A Quantitative Study on the Policy Text of Chinese Government Purchasing Public Sports Services under the Background of the Smoking Ban: From the Perspective of Policy Tools

Under the background of the smoking ban China, the quantitative analysis of policy texts is adopted to analyze 90 existing policy texts that are closely related to the government's purchase of public sports services in China. A two-dimensional analysis framework of policy instruments is constructed in this paper to analyze the government's purchase of public sports services policy from the perspective of the Y dimension of the policy instruments, which includes three participants: government departments, social organizations and individual citizens, and the X dimension of the economic, political, administrative, management and social policy instruments, revealing the concrete performance of the government's purchase of public sports services policy as the transformation of government functions. Some problems such as insufficient use of some policy instruments in the policy text and further improvement of the management system are found, and corresponding suggestions are put forward in order to provide theoretical reference for policy improvement.

Englishization ‘under the radar’

Based on statistical information and policy texts, this chapter provides an overview and evaluation of the use and roles of English in traditional research universities and universities of applied sciences in Austria. While internationalization is interpreted and realized in different ways by different institutions, English functions as a central element. A factor supporting the widely unquestioned use of English might be found in the socio-economically strong position that German still enjoys in business, work-life, and higher education in Europe. This predominance is also noticeable in the utilitarian relevance awarded to both German and English in Austrian higher education, thereby failing to recognize the multi-layered relevance multilingualism could have in implementing internationalization policies that would go beyond Englishization practices.

How Effective Is the Green Development Policy of China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt? A Quantitative Evaluation Based on the PMC-Index Model

Although many countries around the world, especially China, highlight the strategy of green development, there has been little research evaluating the effectiveness of green development policies in local area. This study explores 16 policy texts with the theme of green development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China. Using the Policy Modeling Consistency Index (PMC-Index) model, the paper establishes a multi-input–output policy table and scientifically and systematically evaluates these policies. The results show that the average PMC index of the 16 policy texts is 6.83, indicating a high overall quality of policy texts. The index identifies two states of policy effectiveness as being good and excellent; 50% of the total texts fall into these categories and do not fall into the category of having a low level of policy effectiveness. Five indicators, including policy timeliness, social benefits, policy audience scope, and incentives and constraints, significantly impact the PMC-Index of the policy. Six representative policy samples were selected and analyzed. The advantages and disadvantages of the policy can be more fully understood by the degree of depression of the PMC’s three-dimensional curved surface (PMC-Surface) model. Finally, the paper provides theoretical recommendations for the optimization of the green development policies.

Analysis of Social Effects on Employment Promotion Policies for College Graduates Based on Data Mining for Online Use Review in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic

As an important part of human resources, college graduates are the most vigorous, energetic, and creative group in society. The employment of college graduates is not only related to the vital interests of graduates themselves and the general public, but also related to the sustainable and healthy development of higher education and the country’s prosperity through science and education. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019 has left China’s domestic labor and employment market in severe condition, which has a significant impact on the employment of college graduates. Based on the situation, the Chinese government has formulated a series of employment promotion policies for college graduates in accordance with local conditions to solve the current difficulties in employment of college graduates during the COVID-19Pandemic. Do these policies meet the expectations of the people? Is the policy implementation process reasonable? All these issues need to be tested and clarified urgently. This paper takes the employment promotion policy of college graduates under the COVID-19 as the research object, uses the PMC index model to screen the policy texts, obtains two perfect policy texts, and uses the Weibo comments to construct the evaluation model of policy measures support degree to analyze the social effects of employment promotion policies for college graduates. The results show that the public’s support degree with the employment promotion policies for college graduates under COVID-19 needs to be improved. Among them, the public has a neutral attitude towards position measures and transference measures but is obviously dissatisfied with subsidy measures and channel measures. Finally, suggestions for improving policy are given to make the employment policy in line with public opinion and effectively relieve the job hunting pressure of college graduates.

Researching literacy policy: Conceptualizing trends in the field

The Literacy Policy Project examines the trends in UK government policy interventions into literacy curriculum and pedagogies in schools in England. We undertake a policy scholarship methodology to read policy texts through a conceptual framework that frames policy interventions with functional, realist or socially critical purposes. We identify how successive UK governments have primarily adopted functional policies and research relating to literacy in schools in England. We argue that policy is dictated by, and serves, a growing marketplace for educational solutions, making the case that more prominence should be given to facilitating socially critical approaches to literacy policy.

Reframing the policy discourse: A comparative analysis of teacher preparation for rural and remote education in Australia, South Africa and Mexico

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has highlighted a ‘vicious cycle of decline’ in rural, regional and remote (RRR) regions, with significant inequalities in educational outcomes between rural and urban areas. However, interventions have not resulted in transformative or lasting improvements to education in rural contexts. This paper presents a cross-comparative country analysis of current global policy on RRR education. We used a policy analysis framework to interrogate national policy texts concerning teacher education for RRR contexts in three countries - Australia, South Africa and Mexico. A rigorous selection process of the literature yielded 17 key policy texts, which were examined for the influences, practices, language and outcomes relating to teacher education preparation for RRR locales. Findings highlighted a legacy of historical influences and a metrocentric bias in policy texts, with limited examples of assets-based education. We argue that these factors may be perpetuating the significant and persistent disadvantage in RRR education. We recommend an alternative policy discourse that recognises the productivities and potentialities of an assets-based approach within the local context, where school leaders and teachers are positioned as central change agents in RRR education.