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Descriptors:
Evidence; Adult Learning; Lifelong Learning; Investment; Labor Market; Outcomes of Education; Transitional Programs; Employment Potential; Economic Opportunities; Employment Opportunities; Longitudinal Studies; Foreign Countries; Surveys; Context Effect

Abstract:
Despite the expansion of post-school education and incentives to participate in lifelong learning, institutions and labour markets continue to interlock in shaping life chances according to starting social position, family and private resources. The dominant view that the economic and social returns to public investment in adult learning are too low to warrant large-scale public funding has been challenged by recent LLAKES research that shows significant returns to participants in lifelong learning with improvements in both their employability and employment prospects. It is argued that, under conditions of growing social polarisation and economic uncertainty, lifelong learning can have a significant protective effect by keeping adults close to a changing labour market. In this paper we review research from different disciplinary and epistemological traditions, providing evidence of the beneficial effects of lifelong learning, especially when taking into account the dynamics of the life course. Transitions and turning-points in youth and in adult life are markers of diversification of the life course; how far these diversifications amount to "de-standardisation" of the life course is debated. They involve biographical negotiation, in which any decision is consequential upon previous decisions and involves the exercise of contextualised preferences as well as the calculations of "rational choice". Gaining a better understanding of how changing demands are negotiated at different life stages offers a new perspective, moving from narrow versions of rational choice theory towards models of biographical negotiation as promising avenues for effective policy-making. (Contains 5 tables and 9 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Mental Health; Adolescents; Armed Forces; Futures (of Society); Statistical Analysis; Economic Opportunities; Children; Emotional Adjustment; Correlation; Databases; Military Personnel; Validity; Research Methodology; Sampling; Risk; Age; Violence; Gender Differences; Social Bias; Mental Disorders; Behavior Disorders; War; Longitudinal Studies; Measures (Individuals); Research Needs

Abstract:
Aims and scope: This article reviews the available quantitative research on psychosocial adjustment and mental health among children (age less than 18 years) associated with armed forces and armed groups (CAAFAG)--commonly referred to as child soldiers. Methods: PRISMA standards for systematic reviews were used to search PubMed, PsycInfo, JSTOR, and Sociological Abstracts in February 2012 for all articles on former child soldiers and CAAFAG. Twenty-one quantitative studies from 10 countries were analyzed for author, year of publication, journal, objectives, design, selection population, setting, instruments, prevalence estimates, and associations with war experiences. Opinion pieces, editorials, and qualitative studies were deemed beyond the scope of this study. Quality of evidence was rated according to the Systematic Assessment of Quality in Observational Research (SAQOR). Findings: According to SAQOR criteria, among the available published studies, eight studies were of high quality, four were of moderate quality, and the remaining nine were of low quality. Common limitations were lack of validated mental health measures, unclear methodology including undefined sampling approaches, and failure to report missing data. Only five studies included a comparison group of youth not involved with armed forces/armed groups, and only five studies assessed mental health at more than one point in time. Across studies, a number of risk and protective factors were associated with postconflict psychosocial adjustment and social reintegration in CAAFAG. Abduction, age of conscription, exposure to violence, gender, and community stigma were associated with increased internalizing and externalizing mental health problems. Family acceptance, social support, and educational/economic opportunities were associated with improved psychosocial adjustment. Conclusions: Research on the social reintegration and psychosocial adjustment of former child soldiers is nascent. A number of gaps in the available literature warrant future study. Recommendations to bolster the evidence base on psychosocial adjustment in former child soldiers and other war-affected youth include more studies comprising longitudinal study designs, and validated cross-cultural instruments for assessing mental health, as well as more integrated community-based approaches to study design and research monitoring. (Contains 2 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Well Being; Foreign Countries; Economic Opportunities; Career Planning; Labor Market; Motivation; Career Development; Occupational Aspiration; Economic Factors; Adults; Predictor Variables; Hypothesis Testing; Age Differences; Older Adults; Interviews; Life Satisfaction; Participation

Abstract:
Globalized labor markets confront many adults, both employed and unemployed, with demands arising from career uncertainty that have the potential to jeopardize their occupational planning. This article investigated how individuals in different regions of Germany, which are characterized by different economic opportunities, negotiate such demands to pursue a career. The central hypothesis is that under unfavorable economic conditions, disengagement from demands of career planning, in terms of reducing commitment to their mastery, will predict positive changes in subjective well-being. This was tested using a sample of N = 806 adults living in 91 regions of Germany. Results suggest that disengagement predicts increased subjective well-being, but only if individuals report a very high load of demands of career planning and live in regions characterized by particularly poor opportunities for goal striving. It is concluded that disengagement can be an adaptive way of mastering occupational planning under particularly disadvantageous circumstances. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Certification; Intellectual Property; Commercialization; Research and Development; Technology Transfer; Institutional Characteristics; Income; Higher Education; Innovation; School Business Relationship; Educational Development; Educational Practices; Universities; Entrepreneurship; Economic Opportunities; Private Financial Support

