In the suggested paper I want to show that Polanyi-inspired models of interpretation and derived concepts can help us finding new ways of understanding Nordic developments. Most of the empiric material will come from Sweden. My frame of analysing as well as central references can be found in Hollander (2017). In this abstract I do two things: First I give some hints as to how I position my own views in relation to what I understand to be the intended main discourse at the conference. Second I illustrate the fruitfulness of analysing Swedish developments when bringing a Polanyian paradigm up to date. 1) Positioning From an admittedly shallow reading of the two keynotes – Andreas Bergh and Erik Bengtsson – I infer that my understanding of Nordic developments differ from both. They of course have divergent views in relation to each other on a number of key issues but my preliminary view is that my position represents yet a third view. For illustrative purposes I can mention that the social capital erosion following from the restructuring of the public sector, the rising inequality etc to my mind will have devastating effects on the long term resilience of the institutions. Other contradictions in types of analysis I believe can be deduced from Polanyian concepts such as Reciprocity and retrograde countermovements (see below). The concept retrograde countermovement rests on an interpretation rather than being Polanyian in a strict sense. So is the conceptembedded liberalism which is useful and can be understood in relation to Polanyi. It is, however, doubtful to me whether Polanyi used the term when discussing post-world war II developments. (This is discussed in an illuminating way by Gareth Dale in Karl Polanyi: A Life on the Left. See also the review of that book by Robert Kuttner in NYRB 21/12/2017). In relation to the problematique of Trondheim conference I am convinced that the frame I suggest could be very fruitful also for interpreting other Nordic countries than Sweden. I will, however, not have the time to dive deep into this before June. 2) Emerging Concepts for Understanding Nordic-type Models. Useful Polanyian concepts can emerge from sketching the rise and fall of Swedish embedded liberalism. My departure in the main part of the paper will be a chapter where I studied 'The Contemporary Relevance of Karl Polanyi' with Sweden as a vantage point (Hollander 2017 – ). A central aspect was Financialisation.This is a global trend but it has been effected at an extraordinary pace in Sweden. In the 1960s our country was heralded as a paradigm of decommodification. Regulation of financial markets interacted with physical and social capital accumulation, building the Welfare State and (re-) embedding of labour, housing etc. Financial regulations were removed and recommodification tried in the 1980s but the processes started in earnest in the early 1990s. Commodification prepared for pervasive financialisation also in such areas as childcare, schooling, eldercare, health etc. The financialisation of Swedish HEW led me to the idea that Polanyi's list of fictitious commodities might have to be extended with Semi-fictitious Commodities. The logic behind the creation of Semi-fictitious Commodities can be better understood by studying Swedish developments. And the same applies to other fields of study of Polanyian relevance. One example is the importance of focusing a form of economic coordination discussed by Polanyi et.al. (1957)[Polanyi, K., Arensberg, C. M. and Pearson, H. W. (eds.) (1957) Trade and Market in the Early Empires: Economies in History and Theory. Illinois: The Free Press]. I am referring to Reciprocity– the oldest form of human coordination for wellbeing. It has ben largely neglected by economists who have focused instead on two other forms – Market and Redistribution. When studying the centuries' long building of the institutions of embedded liberalismand the contemporary tearing down of them Reciprocity is important. Sweden provides pertinent examples of this and of other aspects of the rise and fall of those institutions. The risks that laissez-faire type disembedding can pave the way for right-wing authoritarianism are also illuminated. Weakened Reciprocity and Redistribution open up for retrograde countermovements. Also the dependency on higher-level developments (higher than the national level) are made clear when this small country is looked at. Bretton Woods in 1944 was important for building of the welfare state. Four decades later Sweden was able to withstand the reemergence of global finance longer than most other countries in the global north but when this ended the consequences were thoroughgoing. As Polanyi argued, the forces unleashed by attempts to make 'money' into a commodity, must be put at centre stage. Important sections of the proposed paper will deal with how the legacies of Swedish embedded liberalism, and some of the lessons from the disembedding, can be used for the future. As examples of the legacies from the golden age of Swedish social democracy I can point to good relative records in areas such as Gender equality, Work-place codetermination, Peer-to-peer-productionand Ecological sustainability. Interpretations of how those traits emerged can provide relevant lessons for the future of work globally. Hollander (2017) is a chapter in Theory and Method of Evolutionary Political Economy: A Cyprus Symposium/ [ed] Hardy Hanappi, Savvas Katsikides, Manuel Scholz-Wäckerle, Abingdon: Routledge. Full name of chapter is "The Contemporary Relevance of Karl Polanyi – a Swedish Case" (pp. 54-72)
