Housing and disability services

The title ‘Inclusive schooling: contexts, texts and politics’, names a thesis which critically analyses the development of inclusive schooling in the small Australian Island state of Tasmania between 1996 and 1998. The ‘Inclusion of Students with Disabilities’ policy, introduced in 1995 by the Tasmanian Department of Education, Community and Cultural Development, provides an opportunity to understand the cultural context and politics of change in schooling over this period. The qualitative methodology deployed here is informed by poststructuralism and captures the everyday experiences of university teaching as a research site. The teacher/researcher as the visible maker of the research use metaphors of fibre and textile practice, techniques of textual juxtaposition and her positioned subjectivity as a female academic to tell a 'big story'. The researcher develops a 'double method' as a possible model for Inclusive research practice and educational policy analysis. Using a critical ethnographic method, derived from the work of Carspecken (1996), 'data stories' (Lather & Smithies 1997, p.34) are produced from the narratives of five key informants – a parent, two teachers, a policy-maker and the researcher. Assembled as the data of the thesis the multi-voiced texts provide an account of the sociocultural, professional and systemic context of Inclusive schooling over a three-year period. In the analysis these data are interpreted from a feminist poststructural standpoint. A deconstructuive reading of the data stories interprets the discourse of inclusive schooling emphasising the dominant foundation of the special education knowledge tradition. The idea of author function (after Foucault 1975, 1984b and Grundy and Hatton 1995) is used to interpret the 'texts' of the key Informants as discursive constructions. The researcher theorises inclusive schooling as an entangled, multiple and contradictory discourse, embedded in the social, cultural and material contexts, rather than a singular unitary Idea of the progress within the special education knowledge tradition. The study contributes a fine-grained analysis of the constructed knowledge of inclusive schooling in one locality. The thesis advocates continuing engagement with questions of epistemology and social transformation in inclusive schooling, rather than persisting with technical rationality and the status quo. The researcher takes the position that the opportunities to theorise inclusive schooling lie within the multiple and disparate constructed texts of the micro world of everyday practice and the macro understanding of understandings of contemporary social justice. The poststructuralist writing/reading questions traditionalist theorising in the special education field. Central to the negotiations of power and truth inclusive schooling research and practice is a communicative theory that transforms populist conceptions of inclusion.

My thesis explores the notion, originally developed by sociologists such as Goffman and Charmaz, that a person’s identity undergoes a difficult and painful metamorphosis in response to the effects of serious long-term impairment or chronic illness. I argue that existing methods of researching what I have come to call “the disabled identity” generally avoid a deeper exploration of the social context in which this kind of marginalisation occurs. To address this absence, I develop a research methodology which combines an intensive exploration of the personal experience of disability with a critical analysis of the social and historical context in which the disabling of identity occurs. I approach the former through grounded theory and the latter through a Foucaultian analytics of genealogy and governmentality. These are informed by the theoretical insights surrounding the “social model” of disability which claims that “disability” is not a physical problem based on personal tragedy but is a social imposition based on exclusion and stigmatisation. In accordance with this, the thesis proceeds in three successive stages. First, I apply a genealogical analysis to disability in general, then more specifically to the disabled identity, to provide the background for my qualitative research. The purpose of genealogy is to reveal that the concept under investigation is not a self-evident “given” but a social construction which has developed to serve varying interests over time. Through this process it becomes evident that disability has evolved as a concept which performs as a counterpoint to the norm and, as such, provides a measure of “what not to be” in terms of contemporary neoliberal citizenship. Next, I engage in a grounded theory study which draws on the stories of disabled people to explore how their self-perceptions and the attitudes of those around them have been affected by disability. These stories stem from a variety of data sources, including my dialogues with participants, written stories from participants, and published autobiographies. Their analysis results in the emergence of the following themes: independence, occupational identity, and sexuality/appearance. Each theme is discussed in a separate chapter which attempts to let the stories speak for themselves by way of lengthy excerpts from the participants and texts, and combines them, where relevant, with my own insights and experiences as a disabled person. In the final stage, I use a governmentality analysis to explore these themes and to place them in their current social and historical context. Here I suggest that independence, work and sexuality are key factors which are used to divide the affiliated from the marginalised in contemporary neoliberal societies. I argue that the two “technologies” which currently have the most impact on how independence, work and sexuality are governed in relation to disability are welfare reform and sexual rehabilitation. Here I explore the available primary sources - particularly the last five years of Australian government policy on welfare reform and a selection of sexual rehabilitation texts - to reveal how governance seeks to operate as a liberatory force while remaining oppressive due to its paternalism and reinforcement of normative prescriptions. The final chapter further problematises disability in relation to the governmental concepts of “self-esteem” and “empowerment” in an attempt to unpick what can be claimed to be emancipatory from what remains embedded in the dominant discourse. By ‘deconstructing necessity’ and exploring the root causes of oppression through what Foucault refers to as ‘the disinterment of subjugated knowledges’, the thesis outlines an alternative discourse in relation to “disability” and opens up new possibilities for the creation of more positive identities.

