The final work treats of financing the social participation of disabled people in the public administrations of self-government institutions in order to disclose the peculiarities of financing the disabled social participation activities in Lithuanian Municipalities. Theoretical part speaks about the basic questions in public administration of self-government institutions and the spheres associated with public administration of disabled people social integration is stressed. In addition, the activities of state policy and legislative basis on the level of disabled integration have been examined, the present situation in Lithuania is given and paradigm of their social participation is presented in this work. The greatest attention in this work is given to the financing of the activities of disabled social participation according to their different spheres, comparing the situation in 2002 and 2003, showing dynamics in financing. Financing peculiarities of social participation activities of the disabled in Lithuanian municipalities have never been studied up to now. The results will help to find out the main obstacles of disabled social participation activities better, understand that some of their activities are least financed by municipality budgets and clear out how social participation of the disabled is realized on the basis of financing in Lithuanian municipalities.

Introduction: Interpersonal relationships are beneficial for people with a learning disability (PWLD), acting as a protective barrier against transition difficulties, social stigma and negative outcomes such as physical and mental health problems. The social networks of PWLD are, however, often more restricted than those of the general population. There has been very little research which has explored the views and experiences of PWLD about their social and sexual relationships. A systematic review of the qualitative research surrounding the sexual relationships of PWLD was conducted. Eleven studies were reviewed, which revealed five themes: ‘A lack of knowledge regarding sexual relationships’, ‘Sexual relationships as restricted and regulated’, ‘Sexual relationships perceived as wrong’, ‘Sexual relationships being desired’, and ‘Sex as a negative experience’. Positive developments in the attitudes of others and supports were described, but the impact and influence of stigma, assumption, ignorance and a lack of autonomy regarding sexual relationships were dominantly reported. However, the findings of the reviewed studies must be considered with caution due to methodological limitations. The current study aimed to build on the existing qualitative research by exploring the experiences and perceptions of both sexual and close relationships for PWLD. Method: Data were gathered from ten PWLD using one to one semi-structured interviews. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Results: Five super-ordinate themes were identified; ‘Relationships feeling safe and being useful’, ‘Who’s in charge?’, ‘Struggling for an ordinary life’, ‘Touching people in relationships’ and ‘Hidden feelings’. The findings were shared with participants who confirmed their relevance in the lives of PWLD. ‘Touching people in relationships’ is presented separately within a journal article format. Discussion: The findings suggest that fundamental components of close relationships were feeling safe and receiving some form of positive gain. The lack of agency participants experienced limited the development of these aspects, whilst also preventing the ability to live an ‘ordinary existence’, which included physically intimate relationships for many individuals. Finally, participant’s feelings were generally unclear, which could be related to being interviewed by a relative stranger or emotional expression difficulties. Based upon these findings it is considered that those who support PWLD should focus their assistance on addressing negative attitudes and redressing the power imbalance to facilitate an ‘ordinary existence’ for these individuals, which may indirectly enable them to naturally develop safe and useful relationships. It is also possible that reducing the barriers and stigma surrounding close relationships would open up communication regarding this area, which could indirectly promote PWLD ability to express their emotions regarding relationships. Conclusions: The research provides a greater insight into the lived experience of close relationships for PWLD. Participants valued close relationships that were safe and useful, but their ability to develop and maintain these was described as being restricted by other people and service rules. It is proposed that those supporting PWLD need to balance protective action against the freedom and choice required to develop and maintain close relationships, as restricting the already limited social networks of this population will negatively impact upon their quality of life.

Background: Arthritis affects 53 million U.S. adults, more than two-thirds of whom are younger than age 65. Approximately 1/3 of working-age (18-64 years) U.S adults with arthritis report arthritis-attributable work limitation. Objectives: First, to take a population-based perspective to evaluate the association of arthritis with employment participation among U.S. adults. Next, to examine whether this association differs by sex, age, or other characteristics. Finally, to investigate effects of the Great Recession (December 2007 to June 2009) on employment and to determine if arthritis status moderated its effects. Methods: All three studies were conducted using the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The third study also used longitudinal data from the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS) linked to NHIS. Results: These manuscripts are under peer-review for publication; limited results are presented: Study 1- Employment participation was always statistically significantly and substantially lower (e.g., >10 percentage points) among adults with arthritis compared with those without arthritis. Study 2- Overall, 20.1 million adults (10.4% [95% CI=10.1-10.8] of the working-age population) reported work disability. Study 3- During the period of the Great Recession, people with arthritis stopped work at higher rates and started work at lower rates than those without arthritis, suggesting at least some differential effect among those with arthritis. Conclusion: This work contributes new knowledge by establishing long-term patterns and benchmark information for employment participation, work disability, transitions, and macro economic effects among adults with and without arthritis in the U.S. A population-based, non-condition-specific approach of this type has not been previously reported.

