2020 ◽  
pp. 239965442096524
Author(s):  
Mariska JM Bottema ◽  
Simon R Bush ◽  
Peter Oosterveer

The Thai aquaculture sector faces a range of production, market and financial risks that extend beyond the private space of farms to include public spaces and shared resources. The Thai state has attempted to manage these shared risks through its Plang Yai (or ‘Big Area’) agricultural extension program. Using the lens of territorialization, this paper investigates how, through the Plang Yai program, risk management is institutionalized through spatially explicit forms of collaboration amongst farmers and between farmers and (non-)state actors. We focus on how four key policy instruments brought together under Plang Yai delimited multiple territories of risk management over shrimp and tilapia production in Chantaburi and Chonburi provinces. Our findings demonstrate how these policy instruments address risks through dissimilar but overlapping territories that are selectively biased toward facilitating the individual management of production risks, whilst enabling both the individual and collective management of market and financial risks. This raises questions about the suitability of addressing aquaculture risks by controlling farmer behavior through state-led designation of singular, spatially explicit areas. The findings also indicate the multiple roles of the state in territorializing risk management, providing a high degree of flexibility, which is especially valuable in landscapes shared by many users, connected to (global) value chains and facing diverse risks. In doing so we demonstrate that understanding the territorialization of production landscapes in a globalizing world requires a dynamic approach recognizing the multiplicity of territories that emerge in risk management processes.


Author(s):  
Donald Houston ◽  
Georgiana Varna ◽  
Iain Docherty

Abstract The concept of ‘inclusive growth’ (IG) is discussed in a political economy framework. The article reports comparative analysis of economic and planning policy documents from Scotland, England and the UK and findings from expert workshops held in Scotland, which identify four key policy areas for ‘inclusive growth’: skills, transport and housing for young people; city-regional governance; childcare; and place-making. These policies share with the ‘Foundational Economy’ an emphasis on everyday infrastructure and services, but add an emphasis on inter-generational justice and stress the importance of community empowerment as much as re-municipalisation. Factors enabling IG policy development include: the necessary political powers; a unifying political discourse and civic institutions; and inclusive governance and participatory democracy.


2021 ◽  
pp. 209653112110127
Author(s):  
Yong Jiang ◽  
Beibei Zhang ◽  
Ying Zhao ◽  
Chuchu Zheng

Purpose: 2020 is the concluding year of the basic preschool education popularization policy in China and marks the beginning of China’s Education Modernization 2035. This study focuses on the top-level design and the prospect of the development plan of China’s preschool education toward 2035. Design/Approach/Methods: The research method adopted is expert interview. We interviewed 11 experts, including policymakers, educational administrators, scholars, and practitioners in the education. Findings: To develop China’s preschool education, we need to integrate macro-level, meso-level, and micro-level contents: focusing on public welfare as the development concept, furthering the reform of the educational system and mechanism, making quality improvement the plan’s key goal, and forming a new preschool education development mode with Chinese characteristics. Originality/Value: This study hopes to clarify the focus to have an impact on China’s preschool education toward 2035. It also aims to provide suggestions about preschool education development for other countries.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Mathew Alexander ◽  
Lynn Unruh ◽  
Andriy Koval ◽  
William Belanger

Abstract As of November 2020, the United States leads the world in confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and deaths. Over the past 10 months, the United States has experienced three peaks in new cases, with the most recent spike in November setting new records. Inaction and the lack of a scientifically informed, unified response have contributed to the sustained spread of COVID-19 in the United States. This paper describes major events and findings from the domestic response to COVID-19 from January to November 2020, including on preventing transmission, COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, ensuring sufficient physical infrastructure and healthcare workforce, paying for services, and governance. We further reflect on the public health response to-date and analyse the link between key policy decisions (e.g. closing, reopening) and COVID-19 cases in three states that are representative of the broader regions that have experienced spikes in cases. Finally, as we approach the winter months and undergo a change in national leadership, we highlight some considerations for the ongoing COVID-19 response and the broader United States healthcare system. These findings describe why the United States has failed to contain COVID-19 effectively to-date and can serve as a reference in the continued response to COVID-19 and future pandemics.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-126
Author(s):  
Mary Hutchinson ◽  
Xenia Hadjioannou