ABSTRACT: Professional development programs in the form of learning communities offer teachers the possibility of improving their practice, and support them in meeting the demands that the government and society have assigned them, provided that such programs are well designed and developed. These programs may provide teachers with the necessary support and learning opportunities to face the new academic demands and be able to integrate these with the social and moral dimension of schooling. However, in Colombia the idea of schoolteachers working in learning communities as a means of professional development is scarce. Therefore, little systematic research has been conducted in the country to understand their impact on teachers' learning, and even more specifically on their practice; only a few studies have been conducted to understand this issue. The case study reported here focused on understanding how an English teacher changed her teaching practice with the support of a facilitator in a teacher learning community. Data was gathered through interviews, class observations, recorded meetings, teachers' planning units and pedagogical materials. Results indicate that the teacher experienced changes in her teaching practice related to new patterns of teaching behavior and methodology. However, there were some aspects of these two components that she changed only to a limited extent. As a result, she faced some difficulties with students and some contextual factors that affected her learning process. This study reveals several contributions that a learning community can offer to in-service teachers to improve their teaching practice and the complexity of teacher learning under certain circumstances. ; RESUMEN: Los programas de desarrollo profesional en forma de comunidades de aprendizaje ofrecen a los profesores la posibilidad de mejorar su práctica, los apoyan en el logro de las demandas que el gobierno y la sociedad les han asignado cuando estos son bien diseñados y desarrollados. Estos programas les dan a los profesores el apoyo necesario y las oportunidades de aprendizaje para enfrentar las demandas académicas que les han sido impuestas, y ser capaces de integrarlas a las dimensiones sociales y morales de la escuela. Sin embargo, en Colombia la idea de que los profesores hagan parte de comunidades de aprendizaje como un medio para su desarrollo profesional es escasa. Como resultado de esto, pocas investigaciones se han llevado a cabo en el país para saber su impacto en el aprendizaje de los profesores, específicamente, las prácticas pedagógicas de los docentes. Solo unos cuantos estudios se han llevado a cabo para entender este asunto. El estudio de caso que se reporta aquí se enfocó en entender cómo una profesora de inglés cambió sus prácticas de enseñanza con el apoyo de una facilitadora en una comunidad de aprendizaje de profesores. Los datos fueron recogidos a través de entrevistas, observaciones de clase, grabaciones de reuniones, planeaciones de unidades de los profesores y materiales pedagógicos. Los resultados indican que la profesora experimentó cambios relacionados con patrones de comportamiento en su enseñanza y su metodología. Sin embargo, hubo ciertos aspectos de estos dos componentes que la profesora cambió solo hasta cierto punto. Como resultado de esto, algunas dificultades con los estudiantes y con algunos factores contextuales afectaron su proceso de aprendizaje. Este estudio muestra las contribuciones que una comunidad de aprendizaje puede ofrecer a los profesores en servicio para mejorar su enseñanza y la complejidad del aprendizaje del profesor bajo ciertas circunstancias. ; RÉSUMÉ: Les programmes de développement professionnel sous forme de communautés d'apprentissage offrent aux enseignants la possibilité d'améliorer leurs pratiques. Ils leur donnent également du soutien pour pouvoir répondre aux demandes du gouvernement et de la société quand ils sont bien conçus et bien développés. Ces programmes donnent l'appui nécessaire et les opportunités d'apprentissage aux enseignants pour faire face aux demandes académiques et être en mesure de les intégrer aux dimensions sociales et morales de l'école. Néanmoins, en Colombie, l'idée que les enseignants fassent partie de communautés d'apprentissage comme modèle de développement professionnel est rare. En conséquence, peu de re cherches ont été faites dans le pays afin de connaître leur impact sur l'apprentissage des enseignants et notamment sur leurs pratiques pédagogiques. Très peu d'études ont été menées dans le but de comprendre ce domaine. Dans cette étude de cas, on cherchait à comprendre comment une enseignante d'anglais a changé ses pratiques d'enseignement avec l'appui d'une enseignante facilitatrice dans une communauté d'apprentissage des enseignants. Les données ont été récoltées par l'entremise d'entretiens, d'observations de cours, d'enregistrements de réunions, de séances deplanification d'unités des enseignants et de matériels pédagogiques. Les résultats nous montrent que l'enseignante a expérimenté des changements par rapport aux modèles de comportement dans son enseignement et sa méthodologie d'enseignement. Cependant, l'enseignante n'a changé que jusqu'à un certain point quelques aspects de ces deux composantes. En plus, quelques difficultés avec les étudiants et avec des facteurs contextuels ont affecté son processus d'apprentissage. Cette étude montre les contributions qu'une communauté d'apprentissage peut offrir aux enseignants dans le but d'améliorer leur enseignement et la complexité de l'apprentissage de l'apprenant dans certaines circonstances.
International audience Bioturbation is one of the most widespread forms of ecological engineering and has significant implications for the structure and functioning of ecosystems, yet our understanding of the processes involved in biotic mixing remains incomplete. One reason is that, despite their value and utility, most mathematical models currently applied to bioturbation data tend to neglect aspects of the natural complexity of bioturbation in favour of mathematical simplicity. At the same time, the abstract nature of these approaches limits the application of such models to a limited range of users. Here, we contend that a movement towards process-based modelling can improve both the representation of the mechanistic basis of bioturbation and the intuitiveness of modelling approaches. In support of this initiative, we present an open source modelling framework that explicitly simulates particle displacement and a worked example to facilitate application and further development. The framework combines the advantages of rule-based lattice models with the application of parameterisable probability density functions to generate mixing on the lattice. Model parameters can be fitted by experimental data and describe particle displacement at the spatial and temporal scales at which bioturbation data is routinely collected. By using the same model structure across species, but generating species-specific parameters, a generic understanding of species-specific bioturbation behaviour can be achieved. An application to a case study and comparison with a commonly used model attest the predictive power of the approach.
