Greater Social Participation Research Articles

Associations Between Resilience, Community Belonging, and Social Participation Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Results From the Eastern Townships Population Health Survey

ObjectiveTo examine the associations between resilience, community belonging, and social participation, and the moderating effect of resilience on the association between community belonging and social participation among community-dwelling older adults. DesignCross-sectional; secondary analyses of the Eastern Townships Population Health Survey. SettingCommunity. ParticipantsA sample (N=4541) of women (n=2485) and men (n=2056) aged ≥60 years was randomly selected according to area. Most participants had <14 years of schooling, owned their dwelling, were retired, had 1 or 2 chronic conditions, and did not have depressive symptoms. InterventionsNot applicable. Main Outcome MeasuresSelf-reported data on age, education, depressive symptoms, social participation, community belonging, and resilience were collected by phone interviewer–administered questionnaire. A social participation scale measured frequency of participation in 8 community activities. A 4-point Likert scale ranging from “very strong” to “very weak” estimated sense of belonging to the local community. Social participation and sense of belonging questions came from Statistics Canada surveys. Resilience was assessed with the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, capturing the ability to cope with adversity. ResultsControlling for age, education, and psychological distress, greater resilience and community belonging were associated with greater social participation among women (R2=.13; P<.001) and men (R2=.09; P<.001). The association between community belonging and social participation varied as a function of resilience, especially in men. Greater community belonging further enhanced social participation, especially among women (P=.03) and men (P<.01) with greater resilience (moderator effect). ConclusionsResilience moderates the association between community belonging and social participation among community-dwelling older women and, especially, men. Interventions targeting social participation should consider the potential impact of resilience on improving community belonging. Future studies should investigate why resilience moderates associations between community belonging and social participation, and how to enhance resilience among older adults.

Longitudinal employment outcomes of an early intervention vocational rehabilitation service for people admitted to rehabilitation with a traumatic spinal cord injury.

Longitudinal cohort design. First, to explore the longitudinal outcomes for people who received early intervention vocational rehabilitation (EIVR); second, to examine the nature and extent of relationships between contextual factors and employment outcomes over time. Both inpatient and community-based clients of a Spinal Community Integration Service (SCIS). People of workforce age undergoing inpatient rehabilitation for traumatic spinal cord injury were invited to participate in EIVR as part of SCIS. Data were collected at the following three time points: discharge and at 1 year and 2+ years post discharge. Measures included the spinal cord independence measure, hospital anxiety and depression scale, impact on participation and autonomy scale, numerical pain-rating scale and personal wellbeing index. A range of chi square, correlation and regression tests were undertaken to look for relationships between employment outcomes and demographic, emotional and physical characteristics. Ninety-seven participants were recruited and 60 were available at the final time point where 33% (95% confidence interval (CI): 24-42%) had achieved an employment outcome. Greater social participation was strongly correlated with wellbeing (ρ=0.692), and reduced anxiety (ρ=-0.522), depression (ρ=-0.643) and pain (ρ=-0.427) at the final time point. In a generalised linear mixed effect model, education status, relationship status and subjective wellbeing increased significantly the odds of being employed at the final time point. Tertiary education prior to injury was associated with eight times increased odds of being in employment at the final time point; being in a relationship at the time of injury was associated with increased odds of being in employment of more than 3.5; subjective wellbeing, while being the least powerful predictor was still associated with increased odds (1.8 times) of being employed at the final time point. EIVR shows promise in delivering similar return-to-work rates as those traditionally reported, but sooner. The dynamics around relationships, subjective wellbeing, social participation and employment outcomes require further exploration.

Cooperación Internacional en Marruecos: Empoderamiento para insertar socio-laboralmente a jóvenes en contextos de riesgo

La presente investigación pretende analizar el sistema actual de cooperación internacional desde una perspectiva cualitativa, centrándose en el empoderamiento social como herramienta clave para la inserción socio-laboral con jóvenes en contextos de riesgo en Marruecos. Los diversos argumentos que este artículo expone manifiestan una reflexión en torno a las intervenciones sociales llevadas a cabo en épocas de bonanza económica y como éstas mismas deben proyectarse a procedimientos que propongan a los sujetos de la acción más participación social y capacidad transformadora, declinándose a su vez las entidades sociales en posturas cada vez más posdesarrollistas que implican aunar a todas las partes del proceso de intervención (organizaciones, instituciones, administraciones, etc.). Se pone de manifiesto la relevancia en crear un debate reflexivo en torno a los límites que la cooperación debe tener en cuanto a su capacidad estratégica como agente de cambio por las implicaciones neoliberales que proyecta en la práctica ya que en muchos casos revela otros intereses estratégicos obviando el sentido progresista de las intervenciones.

