an article by Tristan Bunnell (University of Bath) published in Oxford Review of Education Volume 41 Issue 3 (2015)
Abstract
The three main programmes of the Geneva-registered International Baccalaureate (IB) have grown substantially worldwide over the past decade, although the programmes have found a natural ‘home’ in the United States.
This paper charts the growth of the IB in the United Kingdom (UK) revealing that involvement there, mainly in England and mainly with the original pre-university Diploma Programme (IBDP), peaked at about 230 schools in 2010, but since then the IBDP has begun suddenly to decline. Yet, in no other country has there been a fall in IBDP provision.
This paper offers some key explanations for this phenomenon, where a lack of funding and continued lack of university recognition in the face of Advanced Level (A-Level) reform and numerous ‘baccalaureate’ developments has led to many state-funded schools in particular dropping the IBDP. Thirdly, this paper discusses a number of implications, both for the IB itself and education in the UK in general.
Tuesday, 30 June 2015
Three scenarios for industrial relations in Europe
an article by Richard Hyman (London School of Economics) published in International Labour Review Volume 154 Issue 1 (March 2015)
Abstract
The author outlines three scenarios for the future of industrial relations in Europe.
The first – perhaps the most realistic – projects continuing erosion of national industrial relations systems and conditions of employment, in line with current trends.
The second envisages that “elite reform” from above will succeed in re-engineering industrial relations and workers’ protection according to an ideal social policy agenda – an unlikely prospect given the overriding importance of financial considerations and globalized competition.
The third scenario centres on a counter-movement from below which presents trade unions with the daunting challenge of mobilizing the discontented far beyond their traditional constituency.
Abstract
The author outlines three scenarios for the future of industrial relations in Europe.
The first – perhaps the most realistic – projects continuing erosion of national industrial relations systems and conditions of employment, in line with current trends.
The second envisages that “elite reform” from above will succeed in re-engineering industrial relations and workers’ protection according to an ideal social policy agenda – an unlikely prospect given the overriding importance of financial considerations and globalized competition.
The third scenario centres on a counter-movement from below which presents trade unions with the daunting challenge of mobilizing the discontented far beyond their traditional constituency.
Trivia (should have been 21 March)
All Aboard: 1919
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Circa 1919
“Streetcar in Washington, D.C.”
With what seems to be a pedestrian-scooper in the “up” position
National Photo glass negative
View original post
==========================================
All Quiet on the Martian Front
via Boing Boing by Gareth Branwyn
It’s not easy designing a fair and playable game of asymmetrical warfare. But that’s what we have here as lumbering tripods armed with devastating heat rays take on puny human forces.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Lewis Carroll’s wonderland
Lewis Carroll, obsessed by young girls, photographed them dressed as princesses, or beggars, or naked. How to discern between playful and predatory?… more
==========================================
Clearing Out Clutter Is Good For You – But Why?
via MakeUseOf by Dann Albright
Around the beginning of every new year, people start thinking about decluttering and organizing their lives. It’s a great way to start the year feeling fresh, and it gives you a big sense of accomplishment – but there’s more to it than that.
Decluttering can really improve your life – and here’s the psychology to prove it.
Continue reading this really is useful, at least for me.
I am not a hoarder (psychological disorder) but I am a keeper and clutterer.
==========================================
9 film scores we can’t believe aren’t in the Hall of Fame
via Classicfm by John Suchet
Every year we ask you to vote for your favourite pieces of music, and every year thousands of you get behind some of the most iconic scores. But here are nine film soundtracks that don't feature – and we don't understand why.
Continue reading – and listening
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Memoir of madness
In 1988, the historian Barbara Taylor arrived at a great Victorian institution: the Colney Hatch mental asylum. She was a patient… more
==========================================
Marvellous rube goldberg mechanical lightswitch covers
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
These laser-cut rube goldberg lightswitch plates from Green Tea Jewelry turn your lights into hand-cranked, mechanical delights to rival the very best in novelty switchplates of yore. Choose your favorite simple machine: fulcra, rack-and-pinion, orbital gears, and the whole enchilada, wrapped in the flag!
Continue reading
==========================================
The Folio Society: Devoted to Beautiful Books
via AbeBooks
Standing like an island amid the sea of cheap mass produced paperbacks and formulaic new releases from the latest bright young things is the Folio Society. This organisation is half publisher, half book club (as it has members) and was founded in 1947 on the principle that books should be beautiful to the eye as well as captivating to the mind.
The Folio Society’s formula for success is publishing books with exceptional typography, illustrations, paper and bindings. The Society sources new introductions from literary experts to accompany classic texts and uses skilled designers and master printers to produce memorable fine books. Fiction and non-fiction is published and you will be familiar with many of the titles and authors.
One of my favourites!
These books are often housed in beautiful slipcases. Sets and multi-volume editions are commonplace. The Folio Society takes a classic book and finds an expert to write a fresh introduction. It publishes books that are already winners – some of them like The Wind in the Willows and The Canterbury Tales have become iconic – but adds much more to the look and feel.
Continue reading and view some lovely images
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Life of Mark Twain
Mark Twain, 31, got a newspaper to pay for a luxury cruise to Europe. The problem? Almost everyone on the ship was also a journalist… more
==========================================
The sublime mathematical GIFs of Clayton Shonkwiler
via Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin
See more like this here
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Circa 1919
“Streetcar in Washington, D.C.”
With what seems to be a pedestrian-scooper in the “up” position
National Photo glass negative
View original post
==========================================
All Quiet on the Martian Front
via Boing Boing by Gareth Branwyn
It’s not easy designing a fair and playable game of asymmetrical warfare. But that’s what we have here as lumbering tripods armed with devastating heat rays take on puny human forces.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Lewis Carroll’s wonderland
Lewis Carroll, obsessed by young girls, photographed them dressed as princesses, or beggars, or naked. How to discern between playful and predatory?… more
==========================================
Clearing Out Clutter Is Good For You – But Why?
via MakeUseOf by Dann Albright
Around the beginning of every new year, people start thinking about decluttering and organizing their lives. It’s a great way to start the year feeling fresh, and it gives you a big sense of accomplishment – but there’s more to it than that.
Decluttering can really improve your life – and here’s the psychology to prove it.
Continue reading this really is useful, at least for me.
I am not a hoarder (psychological disorder) but I am a keeper and clutterer.
==========================================
9 film scores we can’t believe aren’t in the Hall of Fame
via Classicfm by John Suchet
Every year we ask you to vote for your favourite pieces of music, and every year thousands of you get behind some of the most iconic scores. But here are nine film soundtracks that don't feature – and we don't understand why.
Continue reading – and listening
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Memoir of madness
In 1988, the historian Barbara Taylor arrived at a great Victorian institution: the Colney Hatch mental asylum. She was a patient… more
==========================================
Marvellous rube goldberg mechanical lightswitch covers
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
These laser-cut rube goldberg lightswitch plates from Green Tea Jewelry turn your lights into hand-cranked, mechanical delights to rival the very best in novelty switchplates of yore. Choose your favorite simple machine: fulcra, rack-and-pinion, orbital gears, and the whole enchilada, wrapped in the flag!
Continue reading
==========================================
The Folio Society: Devoted to Beautiful Books
via AbeBooks
Standing like an island amid the sea of cheap mass produced paperbacks and formulaic new releases from the latest bright young things is the Folio Society. This organisation is half publisher, half book club (as it has members) and was founded in 1947 on the principle that books should be beautiful to the eye as well as captivating to the mind.
The Folio Society’s formula for success is publishing books with exceptional typography, illustrations, paper and bindings. The Society sources new introductions from literary experts to accompany classic texts and uses skilled designers and master printers to produce memorable fine books. Fiction and non-fiction is published and you will be familiar with many of the titles and authors.
One of my favourites!
These books are often housed in beautiful slipcases. Sets and multi-volume editions are commonplace. The Folio Society takes a classic book and finds an expert to write a fresh introduction. It publishes books that are already winners – some of them like The Wind in the Willows and The Canterbury Tales have become iconic – but adds much more to the look and feel.
Continue reading and view some lovely images
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Life of Mark Twain
Mark Twain, 31, got a newspaper to pay for a luxury cruise to Europe. The problem? Almost everyone on the ship was also a journalist… more
==========================================
The sublime mathematical GIFs of Clayton Shonkwiler
via Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin
See more like this here
A Developmental Science Approach to Reducing Prejudice and Social Exclusion: Intergroup Processes, Social-Cognitive Development, and Moral Reasoning
an article by Adam Rutland (Goldsmiths, University of London) and Melanie Killen (University of Maryland) published in Social Issues and Policy Review Volume 9 Issue 1 (January 2015)
Abstract
This article presents a developmental science approach to changing attitudes and rectifying prejudice and discrimination. This is crucial because stereotypes and prejudicial attitudes are deeply entrenched by adulthood; the time for intervention is before biases are fully formed in adulthood.
Adults as well as children are both the recipients and the perpetrators of prejudice as reflected by social exclusion based on group membership. Determining the factors that inhibit or reduce the negative outcomes of prejudice and exclusion is of paramount importance.
Research reveals that young children are aware of in-group and out-group differences very early but what becomes full-fledged prejudice, in fact, emerges slowly during childhood and adolescence. At the same time, morality, an understanding of fairness and equality, emerges during this same time period.
On the positive side, evidence reveals that in certain contexts, children understand the unfairness of prejudicial attitudes and social exclusion designed to inflict harm on others. On the negative side, prejudicial attitudes, even when not intentional, have detrimental consequences for children as targets of biased attitudes.
This article describes research on social reasoning, moral judgments, group identity, group norms, and intergroup contact in childhood to shed light on the catalysts and obstacles that exist for the goal of promoting the development of positive intergroup attitudes from early childhood to adulthood. Implications for policy and intervention are provided.
Full article: HTML
Abstract
This article presents a developmental science approach to changing attitudes and rectifying prejudice and discrimination. This is crucial because stereotypes and prejudicial attitudes are deeply entrenched by adulthood; the time for intervention is before biases are fully formed in adulthood.
Adults as well as children are both the recipients and the perpetrators of prejudice as reflected by social exclusion based on group membership. Determining the factors that inhibit or reduce the negative outcomes of prejudice and exclusion is of paramount importance.
Research reveals that young children are aware of in-group and out-group differences very early but what becomes full-fledged prejudice, in fact, emerges slowly during childhood and adolescence. At the same time, morality, an understanding of fairness and equality, emerges during this same time period.
On the positive side, evidence reveals that in certain contexts, children understand the unfairness of prejudicial attitudes and social exclusion designed to inflict harm on others. On the negative side, prejudicial attitudes, even when not intentional, have detrimental consequences for children as targets of biased attitudes.
This article describes research on social reasoning, moral judgments, group identity, group norms, and intergroup contact in childhood to shed light on the catalysts and obstacles that exist for the goal of promoting the development of positive intergroup attitudes from early childhood to adulthood. Implications for policy and intervention are provided.
Full article: HTML
Monday, 29 June 2015
Rights, responsibilities and refusals: Homelessness policy and the exclusion of single homeless people with complex needs
an article by Peter Dwyer (University of York, England) and Graham Bowpitt, Eva Sundin, and Mark Weinstein (Nottingham Trent University, England) published in Critical Social Policy Volume 35 Number 1 (February 2015)
Abstract
Since 1977 homelessness legislation in England has offered limited statutory accommodation rights to unintentionally homeless people who are judged to be in priority need and able to demonstrate a local connection.
Using data generated in interviews with homeless people and staff working to support them, this paper considers the impact of current homelessness policy and practice and explores how decisions about intentionality, priority need and local connection serve to exacerbate the social exclusion experienced by single homeless people with multiple support needs.
It is concluded that a more genuinely inclusive welfare state will only emerge when, and if, policymakers and wider society are able to abandon their current fixation with using welfare policy to punish ‘irresponsible’ behaviour and refocus instead on providing services to adequately meet the basic needs of marginalised people.
Abstract
Since 1977 homelessness legislation in England has offered limited statutory accommodation rights to unintentionally homeless people who are judged to be in priority need and able to demonstrate a local connection.
Using data generated in interviews with homeless people and staff working to support them, this paper considers the impact of current homelessness policy and practice and explores how decisions about intentionality, priority need and local connection serve to exacerbate the social exclusion experienced by single homeless people with multiple support needs.
It is concluded that a more genuinely inclusive welfare state will only emerge when, and if, policymakers and wider society are able to abandon their current fixation with using welfare policy to punish ‘irresponsible’ behaviour and refocus instead on providing services to adequately meet the basic needs of marginalised people.
University choice: what do we know, what don’t we know and what do we still need to find out?
an article by Jane Hemsley-Brown (Surrey Business School, Guildford) and Izhar Oplatka (School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Israel) published in International Journal of Educational Management Volume 29 Issue 3 (2015)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to systematically document, scrutinise and critically analyse the current research literature on higher education choice to: establish the scope of the studies; map the factors associated with choice; identify the key strengths and weaknesses in the research literature; critically analyse the extant research and make recommendations for further research in this field.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted extensive searches of relevant and education and management databases. The search is limited to publications between 1992 and 2013 and is intended to cover national and international research. The review is based on 75 papers which focus on institutional choice, assembled on an Excel database (45 surveys, 13 secondary data studies, one experimental study, two longitudinal studies, 11 qualitative studies and three studies that use both qualitative and quantitative techniques).
