Moral Masculinities: Ethical Self-fashionings of Professional Chinese Men in London

Through qualitative interviews and examination of textual sources, this essay investigates the gendered, class and cultural subjectivities of transnational, highly-educated Chinese men living and working in London. Narrative analysis of the interviews of two participants suggests that they exhibit hybrid “bricolage masculinities,” which incorporate elements from Western educational and corporate cultures, and also appropriate concepts and practices from the Confucian tradition of moral self-cultivation. A discussion of contemporary texts that support the revival of Confucian masculinities illuminates the discursive context in which the participants’ ethical self-fashionings take place. The study argues that the cosmopolitan yet culturally embedded masculinities of the participants are suggestive of how professional Chinese men, as they step onto the world stage, seek to insert themselves more advantageously into local and global power relations of gender, class and nation.

Rethinking Care Through Social Reproduction: Articulating Circuits of Migration

Care has come to dominate much feminist research on globalized migrations and the transfer of labor from the South to the North, while the older concept of reproduction had been pushed into the background but is now becoming the subject of debates on the commodification of care in the household and changes in welfare state policies. This article argues that we could achieve a better understanding of the different modalities and trajectories of care in the reproduction of individuals, families, and communities, both of migrant and nonmigrant populations by articulating the diverse circuits of migration, in particular that of labor and the family. In doing this, I go back to the earlier North American writing on racialized minorities and migrants and stratified social reproduction. I also explore insights from current Asian studies of gendered circuits of migration connecting labor and marriage migrations as well as the notion of global householding that highlights the gender politics of social reproduction operating within and beyond households in institutional and welfare architectures. In contrast to Asia, there has relatively been little exploration in European studies of the articulation of labor and family migrations through the lens of social reproduction. However, connecting the different types of migration enables us to achieve a more complex understanding of care trajectories and their contribution to social reproduction.

Education and self-regulation of learning for gifted pupils: Systemic design and development.

Gifted pupils differ from their age-mates with respect to development potential, actual competencies, self-regulatory capabilities, and learning styles in one or more domains of competence. The question is how to design and develop education that fits and further supports such characteristics and competencies of gifted pupils. Analysis of various types of educational interventions for gifted pupils reflects positive cognitive or intellectual effects and differentiated social comparison or group-related effects on these pupils. Systemic preventive combination of such interventions could make these more effective and sustainable. The systemic design is characterised by three conditional dimensions: differentiation of learning materials and procedures, integration by and use of ICT support, and strategies to improve development and learning. The relationships to diagnostic, instructional, managerial, and systemic learning aspects are expressed in guidelines to develop or transform education. The guidelines imply the facilitation of learning arrangements that provide flexible self-regulation for gifted pupils. A three-year pilot in Dutch nursery and primary school is conducted to develop and implement the design in collaboration with teachers. The results constitute prototypes of structured competence domains and supportive software. These support the screening of entry characteristics of all four-year old pupils and assignment of adequate play and learning processes and activities throughout the school career. Gifted and other pupils are supported to work at their actual achievement or competency levels since their start in nursery school, in self-regulated learning arrangements either in or out of class. Each pupil can choose other pupils to collaborate with in small groups, at self-chosen tasks or activities, while being coached by the teacher. Formative evaluation of the school development process shows that the systemic prevention guidelines seem to improve learning and social progress of gifted pupils, including their self-regulation. Further development and implementation steps are discussed.

“Refugee Voices,” New Social Media and Politics of Representation: Young Congolese in the Diaspora and Beyond

This article examines the role of new social media in the articulation and representation of the refugee and diasporic “voice.” The article problematizes the individualist, de-politicized, de-contextualized, and aestheticized representation of refugee/diasporic voices. It argues that new social media enable refugees and diaspora members to exercise agency in managing the creation, production, and dissemination of their voices and to engage in hybrid (on- and offline) activism. These new territories for self-representation challenge our conventional understanding of refugee/diaspora voices. The article is based on research with young Congolese living in the diaspora, and it describes the Geno-cost project created by the Congolese Action Youth Platform (CAYP) and JJ Bola’s spoken-word piece, “Refuge.” The first shows agency in the creation of analytical and activist voices that promote counter-hegemonic narratives of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, while the second is an example of aesthetic expressions performed online and offline that reveal agency through authorship and ownership of one’s voice. The examples highlight the role that new social media play in challenging mainstream politics of representation of refugee/diaspora voices.

A social and gender analysis of Northern Province, Zambia: Qualitative evidence that supports the use of a gender transformative approach

A qualitative social and gender analysis was carried out in June 2015 in Luwingu and Mbala Districts in Northern Province, Zambia. The research explored the norms and power relations at various institutional levels that constrain certain social groups from benefiting from programmatic investments aimed at improving livelihoods, health status, and food and nutrition security within the Irish Aid Local Development Programme (IALDP). This technical paper provides a summary of the research findings, lessons learned and suggests options for action the IALDP could consider to help bring about gender transformative change in the lives and livelihoods of poor and vulnerable people.