Abstract:
Universities and their inventors earned more than $1.8-billion from commercializing their academic research in the 2011 fiscal year, collecting royalties from new breeds of wheat, from a new drug for the treatment of HIV, and from longstanding arrangements over enduring products like Gatorade. Northwestern University earned the most of any institution reporting, with more than $191-million in licensing income. The 157 universities that responded to the annual survey of the Association of University Technology Managers, released on Monday, completed 5,398 licenses and filed for 12,090 new patents. They also created 617 start-up companies. The overall revenue figures are about the same as in the 2010 fiscal year, when 155 universities responded. The number of licenses and options completed in 2011 was notably higher than the 4,735 reported in 2010, but in part that was because some institutions began to include more of them in their totals. The number of new patent applications filed was also higher. The totals include data from four institutions that answered anonymously and are not included in the sortable table that accompanies this article. (Year-to-year comparisons for the survey are imperfect because, in some years, institutions that are the most active in patenting and licensing don't participate. Also some participating institutions provide only partial responses.) The 617 start-up companies formed in 2011 was a slight increase from the 613 reported in the previous year. Start-up companies appeared to be a growing focus for some of the institutions in the survey. In 2010, 12 institutions reported forming 10 or more companies; in 2011, 14 institutions did so. That attention reflects broader economic forces. With big corporations doing less and less hiring, there is "more of an awareness from students and faculty that entrepreneurship is a growing career path, a growing alternative." New Ph.D. recipients now realize that one way to continue their research is "though the venture path." Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Educational Games; Simulation; College Instruction; Instructional Materials; Instructional Effectiveness; Classroom Research; Qualitative Research; Statistical Analysis; Case Studies; Pretests Posttests; Student Surveys; Poverty; Developing Nations; Social Justice; Power Structure; Social Environment; Economics; Economic Progress; Economic Development; Economic Opportunities; Barriers; Social Stratification; Graduate Students; Socioeconomic Status

Abstract:
This article considers how the simulation game of DEVELOPMENT MONOPOLY provides insight into poverty and inequality dynamics in a development context. It first discusses how the game is rooted in theoretical and conceptual frameworks on poverty and inequality. Subsequently, it reflects on selected playing experiences, with special focus on the aspects of rule crafting, power relations, and game dynamics. Finally, the article assesses the simulation game's learning effects, based on observations concerning the debriefing phase. (Contains 9 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Educational Games; Simulation; College Instruction; Instructional Materials; Instructional Effectiveness; Classroom Research; Lesson Plans; Outcomes of Education; Student Attitudes; Guides; Facilitators (Individuals); Educational Strategies; Reflection; Qualitative Research; Statistical Analysis; Case Studies; Pretests Posttests; Student Surveys; Poverty; Developing Nations; Social Justice; Power Structure; Social Environment; Economics; Economic Progress; Economic Development; Economic Opportunities; Barriers; Social Stratification; Graduate Students; Socioeconomic Status

Abstract:
DEVELOPMENT MONOPOLY is a simulation game that allows players to experience how power relations influence the agency of different socioeconomic groups, and how this can induce poverty and inequality. Players alter the original rules of the MONOPOLY board game so that they more accurately reflect social stratification and inequalities in the context of developing countries. After the game, the players reflect on how they could be made more inclusive and pro-poor. In an individual debriefing, they are invited to think about the connections between game dynamics and contemporary evolutions in developing countries. In a final collective debriefing phase, participants discuss the ways in which the simulation experience enhanced their understandings of poverty and inequality. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Clothing; Industry; Sewing Instruction; Patternmaking; Clothing Instruction; Skill Development; Economic Opportunities; Expertise; International Trade; Employer Employee Relationship; Work Environment; Labor Conditions; Context Effect; Adjustment (to Environment); Entrepreneurship; Females; Informal Education; Ethnography; Lifelong Learning

