Expanding the field

In recent years, globalised curriculum discourses have given rise to local curriculum texts that convey and produce particularised imaginings and narratives, as well as hopes for, and expectations of, young children, their childhoods and their futures. In this article, the authors employ concepts from utopian studies and Deleuzeguattarian concepts of assemblage, rhizomes and lines (supple, rigid and lines of flight) to undertake a preliminary and partial rhizomatic mapping of utopian visions of better childhoods and futures evident in the development of the Early Years Learning Framework, Australia's first national curriculum for early childhood settings. Drawing on the perspective of policy makers, News Corporation, the public, politicians, academics and practitioners who shaped the development of the Framework, the authors seek alternatives to the well-rehearsed dichotomies that so often characterise and confine curriculum politics and debates, and ways of exploring spaces between the possible and not (yet) possible.

BackgroundDecisions to scale up population health interventions from small projects to wider state or national implementation is fundamental to maximising population-wide health improvements. The objectives of this study were to examine: i) how decisions to scale up interventions are currently made in practice; ii) the role that evidence plays in informing decisions to scale up interventions; and iii) the role policy makers, practitioners, and researchers play in this process.MethodsInterviews with an expert panel of senior Australian and international public health policy-makers (n = 7), practitioners (n = 7), and researchers (n = 7) were conducted in May 2013 with a participation rate of 84%.ResultsScaling up decisions were generally made through iterative processes and led by policy makers and/or practitioners, but ultimately approved by political leaders and/or senior executives of funding agencies. Research evidence formed a component of the overall set of information used in decision-making, but its contribution was limited by the paucity of relevant intervention effectiveness research, and data on costs and cost effectiveness. Policy makers, practitioners/service managers, and researchers had different, but complementary roles to play in the process of scaling up interventions.ConclusionsThis analysis articulates the processes of how decisions to scale up interventions are made, the roles of evidence, and contribution of different professional groups. More intervention research that includes data on the effectiveness, reach, and costs of operating at scale and key service delivery issues (including acceptability and fit of interventions and delivery models) should be sought as this has the potential to substantially advance the relevance and ultimately usability of research evidence for scaling up population health action.

Post 1997, stock transfer has been pivotal to the housing and regeneration agenda of the New Labour government, both at the UK and devolved level. Although a heavily researched policy area, stock transfer research has tended to focus quite narrowly on the perspectives of policymakers, practitioners or members of the transfer association's governing body. To address this research gap and focus more explicitly on the voices of local residents, this paper draws on the case study of the unique two-stage Glasgow housing stock transfer in order to explore ‘community ownership’ and ‘tenant empowerment’ from the perspective of ‘lay’ tenants. Political ambitions for direct democracy and communitarian endeavour have been central to stock transfer agendas in Scotland, where the policy has developed quite distinctly compared with the rest of the UK. Focus group research with tenants in Glasgow, however, highlights that empowerment was not an important priority for tenants at the point of transfer; that the transfer has delivered mixed outcomes in terms of local tenant control; and on the key issue of support for ‘full’ community ownership tenants were unconvinced, and expressed a need for more information.

Effect of energy from waste technologies on the risk profile of public-private partnership waste treatment projects of India

This research seeks to put forward a framework, from the perspective of practitioners and policymakers in Pakistan, about Financial and Non-Financial Risks integration and their impact on the Performance of Financial Institutions. We define total bank risk in terms of earnings volatility, which can be broken down into five major classes namey: market, credit, asset/liability, operational, and business. Out of these market, credit and Asset Liability risks are Financial Risks whereas operational and business risks are non-financial. Based on the thematic analysis of unstructured interviews of experts from the banking industry we position five sources of bank risks. We observe that the impact of Financial Risks decrease and Non-Financial Risks increase, along a spectrum from market risk to credit risk, asset/liability risk, operational risk, and business risk. The framework from this study could also be used to quantify total bank risks and contribution from each.

