Assess the value of Kingdon's multiple streams approach for analysing Essay

Assess the value of Kingdon's multiple streams approach for analysing agenda-setting - Essay Example The multiple stream frameworks are a combination of different public issues as well as ideas and politics (Howlett & et. al., 2009). The framework provides an opportunity to move the policy issue in the government agenda. The framework is helpful in developing strategies that is applicable for different policy areas and analyse how the policies are framed in case of lack of self-interest of the individuals. The Kingdon model analyses the situation in which the issues are involved in the political agenda and puts certain problems at the different level of priority. In addition, this theory also describes how the alternative solution to the issues is developed (Zahariadis, 2007). The Kingdon model of multiple stream theory is based on three elements that are ‘policy’, ‘problem’ as well as ‘politics’ (Furlong, n.d.). The three factors of the model facilitate change in the policy. The three streams of the Kingdon model are different from each other and are often guided through separate rules. The problem factor of the model is essential for agenda setting because it defines certain condition of the concerned issue. The ideas of the policy makers are translated to relevant policies, as they are feasible and acceptable. On the other hand, the politics stream of the Kingdon model indicates the legislative turnover, the increase in administrative pressure or dependence on nation (Howlett & et. al., 2009). The implementation of the three streams of Kingdon model in public policy ensures increased attention of the policy makers because the three factors result affects the changes in agenda. Timing is one of the vital factors in agenda because it influences the particular problem and policies linked with the issue of public policy. The three elements of the Kingdon model are independent of each other. However, for the success of agenda it is necessary that any two

Event Risk Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Event Risk Management - Assignment Example This is coordinated by the risk manager who controls the number of medical personnel to be present as well as the amount of equipments to be used. The equipments should be placed before the event begins. The personnel should also remain in place until the special event is over. There should be a communication plan to avoid conflict of interest in case of fire outbreak. According to Taylor (2002) the risk manager should plan for ambulances in case something happens. That is, the number of ambulances to be used as well as well as their passage to and fro the special event compound. People who reject medical attention should be documented to avoid legal issues later. There should also be a shelter to cater for the victims and medical personnel during rainy, sunny or extreme windy conditions. The medical official vehicles should also be secured to avoid cases of vandalism or theft. Fire incidences can quickly be controlled by the use of smoke alarms. Smoke alarms and sprinkler systems should be checked to reduce the spread of fire. Use of an evacuation plan is highly necessary especially for the old, disabled and children. The evacuation plan should be read and explained to the participants in advance. The evacuation plan should be pre tested and discussed by the various fire officials to prevent the actual fire incidence. The evacuees’ routes should be demarcated to necessitate ease during evacuation. Biochemical precautions should be taken care-of by consultations with the relevant experts. Biochemical hazards increase the intensity of the fire and it complicates the extinction of the fire (Taylor, 2002). The risk management team should ensure emergency power backups and phones are put in place to cater for emergences when need arises. Poison can be minimized by provision of hotline numbers for all poison control

The adversarial system in England and Wales Essay Example for Free

The adversarial system in England and Wales Essay The adversarial system of law involves a prosecutor defending his/ her clients in the court of law in the presence of a jury. The jury’s role is to make decisions that will be used in passing the sentence. In this system, the lawyers determine the rulings that are passed. â€Å"Lawyers play a central role in presenting each sides case (Mallenson 11). †This is because their intelligence in solving disputes will determine the sentence passed. Therefore, justice will be served when a prosecutor convinces both the judge and the jury that their defendant is innocent. The accused is not mandated to give evidence but should they choose to defend themselves, they will be cross