Findings
Results are presented under thematic headings which emerged from the analysis: first, demographics and academic factors; second, factors which relate to the institution: quality, outcomes and benefits, facilities, and characteristics of institutions. Finally factors which affect both the institution and the students: price and price sensitivity, information and information sources, and travel and geographical factors are considered.
Originality/value
Comprehensive analysis of prior research in the field of institutional choice is long overdue. Theoretical models for future research are presented as a result of the findings.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to systematically document, scrutinise and critically analyse the current research literature on higher education choice to: establish the scope of the studies; map the factors associated with choice; identify the key strengths and weaknesses in the research literature; critically analyse the extant research and make recommendations for further research in this field.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted extensive searches of relevant and education and management databases. The search is limited to publications between 1992 and 2013 and is intended to cover national and international research. The review is based on 75 papers which focus on institutional choice, assembled on an Excel database (45 surveys, 13 secondary data studies, one experimental study, two longitudinal studies, 11 qualitative studies and three studies that use both qualitative and quantitative techniques).
Findings
Results are presented under thematic headings which emerged from the analysis: first, demographics and academic factors; second, factors which relate to the institution: quality, outcomes and benefits, facilities, and characteristics of institutions. Finally factors which affect both the institution and the students: price and price sensitivity, information and information sources, and travel and geographical factors are considered.
Originality/value
Comprehensive analysis of prior research in the field of institutional choice is long overdue. Theoretical models for future research are presented as a result of the findings.
Sunday, 28 June 2015
Trivia (should have been 15 March)
Bicoastal Buick: 1929
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
A 1907 “Coast-to-Coast” Buick on San Francisco’s Auto Row at Van Ness Avenue and California Street in 1929, evidently at the end of its jaunt. Of all the marques represented here – Buick, Graham-Paige, Pontiac and Oakland – only Buick survives.
5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin
View original post
==========================================
Bringing computer history to life
via BBC News by Mark Ward, technology correspondent
==========================================
How many bits are there in a byte? Eight, right?
Well, it depends. While nowadays it is widely accepted that there are eight bits in a byte the bit-count in that computing fact was not always so settled.
In the early days of computers there was little consensus about the basic computational units used to crunch numbers in those older, hulking machines.
"Everyone thinks a byte is eight bits but that's a relatively new development," said Dr Doron Swade, founder of the Computer Conservation Society (CCS) that has now been going for 25 years. The society is helping to unearth the history of computers, recording how they were built and how those now standard units came about.
"What's astounding is how different they all were," he said, adding that the basic numerical systems seen in those old machines were very different. Some machines were decimal, others binary and others used octal or hexadecimal schemes.
Before eight-bits-to-a-byte became standard, a byte could have four, six or even seven bits depending on the machine.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Meaning of skyscrapers
The Quill, the Walkie-Talkie, the Cheesegrater, the Gherkin, the Shard: Skyscrapers attract strange nicknames to go with outlandish analyses…more
==========================================
1215 and all that: Magna Carta, symbol of freedom
via Eurozine by John Crace
On 15 June 1215, King John cut a deal with the barons at Runnymede, near Windsor. 800 years later, the thirteenth century document known as the Magna Carta is of global significance where the nurturing of democratic ideals is concerned.
Continue reading
==========================================
Personification vs. Anthropomorphism
via Daily Writing Tips by Maeve Maddox
Question: Is there a difference between Personification and Anthropomorphism? If they’re not the same, could you please explain it?
Answer: Both words convey the idea of attributing human characteristics to something not human.
BUT Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Intellectual origins of evolution
Alfred Russel Wallace and his notebook traveled some 14,000 miles, accumulating evidence of natural selection. Does Darwin get too much credit?… more
==========================================
Women who share on social media are less stressed
via Research Buzz: Wall Street Journal by Jeff Elder
Surfing the Web and checking in on social media does not stress people out, a new study from the Pew Research Center shows. In fact, women who regularly tweet, email and post photos on their mobile devices are 21% less stressed, the study of 1,801 adults reveals.
Continue reading
==========================================
Don't Write Off ET Quite Yet
via 3 Quarks Daily: Caleb Scharf in Nautilus (photo by Kim Steele/Getty)
Here’s a riddle. We’ve never seen any, and we don’t know if they exist, but we think about them, debate them, and shout at each other about them. What are they?
Aliens, of course.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
What is hell?
The idea of hell has evolved over millennia. Where did it come from, and why does it endure? A brief history of eternal punishment… more
==========================================
Video: How books used to be made
via Boing Boing by David Pescovitz
Check out the video here (maybe me but I could not get it to embed)
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
A 1907 “Coast-to-Coast” Buick on San Francisco’s Auto Row at Van Ness Avenue and California Street in 1929, evidently at the end of its jaunt. Of all the marques represented here – Buick, Graham-Paige, Pontiac and Oakland – only Buick survives.
5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin
View original post
==========================================
Bringing computer history to life
via BBC News by Mark Ward, technology correspondent
==========================================
How many bits are there in a byte? Eight, right?
Well, it depends. While nowadays it is widely accepted that there are eight bits in a byte the bit-count in that computing fact was not always so settled.
In the early days of computers there was little consensus about the basic computational units used to crunch numbers in those older, hulking machines.
"Everyone thinks a byte is eight bits but that's a relatively new development," said Dr Doron Swade, founder of the Computer Conservation Society (CCS) that has now been going for 25 years. The society is helping to unearth the history of computers, recording how they were built and how those now standard units came about.
"What's astounding is how different they all were," he said, adding that the basic numerical systems seen in those old machines were very different. Some machines were decimal, others binary and others used octal or hexadecimal schemes.
Before eight-bits-to-a-byte became standard, a byte could have four, six or even seven bits depending on the machine.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Meaning of skyscrapers
The Quill, the Walkie-Talkie, the Cheesegrater, the Gherkin, the Shard: Skyscrapers attract strange nicknames to go with outlandish analyses…more
==========================================
1215 and all that: Magna Carta, symbol of freedom
via Eurozine by John Crace
On 15 June 1215, King John cut a deal with the barons at Runnymede, near Windsor. 800 years later, the thirteenth century document known as the Magna Carta is of global significance where the nurturing of democratic ideals is concerned.
Continue reading
==========================================
Personification vs. Anthropomorphism
via Daily Writing Tips by Maeve Maddox
Question: Is there a difference between Personification and Anthropomorphism? If they’re not the same, could you please explain it?
Answer: Both words convey the idea of attributing human characteristics to something not human.
BUT Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Intellectual origins of evolution
Alfred Russel Wallace and his notebook traveled some 14,000 miles, accumulating evidence of natural selection. Does Darwin get too much credit?… more
==========================================
Women who share on social media are less stressed
via Research Buzz: Wall Street Journal by Jeff Elder
Surfing the Web and checking in on social media does not stress people out, a new study from the Pew Research Center shows. In fact, women who regularly tweet, email and post photos on their mobile devices are 21% less stressed, the study of 1,801 adults reveals.
Continue reading
==========================================
Don't Write Off ET Quite Yet
via 3 Quarks Daily: Caleb Scharf in Nautilus (photo by Kim Steele/Getty)
Here’s a riddle. We’ve never seen any, and we don’t know if they exist, but we think about them, debate them, and shout at each other about them. What are they?
Aliens, of course.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
The idea of hell has evolved over millennia. Where did it come from, and why does it endure? A brief history of eternal punishment… more
==========================================
Video: How books used to be made
via Boing Boing by David Pescovitz
Check out the video here (maybe me but I could not get it to embed)
Friday, 26 June 2015
Trivia (should have been 14 March)
The Great Locks: 1908
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
“The Great Locks, Chicago Drainage Canal, Lockport, Illinois”
8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company
View original post
==========================================
How Our Minds Work = Hard To See
via Big Think by Jag Bhalla
How our own minds work is hard to see.
Here are some once-tempting views about why we do what we know we will rue
Some of the theories are obviously, imo, a load of garbage but since they were advanced more than two thousand years ago I’ll let them pass – interesting anyway.
The more modern interpretations of human behaviour are equally interesting but different!
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Medieval maps
Mapmaking mystery. How did a 13th-century cartographer do work so accurate that you could still navigate the Mediterranean with it?… more
==========================================
10 Beautiful Bookshops That Will Stop You in Your Tracks
via AbeBooks by Jessica Doyle
A bibliophile cannot walk past a bookshop without slowing their step. We will linger at the window, gazing through the glass at stacks of books we have not yet read. We hover, telling ourselves we must read the pile on the nightstand before buying another. But we can’t resist the lure. Before long, we open the door, sounding the tiny bell that rouses the shop cat. We’re in, and we’re going to be a while.
The only thing that tops a bookstore full of amazing books, is a beautiful bookstore full of amazing books – a bookstore so charming not even a TV-addict can resist it. Many stunning bookstores list their books for sale on the AbeBooks marketplace, so we rounded up a few of the most alluring storefronts from Paris to Boston and everywhere in between. Even those immune to the magnetic pull of the smell of old books will stop dead in their tracks at the sight of these pretty AbeBooks bookstores, so before you step inside to bury your nose in a book, take a moment to enjoy the view from outside.
More here and if you scroll down to the comments you’ll find more suggestions of places to visit.
==========================================
Here’s how to decide whether to keep a book or get rid of it
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder
I own more books than I can read in a lifetime. I need to try out Erik Knutzen’s system for cleaning his bookshelves.
Continue reading and then please come here and make me follow the rules!
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
On G.K. Chesterton
G.K. Chesterton inveighed against pessimism, determinism, pragmatism, even impressionism. Yes, Impressionism: “It puts what one notices above what one knows”…more
This review tells me a lot more about the man whose works I have admired since my father helped me to learn “The Rolling English Road“. I can still manage most of it without any prompting.
==========================================
A Rocket Scientist Redesigns the Kitchen Saucepan
via Big Think by Teodora Zareva
Dr. Tom Povey is a professor of Engineering Science at Oxford University who designs cooling systems for jet engines. In the early 2000s, inspired by his love of the outdoors, he started working on a small side project pursuing a more efficient pan for the times he would go camping. Many years later that project turned into a line of kitchen pots that use 40% less gas than the conventional ones.
Continue reading
==========================================
What Is Life? Is Death Real?
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder
What Is Life? Is Death Real? Neither of these questions are answered in this video, but the narrator has an appealing authoritative voice, and the animation is fantastic.
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Life of Bertolt Brecht
Brecht in America. His reception was grudging at best, obtuse and reactionary at worst. The problem? He fell victim to the professoriate… more
==========================================
Can Hermaphrodites Teach Us What It Means To Be Male?
via 3 Quarks Daily: Carl Zimmer in This View of Life
The vinegar worm (officially known as Caenorhabditis elegans) is about as simple as an animal can be. When this soil-dwelling nematode reaches its adult size, it measures a millimeter from its blind head to its tapered tail. It contains only a thousand cells in its entire body. Your body, by contrast, is made of 36 trillion cells. Yet the vinegar worm divides up its few cells into the various parts you can find in other animals like us, from muscles to a nervous system to a gut to sex organs.
Continue reading
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
“The Great Locks, Chicago Drainage Canal, Lockport, Illinois”
8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company
View original post
==========================================
How Our Minds Work = Hard To See
via Big Think by Jag Bhalla
How our own minds work is hard to see.
Here are some once-tempting views about why we do what we know we will rue
Some of the theories are obviously, imo, a load of garbage but since they were advanced more than two thousand years ago I’ll let them pass – interesting anyway.
The more modern interpretations of human behaviour are equally interesting but different!
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Mapmaking mystery. How did a 13th-century cartographer do work so accurate that you could still navigate the Mediterranean with it?… more
==========================================
10 Beautiful Bookshops That Will Stop You in Your Tracks
via AbeBooks by Jessica Doyle
A bibliophile cannot walk past a bookshop without slowing their step. We will linger at the window, gazing through the glass at stacks of books we have not yet read. We hover, telling ourselves we must read the pile on the nightstand before buying another. But we can’t resist the lure. Before long, we open the door, sounding the tiny bell that rouses the shop cat. We’re in, and we’re going to be a while.
The only thing that tops a bookstore full of amazing books, is a beautiful bookstore full of amazing books – a bookstore so charming not even a TV-addict can resist it. Many stunning bookstores list their books for sale on the AbeBooks marketplace, so we rounded up a few of the most alluring storefronts from Paris to Boston and everywhere in between. Even those immune to the magnetic pull of the smell of old books will stop dead in their tracks at the sight of these pretty AbeBooks bookstores, so before you step inside to bury your nose in a book, take a moment to enjoy the view from outside.
More here and if you scroll down to the comments you’ll find more suggestions of places to visit.
