Language capital and development: the case of African language publishing for children in South Africa

In recognizing 11 official languages, the 1996 South African Constitution provides a context for the management of diversity with important implications for the redistribution of wealth and power. The development and implementation of the language-in-education policies which might be expected to flow from the Constitution, however, have been slow and ineffective. One of the casualties of government procrastination has been African language publishing. In the absence of well-resourced bilingual education, most learners continue to be taught through the medium of English as a second language. Teachers are reluctant to use more innovative pedagogies without the support of adequate African language materials and publishers are cautious about producing such materials. Nonetheless, activity in this sector offers many opportunities for African language speakers. This paper explores the challenges and constraints for African language publishing for children and argues that market forces and language policy need to work in mutually reinforcing ways. Further progress is necessarily dependent on the political will to implement language-in-education policies that promote additive bilingualism and, in the process, guarantee sales for risk-averse publishers.

Human capital and growth under political uncertainty

In this paper we show how political uncertainty may impede economic growth by reducing public investment in the formation of human capital, and how this negative effect of political uncertainty can be offset by a government contract. We present a model of growth with accumulation of human capital and government investment in education. We show that in a country with an unstable political system the government is reluctant to invest in human capital. Low government spending on education negatively affects productivity and slows growth. Furthermore, a politically unstable economy may be trapped in a stagnant equilibrium. We also demonstrate the role of a government retirement contract. Public investment in education and economic growth are higher when the future retirement compensation of the government depends on the future national income, in comparison with investment under zero or fixed retirement compensation.

Social capital and the role of trust in aspirations for higher education

This paper considers the role of social capital and trust in the aspirations for higher education of a group of socially disadvantaged girls. Drawing on data from a longitudinal, ethnographic case study of an underperforming secondary school, the paper considers current conceptualisations of social capital and its role in educational ambitions. The paper concludes by tentatively suggesting that whilst social capital is extremely helpful in explaining differences within groups, trust appears to be a pre-requisite for the investment and generation of social capital, as opposed to the other way around. The paper also suggests that young people are not necessarily dependent on their families for their social capital but are able to generate capital in their own right.

Obsessive Compulsive Treatment Efficacy Trial (OCTET) comparing the clinical and cost effectiveness of self-managed therapies: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background: UK National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) specify recommendations for the treatment and management of OCD using a stepped care approach. Steps three to six of this model recommend treatment options for people with OCD that range from low-intensity guided self-help (GSH) to more intensive psychological and pharmacological interventions. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), including exposure and response prevention, is the recommended psychological treatment. However, whilst there is some preliminary evidence that self-managed therapy packages for OCD can be effective, a more robust evidence base of their clinical and cost effectiveness and acceptability is required. Methods/Design: Our proposed study will test two different self-help treatments for OCD: 1) computerised CBT (cCBT) using OCFighter, an internet-delivered OCD treatment package; and 2) GSH using a book. Both treatments will be accompanied by email or telephone support from a mental health professional. We will evaluate the effectiveness, cost and patient and health professional acceptability of the treatments. Discussion: This study will provide more robust evidence of efficacy, cost effectiveness and acceptability of self-help treatments for OCD. If cCBT and/or GSH prove effective, it will provide additional, more accessible treatment options for people with OCD.

Linguistic capital and the linguistic field for teachers unaccustomed to linguistic difference

Teachers in classrooms throughout England are facing a shifting demographic in their pupil intake. Where once the teaching of children whose first language was not English was considered an inner-city teachers’ role, more recent migration patterns have challenged this preconception (Andrews, 2009). In England in particular, this change sits against an historical backdrop of centralised control of the curriculum for English. This article explores how primary school teachers responded to the arrival of Polish children in county settings following EU accession in 2004. Interviews with a small sample of teachers in schools that had previously been mainly monolingual were coded using Bourdieu’s Logic of Practice. Analysis revealed a complex mix of experienced that appeared to rest on assumed pedagogical norms and professionally assimilated external pressures. Discussion centres on the author’s interpretation of teachers’ ownership of linguistic capital and its relationship to linguistic field.

