'JSA Sanctions and Disallowances', Evidence submitted to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee Inquiry into the Role of Jobcentre Plus in the reformed welfare system, Second Report of Session 2013-14, Vol. II, pp. Ev w90-w101

This submission presents key findings to date from a critical examination of unemployment benefit sanctions and disallowances based primarily on statistical analysis. It shows that the severity of the regime has increased drastically under the Coalition and is increasing further. One fifth of JSA claimants have been sanctioned/disallowed, 4.2% per month of all claimants and 8% per month of those aged 18-24. Disallowances for ‘voluntary leaving’ and ‘losing a job through misconduct’ were previously a major component but have almost disappeared in the recession, with disallowances for (not) ‘actively seeking work’ showing a very big increase, and big increases also for non-participation in training (including the Work Programme) and non-compliance with a Jobseeker’s Direction. Severity is greater at times when it is least productive. A gap has been emerging in the treatment of white and minority ethnic groups, and disabled people are over-represented among repeat sanctions/disallowances. The reasons for these differences should be investigated. Although sanctions increase job search and exit from benefits, they cannot be justified when all their effects are considered. These include worse matches of people to jobs, lower productivity, wastefully large numbers of job applications, damage to health, families and relationships, homelessness, destitution as reflected in the rise of Food Banks, increased crime, diversion of Jobcentre resources from their proper role, and creation of a climate of fear and hostility which undermines the whole system. Sanctions, which are financial penalties intended to affect behaviour, should be abolished. Entitlement conditions have to be retained, but should be accompanied by a proper safety net for those disallowed, and an approach to influencing claimants, where justified, which is properly based on behavioural psychology, as pioneered by the Prime Minister’s ‘nudge unit’

The DWP’s Updated Statistics on JSA Sanctions: What do they show?, Further supplementary evidence submitted to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee Inquiry into the Role of Jobcentre Plus in the reformed welfare system, Second Report of Session 2013-14, HC 479, Vol. II, pp. Ev w111-w121

The delayed JSA sanctions statistics for the period 22 October 2012 to 30 June 2013, published by DWP on 6 November 2013, have remarkable implications which ought to be known to the Committee before finalising its report. The number of sanctions in the year to 30 June 2013 was 860,000, the highest for any 12-month period since statistics began to be published in their present form. Sanctions for not actively seeking work and for non-participation in training and employment schemes have risen further, while those for missing an interview and for refusing a job have fallen, the latter very sharply indeed. The latter suggests a dwindling focus within DWP on finding people jobs. Up to 30 June 2013, the number of job outcomes achieved by the Work Programme has been greatly exceeded by the number of sanctions imposed for non-participation. Contrary to what was claimed by Lord Freud prior to their introduction, 3-year sanctions have built up very quickly, with the 700 to date understating the rate now reached. In the two years since June 2011 there has been a massive rise in the number of ‘reserved’ or ‘cancelled’ JSA sanction decisions, suggesting that people are being driven off JSA by the sanctions regime. This in turn could explain why there has been a sharp increase in the gap between the number of unemployed people identified by the official Annual Population Survey, and the number in the claimant count. This has very serious implications and the DWP should be asked to provide a full explanation for the rapid increase in reserved and cancelled decisions. The total of reconsiderations under the Coalition has increased by 15,000 per month to a new high of 20,000 per month, representing a substantial redirection of DWP resources away from other tasks. Claimants’ success rate at reconsideration has reverted to its long-term level of about 50 per cent. However, Tribunals, which are not under the control of the Secretary of State, have raised the proportion of appeals decided in claimants’ favour from a long-term level of 17.0 per cent, up to 42.2 per cent in November 2012 to June 2013. This remarkable increase is strong evidence that large numbers of claimants are being wrongly sanctioned even in terms of current legislation. The fact that only 1.7 per cent of claimants appeal to a Tribunal – the only independent element in the system – indicates the need for urgent reform. Finally, the format used by DWP for its new statistics is wholly inadequate and involves a serious loss of information and accountability

