, due to enrollment caps, core class requirements, transfer course acceptance, industry draw, and the appeal of starting salaries. As the competition steadily increases, students often find methods to exploit traditional policy, resulting in…

Reconfiguring Higher Education: The Case of Foundation Degrees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, John P.; Blewitt, John; Moody, Daphne

2005-01-01

Purpose - This paper aims to explore the policy background, educational rationale, developmental stages, and the introduction and piloting of a foundation degree FD. Design/methodology/approach - The approach is a description and discussion. The paper draws together, for the first time, the main policy documents and reviews and relates these to…

Drawing the Line: Student Reassignment Policies in South Carolina

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simmons, Naomi Rachel

2013-01-01

This study investigates the complex nature of student reassignment plans developed between 2006 and 2008 in three South Carolina school districts: York School District 3, Dorchester School District 2, and Greenville School District. The study is guided by the following research question: How are the district policies for student reassignment…

Working Together? Partnership Approaches to 14-19 Education in England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higham, Jeremy; Yeomans, David

2010-01-01

Partnership working between institutions and organisations is currently commonly seen as providing solutions to meeting multiple, interrelated needs in areas of social policy including health, social welfare and education. This article examines and discusses the policy and practice of such collaboration in an educational context. Drawing on…

New Directions in Education? A Critique of Contemporary Policy Reforms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skourdoumbis, Andrew

2016-01-01

This paper draws on facets of Foucault's theoretical resources to critique current education policy reform from within the Australian State of Victoria, namely the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development's (DEECD) discussion paper "New directions for school leadership and the teaching profession." Implicit in the reform…

From Policy to Pedagogy: Prudence and Precariousness; Actors and Artefacts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Penney, Dawn

2013-01-01

This paper draws on concepts from contemporary education policy sociology to explore the prospective interpretation, contextualisation and enactment of Health and Physical Education in the Australian Curriculum. Analysis examines the dynamic between characteristics of official texts and the contexts in which responses will be made. The paper…

The Refusal: Teachers Making Policy in NYC

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malsbary, Christine Brigid

2016-01-01

Drawing on empirical sources, I argue that teachers' actions to remove district-mandated testing from their classrooms are a form of teacher policy-making. Analysis of interviews with teacher activists and records of teachers' activism meetings show that teachers perceive belonging, trust, and community as critical to their efforts to provide…

Schoolchildren, Governmentality and National E-Safety Policy Discourse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hope, Andrew

2015-01-01

The introduction of widespread school Internet access in industrialised countries has been accompanied by the materialisation of what can be labelled as a national school e-safety agenda. Drawing upon Foucault's notions of discourse and governmentality, this paper explores how e-safety policy documents serve to constrain the conceptual…

The New Zealand Experiment: Assessment-Driven Curriculum--Managing Standards, Competition and Performance to Strengthen Governmentality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Neill, Anne-Marie

2015-01-01

Following the Tomorrow's Schools administrative restructuring, a second wave of educational change installed globalised discourses as governmentality policies in Aotearoa New Zealand. Drawing on Foucault's "toolkit", this genealogical policy chronology traces the transformation of curriculum and assessment into a specific political…

Research Policy and Academic Performativity: Compliance, Contestation and Complicity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leathwood, Carole; Read, Barbara

2013-01-01

Research, a major purpose of higher education, has become increasingly important in a context of global economic competitiveness. In this paper, we draw on data from email interviews with academics in Britain to explore responses to current research policy trends. Although the majority of academics expressed opposition to current policy…

Enhancing American Competitiveness: A Progress Report to the President and Congress.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Competitiveness Policy Council, Washington, DC.

To assist the Competitiveness Policy Council in drawing up this report, four of the Council's eight subcouncils were asked to provide their assessment of recent federal initiatives and to make any new recommendations that seemed appropriate. The participating subcouncils were Critical Technologies, Public Infrastructure, Trade Policy, and…

Implications of Gendered Technology for Art Education: The Case Study of a Male Drawing Machine.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morbey, Mary Leigh

Opening with a discussion of AARON, an artificial intelligence symbol system that is used to generate computer drawings, this document makes the argument that AARON is based upon a way of knowing that is abstract, analytical, rationalist and thus representative of the dominant, western, male philosophical tradition. Male bias permeates the field…

Representin': Drawing from Hip-Hop and Urban Youth Culture to Inform Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Irizarry, Jason G.

2009-01-01

The potential of drawing from urban youth culture, and hip-hop more specifically, to serve as a bridge to the standard curriculum has been well documented. However, the richness and potential benefits of hip-hop are more far-reaching and present significant implications for teacher education and professional development efforts as well. This…

Anticipating or Accommodating to Public Concern? Risk Amplification and the Politics of Precaution Reexamined.

PubMed

Wardman, Jamie K; Löfstedt, Ragnar

2018-04-26

Regulatory use of the precautionary principle (PP) tends to be broadly characterized either as a responsible approach for safeguarding against health and environmental risks in the face of scientific uncertainties, or as "state mismanagement" driven by undue political bias and public anxiety. However, the "anticipatory" basis upon which governments variably draw a political warrant for adopting precautionary measures often remains ambiguous. Particularly, questions arise concerning whether the PP is employed preemptively by political elites from the "top down," or follows from more conventional democratic pressures exerted by citizens and other stakeholders from the "bottom up." This article elucidates the role and impact of citizen involvement in the precautionary politics shaping policy discourse surrounding the U.K. government's "precautionary approach" to mobile telecommunications technology and health. A case study is presented that critically reexamines the basis upon which U.K. government action has been portrayed as an instance of anticipatory policy making. Findings demonstrate that the use of the PP should not be interpreted in the preemptive terms communicated by U.K. government officials alone, but also in relation to the wider social context of risk amplification and images of public concern formed adaptively in antagonistic precautionary discourse between citizens, politicians, industry, and the media, which surrounded cycles of government policy making. The article discusses the sociocultural conditions and political dynamics underpinning public influence on government anticipation and responsiveness exemplified in this case, and concludes with research and policy implications for how society subsequently comes to terms with the emergence and precautionary governance of new technologies under conflict. © 2018 Society for Risk Analysis.

A window of opportunity for reform in post-conflict settings? The case of Human Resources for Health policies in Sierra Leone, 2002-2012.

PubMed

Bertone, Maria Paola; Samai, Mohamed; Edem-Hotah, Joseph; Witter, Sophie

2014-01-01

It is recognized that decisions taken in the early recovery period may affect the development of health systems. Additionally, some suggest that the immediate post-conflict period may allow for the opening of a political 'window of opportunity' for reform. For these reasons, it is useful to reflect on the policy space that exists in this period, by what it is shaped, how decisions are made, and what are their long-term implications. Examining the policy trajectory and its determinants can be helpful to explore the specific features of the post-conflict policy-making environment. With this aim, the study looks at the development of policies on human resources for health (HRH) in Sierra Leone over the decade after the conflict (2002-2012). Multiple sources were used to collect qualitative data on the period between 2002 and 2012: a stakeholder mapping workshop, a document review and a series of key informant interviews. The analysis draws from political economy and policy analysis tools, focusing on the drivers of reform, the processes, the contextual features, and the actors and agendas. Our findings identify three stages of policy-making. At first characterized by political uncertainty, incremental policies and stop-gap measures, the context substantially changed in 2009. The launch of the Free Health Care Initiative provided to be an instrumental event and catalyst for health system, and HRH, reform. However, after the launch of the initiative, the pace of HRH decision-making again slowed down. OUR STUDY IDENTIFIES THE KEY DRIVERS OF HRH POLICY TRAJECTORY IN SIERRA LEONE: (i) the political situation, at first uncertain and later on more defined; (ii) the availability of funding and the stances of agencies providing such funds; (iii) the sense of need for radical change - which is perhaps the only element related to the post-conflict setting. It also emerges that a 'windows of opportunity' for reform did not open in the immediate post-conflict, but rather 8 years later when the Free Health Care Initiative was announced, thus making it difficult to link it directly to the features of the post-conflict policy-making environment.

The "Gainful Employment Rule" and Student Loan Defaults: How the Policy Frame Overlooks Important Normative Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serna, Gabriel

2014-01-01

This essay examines normative aspects of the gainful employment rule and how the policy frame and image miss important implications for student aid policy. Because the economic and social burdens associated with the policy are typically borne by certain socioeconomic and ethnic groups, the policy frame and image do not identify possible negative…

Cutting through the noise: an evaluative framework for research communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strickert, G. E.; Bradford, L. E.; Shantz, S.; Steelman, T.; Orozs, C.; Rose, I.

2017-12-01

With an ever-increasing amount of research, there is a parallel challenge to mobilize the research for decision making, policy development and management actions. The tradition of "loading dock" model of science to policy is under renovation, replaced by more engaging methods of research communication. Research communication falls on a continuum from passive methods (e.g. reports, social media, infographics) to more active methods (e.g. forum theatre, decision labs, and stakeholder planning, and mix media installations that blend, art, science and traditional knowledge). Drawing on a five-year water science research program in the Saskatchewan River Basin, an evaluation framework is presented that draws on a wide communities of knowledge users including: First Nation and Metis, Community Organizers, Farmers, Consultants, Researchers, and Civil Servants. A mixed method framework consisting of quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, focus groups, and q-sorts demonstrates that participants prefer more active means of research communication to draw them into the research, but they also value more traditional and passive methods to provide more in-depth information when needed.

The Expansion of Teach for America during the 2013 North Carolina General Assembly Session: A Case Study of State Educational Policy Formation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baldwin, Lela Jean

2015-01-01

Drawing on the Multiple Streams Model and Policy Regime Change Theory, this study sought to identify the political and instrumental factors that influenced the formation of a policy that led to the expansion of Teach for America in North Carolina. Data for this single intrinsic case study were drawn from interviews with organizational leaders,…

Understanding Agenda Setting in State Educational Policy: An Application of Kingdon's Multiple Streams Model to the Formation of State Reading Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Tamara V.; Shepley, Thomas V.; Song, Mengli

2010-01-01

Drawing on interview data from reading policy actors in California, Michigan, and Texas, this study applied Kingdon's (1984, 1995) multiple streams model to explain how the issue of reading became prominent on the agenda of state governments during the latter half of the 1990s. A combination of factors influenced the status of a state's reading…

Revisiting the Vulnerability Ethos in Cross-Sectoral Transition Policies and Practices for Young People in the Era of Marketisation of Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brunila, Kristiina; Ikävalko, Elina; Kurki, Tuuli; Mertanen, Katariina; Mikkola, Anna

2016-01-01

The ethos of vulnerability has come to play an increasingly central role in shaping cross-sectoral transition policies and practices related to young people outside of education and working life. Yet the wider effects of this ethos in policies and practices are still rarely analysed. In this article, we draw our data from five separate studies.…

Effects of Drawing on Alpha Activity: A Quantitative EEG Study with Implications for Art Therapy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belkofer, Christopher M.; Van Hecke, Amy Vaughan; Konopka, Lukasz M.

2014-01-01

Little empirical evidence exists as to how materials used in art therapy affect the brain and its neurobiological functioning. This pre/post within-groups study utilized the quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) to measure residual effects in the brain after 20 minutes of drawing. EEG recordings were conducted before and after participants (N =…

Drawing AIDS:Tanzanian Teachers Picture the Pandemic: Implications for Re-Curriculation of Teacher Education Programmes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Lesley; de Lange, Naydene; Mkumbo, Kitila

2013-01-01

In this article, we explain how we engaged teachers in creating their own representations of HIV and AIDS in Tanzania as a starting point for re-curriculation of the undergraduate teacher education programme. We employed a qualitative design, using visual methodologies, to encourage 29 in-service teachers to draw their perceptions about HIV and…

The Phantom National? Assembling National Teaching Standards in Australia's Federal System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savage, Glenn C.; Lewis, Steven

2018-01-01

In this paper, we use the development of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) as an illustrative case to examine how national schooling reforms are assembled in Australia's federal system. Drawing upon an emerging body of research on "policy assemblage" within the fields of policy sociology, anthropology and critical…

Assessing State Policy on Postsecondary Completion: Texas vs. SREB Peers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rankin, David A.; Scott, Joyce A.; Kim, JoHyun

2015-01-01

Prompted by changing demographics, economic pressures, and global competition, Texas and members of the Southern Regional Education Board adopted policies to boost minority enrollment and success in higher education around the turn of the century. This study draws upon IPEDS graduation rate data for a benchmark year, 2002, and for 2006 through…

Changing Teaching and Learning in the Primary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webb, Rosemary, Ed.

2006-01-01

In this topical book, leading academics in primary education evaluate New Labour's Education policy. They draw on the findings of the latest research to discuss the impact of policies on primary school practice and on the views and experiences of primary school teachers and pupils. Current issues and initiatives are analyzed to identify the extent…

Reviewing Strategies in/for ESD Policy Engagement: Agency Reclaimed

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lotz-Sisitka, Heila

2016-01-01

In this response article, I draw on critical realist perspectives to engage with the argument put forward in Bengtsson's study, which sees agency as an ontological necessity for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) policy engagement. Bengtsson supports a notion of the logic of contingent action over the logic of power as dominance,…

Laboring to Relate: Neoliberalism, Embodied Policy, and Network Dynamics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ball, Stephen J.

