Showing papers on "White paper published in 2011"

Students at the heart of the system

Abstract: The white paper on higher education was published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in June 2011. Separate publications have now appeared for all parts of the UK. They sha...

The ‘shape’ of teacher professionalism in England: Professional standards, performance management, professional development and the changes proposed in the 2010 White Paper

Abstract: Teacher professionalism in England may be considered to have been shaped by the set of professional standards, and the accompanying statutory performance management system, introduced by the Labour government in 2007. More recently the coalition government’s 2010 White Paper, The Importance of Teaching, announced reforms that will potentially re-shape teacher professionalism. In this article I examine the ‘shape’ of teacher professionalism in England, as defined by the professional standards. I reveal it to be a lop-sided shape, indicating a professionalism that focuses predominantly on teachers’ behaviour, rather than on their attitudes and their intellectuality. Presenting my conceptual analysis of professionalism, and examination of its link with professional development, I consider whether—and to what extent—teacher professionalism may in fact be shaped by government-imposed reform. I conclude that ‘enacted’ professionalism may be quite different from ‘demanded’ professionalism, and shaping profession...

Solid-state lighting: 'The case' 10 years after and future prospects

Abstract: Ten years ago, a white paper titled "The Case for a National Research Program on Semiconductor Lighting" outlined the promise and potential of semiconductor light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for general illumination. Since then, investments in the now-renamed field of solid-state lighting (SSL) have accelerated and considerable progress has been made, not always in the directions envisioned at the time. In this paper, two of the original four authors comment on the white paper's hits and misses, while making the original white paper available archivally as supplemental online material. Finally, we make new predictions for the coming 10-20 years.

‘The language of shirkers and scroungers?’ Talking about illness, disability and coalition welfare reform

Abstract: Following establishment of the Conservative‐Liberal Democrat coalition, welfare benefits and those who receive them have become of increased significance, with the government and the media alike lamenting the amount of people receiving benefits and what could, and indeed should, be done about it. With a recent White Paper outlining a new Universal Credit, an integrated working age credit that will replace a range of benefits including the Employment Support Allowance for ill and disabled recipients, it means that once again sickness‐related benefits are back in the spotlight. This piece critically reflects upon the way people receiving sickness‐related benefits such as Incapacity Benefit and Employment Support Allowance can be labelled, portrayed and discussed within a wider rhetoric that encompasses governmental, public and media attitudes. Unfortunately, the impacts of such rhetoric could be counter‐productive with regards to employer responses to ill and disabled individuals. Yet policy remains centred...

The importance of teaching

Abstract: The government's recent schools white paper is a 90-page document that, although not without some pluses, is full of contradictions and concerns that should worry those working in the teaching profession.

Health policy and legislation

Abstract: The health policy and legislation arena has been dominated in 2015/2016 by the release, after much delay, of the White Paper on National Health Insurance (NHI). Although a White Paper is expected to provide finality on a policy in a manner which is ready for implementation, including the development of any necessary legislation, the NHI document leaves many questions unanswered. The need for major changes to existing legislation is signalled in the White Paper, but few details are provided on exactly how those changes might be made. In addition to changes to the National Health Act and the Medical Schemes Act, and perhaps even the Constitution, the possibility of a new NHI Act is also flighted. Two small steps, in the form of drafts Bills to amend the National Health Laboratory Service Act and to create a new National Public Health Institute of South Africa, have been taken. However, neither Bill has yet been tabled in Parliament. The Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Acts of 2008 and 2015 will need careful promulgation, once the necessary secondary (regulations) and tertiary (guidelines) legislation have been developed. The new South African Health Products Regulatory Authority is not expected to come into operation before 2017, and will have to face not only the backlog in registration applications for medicines that is the legacy of the Medicines Control Council, but also complete and entrench the effective regulation of complementary medicines and medical devices. While there have been strident calls for a fundamental redesign of the Health Professions Council of South Africa in order to create an independent, self-regulatory council for the medical and dental professions, it is unclear whether these calls will be heeded. The Medical Innovation Bill, one of the few Private Member's Bills to be tabled, still languishes in Parliament.