This hermeneutical study interprets and describes the phenomena of ageing and living with disability. The lived experiences of 14 older men and the horizon of this researcher developed an understanding of what it is like for men to grow old and, for some, to live with the effects of a major disability. The study is grounded in the philosophical hermeneutics of Gadamer and framed in the context of embodiment, masculinity, and narrative. I conducted multiple in-depth interviews with older men aged from 67 to 83 years of age. Seven of the participants had experienced a stroke and I was able to explore the phenomenon of disability with them. Through thematic and narrative analyses of the textual data interpretations were developed that identified common meanings and understandings of the phenomena of ageing and disability. These themes and narratives reveal that the men�s understandings are at odds with conventional negative views of ageing and disability. These older men are �alive and kicking�, they voice counternarratives to the dominant construction of ageing as decline and weakness, and have succeeded in remaking the lifeworld after stroke. Overall I have come to understand an overarching meaning of older men �working it out� as illustrative of a strong face of ageing and disability. Older men seek out opportunities to participate actively in community life and, despite the challenges of ageing and disability, lead significant and meaningful lives. These findings challenge and extend our limited understandings of men�s experiences of ageing and living with disability. This interpretation offers gendered directions for policy development, clinical practice, and future research.

This study aims to determine whether the attitudes of students (and therefore future employers) towards people with physical disabilities can be modified by exposing them to the needs of disabled people, or whether perceptions of the needs of the disabled are too entrenched for education to effect any change. It also evaluates whether attitudinal changes are enduring and therefore continue to influence students’ responses to the disabled after a period of time has elapsed. Respondents were students on the Diploma of Hospitality Management at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), enrolled on an Accommodation Operations paper. A compulsory assessment for this paper was a group assignment that considered facilities offered by accommodation providers for guests with disabilities. Respondents were surveyed before (n = 54) and after (n = 24) the assignment to determine any attitude and knowledge changes. Both surveys were undertaken at the end of lectures. The surveys were distributed in class, so the number of respondents relates to the number of students in class during the particular lecture selected for survey distribution. Respondents were then invited to join a focus group to explore their feelings and opinions about disabled people. Another focus group was undertaken with students who had completed the disability assignment the previous year. The focus group was to assess whether or not the awareness of disability issues was still apparent after a period of time had elapsed. These findings would then prove whether or not exposure to such issues still influenced respondents’ attitudes. The second survey responses and comments made during the subsequent focus groups conclude that awareness of disability issues may be heightened with exposure to barriers, both physical and attitudinal, that are experienced by people with impairments. Understanding of disability issues is the first step in the removal of barriers and will help lead to the creation of a more inclusive environment for staff and guests in the hospitality industry. An inclusive environment is particularly desirable as more hotels are required in response to increases in tourist numbers. With increased visitors’ arrivals, it is reasonable to expect that tourists will have varying abilities, and therefore, modification of facilities to suit their needs will benefit a large number of people. The research also concludes that the knowledge gained in the assignment was still influential after the conclusion of the assignment. Students who have studied issues for people with impairments, as future managers, will have the knowledge and understanding to provide a more inclusive environment for guests that meets both social and legal obligations. Such an environment will be beneficial to both guests and potential employees with physical disabilities.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

