The Fog Of Reform

This book covers the fog of reform and getting back to the ideal of a place called school. The sections describe a new metaphor and approach to change and examine the forces and ideals that can bring about the schools children need. Principles and values transform organizations, not mandates and fear. Recipes for making schools into caring places for children do not exist. Great schools must be created one-by-one. Numbers don't create change; people and passion do..

The crisis in New South Wales Labor is so deep and has such significant ramifications that we need a massive dose of unadulterated, no-holds-barred honesty. The man who can deliver this honesty is Frank Sartor. An independent outsider who became a Labor minister in 2003, Sartor impressed and irritated insiders and the commentariat in equal measure. As minister for a number of important portfolios in successive Labor Governments, Sartor was perfectly positioned to see the way the Labor machine operatedandmdash;the factionalism, the deals, the incompetence, the shortsightednessandmdash;as it went through four premiers in its last six floundering, backstabbing years. Sartor's thoughtful and acerbic pen skewers the failings and often-risible hubris of politicians. He pulls no punches in ascribing actions to a number of his former colleagues, but not as an exercise in denigrating opponents, but to illustrate the main actors, their mindsets, and the genesis of some of the New South Wales government's major mishaps. The Fog on the Hill is essential reading for anyone interested in the evolving landscape of Australian politics. It will be a ready handbook for political aspirants, public servants and all students of political science. Much more, though, it will fascinate all those who value our democracy and want our country and its governments to succeed..

The Journal of School Public Relations is a quarterly publication providing research, analysis, case studies and descriptions of best practices in six critical areas of school administration: public relations, school and community relations, community education, communication, conflict management/resolution, and human resources management. Practitioners, policymakers, consultants and professors rely on the Journal for cutting-edge ideas and current knowledge. Articles are a blend of research and practice addressing contemporary issues ranging from passing bond referenda to building support for school programs to integrating modern information..

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Changing Schools is a collection of essays by teachers, researchers and administrators who have been on the front line of the revolutionary changes taking place in state education over the last five years. Their chapters cover topics such as assessment, academy chains, use of educational research, free schools and social media, and will be required reading for anyone wanting to understand England's rapidly changing educational landscape.Contributors include: Andrew Old, prominent teacher blogger; Tom Bennett, founder of ResearchEd; Jonathan Simons, head of education at the think tank Policy Exchange; Katherine Birbalsingh, Head of Michaela Community School; James O'Shaughnessy, Managing Director of Floreat Education and former Policy Director for David Cameron; Daisy Cristodoulou, head of research at ARK Schools; Doug Lemov, Managing Director of Uncommon Schools and author of Teach Like a Champion..

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Reviews the essential elements of planning, implementing, and sustaining school reform. Designed to assist policymakers and practitioners at the district, school, and community levels in creating strategies that will enable them to increase student learning. Eight key lessons, drawn from 12 major studies of education reform, identify a cluster of concerns relative to the reform process -- leadership, goals, timing, training, flexibility, infrastructure, managing resources, and self-assessment. Taken together, they emphasize a comprehensive, strategic, and common-sense approach to school reform. Includes planning guides and worksheets..

The naval aviation safety review..

Dyson explains the convergence and divergence between British, French and German defence reforms in the post-Cold War era. He engages with cultural and realist theories and develops a neoclassical realist approach to change and stasis in defence policy, bringing new material to bear on the factors which have affected defence reforms..

. . . few if any other recent volumes offer a historical perspective on evolving trade policy in several countries, this well-written, well-edited volume. . . is suitable for graduate and research libraries. M. Larudee, Choice This book is a refreshing reminder of the benefits of unilateral trade liberalisation in countries whose leaders dare. An important story told with clarity and authority. Ross Garnaut, The Australian National University, Australia That trade liberalization is good for emerging market economies, and not just for the rich ones, is now widely accepted by both economists and policy-makers. But the question remains: how can these reforms be implemented in practice? The answer to that important question lies in understanding the political economy of each reforming country. This book makes a splendid contribution to our understanding of this issue by examining the experience of several countries. It is therefore an important book to be read by, not just students and researchers, but also policy-makers worldwide. Jagdish Bhagwati, Columbia University, US This timely book brings fresh analysis to the important issue of trade policy reform in emerging markets. The subject matter and its significance are comprehensively introduced with a review of developing country liberalization since the 1980s providing an analytical framework for the seven country case studies that follow. The case studies (Australia, Brazil, Chile, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, and South Africa) cover a wide variety of political, historical and economic issues, but all make clear the important role that crisis, or the threat of it, plays in meaningful trade policy reform. This is of particular relevance in the current global financial crisis. These studies, together with the conclusions which are drawn from them, show how important the trade liberalization agenda remains in the 21st century. Written by a combination of both experts and practitioners, this highly topical book will make productive reading for policy makers concerned with trade policy in developed and developing countries, as well as scholars working in trade policy. Postgraduate students studying international business, international relations, economics, politics, and international law should not be without this book..

Multilateral organizations - the United Nations (UN) in particular - have played, and continue to play, an important role in shaping the security sector reform (SSR) agenda, both in terms of policy development and the provision of support to a wide range of national SSR processes. This volume presents a variety of perspectives on UN support to SSR, past and present, with attention to policy and operational practice. Drawing from the experience of UN practitioners combined with external experts on SSR, this volume offers an in-depth exploration of the UN approach to SSR from a global perspective..

The Obama Administration and Educational Reform seeks to situate, problematize, and bring to light the goals, accomplishments, experienced blockades, and disappointments of the Obama administration's educational policies..

From the Cloister to the State examines the French order of Fontevraud, one of the largest monastic networks under female leadership in medieval and early modern Europe. Founded in 1100 and comprised of both monks and nuns, the order had grown to consist of at least seventy-eight priories by the late Middle Ages. Endowed with vast territorial possessions throughout western France, Fontevraud became one of the most powerful religious institutions in the country. However, unaware of its institutional might and economic wealth, scholars have tended to focus on Fontevraud’s seemingly unusual gender hierarchy, while bypassing inquiries on practices of abbatial authority in Fontevraud and beyond. This book reveals medieval Fontevraud as an aristocratic cloister where noble women governed. It also discusses the value of Fontevraud’s extensive network for the geopolitical ambitions of the dukes of Brittany, the counts of Bourbon-Vendôme, and, during the Wars of Religion, the kings of France. In addition to Fontevraud’s political role during the Wars of Religion, the book also examines the order’s reforms implemented by Marie de Bretagne and her successors Renée and Louise de Bourbon-Vendôme. These Bourbon abbesses centralized the order’s administration, cut the ties between priories and local aristocratic families, and successfully established the Bourbon-Vendômes as the only patrons of the vast and wealthy network. This book is essential reading for scholars and students of medieval and early modern history, as well as those interested in political history and the history of religion..

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China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has embarked on its most wide-ranging and ambitious restructuring since 1949, including major changes to most of its key organizations. The restructuring reflects the desire to strengthen PLA joint operation capabilities- on land, sea, in the air, and in the space and cyber domains. The reforms could result in a more adept joint warfighting force, though the PLA will continue to face a number of key hurdles to effective joint operations, Several potential actions would indicate that the PLA is overcoming obstacles to a stronger joint operations capability. The reforms are also intended to increase Chairman Xi Jinping's control over the PLA and to reinvigorate Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organs within the military. Xi Jinping's ability to push through reforms indicates that he has more authority over the PLA than his recent predecessors. The restructuring could create new opportunities for U.S.-China military contacts..

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