2017-01-01

This paper builds on previous research (Ball, 2012, Ball & Junemann, 2012) to explore some aspects of the embodiment of policy. The author draws on Larner and Laurie's (2010) work on technocratic expertise and how, as she puts it, "privatisation ideas and practices are transferred in embodied forms," and in particular her argument…

School-Based Curriculum Development in Scotland: Curriculum Policy and Enactment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Priestley, Mark; Minty, Sarah; Eager, Michelle

2014-01-01

Recent worldwide trends in curriculum policy have re-emphasised the role of teachers in school-based curriculum development. Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence is typical of these trends, stressing that teachers are agents of change. This paper draws upon empirical data to explore school-based curriculum development in response to Curriculum for…

"Will I Learn What I Want to Learn?" Usable Representations, "Students" and OECD Assessment Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shahjahan, Riyad A.; Morgan, Clara; Nguyen, David J.

2015-01-01

Amid growing debates around international assessment tools in educational policy, few have critically examined how students themselves are cast in policy tool production processes and discourse. Drawing on Stuart Hall's concept of representation, we show how higher education (HE) "students" are constructed, fixed and normalized by the…

Languages and Lives through a Critical Eye: The Case of Estonia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skerrett, Delaney Michael

2011-01-01

This article seeks to situate Estonian language use and policy within the emerging field of critical language policy and planning (LPP). Critical LPP draws on poststructuralist theory to deconstruct normalized categories that maintain systems of inequality. It is akin to the queer theory project for gender and sexuality. Since the country regained…

Bilingual Education in a Developing Pacific Area: Why? Asian Pacific American Education Occasional Papers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Underwood, Robert A.

This paper examines the relationship between politics, economic development, nationalism, and school language policy in the Marianas and Guam. Past and present developments in language policy and various rationales in support of bilingual education programs are reviewed. The author draws from Fishman's "Language and Nationalism" and…

Autonomy and Governance in Local Authority Provision for Children and Young People

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyask, Ruth; Donkin, Arnet; Waite, Sue; Lawson, Hazel

2013-01-01

The role of local government in addressing issues of social equity is undergoing significant reconstruction in current educational policy reforms in England. The current conceptualisation of social provision places individual rights at the centre of policy, and social responsibility is represented as the work of individuals. Drawing upon a…

Changing Legislation and Its Effects on Inclusive and Special Education: Scotland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riddell, Sheila; Weedon, Elisabet

2014-01-01

This article, by Sheila Riddell and Elisabet Weedon of the Centre for Research in Education Inclusion and Diversity, University of Edinburgh, analyses recent policy developments and outcomes in the field of additional support needs in Scotland in the context of devolution and austerity, drawing on a critical analysis of policy and administrative…

Comparative Review of UK-USA Industry-University Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Decter, Moira H.

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore significant historical changes, legislation and policy in the UK and USA from the 1960s to present day relating to university-industry relationships. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a review of papers, reports and policy documents from the UK and USA drawing comparisons of…

The Roots and Routes of Environmental and Sustainability Education Policy Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Poeck, Katrien; Lysgaard, Jonas A.

2016-01-01

"Environmental Education Research" has developed a Virtual Special Issue (VSI) (http://explore.tandfonline.com/content/ed/ceer-vsi) focusing on studies of environmental and sustainability education (ESE) policy. The VSI draws on key examples of research on this topic published in the Journal from the past two decades, for three reasons.…

Implementing E-Learning in Northern Ireland: Prospects and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uhomoibhi, James O.

2006-01-01

Purpose: Aims to examine trends in the development of e-learning in Northern Ireland, report on existing policies, practices and issues affecting its implementation across the sectors. Design/methodology/approach: The present study draws on e-learning policies and strategies that have been developed for Northern Ireland. Examples were drawn from…

Contesting the City: Neoliberal Urbanism and the Cultural Politics of Education Reform in Chicago

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lipman, Pauline

2011-01-01

This article examines the intertwining of neoliberal urbanism and education policy in Chicago. Drawing on critical studies in geography, urban sociology and anthropology, education policy, and critical analyses of race, the author argues that education is constitutive of material and ideological processes of neoliberal restructuring, its…

MOOCs, Institutional Policy and Change Dynamics in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connor, Kate

2014-01-01

The last couple of years have witnessed a growing debate about online learning in higher education, notably in response to the global massive open online course (MOOC) phenomenon. This paper explores these developments from an institutional policy perspective, drawing on an analysis of the initial stages of different approaches to MOOCs and…

Body Policies and Body Pedagogies: Every Child Matters in Totally Pedagogised Schools?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, John; Rich, Emma

2011-01-01

This paper documents how health is storied into existence by "obesity discourse" to become part of the "natural attitude" towards the health of individuals or populations. We draw attention to some of the major policy documentation influencing thinking on "health" and school health education in the UK over recent…

School Curriculum, Globalisation and the Constitution of Policy Problems and Solutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winter, Christine

2012-01-01

To varying degrees, education policy reforms around the world are driven by educational discourses relating to globalisation. At the same time, national and local histories, cultures and politics mediate the effects of globalisation discourses. This paper employs methods of analysis that draw on the concepts of "vernacular globalization"…

Regulatory Autonomy and Performance: The Reform of Higher Education Re-Visited

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enders, Jurgen; de Boer, Harry; Weyer, Elke

2013-01-01

The main aim of this article is to contribute to the understanding of organizational autonomy and control in higher education reform and related expectations as regards the performance of universities. Our analyses draws on principal-agent models as a normative theory of policy reform, and institutionalist approaches in public policy and…

Strategizing for Public Policy: The Information Literacy State Proclamation Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weiner, Sharon A.; Jackman, Lana W.; Prause, Emily

2013-01-01

This article describes a project designed to raise the awareness of policymakers about the importance of information literacy to achieve societal goals. Issues benefit from the governmental support, prioritization, mandates, and funding that can result when there is policy behind them. Studies indicate that many people lack the ability to draw on…

Is Big Brother Watching the Wired Campus? Information Technologies Undermine the Climate of Freedom in Academia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Earls, Alan R.

2000-01-01

Explores privacy issues raised by information technology at colleges and universities. Drawing on accounts and opinions of faculty and staff members, provides examples of current practices and policies on Internet and e-mail use and discusses the possible need for more developed policies. (EV)

Educational Policy and Practice from the Perspective of Institutional Theory: Crafting a Wider Lens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burch, Patricia

2007-01-01

Institutional analyses of public education have increased in number in recent years. However, studies in education drawing on institutional analyses have not fully incorporated recent contributions from institutional theory, particularly relative to other domains such as law and health policy. The author sketches a framework that integrates recent…

Challenging Conceptions of Western Higher Education and Promoting Graduates as Global Citizens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clifford, Valerie; Montgomery, Catherine

2014-01-01

Recently there has been a shift in the discourses of university policy from internationalisation towards the contested concept of global citizenship. This paper explores ways of challenging the current interpretation of international education policy through the concept of global citizenship drawing on the discussion forums of two cohorts of…

The Sociomateriality of Education Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landri, Paolo

2015-01-01

By drawing on sociomaterial approaches to education, this paper presents a case study on the creation, development and consolidation of the education zone, a new policy space in South Italy. The topological reading of the case study reveals the complex reassemblage of humans and non-humans in the enactment of the education zones, and its multiple…

"Cultivando Confianza": A Bilingual Community of Practice Negotiates Restrictive Language Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newcomer, Sarah N.; Puzio, Kelly

2016-01-01

Drawing from an ethnographic study of how one school community negotiates English-only policy in Arizona, we investigated how a bilingual community of practice was established at one school. Integral to establishing this bilingual community was the mobilization of Spanish-speaking families in the school's daily life and operation. This…

The Modern Cult of Efficiency: Intermediary Organizations and the New Scientific Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trujillo, Tina

2014-01-01

This article analyzes one intermediary organization. It draws on critical policy studies to frame the agency's behaviors amid a discourse of managerialism in the public sector, and critical studies of education markets to explain the relationships between its reforms and education policy. Findings illustrate how the intermediary enacted…

Co-Operative Education and the State, c.1895-1935

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vernon, Keith

2013-01-01

The co-operative movement is currently exploring ways of engaging with changes in government education policy to develop schools with a distinctive co-operative ethos. While drawing on the opportunities in changing policy, these initiatives can also be seen as offering alternatives to the prevailing tenor of government thinking. This is not the…

Mentor Policy and the Quality of Mentoring

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polikoff, Morgan S.; Desimone, Laura M.; Porter, Andrew C.; Hochberg, Eric D.

2015-01-01

Mentoring is a common form of support for beginning teachers. State and district mentoring policies vary along a number of dimensions, yet policymakers have little evidence to draw on in designing effective mentoring programs. We use quantitative and qualitative data from a study of beginning middle school mathematics teachers in 10 districts to…

Examining the Parent Trigger as a Strategy for School Reform and Parental Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, John; Lubienski, Chris; Scott, Janelle; Welner, Kevin G.

2015-01-01

Background: Purpose: This analysis considers the emergence, evidentiary basis, and potential of parent trigger policies. In particular, we focus on the policy, political and social circumstances in which parent trigger legislation emerged in California, the efficacy of the school improvement levers on which it draws, and the underlying assumptions…

Hybridisation or Ousterisation? The Case of Local Accountability Policy in Finnish Early Childhood Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paananen, Maiju; Lipponen, Lasse; Kumpulainen, Kristiina

2015-01-01

Drawing on the analytic concept of imaginary, this study investigates policy hybridisation in the Finnish early childhood education. Specifically, it illuminates how the interplay between different imaginaries enabled the neoliberal imaginary to oust the social-democratic imaginary through a tripartite process in a case of local productivity…

Teacher-Led Codeswitching: Adorno, Race, Contradiction, and the Nature of Autonomy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bicker, Jack

2018-01-01

Drawing on respective ideas from within both liberal political philosophy and Frankfurt School critical theory, this paper seeks to examine claims about autonomy and empowerment made on behalf of educational policies such as teacher-led codeswitching; a policy that seeks to empower students from racially marginalised groups by facilitating their…

What Do You Want to Do Your Life? Ethics and Compulsory Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodgson, David

2016-01-01

From 2004 to 2008, the Western Australian State Government embarked on a period of policy and legislative change to increase the compulsory school-leaving age from 15 to 17. This article adopts a governmental conceptualisation of "ethics" to explore the policy discourses and practices. Drawing on interview and documental data, the…

The Shifting Discourses of Educational Leadership: International Trends and Scotland's Response

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torrance, Deirdre; Humes, Walter

2015-01-01

Increasing emphasis has been placed on leadership within educational theory, policy and practice. Drawing on a wide range of academic literature and policy documents, this paper explores how the discourse of leadership has shifted and for what purposes. The authors are critical of the lack of conceptual underpinning for that discourse, evident…

Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress. Volume 7, Number 21

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amos, Jason, Ed.

2007-01-01

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Focus on Dropout Factories: Associated Press Article Spotlights Low-Performing High Schools, Draws Criticism from Many School…

Is "Gender-Sensitive Education" a Useful Concept for Educational Policy?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forde, Christine

2014-01-01

This article responds to Astrid Sinnes and Marianne Løken's article "Gendered education in a gendered world: Looking beyond cosmetic solutions to the gender gap in science" by exploring the idea of "gender-sensitive" education and its usefulness in educational policy. It draws on theoretical discussions of the concept of…

The role of the Sheffield model on the minimum unit pricing of alcohol debate: the importance of a rhetorical perspective

PubMed Central

Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal; Hilton, Shona; Bond, Lyndal

2017-01-01

The minimum unit pricing (MUP) alcohol policy debate has been informed by the Sheffield model, a study which predicts impacts of different alcohol pricing policies. This paper explores the Sheffield model’s influences on the policy debate by drawing on 36 semi-structured interviews with policy actors who were involved in the policy debate. Although commissioned by policy makers, the model’s influence has been far broader than suggested by views of ‘rational’ policy making. While findings from the Sheffield model have been used in instrumental ways, they have arguably been more important in helping debate competing values underpinning policy goals. PMID:28111593

Building a learning health system using clinical registers: a non-technical introduction.

PubMed

Ovretveit, John; Nelson, Eugene; James, Brent

2016-10-10

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe how clinical registers were designed and used to serve multiple purposes in three health systems, in order to contribute practical experience for building learning healthcare systems. Design/methodology/approach Case description and comparison of the development and use of clinical registries, drawing on participants' experience and published and unpublished research. Findings Clinical registers and new software systems enable fact-based decisions by patients, clinicians, and managers about better care, as well as new and more economical research. Designing systems to present the data for users' daily work appears to be the key to effective use of the potential afforded by digital data. Research limitations/implications The case descriptions draw on the experience of the authors who were involved in the development of the registers, as well as on published and unpublished research. There is limited data about outcomes for patients or cost-effectiveness. Practical implications The cases show the significant investments which are needed to make effective use of clinical register data. There are limited skills to design and apply the digital systems to make the best use of the systems and to reduce their disadvantages. More use can be made of digital data for quality improvement, patient empowerment and support, and for research. Social implications Patients can use their data combined with other data to self-manage their chronic conditions. There are challenges in designing and using systems so that those with lower health and computer literacy and incomes also benefit from these systems, otherwise the digital revolution may increase health inequalities. Originality/value The paper shows three real examples of clinical registers which have been developed as part of their host health systems' strategies to develop learning healthcare systems. The paper gives a simple non-technical introduction and overview for clinicians, managers, policy-advisors and improvers of what is possible and the challenges, and highlights the need to shape the design and implementation of digital infrastructures in healthcare services to serve users.

