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In this paper, I draw on two childhood ethnographies to ask basic questions about the foundation of child writing. The first question is, where does writing come from in young children's lives? Answering this question will lead us to childhood play as the foundation of writing. The second question is, how do educators negotiate an inclusive, playful classroom culture in racially divisive and neoliberal times? This question will lead to a critical consideration of forming an inclusive culture in a racially and culturally diverse classroom. In this time of uniform, mandated curricula, rampant in the United States and elsewhere, and of the dismissive attitude towards play and towards childhood diversity (e.g., in race, culture and socioeconomic class), it is worth revisiting basic questions about the beginnings of writing in childhoods. The questions are relevant whether a child is writing on paper, screen, slate, or sand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite obvious gravitation towards child adoption in recent times, resistance to the practice is still strong among Igbos in southern Nigeria. The paper explains this resistance from the Igbo cultural orientation of the past, which survives in the present, and the socio-economic realities of contemporary times. It demonstrates how the Igbo socio-cultural contexts provide both a formidable force against the identity of the adopted and a basis to contest against such for socio-economic privileges in the contemporary context. The paper further explains the implications of this development – a gradual creation of a new group of the Igbo with unshared identity in urban centers, who unlike the conventional migrant Igbo, has little or no link with the 'traditional homeland'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern day societies and economies are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the continued erosion of the stocks and flows of essential ecosystem services. Thus, the management of complex socio-economic systems to effectively provide these essential services has become a global priority policy and academic research area. Understanding how underlying processes and functions contribute towards the provision of final ecosystem services can facilitate improved dissemination of credible, legitimate and salient information to decision-makers. This paper presents an ecosystem service value chain analysis framework that applies basic system dynamics modelling in the form of causal loop diagrams to facilitate an alternative analysis of ecosystem service value chains. A scoping application of the framework is applied to a case study for flood attenuation services in the Baviaanskloof catchment in South Africa. The framework enables the identification of forward linkages and ripple effects in individual value chains of final ecosystem services as well as the identification and assessment of challenges and opportunities within individual causal pathways. Ultimately, providing the potential to advance strategies for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of final ecosystem service provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper interprets the concept of δοῦλος in 1 Timothy 6:1-2 in the context of socio-economic slavery in Nigeria. Using the liberation hermeneutics approach, the paper argues that the concept of δοῦλος in 1 Timothy 6:1-2 is a typical reflection of injustice and oppression to the person or group being socio-economically exploited. The resonance of the text with the Ibibio narrative of socio-economic slavery in Nigeria is the similarity of treatments accorded the δοῦλος in domestic and economic affairs in first-century Greco-Roman setting. Drawing on existing literature and the text in view, it interrogates the meaning of δοῦλος in a Greco-Roman setting and the status accorded the δοῦλος in the original and contemporary socio-economic settings of the study. The result shows that δοῦλος is interpreted to mean slavery. It recommends that the Church and state should put resources together to carry out economic and educational empowerment for the youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores aspirations among the youth in India by seeing connections to two themes – ambition and satisfaction. While aspirations can call on a range of values, what is it that drives people as they deal with aspirations? Is dissatisfaction a driver of ambition, or a hurdle for future progress? How does one look at ambition and satisfaction in the larger field of aspirations as sociological phenomena? Using macro-data to establish a broader context, along with in-depth interviews with working women from a range of occupations in Delhi, and a detailed case-study of one woman , this paper studies the role ambition and satisfaction play in women's lives in urban India. It underscores the barriers and risks young women face in the labour market, which vary by their occupation, socio-economic status, and level of education. These barriers constrain and, at times, motivate women to be ambitious, to aspire, and to achieve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The AV1 robotic device has a growing evidence base, both internationally and in the UK, for supporting pupils with physical/emotional health needs. The device allows pupils to access their school lessons remotely through telepresence technology. Previous papers have highlighted the growing relevance to the education field, although, to date, there is no published UK academic research. In consideration of this, the purpose of the present paper was to explore the views of school staff who have trialled the AV1 device in the UK. Semi-structured interviews were held with 10 staff members from different school settings before data were analysed thematically. Key themes related to potential for impact, opportunities/challenges, and wider socio-economic considerations. Implications are considered in relation to (1) future research and professional practice, and (2) the introduction of a proposed implementation framework to support practitioners when trialling the AV1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton is a crucial cash crop in the tribal belt of Odisha. It has a significant effect on the livelihood of the tribal people. The volatile socio-economic background of the tribal farmers is a major hindrance to the proper development of the agriculture sector. In this regard, it is important to study the possible factors affecting cotton productivity in the tribal region to boost the policy effectiveness for the development of this cash crop in the area. More precisely, how is their socio-economic condition reflected in their crop productivity? So, the development of the tribal farmers can develop this crop in the region. This study analyses the detrimental effect of socio-economic factors on cotton productivity in the tribal area of Odisha. The data are collected using a structured questionnaire and a multiple-sampling technique. To understand the effect of socioeconomic factors on productivity, the ordinary least square (OLS) method has been employed in this paper. The result shows that most of the farmers are illiterate for which productivity is degrading. The age and gender of the head of the household are significant contributors to the cotton productivity of the study area. Male-headed households are more productive than female-headed households. Per capita monthly income and proportion of irrigated land are also important factors