Sustaining school partnerships: The context of cross-sectoral collaboration between schools in a separate education system in Northern Ireland

This study explores the current understanding of cross-sectoral collaboration between schools in a divided society. The paper provides the context surrounding inter-school collaboration in Northern Ireland then presents findings based on a qualitative study of five post-primary partnerships made up of schools from the various sectors in Northern Ireland (maintained/Catholic, controlled/Protestant and integrated sectors). Participants in the study are teachers and school leaders. Evidence from this study reveals a number of things: despite a separate education system made up of different sectors, schools on an inter-sectoral basis are willing to collaborate and those represented in this study appeared disposed to sustain partnership activities; schools recognised that collaboration and partnership while beset with a number of logistical challenges, is also beneficial for pupils and institutions. In all cases there remained evidence of sustainable collaborative practice; although some of this was more developed in some partnerships than in others. In effect this paper concludes by recognising that schools do require some level of funding to sustain partnership working but that sustainability should not be couched entirely around these terms; rather, sustainability is about creating the right conditions to allow schools to develop effective and strong partnerships. These conditions are outlined in the latter stages of this paper.

Are Computer Scientists Geeks? Gender Differences In Attitudes And Experiences Related To Computing Among Secondary Education Students In Northern Ireland.

The worldwide scarcity of women studying or employed in ICT, or in computing related disciplines, continues to be a topic of concern for industry, the education sector and governments. Within Europe while females make up 46% of the workforce only 17% of IT staff are female. A similar gender divide trend is repeated worldwide, with top technology employers in Silicon Valley, including Facebook, Google, Twitter and Apple reporting that only 30% of the workforce is female (Larson 2014). Previous research into this gender divide suggests that young women in Secondary Education display a more negative attitude towards computing than their male counterparts. It would appear that the negative female perception of computing has led to representatively low numbers of women studying ICT at a tertiary level and consequently an under representation of females within the ICT industry. The aim of this study is to 1) establish a baseline understanding of the attitudes and perceptions of Secondary Education pupils in regard to computing and 2) statistically establish if young females in Secondary Education really do have a more negative attitude towards computing.

Nursing training in Brazil and in Portugal: similarities and specificities

Objective: To identify similarities/specificities in the nursing training in Brazil and in Portugal. This is a documentary research conducted in two higher education institutions, in January 2013. Method: It was focused on the National Curriculum Guidelines and on the Bologna Process. Results: Common points: objectives and profile of the newly-trained nurses grounded on competencies; teaching of education in/for health. Brazilian specificity: universal admission; three disciplines focused on research; mandatory discipline related to elderly care; two optional disciplines: Alternative therapies and Brazilian Language of Signs; insertion of complementary activities, actions in teaching/research/extension; basis of teaching: compliance with the Brazilian Unified Health System. Portuguese Specificity: admission with regionalized medical certificate; grounded on the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System; compulsory disciplines: Clinical Reasoning in Nursing; Family Nursing; Development throughout life; Rehabilitative Nursing and Prospects of development of the Nursing; two optional disciplines: entrepreneurship and arts; basis of teaching: clinical teaching. Conclusions: There are similarities and specificities between the surveyed courses.

Nursing training in Brazil and in Portugal: similarities and specificities

Objective: To identify similarities/specificities in the nursing training in Brazil and in Portugal. This is a documentary research conducted in two higher education institutions, in January 2013. Method: It was focused on the National Curriculum Guidelines and on the Bologna Process. Results: Common points: objectives and profile of the newly-trained nurses grounded on competencies; teaching of education in/for health. Brazilian specificity: universal admission; three disciplines focused on research; mandatory discipline related to elderly care; two optional disciplines: Alternative therapies and Brazilian Language of Signs; insertion of complementary activities, actions in teaching/research/extension; basis of teaching: compliance with the Brazilian Unified Health System. Portuguese Specificity: admission with regionalized medical certificate; grounded on the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System; compulsory disciplines: Clinical Reasoning in Nursing; Family Nursing; Development throughout life; Rehabilitative Nursing and Prospects of development of the Nursing; two optional disciplines: entrepreneurship and arts; basis of teaching: clinical teaching. Conclusions: There are similarities and specificities between the surveyed courses.

