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This study focused on the needs of gifted students (Junior and Young Mensans) in England and questioned how well the educational system met their needs. Almost one third of students in primary and secondary schools stated that they were not challenged in school. This included gifted students at private schools and grammar schools. Overall the students’ preferred strategy for differentiation was enrichment, followed by acceleration. The most popular strategy was more demanding work in class, followed by attending university classes, then studying with older advanced students in school, followed by meetings with outside agencies for mentorship. The most popular subject area for a future career was Science, followed by Mathematics.

This study focuses on education at primary and secondary level in Northern Ireland and questions whether it meets the needs of gifted students. Gifted students from Mensa were questioned about their experiences in school, and the majority of students stated that they did not have sufficient challenge in school, or any type of differentiation in classes, and the preferred form of differentiation was more demanding work in class, followed by fast-paced classes with older, advanced students.

This study examined the educational experiences of students in Wales, at primary and secondary school, and questioned if schools met the needs of gifted students. Some students reported not being challenged at primary school, whilst others reported some challenges at secondary school, but not in every subject. The students indicated that they would like differentiated work in class, and acceleration – study with older, advanced students, being able to attend university classes during the week, and mentorship.

This study developed an Education Efficiency Index for 31 countries, both developed and developing, which can be used by everybody involved and interested in education such as teachers, lecturers and policy makers. The index is used to demonstrate that countries which invest deeply in education do not necessarily achieve the highest results in nationally recognised educational assessments like PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS. When countries do not invest sufficiently in education, the result is low scores in all subject areas compared to other countries. This index is the first of its kind that can be used by everybody interested in efficiency in education, to predict more accurately how students will perform in international assessments. It can also be used by anybody interested in efficiency measures in any area, once they have access to input and output data.

This paper examined the causal relationship between human capital, capital stock, output and economic growth in Ireland in the period 1980-2012. This is the first test of causality between the factors in this time period for Ireland, and cointegration and error-correction modelling was used to test the relationships. Results show that GDP, capital stock and human capital are cointegrated. There is evidence of bi-directional causality from GDP to capital stock, bi-directional causality from capital stock to human capital, and uni-directional causality from GDP to human capital, but not vice versa. The human capital-led hypothesis, that GDP is caused by human capital, is not supported.

This paper examines the impact of a Brexit (British Exit from the EU) on Ireland’s trade, travel and tourism and it also looks at the financial implications. Tests are carried out to determine if there is causality between GDP and Employment, and forecasts of the impact of Brexit on both GDP and Employment are estimated. Results show that both Ireland’s GDP and Employment figures will be negatively affected - Ireland’s GDP will fall by over €4 billion by 2020 and up to almost €12 billion by 2030. Projected employment will fall by over 15,000 by 2020 and by over 33,000 by 2030. This is the first forecast of the negative impact of a Brexit on a small open economy like Ireland, and the results and estimates should prove useful for economists and policy makers.

This study examined management changes in the GAA Senior Football Championships over thirty years to discover which hypothesis could be applied – the Deceleration Hypothesis or the Repetitive Momentum Hypothesis. Logistic regression was used with panel data. The Kaplan-Meier method calculated the survival distribution and Cox regression was used to obtain a graph of the survival curve. The results showed that management change was due to the repetitive momentum hypothesis – once an organisation gets used to changing managers, subsequent changes are easier and more likely to be carried out.

I appreciate the opportunity to respond to Yvonne M. Johnson’s critique of my Social Service Review article, “Reinterpreting Abraham Flexner’s Speech, ‘Is Social Work a Profession?’: Its Meaning and Influence on the Field’s Early Professional Development” (Morris 2008). My article presents findings from a Gadamerian hermeneutic inquiry that explores various topics: the meaning of Flexner’s criteria of a profession, his assessment of social work’s professional standing, the field’s multiple interpretations of his criteria and assessment throughout the 90 years since his speech, and the speech’s influence on the field’s early professional development. Contrary to Johnson’s critique, my interpretation of Flexner’s text (1915) is based on a sound methodology derived from a philosophical perspective. It is unclear what methodology, if any, Johnson uses in deriving either her understanding of the text or her critique of my interpretation. Instead, Johnson falls into the very trap that my article identifies; she seems to interpret his meaning through a contemporary lens. For example, she uses recent editions of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary. Since ancient times, scholars have used hermeneutics to interpret religious, legal, historical, and literary texts. Interpretations sometimes differ because they are often guided by varying philosophical and methodological principles. My inquiry is guided by Hans-Georg Gadamer’s seminal work, Truth and Method (1989). Five principles guide the inquiry