examined by both parties. In England, the adversarial system is overly institutionalised. The prosecutor has to convince the jury beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the crime. The rule of law entails that the law enforcement agents can only make decisions and exercise their duties when as the law suggests. The rules of revealing evidence are developed based on the laws of England and Wales. The rules in this case give the judge limited power. Hence the roles played by judges in the adversarial system are passive since their duties are to ensure that both parties comply with the court rules and they will give direction on the way forward when disputes arise. The adversarial system, the rules of evidence are strict and the stand of prosecutors should be based on facts. For this reason, the cases are well prepared as prosecutors conduct intensive and extensive investigation prior to the court proceedings. The jury is also supposed to be impartial such that they represent what they consider as the truth so as to enable justice to be served. The adversarial system ensures fair trial as the state is not biased against the defendant. Key principles which govern the behaviour of advocates for the prosecution and the defence For advocates to perform well there are certain principles which they must follow. The key principles are the Expediency principle and the legality principles. The expediency principle also called opportunity principle which ensures that prosecutors need to be well disciplined and discrete so that they can represent the defendants impartially. This means that they are not supposed to handle cases just because they have been presented to the courts but because they want to bring about change and help justice take its course. The legality principle ensures that prosecutors have enough, reliable and valid evidence especially in the early stages. Moreover, the prosecutor is not supposed to be influenced by outside forces (Fionda 8). The key principles are father enhanced by other principles some of them are: The prosecutors should treat each case uniquely and not relate it to similar cases before. They must be fair, independent and should not be influenced by anyone or anything, they have to work in the interests of promoting fair justice and not to fulfil their personal ambitions, they have a responsibility of guiding and advising investigators whenever possible. They also review cases and ensure all evidence is presented to the courts. The prosecutors work is to assist the courts to reach a proper and fair sentence that is backed by sufficient evidence and facts so as to assist the courts to come up with a valid conclusion. They will do this by looking into various matters such as making sure they are conversant with the guidelines on the court procedures with regard to the case; do background research on the victims which will include if they have faced any previous charges. They will also need to make sure that there are fewer barriers that will influence their investigations for instance restraining orders. The prosecutor therefore is useful to the courts because they may tell the court how the victim should be sentenced depending on the crimes they have committed. This is because they prepare a plea and Sentence document before sentencing and they present it to the courts. The prosecutors will therefore ensure fair trial by following up court proceedings by constantly reviewing what is presented to the courts as correct and relevant. Fair trial is also furthered when they address new cases afresh by looking into all the supporting evidence so that they can argue their points in court. In enhancing equality, they do this by making sure that they are not influenced by other people or their personal feelings getting in the way of their work and they will present wrong judgements. They also make sure that the court legislators are informed of what is expected from them as they are constantly advised on the areas where they have doubts. â€Å"Adversarialism will only be valid if both sides are equally matched and every party is treated equally (Ian K, 4). † Presumption of innocence is the state of being considered innocent until the court says you are guilty. This is a right that every accused person is entitled to. The prosecutors therefore are the ones who help the courts prove that a person is ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ beyond any reasonable doubt. The courts refer to as the burden of proof and will only take place when there is evidence. And the prosecutors do this by collecting and presenting the evidence. If the prosecutors or the court has doubt in the evidence presented, the prosecutors will have to be given extra time so that they present what is correct.

