The Labour Market Mobility of Polish Migrants: A Comparative Study of Three Regions in South Wales, UK

Since Polish migrants began entering the UK labour market in the post-accession period, there has been a significant amount of case study research focusing on the impact of this large migrant group on the UK economy. However, ten years after enlargement, there is still insufficient information regarding the labour market mobility of Polish migrants residing in the UK for the longer term. The available research on this topic is largely concentrated in urban settings such as London or Birmingham, and does not necessarily capture the same patterns of labour market mobility as in non-urban settings. Using qualitative data collected in three case study locations – urban, semi-urban and rural – in the South Wales region from 2008–2012, this article has two main aims. First, given the proximity of the case study locations, the article highlights the diversity of the Polish migrant characteristics through the samples used. Second, using trajectories created from the data, this article compares the variations among the labour market movements of the Polish migrants in each sample to determine what characteristics influence labour market ascent. Through this comparative trajectory analysis, the findings from this article point to the relative English language competency of migrants as the primary catalyst for progression in the Welsh labour market across all three case study regions. The secondary catalyst, which is intertwined with the first, is the composition of the migrants’ social networks, which enable, or in some cases disable, labour market progression. These findings have significant implications in the national and in the supranational policy sphere regarding the employment of migrants as well as their potential for cultural integration in the future

‘Most I saw were very dirty, some very ragged and all of very coarse cloth’: the conservation of the nineteenth-century student gown in the Hunterian, University of Glasgow

A rare and important 19th century student gown in the collection of the Hunterian Museum had survived remarkably intact over the years, but to ensure its future long-term preservation, it was sent to the University of Glasgow Centre for Textile Conservation and Technical Art History for conservation. This paper describes the history of the gown, and details of the decision making and the work of the conservator involved in its preservation

What determines demand for freight transport?

Decisions about investments in the long-lived assets of transport infrastructure require some assumptions about prospective long-term demand from services using that infrastructure. To improve the basis for such predictions, the authors estimated the long-run determinants of domestic freight transport, using single-equation regressions on a cross-section of data from developed (high-income), developing (low-income) and former socialist economies. They also sought answers to two related questions. First, since statistics on national ton-kilometers of freight transport are much scarcer for developing than for developed countries, what is the scope for generalizing from data on high-income countries? Second, within what limits may one apply results obtained from data on market economies to the prospective evolution of freight transport demand in the socialist transitional economies? They report the following finds, subject to caveats related to the simple methodology used. For the sample of developed countries, and the merged samples of developed plus developing countries, total ton-kilometers of freight transport (excluding transit) are adequately explained by two variables: a country's area and total GDP. Ton-kilometers by road are chiefly explained by GDP; ton-kilometers by rail are explained by countryarea. Road freight in developed and developing market economies shows very similar response (in additional ton-kilometers) to variations in GDP. But the elasticity of demand for road ton-kilometers with regard to GDP should be about or above 1.25 for developing countries, compared with close to unity for the high-income countries. Demand for rail freight transport appears to be determined in closely similar ways in both groups of countries. Elasticity with GDP appears to be close to unity. Judging from the narrow basis of evidence on socialist economies (China and the former USSR were excluded for technical reasons), transport demand was determined very differently in their systems than in the market economies. The contrasts are almost entirely explained by the differences in the role of, and demand for, rail transport in the different economic systems. The road sector of freight transport, on the other hand, conforms closely to norms in the market economies; the marginal response (additional ton-kilometer for additional GDP) and elasticity with respect to GDP, appear - on the available evidence - to be close to what is found for developed market economies. In short, structural change in the socialist economies is likely to bring about far greater changes in rail freight activity than in road transport.Environmental Economics&Policies,Railways Transport,Poverty Impact Evaluation,Economic Theory&Research,Climate Change

Afterword: the emergent literature on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research evaluation

