Social Service Centers Research Articles

In for a penny, in for a pound: the effect of pre-engaging healthcare organizations on their subsequent participation in trials

BackgroundParticipant recruitment in clinical trials is often challenging. Building partnerships with healthcare organizations during proposal development facilitates access to the community and may influence its subsequent organization participation and participant recruitment. We aimed to assess how pre-engaging directors of homecare organizations influenced organization participation in a subsequent trial.FindingsRepeated cross-sectional study prior to a cluster randomized controlled trial involving 33 eligible Health and Social Services Centres (HSSCs). During proposal development, we asked eligible HSSC directors in a randomized order about their willingness to participate in our trial, if funded. In the pre-engagement phase, 23 directors were contacted until we met sample size requirements (n ≥ 16); 19 of whom wrote letters of intent. Once funded, we contacted all 33 eligible HSSC directors in a randomized order to enroll them. Of the 19 directors who provided letters of intent, 15 agreed to participate (79 %); of the four who did not provide letters, one agreed to participate (25 %); and of the ten who had not been approached in the pre-engagement phase, two agreed to participate (20 %). Fisher exact tests indicated that providing letters of intent was associated with subsequent participation (p = 0.003).ConclusionsGiven that significantly more HSSCs directors who signed letters of intent followed through with study participation, pre-engagement with trial sites during proposal development appears to improve recruitment.

From Policy to Practice: Implementation of Treatment for Substance Misuse in Québec Primary Healthcare Clinics

In 2007, the Québec Ministry of Health issued a policy document that specifically mandated the development of addiction treatment services including screening, brief interventions and referral (SBIR) to be delivered by primary healthcare clinics throughout Québec. The current study examined the level of implementation of SBIR one year following the end of the mandate (2007-2012).Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 45 participants from 21 primary health and social service centres throughout the province. Qualitative analysis was used to evaluate the level of success each centre had in implementing SBIR and to identify organizational measures that contributed to successful implementation.The results show that Québec primary health and social service centres had limited success in their efforts to integrate SBIR into their services. A comparative analysis of the centres, categorized according to their level of implementation, revealed the presence of significant organizational- and staff-level factors, including the creation of formal action plans that were conducive to the successful implementation of SBIR in primary care.The findings highlight the importance of offering support and guidance, as well as a menu of specific practices that are likely to assist primary health and social services centres to implement SBIR. At the organizational level, the adoption of local action plans and formal service trajectories offers a framework that allows for horizontal and vertical integration of new practices.

Socio-economic Effect of Modern Inclusive Discursive Practices in Disabled People’s Social Rehabilitation

Fundamental changes which happen in the field of political, economic life in Russia have a great impact on the efficiency of the rehabilitation work with various socially vulnerable groups of the population. The basis for the development of a complex of rehabilitation measures are researches in a wide range of branches of knowledge: sociology, economy, psychology, pedagogics, medicine, science of law, criminology. Practical realization of the rehabilitation work will be possible only when a number of social and economic, organizational and administrative, pedagogical, social and psychological, legal and staffing issues will be decided. Persons with various health problems can emerge in any family and in any social conditions, in any ethnic group and anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, a disabled person in Russian submission is crippled, demanding care sufferer. That is why in the Russian and post-Soviet public consciousness disability is a synonym of poverty and hopelessness. However, recently in the post-Soviet space the social inclusion on the basis of ethno-cultural communities realizing new discursive practices directed on rehabilitation and adaptation of persons with limited health opportunities in everyday life of the society has experienced considerable changes. The world experience testifies that at the corresponding education and real helps persons, who have restrictions on health, can become valuable members of the society, regardless of the system of social protection that, finally, testifies for the high civil status of the society. Today, as the UNO says, in the world there are about 450 million people who have these or those mental and/or physical health disorders. In general they form 1/10 part of inhabitants of all over our planet. Moreover, as the World Health Organization (WHO) shows, a number of disabled children in the world is 13%. Among them 3% of children are born with intelligence disorders, and 10% - with other mental or physical problems. In total in the world there are now about 200 million children with limited health opportunities. At the same time, various environmental issues find a tendency to the increased number of disabled children in the world, in the post-Soviet space in particular. So, in Russia for the last decade the frequency of children's disability has doubled: as the WHO calculations show about 900 thousand of children's population are disabled children (Blinkov, 2005, p. 8). Relevance of this problem is caused by the fact that various forms of new services - psychological consultations, centers of social services, social shelters, "telephone emergency services ", etc. actively take root into practice of the social work, but their development in many respects is at a loss for the lack of a system approach, scientific and practical base in the field of complex rehabilitation. Now, among many forms of the development of social services of the population, rehabilitation of disabled people in rehabilitation centers occupies an actual direction. The paper presents the unique experiment on social rehabilitation of persons with limited health opportunities which is realized within the social project of the Akmolinsk regional society of Germans (Republic of Kazakhstan). So, the rehabilitation work considered as the activity of integrated experts directed on restoration, or compensation of the broken or lost abilities of a person to performance of public, professional and household functions according to their interests, can be presented as the direction of social services in protection, preservation and development of health of the population, the decreased social tension in the society, improvement of the quality of life the diaspora. Because, as a rule, diaspora groups are age-related members of the society, the offered experience of the Kazakhstan society of the German culture can be interesting as a new discursive practice of socialization and adaptation of persons with limited health opportunities. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s3p11

