Modern Philosophies and School Voucher Programs

In February 2017, for the first time since the presidency of George H. W. Bush, the Vice President had to cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate (Reilly, 2017). The issue that caused such division in the Senate was the confirmation of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Voted as the least liked member of Trump’s cabinet, Secretary DeVos continues to generate controversy (Reilly, 2017). From the time that President Trump announced his nomination of Betsy DeVos, DeVos’s educational beliefs have created controversies. One of her controversial stances is that school choice should be increased through voucher programs. Voucher programs allow parents to send their students to private schools using government money. Often, vouchers are only offered to families from low incomes. DeVos claims that the test scores of the United States have continued to be average compared to other countries. To fix this, parents must have the ability to choose a school that serves their children most effectively. However, some parents cannot choose because of socioeconomic status and need a voucher to have that choice (Stahl, 2018). However, others point out that schools are not improving, especially in Michigan, where DeVos’s ideas have begun to take root (Stahl, 2018). In short, DeVos argues that vouchers will increase students’ performance in comparison with other countries; others say that vouchers are not working in Michigan. These are arguments about practical results. However, the underlying arguments for and against vouchers are not about the pros and cons but the purpose of education. If educators continue to argue about statistics and theories without examining the underlying philosophies, they will continue to argue past each other. Arguments for and against vouchers are rooted in the purpose of school defined by three different philosophies: neoliberalism, communitarianism, and liberalism

Teacher Perceptions of Assessments in Character Education: A Case Study

Since the time of Aristotle, educators have emphasized character as a necessary part of a student’s education, and currently, many states mandate character education by law. Because of this historical and legal emphasis, there is a growing discussion on the necessity of assessments in character education to ensure that character education programs are effective. While there is research on the large-scale effectiveness of programs with different assessments, there is little research about how teachers perceive assessments and measurements in character education. This study was conducted to begin to address this gap in the research. Through the research design of an embedded single case study, the researcher sought to answer the questions of how teachers perceive assessments in character education and how their answers differed when speaking about different grade levels. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with six different teachers and were analyzed through methods of grounded theory. The findings suggest that teachers believe that measurements for character would be a helpful tool, but they are concerned about the practicality and plausibility of assessments. These findings should encourage researchers, policymakers, and administrators to consider the voices and concerns of teachers while reviewing other research about authentic and effective methods for character education assessment

Content Analysis of the Psychology of Men and Masculinity (2000 to 2008)

In 2010, the Psychology of Men and Masculinity (PMM) celebrates the 10th anniversary of its inception as the official journal of the Society for the Psychological Study of Men andMasculinity. This article commemorates this significant milestone by examining the journal’s current trends and future directions through a content analysis of 154 articles published in PMM from 2000 to 2008. The authors found that PMM scholarship was dominated by theories associated with the gender role strain paradigm, addressed clinically-related topics, relied largely on White male college samples, and had a growing impact on clinically-focused scholarly journals and books. Recommendations for addressing theoretical orientations, topics, and populations underrepresented in PMM scholarship are provided

The limitations of whiteness and the boundaries of Englishness: second-generation Irish identifications and positionings in multiethnic Britain

The focus of this article is the second-generation Irish in England. It is based on data collected as part of the Irish 2 project, which examined processes of identity formation amongst the second-generation Irish population in England and Scotland. The article examines and maps identifications and positionings of second-generation Irish people and discusses how two hegemonic domains - Ireland and England - intersect in the lives of the children of Irish-born parents, with material and psychological consequences. Their positionings in multiethnic Britain are compared with those of ‘visible’ minority ethnic groups, and their narratives of belonging and non-belonging are analysed in terms of the limitations of whiteness and the boundaries of Englishness

Risk of discharge against medical advice among hospital inpatients with a history of opioid agonist therapy in New South Wales, Australia:a cohort study and nested crossover-cohort analysis

BACKGROUND: People who use illicit opioids have high rates of hospital admission. We aimed to measure the risk of discharge against medical advice among inpatients with a history of opioid agonist therapy (OAT), and test whether OAT is associated with lower risk of discharge against medical advice. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study including all emergency hospital admissions between 1 August 2001 and 30 April 2018 in New South Wales, Australia, among patients with a previous episode of OAT in the community. The main outcome was discharge against medical advice, and the main exposure was whether patients had an active OAT permit at the time of admission. RESULTS: 14,035/116,957 (12.0%) admissions ended in discharge against medical advice. Admissions during periods of OAT had 0.79 (0.76-0.83; p<0.001) times the risk of discharge against medical advice, corresponding to an absolute risk reduction of 3.3 percentage points. Risk of discharge against medical advice was higher among patients who were younger, male, identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders, admitted for accidents, drug-related reasons, or injecting-related injuries (such as cutaneous abscesses), and those discharged at the weekend. In a subsample of 7,793 patients included in a crossover-cohort analysis, OAT was associated with 0.84 (95% CI 0.76-0.93; p<0.001) times the risk of discharge against medical advice. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with a history of OAT, one in eight emergency hospital admissions ends in discharge against medical advice. OAT enrolment at the time of admission is associated with a reduction of this risk

The impact of the new homes bonus on attitudes and behaviours

An evaluation of the impact of the New Homes Bonus on attitudes towards new house building, carried out for the Department of Communities and Local Government

Family stories, public silence: Irish identity construction amongst the second-generation Irish in England

Formal narratives of history, especially that of colonial oppression, have been central to the construction of national identities in Ireland. But the Irish diasporic community in Britain has been cut off from the reproduction of these narratives, most notably by their absence from the curriculum of Catholic schools, as result of the unofficial 'denationalisation' pact agreed by the Church in the 19th century (Hickman, 1995). The reproduction of Irish identities is largely a private matter, carried out within the home through family accounts of local connections, often reinforced by extended visits to parent/s 'home' areas. Recapturing a public dimension has often become a personal quest in adulthood, 'filling in the gaps'. This paper explores constructions of narratives of nation by a key diasporic population, those with one or two Irish-born parents. It places particular emphasis on varying regional/national contexts within which such constructions take place, drawing on focus group discussions and interviews for the ESRC-funded Irish 2 Project in five locations — London, Glasgow, Manchester, Coventry and Banbury

Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidality and self-harm among people who inject drugs:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: A range of negative experiences and circumstances that are common among people who inject drugs (PWID) are risk factors for developing mental disorders. Despite this, there has been no systematic review of the prevalence of mental health indicators among PWID. Thus, we aimed to estimate the prevalence of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicidality and self-harm among PWID. Methods: We searched the peer-reviewed and grey literature for data on depression, PTSD, suicidality and non-suicidal self-harm among PWID from sources published from 2008-2018. We pooled estimates of depression and suicidality using random-effects meta-analysis and provided a narrative summary of estimates of PTSD and self-harm. Findings: We found 23 studies that reported on these mental health indicators among PWID. The pooled estimate for current severe depressive symptomology was 42.0 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] = 21.3, 62.8 %), and for a depression diagnosis was 28.7 % (95 % CI = 20.8, 36.6 %). With much variation, the pooled lifetime prevalence of a suicide attempt was 22.1 % (95 % CI = 19.3, 24.9 %). There were only two studies each that reported on PTSD and non-suicidal self-harm among PWID. Interpretation: Recent data investigating these mental health indicators among PWID was limited, particularly from low- and middle-income countries. Even so, estimates were high and call for further research into the epidemiology of such mental health disorders and self-harming behaviours, as well as the promotion of integrated mental health and substance dependence treatment. Finally, incorporating suicide prevention strategies into services accessed by PWID must be considered as a harm reduction priority