The importance of physical education classes in pre-school children

The purpose of this study was to analyse differences between total physical activity (TPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) of pre-school children during daily school hours when they attended the physical education class (PED) and school days without PE class (NPED) and to assess the contribution of PE classes to TPA in school hours. The sample was composed of 193 pre-school healthy children (96 girls) aged from three to five years old and was conducted between February and December of 2008. Children wore accelerometers for at least four consecutive days during school hours. Data were analysed with specific software, age-specific counts-per-minute cut-off points and a 5 s epoch were used. Independent and general linear model repeated measures were used to assess differences between gender and differences between different days within each gender, respectively. Boys engaged more MVPA than girls (P < 0.05). During PED, pre-school children engaged significantly more in TPA and MVPA than during NPED (P < 0.05). PE class contributed, on average, 27.7% for the TPA and 32.8% of daily MVPA during PED in both gender. The results of this study suggest that structured PA such as a PE class increased the daily TPA and MVPA level of pre-school children.

Identification and description of the development of the relationships between mentor and mentee teachers in the Halton Board of Education "Partners in the Classroom" Program

Fifteen mentoring pairs of teachers were randomly selected from each group of teachers that had participated in the Halton Board of Education "Partners in the Classroom" program during 1988/89, 1989/90, and 1990/91. Each teacher was personally interviewed. Interviews were recorded, transcriptions were prepared and examined and analyzed. During the first part of the interview questions were asked regarding personal and professional demographics. The purpose of the second part of the interview was to gain information relating to the development of the relationships, over a three-year period, between mentor and mentee teacher participants in the "Partners in the Classroom" program. The analysis of the data suggest that there are identifiable changes in the development of the relationship between the mentor teacher and the mentee teacher over time. Implications from the study results that could enhance the induction program for new teachers are discussed.

Adaptation of agriculture to climate change in Quebec : the co-construction of agricultural policies in the RCM of Haut-Richelieu

Les facteurs climatiques ainsi bien que les facteurs non-climatiques doivent être pris en considération dans le processus d'adaptation de l'agriculture aux changements et à la variabilité climatiques (CVC). Ce changement de paradigme met l'agent humain au centre du processus d'adaptation, ce qui peut conduire à une maladaptation. Suite aux débats sur les changements climatiques qui ont attiré l'attention scientifique et publique dans les années 1980 et 1990, l'agriculture canadienne est devenue un des points focaux de plusieurs études pionnières sur les CVC, un phénomène principalement dû à l’effet anthropique. Pour faire face aux CVC, ce n’est pas seulement la mitigation qui est importante mais aussi l’adaptation. Quand il s'agit de l'adaptation, c'est plutôt la variabilité climatique qui nous intéresse que simplement les augmentations moyennes des températures. L'objectif général de ce mémoire de maîtrise est d'améliorer la compréhension des processus d'adaptation et de construction de la capacité d'adaptation ai niveau de la ferme et de la communauté agricole à travers un processus ascendant, c’est-à-dire en utilisant l'approche de co-construction (qui peut également être considéré comme une stratégie d'adaptation en soi), pour développer une gestion et des outils de planification appropriés aux parties prenantes pour accroître ainsi la capacité d'adaptation de la communauté agricole. Pour y arriver, l'approche grounded theory est utilisée. Les résultats consistent de cinq catégories interdépendantes de codes élargis, conceptuellement distinctes et avec un plus grand niveau d'abstraction. La MRC du Haut-Richelieu a été choisie comme étude de cas en raison de plusieurs de ses dimensions agricoles, à part de ses conditions biophysiques favorables. 15 entrevues ont été menées avec les agriculteurs. Les résultats montrent que si certains agriculteurs ont reconnu les côtés positifs et négatifs des CVC, d’autres sont très optimistes à ce sujet comme se ils ne voient que le côté positif; d'où la nécessité de voir les deux côtés des CVC. Aussi, il y a encore une certaine incertitude liée aux CVC, qui vient de la désinformation et la désensibilisation des agriculteurs principalement en ce qui concerne les causes des CVC ainsi que la nature des événements climatiques. En outre, et compte tenu du fait que l'adaptation a plusieurs caractéristiques et types, il existe de nombreux types d'adaptation qui impliquent à la fois l'acteur privé et le gouvernement. De plus, les stratégies d'adaptation doivent être élaborées conjointement par les agriculteurs en concert avec d'autres acteurs, à commencer par les agronomes, car ils servent en tant que relais important entre les agriculteurs et d'autres parties prenantes telles que les institutions publiques et les entreprises privées.

