Showing papers on "White paper published in 2014"

The challenges of realising inclusive education in South Africa

Abstract: In South Africa, up to 70% of children of school-going age with disabilities are out of school. Of those who do attend, most are still in separate, “special” schools for learners with disabilities. This situation prevails despite the push for the educational inclusion of learners with disabilities over twelve years ago by the South African policy document, the Education White Paper 6. In this article, we take a primarily top-down theoretical approach to policy implementation and focus on two main factors that hinder the implementation of inclusive education. Firstly, we focus on what we regard as the most significant constraint, namely, the apparent lack of clarity in the policy, i.e. ambiguity about the goals for inclusion and the means through which they can be achieved and, secondly, various issues around the poor implementation of the policy. We argue further that the primary means by which the divide between inclusive policy and practice will ultimately be closed is through the implementation and enforcement of education policy by the South African Department of Education.

Social media in nursing education: responsible integration for meaningful use.

Abstract: The astonishing popularity of social media and its emergence into the academic arena has shown tremendous potential for innovations in teaching. The appeal of using social media in the learning environment is enhanced by accessibility and affordability. However, it has also broadened the scope of consideration for protecting student privacy. This article explores the legal impact of privacy concerns when social media is used as a teaching tool. Institutions of higher learning must formulate guidelines that will govern appropriate social media use so that novel teaching modalities can be safely explored. Students must be educated by faculty regarding the standards of conduct and privacy considerations related to social media. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing has issued the White Paper: A Nurse's Guide to the Use of Social Media, a must-read for nursing faculty in the current academic arena.

Europe in Search of Its Civil Society

Abstract: Building upon the experience of the Convention for the elaboration of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and upon the suggestions of the White Paper on European Governance, this article puts forward proposals for a better involvement of the 'civil society' in the system of the European Union. It offers a general diagnosis of the misunderstandings about the notion of 'civil society' and the relationship of representative democracy to participatory democracy. It then draws some lessons from the experiment in deliberative democracy which led to the drafting of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Finally, it focuses on the contribution the organisation of the civil society can make to improved governance in the EU. Altogether, the proposals presented tend to encourage a better structuration of the actors of civil society. Such a structuration, the article concludes, although it is usually seen with suspicion even by those whom it would most benefit, must be seen instead as a condition for the effective exercise of whichever participatory rights might be granted to civil society organisations.

Building statewide infrastructure for effective educational services for students with TBI: promising practices and recommendations.

Abstract: Objective:To identify promising practices in educational service delivery.Methods:Consensus-building process with a multidisciplinary group of researchers, policy makers, and state Department of Education personnel.Results:This white paper presents the group's consensus on the essential components o

A process for designing policy packaging: Ideals and realities

Abstract: The article introduces a design process for policy packaging, combining a heuristic approach with a real world example of European policymaking. The policy packaging process is divided into six stages, starting with (1) the definition of goals and objectives, (2) the creation of an inventory of measures, (3) the formulation and assessment of the initial package, (4) the modification of the initial package through adding, adjusting or removing measures, (5) package implementation, and finally (6) the monitoring and evaluation of the package. The process stands as a generic, comprehensive framework developed as a means of guiding policy formulation and increasing the likelihood of efficient, effective and acceptable policy interventions. The approach is compared to practice, examining whether it can support policy formulation in relation to the EU 2011 White Paper on transport. It shows that several principles of the design process are already reflected by the White Paper, with some important differences also observed. While objectives, targets, and an inventory of measures are part of the White Paper, policies recommended for implementation are treated separately as discrete interventions. The White Paper hence lacks examples or recommendations as to how various measures might be combined in order to achieve the policy objectives. Based on a policy example from the White Paper, it is attempted to apply the heuristic framework and offer recommendations on how to best construct a policy package.