The World Bank's assistance strategies showed strong client orientation and were aligned with Uganda's poverty reduction strategy. The programs were substantially effective in decentralization, public sector reform, growth and economic transformation, education, and water and sanitation. However, more could have been done to help counter the perception of increasing corruption, improve power supply, reduce transport costs, enhance agricultural productivity, and help with family planning and reproductive health. The AfDB's assistance was also relevant and aligned with the government's development goals. Its support substantially achieved its objectives for decentralization, public sector finance, growth and economic transformation, improved competitiveness, agriculture, and water and sanitation, as well as education and health. However, there were some shortcomings in the assistance provided for power and roads and in reducing corruption. This report evaluates World Bank and African Development Bank assistance to Uganda during 2001-07. The motivation to undertake a joint evaluation was the shift to a common strategic framework, the Uganda Joint Assistance Strategy (UJAS), to guide the formulation and delivery of their programs. Under a common strategic framework joint evaluation is, in principal, more cost effective than the equivalent separate evaluations, since at least some aspects of the evaluation can be done together. This also helps to reduce government transaction costs. The evaluation discusses the outcome of the support of each bank, rates each independently, noting that the two banks are of different size, capacity, and institutional setting. In addition, the two banks have programs that were not implemented jointly but in parallel, although they regularly engaged with one another as development partners. The outcome ratings for the two institutions are therefore not comparable and should not be used to imply that one institution did 'better' than the other.
AbstractThe purpose of this research was to adapt Antonak and Harth's (1994) Mental Retardation Attitudes Inventory for the Kuwaiti culture and to investigate its four‐dimensional structure. The study also aimed at identifying a unidimensional subset of items besides examining the quality of the identified items and the overall inventory. The 34 ‐item adapted inventor y was administered to 56 4 college students. Item analysis indicated that 29 items have had good psychometric characteristics. However, the exploratory factor analysis, cross‐correlations of scale and item scores, and correlations among scales did not support the four‐dimensional structure of the adapted inventory. Further, the sample was split into two random halves. A uni‐dimensional subset of 20 items was identified in one sample by iterative factor analyzing the item data and discarding items with small loadings. The other sample was used to cross‐validate uni‐dimensionality of the identified items. Analysis indicated that scores of the 20‐item inventory have high Cronbach coefficient alpha, and high stability and generalizability coefficients. Partial support for the validity of the scores had been ascertained by comparing the scores of male and female students, and by regressing the inventor y scores on indicators of familiarity with individuals with mental retardation. Findings were discussed with reference to Kuwaiti culture.Over the last two decades, inclusion has internationally become a critical part of the reform efforts to improve the delivery of services to individuals with Mental Retardation (MR). This trend focuses on increasing the opportunities for the placement of these individuals in the same social and educational set tings as individuals without MR. The new arrangements for providing services have created challenges to people without disabilities concerning acceptance, integration, and inclusion of individuals with MR into the mainstream of society (Praisner, 2003). Many researchers (e.g. Priestly, 1998; Yazbeck McVilly & Parmenter, 2004) have convincingly argued that these challenges have their roots in the societal norms and values that concurrently developed throughout the unfolding history of the meaning of MR. As Priestly (1998) noted, although people with differences have existed in all societies, the degree to which they were integrated or excluded varied according to predominant cultural perceptions. Yazbeck, McVilly and Parmenter (2004) suggested that people's attitudes toward individuals with MR are socially constructed and are acquired through experience over time.Individuals with MR are often judged by people based on their disability instead of their whole lives and what they may accomplish and experience during their life (Blatt, 1987). Consequently, People may rely on false generalization and develop negative attitudes towards individuals with MR. Makas, Finnerty‐Fried, Sugafoos, and Reiss (1988) noted that for nondisabled persons, positive attitude toward people with disability is usually conceptualized as being 'nice' and 'helpful', whereas for a person with a disability, the attitude would be dispensing with the category of disability entirely. A study of community attitudes in one state of Australia found that up to 86% of respondents reported feeling 'uncomfortable' when interacting with individuals with disabilities (Enhance Management, 1999). Another study (European Commission, 2001) found that 40% of Europeans reported feeling 'uneasy' in the presence of people with disabilities.Attitudes manifest themselves as positive or negative reactions toward an object, driven by beliefs that impel individuals to behave in a particular way (Yuker, 1988). They comprise a complex of feelings, desires, fears, convictions, prejudices, or other tendencies learned through varied experiences that give rise to a set or readiness to act toward a person in a certain way (Chaiken & Stangor,1987). This means that attitude is not behavior, but the precondition of behavior. In addition, Myers, Ager, Kerr, and Myles (1998) identified three types of attitudes that influence how non‐disabled people interact with, and include or exclude people with disabilities: (1) A preparedness to engage with people as consumers, neighbors, or friends; (2) a lack of awareness about individuals with MR; and (3) a wariness or hostility regarding the idea of community integration.Research has shown that the third type of attitudes, which represents negative and non‐acceptance of individuals with MR is commonly observed (Gething, 1994; Schwartz & Armony‐Sivan, 2001). Such negative attitudes in a society may present people with MR as a burden on the welfare system. Moreover, people might not see individuals with disabilities as possessing a valuable social role or possessing the same abilities and characteristics that the majority of people possess. Tus, individuals