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Disabled People (disabled + people)
Selected AbstractsOuch!: An Examination of the Self-Representation of Disabled People on the InternetJOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 2 2006Estelle Thoreau This article is based on a qualitative study of representations of disability by disabled people on Ouch, a BBC-owned web magazine produced largely by disabled people. Analysis was conducted of a sample of articles from the website in order to examine how the medium of the Internet influenced the content of the website, how disabled people were represented in the articles on the website, and how ideology and power were expressed through the discourse on Ouch. The findings reveal a different type of representation from that offered by the mainstream traditional media, which is argued to result from properties of the medium and the staffing of the site by disabled people. The findings add weight to current critiques of disability theory, in particular that the current social model of disability does not adequately explain the reality of living with impairment and disability. [source] The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and nursingJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 2 2004Penelope M. Kearney BHlthSci MN RN MCN MRCNA Background., Nursing conceptualizes disability from largely medical and individual perspectives that do not consider its social dimensions. Disabled people are critical of this paradigm and its impact on their health care. Aim., The aims of this paper are to review the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), including its history and the theoretical models upon which it is based and to discuss its relevance as a conceptual framework for nursing. Method., The paper presents a critical overview of concepts of disability and their implications for nursing and argues that a broader view is necessary. It examines ICF and its relationship to changing paradigms of disability and presents some applications for nursing. Conclusion., The ICF, with its acknowledgement of the interaction between people and their environments in health and disability, is a useful conceptual framework for nursing education, practice and research. It has the potential to expand nurses' thinking and practice by increasing awareness of the social, political and cultural dimensions of disability. [source] Evaluation of nursing and medical students' attitudes towards people with disabilitiesJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 15-16 2010Hatice Sahin Aims and objectives., The aim of this study is to assess the attitudes of students towards disabled people and provide suggestions to make necessary changes in the curricula. Background., Disabled people suffer from rejection, exclusion and discrimination. The undergraduate education of future health professionals should include processes of critical thinking towards and analysis of the disabled. Design., Cross-sectional design was used. Methods., All the preclinical medical and nursing students in our institution were included in study. Data were collected using the Turkish Attitudes towards Disabled Person Scale (TATDP) and demographical variables. TATDP Scale was scored according to five-point Likert Scale. Results., Students' mean attitude score is 120·57 (SD 15·24). Subscale mean scores are 53·61 (SD 7·25) for compassion (CP), 50·47 (SDS 7·26) for social value (SV) and 16·49 (SD 2·89) for resource distribution (RD). Whilst nursing students had less contact with the disabled, medical students had a closer contact with them. Medical students acquired more prior knowledge about attitudes towards the disabled. Total attitude scores of female students were above the students' mean attitude score when compared to those of male students. Conclusion., Only if early contact is established with patients and the disabled, practical educational strategies are adopted, and the students are provided with information on attitudes about the disabled, will a social model of disability be introduced into the curriculum. Relevance to clinical practice., This study results were presented to curriculum planning committees of nursing and medical schools, so that they should use them as needs assessment data in developing a disability awareness curriculum. The curriculum will be implemented in cooperation with not only schools but also other social institutions. For instance, clerkship applications will be accomplished by cooperating with nursing homes and organisations of disabled people. [source] Topiramate in Patients with Learning Disability and Refractory EpilepsyEPILEPSIA, Issue 4 2002Kevin Kelly Summary: ,Purpose: Management of seizures in learning disabled people is challenging. This prospective study explored the efficacy and tolerability of adjunctive topiramate (TPM) in patients with learning disability and refractory epilepsy attending a single centre. Methods: Sixty-four patients (36 men, 28 women, aged 16,65 years) were begun on adjunctive TPM after a 3-month prospective baseline on unchanged medication. Efficacy end points were reached when a consistent response was achieved over a 6-month period at optimal TPM dosing. These were seizure freedom or ,50% seizure reduction (responder). Appetite, behaviour, alertness, and sleep were assessed by caregivers throughout the study. Results: Sixteen (25%) patients became seizure free with adjunctive TPM. There were 29 (45%) responders. A further 10 (16%) patients experiencing a more modest improvement in seizure control continued on treatment at the behest of their family and/or caregivers. TPM was discontinued in the remaining nine (14%) patients, mainly because of side effects. Final TPM doses and plasma concentrations varied widely among the efficacy outcome groups. Many patients responding well to adjunctive TPM did so on ,200 mg daily. Mean carer scores did not worsen with TPM therapy. Conclusions: TPM was effective as add-on therapy in learning-disabled people with difficult-to-control epilepsy. Seizure freedom is a realistic goal in this population. [source] What matters most to prejudice: Big Five personality, Social Dominance Orientation, or Right-Wing Authoritarianism?