Policy difference and policy ownership under UK devolution: social housing policy in Northern Ireland

This paper assesses the impact of UK devolution on social housing policy in Northern Ireland from 1999 until 2011, with a particular focus on the administration from May 2007 until April 2011, the first in which the elected elements of the process functioned for the entire period. Housing is one of the responsibilities of the Minister for Social Development. Northern Ireland has had a political commitment to the provision of good quality social housing for many years, both before and after the 1998 Good Friday/ Belfast Agreement and the establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive in 1999.
The paper begins with an analysis of factors contributing to policy difference within the United Kingdom under the 1999 devolution settlement, noting that these factors may contribute either to policy convergence or divergence between the four UK jurisdictions. There follow reflections on the concept of ‘policy ownership’ in multi-level states and the benefits of this analytical approach for consideration of housing policy under UK devolution. A review of social housing policy since 1999 is followed by discussion of three key issues from the 2007-11 administration: the governance of social housing; the procurement of new social housing; and improving access to shared space and a shared future. The paper concludes that, in Northern Ireland, the 2007-11 administration marked a transition between a technocratic past and the future policy ownership of the social housing policy field by locally elected politicians. Reflections on wider implications for UK social policy, for UK devolution, and for the complex governance structures of devolved and federal states are also included.

The influence of parents, older siblings, and non-parental care on infant development at nine months of age

Background: The majority of research examining the influence of social environment on early child development suggests benefits to two-parent households, but contradictory evidence for the effects of siblings. The aims of the present study were to examine the influence of the child's proximal social environment, and the effects of interactions between socioeconomic status and social environment on developmental outcomes.

Methods: Primary caregivers of a representative sample of 10,748 nine-month-old infants in Ireland completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and provided information on social environment. Adjustment was made for infant and maternal characteristics, household income, and area where the child was living at the time of the study. Further analyses tested for interactions between social environment and household income.

Results: Binary logistic regressions indicated no effects for number of parents in the household. However, the presence of siblings in the household was a consistent predictor of failing to reach milestones in communication, gross motor, problem-solving, and personal-social development. Furthermore, there was a gradient of increasing likelihood of failing in gross motor, problem-solving, and personal-social development with increasing numbers of siblings. Care by a grandparent decreased the likelihood of failing in communication and personal-social development.

Conclusions:These findings do not support the majority of research that finds positive benefits for two-parent households. Similarly, the findings suggest limited effects for non-parental care. However, the observed negative effects of siblings support both the confluence and resource dilution models of sibling effect. Examination of follow-up data may elucidate current findings.

O processo de reconhecimento, validação e certificação de competências na (re)definição de trajectórias de desenvolvimento pessoal, social e profissional

Trabalho de projecto de mestrado, Ciências da Educação (Formação de Adultos), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2011

Values in middle childhood: Social and genetic contributions

Theories of value development often identify adolescence as the period for value formation, and cultural and familial factors as the sources for value priorities. However, recent research suggests that value priorities can be observed as early as in middle childhood, and several studies, including one on preadolescents (Knafo & Spinath, 2011), have suggested a genetic contribution to individual differences in values. In the current study, 174 pairs of monozygotic and dizygotic 7-year old Israeli twins completed the Picture-Based Value Survey for Children (PBVS–C; Döring et al., 2010). We replicated basic patterns of relations between value priorities and variables of socialisation – gender, religiosity, and socioeconomic status– that have been found in studies with adults. Most important, values of Self-transcendence, Self-enhancement, and Conservation, were found to be significantly affected by genetic factors (29%, 47% and 31% respectively), as well as non-shared environment (71%, 53% and 69% respectively). Openness to change values, in contrast, were found to be unaffected by genetic factors at this age and were influenced by shared (19%) and non-shared (81%) environment. These findings support the recent view that values are formed at earlier ages than had been assumed previously, and they further our understanding of the genetic and environmental factors involved in value formation at young ages.

