Towards universal early years provision : analysis of take-up by disadvantaged families from recent annual childcare surveys

The findings of this study suggest that lack of awareness of the entitlement to free early years provision and a low level of information about local options for nursery education and childcare were important factors affecting take-up of early years provision by disadvantaged families. In addition, the way the entitlement to free early years provision is delivered through a range of providers appeared to have an impact on its uptake by the disadvantaged families

Walking the bridge from single- to multi-species approaches in Southern African fisheries management

Fisheries management worldwide is in flux with calls for an EAF (Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries) needing to be balanced with the ongoing requirements to provide timeous and realistic assessment-based advice for management ( often with major economic and social consequences), that is typically based on single-species stock assessment models. This thesis is an attempt to walk the bridge from single- to multi-species approaches to fisheries management by developing a ''traditional" single-species stock assessment model that is used for management purposes, assessing possibilities for extending the model to incorporate multi-species effects and evaluating the potential of a range of multi-species approaches to contribute to the fumishment of practical management advice. The South African abalone Haliotis midae fishery is an example of a commercially valuable resource that is currently experiencing a downturn due to a complicated mix of biological, social, political, economic and environmental factors. Core problems include illegal fishing and recent ecosystem change in the form of a movement of rock lobsters Jasus lalandii into a major part of the range of the abalone. It seems that the lobsters have dramatically reduced sea urchin Parechinus angulosus populations, thereby indirectly negatively impacting juvenile abalone, which rely on the urchins for shelter. A spatial and age-structured production model (ASPM) developed as part of this study has provided the basis for management advice for this resource over recent years by projecting abundance trends under alternative future catch levels. The focus is on the main abalone fishery Zones A-D. The model estimates the reduction in juvenile abalone survival due to the ecosystem change extent and estimates the illegal take using a novel fisheries index - the confiscations per unit of policing effort (CPUPE). As a consequence of the recent explosion of poaching activities, the combined Zones A-D model-predicted 2003 poaching estimate of 933 MT ( corresponding to the assumption that, on average, 36% of all poached abalone are confiscated) is more than seven times the legal 2003 commercial TAC for these Zones. Given the complexity of ecosystem processes, there is a need to critically evaluate the tools used to steer this thinking. The focus here is on both the most widely-employed multi-species/ecosystem approach (ECOPATH with ECOSIM or EwE) as well as a scenario in which there is an urgent need (from management) for scientific evaluations to quantify indirect interactions between marine mammals and fisheries. A critical review of EwE highlights some weaknesses related to, for example, the handling of some life history responses such as compensatory changes in natural mortality rates of marine mammals, overcompensatory stock-recruit relationships, inadequate representation of uncertainty, possible problems in extrapolating from the micro-scale to the macro-scale as well as some (not too far-reaching) mathematical inconsistencies in the underlying equations. Strengths include the structured parameterisation :framework, the inclusion of a well-balanced level of conceptual realism, a novel representation of predator-prey interaction terms and the inclusion of a Bayes-like approach (ECORANGER) to take account of the uncertainty associated with values for model inputs. The potential of EwE to contribute to five important multi-species management quandaries in the marine environments off southern Africa and Antarctica is assessed, leading to the conclusion that EwE has limited predictive capability in these contexts. 3 Aspects of the potential application of other multi-species/ecosystem modelling approaches to advise the management of South African fisheries are discussed. In general, reliable predictive ability from such models is likely to be achieved sooner for top predators because relatively fewer links need to be modelled. Accordingly discussion concentrates on the problems of modelling marine mammal-fisheries interactions. Competition is a primary concern, but existing evidence is inconclusive because of the difficulties of substantiating claims that predation by marine mammals is adversely affecting a fishery or vice versa. Numerous species have been implicated in such conflicts, and long-term studies are essential to evaluate relationships between rates of predation and types and densities of available prey, i.e., functional responses. More realistic modelling studies are needed to address operational or management issues. Such models should reflect uncertainty in data and model structure, describe the influence of model assumptions, focus on systems where there is the greatest chance of success, incorporate a sufficient array of ecological links, and include appropriate spatial and temporal scaling for data collection and modelling exercises. In general, GADGET (Globally Applicable Area-Disaggregated Generic Ecosystem Evaluation Tool) and Minimum Realistic Models (MRM) are seen to show the most promise for use as tools to assess indirect effects between marine mammals and fisheries. The hake-seal-fishery interactions off the west coast of southern Africa are discussed as an example and the initiatives being pursued to further this modelling work are summarized. An important message derived from this study concerns the need to couple multi-species/ecosystem models with a simulation framework to take explicit account of uncertainty and management issues