From social data mining to forecasting socio-economic crises

Abstract: The purpose of this White Paper of the EU Support Action “Visioneer”(see www.visioneer.ethz.ch) is to address the following goals: 1. Develop strategies to quickly increase the objective knowledge about social and economic systems. 2. Describe requirements for efficient large-scale scientific data mining of anonymized social and economic data. 3. Formulate strategies how to collect stylized facts extracted from large data set. 4. Sketch ways how to successfully build up centers for computational social science. 5. Propose plans how to create centers for risk analysis and crisis forecasting. 6. Elaborate ethical standards regarding the storage, processing, evaluation, and publication of social and economic data.

How evidence based is English public health policy

Abstract: Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi and colleagues ’ analysis of the government’s white paper Healthy Lives, Healthy People finds many of the interventions proposed lack evidence of effectiveness and some have even been shown not to work

Liberating the NHS

Abstract: Reflecting on the 2006 NHS White Paper, Professor Stephenson (now President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health) observed that successive reforms stemmed from government determination to ensure National Health Service (NHS) Trusts should break even financially. He implied that this goal might be questionable, not least because children's services were likely to suffer disproportionately.1 We now have yet another White Paper (‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’) proposing the most fundamental changes to the health service since its inception. If adopted, these proposals will establish a full healthcare market, with all hospitals becoming Foundation Trusts and being able …

How to create an innovation accelerator

Abstract: The purpose of this White Paper of the EU Support Action "Visioneer" (see www.visioneer.ethz.ch) is to address the following goals: 1. Identify new ways of publishing, evaluating, and reporting scientific progress. 2. Promote ICT solutions to increase the awareness of new emerging trends. 3. Invent tools to enhance Europe's innovation potential. 4. Develop new strategies to support a sustainable technological development. 5. Lay the foundations for new ways to reach societal benefits and respond to industrial needs using ICT.

To what extent are regional tourism organisations (RTOs) in Australia leveraging the benefits of web technology for destination marketing and eCommerce

Abstract: The information-intensive nature of the tourism and travel industry suggests an important role for Web technology in the promotion and marketing of tourist destinations. The rapid development of the Internet and WWW is having profound impacts on the industry. In fact, according to Tourism Australia, travel and tourism has become the single largest category of products sold over the Internet (Tourism White Paper, Destinations online: approaches for regional tourism organisations, Centre for Regional Tourism Research, Southern Cross University, 2007). With reports of travel purchases being one of the fastest growing segments of the Internet community it is no surprise that the number of tourism operators on the Web has increased considerably over the past few years. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal study that seeks to determine if and to what extent, Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) in Australia are leveraging the benefits of Web technology for destination marketing and eCommerce. The study was undertaken over an eight year period from 2000 to 2008, using the Extended Model of Internet Commerce Adoption (eMICA) (Burgess and Cooper, International conference on telecommunications and electronic commerce, Dallas, November, 2000). A significant finding of this study is that despite assertions that the Tourism industry is leading the field in terms of eCommerce adoption (Buhalis and Law, Information and communication technologies in tourism, Ljubljana, Springer, Berlin, 2007), and this may hold true with some providers in the sector (for example, hotels and airlines) it does not appear to be the case with Australian RTOs who have been slow to embrace eCommerce. The results of the study also add support to the premise of eMICA, that is, in developing commercial websites, businesses (particularly, SMEs) in this industry sector typically start simply by establishing a presence on the Web and build on functionality over time, as their experience with and expertise in the use of Internet and Web technologies increases and they become more aware of the benefits the Web has to offer.

The geographies of inclusion of students with disabilities in an ordinary school

Abstract: With the release of Education White Paper 6: Special Needs Education — Building an Inclusive Education and Training System the issue of inclusive schooling has formed a growing part of the education debate in South Africa. There have been inclusive education pilot projects undertaken by the national and provincial education departments and various school-based initiatives that have engaged with inclusive education policy implementation. This study explored one school-based initiative that aimed to include children with disabilities and implement the imperatives of Education White Paper 6. The research participants were five teachers and the school principal. Data collection techniques included in-depth semi-structured interviews, non-participant observations in classrooms and document analysis. The findings in the study emphasize the importance of spatiality to understanding how ideological and structural forces impinge on a school that is grappling with the inclusion of students with disabilities. The study highlights how the everyday individual and cultural practices in the specific school spaces play out to reinforce dominant normalizing discourses of traditional forms of special education. Keywords: children’s geographies; disability; inclusive education; policy implementation; quality education for all; school spaces; teachers’ ideologies

The UK Overseas Territories: a decade of progress and prosperity?

