scholarly journals Uncovering the Disparities in Educational Attainment across Urban and Rural Locations in Northern Ireland

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gemma Cherry
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Multilevel Modelling ◽  
The Body ◽  
Quantitative Methodology ◽  
Educational Inequalities ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundPrevious research investigating the influence of location in young people’s educational development often focus on measuring levels of poverty in urban communities and largely ignores the impact of rural areas and comparisons between urban and rural locations. This research advocates that including urban and rural location variables in research methodologies is imperative to gaining a fuller understanding of educational inequalities. ObjectivesThe aim of this research is to examine the disparities in educational attainment between urban and rural locations in Northern Ireland (hereafter NI) and to identify the possible factors associated with such location disparities. Minimal research efforts have been dedicated to understanding these inequalities and even less attention has been aimed towards explaining them in a NI context. This research aims to fill this gap in knowledge. MethodsA quantitative methodology, incorporating secondary data analysis will be utilised to achieve the research aims. This research will use administrative data provided by ADRC-NI which links the 2011 Census to the School Leavers Survey and School Census. Using GCSE results as a measure of educational attainment, multilevel modelling will be conducted on this data which has a sample size of N = 55,000 pupils. FindingsThe findings of this research will provide information on how much of the variance in pupils’ educational attainment across urban and rural locations is associated with the individual, the school and the location. ConclusionsThis research will add to the body of knowledge surrounding educational inequalities in NI.

A PROPOSED EVALUATION PLAN TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF A YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FACILITATED BY THE STATE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AGENCY (SITA) IN RURAL SOUTH AFRICA

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-181
Author(s):  
Maura Mbunyuza-deHeer Menlah
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
The State ◽  
State Information ◽  
Evaluation Plan ◽  
Lessons Learnt ◽  
Slow Development ◽  
The Impact

This article reports on a proposed evaluation plan that has been developed to assess the work done by the State Information Technology Agency (SITA). The SITA programme was implemented in response to the South African government’s call to improve the lives of the populations in some rural areas through technology. The programme was meant to address slow development in  rural  areas  that  lack  technological  innovations  and  advances.  In  the proposed evaluation plan a review is made of secondary data, deciding how strategic priorities are to be determined, as well as analysis of the rural context environment. The researcher gives an account of how the evaluation strategies are to be piloted and rolled out thereafter. Lessons learnt are recorded and reported upon. A proposed evaluation plan will be developed, based on the lessons learnt in line with the objectives of the project.

Effect of education on migration decisions in Ghana: a rural-urban perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franklin Amuakwa-Mensah ◽  
Louis Boakye-Yiadom ◽  
William Baah-Boateng
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Migration Decision ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Migration Decisions ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of education on migration decisions focusing on rural and urban in-migrants by comparing the 2005/2006 and 2012/2013 rounds of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS5 and GLSS6). After correcting for selectivity bias, the authors observed that anticipated welfare gain and socio-economic variables such as sector of employment, sex, experience, age, educational level and marital status significantly affect an individual’s migration decision. Design/methodology/approach – The authors made use of Sjaastad’s (1962) human capital framework as a basis for examining the impact of education on migration. The migration decision equation was based on the Heckman two stage procedure. Findings – While educational attainment is observed to have a positive effect on migration decision in the period 2005/2006, the authors find a negative effect of educational attainment on migration decision in the period 2012/2013. The effect of educational attainment on migration decision in 2005/2006 for urban in-migrant is higher than the effect for rural in-migrant, with its significance varying for the different stages of educational attainment. In absolute terms, whereas the effect of secondary educational attainment on migration decisions for urban in-migrant is higher than that of rural in-migrant, the reverse holds for higher educational attainment during the period 2012/2013. Social implications – Based on the mixed effect of education on migration decision as evident from the study, policies to enhance the educational system in Ghana should be complemented with job creations in the entire country. Moreover, special attention should be given to the rural sector in such a way that the jobs to be created in the sector do not require skilled workers. With quality education and job creation, the welfare of individuals living in urban and rural areas will be enhanced. Originality/value – In spite of the importance of education in migration decisions, there is scanty literature on the rural-urban dimension. To the best of the author’s knowledge there is no literature in the Ghanaian context which examines the rural and urban perspective of the impact of education on migration with a much recent data. Further, the author consider how the determinants of migration decision have changed over time focusing on rural and urban perspectives.