Theory Of Child Development Children And Young People Essay

Theory Of Child Development Children And Young People Essay Urie Bronfenbrenner ecological system theory was created to focus on the quality and satisfaction of the childs environment. He believed that as a child grow and develop the way he/she interact with the environment becomes more complex. His theory was created to answer the question How does the environment helps or stops the development of a child? (Paquette, Ryan, 2001) The Urie Bronfenbrenner ecological system theory of child development has 5 systems that greatly impact the development of children. These systems consist of rules, norms and roles that is responsible for the shaping in childrens development. The names of these systems are microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and chronosystem. (schoolworkhelper- St. Rosemary Educational Institution. Growth and Development Theory: URIE BRONFENBRENNER (1917-2005), n.d). Microsystem is define as the direct environment a child lives in, including the childs interaction with any immediate relationship or organisation. The immediate relationship will be family members, peer groups, neighbourhood and the immediate organisation will be school or day-care. The way that these groups, schools and organisation interact with the child will play a major role in the childs development. The more warming, comfortable, encouraging, and nurturing the relationship and organisation are the better the child will develop and grow. (Oswalt, 2008). Also the impact of the relationship occurs in two directions; away from the child and toward the child. An example will be a childs parent may affect his/her behaviour but the child can also affect the behaviour of the parents. Urie Bronfenbrenner refers to this mechanism as bi-directional influences. (schoolworkhelper- St. Rosemary Educational Institution. Growth and Development Theory: URIE BRONFENBRENNER (1917-2005), n.d). A n example of bi-directional influence will be A friendly, attentive child is likely to evoke positive and patient reactions from parents, whereas an irritable or distractible child is more likely to be a target of parental impatience, restriction and punishment. (Collins etal. 2000; Crockenberg Leekers, 2003a). Mesosystem is use to describes the different parts of the microsystem such as home, school, neighbourhood and day-care working together for the benefit of the child (Oswalt, 2008). The way a parent and a child will interact with each other at home is likely to affect the way that child interacts with the caregiver in child care settings and vice versa. (Brek, 2000 ). An example of mesosytem will be if a childs caregiver plays an active role in school, such as volunteering to be a part of activities, attend parent teacher meetings, year level meetings, class meetings and even watching the child play games like soccer, basketball, tennis etc will help ensure the growth and development of the child. (Oswalt, 2008). This is because a childs academic process does not only depend on what goes on in the classrooms but the involvement of the parents or caregiver (Epstein Sanders, 2002), and as long as the parents or caregiver show interest in what the child is doing then the child will be w illing to do and achieve more which will result in proper growth and development. Another way to show how the mesosystem works in shaping the development of a child is by family-neighbourhood connections. For example a child that has an economic disadvantage can benefit greatly from family-neighbourhood relationship. You see, rich families do not depend on their immediate surroundings for social support or education. Therefore they can afford to take their children to lessons and better quality schools in other communities. ( Elliott etal. 1996). Now a poor family will depend on their immediate surroundings for social support and education. After school programmes that offer child care to families and art, music, sports, scouting, dancing, singing etc to the child are linked to improve the performance in school in middle age childhood and psychological adjustment.( Posner vandell,1994; Vandell posner, 1999). Religious youth groups and special interest clubs like circle K that is p rovided by neighbourhood organisation will help the development in adolescence, by raising their self-esteem, enhancing their performance and achievement at school and giving them the knowledge on how to behave responsibly in society. (Gonzales etal., 1996; Kerestes Youniss,2003). Exosystem refers to the places and people that the child may not interact with regularly but plays an important role in the child growth and development. These places and people will be the parents workplace, the neighbourhood, extended family members etc. An example of exosystem will be if a childs parent is fired or laid off from work then the household will only have one set of income or no income at all. This will result in the parent not being able to pay rent, buy groceries or even send the child to school which will negatively impact the child development and growth (Oswalt, 2008). In fact research confirms the negative impact of a break down in exosystem show an increase rates of conflict and child abuse.