Decent work for sustainable development in post‐crisis Nepal: Social policy challenges and a way forward

Although the Decent Work agenda has received significant attention in the context of sustainable development, the formulation and implementation of appropriate social policies in developing countries remain an underexplored subject. This article responds to this gap and traces country‐specific Decent Work related policies and programs in Nepal—which is recovering from two major crises: a decade‐long armed conflict that ended in 2006 as well as the 2015 earthquake. Drawing on Critical Policy Analysis framework, this article examines how key tenets of the International Labour Organisation's Decent Work platform, namely creation and provision of employment, social protection, social dialogue and rights at work have manifested in Nepal. The findings indicate that while attempts have been made to embrace the Decent Work agenda into social policies and programs, structural instability of political processes means that there is a lack of strategic directions to address a capacity deficit specific to the informal sector and outbound labour migrants. The article makes broader analytical contributions towards evaluating the implementation of social policies driven by the global priority in the context of developing nations with weak governance settings. In countries like Nepal, where the majority of workers are located within the informal sector and as such the administrative reach and effectiveness of Decent Work related social policies designed for the formal sector are limited.     

Enquiry and action learning in practice placements

A new approach to social work education is described (Enquiry and Action Learning), and its application to practice placements and practice teaching is explored. A structure for planning and evaluating students' work on placement is given and their use in a Practice Learning Centre discussed.     

Small orthogonal main effect plans with four factors

In this paper we study orthogonal main effect plans with four factors, A table of such designs, where each factor has at most 10 levels, and there are at most 40 runs, is generated. We determine the spectrum of the degrees of freedom of pure error for these designs.     

Modelling the effect of pupil mobility on school differences in educational achievement

Summary.  The recently introduced national pupil database in England allows the tracking of every child through the compulsory phases of the state education system. The data from key stage 2 for three local education authorities are studied, following cohorts of pupils through their schooling. The mobility of pupils among schools is studied in detail by using multiple-membership multilevel models that include prior achievement and other predictors and the results are compared with traditional 'value-added' approaches that ignore pupil mobility. The analysis also includes a cross-classification of junior and infant schools attended. The results suggest that some existing conclusions about schooling effects may need to be revised.     

Caregiver role strain of older workers

The purpose of this study was to measure role strain in older adult workers who were also caregivers of frail elders according to Komarovsky's role strain theory, and to determine whether different patterns of role strain exist for male worker-caregivers than females. METHOD: Researchers developed the Job-Caregiver Role Strain Scale Survey, which was adapted from a survey that measured role strain in working parents and spouses. Surveys were distributed to 11 male and 34 female older workers who were also caregivers. RESULTS: A factor analysis was completed, which isolated four factors of role strain. Researchers named the factors time management and arrangements, health and competing role demands, low rewards, and reactions to perceptions. Role strain in older adult worker-caregivers is complex and involves multiple variables. A discriminant function analysis predicted differences in the way older male and female worker-caregivers perceived role strain. Use of role strain theory can assist employers and occupational therapists in developing and maintaining work environments that support not only the older employee's work performance, but participation in the role of elder caregiver as well.     

Cultural Circuits of Climate Change in U.K. Broadsheet Newspapers, 1985–2003

This article argues for a cultural perspective to be brought to bear on studies of climate change risk perception. Developing the "circuit of culture" model, the article maintains that the producers and consumers of media texts are jointly engaged in dynamic, meaning-making activities that are context-specific and that change over time. A critical discourse analysis of climate change based on a database of newspaper reports from three U.K. broadsheet papers over the period 1985-2003 is presented. This empirical study identifies three distinct circuits of climate change-1985-1990, 1991-1996, 1997-2003-which are characterized by different framings of risks associated with climate change. The article concludes that there is evidence of social learning as actors build on their experiences in relation to climate change science and policy making. Two important factors in shaping the U.K.'s broadsheet newspapers' discourse on "dangerous" climate change emerge as the agency of top political figures and the dominant ideological standpoints in different newspapers.     

Perspectives on engaging the public in the ethics of emerging biotechnologies: from salmon to biobanks to neuroethics

In anticipation of increasing interest in public engagement, this article seeks to expand the current discussion in the neuroethics literature concerning what public engagement on issues related to neuroscience might entail and how they could be envisioned. It notes that the small amount of available neuroethics literature related to public engagement has principally discussed only communication/education or made calls for dialogue without exploring what this might entail on a practical level. The article links across three seemingly disparate examples-salmon, biobanks, and neuroethics-to consider and clarify the need for public engagement in neuroscience.