Feasibility and acceptability of patient partnership to improve access to primary care for the physical health of patients with severe mental illnesses: an interactive guide.

IntroductionEven in countries with universal healthcare systems, excess mortality rates due to physical chronic diseases in patients also suffering from serious mental illness like schizophrenia is such that their life expectancy could be lessened by up to 20 years. The possible explanations for this disparity include: unhealthy habits (i.e. smoking; lack of exercise); side-effects of psychotropic medication; delays in the detection or initial presentation leading to a more advanced disease at diagnosis; and inequity of access to services. The main objective of this paper is to explore the feasibility and acceptability of patient partnership for developing an interactive guide to improve access to primary care providers for chronic diseases management and health promotion among patients with severe mental illnesses.MethodsA participatory action research design was used to engage patients with mental illness as full research partners for a strategy for patient-oriented research in primary care for persons with schizophrenia who also have chronic physical illnesses. This strategy was also developed in partnership with a health and social services centre responsible for the health of the population of a territory with about 100,000 inhabitants in East-end Montreal, Canada. A new interactive guide was developed by patient research partners and used by 146 participating patients with serious mental illness who live on this territory, for them to be better prepared for their medical appointment with a General Practitioner by becoming more aware of their own physical condition.ResultsPatient research partners produced a series of 33 short videos depicting signs and symptoms of common chronic diseases and risk factors for the leading causes of mortality and study participants were able to complete the corresponding 33-item questionnaire on an electronic touch screen tablet. What proved to be most relevant in terms of interactivity was the dynamic that has developed among the study participants during the small group learning sessions, a training technique designed for healthcare professionals that was adapted for this project for, and with patient partners.ConclusionThis research has shown the feasibility and acceptability of patient partnership and patient-oriented research approaches to the R&D process of a new medical tool and intervention for patients with serious mental illness, and its acceptability for addressing inequity of this disadvantaged population in terms of access to primary care providers.

Diseño de un indicador de necesidad socio-espacial para el análisis y la formación de decisiones sobre servicios sociales urbanos. Un estudio de caso