In 1915, Abraham Flexner proclaimed to a national conference of social workers that the field was not yet a profession. Ninety years later, social work continues to shadowbox with Flexner’s speech in its struggle to find answers to the dilemmas inherent in defining its professional identity. This article describes findings from an exploration of Flexner’s speech and its influence on social work’s early professional development. The inquiry reveals that Flexner’s assessment of the field is largely misunderstood and interpreted anachronistically. It also unravels the myths about Flexner’s influence on the field’s early professional development.

Introduction: Transparency is a unique attribute of zebrafish that permits direct assessment of drug effects on the nervous system using whole mount antibody immunostaining and histochemistry. Methods: To assess pharmacological effects of drugs on the optic nerves, motor neurons, and dopaminergic neurons, we performed whole mount immunostaining and visualized different neuronal cell types in vivo. In addition, we assessed neuronal apoptosis, proliferation, oxidation and the integrity of the myelin sheath using TUNEL staining, immunostaining and in situ hybridization. The number of dopaminergic neurons was examined and morphometric analysis was performed to quantify the staining signals for myelin basic protein and apoptosis. Results: We showed that compounds that induce neurotoxicity in humans caused similar neurotoxicity in zebrafish. For example, ethanol induced defects in optic nerves and motor neurons and affected neuronal proliferation; 6-hydroxydopamine caused neuronal oxidation and dopaminergic neuron loss; acrylamide induced demyelination; taxol, neomycin, TCDD and retinoic acid induced neuronal apoptosis. Discussion: Effects of drug treatment on different neurons can easily be visually assessed and quantified in intact animals. These results support the use of zebrafish as a predictive model for assessing neurotoxicity.

In this research, we optimized parameters for xenotransplanting WM-266-4, a metastatic melanoma cell line, including zebrafish site and stage for transplantation, number of cells, injection method, and zebrafish incubation temperature. Melanoma cells proliferated, migrated and formed masses in vivo. We transplanted two additional cancer cell lines, SW620, a colorectal cancer cell line, and FG CAS/Crk, a pancreatic cancer cell line and these human cancers also formed masses in zebrafish. We also transplanted CCD-1092Sk, a human fibroblast cell line established from normal foreskin and this cell line migrated, but did not proliferate or form masses. We quantified the number of proliferating melanoma and normal skin fibroblasts by dissociating xenotransplant zebrafish, dispensing an aliquot of CM-DiI labeled human cells from each zebrafish onto a hemocytometer slide and then visually counting the number of fluorescently labeled cancer cells. Since zebrafish are transparent until approximately 30 dpf, the interaction of labeled melanoma cells and zebrafish endothelial cells (EC) can be visualized by whole-mount immunochemical staining. After staining with Phy-V, a mouse anti-zebrafish monoclonal antibody (mAb) that specifically labels activated EC and angioblasts, using immunohistology and 2-photon microscopy, we observed activated zebrafish EC embedded in human melanoma cell masses. The zebrafish model offers a rapid efficient approach for assessing human cancer cells at various stages of tumorigenesis.

There is growing concern that a large segment of low-income Americans are slipping through or not adequately served by the public food assistance safety net. Many of these individuals are turning to the private network of food pantries and soup kitchens for their nourishment. Of particular note is that a significant percentage of those individuals seeking private food assistance are the working poor. In this paper, we look at the characteristics of a sample of employed Virginia households who depend on soup kitchens or food pantries to help them make ends meet. Our data indicate that these individuals have demographic characteristics that do not bode well for their being able to earn wages that are high enough to allow them all to adequately meet basic family needs without some type of additional supports.