==========================================
Here’s how to decide whether to keep a book or get rid of it
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder
I own more books than I can read in a lifetime. I need to try out Erik Knutzen’s system for cleaning his bookshelves.
Continue reading and then please come here and make me follow the rules!
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
G.K. Chesterton inveighed against pessimism, determinism, pragmatism, even impressionism. Yes, Impressionism: “It puts what one notices above what one knows”…more
This review tells me a lot more about the man whose works I have admired since my father helped me to learn “The Rolling English Road“. I can still manage most of it without any prompting.
==========================================
A Rocket Scientist Redesigns the Kitchen Saucepan
via Big Think by Teodora Zareva
Dr. Tom Povey is a professor of Engineering Science at Oxford University who designs cooling systems for jet engines. In the early 2000s, inspired by his love of the outdoors, he started working on a small side project pursuing a more efficient pan for the times he would go camping. Many years later that project turned into a line of kitchen pots that use 40% less gas than the conventional ones.
Continue reading
==========================================
What Is Life? Is Death Real?
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder
What Is Life? Is Death Real? Neither of these questions are answered in this video, but the narrator has an appealing authoritative voice, and the animation is fantastic.
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Brecht in America. His reception was grudging at best, obtuse and reactionary at worst. The problem? He fell victim to the professoriate… more
==========================================
Can Hermaphrodites Teach Us What It Means To Be Male?
via 3 Quarks Daily: Carl Zimmer in This View of Life
The vinegar worm (officially known as Caenorhabditis elegans) is about as simple as an animal can be. When this soil-dwelling nematode reaches its adult size, it measures a millimeter from its blind head to its tapered tail. It contains only a thousand cells in its entire body. Your body, by contrast, is made of 36 trillion cells. Yet the vinegar worm divides up its few cells into the various parts you can find in other animals like us, from muscles to a nervous system to a gut to sex organs.
Continue reading
The hollowing out of London: how poverty patterns are changing
an article by Benjamin Hennig and Danny Dorling published in The News Statesman on 13 March 2015
The largest falls in the proportions of households that are neither wealthy or poor has been in outer boroughs of London.
Today in England over a quarter (27 per cent) of households are poor, meaning that they are unable to take part in the norms of society, they are unable to purchase items which the majority of the population consider to be necessities and, very often, their children are unable to take part in relatively cheap school trips or have a birthday party because of lack of money. In recent years that proportion has been rising. These rises that have been documented in great detail by the UK government funded Economic and Social Research Council’s Poverty and Social Exclusion team.
Continue reading and you will find some very interesting maps
The largest falls in the proportions of households that are neither wealthy or poor has been in outer boroughs of London.
Today in England over a quarter (27 per cent) of households are poor, meaning that they are unable to take part in the norms of society, they are unable to purchase items which the majority of the population consider to be necessities and, very often, their children are unable to take part in relatively cheap school trips or have a birthday party because of lack of money. In recent years that proportion has been rising. These rises that have been documented in great detail by the UK government funded Economic and Social Research Council’s Poverty and Social Exclusion team.
Continue reading and you will find some very interesting maps
Thursday, 25 June 2015
Understanding the Health Information Needs of British Internet Users Seeking Health Information Online and Their Perceptions of the Quality of the Internet as a Source of Health Information
an article by Christine Marton (affiliation uncertain) published in Journal of Hospital Librarianship Volume 15 Issue 2 (April-June 2015)
Abstract
Statistical results from three Web survey studies on consumer health information from the British Life and Internet Project demonstrate
Findings may also influence collection development and management.
Hazel’s comment:
I was more interested in this article from the viewpoint of a user of online information and I picked up some ideas about validation of information sources.
Abstract
Statistical results from three Web survey studies on consumer health information from the British Life and Internet Project demonstrate
- health information needs motivate online health information seeking;
- these health topics are robust predictors of various measures of online health information seeking in logistic regression models: health conditions and illnesses; new treatments; healthy lifestyle; prescription drugs; sensitive health topics; alternative medicines; and doctor’s visit and doctor or hospital;
- online health information is not perceived as being completely credible; but
- online health information can effect positive health outcomes, notably improved eating habits and increased exercise and relaxation; and
- although official consumer health sites in the UK may be deemed more credible than unofficial consumer health sites, unofficial sites may be viewed as having more relevant content than official sites.
Findings may also influence collection development and management.
Hazel’s comment:
I was more interested in this article from the viewpoint of a user of online information and I picked up some ideas about validation of information sources.
What do families of the 'professional and managerial' class educate their children for? The links between happiness and autonomy
an article by Jordi Collet-Sabé and Antoni Tort (University of Vic (Barcelona), Spain) published in British Journal of Sociology of Education Volume 36 Issue 2 (2015)
Abstract
Based on a qualitative study involving 124 professional and managerial class families in Catalonia (Spain), this paper describes the aims and objectives these families have for the education of their children.
During the fieldwork, when asked what they were aiming for in the education of their children, almost all of the parents replied ‘for them to be happy’. But what kind of happiness are they talking about? What kind of education might lead to happiness?
Drawing principally on the work of Kellerhals and Montandon and their ‘contractual model of education’ and Bauman’s concepts of ‘secondary security’ and ‘homo eligens’, although also taking into account the related contributions of Lareau, Vincent and Ball, Stefansen and Aarseth, and Kusserow, the paper aims to demonstrate the strong connection these families make between happiness and ‘absolute’ autonomy, understood as two sides of the same coin and seen, by the participants, as the guiding principle that should shape the way they bring their children up.
Abstract
Based on a qualitative study involving 124 professional and managerial class families in Catalonia (Spain), this paper describes the aims and objectives these families have for the education of their children.
During the fieldwork, when asked what they were aiming for in the education of their children, almost all of the parents replied ‘for them to be happy’. But what kind of happiness are they talking about? What kind of education might lead to happiness?
Drawing principally on the work of Kellerhals and Montandon and their ‘contractual model of education’ and Bauman’s concepts of ‘secondary security’ and ‘homo eligens’, although also taking into account the related contributions of Lareau, Vincent and Ball, Stefansen and Aarseth, and Kusserow, the paper aims to demonstrate the strong connection these families make between happiness and ‘absolute’ autonomy, understood as two sides of the same coin and seen, by the participants, as the guiding principle that should shape the way they bring their children up.
Wednesday, 24 June 2015
Assessing the Evidence Base on Health, Employability and the Labour Market – Lessons for Activation in the UK
an article Colin Lindsay (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow), Bent Greve (Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark), Ignazio Cabras (University of Northumbria, Newcastle), Nick Ellison (University of York) and Steve Kellett (University of Sheffield) published in Social Policy & Administration Volume 49 Issue 2 (March 2015)
Abstract
This article draws on the research of authors participating in this Special Issue, as well as a broader evidence review on how health, disability, labour market inequalities and other factors contribute to high levels of disability benefit (DB) claiming among certain communities.
We argue that the evidence points to a complex combination of factors feeding into high levels of DB claiming in the UK and beyond, namely: geographical concentrations of health problems and disability-related barriers; gaps in employability and skills; and labour market inequalities that limit the quantity and quality of work opportunities in some regions.
The article then provides a comparative, critical commentary on the evolution of activation and welfare reform policies in the UK and (briefly) Denmark – a welfare state that has experienced similarly high levels of DB claiming, but has adopted very different policy responses.
Specifically, we discuss the extent to which emerging active labour market policies, occupational health services and changes to the benefit system reflect the evidence on the nature of the barriers faced by people on DBs. The article concludes by identifying recommendations for health, employment and labour market policies.
Abstract
This article draws on the research of authors participating in this Special Issue, as well as a broader evidence review on how health, disability, labour market inequalities and other factors contribute to high levels of disability benefit (DB) claiming among certain communities.
We argue that the evidence points to a complex combination of factors feeding into high levels of DB claiming in the UK and beyond, namely: geographical concentrations of health problems and disability-related barriers; gaps in employability and skills; and labour market inequalities that limit the quantity and quality of work opportunities in some regions.
The article then provides a comparative, critical commentary on the evolution of activation and welfare reform policies in the UK and (briefly) Denmark – a welfare state that has experienced similarly high levels of DB claiming, but has adopted very different policy responses.
Specifically, we discuss the extent to which emerging active labour market policies, occupational health services and changes to the benefit system reflect the evidence on the nature of the barriers faced by people on DBs. The article concludes by identifying recommendations for health, employment and labour market policies.
Development and evaluation of an Internet-based program to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young men
and article by Louise A. Ellis, Kathryn McCabe, Tracey Davenport and Ian B Hickie (Brain & Mind Research Institute, The University of Sydney, Australia) and Jane M. Burns (Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre, Abbotsford, Australia) and Kitty Rahilly and Mariesa Nicholas (ReachOut.com by Inspire Foundation, Camperdown, Australia) published in Interactive Technology and Smart Education Volume 12 Issue 1 (2015)
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the development of WorkOut, an Internet-based program designed to help young men overcome the barriers towards help-seeking and to build the skills they need to understand and manage their own mental health. Information and communication technologies (ICT) hold great potential to significantly improve mental health outcomes for hard-to-reach and traditionally underserved groups. Internet-based programs and mobile phone applications may be particularly appealing to young men due to their convenience, accessibility and privacy and they also address the strong desire for independence and autonomy held by most men.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, we describe the design process itself, and the strategies used for multi-disciplinary collaboration. The initial evaluation process and results are also described which consisted of three distinct phases: website statistics; one-on-one user testing; and pilot interviews.
Findings
The results suggest that WorkOut has the potential to attract young men. However, further work is needed to ensure that users remain engaged with the program.
Originality/value
The difficulties encountered and lessons learned provide an insight into the factors that should be considered in the design and evaluation of future ICT-based strategies within the mental health domain, as well as their potential applicability to clinical and educational settings.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the development of WorkOut, an Internet-based program designed to help young men overcome the barriers towards help-seeking and to build the skills they need to understand and manage their own mental health. Information and communication technologies (ICT) hold great potential to significantly improve mental health outcomes for hard-to-reach and traditionally underserved groups. Internet-based programs and mobile phone applications may be particularly appealing to young men due to their convenience, accessibility and privacy and they also address the strong desire for independence and autonomy held by most men.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, we describe the design process itself, and the strategies used for multi-disciplinary collaboration. The initial evaluation process and results are also described which consisted of three distinct phases: website statistics; one-on-one user testing; and pilot interviews.
Findings
The results suggest that WorkOut has the potential to attract young men. However, further work is needed to ensure that users remain engaged with the program.
Originality/value
The difficulties encountered and lessons learned provide an insight into the factors that should be considered in the design and evaluation of future ICT-based strategies within the mental health domain, as well as their potential applicability to clinical and educational settings.
What happened to the Beacon schools? Policy reform and educational equity
an article by Emma Smith (University of Leicester) published in Oxford Review of Education Volume 41 Issue 3 (2015)
Abstract
This paper considers the impact of the Beacon schools initiative on the social and academic characteristics of secondary schools in England.
The Beacon schools programme ran from 1998 to 2004 and epitomised the (then) Labour government’s focus on school improvement through diversity, collaboration and partnership. This paper looks at variation in the academic and social characteristics of the 322 secondary Beacon schools over a nine-year period.
The findings show that Beacon schools were among the most advantaged state schools in England and while they continue to outperform the general school population, the data suggest that the performance gap has decreased and there is little evidence that Beacon status conferred an advantage on schools, in terms of standard measures of academic success.
The Beacon school initiative exemplifies some of the key issues with policy based education reform.
Abstract
This paper considers the impact of the Beacon schools initiative on the social and academic characteristics of secondary schools in England.
The Beacon schools programme ran from 1998 to 2004 and epitomised the (then) Labour government’s focus on school improvement through diversity, collaboration and partnership. This paper looks at variation in the academic and social characteristics of the 322 secondary Beacon schools over a nine-year period.
The findings show that Beacon schools were among the most advantaged state schools in England and while they continue to outperform the general school population, the data suggest that the performance gap has decreased and there is little evidence that Beacon status conferred an advantage on schools, in terms of standard measures of academic success.
The Beacon school initiative exemplifies some of the key issues with policy based education reform.
- First, its emphasis on collaboration provokes tensions between schools that are increasingly in competition with each other.
- Secondly, clearly defined and measurable medium and long term outcomes for the initiative were not prescribed, thus making it difficult to determine the efficacy of the intervention.
- Finally, that the initiative did not appear to have any appreciable effect on the social and academic characteristics of the Beacon schools raises issues about the usefulness of externally prescribed interventions and the potential that they have to make a real difference to educational equity.
The impacts of vocational rehabilitation
an article by Simen Markussen and Knut Røed (The Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research, Norway) published in Labour Economics Volume 31 (December 2014)
Abstract
Based on local variations in vocational rehabilitation (VR) priorities, we examine the impacts of alternative VR programs on short- and long-term labor market outcomes for temporary disability insurance (TDI) claimants in Norway.
The analysis builds on rich and detailed administrative registers covering 345,000 claimants.
