This report from OECD compares urbanisation trends in OECD countries on the basis of a newly defined OECD methodology which enables cross-country comparison of the socio-economic and environmental performance of metropolitan areas in OECD countries.
The methodology is presented and results from its application to 27 OECD countries are discussed together with policy implication both on national growth and governance of cities. The report also includes three original papers that present the urbanisation dynamics and prospects in China and South Africa and the governance challenges resulting from the new policy agenda on cities in the United Kingdom.
Available from the OECD bookshop as follows:
E-book (PDF 148pp)
Price: €18 | $25 | £16 | ¥2400 | MXN330
ISBN: 9-789-26417-410-8
OECD Code: 042012051E1
Print (Paperback) + Free PDF
Price: €27 | $37 | £24 | ¥3500 | MXN480
Standard shipping included.
ISBN: 9-789-26417-405-4
OECD Code: 042012051P1
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Individual Skill Predictors of the School- and Career-Related Adjustment of Adolescents With Disabilities
an article by Christopher J. Pinkney, MA, Christopher J. Murray, PhD and John R. Lind (University of Oregon, Eugene, USA) published in Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals Volume 35 Number 1 (May 2012)
Abstract
In this investigation, the authors examine the relationship between individual skills (i.e., career locus of control [LOC], social skills [SOC], and social problem–solving skills [SPSS]) and the school- and perceived career–related adjustment of 211 students with disabilities. Data pertaining to individual skills were gathered from student reports, and data pertaining to adjustment were gathered from student and teacher perceptions.
Results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that together LOC, SOC, and SPSS accounted for a significant amount of variance in student- and teacher-rated school- and career-related adjustment after controlling for disability type. Evaluation of individual predictors indicated that the strength of these associations varied according to data source and the specific predictor under study.
Abstract
In this investigation, the authors examine the relationship between individual skills (i.e., career locus of control [LOC], social skills [SOC], and social problem–solving skills [SPSS]) and the school- and perceived career–related adjustment of 211 students with disabilities. Data pertaining to individual skills were gathered from student reports, and data pertaining to adjustment were gathered from student and teacher perceptions.
Results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that together LOC, SOC, and SPSS accounted for a significant amount of variance in student- and teacher-rated school- and career-related adjustment after controlling for disability type. Evaluation of individual predictors indicated that the strength of these associations varied according to data source and the specific predictor under study.
Materialist theology and anti-capitalist resistance, or, ‘What would Jesus buy?’
an article by Anna-Maria Murtola (Independent Researcher, Waiwera, Auckland, New Zealand) published in Organization Volume 19 Number 3 (May 2012)
Abstract
Analysis of resistance in critical organization and management studies today tends to focus on expressions of micro resistance in the workplace. Meanwhile, much broader struggles are taking place on the global arena in response to the ongoing violence of neoliberal capitalism.
Capitalism, which has always had a fraught relationship to religion, appears today in many ways as a religion in its own right. Furthermore, its ongoing expansion is explicitly secured through the support of particular theological ideas and proponents, primarily from American conservative Christianity. It should thus come as no surprise that anti-capitalist resistance today turns to theology for an effective counter-politics.
This article draws on the materialist theology of Slavoj Žižek in order to analyse the resistance of anti-capitalist activist Reverend Billy. In doing so, it shows how theology is today mobilized in anti-capitalist resistance.
If contemporary ideology operates on a logic of distancing, as Žižek claims, then an effective strategy of resistance may reside in the opposite, a logic of overidentification. The overidentification that we see in both Žižek’s own work and in the activism of Reverend Billy, however, takes the form of parodic overidentification, which embraces in an exaggerated form a part rather than the whole.
The analysis points to the need in studies of resistance to recognize the broader social and ideational context in which resistance operates, and emphasizes in particular the importance of resistance to confront both the postmodern cynicism and the rising absolutism that are part and parcel of contemporary capitalism.
Abstract
Analysis of resistance in critical organization and management studies today tends to focus on expressions of micro resistance in the workplace. Meanwhile, much broader struggles are taking place on the global arena in response to the ongoing violence of neoliberal capitalism.
Capitalism, which has always had a fraught relationship to religion, appears today in many ways as a religion in its own right. Furthermore, its ongoing expansion is explicitly secured through the support of particular theological ideas and proponents, primarily from American conservative Christianity. It should thus come as no surprise that anti-capitalist resistance today turns to theology for an effective counter-politics.
