The overall purpose of the study was to study and elucidate the phenomenon of discrimination in relation to individuals who have a visible disability. The main empiricism has been based on qualitative interviews and completed influential knowledge. The main result of this has been exposed to be an context-based discrimination, in the form of social structures and physically mismatched public environments. Discrimination has been shown to be a common occurrence and expresses unequal conditions, in the form of inclusion in social situations. However, have the results shown general causal explanations of this problem - which are based on lack of knowledge, and in turn, constitute negative conceptions. The study thus draws attention to people with visible disabilities, in the sense of becoming more naturally included in society. Through the study analysis four themes where identified; lack of inclusion, interpersonal interactions, negative events and lack of knowledge. / Studiens övergripande syfte är att studera och belysa fenomenet diskriminering i relation till individer som besitter en synlig funktionsnedsättning. Den huvudsakliga empirin har grundats i kvalitativa intervjuer och fullgjort inflytelserika kunskaper. Huvudresultatet har därav exponerat en kontextburen diskriminering, i form av sociala samhällsstrukturer och fysiskt missanpassade offentliga miljöer. Diskriminering påvisas således vara ett vanligt förekommande fenomen och uttrycker sig av ojämlika förhållanden, i form av bristande inkludering i sociala situationer. Studiens resultat har dock visat generella orsaksförklaringar av denna problematik – som bottnar i bristande kunskaper, och i sin tur, utgör negativa föreställningar. Studien uppmärksammar därav människor med synliga funktionsnedsättningar, i en betydelse av att alltmer naturligt inkluderas i samhället. Utifrån studiens analys har fyra framgående teman identifierats; bristande inkludering, mellanmänskliga interaktioner, negativa tilldragelser och bristande kunskap.

Magister Commercii - MCom / There is an increase in the number of people with disabilities entering, and in the workplace. Industrialised countries are encountering a workforce that is ageing, which makes the prevalence of disability, due to chronic illness amongst employees, more evident. However, even with legislation and policies that support people in the workplace, such as the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003 and the Code of Good Practice on Disability in the Workplace, many people still choose not to disclose their disabilities. Therefore, the main purpose of the study is to identify the perceived factors that could possibly prevent the disclosure of disability in the workplace. The study was conducted at one of the universities in the Western Cape. The study was qualitative in nature and made use of semi-structured interviews. Ten participants took part in the study and comprised of two academic staff members from each of the faculties on the main campus. Content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data where various themes and subthemes emerged.

I detta examensarbete undersöker jag två övergripande frågeställningar gällande fysisk tillgänglighet. Den första frågan rör varför enkelt avhjälpta hinder, det vill säga retroaktiva krav på ökad tillgänglighet, har tillfogats Sveriges bygglagstiftning. Den andra frågan rör hur arbetet med åtgärdandet av de retroaktiva föreskrifterna har utförts i svenska kommuner. Motiven bakom uppkomsten av krav undersöks genom en genomgång av äldre byggregler och handikapputredningar. I undersökningen konstateras att tillgänglighetskrav har funnits i svenska byggregler sedan länge, men att omfattning och formuleringar har varierat. I studien visas att nuvarande lagkrav är förhållandevis lika äldre byggregler och två huvudsakliga förklaringar till behovet av en retroaktivt verkande lag konstateras. Den första förklaringen är att en stor del av den byggda miljön har tillkommit innan tillgänglighetskrav ställdes i lagstiftningen. Den andra anledningen är att aktörer inom plan- och byggprocessen har saknat tillräcklig kunskap för att kunna verkligställa de övergripande målkrav som ställts sedan början av 1980-talet. Studien visar också att arbetet med enkelt avhjälpta hinder utgör ett medel för att tillgodose denna kunskap bland berörda aktörer. Arbetets andra frågeställning är om några specifika strategier har varit särskilt effektiva i arbetet med enkelt avhjälpta hinder. Genom litteraturstudier och intervjuer i en kommun plockas sju faktorer fram och testas mot resultatet i en av SKL genomförd undersökning av tillgängligheten i svenska kommuner. Det går inte att dra några generella slutsatser från testet, men genom litteraturstudien och intervjuerna bedöms två faktorer vara kopplade till hur framgångsrikt arbetet med enkelt avhjälpta hinder har varit: hur väl arbetet har planerats och hur samarbetet med funktionshinderrörelsen har utformats. / In this thesis, I examine two main questions regarding accessibility. The first question concerns why retroactive requirements for increased accessibility, enkelt avhjälpta hinder (easily eliminated barriers), have been added to the Swedish building legislation. The question is examined by a review of older building codes and reports published by disability commissions. The review found that accessibility requirements have existed in building regulations since the 1960s. The extent of the requirements has varied, but many requirements set in the new policy are relatively similar to those in older building codes. The study gives two explanations for why the new policy is needed. First, a majority of the built environment in Sweden was constructed before any accessibility requirements were legislated. Second, the actors in the planning and building process have previously lacked sufficient knowledge on disability. The study shows that the new policy is a means to raise the knowledge on disability and accessibility. The second question concerns how the new policy has been implemented in Swedish municipalities, and whether some specific implementation strategies have been particularly effective. Through literature reviews and interviews in a municipality, two main factors are identified as crucial for the success of accessibility adaptations: how well the work has been planned in advance and how the collaboration with the disability movement has been arranged.

