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Purpose – Researchers use the concept of biosociality and a disability studies framework of empowerment to present and analyze examples of community formation and participation for youth with pediatric multiple sclerosis.

Methodology – The data were collected using participant observation, individual and focus group interviews during Teen Adventure Camps held in the summers of 2004–2009 and an Educational Transition Retreat held in the fall of 2008.

Findings – Evidence of community formation and identification include the development of formal and informal systems for mutual support and mentoring, as well as transformations in self-perception and collective identity. Challenges to community formation include differing perspectives about disability-pride vs. diagnosis-specific affiliations.

Research implications – This research indicates that there are many pathways to individual and community identification which may include and even intertwine both diagnosis-specific and disability-pride approaches. The process of community formation is transformative, thus preferences with regard to community identification should not be considered stable, but rather understood as a developmental process that may change over time.

Originality/value of paper – Building upon social and minority group theories, this research moved beyond social critique to develop and implement strategies for community development, individual, and group empowerment.

This chapter explores the experiences of people with complex conditions before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, their fears for imagined futures when the pandemic first appeared, their reflections on their experiences and present status, as well as plans for a post-pandemic future.

This research is based on semi-structured interviews conducted by phone, Zoom, or in-person with six participants, each interviewed twice – before and during the pandemic – who either have complex medical conditions or are mothers of a child with complex medical conditions, in the United States. Half the interviews were conducted before the pandemic and the other half during the pandemic.

The data illuminate the understanding of our participants of the COVID-19 pandemic as a disability issue, which should be analyzed with the focus of disability as an intersectional social category and that disabled people felt at higher risk due to ableism in health policies and getting their health needs met. The results demonstrated the tremendous impact of the pandemic on the lives of our participants with complex medical conditions, whether in their work, care, physical and mental health, and social relationships.

This study points to the importance of policymakers incorporating strategies to reduce ableism in health care provision, rationing, and other forms of decision-making. Services need to be designed keeping in mind the challenges of disabled people and their need for care. In addition, adequate education, and employment opportunities for disabled people must be ensured, while continuing to expand access options to disabled people that were available throughout the lockdown.

Liat Ben-Moshe is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her dissertation, as part of a PhD in Sociology and Disability Studies at Syracuse University, examined abolitionary demands to close down repressive institutions that house those labeled as criminals, mentally disabled, and mentally ill. Liat has written on topics such as the International Symbol of Access, inclusive pedagogy, academic repression, disability, anticapitalism and anarchism, queerness and disability, deinstitutionalization and incarceration, and the politics of abolition.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of voluntary governance mechanisms in Australia.

This study identifies similar choices of corporate governance by Australian firms and tests the effectiveness of the choices made based on the earnings quality of reported firms. Cluster analysis is conducted using governance best practice variables, firm size and an earnings quality variable.

This paper’s results support the voluntary governance approach for smaller firms, but suggest that mandatory governance requirements could be beneficial for larger firms. Evidence suggests that a benefit accrues for larger firms with the adoption of governance best practice. Cluster analysis indicates that larger firms tend to exhibit higher levels of adoption of governance best practice than smaller firms.

This paper adds to the literature by providing important information regarding the suitability of adoption of voluntary governance mechanisms in Australia.

A discrete‐event simulation of a utility trouser manufacturing plant is described. The simulation model, written in the GPSS/PC language, was validated with operating data from a large plant with a nominal production capacity of 40,000 pairs of men's denim trousers per week. Specifically, the simulation results closely agreed with key plant operating figures, such as production rate, number of work stations, work‐in‐process inventory and residence time in production.