Decision-making regarding social services requires, as a preliminary step, a knowledge of the needs and their spatial distribution, a particularly pressing need in under-developed areas or during periods of economic crisis. It must also be borne in mind that, having established such needs, proposals should involve and be inspired on major principles such as socio-territorial equity and efficiency, as well as those of social cohesion and socio-demographic sustainability which are often violated or sidestepped.The task of measuring these social needs has been addressed from various disciplines (e.g. political science and public administration, economics, sociology, geography, marketing, urban planning, etc.) and with a variety of methods, owing to the wide diversity in the nature of such needs and because, in certain cases, they are elusive. Incorporating the spatial dimension adds a further challenge, but at the same time proves significantly useful for socio-spatial planning.In line with this endeavour, this work examines the problem of estimating the needs that must be met by the municipal social service centres (CSS) of Madrid, which are set up as a civic facility to provide free assistance with social problems. Basically, they deliver information, guidance and help to resolve citizens’ requests. Among their most conspicuous functions we can mention: a) Information on resources and social benefits: pensions, public grants, scholarships, infant schools, elderly people's homes, adult day-care centres, drug addiction treatment centres, minors, etc.; b) Management of social benefits, both financial (e.g. integration/insertion income), and service related (e.g. home assistance and tele-assistance); c) Social intervention, both individual and in groups; and d) Advisory services for organisations and associations operating in the field of social welfare.For this purpose, an original statistical indicator for intraurban areas has been designed that is in keeping with the logic behind current use of the CSS and with the objectives for their provision. In short terms, it is assumed that the indicator should respond to the sum of several components generating current demand: on the one hand, the whole population, and on the other, the demographic segments most likely to have social needs: young people, the elderly and immigrants from less developed countries. The formal starting point for what we shall call the need-related or potential demand synthetic index (ISD) is the expression:ISD = f (population, young people, the elderly and immigrants)Each of the above components has been weighted. The weights of population groups are based on the proportion of actual users registered in one year. For the total population weight we have sought to take into account the important principle of spatial equity. As social needs, and by extension the propensity to use the CSS, spring up unevenly depending on socioeconomic status, we have postulated weighting the total population according to personal income. Consequently, the weight wpd, for a given area has been treated as a proportion of municipal income per capita with respect to that area, which may be a district or a small census unit (called census section). In formal terms:wpd=RPCMRPCdWhere RPCM = Income per capita in Madrid, and RPCd = Income per capita in the spatial unit d.The formula finally adopted for the potential demand synthetic index for any spatial unit d, ISDd, is as follows:ISDd=Pd*wpd+Jd*wjd+Ad*wad+Id*widWhere:Pd = Population of the spatial unit d,wpd = Weight for population in zone d, according to its level of income per capita, as described above,Jd = Number of young people in the spatial unit d,Ad = Number of elderly people in the spatial unit d,Id = Number of immigrants in the spatial unit d,wjd = weight for the young people group (0.10),wad = weight for the elderly people group (0.42),wid = weight for the immigrants group (0.27).The indicator has been applied experimentally, with the support of a geographical information system, to the city of Madrid in order to quantify the need for CSS in two types of spatial units, namely districts and census sections that provide complementary utilities for political actions.The results reveal intraurban inequalities in this type of needs, and may serve to support public decision-making on the provision and location of these social resources. This work further includes a preliminary statistical study of the potentials and limitations of the indicator proposed for both spatial unit types.

Invisible, undervalued and excluded: Practicing working-class girlhood in affective space

ABSTRACTIn contemporary culture of Empire and its ‘cult of the self’, to be a young person means to be recognized, and the display of the self is read as a display of value. However, working-class girls who are economically oppressed, marked by a history of racialization, colonization, and stigmatization are assigned no value, thus remaining unrecognized. In this article, I explore the affective economies circulating for female youth who are navigating both marginal social conditions and experiences of long-standing exclusion in urban Canada. This article draws from a two-year long critical and visual ethnography conducted at a drop-in social service center for youth and the adjacent neighborhoods, where I explored the everyday gendered youth culture of a group of Canadian, working-class girls who are marked as ‘a problem’. Here I uncover the role of affect in working-class girls’ attempts to be recognized in various aspects of their everyday life. I also discuss how affective economies operate as the present expression of the girls’ collective histories to reveal the structures in place that produce the abject girl.

Psychometric integrity of the Chinese Happiness Inventory among retired older people in Taiwan.

