Deconstructing language practices: discursive constructions of children in Individual Education Plan resource documents

Although Individual Education Plan (IEP) resource documents in Ontario, Canada aim to assist children in achieving their special educational goals, a point of disjuncture exists between the documents’ intentions and children’s actual experiences. Addressing this issue is crucial in preventing inequity and fostering educational development and social well-being for children. We employ critical discourse analysis informed by disability theory to deconstruct the language practices used to conceptualize children in IEP resource documents. Our purpose is to question the underlying assumptions regarding representations of children and illuminate the potentially harmful consequences of such conceptions. We expose the presence of both neutral and harmful language practices and consider how such language may shape the way the documents translate from policy to practice. This study offers a model through which the language of other special education documents can be critically evaluated and proposes potential avenues for creating documents that avoid disabling children further.     

Building a Humane Society for Older People: Compassionate Policy Making for Integration,Participation, and Positive Ageing Within a Framework of Intergenerational Solidarity

This article explores the global challenge of population aging with a specific focus on the concepts of integration and participation of older people in society within the context of “realizing a society for all ages” as promoted by the United Nations. It is proposed that governments worldwide need to embrace new ways of thinking about population aging that include strategic initiatives for strengthening the social contract that fosters generational interdependence. The meaning of “positive aging” is explored at both the individual and social levels, with implications for quality-of-life issues involving intergenerational relationships. The point is made that while the promotion of positive aging is commendable on both philosophical and health grounds it can be problematic for those older people who for a range of legitimate reasons are unable to fulfill the notion of positive or active aging. The longevity revolution will require the emergence of a more humane society that undertakes to reconceptualize what older age means, together with exploring new ways of enhancing the citizenship status of older people through the development and promotion of innovative intergenerational relationships. A call is made for a wider engagement of the citizenry in the processes involved in the formulation and implementation of policy making.     

An appropriation of ashes: transient aesthetic markers and spiritual place‐making as performances of alternative ethnic identities

In this paper I consider the material ways in which individuals overlay an imaginary, ethnicized secondspace in the form of a spiritual realm onto their state‐defined, lived firstspaces. Through the use of temporary roadside altars and shrines, I argue that this imaginary space is reified into transient aesthetic markers that subvert state‐mandated, purpose‐built structures and ethnic narratives, allowing for alternative versions of diasporic ethnic identities to be performed and consumed. Through the use of a case study of a suburban town centre in Singapore, I employ a mix of visual and sensorial observation methods and take the role of a hungry ghost during the seventh lunar month, exploring the material manifestations of ethnic imaginations.     

Spatial variability of epibiotic assemblages on marina pontoons in Singapore

Berthing pontoons, one of the most ubiquitous structures in marinas, are known to provide recruitment substrate for a variety of marine biota but little has been reported on their capacity to support epibiotic organisms in tropical marinas, and even less is known about the factors that shape their distribution in such environments. We surveyed the epibiotic assemblages on the sides of pontoons in three Singapore marinas and examined the environmental conditions that influenced their distribution. A total of 94 taxa were recorded, with each marina hosting 43–65 taxa. Assemblages among marinas were highly distinct, and, key discriminants included components of biotic (alcyonarians, hexacorallians, bivalves, and annelids), as well as abiotic (sediment, bare area and shell fragments) origin. While the assemblage variation among marinas was influenced by local environmental conditions (e.g. water motion and sedimentation rate) and pontoon material, the variation in distribution within each marina was best explained by the distance of the pontoons from the marina’s entrance (epibiotic diversity and taxa richness were lower away from the marina entrance). Knowledge on the distribution of epibiotic assemblages on pontoons is essential to identify the factors that contribute to spatial variation and encourage the design and construction of ecologically-friendly marinas. Our findings suggest that improvements to pontoon design and layout would help to augment marina biodiversity, enhance the ecology of urbanised coasts, and mitigate development impacts.     

Drawing out culture: productive methods to measure cognition and resonance

Theories of culture and action, especially after the cognitive turn, have developed more complex understandings of how unconscious, embodied, internalized culture motivates action. As our theories have become more sophisticated, our methods for capturing these internal processes have not kept up and we struggle to adjudicate among theories of how culture shapes action. This article discusses what I call “productive” methods: methods that observe people creating a cultural object. Productive methods, I argue, are well suited for drawing out moments of shared automatic cognition and resonance. To demonstrate the value of productive methods, I describe my method of asking focus group participants to devise and draw AIDS campaign posters collectively. I then 1) show how this productive method made visible distinct moments of both automatic and deliberative cognition, 2) offer an operational definition of resonance and demonstrate how the process of drawing revealed moments of resonance, and 3) suggest how this method allowed me to investigate the relationship between cognition and resonance and their effect on action. To conclude, I discuss strategies for using productive methods and advocate for their use in measuring culture.     

Determinants of Migrant Career Success: A Study of Recent Skilled Migrants in Australia

Australia has been aggressively pursuing skilled migrants to sustain its population and foster economic growth. However, many skilled migrants experience a downward career move upon migration to Australia. Based on a survey of recent skilled migrants, this study investigates how individual (age, years of settlement, qualifications), national/societal (citizenship and settlement), and organization-level (climate of inclusion) factors influence their career success. Overall, we found that: (1) age at migration matters more than length of settlement in predicting skilled migrant career success; (2) citizenship uptake and living in a neighbourhood with a greater number of families from the same country of origin facilitate post-migration career success; and (3) perceptions of one's social/informal networks in the workplace – a dimension of perceived organizational climate of inclusion – also have a positive impact on migrant career outcomes.     

Chinese Singaporean attitudes towards poverty and inequality: A comparative analysis

Ng IYH, Koh G. Chinese Singaporean attitudes towards poverty and inequality: a comparative analysis Based on a survey of 191 Chinese respondents, this article discusses the attitudes of Singaporean Chinese towards poverty, inequality and government intervention. Using the Z‐test for two proportions and cluster analysis, findings were compared with similar studies in the USA and the UK. Chinese Singaporeans were found to be very aware of the growing inequality, but they adopted a narrower definition of poverty than British respondents. This might be the reason why they were more sympathetic towards the poor and supportive of more government anti‐poverty efforts than were American respondents. From the cluster analysis, the Singaporean sample produced a third group who were ‘satisfied but concerned’, on top of the two polar groups, ‘sceptics’ and ‘liberals’, present in the British study. A majority of respondents also supported the view that more should be done to help the poor and were willing to pay more taxes for that purpose.