An evaluation of favorite kind of day drawings from physically maltreated and non-maltreated children.

PubMed

Veltman, M W; Browne, K D

2000-10-01

This study aimed to replicate Manning's (1987) research that looked at "Favorite Kind of Day" drawings produced by children who had been maltreated in comparison to non-maltreated children. The hypothesis of the study was that the maltreated children's drawings would consistently differ from drawings produced by non-maltreated children over time. Eighteen children aged between 4 and 8 years old were individually asked to draw their "Favorite Kind of Day" (FKD). The drawings from six physically maltreated participants were compared to 12 non-maltreated children matched for age, sex, socio-economic and educational background. The drawings were compared on three criteria: inclement weather, size, and movement of weather. The results showed that over a period of 18 months, maltreated and non-maltreated children consistently drew similar drawings, and no significant differences were found between the groups. The implications of these findings cannot be underestimated, as clinical use of the FKD technique suggested by Manning's findings, for English children at least, would lead to incorrect identification of children as having suffered maltreatment when they may in fact not have.

Cyberspace as a Complex Adaptive System and the Policy and Operational Implications for Cyber Warfare

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-22

CYBERSPACE AS A COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEM AND THE POLICY AND OPERTIONAL IMPLICATIONS FOR CYBER WARFARE A Monograph by Major Albert O. Olagbemiro...serves the US, especially in regards to the protect ion o f the 1S. SUBJECT TERMS omplex Adaptive System, Cyberspace, lnfosphere, Cyber Warfare ber...System and the Policy and Operational Implications for Cyber Warfare Approved by: __________________________________, Monograph Director Jeffrey

Making Dollars Follow Sense: Financing Early Childhood Mental Health Services To Promote Healthy Social and Emotional Development in Young Children. Promoting the Emotional Well-Being of Children and Families Policy Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Kay; Knitzer, Jane; Kaufmann, Roxane

Drawing on lessons from six case studies, this policy paper highlights the most innovative approaches states and communities are currently using to finance preventive and early intervention services as well as more traditional treatment services for young children's mental health. The case studies are based on interviews with policy and program…

Sexual Objectification of Women: Clinical Implications and Training Considerations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szymanski, Dawn M.; Carr, Erika R.; Moffitt, Lauren B.

2011-01-01

This article focuses on the implications of theory and empirical research on the sexual objectification of women. Drawing largely from the American Psychological Association's 2007 "Guidelines for Psychological Practice With Girls and Women," the 2007 "Report of the American Psychological Association's Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls,"…

Understanding Networking in China and the Arab World: Lessons for International Managers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hutchings, Kate; Weir, David

2006-01-01

Purpose: To explore the implications of internationalisation for "guanxi" and "wasta" and the role of trust, family and favours in underpinning these traditional models of networking. The paper also draws some implications for management development professionals and trainers. Design/methodology/approach: The argument is based…

What Does Political Education Research Tell Us about How to Teach Citizenship?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ehman, Lee H.

This paper presents six generalizations based on political education research and discusses their implications for teaching citizenship in the public schools. In drawing the implications, it was assumed that citizenship education is designed to promote higher political knowledge, interest, trust, tolerance of dissent, and intellectual and…

Children's Family Drawings as Expressions of Attachment Representations Across Cultures: Possibilities and Limitations.

PubMed

Gernhardt, Ariane; Keller, Heidi; Rübeling, Hartmut

2016-07-01

The present study explored the cross-cultural appropriateness of children's family drawings as a measure for attachment quality. The sample consisted of 63 children aged 6 years from two diverse ecosocial contexts: middle-class families from Berlin, Germany (n = 32) and rural farming families from small villages around Kumbo, Cameroon (n = 31). The analysis of drawings with two classical attachment procedures, the Checklist of Drawing Signs (Kaplan & Main, 1986) and the Global Rating Scales (Fury, 1996), revealed substantial cultural differences. The results thus substantiated children's drawings as important cultural documents. Implications of the findings, however, are discussed in consideration of culture-specific conceptions of attachment relationships as indicated by cultural variations in mother's socialization goals. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Children's drawings of an anxiety-eliciting topic: effects on the size of the drawing.

PubMed

Fox, T J; Thomas, G V

1990-02-01

Our aim was to investigate whether or not children's drawings of a potentially threatening topic (a Hallowe'en witch) were made significantly smaller than drawings of a non-threatening topic (a woman). The first study confirmed an earlier claim by Craddick (1963) that drawings of a witch were made significantly smaller on the day before Hallowe'en compared to drawings made one week before or after, but we found that drawings of a non-threatening topic (a woman) changed in size in exactly the same way. Furthermore, we found no evidence that children became significantly more frightened of witches as Hallowe'en approached. In the second study, questionnaire responses were used to allocate children into two groups, those who were scared of witches and those who were not. Scared children drew both smaller witches and larger women than did non-scared children, with the result that relative heights of witches compared to women differed significantly between the two groups. However, only the difference in the height of the drawings of a woman was statistically significant. The implications of these results for the clinical assessment of children through their drawings are discussed.

DEVELOPMENTS IN VALUE FRAMEWORKS TO INFORM THE ALLOCATION OF HEALTHCARE RESOURCES.

PubMed

Oortwijn, Wija; Sampietro-Colom, Laura; Habens, Fay

2017-01-01

In recent years, there has been a surge in the development of frameworks to assess the value of different types of health technologies to inform healthcare resource allocation. The reasons for, and the potential of, these value frameworks were discussed during the 2017 Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Policy Forum Meeting. This study reflects the discussion, drawing on presentations from invited experts and Policy Forum members, as well as a background paper. The reasons given for a proliferation of value frameworks included: rising healthcare costs; more complex health technology; perceived disconnect between price and value in some cases; changes in societal values; the need for inclusion of additional considerations, such as ethical issues; and greater empowerment of clinicians and patients in defining and using value frameworks. Many Policy Forum participants recommended learning from existing frameworks. Furthermore, there was a desire to agree on the core components of value frameworks, defining the additional value elements as necessary and considering how they might be measured and used in practice. Furthermore, adherence to the principles of transparency, predictability, broad stakeholder involvement, and accountability were widely supported, along with being forward looking, explicit, and consistent across decisions. Value frameworks continue to evolve with significant implications for global incentives for innovation and access to health technologies. There is a role for the HTA community to address some of the key areas discussed during the meeting, such as defining the core components for assessing the value of a health technology.

The benefits of integrating cost-benefit analysis and risk assessment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fisher, K.; Clarke-Whistler, K.

1995-12-31

It has increasingly been recognized that knowledge of risks in the absence of benefits and costs cannot dictate appropriate public policy choices. Recent evidence of this recognition includes the proposed EPA Risk Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis Act of 1995, a number of legislative changes in Canada and the US, and the increasing demand for field studies combining measures of impacts, risks, costs and benefits. Failure to consider relative environmental and human health risks, benefits, and costs in making public policy decisions has resulted in allocating scarce resources away from areas offering the highest levels of risk reduction and improvements inmore » health and safety. The authors discuss the implications of not taking costs and benefits into account in addressing environmental risks, drawing on examples from both Canada and the US. The authors also present the results of their recent field work demonstrating the advantages of considering costs and benefits in making public policy and site remediation decisions, including a study on the benefits and costs of prevention, remediation and monitoring techniques applied to groundwater contamination; the benefits and costs of banning the use of chlorine; and the benefits and costs of Canada`s concept of disposing of high-level nuclear waste. The authors conclude that a properly conducted Cost-Benefit Analysis can provide critical input to a Risk Assessment and can ensure that risk management decisions are efficient, cost-effective and maximize improvement to environmental and human health.« less

When Things Come Undone: The Promise of Dissembling Education Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koyama, Jill

2015-01-01

This article focuses on the enactment of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the USA's broad sweeping federal education policy, in a persistently low-achieving school in which the majority of students are refugees and immigrants. Drawing on a 26-month ethnography, I reveal the ways in which a NCLB-guided school turnaround plan is enacted variably,…

JPRS Report, China.

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-04-16

mice , color monitors, image Industrial Production Rises Over 6 Percent First 2 scanners, key-boards and drawing cards in 1990. Months The center...Adjusting Industrial Structure, Suggestions 32 Experts Forecast 1991 Market Trends [ZHONGGUO TONGJI XIAOXI BAO 11 Feb] ................. 35 Price Index of...Policies Regarding Industrial Structure in Hunan [HUNAN RIBAO 5 Feb] ........................... 45 Bank Official Views 1991 Monetary Policies [JINRONG

The Knowledge Economy and Innovation: Certain Uncertainty and the Risk Economy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bullen, Elizabeth; Fahey, Johannah; Kenway, Jane

2006-01-01

The knowledge economy is a dominant force in today's world, and innovation policy and national systems of innovation are central to it. In this article, we draw on different sociological and economic theories of risk to engage critically with innovation policy and national systems of innovation. Beck's understanding of a risk society, Schumpeter's…

Universalist and Differentialist Approaches to Instruction for High-School-Age Immigrants: Tensions in Practice and Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stritikus, Tom; Nguyen, Diem

2010-01-01

Drawing on data from a 3-year qualitative study on the transition of immigrant youth, we seek to understand the connections among district programming and policy, teacher perspectives, and the ways in which students experience initial schooling. Specifically, this article examines the following research questions: How does district leadership…

Continuous Linguistic Rhetorical Education as a Means of Optimizing Language Policy in Russian Multinational Regions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vorozhbitova, Alexandra A.; Konovalova, Galina M.; Ogneva, Tatiana N.; Chekulaeva, Natalia Y.

2017-01-01

Drawing on the function of Russian as a state language the paper proposes a concept of continuous linguistic rhetorical (LR) education perceived as a means of optimizing language policy in Russian multinational regions. LR education as an innovative pedagogical system shapes a learner's readiness for self-projection as a strong linguistic…

Analyzing the Thai State Policy on Private Tutoring: The Prevalence of the Market Discourse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lao, Rattana

2014-01-01

Private tutoring in academic subjects, which is provided for a fee and which takes place outside standard school hours, has become a global phenomenon. It is also very visible in Thailand. This paper draws on qualitative method including documentary analyses and semi-structured interviews with Thai policy elites, to understand the Thai state…

"Will This Hell Never End?": Substantiating and Resisting "Race-Language" Policies in a Multilingual High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malsbary, Christine

2014-01-01

This article presents a critical race theory analysis of teachers' and students' language policy negotiation. It draws on an ethnographic study in a high-school English as a Second Language (ESL) program. Results demonstrate how race-language processes create conditions that traumatize immigrant and bilingual youth of color through…

Conflicting Ideologies and Language Policy in Adult ESL: Complexities of Language Socialization in a Majority-L1 Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mori, Miki

2014-01-01

This study looks at how language ideologies affect and are revealed in language socialization practices in a majority-L1 adult ESL classroom, particularly looking at language use and policy. It draws on recent theories and critiques of language socialization (Bayley & Langman, 2011; Bronson & Watson-Gegeo, 2008; Garrett &…

Family-Friendly Labour Market Policies and Careers in Sweden--and the Lack of Them

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thornqvist, Christer

2006-01-01

This article discusses the origin and development of family-friendly policies and careers in Sweden. The starting-point for the discussion is that what "family-friendly" is can never be separated from the gendered labour market. Drawing on Lotte Bailyn's analysis of gender "equity", the article argues that the Swedish labour…

Teacher Collaboration in Times of Uncertainty and Societal Change: The Case Study of Post-Soviet Ukraine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kutsyuruba, Benjamin

2013-01-01

The work of teachers is subject to changing not only policies and reforms but also the complexities and contradictions of societal transformations. This paper examines teachers' perceptions of the impact of post-Soviet transformations on teacher collaboration amid the changing education policies and reforms in Ukraine. Drawing on qualitative…

Focusing on the Basics in Beat-the-Odds Schools. Policy Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lefkowits, Laura; Woempner, Carolyn

2006-01-01

Researchers at Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) recently completed a study of "beat-the-odds" schools--high-needs schools that demonstrated atypically high student achievement. This policy brief draws from the report of the study's findings, "High-Needs Schools--What Does It Take to Beat the Odds?"…

Class Size Reduction in Practice: Investigating the Influence of the Elementary School Principal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burch, Patricia; Theoharis, George; Rauscher, Erica

2010-01-01

Class size reduction (CSR) has emerged as a very popular, if not highly controversial, policy approach for reducing the achievement gap. This article reports on findings from an implementation study of class size reduction policy in Wisconsin entitled the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE). Drawing on case studies of nine schools,…

