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1 – 10 of over 25000Cynthia J. Guffey, Judy F. West and Charles S. White
Successful organizations recognize that employees are their most valuable resource because of employee commitment to the organization. Organizational commitment is a…
Abstract
Successful organizations recognize that employees are their most valuable resource because of employee commitment to the organization. Organizational commitment is a multi‐dimensional variable which is the degree of loyalty to one's job and organization. Employers should strive to increase organizational commitment of employees. One suggested method is employer educational assistance.
Since World War II, the United States has played a leading role in development assistance in both volume of funds and role. Though the largest bilateral development agency, USAID…
Abstract
Since World War II, the United States has played a leading role in development assistance in both volume of funds and role. Though the largest bilateral development agency, USAID is somewhat of an outlier in modes of operation, scope and nature of activities, and place within government. This chapter examines the development and character of U.S. foreign assistance. Like others, the United States provides foreign aid for multiple reasons – to relieve suffering and promote long-term economic and social development, to gain favor with allies, to open markets, to help ensure national security. Security and diplomacy do play a large role in U.S. foreign aid, even in basic education. In the context of U.S. internal politics, both humanitarian/development and diplomatic/security rationales have been necessary to sustain public and government support for foreign aid. Still neither rationale has prevailed; the budget is split nearly in half. The need for a humanitarian rationale may be characteristic of U.S. foreign assistance along with the emphasis on democracy. Yet these programs have sometimes been distorted by the diplomatic rationale and the security needs of the state. Many of these tensions and the constant need to justify foreign aid likely derive from the perennial periodic isolationist thread of U.S. politics, the particular adversarial institutions of U.S. policymaking, and the transparency which leaves these processes open. Even so, U.S. development assistance has played a prominent role in the trajectory of international development post-World War II, and has worked to address many of the great challenges of the times.
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Ewa Giermanowska, Mariola Racław and Dorota Szawarska
We examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the functioning of university students with disabilities using assistant support services in Poland. The study aims to (1) reveal…
Abstract
Purpose
We examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the functioning of university students with disabilities using assistant support services in Poland. The study aims to (1) reveal the role existing university-based assistant services play in students' lives and (2) examine the impact of the pandemic on assistant services by students with disabilities.
Methods/Approach
We gathered and analyzed 25 interviews with students with disabilities from across Poland, from public and nonpublic higher education institutions.
Findings
The assistant support service at universities introduced in Poland proved to be fragmentary and limited only to the educational process, which resulted in the exclusion of people with complex disabilities and those requiring support in self-care activities. The pandemic has exacerbated previously observed dimensions of segregation and inequalities leading to disproportionate isolation of students with disabilities. It also highlighted the limited understanding of personal assistantship functioning in the academic context and the need for urgent development of universal access to assistance services across Poland. At the same time the forced move to distant, internet-based learning, at least for some students, gave them a sense of self-reliance and independence.
Implications
This research adds to the understanding of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for students with disabilities in the case of Poland. It also calls for a reexamination of what personal assistance should mean in the context of higher education and beyond.
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Shaftone B. Dunklin and Eboni M. Zamani-Gallaher
This paper provides an overview of the Post 9/11 GI Bill and outlines the steps that the Obama administration has taken to provide for the educational and training needs of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper provides an overview of the Post 9/11 GI Bill and outlines the steps that the Obama administration has taken to provide for the educational and training needs of veterans and other eligible dependents.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper offers a policy analytic review of the extant literature on veterans’ education and regulations pertaining to the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
Findings
It is found that although the Post 9/11 GI Bill was enacted with the right intentions, several changes had to be made to protect both veterans and tax payers as well as the integrity of the GI Bill.
Originality/value
To help educators understand the role that the Obama administration has played in advancing veteran education and training.