Educational Loans And The Higher Education Sector In India

In 2001 the Indian Banks Association have come up with a model frame work for educational loans in the country. With the approval of the Central Government the public sector banks in India started to give education loans. The private and cooperative banks also joined the fray. Due to growing NPAs and the intervention of the Government these norms were modified in 2011. The budget allocation for the primary and higher secondary education is on the increase in India. However, higher education has been of late relegated or left to the mercy of the private players. There has been a steady growth of educational loans disbursed, private colleges and deemed universities started and enrolments of students in higher education during the years 2001 to 2011. This paper is a humble attempt to 1) analyse the growth of the educational loans vis-à-vis other forms of personal loans at the national level, 2) showcase the disbursements of educational loans in Kerala State, 3) to assess the growth of educational institutions and enrolment of students in higher education in India from secondary data and 4) to make suggestions based on the findings

Higher Education Governance in Vietnam: University Action, the State and Changing Relationships

Diese Dissertation stellt eine Studie da, welche sich mit den Änderungen in der Governance der Hochschulbildung in Vietnam beschäftigt. Das zentrale Ziel dieser Forschungsarbeit ist die Untersuchung der Herkunft und Änderung in der Beziehung der Mächte zwischen dem vietnamesischen Staat und den Hochschulbildungsinstituten (HI), welche hauptsächlich aus der Interaktion dieser beiden Akteure resultiert. Die Macht dieser beiden Akteure wurde im sozialen Bereich konstruiert und ist hauptsächlich durch ihre Nützlichkeit und Beiträge für die Hochschulbildung bestimmt. Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich dabei besonders mit dem Aspekt der Lehrqualität. Diese Studie nimmt dabei die Perspektive einer allgemeinen Governance ein, um die Beziehung zwischen Staat und HI zu erforschen. Zudem verwendet sie die „Resource Dependence Theory“ (RDT), um das Verhalten der HI in Bezug auf die sich verändernde Umgebung zu untersuchen, welche durch die Politik und eine abnehmende Finanzierung charakterisiert ist. Durch eine empirische Untersuchung der Regierungspolitik sowie der internen Steuerung und den Praktiken der vier führenden Universitäten kommt die Studie zu dem Schluss, dass unter Berücksichtigung des Drucks der Schaffung von Einkommen die vietnamesischen Universitäten sowohl Strategien als auch Taktiken entwickelt haben, um Ressourcenflüsse und Legitimität zu kontrollieren. Die Entscheidungs- und Zielfindung der Komitees, die aus einer Mehrheit von Akademikern bestehen, sind dabei mächtiger als die der Manager. Daher werden bei initiativen Handlungen der Universitäten größtenteils Akademiker mit einbezogen. Gestützt auf die sich entwickelnden Muster der Ressourcenbeiträge von Akademikern und Studierenden für die Hochschulbildung prognostiziert die Studie eine aufstrebende Governance Konfiguration, bei der die Dimensionen der akademischen Selbstverwaltung und des Wettbewerbsmarktes stärker werden und die Regulation des Staates rational zunimmt. Das derzeitige institutionelle Design und administrative System des Landes, die spezifische Gewichtung und die Koordinationsmechanismen, auch als sogenanntes effektives Aufsichtssystem zwischen den drei Schlüsselakteuren - der Staat, die HI/Akademiker und die Studierenden – bezeichnet, brauchen eine lange Zeit zur Detektion und Etablierung. In der aktuellen Phase der Suche nach einem solchen System sollte die Regierung Management-Tools stärken, wie zum Beispiel die Akkreditierung, belohnende und marktbasierte Instrumente und das Treffen informations-basierter Entscheidungen. Darüber hinaus ist es notwendig die Transparenz der Politik zu erhöhen und mehr Informationen offenzulegen.