In defence of the Indo-Pacific: Australia's new strategic map

Abstract: The 2013 Australian Defence White Paper categorically termed Australia's zone of strategic interest the Indo-Pacific, the first time any government has defined its region this way. This raises questions about what the Indo-Pacific means, whether it is a coherent strategic system, the provenance of the concept and its implications for Asian security as well as Australian policy. Indo-Pacific Asia can best be understood as an expansive definition of a maritime super-region centred on South-East Asia, arising principally from the emergence of China and India as outward-looking trading states and strategic actors. It is a strategic system insofar as it involves the intersecting interests of key powers such as China, India and the USA, although the Indo-Pacific subregions will retain their own dynamics too. It suits Australia's two-ocean geography and expanding links with Asia, including India. The concept is, however, not limited to an Australian perspective and increasingly reflects US, Indian, Japanese and ...

Conceptual change in adopting the nationwide special education strategy in Finland

Abstract: Educational reform is rarely considered from the point of view of conceptual change. Typically, reform starts at the policy document level by introducing criteria intended to lead to the adoption of new practices. This study offers a case study of how legal national educational reforms can be localized. The case in focus is the recent legislative change in Finland dealing with special education. The special education strategy (SPES) white paper was launched in 2007 and the related changes in the Basic Education Act were passed in 2010. In 2008–2009 the State invited local municipalities to participate in advance preparations for the reforms. More than half participated by preparing several SPES-related documents over time that allowed us to analyze the main trends concerning the different concepts used, and how they were implemented. The results are interpreted in terms of contrasts between semantics, politics and actual changes.

A White Paper on the medical and social needs of people with epilepsy and intellectual disability: the Task Force on Intellectual Disabilities and Epilepsy of the International League Against Epilepsy.

Abstract: This White Paper builds on the publication of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) report "Listening for a change-medical and social needs of people with intellectual disability who have epilepsy" (Listening for a change the medical and social needs of people with epilepsy and intellectual disability, ILAE, 2013). The Paper presents an overview of the recommendations of the report, which aim to improve the health and social care of this important population of people with epilepsy worldwide. Actions in four domains are indicated: (1) the development of standards and initiatives that would enhance diagnosis, pathways to investigation, and treatment; (2) the development of guidelines for treatment, specifically best practice in the management of antiepileptic drugs including rescue medication; (3) the development of standards for primary care, multidisciplinary teamwork, and clinical consultations, with emphasis on the need to enhance communication and improve access to information; and (4) the enhancement of links among different stakeholders including medical services, educational establishments, employment services, organizations providing opportunities for social engagement, and family members. The breadth of needs of this population is a challenge to the epilepsy world, spanning all the professional groupings, care providers, and the research modalities in epilepsy.

White Paper on the Reform of the Federation: Implications for Australian Local Government

