Telling about something that you do not really know: blind people are talking about vision!

In Turkey, the laws which define disability have become increasingly harsh, and require disabled people to be assessed in order to determine ‘how disabled’ they are. For blind people, as for other disabled people, these assessments have real consequences. This article aims to discuss an appealing piece that arose during a project, which has bearing on how disabled people tend to answer these questions. The participants are legally blind adults. We, as sighted researchers, asked totally blind individuals to describe their vision. Interestingly, they all answered this question without hesitation. The paradoxical nature of this question was only realized during the analysis. We requested the participants to talk about something they do not really know. This might be a reflection of our over-visualized world and might be due to our subtle prejudices. This type of questioning not only has implications for research, but also for assessments of disability in Turkey.     

Disability and social participation: The case of formal and informal volunteering

People with disabilities in the United States experience lower levels of social integration than people without disabilities. However, less is known about the association between disability and volunteer participation—despite an extensive literature on other disparities in volunteerism. This study uses data from the 2009–2015 Volunteer Supplement of the Current Population Survey to evaluate how working-aged adults with sensory disabilities, cognitive disabilities, physical disabilities, or multiple disabilities access, participate in, and maintain volunteer roles.Net of sociodemographic characteristics, adults with disabilities are no less likely than those without disabilities to report informal volunteering, although the presence of physical and multiple disabilities negatively associates with formal volunteering. Adults with disabilities report no fewer annual hours or weeks than those without disabilities if they are formal volunteers, but the mechanism through which they initially become involved in volunteer organizations varies. People with different types of disability experience different patterns of volunteering, and the sociodemographic characteristics associated with having a disability exacerbate many of these differences. Results suggest that adults with disabilities can—and do—participate in voluntary work, but may face barriers to accessing formal volunteer roles.     

The final step: the issue of euthanasia of people with mental disabilities in Denmark

A number of Danish studies on the history of mental disability have been published in recent years, yet little attention has been devoted to the issue of euthanasia. It has been assumed that the Danes generally opposed radical German ideas about euthanasia of people with disabilities, especially after 1945. This article, however, will contend that a breeding ground for euthanasia was created during the early twentieth century and that many Danes were influenced by Nazi propaganda in the 1940s. Debates about euthanasia of people with mental disabilities continued way up to the 1970s. In fact, discussions about euthanasia or ‘mercy killing’ (medlidenhedsdrab) had their heyday in the years after World War II. Actual cases of ‘mercy killing’ of mentally disabled children appeared in this period. This article will argue that knowledge about the past is important in light of current debates in Europe about similar issues.     

Interpretative accounts of work capacity assessment policy for young adults with disabilities

Young adults with disabilities are a specific target of the welfare-to-work policy introduced by many OECD countries over the past decade. The implementation of these policies is a significant concern for service delivery organisations and advocates in Australia and internationally due to complex intersecting structural barriers that persist for many young adults with disabilities. A particular focus of this article is work capacity assessments. Drawing on socio-political theories and interpretive policy analysis, the 22 in-depth interviews with personnel from service delivery organisations and advocacy organisations reveal how the deemed capacity to work process is not only interpreted as flawed, but the current policy approach disables young adults, perpetuates stigma, and creates division between service users and service providers. The accounts reinforce the need to contest such assessments and instead turn towards a rights-based capability approach permitting young adults with disability self-determination over their education-to-employment pathway.     

Ambivalent subjectivities: experiences of mothers with disabilities in Russia

Women with disabilities are still rarely imagined in the role of a mother. Narratives about motherhood that promote traditional gender roles and the primary role of motherhood in women’s lives (pronatalism) in countries like Russia emphasize the value of non-disabled and heteronormative bodies and minds. The lived experiences and the lived citizenship of mothers with disabilities disrupt societal assumptions about motherhood. However, the structural environment of pronatalism inevitably influences the ways in which mothers with disabilities understand motherhood and construct their sense of selves (subjectivities). Drawing on the framework of citizenship and the feminist disability studies literature, this article analyzes how the personal and the political are intertwined. The analysis is based on empirical data obtained from qualitative interviews with 14 mothers with disabilities in a provincial city of Russia.     

Experiences of National Disability Insurance Scheme planning from the perspective of adults with intellectual disability

The Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is attempting to address long‐term inequalities experienced by people with disability. Planning is central to the NDIS. People with intellectual disability will be the largest group of NDIS participants, and their perspectives are underrepresented in the literature. It is important to understand how they experience and perceive NDIS planning. Ten adults with intellectual disability participated in semi‐structured interviews to explore their experiences of NDIS planning. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's (2006, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77) six stages of thematic analysis. Six themes were identified: planning preparation not fit for purpose, creating goals, goals not met, planning not meeting real needs, lack of choice and control and importance of relationship with planner. In principle, the NDIS presents a real opportunity to increase the choice and control, social and economic participation, and independence of people with disability; however, this does not always translate into practice for people with intellectual disability.     

后霸权理论及其当代意义

霸权曾经是政治文化的一个核心概念,但随着世界全球化进程的迅速推进,国家权力控制的新发展以及世界范围内新社会运动的蓬勃发展,人们开始对霸权理论提出了质疑和反思,后霸权(post-hegemony)概念应时提出。后霸权概念使我们更为深入和全面地理解当今这个飞速发展的世界,但后霸权理论不应被看作是对霸权理论的颠覆和否定,而应是对霸权理论的丰富和发展。当今世界依然存在着霸权与反霸权的斗争,而且还将继续下去,这是我们所必须关注的。     

论文学与政治的意蕴交映——2010年诺贝尔文学奖评奖感思

略萨因对专制政权的痛恨和民众反抗精神的精致描写而获2010年诺贝尔文学奖,这一事实印证了文学与政治的关系:文学是对人类自身的研究,是对不同社会制度下的人际关系和人的生存困境的思考,这就是文学与政治的不解之缘。在政治哲学层面上,文学的政治性表现为文艺作品对人类理想社会的追求与探索,因而具有政治文化的意识形态作用;在政论性文学层面上,文学文本直接服务于国家政权的诉求,因而具有政治认同的历史作用。略萨的文学创作两者兼而有之,不仅为文学与政治的相互包蕴树立了典范,也为困境中的当代文学指明了发展方向。     

Translation Studies的名与实--再议"Translation Studies"一词的汉译

“Translation Stud ies”一词的汉译,我国学界有不同的主张。其实,该词具有“翻译学”和“翻译研究”的双重译名,我们应以“名实相符”为原则,根据其不同所指赋予其不同的汉译名予以区分。同时,依据这一原则对我国引进的部分国外学术专著的书名的汉译应进行修改。     

A comparative study of successful aging in three Asian countries

The purpose of this research is to examine successful aging in three Asian countries, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, using data from the WHO regional studies of Health and Social Aspects of Aging. Successful aging is defined as having no ADL difficulties, and at most, one Nagi difficulty. For the most part, the results are similar to those using more developed populations in that gender, age, no morbid conditions, positive attitude toward one's own aging and the ability to manage money are all correlated with successful aging. An interesting finding is that for the least developed country, Indonesia, being an unskilled worker is significantly associated with increased odds for successful aging. The final section of the paper discusses the theoretical implications regarding a disability transition for elderly populations as countries develop. We also focus on the current political and economic situations in the countries under study, and consider the possible impacts on elderly health.