( Emery Laumann-billings, 1998). However if that child parent receives a promotion or a raise at work, then the parent can provide a proper home, satisfy the child needs when the child is hungry and send he/she to school which will positively impact the child development (Os walt, 2008). Macrosystem consist of all systems mention above, the cultures, the general beliefs, written and unwritten principles that governs everyone on society behaviours. These principles can either be legal, political, economic, religious or educational (schoolworkhelper- St. Rosemary Educational Institution. Growth and Development Theory: URIE BRONFENBRENNER (1917-2005), n.d). The macrosystem can be defined as the effect of larger principles having a cascading influence throughout the interactions of all other layers (Paquette, Ryan, 2001). For example: If in a particular culture the belief is that parents should have full responsibility of raising their child, it is highly unlikely that the culture will provide any resources to assist the parent. As a result the structures at which the parent functions will be affected. The parent ability or inability to handle the responsibility toward their child within the childs microsystem is affected (Paquette, Ryan, 2001). Chronosystem is refered to by Urie Bronfenbrenner as the temporal dimension of his model. The environment is always changing. Important events that may occur throughout a childs life like birth of a sibling, going to school for the first time, parents being divorce are able to alter existing relationships between that child and the environment resulting in new conditions that can affect development. Also the timing of environmental change affects the impact. For example: A toodler having a brother or sister will experience different consequence than a schhol-age child with activities and relationships beyond the family. As a child gets older they have the ability to select, modify and create many of their own settings and experiences. This ability depends on the child physical, intellectual, personal characteristics and their environmental opportunities. Children are both products and producers of their environment therefore both the child and the environment form a network of interd ependent effects in ecological system theory (Brek, 2000). So far we have outline Urie Bronfenbrenner ecological systems theory of child development. Now we will discuss how this theory informs the socialization agents that influence growth and development. Before we get into the discussion we will first define what a socialization agent is. A socialization agent is people like parents, family members, peers, teachers, social institutions like school, community centers and religious institutions that assist with incorporating an individual with society. There are 4 major agents of socialization in society; family, school, community culture and peers. The other agents will be mass media, gender and work. All the agents mentioned above are further divided into socialization groups. The groups are primary agents, secondary agents and social class. Primary agents of socialization are made up of people that are very close to the individual like family, teachers and friends. The most important primary agent of socialisation will be the family because they help shape the life, development and behaviour of an individual with in the society. Secondary agents of socialization are institutions that assist the individual in finding their place within the society. Secondary socialization agents include religious instutions, schools, community centers, work places etc. Schools are responsible for improving a child social skill which helps him/ her incorporate well with the surrounding society. Social classes will be the lower class, working middle class and higher elite class. In other words social class is dividing an individual within the society (Baxamusa, 2011). Now there is a better understand of what socialization agents are we can discuss how Urie Bronfenbrenner theory informs them. However the focus will only be on the socialization agents that influence growth and development. There are family, educators, schools and community centres. Urie Bronfenbrenner ecological theory informed educators in how to handle and analysis situation that may occur in schools whether it is pre-school, primary or secondary school. For example: Akelia is sitting in an art class using markers to draw pictures. Henderson joins her at the table and begins to cut scrap paper with a scissors. Akelia place a piece of paper in the centre of the desk, now Henderson thought that it was scrap paper and begin to cut it in pieces. Akelia looks over to what Henderson is doing, when she realise the paper Henderson was cutting was the piece she place in the centre, she jump up and shouted NO!!!!!! That is moms!! while pulling the paper out of Henderson hands. Suddenly Akelia punch Henderson in the ribs before the teacher can arrive at the desk. In this scenario an educator that is informed by Urie Bronfenbrenner ecological theory will conclude that Akelias mesosystem is aggressive or forceful and the way Akelias family members, neighbours or parents i nteract with her is violent or hostile resulting in Akelia developing that way towards others. So instead of punishing Akelia the educator will talk to her parents about her behaviour towards other and try to come to an agreement on how to deal with the situation so Akelia can grow and develop in a more positive way. This approach will be better than punishment because if Akelia is punish it will only make her more hostil. This is because Akelia thinks that her behaviour is