Empowering Development Through E-Governance: Creating Smart Communities In Small Island States

An attempt is made in this paper to gain an understanding of the current and potential impact of the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the Small Island Sates of the Caribbean, in particular those populations living in rural communities. The introduction briefly examines the impact of ICTs on society and calls for alternative channels for government to serve rural communities through the use of Multi-Community Access Centres (MCACs) or information kiosks available at libraries, police stations, tourist information centres and post offices, as an e-governance initiative in the creation of “smart communities” and as a grassroots effort. No analysis of ICTs on government's functions would be complete if we did not address the growing debate on the digital divide. In this paper a section is devoted to this and it summarily addresses the growing divide between the developed and the developing world and the potential of these islands to leap–frog barriers to information flows and access. The heart of the paper examines the impact of the Internet on small island economies and the growing use of the Internet in key sectors of each economy. Since this paper is about governments’ use of ICTs to transfer business transactions onto the Internet to service their populace, some discussion is undertaken and considers ways in which innovation has impacted on governments’ services and the early attempts by some Caribbean administrations to implement e-governance. E-Voices illustrates how certain government measures affect some vulnerable groups in society and ways in which they can broker power to participate in the process. Some key policy directions are proposed for Caribbean states and other developing countries to pursue.     

Social justice impact of archives: a preliminary investigation

This article reports the first stage of a research collaboration that is elaborating the multiple relationships between archives and social justice. Specifically, it is developing narrative frameworks and diagrammatic representations to identify, understand, illustrate, and deploy the actual and potential social justice impact of archives, archivists, and archival repositories. A discussion of the broader and historical social justice landscape culminates with a working conceptualization-framework of social justice followed by an examination of the many methods and modes by which social justice can be an object of research. This is followed by an examination of the rising presence of social justice as an explicit and accelerating concern in four key English language archival journals before offering a working articulation and approach to an archival—social justice framework. A discussion of understanding and measuring impact, with specific reference to the framework of impact that we have chosen to deploy, culminates with an analysis of the social justice impact of archives as evidenced through two exemplary case studies. This is followed by a summation of key findings and a discussion of future plans to expand this research. The overall objective of these efforts is targeted toward elucidating how archives can be cast as having both positive and negative social justice consequences and demonstrating how archival work can serve social justice goals.     

The impact of parental bipolar affective disorder on adolescent behaviour – positive messages to young people,parents, teachers and other professionals working with children whose parents suffer from mental health problems

The impact of parental mental health difficulties on the developing child is well evidenced and documented. In this article Kate Olliver‐Kneafsey, Ev Thornton and Wendy Williamson suggest that despite the difficulties young people face when parental mental illness is a feature of family life, it is not all gloom and doom, and give some important positive messages for parents, teachers and other children’s practitioners.     

Toward a white teachers' guide to playing fair: Exploring the cultural politics of multicultural teaching

Multicultural education in teacher preparation programs can emphasize the study of whiteness so as to make whiteness visible, analyze white privilege, and offer ways that white privilege can be used to combat racism. While white race consciousness has been seen as part of the multicultural education agenda for some educators, recently the efficacy of such an approach has been questioned. White race consciousness or antiracist pedagogy has not been shown to bring about teacher competence in diverse classrooms or to raise the academic performance of students of color and poverty. I suggest here that the social relations in the larger society, deeply embedded with notions of deficit thinking, are mapped onto the reality of a largely white professorate preparing a largely white public school teaching force, thereby ensuring the academic failure of certain children. To play fair, then, requires that white teachers recognize when their classroom practices assume assimilation into the dominant culture and their actions exclude the contributions of diverse individuals and groups. I argue for a multicultural education discourse that includes a recognitive view of social justice for guiding white educators in the practice of fair play in diverse classrooms.     

Teacher Professional Development in Congregational Settings 1

This article describes the impact of sustained professional development programs in two Jewish congregational schools. This research suggests that contrary to common assumptions, part-time teachers in Jewish congregational schools will invest time in professional development when it is of high quality, interactive and engaging and based at their school. These programs have significantly affected teacher collegiality, knowledge of pedagogy and Jewish content, and reflection about teachers' own teaching practices and practice of Judaism. The role of the educational leader is a salient feature of the program success.     

