Community-based arts research for people with learning disabilities: challenging misconceptions about learning disabilities

This article presents some of the community-based artwork of a group of men with learning disabilities, who aimed to challenge some of the misconceptions associated with learning disabilities. People with learning disabilities regularly face many forms of direct and indirect stigma. The consequences of such negative perceptions may affect individuals’ social relationships and ensure that barriers are strengthened which prevent their full inclusion. The men in this project used a series of visual and creative methods to challenge some of these misconceptions by telling stories through art, demonstrating skill through photography, using poetry to talk about sexual identity and improvising drama and filmmaking to challenge stigma, and through sculpture expressed their voices. Thus, by doing so, they were able to challenge some of the stigma associated with learning disabilities, indicating that community-based arts research is a valuable way in which to promote the voices of people with learning disabilities.     

Level of choice in older women’s decisions to retire or continue working and associated well-being

Retirement is a complex life transition. Women’s retirement, like their work lives, may be further complicated, for example, by family or financial obligations; they may feel forced to retire or to continue working or feel they have the choice to do so. This study examines the role of voluntary versus involuntary retirement or continued work participation among retirement-age women; specifically, the relationships between choice, work status, and well-being. Compared to women forced to retire, women who chose retirement or continuing to work had higher levels of life satisfaction. Findings highlight the importance of examining retirement within the life course context.     

Participatory shaping of community futures in e‐waste processing hubs: Complexity,conflict and stewarded convergence in a Palestinian context

This article describes an unconventional participatory development approach carried out in an informal e‐waste hub in South‐West Hebron, an area that has collected and processed the bulk of Israeli e‐waste for over a decade. Our approach contributes to the critique and recovery of community representation in participatory development and the search for ways to facilitate representative community engagement. Specifically, we describe our use of a novel Delphi‐like method that allowed us to facilitate a broadly endorsed development trajectory within a heterogeneous and conflicted community. We show how the results yielded by this approach diverged from those that were likely to emerge from more facile forms of participation in ways that are important for other similar e‐waste hubs internationally, which face a destructive status quo on the one hand, or the economically ruinous international policies that ban e‐waste trade from “developed” to “developing” countries on the other. Despite real tensions and cleavages within the affected communities, the process described facilitated a shift from deadlocked environmental versus livelihood positions towards building capacity and regulating existing informal e‐waste trades to preserve livelihoods dependent on these.     

两种理论视野下的西欧穆斯林政治参与问题探析

20世纪60年代以来,穆斯林已经成为西欧社会不容忽视的现实存在,但是在政治参与方面,穆斯林远未能有效参与西欧各国的政治进程。穆斯林人口在种族、经济地位等方面的多样性是其有效参与政治的内在障碍。从资源动员理论和政治机会结构理论的分析可以发现,穆斯林对公民权、政治精英、参政渠道等政治资源的占有不足,加之欧洲殖民心理遗产的影响、欧洲的世俗化政策、伊斯兰恐惧症、外部穆斯林世界的影响等多种因素,共同构成了影响穆斯林广泛参与西欧政治生活的重要原因。     

当代中国网络民族主义的社会政治功能透视

当代网络民族主义的勃然兴起,与当代中国社会的深刻变化以及其它社会环境因素的综合效应紧密关联;它对当下社会生活的影响日益显著,并且非自觉地成为我国社会主义民主政治建设的推动力量。特别是在促进公民意识生成、扩大民众政治参与和推动市民社会建构等层面上,网络民族主义发挥了独特作用。     

专家参与危机管理中的信任失灵与策略转换

公众科学知识素养的缺乏,社会功能的分工及科技民主价值观念的形成,决定了专家参与危机管理的必要性。中国危机管理面临着突出的专家信任失灵问题。公众对专家知识期望的理想化、专家自身知识的价值偏向、专家参与机制有效性无法保证、信息公开透明度不够等,从知识论层面与现实层面构成了信任失灵的根源。构建专家信息库、提高言论被“收买”的风险成本、完善良好的沟通机制是重获专家信任权威的有效策略。     

从“群众参与”到“公民参与”——转型期我国城市社区参与模式的“革命性”转变

＂群众参与＂模式是建立在国家与社会高度统一、国家对资源的高度控制和垄断基础上。＂群众参与＂往往是出于国家政权建设的需要或者更准确地说是社会整合和社会控制的需要。而在社会转型期,国家与社会逐步分离、市场经济唤醒了民众的利益意识和权利意识、＂单位人＂开始向＂社区人＂转化。在实行社区自治,建设基层民主的背景下,政治、社会、经济的诸多变化要求社区参与模式的＂革命性＂变革,即从＂群众参与＂走向＂公民参与＂。     

环保法基本原则之公众参与原则

公众参与原则又称环境保护的民主原则,是环境法的精髓和灵魂。在阐述公众参与原则的基本含义的基础上,探讨公众参与作为环境资源法基本原则的必要性及其理论基础、我国公众参与法律制度的构建及其完善等问题。     

农民工政治文化的嬗变与和谐社会构建

指出政治文化规范一个社会的政治生活,不同的政治文化演化路径直接影响着农民工的政治参与方式;而当前农民工政治参与陷入制度化参与虚置与非制度化参与激增的困境中;这一方面加大了社会的交易费用,降低了社会运行效能,另一方面,侵蚀着政府的合法性基础,影响和谐社会的建设;在研究的基础上,从制度理论创新的视角,提出应进一步促进和完善农民工制度化政治参与生长的物质、制度、组织、社会及农民工内生能力等方面的制度创新。     

当代我国农民政治冷漠现象的成因及化解路径选择

从20世纪80年代以来,尽管在农村治理过程中农民政治参与的热情有所提高。但由于受到多方面因素的影响,农村治理过程中依旧存在着政治冷漠现象,大大阻碍了当前我国农村的政治发展。在农民自治过程中消极地行使选举的权利、以敷衍态度参加村务民主管理和决策、对村干部的制约出现监督缺位、对自身政治参与权利的损害抱着无所谓态度等政治冷漠现象依然存在。然则政治参与民主运行机制的不健全、村庄利益驱动力太弱、农民个体素质不高、农民非理性政治参与造成农村治理过程中政治冷漠现象的发生。积极推进农民政治参与民主机制的完善、强化村民政治参与的主动性和自觉性、推进当代社会主义新农村的经济建设、加强农民政治参与的文化建设和培养农民素质,提高农民政治参与积极性,化解政治冷漠现象,进一步地为实现农村治理现代化和农民中国梦的建设创造有效助推力。