Abstract: This article analyses the relationship between the UK and its Overseas Territories since the publication of the 1999 White Paper Partnership for Progress and Prosperity. The article considers the efforts by the UK government to improve links with the territories via a new partnership based on mutual obligations and responsibilities. It focuses on the two most important aspects of the White Paper – governance and economic growth and sustainability. Much has been achieved, but fundamental structural problems in the relationship remain unattended. The article concludes by recommending how the relationship can be improved over the coming years.

From social simulation to integrative system design

Abstract: The purpose of this White Paper of the EU Support Action “Visioneer” (see www.visioneer.ethz.ch) is to address the following goals: 1. Develop strategies to build up social simulation capacities. 2. Suggest ways to build up an “artificial societies” community that aims at simulating real and alternative societies by means of supercomputers, grid or cloud computing. 3. Derive proposals to establish centers for integrative systems design.

Open Public Services

Abstract: Earlier in July the government published landmark proposals to reform the way that public services are delivered. The Open Public Services white paper sets out how the government plan to let many more people and groups play a role in delivering services.

Radioactive waste policy and legislation: 50 years on from the 1960 Act.

Abstract: Over the past 50 years a comprehensive regulatory framework for radioactive substances in the UK has been progressively introduced, important initial milestones being the white paper Cmnd 884 and the Radioactive Substances Act 1960. During the 1970s and 1980s there were a succession of enquiries and white papers which developed from the growing awareness of the problems of the nuclear waste legacy. This was followed by a comprehensive policy white paper in 1995: Cm 2919. In 1990, 1993, 1995 and 2005 some aspects of the 1960 Act were updated. The most recent, and most radical, modernisation took place in 2010, when the Act was incorporated into the Environmental Permitting Regulations, in England and Wales. Currently a major review of the exemption orders and exclusion criteria under the radioactive substances legislation is close to completion, which will complete the current phase of modernisation of the regulatory framework.

Putting the brakes on: impediments to the development of independent cycle tourism in Australia

Abstract: Cycle tourism was identified in the Australian federal government's 2003 Tourism White Paper as a niche market with potential for enhancing Australia's competitiveness in the global tourism marketplace. However, if Australia is to establish itself as an internationally recognised cycle tourism destination, the three spheres of government must work together and take steps such as strategic planning, to improve the provision of infrastructure and amenities required by cycle tourists. Strategic planning requires a good knowledge of the needs of cycle tourists. However, at this time little systematic research has examined the efficacy of Australia to support this form of tourism. This article reports the outcomes of an exploratory study which examined three factors currently considered impediments to the development of independent cycle tourism. Quantitative and qualitative evidence are presented to confirm that factors including road safety for cyclists, inadequate infrastructure, and difficulties associated...

The final frontier: The UK’s new coalition government turns the English National Health Service over to the global health care market

Abstract: The authors describe the incremental approach to the marketisation of the English National Health Service (NHS) since the introduction of an ‘internal market’ in 1990 until the 2010 White Paper, ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’, and the subsequent Health and Social Care Bill published in January 2011. The introduction of a competitive market for a universal, tax-financed health system requires fundamental changes in regulation in order that market bureaucracy can be substituted for direct management. The components of reform are insufficiently captured by the framework of hierarchies and networks in new public management theories of decentralisation.