to affect cotton productivity positively. However, the social group of the family has no significant effect on the cotton productivity in the study area. Policymakers and agriculturists should emphasize farmer literacy, farmer income and land irrigation facilities to boost the productivity of this crop in the studied region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determinants of farmer well-being can be derived from objective and subjective measures of social components, environmental sustainability indicators, and quality of life indices, as well as the multiple scales that farms and farmers operate. Yet, despite multiple frameworks on farmer well-being, the extent to which farmer-expressed values are used in the development of farmer well-being indicators is unclear. Challenges can arise from extracting indicators that are insufficiently grounded in place, or that inadequately incorporate context and biocultural relations and practices. Here in this scoping review, we synthesize the methodologies in the literature on assessing farmer well-being and identify the extent to which farmer well-being domains are derived from values expressed directly by farmers. We consolidated and coded 92 papers to respond to the following questions: (1) What are the most frequent farmer well-being domains in published studies? (2) What methods are used to elicit multidimensional farmer well-being domains? (3) Do well-being domains used in the literature adequately reflect a biocultural context, including place-based influences on well-being? Our results show that economics and social relationships are frequent domains of how farmer well-being is identified and assessed. These domains tend to be measured simultaneously, while less common domains, such as governance and place, are rather isolated. A suite of methods was used to assess well-being domains, ranging from basic surveys to in-depth participant observation. Yet, we identify gaps in the methods for deriving farmer well-being indicators. Specifically, methods that refer to farmer-expressed values were rare and domains identified through a place-based approach were often not recorded, but, arguably, critical in developing multidimensionality of farmer well-being. We show that while the translocal approach is well represented in established well-being frameworks, farmer expression is not foundational in well-being assessments but is needed in order to center farmer values when generating indicators of well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tree-like branching networks are widespread in nature and have found wide applications in engineering, where Murray's law is generally adopted to optimally design tree-like systems, but it may become invalid in some cases. Here we give an energy approach to the analysis of the law and re-find Li–Yu's law for the optimal ratio of the square root of 2 with a suitable constraint. When the cross-section of each branch is considered as a fractal pattern, a modified Murray's law is obtained, which includes the original Murray's law for a Peano-like pore and Li–Yu's law for cylindrical branches, furthermore a useful relationship between the diameter and length of each hierarchy is obtained, which is contrary to the tree-like fractal patterns, and the new hierarchy is named as "fractal Murray tree", which also has many potential applications in science, engineering, social science and economics. This paper is intended to serve as a foundation for further research into the fractal Murray tree and its applications in various fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether immigrants and their descendants are catching up socioeconomically with the rest of society is a fundamental question in the study of immigrant assimilation. In this paper, we examine the progress that Hispanic immigrant men make catching up with the earnings of later-generation Whites across generations. We rely on data from multiple years of the Current Population Survey linked with individuals' tax earnings. This unique dataset allows us to overcome some important limitations of previous studies that employ a synthetic generation approach in which individuals born approximately one generation earlier are used as proxies for actual parents. Our matching strategy also enables us to identify the exact third generation and evaluate the contribution of ethnic attrition to estimates of intergenerational mobility. Second-generation Hispanic men are found to experience lower mobility than later-generation Whites for most values of parental earnings. However, their lower mobility can be explained by their immigrant parents' lower education levels. In contrast, third-generation Hispanic men experience lower mobility even after accounting for parental education and ethnic attrition. This finding is consistent with a stalling or reversal in the socioeconomic progress of Hispanics beyond the second generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing current socio-economic crises strains public budgets and may threaten fiscal sustainability. Particularly in the welfare sector, where high expenditures meet poor controllability, efficient resource usage is essential to ensure future governments' capability to act while alleviating current problems. Consequently, this paper asks: why are some countries more efficient in translating social expenditure into welfare outcomes? To answer this question, it is argued that efficiency is a matter of institutional structures and their vertical policy-process integration (VPI): efficiency depends on institutional structures' capability to (1) ensure policymakers' responsibility and to (2) provide coordinated feedback, thus pushing for considerate and informed resource use. Analysing the effect of VPI on the relationship between welfare efforts and social outcomes in 21 OECD countries over three decades, the results show that VPI can not only turn 'less' into 'more', but it also compensates for performance losses in the face of spending cuts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tend to think of money as concrete and simple, a thing, but in fact it is multi‐faceted and complex, more symbolic than actual. In the modern world it has come to take such a variety of forms that economists can no longer define it. On the other hand, our reliance on it causes us to invest it with a stability it does not and, probably, cannot have. Our ideas about money are, essentially, social defenses, and the money we think we have in our pockets or in our bank accounts is based on widely shared fantasies. The anxieties underlying these defenses spring from two sources: awareness that money's fixed values are unreliable, unable to protect us from loss, and an opposite irrational optimism about its capacity to grow magically. This paper suggests that the understanding psychoanalysis can offer about such common fantasies inextricably woven around money can provide the groundwork for an interdisciplinary collaboration with economics and the social sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of birth order on educational attainment in the United States and the underlying mechanism producing these effects. Using a family fixed effects model, we find negative birth order effects on educational outcomes. However, this effect varies depending on the household's income, being the strongest for households with the highest income and diminishing as households' income decreases. In addition, we show that the timing of income across childhood is important for