This article draws on the materialist theology of Slavoj Žižek in order to analyse the resistance of anti-capitalist activist Reverend Billy. In doing so, it shows how theology is today mobilized in anti-capitalist resistance.
If contemporary ideology operates on a logic of distancing, as Žižek claims, then an effective strategy of resistance may reside in the opposite, a logic of overidentification. The overidentification that we see in both Žižek’s own work and in the activism of Reverend Billy, however, takes the form of parodic overidentification, which embraces in an exaggerated form a part rather than the whole.
The analysis points to the need in studies of resistance to recognize the broader social and ideational context in which resistance operates, and emphasizes in particular the importance of resistance to confront both the postmodern cynicism and the rising absolutism that are part and parcel of contemporary capitalism.
Invisible Walls and Visible Youth: Territoriality among Young People in British Cities
an article by Jonny Pickering, Keith Kintrea and Jon Bannister (Department of Urban Studies, University of Glasgow) published in
Urban Studies Volume 49 Number 5 (April 2012)
Abstract
This paper explores how young people experience territoriality in six British cities. It challenges the prevailing view within existing literature that young people derive important benefits from their ability to shape their identities by occupying public spaces.
The paper is based on an exploratory study using semi-structured interviews, focus groups and cognitive mapping with young people. The origins, motivations and impacts of territoriality among groups and ‘gangs’ are examined, especially among those groups who possess an acute sense of place attachment and rivalry with groups from other neighbourhoods.
It finds that territoriality is a form of cultural capital passed from one generation to the next, often with rich, heavily mythologised histories. Territoriality comes from the close affinity between young people and place and is often expressed through periodic violent confrontations. The paper illustrates how territoriality limits mobility and subsequently imposes sanctions on access to leisure, education, employment and social opportunities.
Abstract
This paper explores how young people experience territoriality in six British cities. It challenges the prevailing view within existing literature that young people derive important benefits from their ability to shape their identities by occupying public spaces.
The paper is based on an exploratory study using semi-structured interviews, focus groups and cognitive mapping with young people. The origins, motivations and impacts of territoriality among groups and ‘gangs’ are examined, especially among those groups who possess an acute sense of place attachment and rivalry with groups from other neighbourhoods.
It finds that territoriality is a form of cultural capital passed from one generation to the next, often with rich, heavily mythologised histories. Territoriality comes from the close affinity between young people and place and is often expressed through periodic violent confrontations. The paper illustrates how territoriality limits mobility and subsequently imposes sanctions on access to leisure, education, employment and social opportunities.
Everybody wins? Using the workplace as an arena for learning
an article by Chrissy Ogilvie and Gill Homan (Manchester Metropolitan University Business School) published in Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning Volume 2 Issue 2 (2012)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the opportunities provided by the workplace as an arena for learning and academic credit for first year undergraduates at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. The research focuses on the evaluation of a work-based learning (WBL) module designed for full-time business students who are working part time to fund their progress through university.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary reflective data were gathered in a structured evaluation from a cohort of 85 participating students at the end of the WBL module. A self-selected sample of 14 of these students provided additional data through questionnaires and interviews. Material was also captured from tutor reflections and some employers who volunteered comments. Recent literature on WBL was reviewed.
Findings
Some recent literature suggests that part-time work has a detrimental effect on student study and attainment. However the findings of this research revealed both anticipated and unexpected benefits, not just for the students but other stakeholders. Students liked the flexible delivery and the opportunity to learn in the workplace rather than the classroom. Students also reported short and longer term career benefits as a result of doing WBL and a boost in job motivation. In addition, there were development opportunities for tutors, employers and the employing business.
Research limitations/implications
The research was limited to one cohort and was also undertaken by the tutors and not independent researchers. The sample was self selected and was not representative. Employer feedback was limited and possibly unreliable. However, there is clear evidence of positive enthusiasm for this mode of learning and the rich seam of learning opportunities for all parties in this mode of undergraduate delivery deserves more research.
Practical implications
Given the economic necessity for full-time students to engage in part-time employment, this form of WBL that carries academic credit can greatly enhance the curriculum of business students. Linked to the employability agenda WBL could also be included in the curriculum of students taking non-vocational degrees and this University is currently exploring this development. Working students are offered an alternative form of learning delivery which supports their complex lives by being flexible and perhaps meets the learning preferences of pragmatists and activists more than the traditional classroom.
