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Review of existing theory defines myth as a potent and powerful force, often buried deep in our mindsets, which helps shape our thinking and consequently our actions and behaviour. Questions the role and function of myth in the life of managers and the influence of myth on organizations. Attempts to increase understanding of the power of myth to communicate and engender commitment, beliefs and existing cultures by looking at the mythical element embedded in symbols, stories and language. Research reported here and which is ongoing, suggests managers do in fact often act and make decisions based on mythical realities; that myths contribute to maintenance of the status quo and an unhealthy reliance on past memories and experience. Myths held dear by managers thus inhibit the learning and change so vital to all who live in a world which is dominated by change.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a case study to test the applicability of the discrete choice experiment (DCE) method to assess the preferences of carers of people with dementia. The focus of enquiry was home care provision.

A multi-method approach was adopted for this pilot study. A literature review identified key characteristics of home care for dementia. This informed consultations with lay representatives. Key attributes of home care for the DCE were identified and formed the basis for the schedule. In all, 28 carers were recruited by two voluntary organisations to complete the DCE. A multinomial logistic regression model was used to analyse the data.

Seven attributes of home care for people with dementia were identified from the consultation. The use of the DCE approach permitted the identification of those most important to carers. Despite the modest sample, statistically significant findings were reported in relation to five of the attributes indicating their relevance. A lay involvement in the identification of attributes contributed to the ease of administration of the schedule and relevance of the findings.

This study demonstrated the utility of a DCE to capture the preferences of carers of people with dementia and thereby gather information from carers to inform policy, practice and service development. Their involvement in the design of the schedule was critical to this process.

Purpose: This chapter problematizes the philosophical origins of direct funding models in a normative conception of independence that ignores and obscures the fundamentally relational nature of care work.

Approach: The study adopts a reflexive ethnographic methodological approach. In-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with 19 participants variously involved with direct-funded attendant services (disabled “self-managers,” “attendant” employees, other members of self-managers’ support networks, and program staff). Additional data sources included the author's reflexive journaling and publicly available policy and program materials. The present analysis interrogated the impact of systemic constraints (i.e., limited funding) on the organization and management of attendant services.

Findings: The data illuminate how systemic constraints draw the interests of self-managers and attendants into tension, despite the affective relationality of the work they do together. The findings present four strategies self-managers adopt to maximize support hours, including: splitting shifts, strategic hiring, dynamic resource management, and supplementing remuneration. These findings suggest it is not vulnerability to each other that represents an ongoing concern for self-managers and attendants, so much as exploitation by a system that capitalizes on the oppression of both groups.

Implication/ Value: Disabled people and care workers have been and continue to be constructed as opposing interest groups. However, there is great potential in disabled people and care workers joining a united front to lobby for their common, often interrelated interests. Direct funding models are an important evolution of support services, but where they fail to attend to the relational nature of care work, we must continue to pursue more inclusive solutions.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the prevalence and patterns of substance use among Canadian social workers. With legalisation of can professional regulatory bodies are pressed to consider implications of substance use for their members.

An online survey collected data about demographics and substance use prevalence and patterns. Statistical analysis involved pairwise comparisons, binary logistic regression models and logistic regression models to explore correlations between substance use and demographic and work-related variables.

Among the respondents (n=489), findings indicate that past-year use of cannabis (24.1 per cent), cocaine (4.5 per cent), ecstasy (1.4 per cent), amphetamines (4.3 per cent), hallucinogens (2.4 per cent), opioid pain relievers (21.0 per cent) and alcohol (83.1 per cent) are higher than the general Canadian population. Years of work experience and working night shift were significant predictors of total number of substances used in the past year. Use of a substance by a person when they were a student was highly correlated with use when they were a professional.

Prevalence of substance use among social workers was found to be higher than the Canadian population; potential due to the anonymous nature of data collection.

This study has implications for social conceptualisations of professionalism and for decisions regarding professional regulation. Previous literature about substance use by professionals has focussed predominantly on implications for increased surveillance, monitoring, and disciplinary action. We contend that since substance use among professionals tends to be concealed, there may be exacerbated social misconceptions about degree of risk and when it is appropriate to intervene.

Research literature examining the experiences of faculty of color, particularly women in higher education, reveals a pattern of institutional and attitudinal barriers, which is directly linked to successful recruitment and retention of learners and faculty of color (Brayboy, B. M. (2003). The implementation of diversity in predominately White colleges and universities. Journal of Black Studies, 34(1), 72–87; Gregory, 2001; Hughes, R. L., & Howard-Hamilton, M. F. (2003). Insights: Emphasizing issues that affect African American women. In: M. F. Howard-Hamilton (Ed.), New directions for student services. Meeting the needs of African American women (104, pp. 95–104). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass; Park, J. J., & Denson, N. (2009). Attitudes and advocacy: Understanding faculty views on racial/ethnic diversity. The Journal of Higher Education, 80(4), 415–438; Project MUSE; Stanley, C. A. (Ed.) (2006). Faculty of color: Teaching in predominantly White colleges and universities. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishers; Turner, 2002; Watson & Shealey, 2010). This chapter provides a review of the recent and relevant research on Black women in teacher education. In addition, the authors conducted a review of research specifically addressing the experiences of Black women in teacher education during the last 10 years. Findings from this summative analysis highlight recent research on the experiences of Black women faculty and shed light on the implications for future research as well as leadership and program development.

A relatively recent development in the history of social inequality is the growth of mass media communications. In developed and in underdeveloped nations, in highly stratified and in egalitarian societies, research documents the persistence of major disparities between different socioeconomic groups in their awareness of given topics. Despite the abundance of information available through a diversity of communication channels and information agencies in our nation, evidence points to the inability of major population sub‐groups to gather the appropriate types of information to cope with the most pressing information needs. These differences in information acquisition and in the ability to manage information seem to be related to differences in exposure to the mass media, which in turn appear to be strongly related to, or constrained by, differences in income, education, and other available socio‐economic resources.

Given the increasing numbers of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) college students, it is critical to have a diverse group of faculty, staff, administrators, and student affairs professionals who are social justice minded and multiculturally competent to address their needs (Maramba, 2008b; Pope, Reynolds, & Mueller, 2004). However, higher education institutions are still faced with the challenge of increasing the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity at these professional levels. AAPIs are one such population whose representation in the field of student affairs administration is severely lacking. The purpose of this chapter is to acquire a better understanding of the AAPI women in the profession of student affairs administration.