Self-management of coronary heart disease in angina patients after percutaneous coronary intervention: A mixed methods study.

After having elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients are expected to self-manage their coronary heart disease (CHD) by modifying their risk factors, adhering to medication and effectively managing any recurring angina symptoms but that may be ineffective. Objective: Explore how patients self-manage their coronary heart disease (CHD) after elective PCI and identify any factors that may infl uence that. Design and method: This mixed methods study recruited a convenience sample of patients (n=93) approximately three months after elective PCI. Quantitative data were collected using a survey and were subject to univariate, bivariate and multi-variate analysis. Qualitative data from participant interviews was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: After PCI, 74% of participants managed their angina symptoms inappropriately. Younger participants and those with threatening perceptions of their CHD were more likely to know how to effectively manage their angina symptoms. Few patients adopted a healthier lifestyle after PCI. Qualitative analysis revealed that intentional non-adherence to some medicines was an issue. Some participants felt unsupported by healthcare providers and social networks in relation to their self-management. Participants reported strong emotional responses to CHD and this had a detrimental effect on their self-management. Few patients accessed cardiac rehabilitation.

The Role of College Students' Perceptions of Effort Source on Self-Evaluations of Academic Ability

In the present studies I investigated whether college students’ perceptions of effort source influenced their perceptions of the relation between levels of their own effort and ability in mathematics. In Study 1 (N = 210), I found using hypothetical vignettes that perceptions of task-elicited effort (i.e., effort that arises due to the subjective difficulty or ease of the task) led to perceptions of an inverse relation between one’s effort and ability, and perceptions of self-initiated effort (i.e., effort that arises due to one’s own motivation or lack of motivation) led to perceptions of a positive relation between one’s effort and ability, consistent with my hypotheses and prior research. In Study 2 (N = 160), participants completed an academic task and I used open-ended questions to manipulate their perceptions of effort source. I found that participants in the task-elicited condition endorsed no overall relation between effort and ability, and participants in the self-initiated condition endorsed an overall inverse relation, which is inconsistent with my hypotheses and prior research. Possible explanations for the findings, as well as broader theoretical and educational implications are discussed.

Prosocial behavior and self-concept of Spanish students of Compulsory Secondary Education

This study analyzed the relationship between prosocial behavior and self-concept dimensions in a sample of 2022 Spanish students (51.1% males) of Compulsory Secondary Education. The prosocial behavior was measured with the Prosocial Behavior scale of the Teenage Inventory of Social Skills (TISS) and the self-concept was measured with the Self-Description Questionnaire-II (SDQ-II). Logistic regression analyses revealed that prosocial behavior is a positive and significant statistically predictor of high scores on the following self-concept dimensions: physical ability, parent relations, same-sex relations, opposite-sex relations, verbal, school, trustworthiness, and self-esteem. Those results were found in males, females and every Compulsory Secondary education year. However, prosocial behavior is not a significant statistically predictor of high scores on physical appearance, math, and emotional stability.