The work of psychologists in social policy in Brazil

This study verses on the meeting of psychology with the social policy area. The objective is to discuss how psychologists that work in the Basic Health Units and in the Social Assistance Reference Centers experience their daily practices. Using the interview and participant observation methods, we investigated the modes of action of 13 psychologists involved in these service units. The results indicate that because these contexts are adverse to the traditional forms of action, many professionals experience daily strangeness and discomfort, resulting from their encounters with limiting situations of difficult management. Furthermore, we observed practices and experiences that were marked by feelings of compassion, pity, and resentment. We consider, finally, that the encounter between psychology and social policies requires flexibility in traditional acting modes as well as the pursuit of strategies that consider cultural contexts characteristics, avoiding capture, fatigue and saturation process that stifle the worker.

Housing Policies in Latin America: overview of the four largest economies

The aim of this paper is to examine the differences and similarities in housing policies in the four Latin American countries of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia. The article uses the welfare regime approach, modified by a recognition of path dependence, to identify a number of phases that each country has passed through. However, attention is drawn to the substantial differences in the circumstances in each country and the extent and duration of the different phases. It is concluded that it can be beneficial to use the concept of a Latin American housing regime, but that this general picture has to be used with an understanding of the path dependence caused by the different context in the individual countries.

Health in Brazil 2 Maternal and child health in Brazil: progress and challenges

In the past three decades, Brazil has undergone rapid changes in major social determinants of health and in the organisation of health services. In this report, we examine how these changes have affected indicators of maternal health, child health, and child nutrition. We use data from vital statistics, population censuses, demographic and health surveys, and published reports. In the past three decades, infant mortality rates have reduced substantially, decreasing by 5.5% a year in the 1980s and 1990s, and by 4.4% a year since 2000 to reach 20 deaths per 1000 livebirths in 2008. Neonatal deaths account for 68% of infant deaths. Stunting prevalence among children younger than 5 years decreased from 37% in 1974-75 to 7% in 2006-07. Regional differences in stunting and child mortality also decreased. Access to most maternal-health and child-health interventions increased sharply to almost universal coverage, and regional and socioeconomic inequalities in access to such interventions were notably reduced. The median duration of breastfeeding increased from 2.5 months in the 1970s to 14 months by 2006-07. Official statistics show stable maternal mortality ratios during the past 10 years, but modelled data indicate a yearly decrease of 4%, a trend which might not have been noticeable in official reports because of improvements in death registration and the increased number of investigations into deaths of women of reproductive age. The reasons behind Brazil`s progress include: socioeconomic and demographic changes (economic growth, reduction in income disparities between the poorest and wealthiest populations, urbanisation, improved education of women, and decreased fertility rates), interventions outside the health sector (a conditional cash transfer programme and improvements in water and sanitation), vertical health programmes in the 1980s (promotion of breastfeeding, oral rehydration, and immunisations), creation of a tax-funded national health service in 1988 (coverage of which expanded to reach the poorest areas of the country through the Family Health Program in the mid-1990s); and implementation of many national and state-wide programmes to improve child health and child nutrition and, to a lesser extent, to promote women`s health. Nevertheless, substantial challenges remain, including overmedicalisation of childbirth (nearly 50% of babies are delivered by caesarean section), maternal deaths caused by illegal abortions, and a high frequency of preterm deliveries.

