The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference between a student’s reading/language arts TCAP scale score and his or her lunch status for students in grades three, four, & five within two school systems in Tennessee. The population consisted of 2,442 students who were in grades three, four, and five during the 2014-2015 school year in a city school system in east Tennessee and a county school system in middle Tennessee. The Kruskal-Wallis H, a non-parametric test, was used to identify statistically significant differences in the medians of the reading/language arts TCAP scores across the three types of lunch payment status. The independent variable was the type of student lunch status (free, reduced, and full pay). The dependent variable was the reading/language arts TCAP scale score of students in grade three, four, and five. The quantitative findings revealed the relationship between student lunch status group and reading/language arts TCAP scale score was significant for all four research questions. In all analyses, the difference in the reading/language arts TCAP scale scores of students in the free lunch status group and the full pay lunch status group was significant. When the data from both school systems were combined, there was a significant difference in the scale scores between the free and full pay lunch status groups, the free and reduced lunch status groups, and the reduced and full pay lunch status groups.

Evidence suggests that principals' practices influence student achievement. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the beliefs elementary school principals in the mid-Atlantic United States had about which leadership practices have been instrumental in reducing the achievement gap between economically-disadvantaged students and all other students at their schools. The leadership model that Kouzes and Posner developed, which identified 5 practices of exemplary leaders, served as the conceptual framework for this study. Eleven principals who were leaders at schools where the achievement gap in reading had been reduced compared with the state average were interviewed. A combination of a priori and open coding was used to support thematic analysis. Six leadership practices, aligned with transformational and instructional leadership practices, were identified as influencing student achievement positively. The participants indicated the importance of leading by example and developing positive relationships with all stakeholders and communicating and inspiring all stakeholders with their vision for their schools, believed in shared decision making and developing teacher leaders, and understood the value of risk-taking and innovation along with a strong instructional focus. The results of this study add to the research supporting the influence that principals have on student achievement by identifying practices principals could implement at their schools to increase student achievement. It is recommended that school division personnel and principal preparation program personnel use these results to inform their training programs and school improvement initiatives. Positive social change may occur when principals implement these 6 practices at their own schools, thereby increasing the reading achievement of economically-disadvantaged students.

This study investigates how socially and economically disadvantaged young people, living in a semi-rural, post-industrial Atlantic Canadian community, experience and perceive social and economic health -- defined as participants' sense of comfort and security that their social and economic needs are, and will continue to be, met in their community. I argue that social and educational policies and practices must reflect the realities of local citizens if they aim to interrupt regional health disparities. A key objective of this research is to expose and challenge gender, class, and regional inequalities through an analysis of young adults' social and economic health experiences and perceptions. Drawing primarily upon Pierre Bourdieu's (1990b; 2001)concepts -- habitus, field, and symbolic domination -- relations between gender, class,and historical circumstances theoretically inform this research. Employing a critical ethnographic methodological framework (Madison, 2005),experiences and perceptions of ten economically disadvantaged youth -- five women and five men, ages 19-30 -- were gathered through focus groups, individual interviews, participant observation, critical dialogue (using media to stimulate dialogue among participants), and an adaptation of photovoice (a technique combining photography and narrative). Results suggest that the social and economic health needs of economically disadvantaged young adults are not being met. They confirm Bourdieu's (1999a)assertion of an interrelationship between physical place and the positioning of agents in social fields. Participants navigate economic, cultural, and social fields, aware of their social positioning as they 'work' the fields in order to secure enough capital to 'get by'. Their struggles are examples of symbolic domination and suggest a significant psycho-social cost to young adults seeking social and economic health through various fields. Analyses of their experiences suggest a disjuncture between gendered identities ascribed to participants through historically-rooted habitus and contemporary social fields. Recommendations call for gender, class, and regional inequalities to be addressed through structural interventions and investment in long term community-based education that is integrated with local economic development initiatives. Furthermore, this research calls attention to how research agendas and procedures can actually reinforce marginalization, making it difficult for the voices of disadvantaged communities to enter into dominant public discourse.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of economically disadvantaged, Black students attending predominantly White, elite private boarding schools. Data were collected utilizing semi-structured interviews with 9 participants, with each interview lasting approximately 90 minutes. The recursive method of data collection and analysis was informed by six steps outlined by Creswell (1998), as well as Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) methods (Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). Findings revealed 9 themes associated with participants' experiences: classroom experiences, value of Black peer networks, caught between two worlds, racial perceptions, desire to connect with people of all races, socioeconomic challenges, living away from home challenges, impact of peers on level of success, and significance of relationships with Black faculty. Practice and research implications for Black students attending private school, as well as for private school faculty and administrators, are discussed.

