Identity, citizenship, and moral constructs from the virtual self

Many young people now access digital networks that include individuals very unlike them who promote different cultural, religious and ethical value systems and behaviour. Such value systems can create conflicts of expectation for young people seeking to resolve their relationship to a national citizenship in a pluralistic society, especially if they are experiencing adolescent uncertainties or a growing awareness of social inequalities. The emergence of trans-national political structures and their differing value systems, together with the rise of international tensions, have increased uncertainty about the nature of identity and entitlement to a national citizenship. This paper describes the ongoing Citizens project study of identity development in young people, using real-world scenarios to discover the values that underpin their engagement with this wider range of religious and cultural value systems and to explore personal identity, political issues and citizenship

Measuring cognitive load and cognition: metrics for technology-enhanced learning

This critical and reflective literature review examines international research published over the last decade to summarise the different kinds of measures that have been used to explore cognitive load and critiques the strengths and limitations of those focussed on the development of direct empirical approaches. Over the last 40 years, cognitive load theory has become established as one of the most successful and influential theoretical explanations of cognitive processing during learning. Despite this success, attempts to obtain direct objective measures of the theory's central theoretical construct – cognitive load – have proved elusive. This obstacle represents the most significant outstanding challenge for successfully embedding the theoretical and experimental work on cognitive load in empirical data from authentic learning situations. Progress to date on the theoretical and practical approaches to cognitive load are discussed along with the influences of individual differences on cognitive load in order to assess the prospects for the development and application of direct empirical measures of cognitive load especially in technology-rich contexts

Dundee Discussion Papers in Economics 175:International trade and the incentive for merger

This paper examines the profitability of horizontal merger in an open economy. We find that duopoly is a necessary, but not sufficient,condition for domestic merger to be profitable. A cross-border merger, however,can be profitable from any market structure

Sport as a vehicle for development: The influence of rugby league in/on the Pacific.

In the field of development the relationship between development and sport has for the most part been ignored (Beacom 2007, Levermore 2008). When it has been discussed it occurs in a way whereby ‘sport is seen as a by-product of development not as an engine’ (United Nations 2006 cited in Levermore 2008:184). While conceptualisations of the sport and development relationship have begun to emerge, as noted in recent United Nations documents (also see AusAid 2008), an argument persists that the use of sport for development remains unproven (World Bank 2006). In keeping with post-development thinking which seeks to explore differing visions and expressions of development and by taking a strengths-based approach to the sport and development nexus, this paper considers critically the notion of sport as an engine of development. We will focus specifically on the role of rugby league, the NRL, and the Pacific region in relation to community development, youth development and crime prevention, health promotion and prevention, in particular HIV/AIDS and family violence, and economic opportunities and poverty alleviation

Industry structure and regulation

As private firms become increasingly involved in the development of key infrastructure, redefining the role of government from that of serviceprovider to regulator presents both challenges and opportunities. The factors that give rise to sector reforms color how much policymakers invest in regulatory design during the reform process. Nevertheless, two factors are essential to sustainable sector and regulatory reform. First, the right structure must be established for the industry concerned, a structure that allows competition appropriate for that industry. Second, the objectives of regulation must be well defined, with a clear distinction between policymaking, policy implementation, and operations. The extent to which competition can be harnessed to help make regulation efficient, effective, and sustainable depends on the intrinsic technical characteristics of the sector. Each decision affects the sustainability of the regulatory regime in the face of the threat of regulatory capture (both political and commercial). Careful regulatory design is crucial not only for successful sectoral reform but also to balance the interests of various actors (government, consumers, developers, investors, and financiers). One model that has been relatively successful combines new entry, unbundled services, and the unambiguous spelling out of the legal rights and duties for both public and private service providers, administered by an autonomous regulatory authority. Problems with regulation often result as much from inadequate attention to sector structure and fostering competition as from weaknesses in the regulatory authority's institutional capacity. As for the tools of regulation, despite differences in some details between licenses and concessions (and their many contractual variations), these are basically instruments that establish the rights and obligations of contracting parties. Choices about where these rights and obligations are located in the legal hierarchy are shaped by a country's institutional capacity and legal traditions. But the existence of instruments to establish those rights and obligations does not eliminate the need for institutionsto administer them, and thus carry out the regulatory function. Establishing effective sectorwide regulation can be difficult in a developing country, but it is necessary. Policymakers will be able to create effective regulatory regimes where adequate attention is given to sector structure, competition, and institution-building.Environmental Economics&Policies,Trade Finance and Investment,Knowledge Economy,ICT Policy and Strategies,Decentralization,Environmental Economics&Policies,Administrative&Regulatory Law,ICT Policy and Strategies,Water and Industry,Knowledge Economy