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 6 2004Bo Ekehammar Whereas previous research has studied the relation of either (i) personality with prejudice, (ii) personality with social dominance orientation (SDO) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), or (iii) SDO and RWA with prejudice, the present research integrates all approaches within the same model. In our study (N,=,183), various causal models of the relationships among the Big Five, SDO, RWA, and Generalized Prejudice are proposed and tested. Generalized Prejudice scores were obtained from a factor analysis of the scores on various prejudice instruments (racism, sexism, prejudice toward homosexuals, and mentally disabled people), which yielded a one-factor solution. The best-fitting causal model, which was our suggested hypothetical model, showed that Big Five personality had no direct effect on Generalized Prejudice but an indirect effect transmitted through RWA and SDO, where RWA seems to capture personality aspects to a greater extent than SDO. Specifically, Generalized Prejudice was affected indirectly by Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness through RWA, and by Agreeableness through SDO, whereas Neuroticism had no effect at all. The results are discussed against the background of previous research and the personality and social psychology approaches to the study of prejudice. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] ,Balance' is in the eye of the beholder: providing information to support informed choices in antenatal screening via Antenatal Screening Web ResourceHEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 4 2007Shenaz Ahmed BSc (Hons) PhD Abstract Objectives, The Antenatal Screening Web Resource (AnSWeR) was designed to support informed prenatal testing choices by providing balanced information about disability, based on the testimonies of disabled people and their families. We were commissioned by the developers to independently evaluate the website. This paper focused on how participants evaluated AnSWeR in terms of providing balanced information. Setting, West Yorkshire. Participants, A total of 69 people were drawn from three groups: health professionals, people with personal experience of tested-for conditions (Down's syndrome, cystic fibrosis and spina bifida) and people representing potential users of the resource. Method, Data were collected via focus groups and electronic questionnaires. Results, Participants believed that information about the experience of living with the tested-for conditions and terminating a pregnancy for the conditions were important to support informed antenatal testing and termination decisions. However, there were differences in opinion about whether the information about the tested-for conditions was balanced or not. Some people felt that the inclusion of photographs of people with the tested-for conditions introduced biases (both positive and negative). Many participants were also of the opinion that AnSWeR presented insufficient information on termination of an affected pregnancy to support informed choice. Conclusion, This study highlighted the difficulty of designing ,balanced' information about tested-for conditions and a lack of methodology for doing so. It is suggested that AnSWeR currently provides a counterbalance to other websites that focus on the medical aspects of disability. Its aim to provide ,balanced' information would be aided by increasing the number and range of case studies available on the website. [source] Unhealthy Disabled: Treating Chronic Illnesses as DisabilitiesHYPATIA, Issue 4 2001SUSAN WENDELL Chronic illness is a major cause of disability, especially in women. Therefore, any adequate feminist understanding of disability must encompass chronic illnesses. I argue that there are important differences between healthy disabled and unhealthy disabled people that are likely to affect such issues as treatment of impairment in disability and feminist politics, accommodation of disability in activism and employment, identification of persons as disabled, disability pride, and prevention and "cure" of disabilities. [source] Autonomy of Artistic Expression for Adult Learners with DisabilitiesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ART & DESIGN EDUCATION, Issue 2 2008Graham C. Young When an art tutor adopts the role of assistant to a disabled artist it is difficult not to move from helping with the physical handling of materials on the one hand into the actual creative process on the other, thus influencing how the artwork looks. Ecas is an Edinburgh-based charity which promotes opportunities for physically disabled people to be self-fulfilled and to participate in all aspects of society. They run, among other things, traditional art classes and computer classes. The use of computer technology (CT) in art seemed to offer the chance for self-fulfilment for disabled artists by increasing control over artistic choices and providing for self expression with only minimal assistance required from others. Ecas decided to fund a research project in the form of a ten-week pilot course and the data collected during the trial confirmed these possibilities and it was clear that adult learners with disabilities could benefit from CT in order to have greater autonomy in the creation of their art than before. In particular the program Corel Painter IX.5 and various graphics tablets proved to be a powerful arsenal for self-expression without having to wait for a tutor to tape paper to a board, replenish paint, change brushes attached to a head pointer or any one of the many and varied problems disabled