Edufare for the Future Precariat: The Moral Agenda in Australia's "Earning or Learning" Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doherty, Catherine

2017-01-01

This paper considers the educational experience constructed under Australia's policy decision in 2009 to extend compulsory education by requiring that students must be "earning or learning" till 17 years of age. The discussion draws on an empirical project that explored the moral order operating in classrooms for students retained under…

The Hare and the Tortoise: A Comparative Review of the Drive towards Inclusive Education Policies in England and Cyprus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Caroline; Symeonidou, Simoni

2017-01-01

This paper explores the process of policy formulation and implementation in relation to children commonly described as having "special educational needs" and disability (SEND), in Cyprus and in England. Drawing on qualitative research evidence from key primary documentary sources including legislation, statutory and non-statutory…

Citizenship, Civic Education and Politics: The Education Policy Context for Young Australian Citizens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haigh, Yvonne; Murcia, Karen; Norris, Lindy

2014-01-01

Citizenship education in Australia is embedded throughout the school curriculum. Despite a coherent policy context for the inclusion of citizenship and civic education at all levels of schooling, the links between education and civic minded citizens are tenuous. This paper explores these connections by drawing on the views of participants in an…

In Their Own Words: U.S. Think Tank "Experts" and the Framing of Education Policy Debates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Lauren

2013-01-01

This study draws on forty-six interviews conducted with staff from think tanks, education advocacy organizations, and university based education policy centers to discuss five prominent frames--the Public Education in Crisis frame, the Human Capital frame, the Unions are the Problem frame, the Advocates not Researchers frame, and the Irrelevant…

Policy Networks and Boundary Objects: Enacting Curriculum Reform in the Absence of Consensus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Banner, Indira; Donnelly, Jim; Ryder, Jim

2012-01-01

This article uses the concept of "boundary object", first developed within science studies by Star and Griesemer, to analyse curriculum policy implementation. It employs as a vehicle a significant but contested reform of the science curriculum in schools in England from 2006 onwards, drawing empirically on an extended study of the…

Managing the Dynamics of the Bologna Reforms: How Institutional Actors Re-Construct the Policy Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veiga, Amélia; Neave, Guy

2015-01-01

How do the constituencies in higher education re-interpret Bologna's function with regard to the European Higher Education Area? This research examines how institutional actors re-construct the policy framework in the light of their own institutional agendas. Drawing on empirical data from a survey of academics, students and administrative and…

An Anatomy of Authority: The Bologna and ASEM Education Secretariats as Policy Actors and Region Builders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dang, Que Anh

2018-01-01

This paper examines the sources of authority behind the Bologna and ASEM secretariats' technocratic appearance and administrative routines, and argues that they are transnational policy actors in their own right. By drawing on principal-agent theory and the concept of "authority," it offers an alternative framework for understanding the…

Tensions between Teaching Sexuality Education and Neoliberal Policy Reform in Quebec's Professional Competencies for Beginning Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Dan; McGray. Robert

2015-01-01

This research draws into question the effects that neoliberal policy reforms--with an emphasis on individual and measurable "competencies"--has on new teachers teaching sexuality education in Quebec. While we examine professional competencies that teachers can use to define their mandate for teaching sexuality education as a beginning…

The Politics of Health as a School-Sponsored Ethic: Foucault, Neoliberalism, and the Unhealthy Employee

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vander Schee, Carolyn

2008-01-01

This article describes the emergence of health policies targeted at the unhealthy school employee by examining how these are manifest in a Nevada school district. The analysis draws on the work of Foucault, specifically his writings on governmentality. The purpose of this critical appraisal is to problematize school-sponsored health policies by…

The "Power" of Value-Added Thinking: Exploring the Implementation of High-Stakes Teacher Accountability Policies in Rio de Janeiro

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Straubhaar, Rolf

2017-01-01

The purpose of this article is to ethnographically document the market-based ideological assumptions of Rio de Janeiro's educational policymakers, and the ways in which those assumptions have informed these policymakers' decision to implement value-added modeling-based teacher evaluation policies. Drawing on the anthropological literature on…

Vehicles of Logics: The Role of Policy Documents and Instructional Materials in Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woulfin, Sarah L.

2016-01-01

To understand the complexities of education policy implementation, it is necessary to consider how artifacts associated with reform are imbued with ideas, meanings, and values. This empirical paper draws on neo-institutional theory to reveal how artifacts carried particular logics (D'Adderio in "J Inst Econ" 7(2):197-230, 2011; Feldman…

Language Policies' Impact on Immigrant Students' Lived Experiences in New York City Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gica, Diosdado Galan, Jr.

2012-01-01

Language policies' impact is evident in how most immigrant children become English monolinguals by the third generation. Yet a large percentage continues to underperform in public schools. Formative and summative evaluations draw from a narrow methodology, thus this study strived to tell the stories of immigrant students' lived experiences in New…

The Social Geography of Choice: Neighborhoods' Role in Students' Navigation of School Choice Policy in Chicago

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillippo, Kate L.; Griffin, Briellen

2016-01-01

This study extends research on school choice policy, and on the geography of educational opportunity, by exploring how students understand their school choices and select from them within social-geographical space. Using a conceptual framework that draws from situated social cognition and recent research on neighborhood effects, this study…

Beyond Locutionary Denotations: Exploring Trust between Practitioners and Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ade-Ojo, G. O.

2011-01-01

This study reports the findings of a research on the trust relationship between practitioners in the Skills for Life (SfL) area and the policy that informs their practice. The exploration of this relationship was premised on an extended notion of trust relationship which draws from the Speech Act theory of Austin (1962; Searle 1969; Kissine 2008),…

Building a Social Movement for Education in England: Policy and Strategy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hatcher, Richard

2015-01-01

This article addresses the programmatic and strategic choices facing the progressive and left movement in education after the May general election. It draws a critical balance sheet of the education policies in Labour's election manifesto and of the strategy of attempting to influence them in a more progressive direction. An analysis of the…

Enacting Effective Climate Policy Advice: Institutional Strategies to Foster Saliency, Credibility and Legitimacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bauer, Anja; Pregernig, Michael; Reinecke, Sabine

2016-01-01

This article asks how scientific advisory institutions (SAIs) in climate policy strive towards effectiveness. Our analysis is grounded on the assumption that effectiveness is not passively experienced but is deliberately enacted by SAIs. We draw on a widely used set of criteria, namely saliency, credibility and legitimacy (SCL). Based on an…

Legitimating and Contesting the Commodification of Schooling: The Case of Teachers' Learning in Queensland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardy, Ian

2016-01-01

This paper draws upon research into the nature of teachers' learning practices in the context of current policy conditions in the state of Queensland, Australia. The research explores how teachers in one school in the north of the state responded to policy pressure to adopt a specific standardised approach to "explicit teaching",…

Constructing Education as Human Capital in a Transitional Society: A Case Study of Somaliland's Education Reconstruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahmed, Hassan; Bradford, Simon

2011-01-01

The purpose of this article is to critically examine Somaliland's post-conflict education reconstruction. The work includes documentary analysis of the Somaliland Education Policy. The authors also draw on the National Teacher Education Policy and the Somaliland National Education Development Plan. The analysis of these documents is primarily…

The Impact of a High Stakes Teacher Evaluation System: Educator Perspectives on Accountability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moran, Renee M. R.

2017-01-01

The use of student achievement data to evaluate an individual teacher's effectiveness has become a new focus in educational policy. This article focuses on the underresearched teacher perception of this new policy measure. Drawing on ethnographic research procedures, this article explores how first-grade teachers in one state navigated a new…

Interviewing the Education Policy Elite in Scotland: A Changing Picture?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grek, Sotiria

2011-01-01

In Scotland, access to the "policy community" is relatively easy and relations are very relaxed, but this may be interpreted as a different means of managing and co-opting researchers. However, the relationships of the different actors, and the kinds of knowledge they draw on, are in a process of change. Since parliamentary devolution…

Curriculum Policy Reform in an Era of Technical Accountability: "Fixing" Curriculum, Teachers and Students in English Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winter, Christine

2017-01-01

Drawing on a Levinasian ethical perspective, the argument driving this paper is that the technical accountability movement currently dominating the educational system in England is less than adequate because it overlooks educators' responsibility for ethical relations in responding to difference in respect of the other. Curriculum policy makes a…

School Language Profiles: Valorizing Linguistic Resources in Heteroglossic Situations in South Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Busch, Brigitta

2010-01-01

Although South Africa is committed to a policy of linguistic diversity, the language-in-education policy is still plagued by the racialization of language issues under apartheid and, more recently, by new challenges posed by internal African migration. Drawing on the experience of a school in the Western Cape Province, this paper explores the role…

Institutional Statements of Commitment and Widening Participation Policy in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapman, Amy; Mangion, Antoine; Buchanan, Rachel

2015-01-01

This article describes ways in which the equity agenda, as outlined in the Bradley Review of Higher Education (Bradley et al., 2008), is translated into action in one Australian university. Drawing on the conceptual work of Ahmed (2012) to elaborate institutional life, we investigate the effects of the widening participation policy. Ahmed (2012)…

Do Accountability Policy Sanctions Influence Teacher Motivation? Lessons from Chicago's Low-Performing Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finnigan, Kara S.; Gross, Betheny

2007-01-01

The federal No Child Left Behind Act and previous performance-based accountability policies are based on a theoretical assumption that sanctions will motivate school staff to perform at higher levels and focus attention on student outcomes. Using data from Chicago, this article draws on expectancy and incentive theories to examine whether…

Additive Relations Word Problems in the South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Standard at Foundation Phase

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Nicky

2016-01-01

Drawing on a literature review of classifications developed by each of Riley, Verschaffel and Carpenter and their respective research groups, a refined typology of additive relations word problems is proposed and then used as analytical tool to classify the additive relations word problems in South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Standard…

Class Size Reduction: Lessons Learned from Experience. Policy Brief No. Twenty-Three.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McRobbie, Joan; Finn, Jeremy D.; Harman, Patrick

New federal proposals have fueled national interest in class-size reduction (CSR). However, CSR raises numerous concerns, some of which are addressed in this policy brief. The text draws on the experiences of states and districts that have implemented CSR. The brief addresses the following 15 concerns: Do small classes in and of themselves affect…

Children's Friendships in Diverse Primary Schools: Teachers and the Processes of Policy Enactment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vincent, Carol; Neal, Sarah; Iqbal, Humera

2016-01-01

Drawing on data from a project exploring children's and adults' friendships across social class and ethnic difference, this paper focuses on the enactment of national and institutional policy around children's friendships as realized in three primary schools in diverse urban areas in London. Through a focus on the way in which social and emotional…

Health technology adoption and the politics of governance in the UK.

PubMed

Milewa, Timothy

2006-12-01

The manner in which clinical and cost-effectiveness data are used to inform decisions about the funding and availability of drugs, therapies and medical devices is inherently politicised within collectively financed systems of health care. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) was established by the British government in 1999 to reach evidence-based decisions on whether selected health technologies should be made available by the National Health Service in England and Wales. But NICE is also required to involve a broad range of interested parties in the decision-making process, provide detailed rationales for its rulings and defend appeals from aggrieved parties. Debates about the emergence of "deliberative" forms of policy governance--based upon participation by a broad range of stakeholders rather than reliance on scientific, bureaucratic or political expertise alone--are thus particularly apposite. This article draws on a study of decision-making within NICE by focusing upon the tenor and orientation of deliberation about the adoption of health technologies. Does such deliberation take place upon a level playing field for different interests? Or do implicit parameters and understandings in the deliberative process tend to privilege some interests by structuring debate and attendant outcomes? Findings suggest that deliberative assumptions and parameters pertaining to fluid and contestable ideas of transparent reasoning and domain competence both reflect and shape relationships of influence and marginality among participants. Broader analytical implications centre on a distinction between "deliberative democracy" and "democratic deliberation". The extent to which this distinction is acknowledged and addressed in policy and practise will have marked implications for the substantive nature of attempts to broaden involvement in decision-making within public sector bodies such as NICE.

Narrative literature review: Health, activity and participation issues for women following traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

O'Reilly, Kate; Wilson, Nathan; Peters, Kath

2017-06-06

This narrative review will draw attention to the current limitations within the literature related to women following traumatic brain injury in order to stimulate discussion and inform future directions for research. There is a wide-ranging body of research about traumatic brain injury with the higher incidence of brain injury among males reflected in this body of work. As a result, the specific gendered issues facing women with traumatic brain injury are not as well understood. A search of electronic databases was conducted using the terms "traumatic brain injury", "brain injury", "women", "participation", "concussion" and "outcomes". The 36 papers revealed the following five themes (1) Relationships and life satisfaction; (2) Perception of self and body image; (3) Meaningful occupation; (4) Sexuality and sexual health; and (5) Physical function. Without research, which focuses specifically on the experience of women and girls with traumatic brain injury there is a risk that clinical care, policy development and advocacy services will not effectively accommodate them. Implications for rehabilitation Exploring the gendered issues women may experience following traumatic brain injury will enhance clinicians understanding of the unique challenges they face. Such information has the potential to guide future directions for research, policy, and practice. Screening women for hormonal imbalances such as hypopituitarism following traumatic brain injury is recommended as this may assist clinicians in addressing the far reaching implications in regard to disability, quality of life and mood. The growing literature regarding the cumulative effect of repeat concussions following domestic violence and women's increased risk of sport-related concussion may assist clinicians in advocating for appropriate rehabilitation and community support services.

