城市老年人社区参与的现状及原因探析

在社区参与的实践中,老年人已成为积极而重要的力量。在社区自治程度较高、社区居委会等社区组织能够发挥核心组织力量的社区,老年人社区参与的积极性较高,而且社区参与的形式也丰富多样,主要包括文体娱乐性参与、志愿性参与和自治性参与。老年人社区参与的积极性较高,其中存在多方面原因。可以从老年人的社区参与所具备的个人条件、社区参与的收益以及社区认同感与归属感等角度进行分析。     

转型期中国城中村改造当中的关键问题分析——以西安市为例

以西安市两个典型城中村改造项目为例,研究分析了邻里关系、居民在城改项目中的参与度、以及居民对城改项目的满意度等关键问题的相关性,并探讨了影响这几方面问题的主要影响因素.基于研究结果,对我国城中村改造实践提出若干策略性建议和意见,这对转型期中国城中村改造的理论研究和实践具有重要借鉴意义.     

天然气工业用户峰谷分时定价多目标优化模型

制定合理的天然气分时定价政策,能够优化资源配置,保证城市天然气管网稳定运行,从而缓解城市“气荒”现象,促进燃气产业健康发展。为此,在考虑用户响应行为的基础上,以最小化最大峰负荷和峰谷负荷差为目标,以燃气公司利益、用户利益,以及政府对天然气价格的限制为约束条件,建立了峰谷分时定价的多目标优化模型,运用遗传算法与Pareto排序相结合的方法对其进行求解。并且,将该模型应用于一个案例,将一天24小时划分为峰、平、谷三个时段,按照“量大价高”的原则实施分时定价政策。结果表明:在保证用户和燃气公司同时获益的情况下,存在最优的峰、平、谷价格,使得最大峰负荷和峰谷负荷差能有效降低,验证了多目标优化模型的有效性和可行性。     

Internet Technology in Service of Personal Health Care Management: Patient Perspective

Internet technology has become an informational resource for most health care consumers. Online information, discussion, and support groups, in the form of message boards, listservs, and chat rooms are emerging as parts of virtual self-health-care network. This paper examines the extent to which participation in online health discussion groups was reported to be helpful in increasing medical knowledge and in enhancing the participatory patient role of health care consumers in interaction with health care service professionals. Data for this study was collected from 350 patients who participated in Internet discussion groups for cancer patients. The findings of the study indicated the important impact of Internet health discussion groups on health care management practices as perceived by health care consumers, including empowerment through knowledge and proactive participation in cancer care management. This research contributes to understanding the patient perspective and assesses the perceived importance of Internet groups by health care consumers.     

Class participation as a pedagogical tool in social work education

Class participation is an essential part of the social work pedagogy. However, active student engagement in classes is inconsistent and varies based on factors such as social backgrounds, educational background, and individual characteristics. Instructors often evaluate participation based on frequency of verbal contributions. Evaluation criteria are often unarticulated or difficult to measure, presenting numerous challenges for instructors and students alike. A model of reflective self-assessment of participation by students, paired with timely instructor feedback is put forth in this paper to mitigate these concerns. The steps in this model include initial self-assessment, goal setting, midterm review, and a final review. The process of continuous self-evaluation and problem-solving is discussed as strategies that aid the process of class participation. Three instructor touch points are suggested: at the goal-setting stage, the midterm review, and the final grade. Throughout the paper, connections to social work practice and social work pedagogy are highlighted. This model has yet to be implemented in a social work school’s curriculum. Challenges in the implementation and resolution of those challenges are also presented. This model suggests ways to enhance opportunities for student engagement and integration into graduate programs, in addition to fostering valuable skills for future practice in the field.     

Public participation and the politics of humiliation

ABSTRACT

The article contends that the most popular form of Public Participation (PP) in SA is public protest, which, as a result of historical continuity, represents a direct response to the humiliations experienced by the poor, unemployed and socially excluded. Despite an enlightened human rights Constitution, if citizens are treated as consumers and left to the vagaries of the market PP mechanisms are likely to fail as they do not address the real social issues at the root of the discontent.     

Room for manoeuvre: User participation in water resources management in Burkina Faso

Participation in natural resources management is widely promoted in sub‐Saharan Africa, but faces mounting criticism from social science scholars who rarely engage with it in practice. We use the notion of room for manoeuvre to reflect on a multi‐level participatory approach designed to support the Burkinabè Integrated Water Resources Management policy and propose ways of engaging constructively with local users and policy‐makers. Within an “invited space” of participation, water users’ room for manoeuvre was enhanced through the acquisition of new knowledge on the legal Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) framework. This allowed them to interact with decision‐makers and to extend their networks. Power imbalances were discussed, but this did not lead to modifying existing power structures that hinge on broader societal dynamics.     

Negotiated identities: Male migration and left-behind wives in India

This paper examines the impact of husbands’ migration on the lives of women left behind. Using data from the India Human Development Survey 2005, we focus on two dimensions of women’s lives: women’s autonomy and control over their lives; and women’s labour force participation. Results suggest that household structure forms the key mediating factor through which husbands’ absence affects women. Women not residing in extended families are faced with both higher levels of responsibilities and greater autonomy, while women who live in extended households do not experience these demands or benefits.     

Incorporating human sexuality content into a positive youth development framework: Implications for community prevention

As approaches to positive youth development (PYD) gain momentum, the issue of sexuality – a critical component of human development – is being subsumed by ideological debates. In the current political climate, sexuality education is often relegated to biological and/or values-based approaches, neglecting essential relational and collective aspects of sexuality. Through the explication of sexuality as an important component of youth's social ecology, this paper provides a conceptual link between the goals of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States' (SIECUS) Guidelines for comprehensive sexuality education and those of PYD. We argue that sexuality, as a normative part of human development, culture, identity, and relationships, be approached from an asset-based perspective, rather than a deficit-based perspective. We propose a framework that illustrates how aspects of sexuality are embedded within PYD contexts, and demonstrates how a sexuality education program rooted in SIECUS guidelines can further PYD goals across community contexts.     

An equality of condition framework for user involvement in mental health policy and planning: evidence from participatory action research

Discussions about user involvement in the mental health services tend to throw up four major areas of concern: the capacity of service users to participate, their lack of participation skills, the need for a positive organisational culture and the need for arenas of participation. This article presents evidence from participatory action research with Irish mental health service users which explored how they could more equally participate in advisory committees. Participants identified barriers to their equal participation due to unequal cultural, physical, mental and economic resources, time, power, ‘stigma’(prejudice) and lack of respect for their experiential knowledge and emotional expression. These barriers fall within the ‘equality of condition framework’ developed by Baker and colleagues. Enabling equal user involvement in strategic decision‐making requires more than arenas of participation – it requires comprehensively addressing service users’ structural disadvantages throughout the process of involvement.