Background: Every child deserves to learn in an environment that is tailored to their specific needs. Inclusive education offers a wide range of benefits, from social, and emotional to academic achievement. In addition, inclusive education provides the means to acquire knowledge and skills in order to alleviate poverty and break the cycle of disadvantage for children with disabilities. In Southern Africa, efforts have been made to ensure that children with disabilities have access to quality education. Nevertheless, 90% of children with disabilities are less likely to attend school, and dropout rates are higher among those with disabilities in school. These statistics are alarming.  Aim: Using a scoping review, the study aims to analyze the challenges and facilitators of inclusive education in Southern African countries.  Methodology: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in 5 databases, and the retrieved articles were screened in two phases leading to the selection of the final sixteen articles. The results were analyzed in a thematic approach under the ecological theory. Results: The analysis of the selected 16 articles indicates that the region faces similar problems, and inclusive education is constrained by negative attitudes of teachers, peers, and parents, as well as by a lack of resources, poor infrastructure, ineffective policy development, and lack of clear policy implementation. Under facilitators, availability of policies, teacher training, strong support system coupled with knowledge and understanding of policies were found to promote inclusive education.  Conclusion: The dominant theme of the research results was negative views of disability held by Southern African societies. As such the author concludes by emphasizing the importance of developing policies that take into account cultural and environmental factors and an overall mindset change of viewing disability from the traditional and medical point to a social and human rights perspective.

Learners with Asperger's Syndrome are educated in inclusive education settings. As a result of the recent trend of `inclusion' all teachers may be required to educate all learners in their regular classrooms. This research attempted to explore the nature of Asperger's Syndrome as well as inclusive education in order to develop practical guidelines for teachers of learners with Asperger's Syndrome in regular schools. The interview responses of eight parents of learners with Asperger's Syndrome as well as the observation of these learners are reported. The results of the interviews and observations, were corroborated with the literature study in order to outline guidelines which would ensure that teachers will cater for the needs of these learners and support their inclusion in the inclusive settings successfully. Results of this study indicated that knowledge of Asperger's Syndrome and guidelines for accommodating the impairments of these learners is the first step towards successful inclusion. / Educational Studies / Thesis (M. Ed.)

The literature concerning what medical students learn from midwives during specialist obstetric rotations is scarce. In the UK, despite a long tradition of providing midwifery attachments for medical students, it is almost non-existent. Working with midwives is arguably the only opportunity medical students have to experience holistic or social models of maternity care, focusing on normality rather than on the medical concept of risk. This study sought to discover how medical students constructed their knowledge about childbirth during a six week specialist rotation in obstetrics in a Northern English teaching hospital (NETH), with particular emphasis on whether participants assimilated any concepts from midwifery knowledge (MK). A Delphi Study, done as the first phase of the research, focused on MK, utilizing an international sample of experienced midwives. Resulting themes were used to develop the data collection tool for the second phase of the research. The research employed a qualitative case study method with students from a single year cohort comprising the case. Data were collected using a tool consisting of three problem based learning (PBL) scenarios. These were presented to the students in consecutive interviews at the beginning, the middle and the end of their obstetric rotation. Following analysis, five main themes were identified which illuminated the medical students' construction of knowledge about maternity care. These were explored and discussed. The thesis concludes with recommendations for increasing opportunities for IPE in the medical and midwifery curricula.