completed education, as the largest gap in educational attainment between siblings emerges between those who were born and spent their early childhood in wealthier households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper examines how parents' socioeconomic status (SES) affects the support parents give to children and how parents' SES moderates changes in support across children's life courses. Background: Many studies have documented effects of parents' SES on support to adult children, as well as effects of children's life course stages on received support, but few studies have examined how these two factors interact. A dynamic perspective on the social stratification of support can provide new clues about how parents transmit advantages across generations. Method: Using prospective panel data on 10,822 parent–child dyads in the Netherlands from 2003 to 2015 and random and fixed effects models, this paper examines life course changes in the financial, practical, and informational support adult children (aged 18–59) receive from parents. Results: Positive effects of parents' SES were found on informational and financial support, but there were no main effects on practical support. Informational support declined with age but later in higher‐SES families. Support declined after union formation and similarly for higher‐ and lower‐SES families. The increase in practical support when children became parents and single parents was stronger in higher‐SES families than in lower‐SES families. Stratification of financial support was stronger in early adulthood and increased again later in children's lives. Conclusion: There was evidence for a prolonged support pattern among higher‐SES families, combined with stronger effects of children's parenthood transitions in such families. Parents' SES affects support streams to adult children, but effects depend on the type of support and children's stage in the life course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper utilises a Teaching and Learning Regime (TLR) approach to analyse the student experience (SE) in the COVID-19 setting. Using mixedmethods methodology, the research uses interviews and survey responses from current students at a UK university to identify the multidimensional and immersive relationship with their institution. TLR moments were used to thematically analyse the findings. They illustrated a nuanced and often divided SE that, in a COVID-19 environment, bring in extensive external influences from home-life, mental health levels and socio-economic standing. The analysis reveals COVID-19 mixed responses to online learning and the relationship between students and staff members, and the perceived value of online learning. It highlights the importance of spaces and buildings in the SE, and the significant impact friendships and flatmates have had on sustaining university routines and activities. It will also show the intense powerlessness and sadness that has impacted this cohort of students, and how this has manifested through distrust of higher management structures and health implications. The paper highlights ways in which the TLR approach can be used to identify enhancements to the SE in COVID-19 times. These include understanding the value students place on materiality and personal connections, and in maintaining accessibility and flexible learning that have had a positive impact on their studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the Obolo women and the historical development of Christianity in Obolo from 1870 to 2020. The origin of Christianity in Obolo in the 19th century was traced to Madam Ngban Ijo who was a worshipper of Adumu prior to her conversion. She was converted by her Bonny trading customer, Mr. Ibitomie Hart who she accommodated during his trading expeditions in Ataba. Through her, Christianity was established in Ataba and Ataba became the first place in Obolo to embrace the new religion. Her house became the first centre of worship and early church activities. Other women were similarly converted and the church grew from her house to what is known today as St. James Anglican Church, Ataba. Obolo women were also instrumental in the spread of Pentecostal churches in the area. The women have contributed enormously to the expansion of Christianity in Obolo in several ways. They built parsonages and supported the church financially. The finding of this paper is that through Christianity, Obolo experienced great transformation which influenced the socio-economic life of the people and Obolo society. The methodology adopted to reconstruct this past are the primary and secondary sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research paper is to determine the degree of relationship between the emergent technologies and the industry 4.0, and the Social and Solidarity-based Economic model. The research paper is a product of a quantitative analysis in 62 Guanajuato state's (Mexico) SMEs. The results show that there is a correlation between economy 4.0 and social economy. Therefore, it is necessary to create the required conditions to display the Industry 4.0 within the fabrication process, in which the following aspects are found: the development of national strategies, which lead the coordinate display of Industry 4.0; the creation of a multilateral mechanism, in which the interested parts institutionalize a participative scope in order to promote Industry 4.0; the creation of international cooperation mechanisms to accelerate the transfer of technology and technical knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the fraught status paradoxes and settlement impediments of European migrants in Asian cities like Tokyo, Singapore, and Dubai. Global European emigration is predominantly imagined as professional ‘expatriation’, framed as temporary if not steeped in linear career pathways of manifest privilege. The implied bifurcation between voluntary European mobilities and economic migrations from the Global South is complicated here by foregrounding the existential aspirations of middling European emigrants who are anxious about their future class position in Europe and therefore resettle along a wider trans-Asian economic corridor. While this European mobile middle retains global advantages in terms of transnational circulation and entry by virtue of their European citizenship capital, they face under-documented legal hurdles and social precarities in their quest for overseas permanence. We conceptualise this transcontinental process, marked by a complex set of mobility ambivalences over time, as ‘migratory classmaking’, the distinctive aspirations of which elucidate that structural socioeconomic incentives are equally bound up with contemporary forms of European migration. Enmeshed in this global process of migratory class-making lays a European predicament that speaks of blighted existential hopes about middle-class stability imagined to be the ideal result of multi-year investments in class-making across Europe and Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

