Pension sharing in Scotland:general principles in the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985?

No abstract available

Educational research : what strategies for development in the European Research Area?

This is a report of the European Educational Research Journal Roundtable that sought to describe what national educational research programmes are doing, how they are working together, and how they might contribute to the developing European Educational Research Spac

Two means two, but must does not mean must:an analysis of recent decisions on the conditions for parental orders in surrogacy

This article examines the High Court decisions in Re Z (A Child) (Surrogate Father: Parental Order) [2017] 1 FLR 472 and Re X (A Child) (Parental Order: Time Limit) [2015] 1 FLR 349, which concerned two of the conditions for the granting of ‘parental orders’ after surrogacy in section 54 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. The article observes that the strict approach employed in Re Z to the interpretation of the requirement that an application be made by ‘two people’ in section 54 (1), contrasts with the ‘liberal’ approach taken in previous cases, including Re X, concerning the six month ‘time limit’ during which applications ‘must’ be made in section 54 (3). This article suggests that the judgments do not fully engage with this divergence, instead presenting the different approaches as an uncontroversial matter of statutory interpretation. The article argues that these different outcomes can be explained by the continuing policy significance of the two-parent model within the attribution of legal parenthood in cases of assisted reproduction. The article concludes that the contrasting and contradictory reasoning of these decisions illustrates the need for wholesale legislative reforms of surrogacy arrangements

Smart Concerts: Orchestras in the Age of Edutainment

Provides a summary of the recent shift in concert programming, and discusses four strategies for enhancing the concert experience: contextual programming, dramatization of music, visual enhancements, and embedded interpretation

Teaching About Christianity in the New RE Syllabus for Worcestershire

One of the peculiarities of Religious Education during the compulsory years of schooling is that each Local Authority has been required by law, since 1944, to have its own RE syllabus, the content of which has to be agreed by four committees on a syllabus conference: teachers, Church of England; other faiths and denominations and local councillors. As there are now over 150 Local Authorities there are over 150 RE syllabuses. Into this politically created maelstrom was pitched, in the Education Reform Act (1988), the legal requirement that Christianity should be taught and that each syllabus should be reviewed every five years. This event is currently taking place in Worcestershire

Lessons Learned about Change Capital in the Arts: Reflections on a four-year evaluation of Nonprofit Finance Fund's Leading for the Future initiative

This report takes stock of a four-year evaluation of Leading for the Future: Innovative Support for Artistic Excellence (LFF), an experimental $15 million funding initiative administered by Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) with support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF). The purpose of this analysis is to reflect critically on what was learned from the initiative for the benefit of funders, individual philanthropists and others with an interest in the theory and practice of capitalization as applied to nonprofit arts organizations.The LFF initiative was unique in its exclusive focus on change capital – substantial, flexible, multi-year capital intended to transform how an organization operates and delivers its programs, with the long-term goal of increasing reliable revenue, net of costs. By definition, change capital aims to strengthen an organization's financial position.Ten performing arts organizations received$1 million in change capital, drawn down according to individual plans for change, and an additional $75,000 in planning funds. Exit grants of up to$225,000 were awarded to organizations that made the most progress on their change efforts, for the purpose of advancing ongoing change efforts or seeding new plans.1 The 10 grantees invested LFF change capital in a wide variety of "business model transformations" ranging from building technologies with the potential to attract new donors and audiences, to experimenting with different models for touring, to investing in marketing and development capacities.NFF has previously published a series of working papers, case studies and video highlights from the LFF initiative, exploring the concepts of capital and financial reporting for capital, and documenting the 10 grantees' experiences.2 We will avoid citing the accomplishments and challenges of specific grantees in this report, and focus instead on program level issues and ideas that might be helpful to future investors of change capital. Indeed, the LFF initiative has played out against the backdrop of a national dialogue about capitalization in the nonprofit arts sector, both learning from, and contributing to, a good deal of productive thinking about capital.While the LFF initiative involved large grants, much was learned that might be of value to funders with more modest resources who are interested in exploring the role of capital in the artistic and financial health of the sector