The concept of social justice is deeply rooted in social work. The theoretical framework most often embraced by the profession is John Rawls' A Theory of Justice. However, like most frameworks it has limitations. This paper examines Rawls' social justice framework as interpreted by social work and offers an alternative, called the “capabilities” perspective, that emerged nearly a decade after Rawls' 1971 seminal work. Developed by welfare economist Amartya Sen and further articulated by political philosopher Martha Nussbaum, this perspective builds on Rawls' distributive justice approach and adds the dimensions of human dignity, self-determination, and well-being to its justice framework.

Reported increases in demand at local food pantries and soup kitchens and the proliferation of additional sites to meet that demand have raised the issue of the adequacy of the response to hunger in this country (Second Harvest, 1998). This article examines this issue by presenting information on individuals who use emergency food relief (EFR) programs to supplement their food needs. The data are from an ongoing study of people receiving food assistance services from food pantries and soup kitchens in Virginia. The article presents descriptive demographic and employment information to assess why these people are seeking food assistance, what other economic risks they experience, and their potential for long-term dependence on emergency food assistance The article also examines these respondents' use of the food stamp program (FSP)--the major federal nutrition program that serves people who are poor. The FSP is intended to help households buy a nutritionally adequate diet; thus, it should serve as an ongoing s afety net for low-income house-holds. However, increases in emergency food assistance use suggest that the FSP may not be meeting the food needs of many households. The article concludes with suggestions for social work interventions to address issues of food security. Nutritional well-being for vulnerable individuals and families, although not directly the focus of social work practice, is an important component of healthy biopsychosocial functioning and results in challenges for practice and policy. Hunger and the U.S. Response Despite a strong economy, anecdotal evidence and ongoing studies reveal that hunger continues to be experienced by millions of people in the United States--a "food rich" country by all standards (Eisinger, 1996; "Hunger rising," 1998; Pugh, 1998; Rivera, 1997; Sarasohn, 1997). A recent study by Second Harvest (1998), one of the country's largest private hunger relief agencies, suggests that cutbacks in government welfare and FSPs, low-paying jobs, and rising medical and child care expenses contribute to an increase in food insecurity in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as limited or uncertain availability of nutritious and adequate food, whereas hunger is "the uneasy or painful sensation caused by a lack of food" (Hamilton et al., 1997, p. ii); people who are "food secure" are defined as "households with assured access to enough food for an active healthy life" (Hamilton et al., p. ii). Using these definitions, a USDA-sponsored survey using national data from the food security supplement of the Current Population Survey, estimated that 10.5 million households, or 10.2 percent of all U.S. households, were food insecure in 1998. About 36 million people lived in these households, of which 14 million were children under 18 years of age (Food Security Institute, 1999). The USDA operates 14 food assistance programs to address various aspects of food insecurity and hunger. (American Dietetic Association, 1998). The FSP, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the school lunch and breakfast programs are the cornerstones of food assistance programs. The FSP is the largest and best known of the federal nutrition programs. The Food Stamp Program The FSP was first born in the late 1930s during the wave of unemployment and poverty that swept the nation. It was conceived as a program to help farmers and to feed hungry people during the Depression era. It ended, however, in 1943 when surplus commodities were needed to feed soldiers (Galer-Unti, 1995; Ohls & Beebout, 1993). Although the Eisenhower administration initiated a surplus commodity program in 1957, hunger did not make the national agenda again until the 1960 presidential campaign. When he took office, President Kennedy doubled the surplus commodity program and revived the FSP (Maney, 1989). …

Despite verbal assurarces that Europe was committed to separating Ireland's banking and sovereign debt, Ireland is now very much isolated in its stance to get bank recapitalisation via the ESM retrospectively. The debate over whether Ireland was forced to bail in the senior bondholders is discussed in this paper. The likelihood of support from Eurozone countries is also discussed and the conclusion is that almost 60% support is likely. Ireland may be able to argue that it is a special case as it could not apply the 8% loss to bondholders in 2010, because it was not permitted to do so.