French language as a subject was formally re-injected in the mainstream schools as a pilot project in 2009 in Lesotho. This language, which was initially introduced in schools in 1868 and whose popularity decreased following the missionaries' departure from Lesotho, is viewed by the Ministry of Education and Training as an instrumental tool in promoting individual, national and socio-economic development. French, vis-à-vis English and Sesotho, is at the basis of the concept of multilingualism in a country that is officially recognised as being bilingual. It is against this backdrop that this article sought to explore learners' attitudes towards multilingualism through the re-introduction of French as a subject. Purposive sampling was used to select 9 secondary school participants where French was taught. Data were generated using focus group interviews and open-ended questionnaires. The findings demonstrate that most participants display positive affective attitudes towards multilingualism, viewing it as a step towards attainment of an idealised self, as creating job opportunities and as promoting globalisation. Seemingly, habitual attitudes influence social and/or factual attitudes. The paper is nuanced by the neoliberalism theory to demonstrate that the students' understanding of the utility of languages is largely informed by the logic of the market and business, reducing education to a clinical activity. This article thus recommends the inclusion of three propositions of affective attitudes in the language policy in order to contribute to the development of a holistic individual who would work towards the attainment of an idealised self through qualification, socialisation and subjectification, thereby preserving the concept of multilingualism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyse how State policies, on the book and in practice, shape family reunification. It focuses on child migration under constraint in France, by analysing the timing and factors of (non-)reunification among foreign immigrants, whose legal conditions for family reunification are much more restrictive than for those who obtained the French citizenship. Using a quantitative approach with a nationally representative survey, the article analyses to what extent and in what circumstances migrants took one or the other of three paths during the 1973–2009 period: bringing their children in France through the administrative channel of family reunification (de jure reunification), turning to an alternative channel of child migration (de facto reunification), or leaving their child behind in their birth country. Results show that de jure reunification is not the predominant option and strongly suggest that this pathway is impaired both by an official state selection based on socioeconomic criteria enshrined in law, and by an unofficial state selection in policy implementation due to discriminatory treatments and regional inequalities in administration resources. In response to these restrictions, families adapt either by turning to de facto reunification or by maintaining transnational ways of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view that Culture and Creative Industries (CCI) are multi-sector, emergent, and complex, this paper couples the theoretical perspective of Margaret Archer's Morphogenetic Approach with Adam Kahane's Tansformative Scenario Planning (TSP) as its strategic framework to discover, articulate, and connect cross-sector (community-based organizations, industry, government, and education) CCI efforts. This study has sought to understand how and in what ways the actions found in the creative sector can be leveraged to enhance participation and ameliorate the outputs of socio-economic efforts across the full spectrum of the greater Seattle region. Thus, though this example it contributes to the creation of vital places of public welfare, where public frameworks and policies nurture accessibility and participate in connected culture and creative ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban resilience has been a research focus, particularly with the pandemic impact on urban infrastructure, service provision and accessibility to core resources. This paper explores the need for interdisciplinary approaches to the built environment that integrate water, energy, and food resources. The study goes through articles on water, energy and food nexus and urban resilience in the past 10 years. It identifies the key research focus, gaps and needs for future research. Recommendations for future studies include the allocation of funds to ensure vulnerable communities have access to resources, sustainable operation of urban agriculture practices, circular economy and reuse, and engagement of experts, local authorities and communities in decision-making and training. The study recommends using quantitative assessment to identify the impact of urban agriculture and urban water management practices on the environment and include socio-economic aspects in assessment models. Finally, participatory approaches and integrating technology are recommended for promoting sustainable resilient communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Index spaces serve as valuable metric models for studying properties relevant to various applications, such as social science or economics. These properties are represented by real Lipschitz functions that describe the degree of association with each element within the underlying metric space. After determining the index value within a given sample subset, the classic McShane and Whitney formulas allow a Lipschitz regression procedure to be performed to extend the index values over the entire metric space. To improve the adaptability of the metric model to specific scenarios, this paper introduces the concept of a composition metric, which involves composing a metric with an increasing, positive and subadditive function ϕ. The results presented here extend well-established results for Lipschitz indices on metric spaces to composition metrics. In addition, we establish the corresponding approximation properties that facilitate the use of this functional structure. To illustrate the power and simplicity of this mathematical framework, we provide a concrete application involving the modeling of livability indices in North American cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the extent to which teacher factors of the dynamic model of educational effectiveness can explain variation in student achievement in mathematics. It also searches for the extent to which any of these factors matters more for academically resilient students than for all the other low-socioeconomic-status students. Participants were all teachers (N = 66) of 14 schools in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas who teach mathematics to students of Grades 4–6 (N = 904). Teacher factors were measured through a student questionnaire, whereas mathematics achievement at the beginning and the end of the school year was measured through written tests. Student background characteristics were measured through a student questionnaire. Information on parents' occupational status was also collected. Multilevel modelling analysis revealed that all teacher factors explain variation in mathematics achievement. Differential effects for all factors but modelling and assessment were identified. Implications of findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on gender-specific penal reform programs critique their failure to prioritize the socio-economic recovery of criminalized women. This paper draws on these insights to examine the Women's Refuge Court (WRC), a human trafficking court for adult women criminalized for prostitution and drug offences in Ohio. Using ethnographic research, I illustrate the WRC's rejection of bootstrapping and emphasis on material resourcing as a penal reform strategy. I argue that the WRC's prioritization of socio-economic recovery derives from fears over the status decline of the impoverished