Examining Philosophy of Technology Using Grounded Theory Methods

A qualitative study was conducted to examine the philosophy of technology of K-12 technology leaders, and explore the influence of their thinking on technology decision making. The research design aligned with CORBIN and STRAUSS grounded theory methods, and I proceeded from a research paradigm of critical realism. The subjects were school technology directors and instructional technology specialists, and data collection consisted of interviews and a written questionnaire. Data analysis involved the use of grounded theory methods including memo writing, open and axial coding, constant comparison, the use of purposive and theoretical sampling, and theoretical saturation of categories. Three broad philosophy of technology views were widely held by participants: an instrumental view of technology, technological optimism, and a technological determinist perspective that saw technological change as inevitable. Technology leaders were guided by two main approaches to technology decision making, represented by the categories Educational goals and curriculum should drive technology, and Keep up with Technology (or be left behind). The core category and central phenomenon that emerged was that technology leaders approached technology leadership by placing greater emphasis on keeping up with technology, being influenced by an ideological orientation to technological change, and being concerned about preparing students for a technological future

Philosophy of Technology Assumptions in Educational Technology Leadership

A qualitative study using grounded theory methods was conducted to (a) examine what philosophy of technology assumptions are present in the thinking of K-12 technology leaders, (b) investigate how the assumptions may influence technology decision making, and (c) explore whether technological determinist assumptions are present. Subjects involved technology directors and instructional technology specialists from school districts, and data collection involved interviews and a written questionnaire. Three broad philosophy of technology views were widely held by participants, including an instrumental view of technology, technological optimism, and a technological determinist perspective that sees technological change as inevitable. Technology leaders were guided by two main approaches to technology decision making in cognitive dissonance with each other, represented by the categories Educational goals and curriculum should drive technology, and Keep up with Technology (or be left behind). The researcher concluded that as leaders deal with their perceived experience of the inevitability of technological change, and their concern for preparing students for a technological future, the core category Keep up with technology (or be left behind) is given the greater weight in technology decision making. A risk is that this can on occasion mean a quickness to adopt technology for the sake of technology, without aligning the technology implementation with educational goals

Implementation of virtual manufacturing by a technology licensing company

NoThe paper considers the implementation of a virtual manufacturing system as an alternative to outward technology licensing in a high technology industrial sector. Brief theoretical definition and description of the two strategy options is provided to give background and context. This is followed by empirical material from a longitudinal case study of a company that has developed a virtual manufacturing system in addition to its pre-existing outward technology licensing business stream. A summary account of the company history and development is followed by description of the virtual manufacturing proposal. Analysis of this identified a number of competencies that would be required in order to succeed. The final part of the paper describes the company's response to this analysis and discusses early implementation of the virtual system. It is shown that implementation of the proposal has represented a positive response to the business challenges facing the company

Nerve commitment in Hydra. I. Role of morphogenetic signals

The kinetics of nerve commitment during head regeneration in Hydra were investigated using a newly developed assay for committed cells. Committed nerve precursors were assayed by their ability to continue nerve differentiation following explanation of small pieces of tissue. Committed nerve precursors appear at the site of regeneration within 6 hr after cutting and increase rapidly. The increase is localized to the site of regeneration and does not occur at proximal sites in the body column of the regenerate. The increase is delayed about 8–12 hr when regeneration occurs at sites lower in the body column. The results show, furthermore, that redistribution of committed precursors does not play a major role in the pattern of nerve differentiation during regeneration. Since the increase in committed nerves coincides with the increase in morphogenetic potential of the regenerating tissue, the results strengthen the idea that morphogenetic signals are involved directly in the control of nerve commitment in Hydra