The Determinants and Consequences of Accurate Beliefs About Childhood Vaccinations

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 628-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. Joslyn ◽  
Steven M. Sylvester
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
Motivated Reasoning ◽  
Parental Choice ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Policy Attitudes ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

In this article, we examine the individual predictors that are responsible for accurate beliefs about the link between vaccinations and autism. We then show how these beliefs affect policy preferences about vaccines. We derive two hypotheses from motivated reasoning theory and test these on national survey data from Gallup and CBS News. Republicans were less likely to report accurate beliefs than Democrats. In addition, educational attainment modified the impact of party identification. The gap between Republicans and Democrats in likelihood of reporting accurate beliefs was largest among the most educated portion of the public. Finally, we show that accurate beliefs about vaccines, independent of statistical controls, are important predictors of policy attitudes about unvaccinated children attending public school and parental choice about the decision to vaccinate. We discuss the theoretical and practical significance of these findings.

scholarly journals Digital Competence in Higher Education: Students’ Perception and Personal Factors

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 12184
Author(s):  
Yu Zhao ◽  
María Cruz Sánchez Gómez ◽  
Ana María Pinto Llorente ◽  
Liping Zhao
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Lower Grade ◽  
Quantitative Methodology ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Digital Competence ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Digital Competencies ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Impact

University students are expected to have the appropriate digital competence to face the demands of the changing educational model and to meet the challenges of the future work. This paper describes university students’ perceptions of digital competence and analyzes the impact of personal factors on digital competence in a sample of 5164 students from all majors in the first and fourth year of their studies at Gansu Agricultural University (China). A quantitative methodology was followed, employing a non-experimental method and the survey technique to collect data. The results obtained show that students’ perceptions of digital competencies in terms of information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, and safety were positive. Furthermore, there were significant differences in students’ self-perceptions of digital competence related to gender, grade level, area of residence, and prior relevant training in the DigComp framework-based instrument. The development of key competency areas for digital competence, such as the creation of digital content, should be promoted, along with helping students to gain knowledge when dealing with everyday technological issues. The need for training related to the use of ICT and digital competencies was also highlighted, as well as supporting the promotion of female students in selected areas of digital competence and assisting lower grade students and students from rural areas in digital competence development.

scholarly journals Impactos da Covid-19 na produção e comercialização de alimentos em Brasília-DF: desafios para os assentados/acampados da reforma agrária

GeoTextos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Luiza Barbosa Dias ◽  
Juscelino Eudâmidas Bezerra
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Agrarian Reform ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Direct Sales ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Impact

<p>O setor agrícola foi severamente afetado pela pandemia de Covid-19, gerando incertezas sobre a produção e a distribuição de alimentos, o que afetou diretamente o trabalho de milhões de agricultores. Este artigo visa a analisar o impacto da pandemia na produção de alimentos em Brasília-DF, especialmente entre os agricultores assentados/acampados da reforma agrária. Para a análise, foram utilizados dados primários obtidos através de um questionário on-line destinado ao público da reforma agrária em áreas rurais das regiões administrativas da capital federal, além de dados secundários, disponibilizados por instituições públicas. Os resultados mostraram que o impacto da pandemia foi intenso entre os agricultores, deixando-os extremamente vulneráveis, principalmente nos meses iniciais da pandemia. Como forma de enfretamento dos efeitos da pandemia, os trabalhadores adotaram quatro medidas específicas: a utilização do serviço de entrega delivery; a venda de cestas agroecológicas; a participação em redes solidárias e a venda direta em feira de reforma agrária. Essas novas dinâmicas de comercialização têm transformado as formas de interação campo-cidade ao demandar estratégias diferenciadas para alcançar os consumidores finais, contribuindo para amenizar os efeitos disruptivos da pandemia nos sistemas alimentares locais.</p><p><span>Abstract</span></p><p>IMPACTS OF COVID-19 ON FOOD PRODUCTION AND COMMERCIALIZATION IN BRASILIA-DF: CHALLENGES FOR AGRARIAN REFORM SETTLERS/CAMPED</p><p>The agricultural sector was severely affected by the pandemic of Covid-19, genera- ting uncertainties about food production and distribution, which directly affected the work of millions of farmers. This article aims to analyze the impact of the pandemic on food production in Brasília-DF, especially among farmers settled in agrarian reform settlements. The analysis used primary data obtained through an on-line questionnaire addressed to the public of agrarian reform in rural areas of the administrative regions of the federal capital, as well as secondary data made available by public institutions. The results showed that the impact of the pandemic was intense among farmers, leaving them extremely vulnerable, especially in the initial months of the pandemic. As a way of countering the effects of the pandemic, workers have adopted four specific measures: the use of delivery services; the salof agro-ecological baskets; participation in solidarity networks; and direct sales at agrarian reform fairs. These new commercialization dynamics have transformed the forms of countryside-city interaction by demanding different strategies to reach final consumers, contributing to mitigate the pandemic’s disruptive effects on local food systems.</p>