with MR may not be accepted or included in society and may often be treated badly. In turn, Wolfensberger (1988) indicated that individuals with MR, being in a devalued position, would behave badly as they think that this is what is expected of them.As integration of persons with MR is increasingly becoming a global reality, Kuwait has designed social policy aimed at promoting acceptance and inclusion of people with disabilities into the mainstream of society. To implement the policy of integration, the Kuwaiti government is continually forming inclusive services for individuals with MR. The recent policy of inclusion (law 13/96), which has been adopted in 1996, asserts that people with disabilities have a fundamental right to live and grow within their local communities. This law has spawned an expanded system of services to encourage people with disabilities to live like people without disabilities. Inclusion policies give individuals with MR the right to be involved in the same situations as people without MR. For example, more individuals with MR, for example, are being employed. Moreover, most children with Downs syndrome now attend Kindergarten and are included in social programs for children in the general population. The general goal of all types of services provided for individuals with MR is to improve their participation in society.Although the Kuwaiti government has shown a growing interest in the integration of individuals with MR, the chances of these individuals being able to integrate into mainstream society would depend on the attitude of others, such as students, teachers, coworkers, social workers, professionals, towards them. These attitudes, as found in many Western studies (Antonak & Harth, 1994; Gordon, Tantillo, Feldman & Perrone, 2004) are, for the most part, negative, which may contribute to negative outcomes on the part of individuals with MR (Byon, 2000). According to Wright (1983), disability situations are vulnerable to fundamental negative attitudes, and this would seem to be even truer in the culture found in Kuwait.In Kuwaiti culture, disability has stigmatizing effect on members of the immediate and extended family; families tend to keep members with MR out of the sight of other people. This contributes to social exclusion of people with MR. There is also the traditional common belief that disability is related to (1) God's willing that the parent should have a child with a disability, (2) God is punishing the parent, (3) God is testing the parent, or (4) God is selecting the parent for an unknown reason. Commonly, persons with MR have been considered burdensome and shameful, because they are incapable of contributing to traditional social obligations and roles.While those traditional beliefs still exist, the law 13/96 was legislated to support the integration of persons with MR into various aspects of life. Consequently, we expect that people in the society would react to this trend with frustration, anger, or refusal. Usually, people in Kuwait have little or no information about individuals with MR; thereby uninformed determinations, such as stereotypes, reflect their attitudes toward these individuals. According to Blatt (1987), a stereotype will fill in the cracks and unanswered questions in a situation with which people are not familiar. Langer (1989) in her theory of 'mindfulness' also shows that stereotype is 'premature cognitive commitments' that leads people to make judgments without enough information and reflection.Moreover, the society labels given to individuals with MR are often accompanied with stigma and negative connotations. This situation makes it difficult for those individuals to be included into society and be accepted for what they actually are and not for what others assume them to be. According to Biklen and Bogdan (1977), this type of discrimination is called 'handicapism' and is defined as'…a set of assumptions and practices that promote differential and unequal treatment of people because of apparent or assumed physical, mental, or behavioral differences' (p.206). These perceptions may prevent individuals with MR from being accepted, and they might be viewed, based on Erikson's theory, as a pseudo species, or as less than human (Smith, 1981).Furthermore, professionals', leaders', and students' views and beliefs about the integration of individuals with MR into society may result in slowing the process of inclusion and discouraging people from accepting these individuals as what they are. For example, though senior staff in Kuwait's Ministry of Social Affairs succeeded in including children with Downs syndrome into public kindergarten, no other effort has been made since 1996 to integrate other children with disabilities into inclusive educational settings. More critical is that, while leaders make efforts toward inclusion, they continue to support the permanent residence of individuals with MR in social welfare institutions and urge the government to provide free health, social and educational services for the residents. Ahmad (2004) found that between 1992 and 2002, there was an increase in the number of children, and males and females adults with MR who live in the Social Welfare Institution for permanent care. The number of residents with MR has increased from 223 to 296.According to Philips (1992), leaders' and professionals' beliefs about individuals with MR could have commenced with the industrial revolution that brought with it the practice of classifying people who were different, and who were not able to pursue personal dreams or act as the industrial society required. Leaders and professionals may perceive individuals with MR, as Blatt (1987) stated, blessed innocents or surplus population that is unnecessary and expendable. These beliefs may never give the individuals with MR an adequate opportunity to present themselves and their abilities to others.Praisner (2003) suggested that leaders' attitudes are the key factor in successful inclusion. Due to leadership position, leaders' and professionals' attitudes about inclusion either could result in increased opportunities for individuals with MR to be served in different settings or increased efforts to support the segregated special education services. According to Goodlad and Lovitt (1993), leaders and professionals have the decision to develop an inclusive setting, if they (1) make and honor commitments, (2) do what they say in formal and informal settings, (3) express interest in inclusion, (4) act and make their actions known, and (5) organize their staff and their physical surroundings to implement inclusive programs. As Praisner (2003) stated, the success of inclusion depends on how leaders exhibit behaviors that advance the integration, acceptance, and success of individuals with disabilities in general settings.Researchers (e.g., Horne, 1985) have also shown that