Mediation, Self-Represented Parties, and Access to Justice: Getting There from Here

Mediation is enthusiastically promoted as a vehicle for providing access to justice. This is as true in developing countries as it is in the United States. For individuals, mediation promises autonomy, self-determination and empowerment; for courts, there is the lure of procedural and administrative reforms—reduced dockets and greater efficiencies. Unburdened with formal discovery, evidentiary and procedural rules, pleadings, and motions, mediation is thought to generate access to justice at a faster pace than litigation. Commentators sing its praises while bemoaning its underutilization. I argue that claims about mediation’s ability to provide access to justice should be more modest because mediation falls short on its original promise of being a voluntary process based on party self-determination. In what I label a “withering away of consent,” courts and legislatures have pushed hard to sell mediation as an access to justice opportunity, often without regard for the consensual nature of the process. Too often, this hard sell has negative consequences for individuals with disadvantaged economic status who navigate the legal system on their own. These are the self-represented parties who seek access to justice in the formal judicial system but then find themselves in mediation, a different, informal system than what has been institutionalized in the courts. The extent to which they receive justice from either system is unclear

Coordination and synergy – increasing the width and depth of research in organic farming (SYNERGY)

The Danish Research Centre for Organic Farming (DARCOF) is a "centre without walls", which is to say that the researchers remain in their own research environment but collaborate across institutes. The overall remit is to coordinate Danish R&D for organic farming, with a view to achieving optimum benefit from the allocated resources. The specific objectives of the SYNERGY project are to secure the continued interdisciplinary development of Danish research in organic farming and to explore the many possibilities of synergy in DARCOF II. In relation to these objectives, the assignments of SYNERGY are to: • Co-ordinate, evaluate and manage DARCOF II as a whole • Analyse, discuss and synthesis knowledge across research projects and disciplines • Develop research methodology and investigate values associated with organic farming • Contribute to the education of research scientists involved in the DARCOF II • Communicate the research findings to the organic farming community and society in general • Contribute to international co-operation and communication In this way the project intends to secure the completion of the overall objectives of the programme; namely to contribute to increased production, and closer relationships between organic and inherent qualities in organic farming

Investigating the learning transfer of genre features and conceptual knowledge from an academic literacy course to business studies: Exploring the potential of dynamic assessment

Academic literacy courses aim to enable higher education students to participate in their chosen academic fields as fully as possible. However, the extent to which these students transfer the academic skills taught in these courses to their chosen disciplines is still under-researched. This article reports on a study that investigated the potential of dynamic assessment (an assessment approach that blends instruction into assessment) in the transfer of genre features and conceptual knowledge among undergraduate business studies students in a UK public university. The data includes three students’ written assignments (N = nine), interviews (N = three) and business studies tutor (N = three) feedback. Drawing on Vygotskian sociocultural theory of learning and a genre theory based on Systemic Functional Linguistics, the data were analysed. The findings suggest that dynamic assessment may contribute to the transfer of genre features and conceptual knowledge to a new assessment context. Implications of this for academic literacy instruction and assessment design are presented

Confronting Systemic Inequity in Education: High Impact Strategies for Philanthropy

Each year, foundations pour in billions of dollars to support education, and yet, the education inequity crisis in this country continues. Philanthropy can be more effective at being part of the solution and finally bring access to quality education for all students. This report serves as an eye-opener to foundation leaders about the ineffectiveness of current grantmaking practices. It also encourages conversations within and among education grantmakers, and provides six helpful discussion questions

Financial inclusion, financial stability and sustainability in the banking sector : the case of Indonesia

Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to analyze the effect of financial inclusion on sustainable economic growth for Indonesian banking companies, and to investigate the effect of financial inclusion on sustainable economic growth through financial system stability. Design/Methodology/Approach: This research is a quantitative study using secondary data taken from annual financial statements of banking companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) over the period 2010-2017. Findings: The results show that (a) the financial inclusion does not affect sustainable economic growth in Indonesian banking companies, and (b) the financial system stability mediates the effect of financial inclusion on sustainable economic growth in Indonesian banking companies. Practical Implications: This study provides deeper insight into the factors that drive financial inclusion and an increase in market share and financial performance of banks. With conditions of inclusion that are still low in Indonesia while the number of banks is increasing, it is necessary to have strong financial system stability. By understanding the matrix in financial inclusion, managers are well-positioned to understand the strategies needed to promote financial inclusion so that market share increases. Likewise, the results of the present study are probable to be an input for other stakeholders for their consideration in decision making. Originality/Value: Empirical research that explores the effects of financial inclusion, and sustainable economic growth in Indonesia is still very limited. According to our knowledge, no one has examined the use of financial system stability as mediation as it is used in this studypeer-reviewe