but the RSA Journal was at the bottom of a large pile of journals that I have been ploughing through today in the British Library.
If you are familiar with this publication you may appreciate my dismay at reaching the final item in the pile just half-an-hour before closing time.
If you're not familiar with it then you may not understand why I gave up and have marked it for re-requesting on my next visit in two weeks.
It’s a “good read” – but not necessarily an easy one. A quick glance tells me that there are at least two articles that I'd want to blog about – but a) not in half-an-hour and b) not at the end of a long day. (The BL opens at 09:30 and closes at 20:00. I got here soon after opening time and won’t be leaving until time is called at 19:45.)
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Location is still important when it comes to career development
via The Management Blog by Adrian Gaskell
Location is increasingly important when it comes to people attending university, according to new research.The Location, Location, Location study carried out by the University and College Union shows that the education and career development gap between rich and poor people has continued to widen under the Labour government. According to the study, in the 20 poorest areas of the UK the number of adults with a degree has fallen over the past three years.
The announcement comes after a £2 billion government initiative to widen access to university education and management qualifications.
General secretary of the University and College Union Sally Hunt said: "The current government has rightly prioritised investment in education but this report shows that the problem is even more deep-seated than previously thought."
Location is increasingly important when it comes to people attending university, according to new research.The Location, Location, Location study carried out by the University and College Union shows that the education and career development gap between rich and poor people has continued to widen under the Labour government. According to the study, in the 20 poorest areas of the UK the number of adults with a degree has fallen over the past three years.
The announcement comes after a £2 billion government initiative to widen access to university education and management qualifications.
General secretary of the University and College Union Sally Hunt said: "The current government has rightly prioritised investment in education but this report shows that the problem is even more deep-seated than previously thought."
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
European statistics from A to Z
via Eurostat News releases
More ...
Hazel’s comment:
Serious data or, to be more precise, data on serious subjects, but also some which are the food for pub quizzes.
- How much have infant mortality rates in the EU fallen since 1965?
- In which fields are there the most PhD students and what is the split between men and women?
- Which sectors have increased their importance in the EU economy in recent years?
- What proportion of those employed in the EU have a second job?
More ...
Hazel’s comment:
Serious data or, to be more precise, data on serious subjects, but also some which are the food for pub quizzes.
Culture, identity and information privacy in the age of digital government
an article by Rowena Cullen published in Online Information Review Volume 33 Issue 3 (2009)
Abstract
Purpose
The emergence of digital government and the requirement for citizens to exchange information with government online have raised a number of issues related to personal information held by government. These include questions about the confidence of citizens concerning the security and privacy of information they provide to government, on- or offline, and whether different cultural attitudes to issues such as personal identity might impact on citizens’ attitudes towards privacy. This paper aims to investigate these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports and comments on the experiences and concerns of citizens in both New Zealand and Japan, based on focus groups and interviews. The New Zealand research included indigenous Maori, immigrant Pacific Islands groups and other ethnic communities.
Findings
Although all groups had concerns about information privacy, the nature of these concerns varied among the different groups interviewed and among individuals. Explanations of the attitudes and perceptions made in each group reflect cultural values and concepts of personal identity, and illustrate the importance of being aware of the differences between individualist and collectivist cultures.
Research limitations/implications
The research was based on a number of small studies, with limited numbers of participants. The findings would be strengthened by expanding the research to include larger numbers of participants.
Originality/value
The findings are significant to the development of policies for securing the confidentiality of citizens in the way government handles personal information in the online environment and in the ways in which these policies are communicated to citizens.
Hazel’s comment:
Before reading about this study I thought that everyone would be wary of central government organisations holding personal information and this is, to an extent, true but the level of wariness (not sure about that as a phrase but I’m sure you understand) varies quite considerably across different cultures.
Abstract
Purpose
The emergence of digital government and the requirement for citizens to exchange information with government online have raised a number of issues related to personal information held by government. These include questions about the confidence of citizens concerning the security and privacy of information they provide to government, on- or offline, and whether different cultural attitudes to issues such as personal identity might impact on citizens’ attitudes towards privacy. This paper aims to investigate these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports and comments on the experiences and concerns of citizens in both New Zealand and Japan, based on focus groups and interviews. The New Zealand research included indigenous Maori, immigrant Pacific Islands groups and other ethnic communities.
