`Representing and Being Represented in Turn’ - A Symposium on Hélène Landemore’s Open Democracy.”

Hélene Landemore’s Open Democracy challenges today’s democracies to meet their legitimacy deficits by opening up a wide array of participatory opportunities, from enhanced forms of direct democracy, to internet crowdsourcing, to representation through random selection to a citizens’ assembly: “representing and being represented in turn” (p. xvii).  Her aim: to replace citizen consent with citizen power.  The critics advance both praise and misgivings.  Joshua Cohen would prefer Landemore’s proffered innovations as supplements, not alternatives, to the current system. Daniela Cammack would prefer more emphasis on the many forms of mass gathering, not representation.  Peter Stone considers citizens’ assemblies inadequate for popular sovereignty.  Christopher Achen warns of problems inaccurate representation, through both self-selection into the lottery and domination in the discussion. Ethan Lieb argues that particular innovations are useful only in some contexts, and that in each citizens should learn their appropriate role responsibilities. Landemore responds by agreeing, clarifying and rebutting.

Temporal aspect of self-image in older preschool children with mental retardation

The article presents the results of an empirical study of the features of the temporal aspects of the image of the self in children with mental retardation. It is shown that the most adequate way of knowing time can be selectivity in the perception of life events, the subjectivity of their assessments, arbitrariness in interaction with time. Subjective time is an important component of the development of personal selfawareness. Unfortunately, in the modern domestic scientific space the temporal aspects of self-consciousness are presented on normative samples. For children with special educational needs, there are no such studies. The results of the empirical study significantly expand the boundaries of the notion of the peculiarities of children's self-awareness of mental retardation associated with the time of their own lives, as it contributes to the development of their self-organization and further inclusion in social life. The study was conducted with comparison groups, but since most of the results of children in the mental retardation group 6-7 years are similar to children 4-5 years, the research interest was focused on only one age sample of children with mental retardation. It was stated that they have a weaker attitude to age groups than in the group of 4-5 years of normative development, and the content of the age itself is not reflected by any visual means. In addition, temporal elections were made situationally, and the motivation for elections was rarely realized and verbalized. It turned out that children with mental retardation have difficulty describing their past, the emotional component of memories is often negative. A diagnostic game was developed, in the process of which children's behavior was monitored according to the parameters: acceptance of the task, interest in such activities; involvement in the game situation as an indicator of motivational activity; role claims; the impact of a delayed goal on behavior and activities; ways to achieve the goal; memorizing the original meaning of the goal. It was found that children with mental retardation do not always accept and retain the game task, they rarely remember anything more than the fact of action in the near future, they do not remember the role responsibilities of players.

Professional attributions regarding health-related exercise from the Spanish Sports Medicine Society

The regular practice of physical exercise is extraordinarily effective in the management of a growing number of chronic diseases, some of them with a prevalence of pandemic magnitude, for which the society must assume the incorporation of physical activity as a health strategy to prevent and to serve as a complementary treatment of the disease. Not only medicine and physiotherapy play a fundamental role in the management of exercise for health but also, outside of health, Sports science and physical education degree is crucial in this field of work. From a health point of view, medicine and physiotherapy have a primary role in the management of exercise for health and also, outside of health, sports science and physical education degree occupy a very prominent role in the promotion and implementation of strategies for the promotion of health. These professions have been occupying a position in addressing this problem that, on some occasions, has led to points of friction with respect to their role, responsibilities and function. On the other hand, there is a need to resolve the question of the professions’ areas of competence while maintaining the will to simultaneously recognize the growing areas of competence shared interprofessionally and the highly relevant areas specific to each profession. This document is based on the need to address the incorporation of exercise in the prevention and management of disease in a solid and consistent way, considering the contribution of the professions involved from the perspective of multidisciplinary work and with a non-conflictual but cooperative, transparent and respectful collaboration. In addition, this collaboration should always aim at serving society in the most effective way possible, clearly defining the professional attributions of medicine, physiotherapy and physical activity and sport sciences in everything related to the use of exercise as a tool for health.

New Directions in Youth and Young Adult Ministry Leadership: Where Have We Been and More Importantly Where Are We Headed?

