An analytical framework for policy engagement: the contested case of 14-19 reform in England

This article attempts to construct an analytical framework to reflect upon the deeply contested area of 14-19 education and training policy in England following the publication of the Government’s White Paper ‘14-19 Education and Skills’. We argue that the evolution of 14-19 policy over the last fifteen years, culminating in the publication of the Tomlinson Final Report on 14-19 reform and then its rejection by the Government, might be better understood by looking at this area through the application of four related conceptual tools - political eras, the education state, the policy process and the operation of political space. These concepts or tools are used here both to narrate historical and recent 14-19 developments, to critique current policy-making in this area, and to identify opportunities and challenges facing researchers seeking to engage with the policy process. We suggest that this analytical framework might not only be applied to reform in the 14-19 phase but also to education policy more widely

The Paradox of the Self and its Implications for Concepts of Personhood: Contrasting Contemporary Theological and Psychological Approaches to an Old Problem

It is a widely accepted principle in both theology and the human sciences that the self, though each person perceives him- or herself as a singularity, is also characterized by multiplicity. The author analyzes this apparent paradox as it appears in contemporary social cognitive psychology and in Christian theological models of the person that are grounded in the doctrine of imago Dei. He argues that, whereas there are evident differences in the psychological and theological conceptions of the nature of persons, both disciplines endorse concepts of personhood that are characterized by a dynamic process of self-unification. Thus, the conceptual divide alleged to exist between theological and secular scientific models of the person may not be as pronounced as many suppose

XRound : A reversible template language and its application in model-based security analysis

Successful analysis of the models used in Model-Driven Development requires the ability to synthesise the results of analysis and automatically integrate these results with the models themselves. This paper presents a reversible template language called XRound which supports round-trip transformations between models and the logic used to encode system properties. A template processor that supports the language is described, and the use of the template language is illustrated by its application in an analysis workbench, designed to support analysis of security properties of UML and MOF-based models. As a result of using reversible templates, it is possible to seamlessly and automatically integrate the results of a security analysis with a model. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

20 Years of German Unification: Evidence on Income Convergence and Heterogeneity

We analyse the convergence and heterogeneity of living standards between East and West Germany since unification. Based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), we compare total individual income of permanent adult residents, including retirees and the unemployed, of East and West Germany over the fifteen years for which data are available. Using a fixed effects vector decomposition method, we estimate the gross total income difference between East and West Germans taking unobserved heterogeneity into account. Our analysis demonstrates that the negative income gap has decreased from 33 per cent in 1992 to 22 per cent in 2002, rising again to 26 per cent in 2007. Hence some convergence took place in nominal terms since unification. Constructing income gaps by decennial cohorts, we discover that the most recent cohorts have the highest negative income gap. This probably reflects out-migration from East Germany by the young and highly skilled. On the basis of quantile regressions we find a positive income gap at the beginning of the 1990s for the lower income deciles (that is higher incomes in East Germany). This was due to retirees in the East with relative long employment histories receiving transfer payments by western standards. The income gap is insignificant when accounting for heterogeneity at the area level by including area level variables to our regression.unification, living standards, income inequality, distribution, GSOEP, Germany

Participation Behavior of East German Women after German Unification

The paper studies the determinants of labor force participation by East German women after unification. To isolate the role of preferences on labor force participation from individual characteristics, we develop a panel data model that simultaneously explains participation, employment, and wages. The model, estimated for East and West Germany on the basis of the German Socio-Economic Panel, indicates that distinct preferences could explain the regional difference in participation rates at unification. Afterward East German women became less willing to participate, but the negative participation trend was offset on the aggregate level by changes in characteristics and wages promoting participation.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39862/3/wp477.pd

Work-Life balance: towards an agenda for policy learning between Britain and Germany

This survey analyses the political context, the legislative frameworks and the policy developments in an area that is now widely termed 'work-life balance' in both the United Kingdom and Germany. It also looks at the theoretical notions of time in relation to work and family life and gives examples of research in the public, private and voluntary sector

The Paradox of the Self and its Implications for Concepts of Personhood: Contrasting Contemporary Theological and Psychological Approaches to an Old Problem

It is a widely accepted principle in both theology and the human sciences that the self, though each person perceives him- or herself as a singularity, is also characterized by multiplicity. The author analyzes this apparent paradox as it appears in contemporary social cognitive psychology and in Christian theological models of the person that are grounded in the doctrine of imago Dei. He argues that, whereas there are evident differences in the psychological and theological conceptions of the nature of persons, both disciplines endorse concepts of personhood that are characterized by a dynamic process of self-unification. Thus, the conceptual divide alleged to exist between theological and secular scientific models of the person may not be as pronounced as many suppose