Demographic Swings and Early Childhood Education in Iran

In recent years Iran has greatly expanded its early childhood education program, taking first place in the Middle East in preschool enrolment. In this paper we examine the reasons for the unusual expansion and argue that it is in large part an institutional response to demographic changes in Iran, notably the sharp fertility decline of the 1990s. Fertility declined from more than 6 births per woman in the 1980s to about 2 in 2004, while during the same period kindergarten enrollments increased from less than 10 percent of 5 year old children to nearly one half of the population. Economists usually think of the effect of the reduction in fertility on child schooling in terms of a trade-off between quantity and quality. In their models both fertility decline and rising investment in child education are attributed to choices made by families to substitute quality for quantity of children. In the case of Iran, expansion of pre-school education appears to have an institutional explanation. In the early 1990s, following the decline in primary school enrolments in early 1990s, itself caused by fertility decline a few years earlier, caused a surplus of primary school teachers. In an attempt to preserve primary school teachers’ jobs, public schools worked together with parents to set up kindergarten classes in public schools, even though pre-primary education was not part of their official mandate.Iran demographic swings; childhood education

Child slavery and child labour

Child slavery and child labour deny children their God-given dignity and freedom, and their right to education. Catholic Social Teaching is unequivocal in resolute condemnation of child slavery and child labour, in all of their forms

Demythologizing the Palestinian in Hany Abu-Assad’sOmarandParadise Now

In the past, Palestinian cinema was dominated by a nationalist discourse revolving around refugee ideology, resulting from the trauma of the lost homeland. As the past is generally static, revisiting it became an exercise in nostalgia. The last decade, however, has seen the emergence of a number of transnational Palestinian films telling stories of those who remained in historical Palestine post-1948. This late depiction is no longer one of reductionism but a visual narrative that exposes the daily challenges individuals face under occupation, as they fluctuate between a diminishing homeland and a lost one. These latest films have relied on a personal angle to tell the story, contrary to earlier film portrayals that favoured depictions of a mythical homogeneous society rooted in nationalist, heroic and revolutionary discourse. This article examines two internationally acclaimed films by Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad, Al Janna Al Aan/Paradise Now and Omar. In both, Palestinians hover between security walls, refugee camps and occupied space, as they deal with issues of betrayal, frustration, martyrdom and treason, portrayals that ultimately demythologize the Palestinian individual

Ideal Cities-Marred Individuals: J. M. Coetzee's The Childhood of Jesus and José Saramago's A Caverna

In the final pages of J. M. Coetzee's The Childhood of Jesus and José Saramago's A Caverna, the main protagonists flee to an unknown destination from their respective "utopias." Both allegorical novels expose the ills of two guarded and structured communities. A Caverna, a parable of Plato's cave, depicts the story of the lives of 64-year-old Algor, a third-generation earthenware potter, and his family. When Algor is no longer able to sell his earthenware products, the family is forced to reside at the Center. Coetzee's novel begins with the arrival of Simón and the child David at the Spanish-speaking city of Novilla. Simón assumes guardianship of the boy. Although the concept of "utopia" is presented differently in these two novels, the place operates in the same way; both places function through a faceless controlling bureaucratic authority, claiming that the welfare of the inhabitants is its driving force. A rebirth of the human is required for surviving in the new surroundings. In this article, I would like to compare how both authorities function under the pretext of creating the ideal world, which ultimately results in safeguarding their own interests, and consequently perpetuating the sterile and anesthetized existence of their citizens

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of some transition metal complexes of oxime, semicarbazone and phenylhydrazone

Co, Ni and Cu complexes have been prepared by reacting metal chloride with 4-chlorobenzaldehyde oxime, 4-methylbenzaldehyde oxime, 4-nitrobenzaldehyde oxime, 4-chlorobenzaldehyde semicarbazone, 4-methyl- benzaldehyde semicarbazone, 4-nitrobenzaldehyde semicarbazone, 4-chloro benzaldehyde phenylhydrazone, 4-methylbenzaldehyde phenyl hydrazone and 4-nitrobenzaldehyde phenylhydrazone and their antibacterial activity have been studied and compared with their ligands against E. coli which gave significant results of activity

Sistem Penyelesaian Kasus Pada Masyarakat Adat Kajang Ammatoa Kabupaten Bulukumba

Sistem Penyelesaian Kasus merupakan cara untuk menyelesaikan perkara yang terjadi pada suatu daerah. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui bentuk penyelesaian kasus masyarakat adat Kajang Ammatoa dan peranan Ammatoa selaku Ketua Adat dalam menyelesaikan kasus yang terjadi di dalam kawasan adat Kajang Ammatoa. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian Kualitatif dengan metode penelitian Study Kasus dan menggunakan 8 informan. Metode pengumpulan data menggunakan metode wawancara dan dianalisis secara deskriptif kualitatif. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa (1). Bentuk Penyelesaian Kasus Masyarakat Adat Kajang Ammatoa di Kabupaten Bulukumba mempunyai tiga sanksi yaitu Pokok Babbala (pelanggaran berat), Tangnga Babbala (pelanggaran sedang) dan Cappa Babbala (pelanggaran ringan) (2). Peranan Ammatoa Sebagai Pemimpin Adat Dalam Menyelesaikan Kasus Masyarakat Adat Kajang Ammatoa di Kabupaten Bulukumba yaitu Ammatoa selaku Ketua Adat akan bertindak tegas bagi pelaku pelanggaran dan tidak ada pilih kasih walaupun keluarganya yang melakukan pelanggaran akan tetap diberi sanksi

HOMO SACER DWELLS IN SARAMAGO'S LAND OF EXCEPTION

Giorgio Agamben defines the sacred man or Homo Sacer as one who is not worthy of sacrifice. Having lost all rights, the person is reduced to the non-human. In modern times, banishment or banning by the law occurs when a state of exception is sanctioned by a totalitarian supremacy that suspends judicial power. The state of exception does not lie within or outside the boundaries of the judicial order, but in a zone of indifference. The state of exception in which the norm is annulled represents the inclusion, which in turn captures the space in which law becomes suspended. Here, I discuss how the authorities in José Saramago's Blindness and The Cave function within the law of exception, confining and defining space, and ultimately marking the Homo Sacer. Keywords: Homo Sacer, Blindness, The Cave, José Saramago, Giorgio Agambe

No Path to Power: Civil Society, State Services, and the Poverty of City Women

In focusing on Ain el-Sira, a low-income neighbourhood of Cairo, this article challenges development theorists’ ideas that civil society as a development partner is best able to promote women’s empowerment, community development and justice. This article contests that development can avoid the machinations of the state or ignore the power imbalances that litter the relationships between state, civil society, citizens and donors! In Egypt, where the state relegates its development duties to civil society, women in Ain el-Sira experience service initiatives which are duplicated, microcredit loans they often cannot afford to repay, and benefit criteria which are strict and limiting. Programmes remain unchanged for years and long-term plans to relieve the burdens of disempowerment and destitution are non-existent. To achieve real gendered justice which provides women with the assets and capabilities to make choices requires citizenship rights. This can only be gained by engaging critically with state and civil society dynamics and challenging the structures that obstruct empowerment