Happiness is an important indicator of mental and physical health. It has been emphasized as one kind of well-being, and its definition varies from culture to culture. The main objective of the present study was to examine the psychometric integrity and dimensions of the Chinese Happiness Inventory (CHI) in relation to scores on Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale among retired older people in Taiwan. A cross-sectional study was carried out at social service centers in Taipei, Taiwan. Retired adults gave informed consent from September to November 2010, and completed a package of structured questionnaires measuring happiness and psychological well-being. Internal consistency, the factor structure of the CHI and criterion validity were assessed. Results from an exploratory factor analysis showed a three-factor solution for the CHI. These factors were named Positive Affect, Life Satisfaction and Interpersonal Relationships. Internal consistency coefficients were 0.95 (Positive Affect), 0.91 (Life Satisfaction), 0.85 (Interpersonal Relationships) and 0.97 (total scale). The results of a canonical correlation analysis showed the presence of a strong relationship between CHI and Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale (r = 0.69), and that two canonical variates could be derived from the relationship between them. The results show that the CHI is a three-dimensional scale with high reliability and validity. The construct of happiness emphasizes relationships in relation to others and environment rather than autonomy in this sample. Although the components of happiness might be similar for Positive Affect and Life Satisfaction, their weights for Interpersonal Relationships should be considered when measuring happiness in different cultures. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2016; 16: 865-872.

Participation needs of older adults having disabilities and receiving home care: met needs mainly concern daily activities, while unmet needs mostly involve social activities.

BackgroundParticipation is a key determinant of successful aging and enables older adults to stay in their homes and be integrated into the community. Assessing participation needs involves identifying restrictions in the accomplishment of daily and social activities. Although meeting participation needs involves older adults, their caregivers and healthcare providers, little is known about their respective viewpoints. This study thus explored the participation needs of older adults having disabilities as perceived by the older adults themselves, their caregivers and healthcare providers.MethodsA qualitative multiple case study consisted of conducting 33 semi-structured interviews in eleven triads, each composed of an older adult, his/her caregiver and a healthcare provider recruited in a Health and Social Services Centre (HSSC) in Québec, Canada. Interview transcripts and reviews of clinical records were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive statistics based on thematic saliency analysis methods.ResultsAged 66 to 88 years, five older adults had physical disabilities, five had mild cognitive impairment and one had psychological problems, leading to moderate to severe functional decline. Caregivers and healthcare providers were mainly women, respectively retired spouses and various professionals with four to 32 years of clinical experience. Participation needs reported by each triad included all domains of participation. Needs related to daily activities, such as personal care, nutrition, and housing, were generally met. Regarding social activities, few needs were met by various resources in the community and were generally limited to personal responsibilities, including making decisions and managing budgets, and some community life activities, such as going shopping. Unmet needs were mainly related to social activities, involving leisure, other community life activities and interpersonal relationships, and some daily activities, including fitness and mobility.ConclusionsThis study highlights the complexity of older adults’ participation needs, involving daily as well as social activities. Properly assessing and addressing these needs is thus necessary to improve older adults’ health and well-being. Discrepancies in the various actors’ perceptions of participation needs must be further explored. Additional research would help better understand how to optimize the contribution of community organizations and caregivers.

Transformation of Rural Settlement Pattern and Service Network in Rural Areas

The changes in the rural settlement pattern in Russia from 1959 to 2010 are revealed. The major trend is the polarization of the network, the rapid increase in the proportion of tiny settlements, and a small increase in the share of the largest, as well as leaching of small and medium-sized. The effect of the natural, economic and migration factors, and position relative to the big cities is shown. Six types of regions are recognized by the features of rural settlement pattern on the basis of average population size and composition of settlements by population dynamics. It is shown that the destruction of grass-roots social service centers, linked to the centers of agricultural enterprises, and degeneration of rural settlements in many Russian regions makes the adaptation to the new conditions inevitable. The share of the population living in settlements with a population of less than 200 people can serve as an indicator to identify the regions where the existing network of social services (education, healthcare) will be transformed quickly. Calculations show that regional authorities generally take into account specific features of settlement pattern while optimizing social infrastructure, but in some regions, these processes are unnecessarily slowed down or excessively forcing.

