Teenage motherhood: where you live is also important. A prospective cohort study of 14,000 women

The United Kingdom has among the highest rates of teenage motherhood (TM) in Western Europe. The relationship to individual social and material disadvantage is well established but the influence of area of residence is unclear. We tested for additional TM risks in deprived areas or in cities. The Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study was used to identify 14,055 nulliparous females (15-18). TM risk was measured using multilevel logistic regression, adjusting for health status, religion, family structure, socio-economic status, rurality and employment-based area deprivation. Most variation in TM was driven by individual, household and socioeconomic factors with the greatest proportion of mothers in low value or social rented accommodation. Living in an area with fewer employment opportunities was associated with elevated TM risk (most vs. least deprived, ORadj = 1.98 [1.49, 2.63]), as was urban dwelling (urban vs. intermediate, ORadj = 1.42 [1.13, 1.78]). We conclude that area of residence is a significant independent risk factor for TM. Interventions should be targeted towards the most deprived and urban areas and to those in the lowest value housing.

Lehrende als ‘agents of change’ - Konzeptionelle Überlegungen zu einer kinderrechtlichen Annotation und Ausdeutung der Standards für die Lehrerbildung

Die Dissertation geht von der Überlegung aus, dass ein Wandel im deutschen Bildungssystem aufgrund kinderrechtlicher und demokratischer Überlegungen eine essenzielle Zukunftsaufgabe ist. Dies geschieht im Besonderen vor dem Hintergrund kinderrechtlicher Forderungen, wie sie beispielsweise aus dem Status Deutschlands als Mitgliedsland der UN-Kinderrechtskonvention und des UN-Übereinkommens über die Rechte von Menschen mit Behinderung entstehen: Die Korrelation zwischen Herkunft und Bildungserfolg sowie die noch konzeptionell ungenügend entwickelten Ansätze zur Inklusion werden als bestimmend für die Diskussion erkannt. Die Arbeit vertritt die These, dass Lehrende eine zentrale Rolle in einem notwendigen Prozess der Umwandlung des deutschen Bildungssystems spielen können und nimmt in emanzipatorischer Absicht die Lehrenden als Zielgruppe in den Blick. Aufgrund der Struktur der Lehrendenausbildung wird zudem dafür argumentiert, entsprechende Veränderungen im Sinne ihrer Nachhaltigkeit und flächendeckenden Relevanz in der Lehrendenausbildung des ersten universitären Ausbildungsabschnittes zu verankern. Als Instrument, welches die Kriterien von Nachhaltigkeit und umfassender Relevanz erfüllt, werden die Standards für die Lehrerbildung im Bereich Bildungswissenschaften benannt und theoretisch unterfüttert. Grundsätzlich spannt sich der Blickwinkel der Arbeit zwischen der Betrachtung der Struktur des Bildungssystems, des Wissens und Könnens von Lehrenden und Lernenden im Sinne der Kompetenzorientierung sowie der Haltung auf, welche Lehrende einnehmen. Dabei wird aufgezeigt, dass sich diese Faktoren wechselseitig auf vielfache Art und Weise beeinflussen. Auf der Basis dieser Überlegungen wird zunächst das deutsche Bildungssystem in seinen Strukturen beschrieben und die Lehrenden und Lernenden als Teilnehmende am Bildungsgeschehen skizziert. Ein exkursiver Vergleich dreier aufgrund kinderrechtlicher Parameter ausgewählter europäischer Bildungssysteme eruiert zudem, inwiefern die aufgezeigten Bestimmungsgrößen Struktur, Wissen/Können und Haltung Einfluss auf kinderrechtliche Verfasstheit des Bildungssystems nehmen, wobei die Grundprinzipien der UN-Kinderrechtskonvention hier als Messinstrument dienen. Davon ausgehend, erscheint pädagogische Haltung als eine wesentliche Einflussgröße, die im weiteren Verlauf der Arbeit im Sinne der kritischen Pädagogik zu einer Konzeption Pädagogischer Verantwortung verdichtet wird. Vor diesem Hintergrund erfolgt eine Betrachtung aktueller Problematiken im deutschen Bildungssystem, die sich an den in den Standards für die Lehrerbildung identifizierten Ausbildungsschwerpunkten orientiert und erneut die Prinzipien und rechtlichen Vorgaben der UN-Kinderrechtskonvention als Maßstab wählt. Auf der Grundlage dieser umfassenden Diskussion werden in einem sich anschließenden Analyseschritt Annotationen vorgenommen, die die Formulierungen der 11 Standards für die Lehrerbildung inhaltlich erweitern und ergänzen. In Verbindung mit einer Pädagogischen Verantwortung, die sich der Ausbildung kritischer Mündigkeit verpflichtet, werden die annotierten Standards als eine Möglichkeit der kinderrechtlichen (Selbst-)Evaluation von Lehrenden sowie als Instrument einer kinderrechtliche Gesichtspunkte fokussierenden Lehrendenbildung verstanden und dargestellt.