We find that a strategy focusing on rapid placement in the regular labor market is superior to alternative strategies giving higher priority to vocational training or sheltered employment. Strategies prioritizing subsidized regular education also tend to be relatively successful in terms of final outcomes, but at the cost of protracted periods of benefit dependency first.
JEL classification C21; C26; H55; I38; J24
Hazel’s comment:
Interesting to note that placing people into sheltered employment is counter-productive to their possibilities of entering the regular labour market.
This conclusion is, however, based on a sample of people with a temporary disability.
Abstract
Based on local variations in vocational rehabilitation (VR) priorities, we examine the impacts of alternative VR programs on short- and long-term labor market outcomes for temporary disability insurance (TDI) claimants in Norway.
The analysis builds on rich and detailed administrative registers covering 345,000 claimants.
We find that a strategy focusing on rapid placement in the regular labor market is superior to alternative strategies giving higher priority to vocational training or sheltered employment. Strategies prioritizing subsidized regular education also tend to be relatively successful in terms of final outcomes, but at the cost of protracted periods of benefit dependency first.
JEL classification C21; C26; H55; I38; J24
Hazel’s comment:
Interesting to note that placing people into sheltered employment is counter-productive to their possibilities of entering the regular labour market.
This conclusion is, however, based on a sample of people with a temporary disability.
Monday, 22 June 2015
Activation and active labour market policies in OECD countries: stylised facts and evidence on their effectiveness
an article by John P Martin (UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy, University College Dublin, Ireland) published in IZA Journal of Labor Policy 4:4 (2015)
Abstract
Activation policies aimed at getting working-age people off benefits and into work have become a buzzword in labour market policies. Yet they are defined and implemented differently across OECD countries, and their success rates vary too.
The Great Recession has posed a severe stress test for these policies, with some commentators arguing that they are at best “fair weather” policies. This paper sheds light on these issues mainly via the lens of recent OECD research. It presents the stylised facts on how OECD countries have responded to the Great Recession in terms of ramping up their spending on active labour market policies (ALMPs), a key component in any activation strategy.
It then reviews the macroeconomic evidence on the impact of ALMPs on employment and unemployment rates. This is followed by a review of the key lessons from recent OECD country reviews of activation policies. It concludes with a discussion of crucial unanswered questions about activation.
JEL codes: J01, J08, J68
Full text (HTML)
Abstract
Activation policies aimed at getting working-age people off benefits and into work have become a buzzword in labour market policies. Yet they are defined and implemented differently across OECD countries, and their success rates vary too.
The Great Recession has posed a severe stress test for these policies, with some commentators arguing that they are at best “fair weather” policies. This paper sheds light on these issues mainly via the lens of recent OECD research. It presents the stylised facts on how OECD countries have responded to the Great Recession in terms of ramping up their spending on active labour market policies (ALMPs), a key component in any activation strategy.
It then reviews the macroeconomic evidence on the impact of ALMPs on employment and unemployment rates. This is followed by a review of the key lessons from recent OECD country reviews of activation policies. It concludes with a discussion of crucial unanswered questions about activation.
JEL codes: J01, J08, J68
Full text (HTML)
Sunday, 21 June 2015
Trivia (should have been 8 March)
The Ford Store: 1926
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Washington, D.C., in 1926
“Robey Motor Co. – 1429 L Street”
As long as we’re downtown, let’s pick up a tractor
National Photo glass negative
View original post
==========================================
Secrets of sea otter fur
via Boing Boing by David Pescovitz
No copyright-free images!!
California sea otters (Enhydra lutris) — the frolicking mascots of the coast who draw visitors to aquariums in droves and who float among the kelp beds just beyond the surf line — have the densest fur of any mammal on Earth.
Continue reading from KQED Science [there’s even a video]
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
No “proper English”
Dear pedantic grammarians: Your rules are just stylistic conventions. We’ll split an infinitive or end a sentence with a preposition anytime we want to… more
==========================================
Rubens and body image
via A Don’s Life by Mary Beard
We had an intriguing discussion on Friday night about Rubens and body image. It was at the Royal Academy in conjunction with the "Rubens and his Legacy" show.The point was to confront the basic, common idea of the "Rubenesque"...or, to go down a notch or two, the idea that Rubens is all about fat women. I mean, there are plenty of fat men in the Rubens repertoire, and plenty of people who are not fat at all, and plenty of clothed bodies and religious bodies... so how do we approach them?
Continue reading
==========================================
The futility of attempts to find a substitute for God
via 3 Quarks Daily: Eugene McCarraher at Dissent
Yet despite His protracted dotage, God refuses to shuffle off into oblivion. If He lingers as a metaphysical butt in seminar rooms and research laboratories, He thrives in the sanctuaries of private belief, religious communities, and seminaries, and abides (sometimes on sufferance) in theology and religious studies departments. He flourishes in suburban evangelical churches everywhere in North America; offers dignity and hope to the planet of slums in Kinshasa, Jakarta, São Paulo, and Mumbai; inspires pacifists and prophets for the poor as well as bombers of markets and abortion clinics. David Brat claims Him for libertarian economics, while Pope Francis enlists Him to scourge the demons of neoliberal capitalism. He’s even been seen making cameo appearances in the books of left-wing intellectuals. “Religious belief,” Terry Eagleton quips, “has rarely been so fashionable among rank unbelievers.”
As Eagleton contends in Culture and the Death of God, the Almighty has proven more resilient than His celebrated detractors and would-be assassins. God “has proved remarkably difficult to dispose of”; indeed, atheism itself has proven to be “not as easy as it looks.” Ever since the Enlightenment, “surrogate forms of transcendence” have scrambled for the crown of the King of Kings – reason, science, literature, art, nationalism, but especially “culture” – yet none have been up to the job.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Bob Hope
How did the man who invented the comedic monologue – who defined celebrity in the age of celebrity – disappear so effectively from American consciousness?… more
==========================================
As Testament of Youth hits cinema screens today [it was today], we take a look at the real Vera Brittain in our records!
via FindMyPast by Holly
Today, Testament of Youth, the epic true account of Vera Brittain’s coming of age experience during World War 1, hits the cinemas. A British writer, feminist and pacifist who studied at Oxford but delayed her degree in order to work as a V.A.D nurse, Vera’s memoir was a best-seller upon its release in 1933 thanks to its searing portrayal of a ‘lost generation’.
Continue reading
==========================================
The financial consequences of saying “Black”, vs. “African American”
via 3 Quarks Daily: Joe Pinsker in The Atlantic
One hundred years ago, “Colored” was the typical way of referring to Americans of African descent. Twenty years later, in the time of W.E.B. Du Bois, it was purposefully dropped to make way for “Negro”. By the late 1960s, that term was overtaken by “Black”. And then, at a press conference in a Hyatt hotel in Chicago in 1988, Jesse Jackson declared that “African American” was the term to embrace; that one was chosen because it echoed the labels of groups, such as “Italian Americans” and “Irish Americans,” that had already been freed of widespread discrimination.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
==========================================
Hand-illuminated edition of The Silmarillion
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
Benjamin Harff produced a hand-illuminated edition of Tolkien's The Silmarillion (a famously dense set of myths and background for Middle Earth) as a final project at art school; in this interview, he explains his motivation and his process.
Continue reading
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Washington, D.C., in 1926
“Robey Motor Co. – 1429 L Street”
As long as we’re downtown, let’s pick up a tractor
National Photo glass negative
View original post
==========================================
Secrets of sea otter fur
via Boing Boing by David Pescovitz
No copyright-free images!!
California sea otters (Enhydra lutris) — the frolicking mascots of the coast who draw visitors to aquariums in droves and who float among the kelp beds just beyond the surf line — have the densest fur of any mammal on Earth.
Continue reading from KQED Science [there’s even a video]
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Dear pedantic grammarians: Your rules are just stylistic conventions. We’ll split an infinitive or end a sentence with a preposition anytime we want to… more
==========================================
Rubens and body image
via A Don’s Life by Mary Beard
We had an intriguing discussion on Friday night about Rubens and body image. It was at the Royal Academy in conjunction with the "Rubens and his Legacy" show.The point was to confront the basic, common idea of the "Rubenesque"...or, to go down a notch or two, the idea that Rubens is all about fat women. I mean, there are plenty of fat men in the Rubens repertoire, and plenty of people who are not fat at all, and plenty of clothed bodies and religious bodies... so how do we approach them?
Continue reading
==========================================
The futility of attempts to find a substitute for God
via 3 Quarks Daily: Eugene McCarraher at Dissent
Yet despite His protracted dotage, God refuses to shuffle off into oblivion. If He lingers as a metaphysical butt in seminar rooms and research laboratories, He thrives in the sanctuaries of private belief, religious communities, and seminaries, and abides (sometimes on sufferance) in theology and religious studies departments. He flourishes in suburban evangelical churches everywhere in North America; offers dignity and hope to the planet of slums in Kinshasa, Jakarta, São Paulo, and Mumbai; inspires pacifists and prophets for the poor as well as bombers of markets and abortion clinics. David Brat claims Him for libertarian economics, while Pope Francis enlists Him to scourge the demons of neoliberal capitalism. He’s even been seen making cameo appearances in the books of left-wing intellectuals. “Religious belief,” Terry Eagleton quips, “has rarely been so fashionable among rank unbelievers.”
As Eagleton contends in Culture and the Death of God, the Almighty has proven more resilient than His celebrated detractors and would-be assassins. God “has proved remarkably difficult to dispose of”; indeed, atheism itself has proven to be “not as easy as it looks.” Ever since the Enlightenment, “surrogate forms of transcendence” have scrambled for the crown of the King of Kings – reason, science, literature, art, nationalism, but especially “culture” – yet none have been up to the job.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
How did the man who invented the comedic monologue – who defined celebrity in the age of celebrity – disappear so effectively from American consciousness?… more
==========================================
As Testament of Youth hits cinema screens today [it was today], we take a look at the real Vera Brittain in our records!
via FindMyPast by Holly
Today, Testament of Youth, the epic true account of Vera Brittain’s coming of age experience during World War 1, hits the cinemas. A British writer, feminist and pacifist who studied at Oxford but delayed her degree in order to work as a V.A.D nurse, Vera’s memoir was a best-seller upon its release in 1933 thanks to its searing portrayal of a ‘lost generation’.
Continue reading
==========================================
The financial consequences of saying “Black”, vs. “African American”
via 3 Quarks Daily: Joe Pinsker in The Atlantic
One hundred years ago, “Colored” was the typical way of referring to Americans of African descent. Twenty years later, in the time of W.E.B. Du Bois, it was purposefully dropped to make way for “Negro”. By the late 1960s, that term was overtaken by “Black”. And then, at a press conference in a Hyatt hotel in Chicago in 1988, Jesse Jackson declared that “African American” was the term to embrace; that one was chosen because it echoed the labels of groups, such as “Italian Americans” and “Irish Americans,” that had already been freed of widespread discrimination.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Saving fairy tale
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm expected to be remembered long after their deaths – for their masterful philological studies, not their fairy tales… more==========================================
Hand-illuminated edition of The Silmarillion
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
Benjamin Harff produced a hand-illuminated edition of Tolkien's The Silmarillion (a famously dense set of myths and background for Middle Earth) as a final project at art school; in this interview, he explains his motivation and his process.
Continue reading
Friday, 19 June 2015
Trivia (should have been 7 March)
Passing Through: 1915
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Circa 1915
“Bolton Castle in Gatun Locks, west chamber, Panama Canal”
Just the thing to float your boat
8x10 inch dry plate glass negative
View original post
==========================================
Our habitat: dwelling
via OUP Blog by Anatoly Liberman
A dwelling is, obviously, a place in which someone dwells. Although the word is transparent , the verb dwell is not. Only its derivation poses no problems. Some verbs belong to the so-called causative group. They mean “to make do or to cause to do.” Thus, fell is the causative of fall (“to cause something or somebody to fall”). Similar relations connect sit and set and (for those who still differentiate them) lie and lay. With time, the senses and the phonetic shape of the primary and the causative verb may drift apart. For example, today no one will guess that drench is the causative of drink; yet once we know their history, we understand how drench can be understood as “cause to drink.”
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
New atheists
If belief in God means nothing to you, why proselytize one way or another? John Gray on the strange nature of evangelical atheism… more
I always thought that atheism was a belief that there is no God not that his existence (or otherwise) means nothing.
==========================================
50 of the Greatest Literary Moments on TV
via Flavorwire by Emily Temple
It’s probably safe to say that media tends to refer to itself, in one way or another — and referring to literature, as opposed to other forms of pop culture, is one way to make just about anything a little more highbrow. Television, notoriously full of references and allusions, might be the worst/best culprit, and the most fun to hunt through for literary moments — after all, nothing’s more fun than seeing books on the boob tube. After the jump, you’ll find 50 of the greatest and most memorable literary allusions, shout-outs, cameos, and references on television, as well as real-life author appearances and whole episodes, or even whole seasons, based on books. NB: I’ve shied away from one-to-one adaptations, like Sherlock, because that’s a whole other list.