right because that is what she knows from home and that is how she developed. Therefore she will not understand the reason she is being punish and will exhibit very hostile behaviour towards the educator and nothing will be resolved. Also the educator informed by Urie Bronfenbrenner theory will reflect on her class room environment or school environment to make sure that Akelias microsystem is not interacting with her in any violent or hostile way to make her respond to the situation the way she did. If the mesos ystem interaction with Akelia is violent or hostile then the educator will go to higher authorities to talk on how the school is interacting with students and how it is impacting the growth and development of students in a negative way. Urie Bronfenbrenner ecological theory informed programmes that are put in place in schools and communities centers. For example:The school may have sports programmes, social worker programmes, donation programmes and guidance counsellors to work with students who microsystem and mesosystem is broken where the parents or family members, home and neighbourhood are very aggressive, forceful, hostile violent towards the child resulting in the child being emotional scared and growing and developing into a very angry person. When this occur the guidance counsellor of the school will interact with the child, place the child in afterschool programs like sports to help release tension and violent energy, the guidance counsellor may also alert social workers to interact with the parents and try to make better environment for the child so the child can have great growth and development. Also students who exosystem may be broken or breaking down. For instance the mother might lost her job or sal ary has been cut and the child may be not attending school for long periods of time because the parents do not have sufficient funds to send him. When the child does attend school he is in fights because of the broken exosystem the parents are constantly fighting and on the verge to getting a divorce. This then leads to the child undergoing a life changing event which hinders his growth and development because he do not want to socialize or be a part of school activities or school. The school will have a guidance counsellor interact with the child and be there through the stages the help the child cope with the life changing events without hindering the growth and development. Also students who are in a particular culture that believe that parents should take full responsibility for raising their child and no resources are given to the parent. If the parents do not have the ability to take on that responsibility because one parent is handicap and the other addicted to drugs then the school donation programme will be able to provide for the child so the broken macrosystem will not hinder the child growth or development or cause the child to grow and develop in a negative way. Urie Bronfenbrenner

Physics of Football Essay -- physics sport sports american football

Watching a weekend football game could be teaching you something other than who threw the most passes or gained the most yards. Football provides some great examples of the basic concepts of physics! Physics is present in the flight of the ball, the motion of the players, and the force of the tackles. This web page will show you how physics applies to these areas of football. What Exactly Is Physics and What Does It Have to Do with Football? When you throw a football across the yard to your friend, you are using physics. You make adjustments for all the factors, such as distance, wind and the weight of the ball. The farther away your friend is, the harder you have to throw the ball, or the steeper the angle of your throw. This adjustment is done in your head, and it's physics. Physics is the branch of science that deals with the physical world. The area of physics that is most relevant to football is mechanics, the study of motion and its causes. The three main categories of motion that apply to the game are: * delivery of a football through the air (pass, punt, kickoff, field goal, extra point) * runners on the field (backs, receivers, linemen) * stopping runners on the field (tackling, blocking) FLIGHT OF THE BALL When the football travels through the air (long pass, punt, kickoff, field goal), it always follows a curved, or parabolic, path because the movement of the ball in the vertical direction is influenced by the force of gravity As the ball travels up, gravity slows it down until it stops briefly at its peak height, the ball then comes down, and gravity accelerates it until it hits the ground. This... ... the amount of force applied: Less force is required farther out from the center of mass than closer in. So, by tackling a runner low -- far from the center of mass -- it takes less force to tackle him than if he were tackled high. Also, if a runner is hit exactly at his center of mass, he will not rotate, but instead will be driven in the direction of the tackle. Similarly, coaches often advise linemen to stay low. This brings their center of mass closer to the ground, so an opposing player, no matter how low he goes, can only contact them near their center of mass. This makes it difficult for an opposing player to move them, because they will not rotate upon contact. This technique is critical for a defensive lineman in defending his own goal in the "red" zone, the last 10 yards before the goal line.

