Transport-related social exclusion amongst older people in rural Southwest England and Wales

Rural dwelling and older age are both associated with a higher risk of social exclusion, with accessibility identified as having an important facilitating role. The interactions between transport-related exclusion and older age, particularly in a rural context, are considered though analysis of quantitative and qualitative data collected from over 900 older persons living in rural areas of Southwest England and Wales. Although few respondents reported feeling excluded within their communities, more reported difficulties in accessing specific necessary and discretionary activities, including specialist hospitals and cinemas. Analysis revealed that car availability is not a strong indicator of overall inclusion, although non-availability was important in limiting access to particular types of location. It is concluded that the relatively short travel distances required to access community activities was a key factor in the high levels of community inclusion. However, the car-dependent nature of travel overall means that there is a rising risk of mobility-related exclusion in rural areas, particularly amongst the oldest old. Greater consideration needs to be given to more formalised lift-giving as a transport solution, along with greater attention to mobility needs by sector-specific service providers, such as the health sector.     

Challenges in Counter‐disaster Measures for People with Functional Needs in Times of Disaster Following the Great East Japan Earthquake

This article describes the three major challenges that were identified and their possible solutions are proposed in counter‐disaster measures for “people with functional needs in times of disaster (PFND)” following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. First, recent developments in preparedness measures for PFND in Japan have been uncritically relying on the assumption that hazard maps represent “correct” estimates of future hazardous events, which are based on the maximum probable event (MP_rE) framework. In reality, however, a maximum possible event (MP_oE) has occurred in the Tōhoku regions. This has tremendous implications for fundamentally re‐thinking the entire hazard estimation process from a MP_rE to MP_oE framework. Second, counter‐disaster measures for PFND have focused mainly on warning and neighborhood‐based evacuation assistance activities. Needs for shelters and temporary housing units that were specially designated for PFND arose following the earthquake. However, their provisions were neither systematic nor universal due to the lack of pre‐planning. More detailed guidelines for specially designated shelter and temporary housing operations need to be developed in order to address this issue. Third, people with disabilities (PWD) became invisible in shelters and communities or in the eyes of local government administrators. This was due to the fact that a majority of PWD did not ask for help in evacuation shelters because they felt general shelters were not “barrier free” and were unresponsive to their functional needs. Furthermore, many local government administrators felt hesitant to release their PFND registry to non‐governmental and self‐help organizations that were eager to check the whereabouts and current situations of PWD. This was due to the fear of breaking the Personal Information Protection Bylaw despite the fact that the bylaw provided exceptional conditions, where the onset of disaster was clearly one of these exceptional conditions. Further elaboration and education on the use of personal information of PFND during a disaster period is needed among public and local government administrators.     

Access to education in Africa: responding to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities mandates that disabled people should have full rights to education in inclusive settings. However, to ensure that educational polices and settings are designed to meet this criterion seems challenging to African countries that have ratified this Convention. This article arises from the 2nd African Network of Evidence-to-Action on Disability Symposium. This fluid network was established to address the gap between research and practice in the region. The article reports proceedings and the emerging themes from the Education, Training and Work Commission; one of the six commissions of this Symposium, focusing specifically on the education aspect. It also challenges various stakeholders to move from evidence to action to ensure the educational rights of disabled people in inclusive settings.     

Financial Abuse of Older People by a Family Member: A Difficult Terrain for Service Providers in Australia

Financial abuse by a family member is the most common form of abuse experienced by older Australians, and early intervention is required. National online surveys of 228 chief executive officers and 214 aged care service providers found that, while they were well placed to recognize financial abuse, it was often difficult to intervene successfully. Problems providers encountered included difficulties in detecting abuse, the need for consent before they could take action, the risk that the abusive family member would withdraw the client from the service, and a lack of resources to deal with the complexities inherent in situations of financial abuse.     

Visual social media and affectivity: the impact of the image of Alan Kurdi and young people’s response to the refugee crisis in Oslo and Sheffield

This article focuses on the reception of the image of Alan Kurdi by a group of young volunteers in Oslo and Sheffield, and their understanding of the subsequent civic and political engagement. Methodologically, the study draws on a series of in-depth interviews conducted with a group of young volunteers who saw the photograph when it went viral on Twitter and who had followed the media coverage and participated in on- and offline activities related to the case. To analyse the views of the research participants on the Alan Kurdi case, I draw on feminist theoretical perspectives on affectivity, theoretical literature relating to news images and iconic photography, and online social movement theories. The study shows that the iconic image of Alan Kurdi offered a way of transforming complex and unsettled aspects of the refugee crisis into something concrete and understandable, contributing to galvanize affective resonance and immediate public response among the involved subjects. The infrastructure of social media, enabling the rapid global circulation of the image, contributed to shaping social assemblages to which connective emotions and common meanings were ascribed.     

