Transparency,accountability and good governance: Role of new information and communication technologies and the mass media

Abstract

Customer orientation has been suggested to create competitive advantage of firms (Kohli &; Jaworski, 1990 Kohli, A. K. and Jaworski, B. J. 1990. Market orientation: The construct, research propositions, and managerial implications. Journal of Marketing, 54(2): 1–18. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Therefore, the recommendation to media managers has been to let the creation and delivery of customer value guide their strategies for advertising sales (Aris &; Bughin, 2005 Aris, A. and Bughin, J. 2005. Managing media companies: Harnessing creative value, Chichester, , England: Wiley.  [Google Scholar]). However, the concept of customer value, what it is, and how it is created remains unclear in many ways. This article explores the concept of customer value in advertising media purchasing from the media seller's perspective. Between December 2007 and February 2008, sales representatives from three Swedish TV networks were studied through in-depth interviews and observations as they progressed through a negotiation process with a large advertiser and its media agency. A qualitative analysis of the media sellers' experiences shows that they see advertiser and agency to perceiving the value of advertising media differently. Also, they see the customer side parties as diverging in the processes by which these value perceptions are formed. The article reveals the inherent problem of customer orientation on advertising markets—that within media purchasing practice, several actors have their own idea of value, and an advertiser's understanding of value is not always a decisive factor. The TV networks in the study have all chosen different strategies to deal with these dualities.     

Practical Object‐Oriented Software Engineering Education

This article describes the effort undertaken at the University of Iowa to institute a software engineering curriculum at the graduate level. Specifically, the article presents the experiences over 2 years in developing a pilot 2‐semester course in object‐oriented software engineering. This pilot course had the goal of introducing practical and realistic object‐oriented software engineering to students, and developed several innovative techniques to achieve this goal on a very limited budget. Students were exposed to realistic software engineering phases, processes and methodologies in developing real‐world software. This pilot course has culminated in a Master of Science subtrack in Software Engineering offered cooperatively by the Departments of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Iowa, which made its debut in the Fall of the 1992/1993 academic year.     

Where there is no hope: a teacher’s experience with homelessness

Stereotypical notions of who experiences homelessness frame how educational institutions approach policy and program development. This life history of a teacher challenges assumptions by providing an in-depth look at a mother’s struggle to find stability.     

Understandings of gender and education in the political and cultural context: the case of Afghan students in an MA (education) programme

Globally, gender differences in education have been an area of policy concern, research, and development partnerships. The international agenda of gender equality has been adopted by national governments even in countries, such as Afghanistan, where predominant views are clearly at variance with this agenda. Attempts to analyse such conditions must be based on examination of gender and education in the broader political and cultural context. Gender issues have been a central theme in an EU-funded Master's programme in Educational Research and Development for Afghan students at Nangarhar University, conducted during 2008–2010. This article analyses the political and cultural context of gender in Afghanistan, which constitutes the framework for the Afghan students' understandings of gender and education. These are examined as expressed in texts produced by the students and in group interviews. On the basis of our analysis, the following tension is clear: the students are aware of the international agenda of gender equality in education, but at the same time they are concerned about problems in the practical application of this agenda in their own society and relate these concerns to their interpretations of principles of Islam and Afghan cultural traditions.     

Evaluation of antioxidant profile and activity of amalaki (Emblica officinalis), spirulina and wheat grass

Aqueous and alcoholic extracts of amalki (Emblica officinalis), spirulina and wheatgrass were prepared and analyzed for antioxidant vitamin content (vitamin C and E), total phenolic compounds. Antioxidant status, reducing power and effect on glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity were evaluated in vitro. Vitamin C content of crude amalaki powder was found to be 5.38 mg/g, while very less amount 0.22 mg/g was detected in wheat grass. Amalki was rich in vitamin E like activity, total phenolic content, reducing power and antioxidant activity. Total antioxidant activity of aqueous extract of amalki, spirulina and wheat grass at 1mg/ml concentration were 7.78, 1.33 and 0.278 mmol/l respectively. At similar concentrations the total antioxidant activity of alcoholic extract of amalaki, spirulina and wheat grass was 6.67, 1.73 and 0.380 mmol/l respectively. Amalki was also found to be rich source of phenolic compounds (241mg/g gallic acid equivalent). Alcoholic extract of wheat grass showed 50 % inhibition in FeCl₂- ascorbic acid induced lipid peroxidation of rat liver homogenates in vitro. Both aqueous and alcoholic extracts of amalaki inhibited activity of rat liver glutathione S-transferase (GST) in vitro in dose dependant manner. Since GST acts as powerful drug metabolizing enzyme its inhibition by amalaki offers possibility of its use for lowering therapeutic dose of herbal preparations. The aqueous extracts of both amalki and spirulina also showed protection against t-BOOH induced cytotoxicity and production of ROS in cultured C₆ glial cells.     

Children’s access to pre‐school education in Bangladesh

Using the Education Watch household survey database, this paper explores children’s access to pre‐school education in Bangladesh. Participation in pre‐school education has been increasing in Bangladesh at the rate of 0.6% per year and the net enrolment rate was found to be 13.4% in 2005. Enrolment of over‐aged children in pre‐school education made the gross enrolment ratio as high as 30.5%. However, over half of the four to five year olds at school were actually enrolled in primary school and not in pre‐school. Moreover, 71% of the four‐ to five‐year group were out of school. Only a third of the four‐ to five‐year‐old children enrolled in schools had the opportunity to attend the English‐medium kindergartens or NGO‐run non‐formal schools, both of which provide better quality pre‐school education. Urban children, especially those with educated parents and from more privileged socio‐economic backgrounds, were more likely to have access to pre‐school education. The lack of a common pre‐school curriculum seems to have created further inequity among children at this very early age. An educational policy targeting poor and socially disadvantaged children with support from both the state and current pre‐school providers is urgently needed to provide four‐ to five‐year‐old children appropriate education for their needs.