Shoeless Joe Essay -- essays research papers

Imagine your fate and future resting in the hands of one man’s judgment. This was actually reality for Shoeless Joe Jackson. Many argue that he was one of the best ever to play the game of baseball and was the greatest natural hitter of all-time. Yet, surprisingly, you will not find him among the familiar faces at the Hall of Fame. He was permanently banned from baseball, as well as seven others, for allegedly helping to throw the 1919 World Series.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Joe Jackson was born on July 16, 1888 in Pickins County, South Carolina. He was the oldest of eight children and grew up the son of a cotton mill worker. He began working in the mill at age thirteen and never learned how to read or write. He played baseball in his spare time, and his exceptional skills landed him in the minor leagues by the age of eighteen. He first entered professional baseball in 1908 with Greenville in the Carolina Association. It was during this same year that he received the nickname â€Å"Shoeless† Joe after he had just bought a new pair of spikes. They wore blisters on his feet and they hurt so badly that he just played in his stocking feet. Although he played only one game without the spikes, he was known as â€Å"Shoeless Joe† from then on (McGee 1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shoeless Joe made his major league debut later that year, in 1908, with the Philadelphia Athletics. He only played there a short time before being transferred to the Cleveland Indians. Finally, in 1915 he was sold to Charles Comiskey and the Chicago White Sox. It was here that he played his last few years of professional baseball and his life would be forever changed.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the years 1917 to 1919 the Chicago White Sox were by far the dominant team in baseball. It is speculated that they could have â€Å"gone on to become one of the greatest teams in history† (Schwalbe 2). However, despite having the most talented team around, Charles Comiskey paid his players considerably less than any other winning team (Durst 2). Due to the oppression they were under, the player’s morale began to decrease as their need for money increased. They considered going on strike, but were talked out of it by their manager, â€Å"Kid† Gleason. They remained desperate until first baseman Chick Gandil met with a notorious gambler named â€Å"Sport† Sullivan. The White So... ...t up and protect his own reputation. Comiskey’s lawyer acted as Joe’s lawyer also, although he was really only trying to protect Comiskey. In modern day, Joe would have had his own lawyer from the beginning and Landis would have been convicted of contempt of court since he went against the court’s ruling and banished the eight players for life. Joe would not have had to prove his innocence. Instead, someone would have had to prove him guilty. Clearly, this could not have been achieved. There is no evidence that he did anything wrong, and his statistics clearly support the opposite. Alongside, his performance in the 1919 World Series, Joe’s career batting average of .356 is the third best of all-time (CMG 1). On top of this, he led the league in triples eight times and held the throwing record for distance. It is a shame he was never inducted into the Hall of Fame because of one man’s judgment to ban him from the game. Part of Joe’s last words were â€Å"I’m going to meet the greatest umpire of all – and he knows I’m innocent.† (McCroskey 1). He passed away on Decem ber 5, 1951, and will remain, although often disparaged and misunderstood, one of our national pastime’s greatest legends.

My First Impression of Critical Thinking Class Essay

My first impression when I went to this university was very positive. The person I spoke to just made me feel completely at home because he said when I started as a mature student and that’s what I wanted to hear. He asked me about my experience so far and treated it as though it was something important, something worthwhile talking about and interesting and then he gave me chance to prove myself although I didn’t have the conventional qualifications, to prove myself by doing a written piece of writing which gave me access to the course. Quite pleased because I felt I was intelligent enough to get onto a course, intelligent enough but not educated enough, I didn’t have the certificates to prove it and this was my chance to do so. I’ve no way of knowing really to be honest I’ve nothing really to compare it without I imagine that obviously with the engineering and those sort of sciences you do need to show that you’ve gone through the steps, yes I can imagine there would be the difference, yeah.. My course is like a general introduction to socio-economic, political, even psychological studies and as you go through from one year to the next you can concentrate more on the areas that you find you are interested in but you don’t regret having done other areas which you weren’t particularly fascinated by because it’s building blocks and you build on the last one before you go onto the next one. I found it really hard work fitting – think fitting 6 subjects in one year is quite a lot to fit in. It would be nice if it was just 5 perhaps but that’s life. The deadlines are really hard work but I suppose you’ve got to have them so that’s okay. I chose to study full-time so I can’t really complain. I find the university itself a rather alienating environment. In the library it is difficult to concentrate – there are always people chatting, letting doors bang and so on. It’s mostly minor practical