Psychosocial Well-Being of the Elderly and Their Perception of Matured Estate in Singapore

This article explores various relationships between the elderly's psychosocial well-being and components of aging-friendly community (continuity, compensation, connection, challenge, and contribution), in order to understand their perception of a matured estate and to discuss implications in housing neighborhood urban design. Interviews with elderly residents living in Bukit Merah (Redhill), one of the matured housing estates in Singapore with a high percentage of elderly residents, were conducted to understand how eldercare infrastructure and social spaces developed within the fabric of a high-rise, high-density public housing estate can support or inhibit their psychosocial well-being, as indicated by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Our results postulate that different groups of elderly form friendships and participate in activities in both formal social service centers and informal public spaces. The friendships formed in these places and the convenience of amenities around their houses may affect their perception of their current residences. While the elderly residents are generally satisfied with physical infrastructure, a comprehensive, integrated urban design is further needed to facilitate physical activities, social interactions, and active aging in the elderly in order to enhance their psychosocial well-being.

Voices of the incarcerated father: Struggling to live up to fatherhood

Despite overwhelming evidence that imprisonment has negative consequences for family members, very few studies have explored the mechanisms by which incarceration affects families and children. In particular, the father role is crucial to family members. Together with the fact that there have been few studies on incarcerated fathers and their relationships with significant others, this study draws on the theoretical bases and predictions of the identity theory to explore qualitatively the extent of expression of the fatherhood identity and the struggles and obstacles they experience in expressing it. This study documents qualitative reports of ex-prisoners’ behavioural responses in resolving the negative emotions (if any) induced by the discrepancy between their internalized standards and the appraisals of significant others. A total of 17 Chinese participants were recruited to take part in semi-structured interviews via referrals from social service centres in Hong Kong. Results were consistent with the predictions of identity theory. That is, ex-prisoners experienced an inability to meet their fatherhood identity standard during and after incarceration, and as a result their identity standards were weakened or they experienced withdrawal of fatherhood identity. However, participants were additionally found to employ positive strategies actively in coping with their compromised identity, suggesting avenues for further research.

A learning organization in the service of knowledge management among nurses: A case study

It becomes critical for health care organizations to develop strategies that aim to design new work practices and to manage knowledge. The introduction of learning organizations is seen as a promising choice for better knowledge management and continuing professional development in health care. This study analyzes the effects of a learning organization on nurses’ continuing professional development, knowledge management, and retention in a health and social services centre in Quebec, Canada. The learning organization seemed to affect daily nursing work in a positive manner, despite its variable impact on other professionals and other sites outside the hospital centre. These changes were particularly pronounced with respect to knowledge transfer, support for nursing practices, and quality of health care, objectives that the learning organization had sought to meet since its inception. However, it seemed to have a limited effect on nurse retention.

Recovery from substance use: Drug-dependent people’s experiences with sources that motivate them to change

Recovery from drug abuse is a complex process in which motivation is central. The focus of this article is on drug-dependent people's experiences with sources that influence their motivation to change. The sample in our study was comprised of 127 drug-dependent adults identified in criminal courts, hospital emergency departments and Health and Social Services Centres in Quebec (Canada). Two-third of the sample consisted of men of 38 years old on average. Semi-structured interviews and thematic content analyses were conducted. The results from the participants’ point of view regarding their recovery experience indicate that certain sources of influence may help increase or maintain motivation. These sources can be personal or service-related. Caseworkers may help increase or maintain drug-dependent people’s motivation for change by being humble, patient and empathetic, and by making efforts to collaborate with other caseworkers in various services, at every step, including detection and referral, of the service trajectory.

Priorities, concerns and unmet needs among Haitians in Boston after the 2010 earthquake.