Abstract: Executive summary On 28 June 2014 the Office of the Prime Minister announced the ‘White Paper on the Reform of the Federation’. The White Paper was initially devised in the Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet following the swearing in of the Abbott Government on 18 September 2013. The development of the Terms of Reference (ToRs) was subsequently handed to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) with the process being guided by ‘a Steering Committee comprising the Secretaries and Chief Executives of the Commonwealth Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, State/Territory First Ministers’ departments and the Australian Local Government Association’. The schedule for the White Paper has continued apace, with the ToRs being released on the day of the announcement, ‘Issue Papers’ scheduled to be released in the second half of 2014, a Green Paper scheduled for the first half of 2015 and the White Paper itself due to be delivered to Government by ‘the end of 2015'. Ostensibly exercises of this type are pursued in a spirit of a-political inquiry. However, as pointed out with respect to the findings of the Abbott Government’s ‘Commission of Audit’ released in June of 2014, the overwhelming assumption is that they are engaged to produce recommendations that have a grounding in a particular political economy. Prima facie this would appear to be a reasonable assumption about the White Paper on Reform of the Federation. As such, from the perspective of local government the announcement of the White Paper could be viewed as cause for concern, as well as being an opportunity for reform. Historically, the replacement of Labor governments with their conservative counterparts has been followed by a diminution of direct funds flowing to local government. Further, attempts at achieving constitutional recognition for local government in 1974 and 1988 have been characterised by party-political disagreement and framed around flows of direct funds from the Commonwealth to local government. With this track record in mind representatives of local government might be expected to be concerned about the sector’s future financial robustness and its role as the third tier in Australia’s democratic fabric. However, a more nuanced analysis of Australian political history, one which takes into account the engagement of all sides of politics with the contested nature of regionalism, understood in a variety of spatial, ideational and party-political ways suggests that the White Paper process ought not to be presaged as a party-political conflict. In the discussion below we argue that the local government sector ought to play a crucial role in defining its own future in the context of the White Paper. This ‘Draft Background Paper’ is divided into four main parts: Section one examines the ToRs of the White Paper, arguing that there is cause for concern that the local government sector will be diminished, but that the White Paper also presents the sector with an important opportunity to pursue reforms. Section two examines the historical record to support this assumption, providing a brief account of the party-political history of the Commonwealth’s relationship with local government in the post WWII era. Section three counters this narrative by examining the contested nature of regionalism in Australia’s political history and the relationship of this history with local government. In so doing we draw on the work of A. J. Brown. In section four, following Allan we identify three ideal-type responses available to Australian local government over the next 18 months, a ‘minimalist’, a ‘maximalist’ and an ‘optimalist’ response. We argue that the sector ought to realise the imminently political nature of the ‘White Paper’ process, reject a ‘third way’ or so-called ‘optimalist’ approach and embrace the possibilities for reform and revitalisation presented by the White Paper. This paper has been prepared to promote discussion. Comments to the authors are welcome.

Critical Issues in Response-to-Intervention, Comprehensive Evaluation, and Specific Learning Disabilities Identification and Intervention: An Expert White Paper Consensus

Abstract: The following Expert Panel White Paper should be considered a working document for reference purposes. This White Paper project was undertaken to address the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA) concerns regarding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004 statutory and regulatory requirements for the identification of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD), and the subsequent U. S. Department of Education Final Regulations and Commentary regarding implementation of IDEIA (34 CFR Parts 300 and 301; Federal Register, 2006).The purpose of the White Paper is to provide additional information for and guidance to the federal government, professional organizations, practitioners, and the public. The LDA is hopeful that this document will facilitate legal, regulatory, policy, and training decisions, and ultimately, service delivery to children with SLD.Subsequent to public release, the LDA sought to examine the arguments presented in IDEIA and the Final Regulations. The LDA Public Policy/Advocacy Committee solicited a number of professionals to examine the evidence that supported or refuted the information presented in the law and commentary. This LDA effort resulted in an LDA White Paper Survey of experts in the field, which in turn led to the production of this White Paper.This White Paper presents the expert professional opinions and empirical evidence regarding the identification of children with SLD and best practices in SLD service delivery. The preliminary findings of the LDA Expert Panel Survey (see Appendix A) and this White Paper represent the opinions and empirical evidence presented by 56 university professors and researchers, special education administrators, and special education lawyers with expertise in and public recognition for their work in SLD identification and intervention.All Expert Panel participants have published extensively in SLD, cognitive/neuropsychological assessment of high incidence disorders including SLD, and/or SLD educational intervention, in peer-reviewed journals, peer reviewed scholarly books, and/or argued legal cases in court proceedings. Individual curricula vitae are available upon request. However, it is important to recognize this was not a random sample of potential experts, but rather a survey of those individuals who have been recognized by their peers as SLD scholars with legitimate professional investments in the law and practice concerning SLD identification and intervention.This White Paper provides a summary of these Expert Panel White Paper Survey opinions, with relevant, but not exhaustive citations (provided as endnotes) that provide support for these conclusions. The five major conclusions drawn from these opinions and empirical evidence include the following:Maintain the SLD definition and strengthen statutory requirements in SLD identification procedures;Neither ability-achievement discrepancy analyses nor failure to respond to intervention (RTI) alone is sufficient for SLD identification;To meet SLD statutory and regulatory requirements, a third method approach that identifies a pattern of psychological processing strengths and deficits, and achievement deficits consistent with this pattern of processing deficits, makes the most empirical and clinical sense;An empirically validated RTI model could be used to prevent learning problems in children, but comprehensive evaluations should occur whenever necessary for SLD identification purposes, and children with SLD need individualized interventions based on specific learning needs, not merely more intense interventions designed for children in general education; andAssessment of cognitive and neuropsychological processes should be used not only for identification, but for intervention purposes as well, and these assessment-intervention relationships need further empirical investigation.