Gender, race, and heterogeneous effects of epidemic malaria on human capital and income

This article investigates the impact of exposure to a serious, unusual, and unforeseen malaria epidemic in northeast Brazil in 1938–40 on subsequent human capital attainment and income. Arguing the event was exogenous, the article exploits cohort and regional heterogeneity in exposure to identify effects. Results are consistent with differential mortality rates according to gender and socioeconomic status, such that heterogeneous selection and scarring effects are observed. Analyzing by gender alone, positive (selection) effects are found for men, and mixed (positive and negative) effects for women. Allowing for heterogeneity by race, selection effects persist for men. In contrast, positive (selection) effects are observed for nonwhite women, and negative (scarring) effects for white women. Results contribute to evidence suggesting that exposure to negative environmental shocks affects human capital attainment, while also suggesting it heterogeneously affects cohort composition.

Optimization of cable cycles : a trade-off between reliability and cost

This paper elaborates the routing of cable cycle through available routes in a building in order to link a set of devices, in a most reasonable way. Despite of the similarities to other NP-hard routing problems, the only goal is not only to minimize the cost (length of the cycle) but also to increase the reliability of the path (in case of a cable cut) which is assessed by a risk factor. Since there is often a trade-off between the risk and length factors, a criterion for ranking candidates and deciding the most reasonable solution is defined. A set of techniques is proposed to perform an efficient and exact search among candidates. A novel graph is introduced to reduce the search-space, and navigate the search toward feasible and desirable solutions. Moreover, admissible heuristic length estimation helps to early detection of partial cycles which lead to unreasonable solutions. The results show that the method provides solutions which are both technically and financially reasonable. Furthermore, it is proved that the proposed techniques are very efficient in reducing the computational time of the search to a reasonable amount.

Effect of three wound dressings on infection, healing comfort, and cost in patients with sternotomy wounds - a randomized trial

Study objective: To compare three dressing types in terms of their ability to protect against infection and promote healing, patient comfort, and cost-effectiveness.

Design: Prospective, randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Major metropolitan, academically affiliated, tertiary referral center.

Patients: Seven hundred thirty-seven patients were randomized to receive a dry absorbent dressing (n = 243) [Primapore; Smith & Nephew; Sydney, NSW, Australia], a hydrocolloid dressing (n = 267) [Duoderm Thin ConvaTec; Mulgrave, VIC, Australia], or a hydroactive dressing (n = 227) [Opsite; Smith & Nephew] in the operating theater on skin closure.

Results: There was no difference in the rate of wound infection or wound healing between treatment groups. The Primapore dressing was the most comfortable and cost-effective dressing option for the sternotomy wound. Duoderm Thin dressings were associated with increased wound exudate (p < 0.001), poor dressing integrity (p < 0.001), more frequent dressing changes (p < 0.001), more discomfort with removal (p < 0.05), and increased cost (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: In the context of no additional benefit for the prevention of wound infection or the rate of wound healing for any of the three dressing products examined, dry absorbent dressings are the most comfortable and cost-effective products for sternotomy wounds following cardiac surgery.

Capitalizing on Bourdieu : how useful are concepts of `social capital` and `social field` for researching `marginalized` young women?

This article considers Bourdieu’s concepts of ‘social capital’ and ‘social fields’, comparing and contrasting his use of these concepts with that of James Coleman and Robert Putnam. It examines how Bourdieu’s ideas offer a different way of understanding the lives of economically disadvantaged young women designated as ‘at risk’ of leaving school early. A micro-level analysis is made of ‘Bluey’s story’, a narrative derived from data gathered during a three-year research project on young women’s negotiations from the margins of education and work in Australia. Deconstructing Bluey’s narrative reveals how social capital is deployed (sometimes unsuccessfully) in a range of social fields. Such narratives can thus be used to ‘speak back’ to educational policies, to provide alternative insights into the issues and needs of economically disadvantaged young women and to challenge current constructs of ‘at risk’.

Differences between differentiators and cost leaders in market research and internal CRM usage

The Porter strategy types of Differentiation and Cost Leadership are put forward as strategies leading to competitive advantage (Porter 1980). These types have quite contrasting implementation guidelines in terms of human resources, organisational structure, job design decision-making process, control systems, and information systems. These internal contrasts suggest Differentiators and Cost Leaders require contrasting roles for market research and internal CRM systems. Very few studies have explored the contingent role business strategy may have in explaining contrasting roles in marketing information systems or market research.