Emotional climate of a pre-service science teacher education class in Bhutan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rinchen, Sonam; Ritchie, Stephen M.; Bellocchi, Alberto

2016-09-01

This study explored pre-service secondary science teachers' perceptions of classroom emotional climate in the context of the Bhutanese macro-social policy of Gross National Happiness. Drawing upon sociological perspectives of human emotions and using Interaction Ritual Theory this study investigated how pre-service science teachers may be supported in their professional development. It was a multi-method study involving video and audio recordings of teaching episodes supported by interviews and the researcher's diary. Students also registered their perceptions of the emotional climate of their classroom at 3-minute intervals using audience response technology. In this way, emotional events were identified for video analysis. The findings of this study highlighted that the activities pre-service teachers engaged in matter to them. Positive emotional climate was identified in activities involving students' presentations using video clips and models, coteaching, and interactive whole class discussions. Decreases in emotional climate were identified during formal lectures and when unprepared presenters led presentations. Emotions such as frustration and disappointment characterized classes with negative emotional climate. The enabling conditions to sustain a positive emotional climate are identified. Implications for sustaining macro-social policy about Gross National Happiness are considered in light of the climate that develops in science teacher education classes.

Evaluating waterpoint sustainability and access implications of revenue collection approaches in rural Kenya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, T.; Hope, R.

2017-02-01

Water policies in many sub-Saharan African countries stipulate that rural communities are responsible for self-financing their waterpoint's operation and maintenance. In the absence of policy consensus or evidence on optimal payment models, rural communities adopt a diversity of approaches to revenue collection. This study empirically assesses waterpoint sustainability and access outcomes associated with different revenue collection approaches on the south coast of Kenya. The analysis draws on a unique data set comprising financial records spanning 27 years and 100 communities, operational performance indicators for 200 waterpoints, and water source choices for more than 2000 households. Results suggest communities collecting pay-as-you-fetch fees on a volumetric basis generate higher levels of revenue and experience better operational performance than communities charging flat fees. In both cases, financial flows mirror seasonal rainfall peaks and troughs. These outcomes are tempered by evidence that households are more likely to opt for an unimproved drinking water source when a pay-as-you-fetch system is in place. The findings illuminate a possible tension between financial sustainability and universal access. If the Sustainable Development Goal of "safe water for all" is to become a reality, policymakers and practitioners will need to address this issue and ensure rural water services are both sustainable and inclusive.

Measuring Sexual Orientation: A Review and Critique of U.S. Data Collection Efforts and Implications for Health Policy.

PubMed

Wolff, Margaret; Wells, Brooke; Ventura-DiPersia, Christina; Renson, Audrey; Grov, Christian

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Healthy People 2020 goals sought to improve health outcomes among sexual minorities; HHS acknowledged that a dearth of sexual orientation items in federal and state health surveys obscured a broad understanding of sexual minority-related health disparities. The HHS 2011 data progression plan aimed to advance sexual orientation data collection efforts at the national level. Sexual orientation is a complex, multidimensional construct often composed of sexual identity, sexual attraction, and sexual behavior, thus posing challenges to its quantitative and practical measurement and analysis. In this review, we (a) present existing sexual orientation constructs; (b) evaluate current HHS sexual orientation data collection efforts; (c) review post-2011 data progression plan research on sexual minority health disparities, drawing on HHS survey data; (d) highlight the importance of and (e) identify obstacles to multidimensional sexual orientation measurement and analysis; and (f) discuss methods for multidimensional sexual orientation analysis and propose a matrix for addressing discordance/branchedness within these analyses. Multidimensional sexual orientation data collection and analysis would elucidate sexual minority-related health disparities, guide related health policies, and enhance population-based estimates of sexual minority individuals to steer health care practices.

Class and Health Inequality in Later Life: Patterns, Mechanisms and Implications for Policy

PubMed Central

Nazroo, James

2017-01-01

The growth of the post-retirement population, which has occurred as a result of rapid growth in life expectancy coupled with the ageing of the baby boomer cohort, has led to significant concern. This concern, however, typically neglects the heterogeneity of later life experiences and how these are patterned by inequalities that reflect how process of social stratification continue to operate into later life. This paper draws on a programme of work, based on analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, to empirically examine questions of inequality in later life. It begins by illustrating the patterning of health inequality. It then investigates the importance of later life contexts and events in shaping inequality through and after the retirement process. In doing so it examines the extent to which later life continues to reflect stable social structures that shape inequalities and, consequently, health and wellbeing in later life. The paper then illustrates how the effects of socioeconomic position on health in later life can be theorised as a product of class processes, borrowing in part from Bourdieu. Other dimensions of inequality, such as gender, ethnicity, area and sexuality, are not discussed here. The paper concludes with a discussion of the need for a close focus on inequalities in later life in research, policy and practice. PMID:29292775

Processing gender: lived experiences of reproducing and transforming gender norms over the life course of young people in Northern Uganda.

PubMed

Lundgren, Rebecka; Burgess, Sarah; Chantelois, Heather; Oregede, Susan; Kerner, Brad; Kågesten, Anna E

2018-06-08

The years between 10-19 represent a critical stage of human development during which boys and girls learn and embody socially constructed gender norms, with long-term implications for their sexual and reproductive health. This ethnographic cohort study sought to understand how gendered norms and practices develop during the transition from child to young adult in post-conflict northern Uganda. A total of 60 girls and boys aged 10-19 were selected using purposive sampling for in-depth interviews over a three-year period; 47 individuals completed all four interviews. Drawing on feminist theory and an ecological perspective, findings were used to create a conceptual framework displaying the experiences of young people navigating patriarchal and alternative norms, emphasising their lived processes of performing and negotiating norms within six key domains (work, puberty, family planning, intimate partner relations, child discipline and alcohol). The framework identifies: (1) personal factors (knowledge, agency and aspirations); (2) social factors (socialisation processes, capital, costs and consequences); and (3) structural factors (health/educational systems, religious institutions, government policies) which may encourage young people towards one norm or another as they age. These findings can inform policies and programmes to transform gender norms and promote equitable, healthy relationships.

Sustainability Assessment of Future Scenarios: Methodology and Application to Mountain Areas of Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheate, William R.; Partidário, Maria Rosário Do; Byron, Helen; Bina, Olivia; Dagg, Suzan

2008-02-01

BioScene (scenarios for reconciling biodiversity conservation with declining agriculture use in mountain areas in Europe) was a three-year project (2002 2005) funded by the European Union’s Fifth Framework Programme, and aimed to investigate the implications of agricultural restructuring and decline for biodiversity conservation in the mountain areas of Europe. The research took a case study approach to the analysis of the biodiversity processes and outcomes of different scenarios of agri-environmental change in six countries (France, Greece, Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) covering the major biogeographical regions of Europe. The project was coordinated by Imperial College London, and each study area had a multidisciplinary team including ecologists and social and economic experts, which sought a comprehensive understanding of the drivers for change and their implications for sustainability. A key component was the sustainability assessment (SA) of the alternative scenarios. This article discusses the development and application of the SA methodology developed for BioScene. While the methodology was objectives-led, it was also strongly grounded in baseline ecological and socio-economic data. This article also describes the engagement of stakeholder panels in each study area and the use of causal chain analysis for understanding the likely implications for land use and biodiversity of strategic drivers of change under alternative scenarios for agriculture and rural policy and for biodiversity management. Finally, this article draws conclusions for the application of SA more widely, its use with scenarios, and the benefits of stakeholder engagement in the SA process.

Rejecting, revitalizing, and reclaiming: First Nations work to set the direction of research and policy development.

PubMed

Ten Fingers, Keely

2005-01-01

The history and legacy of Western, colonial research methodologies and policy frameworks continue to create and maintain dichotomies of superior/inferior, and valued/not valued between Western and First Nations cultures, peoples and knowledge. This article was written to awaken discussion on how First Nations are working to shape the direction of research and policy development. It draws upon the author's personal observations and experiences of Western and Indigenous frameworks. The author also draws upon the growing body of work on this issue presented by indigenous researchers and scholars. The Health Information Research Committee of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs rejects colonial research frameworks and promotes and supports culturally-respectful research. The Dakota in Manitoba are identifying our own Quality of Life indicators and developing policies based on our own cultural values. The Mohawk of Akwesasne have developed research ethics and protocols based on their cultural principles of skennen (peace), kariwiio (good word), and kasastensera (strength). First Nations people in Canada and the world are increasingly rejecting Western, colonial frameworks of research and policy development. Instead, we are reclaiming our right to be who we are, and we are revitalizing our cultures through promotion and utilization of indigenous research methodologies and development of culturally-rooted policy. Though the response of researchers and policy-makers is not yet known, these developments will continue into the future due to the commitment and work of First Nations people.

Shaping the Health Policy Agenda: The Case of Safe Motherhood Policy in Vietnam

PubMed Central

Ha, Bui Thi Thu; Mirzoev, Tolib; Mukhopadhyay, Maitrayee

2015-01-01

Background: Maternal health remains a central policy concern in Vietnam. With a commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 target of maternal mortality rate (MMR) of 70/100 000 by 2015, the Ministry of Health (MoH) issued the National Plan for Safe Motherhood (NPSM) 2003-2010. In 2008, reproductive health, including safe motherhood (SM) became a national health target program with annual government funding. Methods: A case study of how SM emerged as a political priority in Vietnam over the period 2001-2008, drawing on Kingdon’s theory of agenda-setting was conducted. A mixed method was adopted for this study of the NPSM. Results: Three related streams contributed to SM priority in Vietnam: (1) the problem of high MMR was officially recognized from high-quality research, (2) the strong roles of policy champion from MoH in advocating for the needs to reducing MMR as well as support from government and donors, and (3) the national and international events, providing favorable context for this issue to emerge on policy agenda. Conclusion: This paper draws on the theory of agenda-setting to analyze the Vietnam experience and to develop guidance for SM a political priority in other high maternal mortality communities. PMID:26673334

Place-Related Identities through Texts: From Interdisciplinary Theory to Research Agenda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charlton, Emma; Wyse, Dominic; Hodges, Gabrielle Cliff; Nikolajeva, Maria; Pointon, Pam; Taylor, Liz

2011-01-01

The implications of the transdisciplinary spatial turn are attracting growing interest in a broad range of areas related to education. This paper draws on a methodology for interdisciplinary thinking in order to articulate a new theoretical configuration of place-related identity, and its implications for a research agenda. The new configuration…

Legislating the Normative Environment: Nonprofit Governance, Sarbanes-Oxley and UPMIFA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarvis, William F.

2015-01-01

A phenomenon with far-reaching effects on nonprofit investment management and governance has become a little-noticed yet powerful force in boardrooms over the past decade. Despite its wide-ranging implications, this development has largely gone undocumented. This paper seeks to draw attention to this change and its implications, and to trace a…

Secondary Preservice Teachers Remember Their Favorite Writing Experience: Insights and Implications for Content Area Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daisey, Peggy L.

2010-01-01

(Purpose) The purpose of this study was to describe secondary preservice teachers' (N = 113) past favorite writing experiences and its implications for including writing in their future instruction. (Methodology) Data was collected through a survey and drawings. (Results) Preservice teachers' written answers were helpful to inform specifically…

Discourse Features of Written Mexican Spanish: Current Research in Contrastive Rhetoric and Its Implications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montano-Harmon, Maria Rosario

1991-01-01

Analyzes discourse features of compositions written in Spanish by secondary school students in Mexico, draws comparisons with those written in English by Anglo-American students in the United States, and discusses the implications of the results for teaching and evaluating composition skills in Spanish language programs. (29 references) (GLR)

Shifting the Focus: Children's Image-Making Practices and Their Implications for Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lomax, Helen Jayne

2012-01-01

This paper provides analytic focus on the productive and editorial contexts of children and young people's image-making, making visible its implications for the analysis of photographs. Drawing on participatory research in which children and young people worked alongside researchers to create a visual narrative of their lived experiences of…

Spirituality and Loss: Approaches for Counseling Grieving Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muselman, Dannette M.; Wiggins, Marsha I.

2012-01-01

The death of a loved one has serious implications for adolescent growth and development. The authors review relevant research on the grief process and spirituality in adolescence, and they give a rationale for integrating spirituality into adolescent grief work. By way of a case illustration, they draw implications for counselors' use of…

Emotion in Organizational Learning-Implications for HRD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turnbull, Sharon

2004-01-01

In this article I draw attention to the under-researched domain of emotion in the study of organizational learning and its implications for HRD. The paper identifies four aspects of organization learning in which an emotional dimension is evident. These are: Emotion as a learned response, Emotion as codified meaning, Emotion as affective component…

The family drawings of at-risk children: concurrent relations with contact with incarcerated parents, caregiver behavior, and stress.