Evaluating the impact of number controls, choice and competition : an analysis of the student profile and the student learning environment in the new higher education landscape.

Abstract: The context for this research is the introduction of several reforms designed to change the ways that higher education institutions operate. The government white paper Students at the heart of the system (BIS 2011) set out a new context for improving the student experience in English higher education based on consumer pressure on institutional behaviours, practices and, ultimately, systems. The following analysis of how institutions responded to student number controls (SNCs), choice and competition in relation to the student profile and the student learning environment draws on data from two sources, a national survey and a representative set of interviews with senior institutional managers. Together, data from these two sources provide the sector with the first comprehensive analysis of the strategic changes in approach and the rationales behind them. The research took place in a context of a volatile policy environment and the paper highlights the complex effects of two concurrent and linked processes: one, the ongoing effects of marketisation and how institutional decision-making processes were inflected by the daily realities of a system based on choice and competition; and two, the traceable effects of the specific 'core and margin' policy in operation after 2012-13. The analysis provides valuable insights into ways in which institutions may act after student number controls are removed altogether from 2015-16.

Making Communities More Flood Resilient: The Role of Cost Benefit Analysis and Other Decision-support Tools in Disaster Risk Reduction

Abstract: Given the series of large-scale flood disasters that have occurred in recent years, there is a growing recognition among community leaders, businesses, insurers, governments and international donors of the need to invest in risk reduction measures before such events happen. Due to the costs of risk reduction measures, these actions need to be justified and as a result there is an increasing need to utilize decision-support tools, which can help to make the case for action to reduce disaster risks and build flood resilience when faced with limited resources. Across stakeholders, the specific objectives from the use of decision-support tools include (i) demonstrating the efficiency of the action ex-ante (before the flood); (ii) aiding in the selection of a particular intervention in enhancing community flood resilience from a suite of possible options; (iii) helping communities make the right choice when faced with limited investments; (iv) demonstrating the benefits of donor funding of community flood resilience projects; and (v) monitoring the successes and weaknesses of past interventions to generate lessons learned for future work. Typically, discussion on decision-support for disaster risk reduction (DRR) in floods (as well as for other hazards) has focused on cost-benefit analysis (CBA), however there are a number of other tools available to support decision-making. These include cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), multi-criteria analysis (MCA) and robust-decision-making approaches (RDMA), which have been applied to similar problems, and can also be used to aid decision-making regarding flooding. This white paper provides an overview of the opportunities and challenges of applying these different tools, and guides the reader to select among them. Selection depends on the desired objective, circumstances, data available, timeframe to perform analyses, level of detail, and other considerations. We first focus on the CBA decision-tool, as this has been the mainstay of research and implementation. We then go beyond CBA to consider the other techniques for prioritising DRR investments. While our analysis is specific to flood DRR actions, the conclusion are also applicable to other hazards. The key findings arising from this white paper with relevance to research, policy and implementation of flood DRR decision-support tools, are: (1) Following a comprehensive review of the quantitative CBA flood DRR evidence, we find that flood DRR investments largely pay off, with an average of five dollars saved for every dollar spent through avoided and reduced losses; (2) Using CBA for flood risk reduction assessment should properly account for low-frequency, high-impact flood events, and also tackle key challenges such as intangible impacts; (3) Decision-making can be improved by using various decision support tools tailored to the desired outcomes and contexts. This white paper is the foundation upon which the Zurich flood resilience alliance work on integration of a decision toolbox will proceed "on the ground," with established community-based risk assessment tools, in particular Vulnerability Capacity Assessments (VCA) or Participatory Capacity and Vulnerability Assessments (PCVA). Based on these findings we propose a way forward over the next several years on informing risk-based decision making as part of the alliance program.

