138 research outputs found
Mr Cameron’s new language initiative for Muslim women: lessons in policy implementation
As the government announces a programme to teach Muslim women to speak English, this article examines how such a policy can be implemented successfully, arguing that lessons that can be drawn from both academic research, especially that carried out with Muslim women themselves, and from successful policy application in the past. It focuses on two projects carried out in the recent past for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and Jobcentre Plus, and outlines the key factors that led to their success. The LSC project involved one of the largest in-depth surveys of Muslim women’s attitudes towards work, and their views on life in Britain, that has ever been undertaken. The Jobcentre Plus project was a highly successful and innovative employment training initiative for ethnic minority women piloted in Sheffield, the very kind of ‘targeted’ approach that Mr Cameron has claimed his government’s new language initiative will be
South Asian women and the labour market in the UK: attitudes, barriers, solutions
This paper draws on research carried out in the UK which examined
the views of South Asian women towards employment, looking in particular at
why the participation rate of Bangladeshi and Pakistani women in the labour
market is very low. The focus of the paper is on non-working women. The
research was aimed at informing policy design, so that policies intended to assist
certain groups of people enter, or get closer to entering, the labour market might
be more effective. The research involved carrying interviews with 212
Bangladeshi and Pakistani women in West Yorkshire, a sub-region of the UK
with a relatively high Asian population. 26 focus groups were also carried out. It
is argued that there are three broad groups of South Asian women in relation to
employment: women who are some distance from the labour market; women
who wish to enter paid work; and women who do currently work but require
support. There are different policy implications for each of these groups. The
paper concludes that the barriers to labour market entry are deep-seated,
complex, and rooted in cultural, familial, and societal norms. It provides a case
study of an innovative programme which was piloted in a nearby sub-region of
the UK, South Yorkshire, which was tailor-made to meet the specific needs of
South Asian women and was very successful. The paper argues that this could
provide a template for programmes in the future aimed at assisting groups facing
challenges in relation to labour market entry, such as minority ethnic women
Derby city joint cultural needs analysis for the derby creative arts network and reimagine projects
Derby Theatre; Derby Creative Arts Network; The Arts Council for Englan
Cultural connections: The Role of the Arts and Humanities in Competitiveness and Local Development
This report considers how the arts and cultural institutions contribute to the appeal of place. Cultural institutions are a prominent part of UK society – and many have a rich and long heritage. The impact of such institutions has often been evaluated in terms of engagement and participation or on the direct economic impact of cultural institutions. This study primarily focuses on the wider role of cultural institutions in their local economies; their innovative activities; how they connect to other local organisations such as universities; and how they collaborate with academics from the Arts and Humanities
ThisIsDerby – Reimagine, Year 2 Report
Arts Council England
Esmee Fairbair
Derbyshire Virtual School: Creative Mentoring Programme Final Report
Derbyshire Virtual School; The Careers and Enterprise Company; The Mighty Creative
Choosing a Survey Sample When Data on the Population Are Limited: A Method Using Global Positioning Systems and Aerial and Satellite Photographs
Background
Various methods have been proposed for sampling when data on the population are limited. However, these methods are often biased. We propose a new method to draw a population sample using Global Positioning Systems and aerial or satellite photographs.
Results
We randomly sampled Global Positioning System locations in designated areas. A circle was drawn around each location with radius representing 20 m. Buildings in the circle were identified from satellite photographs; one was randomly chosen. Interviewers selected one household from the building, and interviews were conducted with eligible household members.
Conclusions
Participants had known selection probabilities, allowing proper estimation of parameters of interest and their variances. The approach was made possible by recent technological developments and access to satellite photographs.
 
Hybridization thermodynamics of NimbleGen Microarrays
Background
While microarrays are the predominant method for gene expression profiling, probe signal variation is still an area of active research. Probe signal is sequence dependent and affected by probe-target binding strength and the competing formation of probe-probe dimers and secondary structures in probes and targets.
Results
We demonstrate the benefits of an improved model for microarray hybridization and assess the relative contributions of the probe-target binding strength and the different competing structures. Remarkably, specific and unspecific hybridization were apparently driven by different energetic contributions: For unspecific hybridization, the melting temperature Tm was the best predictor of signal variation. For specific hybridization, however, the effective interaction energy that fully considered competing structures was twice as powerful a predictor of probe signal variation. We show that this was largely due to the effects of secondary structures in the probe and target molecules. The predictive power of the strength of these intramolecular structures was already comparable to that of the melting temperature or the free energy of the probe-target duplex.
Conclusions
This analysis illustrates the importance of considering both the effects of probe-target binding strength and the different competing structures. For specific hybridization, the secondary structures of probe and target molecules turn out to be at least as important as the probe-target binding strength for an understanding of the observed microarray signal intensities. Besides their relevance for the design of new arrays, our results demonstrate the value of improving thermodynamic models for the read-out and interpretation of microarray signals
Xist regulation and function eXplored
X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is a process in mammals that ensures equal transcript levels between males and females by genetic inactivation of one of the two X chromosomes in females. Central to XCI is the long non-coding RNA Xist, which is highly and specifically expressed from the inactive X chromosome. Xist covers the X chromosome in cis and triggers genetic silencing, but its working mechanism remains elusive. Here, we review current knowledge about Xist regulation, structure, function and conservation and speculate on possible mechanisms by which its action is restricted in cis. We also discuss dosage compensation mechanisms other than XCI and how knowledge from invertebrate species may help to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of mammalian XCI
Good Relations Measurement Framework: Research Report 60
The Good Relations Measurement Framework aims to produce a set of indicators that collectively paint a comprehensive picture of the current state of good relations in Great Britain, as well as separately for England, Scotland and Wales, and in individual localised areas.Good relations is a developing concept. It started as a responsibility for local
government and the Commission for Racial Equality under the 1976 Race Relations
Act and has now been extended by the Equality Act 2010 to other diversity strands:
age; disability; gender; religion and/or belief; sexual orientation; transgender; as well
as race. The GRMF, which has been developed to provide a set of indicators by
which society’s progress towards good relations can be measured, intends to cover
all of these as well as social class/socio-economic status
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