Dieser Beitrag gibt, basierend auf einem BMBF-Verbundvorhaben, Einblicke in die umfassende Bewertung von OPTextilien. Ziel des Vorhabens ist es, Entscheidern in Krankenhäusern Anregungen und Know-how für ihren Berufsalltag und Produzenten von OP-Textilien Impulse für die Gestaltung ihrer Produkte zu geben. Es werden die hygienischen Anforderungen zur Vermeidung nosokomialer Infektionen, die die Schutzwirkung der Textilien garantierenden textiltechnologischen Voraussetzungen sowie die zur Erfüllung der Wirtschaftlichkeit und Umweltfreundlichkeit notwendigen Anforderungen an OP-Textilien dargestellt. Der Beitrag verdeutlicht, dass die Beachtung all dieser Kriterien und deren Zusammenführung für eine bewusste Entscheidung zum Einsatz von OP-Textilien notwendig ist. / This article describes a holistic assessment approach for operating room (OR) textiles, based on a joint research project funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research. The objective of the project is to ease decision processes for decision makers in hospitals and OR textile manufacturers. The hygienic demands for protection against nosocominal infections, the technological requirements to guarantee textiles their protective properties, as well as the bases for an economically and environmentally optimum decision, are discussed. To permit a holistic procurement decision regarding OR textiles, it is necessary to consider all these criteria and their integration, as proposed in this article.

Europos Sąjungos pilietybės koncepcija, pirmiausia pristatyta Mastrichto sutartimi (1992 m.), vėliau patikslinta Amsterdamo sutartimi (1997 m.), ilgai buvo laikoma tuščiu pažadu. Nors pradžioje ši simbolinės reikšmės koncepcija nesukūrė naujų teisių, tačiau dabar tapo esmine kylančioje Europos santvarkoje. Dėl Teisingumo Teismo dinamiškos praktikos ir jos kodifikavimo naujojoje Direktyvoje 2004/38/EB dėl Sąjungos piliečių ir jų šeimos narių teisės laisvai judėti ir gyventi valstybių narių teritorijoje koncepcijos vaidmuo pradėjo keistis. Europos Sąjungos pilietybė pamažu tampa tiesioginiu teisių šaltiniu išeinant už ekonominio konteksto ribų. Darbe analizuojama ekonomiškai neaktyvių Europos Sąjungos piliečių teisė laisvai judėti ir įsikurti Sąjungos teritorijoje. Pagrindinis darbo tikslas – aptarti esamą ir potencialiai galimą laisvo judėjimo principo išplėtimą ekonomiškai neaktyvių Sąjungos piliečių atžvilgiu. Pirmoje darbo dalyje akcentuojamas Europos Sąjungos pilietybės principas kaip nepriklausomas ekonomiškai neaktyvių Europos Sąjungos piliečių teisių šaltinis. Analizuojamas teisės laisvai judėti turinys, ypač daug dėmesio skiriama Sutarties 17 ir 18 straipsnių analizei, siekiant nustatyti, kokias naujoves skatina ir problemas kelia šių straipsnių taikymas naujausioje Teisingumo Teismo praktikoje, t.y., ar Sutarties 17-18 straipsnių nuostatos sukuria autonomišką ir tiesioginę teisę laisvai judėti ir įsikurti Europos Sąjungoje; ar pakeičia “išimtinai vidaus situacijos”... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / First introduced by the Maastricht Treaty, and subsequently revised by the Amsterdam Treaty, European Union (EU) citizenship long remained an empty promise. Even if it did not offer much in terms of new rights at first, EU citizenship has now become a key element of the rising European polity. Recently, indeed, and thanks primarily to the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) case-law and its codification in Directive 2004/38/EC on the rights of movement and residence of EU citizens and their family, things have started to change. European citizenship is slowly becoming a direct source of rights outside the economic context. This academic master work explores the right of economically inactive EU citizens to move and reside freely within the territory of European Union. The main purpose of this work is to review the existing and potential extension as well as challenges to the principle of free movement of economically inactive EU citizens. Part I of this work highlights the principle of EU citizenship as an independent source of rights of economically inactive people. This part explores the material scope of free movement rights concentrating on the added value of Articles 17-18 EC: whether the new provisions introduce an autonomous and directly effective right to move and reside in a Member State; whether Article 17 and 18 change the law as it relates to ‘wholly internal situations’; whether Articles 17 and 18 contribute to the creation of new substantive rights for EU... [to full text]

Striving towards service excellence, a public entity can embark on various service and product delivery strategies as well as functional management strategies or management tools. The primary objective of this study is to indicate to what extent a public entity such as Gerotek can meet the different approaches to economically viable service delivery to the government and commercial environments respectively, where different rules, regulations, means and ways of contracting apply. In order to realise this objective, the characteristics of public entities and those of private entities competing in the same market were explored and comparisons made between the different entities to indicate the level of success each one is able to achieve. Public-Private Partnerships, Project- Partnering and Management, as well as Black Economic Empowerment involvement, as different forms of partnership agreements or other forms of business models, were investigated to distinguish best practice in service and product delivery strategies. The effectiveness of various management tools was discussed, such as the South African Excellence Model, Total Quality Management, and the Balanced Scorecard, which can be applied to assist management in improving service delivery. Interviews were conducted according to an interviewer-administered questionnaire to obtain information pertaining to the literature study of the above, in order to determine the effectiveness of service delivery within a public entity competing in government and commercial environments. The respondents agreed that a public entity could meet best practice to deliver economically viable services and products to both environments, with the reservation that continuous improvements should be made. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