white women who predominate as defendants. Court officials rely on evangelical Christian imaginings of prostitution as 'modern day slavery' to frame participants as 'trafficking victims'. I identify the WRC's response as a racially specific form of gender responsive programming called carceral restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the constitutive impact of the 'international' on the sociopolitical transformations in Syria and Libya through the lens of the theory of Uneven and Combined Development (UCD). The conventional and numerous critical analyses of Syrian and Libyan sociopolitical change suffer from a Eurocentric and stagist understanding of development. This paper argues that development problems can be better conceptualized with an interactive framework made possible by the UCD theory. In this context, we focus on how the expansion and consolidation of capitalism through the dynamics of UCD have concretely shaped the process of sociopolitical transformation in Syria and Libya to shed light on how the international and the local have articulated to produce the socioeconomic and political outcomes in these two states. We conclude by arguing that the theory of UCD provides an alternative conceptualization in explaining the specific development trajectories in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on an intervention study focussing on translanguaging pedagogies. The study was carried out in 2020–2022 in collaboration with principals and teachers at one school located in a socioeconomic disadvantaged area in Sweden. Drawing on teachers' logbooks, the aim was to investigate in what ways the theoretical concept of translanguaging is understood and transformed into teaching and learning within multilingual classroom practices with students aged 6–12. The analysed data reveal that opportunities for communication and interaction are designed through the organisation of language groups, the approaches of comparing and translating, and using multimodal and digital reinforcements. Teachers expressed stances around providing opportunities for students to interact and communicate various subject content through all their languages. A shift in pedagogical thinking was made visible regarding how the teachers chose to describe and categorise students' multilingual and cultural experiences. Identified paradoxes concern students' experiences of using all their languages for learning, possibilities for integrating several languages in classroom practices, and the status of various languages in society. Possible collaborations between schools and students' homes were highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tracks the arrival of investors in the housing market of Dudelange, Luxembourg. In so doing, it focuses on the socio-economic changes accompanying the transformation of homes into assets, since the first apartment was built in the city in the mid-1960s until 2018. Drawing on complete land registry data, we chart the structure of apartment ownership in the context of the city's transition from an industrial to a financialised economy, with particular attention to three characteristics of buyers: age at purchase, country of birth and occupation. We investigate how homeowner characteristics have shifted over time in a context where housing policies have incentivised investor activity and demand. We highlight how three policies put in place in the early 2000s to encourage real estate investments seem to have strengthened the position of the group already most advantaged on the Luxembourg housing market: those born in Luxembourg and over 45 years of age. Given that this group has on average the highest median incomes and the highest homeownership rates, we argue that these policies that incentivised property investments are likely to have accelerated housing (and wider) inequalities in an overheated housing market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's expectation of a demographic dividend owing to an increase in the working age population necessitated government measures aimed at skilling youth. Considerable emphasis was therefore placed on skill development policies and programmes, including revamping formal vocational education and training (VET) institutions that provide skills to students completing secondary schooling and opting vocational training. Although the number of VET institutions in India more than doubled in the last decade, their underutilisation calls for an analysis of underlying reasons. This paper analyses socio-economic factors influencing participation in VET using data from nationally representative survey on education. Findings of a multinomial logit analysis in the paper suggest that students in upper secondary VET institutions tend to belong to socially disadvantaged households, and that students in vocational courses are more likely to be male, urban, and from households whose principal occupation is blue-collar. Children from households belonging to higher socio-economic status and pursuing white-collar jobs are more likely to participate in general and professional education as compared to VET because of higher status assigned to the former in the society. These findings call for fine-tuning of current polices of promotion of VET in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) have gained attention as enablers of innovation and entrepreneurship. This paper explores entrepreneurial ecosystems in developed countries. Entrepreneurship is a globally important phenomenon for economic development and addressing socio-economic challenges such as unemployment, inequality, and poverty. Systematic literature review (SLR), with the aid of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) approach was used in the items selection process. A final sample of 28 primary articles was used. Additionally, bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer software to determine publication patterns and citation trends. More relevant and recent articles were incorporated into the bibliometric analysis to improve the results. Isenberg's six domains of entrepreneurial ecosystems framework, supported by the Dynamic capabilities (DC) theory underpinned the study. Results show that though entrepreneurial ecosystems are prevalent, they face many challenges. However, opportunities are also available but may be difficult to access. Globally, scholars agree that entrepreneurial ecosystems enhance economic development, and they help to solve socio-economic challenges such as unemployment, inequality, and poverty. This paper recommends that entrepreneurial ecosystems should be fostered in all regions to promote economic development and provide solutions to solve socio-economic problems. Local and global leaders should invest in the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems to promote economic development. The original value is based on exploring the dynamic nature of entrepreneurial ecosystems in the global environment using a developed country perspective. The findings provide important insights to policymakers and other stakeholders for developing strategies and interventions for enhancing economic growth through entrepreneurship. Plain Language Summary: How businesses collaborate in developed countries The purpose of the paper is to explore entrepreneurial ecosystems in developed countries. Entrepreneurship is a globally important phenomenon for economic development and addressing socio-economic challenges such as unemployment, inequality, and poverty. Systematic literature