PubMed

Dallaire, Danielle H; Ciccone, Anne; Wilson, Laura C

2012-01-01

The current study examined children's attachment representations as assessed with their family drawings in relation to contact with an incarcerated or estranged parent, caregiver behavior, and family stress in a high-risk sample of children (N = 44, M (age) = 8.14), 55% of whom had incarcerated parents. Greater phone, mail, and physical contact with an incarcerated parent was associated with more role reversal in children's family drawings. Additional results show that child-reports of more hostile caregiver behavior were associated with greater overall insecurity in their family drawings; child and caregiver reports of stress were associated with increased global pathology and bizarreness/dissociation in children's family drawings. Given the lack of research on concurrent familial-based correlates of ratings made of children's family drawings, these results provide additional insights into children's representations of attachment relationships in early middle childhood. Further, the results regarding contact with incarcerated parents have implications for researchers and clinicians working with families impacted by parental incarceration.

Continuity and change in human resources policies for health: lessons from Brazil

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background This paper reports on progress in implementing human resources for health (HRH) policies in Brazil, in the context of the implementation and expansion of the Unified Health System (Sistema Unico de Saúde - SUS). The three main objectives were: i) to reconstruct the chronology of long term HRH change in Brazil, and to identify and discuss the precursors, drivers, and enablers for these changes over a long time period; (ii) to examine how change was achieved by describing facilitators and constraints, and how policies were adapted to deal with the latter; and (iii) to report on the current situation and draw policy implications. Methods A mixed methods approach was used. A literature review was conducted using pre-defined keywords; and stakeholders were contacted and asked to provide relevant information, data and policy reports. Results There are two key features of HRH change which are related to the implementation of SUS which merit attention: the achievement of staffing growth, and the improvement in HRH policy making and management. Staff growth rates across the period have been high enough to exceed population growth rates. As a consequence, the ratio of staff to population has improved. In 1990 the physician ratio per 1000 inhabitants was 1.12. In 2007, it was 1.74. Another critical factor in achieving staffing growth has been HRH policy making capacity and influence within the political establishment. Conclusions Policies have had to adapt to changing circumstances, whilst focusing on sequential improvements aimed at achieving long term goals. The end objectives, of improving care and access to care, have been kept in view. No one Ministry could secure all the resources and impetus for change that has been required, hence the need for inter-ministry, inter-governmental and inter-agency collaboration, and the development of alliances of shared interest. Across the period of thirty years or more, not all initiatives have been equally successful, but a momentum has been maintained. There was no single long term plan or strategy, but in Brazil this has enabled the progress to be adapted and re-oriented as the broader context changed over the years. PMID:21729318

A survey of UK fertility clinics' approach to surrogacy arrangements.

PubMed

Norton, Wendy; Crawshaw, Marilyn; Hudson, Nicky; Culley, Lorraine; Law, Caroline

2015-09-01

This paper draws on the findings of the first survey of surrogacy arrangements in Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) licensed fertility clinics since 1998. Given the complex social, ethical and legal issues involved, surrogacy continues to raise debate worldwide and fuel calls for increased domestic provision in developed countries. However, little is known about how recent changes have affected HFEA licensed clinics. A 24-item online survey was undertaken between August and October 2013, designed to improve understanding of recent trends and current practices associated with UK-based surrogacy, and consider the implications for future policy and practice in UK and cross-border surrogacy arrangements. The response rate was 51.4%, comprising 54 clinics. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and open-ended qualitative responses analysed for extending understanding. Of the participating clinics, 42.6% offered surrogacy (mostly gestational surrogacy). Heterosexual couples using gestational surrogacy were the largest group currently using services followed by male same-sex couples. Most clinics reported having encountered problems with surrogacy treatments, suggesting barriers still exist to expanding the UK provision of surrogacy arrangements. It is important that professionals are well informed about the legal implications of surrogacy and that clinics have consistent and appropriate operational protocols for surrogacy arrangements. Copyright © 2015 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analyzing Tibetan Monastics Conception of Universe Through Their Drawings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sonam, Tenzin; Chris Impey

2016-06-01

Every culture and tradition has their own representation of the universe that continues to evolve through new technologies and discoveries, and as a result of cultural exchange. With the recent introduction of Western science into the Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in India, this study explores the monastics’ conception of the universe prior to their formal instruction in science. Their drawings were analyzed using Tversky’s three criteria for drawing analysis namely—segmentation, order, and hierarchical structure of knowledge. Among the sixty Buddhist monastics included in this study, we find that most of them draw a geocentric model of the universe with the Solar System as the dominant physical system, reflecting little influence of modern astronomical knowledge. A few monastics draw the traditional Buddhist model of the world. The implications of the monastics' representation of the universe for their assimilation of modern science is discussed.

Shaping Policy Change in Population Health: Policy Entrepreneurs, Ideas, and Institutions

PubMed Central

Béland, Daniel; Katapally, Tarun R.

2018-01-01

Political realities and institutional structures are often ignored when gathering evidence to influence population health policies. If these policies are to be successful, social science literature on policy change should be integrated into the population health approach. In this contribution, drawing on the work of John W. Kingdon and related scholarship, we set out to examine how key components of the policy change literature could contribute towards the effective development of population health policies. Shaping policy change would require a realignment of the existing school of thought, where the contribution of population health seems to end at knowledge translation. Through our critical analysis of selected literature, we extend recommendations to advance a burgeoning discussion in adopting new approaches to successfully implement evidence-informed population health policies. PMID:29764101

Work-based learning in health care environments.

PubMed

Spouse, J

2001-03-01

In reviewing contemporary literature and theories about work-based learning, this paper explores recent trends promoting life-long learning. In the process the paper reviews and discusses some implications of implementing recent policies and fostering le arning in health care practice settings. Recent Government policies designed to provide quality health care services and to improve staffing levels in the nursing workforce, have emphasized the importance of life-long learning whilst learning-on-the-job and the need to recognize and credit experiential learning. Such calls include negotiation of personal development plans tailored to individual educational need and context-sensitive learning activities. To be implemented effectively, this policy cann ot be seen as a cheap option but requires considerable financial resourcing for preparation of staff and the conduct of such activities. Successful work-based learning requires investment in staff at all levels as well as changes to staffing structures in organizations and trusts; changes designed to free people up to work and learn collaboratively. Creating an organizational environment where learning is prized depends upon a climate of trust; a climate where investigation and speculation are fostered and where time is protected for engaging in discussions about practice. Such a change may be radical for many health care organizations and may require a review of current policies and practices ensuring that they include education at all levels. The nature of such education also requires reconceptualizing. In the past, learning in practice settings was seen as formal lecturing or demonstration, and relied upon behaviourist principles of learning. Contemporary thinking suggests effective learning in work-settings is multi-faceted and draws on previously acquired formal knowledge, contextualizes it and moulds it according to situations at hand. Thinking about work-based learning in this way raises questions about how such learning can be supported and facilitated.

The post-2015 development agenda for diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa: challenges and future directions

PubMed Central

Renzaho, Andre M. N.

2015-01-01

Background Diabetes is one of the non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which is rising significantly across sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries and posing a threat to the social, economic, and cultural fabric of the SSA population. The inclusion of NCDs into the post-2015 development agenda along with the global monitoring framework provides an opportunity to monitor progress of development programmes in developing countries. This paper examines challenges associated with dealing with diabetes within the development agenda in SSA and explores some policy options. Design This conceptual review draws from a range of works published in Medline and the grey literature to advance the understanding of the post-2015 development agenda and how it relates to NCDs. The paper begins with the burden of diabetes in sub-Sahara Africa and then moves on to examine challenges associated with diabetes prevention, treatment, and management in Africa. It finishes by exploring policy implications. Results With regards to development programmes on NCDs in the SSA sub-continent, several challenges exist: 1) poor documentation of risk factors, 2) demographic transitions (rapid urbanisation and ageing), 3) the complementary role of traditional healers, 4) tuberculosis and the treatment of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome as risk factors for diabetes, 5) diabetes in complex emergencies, 6) diabetes as an international development priority and not a policy agenda for many SSA countries, and 7) poorly regulated food and beverage industry. Conclusion For the post-2015 development agenda for NCDs to have an impact, sufficient investments will be needed to address legislative, technical, human, and fiscal resource constraints through advocacy, accountability, political leadership, and effective public–private partnership. Striking the right balance between competing demands and priorities, policies, and implementation strategies hold the key to an effective response to diabetes in SSA countries. PMID:25994288

The post-2015 development agenda for diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa: challenges and future directions.

PubMed

Renzaho, Andre M N

2015-01-01

Diabetes is one of the non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which is rising significantly across sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries and posing a threat to the social, economic, and cultural fabric of the SSA population. The inclusion of NCDs into the post-2015 development agenda along with the global monitoring framework provides an opportunity to monitor progress of development programmes in developing countries. This paper examines challenges associated with dealing with diabetes within the development agenda in SSA and explores some policy options. This conceptual review draws from a range of works published in Medline and the grey literature to advance the understanding of the post-2015 development agenda and how it relates to NCDs. The paper begins with the burden of diabetes in sub-Sahara Africa and then moves on to examine challenges associated with diabetes prevention, treatment, and management in Africa. It finishes by exploring policy implications. With regards to development programmes on NCDs in the SSA sub-continent, several challenges exist: 1) poor documentation of risk factors, 2) demographic transitions (rapid urbanisation and ageing), 3) the complementary role of traditional healers, 4) tuberculosis and the treatment of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome as risk factors for diabetes, 5) diabetes in complex emergencies, 6) diabetes as an international development priority and not a policy agenda for many SSA countries, and 7) poorly regulated food and beverage industry. For the post-2015 development agenda for NCDs to have an impact, sufficient investments will be needed to address legislative, technical, human, and fiscal resource constraints through advocacy, accountability, political leadership, and effective public-private partnership. Striking the right balance between competing demands and priorities, policies, and implementation strategies hold the key to an effective response to diabetes in SSA countries.

Environmental and economic development consequences of forest and agricultural sector policies in Latin America (a synthesis of case studies of Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Bolivia)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stewart, R.; Gibson, D.

This paper draws heavily on the results of case studies in Bolivia, Costa Rica, and Ecuador to explain how sectoral policies have tilted land use decisions against forestry and in favor of agriculture, and to present estimates of the economic development effects of those decisions. The paper summarizes information on forests and forest industries of the three countries, and it describes the framework within which policies are designed. It presents the effects of sectoral policies on land use and forest management, and then quantifies and discusses economic costs of relevant sectoral policies. Conclusions and recommendations for policy reform are offered.

"We're not short of people telling us what the problems are. We're short of people telling us what to do": An appraisal of public policy and mental health

PubMed Central

Petticrew, Mark; Platt, Stephen; McCollam, Allyson; Wilson, Sarah; Thomas, Sian

2008-01-01

Background There is sustained interest in public health circles in assessing the effects of policies on health and health inequalities. We report on the theory, methods and findings of a project which involved an appraisal of current Scottish policy with respect to its potential impacts on mental health and wellbeing. Methods We developed a method of assessing the degree of alignment between Government policies and the 'evidence base', involving: reviewing theoretical frameworks; analysis of policy documents, and nineteen in-depth interviews with policymakers which explored influences on, and barriers to cross-cutting policymaking and the use of research evidence in decisionmaking. Results Most policy documents did not refer to mental health; however most referred indirectly to the determinants of mental health and well-being. Unsurprisingly research evidence was rarely cited; this was more common in health policy documents. The interviews highlighted the barriers to intersectoral policy making, and pointed to the relative value of qualitative and quantitative research, as well as to the imbalance of evidence between "what is known" and "what is to be done". Conclusion Healthy public policy depends on effective intersectoral working between government departments, along with better use of research evidence to identify policy impacts. This study identified barriers to both these. We also demonstrated an approach to rapidly appraising the mental health effects of mainly non-health sector policies, drawing on theoretical understandings of mental health and its determinants, research evidence and policy documents. In the case of the social determinants of health, we conclude that an evidence-based approach to policymaking and to policy appraisal requires drawing strongly upon existing theoretical frameworks, as well as upon research evidence, but that there are significant practical barriers and disincentives. PMID:18793414

Substitution treatment in the era of "recovery": An analysis of stakeholder roles and policy windows in Britain.

PubMed

Duke, Karen; Herring, Rachel; Thickett, Anthony; Thom, Betsy

2013-08-01

Based on documentary analyses and interviews with twenty key informants in 2012, this paper analyses the shift in British drugs policy towards "recovery" from the perspectives of major stakeholders. The processes involved in reopening the debate surrounding the role of substitution treatment and its re-emergence on to the policy agenda are examined. Drawing on Kingdon's work on agenda-setting, the ways in which methadone maintenance was challenged and defended by key stakeholders in the initial phase of policy development and the negotiation of a "recovery" focus as the organizing concept for British drugs policy are explored. Study limitations are noted.

Blood donation and institutional trust: risk, policy rhetoric, and the men who have sex with men lifetime deferral policy in Canada.