Evaluating the Impact of the Post-9/11 GI Bill on College Enrollment for Veterans with Service-Connected Disabilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-44
Author(s):  
Liang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Military Service ◽  
College Enrollment ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Gi Bill ◽  
Educational Benefits ◽  
College Participation ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
The Impact

Background/Context The Post-9/11 GI Bill has provided educational benefits to millions of military service members and veterans since its adoption in August 2009. Recent studies indicate that the bill has significantly improved college enrollment and educational attainment among post-9/11 veterans. A significant proportion of veterans suffer from service-connected disabilities. While provisions of the Post-9/11 GI Bill may render education benefits that are appealing to veterans with service-connected disabilities, little is known with regard to how the bill has affected college participation among this venerable subpopulation of veterans. Purpose/Objective This study examines the effect of the Post-9/11 GI Bill on college enrollment rates among veterans with service-connected disabilities and unpacks potentially heterogeneous impacts across groups with different demographic characteristics (i.e., sex, age, race/ ethnicity, educational attainment, and disability ratings). Population Post-9/11 veterans. Research Design Triple differences. Data Collection and Analysis Secondary data analysis based on American Community Survey 2005–2016. Findings/Results While the Post-9/11 GI Bill has increased college enrollment for veterans without service-connected disabilities by less than 1 percentage point, the increase is much larger—about 5 percentage points—for veterans with service-connected disabilities. Enrollment effects for veterans with service-connected disabilities are consistent and positive across sex, age, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and disability ratings. Conclusions/Recommendations The results of this study provide strong evidence for the significant enrollment growth among veterans with service-connected disabilities after the adoption of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. While this result is reassuring, it is not clear whether this large effect for veterans with service-connected disabilities is due to favorable provisions in the Post-9/11 GI Bill or due to lower opportunity costs. In the future, researchers may want to identify appropriate sources for data on detailed educational benefits to examine the mechanisms behind the effect.

scholarly journals HUMAN BEHAVIORAL CHANGES AND ITS IMPACT IN DISEASE MODELING

2015 ◽  
Vol 77 (33) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teoh Shian Li ◽  
Jane Labadin ◽  
Phang Piau ◽  
Ling Yeong Tyng ◽  
Shapiee Abd Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Uniform Distribution ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Disease Modeling ◽  
Demographic Factors ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Individual Based Model ◽  
Preventive Actions ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

One of the threats of the world health is the infectious diseases. This leads to the raise of concern of the policymakers and disease researchers. Vaccination program is one of the methods to prevent the vaccine-preventable diseases and hence help to eradicate the diseases. The impact of the preventive actions is related to the human behavioral changes. Fear of the diseases will increase one’s incentive in taking the preventive actions to avoid the diseases. As human behavioral changes affecting the impact of the preventive actions, the individual-based model is constructed to incorporate the behavioral changes in disease modeling. The agents in the individual-based model are allowed to move randomly and interact with each other in the environment. The interactions will cause the disease viruses as well as the fearfulness to be spread in the population. In addition, the individual-based model can have different environment setups to distinguish the urban and rural areas. The results shown in this paper are divided into two subsections, which are the justification of using uniform distribution as random number generator, and the variation of disease spread dynamics in urban and rural areas. Based on the results, the uniform distribution is found to be sufficient in generating the random numbers in this model as there is no extreme outlier reported in the experiment. We have hypothesized the individuals in urban area to have higher level of fearfulness compared to those in rural area. However, the preliminary results of the survey conducted show a disagreement with the hypothesis. Nevertheless, the data collected still show two distinct classes of behavior. Thus, the distinction does not fall into the samples taken from rural or urban areas but perhaps more on the demographic factors. Therefore, the survey has to be study again and demographic factors have to be included in the survey as we could not distinguish the level of fearfulness by areas.  

scholarly journals CONSUMER ATTITUDE TOWARDS WATER PURIFY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO DEHRADUN CITY

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 686-693
Author(s):  
Manisha A ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Body ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Minimum Cost ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
The Body ◽  
Consumer Attitude ◽  
Brand Preference ◽  
Color Patterns ◽  
Local Water ◽  
The Impact