review (SLR) and bibliometric analysis (using VOSviewer software) were used as research methods. Isenberg's six domains of entrepreneurial ecosystems framework, supported by the Dynamic capabilities (DC) theory underpinned the study. Results show that though entrepreneurial ecosystems are prevalent, they face many challenges, but opportunities are available. Entrepreneurial ecosystems should be fostered in all regions to promote economic development and provide solutions to solve socio-economic problems. The findings provide important insights to policymakers and other stakeholders for developing strategies and interventions for enhancing economic growth through entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fine-scale mapping of residential land price (RLP) is essential to the understanding of residential land market dynamics and improving urban planning. However, cartographic resources and experimental studies to map RLP at fine-scale in Sub-Saharan African cities are limited as a result of dominance of informal land markets in shaping the growth and expansion of most of the cities in the region. Goal and Objectives: The study seeks to establish an optimized ensemble machine-learning method for mapping RLP at grid-level in Dar-es-Salaam City, Tanzania. Methodology: The study utilizes RLPs collected at the sub-ward level via the survey method and uses open data such as Nighttime Lights (NTL) and amenities coordinates points from OpenStreetMap. This paper explores the ability of two (2) ensemble machine learning methods, i.e. Random Forest Regression (RF-R) and XGBoost Regression, for mapping RLP at grid-level. Results: Results illustrate that RF-R was slightly superior to XGBoost Regression and thus it was used to map RLP at fine-scale. The relative importance of explanatory variables in the RF-R model demonstrated that NTL was by far the most important determinant for the RLP spatial distribution in Dar-es-Salaam. NTL it is commonly used as a proxy for socioeconomic factors such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and population, hence describing typical characteristics of informal land markets. This is contrary to findings in the global-north with a dominance of formal urban land markets whereby factors such as commercial and educational amenities are found to be very important in estimating RLPs. The paper presents a cost-effective methodological approach for mapping land prices at fine-scale in Dar-es-Salaam city and other cities with similar characteristics in the region, hence improving urban decision and policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roma communities across Europe still remain a neglected population group by way of the social and economic disadvantage that largely characterizes their lives. Roma communities continue to experience structural socioeconomic health inequalities on the grounds of their ethnic origin, alarmingly unveiling a pattern of systematic discrimination and ethnic marginalization. Without any doubt, such a highly worrying situation calls for States to incorporate Roma health rights within their law and policy agendas in a manner consistent with right to health requirements. Against this background, this paper seeks to identify an operational human rights framework for States as a driver for better informed policies and implementation as well as for Roma engagement in the deliberations about their life prospects. The paper argues that continuing, concerted, and proactive State engagement is required for effectively addressing the structural obstacles impeding Roma socioeconomic health rights realization and maximizing Roma opportunities for well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent spread of Euroscepticism has largely been limited to criticism of the actions, inefficiencies, or credibility of EU institutions, while the issue of leaving or not joining the EU is still out of focus for the vast majority of the European population. With the exception of the United Kingdom, which withdrew from the EU, Serbia is the only country where the majority of the population does not want to join the bloc. This paper is dedicated to researching the causes of this phenomenon and measuring their impact on the current additional increase in resistance to the EU among the population of Serbia. This paper presents the results of a survey organised by the authors in Serbia in 2020. MANOVA and the Generalised Linear Model (GLM) were used to analyse the impact of different demographic and socio-economic characteristics, as well as the influence of the national attachment of respondents to their attitude towards EU membership. The results showed that Euroscepticism was on the rise due to a weakening expectation of economic benefits of EU membership and a strengthening of national attachment, including concerns over the loss of national sovereignty, under increased EU pressure on Serbia to give up disputed Kosovo territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the concept of migration, and its causes and effects, with a focus on international migration. Various journal articles, reports, and policy documents are reviewed to address the controversies concerning the concept and key issues of migration. The paper indicates that migration is not only a contested concept, but migration research has resulted in different outcomes. It is mainly affected by personal, socio-economic, and political factors associated with the origin and host countries. Similarly, scholars have been asking the question, "who is a migrant?" for decades without a definite answer. It is also important to consider "what would happen after migrants obtain host country citizenship": would they continue to be migrants, the host countries' citizens, or both? This paper contributes to advancing our knowledge and broadening our understanding of the concept of migration and key issues associated with it. It also serves as a base for further discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) is a research-based Intergovernmental Organisation in the field of socio-economics. Its many published outputs include a number of Working Paper series - a format that is widely used by economists for informal or work-in-progress communication to their peers. In common with other economics institutions, OECD's Working Papers are freely available via the institution's websitei. A few were also posted on Repecii (Research Papers in Economics), a volunteer-based collaborative website that provides a decentralized database of working papers from around the globe. However, there was a problem. OECD's website is very large and librarians were reporting a great deal of frustration among their users because they couldn't easily locate particular papers. Equally, the collection of OECD working papers on Repec was far from complete and links to the full text were often broken. In fact, the situation was so poor that at UKSG, a conference for the serials community held annually in the UK, a room full of 250 librarians laughed at a representative from OECD Publishing about the state of the problem. Stung by this criticism, OECD Publishing resolved to fix the problem: this is the story. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents two unpublished scholarly papers on topics of economics written in the 1950s. The first was written by Alan T. Peacock for the Lionel Robbins seminar at the London School of Economics and is titled "The theory of the public economy." The second, entitled "On the theory of the public economy," was by Peacock and Jack Wiseman and was rejected for publication in the scholarly periodical "Review of Economics and Statistics." The papers consider subjects including theories of public expenditure, public finance, and economic theories of social welfare.