Segue 1 - A Compressed Star Formation History Before Reionization

Segue 1 is the current best candidate for a "first galaxy", a system which experienced only a single short burst of star formation and has since remained unchanged. Here we present possible star formation scenarios which can explain its unique metallicity distribution. While the majority of stars in all other ultra-faint dwarfs (UFDs) are within 0.5 dex of the mean [Fe/H] for the galaxy, 5 of the 7 stars in Segue 1 have a spread of $\Delta$[Fe/H] $>0.8$ dex. We show that this distribution of metallicities canot be explained by a gradual build-up of stars, but instead requires clustered star formation. Chemical tagging allows the separate unresolved delta functions in abundance space to be associated with discrete events in space and time. This provides an opportunity to put the enrichment events into a time sequence and unravel the history of the system. We investigate two possible scenarios for the star formation history of Segue 1 using Fyris Alpha simulations of gas in a $10^7$ M$_\odot$ dark matter halo. The lack of stars with intermediate metallicities $-3<$ [Fe/H] $<-2$ can be explained either by a pause in star formation caused by supernova feedback, or by the spread of metallicities resulting from one or two supernovae in a low-mass dark matter halo. Either possibility can reproduce the metallicity distribution function (MDF), as well as the other observed elemental abundances. The unusual MDF and the low luminosity of Segue 1 can be explained by it being a first galaxy that originated with $M_{\rm{vir}}\sim10^7$~M$_\odot$ at $z\sim10$.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, ApJ, Accepte

Ultrafaint Dwarf Galaxies - the lowest mass relics from before reionization

New observations indicate that ultrafaint dwarf galaxies (UFD) -- the least luminous systems bound by dark matter halos (<10^5 Lsun) -- may have formed before reionization. The extrapolated virial masses today are uncertain with estimates ranging from 10^8 Msun to 10^9 Msun. We show that the progenitor halo masses of UFDs can be as low as Mvir = 10^7 Msun. Under the right conditions, such a halo can survive the energy input of a supernova and its radiative progenitor. A clumpy medium is much less susceptible to both internal and external injections of energy. It is less prone to SN sweeping because the coupling efficiency of the explosive energy is much lower than for a diffuse ISM. With the aid of the 3D hydro/ionization code Fyris, we show that sufficient baryons are retained to form stars following a single supernova event in dark matter halos down to Mvir ~ 10^7 Msun with radiative cooling. The gas survives the SN explosion, is enriched with the abundance yields of the discrete events, and reaches surface densities where low mass stars can form. Our highest resolution simulations reveal why cooling is so effective in retaining gas compared to any other factor. In the early stages, the super-hot metal-enriched SN ejecta exhibit strong cooling, leading to much of the explosive energy being lost. Consistent with earlier work, the baryons do *not* survive in smooth or adiabatic models in the event of a supernova. The smallest galaxies carry signatures of the earliest epochs of star formation, which may distinguish a small primordial galaxy from one that was stripped down to its present size through tidal interaction. We discuss these results in the context of local UFDs and damped Ly-alpha systems (z~2) at very low metallicity ([Fe/H] ~ -3). We show that both classes of objects are consistent with primordial low-mass systems that have experienced only a few enrichment events.Comment: 32 pages, 25 figures, accepted by Ap

Ultrafaint Dwarfs - Star Formation and Chemical Evolution in the Smallest Galaxies

In earlier work we showed that a dark matter halo with a virial mass of $10^7$ M$_\odot$ can retain a large percentage of its baryons in the face of the pre-ionization phase and supernova explosion from a 25$M_\odot$ star. Here we expand on the results of that work, investigating the star formation and chemical evolution of the system beyond the first supernova. In a galaxy with a mass $M_{vir} = 10^7$M$_\odot$, sufficient gas is retained by the potential for a second period of star formation to occur. The impact of a central explosion is found to be much stronger than that of an off-centred explosion both in blowing out the gas and in enriching it, as in the off-centered case most of the supernova energy and metals escape into the IGM. We model the star formation and metallicity given the assumption that stars form for 100, 200, 400 and 600 Myr and discuss the results in the context of recent observations of very low mass galaxies. We show that we can account for most features of the observed relationship between [$\alpha$/Fe] and [Fe/H] in ultra-faint dwarf galaxies with the assumption that the systems formed at a low mass, rather than being remnants of much larger systems