PubMed

Smith, André; Fiddler, Jay; Walby, Kevin; Hier, Sean

2011-11-01

This article examines the process of rebuilding institutional trust in the Canadian blood system in the aftermath of the tainted blood scandal. Our focus is the policy of lifetime deferral from donating blood for men who have sex with men. Drawing on findings from interviews with representatives of Health Canada's Expert Advisory Committee on Blood Regulation, the National Liaison Committee, Canadian Blood Services, and blood consumer groups, we demonstrate how claims making about rights, discrimination, science, and risk contribute to policy continuity. We also examine the link between policy continuity and the management of reputational risk.

Long-term care for older lesbian and bisexual women: an analysis of current research and policy.

PubMed

Grigorovich, Alisa

2013-01-01

The Canadian health care system's delivery and policies are often based on a heterosexual nuclear family model. Long-term care (LTC) policy in particular is built on specific assumptions about women and caregiving. Current health care and LTC policies can thus disadvantage and marginalize women who do not fit such constructions, such as older lesbian and bisexual women. Drawing from literature on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender women's health, aging, and caregiving, this article uses a feminist political economy analysis to demonstrate that a gap exists in current research and policy with respect to the LTC needs of older lesbian and bisexual women.

Education Policy as an Act of White Supremacy: Whiteness, Critical Race Theory and Education Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillborn, David

2005-01-01

The paper presents an empirical analysis of education policy in England that is informed by recent developments in US critical theory. In particular, I draw on 'whiteness studies' and the application of critical race theory (CRT). These perspectives offer a new and radical way of conceptualizing the role of racism in education. Although the US…

School-Based Sex Education Policies and Indicators of Sexual Health among Young People: A Comparison of the Netherlands, France, Australia and the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Heather; Smith, Gary; Kippax, Susan

2005-01-01

This paper investigates the relationship between school-based sex education policies and sexual health-related statistics of young people in four developed countries: the Netherlands, France, Australia, and the United States of America. Drawing upon literature searches in relevant CD-ROM databases, Internet websites, government reports and…

Knowledge, Power, and Social Policy: John M. MacEachran and Alberta's 1928 Sexual Sterilization Act

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Puplampu, Korbla P.

2008-01-01

This article examines how academic knowledge and power have shaped the discourse on human classification and how political authorities use academic knowledge producers to legitimize public policy. Specifically, the article draws on the role of John M. MacEachran, a former academic at the University of Alberta, in the implementation of the Alberta…

The Role of Higher Education Associations in Shaping Policy that Connects Immigration to Educational Opportunity: A Social Capital Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ortega, Noe

2011-01-01

This study utilizes social capital theory to examine the collective agency available to national higher education associations and better understand the power of the collectivity to influence policy. The analysis draws on a specific issue, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, and investigates letters and statements…

Connecting the Private and the Public: Pregnancy, Exclusion, and the Expansion of Schooling in Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Unterhalter, Elaine

2013-01-01

In a number of countries in Africa, young women who become pregnant are excluded from school. This article presents a critique of policy and practice in this area drawing partly on Diana Leonard's scholarship concerning the relational dynamic of gender, generation, social division, and household forms. Much of the policy prescription of large…

Globalisation, the Singapore Developmental State and Education Policy: A Thesis Revisited

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gopinathan, S.

2007-01-01

In this article I revisit and extend arguments made in 1996 and 1997 about the relationship between globalisation, the state and education policy. I was particularly concerned then to see how a small but strong state, Singapore, was responding in the education arena to globalisation. I also wished to draw attention to the literature on the high…

Decentralisation and the Construction of Inclusion Education Policy in South Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sayed, Yusuf; Soudien, Crain

2005-01-01

This paper critically reviews the ways in which the policy of education decentralisation in post-apartheid South Africa results in both forms of inclusion and new forms of exclusion. Drawing on a two-year research project carried out in three provinces in South Africa, it shows how in the governance of schools, new forms of exclusion are being…

More of the Same? New Labour, the Coalition and Education: Markets, Localism and Social Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Avis, James

2011-01-01

This paper seeks to draw out the continuities and ruptures in current English education policy. In particular it considers the relationship between Coalition policy rhetoric and that of the Labour Party. Although the paper is concerned with the British and more specifically English context, it examines a range of questions that move beyond that…

Participation as Governmentality? The Effect of Disciplinary Technologies at the Interface of Service Users and Providers, Families and the State

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKay, Jane; Garratt, Dean

2013-01-01

This paper examines the concept of participation in relation to a range of recently imposed social and education policies. Drawing on recent empirical research, we explore how disciplinary technologies, including government policy, operate at the interface of service users and providers, and examine the interactional aspects of participation where…

Reflecting upon Researchers' and Policy-Makers' Tensions in the Collaborative Inquiry Process: "What Do Different Commonplaces Contribute to Curriculum Deliberation?"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Yuen Sze Michelle; Atencio, Matthew

2017-01-01

This collaborative inquiry, as part of action research, is framed within the unique context of two researchers working closely alongside two policy-makers (research collaborators) to explore how teachers could enter more profoundly into a curriculum discourse. Drawing from Reid's concept of curriculum deliberation as located within institutional…

How Instructional Coaches Support Data-Driven Decision Making: Policy Implementation and Effects in Florida Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marsh, Julie A.; McCombs, Jennifer Sloan; Martorell, Francisco

2010-01-01

This article examines the convergence of two popular school improvement policies: instructional coaching and data-driven decision making (DDDM). Drawing on a mixed methods study of a statewide reading coach program in Florida middle schools, the article examines how coaches support DDDM and how this support relates to student and teacher outcomes.…

The Views of Nigerian Teachers in Public and Private Primary Schools on the Teaching of Early Literacy in English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okebukola, Foluso

2012-01-01

Drawing on the bilingual policies and biliteracy programmes of African nations, this paper discusses the context of literacy education in Nigeria and examines Nigerian early literacy teachers' attitudes to teaching literacy and literacy teaching practices as informed by the National Policy on Education, Primary English Language Curriculum and the…

Conceptions and Expectations of Research Collaboration in the European Social Sciences: Research Policies, Institutional Contexts and the Autonomy of the Scientific Field

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lebeau, Yann; Papatsiba, Vassiliki

2016-01-01

This paper investigates the interactions between policy drivers and academic practice in international research collaboration. It draws on the case of the Open Research Area (ORA), a funding scheme in the social sciences across four national research agencies, seeking to boost collaboration by supporting "integrated" projects. The paper…

The Feminisation of Migration and the Migrants VET Policy Neglects: The Case of Skilled Women Secondary Migrants in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webb, Sue

2015-01-01

There is increasingly scholarship on gender and migration, yet the international migration of highly skilled women is still somewhat under-researched. This article focuses on this neglected area in the context of Australia's discretionary inward migration policies to solve skills shortages. The article draws on empirical research using a…

Modeling energy/economy interactions for conservation and renewable energy-policy analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groncki, P. J.

Energy policy and the implications for policy analysis and the methodological tools are discussed. The evolution of one methodological approach and the combined modeling system of the component models, their evolution in response to changing analytic needs, and the development of the integrated framework are reported. The analyses performed over the past several years are summarized. The current philosophy behind energy policy is discussed and compared to recent history. Implications for current policy analysis and methodological approaches are drawn.

Creating and Disseminating Knowledge for Educational Reform: Policy Management of the National Institute of Education's Regional Educational Laboratories and National Research and Development Centers. A Report to the National Council on Educational Research. [Executive Summary and Final Report].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center for Leadership Development, Los Angeles, CA.

Drawing on interviews, documents, and eight studies, this policy research study offers information and recommendations in order to fulfill the responsibility of the National Council on Educational Research to establish general policies for, and review the conduct of, the National Institute of Education (NIE). Questions guiding this study are: the…

Child contact centers and domestic abuse: victim safety and the challenge to neutrality.

PubMed

Morrison, Fiona; Wasoff, Fran

2012-06-01

Child contact with a nonresident father who has perpetrated domestic abuse has gained policy and research attention. Both feminist social policy and family law research identify the role child contact centers can play in facilitating contact in these circumstances. Drawing from a literature review carried out by the authors, this article examines the priorities that underpin feminist social policy and family law disciplines and how these manifest in research on contact centers and domestic abuse.

The President's 1978 National Urban Policy Report; A Biennial Report to the Congress Submitted Pursuant to Sections 702 and 703(a), National Urban Policy and New Communities Development Act, as Amended in 1977.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, DC.

This report describes the process of drawing up a national urban policy, summarizes the views presented at various forums, and sketches much of the data and analyses relied upon by urban policymakers. Part I summarizes the process of American urbanization leading to the emergence of a new stage in urban development. Part II describes changing…

View from the East: Arab Perceptions of United States Presence and Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-02-01

View from the East: Arab Perceptions of United States Presence and Policy Brent J . Talbot and Michael B. Meyer INSS...IMPLICATIONS FOR US POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST, Brent J . Talbot Introduction 1 The Perception Problem 3 The Consensus Issue 11...THE ARAB PERCEPTION AND CONSENSUS PROBLEMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR US POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST, Brent J . Talbot EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This paper is a

Trafficking and Immigration Policy: Intersections, Inconsistencies, and Implications for Public Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lemke, Melinda

2017-01-01

A growing body of interdisciplinary research examines the dynamics of, policies concerning, and implications of large-scale contemporary displacement in the United States. Yet less of this research explores the intersections of policies concerned with and normative understandings of displacement as both relate to U.S. schooling. This article…

Citizen science or scientific citizenship? Disentangling the uses of public engagement rhetoric in national research initiatives.

PubMed

Woolley, J Patrick; McGowan, Michelle L; Teare, Harriet J A; Coathup, Victoria; Fishman, Jennifer R; Settersten, Richard A; Sterckx, Sigrid; Kaye, Jane; Juengst, Eric T

2016-06-04

The language of "participant-driven research," "crowdsourcing" and "citizen science" is increasingly being used to encourage the public to become involved in research ventures as both subjects and scientists. Originally, these labels were invoked by volunteer research efforts propelled by amateurs outside of traditional research institutions and aimed at appealing to those looking for more "democratic," "patient-centric," or "lay" alternatives to the professional science establishment. As mainstream translational biomedical research requires increasingly larger participant pools, however, corporate, academic and governmental research programs are embracing this populist rhetoric to encourage wider public participation. We examine the ethical and social implications of this recruitment strategy. We begin by surveying examples of "citizen science" outside of biomedicine, as paradigmatic of the aspirations this democratizing rhetoric was originally meant to embody. Next, we discuss the ways these aspirations become articulated in the biomedical context, with a view to drawing out the multiple and potentially conflicting meanings of "public engagement" when citizens are also the subjects of the science. We then illustrate two uses of public engagement rhetoric to gain public support for national biomedical research efforts: its post-hoc use in the "care.data" project of the National Health Service in England, and its proactive uses in the "Precision Medicine Initiative" of the United States White House. These examples will serve as the basis for a normative analysis, discussing the potential ethical and social ramifications of this rhetoric. We pay particular attention to the implications of government strategies that cultivate the idea that members of the public have a civic duty to participate in government-sponsored research initiatives. We argue that such initiatives should draw from policy frameworks that support normative analysis of the role of citizenry. And, we conclude it is imperative to make visible and clear the full spectrum of meanings of "citizen science," the contexts in which it is used, and its demands with respect to participation, engagement, and governance.

Teacher Strategies for Effective Intervention with Students Presenting Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties: Implications for Policy and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Paul

2011-01-01

In this paper some key practice and policy implications emerging from a review of literature on effective teacher strategies for social, emotional and behavioural difficulties are set out. Particular attention is given to implications in relation to the development of teachers' skills.

The Proposed U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA): Provisions and Implications

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-10-17

as on U.S. trade policy and Asia policy. Differences between the White House and the Democratic leadership in the Congress over the implications of...commitment. However, differences over the implications of the KORUS FTA between the White House and the Democratic leadership in the Congress have made the

NAAMES Photo Essay

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Sunrise in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, presents an idyllic setting for a world class science expedition to begin. --- The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) is a five year investigation to resolve key processes controlling ocean system function, their influences on atmospheric aerosols and clouds and their implications for climate. Michael Starobin joined the NAAMES field campaign on behalf of Earth Expeditions and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Office of Communications. He presented stories about the important, multi-disciplinary research being conducted by the NAAMES team, with an eye towards future missions on the NASA drawing board. This is a NAAMES photo essay put together by Starobin, a collection of 49 photographs and captions. Photo and Caption Credit: Michael Starobin NASA image use policy NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Environmental Risk Factors influencing Bicycle Theft: A Spatial Analysis in London, UK

PubMed Central

Helbich, Marco

2016-01-01

Urban authorities are continuously drawing up policies to promote cycling among commuters. However, these initiatives are counterproductive for the targeted objectives because they increase opportunities for bicycle theft. This paper explores Inner London as a case study to address place-specific risk factors for bicycle theft at the street-segment level while controlling for seasonal variation. The presence of certain public amenities (e.g., bicycle stands, railway stations, pawnshops) was evaluated against locations of bicycle theft between 2013 and 2016 and risk effects were estimated using negative binomial regression models. Results showed that a greater level of risk stemmed from land-use facilities than from area-based socioeconomic status. The presence of facilities such as train stations, vacant houses, pawnbrokers and payday lenders increased bicycle theft, but no evidence was found that linked police stations with crime levels. The findings have significant implications for urban crime prevention with respect to non-residential land use. PMID:27643788

Social impact of the 2004 Manawatu floods and the 'hollowing out' of rural New Zealand.