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Sona Nersisyan and Lusine Tanajyan
Due to the armed conflict in Syria that commenced in 2011 and is still ongoing while writing this article, Armenia has experienced a massive inflow of Syrian-Armenian refugees…
Abstract
Due to the armed conflict in Syria that commenced in 2011 and is still ongoing while writing this article, Armenia has experienced a massive inflow of Syrian-Armenian refugees. The state was not prepared to provide the appropriate legal and logistical assistance to manage such a large flow of refugees and returning Armenians. It was also ill-prepared to ensure their resettlement and proper integration into Armenia's society. As a result, in 2012, the government put forward immigration and resettlement policies specifically designed to deal with the Syrian-Armenians fleeing the Syrian conflict. This chapter aimed to capture the results from a conceptual framework we developed to document and assess the Syrian-Armenian integration experience. The framework is based on expert interviews, in-depth interviews and document analysis. Main findings: Syrian-Armenian refugees experience different challenges and choose different ways to overcome them. The older age group tends to experience increased difficulties in integrating into their host communities, while the younger generations adapt easier to their new environment. The younger generations are better equipped for social and economic changes and are less stuck in poverty. For Syrian-Armenian women, their new environment seems safer. Most feel at ease regarding public attitudes towards them and are, for the most, satisfied with their employment choices. Those with a high school education tend to seek lower paying jobs, and the outliers from the highest and lowest socioeconomic status tend to leave Armenia. Many return to Syria as the conflict winds down in certain areas or decide to travel to another country.
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This chapter analyzes major trends in rural public libraries, beginning with a discussion of changes in service offerings since the advent of the Internet. These outlets are now…
Abstract
This chapter analyzes major trends in rural public libraries, beginning with a discussion of changes in service offerings since the advent of the Internet. These outlets are now better able to help patrons with their employment, education, and civic engagement needs than they have been at any point in the past. However, rural public libraries still lag behind their peers in broadband speeds, technological infrastructure, and various forms of service and training offerings that use these technologies. The difference in public offerings is not only due to problems of technology, but also limited funding for staff, aging and small buildings, and a lack of state and regional support to allow these libraries to achieve economies of scale. As libraries nationwide shift to focus more on public programming and digital offerings, these factors will be barriers to rural outlets keeping up with modern trends in the field.
This study uses Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and Digital Inclusion Survey data to analyze trends among rural public libraries. The authors returned to the original data sets from these studies to find nuance between types of rural outlets, primarily dividing this information based on libraries’ distances from more densely populated areas. These statistical data are supplemented through qualitative interviews with professionals in the rural library field. Key findings include:
Rural public libraries have made major strides in improving broadband quality and increasing related service offerings since the advent of the Internet in the mid-1990s.
Rural libraries still lag behind those in more populated areas in terms of technical infrastructure and training offerings, and this becomes more acute among those located farther from population centers.
As the public library field places a greater emphasis on public programs, rural libraries’ small and aging buildings will likely be a barrier to them keeping up with their peers.
The lack of regional consortia and strong state libraries in some parts of the country limits rural libraries’ abilities to achieve economies of scale and negatively impacts the range of services they can offer their patrons.
Rural public libraries have made major strides in improving broadband quality and increasing related service offerings since the advent of the Internet in the mid-1990s.
Rural libraries still lag behind those in more populated areas in terms of technical infrastructure and training offerings, and this becomes more acute among those located farther from population centers.
As the public library field places a greater emphasis on public programs, rural libraries’ small and aging buildings will likely be a barrier to them keeping up with their peers.
The lack of regional consortia and strong state libraries in some parts of the country limits rural libraries’ abilities to achieve economies of scale and negatively impacts the range of services they can offer their patrons.
Rural libraries have often been combined together in statistical analyses of their service offerings. This chapter shows nuance between these outlets, demonstrating that libraries that are distant and remote from population centers face more difficulties than those on the fringes of cities and suburbs. Likewise, while much of the advocacy surrounding rural libraries has focused on the need for improved broadband and technological infrastructure, this study moves on to study how building infrastructure, low staff funding, and a lack of mechanisms for collaboration will hinder libraries’ abilities to keep up with modern changes in the field.
