Developing Models for Day Services

This paper reports an evaluation of a rural activity project for people with learning difficulties. The project is situated in (but not a regular part of) an agriculture college. Both statutory and voluntary interests are represented in the management of the scheme, which is funded by the All Wales Strategy for the Mentally Handicapped through the local authority. Despite the widespread presence of ideas about normalization and carer participation, key stakeholders in the project appeared to draw on various aspects of three different models in describing, assessing and participating in the work of the scheme: a training for work model, a personal and social growth model, and an education for life model. We explore the question of whether such contrasting views can be tolerated in a single project, and their implications for policy and practice decisions. Each model has its distinctive consequences for project aims, selection, programme planning, staffing requirements, future development objectives and desirable project outcomes. The debate has implications for the way in which policies of normalization are operationalized in and beyond the field of learning difficulties.     

大学生创新创业教育体系的构建与探索

“双创型”人才的培养对我国社会经济的发展具有重要促进作用。大学生群体是掌握专业知识的高素质人才,是发展“双创型”人才的重要对象,同时也是“双创”领域的生力军,高校积极构建完善的创新创业教育体系,对高质量创新创业人才的培养工作具有重要意义。该文首先阐述了创新创业教育体系构建的重要意义,然后分析了高校大学生创新创业教育体系构建过程中存在的问题,最后重点提出了大学生创新创业教育体系构建的策略。     

供应链鲁棒性问题的研究进展

供应链鲁棒性问题的研究,对于全球化物流供应链、供应链风险运作及对国内企业安全等问题有理论价值和应用价值。分析了供应链系统的外部联接、突发事件和内部运作不确定性的2种表现形式;讨论了供应链鲁棒运作管理,特别考虑了供应链中供应、产品、需求和信息管理的鲁棒性;探讨了供应链鲁棒优化策略以及供应链鲁棒性研究的若干前瞻性问题。     

Language ideology in an endogamous society: The case of Daghestan

Studies of multilingual systems found in Indigenous small-scale communities often assume that exogamous marriages are the norm in such societies and contribute to their linguistic diversity. This paper is an account of the language ideology of endogamous societies in rural highland Daghestan (Northeast Caucasus). By studying language policing and language choice in infrequent mixed marriages, the paper uncovers the beliefs that support endogamy and reveals issues of linguistic identity and attitudes toward the usage of the matrilect within the family and the village. Interviews show that in-married women do not bring new languages to the villages, because they quickly acquire the local language new to them and use it with all their in-laws and their children. A strong association between villages and languages together with the ideology supporting linguistic homogeneity within the village contributes to the maintenance of the regional linguistic diversity.     

Informal workers and Kenya’s National Hospital Insurance Fund: Identifying barriers to voluntary participation

This article investigates the barriers to informal workers’ voluntary participation in Kenya’s national health insurance scheme – the National Hospital Insurance Fund. Based on primary data from both qualitative and quantitative methods, we find that the key determinants of enrolment include social factors, such as marital status, which create demand for insurance, and the role of informal workers’ associations that promote the voluntary uptake of health insurance and prevent default through contribution support. Participation barriers and reasons for inactiveness stem from the nature of informal work characterized by irregular earnings, which combine with apprehension about having to pay penalty charges for the late payment of premiums, inadequate levels of knowledge about health insurance schemes, institutional constraints such as complex registration procedures, as well as premium costs and poor-quality services, all of which discourage enrolment or the reactivation of lapsed membership. There is thus a need for health insurance schemes, such as Kenya’s National Hospital Insurance Fund, to educate informal workers on insurance services and protocols and to improve services to encourage uptake and reduce default behaviour.