Catholic youth and young adult ministries have evolved vastly since they began in the 1930s. Throughout this ministry’s history, a story of change is told. This article will explore three questions. First, what does the history of this ministry tell us about the future? This will include an examination of the past twenty years of research and trends on youth and young adult ministry and the ministry leaders serving them. Second, what are the current realities informing our new directions? Third, what are the new directions being called for regarding the Catholic Church’s ministry to youth and young adults, and those that serve this ministry? Undoubtedly, Christus Vivit has shaped this conversation, and a large part of this direction includes a call for evangelization and accompaniment. Regardless, the key to moving in a new direction is understanding both the framework or characteristics for the pastoral ministry and the evolved role responsibilities of youth and young adult ministry leaders.

Farmer views on climate change—a longitudinal study of threats, opportunities and action

Any new policy measure aiming to mitigate climate change and support adaptation in agriculture is implemented at the farm scale. This makes a farmer the key actor. This study aimed to understand farmers’ climate change views and reveal how farmers see their role, responsibilities and possibilities to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Furthermore, this study aimed to assess how various background variables and values associate with farmers’ views in order to have novel and comprehensive on farmers’ perspectives on climate change. Short-term changes in views were studied with a longitudinal framework. In total, 4401 farmers in Finland answered a standardized e-mail survey in spring 2018. A total of 2000 of them responded again in spring 2020. The respondents differed in gender, age, education, farming system, farm type, farm organization, farm size, revenue and region. The farmers were not a uniform group of citizens, and their views on climate change varied widely. For a Nordic, boreal zone country like Finland, climate change will bring not only challenges but also opportunities that may even strengthen the agricultural production. Such a “two-sided coin” causes confusion for farmers as indicated by this study. Climate change–induced risks often dominate the public dialogue with farmers. This study emphasizes the need for better balance between risks and opportunities not only in the dialogue with farmers but also with policy makers and all public discussion. Acknowledging farmers’ views in planning the future climate policies for agricultural sector is elemental to ensure success in farm-scale implementation.

User involvement in interprofessional team meetings within services for substance use disorders

Background: People with substance use disorders (SUD) and concurrent mental health disorders often need prolonged, coordinated health and welfare services. Interprofessional team meetings are designed to tailor services to users’ needs and should be based on interprofessional collaboration involving the user. Aims: To investigate service users’ experiences with interprofessional team meetings and to identify potential barriers to successful user involvement. Methods: Semi-structured interviews with five male service users aged 27–36 years with concurrent substance use and psychiatric disorders, and observations of team meetings involving both users and relevant professionals. Users were interviewed shortly after commencing treatment and after the team meeting. A phenomenographical approach framed the data analysis. Results: Users described the interprofessional team meetings as less than useful, and perceived that lack of a targeted process and of information hindered their collaboration with professionals. Observations revealed that users were given a subordinate role in the meetings, which largely undermined their involvement. Three categories reflecting lack of information as a core obstacle to user involvement emerged from the data material: (i) unclear role responsibilities and unclear professional role functions, (ii) unclear practices regarding rules and routines, and (iii) absence of user knowledge. Conclusions: User involvement in team meetings may be improved by facilitating adequate information, clarifying role expectations, emphasising user knowledge, increasing professionals’ awareness of the importance of collaboration, and by teaching skills that enhance user involvement.

An International Review to Characterize the Role, Responsibilities, and Optimal Setting for Health Literacy Mediators

Health literacy is a critically important determinant of health and is influenced by access to supportive social networks and services. Global investment in education throughout the life course is required to support health literacy development. The aim of this review is to characterize the role, responsibilities, and the optimal setting for the emergent role of a Health Literacy Mediator (HLM). A scoping review of recent literature was conducted. The review revealed a lack of consensus on who should be teaching health literacy, and variability in confidence when teaching health literacy. Professionals reported facing barriers such as a lack of time, a lack of knowledge, and recognized that the health literacy needs of children worldwide are not being met. Further research into the role of HLM is required to determine who is best suited to this role and what their responsibilities will be to ensure consistent health literacy education.