The purpose of this paper is to report on the under-representation of people with intellectual disability (ID) in Australian building guidelines. It presents a view about causes…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on the under-representation of people with intellectual disability (ID) in Australian building guidelines. It presents a view about causes of this under-representation and offers opinion about the current status and future actions required to redress the situation.
Design/methodology/approach
Electronic databases were searched to determine the extent of research about building access by people with ID and for references to both the historical treatment of people with ID and the nature of ID itself.
Findings
The paper suggests the recently released Disability (Access to Premises) Standards and associated building code give no specific attention to the needs of people with ID. It suggests that poor historical treatment combined with difficulties with self-advocacy may have contributed to the lack of attention given to the needs of this building user group. It also suggests the need for evidence-based research to identify and substantiate inclusion of their needs in future building regulation.
Research limitations/implications
There may be unpublished research and/or discussion covering the topic not retrievable through literature searches.
Practical implications
While much has been written about adjustments to provide access for people with physical and sensory disabilities, more attention needs to be paid to the needs of those with ID to avoid inequities in building design.
Originality/value
There is limited reference to building access for people with ID in literature and legislation. This paper adds to the literature and raises awareness of the ongoing need for greater inclusion.
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This paper has three aims: to assess the extent of the Australian population affected by intellectual disability who are also capable of accessing buildings independently; to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper has three aims: to assess the extent of the Australian population affected by intellectual disability who are also capable of accessing buildings independently; to investigate the extent of research and legislation covering building access for this group; and to consider implications for building designers, owners and facility managers.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics report on Disability, Ageing and Carers are used to assess the size of this building user group and to make comparisons with other disabled user groups. Electronic databases are searched to assess the scope of existing research about building access for the intellectually disabled and current Australian legislation is searched for any references to this building user group.
Findings
The paper suggests that the intellectually disabled building user group represents about 1.24 per cent of the Australian population but that there is limited published research and/or discussion about building access by this group. It also finds that they are not specifically referenced in either the Building Code or Australian standards affecting building design.
Research limitations/implications
There may be unpublished research and/or discussion covering the topic. There is also some debate about the variability of responses in disability surveys.
Practical implications
There is a need for more research about building access for the intellectually disabled to help building designers and ultimately building owners and managers to comply with Disability Discrimination Acts.
Originality/value
There is limited reference to building access for the intellectual disability in literature and legislation. This paper adds to the literature and hopes that greater attention will be paid to their building access requirements.
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This chapter will consider the workings of microcelebrity in the context of an evolving Indian cyber public. In the contemporary moment, large-scale battles for control over the…
Abstract
This chapter will consider the workings of microcelebrity in the context of an evolving Indian cyber public. In the contemporary moment, large-scale battles for control over the world’s youngest and increasingly digitally active demographic are in full swing – both by corporations like Facebook through efforts like Free Basics, as well as by ideologues who wish to mold the “idea of India” in certain ways. While digital spaces are often framed as liberating, there are also extremely strong conservative forces that are well established. It is within this context that I would like to examine the recent growth of the Indian online comedic scene whose popularity has increased by leaps and bounds. My particular focus will be the comedy collective of AIB (All India Backchod), who are most prominent on Youtube. This collective has garnered significant popularity through their deployment of viral comedic videos riffing off on various aspects of Indian society and have also made socially aware videos around hot button issues like gay rights and women’s rights. I would like to examine their treatment of gender and sexuality particularly in the context of it being made up primarily of straight men and how that has affected their engagement both with the content of their videos, as well as their ability to leverage their online visibility. I will be using ideas of postcolonial cyberspace as theorized by Nishant Shah (2015) as well as theorists of microcelebrity and the use of humor such as Theresa Senft (2013).
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While a number of scholars have observed that the contemporary self has to negotiate a “push and pull” between autonomy and a desire for community (Austin & Gagne, 2008; Bauman…
Abstract
Purpose
While a number of scholars have observed that the contemporary self has to negotiate a “push and pull” between autonomy and a desire for community (Austin & Gagne, 2008; Bauman, 2001a, p. 60; Coles, 2008; Giddens, 2003, p. 46, the struggle between the “self” and “others” that is at the heart of symbolic interactionist (SI) understandings of the self is often missing from sociological discussion on the “making of the self” (Coles, 2008, p. 21; Holstein & Gubrium, 2000), and the current chapter contributes to this literature.
Design/methodology/approach
To gain insight into “the making of the self,” in-depth life history interviews were conducted with 23 former members of new religious movements (NRMs) specific to their construction of self. Interview data was analyzed for variations in the ways in which individuals describe their construction of self. To make sense of these variations, SI understandings of the self are applied.
Findings
Analysis indicates that the extent to which individuals are informed by the social versus the personal in their self-construction is a continuum. From an SI perspective the self is conceptualized as to varying degrees informed by both the personal and the social. These two “domains” of the self are interrelated or connected through an ongoing process of reflexivity that links internal experiences and external feedback. From this perspective, “healthy” selves reflexively balance a sense of personal uniqueness against a sense of belonging and social connectedness. While a reflexive balance between the “self” and “others” is optimal, not everyone negotiates this balance successfully, and the extent to which individuals are informed by the social versus the personal in their self-construction varies and can be conceptualized as on a continuum between autonomy and social connectedness. The current findings suggest that where individuals are positioned on this continuum is dependent on the availability of cultural and personal resources from which individuals can construct selves, in particular in childhood. Those participants who described themselves as highly dependent on others report childhood histories of control, whereas those who described themselves as disconnected from others report histories of abuse and neglect.
