How important are labor markets to the welfare of the poor in Indonesia?

A majority of the poor in Indonesia come from agricultural and self-employed households. Moreover, the largest single contribution to poverty reduction between 1990 and 1993 came from within-sector welfare gains to self-employed farm households. Data show that the role of the labor market in reducing poverty has increased since the mid-1980s. Wage labor markets can be expected to play an increasingly important impact on the welfare of Indonesia's poor as the economy continues to undergo structural change, and as the workforce moves out of agriculture into manufacturing and services. Because poverty remains largely an agricultural and self-employed phenomenon, the most direct way to reduce poverty is to focus on improving the operation of product, land, and capital markets. At the same time, labor market policy can play an important role in the Government's poverty reduction efforts by helping to facilitate labor mobility across sectors. But if they reduce labor mobility, labor market policies can be counterproductive to Indonesia's poverty reduction efforts. Recent empirical evidence suggests that increases in the minimum wage may have hurt employment growth, particularly among small firms. As such, using minimum wage policy to ensure high wages to a limited number of workers will almost certainly diminish the poverty reducing potential of the labor markets.Health Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Policies,Services&Transfers to Poor,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Rural Poverty Reduction,Environmental Economics&Policies,Poverty Assessment,Health Economics&Finance,Safety Nets and Transfers

“Everyone has a voice”: Developing an Evidence-Based Framework for Consensus Moderation in Higher Education

Assessment requires academics to make judgements about student work. As there is variability in mark allocation, moderation is required to ensure fairness and consistency in assessment practices. Consensus moderation is one model of moderation, where collaboration and discussion take place between markers to reach an agreement on mark allocation. Through a sequential exploratory qualitative four-phase multiple methods design, this body of research developed an evidence-based framework for consensus moderation in higher education

A case study of three rural schools: Factors, characteristics, and conditions that influence school performance scores

The purposes of this study were to explore three rural Louisiana PK-12 schools with high percentages of minority and high poverty populations and to examine how activities, conditions, events, policies, and procedures in these schools might be associated with their consistent growth in School Performance Scores across the period 2001-2005. Qualitative data were collected from individual interviews, researcher observations, focus groups, and analyses of school documents. Constant comparison theory was used to triangulate data across the three schools and to identify emerging themes and patterns common to all schools. The study was one of mixed methods; most of the data were collected using qualitative methods but quantitative data were used to describe teacher quality. Several themes emerged that appeared to have had a positive effect on student achievement in the three schools including (a) a focus on testing and test preparation, (b) strong informal communication between parents and schools in all three schools, (c) culturally responsive teaching in two schools, and (d) highly qualified and home-grown teachers in all schools. Alternatively, other themes emerged that contradicted the effective schools research and are generally not considered to be positive characteristics of successful schools, such as the following: (a) a lack of culturally responsive teaching in one school, (b) inadequate formal communications between parents and school in all schools, and (c) professional development opportunities not aligned with school needs assessment in all schools. Findings of the study indicated that the three rural schools experienced many of the same problems as do their urban school counterparts with high minority and low socioeconomic status (SES) populations, as addressed in other research studies (DeYoung, 1989; Diamond & Spillane, 2004). However, factors such as school culture, community relations, and interactions among parents, students, and teachers appeared to have ameliorated at least some of the negative influences associated with these types of schools. These findings have implications for future research, particularly in terms of the effect of school culture and informal communications among stakeholders on student achievement in rural schools with high-minority and low socioeconomic student populations

Evaluation of the 20,000 days campaign

The aim of Counties Manuaku District Health Board (CMDHB) 20,000 Days Campaign was to give back to the community 20,000 healthy and well days to avoid predicted growth in hospital bed days. After tracking the difference between projected demand and actual use, at the end of the Campaign on 1st July 2013, CMDHB reported that 23,060 bed days were given back to the people of Counties Manukau. This evaluation report explains how using the Institute of Healthcare Improvement Breakthrough Series the Campaign was run with the expectation that small immediate changes to practical problems (in this case the work of 13 Collaborative teams), will accumulate into large effects (a reduction of 20,000 bed days against predicted bed days use by July 2013). The evaluation found the Campaign did save bed days, though attributing causality was always going to be difficult, and overall the Campaign was very successful in keeping the energy and motivation of participants