Social implications
There is evidence that students who engage in WBL are more motivated and committed employees. They have also contributed to improvements in their workplaces in areas around waste, “green issues” and health and safety. All students, but particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can use their part-time employment as an asset rather than a hindrance to learning, thus supporting widening participation in higher education. Employers are encouraged to use the intellectual abilities of their student employees to mutual advantage.
Originality/value
The design of the WBL unit and the research is original to the authors. All secondary sources are cited.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the opportunities provided by the workplace as an arena for learning and academic credit for first year undergraduates at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. The research focuses on the evaluation of a work-based learning (WBL) module designed for full-time business students who are working part time to fund their progress through university.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary reflective data were gathered in a structured evaluation from a cohort of 85 participating students at the end of the WBL module. A self-selected sample of 14 of these students provided additional data through questionnaires and interviews. Material was also captured from tutor reflections and some employers who volunteered comments. Recent literature on WBL was reviewed.
Findings
Some recent literature suggests that part-time work has a detrimental effect on student study and attainment. However the findings of this research revealed both anticipated and unexpected benefits, not just for the students but other stakeholders. Students liked the flexible delivery and the opportunity to learn in the workplace rather than the classroom. Students also reported short and longer term career benefits as a result of doing WBL and a boost in job motivation. In addition, there were development opportunities for tutors, employers and the employing business.
Research limitations/implications
The research was limited to one cohort and was also undertaken by the tutors and not independent researchers. The sample was self selected and was not representative. Employer feedback was limited and possibly unreliable. However, there is clear evidence of positive enthusiasm for this mode of learning and the rich seam of learning opportunities for all parties in this mode of undergraduate delivery deserves more research.
Practical implications
Given the economic necessity for full-time students to engage in part-time employment, this form of WBL that carries academic credit can greatly enhance the curriculum of business students. Linked to the employability agenda WBL could also be included in the curriculum of students taking non-vocational degrees and this University is currently exploring this development. Working students are offered an alternative form of learning delivery which supports their complex lives by being flexible and perhaps meets the learning preferences of pragmatists and activists more than the traditional classroom.
Social implications
There is evidence that students who engage in WBL are more motivated and committed employees. They have also contributed to improvements in their workplaces in areas around waste, “green issues” and health and safety. All students, but particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can use their part-time employment as an asset rather than a hindrance to learning, thus supporting widening participation in higher education. Employers are encouraged to use the intellectual abilities of their student employees to mutual advantage.
Originality/value
The design of the WBL unit and the research is original to the authors. All secondary sources are cited.
Cookie law webinar resources on the knowledgebase
This is the most useful information I have yet seen about the new cookie law.
LASA (London Advice Services Alliance) has published an article which provides an overview of the webinar which Paul Ticher and LASA ran looking at the implications for the third sector of the cookie law, the essence of which is that someone else must not store information on your computer without your prior informed consent.
You can view the slides that Paul used, watch the video of the webinar, read the question and answer session, and get information about further resources and examples.
All here.
LASA (London Advice Services Alliance) has published an article which provides an overview of the webinar which Paul Ticher and LASA ran looking at the implications for the third sector of the cookie law, the essence of which is that someone else must not store information on your computer without your prior informed consent.
You can view the slides that Paul used, watch the video of the webinar, read the question and answer session, and get information about further resources and examples.
All here.
OECD Economic Outlook (Volume 2012 Issue 1 Preliminary version)
The OECD Economic Outlook is the OECD’s twice-yearly analysis of the major economic trends and prospects for the next two years. The Outlook puts forward a consistent set of projections for output, employment, prices, fiscal and current account balances.
Coverage is provided for all OECD member countries as well as for selected non-member countries. This issue includes a general assessment, chapters summarising developments and providing projections for each individual country, a chapter on medium and long-term scenarios for growth and imbalances, and a and a statistical annex.
It is available in English, French and German from the OECD bookshop as an e-book (PDF format) only.
Price: €71 | $102 | £63 | ¥8500 | MXN1280
Pages: 350
Tables: 13
Charts: 20
ISBN: 9-789-26417-890-8
OECD Code: 122012011E1
Coverage is provided for all OECD member countries as well as for selected non-member countries. This issue includes a general assessment, chapters summarising developments and providing projections for each individual country, a chapter on medium and long-term scenarios for growth and imbalances, and a and a statistical annex.
It is available in English, French and German from the OECD bookshop as an e-book (PDF format) only.
Price: €71 | $102 | £63 | ¥8500 | MXN1280
Pages: 350
Tables: 13
Charts: 20
ISBN: 9-789-26417-890-8
OECD Code: 122012011E1
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