An Investigation into the Mechanisms of Rouleaux Formation and the Development of Improved Techniques for its Quantitation

Imperial Users onl

A Good Time for Making Work Pay? Taking Stock of In-Work Benefits and Related Measures across the OECD

The twin problem of in-work poverty and persistent labour market difficulties of low-skilled individuals has been one of the most important drivers of tax-benefit policy reforms in OECD countries in recent years. Employment-conditional cash transfers to individuals facing particular labour-market challenges have been a core element of “make-work-pay” policies for some time and are now in use in more than half of the OECD countries. They are attractive because they redistribute to low-income groups while also creating additional work incentives. But like all social benefits, they have to be financed, which creates additional economic costs for some. This paper discusses the rationale for in-work benefits (IWB), summarises the main design features of programmes operated in OECD countries, and provides an update of what is known about their effectiveness in terms of reducing inequalities and creating employment. As policies aiming to promote self-sufficiency, wage subsidies and minimum wages share a number of the objectives associated with IWB measures. We review evidence on the effectiveness of minimum wages and wage subsidies and discuss links between these policies and IWBs. Finally, we outline some potential consequences of weakening labour markets for the effectiveness of make-work-pay policies.labor market, tax-benefit reform, in-work benefits, low-skilled workers

The Tagish Lake chondrite and the interstellar parent body hypothesis

Investigation of the solvent extractable organic compounds in Tagish Lake. The results are used to test the interstellar parent body hypthesis for the origin of extraterrestrial organic matter

Multiple intelligences, eclecticism and the therapeutic alliance: New possibilities in integrative counsellor education

In the wake of the movement in the field of counselling towards integrative and eclectic practice the search for unifying theories continues. Gardner\u27s theory of multiple intelligences (MI), only recently applied to the field of counselling, has a contribution to make in evolving a framework for eclecticism. MI theory may also have a particular contribution to make towards helping counsellors strengthen the therapeutic alliance and enhance flexibility in responding to clients\u27 needs. Gaining an understanding of clients\u27 preferred cognitive and communication styles, or \u27intelligences\u27, enhances an ability to tailor treatment. This presentation argues that increases in the therapeutic alliance and foundations for eclecticism could emerge from using MI theory and practice, and holds new possibilities for counsellor education

Scandalising media freedom: Resurrection of an ancient contempt

The ancient charge of ‘scandalising the court’ (publications aiming at lowering the authority of the court) has had a resurgence in Australia over the past decade, at the very time judges and magistrates have developed an inclination to sue for defamation. The combined effect is to send warning to media organisations to take care when criticising judical officers or the judical process, particularly if that involves implying some improper motive on the part of a judge or magistrate. In New Zealand there have been some isloated but significant threats and cases, particularly in the volatile area of family law. This article reviews some recent Australian and New Zealand cases where a charge of scandalising the court has been either threatend or enforced and considers the implications for freedom of media expression in a new era of anti-terrorism when important questions are being asked about the fairness of justice processes.&nbsp

Concluding Comments

3 pages

A comparison of teenage views on journalism as a career in Australia and New Zealand

Australian and New Zealand journalism programmes report a disproportionate number of female students and the industry in both countries is becoming increasingly feminised. Densem (2006) explored the reasons for the popularity of journalism as a career among young New Zealand women and the relative lack of appeal for young men. This article reports upon preliminary results from an Australian study convering some common ground and offers some comparisons and contrasts with the New Zealand findings. This article uses the high school student responses from a larger study as the basis of comparison with similar data in the Densem (2006) study.&nbsp

CONDUCTING SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS FOR SOCIAL POLICY: THE ROLE OF UNDERSTANDING DISCOURSES IN METHODOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

This thesis uses a case study of the process of conducting a systematic review in the field of substance misuse in order to analyse critically how knowledge is cumulated for the purposes of informing social policy. The analysis is grounded in two areas of social research that are seldom drawn together; the methodological (in this instance, the work of the social research methodologist Donald Campbell) and the linguistic (in the form of a measured application of discourse analysis). By means of this dual approach it is proposed that a better understanding can be obtained not only of how systematic review methods may be usefully developed, but also of the substantive impact that the way in which those methods are discussed and debated (through discourse) can have upon the development. In this way, the process of conducting a systematic review for social policy is critically located within an understanding of both policy making and methodological development as discursive processes. This is important for the way that it allows evidence for policy and practice (both in the sense of the framing of the evidence and the methods used to synthesize it) to be discussed in terms that prioritize respectful debate rather than the promotion of particular methods as superior for the production and synthesis of knowledge. Furthermore, it enables a critical understanding of how dominant discourses can not only frame policy issues, but also the production of evidence-bases that are subsequently used in the policy making process.National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE

Concluding Comments

3 pages

Teaching press freedom and open justice: A model for debate

This article explores ways of building the topics of press freedom and open justice into the teritary journalism curriculum. It uses reflective practice techniques in developing a series of two by three hour workshop modules centred around introducing students to the priniciples of press freedom and open justice, exploring cases where these issues have ben tested in the courts, and building students skills in defending press freedom and open justice in the newsroom and the courtroom. It uses poblem-based and experiential pedagogies to bring historical and philosophical principles to life and make them relevant to students' experiences and current newsroom practices. Finally, it invites comments and discussions on other curricular and pedagogical apporaches to teaching these topics.&nbsp