The Duration of Spells on Welfare and Off-welfare among Lone Mothers in Ontario

This paper provides a first look at the dynamics of social assistance use among lone mothers in Ontario. We use an administrative caseload data set to analyse the relationship between the duration of spells, both on welfare and off welfare, and a series of factors including the clients’ personal characteristics, their history of welfare use, the duration of current spells, labour market conditions and social assistance benefit levels. We find mixed evidence concerning the key policy question of the scarring or stigmatizing effects of welfare, that is, a “welfare trap”. There is evidence that the likelihood of exiting welfare declines during the first year of a spell. The support is weakest, however, in our preferred specification. There is more consistent evidence that the likelihood of returning to welfare declines during the first year after an exit, that is, staying off the rolls has the beneficial effect of making recidivism less likely. Clients who have spent more months on welfare in the past (controlling for age) do appear to have somewhat longer future spells on welfare and to return more quickly to the rolls once they leave, but the magnitude of this effect is very small. The length of both welfare and off-welfare spells is very sensitive to the levels of welfare benefits. Most of the other coefficients have significant effects of the expected sign. Welfare spells tend to be longer for those lone mothers who are younger, poorly educated, never married, not employable and for those who have more and younger children. Spell lengths also increase with the level of the unemployment rate and decrease with the level of the minimum wage. Off-welfare spells tend to be shorter (the return to welfare more rapid) for those lone mothers who are older, never married, not employable and who have very young children. Off- welfare spells are longer when the minimum wage is higher.

Smoothness of stabilisers in generic characteristic

Let $R$ be a commutative unital ring. Given a finitely-presented affine $R$-group $G$ acting on a finitely-presented $R$-scheme $X$ of finite type, we show that there is a prime $p_0$ so that for any $R$-algebra $k$ which is a field of characteristic $p > p_0$, the centralisers in $G_k$ of all subsets $U \subseteq X(k)$ are smooth. We prove this using the Lefschetz principle together with careful application of Gr\"{o}bner basis techniques.Comment: 15 page

Does instructional format really matter? Cognitive load theory, multimedia and teaching English Literature

This article reports a quasi-experimental study on the effects of multimedia teaching and learning in English Literature--a subject which places high cognitive load on students. A large-scale study was conducted in 4 high-achieving secondary schools to examine the differences made to students' learning and performance by the use of multimedia and to relate this to different kinds of multimedia. Statistical significance and effect size calculations indicated that the equivalent of one grade level in General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) was associated with the use of advanced and integrated multimedia, and that this was stronger than the effects of schools and sex of the students. It was found that advanced multimedia software eased cognitive overload, particularly in the area of intrinsic cognitive load. Limitations of the study are drawn, including the needs to examine process variables and learner-related variables. Conclusions and implications for further research and for enhancing teaching and learning with multimedia are made

Design of Urban Public Spaces: Intent vs. Reality.

This study investigated how two public spaces for sport and recreation were utilized by different user groups, and how this aligned with the initial design objectives for these spaces. Two newly built urban spaces situated in Copenhagen, Denmark, provided the context for this investigation. The System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) was used to examine the physical activity of users in these two urban spaces. The architects responsible for designing each space were interviewed to ascertain the intended target group of each space and to unravel the reasons behind the design decisions. The SOPARC observations revealed that males were more vigorously active than females when using the recreation facilities, and the observed users did not align with the intended target groups. The interviews suggested that design decisions were based on minimal interdisciplinary knowledge, and that expert knowledge was chosen randomly. These findings point to a systematic lack of evidence-based practice when designing sport and recreational facilities. This article has implications for landscape architects and urban planners; a new method must be developed to embed interdisciplinary knowledge in the planning process of future sport and recreation projects. This must be done in a systematic way to make the design process transparent