Findings
Although all groups had concerns about information privacy, the nature of these concerns varied among the different groups interviewed and among individuals. Explanations of the attitudes and perceptions made in each group reflect cultural values and concepts of personal identity, and illustrate the importance of being aware of the differences between individualist and collectivist cultures.
Research limitations/implications
The research was based on a number of small studies, with limited numbers of participants. The findings would be strengthened by expanding the research to include larger numbers of participants.
Originality/value
The findings are significant to the development of policies for securing the confidentiality of citizens in the way government handles personal information in the online environment and in the ways in which these policies are communicated to citizens.
Hazel’s comment:
Before reading about this study I thought that everyone would be wary of central government organisations holding personal information and this is, to an extent, true but the level of wariness (not sure about that as a phrase but I’m sure you understand) varies quite considerably across different cultures.
Thursday, 29 October 2009
University as vocational education: ...
working-class students’ expectations for university
an article by Wolfgang Lehmann (The University of Western Ontario, Canada) published in
British Journal of Sociology of Education Volume 30 Issue 2 (March 2009)
Abstract
Labour market conditions, a pervasive public discourse about the benefits of higher education, and parental hopes push many young working-class people into university. The institutional culture and demands of university, however, often remain elusive and fraught with uncertainty. In this paper, I draw on qualitative interviews with first-generation, working-class students at a Canadian university to analyse the ways in which these students discuss their reasons to attend and their expectations for university, and the implications of their attitudes for their future success at university. Analysis of the interview data shows how the relatively high and risky investment of working-class youth in education leads to strong utilitarian and vocational orientations toward university. Although a narrow focus on the career potential of university is generally perceived as problematic, I argue that it may also help working-class students in their transition to university. Nonetheless, a critical educational process is necessary that not only helps working-class students achieve their educational and occupational goals, but also understand their unique status in a social institution that they entered as outsiders.
an article by Wolfgang Lehmann (The University of Western Ontario, Canada) published in
British Journal of Sociology of Education Volume 30 Issue 2 (March 2009)
Abstract
Labour market conditions, a pervasive public discourse about the benefits of higher education, and parental hopes push many young working-class people into university. The institutional culture and demands of university, however, often remain elusive and fraught with uncertainty. In this paper, I draw on qualitative interviews with first-generation, working-class students at a Canadian university to analyse the ways in which these students discuss their reasons to attend and their expectations for university, and the implications of their attitudes for their future success at university. Analysis of the interview data shows how the relatively high and risky investment of working-class youth in education leads to strong utilitarian and vocational orientations toward university. Although a narrow focus on the career potential of university is generally perceived as problematic, I argue that it may also help working-class students in their transition to university. Nonetheless, a critical educational process is necessary that not only helps working-class students achieve their educational and occupational goals, but also understand their unique status in a social institution that they entered as outsiders.
Thursday, 22 October 2009
The Happenstance Learning Theory
an article by John D Krumboltz (Stanford University) published in Journal of Career Assessment Volume 17 Number 2 (2009)
Abstract
What-you-should-be-when-you-grow-up need not and should not be planned in advance. Instead career counsellors should teach their clients the importance of engaging in a variety of interesting and beneficial activities, ascertaining their reactions, remaining alert to alternative opportunities, and learning skills for succeeding in each new activity.
Four propositions:
Abstract
What-you-should-be-when-you-grow-up need not and should not be planned in advance. Instead career counsellors should teach their clients the importance of engaging in a variety of interesting and beneficial activities, ascertaining their reactions, remaining alert to alternative opportunities, and learning skills for succeeding in each new activity.
Four propositions:
- The goal of career counselling is to help clients learn to take actions to achieve more satisfying career and personal lives – not to make a single career decision.
- Assessments are used to stimulate learning, not to match personal characteristics with occupational characteristics.
- Clients learn to engage in exploratory actions as a way of generating beneficial unplanned events.
- The success of counseling is assessed by what the client accomplishes in the real world outside the counselling session.
Sunday, 4 October 2009
Tax Credits: help us to help you get it right
A new 4-page (A5) leaflet (WTC10) from HMRC explaining that you have to tell HMRC when your circumstances change or you may build up an over/under-payment.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/wtc10.pdf
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/wtc10.pdf
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