Emerging trends in global contact centres

Relocation from the developed to low-cost developing countries now extends far beyond earlier experimental phases. As firms have shifted from tactical to strategic, and even to what is known as transformational offshoring, the scale, diversity and complexity of services subject to migration have grown. The increasing use of the term 'global service delivery' reflects real changes in the rapidly evolving geography of sourcing

Self-employment in Britain: when, who and why?

This work explores self-employment in Britain across recent years with a particular focus on when individuals became self-employed, who is more or less likely to enter self-employment and why individuals choose to enter self-employment. It complements previous microeconomic studies that focus on transitions into and out of selfemployment and presents new evidence on the returns to selfemployment and how these compare to the returns to paid employment. Lifetime employment history data from the British Household Panel Survey suggest that the large increase in self-employment in the 1980’s was due to increases in the inflow rate, while an increase in the outflow rate in the early 1990’s has stopped this trend. Panel data from the same source indicate that gender, parents occupation, assets and considering the work itself, the use of initiative or hours of work to be the most important aspect of a job emerge as key determinants of self-employment entry. Gender, age, occupation and elapsed duration in self-employment emerge as important determinants of selfemployment exit. Our analysis reveals that, all else equal, the selfemployed report higher levels of job satisfaction with pay and with the work itself than employees, but lower levels of satisfaction with job security

The Need for Redemptive Discipline in the Christian School

Classroom management and discipline are key components in determining the success of a school. A safe, positive environment increases the potential for quality learning and complete development on the part of every student. However, the resulting behavior of those disciplined is as varied as the systems or methods employed. The aim of this paper is to provide sufficient rationale to support both the subjective probability that a significant difference exists between the recidivism rates of those who are disciplined redemptively and those disciplined punitively and the necessity to conduct future qualitative and quantitative research to validate that theoretical position

Assessing the efficacy of online teaching with the Constructivist online learning environment survey

Teachers of science, mathematics and technology Australia wide are being required to transform their established epistemologies of practice in order to engage learners as active conceptualisers within socially interactive learning environments. Many teachers are enrolling in postgraduate distance education programs to assist them with this challenging task. Curtin University is responding by using computer mediated communication to speed up the exchange of distance study materials and to provide online interactive learning environments (via chat groups, bulletin boards and email). For the past three years, the authors have been using the Internet to teach online Masters degree students studying at a distance from Curtin. The major pedagogical goal is to engage students (professional teachers) in reflective and collaborative learning. The web sites provide Activity Rooms in which the teachers engage students in frequent and focused discourse with each other and with their online tutors. As reflective teachers, the authors are keen to evaluate their own innovative practices and constantly improve them. To this end, they have designed the Constructivist On-Line Learning Environment Survey (COLLES), an electronic questionnaire that enables them to readily monitor each student's preferred online learning environment and compare it with her/his actual experiences. In this presentation, they outline the rationale of the questionnaire and present some preliminary analyses that illustrate its usefulness. [Author abstract, ed] Teachers of science, mathematics and technology Australia wide are being required to transform their established epistemologies of practice in order to engage learners as active conceptualisers within socially interactive learning environments. Many teachers are enrolling in postgraduate distance education programs to assist them with this challenging task. Curtin University is responding by using computer mediated communication to speed up the exchange of distance study materials and to provide online interactive learning environments (via chat groups, bulletin boards and email). For the past three years, the Internet has been used to teach online Masters degree students studying at a distance from Curtin. The major pedagogical goal is to engage the students (professional teachers) in reflective and collaborative learning. Curtin's web sites provide Activity Rooms in which students are engaged in frequent and focused discourse with each other and with their online tutors. To evaluate and improve on their teaching practice, the academic staff designed the Constructivist On-Line Learning Environment Survey (COLLES), an electronic questionnaire that enables them to readily monitor each student's preferred online learning environment and compare it with her/his actual experiences. This paper outlines the rationale of the questionnaire and presents some preliminary analyses that illustrate its usefulness