students had with traditional art materials. [source] Solidarity towards immigrants in European welfare statesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 1 2008Wim Van Oorschot The concern that immigration could threaten the sustainability of the European Social Model is a reason to have a closer look at popular images of immigrants in the context of European welfare states. The focus is on Europeans' informal solidarity towards immigrants relative to other vulnerable groups in society. Using data from the European Values Survey 1999/2000 we find that in all European countries the public is least solidaristic towards migrants, in comparison with elderly people, sick and disabled people and unemployed people. Contrary to expectation, there is little relation between welfare state characteristics and people's solidarity, while the relative solidarity towards immigrants is higher in culturally more diverse countries. As expected, the relative solidarity towards immigrants is lower in countries with a more negative opinion climate towards immigrants and in poorer countries of Europe. [source] Pictures and silences: memories of sexual abuse of disabled peopleINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 4 2002Darja Zavir The article de,individualises the debate about sexual abuse of disabled people, especially women, by showing that both the sexual and asexual identity of impaired persons are invariably fashioned within the institutional arrangement of domination and subjugation. It shows that if disabled persons are seen as asexual or if they are sexualised, they cannot escape sexual violence, which is not an aberration, but is intrinsic to the social construction of disability. The article includes personal testimonies of women with different disabilities from Slovenia, who were abused either at home or in public care and shows some responses of the professionals and caregivers who minimise the importance of abuse. It claims that ignoring the memories of sexual abuse is part of a subtle and unintentional discrimination, which reflects a continuity of prejudices and hatred toward disabled children and adults in the private realm as well as in public care. People from ethnic minorities, such as Roma, are still today more often diagnosed as mentally disabled, which shows that the disability diagnosis has to be seen as part of cultural responses towards an economically and socially marginalised group. The author uses different perspectives: historical, social work theories, cultural studies and feminist analysis. [source] Evaluation of nursing and medical students' attitudes towards people with disabilitiesJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 15-16 2010Hatice Sahin Aims and objectives., The aim of this study is to assess the attitudes of students towards disabled people and provide suggestions to make necessary changes in the curricula. Background., Disabled people suffer from rejection, exclusion and discrimination. The undergraduate education of future health professionals should include processes of critical thinking towards and analysis of the disabled. Design., Cross-sectional design was used. Methods., All the preclinical medical and nursing students in our institution were included in study. Data were collected using the Turkish Attitudes towards Disabled Person Scale (TATDP) and demographical variables. TATDP Scale was scored according to five-point Likert Scale. Results., Students' mean attitude score is 120·57 (SD 15·24). Subscale mean scores are 53·61 (SD 7·25) for compassion (CP), 50·47 (SDS 7·26) for social value (SV) and 16·49 (SD 2·89) for resource distribution (RD). Whilst nursing students had less contact with the disabled, medical students had a closer contact with them. Medical students acquired more prior knowledge about attitudes towards the disabled. Total attitude scores of female students were above the students' mean attitude score when compared to those of male students. Conclusion., Only if early contact is established with patients and the disabled, practical educational strategies are adopted, and the students are provided with information on attitudes about the disabled, will a social model of disability be introduced into the curriculum. Relevance to clinical practice., This study results were presented to curriculum planning committees of nursing and medical schools, so that they should use them as needs assessment data in developing a disability awareness curriculum. The curriculum will be implemented in cooperation with not only schools but also other social institutions. For instance, clerkship applications will be accomplished by cooperating with nursing homes and organisations of disabled people. [source] Ouch!: An Examination of the Self-Representation of Disabled People on the InternetJOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 2 2006Estelle Thoreau This article is based on a qualitative study of representations of disability by disabled people on Ouch, a BBC-owned web magazine produced largely by disabled people. Analysis was conducted of a sample of articles from the website in order to examine how the medium of the Internet influenced the content of the website, how disabled people were represented in the articles on the website, and how ideology and power were expressed through the discourse on Ouch. The findings reveal a different type of representation from that offered by the mainstream traditional media, which is argued to result from properties of the medium and the staffing of the site by disabled people. The findings add weight to current critiques of disability theory, in particular that the current social model of disability does not adequately explain the reality of living with impairment and disability. [source] Displaying Normalisation: The Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867JOURNAL OF HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY, Issue 4 2007VOLKER BARTH