Opportunities and constraints of transhumant small ruminant production in the Chinese Altay Mountains

This PhD thesis focuses on current livelihoods of agro-pastoral livestock keepers, their animal nutrition, herd and rangeland management strategies. It thereby aims to contribute to sustainable rangeland management, livestock production and household income in Qinghe county of the Chinese Altay Mountain region, located in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, PR China. In its first part the study characterizes the socio-economic situation and agricultural practices of agro-pastoralists through structured household interviews. The second part provides insights into the grazing behaviour and feed intake of small ruminants on seasonal pastures in this region, and into the quantitative and qualitative biomass offer on natural rangelands. The third part analyses the reproductive performance and annual growth of the local sheep and goat herds, and, by modelling improved feeding and culling strategies, tests herd management options that potentially improve the monetary output per female herd animal without increasing the pressure onto natural rangelands. Taken together, the results of the study suggest that, despite an increase and intensification of cropping and vegetable gardening in the region of Qinghe, livestock rearing is still the major livelihood strategy both in terms of prevalence and relative importance. However, livestock keeping is challenged by low biomass production on rangelands, due to the combined impact of high climate variability and highly localized grazing pressure on the seasonal pastures. Though government regulations try to tackle the latter aspect, their implementation is sometimes difficult. Alternatives to strict regulation of grazing periods and animal numbers on seasonal pastures are, in the case of goats, more rigorous culling strategies and, in the case of sheep and goats, strategic supplementation of the animals in the winter and spring season. However, for the latter strategy to become economically viable, an improvement of live animal and meat marketing options and an investment in local meat processing facilities that add value to the carcasses is needed. As the regional cities grow rapidly, the potential market to absorb diverse and good quality meat products is there, along with the road network connecting Qinghe county to the regional capital. Such governmental measures will not only create new job opportunities in the region but also benefit the cash income of pastoralists in this westernmost region of China.

Actitudes lingüísticas hacia el español andino en La Paz, Bolivia : Un estudio comparativo entre tres universidades en la ciudad de La Paz y la ciudad de El Alto.

En este estudio se analizan las actitudes lingüísticas hacia el español andino en universitarios con diferentes contextos sociolingüísticos y socioeconómicos de tres universidades en La Paz, Bolivia, en relación con el español andino. Se utiliza una encuesta que incluye dos técnicas: pares falsos donde los informantes opinan sobre cuatro voces, dos del español andino y dos del español estándar y se mide el índice de solidaridad y de estatus; y un cuestionario de diferenciación semántica que mide las actitudes hacia las diferentes clases de transferencia del aymara al español andino. El análisis de los resultados indica que la actitud hacia los hablantes del español estándar es más positiva que la actitud hacia los hablantes del español andino, hay más solidaridad y más que todo se le asigna más estatus. Son los mismos hablantes del español andino que muestran las actitudes menos positivas.

Juridik eller socialpedagogik? : Skolors strategier för att hantera kränkningar

Legal perspectives or Social Pedagogy? Schools strategies of handling harassments The present study explores how Swedish schools define and categorize situations when students have been exposed to different forms of abusive acts and violence at school. The empirical study is designed as case studie of two urban secondary schools situated in areas with different socioeconomic conditions. One of the schools is located in a suburb in one of the most economically disadvantaged areas in a greater city area. The other school is located in a small town municipality, where the students are relatively privileged in respect to their socio-economic backgrounds. The results indicate that different socio-economic conditions influence how professional’s describe and categorize violence and harassment and the types of strategies chosen. In the suburban school professionals talk and collaborate with the police, reporting cases of violence and harassment. In the small town school the professionals talk about the importance of collaborating with parents.