Continue reading
==========================================
Lego Pompeii
via A Don’s Life by Mary Beard
If you’re looking for a reason to visit Australia in 2015, let me suggest a visit to the new Lego Pompeii in the Nicholson Museum, at the University of Sydney (apologies for that to all readers of this blog who already ARE in Australia).
This is exactly what it sounds: a model of Pompeii made out of 190,000 pieces of Lego, which took almost 500 hours to build. It’s the third of the Nicholson Museum’s Lego models (they've already done the Colosseum and the Acropolis), but this is the biggest yet and will be on show until the end of 2015.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
The lives of Keynes
To grasp Keynes, you must understand that he was more than an economist. He was a don, speculator, farmer, statesman, theatrical manager… more
==========================================
Detailed Snowtrooper armor
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
A mere $2,000 gets you this suit of Imperial Snowtrooper couture armor, suitable for fighting asymmetric warfare on Hoth or chilling at a con.
Continue reading
==========================================
Why Do Ants Have an Inherent Bias to Turn Left?
via Big Think by Natalie Shoemaker
Some animals are born with particular behavioral lateralizations, or inherent biases, for instance, 90 percent of humans are right handed. But ants have an exploratory instinct to turn left when navigating a new nest or a lab maze by a significant margin, according to a recent study.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Who was Sappho?
The Sappho wars. For three millennia, the life of the poet has been the center of controversy. But how relevant is her biography to her work?… more
==========================================
Baking bread from an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph recipe
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
Miguel writes, “I tried to replicate an ancient Egyptian bread, starting with the right kind of wheat, the grinding and the baking... I also made a modernized version inspired by Egypt.”
Continue reading
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Circa 1915
“Bolton Castle in Gatun Locks, west chamber, Panama Canal”
Just the thing to float your boat
8x10 inch dry plate glass negative
View original post
==========================================
Our habitat: dwelling
via OUP Blog by Anatoly Liberman
A dwelling is, obviously, a place in which someone dwells. Although the word is transparent , the verb dwell is not. Only its derivation poses no problems. Some verbs belong to the so-called causative group. They mean “to make do or to cause to do.” Thus, fell is the causative of fall (“to cause something or somebody to fall”). Similar relations connect sit and set and (for those who still differentiate them) lie and lay. With time, the senses and the phonetic shape of the primary and the causative verb may drift apart. For example, today no one will guess that drench is the causative of drink; yet once we know their history, we understand how drench can be understood as “cause to drink.”
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
New atheists
If belief in God means nothing to you, why proselytize one way or another? John Gray on the strange nature of evangelical atheism… more
I always thought that atheism was a belief that there is no God not that his existence (or otherwise) means nothing.
==========================================
50 of the Greatest Literary Moments on TV
via Flavorwire by Emily Temple
It’s probably safe to say that media tends to refer to itself, in one way or another — and referring to literature, as opposed to other forms of pop culture, is one way to make just about anything a little more highbrow. Television, notoriously full of references and allusions, might be the worst/best culprit, and the most fun to hunt through for literary moments — after all, nothing’s more fun than seeing books on the boob tube. After the jump, you’ll find 50 of the greatest and most memorable literary allusions, shout-outs, cameos, and references on television, as well as real-life author appearances and whole episodes, or even whole seasons, based on books. NB: I’ve shied away from one-to-one adaptations, like Sherlock, because that’s a whole other list.
Continue reading
==========================================
Lego Pompeii
via A Don’s Life by Mary Beard
If you’re looking for a reason to visit Australia in 2015, let me suggest a visit to the new Lego Pompeii in the Nicholson Museum, at the University of Sydney (apologies for that to all readers of this blog who already ARE in Australia).
This is exactly what it sounds: a model of Pompeii made out of 190,000 pieces of Lego, which took almost 500 hours to build. It’s the third of the Nicholson Museum’s Lego models (they've already done the Colosseum and the Acropolis), but this is the biggest yet and will be on show until the end of 2015.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
The lives of Keynes
To grasp Keynes, you must understand that he was more than an economist. He was a don, speculator, farmer, statesman, theatrical manager… more
==========================================
Detailed Snowtrooper armor
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
A mere $2,000 gets you this suit of Imperial Snowtrooper couture armor, suitable for fighting asymmetric warfare on Hoth or chilling at a con.
Continue reading
==========================================
Why Do Ants Have an Inherent Bias to Turn Left?
via Big Think by Natalie Shoemaker
Some animals are born with particular behavioral lateralizations, or inherent biases, for instance, 90 percent of humans are right handed. But ants have an exploratory instinct to turn left when navigating a new nest or a lab maze by a significant margin, according to a recent study.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Who was Sappho?
The Sappho wars. For three millennia, the life of the poet has been the center of controversy. But how relevant is her biography to her work?… more
==========================================
Baking bread from an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph recipe
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
Miguel writes, “I tried to replicate an ancient Egyptian bread, starting with the right kind of wheat, the grinding and the baking... I also made a modernized version inspired by Egypt.”
Continue reading
Wednesday, 17 June 2015
We need a better grasp of equality to tackle inequality
an article by Joy Warmington published in New Start (June 2015)
Here’s a quick question for you. For every £100 that a man working in Birmingham earns, how much do you think a woman earns? Ninety five pounds? Ninety pounds? Maybe as low as £85?
I’ll reveal the answer at the end, so while you’re mulling that here’s another one.
The unemployment rate for white people in Birmingham is about 9%. What’s the rate for black people? If you doubled 9%, try again. The answer is actually three times higher – 26%. The unemployment rate for Pakistani and Bangladeshi residents is similarly out of kilter, currently standing at 18%.
But here’s the really interesting thing. Back in 2004 the white unemployment rate was 6% while the black rate was 18% – again three times higher. Over the course of a decade, despite all its strategies and plans, the city was unable to reduce this stark inequality.
Continue reading
Here’s a quick question for you. For every £100 that a man working in Birmingham earns, how much do you think a woman earns? Ninety five pounds? Ninety pounds? Maybe as low as £85?
I’ll reveal the answer at the end, so while you’re mulling that here’s another one.
The unemployment rate for white people in Birmingham is about 9%. What’s the rate for black people? If you doubled 9%, try again. The answer is actually three times higher – 26%. The unemployment rate for Pakistani and Bangladeshi residents is similarly out of kilter, currently standing at 18%.
But here’s the really interesting thing. Back in 2004 the white unemployment rate was 6% while the black rate was 18% – again three times higher. Over the course of a decade, despite all its strategies and plans, the city was unable to reduce this stark inequality.
Continue reading
Tuesday, 16 June 2015
Trivia (should have been 1 March)
Full Steam Ahead: 1913
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
“Panama Canal excavation, 1913”
Copy negative; Harris & Ewing glass plate
View original post
==========================================
Depression Is an Allergic Reaction to Modern Life
via Big Think by Orion Jones
While the symptoms of depression are marked by changes in the brain, the cause of the disease may ultimately lie in the body, specifically in a family of proteins called cytokines that set off inflammation.
Continue reading and discover that the is in the headline is an overstatement! Even the URL uses may.
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
FBI as literary critic
From the Harlem Renaissance through the Black Arts Movement, among the most influential readers of black writers were the men of the FBI… more
==========================================
The Literary Origins of 15 Words
via Stephen’s Lighthouse by Stephen Abram
View the infographic here
==========================================
Why you're so busy
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
The Economist’s feature on time-poverty is an absolute must-read, explaining the multi-factorial nature of the modern time crunch, which combines the equivalence of time and money (leading to leisure hours that are as crammed as possible in order to maximize their value), the precarity of the American workplace (meaning that affluent workers work longer hours), and the pace of electronically mediated communications (which makes any kind of refractory pause feel like a wasteful and dull eternity).
And of course, as always, women and poor people have it even worse.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Sad songs
A pop song’s life on the pop charts is short, even brutish. Maybe that’s why a strain of sadness has long run through the songbook… more
Reading this is a time suck -- great!
==========================================
Creative People Use Multiple Personality Traits to Help Their Process
via Big Think by Natalie Shoemaker
Creative folks are a series of extremes – even contradictory at times. They have the capacity to be overly critical of their work and then switch to having a high sense of self. It’s hard for psychologists quantify the “creative process”, organising all of these emotions and thoughts into a concrete method, though, many have tried.
Continue reading
==========================================
Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw
via 3 Quarks Daily; Wendy Lesser at Threepenny Review
So many things must be done right for an opera to turn out well that it’s amazing any of them succeed at all. The composer has to be a good musician, of course, but he must also be in sympathy with the librettist and, if there is a separate source author, with that writer as well. Once their initial job is done, the creation then gets handed over to a whole other set of people who can mess it up: the director, the set, costume, and lighting designers, the conductor, the orchestra members, and of course the singers. In most operas, these onstage performers need to be able to act as well as sing; it also helps if they look right for their parts. The list of potential pitfalls goes on and on—the acoustics of the hall, the size and nature of the audience, the comfort or discomfort of the seats. It’s endless, and daunting.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
On L.E. Sissman
The bard of Madison Ave. L.E. Sissman – poet, critic, advertising executive – had an “amiable, attentive intelligence,” according to John Updike. Sissman’s muse: the office…more
==========================================
Fan-created LEGO model bird set
via Boing Boing by David Pescovitz
Lego birds
The set costs $44.99 [sorry, I could only find this on the US site]
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
“Panama Canal excavation, 1913”
Copy negative; Harris & Ewing glass plate
View original post
==========================================
Depression Is an Allergic Reaction to Modern Life
via Big Think by Orion Jones
While the symptoms of depression are marked by changes in the brain, the cause of the disease may ultimately lie in the body, specifically in a family of proteins called cytokines that set off inflammation.
Continue reading and discover that the is in the headline is an overstatement! Even the URL uses may.
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
FBI as literary critic
From the Harlem Renaissance through the Black Arts Movement, among the most influential readers of black writers were the men of the FBI… more
==========================================
The Literary Origins of 15 Words
via Stephen’s Lighthouse by Stephen Abram
View the infographic here
==========================================
Why you're so busy
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
The Economist’s feature on time-poverty is an absolute must-read, explaining the multi-factorial nature of the modern time crunch, which combines the equivalence of time and money (leading to leisure hours that are as crammed as possible in order to maximize their value), the precarity of the American workplace (meaning that affluent workers work longer hours), and the pace of electronically mediated communications (which makes any kind of refractory pause feel like a wasteful and dull eternity).
And of course, as always, women and poor people have it even worse.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Sad songs
A pop song’s life on the pop charts is short, even brutish. Maybe that’s why a strain of sadness has long run through the songbook… more
Reading this is a time suck -- great!
==========================================
Creative People Use Multiple Personality Traits to Help Their Process
via Big Think by Natalie Shoemaker
Creative folks are a series of extremes – even contradictory at times. They have the capacity to be overly critical of their work and then switch to having a high sense of self. It’s hard for psychologists quantify the “creative process”, organising all of these emotions and thoughts into a concrete method, though, many have tried.
Continue reading
==========================================
Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw
via 3 Quarks Daily; Wendy Lesser at Threepenny Review
So many things must be done right for an opera to turn out well that it’s amazing any of them succeed at all. The composer has to be a good musician, of course, but he must also be in sympathy with the librettist and, if there is a separate source author, with that writer as well. Once their initial job is done, the creation then gets handed over to a whole other set of people who can mess it up: the director, the set, costume, and lighting designers, the conductor, the orchestra members, and of course the singers. In most operas, these onstage performers need to be able to act as well as sing; it also helps if they look right for their parts. The list of potential pitfalls goes on and on—the acoustics of the hall, the size and nature of the audience, the comfort or discomfort of the seats. It’s endless, and daunting.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
On L.E. Sissman
The bard of Madison Ave. L.E. Sissman – poet, critic, advertising executive – had an “amiable, attentive intelligence,” according to John Updike. Sissman’s muse: the office…more
==========================================
Fan-created LEGO model bird set
via Boing Boing by David Pescovitz
Lego birds
The set costs $44.99 [sorry, I could only find this on the US site]
The Global Trade of Textiles and Clothing in the Early Modern Period: Exchange, Meaning and Materialities
an article by Karolina Hutkova (University of Warwick) published in Exchanges: the Warwick Research Journal Volume 2 Number 2 (2015)
Abstract
The two-day workshop [International PhD and Postdoctoral Workshop, 27-28th November 2014, University of Warwick] at the University of Warwick brought together early career researchers studying various aspects of textile history – production, consumption, trade, fashion, and design – with the aim of drawing broader conclusions about the role of textiles and clothing in the development of societies, cultures and economies.
The methodological and geographical breadth of the presented research holds a promise that in the near future we will be presented with a much more global picture of textile production, consumption and trade in the early modern period.
Full text: HTML PDF
Hazel’s comment:
I know. I do not normally put images into references to journals but I could not resist this!
Early modern period, for those who like me are not sure, spans approximately 300 years from 1500 (Wikipedia).
Abstract
The two-day workshop [International PhD and Postdoctoral Workshop, 27-28th November 2014, University of Warwick] at the University of Warwick brought together early career researchers studying various aspects of textile history – production, consumption, trade, fashion, and design – with the aim of drawing broader conclusions about the role of textiles and clothing in the development of societies, cultures and economies.
