Arguing for Offenders being Supported towards Higher Education Literature review

Arguing for Offenders being Supported towards Higher Education - Literature review Example Quite apart from the life enhancing benefits to prisoners themselves, who were able to gain insight into their own situation and formulate new and positive strategies for their future lives, there are obvious and positive impacts for society at large in opening up access to Higher Educations to prisoners. In general it is clear that the benefits of providing such access far outweighed the financial costs. What is less clear, is how best to deliver more access to higher education for the most excluded portion of citizens, namely those who are in the care of prisons and probation officers. Major shifts in criminal justice policies and in UK Higher Education. In the UK in recent years there have been some big ideological debates surrounding prisons, sentencing and the punishment and rehabilitation of offenders. At the same time there have been major changes in the UK Higher Education sector, with increasing privatisation of delivery and substantial fee increases. Vignoles and Crawford ( 2009, p. 49) point out that it has been difficult in the UK, even in the general population outside prisons, to widen access to access to Higher Education. Despite well-publicised efforts in the mid to late 1990s, to introduce policies to widen access, the gap in HE participation rates between higher and lower social classes actually widened. Adult learners, who are just one of several target groups in the widening access agenda, experience significant barriers to Higher Education entry which are only partially addressed by access courses and other outreach measures initiated by further and higher education institutions. The extent of the difference caused by socio- economic factors is still very large, and apparently growing: â€Å"Recent evidence from HEFCE (2005) indicates that the 20 per cent most disadvantaged students are around six times less likely to participate in higher education compared to the 20 per cent most advantaged pupils† (Vignoles and Crawford, 2009, p. 4 9). The introduction of very high fees in the mainstream higher education sector in the UK has caused a marked commercialisation of the whole student experience. There is a system in place which requires universities to make â€Å"Access Agreements† which in theory guarantee that special provision is made for students who have difficulty in meeting the high cost of fees. It has been noted already that the democratisation of higher education through these new measures has been only a partial success, with new universities in particular exceeding their targets in widening participation, while at the same time there appears to be a worrying entrenchment of top fifth, redbrick and elite institutions which perform below their expected benchmark (David, 2009, p. 46). There is a danger that these measures will increase access to the lower portion of Higher Education, such as foundation degrees and some BA and BSc programmes in some institutions, while actually increasing the exclusi vity of popular courses in well-regarded universities. There is, of course, a tension between these financially driven reforms, and the objective of widening participation. Hartley sums up the main direction of the reforms of the early 1990s in Ritzer’s (1993) somewhat provocative term â€Å"McDonaldization† which postulates four key dimensions â€Å"efficiency, calculability, predictability and control† in post-modern organisations (Hartley, 1995, p. 409). This

The Best Source For Expo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Best Source For Expo - Essay Example It implies that China Kids Expo is the best source for kids’ expo not only in China, but also in the entire region. The last China Kids Expo was conducted at the Shanghai New international Expo center where many exhibitors came to show their wares. Perhaps China Kids Expo prefers the Shanghai New international Expo center because of the convenience and utility of the venue given the fact that the facility can contain thousands of people who come or the fun fair. China has one of the highest numbers of toy exporters and it is only proper that it gets the chance to display its products on a yearly basis so that the world can see the diversity and technology in Chinese products for kids. One of the most important aspects that have put China Kids Expo on the world fair map is its compliance and consistency with the international best practice, especially when it comes to kids products. In fact, the China Kids expo has ensured that the event is concurrent with the 13th International Conference for Trade fairs & Preschool Education Resources China Licensing Expo. China Kids Expo has provided all the information concerning its activities in both print and digital media so that everyone can get the info without necessarily having to go through unnecessary searches. China Kids Expo has an elaborate website where people can browse and look for any information pertaining to the kids’ trade fair. In essence, China Kids expo sponsors the website and has it regularly posts a number of contents ranging from fair news to the exhibitors profiles and products. For example, the website lists the dates, venue, and events that are to take place in Shanghai. In addition, the China Expo website is divided into the major sections that include the general information, information for visitors, and information for exhibitors. Other functions that exist within the website include slots for fair comments, application booths, online