The effect of polypropylene fibres within concrete with regard to fire performance in structures

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of various polypropylene fibre additions (types and volume) to concrete with regard to explosive spalling when subject to high temperatures similar to those experienced in building or tunnel fires. Design/methodology/approach – Medium strength concrete was manufactured with varying proportions of polypropylene fibres. Plain control samples were used to determine the original concrete strength and this was used as a benchmark following high temperature heat tests to evaluate the surface condition and final compressive strength. A pilot study was used to determine an appropriate heat source for the test. This was three Bunsen burners, however sufficient heat could not be generated within 150mm concrete cubes and the concrete was shown to be a significant insulator and fire protection for structural members. The concrete test cubes were tested in a saturated condition which may reflect conditions where concrete is used in an external environment and thus is subject to soaking. Findings – One hundred and fifty millimetre concrete cubes with and without fibres were placed into a furnace at 1,000°C. Explosive spalling was shown to be reduced with the use of polypropylene fibres but the final compressive strength of concrete was significantly reduced and had little residual structural value after a two hour period of heating. Research limitations/implications – As the concrete tested was saturated, this condition provided a worst case scenario with regards to the build up of hydrostatic and vapour pressure within the cube. A range of percentage moisture contents would produce a more evenly balanced view of the effects of fibres in concrete. A single grade of concrete was used for the test. As the permeability of concrete influences the rate at which steam can escape from the interior of a saturated concrete cube, testing a range of concrete strengths would show this aspect of material performance with regard to spalling and final residual strength. Further research is recommended with regard to moisture contents, strengths of concrete and a range of temperatures

Employers skill survey : case study : health and social care

"This report examines the relationship between service delivery strategies and processes, and the deployment of skills, recruitment problems and skill gaps within selected sub-sectors of health and social care. The sub-sectors within health are physiotherapy and radiography. Within social care the focus is on care of the elderly (both residential and domiciliary care). Although subject to similar drivers and associated pressures, the two sub-sectors of health and social care display markedly different characteristics, particularly in terms of service delivery strategies, qualification frameworks and utilisation of skills. In simple terms, the health and social care subsectors considered within this report may be thought of as being situated at opposite poles of the ‘skills spectrum’: with radiography and physiotherapy characterised by high level skills, while care of the elderly is traditionally associated with low level skills. Hence, the two sub-sectors are discussed separately throughout this report. The greater complexity and range of skills required in the two health sub-sectors is reflected in the comparative length of the two sections of the report" - page 9

Cultural Engagement in California's Inland Regions

Cultural Engagement in California's Inland Regions explores patterns of cultural engagement in the San Joaquin Valley and the Inland Empire. Two major data collection efforts were undertaken. The first was a door-to-door intercept survey of more than 1,000 randomly selected households in six distinctly different neighborhoods, three in the Fresno area and three in Riverside and San Bernardino. The second was a self-administered survey of more than 5,000 residents of the two regions, promoted as the "California Cultural Census" and conducted online and through intercept work at various locations and events. It is important to note that this second data set aggregates multiple samples, including respondents who were selected at the convenience of outreach organizations. Although weighted to reduce potential biases, these data are not representative of all adults in the two regions. Results paint a detailed picture of the breadth and depth of cultural engagement in the two regions and reveal a range of activity in music, theater and drama, reading and writing, dance, and visual arts and crafts -- much of which occurs off the radar" of the traditional infrastructure of nonprofit arts organizations and facilities. The study identifies specific types of activities which, if supported at higher levels, might equitably raise participation levels and achieve higher levels of cultural vitality in millions of homes and hundreds of communities. It concludes that cultural providers and funders should look deeper into the fabric of their communities for new partners, new settings and innovative approaches to drawing residents into cultural experiences. This briefing provides a high level summary of the study's key findings, as well as discussion questions for cultural providers and funders. Comprehensive results are available at www.irvine.org, including an executive summary and detailed results by artistic discipline