‘It’s not my problem’: exploring lecturers’ distancing behaviour towards students with disabilities

While conducting a qualitative study on the e-learning needs of students with disabilities at a South African university, the responses from some of the lecturers indicated that they distanced themselves from the responsibility of providing learner support to students with disabilities. These participants displayed a lack of involvement with the students and tended to transfer their responsibilities to support services on campus, such as the Unit for Students with Disabilities. In essence, this means that the creation of an inclusive learning environment at this campus remains elusive, thus frustrating the learning of students with disabilities in particular. Although the necessity of institutional policies is not refuted, we argue that personal responsibility is essential in bringing about inclusive campuses. Factors contributing to the shifting of responsibility will consequently be explored and ways in which lecturers can be supported to provide enriching learning experiences for all students will be suggested.     

Dreams and aspirations of mobile young Aboriginal Australian people

This article explores the dreams and aspirations of mobile young Aboriginal Australian people aged between 13 and 25 years, who move in, out and through remote, regional and urban locations. Considering dreams and aspirations in the context of cultural difference is the central focus of this article, which uses a critical and deconstructive approach to the Eurocentric conceptualisation of youth policy terminology in Australia. Participatory and ethnographic techniques were used for this research study which engaged directly with mobile young Aboriginal Australian people. Through exploring the dreams and aspirations of this cohort of participants, this study challenges popular stereotypes depicting young Aboriginal Australian people as delinquent and disengaged. All young participants in this study expressed the dream of wanting to contribute positively to society. Aspirations for the future were expressed and formed by a set of values which were found not to reflect dominant cultural assumptions of successful transitions into adulthood.     

“Moving from transactional government to enablement” in Indigenous service delivery: The era of New Public Management,service innovation and urban Aboriginal community development

Over the last 40 years, Aboriginal Community Based Organisations have played a distinctive role in society in relation to urban Aboriginal peoples and their rights to self‐determination and community development in the Australian city of Newcastle. They have proven essential to advocacy, the maintenance of community development, and the creation of new Aboriginal social infrastructure (community organisations, facilities, services, and supporting infrastructure). Autonomy has been empowering for local Aboriginal people. Major reforms to the delivery of government social services, particularly government enablement of a new social service market based on New Public Management principles, threaten this success. This interpretive, qualitative case study illustrates the effects of social service market enablement. It draws on a case study of the effects of social service market enablement on urban Aboriginal Community Based Organisations in Newcastle, showing the antagonistic relationship between social service market enablement and Aboriginal community enablement and development. It ends with a discussion of how Aboriginal community development in this city could be re‐enabled in light of the Prime Minister's arguments in his 2017 Annual Parliamentary Closing the Gap speech providing particular value in the context of policy discussions about moving from transactional government to enablement in Indigenous affairs.     

Encouraging a Spatial Perspective in Third Sector Studies: Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis and Spatial Regression Analysis

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Geographic space or location is an important aspect of many research topics in the third sector. Methodological advances...