things like the long two bus journeys that I have and the fact that there is nowhere to base yourself. You can’t make yourself a coffee – you haven’t got a room of your own, not even a locker. You have to carry everything there and back every day and pay 82p for a drink, like a shopper going round town. You can’t find anywhere to have a nap if you’re tired and I love catnapping – it just revives me instantly. Study rooms get really hot. The food canteens are not as good as I’d expect but it’s great – I could stay all day reading in the library – it’s a fantastic resource. There is just so much there – and I think of it as an archive – as time goes on the more and more, the older stuff gets more and more important – the fact that it’s still there because if you compare it for example with the internet there’s loads of stuff on the internet but it’s all pretty current. The old stuff hasn’t necessarily been archived, it can just be switched off. Lack of grass roots involvement, choices and accountability – altogether you are treated more like a consumer than a participant but with no customer services hotline. You’ve very much following a series of chosen paths like levels in a computer game. The choices are just which subjects, not fundamentals like where, when and how to study – it’s not a democracy, it’s an institution. It’s not what I’d expected coming from the voluntary sector where every organisation is run by a committee that the grass roots can contact and appeal to. You can even put yourself forward to join the committees. Student Union’s just not the same, to me that’s like being invited to be a critic in the audience, not to have a share in running the show. Here they ask for one student rep from our group – just one – why not all of us? Why not an open forum meeting every few months to feed all our comments – big and small – through to the management. Why not a suggestion box at least? Where is the annual report to students? Where s the accountability? It was a surprise to find my course entirely full of 18 year old white kids – they all look the same. There must be less than 5% mature students which is a shame. The youngsters are so docile in the classroom, like sheep, they never challenge anything, they just don’t know loads of stuff like recent British history, politics. Of course, it’s easier if you’ve lived through it but I don’t think some of them even listen to the news. I feel sorry for anyone just studying the National Curriculum. The mature students mostly got kids, like me, I’ve got teenagers, some also work, have other activities, some are even doing other courses at the same time, they know how to push themselves. Even so, a lot feel unconfident at the university. They just don’t get what’s required of them, at least for the first year. I was a mentor when I started my second year for an adult in her first year. She said I really helped in lending an ear and explaining things. Mentoring is a really good system. I wish I’d had one when I started. Co-operative work, team work, committee skills. The whole emphasis is on developing you as an individual. You will become a researcher, not a team. We are also carefully told how to avoid plagiarism but people are afraid to actually work together – in fact, university doesn’t teach team work in general. It could. In reality there are vital committee skills some graduates won’t come across till they get to the workplace, making them look naive. I mean practical things like meetings, having agendas, minutes, standing orders and so on. In the voluntary sector I’d been used to organisations having good, well worked out policies and procedures which are publicly available documents. Here, the nearest we got was one session on ground rules in an introductory course which was never repeated, reviewed or built upon. Value and experiences, using skills and building your self-esteem. Something I got from training as an adult trainer was an appreciation of good methods in bringing out what people already have as a starting point for education. Lectures are obviously pretty much one way but seminars don’t have to be. I was taught to be a facilitator not a teacher with the idea that the group works together towards a result. The process of doing this is educational. It builds up self-esteem because everyone contributes – their input is valued. Their previous experiences in life and skills and attributes in group work come out. There is no time for that here. Seminars are mostly just tutors trying to get kids to talk about what they’ve understood from the text of some great intellectual man who’s probably dead now. Perhaps that is just in social science, I don’t know. Social justice, rights, respect, equality and diversity – all these things are central to the objectives in the voluntary sector. I am sure they are here in the mission statement for the university but the reality is different. The staff seem to be 100% white. I am on a course which must be about 98% white. Why aren’t people screaming about that? Where are the anti-racism posters around the place? It’s as if no-one wants to stir up agitation for a change. One good thing is that here in working-class South Yorkshire the university does open its library doors and other facilities to everyone although it doesn’t make a point of advertising the fact – perhaps they think that would cause trouble. Perhaps they’re not proud enough of the community focus part of the mission. Activism, forums, notice-boards. I was expecting university to be a hive of student activities like it perhaps was in the 1960’s but it’s not, as many people have said. The student societies