This study investigates how socially and economically disadvantaged young people, living in a semi-rural, post-industrial Atlantic Canadian community, experience and perceive social and economic health -- defined as participants' sense of comfort and security that their social and economic needs are, and will continue to be, met in their community. I argue that social and educational policies and practices must reflect the realities of local citizens if they aim to interrupt regional health disparities. A key objective of this research is to expose and challenge gender, class, and regional inequalities through an analysis of young adults' social and economic health experiences and perceptions. Drawing primarily upon Pierre Bourdieu's (1990b; 2001)concepts -- habitus, field, and symbolic domination -- relations between gender, class,and historical circumstances theoretically inform this research. Employing a critical ethnographic methodological framework (Madison, 2005),experiences and perceptions of ten economically disadvantaged youth -- five women and five men, ages 19-30 -- were gathered through focus groups, individual interviews, participant observation, critical dialogue (using media to stimulate dialogue among participants), and an adaptation of photovoice (a technique combining photography and narrative). Results suggest that the social and economic health needs of economically disadvantaged young adults are not being met. They confirm Bourdieu's (1999a)assertion of an interrelationship between physical place and the positioning of agents in social fields. Participants navigate economic, cultural, and social fields, aware of their social positioning as they 'work' the fields in order to secure enough capital to 'get by'. Their struggles are examples of symbolic domination and suggest a significant psycho-social cost to young adults seeking social and economic health through various fields. Analyses of their experiences suggest a disjuncture between gendered identities ascribed to participants through historically-rooted habitus and contemporary social fields. Recommendations call for gender, class, and regional inequalities to be addressed through structural interventions and investment in long term community-based education that is integrated with local economic development initiatives. Furthermore, this research calls attention to how research agendas and procedures can actually reinforce marginalization, making it difficult for the voices of disadvantaged communities to enter into dominant public discourse.

Striving towards service excellence, a public entity can embark on various service and product delivery strategies as well as functional management strategies or management tools. The primary objective of this study is to indicate to what extent a public entity such as Gerotek can meet the different approaches to economically viable service delivery to the government and commercial environments respectively, where different rules, regulations, means and ways of contracting apply. In order to realise this objective, the characteristics of public entities and those of private entities competing in the same market were explored and comparisons made between the different entities to indicate the level of success each one is able to achieve. Public-Private Partnerships, Project- Partnering and Management, as well as Black Economic Empowerment involvement, as different forms of partnership agreements or other forms of business models, were investigated to distinguish best practice in service and product delivery strategies. The effectiveness of various management tools was discussed, such as the South African Excellence Model, Total Quality Management, and the Balanced Scorecard, which can be applied to assist management in improving service delivery. Interviews were conducted according to an interviewer-administered questionnaire to obtain information pertaining to the literature study of the above, in order to determine the effectiveness of service delivery within a public entity competing in government and commercial environments. The respondents agreed that a public entity could meet best practice to deliver economically viable services and products to both environments, with the reservation that continuous improvements should be made. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The older person’s component of the population has increased rapidly in recent years due to developments in medicine, technology and other areas of life. Growing older implies a gradual decline in the physical, mental and social functioning of an individual. Older people consequently have to rely on others for assistance, and, in some instances, they are looked after in residential care facilities. These facilities should be sensitive to older person’s culture, religion, ethnicity, privacy, dignity and independence. The aim of this study was to explore older person’s experiences in an economically deprived residential care facility in order to understand what their needs are and how these needs can be met so as to enhance older person’s subjective well–being. Socio–ecological theory and the BBB (Being, Belonging and Becoming) model were used to assess the extent to which the facility promoted the well–being of the residents of the facility. A qualitative research study was undertaken to determine the older person’s experiences of the residential care facility. A purposive sample of eight participants - three black and five white with ages ranging from 65 to 75 - was used in the focus group discussions. Another method, the Mmogo–methodTM, made use of a sample of 23 participants - eight black and 15 white with ages ranging from 65 to 75. The focus group discussions yielded insight into the older person’s experiences of the facility while in the Mmogo–methodTM, a visually projective method, the participants made visual representations of their experiences thereby revealing the deeper meanings of the experiences. The data, both textual and visual, obtained from the focus group discussions and the Mmogo–methodTM, were analysed using thematic content analysis. The trustworthiness of the study was ensured through crystallisation. The study revealed that the older persons in the facility experienced a lack of autonomy, isolation and discrimination. It also appeared that they wanted more contact with people outside the facility. Some of the older persons engaged actively with their environment while others adopted a more passive stance. The study suggests that older persons should be given the opportunity to take decisions regarding certain aspects of their lives. Also, interventions aimed at dealing with personal loss and relational deficiencies and at promoting respect for diversity should be planned and implemented in order to improve the subjective well–being of older persons in residential care facilities. / Thesis (M.A. (Research Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.