students' positive attitudes may increase their willingness to work with individuals with MR, and lead to removal of barriers to integrate them into society. The positive attitudes of students may help to encourage the establishment of policies and the allocation of resources to increase the integration of individuals with MR into different settings in the society (Yazbeck, et al., 2004).To enhance the policy of inclusion in Kuwait, society needs to evaluate some of its structures and change people's attitudes to fit the needs of individuals with MR instead of making these individuals fit society's structures. Helping individuals with MR to be included into society and establish socially valued roles would not be difficult if the attitudes of society are less restrictive and less resistant to change.As Kuwait continues to develop social and educational policy about inclusion, researchers must pay attention to the connection between integration and attitudes. The provision of educational and social opportunities for individuals with MR can be legislated by Kuwait's government, but acceptance from other people cannot be ensured without knowing people's beliefs and thoughts about persons with MR.Developing an understanding of the attitudes that is predominant in society, which in turn influences the actions of its members, is critical if we plan for social changes and for evaluating the effectiveness of public policy on promoting an inclusive society (Schwartz & Armony‐Sivan, 2001). Given that there are negative attitudes toward people with MR, particular care must be taken to monitor changing social attitudes toward these individuals to identify any serious impediment to the progress of their inclusion in different settings: schools, workplace, and the wider community.Research that is relevant to individuals with disabilities (e.g. Geskie & Salasek, 1988; Antonak & Harth, 1994) has revealed the need for researchers to investigate the attitudes of people toward MR. Wolfensberger (1983) suggested that the key to changing how people are valued socially is to change the perceptions people have about individuals who may differ from the norm. Research, however, has indicated that the investigation of attitudes toward individuals with MR requires a psychometrically sound instrument. It is crucial to conduct research to gather accurate information about these attitudes; it would clarify people's awareness of persons with MR, and assist in evaluating intervention programs and developing appropriate course work for special education fields. Further, it would inform public policy decisions, funding priorities, and service delivery, which in turn, enhance the likelihood of achieving successful integration and improving qua lit y of life for persons with MR (Antonak & Harth, 19 94; Schalock, 1990). Accurate measurement of attitudes could also lead to early detection of negative attitudes, such as personal prejudices, misconceptions, and irrational fears of professionals, social workers, and teachers when they first get involved in disability work settings. Furthermore, it would help in providing a baseline for monitoring changes in their attitudes over time (Byon, 2000).Changing attitudes would help in supporting efforts of individuals with MR to become autonomous (Philips, 1992), and help to decrease the resistance of others to allow people with MR to make decisions about their own lives and to be independent (Schalock, 1990). As the history of the deinstitutionalization movement has shown, becoming autonomous and independent are not as simple as releasing people from state facilities and hoping they survive on their own. Autonomy and independence are based upon choice‐making, and choice‐making must be taught to people with MR, as they have never been allowed to make their own choices and do not know how to rationally choose for themselves.However, as Crutcher (1990) noted, personal choice is based on opportunity, and opportunity is accessible only when society decides it should be. Therefore, in order for individuals with MR to have the opportunity to make their own decisions and be successfully included in society, special effort must be taken to change peoples' attitudes towards them.Moreover, a psychometrically sound instrument of attitudes helps researchers to assess with known precision respondents' feelings about individuals with MR (affective aspect of attitudes), and their conceptions about them (cognitive aspect of attitudes). On the affective side, there are feelings of approval or disapproval of individuals with MR in the society. On the cognitive side, there are beliefs, knowledge, and expectations that affect people's behavior towards individuals with MR. The affective and cognitive aspects affect the respondents' opinions of what services should be provided for individuals with MR and what policy should be adopted. These also assist in the design, implementation, and evaluation of social intervention program and strategies geared toward removing barriers to integration (Geskie & Salasek, 1988).The present study focused on adapting, for use in Kuwait, the Mental Retardation Attitude Inventory‐Revised (MR AI‐R) of Antonak and Harth (1994). The MRAI‐R was chosen because of the limitations of the MR attitudes' instruments in the Gulf States, and in particular the lack of such an instrument in Kuwait. After reviewing literature, it seemed that there was only one measure of attitudes; an inventory developed by Qaryauti (1988). Despite the claimed appropriateness of Qaryauti's scale, we decided to use the MRAI‐R of Antonak and Harth for several reasons. First, Qaryauti's scale was based on Western instruments that Antonak and Harth criticized and motivated them to construct the MRAI‐R. In contrast, Antonak and Harth constructed the MRAI‐R based on a review of more than 50 years of the attitude literature, and developed their inventory on the most available valid instrument.Second, by reviewing the items of the MRAI‐R and Qaryauti's scale, it was clear to us that the MRAI‐R is more consistent with the requirements of the law 13/96 that was mandated in Kuwait to assure the right of individuals with MR to be included into public schools, workplace, and the wider community (see Table 1). Third, the MRAI‐R, unlike Qaryauti's scale, incorporates several components of attitudes: (1) the integration‐segregation of individuals with MR in various school programs, workplace, and community; (2) the willingness of people to be associated with individuals with MR (Social Distance); (3) the rights of individuals with MR to be included in schools, communities, and the workplace (Private Rights); and (4) the derogatory beliefs of people about the moral character and social behavior of individuals with MR. Of the 22 items in Qaryauti's scale, 13 were related to derogatory beliefs, six to social distance, and only three