The identity curation game: digital inequality,identity work,and emotion management

ABSTRACT

The research examines an understudied facet of digital inequality: how digital inequality impacts identity work and emotion management. The analysis reveals how unequal access to digital resources shapes how well youths are able to play what I call the identity curation game. Digital resources determine youths’ ability to succeed in this game that is governed by three implicit rules: (1) constantly update or be sidelined, (2) engage in constant reciprocated identity-affirming interactions, and (3) maintain a strategy of vigilance to remove traces of failed identity performances. This article draws on Symbolic Interactionism and pays particular attention to Hochschild’s theory of emotion management. Drawing on these frameworks, the findings reveal how under-resourced youths experience connectivity gaps that disrupt their ability to play the identity curation game, as well as the resulting emotional consequences. Under-resourced youths manage distinctive negative emotions arising from connectivity gaps that hinder their digital identity work, as well as engaging in distinct kinds of suppressive work to police their own emotions including longing, envy, shame, frustration, and stigmatization. In making these linkages, the research reveals the cascading effects of digital inequality among youths where constant connectivity is the sine qua non of social inclusion.     

Youth interaction with online strangers: experiences and reactions to unknown people on the Internet

Previous research on youths’ experiences with online strangers has mostly utilized quantitative designs which may result in the omission of important parts of the youths’ experiences and perceptions. In this qualitative study, we adopt a child-centred approach and focus on the children’s and adolescents’ experiences with unknown people from the Internet. This is one of the most pronounced parental concerns, despite the fact that an online presence is now normative for most children. We use the data from focus-groups and individual interviews in nine European countries (N?=?368) conducted with youths between the ages of 9 and 16 years. Participants were asked about their perceptions of potentially negative or problematic situations while using the Internet and digital technology. Using thematic analysis, we classified youths’ experiences and reactions related to interacting with online strangers in four themes: (1) non-verbal interaction; (2) initiation of contact; (3) communication; and (4) face-to-face meeting. In all four levels of interactions, children and adolescents reported a variety of positive and negative experiences and reactions. We interpret our findings with a co-construction model which perceives children and adolescents as active participants in the online world. We conclude that children are successfully making active decisions to initiate, continue, and stop interactions with unknown people from the Internet. These findings broaden the current perspectives of youths’ meetings with unknown people online.     

Equal or individual treatment: contesting storylines in needs assessment conversations within Swedish eldercare

This article examines the role of care managers and their work in putting policy into practice in micro-interactions with older people in Swedish eldercare. The care managers assess the individual needs of older people, and decide what type of social care and services will be given. Dilemmas in care management are often related to the gap between needs and resources. The aim was to study the positioning of care managers within different storylines advanced in needs assessment conversations. Positioning theory was applied to study discursive practices and discursive strategies within Swedish eldercare. Audio-recorded needs assessment conversations among care managers, older people and their relatives at care planning meetings in connection with hospital discharge were analyzed. Two overall positions were identified for care managers—as ‘professional experts’ and as ‘organizational representatives’—allowing the care managers to maneuver within two contesting storylines: ‘distribution of scarce eldercare resources based on the principles of eligibility and equal treatment’ and ‘older people entitled to eldercare according to their own perceived individual needs’. For social work, the results showed the importance of discussing how care managers might move towards exercising greater professional autonomy, becoming less dependent on their position in the organization.     

先秦时期的秽人与貊人

对于中国古代文献记载的秽人和貊人 ,历来都有不同的见解。本文以考古资料为基础 ,结合对不同时期文献资料的考证 ,提出秽人和貊人在先秦时期应是两个人类集团的称谓。将公元前10 0 0年到公元前 3世纪东北亚系青铜文化分为两个主要系统 :一个系统分布在辽西和辽河流域 ,应是先秦时期貊人所创造的文化 ;另一个系统分布在辽东、吉长地区和朝鲜半岛 ,应是先秦时期秽人所创造的文化     

鲜卑语言解读述论

本文用传统的考据学方法对白鸟库吉于 80年前解读的一批鲜卑词语进行了重新审订 ,并在其基础上补充了前人没有注意到的“若干”、“去斤”、“普”、“阿六敦”、“贺六浑”五个词 ,同时提出了利用鲜卑人名字来考释鲜卑词义的可能性