White Paper on How to Go Forward with Cell-Based Advanced Therapies in Europe

Abstract: The current White paper summarizes the discussions and exchange of experiences during the first European Interdisciplinary Summit on Cell-Based ATMPs held in Vienna, Austria, May 02–03, 2013. The meeting was supported by the Research Networking Programme REMEDIC (regenerative medicine) funded by the European Science Foundation and by the British Medical Research Council. To improve the competitiveness of Europe in the field of cell-based Advanced Medicinal Therapy Products (ATMPs), the following key issues were identified during the meeting: removal of national hurdles in the European Union, harmonization of national and subnational differences in Hospital Exemption rules, improved treatment algorithms for reimbursement, better knowledge on the mode of action, predictive preclinical efficacy and safety testing, need for innovative systems for preclinical testing, appropriate product characterization, manufacturing with cost of goods in mind, and appropriate design of clinical trials.

Integrative mental healthcare White Paper: establishing a new paradigm through research, education, and clinical guidelines

Abstract: Mental illness accounts for about one-third of adult disability globally, reflecting marked societal and personal suffering, and enormous social and economic costs. On a global level, mental healthcare has failed to adequately address urgent unmet needs of the mentally ill. These circumstances call for change in the paradigm and practices of mental healthcare, including fundamental reforms in education, clinician-training, and research priorities. This White Paper outlines current challenges in mental healthcare, and characterizes the emerging field of Integrative Mental Health (IMH), a critical element in the large-scale changes needed to transform mental healthcare in the 21st century. Strategic recommendations for advancing IMH are outlined including increasing research in key areas, improving clinician training and education, and promoting a public health agenda. The field of IMH adopts the bio-psycho-socio-spiritual model, utilizing evidence-based and evidence-guided treatments from both traditional healing systems and modern scientific practices. IMH incorporates mainstream interventions including the judicious use of psychopharmacology and psychosocial therapies, in addition to evidence-based complementary and alternative (CAM) medicines and therapies, and health-promoting lifestyle changes (i.e. enhancement of dietary, exercise, sleep, work/relaxation patterns). The clinical application of IMH takes into account the range of socio-cultural, economic and spiritual considerations affecting mental healthcare practice in different countries. To meet the challenges facing mental healthcare, the International Network of Integrative Mental Health (INIMH: www.INIMH.org) was established in 2010 (officially launched in October 2012) with the objective of creating an international organization consisting of clinicians, researchers, educators, and public health advocates. INIMH was created to advance a global agenda for research, education and the clinical practice of evidence-based integrative mental healthcare. In authoring this White Paper, the board of INIMH is inviting global dialogue on critical issues surrounding mental health care in the hope of achieving integrated, compassionate, individualized, person-centered mental healthcare.

White Paper Report of the 2013 RAD-AID Conference: Improving Radiology in Resource-Limited Regions and Developing Countries

Abstract: INTRODUCTION The 2013 RAD-AID Conference on International Radiology for Developing Countries was a forum addressing global shortages of radiology that contribute to health care disparity. In this white paper, we present key issues and strategies for increasing access to vital radiologic services in impoverished and limited-resource regions. The discussion aims to (1) define the variables driving access to care, (2) identify global economic trends affecting poverty and radiology, (3) compare clinical models and strategies for implementing radiology, (4) understand the role of partnerships in global health programs, and (5) explore emerging technologies for addressing radiology shortages. Key results from this discussion include the following: (1) opportunities are increasing for building radiology infrastructure as global poverty rates decline; (2) educational finance can enable technologist education for underserved regions; (3) clinical models can integrate teleradiology with on-site local ormobilemethods; (4) effective partnerships entail the alignment of complementary expertise, structure, and goals; (5) educational strategies should target local staff members and volunteer outreach personnel (such as students, residents, and fellows); and (6) technology innovations are favoring mobile devices with networked