are, to say the least, not high profile. This is a shame because it’s such a learning experience for people’s skills trying to organise something. One reason is that there are so few lively, open notice-boards where activities can be advertised. The few existing notice-boards are glass-covered, it’s not obvious if they’re for student use and people secretly try to slide notices through the glass where they just stay there for months curling up. Split between several campuses there’s no feeling of a sort of open forum for stalls. It’s as if a vital source is missing. True engagement with the community. Before I’d started at university I’d seven years or more with the credit unions which is part of the voluntary sector. It has it’s own culture perhaps, but it has good principles and tools which are used. Principles like diversity, equality, co-operation, mutual respect, rights and social justice, user management, community management, local provision and grass roots basis and a critical awareness of power structures. Democracy, self-esteem building and capacity building, accessible facilities with childcare if necessary, environmental awareness, accountability and sustainable progress. Useful tools include the use of ground rules for meetings, experiential learning, valuing people’s own experience, avoidance of jargon and good policies and procedures. The Hallam volunteering project has an impressive track record and it’s obviously a step in the right direction. It gets students out of the ivory towers or out of the pub and into the community for some real-life experience. But I wonder how this impacts on the organisations they work with. There is such a thing as institutional memory and I wonder whether they’re having a good or a bad experience with student volunteers in those organisations. The local voluntary action organisations could advise on this but I never heard much about Hallam volunteering when I worked in the voluntary sector. It may be a false impression but they seem to come for one-off projects, then go away to write up their experiences. For the full-time volunteers and clients of others in the voluntary sector it must feel a little bit like being experimented on I think. I’d like to think that students could be prepared with an idealistic visionary missionary statement in their minds about the voluntary sector – perhaps a course on community work, it’s principles, it’s forward-looking ideals. The voluntary and community sector is historic – it is immense, it is something Britain should be proud of. If this vision met the hard reality of imperfect organisations, over the years something would rub off for the organisations as well as the students and it would be a two-way learning experience. There are many hard-working development workers in most fields who would be grateful to show the ropes and get some real student volunteers if they came along with some grounding like this. The vision I would have of being a self-directed learner would be spending hours in the library and hours on the internet looking things up. With the guidance of an essay title, perhaps a list of resources that are recommended, web-site links, books by key writers on the subject but not an open brief, definitely working towards an agreed or a set title and writing an essay about that. Yeah it would be nice, it would be nice to have a completely free hand in setting an objective and working an open-ended way to collect data. The nearest I’ve come to that type of experience is in the final year dissertation but even that is within you have to choose within a subject area and then within that you can almost by negotiation choose your wn title for the essay or piece of work. I think I’ve found it quite liberating to be released from the confines of writing an essay – an essay is rather like, well I suppose that is the whole discipline of it – narrowing your words and your thoughts down to one and a half thousand words, certain format, very strict – yeah, that’s difficult, it is an art in itself but I’d much rather be doing something open-ended given the freedom and the flexibility to determine the limits myself. Yeah, I’ve seen people walking round with cameras, with questionnaire sheets. It seems as though I’m guessing, I might be wrong, but it seems as though they’re following year after year the same pattern so I imagine that cohorts of students come round every year and ask the same passers-by the same series of questions. In the first year or two of university is certainly following orders, like following a worksheet or following what you’ve been told to do. In my particular field I’d like to be more in contact with other people discussing working on the same areas. I think I like websites and I’d like to think, for one example off the top of my head, that I was working to a cumulative sort of website where we were each contributing pieces of work in the areas that we’re interested in which would build up as a resource over several years so that new students could come along and be shown this website – look at this as a resource and contribute and discuss with the people currently working on the website. That’s just one idea. Other things that make studying interesting would be student publications which were not reviews of pubs and bands and so on but on the topic so perhaps if the university had a tradition of contributing to the journals. There is a massive, massive range of journals which are great to read and very intellectual and some universities I think have this tradition of contributing and I haven’t seen anybody at undergraduate level making a contribution – you can do.