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the public policy reshaping the assessment terrain for English learners (ELs) across the USA and to consider the implications and impact of these practices on sustaining and supporting a diverse student population in today’s schools. Design/methodology/approach The authors review the literature and publicly available policy documents to trace key policy trends over the past 15 years that have shaped the current educational landscape and assessment practices for ELs in the USA. Findings In the USA, the 2015 Common Core State Standards (CCSSs) assessments generated worrisome results for ELs, as significant numbers had failing scores in English language arts and math. These results are juxtaposed to public policies that impact the educational experience of ELs, including No Child Left Behind and the CCSS, and which, despite their stated intentions to ameliorate the achievement gap, are found to be assimilationist in nature. Indeed, a review of the initiatives of developing common EL standards and English language proficiency tests and the recommendations for EL accommodations in state tests suggests several areas of concern. The recently passed Every Student Succeeds Act focuses on this vulnerable population, but there are concerns that the continued focus on accountability and testing will do little to facilitate academic progress for these students. Practical implications The paper recommends a need to reevaluate the support and testing process for ELs to stem widespread failure and ascertain the sustenance of democratic and diversified schools. Originality/value The study provides an overview of key policy trends, outlines and critiques recent changes in the assessment of ELs and draws implications for practice.


2019 ◽  
Vol 470 ◽  
pp. 175-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiguo Li ◽  
Qihong Yu ◽  
Yichen Zhang ◽  
Jian Shen

2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Smith ◽  
Laura M. Desimone ◽  
Timothy L. Zeidner ◽  
Alfred C. Dunn ◽  
Monica Bhatt ◽  
...  

The expansion of the No Child Left Behind Act to include science standards and assessments is likely to refocus states’ attention on science teaching and learning. Requiring teachers to have subject majors and greater funding of professional development are two key policy levers for improving instruction in science. There has been relatively little work examining the characteristics of teachers who are most likely to initiate inquiry-oriented instruction in science classrooms. Using a nationally representative sample of the teachers of eighth grade science students, the authors found relatively strong associations between reform-oriented practice and the majors and degrees that teachers earned as part of their formal schooling, as well as their current levels of participation in content-oriented professional development activities.


2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-92
Author(s):  
Robert M. Stern

This paper considers the key policy issues related to liberalisation of trade in financial services that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be concerned with, and the role the IMF has played in advising on policies related to trade in financial services in its bilateral and multilateral surveillance and in conditionality attached to lending programmes. The IMF staff were generally aware of the literature and country experiences showing the benefits of financial liberalisation. But Fund advice in support of liberalisation can be best interpreted to be in support of country unilateral policy actions and the dynamics of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) accession process.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Hurtado ◽  
Jaime Del Valle

Unlike other OECD countries, Chile has not yet established a uniform tax policy toward foreign investment. Moreover, Chile had past experiences of unsuccessful legislation on specific exempted investment vehicles created with the purpose of establishing the country as a hub or platform for foreign investment. An effective international tax policy design requires taking a holistic view of the challenges and their corresponding solutions. As a country’s tax regime is a key policy instrument that may negatively or positively influence investment, Chilean tax policy is being oriented in this regard. This Article reviews the progress of those projects and current legislation, compares other OECD countries’ experiences in this matter, analyzing the main facts or elements to consider upon deciding the relevant tax policy, and finally proposes a tax regime that could make Chile more competitive when attracting foreign operative investment, focused on a more regional approach. Accordingly, this Article also intends to serve as guide or help to be considered by regulators on the hard road of designing tax standards. 


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