This small-scale study is positioned within a social constructionist interpretive paradigm using a mixed methodology employing principles of adapted grounded theory, simple scale-based questionnaires and action research. Fourteen disabled young people from one specialist and three secondary mainstream settings were interviewed using semi-structured interviews to gain their views on friendship and belonging in schools. Three groups of parents, TAs, SENCos and allied education professionals engaged in action research to examine these views, their own views and values and those of disabled young people in their families and schools in order to better understand the sensitivities and subtleties of successful social inclusion and to consider change to whole school practice. The limitations that non-disabled adults unwittingly ‘construct’ that act as barriers to friendship and social inclusion were explicitly recognised in this interpretive research as a contribution to informing practice and theory in this domain. Paper One focuses on the views of young people and the meaning and importance they placed on friendship and social relationships in their lives. Findings included that young people in specialist and mainstream setting highly valued friendships but that sustaining friendships in the wider community was often problematic for those participants who attended schools outside their local community. This mainly affected the specialist setting students but was also recognised as an issue by some of the mainstream parents who lived outside the catchment area. Findings also revealed that young people gained their sense of belonging from the positive relationships they formed with TAs and teachers as well as friends. In order for friendship and positive social inclusion to develop, however, participants required schools to provide a supportive environment of accessible rooms, doors and lifts and adults who trusted them to have the competency and agency to manage their social times and spaces with choice and autonomy. The issue of ‘surplus visibility’ was highlighted by disabled young people who spoke of an experience of school where lack of choice concerning where and with whom to spend break times limited their friendship opportunities and sense of well-being and inclusion. This was compounded by an expectation of compliance by adults and automatic assumption of their belonging to a disabled group despite differences of sex, gender or common interests. The participants valued genuine connection through humour, interests and social support and were active in seeking private time for talking with friends. Schools that provided a range of highly social or quieter, more private, locations for students were highly valued. Paper Two describes using these views as stimulus for action research to bring about change towards improved social inclusion. Groups of parents, senior management, SENCos, TAs and other education professionals met formally three times over a four month period. These groups examined vignettes selected from data from paper one, engaged in debate and discussions, interviewed disabled young people themselves, formulated key concept maps leading to revised theoretical frameworks, reflected and evaluated the process of the action research and considered practice change or further research. This stage was a continued process of seeking to hear authentic voices, in depth discussion and reflection on what we were learning from disabled young people combined with our own knowledge, values, and beliefs. This led to the development of conceptual models and practical change intentions to promote social inclusion. Intentions to change included •Developing alternative social rooms with minimal TA presence •Including disabled young people in TA selection processes •Involving parents in reviewing the school inclusion policy •Establishing a regular parents’ support group •A commitment to keep listening to young people’s voices and preferences on key matters rather than ‘assuming that we already know!’ •Lengthening the lunch break in the specialist setting to ensure time for socialising and friendship building These commitments to change demonstrated that schools were able to engage successfully in the action research process, valued parents’contributions further and were willing to change practice towards greater social inclusion of disabled young people and parents.

