Medicine on the line? Computer‐mediated social support and advice for people with diabetes

The advent of thousands of Usenet groups on the Internet, covering a vast range of medical and welfare issues and ostensibly devoted to the mutual social support of participating members, has raised the potential for the development of new forms of 'virtual' health care. This article critically analyses the use by people with diabetes of one such Usenet group. It seeks to establish, first, the extent to which such a site provides some demonstrable measure of social support to its participants. This is approached by undertaking a structural analysis of the site to identify the extent of usage, and the nature of supporting interventions using a fivefold classification (instrumental, informational, esteem and social companionship and other). Second, the article attempts to identify any disparity between the lay health-knowledge in evidence and biomedical opinions proffered by the use of a panel of consultant diabetiologists. The results of the analysis suggest that the diabetes newsgroup provides an example of an active forum for largely well-informed participants who routinely use the media as an aid to the reflexive management of their medical condition. It also raises the prospect of a renegotiated relationship between medical knowledge and lay experience based upon shared learning     

我国动产融资担保制度的检讨与完善

国际经验表明,动产融资担保制度的构建以便捷动产担保交易、提高动产融资效率为目标。以此为标准考量我国相关制度,不足及缺失之处较多。动产担保物的范围应当尽量扩大,相关立法方法应予修正;动产担保权的公示应当建立统一的登记机关,简化登记内容与登记事项;动产担保物上竞存权利之间应依“先公示者优先”确定其优先顺位;动产担保权的实行制度应引进自力救济途径,同时完善公力救济途径。     

侵权责任减责免责事由的制度创新与立法完善

减责免责事由是侵权责任归结的重要依据,中国《侵权责任法》对此具有较大的制度创新,体现了公平与正义的立法理念,但是无论在制度层面还是操作层面仍然存在不足。必须立足于中国司法实践并借鉴国外先进立法经验,将减责免责事由纳入侵权责任构成中,增加原则性规定,明晰模糊规定,健全具体类型,加强制度衔接,以真正实现救济受害人权利和维护行为人自由的利益平衡。     

‘Nothing about us without us’: the emerging disability movement and advocacy in China

The disability movement and disabled persons’ self-help organizations (DPOs) are emerging in China, some of which succeeded in promoting policy and social changes with special strategies. Based on an original survey and interview, this article explains the development and survival strategies of China’s DPOs, and especially interprets some successful cases of social advocacy and policy advocacy in the emerging disability movement. It is hoped that scholars will pay more attention to the advocacy and public engagement of the disability community in non-western settings in the future.     

冲进性禁区的叙事策略与困境——20世纪90年代初期女性主义性爱书写

20世纪90年代以来的女性性爱书写从集体记忆中剥离出来,叙述女性自我的历史,对男性文本中的强大叙述进行颠覆,解构男权神话.女作家们以及她们笔下的女性清醒地意识到男权文化对女性的压制,必然寻求自我救赎,提出了文化突围的可能性.但在突围的同时却陷入另一种困境:对男性的依附与对男权的认同.     

“自助式”教学方法试验报告

以语言学家乔姆斯基语言能力理论为依据,以学生为中心,采用"自助式"教学法,进行为期一学年的教学试验得出结果就本试验班与其他平行班相比,在大学英语教学中,"自助式"教学法有利于提高学生的听、说、读、写、译的能力,使学生真正做到自主地去习得语言知识,从而逐渐形成自己对所学语言的语言能力.     

Technology and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: An Interactive Self-Help Website for OCD

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a neurobiological illness characterized by unwanted thoughts and/or images followed by repetitive rituals. About 5 million Americans live with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. OCD is a manageable illness when proper interventions are utilized. Treatment for OCD is limited due to the lack of adequately trained professionals and the high costs of treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in conjunction with exposure with response prevention (ERP) is the most effective intervention modality available for OCD. To address the treatment gap, an online, interactive self-help website was developed for those living with OCD without access to an effective intervention. This report will explore development of the OCD Challenge website and future implications of its use.     

The Development of Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Widowed and Abandoned Women Through Microcredit Self-Help Groups: The Case of Rural South India

ABSTRACT

Widowed or abandoned women are among the poorest and marginalized people in Indian society. In an effort to empower these women to achieve a sustainable livelihood and overcome discrimination related to marital status and caste, a local nongovernmental organization, Kalangarai, organized widows and abandoned women into microcredit self-help groups (SHGs) along the Southeast coast of India. This mixed-methods study examines the effects of microcredit SHG training and facilitation on the perceived self-efficacy of widowed or abandoned women in the groups (N = 64). Data were collected on SHG training, facilitation, self-efficacy, well-being, and caste discrimination. Regression results indicate that participation in SHG trainings and having more intensive staff facilitation significantly impacted the women's perception of self-efficacy. These findings suggest that the microcredit SHG structure can be utilized to spark a transformative process for women to collectively gain power and political voice. Further implications for advocacy, scholarship, and program design are discussed.     

Assessing small community groups

Many community groups in the UK do micro-project work to help families and young people in low-income neighbourhoods. This paper establishes a common set of criteria for assessing the effectiveness of small community groups and uses these as basis for developing an evaluation tool for community groups and those working with them. It draws on the literature to identify those factors that are seen to be important to the functioning of community groups, where necessary adapting these to smaller groups. These criteria are then ‘tested’ on a small number of community groups across the UK, using a participative approach and questionnaire to explore these issues with each group. Our framework appears to capture all the key aspects of the groups we visited, although some of the assessment criteria need to be interpreted carefully, helping to refine our own understanding of what makes a good community group. This approach is a useful way for community groups to identify their own strengths and weaknesses and, if developed further, has potential applications in the evaluation of capacity-building schemes.     

梁漱溟的“文化自救”与当今和谐社会的养成

目前，我国正在从各方面为构建和谐社会而努力。这是一个十分浩大而深刻的全民工程，它代表着中国现代社会发展的一种方向。然而，实现这个工程，需要一种合力，这种合力的形成，不能只是着眼在现实社会中进行各种资源的挖掘与整合，历史上众多的思想文化遗产，对于我们这个古老民族的现实发展，蕴涵着许多可资借鉴的东西。60年前，梁漱溟的文化自救，实际上也就是企图通过这种自救的形式，使中国社会走向一种和谐发展的自新之路。这种文化自救，对今天中国创建和谐社会仍然具有很深的启发意义。