Desktop video conferencing

This guide aims to provide an introduction to Desktop Video Conferencing (DVC) and forms part of the ESCalate Busy Teacher Educator Guides. You may be familiar with video conferencing, where participants typically book a designated conference room and communicate with another group in a similar room on another site via a large screen display. Desktop video conferencing allows users to video conference from the comfort of their own office, workplace or home via a desktop / laptop Personal Computer. DVC provides live audio and visual communication in real time from a standard PC and allows one to one and multiple user conferences by participants in different physical locations. Some software features a a ‘whiteboard’ on the computer screen for information exchange and the option to show or share documents and websites between the participants

Promoting Student Success in Community Colleges by Increasing Support Services

Recommends state policies to improve community college students' retention and completion rates through enhanced tutoring, counseling, and other supports, as well as alternative instructional models that allow working adults to learn in flexible formats

The Effect of Off-farm Work on Production Intensity and Output Structure

Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management,

Promoting Economic Self-Sufficiency as a State TANF Outcome

Urges states to set participants' economic self-sufficiency as a goal for TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) and other workforce development programs, with clear measures, time spans, and benchmarks. Includes four states' TANF reporting requirements

Great Recession Hit Hard at America's Working Poor: Nearly 1 in 3 Working Families in United States Are Low-Income

Highlights findings on the 2009 increase in the number of low-income working families and their children, proportion of low-income working families by parents' race/ethnicity, and the growth of income inequality. Discusses policy implications

Low-Income Working Mothers and State Policy: Investing for a Better Economic Future

In 2012, there were more than 10 million low-income working families with children in the United States,and 39 percent were headed by working mothers. The economic conditions for these families have worsened since the onset of the recession; between 2007 and 2012, there was a four percentage-point increase in the share of female-headed working families that are low-income. Addressing challenges specific to these families will increase their economic opportunity, boost the economy and strengthen the fabric of communities across the nation.Public policy can play a critical role in our future prosperity by reversing this trend and improving outcomes for low-income working mothers. Of particular interest is how state governments can best invest in helping working mothers gain the education, skills and supports necessary to become economically secure and provide a strong economic future for their children. In this brief, we highlight the latest data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey and recommend state government policies and actions that would facilitate the economic advancement of female-headed, low-income working families with children under age 18

Overlooked and Underpaid: Number of Low-Income Working Families Increases to 10.2 Million

Highlights 2007-10 trends in the number and percentage of working families with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty line by state and race/ethnicity, as well as the number of children affected. Examines income inequality by quintile and implications

Researching Under-Represented Groups: How to Empower Students through Targeted Learning Development Support

The Scottish Government has tasked Higher Education Institutions with improving the recruitment, retention and progression of students who are classified as living within the lowest deprivation quintile according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivati on (Scottish Government, 2012). The Scottish Funding Council allocates ringfenced funding for this purpose and negotiates specific outcome agreements with each institution to measure and evaluate success. As an initiative funded in this way, the School of Health and Life Science’s Learning Development Centre (LDC) at Glasgow Caledonian University is required to support students from low participation postcodes. The LDC provides enhancement - led, learning support to all students in the School through a blend of timetabled, in - programme teaching, workshops and one to one appointments. Support for, and monitoring of, those identified as belonging to the ‘multiple deprivations’ category (MD20s), however, is becoming an increasing priority. Whilst clearly a desira ble aim in terms of social justice and widening participation, it is less obvious how best to target and measure support. The risks of stigmatising, alienating or even creating dependency amongst what is surely a heterogeneous group are manifold. This pape r will report on research conducted by the LDC members that attempted to better understand the diverse group of ‘MD20 students’ who attend, or potentially attend programmes within the School. The aim of the project was to provide an evidence - base on which further support activities could be built. Cognisant of the diversity of the group in question and the risk of labelling or categorising students, the project employed a narrative or biographical approach which aimed to capture and explore the individual l ife histories of students (Field, Merrill & West, 2012). In particular, it investigated the paths their lives had taken to lead them to study at university, how they felt about the MD20 focus and what kind of support, if any, would empower them to succeed in their studies. Alongside in - depth, qualitative exploration of the issues, academic performance and baseline demographic data were collected to gather as full a picture as possible of the group in question

The Dynamics of Energy Poverty : Evidence from Spain

Peer reviewedPublisher PD