Urban Green Space Policy and Discourse in England under New Labour from 1997 to 2010

Abstract: Urban green space, although an important aspect of urban life in England since the 19th century, experienced declining quality throughout the late 20th century. The election of the New Labour Government in 1997 saw the development of a new urban policy discourse, which recognized the important contribution of green space to quality of life. This paper examines New Labour's policy measures on urban green space and focuses on the Urban White Paper of 2000, new funding opportunities, planning guidance, changing urban green space governance and the introduction of national and local performance targets. Additionally, it identifies four broad policy discourses surrounding urban green space that reflect different but overlapping understandings of the value and function of urban green space relating to quantity, quality, nature/biodiversity and social/community. The paper concludes that there is a need for further research to examine the implications of changes in the national policy agenda and associat...

Coordinating Care in the Medical Neighborhood Critical Components and Available Mechanisms

Abstract: This white paper examines key components in the medical neighborhood and how the patient-centered medical home is situated within it. It also addresses barriers to a well-functioning neighborhood, the tools available to achieving one, and the strengths and weaknesses of each tool.

Literature review on complaints management

Abstract: Consultants working on commercial projects often fail to take account of the deep and broad academic literature on the topic on which they are working. Because of his position as a hybrid academic and consultant, the author is obliged to keep closely in touch with the different literatures for the areas in which he teaches – broadly marketing, customer relationship management, customer service and branding. As the number of management journals increases, so the supply of research-based articles increases, and it becomes harder for practitioners to stay in touch with it. The author has therefore identified that a critical role in his research projects for clients is to review the academic and other literatures for clients. This particular literature review was part of a white paper project commissioned by a hi-tech client to help them understand how the management of problems affects the management of customer relationships. It excludes a section on social media, which was too client specific and therefore confidential to be published. Social media will be the subject of a later paper.

Interculturalism, Ethnocentrism and Dialogue

Abstract: We are delighted to introduce this special issue of Policy Futures in Education, which began when we were working together with our friend and colleague Professor Jiang Xaioping (Isadora) in Guangzhou in March 2010, setting up the Centre for Intercultural Education and Dialogue at Guangzhou University in the People’s Republic of China. Professor Jiang is Associate Dean of the School of Foreign Studies at Guangzhou University and Director of the new centre. We reviewed the way Europe has been handling interculturalism, diversity and globalization, and decided to call for papers for this special issue focusing on the Council of Europe’s (2008) White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue: ‘living together as equals in dignity’. We asked contributors to provide papers that either directly responded to the White Paper or indirectly picked up issues and concerns around the notion of ‘intercultural dialogue’ as formulated in the White Paper. With many people responding, we have been able to select an impressive and wide range of papers to highlight both of these aspects in a diverse set of articles that includes discussions about interculturalism and dialogue within Europe and in the wider world.

South African tourism: An historic evaluation of macro tourism policies

Abstract: Since shrugging off the shackles of apartheid, and becoming a world player in the tourism sphere, various government policies have been introduced to place South Africa at the forefront of long-haul travel. Three major pieces of legislation: in 1992, 1996 and 2005, have led to successful re-structuring of the South African tourism industry, such that three sporting world cups, namely Rugby, Cricket and Soccer, and numerous other sporting, cultural and business events have successfully been hosted in the country. Macro policies governing tourism at the national level have been introduced to stimulate and guide tourism growth in such a way that the public at large can benefit. Furthermore, such policies have been introduced to benefit tourism growth and to monitor the negative impacts on the South African tourism industry. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) did a major investigation of this industry, and proposed guidelines for effective policies to be introduced. This report followed the 1996 White Paper on Tourism Development, and contributed largely to the 2005 Strategic Policy framework. This discussion paper analyses the main the principle findings of the WTTC report.

An analysis of the South African model of inclusive education with regard to social justice

Abstract: Inclusive education was formally established in South Africa through White Paper 6 of 2001 with the pertinent aim of including learners who experience barriers to learning into a single and undivided education system. This thrust was accepted by most stakeholders as a means of removing injustices from the past (DoE, 2001). Through the dialogue and document analysis of this article we have attempted not only to introduce the principles of social justice, but also to demonstrate the characteristics of the specific South African model on inclusive education and how this model has developed. We will provide a critical examination of how the meaning of social justice can be viewed with regard to distributive, retributive and recognitive justice and, finally, how the South African model of nuanced inclusive education weighs up against these forms of social justice.