Aristotle as A-Theorist: Overcoming the Myth of Passage

Two things are often said about Aristotle's treatment of time in the Physics. First, that Aristotle's considered view of time is intrinsically tied to a language of temporal passage heavily dependent on the A-series. As such Aristotle's understanding of time is plagued with the perplexities that the A-series generates. Second, that the series of puzzles that Aristotle treats in IV.10, leading to the conclusion that time is non-existent, are left unanswered by Aristotle. Instead after presenting the puzzles having to do with whether time is, Aristotle cannot move fast enough to his treatment of what time is, leaving the puzzles unresolved. This paper looks at these two issues together. The thesis is that the puzzles about the existence of time discussed by Aristotle at IV.10 are generated by a particularly naive version of the A-theory. Further, although Aristotle's answer to what time is incorporates elements of an A-theory of time, it manages to avoid just those particular puzzles discussed in IV.10 leading to the conclusion of time's non-existence

Droughts over southern Africa in a doubled-CO2 climate

The southern African region is susceptible to climatic extremes and particularly to extended dry periods. Possible changes in the probability of dry years under doubled‐CO2 conditions are examined using output from the CSIRO nine‐level general circulation model. Changes in annual mean rainfall are not expected to be significant. However, the model simulates an increase in the probability of dry years in the tropics, to the south‐west of the subcontinent, as well as over the western and eastern parts of South Africa and southern Mozambique, where large percentage increases in the most intense dry spells are indicated. A decrease in the frequency of dry years is simulated over much of the interior of the subcontinent south of 10°S. In regions where the frequency of dry years decreases, the most severe events occur less often. The CSIRO nine‐level model indicates a shift in the frequency distribution of daily rainfall events under doubled‐CO2 conditions. A small change in the frequency distribution of daily rainfall events may have further implications for the frequency of mid‐summer droughts during the peak summer rainfall period of December–February. Increases in the frequency of mid‐summer droughts are simulated over the eastern part of the subcontinent south of 20°S

Choice of distance matrices in cluster analysis: defining regions

Cluster analysis is a technique frequently used in climatology for grouping cases to define classes (synoptic types or climate regimes, for example), or for grouping stations or grid points to define regions. Cluster analysis is based on some form of distance matrix, and the most commonly used metric in the climatological field has been Euclidean distances. Arguments for the use of Euclidean distances are in some ways similar to arguments for using a covariance matrix in principal components analysis: the use of the metric is valid if all data are measured on the same scale. When using Euclidean distances for cluster analysis, however, the additional assumption is made that all the variables are uncorrelated, and this assumption is frequently ignored. Two possible methods of dealing with the correlation between the variables are considered: performing a principal components analysis before calculating Euclidean distances, and calculating Mahalanobis distances using the raw data. Under certain conditions calculating Mahalanobis distances is equivalent to calculating Euclidean distances from the principal components. It is suggested that when cluster analysis is used for defining regions, Mahalanobis distances are inappropriate, and that Euclidean distances should be calculated using the unstandardized principal component scores based on only the major principal components

From the Top Down: Implications of Honors College Deans’ Race and Gender

Most honors college deans are White males, yet most students enrolled in honors colleges are women; more often than not, there is glaring underrepresentation of diverse races and ethnicities among student populations in honors colleges. Considering these data, the authors ask whether honors colleges perpetuate the “Oxford College Don” model of White male privilege and power. Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, and other students of color often look at the leaders of honors colleges and rarely see themselves, and White honors students lack the opportunity to see diverse leadership models. This chapter explains how and why faculty of color and women face numerous barriers that prevent them from advancing to leadership positions such as honors college dean. Higher education–especially honors education–is often referred to as the great equalizer for future graduates and, as such, should be at the forefront of leading the way for other sectors in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Yet, there is much work to be done as White males predominantly occupy the role of honors dean, more so than deans of Nursing and Education, for example. This chapter offers a new paradigm and recommendations calling for strategic diversity leadership in which White males must play a prominent role in organizational change leading to increased diversity among honors college deans

The effectiveness of local authority social services for older people in Great Britain: a critical literature review

Introduction: Older people are the main users of adult social care services in Great Britain. Evidence suggests that occupational therapists employed by local authorities are providing interventions that promote and maintain older people’s independence, and decrease dependency on other services. However, such evidence is disparate in nature and lacks synthesis. Method: This literature review systematically selected, critically appraised, and thematically synthesized the post 2000 published and unpublished evidence on the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions for older people in social care services. Findings: Identified themes established: the localized nature of social care services for older people; organizational and policy impacts on services, and factors influencing effectiveness and cost effectiveness. Although occupational therapists are increasingly involved in rehabilitation and reablement, there is a continuing focus on equipment and adaptations provision. A high level of service user satisfaction was identified, once timely occupational therapy services were received. Conclusion: Overall, occupational therapy in social care is perceived as effective in improving quality of life for older people and their carers, and cost effective in making savings for other social and healthcare services. However, the complex nature of social care services makes it difficult to disaggregate the effectiveness of occupational therapy from other services