School-based parents’ groups - a politics of voice and representation?

In this paper we consider two discussion-based parents’ forums at two secondary schools. We ask whether such forums can be considered as part of the small, local associative mechanisms which theorists claim have the potential to encourage a more vibrant and interactive public conversation concerning state provided welfare services. We conclude that they cannot – at least in any simple way. However, a study of the forums does raise several interesting issues to do with parents’ relationships with schools, the differential resources particular class fractions bring to bear in developing their relations with teachers, and the responses of the schools to parental voices

Class, culture and agency: Researching parental voice

This paper explores the differential possession and deployment of social, cultural and material resources by parents, and the effect of these processes on their willingness and ability to be involved with and intervene in their children’s school life – what we have called parental voice. The data presented here is drawn from a study of parents at two secondary schools, a sub-sample of data from a larger study involving six schools. We consider the social positioning and behaviour of three cohorts of parents, those demonstrating high, low and intermediate levels of intervention with the school. Our conclusions stress both the similarities and differences in parents’ experience of voice. Certainly parental access to and deployment of a number of social resources significantly affected how often, how easily and over what range of issues they approached the school. However, we also describe the overall character of parental voice in these two schools as individual, cautious and insecure

Learning from children and young people about positive smartphone opportunities

Rather than focusing on the ‘evils’ of constant internet connectivity (and smartphone over-use), Jane Vincent takes a closer look at the positives – how children can use smartphones to their best advantage to get on in an increasingly digital world. Jane Vincent is a senior academic researcher at the LSE and the University of Surrey with a background in the mobile communications industry. She was part of the UK team for the Net Children Go Mobile project and has studied children’s use of mobile phones and ICT since 2004

Students’ use of paper and pen versus digital media in university environments for writing and reading – a cross-cultural exploration

This paper offers a summative cross cultural analysis of qualitative survey data collected to investigate the impact of digital media on writing and reading within universities from different countries. It addresses the particular aspect of the student’s experiences of paper and pen versus digital media. This study is based on the results of individual qualitative research conducted in 10 countries in two continents by members of the COST Action FP1104, Work Group 1 – Customers and Users. The methodological approach used is qualitative content analysis of the reported research and analysis of the individual country surveys. The survey was conducted in the national language of each country using the same research questions. Various survey methods were deployed – online questionnaire; questionnaire and interviews or hand written essays. The principal results show that there are many similarities between the countries studied but that some use pen and paper less whereas others are more prepared to use hand writing, this may link to the availability and use of digital technologies as well as to personal preferences. Reading and writing competencies are changing with the use of digital technologies but students still see benefits of reading and writing with paper which they continue to use, especially to convey private emotions and intimate feelings. This study provides new learning about the contrasting use of paper and digital media within an educational rather than business setting. These surveys provided the basis for the design and analysis of a follow up quantitative study (not examined in this paper) and for further exploration of this important research topic within the countries surveyed, particularly in social sciences and pedagogical studies

Making the most of the communications repertoire: choosing between the mobile and fixed-line

Issues of placelessness, the spatial and social relations created by television’s emergence as a dominant medium, have been around since the mid-1980s. With the triumphant march of mobile telephony these issues today appear to gain new significance, and are seen in a new light. Social science focussing on mobile communication increasingly recognizes that the mobile telephone is not only a revolutionary instrument that connects people globally, it is also a powerful tool for connections on a more local scale: an organizer of life in small spaces and communities. The volume contains papers by, among others, Joshua Meyrowitz, Albert-László Barabási, Mark Poster, and James Katz

Perpetual contact as a communicative affordance: opportunities, constraints, and emotions

This paper draws on qualitative data collected as a part of a comparative study on children and teenagers’ uses of smartphones in nine European countries to explore the meanings and emotions associated with the enhanced possibility of “full-time” contact with peers provided by smartphones. It argues that full-time access to peers—which interviewees identify as the main consequence of smartphones and instant messaging apps on their interactions with friends—is a communicative affordance, that is, a set of socially constructed opportunities and constraints that frame possibilities of action by giving rise to a diversity of communicative practices, as well as contradictory feelings among young people: intimacy, proximity, security as well as anxiety, exclusion and obligation. Understanding the perceptions and emotions around the affordance of “anywhere, anytime” accessibility, therefore, helps in untangling how communicative affordances are individually perceived but also, and more importantly, socially appropriated, negotiated, legitimised, and institutionalised

Cyberhate and Human Rights

This is a submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s “Human Rights and Technology” Issues Paper, which I co-authored with my colleague, Dr Emma A. Jane (UNSW, sydney). It concerns the topic of cyberhate, and in particular, it discusses the ways in which emerging technologies combined with various PESTLE factors are leading to the compromise of many people’s human rights. We also make a number of recommendations. Our submission (see link) is subsequently cited to back up substantive claims on seven occasions in the AHRC’s December 2019 Discussion Paper available at: https://tech.humanrights.gov.au/consultatio

Viewing the Kenyan health system through an equity lens: implications for universal coverage

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Equity and universal coverage currently dominate policy debates worldwide. Health financing approaches are central to universal coverage. The way funds are collected, pooled, and used to purchase or provide services should be carefully considered to ensure that population needs are addressed under a universal health system. The aim of this paper is to assess the extent to which the Kenyan health financing system meets the key requirements for universal coverage, including income and risk cross-subsidisation. Recommendations on how to address existing equity challenges and progress towards universal coverage are made.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An extensive review of published and gray literature was conducted to identify the sources of health care funds in Kenya. Documents were mainly sourced from the Ministry of Medical Services and the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation. Country level documents were the main sources of data. In cases where data were not available at the country level, they were sought from the World Health Organisation website. Each financing mechanism was analysed in respect to key functions namely, revenue generation, pooling and purchasing.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The Kenyan health sector relies heavily on out-of-pocket payments. Government funds are mainly allocated through historical incremental approach. The sector is largely underfunded and health care contributions are regressive (i.e. the poor contribute a larger proportion of their income to health care than the rich). Health financing in Kenya is fragmented and there is very limited risk and income cross-subsidisation. The country has made little progress towards achieving international benchmarks including the Abuja target of allocating 15% of government's budget to the health sector.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The Kenyan health system is highly inequitable and policies aimed at promoting equity and addressing the needs of the poor and vulnerable have not been successful. Some progress has been made towards addressing equity challenges, but universal coverage will not be achieved unless the country adopts a systemic approach to health financing reforms. Such an approach should be informed by the wider health system goals of equity and efficiency.</p