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This study examines the cost-effectiveness of reintegrating ex-combatants from armed groups in Colombia. After an ethnographic exploration of the challenges of reintegration that…
Abstract
This study examines the cost-effectiveness of reintegrating ex-combatants from armed groups in Colombia. After an ethnographic exploration of the challenges of reintegration that ex-combatants face, I evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the reintegration program operated by the Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization (Agencia para la Reincorporación y la Normalización, ARN), the government agency that handles the reintegration of ex-combatants from all armed groups in Colombia. I analyze the agency's approaches (past, current, and proposed) toward reintegrating ex-combatants from various armed groups, comparing the financial costs against outcomes. The ARN has been successful at achieving two of its primary goals: minimizing recidivism and maximizing employment of ex-combatants. Only 10% of ARN program participants rejoin criminal groups and 93% find employment across both the formal and informal sectors (informal employment is widespread in Colombia and Latin America). The ARN has been unsuccessful at providing adequate security for ex-combatants. Approximately 6% of ex-combatants enrolled in the ARN program have been murdered since 2001: approximately 3,000 program participants have been assassinated. Next, I evaluate the cost-effectiveness of both the ARN's overall program and its outcome across different regions and demographics of the participant population. Finally, I suggest ways that other countries facing the challenge of reintegrating populations of ex-combatants can learn from the Colombian experience, as well as ways that Colombia can improve its own reintegration cost-effectiveness.
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Lucas Silva, Johana Contreras and Jorge Manzi
This chapter presents an analysis of evidence-informed teaching practice in the context of Chilean formal education. The concept of evidence-informed practice (EIP) is tackled…
Abstract
This chapter presents an analysis of evidence-informed teaching practice in the context of Chilean formal education. The concept of evidence-informed practice (EIP) is tackled from the use of data from standardized assessments of learning by agents of the educational system in Chile, analyzing the relationship between the use of standardized assessments and the institutional characteristics of the educational system.
First, the Chilean educational system is characterized according to its regulation and cohesion, utilizing the Hood's matrix (2000). With the current predominance of accountability regulation with high stakes, the Chilean system presents a high degree of regulation and low cohesion. Then, the main uses of assessments in Chile are described based on the available evidence, with emphasis on the National Assessment System (SIMCE) a high-stakes assessment and an alternative assessment system (SEPA) of low stakes. Thirdly, the institutional theory is applied to analyze the factors that facilitate and obstruct EIP in schools. Finally, the chapter concludes by providing some implications for educational policy and practice.
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Elizabeth Spruin, Emma Alleyne and Ioanna Papadaki
While there is a large body of research exploring the various avenues of support for domestic abuse victims and the risk factors which put women at risk of victimization, there is…
Abstract
Purpose
While there is a large body of research exploring the various avenues of support for domestic abuse victims and the risk factors which put women at risk of victimization, there is little research exploring the perceptions of these women. The purpose of this paper is therefore to explore the personal views of victimized women; in particular, the risk factors that they believe put them at risk for abuse and what they feel support services should offer.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 12 women were interviewed about their experiences of domestic violence. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis which resulted in three themes: first intimate relationship; quality of life; and supporting services.
Findings
The results from the analysis highlighted some prominent risk factors and, most importantly, emphasized the need for alternative forms of support. Overall, the findings provide an innovative way of viewing domestic violence by understanding it through victim ' s narratives, which can further aid to inform current support services within the UK and elsewhere.
Research limitations/implications
The quality of life around the time of abuse is a factor that should be explored further in relation to the victimization of women.
Practical implications
Ambivalent first sexual encounters may be an important risk factor for future relationship violence.
Social implications
Support services for domestically abused women need to offer more internal support for vocational and educational services.
Originality/value
There is little research exploring the personal views and perceptions of victimized women, in particular, the risk factors that they believe put them at risk for domestic abuse and what they feel support services should offer. The value of this research is therefore founded in the exploring this gap in literature and provide victims with a voice to aid researchers in understanding domestic abuse from another perspective. Investigating a victim ' s personal account is one pathway into beginning to understand the underlying thought processes and beliefs they attach to an event. If themes within a personal narrative account could be identified within victims of domestic abuse, it may allow a new aetiological perspective to develop in regard to the understanding and needs of abused women.
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Masudul Alam Choudhury and Hanapi Mohammad Noor
Carries out a statistical and economic analysis of socio‐economic survey results on the Mi’kmaq People of Cape Breton in the light of the criterion of the social wellbeing…
Abstract
Carries out a statistical and economic analysis of socio‐economic survey results on the Mi’kmaq People of Cape Breton in the light of the criterion of the social wellbeing function. Focuses on studying the social wellbeing criterion with the socio‐economic variables involved in the surveys in a relational perspective among alternatives. Points out that this approach is distinct from the neoclassical resource substitution method. Instead, the relational perspective is shown to be premissed on a system of universal complementarities.
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