On the periphery? Understanding low and discontinued internet use amongst young people in Britain

In the UK, the Internet has become an important feature of the lives of the majority of young people. However, there is a significant minority of young people who are not able to navigate or connect properly with the online world. They are, in other words, outside the digital mainstream. Evidence for this group has been found in nationally representative surveys, where around 10% of young people (aged 17–23) define themselves as lapsed Internet users. That is, they used to use the Internet but no longer do so (OxIS, 2011). This study aims to find out more about this group. Specifically we aim to: Examine why young people are outside the digital mainstream, and determine the extent to which this is due to reasons of exclusion or choice.  Explore the implications this has in their daily lives.  Consider how the experiences of these young people can inform the digital inclusion strategy in the UK.  This nine month qualitative study investigated these objectives in four overlapping steps: a literature review of academic research and policy documents; analysis of the Oxford Internet Survey (2011) and the Learner and their Context Survey (2009), which contain valuable information on lapsed Internet users; 36 in–depth interviews with young people who consider themselves to be infrequent or lapsed Internet users; and a workshop with key experts in the field

The Public Values of Repatriation in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

This Note examines the implementation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and finds that repatriation has generated significant public benefits by making collecting institutions better fulfill their role as stewards and researchers. This is contrary to existing critiques of cultural property laws that argue that repatriation is a compromise by the public to benefit minoritarian groups. This Note argues instead that stronger repatriation laws may be better for all of us

Understanding Communication Patterns in MOOCs: Combining Data Mining and qualitative methods

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offer unprecedented opportunities to learn at scale. Within a few years, the phenomenon of crowd-based learning has gained enormous popularity with millions of learners across the globe participating in courses ranging from Popular Music to Astrophysics. They have captured the imaginations of many, attracting significant media attention - with The New York Times naming 2012 "The Year of the MOOC." For those engaged in learning analytics and educational data mining, MOOCs have provided an exciting opportunity to develop innovative methodologies that harness big data in education.Comment: Preprint of a chapter to appear in "Data Mining and Learning Analytics: Applications in Educational Research

Genetic modification and the kiwifruit industry: the risks and rewards of participation and non-participation

The New Zealand Kellogg Rural Leaders Programme develops emerging agribusiness leaders to help shape the future of New Zealand agribusiness and rural affairs. Lincoln University has been involved with this leaders programme since 1979 when it was launched with a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, USA.This report aims to look at several aspects of the genetic modification debate. It is a brief overview of some of the issues and challenges facing industries involved in genetic research including the benefits and risks (perceived and otherwise). It will look at the kiwifruit industry and see how that industry fits in the overall picture. It will give some examples of what is happening, and what possibly may happen, some consumer perceptions, some industry views, and will touch very briefly on ethical and moral issues as they apply to people of New Zealand. It will make conclusions as to the position we are in now, and the issues that are to be faced, as huge advances are made in the technology that is available

Mapping young people's uses of technology in their own contexts: a nationally representative survey

The report analyses the data gathered in a nationally representative survey of children and young people in England and provides an analysis of the findings on ICT use and related access and supervision issues involving parents and teachers

Datafication and the role of schooling: challenging the status quo

The increasing use of digital trace data has significant implications for understanding the purposes of education. This chapter begins by provides an overview of some of the key features of the datafication of education. It then examines how the use of digital trace data is influencing the central roles of schools, drawing on the work of Gert Biesta, and highlights how the current use of such data is likely to compound existing inequalities. The chapter then provides a brief account of current responses to digital trace data both within and outside education and argues that these are inadequate. The final part of the chapter argues for the need to reconfigure data use in schools via digital literacy and participatory design to help to challenge the status quo

Interpreting the Economic Growth and Development Policies of Post-Apartheid South Africa: Its Influence on Higher Education and Prospects for Women

