Beyond Constituencies: NonProfit Boards and the Public

In 1997, the Kettering Foundation commissioned The Harwood Group to write a major study on the relationship between boards of directors and the public. The study was based on interviews with 75 board presidents from across the United States, distributed evenly among public school boards, local pass-through organizations such as the United Way, and community foundations and civic organizations. A major finding of the original study was that board members' responses to challenges of their public credibility might actually worsen their situation. The Harwood research raises two basic questions: 1. Does this board mind-set vary among nonprofit industries?2. Are nonprofit organizations that do not define their primary mission as civic more able, paradoxically, to develop deeper understanding of their communities and ties to the public than civic specialists such as pass-throughs, community foundations, and civic organizations?In response to these questions we undertook an informal ethnographic study to either reinforce the Harwood findings or to point to a particular industry or industries deserving of more extensive research. Interviews with members of 15 nonprofit boards: seven human service organizations focused on families and youth, four arts organizations, and four international nongovernmental organizations focused on both public accountability and the relationship of boards to the larger public beyond constituencies

Prescription drug advertisements as fantasies: A cultural critique using a visualization model

Foss\u27 (1994) rhetorical schema for the evaluation of visual images in conjunction with elements of Bormann\u27s (1982) theories on fantasy theme analysis provides a framework for the creation of the included Visualization model which enables the examination of prevalent advertising images. The transformation of the dissemination of information from a verbal to a visual focus necessitates studies that explore the social messages invading the collective unconscious. The implicit messages and related fantasy themes in the visual dimension influence perceptions and individual visions of what is real. Imagery tells us much of what we know about the world. Consequently, the profusion of images creates various versions of reality and fantasy. This study seeks to explore current world-visions and fantasy themes communicated in the visual domain. The underlying premise is that the lines separating reality and fantasy fade in the intersection of image interpretation, individual standpoints and various lived experiences

Connecting women: the potential and use of electronic conferencing

The topic for this paper emerged as a result of my role in managing many electronic conferences in my work at the Water Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC), Loughborough University, UK . It soon became clear that certain disparities existed between levels of the men’s and women’s participation in these forums, although the extent and reasons for this were unclear. This paper aims to investigate the extent of these differentials, and to explore some of the reasons for women’s greater reluctance to take part in electronic discussions of this type. The findings are based on a rapid, initial exploratory survey, the purpose of which was to identify whether there was an issue here worth looking at. The results suggest that there is more to learn about the gendered nature of e-conferencing and that an in-depth study would be beneficial to provide guidance on the design and implementation of future women-friendly e-conferences

Spreading the word further

This paper outlines the findings of a DFID funded Knowledge and Research (KAR) project aimed at improving the impact of KAR research through identifying and comparing appropriate dissemination strategies. It is written for those commissioned by DFID to carry out research in the water and sanitation sectors. However, it should have relevance to researchers in the wider development sector, to DFID personnel with interest in research and dissemination issues, non-DFID research contractors, and other commissioning donor agencies

Women in water supply, sanitation and hygiene programmes

This paper demonstrates the fundamental linkages between the United Nations' third millennium development goal (MDG) 'to promote gender equality and to empower women' and MDG 7 'to ensure environmental sustainability', with target 10 'to halve the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015'. A synthesis of the evidence gathered for the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) shows the connections between women's wellbeing and water supply, sanitation facilities and hygiene practice. The paper shows that if women's interests relating to water and sanitation provision are at the centre of planning and implementation of programmes, this has a direct impact on women's life experience, their potential and opportunities. This work goes on to provide examples of the benefits to women when they themselves are involved in the planning, implementation and operation of water supply, sanitation and hygiene programmes

School Composition and Disproportionality in Discipline: A School-Level Analysis of Disciplinary Actions against Various Offense Types in the United States, 2007-2008

This dissertation addresses race, poverty, and school locational and organizational characteristics to explore three specific questions: 1) Are there discrepancies across American public schools in terms of managing discipline? 2) What are the underlying factors that explain this discrepancy? 3)What are the school and organizational characteristics that are associated with the way in which students are disciplined? The school-level data for this study is based on the 2007-2008 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) and the Common Core of Data (CCD), both provided by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES). Existing literature suggests that minority and poor students are disciplined differently - often more punitively - than White and affluent students. The findings from this research suggest that school level dynamics may be different than what the student level literature suggests. Specifically, the results indicate that racial and poverty concentrations do affect the types of violations that occur in schools and school officials' responses' to different offense types. However, it is not race and poverty alone that are associated with this. Racial and poverty concentrations are mediated by several school characteristics, and matter to a lesser degree when specific characteristics are accounted for. Additionally, disciplinary responses to violations depend on the type of violation, not necessarily on the racial or poverty make-up of the school

Learning lessons from history for public health reform: reflections on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Learning lessons from history for public health reform: reflections on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs

Hiding in Plain Sight: Identifying Computational Thinking in the Ontario Elementary School Curriculum

Given a growing digital economy with complex problems, demands are being made for education to address computational thinking (CT) – an approach to problem solving that draws on the tenets of computer science. We conducted a comprehensive content analysis of the Ontario elementary school curriculum documents for 44 CT-related terms to examine the extent to which CT may already be considered within the curriculum. The quantitative analysis strategy provided frequencies of terms, and a qualitative analysis provided information about how and where terms were being used. As predicted, results showed that while CT terms appeared mostly in Mathematics, and concepts and perspectives were more frequently cited than practices, related terms appeared across almost all disciplines and grades. Findings suggest that CT is already a relevant consideration for educators in terms of concepts and perspectives; however, CT practices should be more widely incorporated to promote 21st century skills across disciplines. Future research would benefit from continued examination of the implementation and assessment of CT and its related concepts, practices, and perspectives

Leading or following children's learning: a critical review of contradictory dscourses in the role of early childhood educators

Eight publications are presented with this thesis, with the first published in 1996 and the last in 2016. Three of the publications are books and five are peer reviewed journal articles arising from the research underpinning the books. Together, the publications constitute a coherent programme of research seeking to navigate contradictory discourses surrounding the role of early childhood educators in England since the introduction of regulation concerning early childhood education. The publications, which are both empirical and conceptually grounded, highlight increasing tensions for early years educators between an escalation in government prescription of early years curriculum content and an established early years pedagogy espousing child-led, play-based enquiry. The research programme is framed around three action research projects which gave rise to and informed the submitted publications. Whilst the first project focused on the practice of one Reception teacher the other two involved large numbers of early years educators working across different age-phases and across different types of provision. Each project addressed practitioner concerns at the time, about the introduction of policy frameworks that appeared to demand changes to existing pedagogy and practice. The iterative processes within action research encouraged scrutiny of policy, analysis of current practice, engagement with relevant theory and reflective discussion. Being engaged in a ‘community of researchers’ was found to be particularly empowering for early childhood educators who sought to find ways through seemingly contradictory discourses in order to see them as complementary rather than in opposition. This thesis, and the body of work submitted with it, offer empirically based strategies for balancing contradictory discourses surrounding the role of early childhood educators whilst also offering insights into changing educational practice through practitioner-led research