To what extent ‘an entirely new approach to how planning is done’? Tracing planning system reform in New South Wales

Abstract: Prior to the 2011 New South Wales (NSW) state election the Liberal-National Coalition campaigned strongly on planning system reform, mobilising inefficiencies in the system and concerns over corruption as central election platforms. A new planning system and legislation were the ultimate objectives. The NSW Government has engaged in an ambitious reform process that has seen the release of a Green Paper, a White Paper and draft legislation. On releasing the White Paper, the premier claimed that the reforms would ‘return more powers to local councils’, promote ‘genuine consultation [and] provide certainty’. The intent of the planning reforms was to simplify the law and have a greater strategic focus supporting economic growth. In this paper, we explore the reform process, focussing on its underlying objectives and, in some cases, the tensions between them. Despite the Minister for Planning's claim that the government ‘is delivering an entirely new approach to how planning is done’, by focusing on a few key ...

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FAMILY PRESERVATION SERVICES: PERSPECTIVES OF SOCIAL WORKERS AT NGOs

Abstract: According to the White Paper for Social Welfare (1997), one of the goals of child and family welfare services in social work is to maintain and strengthen the functioning of high-risk families in order to enhance their physical, social and emotional development. Family preservation is a strategy to empower families to enhance the optimal development of children and to prevent the statutory removal of children from their families. To avoid this removal the focus of social workers, when rendering family preservation services, must first be on prevention services, then on early intervention services and last on statutory services in order to implement a developmental social service policy (Department of Social Development, 2006:20, Ministry for Welfare and Population Development, 1997:62).

The socio-economic realities of the social work students of the university of south africa

Abstract: When a tertiary institution such as the University of South Africa (Unisa) agrees to offer training for a profession such as social work, it accepts the responsibility of educating students according to the minimum standards of the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree as registered at the South African National Qualification Framework (NQF). These requirements include a body of knowledge, required practical skills and the values and ethics of the profession. Social work is a profession which focuses on people and their socio-economic context. It is regulated by its professional Council, the South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP), which expects the training institutions to deliver a certain quality of professional who can work together with troubled and marginalised people, facilitate processes with groups and communities in order to meet their basic needs, and improve their livelihoods, based on the principles of respect for people, social justice and equality. The training of social workers in South Africa is also largely determined by the South African context and the policies that guide the type of service delivery, e.g. the South African Constitution, Bill of Rights (Act 108 of 1996) and the developmental approach to welfare, i.e. the White Paper for Social Welfare (RSA, 1997). According to Van Delft (2002), the White Paper for Social Welfare (1997) and the Financing Policy (1999) changed the face of social welfare in South Africa from a residual model to a developmental model. Within the South African context, the focus of service delivery is aimed at the poor and unemployed, those with HIV/Aids, those that have been affected by crime and violence, pregnant teenagers, malnutrition, low levels of literacy and education, abuse and neglect, poor housing and public health, women and children, people with disabilities and the aged.

Are We Valuing People's Choices Now? Restrictions to Mundane Choices Made by Adults with Learning Difficulties

Abstract: In the UK, Valuing People (Department of Health, 2001, 2010b) has shaped services for people with learning difficulties for the past decade. Promoting choices and independence are two of the four key principles that underpin this White Paper and its subsequent delivery plans. This paper assesses the impact that these changes had on the availability of mundane choices. It draws on empirical evidence from interviews with adults with learning difficulties. First impressions of the findings indicate that individuals are indeed able to make an increased range of decisions. At closer inspection, it does however become apparent that not all of these decisions are based on an infinite spectrum of options. Under the guise of choice-based policy rhetoric, some people with learning difficulties are at times presented with a pre-arranged ‘menu of choices’. For instance, a person may be free to choose activities at their day centre, but they may have limited control when deciding whether to attend the service in the first place. The wider implications that tokenistic choice-making processes have for the development of personal autonomy are highlighted. It is argued that a lack of control in respect to mundane choices is disempowering and leads to learned passivity.