This group was entitled "objects exposed for the physical and moral well-being of the population" and displayed model dwellings for workers, model schools, and teaching methods for disabled people. I argue that the staging of these objects by the elite of the Second Empire contributed, on the one hand, to define a certain social normality and consolidated, on the other hand, existing hierarchies inside the French society. [source] Disability Rights Commission: From Civil Rights to Social RightsJOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 4 2008Agnes Fletcher This paper argues that, although originally conceived as part of the ,civil rights' agenda, the development of disability rights in Britain by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) is better seen as a movement towards the realization of social, economic, and cultural rights, and so as reaffirmation of the indissolubility of human rights in the round. As such, that process of development represents a concrete exercise in the implementation of social rights by a statutory equality body and a significant step towards the conception of disability rights as universal participation, not just individual or minority group entitlement. The paper considers the distinctive features of that regulatory activity. It asks what sort of equality the DRC set out to achieve for disabled people and where, as a result, its work positioned it on the regulatory spectrum. From the particular experience of the DRC, the paper looks forward to considerations of general relevance to other such bodies, including the new Equality and Human Rights Commission. [source] People with learning disabilities admitted to an assessment and treatment unit: impact on challenging behaviours and mental health problemsJOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 7 2008E. SLEVIN This study describes the evaluation of an assessment and treatment unit for people with learning disabilities. Results showed the main reasons for admission for the 48 people admitted to the unit were because of challenging behaviours and mental health problems. Valid and reliable scales were used to measure the behaviours and mental health problems of those admitted across three-time periods: pre-admission, during admission and post-admission. The analysis found significant reductions in challenging behaviours and mental health problems following admission to the unit. The unit was staffed by a multidisciplinary team with nurses making up the largest group of staff. A number of issues of concern are discussed including access to mental health services for people with learning disabilities, the need for robust community services and areas that require further research. In conclusion, the study found evidence supporting the value of the unit and how it may lessen distress in learning disabled people who are behaviourally disturbed. It is suggested that nurses played a key role in the unit but they need to make the support and caring they provide more visible. Nurses need to harness and make explicit the caring they provide for people with learning disabilities. [source] Disability Studies and American LiteratureLITERATURE COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 6 2010Taylor Hagood Disability Studies is a small but growing field of theorization regarding the role of disability in identity politics. At once local and far-reaching in its scope, it examines not only the ways disabled people are marginalized, stigmatized, and oppressed, but also the ways that all bodies fall short of culturally, politically, and economically-driven bodily ideals. This discipline has been provocatively applied to American literature, with certain very recognizable characters, such as Flannery O'Connor's wooden-legged Hulga Hopewell and Ernest Hemingway's war-wounded Jake Barnes, receiving much attention. Still, the field of Disability Studies is young, and its application to American literature can and undoubtedly will be expanded in provocative ways. [source] Disability activism and the politics of scaleTHE CANADIAN GEOGRAPHER/LE GEOGRAPHE CANADIEN, Issue 2 2003Rob Kitchin In this paper, we examine the role of spatial scale in mediating and shaping political struggles between disabled people and the state. Specifically, we draw on recent theoretical developments concerning the social construction of spatial scale to interpret two case studies of disability activism within Canada and Ireland. In particular, we provide an analysis of how successful the disability movement in each locale has been at ,jumping scale' and enacting change, as well as examining what the consequences of such scaling-up have been for the movement itself. We demonstrate that the political structures operating in each country markedly affect the scaled nature of disability issues and the effectiveness of political mobilization at different scales. Dans cette dissertation, nous examinons le rõle de l'échelle spatiale dans la médiation et le développement des luttes politiques entre les handicapés et l'État. Spécifiquement, nous nous inspirons des récents développements théoriques concernant la structure sociale de l'échelle spatiale pour interpréter deux études de cas d'activisme des handicapés au Canada et en Irlande. Dans ces deux études, nous analysons en particulier le taux de succès obtenu par les mouvements des handicapés dans chacun de ces pays en matière de « saut d'échelle » et pour provoquer un changement. Nous examinons aussi les retombées d'une telle augmentation d'échelle sur le mouvement lui-m,me. Nous démontrons que les structures politiques présentes dans chaque pays affectent profondément la nature hiérarchique des questions d'invalidité et l'efficacité de la mobilisation politique à différentes échelles. [source] Transnational Migration, the Lost Girls of Sudan and Global "Care work": A Photo EssayANTHROPOLOGY OF WORK REVIEW, Issue 1 2009Laura DeLuca Abstract This essay explores