Highlights: [•] Consistency in the identification, assessment and management of ED substances is needed. [•] Scientifically robust weight-of-evidence approaches for regulatory decision making are needed. [•] More debates on socioeconomic benefits in the context of decision making are needed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents an analysis of the extent to which poor pupils in England are clustered in schools with others like them. It is based on a segregation index of pupils eligible for free school meals for every year for which official national data is available. The trend over time has been published before up to 2019, and this paper extends the analysis to 2021, covering both the Covid-19 era so far and the beginning of transitional arrangements for Universal Credit, which have led to a substantial increase in the number of pupils eligible for free school meals. Results show that the segregation of poor pupils between secondary schools has continued to decline annually – a decline that started with the onset of Pupil Premium funding. This decline in segregation has not occurred for other possible indicators of disadvantage, such as pupils having a special educational need or disability, which are not addressed by Pupil Premium funding. Clustering disadvantaged pupils together in parts of a national school system has been linked to worse pupil outcomes overall, lower aspirations, less ethnic cohesion, and reduced trust in society by students. So, this ongoing reduction is encouraging, and is likely to lead to a lower poverty attainment gap in academic outcomes. However, the reduction in 2020 and 2021 is "false" to some extent, based mostly on a sudden increase in the number of pupils officially classed as poor, rather than an improvement in their distribution or evenness. It is, therefore, important to retain Pupil Premium funding or something like it for the time being to see what happens to the attainment gap. And the apparent success of this funding scheme could have implications for school systems worldwide that value fairness in the provision of national opportunities for education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the first to give a comprehensive overview of the various conditions that deter women from pursuing an economics major and that contribute to the low numbers of female students in undergraduate economics. Explanations for women's underrepresentation in undergraduate economics include a lack of female role models and mentors; misperceptions and misinformation about the discipline; the social climate in economics (classes); the scarcity of same-gender peers; women's relatively high grade-sensitivity; the stereotype threat that makes women doubt their academic performance; women's (alleged or actual) discomfort with the math-heaviness associated with an economics major; economics' relatively high use of abstract and theoretical models; and women's belief that the subject matter does not relate to their own life experiences and interests. An important contribution of the paper is its review of interventions that have proven successful in attracting and retaining female students to the discipline of economics. The paper thus unravels the underlying structural mechanisms associated with female students refraining from pursuing a degree in economics and offers a review of innovative measures that have been shown to help economics practice greater gender inclusivity at the undergraduate level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Maker" movement is a cultural as well as educational phenomenon that has the potential to offer significant opportunities to students in conditions of social, economic and cultural disadvantage. The research reported in this paper, however, suggests that the simple provision of "Maker Spaces" for such activity is simplistic and not sufficient to realise this potential. The research involved a mixed methods study of a cohort of year 7 students (n = 26) in an Australian school located in a socio-economically disadvantaged outer-metropolitan region. The cohort undertook a range of Maker activities at a new "creativity centre" built at the school. Results indicate that the activities had positive impact on student attitudes towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) overall, but that the impact was highly specific across attitudinal constructs. A strong ranging effect was also evident, suggesting that the impact of the experience was highly dependent on students' initial attitudes. Reflecting on these results, the paper also offers a reference framework that may help keep equity in mind when designing different kinds of Maker experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1934, during the centenary celebrations commemorating Melbourne's European settlement, the Age newspaper published a short history of the inner suburb of North Melbourne. By this time only people who had been children in the early years of the suburb were left to reminisce and they did so with great enthusiasm, writing a string of over 80 letters to the editor in response to the article. The analysis of the letters in this co-authored paper, pairing the insights of local history and childhood studies, appreciably illuminates the urban settler-colonial identity that developed in Hotham/North Melbourne. This paper uses the lens of memory to show how childhood recollections were mobilized by the letter writers to naturalize and normalize settler presence. Several themes in the letters evidence this narrative: conquering the space through play; local personalities positioned in the settler space; pride in key colonial moments; positioning First Nations people as wandering fringe-dwellers; and claims of colonial childhood as 'original' or 'native' to the area. We identify a gendered nature to these reminiscences. Significantly, we argue that the adult employment of childhood memories is a particularly powerful mode of erasure and self-indigenization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much has been written about the measurement of socio-economic position (SEP) in high-income countries (HIC). Less has been written for an epidemiology, health systems and public health audience about the measurement of SEP in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). The social stratification processes in many LMIC—and therefore the appropriate measurement tools—differ considerably from those in HIC. Many measures of SEP have been utilized in epidemiological studies; the aspects of SEP captured by these measures and the pathways through which they may affect health are likely to be slightly different but overlapping. No single measure of SEP will be ideal for all studies and contexts; the strengths and limitations of a given indicator are likely to vary according to the specific research question. Understanding the general properties of different indicators, however, is essential for all those involved in the design or interpretation of epidemiological studies. In this article, we describe the measures of SEP used in LMIC. We concentrate on measures of individual or household-level SEP rather than area-based or ecological measures such as gross domestic product. We describe each indicator in terms of its theoretical