COVID-19 and childcare: why many nurseries will struggle to weather the storm

Helen Penn, Antonia Simon, and Eva Lloyd explain why nurseries are struggling to cope with the costs of the ongoing pandemic. They write that, as in many other areas, the crisis highlights the effects of years of austerity on the sector

Corporatisation and financialisation of social reproduction: Care homes and childcare in the United Kingdom

The ownership and financial strategies of companies providing care for children or older people have become an increasingly salient concern, in both research and policy, because of their implications for the quality and availability of care services, as well as working conditions. However, analysis has tended to be sector specific. This article provides the first comparison of ownership, business models and workforces across childcare and adult social care in the United Kingdom. It reveals growing convergence in terms of the dominance of large companies and their financial strategies, which can reward investors while undermining access to care and worsening working conditions for large, low-paid workforces. We conceptualise these developments in terms of corporatisation and the related process of financialisation. They are, we argue, underpinned by the political economy of low wages for care work, which we explain using feminist social reproduction theory – highlighting the devaluation of feminised and racialised caring labour. The article identifies the need for further research to account for differences between the sectors, to map the geographies and political economies of care, and to compare these processes internationally

Early education pilot for two year old children : evaluation

This report provides the findings of the evaluation of the early education pilot for disadvantaged two year old children (the pilot). This study aimed to assess the impact of the pilot by looking at: how well the pilot was targeted, parents’ experiences of taking up a pilot place, the quality of the pilot settings, the impact on the children’s behaviour, and parents’ views and experiences of using a pilot place. The pilot provided free early years education to over 13,500 disadvantaged two year olds between 2006 and 2008. The main purpose of the pilot was to improve children’s social and cognitive outcomes, e.g. their social confidence and independence, and their verbal skills and reasoning ability. Additional aims were to have a positive impact on children’s parents and wider family e.g. on the relationship between parents and their children, or on parent’s emotional wellbeing. The funding offered these children 7.5 or in a small number of local authorities 12.5 hours of early years education per week for 38 weeks of the year. The pilot places were available in a variety of early years settings e.g. nurseries, play groups and with childminders, but all were required to operate the Birth to Three Matters curriculum.© National Centre for Social Research 2009. The full text of this report is not available in ORA. You may be able to access the report at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-pilot-for-2-year-old-children-evaluation (URL checked 26 March 2014) or via the publication website link above

Administrative Professionals in New Zealand: Their Professional Development Opportunities and Career Pathways

This descriptive study to investigate the perceptions of administrative professionals of their professional development opportunities and career pathways was conducted mid-2009. The study used an on-line survey and focus groups. One hundred and ninety-three responded to the survey from throughout New Zealand. Fifteen of those respondents participated in the focus groups, held in both the North and South Islands. The majority of participants were from larger organisations who perceived that training and professional development was available for them and supported. However, the professional development available was often ad hoc, with no specific goal. Many participants perceive themselves as undervalued within the business world and noted that even where support for professional development was available there were significant barriers. These barriers, impacting on the availability and the uptake of professional development opportunities and career pathways, were both internal (value of self) and external. A conceptual framework is presented of the relationship between the key elements from the research, value of self and value of the role, and the impacts of those on professional development opportunities and career pathways

Vertical and horizontal variation of carbon pools and fluxes in soil profile of wet southern taiga in European Russia

Vertical and horizontal distributions of soil organic carbon, potential microbial activity and basic soil properties were studied in a boreal mixed forest (Central Forest Reserve, TVER region) to elucidate whether the soil CO2-efflux is related to basic soil properties that affect the C pool and activity. Soil cores (0–100 cm depth) were taken from two transects every 50 meters (44 points) immediately after completion of soil CO2-efflux measurements. Soil was separated into layers and moisture, bulk density, root density and bacterial counts were determined within one day after soil was taken. Microbial respiration, biomass, CN contents and pH were measured within few months. The variability in the soil CO2-efflux and microbial activity was mainly explained by soil bulk density. Results further indicate that laboratory measurements of microbial respiration can represent heterotrophic soil respiration of a distinctive ecosystem in natural conditions, if microbial respiration is measured after the effect of soil handling disappears