One can survive without food but not without water. A human body is comprised of 70% of water which helps in other activities of the body like digestion and metabolic processes. Water is the most critical issue in todays world and its purity is the second. Currently,Watertreatmentmethodsincludefiltrationandheatathightemperaturetokillthebacteria inside it. As a result, consumer demand for water purifier has been increases. Several companies like KENT, HUL, Tata, Eureka Forbes, LG, Bajaj etc. have entered this segment and have launched various brands of water purifiers. Existing demand has also attracted to local players who have entered in the market and assembling water purifiers in minimum cost such as Aqua fres h, Aqua plus, Aqua grand, Aqua care, Aqua pearl, Aqua pure, Liv pro, etc. They vary in size, purification technology, price, color, patterns, usage etc. This study is conducted in Dehradun city a popular tourist place in Uttarakhand. The study mainly aims to analyze the impact of brand preference of respondents on various local water purifiers available in the market. The study also focuses on the consumer behavior towards water purifiers. This research is based on both Primary Survey, 2020 and secondary data. Study finds that, maximum of the respondents is influenced by design and comfortable size of water purifier.

scholarly journals A qualitative exploration of the impact of COVID-19 on food decisions of economically disadvantaged families in Northern Ireland

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni Spyreli ◽  
Michelle C. McKinley ◽  
Jayne V. Woodside ◽  
Colette Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Meal Preparation ◽  
Fresh Food ◽  
Food Decisions ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Meal Planning ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background The first UK-wide lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 had a serious financial impact on low-income households, a population already in higher risk of food insecurity and poor dietary choices. Qualitative data on the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on food decisions of UK families are scarce. This study aimed to explore how the measures to control the spread of COVID-19 influenced the food-related decisions of socioeconomically deprived families in Northern Ireland. Methods A qualitative study captured data from online individual interviews. Participation was open for parents of children 2–17 years old living on a tight budget in urban and rural areas of Northern Ireland. A sampling matrix enabled equal representation of single- and two-parent households, as well as parents of younger children (<12y) and adolescents (≥12y). Data were collected by using the methods of Photovoice and mapping exercise. Data were analysed through a thematic approach. Results Twelve online interviews were conducted and five distinct themes were identified reflecting families’ food-related decisions that were affected by the COVID-19 lockdown: 1) food planning; 2) food purchasing; 3) meal preparation; 4) eating and feeding behaviours and 5) eating food prepared outside the house. Conclusions The restrictions put in place to inhibit the spread of COVID-19 influenced all aspects of dietary decisions of low-income families. Changes observed during this period included frequent consumption of homemade meals, but also increased unhealthy snacking. Infrequent food shopping encouraged good meal planning, but was also a barrier to securing adequate fresh food. Food-related support including school meal assistance contributed to families’ food security, particularly those of single parents.

scholarly journals Food Decisions of Low-Income Families in the Era of COVID-19: A Qualitative Exploration

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 250-250
Author(s):  
Eleni Spyreli ◽  
Michelle McKinley ◽  
Jayne Woodside ◽  
Colette Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Economically Disadvantaged ◽  
Food Shopping ◽  
Food Planning ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Disadvantaged Families

Abstract Objectives The first lockdown enforced in the United Kingdom to limit the spread of COVID-19 had serious financial consequences for some lower-income households, which were already at risk of suboptimal food choices. Particularly in Northern Ireland, where 10% of the population live in food insecure households, the pandemic has potentially further exacerbated the nutritional challenges experienced by low-income families. This paper aimed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on food-related decisions as experienced by economically disadvantaged families in Northern Ireland, UK. Methods A qualitative study collected data through online individual interviews. Participation was open to parents of children 2–17 years old who self-identified as living on a tight budget in urban and rural areas of Northern Ireland. A sampling matrix enabled equal representation of single- and two-parent households, as well as younger (&lt;12 y) and older children (&gt;12 y). Photovoice and participatory mapping techniques were employed to capture participant data. A thematic approach was utilised for data analysis. Results A total of 12 interviews were conducted. Five distinct themes were found, reflecting families’ food-related decisions that were affected by the COVID-19 lockdown: 1) food planning; 2) food purchasing; 3) meal preparation; 4) eating and feeding behaviours and 5) eating food prepared outside the house. Changes included an increase in home food preparation, but also in unhealthy snacking. Fear of being exposed to carriers of the virus led to infrequent food shopping and greater reliance on supermarket home deliveries. Long waiting times in-between food shops encouraged food planning but were also a barrier to providing daily fresh foods including fruit and vegetables to their families. Financial constraints were exacerbated during lockdown and led to a search for new ways to budget when food shopping. Food donations from the community and the government were important to maintain food security, particularly in single-parent families. Conclusions This study highlights that the COVID-19 lockdown influenced a broad range of dietary decisions of economically disadvantaged families and offers an insight into the nutritional challenges they experienced. Funding Sources The work was completed with financial support from internal funds of Queens University Belfast.

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