The methodological and geographical breadth of the presented research holds a promise that in the near future we will be presented with a much more global picture of textile production, consumption and trade in the early modern period.
Full text: HTML PDF
Hazel’s comment:
I know. I do not normally put images into references to journals but I could not resist this!
Early modern period, for those who like me are not sure, spans approximately 300 years from 1500 (Wikipedia).
Monday, 15 June 2015
Understanding student satisfaction and dissatisfaction: an interpretive study in the UK higher education context
an article by Jacqueline Ann Douglas, Alexander Douglas and Robert James McClelland (Liverpool John Moores University) and John Davies (University of Salford) published in Studies in Higher Education Volume 40 Issue 2 (March 2015)
Abstract
This article represents a cross-sectional study of undergraduate students across two north-west university business schools in the UK.
A purposefully designed questionnaire was collected from 350 students.
The student experience was described in the form of hand-written narratives by first and final year students and had been identified by the respondents themselves as being satisfying or dissatisfying with the areas of teaching and learning and the supporting service environment. The study also assessed whether their experiences were likely to influence their loyalty behaviours with respect to remaining on their chosen course of study; recommending the university; and continuing at a higher level of study.
The data were captured and analysed using the qualitative critical incident technique to capture the voice of the student and identified the critical determinants of quality within higher education, i.e. those areas that would influence loyalty behaviour, as being Access; Attentiveness; Availability; and Communication.
A number of new determinants of quality have been identified out of the research by three independent judges, namely motivation, reward, social inclusion, usefulness, value for money and fellow student behaviour.
Abstract
This article represents a cross-sectional study of undergraduate students across two north-west university business schools in the UK.
A purposefully designed questionnaire was collected from 350 students.
The student experience was described in the form of hand-written narratives by first and final year students and had been identified by the respondents themselves as being satisfying or dissatisfying with the areas of teaching and learning and the supporting service environment. The study also assessed whether their experiences were likely to influence their loyalty behaviours with respect to remaining on their chosen course of study; recommending the university; and continuing at a higher level of study.
The data were captured and analysed using the qualitative critical incident technique to capture the voice of the student and identified the critical determinants of quality within higher education, i.e. those areas that would influence loyalty behaviour, as being Access; Attentiveness; Availability; and Communication.
A number of new determinants of quality have been identified out of the research by three independent judges, namely motivation, reward, social inclusion, usefulness, value for money and fellow student behaviour.
Employment subsidies, informal economy and women’s transition into work in a depressed area: evidence from a matching approach
an article by Manuela Deidda, Marta Foddi and Giovanni Sulis (Università di Cagliari (CRENoS; IZA), Italy and Center for North–south Economic Research (CRENoS), Cagliari, Italy) and Adriana Di Liberto (Università di Cagliari (CRENoS; IZA), Italy, Center for North–south Economic Research (CRENoS), Cagliari, Italy and Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Cagliari, Italy) published in IZA Journal of Labor Policy Volume 4 Issue 1 (2015)
Abstract
We analyze the effects of an ALMP for disadvantaged workers implemented in a depressed area of Italy.
Using propensity-score matching, we find that
JEL codes: C14, C83, J64, J16
Full text (HTML)
Abstract
We analyze the effects of an ALMP for disadvantaged workers implemented in a depressed area of Italy.
Using propensity-score matching, we find that
- the employment subsidy had a positive effect for participants on both the probability of finding a job and income,
- the outcome of the policy was more positive for women, and
- the program was more effective for older and less-educated female workers.
JEL codes: C14, C83, J64, J16
Full text (HTML)
Friday, 12 June 2015
28 February 6 +3 +1
Heart of Darkness: 1943
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
March 1943
“Argentine, Kansas. Freight train about to leave the Santa Fe railyard for the West Coast.&rdqup;
Jack Delano, Office of War Information
View original post
==========================================
The best movies from books
via Abe Books by Beth Carswell
I adore films. It’s funny; if I spend two hours watching television, I sometimes feel guilty, as though I’ve wasted my time. But time at the cinema rarely leaves me feeling as though I’ve just lost two hours to the brainless abyss (I will be polite and not mention the exceptions that come to mind). So I will almost always choose a film over a television show. And even better than a movie, of course, is a book, and when comparing the two, the limitations of modern technology (particularly when compared to our own boundless imaginations), mean that books almost always win, for me.
Continue reading and find out which books Beth rates even when they are made into films!
And this is one that I must say I think is 200% better as a film.
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Frame of reference
Do you know what “sprezzatura” means? How about “starboard out, starboard home”? Secret frames of reference govern writing… more
==========================================
An Intellectual History of the French Revolution
via 3 Quarks Daily: Hugh Gough at The Dublin Review of Books
Anyone looking for a neat explanation of the French revolutionary terror faces the problem of choice. Since the collapse of Jacobin rule after Robespierre’s execution in Thermidor Year II, debate has raged over how an event that began with the promise of liberty and fraternity degenerated so rapidly into fifteen months of mass imprisonment and death. During 1793 and 1794 around three hundred thousand people were jailed, many of them dying from disease and neglect, a further seventeen thousand were guillotined or shot and a quarter of a million killed in civil wars, of which the Vendée was by far the most deadly.
After Thermidor the revolution’s opponents argued that terror on such a scale was inherent in the entire revolutionary project from the outset, part of a “genetic code” of violence and intolerance deeply embedded in the revolutionary gene. The revolution’s supporters, on the other hand, defended terror as the product of difficult circumstances, a regrettable but necessary expedient to combat the threats posed to the republic by civil war and military invasion.
Continue reading
==========================================
WATCH: profile of guitar maker Creston Lea
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder
Burlington, Vermont luthier, Creston Lea, builds hand-made electric guitars and basses in a classic American style. This film explores Lea's particular design aesthetic and place in the boutique electric instrument world, as well as his long-time collaboration with artist, Sarah Ryan
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Claude Debussy
Life was not going well for Claude Debussy: bad marriage, bad health, debt, writer’s block. Then he escaped Paris for Normandy… more
==========================================
What Killed the Dinosaurs Drove the Kangaroo’s Cousin to Extinction
via Big Think by Natalie Shoemaker
The theories behind the demise of the dinosaurs is well-known. Death by asteroid is one of the more popular possibilities, but volcanic eruptions may have had a part to play. Regardless, these reptilian giants died-out – food became scarce and temperatures dropped, allowing our smaller furry mammalian ancestors to have their time in the sun. But Eric Mark of Forbes explains that our species could have been wiped out just as easily, according to a recent study.
Continue reading
I vehemently deny that I chose this story specifically based on the picture!
==========================================
What Killed the Dinosaurs? Volcano, Asteroid, or Both
via Big Think by Natalie Shoemaker
Sixty-six million years ago a cataclysmic event cause an entire population to go extinct. We know them today as the dinosaurs, but the reason for their extinction has divided the scientific community into two main camps: by asteroid or by volcanic eruption. The latter camp has discovered new evidence that may tip the scales in their favour, or at least balance the argument for the less-popular theory.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Metaphor
A good metaphor allows you to see the world in new ways. But there aren’t many good metaphors. Most annoy and distract rather than illuminate… more
==========================================
The animations, art, and short films of Nicholas Fong
via Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin
Flash-based animations and gorgeous, weird little GIF dreams by Nicholas Fong.
Continue reading
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
March 1943
“Argentine, Kansas. Freight train about to leave the Santa Fe railyard for the West Coast.&rdqup;
Jack Delano, Office of War Information
View original post
The best movies from books
via Abe Books by Beth Carswell
I adore films. It’s funny; if I spend two hours watching television, I sometimes feel guilty, as though I’ve wasted my time. But time at the cinema rarely leaves me feeling as though I’ve just lost two hours to the brainless abyss (I will be polite and not mention the exceptions that come to mind). So I will almost always choose a film over a television show. And even better than a movie, of course, is a book, and when comparing the two, the limitations of modern technology (particularly when compared to our own boundless imaginations), mean that books almost always win, for me.
Continue reading and find out which books Beth rates even when they are made into films!
And this is one that I must say I think is 200% better as a film.
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Frame of reference
Do you know what “sprezzatura” means? How about “starboard out, starboard home”? Secret frames of reference govern writing… more
==========================================
An Intellectual History of the French Revolution
via 3 Quarks Daily: Hugh Gough at The Dublin Review of Books
Anyone looking for a neat explanation of the French revolutionary terror faces the problem of choice. Since the collapse of Jacobin rule after Robespierre’s execution in Thermidor Year II, debate has raged over how an event that began with the promise of liberty and fraternity degenerated so rapidly into fifteen months of mass imprisonment and death. During 1793 and 1794 around three hundred thousand people were jailed, many of them dying from disease and neglect, a further seventeen thousand were guillotined or shot and a quarter of a million killed in civil wars, of which the Vendée was by far the most deadly.
After Thermidor the revolution’s opponents argued that terror on such a scale was inherent in the entire revolutionary project from the outset, part of a “genetic code” of violence and intolerance deeply embedded in the revolutionary gene. The revolution’s supporters, on the other hand, defended terror as the product of difficult circumstances, a regrettable but necessary expedient to combat the threats posed to the republic by civil war and military invasion.
Continue reading
==========================================
WATCH: profile of guitar maker Creston Lea
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder
Burlington, Vermont luthier, Creston Lea, builds hand-made electric guitars and basses in a classic American style. This film explores Lea's particular design aesthetic and place in the boutique electric instrument world, as well as his long-time collaboration with artist, Sarah Ryan
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Claude Debussy
Life was not going well for Claude Debussy: bad marriage, bad health, debt, writer’s block. Then he escaped Paris for Normandy… more
==========================================
What Killed the Dinosaurs Drove the Kangaroo’s Cousin to Extinction
via Big Think by Natalie Shoemaker
The theories behind the demise of the dinosaurs is well-known. Death by asteroid is one of the more popular possibilities, but volcanic eruptions may have had a part to play. Regardless, these reptilian giants died-out – food became scarce and temperatures dropped, allowing our smaller furry mammalian ancestors to have their time in the sun. But Eric Mark of Forbes explains that our species could have been wiped out just as easily, according to a recent study.
Continue reading
I vehemently deny that I chose this story specifically based on the picture!
==========================================
What Killed the Dinosaurs? Volcano, Asteroid, or Both
via Big Think by Natalie Shoemaker
Sixty-six million years ago a cataclysmic event cause an entire population to go extinct. We know them today as the dinosaurs, but the reason for their extinction has divided the scientific community into two main camps: by asteroid or by volcanic eruption. The latter camp has discovered new evidence that may tip the scales in their favour, or at least balance the argument for the less-popular theory.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Metaphor
A good metaphor allows you to see the world in new ways. But there aren’t many good metaphors. Most annoy and distract rather than illuminate… more
==========================================
The animations, art, and short films of Nicholas Fong
via Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin
Flash-based animations and gorgeous, weird little GIF dreams by Nicholas Fong.
Continue reading
Dismissing employees with work-related stress
an article published in IDS Employment Law Brief HR Number 1018 (April 2015)
Abstract
Work-related stress is a common feature of today’s fast-paced environment, with the Labour Force Survey estimating that 11.3 million working days were lost to work-related stress, depression or anxiety in Great Britain during 2013/14. Stress may manifest itself at work in a number of different ways – long-term sickness absence, short intermittent periods of absence, or poor performance and behaviour when present at work.
All are capable of having a detrimental impact on a business and may cause an employer to feel it has no option but to dismiss the stressed employee. There are many issues to consider before taking such a step. In this feature, we focus on how to manage employees with stress-related symptoms and ensure that any dismissal is implemented fairly.
Hazel’s comment:
It will be obvious from the abstract that this informative piece is written from the viewpoint of the employer, what should employer do in order to avoid being sued or worse!
However, as with most of the items from this source, it is very easy to turn it round and work out what employee(s) can request, what can be argued is a right and what might result in dismissal!
Unfortunately I can't find a full copy online not even for a cost.
Abstract
Work-related stress is a common feature of today’s fast-paced environment, with the Labour Force Survey estimating that 11.3 million working days were lost to work-related stress, depression or anxiety in Great Britain during 2013/14. Stress may manifest itself at work in a number of different ways – long-term sickness absence, short intermittent periods of absence, or poor performance and behaviour when present at work.
All are capable of having a detrimental impact on a business and may cause an employer to feel it has no option but to dismiss the stressed employee. There are many issues to consider before taking such a step. In this feature, we focus on how to manage employees with stress-related symptoms and ensure that any dismissal is implemented fairly.
Hazel’s comment:
It will be obvious from the abstract that this informative piece is written from the viewpoint of the employer, what should employer do in order to avoid being sued or worse!
However, as with most of the items from this source, it is very easy to turn it round and work out what employee(s) can request, what can be argued is a right and what might result in dismissal!
Unfortunately I can't find a full copy online not even for a cost.
