Public Library,c 1926

Alice D. Donovan, teacher, poet and author, published dozens of stories and plays for children. Among her papers is this unpublished poem about the public library, probably written in 1926.     

LITERACY IN BRAZIL: FROM RIGHTS TO REALITY

At a time when some 24% of the Brazilian population of 182 million are functionally illiterate, the author shows how illiteracy is concentrated in traditionally poor and disadvantaged social and ethnic groups as well as in certain regions of the country. He surveys the changes in legislation, policies and attitudes relating to literacy over the past few decades and describes how literacy is increasingly seen as a continuous process rather than a short-term, low-cost intervention. While there is still a lack of a broad, coordinated policy and adequate funding in this area, and while the challenges remain formidable, the author concludes that Brazil is moving slowly in the right direction.     

Validity and repeatability of a depth camera-based surface imaging system for thigh volume measurement

Complex anthropometrics such as area and volume, can identify changes in body size and shape that are not detectable with traditional anthropometrics of lengths, breadths, skinfolds and girths. However, taking these complex with manual techniques (tape measurement and water displacement) is often unsuitable. Three-dimensional (3D) surface imaging systems are quick and accurate alternatives to manual techniques but their use is restricted by cost, complexity and limited access. We have developed a novel low-cost, accessible and portable 3D surface imaging system based on consumer depth cameras. The aim of this study was to determine the validity and repeatability of the system in the measurement of thigh volume. The thigh volumes of 36 participants were measured with the depth camera system and a high precision commercially available 3D surface imaging system (3dMD). The depth camera system used within this study is highly repeatable (technical error of measurement (TEM) of <1.0% intra-calibration and ~2.0% inter-calibration) but systematically overestimates (~6%) thigh volume when compared to the 3dMD system. This suggests poor agreement yet a close relationship, which once corrected can yield a usable thigh volume measurement.     

The effectiveness of a life story program on stress reduction among chinese american family caregivers of older adults

The study aims to examine the effectiveness of a life story program on reducing Chinese American family caregivers’ stress due to the burden of caregiving. This study conducted a quasi-experimental pre-posttest research design. A simple one-way ANOVA was performed to test the significance of the intervention on caregivers’ burden. The life story was not found to be directly statistically significant on reducing burden. However, through the life story intervention, it was discovered that among Chinese American family caregivers their perceived lower dependency of the care receiver, fewer needs of the care receiver and unknown time frame of continuation of care were statistically significant on the burden scale. The life story intervention improved family caregivers’ insight and judgment on the effect that care receivers’ needs and demands had on their continuation of caregiving.     

Revisions to rationality: the translation of ‘new knowledges’ into policy under the Coalition Government

This article gives an account of the use of knowledges from emerging scientific fields in education and youth policy making under the Coalition government (2010–15) in the UK. We identify a common process of ‘translation’ and offer three illustrations of policy-making in the UK that utilise diverse knowledges produced in academic fields (neuroscience, network theory and well-being). This production of ‘new knowledges’ in policy contexts allows for the identification of sites of policy intervention. This process of translation underlies a series of diverse revisions of the rational subject of policy. Collectively, these revisions amount to a change in policy-making and the emergence of a different subject of neoliberal policy. This subject is not an excluded alterity to an included rational subject of neoliberalism, but a ‘plastic subject’ characterised by its multiplicity. The plastic subject does not contradict the rational subject as central to neoliberal policy-making, but diversifies it.     

Reviews

Annals of Dyslexia -     

Gender Roles at Home and School

Parents of 116 first‐year pupils at an urban comprehensive school were studied by questionnaire and interview. They were asked about their educational and occupational aspirations for their children, their views on sexual equality and their children's out‐of‐school activities. Educational aspirations were found to be high, with little differentiation between the sexes. Parents were enthusiastic about their daughters studying physical science and neutral about craft subjects. Occupational aspirations were also high and although they tended to be sex‐stereotyped, parents were found to be generally supportive of non‐traditional choices. Class differences were few. Most parents were in favour of working mothers, equal pay and men helping with housework. However these egalitarian attitudes coexisted with more traditional assumptions about male breadwinners and a woman's main responsibility being to her children. Parents’ own domestic labour and that which they required of their children was strongly sex‐stereotyped. The messages which children receive about gender from their homes are contradictory, but not as uniformly traditional as many teachers assume.