to private rights and integration‐segregation.Fourth, many transcultural researchers have used the MRAI‐R in populations as diverse as the United States, Australia, and Korea. In the US, Ward (1998) used the MRAI‐R to explore relationships between empathy and attitudes among 200 parents and adult consumers with developmental disabilities. Also, Yozwiak (2002) utilized the MRAI‐R to examine the beliefs and attitudes of 210 community members toward a child with MR who was a witness to a sexual abuse case. In an Australian study, Yazbeck and others (2004) used MRAI‐R to examine differences in attitudes between students and professionals in disability services, and persons in the general community (N=492). In Korea, Byon's study (2000) used the MRAI‐R to investigate the effect of social desirability on attitudes toward MR, and to compare the relationships between attitude measures (both direct and indirect measures) and behavioral outcome indicators. Obviously, findings from a large number of studies using the MRAI‐R contribute to its validity. In contrast, we failed to find any study in which Qaryauti's scale was used.Based on the above arguments, it seems that the MRAI‐R would be useful in needs assessments, especially in schools and mental health clinics. For example, when the ministry of education decides to implement the inclusion policy in schools, there would be a need to assess attitudes of teachers and students towards students with MR. The results of such assessment would help in designing programs that improve attitudes as needed. The MRAI‐R can also be useful for social workers, professionals, and researchers who work in a variety of primary social welfare settings. It helps them to identify and target those people who are the most in need of training and preparation to change their attitudes toward MR. In a wider scale, non‐profit organizations can use results of assessing attitudes in advocating the rights of those individuals.In general, the primary usage of the MRAI‐R could be: (1) screening for early identification of negative attitudes; (2) assessing attitudes of specific groups toward persons with MR; (3) pre‐ or post‐ measurement in intervention studies; and (4) helping researchers who aim at studying the effects of attitudes on different variables in the life of people with MR (i.e. job satisfaction, life satisfaction, family relationship, social support), or the relationship between attitudes and demographic variables (i.e. gender, age, marital status, employment, educational status, familiarity with individuals with MR).Following the recommendation of Antonak and Livneh (1988) that researchers should use the existing instruments and stop creating new ones, the purpose of the present study is to develop an Arabic inventory of attitudes toward individuals with MR by adapting the MRAI‐R to be suitable for use in Kuwait. Specifically, the study aimed at: (1) revising the MRAI‐R items to make them suitable to Kuwait's culture; (2) investigating the suitability of the four‐factor‐structure of the MRAI‐R for measuring attitudes toward individuals with MR in Kuwait; (3) selecting a uni‐dimensional subset of items, if the four‐factor‐structure was not confirmed; and (4) examining the psychometric characteristics of the adapted inventory.We decided to carry out this study on college students for various reasons: (1) college students are prospective educators or professionals who will be either dealing with people with MR or making decisions that affect their lives; (2) college students in Kuwait play an active role in social change and in changing public opinions;(3) they are representative cross‐section of Kuwaiti society; (4) a sample of college students is more easily acquired than a sample from the general population.
There have been few times in US American history when the very concept of freedom of speech—its promise and its contradictions—has been under greater scrutiny. Guided by acclaimed artist, filmmaker, and activist Amar Kanwar, the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School convened a series of public seminars on freedom of speech with the participation of some of the most original thinkers and artists on the topic. Structured as an open curriculum, each seminar examined a particular aspect of freedom of speech, reflecting on and informed by recent debates around hate speech, censorship, sexism, and racism in the US and elsewhere. Studies into Darkness emerges from these seminars as a collection of newly commissioned texts, artist projects, and resources that delve into the intricacies of free speech. Providing a practical and historical guide to free speech discourse and in-depth investigations that extend far beyond the current moment, and featuring poetic responses to the crises present in contemporary culture and society around expression, this publication provocatively questions whether true communication is ever attainable.
Contributions by Zach Blas, Mark Bray, Natalie Diaz, Aruna D'Souza, Silvia Federici and Gabriela López Dena, Jeanne van Heeswijk, shawné michaelain holloway, Prathibha Kanakamedala and Obden Mondésir, Amar Kanwar, Carin Kuoni, Lyndon, Debora, and Abou, Svetlana Mintcheva, Mendi + Keith Obadike, Vanessa Place, Laura Raicovich, Michael Rakowitz, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, and Nabiha Syed.
This open access book presents a comparative study on how large-scale professional development programs for teachers are designed and implemented. Around the world, governments and educators are recognizing the need to educate students in a broad range of higher order cognitive skills and socio-emotional competencies, and providing effective opportunities for teachers to develop the expertise needed to teach these skills is a crucial aspect of effective implementation of curricula which include those goals. This study examines how large-scale efforts to empower teachers for deeper instruction have been designed, how they have been implemented, and their outcomes. To do so, it investigates six programs from England, Colombia, Mexico, India, and the United States. Though all six are intended to broaden and deepen students' curricular aspirations, each takes this expansion of curricular goals in a different direction. The ambitious education reforms studied here explicitly focus on building teachers' capacity to teach on a broader set of goals. Through a discerning analysis of program documents, evaluations, and interviews with senior leaders and participants in the programs, the book identifies the various theories of action used in these programs, examines how they were implemented, and discusses what they achieved. As such, it offers an indispensable resource for education leaders interested in designing and implementing professional development programs for teachers that are aligned with ambitious instructional goals.