From a scholar, practitioner and policy-maker perspective, at the heart of the recent taking of centre stage of international investment law stand without doubt the several hundreds decisions rendered by investment treaty tribunals. Despite the fact that there is no general duty to make investment treaty decisions fully public, the great majority of decisions rendered in (at least known) investment treaty arbitrations appears to make its way into the public domain. The important role played by publicly available investment decisions in terms of internal and external legitimacy revolves around the reasoning underlying such decisions. By exploiting the public availability of investment treaty decisions, the aim of the article is to contribute to the strengthening of the international investment system by sketching three types of egregious failures in the reasoning underlying some of these decisions: (a) misuse of precedent, (b) lack of internal consistency and (c) minimalism. The claim is that these three failures are ‘egregious’ in the sense that they represent instances where the investment tribunal's reasoning is manifestly ‘contradictory’, ‘inconsistent’ or ‘practically non-existent’.

Exploring practitioner and policymaker perspectives on public health approaches to address Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in South Carolina

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess China’s urban social assistance policy, mainly by examining the findings of in-depth interviews with urban Dibao recipients in Chengdu about their experiences with social assistance, and by comparing what the social assistance offers with the urban poor households’ actual needs and vulnerabilities. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, the author interviewed 15 people from urban Dibao Households in Wuhou District and Qingyang District of Chengdu, China. The interviews were conducted from April to August in 2013, usually in their homes. The small sample naturally limits generalizations, however it can point to directions for future research. Findings – It is found out that urban Dibao which is the core of social assistance policy provides insufficient cash support and other special assistance programs are more of tokenistic which do not offer much help. Besides, due to lack of psychological aid, many recipients show negative and pessimistic attitudes toward life. Originality/value – Regarding the assessment of social assistance policy in China, the international literature has shown little interest. Several Chinese scholars have analyzed urban social assistance system, but they tend to examine or assess from the perspective of policy makers and focus on making policy suggestions. Thus, there is not much information about whether what the social assistance offers could meet the urban poor households’ actual needs and vulnerabilities. An interesting endeavor would be to explore and assess the urban social assistance policy from the perspective of the recipients, and this is exactly what this paper aims to do.

The use of indigenous African languages in official circles has largely been determined by Africa's contact with the west. In particular this has been the usage of English, French and Portuguese in most of Africa's colonial world. This has attracted the use of such terms as Anglophone, francophone and Lusophone, respectively, even after African governments have attained independence from their colonial masters. To a large extent, the influence of English has been determined by colonial governments' and natives desire for their academic pursuits and not necessarily by the wider use of indigenous African languages. For sociolinguistic purposes English, French and Portuguese, largely, have been conveniently used for communicative purposes. It is also notable that Christian missions have had a significant role in the establishment of these ex-colonial languages. As a result these languages have had much influential institutional forces, where they have emerged as languages of power and prestige over indigenous African languages. In this article reasons for learning and development using ex-colonial languages are amply given and the reader is given the responsibility to assess the powerful position of English and other ex-colonial languages in education and social practice and in the over all national development of institutional forces, such as new governments that have emerged, societies and communities at large. The neglect to address the effective use of indigenous African languages has been the prime factor in the lack of using these indigenous African languages as media of instruction and in their use in national development, science and technology for the majority. Language is the normal medium that a given group knows best, which provides the necessary skills for human to become effective and efficient for there to be overall national development. The central argument, therefore, is that the language used by the majority is important for human resources training and vital for overall national development. Lwati: A Journal of Contemporary Research Vol. 4 () 2007: pp.55-74