In January 2010, a massive earthquake struck Haiti. The devastation not only affected those living in Haiti at the time but also those Haitians living in the United States (U.S.). Few studies have assessed the degree of impact of the earthquake in U.S. Haitian communities. The purpose of this study was to elicit information about health priorities, concerns and resources needed to improve the delivery of health and social care for Haitians in Boston, MA. We conducted six focus groups among 78 individuals in the spring of 2011. Participants were recruited through community organisations, including churches, Haitian social service centres, restaurants and by word of mouth. Analysis of qualitative data revealed an enormous psychological, emotional, financial and physical toll experienced by Boston‐area Haitians following the earthquake. Participants described increased distress, depressive episodes, headaches and financial hardship. They also noted insufficient resources to meet the increased needs of those living in the U.S., and those who had immigrated after the earthquake. Most participants cited an increased need for mental health services, as well as assistance with finding employment, navigating the immigration system, and balancing the health and financial needs of families in the U.S. and in Haiti. Despite this, many reported that the tragedy created a sense of unity and solidarity within the Haitian community. These findings corroborate the need for culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services, as well as for employment, immigration and healthcare navigation services. Participants suggested that interventions be offered through Haitian radio and television stations, as well as group events held in churches. Further research should assess the need for and barriers to utilisation of mental health services among the Haitian community. A multi‐faceted approach that includes a variety of outreach strategies implemented through multiple channels may offer a means of improving awareness of and access to health and social services.

Parenting perceptions of low-income mothers.

The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to gain understanding of perceptions of low-income pregnant women and mothers about parenting. Participants were 65 low-income, primarily African American, women in their 20s and 30s who were recruited from a faith-based social service center in Memphis, Tennessee. Interviews were conducted by nursing, social work, and psychology students. The existential phenomenological method was used to analyze verbatim responses of participants to vignettes depicting parenting behaviors of hypothetical mothers. Five global themes were identified: (a) Focus on baby's development: "Because I'm the Mother, I'm the First Teacher"; (b) Focus on baby's safety/security: "The Baby Could Be Hurt"; (c) Focus on conveying love: "She Just Wants the Baby to Feel Her Love"; (d) Focus on learning the rules of good childcare: "It's Important to Know the Do's and Don'ts"; and (e) Focus on doing it differently (better) than parents did: "When You Know Better, You Do Better." Findings suggest that these mothers care deeply about providing a better life for their children than the life they have had. They desire to learn about being the best parents they can be. As nurses, we can help to provide educational opportunities for mothers through a variety of evidence-based interventions delivered across the childbearing years.

유럽 컨테이너 건축물의 사례분석을 통한 국내 적용방안

The purpose of this study was to analyze the planning characteristics and it's application of container architecture as case study. Field survey was used to analyze the spatial planning characteristics in terms of development outline, appearance, exterior, floor plan and interior of eight famous cases in Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover, Amsterdam and Paris of Europe. The results of this study were as follows; Firstly, good examples of container architectures such as student housing, social service center, temporary medical facility and cruise terminal in Europe suggested the potential of domestic applicability in various purposes and development. Secondly, various types of freight container, building container and module frame system should be developed with their reprocessing environment. Thirdly, it is necessary for us to develop ISO type(20~40ft) container and standard plan with interior and storage design reflecting demands of residents. Finally, the use of container module will be an environmental-friendly alternative for its modularity and reusability, so it should be used as it is without severe deformation. The development of environmental friendly energy sources such as hydro and solar power is necessary for domestic container architecture as well. The container design should include the use of high quality of exterior finishing materials and the plan of aesthetical color planning to make the building a local landmark.

Инклюзия в учебных группах, социальная реадаптация и реабилитация посредством психотехнологии микрогрупп

The article is devoted to the justification of modern psycho-pedagogical paradigms of interactive methods of training and personal development of schoolchildren, seniors, students and other categories of students in a holistic educational and socio-developing process. The article reveals microgroups technology implies, in particular, as a universal means of implementation of inclusive education and social rehabilitation of different ages and of different health categories of people in interactive forms, including activities carried out with the elderly in social service centers. Development and adaptive psycho-rehabilitation programs using the method microgroups involves reliance on the principle of adequacy of the technology targets and objectives of the program, the systems principle, which means that coverage of all sides of the cognitive, behavioral and personal spheres of program participants; the principle of integrity, that is, the use of various and diverse psychocorrectional and rehabilitation methods and technologies in each program; principle of conformity of the proposed methods and technologies of the age peculiarities, the level of intellectual and language development, as well as the specifics of the features of the limited possibilities of health of program participants.