Research limitations
The problems of relying on retrospective accounts of former members should be noted as such accounts are interpretive and influenced by the respondents’ present situation. However, despite their retrospective and constructionist nature, life history narratives provide meaningful insights into the actual process of self and identity construction. The analysis of retrospective accounts is a commonly recommended and chosen method for the study of the self (Davidman & Greil, 2007; Diniz-Pereira, 2008).
Social implications/originality/value
The current findings suggest that significant differences may exist in the way in which individuals construct and narrate their sense of self, in particular in regards to the way in which they experience and negotiate contemporary tensions between social connectedness and individuality. In particular, the findings highlight the importance of childhood environments for the construction of “healthy” selves that can negotiate contemporary demands of autonomy as well as social connectedness.
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Angela Hall, Stacy Hickox, Jennifer Kuan and Connie Sung
Barriers to employment are a significant issue in the United States and abroad. As civil rights legislation continues to be enforced and as employers seek to diversify their…
Abstract
Barriers to employment are a significant issue in the United States and abroad. As civil rights legislation continues to be enforced and as employers seek to diversify their workplaces, it is incumbent upon the management field to offer insights that address obstacles to work. Although barriers to employment have been addressed in various fields such as psychology and economics, management scholars have addressed this issue in a piecemeal fashion. As such, our review will offer a comprehensive, integrative model of barriers to employment that addresses both individual and organizational perspectives. We will also address societal-level concerns involving these barriers. An integrative perspective is necessary for research to progress in this area because many individuals with barriers to employment face multiple challenges that prevent them from obtaining and maintaining full employment. While the additive, or possibly multiplicative, effect of employment barriers have been acknowledged in related fields like rehabilitation counseling and vocational psychology, the Human Resource Management (HRM) literature has virtually ignored this issue. We discuss suggestions for the reduction or elimination of barriers to employment. We also provide an integrative model of employment barriers that addresses the mutable (amenable to change) nature of some barriers, while acknowledging the less mutable nature of others.
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Jennifer Shelby, Georgia Lindsay and Claire Derr
Iconic buildings, especially museums, are often enrolled in creating an identity for cities, yet cities and museums have been sometimes uneasy partners in using architecture to…
Abstract
Purpose
Iconic buildings, especially museums, are often enrolled in creating an identity for cities, yet cities and museums have been sometimes uneasy partners in using architecture to shape city identity. This paper examines the negotiations of place identity amid the conflicting influences of global design trends and local cultural nostalgia through the case of a single development in Aspen, Colorado.
Design/methodology/approach
In this case study, using discourse analysis and grounded theory methods, the authors analyzed interviews, planning documents and critical opinions in the press to reveal the ways in which complex identities and contradictory planning directives shape a single building in a hyper-glocal Western town.
Findings
This analysis presents a place with complex and at times conflicting identities: residents have intense local concerns in parallel with global allegiances. The Aspen Art Museum building by Shigeru Ban similarly reflects a complex and contradictory identity with its bold design which confronted notions of local identity expressed in the built environment. Despite engaged citizenry and carefully crafted planning directives, the resulting design did not reflect locally produced culture but instead revealed the influence of international capital in the urban fabric.
Originality/value
This study examines the tension between hyper-local concerns and international status enacted on a single site in a small yet metropolitan place in the American West offering insights regarding the emplacement of buildings and the subsequent impacts on a place. As cities and institutions move beyond placeless iconic architecture, architecture and urban planning practice will need to adapt to the new paradigm where buildings can be at once global yet also local, drawing on innovative design practices and local culture in the construction of place.
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Päivi Tampere, Kaja Tampere and Vilma Luoma-Aho
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the authority communication and its relationship to citizens during a disaster. This analysis is crucial for organisations to help them…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the authority communication and its relationship to citizens during a disaster. This analysis is crucial for organisations to help them understand the different ways in which crises are perceived by citizens, and the reactions they may cause. The results will help authorities in planning their crisis communication.
Design/methodology/approach
Facebook comments written by authorities and citizens are studied and analysed in an exploratory case study related to the 2011 catastrophe in the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant via content analysis.
Findings
The analysis of Facebook comments revealed that authorities have to be prepared for communicating with citizens with diverging interests, who have different perceptions on a crisis and that relation is not the same with those different profiles of citizens.
Research limitations/implications
This case study only focusses on the Fukushima debate from the point of view of the authorities and citizens.
Practical implications
This study argues that it is crucial for both authorities and public relations practitioners to acknowledge that competing opinion holders are challenging each other and authority online, and that crisis communication should be planned accordingly.
Originality/value
The participant profiles can help organisations to clarify citizens’ crisis perceptions that can emerge in online discussions. Practitioners need to concentrate on determining how to get their voice heard so that there are perceived credible and legitimate actors.
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Aimee Drolet, Tayler Bergstrom and Ilana Brody
This chapter reviews research on age-related differences in how consumers process information. Specifically, it discusses many of the effects of aging on the quality and quantity…
Abstract
This chapter reviews research on age-related differences in how consumers process information. Specifically, it discusses many of the effects of aging on the quality and quantity of consumers' sensory, cognitive, and emotional functioning. Some studies suggest that the manner in which elderly (age 65 and over) consumers process information may render them more vulnerable than young and middle-aged consumers to malign persuasion attempts. This chapter reveals that age has selective effects on information processing such that elderly consumers are sometimes more susceptible to marketing influence and sometimes they are less susceptible.