O Plano Nacional de Educação como articulador da democratização do acesso à universidade e empoderamento da classe trabalhadora

O objetivo deste estudo, de caráter teórico e documental, é refletir sobre o(s) conceito(s) de empoderamento da classe trabalhadora, no qual esta se investe de poder, mas com uma importante ressalva: este processo não poderá ser individual e sim coletivo, através do diálogo cooperativo, onde a educação – principalmente a Educação Superior - é a grande protagonista, como articuladora do processo. Nesta esteira, apresenta uma comparação entre o Plano Nacional de Educação (PNE) 2001-2010 e o PNE 2014-2024 com relação às metas voltadas à democratização do acesso à universidade, encontrando que, neste momento, o que de fato podemos afirmar é que não houve muitos avanços no Ensino Superior. Ainda assim, o PNE constitui um importante instrumento jurídico para a democratização do acesso à universidade, que poderá servir como articulador do empoderamento da classe trabalhadora. Repensar a educação significa repensar todo o Estado, uma vez que a política educacional sofre injunções das esferas política, econômica e social. Aprimorando o Estado Brasileiro, se estará avançando para uma concepção mais ampla, que traduzirá uma correlação de forças entre sociedade civil e política, o que significa maior participação social, maior democratização do acesso à universidade e, por consequência, maior empoderamento da classe trabalhadora através, (por que não?) do Ensino Superior. Para tanto, situa-se o importante papel da academia no sentido de preparar educadores e educadoras disseminadores da prática reflexiva, que levará à autonomia e à emancipação.

Measuring what matters – Identifying indicators of success for Brazilian marine protected areas

The large increase in number and extent of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) over the last few decades has been an important step towards the conservation of marine environments. However, it is not clear whether these important conservation tools are effectively managed, especially in the developing world where resources are limited and there are frequent conflicts with traditional resource users. An innovative approach was used to identify the most important governance, socioeconomic and biophysical variables that are associated with the management effectiveness of Brazilian MPAs. Management effectiveness data was extracted from Rapid Assessment and Prioritization of Protected Areas Management (RAPPAM), applied by World Wildlife Fund-Brazil in 2005 and 2010. This comprehensive dataset was summarized in a single management effectiveness metric and related to a set of 15 explanatory variables using generalized linear models (GLMs). An innovative multi-model averaging approach was employed to identify the most important variables relating to management effectiveness. As a result, five main indicators showed high influence on management effectiveness: 1) higher levels of monitoring/research; 2) higher investment; 3) greater human resources; 4) greater social participation, and; 5) lower levels of conflicts between users and managers. managerial effectiveness of Brazilian MPAs could be significantly improved by adopting an indicator based approach to management prioritization. Specifically, MPA managers should dedicate special attention to the highlighted factors when choosing how to allocate available resources in order to boost the overall effectiveness of their protected area.

Fortalezas y debilidades de la participación de las familias en la escuela

The participation of families in the school has become more highly valued for the impact it is believed to have at the level of success at school, improving the dynamics in the schools, and its benefits for the teaching staff and families. However, developing this is not free from difficulties derived from various intra-centre and extra-centre factors. This text aims to detect the factors considered to be important for encouraging the participation of families in pre-school, primary and secondary schools, and to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the current situation. The empirical work, based on in-depth interviews with experts in the theme in Catalonia, has allowed us to identify different factors that influence this, as well as the relation between greater social participation and participation in education.

Social participation in young people with nonepileptic seizures (NES): A qualitative study of managing legitimacy in everyday life

This qualitative study explored social participation in young people with nonepileptic seizures (NES), particularly how legitimacy of illness is managed in everyday life. Young people with NES, all female and aged between 14 and 24 years (N=11), were interviewed and followed up over a 14-month period. The transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four main themes were elaborated: 1) Delegitimizing experiences from families, schoolteachers, colleagues, and employers were part of everyday life. 2) Fear of being exposed to delegitimizing events resulted in the young people trying to conceal the diagnosis; for some, this resulted in isolation from all social arenas, apart from their closest relationships. 3) Support from close relationships was protective against delegitimization and contributed towards greater social participation. 4) Perceiving NES as a legitimate disorder contributed to increased social participation. We found a relationship between legitimacy of illness experienced by the participants and the extent to which they either participated or retreated socially. Those who had an illness perception that was personally meaningful experienced their condition as being more legitimate and participated more socially.

