2,966 research outputs found
Views of children and young people in foster care survey: education
No full textThis paper explores the educational experiences of children and young people living in foster care in Queensland. Findings are drawn from the responses of 845 children and 1180 young people to the 2011 Views of Children and Young People in Foster Care survey, which is a rich source of information about children’s and young people’s attitudes towards and perceptions of their own education. Findings relate to educational status, key markers of educational disadvantage including suspensions and exclusions, and specific problems children and young people experience at school, as well as children’s and young people’s enjoyment of school and aspirations for the future. Information about educational support, including Educational Support Plans and support provided by Child Safety Officers and Community Visitors are also presented. Where relevant, comparisons are made between the 2011 survey results and prior surveys conducted in 2006, 2007 and 2009. Relationships between key educational measures as well as relationships to other important measures of health and placement stability are also explored.
The findings suggest that children and young people continue to experience educational disadvantage, including high rates of suspension and exclusion and a range of problems at school including problems with schoolwork, bullying and behaviour and that these difficulties can be exacerbated by the child protection system, for example, through placement instability. However, there are reasons for optimism. Children and young people are overwhelmingly likely to report that they enjoy school, expect to complete Year 12 and that their teachers generally like their schoolwork. Furthermore, over time, the proportions of young people reporting that they have an Educational Support Plan have grown, and, importantly, they are more likely to report that these plans are helpful. Analyses in relation to a number of educational variables reveal that young people with a plan they consider to be helpful fare better. Children and young people were also positive about the important role that CSOs and CVs are able to play in supporting their education.
While educational disadvantage is an enduring problem, the survey findings provide evidence of progress in key areas and suggestions for how continued improvements may be made
Sperm sociality: Cooperation, altruism, and spite
No full textCitation: Pizzari, T & Foster, K. R. (2008). 'Sperm sociality: cooperation, altruism, and spite', PLoS Biology, 6(5), e130. [Available at http://biology.plosjournals.org]. Copyright 2008 Pizzari and Foster. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Processing of polyphenolic composites with supercritical fluid anti-solvent technology
No full text© 2017 Author(s). Polyphenols have been developed, primarily exploiting their robust antioxidant properties, for medical and food applications. In spite of their advantages, polyphenolic compounds have drawbacks from their natural characteristics of being poorly soluble in aqueous solutions, thermo-labile and low oral bioavailaibility. In this article, strategy of processing with supercritical fluid (SCF) anti-solvent to improve the shortcomings is overviewed. Information obtained from the existing studies commonly confirms SCF technology applicability to produce composites of polyphenols with various morphology, size distributions and crystallinity. The application of SCF technology also enables to develop polyphenolic composites for alternative drug delivery such as in the pulmonary administrations
Evaluating Research Impact through Open Access to Scholarly Communication
No full textScientific research is a competitive business – in order to secure funding, promotion and tenure researchers must demonstrate their work has impact in their field. To maximise impact researchers undertake high priority research, aim to get results first, and publish in the highest impact journals. The Internet now presents a new opportunity to the scholarly author seeking higher impact: s/he can now make their work instantly accessible on the Web through author self-archiving. This growing body of open access literature (coupled with new publishing models that make journals available for-free to the reader) maximises research impact by maximising the number of people who can read it, and making it available sooner. Open access also provides a new opportunity for bibliometric research. This thesis describes the relatively recent phenomenon of open access to research literature, tools that were built to collect and analyse that literature, and the results of analyses of the effect of open access and its effect on author behaviour. It shows that articles self-archived by authors receive between 50-250% more citations, that rapid pre-printing on the Web has dramatically reduced the peak citation rate from over a year to virtually instant and how citation-impact – now widely used for evaluation – can be expanded to include a new web metric of download impact
The invisible artist: Arrangers in popular music (1950-2000): Their contribution and techniques
No full textThis thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University.This thesis is based on the research conducted by the author for the series,
Richard Niles' History of Pop Arranging, seven thirty-minute documentary
programmes for BBC Radio 2, researched, written and presented by the author and
broadcast in 2003. It also draws on interviews conducted by the author (and other
research) between 2002 and 2007 both for the radio series and for this thesis and on
the author's experience as a professional arranger in popular music working with
many of the genre's significant recording artists including Paul McCartney, Ray
Charles, Cher, Tina Turner, Westlife, Tears For Fears, Dusty Springfield, James
Brown, Pet Shop Boys, Kylie Minogue and producers including Trevor Hom, Steve
Lipson, Steve Mac and Steve Anderson.
It will be argued that the role of the arranger in popular music has often been
undervalued and that during a critical period of popular music history (1950-2000)
arrangers played a significant part in the evolution of musical content. This thesis is,
to the best of the author's knowledge, the first time (apart from the above mentioned
documentary) the subject has ever been examined. The arranger is "invisible" because musical arrangers are often un-credited on
record liner notes or in books or articles concerning popular music. A considerable
amount of research has been necessary to determine who wrote many of the
arrangements considered herein. Motown's Berry Gordy purposely kept the names of
musicians and arrangers off the records because he feared others might 'poach' the
trademark 'Motown Sound'. Other record labels considered the job of the arranger to
be reminiscent of an earlier era, diluting the Rock 'n' Roll image of emotion and
spontanaeity they wished to promote. Some producers and recording artists disliked
sharing credit for their work. Motown arranger David Van dePitte told the author that
arranging was "thankless and anonymous - a very service-oriented profession where
others often take credit for what you've done." Arranging has therefore remained an
intrinsically unseen art created by 'invisible' artists. By analyzing many recordings,
revealing the techniques and concepts they have used in their work to create popular
records, arrangers and their art will be made more 'visible'
Determinants of Regional Economic Growth by Quantile
No full textregstdpo-Cuaresma J., Foster N. and Stehrer R. Determinants of regional economic growth by quantile, Regional Studies. The robustness of growth determinants across European Union regions is analysed using quantile regression. Using Bayesian model averaging (BMA) on the class of quantile regression models, it is proposed that the set of relevant covariates is assessed, allowing for different effects across growth quantiles. The results indicate that the robust growth determinants differ across quantiles. The set of robust variables includes physical investment when taking country fixed-effects into account, and skill endowment and initial gross domestic product per capita when not. Even when a variable is found to be robust across quantiles, its estimated impact on growth is often found to vary across quantiles. [image omitted] regstdpo-Cuaresma J., Foster N. et Stehrer R. Les determinants de la croissance economique par quantile, Regional Studies. A partir d'une regression par quantile, on analyse la solidite des determinants de la croissance a travers les regions de l'Union europeenne. Employant un Bayesian Averaging Model (BMA) sur la categorie de modeles de regression par quantile, on propose une evaluation de la covariance, compte tenu des effets differents suivant les quantiles de croissance. L'ensemble de variables solides comprend l'investissement materiel quand on tient compte des effets specifiques a un pays, sinon la dotation en connaissance et le produit interieur brut initial par tete. Meme quand une variable s'avere solide a travers les quantiles, l'impact prevu sur la croissance varie souvent a travers les quantiles. Croissance regionale Bayesian model averaging Regression par quantiles regstdpo-Cuaresma J., Foster N. und Stehrer R. Determinanten regionalen Wachstums nach Quantilen, Regional Studies. In diesem Beitrag wird die Robustheit von Wachstumsdeterminanten in EU-Regionen mittels Quantilsregressionen analysiert. Dabei wird ein Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) fur Quantilsregressionen verwendet, um die relevanten Kovariaten, die unterschiedliche Effekte in den jeweiligen Wachstumsquantilen aufweisen konnen, zu ermitteln. Die Resultate zeigen, dass die robusten Wachstumsdeterminanten in den jeweiligen Quantilen tatsachlich unterschiedlich sind. Unter Berucksichtigung von landerspezifischen Effekten ist insbesondere die Variable Anlageinvestitionen ein robuster Erklarungsfaktor regionalen Wachstums; ohne Berucksichtigen dieser Effekte sind Humankapitalausstattung und das Pro-Kopf-Einkommen robuste Determinanten. Auch wenn eine bestimmte Variable robust in mehreren oder allen Quantilen ist, sind die ermittelten Effekte auf das Wachstum der Regionen in den jeweiligen Quantilen oftmals unterschiedlich. Regionales Wachstum Bayesian Model Averaging Quantilsregressionen regstdpo-Cuaresma J., Foster N. y Stehrer R. Determinantes del crecimiento economico regional por cuantiles, Regional Studies. Analizamos la solidez de los determinantes de crecimiento en las regiones de la Union Europea usando una regresion cuantilica. Mediante el uso de promedios de modelo bayesiano sobre la clase de los modelos de regresion cuantilica, proponemos que se evalue el conjunto de las covariantes correspondientes teniendo en cuenta los diferentes efectos en los cuantiles de crecimiento. Los resultados indican que los determinantes de un crecimiento solido son diferentes entre los cuantiles. Si se tienen en cuenta los efectos fijos de cada pais, la inversion fisica es una variable fuerte, de no ser asi son variables fuertes la dotacion de habilidades y el producto interno bruto per capita inicial. Incluso cuando se halla una variable que es solida en varios cuantiles, se observa con frecuencia que el impacto estimado en el crecimiento varia entre los cuantiles. Crecimiento regional Promedios de modelo bayesiano Regresion cuantilicaRegional growth, Bayesian model averaging (BMA), Quantile regression,
A History of banking in Lamar County, Texas.
No full textThe opportunity to present some facts of history regarding the banks of Lamar County has indeed been a pleasure to me. The earliest days of my recollection go back to the time when, as a small boy, much of my time was spent in playing in the bank where my father was working. My father was employed by this bank for more than fifteen years, and later my association at various times with this bank and its successor for seven years gave me much additional insight and interest in the history of this bank and of the other banks in Lamar County. To my father much credit must be given for the information in this of the banking history of Lamar. At times it has been difficult to obtain information regarding some of the banks, and in one instance no information could be obtained from any source, including the agency which issued the charter. Very few of the banks that have been chartered are in existence, and the records of the non-existent banks were destroyed many years ago. The Department of Banking of the State of Texas was able to give only information, and even the Comptroller of the Currency at Washington, destroysmany valuable banking records after a lapse of ten years. Fortunately many contacts were made with people who were familiar with the activities of many of these banks, and with their help a summary was made of the activities of the bank that they had been connected with. These people were Mr. John H. Moore, Mr. Tom Jeffus, and Mr. J. Westbrook, who supplied information for the banks of Roxton; Mr. W. R. Justiss of Eowland; Mr. J. O'Connor, who furnished Information for the three banks that had been located at Petty; Mr. J. C. Hathaway, who furnished the information for the bank; Mr. Frank R. Grain, who supplied the for the Pattonville bank; Mr. J. W. Abels of Blossom; my former co-worker and good friend, Mr. D. C. Chambers of Paris, who supplied the Information for two banks in Blossom and for two banks in Paris; and my father, Mr. H. M. who helped in a general way and in particular with the banks at Blossom. Mr. Fred Hoopes, of the Mercantile National Bank of Dallas, gave permission to use a 1909 Banker's Directory, the oldest edition available. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas also the use of their library. The Department of Banking of the State of Texas and the Comptroller of the Currency at Washington, D. C. furnished the official of the chartered banks of the county. Judge A. W. Neville, Maude Neville, and Mr. W. Furey, Jr. of the Paris News staff gave valuable assistance and also made available the files of the Paris News. To Dr. Monroe S. Carroll, Chairman of the School of Business of Baylor University, I wish to express my sincere appreciation for his inspiration, for his suggestions regarding the subject, and for the close association with him during my graduate work at Baylor. To Professor Nell S. Foster, of the School of Business at Baylor University, much credit is due for his many suggestions, for the corrections suggested, and for his inspiration while writing this thesis. It sincere hope that some good come from preservation of the facts regarding the banks of Lamar facts which were fast disappearing from the records and from the memory of those associated the banks
Percorsi di affido familiare: costruire progetti di accoglienza con la partecipazione di bambini, ragazzi e famiglie
No full textThe chapter describes in detail and with concrete examples steps and methodological indications for the implementation of foster care placements with the participation of children, birth families and foster families. According to Relational Social Work method, the author illustrates the stages necessary to plan family foster care: the construction of the project with the birth family, mutual knowledge between the foster family and the birth family, the involvement of the fostered children , the monitoring and support of the ongoing foster care placement, up to the desired family reunification
Emotional availability: Foster caregiving experience
No full textThe purpose of the study was to investigate if the emotional availability of caregivers is explanatory for successful adolescent foster care placement—from initial placement of an adolescent to age eighteen or emancipation from foster care, as mandated by the state of Colorado. Emotional availability of foster caregivers and the phenomenon's impact are critical when anticipating placement of an adolescent in a foster caregiving environment. An adolescent anticipates, desires, and needs a safe and enduring foster placement. The emotional impact affects the adolescent as well as the caregiver from the initial introduction to the foster home to emancipation from the foster care system. When an adolescent is placed in a foster home, two areas must be addressed by the caregiver. First, the adolescent arrives without any history with the foster family. Secondly the adolescent does not know the expectations of the foster caregivers, and the reciprocal is true for the caregivers. Initially, a foster adolescent needs a safe environment and the foster caregiver desires an adolescent who will express those desires. These two areas are difficult in the beginning of a foster placement and require positive parenting skills by the foster caregiver to facilitate each and nurture a quality relationship between the adolescent and the foster caregiver. Participants in the study included 6 adults who previously fostered adolescents within their homes. Four of the participants were adult females and two of the participants were adult males. All participants were from northeast Colorado and when formally fostering adolescents were licensed foster caregivers by the state of Colorado. The participants engaged in an extensive journaling exercise which answered 22 questions in a narrative format, which corresponded to the structure of the Emotional Availability (EA) Scales®, developed by Biringen and colleagues (Biringen, Robinson, & Emde, 2008). These areas are the components of emotional availability—sensitivity, structuring, nonintrusiveness, nonhostility, and child responsiveness/child involvement. Based on a constructivist paradigm the study focused on the experience within the caregiver-adolescent dyad as described by the caregiver's lived experience, both as an adult and a youth. There are always many interpretations and no foundational process by which ultimate truth can be determined. However, the trustworthy criteria of credibility, transferability, and dependability are the hallmarks of the paradigm and of this study. The research methodology was based on an inductive analysis and interpretation of the journal entries, which lead to an intent to develop a reality and thus, explain the caregiver-adolescent phenomenon and how emotional availability is an essential tenet of foster caregiving. The study found that if caregivers described engagement with their own caregivers while being raised, then they would be more fully engaged with their foster adolescent during placement. The research question, "does emotional availability inform the foster caregiving Experience," was supported in this study in the participants' responses. Emotional availability does inform foster caregiving. Therefore, the recommendation for this research is to evaluate perspective foster caregivers of adolescents as to their capacity to use the tenets of emotional availability
Capacities and Absorptive Barriers for International R&D Spillovers through Intermediate Inputs
No full textAbstract Trade in goods and services is likely to be an important channel for international knowledge diffusion. This paper considers the extent of R&D spillovers through intermediate inputs for a sample of up to 40 developed and developing countries. Results suggest that such spillovers are present and are economically important. We find that countries and industries initially further behind the technological frontier enjoy stronger foreign R&D spillovers. Furthermore, foreign R&D spillovers are stronger in countries with greater absorptive capacity as measured by average years of secondary schooling and R&D spending. In terms of absorption barriers, the results are mixed With the exception of regulations on temporary workers we find that stronger labour market regulation and greater union density is associated with lower foreign R&D spillovers. The evidence for other absorption barriers related to product market, financial and investment regulation provide however no evidence of low regulation encouraging foreign R&D spillovers, with - in some cases - the reverse being found to hold true. Finally, we find that stronger levels of IPR protection can limit the extent of foreign R&D spillovers, possibly by limiting the ability to copy and borrow technology from abroad
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