Use of a predictive model for food insecurity estimates in Brazil

In 2004 the National Household Survey (Pesquisa Nacional par Amostras de Domicilios - PNAD) estimated the prevalence of food and nutrition insecurity in Brazil. However, PNAD data cannot be disaggregated at the municipal level. The objective of this study was to build a statistical model to predict severe food insecurity for Brazilian municipalities based on the PNAD dataset. Exclusion criteria were: incomplete food security data (19.30%); informants younger than 18 years old (0.07%); collective households (0.05%); households headed by indigenous persons (0.19%). The modeling was carried out in three stages, beginning with the selection of variables related to food insecurity using univariate logistic regression. The variables chosen to construct the municipal estimates were selected from those included in PNAD as well as the 2000 Census. Multivariate logistic regression was then initiated, removing the non-significant variables with odds ratios adjusted by multiple logistic regression. The Wald Test was applied to check the significance of the coefficients in the logistic equation. The final model included the variables: per capita income; years of schooling; race and gender of the household head; urban or rural residence; access to public water supply; presence of children; total number of household inhabitants and state of residence. The adequacy of the model was tested using the Hosmer-Lemeshow test (p=0.561) and ROC curve (area=0.823). Tests indicated that the model has strong predictive power and can be used to determine household food insecurity in Brazilian municipalities, suggesting that similar predictive models may be useful tools in other Latin American countries.

Population structure and inbreeding effects on growth traits of Santa Ines sheep in Brazil

The aim of this study was to describe the population structure, inbreeding and to quantify their effect for different weights, of Santa Ines sheep. For this reason, 6490 data of production and 17,097 animals in the pedigree data set were utilized to evaluate birth weight (BW), weight at 60 days (W60) and weight at 180 days (W180). The genetic structure analysis of the population was realized by the software ENDOG (v.4.6.), resulting in some level of inbreeding for 21.72% of the animals in the pedigree data, being 41.02% the maximum value, and average of 10.74% for the inbred individuals. The population average inbreeding was 2.33% and the average relatedness was 0.73%. The effective number of ancestors was 156 animals and the effective number of founders was 211 individuals. A significant depressive effect of the inbreeding can be verified for all traits. The monitored parameters related with the genetic variability on this population must be constant in order to prevent the decrease in the genetic progress. The utilization of a program for directed mating in the present flock is an appropriate alternative to keep the level of inbreeding under control. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Phylogenetic relationships in Kumanoa (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta) species in Brazil with the proposal of Kumanoa amazonensis sp nov.

This Study evaluated the species-level taxonomy and phylogenetic relationship among Kumanoa species from Brazil with other regions of the world based on the plastid-encoded RUBISCO large Subunit gene (rhcL). Partial rbcL sequences were obtained for 11 Kulnanoa specimens. Eight species are recognised from Brazil on the basis of molecular and morphological data: seven previously described (K abilii, K ambignia, K. breviarticulata, K. cipoensis, K. equisetoidea, K. globospora and K procarpa) and a new species here proposed (K. amazonensis sp. nov. Necchi & Vis). The new species has reduced and dense whorls but differs from the two closest related species in lacking secondary fascicles. Previously proposed infrageneric categories were not supported by the molecular data. Species described and endemic (K. breviarticulata, K. cipoensis, K equiseloidea and K. procarpa) to Brazil are not grouped together but are variously related to other species from North America, Europe and Australasia. With the species recognised in this study using molecular and morphological data and those previously distinguished by morphology, 13 species of Kumanoa are Currently documented from Brazil.