<p>Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka några vuxna dyslektikers syn på deras dyslexi som barn och som vuxen. Undersökningen byggde på fyra intervjuer med vuxna dyslektiker. Arbetets fokus har därmed varit att belysa dyslektikernas upplevelse av deras dyslexi, om de fått rätt hjälp i skolan och om deras acceptans i samhället. Resultatet från intervjuerna visade att alla fyra dyslektiker ansåg att det varit svårt att leva med sin dyslexi och att det hade varit lättare om de fått sin diagnos tidigare i livet. Arbetet fokuserar även på hur dyslektikerna hanterar sin situation i vuxen ålder. Dessutom har arbetet koncentrerat sig på hur man bäst hjälper dyslektiker i skolan. Slutsatsen som drogs efter genomförd studie var att det lönar sig att få rätt hjälp i tid för sin dyslexi. Diagnoser är positiva om den hjälper eleven framåt i sin läs- och skrivutveckling. Det som också visade sig var att dyslektikerna menar i likhet med forskarna, att om eleven blir stöttad av sin lärare och sina föräldrar så är det lättare att lyckas med sin läs- och skrivutveckling.</p> / Formalia och ändring av två uttryck.

<p>The aim of this study was to increase the knowledge of possibilities and obstacles for disabled people to meet a partner. The ambition was to know more about wishes for and needs of professional or other support. The methods have been literature studies, survey research, and interviews. A simple questionnaire was sent to administrative staff and social welfare officers who gave the information that they experienced those persons with intellectual disability or Aspergers syndrome had asked for support to meet a partner. To get a perspective from inside six semi structured interviews were made with disabled people having experience of relationships, love affairs. Two men and two women with intellectual disability and two women with Aspergers syndrome take part in the interview study. Results of this study correspond with previous research. All the participants experienced possibilities and obstacles to meet a partner. The opportunities were rather universal. The difficulties they met were on one hand the feeling of belonging to a marginalized group in society and on the other hand problems with social interaction and interplay. The conclusion was that there is a desire as well as requirement for professional support. The support should be given by someone the person has confidence in. It could be a guardian, a social welfare officer or any other staff. People with disability have wishes about love and to meet a partner and it is very important to identify needs and wishes of their own.</p>

<p>Children’s participation in their planning in health and social services is important. To make children’s needs more considered they need to be involved in the cision-making processes. Children have the ability to reflect. The aim has been to find ut which knowledge there is about participation of children and youth with disability in meetings with the society and elucidate factors that have an impact on the participation. This study focus on the children’s view on their own participation. The topic was examined with a selective systematic literature review. Forty studies showed that children want to be participating in their own habilitation contacts. The majority studies concern health care, very few social care. This study concerns children’s participation in the aspect how</p><p>• they are listened to</p><p>• they are supported in expressing their views</p><p>• their views are taken into account</p><p>• they are involved in decision-making processes and</p><p>• they participate and have power and responsibility for decision-making.</p><p>Children clearly desired participation in the three first levels and to some extent in the two latter. Time, flexibility, the staff ’s child competence and children’s participation competence, interaction competence (children, parents, staff) etc are important factors on individual and system level. Despite knowledge about children ’s competence the awareness still is low about the importance of children’s participation.</p>

<p>The aim of this study was to compare perceived disability in daily activities, anxiety and depression for patients with chronic pain (>3 month), before and after rehabilitation. Another aim was to examine if there were any correlations between disability in daily activities and the extent of anxiety and depression before and after rehabilitation.</p><p>For the measurements, Disability Rating Index (DRI) that measures disability in daily activities, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) ) which measures the extent of anxiety and depression were used. The study was carried out with 50 patients who had suffered from chronic pain and with the objective to return to work after rehabilitation. Of these, 90 % were female. The measurements were carried out at three measure points; before rehabilitation, seven weeks after rehabilitation and one year after rehabilitation.</p><p>The main result did not show any statistically significant improvement in ability to perform daily activities.</p><p>The only significant difference that emerged was an improvement in anxiety seven weeks after rehabilitation compared with before. There were significant correlations between the ability to perform daily activities and anxiety and depression before rehabilitation. There was also a significant correlation between the ability to perform daily activities and depression after rehabilitation.</p><p>Conclusions drawn from this paper are that there seems to be a decrease in feelings of anxiety after rehabilitation and also that there appears to exist a correlation between disability and depression.</p>