Rehabilitation outlooks for rural Louisiana: educational developments,economic trends,and global perspectives

The objective of this article is to examine current medical, economic, and social trends affecting the provision of rehabilitation services for rural citizens with disabilities. While the population of interest is citizens of Louisiana, the concepts are applicable across all geographic boundaries. The article is a review of clinical practice, job placement alternatives, economic trends, and assessment of process applications. It is concluded numerous steps may be taken to enhance the availability and quality of services provided for rural citizens with disabilities: greater statistical inquiry into rural disability trends, increased incorporation of the Internet into all aspects of rural economic and educational developments, further development of distance learning, promotion of sensitivities towards rural cultures, and continued recruitment of rural allied and vocational rehabilitation professionals.     

Current social work perspectives on clinical practice

Several forms of progress in the development of clinical practice theory and method are identified. There is a renewed positive valuation of psychodynamic approaches, a general acceptance of a systems framework, and a greater operationalization of procedures. The current controversy between the social work scientists and artists concerning research strategies is discussed. Three promising new perspectives—of morality, spirituality, and hermeneutics-are briefly interpreted.     

Women and work: Ascending to leadership positions

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore women’s ascension to leadership positions. Two women CEOs were interviewed for this study. The literature on women leadership shows that many women might not be attaining CEO positions because of a lack of mentors, leadership-career aspirations, and experience, gender inequality, and companies’ preference for leadership styles based on masculine characteristics. The literature shows these factors affect women’s ascension to such leadership positions. This study found that women fall under the masculine leadership styles, even though their preferences differ. Furthermore, gender inequality seemed to be tied to age discrimination as well. The article concludes with an examination of nuances concerning gender inequality as it relates to leadership ascension, that is, the minute micro-aggressive messages that might be perceived as part of the culture. Furthermore, the implication that women need more mentors to prepare them for leadership roles is examined. This implication holds further ramifications as leadership approaches play roles in empowering or disempowering women.     

Social work leadership: reflections on a student-led conference

Servant leadership encompassing collaborative mentorship, empowerment and a faculty/student partnership approach contributed to the success of an international social work conference led by undergraduate students and supported by faculty members. Using a retrospective case study design, data were collected from social work undergraduate students on the conference planning committee, reflections of faculty, and documentation from conference evaluations. This paper explores the findings of the conference planning experience and considers how social work principles can foster student engagement and build capacity for undergraduate students to practice leadership skills within higher educational settings.     

Grandchildren's perspectives on grandparents in rural New Zealand

Within studies of ageing, rurality and family relations, the prevalent “point of view” is based on the perspectives of adults, particularly older people themselves. However, taking seriously the reciprocal nature of kinship relations also challenges researchers to find ways to explore younger people's views and experiences of intergenerational ties. The study on which this paper is based addressed this challenge, by considering the dynamics of ageing in rural families through the lens of young people's experience. In the South Island of New Zealand, Area Schools serve families in rural regions specifically defined in terms of a catchment area based on distance from any other state school. This research study selected five (from 16) of these schools, and invited the classes of Year 7 and 8 students to take part in a classroom activity, led by the researcher with support from the class teacher. The activity involved a total of 98 young people (aged 11–13) in written completion of a survey which outlined their relationships and contacts with the people they know as grandparents, along with basic demographics of their own age, gender, family and household situation, and length of attendance at the school. From this survey, information was derived about 380 grandparents (of whom 73 were no longer alive), the nature and frequency of their contacts, and the types of activities they shared with these grandchildren. Around 40 percent of the students have daily or weekly contact with a grandparent, one third “regularly do things together”, and one fifth say they have “a special relationship” with a grandparent. By controlling the age group of the grandchild, and focussing on rural families, this study adds insights and detail to a growing body of research interest in understanding the roles and contributions made by grandparents to New Zealand families, in particular those in rural communities.     

Child care outcomes: economic perspectives and issues

Economics starts with the observation of widespread scarcity and the consequent need for choices about resource allocation. Common criteria for such choices are economy, effectiveness, efficiency and equity. This paper defines these criteria and locates them within a conceptual framework (the ‘production of welfare’). It also examines some of the reasons for the growth in interest in them. The main modes of evaluation—cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, cost-utility and cost-consequences analyses—are described and illustrated. Few such evaluations have been conducted in child care, and the paper ends with speculation as to why this is so.     

Singapore's economic internationalization and its effects on work and family

There are tensions between Singapore's economic strategy of internationalization and the emphasis on family life. Frequent travelers, unaccompanied expatriates, and their families experience these tensions. The frequent or extended absences of frequent travelers and expatriates make it difficult for them to fulfill their family roles and obligations, and may lead to estrangement from their families. Families who are left behind may face role conflict and role strain, but actually draw closer in their efforts to cope with the absence of their absent members. Researchers, policy-makers, and employers can contribute towards reducing the tensions between internationalization and family togetherness.     

Intellectual disability and faith communities: perspectives of Catholic religious leaders

Faith communities create community and are important to many individuals with intellectual disability. However, relatively little is known about how intellectual disability is construed among faith leaders and the inclusion of people with intellectual disability in faith communities. To address these gaps in knowledge, we interviewed 12 Catholic priests, parochial vicars, and deacons to explore: their experiences with individuals with intellectual disability; their beliefs towards the involvement of individuals with intellectual disability within faith communities; and how religion informs their understanding of intellectual disability. We identified five religiously-anchored narratives of intellectual disability, and explore implications for individuals with intellectual disability and faith communities.     

EU economic governance and austerity: Exploring recent perspectives

This paper presents some of the main theoretical approaches which examine changes in the EU economic governance system during the current crisis. We review standard approaches of EU studies (neo‐functionalism, liberal inter‐governmentalism, and historical institutionalism), Marxist–regulationist political economists, and Bourdieusian sociologists. The paper illustrates how scholars utilize given intellectual tools to understand ongoing trends of political and institutional change. We suggest that Bourdieusian sociologists may be in a relatively better position to interpret governance reforms and this is briefly illustrated by looking at some empirical observations from researching the effect of EU economic governance reform on the management of public assets in Greece.