Better community engagement: a framework for learning

Because different needs and priorities call for different approaches, the document does not present a single curriculum. Instead it provides a statement of the purpose, elements and competences for community engagement practice that should enable training providers to develop their own curricula to address the needs of practitioners operating in different settings. We hope that this approach can make a significant contribution to establishing a range of learning opportunities that will deliver the best practice needed to deliver on policy commitments and to put communities first

Assimilation of MSG land-surface temperature into land-surface model simulations to constrain estimates of surface energy budget in West Africa

In the semi-arid regions of West Africa the surface energy partition is related closely to near surface moisture availability. Such moisture availability exhibits marked heterogeneity at scales of a few kilometres, related to the passage of storm systems during the previous one or two days. The associated variations in surface fluxes affect planetary boundary layer properties at the mesoscale, which may in turn affect rainfall and the seasonal development of the West African monsoon. Atmosphere models used to study this land-atmosphere coupling are sensitive to the soil moisture initial condition. There exists no observation network for soil moisture in West Africa, so models rely on data from atmosphere analyses, which are often unable to describe adequately surface variation at the mesoscale. Additionally, retrospective estimates of the seasonal surface energy and water budgets using land-surface models are biased by persistent model errors in soil moisture. Anomalies in near-surface (top few centimetres) soil moisture are anti-correlated with anomalies in land-surface brightness temperature, which is observed by the SEVIRI thermal infra-red sensors onboard the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites. Here, we present methods developed for assimilating the MSG land-surface temperature product from the Land SAF to constrain estimates of the surface energy and water budgets using the JULES land-surface model. This MSG temperature product has a pixel size of approximately 3 km in this region, and is known to provide information of surface wetness anomalies at the scales of interest. The results will provide, for a large region of West Africa, improved initial conditions for modelling studies and seasonal estimates of the surface energy and water budgets

New Zealand bicycle helmet law - do the costs outweigh the benefits?

Objectives: This paper examines the cost effectiveness of the compulsory bicycle helmet wearing low (HWL) introduced in New Zealand on 1 January 1994. The societal perspective of costs is used for the purchase of helmets and the value of injuries averted. This is augmented with healthcare costs averted from reduced head injuries. Methods: Three age groups were examined: cyclists aged 5-12 years, 13-18 years, and greater than or equal to19 years. The number of head and non-head injuries averted were obtained from epidemiological studies. Estimates of the numbers of cyclists and the costs of helmets are used to derive the total spending on new bicycle helmets. Healthcare costs were obtained from national hospitalisation database, and the value of injuries averted was obtained directly from a willingness-to-pay survey undertaken by the Land Transport Safety Authority. Cost effectiveness ratios, benefit:cost ratios, and the value of net benefits were estimated. Results: The net benefit (benefit:cost ratios) of the HWL for the 5-12, 13-18, and greater than or equal to19 year age groups was $0.3m (2.6), -$0.2m (0.8), and -$1.5m (0.7) (in NZ$, 2000 prices; NZ $1.00 = US$0.47 = UK pound0.31 approx). These results were most sensitive to the cost and life of helmets, helmet wearing rates before the HWL, and the effectiveness of helmets in preventing head injuries. Conclusions: The HWL was cost saving in the youngest age group but large costs from the law were imposed on adult (greater than or equal to19 years) cyclists

'It was absolute hell': inside the private prison

As part of a broader current of critique of the economic and political dynamics of prison privatisation - a critique that initially emanated from the USA - this paper focuses on Scotland and on research carried out at its then only private penal institution, HMP Kilmarnock. The authors dismantle the government's case for extending prison privatisation by drilling deep into the experience of Kilmarnock and demonstrating the deleterious effects of marketisation for prison officers and prisoners alike. Degraded pay and conditions and systemic understaffing corroded morale, exposed staff and inmates to risk, and contributed to massive officer turnover. Compelling evidence comes from sources ordinarily unavailable to critical researchers,such as internal company and government documentation