the work lives of a group of Sudanese refugees known popularly as the Lost Girls of Sudan. Like other women from the Global South, the Lost Girls often work in the care work sector as maids, babysitters, nannies, preschool attendants, food service workers, nurses, personal care attendants for elderly and disabled people. The article also explores the U.S. refugee policy of self-sufficiency. [source] PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE: Planning for the 2040s: everybody's businessBRITISH JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, Issue 1 2008Peter Mittler As we mark the publication of the 35th issue of the British Journal of Special Education, Peter Mittler, Emeritus Professor of Special Needs Education at the University of Manchester, looks into the future and asks a series of challenging questions: What kind of a future do we want to see for a baby born with a significant disability today? What changes will be needed in society and in our schools both for the child and for the family? What reforms might this year's newly qualified staff bring about in our schools and services and in society as a whole by the time they retire in the 2040s? Professor Mittler proposes that the time is ripe to take advantage of new international and national opportunities to lay the foundations for a society that fully includes disabled people and safeguards their basic human rights. He argues that each one of us can help to determine the values and priorities of the society in which today's baby will grow up and suggests that the Make Poverty History movement has provided powerful evidence that the voice of ordinary citizens can shape policies and set priorities. He encourages us all to think globally and to act locally on a host of issues, including supporting families, planning for transition, promoting quality of life, professional development and challenging inequality. [source] The experiences of disabled pupils and their familiesBRITISH JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, Issue 4 2007Ann Lewis In this article, Ann Lewis, Professor of Education at the University of Birmingham, and Ian Davison, Jean Ellins, Louise Niblett, Sarah Parsons, Christopher Robertson and Jeremy Sharpe from the research team provide a summary of discussions and selected recommendations arising from four linked projects run between 2004 and 2006. The projects were funded by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) and looked into the experiences of disabled pupils and their families across England, Scotland and Wales. A central aim of the research was to identify the key concerns and priorities in relation to their experiences of education for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) or disabilities and their families in the UK. The research encompassed a UK-wide parent survey (N=1776); in-depth case studies of individual children and young people (N=36); group case studies (of, for example, school councils) (N=3); and a series of project advisory groups involving disabled people. Underlying these aspects was an emphasis on the importance and validity of hearing directly from (potentially all) children and young people themselves. Thus the work meshes closely with initiatives worldwide concerning the recognition of children's,voice'in matters that concern them. The authors are not aware of any comparable evidence which focuses in-depth on a wide cross-section of pupils with disabilities or special needs and their families in the UK-wide educational context and which is located alongside concurrent authoritative data concerning the views of parents and carers. [source] Making a home, finding a job: investigating early housing and employment outcomes for young people leaving careCHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 3 2006Jim Wade ABSTRACT This paper presents findings from a new study of outcomes for young people leaving care funded by the Department for Education and Skills. It reports findings for a sample of 106 young people in relation to progress made in housing and employment some 12,15 months after leaving care. The generally poor employment outcomes of care leavers are acknowledged, but ingredients that make for success are also highlighted, including the value of settled care and post-care careers, sound career planning and, significantly, the value of delaying young people's transitions from care. Early career paths also interconnect with how young people fare in housing, in developing life skills and with other problems in their lives after leaving care. Housing outcomes were more encouraging and predominantly shaped by events after leaving care, and faring well in housing was the factor most closely associated with positive mental well-being in young people. Some groups that are at risk of faring badly are identified, including young people with mental-health problems, young people with persistent offending or substance misuse problems and, in some respects, young disabled people. The implications of these findings for leaving care services are considered. [source] The impact of childhood on disabled professionalsCHILDREN & SOCIETY, Issue 3 2004Sonali Shah The impact of childhood on success in adulthood has been much researched. This paper discusses how parental expectations, social class, childhood experiences and gender influenced the career success of disabled people. For respondents with congenital disabilities, disability was perceived as a primary factor influencing parental expectations, but those with acquired disabilities felt it was gender. Social class played a significant part in all respondents' childhood socialisation and parental expectations. Some experienced deprivation and trauma as children, encouraging them to master future life events. The findings highlight the importance of childhood socialisation to the career success of disabled people. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||