Benefits and barriers to sports participation for athletes with disabilities: the case of Malaysia

The purpose of this paper was to explore the benefits and barriers influencing participation for athletes with disabilities from a developing country (Malaysia). Two independent studies were undertaken: Study 1 included a sample of 123 athletes (95 males, 28 females) who participated in the 2006 Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled (FESPIC Games); Study 2 involved focus group discussions with 14 elite athletes. The athletes ranged in age from 15 to 59?years. Data were collected through a questionnaire (Study 1) and focus group discussions (Study 2). The primary reasons for participation in sport were achievement/challenge (58%) and competency/skill development (41%). The main barriers faced by the athletes were structural (facilities, equipment, funding) and the negative attitude from the government, public and media. However, despite these difficulties the majority of athletes were keen to continue to compete. Further work is required to ensure athletes with disabilities are provided with similar opportunities to athletes without disabilities.     

A Campus–Community Partnership to Disseminate Health Internet Technology Resources Among African Americans

The Internet is increasingly used to disseminate health information about diseases and prevention and to help in obtaining health services. Although technology can empower African Americans to adopt healthy lifestyles, the gap in usage between African Americans and Whites undermines the potential power of health Internet technology (IT) to ameliorate health disparities. This study describes the development, implementation, and outcome of a health informatics intervention by a university–community partnership to increase awareness and use of health IT resources among African Americans to address the problem of their underuse of online health resources.     

Making Hakka Spaces: Resisting Multicultural Nationalism in Taiwan

Projects of official nationalism have long been understood as state-sponsored attempts at enforcing cultural uniformity within the borders of the national territory. Contemporary nationalisms tend to compartmentalize minority cultural groups in a way that marginalizes those who are not seen as belonging to the core of the “modern” nation. Contemporary official Taiwanese nationalism promotes the “ethnic Taiwanese” (Hokkien) majority as the modern center of an otherwise diverse nation, primarily through the funding and ‘preservation’ of non-Hokkien cultural traditions. Though these programs that celebrate local cultures are more inclusive than earlier nationalisms in Taiwan, the terms of inclusion nonetheless function as a form of neoliberal state control of minorities, such as the Hakka (kejia ren). This article examines how Hakka “culture workers” (wenhua gongzuozhe) resist state attempts at spatial and symbolic marginalization. From producing ethnographies that create a Hakka neighborhood to organizing a parade route that symbolically links that neighborhood to Taipei's government and financial centers, Hakka culture workers resist multicultural nationalism by making Hakka spaces that are resistant to state attempts to marginalize them. I argue that their work is a prime example of how communities and individuals can successfully negotiate the cultural and spatial politics of the neoliberal state.     

Building Community Trust Through Cooperatives: A Case Study of a Worker-Owned Homecare Cooperative

Trusting relationships bind people together. Building community trust is increasingly being identified as a viable strategy for improving the well-being of community members. This article explores how cooperatives build trust among worker-owners as well as with their clients and other professionals. It reviews theoretical and empirical perspectives on trust and cooperatives. Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews, document review and a survey. It was observed that cooperatives provide regular contacts among members, and between members and their clients and professionals during training, conferences, task oriented committees, general membership meetings, and social events. This fosters shared understanding, empathy, openness, and confidence, which in turn promotes the building and maintenance of deeper and wider trust.     

Who Cares about Consent Requirements for Sourcing Human Embryonic Stem Cells? Are Errors In the Past Really Errors Of the Past?

Through an Access to Information Act request, we have obtained the consent forms used by the providers of every human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line approved for use by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and examined them to verify whether or not they meet the consent requirements established by Canadian law and regulations. Our findings show that at least seven out of ten consent forms studied did not satisfy these minimum requirements. We then outline various options for responding to this situation in terms of: (i) remedial measures for dealing with executive problems with regulatory oversight procedures; and (ii) remedial measures for dealing with the impugned lines.     

FRAGILE STATES AND DEVELOPMENT POLICY

It is widely recognized that fragile states are key symptoms of under‐development in many parts of the world. Such states are incapable of delivering basic services to their citizens and political violence is commonplace. As of yet, mainstream development economics has not dealt in any systematic way with such concerns and the implications for development assistance. This paper puts forward a framework for analyzing fragile states and applies it to a variety development policies in different types of states.     

Supply chain contract evolution

This paper draws together theories from organisational and neo-institutional literatures to address the evolution of supply chain contracts. Using a longitudinal case study of the Norwegian State Railways, we examine how firms move through the stages in an inter-organisational process of supply chain contract evolution and how they can cooperate to ensure efficiency and equity in their contractual relationship. The findings suggest that inefficient and inequitable initial contracts can occur, in part, because of the cognitive shortcomings in human decision-making processes that reveal themselves early in the arrangement before learning and trust building can accumulate. We then reveal how parties can renegotiate towards a more equitable and efficient supply chain contract.