In 2011, women and girls represented 50.6 percent of the total Montenegrin population (620,029 persons). Different aspects of gender inequality vary by region and ethnicity. The present World Bank country partnership strategy in Montenegro is based on two pillars that include supporting Montenegro s accession to the European Union (EU) through boosting institutions and competitiveness. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of gender inequality in Montenegro. Using a number of data sources, gender differences in various outcomes are analyzed with the intention of highlighting gender inequalities in human wellbeing. Results are used to prioritize possible avenues for future research to better understand such inequalities and or suggest areas that require more focus from policymakers. This report operates under the premise that gender equality is both an issue of human rights and of critical economic consequence. In line with the world development report (WDR) 2012, the nomenclature of gender gaps in endowments, access to economic opportunities, and agency will be used to elaborate upon these arguments and their relevance to Montenegro. The findings of this diagnostic suggest that there are gender gaps in Montenegro, particularly in: (i) agency, although available data in this area is limited; (ii) access to economic opportunities; and (iii) human capital among some population subgroups. The structure of the report is as follows: section one gives introduction. Section two addresses gender disparities in endowments, including education, health, and assets. Section three presents disparities in economic opportunities in the forms of labor force participation, unemployment, employment and wages, and entrepreneurship. Section four focuses on agency and its implications for gender equality. Section five discusses relationships across issues and suggests areas for further research.
Dr. Harold Koenig was recently interviewed by Newsweek (November 10, 2003) about his book Spirituality in Patient Care (Templeton Foundation Press) and his research in the area of religion and health. He has become the international voice on the subjects of spirituality, health, and aging. In this book he is joined by two other experts on aging and human development. They present a compelling look at one of the most serious issues in today's society: health care in America. How will we provide quality healthcare to older adults who will need it during the next th.
This paper investigates time consistent policies and reforms of intergenerational transfers. If the weight the Government gives to the living elderly is low enough, successive Governments will implement policies with equitable results across generations, even if their social welfare function is not equitable with the unborn. The ratio of Government public debt to GDP will not change over time, and the consumption flows of successive generations will grow at the natural rate of the economy. However, if the Government gives a higher weight to the elderly, the ratio of public debt to GDP will increase over time. Then, future generations will have to pay higher and higher taxes and consume less and less. Demographic transition does not interfere with these results although it makes every consumer poorer. However, there is the possibility that the weight of the elderly in Government preferences has increased recently, and that some Western democracies are entering a process of increasing public indebtedness and immiserisation of future generations. ; Ce papier analyse les politiques et réformes dynamiquement cohérentes d'un système public de transferts intergénérationnels. Si l'Etat accorde un poids suffisamment modéré aux personnes âgées vivantes, les gouvernements successifs mettront en oeuvre des politiques donnant des résultats équitables pour les différentes générations, alors même que leurs fonctions de bien-être social ne sont pas équitables à l'égard des générations non encore nées. Le rapport de la dette publique au PIB ne changera pas au cours du temps et les consommations des générations successives croîtront au taux naturel de l'économie. Cependant, si le gouvernement donne un poids plus élevé aux personnes âgées, le rapport de la dette publique au PIB augmentera au cours du temps. Alors, les générations futures paieront des impôts de plus en plus élevés et consommeront de moins en moins. La transition démographique n'interfère pas avec ces résultats, bien qu'elle rende tous les consommateurs plus ...
As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the threat of natural hazards still looms large. How will humanitarian response to a major natural hazard be affected during the COVID-19 pandemic? As the monsoon season begins in the Asia-Pacific, particularly in the South West Pacific and Southeast Asia, this is a scenario that countries face. The overlapping effects of a pandemic and a natural hazard can compound socio-economic vulnerabilities in countries. While the current focus is on managing the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and communities also need to be prepared for concurrent natural hazards. This NTS Insight explores the effects of concurrent pandemic-disaster events, and how they threaten states and societies in the Asia-Pacific. This Insight demonstrates the potential challenges of dual crises on societies and vulnerable populations. It argues that the current situation calls for a broader and deeper localisation of the humanitarian system, one that places human security as its core organising principle unlike the backseat it currently takes today. To this end, it argues that inter-regional cooperation can further localisation through the experience of the South West Pacific where human security is articulated as national security and the cooperation in Southeast Asia on disaster response which builds national capacity. With overseas travel and supply chain restrictions severely hampering the movement of relief items and international humanitarian workers, the need to empower and strengthen local humanitarian actors becomes even more pressing.
The poor and vulnerable populations suffer disproportionately from the adverse impacts of climate change and disasters, which result in loss of life, damage to household and community assets, disruption of livelihoods, and loss of income. Solutions that recognize localized risks and address them in the context of wider socioeconomic development are needed. This guidance note underscores the importance of scaling up resilience-building measures through community-driven development projects. It proposes a framework that recommends five key considerations that should be factored in the design and implementation of community-driven development projects to ensure that they deliver on scaling up of resilience-building measures.
While the occupation of Marawi City has ended the immediate humanitarian emergency, efforts to limit the appeal of any future insurgency are creating new humanitarian challenges. These must be handled shrewdly to avoid worsening an already delicate relationship between the Philippine authorities and the local Maranao people.