Inequities and lack of professionalisation of early childhood development practice hinder opportunities for mathematics stimulation and realisation of South African policy on quality education for all

Abstract: White Paper 5's aim is to provide South Africa's children with a solid foundation for lifelong learning and development. Children need to be nurtured and developed holistically for them to participate efficiently in their democratic society. However, South African students continue to perform poorly in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study compared to other African countries. Contributing factors highlighted by research on this poor performance include students' lack of foundational knowledge. Hence, mathematics stimulation for young children has been suggested as a prompt intervention towards improving mathematics performance. This paper therefore evaluates the preparedness of practitioners who work with 3–4-year-olds as resources for facilitating mathematics stimulation, availability of mathematics stimulating resources and daily planning for mathematics stimulation. The findings of this paper indicate that mathematics development of children younger than five years is loaded with many i...

Curriculum Knowledge, Justice, Relations: The Schools White Paper (2010) in England

Abstract: In this article I begin by discussing the persistent problem of relations between educational inequality and the attainment gap in schools. Because benefits accruing from an education are substantial, the ‘gap’ leads to large disparities in the quality of life many young people can expect to experience in the future. Curriculum knowledge has been a focus for debate in England in relation to educational equality for over 40 years. Given the contestation surrounding views about curriculum knowledge and equality I consider the thinking of two philosophers, Jacques Derrida and Emmanuel Levinas, and their work on justice, to trouble the curriculum framework and discourse of knowledge promoted through the policy text of The Importance of Teaching: The Schools White Paper (2010) and later associated policy reforms to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) curriculum in England. The Schools White Paper aims to make the curriculum more challenging to students by introducing tight controls in terms of the assessment framework and curriculum knowledge. I argue that, when considered through Derrida's perspective on language and meaning and Levinas' view on the ethical responsibility for the other, the reforms present obstacles to the search for a just curriculum. I look to the work of Sharon Todd and Paul Standish for a re-imagination of curriculum as or through relations in the light of Derrida's and Levinas' philosophies.

Corrupt language, corrupt thought: the white paper 'the importance of teaching'

Abstract: This article deconstructs the language of the 2010 UK Coalition Government's White Paper, The Importance of Teaching. It uses analytical frameworks related to rhetoric established by Aristotle and Cicero. It explores the mechanisms of language using both critical discourse analysis and content analysis, offering quantitative data on the content of the paper and qualitative data on the literary strategies employed. It is concerned not only with how what is communicated persuades but also the ethics of persuasion; what is suggested and to what end. The article suggests a mutually reinforcing relationship between poverty of language and poverty of thought. The Coalition Government asserts an heroic stance to act radically to free victimised teachers from the burdens of bureaucracy imposed by the previous government. However, rather than radical action to make change, the findings suggest that the White Paper presents an illusory carapace of change that conceals fundamental continuity. It reassures all of the commitment of government and audiences to change while sustaining education as fundamentally unchanged.

The Digital Imperative

Abstract: The pervasiveness of digital technologies and their potential for reshaping the industry landscape dictates that organizations operating today have little choice but to incorporate digital technologies into their business strategies. Failure to do so will impede the business’s viability, and may ultimately lead to business failure. However, for those organizations that successfully transition to digital business, unprecedented business opportunities exist for value creation and realization. However, transitioning to digital business involves a transforming and fundamental change to all aspects of an organization and its understanding of its place in the wider ecosystem. This white paper contributes to the topical digital imperative discussion in what is termed the third era of the enterprise. It highlights the driving forces behind digital business, and the cultural mindset shifts and other adjustments involved in implementing digital change.