Becoming Fathers: Initial Exploration of a Support Program for New Fathers

Emerging fathers experience a variety of stressors, including identity and role transitions, changes in their relationships, and challenges in developing caregiving skills. Increasing expectations for father involvement in childcare are emphasizing the importance of the father role, but social supports for new fathers remain scarce. Nineteen expectant and new fathers participated in a pilot 5-week group intervention aimed at improving stress coping and involvement attitudes using a combination of mindfulness practices and skill-building for parenting and partner communication. We administered surveys pre- and postintervention to assess efficacy in the areas of stress, depressive symptoms, father involvement attitudes, and mindfulness. Within-participant differences were compared across participants as well as examining individual reliable change. Results indicated initial reductions in stress and depressive symptoms and increases in the mindfulness constructs of nonjudgment and nonreactivity. No significant changes were found in father involvement attitudes. Perinatal intervention specific to fathers holds promise as an underexplored avenue for supporting families across the transition to parenthood.     

Arts councils,policy-making and “the local”

ABSTRACT

In the British Isles, national policies for the arts are primarily viewed as the responsibility of arts councils with statutory duties to distribute state funding that meet the requirements of both “arms-length” principles and national strategic frameworks. This paper explores the tensions between policy making for the nation-state and for “the local” through comparative research on the arts councils (and equivalent bodies) in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with senior representatives from these organisations, it explores their notions of, responsibilities to and affiliations with “the local”. Findings suggest that despite their different models and relationships to the nation-state, and the disparities in the scale of investment, these national policy bodies commonly rely on networked governance to facilitate their relationship to “the local” which risks reproducing national interests, limiting the localised agency of place-based approaches and contributing to a culture of competition within cultural policy.     

后方法时代大学英语教师个体构建

作为"上传下达"的中介,"传道解惑"的主体,高校英语教师更应该了解各项教学方法的优缺点,根据不同的"教"与"学"环境特点,运用及变换不同的教学方法,建构"复式、开放、流变性"教者个体,以实现教学效用最大化。     

Special educational needs and inclusion,moving forward but standing still? A critical reframing of some key issues

This article draws together my thinking in relation to special educational needs and inclusion that have dominated my practice. The article, through the concept of embodiment, revisits, reviews and reframes the key issues of the construction of special educational needs, inclusion and the ideology that binds them together. Through this exploration, I argue we often seem to move forward with policy while in reality standing still in ensuring the ‘success’ of all of our pupils. By critiquing and reframing taken‐for‐granted assumptions and the sacred words ‘success’ and ‘achievement’, this article maps out the future directions of inclusive education. It concludes with a reflection on my first days as a ‘teacher of special educational needs’ and my work to support Kenny, a student with cerebral palsy. This personal reflection maps out a different form of educational success that perhaps could provide a forward momentum to develop more successful inclusive education policy and practice.     

How can children with mild literacy difficulties be supported at the transition to secondary school? A small‐scale quasi‐experimental study

There is evidence that pupils with weak literacy skills struggle on transition to secondary school. Many experience a drop in attainment in the summer break between the two. A British government‐funded programme of rigorously designed research on boosting literacy at transition had (by 2015) found only four of 15 interventions evaluated had positive effects. This small‐scale quasi‐experimental study investigated the effectiveness of support for pupils with mild literacy difficulties on transition to secondary school. Thirty‐two pupils in three schools were involved; half received the programme. Pairs were matched on reading, spelling, age and gender. Intervention was designed around the individual needs of each pupil, focusing variously on language skills, writing, reading and spelling. The group receiving the programme made modest gains in spelling, reading efficiency and single word reading. The comparison group lost ground, relatively, in all three areas. The results suggest a promising line for more rigorous investigation.     

Change management and the SENCo role: developing key performance indicators in the strategic development of inclusivity

This article follows an earlier publication highlighting the changing role of special educational needs co‐ordinators (SENCos) in England. SENCos are now required to manage change strategically and deliver inclusive school cultures. School‐based action research undertaken by a teacher studying for the postgraduate National Award for SEN Co‐ordination (NASENCO) is featured in the article; a strategic review of resource allocation increased the availability and quality of interventions for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The commentary which frames the study acknowledges that many SENCos are not yet members of a senior school management team (SMT) despite their mandated strategic whole‐school remit. Featuring the process through which one SENCo has strived to enhance SEND provision and develop context‐specific key performance indicators brings official guidance on the SENCo's role in strategic change management into sharp focus, raising questions that should concern both SMTs and non‐SMT SENCos.     

影山草堂百度春秋——从读书堂到藏书楼的百年变迁

影山草堂为独山莫友芝童年读书场所，后迁遵义成为藏书室，三迁南京（江宁），成为江南著名藏书楼之一，友芝借以研治目录学、金石学和文字学，著述等身。其子孙迁往扬州，藏书被逐渐卖尽。     

陕西省民办高等教育考察报告

陕西省民办高等教育发展很快 ,办学规模不断扩大 ,民办高等教育与公办高等教育共同发展的格局已初步形成。大胆进行教育创新 ,不断研究和解决面临的新情况、新问题 ,是陕西民办高等教育得以迅速发展的主要原因。为了促进民办高等教育进一步发展 ,应提高认识 ,提高质量意识 ,加强民办高校管理机构的建设     

改革开放以来(1978—2006)中国民办高等教育政策法规回顾与思考

本文在梳理改革开放以来民办高等教育政策法规历史演变的基础上,归纳了民办高等教育政策法规的主要特征及存在的问题与不足。     

应收账款管理创新研究

在传统应收账款管理方法的基础上，企业应运用维．帕累托(Vilfredo．Pareto)最优分析法对应收账款进行分类管理。即把已有客户分为核心客户、主要客户和一般客户，对他们实行不同的信用管理。对新客户运用稳健分析模型进行信用分析，然后做出销售决策。对销售人员确立应收账款管理目标，以应收账款质量提高作为目标管理的主要内容，企业销售人员的考核与应收账款质量的提高挂钩，建立应收账款管理的激励和约束机制。