Do the regulatory standards require religious literacy of U.K. health and social care professionals?

Health and social care professionals need sufficient religious literacy in order to handle the complexities of religious beliefs and practices, including the growing numbers who identify with other belief systems and those who claim to identify with no religion. The extent to which the need for religious literacy has been formalized was examined in an analysis of regulatory frameworks for health and social care professionals in the United Kingdom. Although all but one of the regulators make some reference to religion and beliefs, they are silent on the question as to what is meant by religion and beliefs. Some standards include a requirement not to impose one's own beliefs on others, but there is very little requirement to develop a reflective and self‐critical awareness of one's own stance. Likewise, some standards refer to knowledge and skills required, but greater specificity is required for these to be meaningful.     

Mobility,Space and Social Structuration in the Second Modernity and Beyond

The recent social structuration theories speak about liquefaction. However, these liquid models fail to deliver satisfactory explanation of contemporary sociation; the thesis of this article is that this is due to insufficient reflection on space‐time. Three points are to be discussed: the questionable distinction between social and geographical space, which these models use to diagnose current patterns of social structuration as resulting from new time–space experience; the certainty of periodization, which privileges time over space; and the persistence of a ‘container’ understanding of space. It is necessary to work out a better understanding of the current time–space relations on the one hand, and to develop a method to grasp conceptually the meta‐change on the other. The second can be achieved with the help of the theory of reflexive modernization. This theory, however, does not offer much insight into the exact time–space relations, thus the first postulate requires further empirical research. This article, based on a study of mobile transnational professionals, attempts to fulfill both postulates and to work out its own theoretical frameworks for researching mobility, spatialization and social structuration.     

Hearing the voices of disabled students in higher education

Since the return of the Labour government to power in the UK in 1997 issues of social inclusion have risen up the political and statutory agenda within higher education (HE). This study reports the findings of disabled students lived experiences and views of transition from induction through to employability within one HE institution. The study examined the perspectives of disabled students via a questionnaire and face‐to‐face interviews. It found that there was still much work to be done in levelling HE experiences for disabled students and identified five key issues that should be addressed in order to enable access and entitlement to HE. These are pre‐course induction support, commitment by HE institutions to facilitating barrier free curricula, consultation with disabled students, institutional commitment to develop support services and embedding of personal development planning.     

Sociometric methods and difference: a force for good – or yet more harm

This paper offers a critique of sociometrics as a ubiquitous method of measuring social relationships among children in social groups such as school classes. This is important in relation to disability politics and research as the apparently scientific measures are frequently used in the process of labelling children or predisposing the children involved, or others involved with them, to view disabled and other children in particular ways. We open a debate about judgements concerning whether the use of sociometric techniques needs to be better informed by questions about the underpinning normalising frameworks on which they depend, about the connotations of blame associated with particular sociometric statuses, and about the way that research constructs difficulties and reflects an adult agenda, marginalising the voices of (disabled) children. We argue for the value of the transactional turn in understanding the implications of this approach and for highlighting alternative perspectives.     

Employment Discrimination Against Older Workers

Pairs of resumes, one for a 57-year-old and the other for a 32-year-old, were mailed to 775 large firms and employment agencies across the United States. Although the resumes presented equal qualifications, the older job seeker received a less favorable employer response 26.5% of times when a position appeared to be vacant. Vigorous enforcement of equal opportunity laws as well as initiatives to change employer attitudes are appropriate responses to such discrimination. The technique of employment testing, demonstrated in this research, can be useful in both efforts.     

Variance estimation of DEE and regression estimator when a first-phase cluster sample is restratified

We consider a variance estimation when a stratified single stage cluster sample is selected in the first phase and a stratified simple random element sample is selected in the second phase. We propose explicit formulas of (asymptotically), we propose explicit formulas of (asymptotically) unbiased variance estimators for the double expansion estimator and regression estimator. We perform a small simulation study to investigate the performance of the proposed variance estimators. In our simulation study, the proposed variance estimator showed better or comparable performance to the Jackknife variance estimator. We also extend the results to a two-phase sampling design in which a stratified pps with replacement cluster sample is selected in the first phase.     

人权保障导向下我国残疾人劳动权之法律路径进阶

残疾人劳动权是其满足自身生活需求、实现自身长远发展所必需的权利。随着我国劳动及社会保障法律体系的逐步完善,残疾人的劳动权亦得到了较大保护,但目前仍处于低水平、低质量的状况。在新时代我国人权法视野背景下,对残疾人劳动权予以保障是不可忽视的重要方面。基于人权保障视野,从残疾人劳动权的涵义界定及内容明晰出发,通过检视我国既有残疾人劳动权法律保障体系的不足,进而结合残疾人劳动权保障的历史成就及现实困境,对我国残疾人劳动权法律保障体系予以体系化重构,应该从立法层面明确反歧视原则及内容,逐步建构残疾人劳动安置比例制度,加快设立残疾人劳动解雇保护制度,完善残疾人就业保障金的管理及使用机制。     

‘We create our own small world’: daily realities of mothers of disabled children in a South African urban settlement

Parents of disabled children face many challenges. Understanding their experiences and acknowledging contextual influences is vital in developing intervention strategies that fit their daily realities. However, studies of parents from a resource-poor context are particularly scarce. This ethnographic study with 30 mothers from a South African township (15 semi-structured interviews and 24 participatory group sessions) unearths how mothers care on their own, in an isolated manner. The complexity of low living standards, being poorly supported by care structures and networks, believing in being the best carer, distrusting others due to a violent context, and resigning towards life shape and are shaped by this solitary care responsibility. For disability inclusive development to be successful, programmes should support mothers by sharing the care responsibility taking into account the isolated nature of mothers’ lives and the impact of poverty. This can provide room for these mothers to increase the well-being of themselves and their children.     

从我国弱势群体的弱势特征看社会政策支助体系的设计框架——基于北京市老年残疾人视角的分析

建立科学的社会政策支助体系是满足弱势群体需求和推进和谐社会建设的重要方面。本文以北京市老年残疾人为对象,具体分析了弱势群体的弱势特征,并依据这些特征提出了包括政策目标、政策依据、政策原则、政策构架等部分的社会政策支助体系的设计框架。     

Access to education in Africa: responding to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities mandates that disabled people should have full rights to education in inclusive settings. However, to ensure that educational polices and settings are designed to meet this criterion seems challenging to African countries that have ratified this Convention. This article arises from the 2nd African Network of Evidence-to-Action on Disability Symposium. This fluid network was established to address the gap between research and practice in the region. The article reports proceedings and the emerging themes from the Education, Training and Work Commission; one of the six commissions of this Symposium, focusing specifically on the education aspect. It also challenges various stakeholders to move from evidence to action to ensure the educational rights of disabled people in inclusive settings.