Ireland suffered a crisis of four dimensions – a property market crisis which led to a banking crisis and a fiscal crisis which caused a financial crisis. By 2008 the massively overvalued property bubble had collapsed which led to the banking crisis. The increasing strain on the national budget and the need to recapitalise the banks, precipitated the financial crisis in 2010. By this stage it had become apparent that Ireland needed a bailout from the EU, the ECB and the IMF. A period of austerity ensued. Austerity policies include tax increases, spending cuts or a combination of the two. This paper argues that austerity has a role to play in managing economies but that the timing of austerity needs to be altered. It also examines the application of the Austrian Approach to Business Cycles, in relation to Ireland. When austerity is used at the top of the business cycle it is a useful credible policy that prevents economies from overheating. When it is used at the bottom of the business cycle it restricts economic growth and places an unnecessary constraint on economic activity and business activity. Ireland could have benefited from austerity but only if it had been implemented at the correct stage of the business cycle. If austerity measures had been used in 2007 or prior to this, it is unlikely that Ireland would have found itself in the deep recession of 2008-2013.

Introduction: Apoptosis has become an important target for drug discovery. Although the mouse remains the animal model of choice for the preclinical assessment of drug toxicity and efficacy, zebrafish are increasingly used for early drug studies. Here, we describe approaches for assessing drug effects on apoptosis in transparent zebrafish. Areas covered: In this review, the authors discuss the drug effects on developmentally regulated apoptosis using microscopy. They also discuss the effects of neuroprotectants in a chemical induced disease model using morphometric image analysis. Finally, the authors review the effects of radioprotectants in irradiated whole animals using a conventional 96-well microplate format. Expert opinion: Several challenges have limited more widespread use of zebrafish as the organism of choice for drug screening. However, zebrafish do have a number of compelling inherent advantages including: rapid organogenesis, transparency, statistically significant numbers of animals per expe...

The three countries took different stances in regards to economic policy; the Czech Republic pursued a shock therapy regime which aimed to stabilise the economy, Hungary’s policy was more relaxed whilst Poland had an aggressive reform programme. Regarding monetary policy the Czech Republic used the discount rate as a tool for monetary policy, Hungary used indirect monetary policy and Poland had strict monetary policies which raised interest rates and devalued the zloty. After financial deregulation the impact of economic and monetary policy led to positive economic growth in the Czech Republic year on year. Hungary had a similar experience whilst Poland had an initial high increase in economic growth. This reduced over time but they still recorded positive economic growth over the period studied.

The Puente Project is helping a strikingly high percentage of first-generation students complete community college and successfully transfer to and graduate from four-year institutions. Here the codirectors of the project describe how it started, how it works, and its tangible outcomes.

This paper reviews the impact of the major policy reforms being considered by Congress and the Administration on the food assistance and nutrition programs. Evidence on the nutritional effectiveness of WIC, the Food Stamp Program, and School Meals is summarized; the implications of the current set of block grant proposals on nutrition standards, economic responsiveness of the programs, eligibility and benefits, and funding are reviewed and discussed. The final section discusses policy reforms that have the potential to enhance the cost effectiveness of the major nutrition programs.

A sample of 250 people completed a questionnaire where they rated 30 statements describing their behavior and experiences during a recent time pressure situation. A factor analysis resulted in three factors: Personal Burden, Work Problems and Difficulties, and Challenge Orientation. People high on this last factor liked the excitement of being under pressure, were very absorbed in the task, and showed signs of being effective in dealing with the situation. Such individuals were having what has been identified as a “flow experience” often observed in sports and the arts. The results of this study suggest that effective coping with time pressure is related to taking a task-oriented attitude, avoiding self-preoccupation, and using time management skills to focus on successful achievement.

Offering a broad range of methods, Zebrafish explains how to assess compound-induced toxicity in all major organs using the zebrafish as a model organism. The authors effectively demonstrate why this vertebrate model offers compelling experimental advantages, including drug delivery directly in the fish water, small quantity of drug required per experiment, statistically significant number of animals per test, and low cost. Moreover, the authors describe how drug assessment can be performed using wild-type, mutant, transgenic, and knock-down zebrafish models.

The zebrafish model organism is increasingly used for assessing drug toxicity and safety and numerous studies confirm that mammalian and zebrafish toxicity profiles are strikingly similar. This transparent vertebrate offers several compelling experimental advantages, including convenient drug delivery and low cost. Although full validation will require assessment of a large number of compounds from diverse classes, zebrafish can be used to eliminate potentially unsafe compounds rapidly in the early stages of drug development and to prioritize compounds for further preclinical and clinical studies. Adaptation of conventional instrumentation combined with new nanotechnology developments will continue to expand use of zebrafish for drug screening.