“Our Relationship? It’s the Odd Mucky Weekend,Not a One Night Stand”

In humanitarian crises, the sources that journalists employ have always helped determine which stories achieve a high media profile, as well as play a part in framing the story. In particular, aid agencies acted as powerful gatekeepers to disaster zones, providing flights, transport, fixers and translators to journalists – and more recently, text, images and resources for the social web. Questions have been raised around transparency and objectivity in such reporting as a result. This paper draws on 40 semi-structured qualitative interviews with UK national journalists (broadcast, print and online) and aid agencies belonging to the UK's Disasters Emergency Committee. As a result, this paper builds on journalism studies looking at boundary (re)negotiations in journalism and the source-media relationship to show the current patterns in what has been described as a “mutually exploitative” relationship. It compares and contrasts what assistance journalists say they accept from aid agencies and what aid agencies report. It examines how both sides are often unwilling to acknowledge the close association. It will also look at how the increasing professionalisation of NGO operations including the employment of former journalists and producing their own content may be affecting the power dynamics. Finally, it asks whether the slow emergence of scandals means this relationship has not only affected stories that are covered but those that are not.     

Buying power? Some outcomes of income for women

Proponents of income generation as a development strategy for women assume it will foster independence and economic power. However, household relationships affect women's ability to control their income. Prevailing codes of gender relationships may place the husband in control of all income. Women's participation in income generating projects may be inhibited if they do not expect to control the proceeds of their effort. Case histories from eastern Kenya of the Giriama and Mijikenda demonstrate how husbands control not only income but even group membership and participation. While household heads control the labor and income of other household members, how they choose to exercise these rights may vary. The wife's participation is viewed as withdrawing labor and cash from the household, so the husband has a claim on her income. The arrangement usually functions to benefit the household and ensure its success. Conflicts arise when the wife perceives that the arrangement is not beneficial to the household. Cultural differences between different ethnic groups may result in very different patterns of expenditures of women's income. Women are invariably in a subordinate position, dependent on their husbands to fulfill their share of the household responsibilities. Income generation enthusiasts are often ill informed about the context in which their programs operate.     

Evaluating a Multidimensional Reading Comprehension Program and Reconsidering the Lowly Reputation of Tests of Near‐Transfer

We conducted a 14‐week experimental study of 2 versions of a relatively comprehensive RC intervention that involved 50 classroom teachers, 15 tutors, and 116 children drawn in equal proportions from grades 3 and 5 in 13 schools in a large urban school district. Students were randomly assigned in equal numbers to the two tutoring conditions and a control group. Results indicated that students in the two tutored groups tended to perform comparably on all tests and to outperform controls (more so in grade 5 than grade 3) on near‐transfer but not far‐transfer measures of RC. This differential pattern of program effects for near‐ versus far‐transfer measures raises questions about how tests of near‐transfer and far‐transfer are conventionally understood.     

Prompting teachers’ constructive reflection: pupils’ questions as critical incidents

Constructive reflection is seen as an important ingredient in the professional development of teachers, in order to stimulate significant change in approaches to classroom practice and the general provision of science education in schools. This paper explores the use of pupils’ questions in provoking ‘critical incidents’ in the professional lives of teachers. It is suggested that pupils’ questions can be both indicative of their own conceptual change as well as being sophisticated prompts for teachers to examine their own thinking. Case studies of two teachers ‐‐ one primary and one secondary ‐‐ are used to illuminate how such critical incidents can lead to changes in teacher thinking, resulting then in changes in classroom practice in science. Suggestions are made for the use of pupils’ questions as critical incidents in the professional development of teachers.     

Multiple victimization experiences of urban elementary school students: associations with psychosocial functioning and academic performance

OBJECTIVE: This study explored the victimization experiences of urban elementary school students to determine whether subsets of youth emerged with similar victimization profiles (e.g., no victimization, multiple types of victimization). It also evaluated whether multiple victimization was associated with greater psychological distress and lower academic performance. METHODS: Participants were 689 fifth grade students from an urban, ethnically diverse school district in the Northeast. Youth completed self-report measures in school about bullying victimization, victimization in the home and community, and psychosocial functioning. RESULTS: Cluster analysis suggested the existence of three distinct youth profiles: those with minimal victimization, those victimized primarily by their peers, and those with multiple types of victimizations. As hypothesized, youth with multiple victimizations experienced more psychological distress and earned lower grades than their peers. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the heterogeneity of youth victimization experiences and their relations to functioning, and have implications for treatment planning among practitioners working with youth.     

The views of primary pupils on school attendance at Key Stage 2 in Wales

This paper provides new empirical evidence on primary pupils’ views on school attendance in Wales at Key Stage 2. The research was conducted as part of the specific evidence commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) for the National Behaviour and Attendance Review (NBAR) in Wales which was chaired by the lead author. The findings indicate that nearly every child and young person who participated in the specially convened focus groups, in practically every setting, had a good awareness of the benefits of attending school regularly. They were all acutely aware of the potential consequences of non‐attendance both within their current setting and as it could potentially affect their later chances in life. They also understood the law regarding school attendance. They were clear about the attendance regulations within their own school settings. They were however, particularly concerned about bullying in all its forms, the use of supply teachers and “boring” teaching styles. Rewards for good attendance were generally appreciated. The implications of the findings are considered. This paper is the first of its kind to be undertaken in Wales and in the field of school attendance and opens up considerable possibilities for further research.