EFICACIA Y EFICIENCIA EN EL CONTROL DE LA GESTIÓN DE LA ADMINISTRACIÓN PÚBLICA. INCIDENCIAS EN EL CONTROL DE LA GESTIÓN PÚBLICA AMBIENTAL

The paper analyzes how the internal control scheme of public management and specifically of environmental public management, is not a task to be performed once a year when the auditors arrive, but should represent a real commitment within each government body, at all hierarchical levels, so that each of them meets the role that has the authority to, in the control of plans, programs and projects to verify their developments and the achievement of the proposed results. We emphasize and insist on the fabulous tool of free access to information (and here we have the social control of public management), involving not only the data that citizens may ask to be informed, but also all the information that must be furnished within what has been called " active transparency " in the budget, financial aspects, and the concrete results of programs, plans and certain public policies. In short, we promote greater democratization of public administration; effective accountability; greater social participation in their control, and greater mutual responsibilities.

Design universel et milieu naturel: quelles contraintes et quelles solutions?

Universal design and the natural environment: what constraints and what solutions? In recent years disability studies have seen the emergence of a new paradigm, which considers disability not as an impairment belonging to the person concerned, but as a situation which arises from the interaction between this person and an environment which is not adapted to that person's characteristics and needs. From this point of view, it is important to act on the environment in order to eliminate or limit the mismatch between the environment and the person and thus to allow the person to benefit from a greater social participation as an autonomous and responsible citizen. The universal design – the design of products and environments to be usable by all without the need for adaptation or special design – provides tools for implementing this idea. While there are constraints to implementation in an urban environment, the natural environment seems, at first sight, even more difficult to make universally accessible. After briefly putting these issues in context, the article presents the principles of universal design and tries to show that, on the contrary, it is very relevant also in a natural environment. The article explores solutions that make it possible to respond to three challenges which the authors consider particularly important: reconciliation of different needs, access to places where, at first sight, access seems more difficult than in an urban environment, and the participation of the people concerned as actors, not only visitors.

Codes Combined: managing expectations and policy responses to racism in sport

This article is a transnational comparative discussion that interrogates responses, particularly formal policy frameworks, to addressing racial vilification in sport. Themes interrogated include racism in sport, sport as an agent for social change, diversity in sport, sport and community harmony, sport and ethnicity, and sport and education. Emphasis is placed on the importance of education as a plank in formal policy responses to addressing on- and off-field racism in elite sport. The article also examines how education is important in enabling greater social participation among groups. National and transnational discussions about respective footballing codes are located within a broader international context by way of comparison with other elite sports.

A longitudinal examination of social participation, loneliness, and use of physician and hospital services.

This study examined whether social participation and loneliness predicted health care service use (physician visits, hospitalizations, length of stay in hospital). Participants' (N = 954; 54% female; aged 45+ years) health data were tracked over 2.5 years following in-person interviews. Being lonely was associated with greater number of physician visits, though this relationship was mediated by health. Neither loneliness nor social participation was associated with admission to hospital. However, for those who were hospitalized at least once over 2.5 years, being lonely was associated with a higher odds of being re-hospitalized; furthermore, greater social participation was associated with a lower odds of being in the hospital for an extended duration. These relationships held even when controlling for initial health. Results provide evidence, using objective health care data, of the potential importance of social factors in predicting adults' physician visits, re-hospitalization, and length of stay in hospital.

Employment Among Schoolchildren and Its Associations With Adult Substance Use, Psychological Well-being, and Academic Achievement

PurposeTo examine the association between paid part-time employment among schoolchildren, and adult substance use, psychological well-being, and academic achievement. MethodsLongitudinal data from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study were used to evaluate the association between employment at each of 11, 13, and 15 years and adult smoking, regular alcohol binge drinking, regular cannabis use, sense of coherence, social participation, positive coping style, prosociality, no formal qualifications, and university degree. Associations were initially assessed using unadjusted regression analyses and then adjusted for the potential childhood confounders intelligence quotient, reading development, Student's Perception of Ability Scale, socioeconomic disadvantage, family climate, harsh parent–child interaction, parental opinion of their child's attitude to school, and child's personal attitude to school. ResultsEmployment at 11 years of age was associated with a lower odds of adult smoking; the odds of subsequent regular alcohol binge drinking were greater for those who were employed at age 13; and higher adult rates of social participation and prosociality were identified for adolescents who were employed at 15 years of age. When the potential confounders were controlled, employment at age 13 was predictive of both adult smoking and regular binge drinking, and working at 15 years of age was protective against regular cannabis use and associated with greater social participation. ConclusionsThere is no consistent evidence that exposing schoolchildren to part-time employment compromised subsequent health, well-being, and education in a developed country.