Women at Work! Evaluating Equal Employment Policies and Outcomes in Construction
an article by Erica French (Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane) and Glenda Strachan (Griffith University, Brisbane) published in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal Volume 34 Issue 3 (March 2015)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine equal employment policies in Australia’s male-dominated construction industry and categorise the types of activities undertaken against an equal employment typology to identify links to outcomes for women in the form of increased participation and management.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore the issue of low representation of women in construction through the content analysis of 83 construction organisations’ equal employment opportunity (EEO) reports.
Findings
This industry is not engaging with equal employment issues and the numbers of women working in the industry and/or management are based on individual decision rather than an institutional commitment to equality in diversity.
Research limitations/implications
Australian legislation mandates organisational reporting of relevant data and offers public access to this information offering a unique data set.
Practical implications
An ageing population means that the predominately older male workforce is leaving construction in greater numbers with fewer potential replacements making new labour markets a vital consideration.
Social implications
Legislation and organisational policies designed to promote EEO for women have existed in numerous countries for decades. One objective of this legislation was to reduce male domination in senior positions and industries/occupations where women were under-represented. Despite this, few women are employed in construction in operational or management roles worldwide.
Originality/value
This study offers a comprehensive analysis of a male-dominated industry in one jurisdiction rather than a few selected cases and uses a broader rigorous typology for analysis that acknowledges both equal and different treatment options.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine equal employment policies in Australia’s male-dominated construction industry and categorise the types of activities undertaken against an equal employment typology to identify links to outcomes for women in the form of increased participation and management.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore the issue of low representation of women in construction through the content analysis of 83 construction organisations’ equal employment opportunity (EEO) reports.
Findings
This industry is not engaging with equal employment issues and the numbers of women working in the industry and/or management are based on individual decision rather than an institutional commitment to equality in diversity.
Research limitations/implications
Australian legislation mandates organisational reporting of relevant data and offers public access to this information offering a unique data set.
Practical implications
An ageing population means that the predominately older male workforce is leaving construction in greater numbers with fewer potential replacements making new labour markets a vital consideration.
Social implications
Legislation and organisational policies designed to promote EEO for women have existed in numerous countries for decades. One objective of this legislation was to reduce male domination in senior positions and industries/occupations where women were under-represented. Despite this, few women are employed in construction in operational or management roles worldwide.
Originality/value
This study offers a comprehensive analysis of a male-dominated industry in one jurisdiction rather than a few selected cases and uses a broader rigorous typology for analysis that acknowledges both equal and different treatment options.
Pareto and Piketty: The Macroeconomics of Top Income and Wealth Inequality
an article by Charles I. Jones (Stanford University, California, and National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts) published in Journal of Economic Perspectives Volume 29 Number 1 (Winter 2015)
First paragraph
Since the early 2000s, research by Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez (and their coauthors, including Anthony Atkinson and Gabriel Zucman) has revolutionized our understanding of income and wealth inequality. The crucial point of departure for this revolution is the extensive data they have used, based largely on administrative tax records.
Piketty’s (2014) Capital in the Twenty-First Century is the latest contribution in this line of work, especially with the new data it provides on capital and wealth. Piketty also proposes a framework for describing the underlying forces that affect inequality and wealth, and unlikely as it seems, a bit of algebra that plays an important role in Piketty’s book has even been seen on T-shirts:
Full text (PDF 18pp) not including appendix and data appendix
The same issue also contains an article by Thomas Piketty himself reflecting on his book Capital in the Twenty-First Century and an article The Window Tax: a Case Study in Excess Burden.
I could have sat and read all afternoon.
Wishing that I could afford the time to do so.
First paragraph
Since the early 2000s, research by Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez (and their coauthors, including Anthony Atkinson and Gabriel Zucman) has revolutionized our understanding of income and wealth inequality. The crucial point of departure for this revolution is the extensive data they have used, based largely on administrative tax records.
Piketty’s (2014) Capital in the Twenty-First Century is the latest contribution in this line of work, especially with the new data it provides on capital and wealth. Piketty also proposes a framework for describing the underlying forces that affect inequality and wealth, and unlikely as it seems, a bit of algebra that plays an important role in Piketty’s book has even been seen on T-shirts:
Full text (PDF 18pp) not including appendix and data appendix
The same issue also contains an article by Thomas Piketty himself reflecting on his book Capital in the Twenty-First Century and an article The Window Tax: a Case Study in Excess Burden.
I could have sat and read all afternoon.
Wishing that I could afford the time to do so.
Thursday, 11 June 2015
Labour market deregulation: when the facts change…
a blog post by Owen Tudor in the Touchstone (from TUC) blog
The famous remark, commonly attributed to Keynes, that “when the facts change, I change my mind…” could be about to face a stern test. The IMF is about to publish the findings of research by staff members that finds no evidence that labour market deregulation promotes growth.
This will prove most uncomfortable for those right-wing politicians and pundits who promote restricting workers’ rights in the name of economic well-being, as well as the IMF itself (and some misguided centre left politicians too, if the European Commission and several continental socialist governments are anything to go by).
So they’re likely to ignore it.
That’s why it’s important for you to know, so you can keep reminding them what the facts are.
Continue reading
The famous remark, commonly attributed to Keynes, that “when the facts change, I change my mind…” could be about to face a stern test. The IMF is about to publish the findings of research by staff members that finds no evidence that labour market deregulation promotes growth.
This will prove most uncomfortable for those right-wing politicians and pundits who promote restricting workers’ rights in the name of economic well-being, as well as the IMF itself (and some misguided centre left politicians too, if the European Commission and several continental socialist governments are anything to go by).
So they’re likely to ignore it.
That’s why it’s important for you to know, so you can keep reminding them what the facts are.
Continue reading
What factors contributed to changes in employment during and after the Great Recession?
an article by Ammar Farooq and Adriana D Kugler (Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA) published in IZA Journal of Labor Policy Volume 4 Issue 1 (2015)
Abstract
Unemployment increased drastically over the course of the Great Recession from 4.5 percent prior to the recession to 10 percent at its peak in October 2009. Since then, the unemployment rate has come down steadily, and it stood at 5.8 percent in November 2014.
Based on existing analyses and some new evidence, this paper establishes that much of the change in unemployment during the Great Recession and during the recovery can be attributed to cyclical factors rather than structural factors.
The paper then presents new suggestive evidence to quantify the employment impacts of various counter-cyclical policies introduced during this time.
We conduct a counter-factual and find that employment would have been between 4.2 percent and 4.5 percent lower had it not been because of the spending in Medicaid injected in local economies by the Recovery Act.
In addition, we conduct a differences-in-differences and triple difference analysis, which suggests that the Work Opportunity Tax Credits increased the likelihood of employment by about 4.7 percent for disconnected youth but had no effect on disabled and unemployed veterans.
Finally, we also find evidence that suggests that the Hiring Incentive to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act increased employment of the unemployed by 2.6 percent and that the reemployment reforms introduced in 2012 as part of the UI extensions increased employment by 6 percent for the long-term unemployed.
JEL codes: JE24, J23, J63, J64, J65, J68
Full text
Hazel’s comment:
Yes, the research is American but the findings could be applied to most, if not all, of the first-world countries.
At least that is how I read it.
Abstract
Unemployment increased drastically over the course of the Great Recession from 4.5 percent prior to the recession to 10 percent at its peak in October 2009. Since then, the unemployment rate has come down steadily, and it stood at 5.8 percent in November 2014.
Based on existing analyses and some new evidence, this paper establishes that much of the change in unemployment during the Great Recession and during the recovery can be attributed to cyclical factors rather than structural factors.
The paper then presents new suggestive evidence to quantify the employment impacts of various counter-cyclical policies introduced during this time.
We conduct a counter-factual and find that employment would have been between 4.2 percent and 4.5 percent lower had it not been because of the spending in Medicaid injected in local economies by the Recovery Act.
In addition, we conduct a differences-in-differences and triple difference analysis, which suggests that the Work Opportunity Tax Credits increased the likelihood of employment by about 4.7 percent for disconnected youth but had no effect on disabled and unemployed veterans.
Finally, we also find evidence that suggests that the Hiring Incentive to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act increased employment of the unemployed by 2.6 percent and that the reemployment reforms introduced in 2012 as part of the UI extensions increased employment by 6 percent for the long-term unemployed.
JEL codes: JE24, J23, J63, J64, J65, J68
Full text
Hazel’s comment:
Yes, the research is American but the findings could be applied to most, if not all, of the first-world countries.
At least that is how I read it.
Wednesday, 10 June 2015
The effect of temporary in-work support on employment retention: Evidence from a field experiment
an article by Richard Dorsett (National Institute of Economic and Social Research) published in Labour Economics Volume 31 (December 2014,)
Abstract
A recent experimental programme for unemployed welfare recipients in the UK found that temporary earnings supplements combined with post-employment services led to a sustained rise in employment.
This paper examines whether this was due to increases in employment entry or to reductions in employment exit. Using a hazard rate model, we find a significant effect on initial employment entry but not on subsequent transitions.
The results also show that the length of a completed unemployment spell has a negative effect on the hazard of exit from the next unemployment spell. While the direct effect of the programme is to shorten the initial unemployment spell, an indirect effect arises due to this lagged duration dependence.
JEL codes: C31, C41, J64, J68
Abstract
A recent experimental programme for unemployed welfare recipients in the UK found that temporary earnings supplements combined with post-employment services led to a sustained rise in employment.
This paper examines whether this was due to increases in employment entry or to reductions in employment exit. Using a hazard rate model, we find a significant effect on initial employment entry but not on subsequent transitions.
The results also show that the length of a completed unemployment spell has a negative effect on the hazard of exit from the next unemployment spell. While the direct effect of the programme is to shorten the initial unemployment spell, an indirect effect arises due to this lagged duration dependence.
JEL codes: C31, C41, J64, J68
Freedom of Information
Network Rail is one of 100 companies which have been brought within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act by the previous government.
Interestingly it is not only from 1 Sept 2014 on which date the company was made a “public body” in terms of FOI that requests can be made. The FOI Order which was made in February will act retrospectively which means that requests can be made for information from the start of Network Rail's operation on 28 October 2002.
via Freedom of Information (a pdp publication) Volume 11 Issue 4 (March-April 2015)
Interestingly it is not only from 1 Sept 2014 on which date the company was made a “public body” in terms of FOI that requests can be made. The FOI Order which was made in February will act retrospectively which means that requests can be made for information from the start of Network Rail's operation on 28 October 2002.
via Freedom of Information (a pdp publication) Volume 11 Issue 4 (March-April 2015)
Shaped by place? Young people’s aspirations in disadvantaged neighbourhoods
an article by Keith Kintrea (Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK), Ralf St Clair (Faculty of Education, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada) and Muir Houston (School of Education, University of Glasgow, UK) published in Journal of Youth Studies Volume 18 Issue 5 (2015)
Abstract
This paper aims to better understand the relationship between young people’s aspirations towards education and jobs, and the context in which they are formed, especially to understand better the role of disadvantaged places in shaping young people’s aspirations.
Policy makers maintain that disadvantaged areas are associated with low aspirations and there is support for this position from academic work on neighbourhood effects and local labour markets, but evidence is slim.
Using a two-stage survey of young people in disadvantaged settings in three British cities, the paper provides new data on the nature of young peoples’ aspirations, how they change during the teenage years, and how they relate to the places where they are growing up.
The findings are that aspirations are very high and, overall, they do not appear to be depressed in relation to the jobs available in the labour market either by the neighbourhood context or by young people’s perceptions of local labour markets. However, there are significant differences between the pattern of aspirations and how they change over time in the three locations.
The paper then challenges assumptions in policy and in the literature that disadvantaged places equal low aspirations and suggests that understanding how aspirations are formed requires a nuanced approach to the nexus of class, ethnicity and institutional influences within local areas.
Abstract
This paper aims to better understand the relationship between young people’s aspirations towards education and jobs, and the context in which they are formed, especially to understand better the role of disadvantaged places in shaping young people’s aspirations.
Policy makers maintain that disadvantaged areas are associated with low aspirations and there is support for this position from academic work on neighbourhood effects and local labour markets, but evidence is slim.
Using a two-stage survey of young people in disadvantaged settings in three British cities, the paper provides new data on the nature of young peoples’ aspirations, how they change during the teenage years, and how they relate to the places where they are growing up.
The findings are that aspirations are very high and, overall, they do not appear to be depressed in relation to the jobs available in the labour market either by the neighbourhood context or by young people’s perceptions of local labour markets. However, there are significant differences between the pattern of aspirations and how they change over time in the three locations.
The paper then challenges assumptions in policy and in the literature that disadvantaged places equal low aspirations and suggests that understanding how aspirations are formed requires a nuanced approach to the nexus of class, ethnicity and institutional influences within local areas.
Lessons down a rabbit hole: Alternate reality gaming in the classroom
an article by Shira Chess (University of Georgia, USA) and Paul Booth (DePaul University, USA) published in New Media & Society Volume 16 Number 6 (September 2014)
Abstract
Alternate Reality Games can be used to reinforce classroom knowledge by encouraging collective learning practices and focusing on new media literacy skills. An Alternate Reality Game creates a game space from real-world locations by relying on information, both online and offline, to physically involve players in a game “space.”