basis, interpretation, measurement, strengths and limitations. We also provide brief comparisons between LMIC and HIC for each measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responding to an article by Marvin Lloyd Miller, we welcome the recent change in the approach of Nehemiah 5, the corner-stone of social-scientific exegesis. We reassert that the chapter does not reflect the complaints of marginal farmers. We doubt the value of the notion of whimsical taxation by the Achaemenid administration. We warn against adducing the vituperations of eighth century BCE prophets as clues of socio-economic crises. They should rather be read in light of appeals by contempo-rary aid agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Badiou's ontological work draws attention to multiplicities - the oneness of ontology, which he explains can only become ontologically differentiated into events or sites through political, artistic or amorous practices that philosophies can think and invent from. He also draws attention to the fusion of events and sites, and he explains that events (such as producing special issues of journals located in particular sites) are reflexive. He also tells us, however, that the reflexive structure of an artistic or scientific event (such as producing a special issue of a journal) is not always immediately evident. In writing this response article I work with this concept - and probe how the production of events (such as a special issue of a journal produced in a specific site) may be reflexive. This is the purpose of the article. This response article therefore probes some of the political, structural and intellectual processes that come to shape scholarship in different sites, and here I draw on the insights into social imaginaries provided by Charles Taylor to develop a perspective on the scholarship that is reflected in this journal. Through this, I seek to open the notion of multiplicities, oneness and the particularities of our social imaginaries as themes for thinking about educational scholarship events produced within and across geo-physical, socio-ecological and socio-economic spaces in different parts of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While it has been shown that university attendance is strongly predicted by parental education, we know very little about why some potential first-generation students make it to university and others do not. This paper looks at the role of non-cognitive skills in the university participation of this disadvantaged group in England. We find that having higher levels of locus of control, academic self-concept, work ethic, and self-esteem in adolescence is positively related to intergenerational educational mobility to university. Our results indicate these skills help potential first-generation students to compensate for their relative disadvantage, and they are especially crucial for boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People have been raising the alarm about a language education crisis in the UK, particularly in England, for twenty years. Yet the crisis continues: the number of young people studying languages at school is low, especially in socioeconomically less-privileged areas. University programmes – particularly in universities with below average entry tariffs – are closing, but we do not understand the regional impact of this decline. This paper fills that gap by identifying 'cold spots': areas of the country where no universities offer language degrees. The programming language R was used to analyse the location of universities at various entry tariffs, and areas of the country further than a commutable distance of 60 km were identified. Large cold spots were found in the North, East and South West of England for universities offering languages at below average entry tariff, with the cold spot in the South West also present at higher entry tariffs. This is a social justice issue, since most students attend university close to home, with students from less-privileged socioeconomic backgrounds and some ethnic minority backgrounds more likely to commute. This leads to a key strategic recommendation: to open language degree programmes at one lower tariff university in each cold spot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Street views, satellite imageries and remote sensing data have been integrated into a wide spectrum of topics in the social sciences. Computer vision methods not only help analysts and policymakers make better decisions and produce more effective solutions but they also enable models to achieve more precise predictions and greater interpretability. In this paper, we review the growing literature applying such methods to economic issues and the social sciences, in which social scientists employ deep learning approaches to utilise image data to retrieve additional information. Typically, image data produce better results than traditional approaches and can provide detailed results and helpful insights to improve society and people's well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 2000 and 2008, Zimbabwe was hit by one of the devastating economic situations which threatened the lives of businesses and also led to the closure of several businesses. The main purpose of this paper was to trace the survivors of Zimbabwe’s 2000–2008 economic distress and establish the strategies they employ to avert future economic pandemics in the country. A mixed research approach was utilized to carry out the study, with data being collected from a sample of 105 business people and their employees in rural Zimbabwe. A self-designed questionnaire and interview guide were used to solicit data from participants with descriptive and thematic data analysis methods being utilized as the main data analysis tools. The study revealed that while a significant number of businesses closed their businesses due to the economic downturn a reasonable number survived and self-rejuvenated and moved on in 2009 when the economy stabilized. The strategies most businesses in rural areas employ to avert the effects of future economic distress include among others; diversification, trading in foreign currency, avoiding selling goods on credit, and keeping savings in United States of America Dollar and traditional banks. It was recommended that businesses in rural areas need to manage their businesses in a more professional way so that they do not easily get affected by socioeconomic shocks and political upheavals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neoclassical economics has established itself as the discipline of rational choice. Consequently, under methodological individualism and in the context of consumption, an agent's choice is based on the ordering of preferences determined exogenously, disregarding any emotional, biological influences, or factors from socio-economic dynamics. Therefore, this paper aims to present an alternative framework for the decision-making of economic individuals at a theoretical and formal-mathematical level, grounded in the principles of evolutionary economics and complex adaptive systems. It is argued that the process of making choices in consumption is inherent to social dynamics. From an individual-holistic perspective, the mechanism motivating action can be characterized as an evolutionary algorithm that integrates biological, historical, cultural, social class, and market competition influences as endogenous elements in determining choice and consumption behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]