Is Federalism the Source of Ethnic Identity-Based Conflict in Ethiopia?

Though statehood nature traced back to ancient times, modern Ethiopia came into being in the second half of the nineteenth century under the military expansion of King Menelik II. Since then subsequent political systems in the country have failed to recognise and accommodate the country’s ethnolinguistic diversity. However, in 1991 the new government constitutionally recognised and institutionally accommodated the country’s diversity. While solving old problems of ethnic inequality and injustice, ethnic federalism has created new problems of ethnic tensions and conflict across Ethiopia. The article aims at investigating how and why ethnic federalism ended up being a source of ethnic conflicts in Ethiopia and suggests the way out. The article employed a qualitative research design and methods of data analysis and interpretation. The finding of the study shows the notion and implementation of federalism has to be blamed, which left unclear administration boundary, overlooked cross-cutting variables, Majority versus minority and Titular versus Settler problem, politicised ethnicity by transformed cultural communities into political communities, produced mega ethnic syndrome within the Ethiopian society, for the country’s ethnic troubles and conflicts. Reforming the federal system and its constitutions is the way forwarded to reduce ethnic tensions and create an inclusive society in Ethiopia.

INCLUSIVE ORIENTATION OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN UKRAINE

Under the influence of global processes of humanization, modern Ukrainian society is changing its attitude towards people with disabilities. These changes can be seen as overcoming social and educational barriers.One of these barriers is the traditional division of education into general secondary and special (correctional), which are represented by segregation institutions. But the modern approach to the development of education breaks down this barrier.Integration processes into the European community determine the urgency of the problem of inclusive education. It is primarily due to the fact that the number of children in need of remedial education is growing steadily. The emergence of the ideology of inclusive education is due to the need to improve the system of organization of children’s education. This improvement is to create a single educational space for each child.The term “inclusion” differs from the terms “integration” and “segregation”. With inclusion, all stakeholders must be actively involved to achieve the desired result. Recognizing the value of inclusive education, it is necessary to take into account certain factors that hinder the implementation of the ideas of inclusive education. We believe that this is primarily not a tolerant attitude of the population to children with disabilities, psychological unwillingness to accept these children as full members of society. But despite the emerging disputes and disagreements, the system of inclusive education is an effective mechanism for the development of an inclusive society. This is the key to inclusive education. Rejecting all misunderstandings, we can say that inclusive education is education for all, regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other characteristics. It gives the opportunity to join the general process of learning and education (development and socialization), which then allows an adult to become an equal member of society. In general, an inclusive form of education and upbringing is a long-term strategy.The development of inclusive education in Ukraine requires the creation of a barrier-free environment that includes physical and psychological components. Special work with the use of additional education resources on the organization of interaction of children with and without disabilities, aimed at harmonizing children’s relationships; creating an atmosphere of emotional comfort and mutual acceptance. By changing society’s attitude towards children with disabilities, the process of integrating such children into secondary schools will gain popularity and become successful. A well-organized inclusive education will help parents of children to look at the phenomenon of integration in a new way and provide evidence that children with disabilities will not only not harm their children to full development, but will also provide additional opportunities.

Asians in Aotearoa New Zealand: A population of interest for social work

Aotearoa New Zealand is a country where cultural differences are widespread and longstanding. The Treaty of Waitangi laid the foundation for an inclusive society where citizens’ full participation is granted. Nevertheless, a number of Asians seem to have limited access to the benefits of an inclusive society, with great concerns over social isolation and marginalisation. This requires social workers attend to Asians’ life challenges, justified by key principles of human rights and social justice; yet a paucity of training exists in social work education, limiting their ability to work with this population. More training is necessary in the social work curriculum through which social workers enhance cultural competence, with relevant knowledge and skills, in relation to working with Asians in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Effectiveness of an Assistive Instrument for Physical Therapists with Visual Impairment to Conduct the Muscle Tightness Test

Disability sports have been globally promoted to achieve an inclusive society. However, the current opportunities for people with disabilities are few in terms of participating in supporting positions, such as athletic trainers. In Japan, many people with visual impairment (VI) work as physical therapists; thus, they can become active as medical staff in the sports field. An example of a medical assessment is the muscle tightness test (MTT); however, conducting it is expected to be difficult for people with VI. To improve this difficulty, the current study developed an assistive instrument (AsI) and examined its effectiveness. We recruited 22 physical therapists with VI. The measurement for MTT targeted the hamstrings, iliopsoas, gastrocnemius, and quadriceps. The participants performed the MTT using a universal goniometer (UG) and the AsI and filled up a questionnaire. AsI was compared against UG based on three aspects, namely, ease, accuracy, and measurement time. In terms of ease, significant differences were observed in 9 out of 12 questionnaire items. The mean (SD) score for “Comprehensive ease of the MTT” improved from 2.8 (1.0) to 3.9 (0.8). For accuracy, the AsI yielded a decrease in the total error of the measurement. Lastly, the measurement time for AsI was longer than that for the UG. Therefore, the AsI was effective in terms of ease and accuracy, whereas measurement time remained as an issue.

Creating a positive perception toward inclusive education with future-oriented thinking

Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the ways that encouraged people to develop positive attitudes and perceptions toward inclusive education. The Japanese special needs education system for students with disabilities has been shifting from a segregated model to a more inclusive form which is the major challenge facing educational systems around the world. While support for inclusive practices has grown rapidly in Japan, their implementation requires more attention. Considering these situations, in the current study, we experimentally manipulated future-oriented thinking and examined whether positive perceptions about inclusive education was enhanced if people acknowledged and realized that an inclusive society may improve the long-term welfare of not only people with disabilities but also people without disabilities or functional limitations. Results Our results partially confirmed that future-oriented thinking encouraged positive perceptions of inclusive education. It increased only when participants thought about the future employment of people with/without disabilities. No significant effects were found for the present orientation or control conditions.

IMC17 - Conferencia Internacional de Movilidad: «Retos para una sociedad inclusiva»

Este Congreso, actualmente de carácter bienal, cuenta con el auspicio del IMC International Committee (Comité Internacional de la Conferencia de Movilidad), cuya finalidad es fomentar el debate e intercambio entre los involucrados en la Orientación y Movilidad (OyM) en todo el mundo, contribuyendo además a la divulgación de los avances de esta disciplina tan específica y trascendental para el desplazamiento autónomo de las personas con discapacidad visual. «Retos para una sociedad inclusiva» («Challenges for an inclusive society»), lema de la conferencia en esta edición, tuvo como uno de sus principales objetivos identificar las carencias de la OyM, en base a la Convención de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad.

Equal Opportunities Through Education

An inclusive society is a society that offers its members equal opportunities to participate in all aspects of public life, without discrimination, by exercising rights and assuming responsibilities so that progress is equally desired by the individuals and the society to which they belong. The human personality is formed by the interaction of the biological (heredity) with the factors of the social environment and under the influence of education. That is why it is necessary for education to be a modeling continuum, a process that begins in the family and is continued in school, the nucleus around which the free, independent, creative personalities of future adults will be formed. Today’s children are tomorrow’s adults, the ones who will make their mark on the future society. Whether tomorrow’s society will be an inclusive society or whether it will raise barriers and generate hostility depends on how we form the young generation today. This exploratory research, based on the analysis of official documents, statistics and concrete data of the observed reality, highlights important aspects regarding the access to education of disadvantaged groups, in a society that wants to be inclusive.