The increasing complexity of the educational environment demands effective management and leadership styles to ensure the success and quality of educational institutions. As globalization, technological progress, and societal changes continue to influence educational systems worldwide, it becomes necessary to investigate and implement management styles that can adapt to these evolving demands and provide appropriate strategic and tactical visions for future development. This study focuses on examining various management styles employed in educational institutions to identify those significantly influencing educational outcomes. Employed mixed methods include bibliometric analysis of literature to identify dynamic trends and research directions focused on effective management styles, alongside in-depth thematic analysis revealing key factors impacting educational leadership and management. The bibliometric analysis revealed a significant increase in academic interest in educational management practices, the majority of research is concentrated in the fields of social sciences, medicine, and economics, underscoring the interdisciplinary nature and broad relevance of educational management research. The thematic areas identified in the research, such as transformational leadership, distributed leadership, and instructional leadership, emphasize the diverse approaches scholars are exploring to enhance educational quality and success. The findings underscore the crucial role of leadership in organizational productivity and development. Developing school principals' leadership capabilities is essential for enhancing institutional effectiveness. The study also emphasizes the importance of integrating managerial and leadership aspects in the role of school principals. Effective principals balance administrative responsibilities with visionary leadership, fostering collaboration and engagement within the school community. In conclusion, the study highlights the importance of effective leadership in improving the quality and success of education. It advocates for developing strong leadership capabilities among school principals and underscores the need for integrated management and leadership practices. These conclusions contribute to a deeper understanding of optimizing leadership in educational contexts, supporting the dynamic and evolving educational landscape.

Academic motivation predicts educational attainment: Does gender make a difference?

Physical Education, Exercise, Fitness and Sports: Early PM&R Leaders Build a Strong Foundation

Bilingual Education in the 21st Century examines languages and bilingualism as individual and societal phenomena, presents program types, variables, and policies in bilingual education, and concludes by looking at practices, especially pedagogies and assessments. This thought-provoking work is an ideal textbook for future teachers as well as providing a fresh view of the subject for school administrators and policy makers. · Provides an overview of bilingual education theories and practices throughout the world · Extends traditional conceptions of bilingualism and bilingual education to include global and local concerns in the 21st century · Questions assumptions regarding language, bilingualism and bilingual education, and proposes a new theoretical framework and alternative views of teaching and assessment practices · Reviews international bilingual education policies, with separate chapters dedicated to US and EU language policy in education · Gives reasons why bilingual education is good for all children throughout the world, and presents cases of how this is being carried out

This paper examines emerging technologies and recent research on population differences in pharmacogenomics and the perspectives of scientists, community advocates, policymakers, and social critics on the use of race as a proxy for genetic variation. The discussion focuses on how recent developments in genomic science impact social understandings of racial difference and the public health goal to eliminate ongoing health disparities among racially identified groups. This paper examines how factors such as governmental policies – requiring the use of racial and ethnic categories in genetic research and increasing interest in identifying untapped racial market niches by the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries – and weak governmental oversight of race-based therapeutics converge to create an ‘infrastructure of racialization’ that may alter the vision of personalized medicine that has been so highly anticipated. This paper argues that significant public investment in pharmacogenomics requires careful consideration of the emerging discourse that tethers racial justice to notions of racial biology and discusses the social and ethical implications for the pendulum shift towards a geneticization of race in drug development.

A new educational paradigm, ‘resilience education,’ has emerged as an effort by states and local communities to provide their constituencies with skills to cope with natural and man-made disasters. While the topic of resilience has seen an explosion in academic and policy interest, little scholarly attention has been paid to exploring the social origins of resilience training. Drawing on the research tradition in history and sociology of knowledge and theorization of practices, this article explores the gradual establishment of the practice of resilience education in Israeli schools and changing assumptions about risks, coping and aims of education informing resilience initiatives in the educational system. Based on in-depth interviews with key figures in the professional field, I indicate the main tendencies in the local history of resilience training since the 1980 s. These tendencies – the normalization of insecurity, the incorporation of new programs within existing interventions, and the creation of a particular structure of training – have interweaved the regular with the extreme, the expert with the lay, and the new with the old. I argue that such tendencies have become no less important for facilitating the establishment of resilience training than the scientific validity and practical effectiveness of this professional practice.