Este estudo utiliza contribuições de diferentes campos do conhecimento, para compreender o universo de sentidos que determinam as práticas sociais em relação às pessoas que têm dificuldade nas habilidades intelectuais. O construcionismo social e a perspectiva ecológica foram as bases para discutir o constructo deficiência intelectual. A abordagem de gestão social nas políticas públicas foi utilizada para refletir em relação à administração pública numa óptica não hegemônica, em que o interesse público está em primeiro lugar e a dimensão social do desenvolvimento é parte integrante e essencial da atividade econômica. A investigação teve como objetos de estudo: 1) as construções discursivas acerca da deficiência intelectual; 2) os discursos sobre políticas públicas, para identificar tendências e implicações das formas de compreensão a respeito da deficiência intelectual. Do ponto de vista metodológico, a análise do discurso francesa foi a base do dispositivo analítico construído para analisar as formações discursivas. Foram selecionadas e analisadas quatro definições de deficiência e onze de deficiência intelectual. Nos discursos que definem o constructo deficiência, como categoria ampla, constatou-se que os sentidos estão associados ao modelo social que considera a deficiência como resultado de fatores relacionados às características da pessoa e do ambiente no qual está inserida. No entanto, em relação ao constructo deficiência intelectual, ainda há vários discursos que remetem às premissas do modelo médico, o qual considera a deficiência como um problema individual que exige capacidade de adaptação a situações e desafios da vida cotidiana. As significações atreladas ao modelo social se fazem presentes, mas não são prevalentes. Nas construções discursivas de nove policymakers, foram analisadas concepções com relação à deficiência intelectual; assim como elementos relacionados aos processos políticos de formulação de políticas públicas. Os resultados apontam vários sentidos associados ao modelo social da deficiência, o que revela uma tendência a se considerar o papel da sociedade e do Estado na construção de uma cultura inclusiva, em termos de serviços públicos. Porém há diferenças acentuadas na forma como esses sentidos se constroem e se articulam. Ao mesmo tempo em que há referência à Convenção Internacional dos Direitos das Pessoas com Deficiência, de 2006, que é um marco do modelo social, há também vários sentidos associados ao modelo médico/reabilitador. O fato de alguns sentidos serem incorporados não significa abandono imediato de outros sentidos conflitantes. Tal fato revela um processo de apropriação de discursos a respeito da deficiência, que ocorre de forma gradativa em direção ao modelo social. Nos discursos dos entrevistados, foram encontradas marcas dos discursos da funcionalidade, da diversidade, das capacidades, as quais revelam sentidos em construção e em disputa. Em relação às tendências em políticas públicas, foram mais recorrente sentidos relacionados à abordagem de direitos humanos. / This study utilizes contributions from different fields of knowledge to understand the universe of meanings that determine the social practices related to persons who face difficulties in intellectual abilities. Social constructionism and the ecological perspective were the basis to discuss intellectual disability as a construct. The approach of social management in public policies was used to think over the public administration in a non-hegemonic viewpoint, in which the public interest comes first and the social dimension of development is a key and integral part of the economic activity. The investigation took as objects of study: 1) the discursive constructions about intellectual disability; 2) the discourses on public policies to identify tendencies and implications of the ways of comprehending intellectual disability. From the methodological perspective, the French analysis of discourse was the basis for the analytical device devised to analyze the discursive formations. Four definitions of disability and eleven definitions of intellectual disability were selected and analyzed. In the discourses defining the construct of disability, as a broad category, I have found that the meanings are associated with the social model that considers disability as the result of factors related to personal characteristics and the environment which a person is a part of. However, regarding the construct of intellectual disability, there are still several discourses referred to the assumptions of the medical model, which takes disability as an individual problem demanding capacity to adapt to situations and challenges of everyday life. The significances linked to the social model are present but they do not prevail. In the discursive constructions by nine policymakers, conceptions were analyzed in reference to intellectual disability; as well as elements related to the political processes involved in the making of public policies. The results point to several meanings associated with the social model of disability, which reveals a tendency of considering the role of society and the State in the construction of an inclusive culture in terms of public services. But there are sharp differences in the way these meanings are built and intertwined. While there is reference to the 2006 International Convention on the Rights for People with Disabilities, which is a landmark for the social model, there are also several meanings associated with the medical/rehabilitating model. The fact that some meanings are absorbed does not mean that other conflicting meanings are immediately abandoned. Such fact reveals a process of appropriation of discourses on disability, which happens gradually towards the social model. In the discourse of the interviewees, marks were found of functionality, diversity, capacities, as they reveal meanings under construction and being disputed. In relation to the tendencies in public policies, meanings associated with the human rights approach were more persistent.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / Globally, and especially in Sub-Saharan Africa the advent of HIV and AIDS has created new inequalities within already challenged health care systems. Chronic illnesses have often been associated with increased prevalence of psychological symptoms. Both national and international studies have found a strong association between psychiatric morbidity and HIV and AIDS. Furthermore, studies have found that social support contributes to positive adjustment of individuals infected with HIV and provides a buffer against the effects of anxiety. The aim of this study was therefore to examine anxiety and social support in adults diagnosed with HIV or AIDS at a public health clinic in the Western Cape. The objectives in relation to the aim were: (1) To determine the prevalence of anxiety in adults diagnosed with HIV or AIDS. (2) To determine the degree of social support, as a component of quality of life,in adults diagnosed with HIV or AIDS. (3) To examine the relationship between anxiety and social support in adults diagnosed with HIV or AIDS. The broad theoretical framework that guides this study is the bio-psycho-social model. A cross-sectional design was used in which 70 participants were recruited using a purposive sampling method. Participants were assessed using well-validated self-administered questionnaires: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(HADS) and Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q). Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.1. Correlational and inferential statistics were conducted. The findings of this study indicated that participants in this study had higher levels of anxiety (28%) when compared to the general population (15.8%). Participants in this study, indicated a 59% enjoyment and satisfaction with social support, which indicates satisfaction with social support some of the time. There was however no significant relationship between anxiety and social support in this study. HIV intervention efforts should include screening HIV positive individuals for the presence of psychiatric symptoms. Interventions should also include encouraging HIV positive individuals to maintain and expand their social networks.

Legislation concerning California residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) requires recipients of services to be treated as independent individuals while emphasizing self-determination. At the same time, under regulatory procedures, recipients are considered dependent on the delivered services and not self-determinant. Neither the California Department of Developmental Services nor the trade associations representing community service providers have established a unified, systematic practice to support self-determination. This phenomenological study explored the experience of adults with ID/DD working toward self-determination. Specifically, it explored how medical and social models contribute to shaping and actualizing the independence of this population. Interviews with eight adults with ID/DD explored the perceived barriers to, and opportunities for, achieving independence through self-determination. Under the current statutory regulations, the study viewed two conceptual lenses. The first lens, social role valorization, is based on the study of normalization. The second lens, social reaction, emphasizes a response to the disparities that acknowledge the political, cultural, and social beliefs associated with theories of deviance and social role valorization. The findings demonstrated that self-determination requires collaboration between coordinated services, primary social systems, and theoretical services supporting social role value. The discovery of these key elements may help California's disability service system fulfill legislative requirements to increase opportunities for personal choice.