Study of the impact federated erubrics on assessing competences in the practicum

Presentation Research of the Practicum and externships has a long history and involves important aspects for analysis. For example, the recent changes taking place in university grades allot more credits to the Practicum course in all grades, and the Company-University collaboration has exposed the need to study in new learning environments. The rise of ICT practices like ePortfolios, which require technological solutions and methods supported by experimentation, study and research, require particular examination due to the dynamic momentum of technological innovation. Tutoring the Practicum and externships requires remote monitoring and communication using ePortfolios, and competence-based assessment and students’ requirement to provide evidence of learning require the best tutoring methods available with ePortfolios. Among the elements of ePortfolios, eRubrics emerge as a tool for design, communication and competence-assessment. This project aims to consolidate a research line on eRubrics, already undertaken by another project -I+D+i [EDU2010-15432]- in order to expand the network of researchers and Centres of Excellence in Spain and other countries: Harvard University in USA, University of Cologne in Germany, University of Colima in Mexico, Federal University of Parana, University of Santa Catarina in Brasil, and Stockholm University in Sweden(1). This new project [EDU2013-41974-P](2) examines the impact of eRubrics on tutoring and on assessing the Practicum course and externships. Through technology, distance tutoring grants an extra dimension to human communication. New forms of teaching with technological mediation are on the rise and are highly valuable, not only for formal education but especially in both public and private sectors of non-formal education, such as occupational training, unemployed education and public servant training. Objectives Obj. 1. To analyse models of technology used in assessing learning in the Practicum of all grades at Spanish Faculties of Education. Obj. 2. To study models of learning assessment measured by eRubrics in the Practicum. Obj. 3. To analyse communication through eRubrics between students and their tutors at university and practice centres, focusing on students’ understanding of competences and evidences to be assessed in the Practicum. Obj. 4. To design assessment services and products, in order to federate companies and practice centres with training institutions. Among many other features, it has the following functions CoRubric(3) 1. The possibility to assess people, products or services by using rubrics. 2. Ipsative assessment. 3. Designing fully flexible rubrics. 4. Drafting reports and exporting results from eRubrics in a project. 5. Students and teachers talk about the evaluation and application of the criteria Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used The project will use techniques to collect and analyse data from two methodological approaches: 1. In order to meet the first objective, we suggest an initial exploratory descriptive study (Buendía Eisman, Colás Bravo & Hernández Pina, 1998), which involves conducting interviews with Practicum coordinators from all educational grades across Spain, as well as analysing the contents of the teaching guides used in all educational grades across Spain. 55 academic managers were interviewed from about 10 faculties of education in public universities in Spain (20%), and course guides 376 universities from 36 public institutions in Spain (72%) are analyzed. 2. In order to satisfy the second objective, 7 universities have been selected to implement the project two instruments aimed at tutors practice centers and tutors of the faculty. All instruments for collecting data were validated by experts using the Delphi method. The selection of experts had three aspects: years of professional experience, number and quality of publications in the field (Practicum, Educational Technology and Teacher Training), and self-rating of their knowledge. The resulting data was calculated using the Coefficient of Competence (Kcomp) (Martínez, Zúñiga, Sala & Meléndez, 2012). Results in all cases showed an average experience of more than 0.09 points. The two instruments of the first objective were validated during the first half of 2014-15 year, data collected during the second half. And the second objective during the first half of 2015-16 year and data collection for the second half. The set of four instruments (two for each objective 1 and 2) have the same dimensions as each of the sources (Coordinators, course guides, tutors of practice centers and faculty) as they were: a. Institution-Organization, b. Nature of internships, c. Relationship between agents, d. Management Practicum, e. Assessment. F. Technological support, g. Training and h. Assessment Ethics. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings The first results respond to Objective 1, where we find different conclusions depending on each of the six dimensions. In the case of internal regulations governing the organization and structure of the practicum, we note that most traditional degrees (Elementary and Primary grades) share common internal rules, in particular development methodology and criteria against other grades (Pedagogy and Social Education ). It is also true that the centers of practices in last cases are very different from each other and can be a public institution, a school, a company, a museum, etc. The memory with a 56.34% and 43.67% daily activities are more demands on students in all degrees, Lesson plans 28.18% 19.72% Portfolio 26.7% Didactic units and Others 32,4%. The technical support has been mainly used the platform of the University 47.89% and 57.75% Email, followed by other services and tools 9.86% and rubric platforms 1.41%. The assessment criteria are divided between formal aspects of 12.38%, Written expresión 12.38%, treatment of the subject 14.45%, methodological rigor of work 10.32%, and Level of argument Clarity and relevance of conclusions 10.32%. In general terms, we could say that there is a trend and debate between formative assessment against a accreditation. It has not yet had sufficient time to further study and confront other dimensions and sources of information. We hope to provide more analysis and conclusions in the conference date.

Life quality and the wellness of local population and the sustainability of social organizations. Study case of a Foundation

This research aims to present an analysis on the absence of innovative social responses related with continuing care, taking into account the need to answer to all kind of social needs. Our main goal is not only a theoretical approach about the social challenges and social policies, but also present a study on the potentialities of the Fundação Elísio Ferreira Afonso, our case study, can apply for funding of an UCC (Continuing Care Unit) in order to meet the needs of the local population on one hand, and on the other, in order to contribute to the self-sustainability of the Foundation. This paper is divided into three parts: theoretical framework and characterization of our social organization, according to an exploratory research, structuring a strategic plan of the organization, through field research, and as final result, to present a proposal for funding and implementation of an innovative UCC, according to the underlying legislation to Portugal 2020. The sample is focused on the population of Sátão municipality. To conclude, it is important to make this local approach, because of the increasing demand for this kind of caring services.

Union strategies in representing ‘new workers’ : the case of UK retail union

The purpose of this paper is to explore the changing nature of employee voice through trade union representation in the retail industry. The retail industry is a major employer in the UK and is one of the few private sector service industries with union representation (Griffin et al 2003). The requisite union: the Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) union is one of the biggest unions in the country. However, the characteristics of the industry provide unique challenges for employee voice and representation including: high labour turnover; high use of casual, female and student labour; and, variable levels of union recognition (Reynolds et al 2005). Irrespective of these challenges, any extension of representation and organisation by unions in the retail sector is inherently valuable, socially and politically, given that retail workers are often categorised as vulnerable, due to the fact that they are among the lowest paid in the economy, sourced from disadvantages labour markets and increasingly subject to atypical employment arrangements (Broadbridge 2002; Henley 2006; Lynch 2005; Roan 2003).