PubMed

Smith, Willie; Davies-Colley, Christian; Mackay, Alec; Bankoff, Greg

2011-07-01

The Manawatu floods of 2004 have had significant, long-lasting social consequences. This paper draws on findings from a series of detailed surveys of 39 farm households directly affected by the floods and 17 individuals directly involved in managing the flood recovery programme. The nature of the impact on rural families highlights how the 'hollowing out' of rural New Zealand has changed the capacity of rural communities to respond to natural hazards and increased their sense of isolation. In addition, the floods exposed the vulnerability of rural communities. This is shown to have implications for policies designed to build resilience and improve responses to adverse events, including the need to support local, community initiatives on self-reliance and mutual support. Approaches to manage better long-term flood risks should be designed within a context of ongoing rural decline that has compromised the health of both individuals and communities. © 2011 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2011.

NAAMES Photo Essay

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

A researcher prepares lab facilities onboard the R/V Atlantis. --- The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) is a five year investigation to resolve key processes controlling ocean system function, their influences on atmospheric aerosols and clouds and their implications for climate. Michael Starobin joined the NAAMES field campaign on behalf of Earth Expeditions and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Office of Communications. He presented stories about the important, multi-disciplinary research being conducted by the NAAMES team, with an eye towards future missions on the NASA drawing board. This is a NAAMES photo essay put together by Starobin, a collection of 49 photographs and captions. Photo and Caption Credit: Michael Starobin NASA image use policy NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

NAAMES Photo Essay

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Deputy Project Scientist Rich Moore considers weather and technical details for the next day’s flight. --- The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) is a five year investigation to resolve key processes controlling ocean system function, their influences on atmospheric aerosols and clouds and their implications for climate. Michael Starobin joined the NAAMES field campaign on behalf of Earth Expeditions and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Office of Communications. He presented stories about the important, multi-disciplinary research being conducted by the NAAMES team, with an eye towards future missions on the NASA drawing board. This is a NAAMES photo essay put together by Starobin, a collection of 49 photographs and captions. Photo and Caption Credit: Michael Starobin NASA image use policy NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

NAAMES Photo Essay

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

A NAAMES researcher evaluates data coming in somewhere above the North Atlantic. --- The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) is a five year investigation to resolve key processes controlling ocean system function, their influences on atmospheric aerosols and clouds and their implications for climate. Michael Starobin joined the NAAMES field campaign on behalf of Earth Expeditions and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Office of Communications. He presented stories about the important, multi-disciplinary research being conducted by the NAAMES team, with an eye towards future missions on the NASA drawing board. This is a NAAMES photo essay put together by Starobin, a collection of 49 photographs and captions. Photo and Caption Credit: Michael Starobin NASA image use policy NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

NAAMES Photo Essay

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

The anchor for the R/V Atlantis, retracted for travel. --- The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) is a five year investigation to resolve key processes controlling ocean system function, their influences on atmospheric aerosols and clouds and their implications for climate. Michael Starobin joined the NAAMES field campaign on behalf of Earth Expeditions and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Office of Communications. He presented stories about the important, multi-disciplinary research being conducted by the NAAMES team, with an eye towards future missions on the NASA drawing board. This is a NAAMES photo essay put together by Starobin, a collection of 49 photographs and captions. Photo and Caption Credit: Michael Starobin NASA image use policy NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

NAAMES Photo Essay

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

The C130 makes a low altitude turn over its designated research coordinates in the North Atlantic. --- The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) is a five year investigation to resolve key processes controlling ocean system function, their influences on atmospheric aerosols and clouds and their implications for climate. Michael Starobin joined the NAAMES field campaign on behalf of Earth Expeditions and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Office of Communications. He presented stories about the important, multi-disciplinary research being conducted by the NAAMES team, with an eye towards future missions on the NASA drawing board. This is a NAAMES photo essay put together by Starobin, a collection of 49 photographs and captions. Photo and Caption Credit: Michael Starobin NASA image use policy NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

NAAMES Photo Essay

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Workbenches surround a number of laboratories onboard the Atlantis. --- The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) is a five year investigation to resolve key processes controlling ocean system function, their influences on atmospheric aerosols and clouds and their implications for climate. Michael Starobin joined the NAAMES field campaign on behalf of Earth Expeditions and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Office of Communications. He presented stories about the important, multi-disciplinary research being conducted by the NAAMES team, with an eye towards future missions on the NASA drawing board. This is a NAAMES photo essay put together by Starobin, a collection of 49 photographs and captions. Photo and Caption Credit: Michael Starobin NASA image use policy NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

NAAMES Photo Essay

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Patrick has been a crew member for long durations voyages on the Atlantis for more than ten years. --- The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) is a five year investigation to resolve key processes controlling ocean system function, their influences on atmospheric aerosols and clouds and their implications for climate. Michael Starobin joined the NAAMES field campaign on behalf of Earth Expeditions and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Office of Communications. He presented stories about the important, multi-disciplinary research being conducted by the NAAMES team, with an eye towards future missions on the NASA drawing board. This is a NAAMES photo essay put together by Starobin, a collection of 49 photographs and captions. Photo and Caption Credit: Michael Starobin NASA image use policy NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Measurement equivalence: a glossary for comparative population health research.

PubMed

Morris, Katherine Ann

2018-03-06

Comparative population health studies are becoming more common and are advancing solutions to crucial public health problems, but decades-old measurement equivalence issues remain without a common vocabulary to identify and address the biases that contribute to non-equivalence. This glossary defines sources of measurement non-equivalence. While drawing examples from both within-country and between-country studies, this glossary also defines methods of harmonisation and elucidates the unique opportunities in addition to the unique challenges of particular harmonisation methods. Its primary objective is to enable population health researchers to more clearly articulate their measurement assumptions and the implications of their findings for policy. It is also intended to provide scholars and policymakers across multiple areas of inquiry with tools to evaluate comparative research and thus contribute to urgent debates on how to ameliorate growing health disparities within and between countries. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Cancer Prevention Health Services Research: An Emerging Field

PubMed Central

Zhao, Hui; Tektiridis, Jennifer H.; Zhang, Ning

2013-01-01

In October 2009, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center hosted a symposium, “Future Directions in Cancer Prevention and Control: Workforce Implications for Training, Practice, and Policy.” This article summarizes discussions and an Internet and literature review by the symposium's Health Services Infrastructure Working Group. We agree on the need for the recognition of Cancer Prevention Health Services Research (CP-HSR) as a unified research field. With advances in cancer screening and increased emphasis on preventive services under healthcare reform, there is a growing need for investigators with both cancer prevention and HSR expertise to consider the comparative effectiveness of cancer screening methods, the cost-effectiveness of early detection technologies, and the accessibility of preventive care for individuals at risk of cancer. Defining CP-HSR as a field will provide investigators with credibility and will serve to draw more researchers to the field. Increasing funding to train individuals in CP-HSR will be important to help meet the anticipated demand for investigators with this specialized multidisciplinary expertise. PMID:22311693

Equity in access to health care provision under the medicare security for small scale entrepreneurs in Dar es Salaam.

PubMed

Urassa, J A E

2012-03-01

The main objective of this study was to assess equity in access to health care provision under the Medicare Security for Small Scale Entrepreneurs (SSE). Methodological triangulation was used to an exploratory and randomized cross- sectional study in order to supplement information on the topic under investigation. Questionnaires were administered to 281 respondents and 6 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were held with males and females. Documentary review was also used. For quantitative aspect of the study, significant associations were measured using confidence intervals (95% CI) testing. Qualitative data were analyzed with assistance of Open code software. The results show that inequalities in access to health care services were found in respect to affordability of medical care costs, distance from home to health facilities, availability of drugs as well as medical equipments and supplies. As the result of existing inequalities some of clients were not satisfied with the provided health services. The study concludes by drawing policy and research implications of the findings.

“I Always Kept a Job”: Income Generation, Heroin Use and Economic Uncertainty in 21st Century Detroit

PubMed Central

DRAUS, PAUL J.; RODDY, JULIETTE; GREENWALD, MARK

2015-01-01

This qualitative study, based on a series of 30 in-depth interviews and 109 economic surveys conducted with active heroin users residing in and around Detroit, Michigan, describes reported patterns of heroin use and income generation activities. In spite of lack of access to regular, legal employment, we found that many participants displayed a dedication to regular daily routine and a sense of risk management or control. These findings are discussed relative to past research on heroin addiction as well as recent research on the changing nature of employment. We argue that this sample fits somewhere in between the controlled or working addict, and the “junkie” or “righteous dope fiend” of urban lore. We draw a connection between these stable patterns of addiction and income generation and the demands of informal and insecure labor markets. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for further research, interventions, and public policy. PMID:25983342

Residence-Based Fear of Crime: A Routine Activities Approach.

PubMed

Lai, Yung-Lien; Ren, Ling; Greenleaf, Richard

2017-07-01

Most fear-of-crime research uses resident's neighborhood as a key reference location to measure fear, yet the location effects of one's own dwelling unit on crime-specific fear has not been explicitly studied theoretically in the literature. Drawing upon routine activities theory, this study undertakes an investigation into the levels and determinants of residence-based fear of crime across three racial/ethnic groups-Whites, African Americans, and non-White Hispanics. Data used in the analyses were collected from a random-sample telephone survey of 1,239 respondents in Houston, Texas. The results derived from factor analyses revealed that residents do distinguish between fear in the neighborhood and fear at home. Proximity to motivated offenders measured by perception of crime was found to be the most salient predictor of fear, followed by the measures of target vulnerability and capable guardianship. In addition, residence-based fear varies significantly across racial/ethnic groups. The significance of these findings and the policy implications are highlighted.

Authorship in IPCC AR5 and its implications for content: climate change and Indigenous populations in WGII.

PubMed

Ford, James D; Vanderbilt, Will; Berrang-Ford, Lea

This essay examines the extent to which we can expect Indigenous Knowledge, understanding, and voices on climate change ('Indigenous content') to be captured in WGII of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), based on an analysis of chapter authorship. Reviewing the publishing history of 309 chapter authors (CAs) to WGII, we document 9 (2.9%) to have published on climate change and Indigenous populations and involved as authors in 6/30 chapters. Drawing upon recent scholarship highlighting how authorship affect structure and content of assessment reports, we argue that, unaddressed, this will affect the extent to which Indigenous content is examined and assessed. While it is too late to alter the structure of AR5, there are opportunities to prioritize the recruitment of contributing authors and reviewers with expertise on Indigenous issues, raise awareness among CAs on the characteristics of impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability faced by Indigenous peoples, and highlight how Indigenous perspectives can help broaden our understanding of climate change and policy interventions.

NAAMES Photo Essay

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Atlantis crew load supplies and sundries for the upcoming 2016 NAAMES research cruise. --- The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) is a five year investigation to resolve key processes controlling ocean system function, their influences on atmospheric aerosols and clouds and their implications for climate. Michael Starobin joined the NAAMES field campaign on behalf of Earth Expeditions and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Office of Communications. He presented stories about the important, multi-disciplinary research being conducted by the NAAMES team, with an eye towards future missions on the NASA drawing board. This is a NAAMES photo essay put together by Starobin, a collection of 49 photographs and captions. Photo and Caption Credit: Michael Starobin NASA image use policy NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

NAAMES Photo Essay

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

The C130 Hercules sports an unusually large windshield. The view it affords is typically spectacular. --- The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) is a five year investigation to resolve key processes controlling ocean system function, their influences on atmospheric aerosols and clouds and their implications for climate. Michael Starobin joined the NAAMES field campaign on behalf of Earth Expeditions and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Office of Communications. He presented stories about the important, multi-disciplinary research being conducted by the NAAMES team, with an eye towards future missions on the NASA drawing board. This is a NAAMES photo essay put together by Starobin, a collection of 49 photographs and captions. Photo and Caption Credit: Michael Starobin NASA image use policy NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Economic disadvantage and transitional outcomes: a study of young people from low-income families in Hong Kong

PubMed Central

Ngai, Steven Sek Yum; Cheung, Jacky Chau-Kiu; To, Siu-ming; Luan, Hui; Zhao, Ruiling

2014-01-01

This study draws on data from focus groups involving 50 young people from low-income families in Hong Kong to investigate their school-to-work experiences. In line with the ecological–developmental perspective, our results show that contextual influences, including lower levels of parental involvement and lack of opportunities for further education or skill development, constrain both the formulation and pursuit of educational and career goals. In contrast, service use and supportive interactions with parents and non-family adults were found to help young people find a career direction and foster more adaptive transition. Furthermore, our results indicate a striking difference in intrapersonal agency and coping styles between youths who were attending further education or engaged in jobs with career advancement opportunities and those who were not. We discuss the implications of our findings, both for future research and for policy development to enhance the school-to-work transition of economically disadvantaged young people. PMID:25364087