Closing the Gap: Young People's Views on Learning at School

The UK has been criticised for its inequitable education system, as student outcomes are strongly linked to parental socio-economic status. Children and young people experiencing poverty are less likely than their better off peers to leave school with good grades, which can perpetuate disadvantage in later life. The attainment gap between children and young people experiencing poverty and their better off peers in the UK is widening, despite an increasing media and policy focus in this area. Poverty-related educational inequality is a complex area and there is no conclusive evidence in what works to reduce its effects. While there is a plethora of research on the impact of poverty on education, very little of it includes the voice of children and young people and/or the psychological impact of poverty on learning. The importance of hearing the views of children and young people is central to educational psychology, as is social justice and facilitating access to the curriculum for all students. The barriers presented by the experience of poverty to learning are thus vital for educational psychologists to address. This study used qualitative methods to explore the learning journey of Key Stage 3 (age 12-13) young people experiencing poverty in an English coastal borough. Questions from the Little Box of Big Questions 2 were used as a tool in semi-structured interviews, in addition to questions devised by the researcher. Young people discussed aspects of their lives that enabled them to learn at school, and aspects that presented barriers to learning. The research used Positive Psychology, taking a strengths based approach to explore the skills young people thought they brought to education, skills they would like to develop, and how they could be supported in this. The study has highlighted themes that, if addressed, could potentially raise the attainment of children and young people experiencing poverty.

Literacia financeira e comportamento na tomada de decisões financeiras

A literacia financeira é uma questão que tem vindo a ganhar relevância nos últimos anos e preocupado os governantes e instituições financeiras a nível mundial. De uma forma geral, o nível de conhecimento financeiro dos indivíduos no mundo é baixo, mesmo em países cujos mercados e economia são desenvolvidos. Existem diferenças a nível da literacia financeira não só entre países, como também dentro dos próprios países. Ao longo dos anos, várias pesquisas indicam que existem fatores socioeconómicos e demográficos que condicionam o nível de literacia financeira e podem explicar as diferenças existentes. A educação financeira tem sido a estratégia usada pelos governos para aumentar o nível de conhecimento financeiro dos indivíduos. Contudo, as opiniões dos autores dividem-se, quanto à sua real eficácia, sendo que alguns consideram que esta não é a melhor alternativa a seguir. A literacia financeira exerce influência sobre o comportamento dos indivíduos. Além disso, o comportamento dos indivíduos é condicionado por enviesamentos cognitivos e emocionais (excesso de confiança, aversão ao risco,etc.) que os afasta da racionalidade completa defendida pelas Finanças Tradicionais. Assim, surge uma nova área de estudo - as Finanças Comportamentais. Como é já vasta a literatura que emergiu à volta desta temática, esta dissertação apresenta uma revisão da literatura sobre a literacia financeira, abordando os aspectos comportamentais bem como a questão da educação financeira e dos programas que têm sido conduzidos para a promover.

Context-awareness privacy in data communications

Internet users consume online targeted advertising based on information collected about them and voluntarily share personal information in social networks. Sensor information and data from smart-phones is collected and used by applications, sometimes in unclear ways. As it happens today with smartphones, in the near future sensors will be shipped in all types of connected devices, enabling ubiquitous information gathering from the physical environment, enabling the vision of Ambient Intelligence. The value of gathered data, if not obvious, can be harnessed through data mining techniques and put to use by enabling personalized and tailored services as well as business intelligence practices, fueling the digital economy. However, the ever-expanding information gathering and use undermines the privacy conceptions of the past. Natural social practices of managing privacy in daily relations are overridden by socially-awkward communication tools, service providers struggle with security issues resulting in harmful data leaks, governments use mass surveillance techniques, the incentives of the digital economy threaten consumer privacy, and the advancement of consumergrade data-gathering technology enables new inter-personal abuses. A wide range of fields attempts to address technology-related privacy problems, however they vary immensely in terms of assumptions, scope and approach. Privacy of future use cases is typically handled vertically, instead of building upon previous work that can be re-contextualized, while current privacy problems are typically addressed per type in a more focused way. Because significant effort was required to make sense of the relations and structure of privacy-related work, this thesis attempts to transmit a structured view of it. It is multi-disciplinary - from cryptography to economics, including distributed systems and information theory - and addresses privacy issues of different natures. As existing work is framed and discussed, the contributions to the state-of-theart done in the scope of this thesis are presented. The contributions add to five distinct areas: 1) identity in distributed systems; 2) future context-aware services; 3) event-based context management; 4) low-latency information flow control; 5) high-dimensional dataset anonymity. Finally, having laid out such landscape of the privacy-preserving work, the current and future privacy challenges are discussed, considering not only technical but also socio-economic perspectives.