Families of Disabled Children in the Israeli Kibbutz: A Community Which Provides for All Needs

One hundred and two families of disabled children in the Israeli kibbutz were studied. Parental responses during the interview revealed that the availability of material and financial resources, which the kibbutz provides, the sharing in the day to day care of the child, and the overall acceptance by the community are important in reducing stress. Yet, parents still experience a number of major hardships and stressors including encounters with the kibbutz “system”, a sense of loneliness, and concerns about their children's social integration and their futures. Similar hardships are reported in the literature for parents of disabled children in other cultures and societies. Implications for educators and family service providers regarding the need for community training, the training of peer case managers and for emotional and practical support are discussed.     

Producing PhD Graduates in Australia for the Knowledge Economy

Using survey and interview data on PhD student course experience, career plans and views on university-industry research links, this paper evaluates the success of Australian research-intensive universities in producing PhD graduates for the knowledge economy. Student satisfaction with their course experience is surprisingly low and this appears to be strongly linked with the quality and effectiveness of thesis supervision. Although the PhD degree is meant to provide high level research career training, only slightly more than half the respondents expect to follow research careers. Many PhD students have negative views about academic careers based particularly on their perceptions of the impact of reduced government funding levels on universities and the increased workload pressures on supervisors. On the other hand, a high proportion of students hold positive views about university-industry research links, with students with industry research funding showing higher levels of course satisfaction than other students.