Institutionalising European defence : main trends in European public perceptions in the age of the global war on terror / Yantsislav Yanakiev -- Between alliance and home front considerations : the German armed forces and security-related opinion polls / Sabine Collmer -- Managing diversity in all-volunteer forces : theoretical perspectives, institutional assessment and policy implications / Yantsislav Yanakiev -- Women in conflictual situations in the war-torn Darfur, Sudan : an exposition / Oluyemi O. Fayomi -- Gender integration policies in the armed forces : a double-edged sword? / Helena Carreiras -- Women in the military profession : the Greek case / L. Nicolaou-Smokoviti -- Thirty years of gender integration : cadet perceptions of women at the U.S. Air force academy / David R. McCone, Wilbur J. Scott -- Parents voice : the intergenerational relationship, worry, appraisal of the deployment, and support among parents of deployed personnel / Manon Andres, Ren(c)Øe Moelker -- Military families and deployments abroad in Italy. In search of adequate answers for a new issue / Marina Nuciari, Guido Sertorio -- Pakistani military's role in the Asian context / Riaz Ahmed Shaikh -- End of conscription and problems of manning : the case of Slovenian Armed Forces / Uro Svete, Ljubica Jeluic -- Military educational institutions and their role in the reproduction of inequality in the Philippines / Leslie V. Advincula-Lopez -- A basis of Mongolian defense policy and armed forces for self-defense / Turtogtoh Janar -- Foreign aid, war/military, and state building of cold war Taiwan : in search of a theoretical and comparative framework / Yu-Wen Fan -- From military professionalism to coup d'etat : concordance theory in India and Pakistan / Rebecca L. Schiff -- Whose job, what job? Security sector performance in a local Communist frontline in central Philippines / Rosalie Arcala Hall -- EU harmonisation reforms, democratisation and a new modality of civil-military relations in Turkey / Nilufer Narli -- The convergence and divergence in perceptions of security issues By military professionals and civilians in South Korea / Doo-Seung Hong, Chon-Hwan Chong -- Civilmilitary relations of modern Korea : from a patriarchal army to a professional army / Mahn-Geum Ohn -- Civilmilitary relations of Korea in the 21st Century / Byeong Jo Kim -- General conscription in Finland after 2008 : some reasons behind Finland's population's and conscripts attitudes towards general conscription / Olli Harinen, Jukka Leskinen -- Demilitarizing politics in South Korea : toward a positive consolidation of civilian supremacy / Il Joon Chung -- Changes in military profession in Latin American countries / Omar Guti(c)Øerrez -- Slovene public opinion about security issues : a coincidence or a consistent pattern? / Marjan Maleic, Vinko Vegic -- Introduction / Giuseppe Caforio. - There could be no better homage to recently deceased sociologist Charles C. Moskos than dedicating to him this selection of the papers presented at RC01's international conference in Seoul (July 2008). It offers an up-to-date view of the panorama of social studies on armed forces and conflict resolution in a context of fast-moving change that renders many preceding theoretical previsions obsolete. Just to cite two aspects of this change, one can point first of all to how the presented studies move beyond the very concept of globalization, after which the conference had been named. It in fact emerged with clarity that the new dimensions of the context in which militaries and military policy must move are those of a constant, diffuse interaction of the 'local' and the 'global', so-called globalization. A second aspect, in the international area, is the shift towards a multipolar global order with the United States, the European Union, China, Russia, Latin America, Japan and India all manoeuvring for position, a shift that has significant consequences on military action as well
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PurposeThe search for competitiveness by family-owned companies has led us to research topics that may help these companies succeed. The management of human capital is undoubtedly one of the keys to success, and the practices of employee development (training, promotion, succession, career planning, mentoring and coaching) help improve the performance of these companies.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on studying a sample of 560 family companies and analyzing the relationship between performance of the family businesses and the use of employee development practices. The techniques used were confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results show that employee development has a direct effect on the indicators of performance in family companies. The authors have developed a series of practical implications for companies that justify investments in and efforts with regard to employee career development.Research limitations/implicationsFamily businesses need to understand the development needs of their employees. In addition, the very processes and tasks performed. The authors have developed a number of practical implications for companies that justify the investments and efforts made in employee career development. This work validates the usefulness of the use of certain practices for the development of employees in family businesses, allowing the company to generate human capital to build a competitive position in the market.Practical implicationsThe results of this study suggest that family businesses should understand the development needs of their employees and that various practices are available to help detect these needs. Family businesses should see individual development processes as an opportunity to improve the performance of employees, which could avoid conflicts in such businesses (Qiu and Freel, 2020). Companies should develop career and succession plans that enable these changes to be faced throughout the company, ensuring that when handover occurs, the candidates are sufficiently qualified in accordance with their career paths. The present research study shows that coaching is a powerful tool for improving performance. Moreover, mentoring appears to be an important part of employee development. For this reason, mentoring programs should be formally planned with designated objectives. In addition, family businesses should provide employees with real opportunities for promotion and the development of their skills and abilities, which is a way to retain nonfamily professionals (Ramankutty and Pujar, 2017).Social implicationsFamily businesses are a very important part of the productive activity of a country and their continuity is necessary to maintain employment and income. The management of people in family businesses is a key aspect for their success, therefore knowing the key aspects for the development of human capital will have a positive influence on maintaining employment and income.Originality/valueThis paper addresses the study of people development processes in family businesses and proves its usefulness to improve performance, considering the formal planning of succession processes and professional careers, providing qualifications to candidates and ensuring that they are show satisfaction with their professional evolution in the company. Likewise, it is positive for family businesses to use coaching relationships, formally scheduled and employing a coach from abroad. The other tool that will favor the development of employees is mentoring, formally programmed, establishing objectives and properly studying the mentor's profile. For this tool to be applied successfully, it is necessary to get the participants to commit to the mentoring process. Finally, the organization must provide its employees with real opportunities to promote, training them and developing their skills.