This dissertation is structured as a critical policy analysis employing historical methods. It examines how the post apartheid government\u27s economic growth and development polices have informed the higher education system and how this has changed women\u27s financial, occupational, political, social, and educational prospects in South Africa. Through the telling of this history, the paper provides understanding of the relationship between economic growth and development, higher education, and women within the social, cultural, and political context of the country from 1994 to the present. This is also a story about the lives of South African women. It examines how South Africa\u27s patriarchal culture, the apartheid system, and the 1996 constitution and other government gender specific initiatives have influenced the lives of women, especially Black South African women. What this study does is to bring understanding as to why, despite one of the world\u27s best written and designed policy frameworks for women\u27s empowerment and gender equality and a constitution based on non-sexism, a significant number of women continue to live in poverty, have higher incidences of HIV/AIDS, are increasingly victims of rape and violence, and continue to experience low graduation rates. By recognizing and understanding why women continue to face significant challenges, thirteen years after the establishment of a national framework for women\u27s empowerment and gender equality, we can chip away at the poverty, low graduation rates, and violence that are still pervasive in South Africa. This study did not attempt to find the answers or solutions to the pressing economic, education, and gender issues facing South Africa today. The primary focus is on understanding the relationship between economic growth and development and higher education policies and how they have changed women\u27s prospects. Although race is often the lens used when examining the country\u27s past and current opportunities and challenges, this study takes a different perspective and looks at the country through the framework of gender

Llanelly Parish, Breconshire : The Impact Of The Iron Industry On A Rural Welsh Parish, 1790-1890.

Perhaps understandably, most of the research undertaken into the growth of the South Wales coal and iron industries has concentrated on the major production areas such as Merthyr Tydfil. Llanelly parish, Breconshire, is situated to the north-east, at the very extremity of this industrial area, and has been largely ignored by historians. Yet, starting in the late eighteenth century, Llanelly parish underwent a rapid development owing to the expansion of the local iron industry, only for it to decline from around the middle of the nineteenth century. This study examines the demographic, economic, and social changes which the iron industry brought to this previously agricultural area, and the extent to which communities on the margin of the ironbelt were caught up in the industrial conflicts of the time. The thesis also investigates how this relatively small industrial settlement differed, if at all, from the larger industrial centres, and attempts to assess the consequences of the failure of the local ironworks in mid-century, by comparing the experiences of communities in the parish with those communities which continued to grow. Internal to the parish, the thesis also proffers reasons as to why some settlements never developed into proper townships, whereas others, most notably the town of Brynmawr, made that transition successfully

Small B Cells as Antigen Presenting Cells in the Induction of Tolerance to Soluble Protein Antigens: A Dissertation

This thesis proposes a mechanism for the induction of peripheral tolerance to protein antigens. I have investigated the mechanism of tolerance induction to soluble protein antigens by targeting an antigen to small, resting B cells. For this purpose I have used a rabbit antibody directed at the IgD molecule found on the surface of most small, resting B cells but missing or lowered on activated B cells. Intravenous injection of normal mice with 100 μg of an ultracentrifuged Fab fragment of rabbit anti-mouse IgD (Fab anti-δ) makes these mice profoundly tolerant to challenge with nonimmune rabbit Fab (Fab NRG) fragments. This tolerance is antigen specific since treated mice make normal responses to an irrelevant antigen, chicken immunoglobulin (Ig). Fab fragments of rabbit Ig (rabbit Fab) not targeted to B cells do not induce tolerance as well as Fab anti-δ. Evidence suggests that the B cells must remain in a resting state for tolerance to be induced, since injection of F(ab)\u272 anti-δ does not induce tolerance. Investigation of the mechanisms of the tolerance, by adoptive transfer, have shown that rabbit Fab specific B cell function has been impaired. The major effect however is in helper T cell function, as shown by adoptive transfer and lack of help for a hapten response. In vitro proliferation experiments show that the T cell response has not been shifted toward activation of different T cell subsets which do not help Ig production, nor is there any change in the Ig isotypes produced. Suppression does not appear to be the major cause of the helper T cell defect as shown by cell mixing experiments. This work shows that an antigen targeted to small B cells can induce tolerance to a soluble protein antigen, and suggests a role for small B cells in tolerance to self-proteins not presented in the thymus