While the majority of large Alternate Reality Games, to date, have been used as part of marketing campaigns, an increasing number of faculty teaching topics in digital media, technologies, and game studies have begun to employ the alternate reality game in the classroom.
We argue that the affordances of Alternate Reality Games are best integrated within a “play-revise-design” format. By appropriating this emerging format in classroom spaces, we hope to teach students concepts such as new media literacies, the values of “safe failure,” and social learning, while giving students the tools for interactive storytelling.
Abstract
Alternate Reality Games can be used to reinforce classroom knowledge by encouraging collective learning practices and focusing on new media literacy skills. An Alternate Reality Game creates a game space from real-world locations by relying on information, both online and offline, to physically involve players in a game “space.”
While the majority of large Alternate Reality Games, to date, have been used as part of marketing campaigns, an increasing number of faculty teaching topics in digital media, technologies, and game studies have begun to employ the alternate reality game in the classroom.
We argue that the affordances of Alternate Reality Games are best integrated within a “play-revise-design” format. By appropriating this emerging format in classroom spaces, we hope to teach students concepts such as new media literacies, the values of “safe failure,” and social learning, while giving students the tools for interactive storytelling.
Tuesday, 9 June 2015
Social mobility or social reproduction? A case study of the attainment patterns of students according to their social background and ethnicity
an article by Matthew Collins (Lichfield Cathedral School, Staffordshire, UK), Gemma Collins (University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK) and Graham Butt (Oxford Brookes University, UK) published in Educational Review Volume 67 Issue 2 (April 2015)
Abstract
This paper explores levels of achievement amongst boys who attended a selective school in Birmingham, UK through consideration of their attainment, social background and ethnicity.
It seeks to answer three main questions.
Firstly, to what extent does academic attainment vary between students from different socio-economic groups and ethnic backgrounds?
Secondly, what are the possible reasons for these variations?
Thirdly, what can selective schools do to close the gaps in attainment between these groups?
The research study sought to determine whether different groups of boys in the case study school experienced social mobility, or social reproduction, as a consequence of the education they received.
Using quantitative data of student attainment (n = 625), combined with information on their residential location, areas of comparatively low achievement across the city of Birmingham were mapped. Spatial data for levels of deprivation and ethnicity were also considered. The resulting map identifies areas of high vulnerability (HV) to poor performance, specifically by identifying the postcodes of neighbourhoods containing students who are most likely to underachieve.
Qualitative data was gathered amongst students (n = 121) who were embarking on their General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) studies. All were asked to identify factors that might affect their academic performance. These findings were then cross-referenced with the postcode study to help analyse possible reasons for underachievement.
The main finding of this research was that the study school experiences a distance-decay effect in relation to examination success. Boys from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups generally performed worse than White British (WB) boys, while students from deprived areas of the city were also less likely to succeed. Students from poorer communities tend to live in environments of relatively low aspiration, although one inner city area was identified as anomalous with regard to the achievements of its students.
We conclude that social reproduction, rather than social mobility, is occurring within the case study school and suggest a range of initiatives to raise the levels of achievement of those who are most socially disadvantaged.
Abstract
This paper explores levels of achievement amongst boys who attended a selective school in Birmingham, UK through consideration of their attainment, social background and ethnicity.
It seeks to answer three main questions.
Firstly, to what extent does academic attainment vary between students from different socio-economic groups and ethnic backgrounds?
Secondly, what are the possible reasons for these variations?
Thirdly, what can selective schools do to close the gaps in attainment between these groups?
The research study sought to determine whether different groups of boys in the case study school experienced social mobility, or social reproduction, as a consequence of the education they received.
Using quantitative data of student attainment (n = 625), combined with information on their residential location, areas of comparatively low achievement across the city of Birmingham were mapped. Spatial data for levels of deprivation and ethnicity were also considered. The resulting map identifies areas of high vulnerability (HV) to poor performance, specifically by identifying the postcodes of neighbourhoods containing students who are most likely to underachieve.
Qualitative data was gathered amongst students (n = 121) who were embarking on their General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) studies. All were asked to identify factors that might affect their academic performance. These findings were then cross-referenced with the postcode study to help analyse possible reasons for underachievement.
The main finding of this research was that the study school experiences a distance-decay effect in relation to examination success. Boys from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups generally performed worse than White British (WB) boys, while students from deprived areas of the city were also less likely to succeed. Students from poorer communities tend to live in environments of relatively low aspiration, although one inner city area was identified as anomalous with regard to the achievements of its students.
We conclude that social reproduction, rather than social mobility, is occurring within the case study school and suggest a range of initiatives to raise the levels of achievement of those who are most socially disadvantaged.
First count to five: some principles for the reform of vocational qualifications in England
an article by David Raffe (University of Edinburgh, UK) published in Journal of Education and Work Volume 28 Number 2 (March 2015)
Abstract
Vocational qualifications in England are undergoing another round of reform.
This paper starts by reviewing the alleged weaknesses of English vocational qualifications, but argues that these do not necessarily establish a case for radical reform. The issue is not so much whether the system needs to be changed as the nature of the change that is needed.
The paper argues for a more deliberative and incremental approach and proposes five principles upon which this should be based.
These are the following:
Abstract
Vocational qualifications in England are undergoing another round of reform.
This paper starts by reviewing the alleged weaknesses of English vocational qualifications, but argues that these do not necessarily establish a case for radical reform. The issue is not so much whether the system needs to be changed as the nature of the change that is needed.
The paper argues for a more deliberative and incremental approach and proposes five principles upon which this should be based.
These are the following:
- that the process of change is as important as the content of change;
- that institutions matter;
- that the purposes of reform need to be clear, consistent and realistic;
- that reforms should help to create a more unified qualifications system; and
- that the interests of the UK’s other home countries should be considered.
Textbooks for Unusual Careers: From Space Traveler to Llama Farmer
Biology, chemistry, calculus, business management, accountancy, structural engineering - yawn. Studying these subjects will lead to useful and worthy jobs but AbeBooks.co.uk has the textbooks, guides and manuals that you REALLY need for a truly extraordinary career in the modern world. Yes, you too could be a llama farmer, a chocolate quality assurance manager or a gravity manipulator - and we’ve got the books you need.
I really appreciate that pandas look cuddly but zookeeping is not all about cuddly things. Most of it is boring, repetitive and can be physically challenging. I saw the bruises on my friend’s arm after she had been in an argument with a king penguin. Definitely not a pretty sight.
Continue reading
AbeBooks are always worth looking at, second-hand book prices start at £2 and go up to astronomical figures for first editions and antiques!
I really appreciate that pandas look cuddly but zookeeping is not all about cuddly things. Most of it is boring, repetitive and can be physically challenging. I saw the bruises on my friend’s arm after she had been in an argument with a king penguin. Definitely not a pretty sight.
Continue reading
AbeBooks are always worth looking at, second-hand book prices start at £2 and go up to astronomical figures for first editions and antiques!
Saturday, 6 June 2015
22nd February 6 +3 +1
The Pointer Sisters: 1910
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Circa 1910
“Ford, J., Mrs., group”
An outlier among Harris & Ewing’s generally sedate-and-sober studio portraits
8x10 glass negative
View original post
==========================================
How to Build Your Personal Brand Without Acting Insufferable
via Big Think by Robert Montenegro
Dorie Clark of Harvard Business Review recently published an interesting piece about how to self-promote without being a jerk. According to Clark, there are several key things to remember in order to ensure that your brand-building isn't completely self-serving. Sure, you want to frame yourself in the best way possible. But you're also submitting facts about yourself to augment others' understanding of your skills and capabilities. By composing an accurate and thorough resume or CV, you're offering employers and teammates a tool by which they can analyze your skills and needs.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Why we confess
The theological disclosures of Augustine and the earnestness of De Quincey have given way to a petty, low-stakes literature. Confession has been commodified… more
==========================================
Hello! Exploring the Superweird world of Hello Kitty
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder
An exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum showcases the beloved 40-year-old British girl known as Hello Kitty
Continue reading about Mark’s visit to the exhibition and see all his lovely pictures.
==========================================
A brand new electrical phenomenon has been discovered – a huge electric field in a thin film of laughing gas
via 3 Quarks Daily: from Science Alert
Scientists in Denmark have made a curious and awesome discovery – cooled down, solid laughing gas can contain an enormous electric field.
The discovery occurred when physicists at Aarhus University were observing how electrons travel through nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, frozen to minus 233 degrees Celsius. When brought down to this temperature, the gas formed a thin, solid film, about one tenth of a micron thick, hovering over a strip of gold.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Satre
Hopped up on coffee and amphetamines, Sartre filled notebook upon notebook with prose both windy and impenetrable… more
==========================================
Audrey Hepburn's Final Salute to the Movies
via Big Think by Big Think editors
Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) was a British actress, humanitarian, and cultural icon of Hollywood's golden age. The star of such films as Sabrina, Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Hepburn is also notable for her work with UNICEF as a cultural ambassador who visited Ethiopia, Somalia, Vietnam, and Central America in the final years of her life.
Continue reading
==========================================
Toys are more gendered now than they were 50 years ago
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
Before Reagan’s FCC deregulated kids’ TV and allowed toy-makers to produce 22-minute commercials disguised as cartoons, there had been major strides in de-gendering toys, grouping them by interest, rather than by constraining who was “supposed” to play with them.
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Frame of reference
Do you know what “sprezzatura” means? How about “starboard out, starboard home”? Secret frames of reference govern writing… more
==========================================
The contents of the bowels of an Italian medieval warlord have revealed his nefarious cause of death nearly 700 years later
via 3 Quarks Daily: Michelle Starr in CNet
It’s commonly accepted that life expectancy in the Middle Ages was pretty low, hovering around the early 30s – mainly because of the hazards of childhood. If a person made it to adulthood, the average was in the 60s – but, although that’s comparable with today’s global life expectancy, the world was still a much more dangerous – and openly vicious – place. It wasn’t, for example, unusual for popes and kings to be assassinated.
Continue reading
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Circa 1910
“Ford, J., Mrs., group”
An outlier among Harris & Ewing’s generally sedate-and-sober studio portraits
8x10 glass negative
View original post
==========================================
How to Build Your Personal Brand Without Acting Insufferable
via Big Think by Robert Montenegro
Dorie Clark of Harvard Business Review recently published an interesting piece about how to self-promote without being a jerk. According to Clark, there are several key things to remember in order to ensure that your brand-building isn't completely self-serving. Sure, you want to frame yourself in the best way possible. But you're also submitting facts about yourself to augment others' understanding of your skills and capabilities. By composing an accurate and thorough resume or CV, you're offering employers and teammates a tool by which they can analyze your skills and needs.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Why we confess
The theological disclosures of Augustine and the earnestness of De Quincey have given way to a petty, low-stakes literature. Confession has been commodified… more
==========================================
Hello! Exploring the Superweird world of Hello Kitty
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder
An exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum showcases the beloved 40-year-old British girl known as Hello Kitty
Continue reading about Mark’s visit to the exhibition and see all his lovely pictures.
==========================================
A brand new electrical phenomenon has been discovered – a huge electric field in a thin film of laughing gas
via 3 Quarks Daily: from Science Alert
Scientists in Denmark have made a curious and awesome discovery – cooled down, solid laughing gas can contain an enormous electric field.
The discovery occurred when physicists at Aarhus University were observing how electrons travel through nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, frozen to minus 233 degrees Celsius. When brought down to this temperature, the gas formed a thin, solid film, about one tenth of a micron thick, hovering over a strip of gold.
Continue reading
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Satre
Hopped up on coffee and amphetamines, Sartre filled notebook upon notebook with prose both windy and impenetrable… more
==========================================
Audrey Hepburn's Final Salute to the Movies
via Big Think by Big Think editors
Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) was a British actress, humanitarian, and cultural icon of Hollywood's golden age. The star of such films as Sabrina, Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Hepburn is also notable for her work with UNICEF as a cultural ambassador who visited Ethiopia, Somalia, Vietnam, and Central America in the final years of her life.
Continue reading
==========================================
Toys are more gendered now than they were 50 years ago
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
Before Reagan’s FCC deregulated kids’ TV and allowed toy-makers to produce 22-minute commercials disguised as cartoons, there had been major strides in de-gendering toys, grouping them by interest, rather than by constraining who was “supposed” to play with them.
==========================================
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Frame of reference
Do you know what “sprezzatura” means? How about “starboard out, starboard home”? Secret frames of reference govern writing… more
==========================================
The contents of the bowels of an Italian medieval warlord have revealed his nefarious cause of death nearly 700 years later
via 3 Quarks Daily: Michelle Starr in CNet
It’s commonly accepted that life expectancy in the Middle Ages was pretty low, hovering around the early 30s – mainly because of the hazards of childhood. If a person made it to adulthood, the average was in the 60s – but, although that’s comparable with today’s global life expectancy, the world was still a much more dangerous – and openly vicious – place. It wasn’t, for example, unusual for popes and kings to be assassinated.
Continue reading
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