The complexity of evaluating interdisciplinary (ID) and transdisciplinary (TD) research defies a single standard. Yet, common elements appear in the emergent literature. Five overriding themes stand out. (1) Quality is a relative concept, driven by variability of goals and criteria. (2) A coaching model of evaluation nurtures the research process. (3) Integration is central to the process. (4) Social and cognitive factors interact, requiring management of information and decisionmaking. (5) The need for change in peer review has led to a variety of strategies. ID and TD evaluation is a generative activity that entails acts of “capitalizing” and “harvesting” expertise while “calibrating” standards to produce new “cultures of evidence”

Evaluating learning and teaching technologies in further education

With the current emphasis on quality assessment and the role of evaluation in quality assessment, it is likely that teachers in post‐compulsory education will increasingly be expected to evaluate their teaching, especially when making changes to their teaching methods. In Further Education (FE), there have been a number of developments to foster the use of Information and Learning Technologies (ILT), following the publication of the Higginson Report in 1996. However, there is some evidence that the adoption of ILT has been patchy

Over The Edge: What Should We Do When Alcohol and Drug Use Become a Problem to Society?

The purpose of this issue guide is to help people talk together about what we should do when alcohol and drug use becomes a problem to society. It begins with an overview of substance use and abuse in the United States and the impact this has on individuals, families, and communities. It then offers three options for addressing the issue, along with potential actions that could be taken. These are starting points for the conversation, which may lead to other insights and possibilities.People from seven organizations across the country participated in developing the guide, conducting interviews, surveys, and conversations with diverse people in their communities to capture different views on the issue. The organizations included the Community College of Baltimore County, San Diego Deliberation Network, Tennessee State University, University of Alaska Anchorage, Walden University, SUNY Broome Community College, and the West Virginia Center for Civic Life.The guide may be used to support a single conversation or a series of conversations. The following suggestions can help you get started:Invite participants to share how substance use and abuse has affected them, their families, and others they know. Many will have direct experiences and are likely to mention concerns identified in the guide.Consider each option one at a time, using the actions and drawbacks as examples to illustrate what each option entails.Review the conversation as a group, and identify areas of common ground as well as disagreement. Talk about possible next steps, individually and as a group

L'éducation primaire, secondaire et postsecondaire aux États-Unis : vers l’unification du discours sur l’interdisciplinarité

Cet article vise à établir un discours commun concernant l'interdisciplinarité à tous les ordres d'enseignement. Il est articulé autour de quatre points. Le contexte historique établit des rapprochements au niveau des tendances, des concepts et des structures apparus au cours du siècle. Le contexte curriculaire compare les structures et les principes organisateurs de différents curriculums; il fait aussi ressortir l'importance des thèmes et des problèmes. Le contexte d'enseignement examine des questions courantes de pédagogie, de processus intégrateurs et de changements institutionnels. Enfin, le contexte de formation à l'enseignement insiste sur la nécessité d'une préparation formelle et d'un développement professionnel continu. Cette étude traite aussi des principaux problèmes et des limites de l'approche interdisciplinaire dont elle présente un aperçu de la documentation publiée en anglais.The aim of this article is to establish a common discourse relating to interdisciplinarity at all levels of education. These are four main comparisons presented. The historical context promotes understandings regarding tendancies, concepts, and structures that have developped during the last century. The curricular context compares structures and organizational principles of different curriculums; underlining the importance of themes and problems. The teaching context examines current questions in pedagogy, in integrative processes and in institutional changes. Finally, the teacher training context stresses the need for formal training and for professional inservice development. This study also examines the main problems and limits relating to the interdisciplinary approach as described in the literature published in English.Este articulo tiene por meta establecer un discurso comiin sobre la interdisciplinariedad en todos los nivelés de ensenanza. Esta articulado alrededor de cuatro puntos. El contexto historico establece los contactos a nivel de tendencias, conceptos y estructuras que han aparecido en el curso de este siglo. El contexto curricular compara las estructuras y principios organizadores de diferentes curriculos, haciendo resaltar asi la importancia de ciertos temas y problemas. El contexto de ensenanza examina cuestiones corrientes de pedagogia, de procesos integradores y de cambio institucional. En fin, el contexto de formacion docente insiste en la necesidad de una preparacion formai y un desarrollo profesional continuo. Este estudio trata también los problemas principales y los limites del enfoque interdisciplinario del cual présenta un resumen de la documentaciôn publicada en inglés.Dieser Artikel versucht, den Begriff der Interdisziplinarität über die verschiedenen Schulstufen hinaus zu vereinheidichen. Er ist um vier Vergleichspunkte gegliedert. Der historische Zusammenhang ermoglicht es, zwischen den im Laufe des 20. Jahrhunderts auftretenden Tendenzen, Begriffe und Strukturen Ähnlichkeiten aufzuweisen. Im zweiten Teil werden die Strukturen und Organisationsprinzipien verschiedener Lehrpläne miteindander verglichen, wobei die Bedeutung der Themen und der Probleme herausgestellt wird. Im dritten Teil handelt es sich um Unterricht; dabei werden Aspekte besprochen beziiglich der Pädagogik, der integrierenden Prozesse und des institutionellen Wandels. Der vierte Vergleichspunkt betrirft die Lehrerbildung; es wird hervorgehoben, dass formelle Vorbereitung und berufliche Fortbildung besonders wichtig sind. Schließlich untersucht der Artikel die wichtigsten Probleme und die Grenzen der interdisziplinären Methode und bespricht kurz die einschlägige Literatur in englischer Sprache