Introduction to the Special Section Value Development from Middle Childhood to Early Adulthood: New Insights from Longitudinal and Genetically Informed Research

Research into values at an early age has only started recently, although it has expanded quickly and dynamically in the past years. The purpose of this article is twofold: First, it provides an introduction to a special section that aims to help fill the gap in value development research. The special section brings together four new longitudinal and genetically informed studies of value development from the beginning of middle childhood through early adulthood. Second, this article reviews recent research from this special section and beyond, aiming to provide new directions to the field. With new methods for assessing children's values and an increased awareness of the role of values in children's and adolescents' development, the field now seems ripe for an in-depth investigation. Our review of empirical evidence shows that, as is the case with adults, children's values are organized based on compatibilities and conflicts in their underlying motivations. Values show some consistency across situations, as well as stability across time. This longitudinal stability tends to increase with age, although mean changes are also observed. These patterns of change seem to be compatible with Schwartz's (1992) theory of values (e.g., if the importance of openness to change values increases, the importance of conservation values decreases). The contributions of culture, family, peers, significant life events, and individual characteristics to values are discussed, as well as the development of values as guides for behavior.

A expressão dramática no desenvolvimento da formação pessoal e social da criança em idade pré-escolar

Relatório da Prática Profissional Supervisionada Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar

Da liderança ao bullying: estratégias a adotar numa sala de pré-escolar para promover o desenvolvimento social e moral

Relatório da Prática Profissional Supervisionada Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar

Análisis de las estrategias de cooperación sur-sur para el desarrollo económico y social binacional. Estudio de caso: proyectos en materia agropecuaria en el marco del convenio de cooperación técnica y científica entre Brasil y Colombia, periodo 2007-2011

Las desigualdades económicas y sociales entre los Estados del Norte y del Sur son evidentes, ante esta premisa surge la Cooperación Sur-Sur como una herramienta eficaz para potencializar el desarrollo económico y social de las naciones del Sur bajos los principios de horizontalidad, consenso y equidad. En este sentido, se analizan las estrategias de Cooperación Sur-Sur entre Brasil y Colombia y su aplicación en uno de los sectores prioritarios de los Estados del Sur como es el sector agropecuario.

Análisis del accionar del ELN y las FARC-EP contra la industria petrolera y su incidencia en el régimen de regalías y el desarrollo social en el departamento de Arauca, 1998-2006

El desarrollo social de un departamento está determinado por factores tanto internos como externos. Sin embargo, la existencia de recursos no renovables con gran valor, en algunos casos representan el núcleo de grandes problemas sociales en estos departamentos.

La salud y la promoción de la salud: una aproximación a su desarrollo histórico y social

Dado que el concepto de salud-enfermedad puede ser abordado desde diversas perspectivas teóricas, en este apartado se presentan de manera sucinta los principales enfoques que se han desarrollado en torno a éste, con la intención de identificar sus alcances. Se busca evidenciar las perspectivas conceptuales de la salud y la promoción de la salud, como un hecho histórico circunscrito y afectado por una realidad social, y en esa medida constructoras no sólo de un saber, sino también de una práctica institucional, que determina los diferentes movimientos desde los cuales las comunidades se dirigen hacia modos de entender y manejar su salud, lo cual no quiere decir que los individuos y colectivos, como seres históricos y activos, no ejerzan de manera autónoma sus propias convicciones y decisiones frente al curso de su vida.

El emprendimiento social al interior del Centro de Emprendimiento UR Emprende de la Universidad del Rosario

Proyecto de intervención realizado al interior del Centro de Emprendimiento UR Emprende de la Universidad del Rosario que ofrece como producto final, una definición de emprendimiento social para la entidad. Esta sirve como modelo para el examen de cuáles de las distintas entidades que fueron contactadas para presentar a la comunidad rosarista sus proyectos sociales, se ajustan a la definición alcanzada. El análisis del emprendimiento social a la luz de las Ciencias Sociales es abordado con una visión reflexiva y crítica que busca establecer qué hacer para que ir más allá de la sola creación de empresas. El foco de interés lo constituyen las comunidades, principales gestores del proceso emprendedor, así como las oportunidades de crear a través de la empresa social, nuevas perspectivas de desarrollo social y abrir una línea de estudio que no existe en las Ciencias Sociales.