Subjective Wellbeing of Chinese People: A Multifaceted View

This paper reports the most recent subjective wellbeing (SWB) assessments by the respondents of the China Survey of Social Change. Of the total 10,927 respondents, 44.2 % are “always happy” and others vary from “sometimes happy” to “not happy at all”. To explain variation in SWB, the authors offer a multifaceted view taking into account the roles that personal health, demographic attributes, socioeconomic statuses, and the networks and relationships of social integration play in SWB. It is found that SWB assessments are higher for women and older persons than for men and younger persons, respectively, and they increase with improved physical and mental health, more educational and financial resources, greater social participation, wider social networks, and greater trust in others and institutions. Economic development, ethnic cultures, and religious beliefs are important factors of SWB assessments.

Predictors of Sexual Functioning and Satisfaction 1 Year Following Traumatic Brain Injury

To investigate predictors of sexual functioning 1 year following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Prospective cohort study. Community. A total of 255 persons with TBI (187 males; 68 females) who had been treated at 1 of 6 TBI Model Systems inpatient rehabilitation units and were living in the community. Derogatis Interview for Sexual Functioning-Self-Report (DISF-SR); Global Satisfaction With Sexual Functioning (Global Sexual Satisfaction Index); Participation Assessment With Recombined Tools-Objective; Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Older age, female gender, and more severe injury were associated with greater sexual dysfunction 1 year following injury. As age increased from 24 to 49 years, the odds of sexual impairment increased more than 3-fold (95% confidence interval: 1.82-5.88). Females had a 2.5 increase in odds of sexual impairment compared with males (95% confidence interval: 1.23-5.26). Greater social participation was predictive of better sexual functioning. Dissatisfaction with sexual functioning was predicted by older age and depression. Older persons and females appear to be at greater risk for sexual dysfunction after TBI and may benefit from specialized assessment and treatment services. Relationships were identified between social participation and sexual function and between depression and sexual satisfaction that may serve as clinical indicators for further assessment and intervention. Further research is needed to elucidate these relationships and identify effective clinical approaches.

The role of positive affect on social participation following stroke

Purpose: To examine the association between positive affect and social participation in adults with first-time stroke after in-patient medical rehabilitation. Methods: A prospective cohort design using information from the Stroke Recovery in Underserved Populations database (SRUP) for the years 2005–2006. Data were collected at discharge from in-patient medical rehabilitation and 3 months post-discharge. Participants were aged 50 and older with first-time stroke (n = 605) and admitted to 1 of 11 in-patient medical rehabilitation facilities across the United States. Primary measures included a positive affect scale and a home and community social participation instrument. Results: The mean age was 71.6 years, 50.3% were women, and 56.5% were married. Results of cumulative logit models showed each 1 point increase in positive affect was significantly associated with a 17% odds of higher social participation (OR: 1.17, 95% CI 1.10, 1.25), after adjusting for demographics, clinical characteristics, and negative affect. Conclusions: High positive affect at discharge from in-patient medical rehabilitation was associated with higher levels of social participation 3 months post-discharge. The significant association between higher positive affect and higher levels of social participation adds to accumulating evidence linking positive affect with beneficial physical and psychological outcomes after an acute event such as stroke.Implications for RehabilitationThis study shows positive affect associated with greater social participation 3 months post-discharge from in-patient medical rehabilitation.Positive affect may be a critical factor in the recovery trajectory of the stroke patient.The assessment of positive affect during in-patient medical rehabilitation may identify those at risk for poor social participation post-discharge and may lead to the design of innovative interventions aimed at the re-integration of stroke individuals into the community.

Risk Society and the Hybris of Modern Japanese State/Society

This article analyses the risk society discourse in the context of Japanese society and the triple shock of the earthquake, tsunami, and the Fukushima nuclear plants catastrophe. Social risk discourse has found its way to Japan but the reception has been rather selective. The policy examples in this article illustrate the obstacles that exist to promote greater social participation and social reforms in Japan.

Extraversion and positive affect: A day reconstruction study of person–environment transactions

Extraversion is robustly correlated with positive affect, but the reasons for this correlation remain unclear. One possibility is that extraverts and introverts both enjoy interacting with others, but extraverts do so more frequently. Another possibility is that extraverts enjoy social interactions more. Both hypotheses were tested using the Day Reconstruction Method. Subjects reported on interactions with others and positive affect experienced during all of the episodes from a single day. Results were consistent with the first hypothesis: the relation between extraversion and positive affect was partially mediated by extraverts’ greater social participation. The findings support a transactional approach to personality, in which traits like extraversion are seen as styles of actively engaging with the environment.