Book reviews

Levine, J. (1999). The Enneagram intelligences: Understanding personality for effective teaching and learning. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey (320 pp., $24.95, cloth, ISBN‐O‐89789‐ 562–2; $59.95 hardcover, ISBN‐0–89789–561–4).

Jacobsen, M. (1999) Liberating everyday genius: Revolutionary guide for identifying and mastering your exceptional gifts . NY: Ballantine Books. (399 pp., $25.00 hb, ISBN‐0–345–42771–8).

Cline, S., & Schwartz, D. (1999). Diverse populations of gifted children: Meeting their needs in the regular classroom and beyond. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill (207 pp., $ paper, ISBN 0–13–399908–4).

Johnson, N.G., Roberts, M.C., & Worell, J., Eds. (1999). Beyond appearance: A new look at adolescent girls. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association (408 pp., $39.95 hb, ISBN‐1–55798–582–0).     

Tackling social exclusion at third level: A profile of participants on access programmes

Abstract

There is considerable evidence of substantial class inequalities in the education system in Ireland. Studies point to the overemphasis on academic achievement leading to an under‐representation of certain class groups at third level institutions. Significant resources have been allocated to establish targeted access initiatives to address this form of social exclusion. This paper reports the findings of a survey of 266 access students from four third‐level institutions in Ireland. The survey identifies the socio‐economic background of access programme participants, their pre‐programme education level and the primary influences, which motivated them to avail of the access tiative. The paper examines the role, which financial considerations play in the initial decision to participate and the sustained participation of access students. The paper proposes some additional policy directions for the access programme. It recommends that the projected reduction in the numbers attending third‐level institutions should be seen as an appropriate opportunity to expand the access initiative and target those experiencing educational disadvantage.     

OLDER ADULTS,COMPUTER TRAINING,AND THE SYSTEMS APPROACH: A FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

Adults over the age of 65 are the fastest growing segment of computer users. Due to this increased demand, effective training programs are essential. Although previous research findings illustrate the importance of older adults’ goals, abilities, and experience levels in learning to use computers, these factors are often neglected in the development of computer training courses. We apply a systems approach to help bridge this gap between research and practice to address the disparity between what older adults would like to learn and the content of computer training courses. We review the literature on training older adults to use computers and report data from a set of structured interviews to illustrate the criticality of each step in the systems approach. Lastly, we provide the means to evaluate existing computer training programs and suggest modifications for improvement. Our purpose is not to evaluate specific programs, but to educate developers about an approach that has proven successful. Specifically, we provide suggestions for effective computer training for older adults.     

Impacting Mediators of Change for Physical Activity Among Elderly Food Stamp Recipients

A multidisciplinary team developed and pilot-tested a curriculum, delivered by trained lay educators, to increase self-efficacy for physical activity among elderly food stamp recipients. Curriculum development was guided by a comprehensive literature review. Process evaluation was used to revise the curriculum and to assess lay educator training and pilot test fidelity. Three hundred sixteen low-income older adults participated in curriculum development and pilot-testing activities. One hundred twenty four participants completed pretest/posttest impact evaluation surveys. The average age of participants was 75 years old with 55.28% having less than high school education. Significant increases in self-efficacy regarding walking most days (p = .0022), using exercise bands (p < .0001), being physically active to increase strength (p = .0012), being active without injury (p < .0001), being able to wear appropriate clothing and shoes (p < .0001), and getting information about community physical activity programs (p = .0007) were observed. Participants also endorsed higher ratings of general health at posttest (p < .0001).     

Motor Origins of Tool Use

The current study examines the developmental trajectory of banging movements and its implications for tool use development. Twenty (6‐ to 15‐month‐old) infants wore reflective markers while banging a handled cube; movements were recorded at 240 Hz. Results indicated that through the second half‐year, banging movements undergo developmental changes making them ideally suited for instrumental hammering and pounding. Younger infants were inefficient and variable when banging the object: Their hands followed circuitous paths of great lengths at high velocities. By 1 year, infants showed consistent and efficient straight up‐down hand trajectories of smaller magnitude and velocity, allowing for precise aiming and delivering dependable levels of force. The findings suggest that tool use develops gradually from infants' existing manual behaviors.