This study involved a cross-industry postal survey of 240 Australian marketing managers. One contribution of this study was to find market research having quite different roles in supporting Marketing (i.e. brand) Differentiators compared to Product (i.e. innovative feature) Differentiators. Surprisingly only one market research role differed when comparing Cost Leaders with Marketing Differentiator strategies. A final contribution was to find that no one strategy having a greater reliance on internal CRM systems in supporting decisionmaking.

Career progression, human capital and pay equity in Australian public sector labour markets

This study uses data from the Victorian Public Sector Census 2004 to identify the extent of equity in pay and career progression (promotion). A system of three equations is developed to capture the endogeneity between human capital and promotion and the interdependence between promotion, pay and human capital. The results indicate that there are substantial differences in the average wages earned by public sector employees in different Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) groups. While some of these differences arise from factors beyond the control of the public sector employers, others arise from bias in the public sector employment system and procedures. The earnings of individual employees in the public sector are determined in a systematic way by the wage structures in the different sub-sectors, the skill base of the employee on recruitment, sub-sector specific promotion rates, acquisition of formal and informal training and the apparent bias within recruitment and promotion systems in dealing with particular groups. The apparent bias of recruitment and promotion systems is complex in makeup and varies within EEO groups as well as between EEO groups. Most of the difference in pay across employees can be explained as an outcome of individual choice and labour market conditions external to the public sector. After adjusting for sectoral wage differences, skill base when recruited, sectoral promotion rate differences, experience in the public sector, whether individuals are employed on a full-time or part-time basis and individual training decisions, the statistical evidence is consistent with the finding that public sector recruitment and promotion systems tends to be biased, on average, against females and those from culturally diverse backgrounds. Achievements in formal education are important for salary progression. This is particularly the case for women. The main drivers of participation in formal education were employer support in both financial and non-financial terms. Promotion rates were important factors in explaining wage differences. Women tended to receive slightly fewer promotions than men, but women received, on average, greater rewards for each promotion.

Fighting the digital divide with microfinance : building social capital and socio-economic development

Unlike other technology, lCT has the tremendous capacity to eliminate various social and economic barriers impeding the poor, helping them discover their potential. Wider access and use of lCT can improve social networks and increase civic engagement, thereby improving social fabric and developing social capital. Thus, scholars now have realized lCT plays a primary role in the formation and maintenance of social network. This paper identifies microfinance programs as an agent with unparalleled capacity to facilitate access to lCT and thus the formation of social capital and socio-economic development of the poor. In this paper, we also discuss the role of MFls in developing social capital in
South Asia and present an analytical model of how the intervention of microfinance can facilitate access to lCT by the poor with the result of an improved both socio-economic situation and social capital.

Why invest in a national public health program for stroke? An example using Australian data to estimate the potential benefits and cost implications

Objectives: Stroke is the world’s second leading cause of death in people aged over 60 years. Approximately 50,000 strokes occur annually in Australia with numbers predicted to increase by about one third over 10-years. Our objectives were to assess the economic implications of a public health program for stroke by: (1) predicting what potential health-gains and cost-offsets could be achieved; and (2) determining the net level of annual investment that would offer value-for-money.

Methods: Lifetime costs and outcomes were calculated for additional cases that would benefit if ‘current practice’ was feasibly improved, estimated for one indicative year using: (i) local epidemiological data, coverage rates and costs; and (ii) pooled effect sizes from systematic reviews.

Interventions: blood pressure lowering; warfarin for atrial fibrillation; increased access to stroke units; intravenous thrombolysis and aspirin for ischemic events; and carotid endarterectomy. Value-for-money threshold: AUD$30,000/DALY recovered.

Results: Improved, prevention and management could prevent about 27,000 (38%) strokes in 2015. In present terms (2004), about 85,000 DALYs and AUD$1.06 billion in lifetime cost-offsets could be recovered. The net level of annual warranted investment was AUD$3.63 billion.

Conclusions: Primary prevention, in particular blood pressure lowering, was most effective. A public health program for stroke
is warranted