Women’s Activism and the Public Sphere

The articles in this special issue were among those presented at a workshop we organized for the Sixth Mediterranean Social and Political Research Meeting, which took place from 16‒20 March 2005, in Montecatini, Italy. The purpose of the workshop was to examine the proposition that the public sphere in a number of MENA countries is changing and civil society becoming “feminized” due to women’s greater social participation, the proliferation of women’s organizations, their involvement in or initiation of public debates and national dialogues, and their access to various forms of media. Twelve papers were submitted and presented at the workshop, leading to a very lively discussion, but only a few could be included in this special issue. The papers lay out the complexity of various versions of women’s activism, their intricate relations with public space, and how that plays out in contemporary political and legal debates. In what remains, we provide a brief introduction to the guiding ideas and an overview of the papers’ arguments and findings. In Habermas’ conceptualization, the “public sphere” is a modern institution and a set of values that brings private persons together in public to engage in a context of reasoned debates (Habermas 1989). Civil society—the non-state realm of associational life, civility in public discourse, and state-society relations—constitutes an important part of the

Women's Activism and the Public Sphere: Introduction and Overview

Women’s Activism and the Public Sphere:Introduction and Overview Valentine M. Moghadam (bio) and Fatima Sadiqi (bio) The articles in this special issue were among those presented at a workshop we organized for the Sixth Mediterranean Social and Political Research Meeting, which took place from 16—20 March 2005, in Montecatini, Italy. The purpose of the workshop was to examine the proposition that the public sphere in a number of MENA countries is changing and civil society becoming "feminized" due to women's greater social participation, the proliferation of women's organizations, their involvement in or initiation of public debates and national dialogues, and their access to various forms of media. Twelve papers were submitted and presented at the workshop, leading to a very lively discussion, but only a few could be included in this special issue. The papers lay out the complexity of various versions of women's activism, their intricate relations with public space, and how that plays out in contemporary political and legal debates.In what remains, we provide a brief introduction to the guiding ideas and an overview of the papers' arguments and findings. In Habermas' conceptualization, the "public sphere" is a modern institution and a set of values that brings private persons together in public to engage in a context of reasoned debates (Habermas 1989). Civil society—the non-state realm of associational life, civility in public discourse, and state-society relations—constitutes an important part of the [End Page 1] public sphere of media and other forums of public opinion. As feminist scholars have pointed out (Fraser 1996; Lister 1997), civil society and the public sphere historically were cast as male, although women's suffrage and the women's movement expanded, democratized, and feminized these spheres in the course of the twentieth century. The public sphere has been conceptualized largely in connection with the single society and the nation-state, but processes of globalization suggest the emergence of a "global space" within which reasoned debates, associational activities, and collective action take place. This is the impetus for the new literature on "global civil society" (Florini 2000), the "transnational public sphere" (Guidry, Kennedy, and Zald 1999), "transnational social movements" (Smith, Chatfield, and Pagnucco 1997), "transnational advocacy networks" (Keck and Sikkink 1998), and "transnational feminist networks" (Moghadam 2005). A burgeoning literature on civil society, citizenship, and democratization has emerged in the context of Middle East Studies, in tandem with a body of work by feminist scholars (Brynen, Korany, and Noble 1995, 1998; El-Sayyid 1994; Norton 1995; Arat 1994; Brand 1998; Botman 1999; Joseph 2000; Moghadam 2003; Sadiqi 2003). As an earlier generation of feminist scholars noted for the West, the public sphere of politics in MENA has been cast as male and distinguished from the private sphere of women-and-the-family. Moreover, the state and the market have been long regarded as masculine domains. Rights of the citizen—limited for all in the authoritarian and neopatriarchal states of MENA—have been differentiated by gender (and religion). It is this state of affairs that is being contested by an emerging social and political constituency—women—who are motivated by aspirations for equality and enhanced rights and who also draw on international standards, conventions, and networks in support of their claims. As a social movement, women's activism in the public sphere uses strategies that do not reproduce Western frameworks but that feed into global synergy with their guiding cultural worldviews. It is only through understandings of intercultural worldviews and various meanings of "pragmatism" that MENA women's rights tactics can be appreciated globally (Sadiqi forthcoming). The papers in this special issue explore the changing nature of the public sphere in MENA and women's contributions to it, as well as women's involvement in the transnational public sphere, through an [End Page 2] examination of countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Jordan, where these changes have been observed. An examination of political developments over the past decade in MENA countries leads to the formulation of the following propositions. Proposition 1. The public sphere in a number of MENA countries is being engendered and feminized because of the emergence of women as political actors...

The Refugee Therapy Centre

What can be done to reduce social exclusion to promote greater social participation and better access to services among Refugee and Asylum Seekers with mental health problems?