“Someone Will Come Along and Write the Next Chapter”; The Importance of Alixa Naff for Arab American Studies

Alixa Naff collected a massive body of information on the Arabic-speaking immigrants driven by a conviction that their stories deserved and needed to be roped into a coherent narrative. The hundreds of interviews she conducted over three decades beginning in the 1960s did not investigate every conceivable facet of the lives. Yet, her first-hand accounts and writings have become part of a stock background on early immigration for two generations of scholars. This short article illustrates how the breadth of information Alixa collected, combined with additional untapped archives-some of which can be hacked thanks to dozens of leads imbedded in Alixa's interviews-will correct the record on major aspects of Arab American life during the first five decades of living in the USA, and may help reshape our understanding of the present.Armed with a Volkswagen Beetle and awareness of her own place in this country to be rooted in a deeper Arab narrative, she made her way to Michigan in the mid-1970s. Already positioned at the forefront of the scholarship on the Arab immigrants at the time, many of her contacts were members of the Organization of Arab Students and Association of Arab American University Graduates (AAUG). At the time, George Khouri, one of the original founders of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), helped her settle into his brother's house in Detroit.1 She knew, indeed, participated in the early scholarship on Arab Americans, and understood its genesis to include the need to explain an Arab point of view and a narrative of belonging, in the aftermath of the Arab defeat by Israel in 1967. This goal fell within the perimeters of the AAUG, which came to being as a result of that war. Alixa's peers were the scholars connected in varying degrees with the AAUG, including Ibrahim Abu Lughod, Michael Suleiman, Elaine Hagopian, Janice Terry, Edward Said, Barbara Aswad, Abdo Elkholy, and Hisham Sharabi. Among the many concerns of these scholars were finding a medium for their scholarship, as they contended with an open cultural hostility in the USA toward Arabs and Arab Americans in the aftermath of the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict. In the process of attempting to explain Arab Americans, they created a basic body of scholarship on the early Arab immigrants' experiences, but they largely left out analysis of their political work and aspirations. Part of Alixa's importance is that she elected to pursue creating a reservoir of primary information that would serve an embryonic scholarship for years to come, that is, to complete the picture on the formative years of the Arab American saga. The scholarship produced by the above pioneers, as did Alixa's, paved the way for studies on the Arabic-speaking communities through the different perspectives of gender, ethnicity, family life, and, less so, literature. Alixa's legacy is unique because she went to pains to create a massive archive, so that she explained, someone will come along and use it to write the next chapter2 on the Syrian immigrants' long and varied experiences.Alixa's firm and uncompromising mentorship became evident in the first substantive conversation I had with her. During the annual meeting of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in 1998, she chaired a panel in which I participated. My paper disclosed new information on the political activities of the early Syrian immigrants. The focus of my inquiry was political activities on behalf of Geographic Syria from 1925 to 1927 by immigrant pioneers in Southeast Michigan, in particular, Highland Park, where Alixa and her family lived in the early 1940s. Most of the audience, I recall, took with a grain of salt my conclusions that the early immigrants were in fact politically aware to the point of establishing the New Syria Party (NSP), a formal political organization with chapters across the Americas, and that they actively sought an independent Syria in the face of French and British colonialism. …

Exploring the Extent to Which the Distance to Centers of Social Services Affects the Quality of Life of the RDP Residents: The Case of 2013 RDP Golf Course Study, Eastern Cape, South Africa

The present research sought to explore the effects of distance to centers of social services to the quality of life of the RDP residents. The study utilized mixed methods approaches, with qualitati...

Partners for the optimal organisation of the healthcare continuum for high users of health and social services: protocol of a developmental evaluation case study design

IntroductionCase management allows us to respond to the complex needs of a vulnerable clientele through a structured approach that promotes enhanced interaction between partners. Syntheses on the subject converge towards...