This PhD study examines how people who are intellectually impaired are processed within the criminal justice system. In this context it analyses the understanding of intellectual disabilities, criminal justice decision-making processes, and the constructon of crime and punishment by professionals involved in criminal justice. Despite significant changes in mental health legislation and greater awareness by professionals of issues around intellectually disabled offenders, previous research has demonstrated that this population remains disadvantaged when coming into contact with the criminal justice system. The study focuses on how the criminal justice system maintains its traditional way of operating when engaging with people who are impaired in their intellectual capacities and who, therefore, often have difficulties in processing information and understanding complex situations. The study draws on qualitative data generated through thirty five unstructured interviews with custody sergeants, forensic examiners, prosecutors, magistrates, judges and probation officers from three regions in the North West of England: Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester. Through those interviews, the provision of support to alleged offenders is examined and the process of legal representation evaluated. By analysing decision-making processes around vulnerable defendants, two conflicting views that influence cimrinal justice professionals in their strategic behaviour were identified: protecting offenders' rights and protecting the public from criminal behaviour. It is argued that the criminal justice system draws its normative and enforcement powers from a 'discourse of truth' that concentrates on capacity and intent. Defendants who are classified as vulnerable because of impaired intellectual functioning whereby capacity to reason and intellectual disability are functionally separated. This way, an alleged offender's vulnerability becomes a manageable object within the criminal justice system and is integrated into a person's risk management. The disjointed discourse around intellectual disabilities increases the risk that people with an impaired level of intellectual functioning become drawn into the mainstream criminal justice system and, therefore, further compromises the empowerment and social inclusion of this population.

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There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

In this dissertation, I examine discourses on disability and the body in three German Expressionist dramas written directly after WWI both for the discursive work they do in this context and for their relevance today: Ernst Toller’s Die Wandlung: Das Ringen eines Menschen (1918) and Der deutsche Hinkemann (1923) as well as Karl August Wittfogel’s Der Krüppel (1920). I analyze how these plays draw on ideas about disability in post-WWI Germany in the midst of a broad-ranging critique of the violence inherent in nationalistic, militaristic, economic, and rehabilitationist discourses. The analysis contributes to the current discussion on how to dismantle what are referred to in disability studies as “disabling discourses,” that is, those discourses that lend support to discrimination against bodies marked as disabled. I contend that the use of representation to subvert bodily norms and resist “the medical model of disability” did not begin only after the emergence of the disability rights movement. I demonstrate how these three Expressionist plays indeed resist disabling discourses in ways that were both feasible and intelligible in their context. I argue that not only was the discourse on disability in this time and place multiple, but also that the primary texts use of a variety of (literary) strategies to resist normative paradigms that privilege able-bodied, aesthetically-pleasing, and economically-productive bodies. The analysis shows how these representations pose a challenge the medical mode of understanding the body, critically engage the social stigma that often accompanies the presence of disability, and offer alternative ways of reading and valuing the body. I argue that literary representations of disability can serve to de-naturalize ideas about ability and other ideals of embodiment, and that even the hyperbolic bodies one encounters in these Expressionist dramas can help readers to better understand processes of disablement. This project will also demonstrate that literary representations of disability are of importance for disabled and non-disabled persons alike because they reveal and critically engage various techniques that are used to categorize and assign value to all bodies in a society in which ideals of ability, beauty, and utility are used to assess the value of life.

This thesis explores the experiences of emerging adulthood for men with an acquired impairment. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with four men with acquired impairments in an urban center of Canada. Through thematic analysis, three themes emerged: internal perceptions, dynamics of social relationships, and barriers and opportunities. Their stories illustrate many common emerging adult experiences as well as some divergent experiences, which may potentially be due to their acquired impairment. The main findings include the importance of friends and family and the fact that the timing for some of the developmental tasks of emerging adulthood may be delayed. Implications for professionals and researchers are presented, focusing on ways to best support men in emerging adulthood with acquired impairments.

The purpose of this study was to examine ideas about disability within social work education within three Bachelor of Social Work programs in Canada, and to identify and describe major perspectives and themes of disability. One important aspect of the study was to determine the extent to which critical disability studies perspectives were presented, explained, and discussed in the classroom within core social work theory courses, and specialized courses addressing disability. Three Bachelor of Social Work programs; St. Thomas University School of Social Work in New Brunswick, the Dalhousie School of Social Work in Nova Scotia, and the University of Manitoba Faculty of Social Work, Fort Garry Campus, were purposefully chosen for this multicase study based on a theoretical replication logic that predicted that social work education on disability within each of the schools would represent different points on a range of disability perspectives, as developed from the disability studies literature. Data collection and analysis included multiple methods, including a manifest content analysis of texts, a modified inductive analysis of transcriptions from interviews with key informants, and a critical discourse analysis of transcriptions from an audio-taped session of classes addressing disability in each case. Findings from the multicase study indicate that the original research suppositions were not supported. