Public Documents and Legislation

Local government is a big topic. As of the United States, almost anything one could say about it is true somewhere, somehow. And indeed much has been said. There have been continuous comments and criticisms, matched by a plethora of reports and inquiries—both overseas and in every State in Australia.     

Government Documents Come of Age

In January 2007, the Oregon State Board of Education mandated a new Oregon diploma that strengthened high school graduation requirements with the aim of improving student readiness for college and career. Among the major changes was a requirement that students demonstrate proficiency in nine “essential skills” that included the expectation that students must “demonstrate global literacy.” This article examines the process through which Oregon developed and plans to implement the essential skills and compares its conceptualization of global literacy with alternate models of global education in other states and nations. The authors identify political and institutional factors influencing the shape and direction of those efforts and offer recommendations regarding a potential framework for defining, implementing, and assessing global literacy in Oregon high schools.     

Public Documents and Legislation: Editorial Comment

On 14th September, 1972, the Minister for Social Services introduced into the House of Representatives “A Bill for an Act to provide for assistance by the Commonwealth towards the provision by certain Organizations of Hostels as Homes for Aged Persons”. This Bill, now enacted into law, was the logical extension of a process which began as an election promise in 1954 by offering a 1: 1 subsidy for the building of approved homes for the aged. The subsidy was increased to 2 : 1 in 1957 and the latest provision offers money to approved homes without requiring any contribution from them.     

Internet Sources for Government Documents and Related Material

Baccalaureate social work programs are faced with the dilemma of integrating computer-bsaed learning into existing curricula. This report describes a nine classroom hour experiential research elective in computer technology for social workers. The class provides an opportunity for the student to develop beginning abilities to organize and manage data into a format for computer application. Class assignments focus on a social welfare agency's daily operations. Copies of class materials are available from the author.     

Black Caribbean Empowerment and Early Eighteenth-Century Moravian Missions Documents

The article suggests a new reading of the documents related to the early period of eighteenth-century Moravians' missionary activities in the Danish West Indies that started in 1732. The early period of Moravian missionary presence – between the 1730s and 1760s – differed from subsequent periods because later periods lost the original attempts to establish spiritual equality. A close reading of the various documents allows one to detect forms of active protest and creative agency on the part of enslaved people that were fostered, wittingly or unwittingly, by the Moravian missionaries. The article claims that the early Moravian missionaries to the Danish West Indies laid a spiritual foundation that provided a great deal more encouragement and secular empowerment to the thousands of slaves with whom they came into contact than has been considered so far in the scholarship.     

少数民族商务英语专业学生商务单证处理能力的培养方法

国际商务单证是指国际贸易结算和进出口业务中所应用的单据、证书和文件。国际商务单证处理能力是外贸从业人员所应掌握的基本技能,其实用性强、适用面广,适用于外销、报关、报检、货代等各种与外贸相关的工作。根据外贸业务各个环节的需要,在分析湖南民族职业学院少数民族学生商务单证处理能力培养中存在的若干问题的基础上,提出了相应的培养方法。     

Public Documents Financial Assistance for Local Government. A Submission to the Grants Commission

James Joyce in his deepest metaphysical moments was no match for the writer(s) of this Report. Whilst recognizing that interdepartmental reports provide never-to-be-missed opportunities for one-upmanship between bureaucracies, one expects more clarity and simplicity when such technical bulletins are made public (as this one has). Paradoxically the Department of Urban and Regional Development (D.U.R.D.) has its own precedent in the excellent report, “Sydney Western Region—an initial discussion report, May 1974”, which formed the basis for allocations in its area improving programme for Sydney.     

Representing Children of Prisoners in the Public Domain: Comparing Children’s Views and Policy Documents

ABSTRACT

Australian adult prisoner numbers continue to rise to what have been described as unprecedented and unsustainable levels. Research highlights that there are wide-ranging consequences of incarceration for families, and particularly for children. Despite the available research describing the negative impact of parental incarceration on children, it has been argued that these children remain virtually invisible to policy makers and social programs. Using a combination of policy analyses and findings from a research project undertaken in the Australian Capital Territory aimed at identifying the needs of children who have a parent in prison, we examine how this group of children is constructed and responded to by the systems that surround the children. It is argued that it is only when children are seen in a more holistic way that systems can respond more collaboratively to effectively support children.

IMPLICATIONS

• Children of prisoners have needed to rely on adults to recognise the problem of parental incarceration and petition for them.

• It is time for those who inform and develop social policy to consider the impact of current policies on children.

• It is only when children are seen in a more holistic way that systems can respond more collaboratively to effectively support them.

     

Curriculum Reform,with Particular Reference to Primary Literacy,in Contemporary English and Norwegian Official Documents

This paper explores similarities and differences in recent curriculum reform in England and Norway, focusing particularly on literacy. The main database consists of the official curriculum policy texts produced in both countries. Literacy is the major focus of the paper and a critical account is offered of current literacy policy in both countries by comparing the perspectives, values, and assumptions built into official texts. The paper begins by explaining and comparing the format of the reformed curricula in England and Norway, and by pointing to the impetus for change in both cases. It then goes on to analyse the various conceptions of literacy underpinning official literacy curriculum with reference to functional literacy, cultural literacy and critical literacy. It demonstrates how curriculum policy, and, more specifically, literacy policy is used as a vehicle for social control and reproduction and it concludes that differences in the nature of official policy in both countries can be explained with reference to the origin and impetus for change in the first place, and the extent to which the voice of the education establishment was heeded or silenced.

     

从516份司法裁判文书看残疾人权益保障及其完善

通过梳理涉残疾人案件的司法裁判文书,可以发现残疾人通过司法诉讼寻求权益保护的整体概貌.面对残疾人包括健康权、生存权、公民权、政治权等权益诉求,涉及自然人、法人等多元侵权主体以及司法过程中支持性服务供给、经济成本耗费、裁判结果与预期等诸多问题,必须增强残疾人权利意识与维权能力,多角度、多渠道保护重点权利和规制侵权主体,构建立体的权利救济体系.     

Public Documents and Legislation: The South Australian Juvenile Courts Act, 1971, and Community Welfare Act, 1972

Abstract

This study of social work practice and disability follows the history of two fields of disability: mental illness and intellectual disability. Of particular interest are two key policy influences in the disability sector, deinstitutionalisation and normalisation. The extent to which deinstitutionalisation and normalisation have brought real benefit to people with disabilities is examined from social workers' perspectives. The implementation of these policies and practices on the daily work of social workers is discussed. This research indicates that social work practice in these two fields involves significantly different foci and approach. The study found that the similarities and differences between the two fields of practice are influenced by the historical and contemporary developments in the care and control of people with disabilities.     

Documents as ‘risky’ sources of data: a reflection on social and emotional positioning – a research note

As units of analysis, documents are often seen as unproblematic, easily accessed sources of data. This research note discusses and reflects on a research project where documents were not easy to access and instead prompted significant negotiation, contained disturbing information and images and had an emotional impact on the researcher. A reflexive account is provided in this paper, which draws upon feminist methodological theory and explores the researcher’s experiences of using documents in research. The paper concludes that documents should not always be categorised as a low risk data source, rather issues such as access difficulties, ethical dilemmas and potential emotional harm, should also be considered.