Abstract:
This article examines the relationship between skill acquisition and the constitution of economic selfhood in Trinidad. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among garment workers in a context of industrial decline, I show how their formal, informal, and illicit means of acquiring sewing skills are inextricably linked to the fragmented and unstable economic opportunities available to them. Learning to sew means learning to be a flexible economic actor, which helps workers survive but disadvantages them in waged labor relationships. By investigating the role of pleasure in self-training, I emphasize the neglected importance of emotion for understanding livelihood strategies. (Contains 2 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Animal Husbandry; Foreign Countries; Economic Opportunities; Job Satisfaction; Employment Potential; Occupations; Social Differences; Work Attitudes

Abstract:
Shrimp trawling represents an important fishing metier in South India, generating high levels of employment and economic value. It is also a contested metier, ostensibly contributing to environmental degradation and social inequality. This paper investigates the job satisfaction of crew members (captains and workers) on board the shrimp trawlers of Chennai (former Madras). Research took place in 2007 and 2008 (N = 137). Results suggest a general satisfaction with being in the fishery. However, a little over three-fifths of fishers said they would be willing to change fishing metier and about one-half said they would leave the occupation. About one-half also said they would not advise a young person to enter the occupation. The tendency to move away from the fishery is argued to reflect a growing pessimism about the future of the shrimp trawl fisheries, but also an increasing awareness of other economic opportunities. (Contains 2 figures and 16 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Disabilities; Vocational Rehabilitation; Rural Areas; Economic Opportunities; Employment Patterns; Urban Areas; Counties; Wages; Rural Population; Job Development; Skilled Workers; Blue Collar Occupations; Career Development; Interviews; On the Job Training; Rehabilitation Counseling; Self Employment; Community Attitudes; Community Relations; Employers

Abstract:
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies provide a range of services to help people with disabilities become employed. How services are delivered, however, depends on several factors including client interests and abilities as well as economic opportunities within the local community. For better or worse, rural and urban clients face vastly different employment landscapes. For instance, USDA Economic Resource Service data indicate that rural people earn lower wages and experience lower employment rates (ERS, 2012). Rural counties also have fewer full-time jobs per capita, particularly in skilled labor sectors. Urban areas have higher employment rates in professional and managerial positions, while rural communities have higher rates in blue collar and resource based occupations characterized by limited benefits and less opportunity for advancement. Additionally, rural counties have a higher percentage of very small firms compared to urban counties. This economic variation requires different employment strategies for rural and urban clients. Recently, the authors conducted a national qualitative study to better understand how VR agencies approach rural employment with their clients. This factsheet focuses on informant comments related to the rural employment landscape and VR approaches to overcoming barriers and developing jobs for rural clients. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Rural Areas; Internet; Economic Impact; Economic Opportunities; Rural Urban Differences; Telecommunications; Disadvantaged; Costs; Education; Health Services; Teleworking; Services; Business; Agriculture; Manufacturing; Retailing; Small Businesses

Abstract:
Historically, waves of new technologies have brought Americans higher standards of living. Electrical service and hot and cold running water, for example, were once luxuries; now their absence makes a home substandard. Today, technologies for accessing the Internet are diffusing at an even faster rate than those earlier innovations once did, bringing with them commensurate transformations of Americans' way of life. Technologies that increase the speed at which data can be transmitted have had powerful effects. Most importantly, they have transformed the Internet from a tool used by a narrow group of academics and technicians into a means of interaction used by a large majority of Americans. However, Americans have not universally benefitted from better Internet access. Geography, especially the divide between rural and urban America, determines how much some Americans can benefit from the Internet. Networks have not been as extensively developed in rural areas as in urban areas. Some people in rural America still have dial-up as their best available, affordable technology, a technology that offers five percent of the capacity for what the FCC has said is the broadband threshold. Others have service that reaches the broadband level, but still does not offer the "lightning-fast" speeds advertised by Internet service providers in urban areas. Accordingly, the nation faces a "broadband gap," not only with regard to the lack of access in rural areas to service that meets the broadband threshold, but also with regard to the lack of availability of faster service between urban and rural America. This report identifies opportunity costs that arise from this gap. These costs exist today, but the pace at which data transmission capability is growing means that the inequality between the technology being newly deployed and the technology that was deployed a decade or more ago is increasing. Networks that connect research institutions in the United States can move 100,000 times more data per unit of time than the dial-up connections that some Americans still must use. The technology gap is not a fixed deficit that once filled, stays filled. The technology gap will be larger--much larger--in the future, along with the information and technology gap, unless significant action is taken to overcome it. (Contains 2 figures, 1 table, and 19 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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 ERIC Full Text (2112K)