Suchergebnisse

This article examines the extent to which consumers in the U.S. are prepared to make informed decisions in a decentralized society. The events surrounding the breakup of the Bell System and AT& T required a number of decisions by individual consumers and provided a unique opportunity to observe decision-making in a recently decentralized environment. Consumer education and decision-making in four specific areas are examined followed by analysis of levels of sophistication as related to social background charactertstics. Then, the General Activity Model of human discretionary behavior is used to examine the extent to which specific decisions and levels of consumer education are related to a "general activity syn drome" wherein education, participation and awareness are highly interrelated across all areas of behavior. The analysis and discussions are informative regarding the prerequisites for prosuming in American society, suggestive as to whether edu cational or protective policies are needed, and instructive regarding the existence of a general model of participation. The article presents a challenge to those interested in values of equity and democracy, and it identifies tasks for the self-help movement and the nonprofit sector in raising the functional competence of citizens.

In this twenty-first century, it is crystal clear that education is the most powerful instrument for a nation's progress and prosperity. Islam has also emphasized on educating both men and women since the beginning. So, Muslim countries should take initiatives to enhance participation of women in education. In reality, it is seen that women's positions in the field of education and politics are very nominal compared to their male counterparts within Muslim countries. Situation is even worse in under-developed and non-democratic countries where the position of women and their participation in both the education and political sectors alongside men are visibly low. In this context, the purpose of this study is to explore the level of Muslim women's participation in education and politics in some selected Muslim countries. Two South-Asian countries, Bangladesh and Pakistan, two south-east Asian countries, Malaysia and Indonesia, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries have been considered for this study. Thus, empowered women can take part in politics to resolve social issues. One of the findings of this study is that in democratic countries such as; Malaysia, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, women's participation in both the educational and political sectors have been significantly improving over the years. Though economic conditions and social stigma, directly and indirectly, are still the barriers to enhance women's education level as well as their participation in politics. Finally, the study highlights the obstacles that hinder women's participation in both sectors and discusses the remedies to overcome the situation from an Islamic point of view.

Education is an activity in collaboration. Without community participation, education cannot achieve its goals and without education society cannot think of development. A plethora of research exists on community participation in education and its outcomes. However, meager studies have been carried out to examine the relationship between community participation and quality of education. Although quality of education cannot be determined by one or two indicators. Research has already discovered many indicators of quality of education. But this study specifically investigated into three essential indicators which are contextually relevant to a developing country. The three main indicators investigated in relation with community participation were access, retention and attendance. The main aim of this study was to find out whether or not community participation in education reduces the issues of access, retention and attendance at secondary school level. To collect data, the study surveyed 200 (female) and 300 (males) total N=500 government secondary schools teachers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Data were collected, collated and statistically computed using Pearson Correlation and ANOVA to determine a correlation between the independent variable (community participation in education) and the three indicators of quality of education such as access, retention and attendance as dependent variables. Results of the study indicated a significantly positive correlation between community participation and all the three indicators of quality of education. The study proposes community participation in education as the high positive predictor of access to education, retention and attendance.

This paper focuses on the early career outcomes of young people leaving care. It draws upon the findings of a study of young people leaving care in seven English local authorities under The Children Leaving Care Act 2000 (CLCA), to explore the extent of participation and factors associated with career outcomes (Dixon et al., 2006) [1]. The paper shows that despite an increased policy focus on education and career options, care leavers continue to be disadvantaged and face considerable challenges in terms of entering and sustaining post-16 participation in education, employment and training. The problems associated with leaving care are well documented, however, less is known about the factors associated with young people doing better or worse after care. The paper explores the extent and nature of the obstacles faced by young people as they begin their career journey and utilises the study findings to locate them within the care and leaving care experience. It presents key findings, which highlight factors associated with obstructing and promoting positive career outcomes. Finally, the paper considers strategies for supporting young people in and leaving care to maximise their career options and opportunities.

In order to generate higher levels of interest in politics and participation in political processes, political, or citizenship, education, in schools must be at the heart of the curriculum and be characterised by active, learner-centred approaches. This paper hypothesises that, when compared with Germany, a more limited form of political education in Irish post-primary schools may be impacting negatively on the extent to which it is achieving such aims. In order to begin to explore this hypothesis, the results for seven items relating to interest in politics and participation in political processes from the most recent (2010) round of the European Social Survey (ESS) are compared for the Irish and German populations. In addition, the nature and status of political education in the German and the Irish school systems are compared. Conclusions are drawn and the implications for future research in this field and for political education in both countries considered.

A recent analysis of data from Scotland found evidence of `discouraged worker' effects. More young people stayed on in full-time education post-16 in areas of high adult unemployment than in areas of low unemployment; this was particularly true for those with middling-level qualifications. Using comparable data on English young people the paper attempts to replicate the Scottish analysis. Although evidence of local labour market effects is offered, no `discouraged worker' effects were found; in fact, more young people stayed on in areas of low unemployment. Some possible reasons for differences between the two countries, including the potential influence of different structures of post-16 educational opportunities, are explored.