Conceptualization of Faculty Work Motivation: Overcoming the Impasse

The work motivation literature is at an impasse. At the same time, changing economic and social conditions necessitate an ongoing transformation for how organizations motivate their workforce. Although changes in the nature of work have captured the attention of researchers, calls for more research to further develop work motivation theory have largely gone unnoticed. The scarcity of new theoretical research contributes to a lack of contextual understanding in work motivation. As such, organizational leaders continue to develop interventions based on the findings of potentially outdated work motivation theories. This may lead to diminished work motivation, productivity, and commitment, particularly for highly skilled and educated labor forces such as university faculty. Along the same lines, the faculty work motivation literature is also at an impasse. To provide perspective and promote a holistic understanding of the changing workforce, possible reasons for the impasse along with potential ways to encourage advancement are discussed. This study provides a discussion of the methodological process through which the work motivation literature can be synthesized. Although existing review approaches are useful for describing how work motivation research has progressed over time in order to identify current research trends, they are less useful for providing a picture of how researchers could arrive at the level of insight needed to develop new theoretical perspectives. Hence, one aim of the present work is to introduce a new approach that can optimally synthesize existing theories and provide clear directions for how to develop new theoretical perspectives. Building upon the strengths of existing review approaches, a new approach, labeled the 3D method, for synthesizing research is proposed. The 3D method is then demonstrated on the work motivation literature and subsequently applied to the faculty work motivation literature, a field that has received limited attention and as a result is also at an impasse. Indeed, insights from the 3D method approach revealed that a more coherent understanding of faculty work motivation can be achieved by leveraging the work environment, cognition, and affect. Based on the application of the 3D method to the faculty work motivation literature, a new model of faculty work motivation is proposed and tested on a sample of university professors working at U.S. doctoral granting institutions. Long term negative affect (emotional exhaustion) was shown to explain the relationship between perceptions of the work environment, faculty job satisfaction, commitment and intent to leave academia. Specifically, faculty who received support from their department, had autonomy in structuring their daily tasks, viewed their job as important, completed their tasks from the beginning to the end, experienced less skill and task variety, and were in good health experienced less emotional exhaustion. In turn, perceptions of autonomy, task variety, and organizational support were found to have direct and indirect effects on faculty job satisfaction via emotional exhaustion. Overall, findings revealed that university faculty responded to certain work environment features and work events by experiencing emotional exhaustion, which then led to diminished job satisfaction and commitment, and intent to stay. The implications for theoretical research, institutional policy, and practice are discussed