Piloting different approaches to personalised offender management in the English criminal justice system

Various approaches to personalisation are well-established in the UK social care sector and are now starting to ‘travel’ to other sectors. In this paper we report findings from an evaluation of a pilot to test elements of personalisation in the management of offenders in probation services within the English criminal justice system. Following a review of evidence from social care, three different approaches to personalised-practice were developed and tested on a small-scale in three separate sites. The evaluation finds that all three approaches were implemented reasonably successfully, but challenges were identified including that personalised approaches are more time-consuming, that staff need support to exercise professional discretion and that balancing greater choice with managing criminogenic risk requires new ways of conceptualising the relationship between case manager and service user. Overall, ‘deeper’ approaches to personalisation, such as co-production, will take time to emerge. This paper makes two important contributions to the debate on personalisation in public services. First, it addresses the question of how transferable the concept of personalisation is from the social care sector to other sectors in the UK, in this case the criminal justice system. Secondly, it outlines a methodology for developing and evaluating personalisation pilots, prior to a wider roll-out.     

Is the BasicsCard “shaming” Aboriginal people? Exploring the differing responses to welfare quarantining in Cape York

As part of the Cape York Welfare Reform Trial (CYWRT), which has been running in the remote Aboriginal towns of Aurukun, Hope Vale, Mossman Gorge and Coen since 2008, Family Responsibilities Commissioners have the unprecedented ability to quarantine welfare payments. Critics claim this “BasicsCard,” which cannot be spent on alcohol, tobacco, pornography or gambling, brings shame to Aboriginal people – marking them as dependants, deemed incapable of responsible spending. Evaluations of the CYWRT paint a more complicated picture. While many of the “spectators” of the CYWRT report “welfare reform stigma,” the “subjects” themselves are more positive. This paper draws on ethnographic research in Hope Vale to argue that these categories overlap with loosely defined, porous social groups that developed during the town's mission past, described as the “engaged” and “embedded” Hope Valers, respectively. The engaged group tends to be more aware of and sensitive to the views of the dominant society and to subscribe to its “ideology of respectability.” Meanwhile, the latter group tends to adhere to a more egalitarian “ideology of relatedness,” and do not experience the shame, even when their own welfare is quarantined, because the behaviours that trigger quarantining are normalised within their highly circumscribed domain.     

Coastal Adaptation Planning in Fairbourne,Wales: lessons for Climate Change Adaptation

ABSTRACT

Adaptation to climate change is emerging as a central objective and policy frame for coastal communities. This paper examines recent climate change adaptation efforts in the UK, centring on the case of Fairbourne, Wales. The village is facing the long-term prospect of flooding and inundation due to the impacts of sea level rise. The recent Shoreline Management Plan for the area has recommended realignment of the coast and eventual decommissioning of Fairbourne. The paper draws on a qualitative research methodology of interviews, policy review and observation to narrate the case and provide key insights and lessons for planners working in environmentally vulnerable coastal settings and managing climate adaptation processes.     

《结构实验与方法》课程案例库建设研究

为提高土木工程专业《结构实验与方法》研究生课程的教学质量，培养研究生的应用与创新研究能力，基于《结构实验与方法》研究生课程的具体教学实践，分析了建设《结构实验与方法》研究生课程教学案例库的必要性，探讨了《结构实验与方法》研究生课程教学案例库建设的程序与目标，提出了建设《结构实验与方法》研究生课程教学案例库的基本方法。     

管理团队认知能力、行为整合对决策效果的影响机制研究

现有文献在研究团队决策效果的影响因素时,大部分关注年龄、学历等因素,较少关注非人口统计学特征。根据现有研究结果构建团队认知能力与决策效果的关系模型,利用结构方程模型进行实证研究并指出:团队认知能力的两要素能提升团队决策效果;团队行为整合被看作是团队运作过程的核心,对决策效果产生一定的正向作用,即团队的行为整合程度越高,其决策效果越好;验证行为整合在团队认知能力与决策效果之间具有中介作用。旨为丰富高阶理论、揭示认知能力对决策效果的作用提供借鉴。     

Political and economic determinants of expenditure on day services for persons with intellectual disabilities or autism

This study investigates whether the Swedish national entitlement legislation, which is known to be one of the most developed in Europe for persons with intellectual disabilities or autism, accomplishes its aim to provide equal quality of day services independent of location. We estimated a reduced-form model of demand and supply-side determinants of a latent quality variable for day-service programmes using panel data on expenditure per attendee for the 290 Swedish municipalities 2004–2012. We found that expenditure per attendee is among others affected by changes of the local tax base and outcome in elections to the local assemblies. These results imply that rights of persons with intellectual disabilities with regard to equal quality of day services independent of where they live are not fully honoured in budget allocation decisions made by local governments.     

“GPS测量与数据处理”课程教学与改革

卫星导航定位是测绘工程中发展较快、应用较广的一项热门技术,“GPS测量与数据处理”课程也一直是测绘专业本科教学的主干课程,具有更新快、理论深、实践性强等特点,对教师授课及学生学习都具有较高的要求。文章对东华理工大学测绘工程专业GPS课程的授课内容、授课方式、实践教学及考核模式等方面存在的问题进行了分析,并提出了相应的教学改革建议。     

新工科背景下的“计算机组成原理”多元化教学模式研究

“计算机组成原理”是计算机专业的一门重要专业基础课程。在分析“学生难学,老师难教”这一现象之后,从教学内容、教学方法、教学手段以及实践教学等多个方面提出一种多元化教学模式,以期全面提高教学水平和教学质量。     

基于OBE理念的学前教育专业实践教学体系构建与实施

高校学前教育专业实践教学在教师教育改革、学前教育改革以及师范类专业认证深入开展的时代背景下,面临实践教学培养目标不清晰、实践教学内容滞后于幼儿园实际、实践教学环节缺乏整合以及实践教学评价随意单一等问题,基于OBE“产出导向”理念,构建以培养学生保教实践能力为核心的实践教学目标体系、“三级循环式”内容体系和保障体系。在实施过程中,倡导理论教学与实践教学并行、加强校地深度合作和开展专业实践活动,以期促进学生保教实践能力的提升和学前教育专业实践教学效果的提高。     

“三位一体”：高校课堂教学改革构建路径探析

推动课堂教学革命,打造“金课”是提高人才培养质量的关键之举。课堂教学改革,需要共同发挥学校、教师和学生三方积极性,通过构建“三位一体”的课堂教学改革联动机制,充分发挥学校在课堂教学改革中的保驾护航作用、教师的引领推动作用和学生的实施践行作用。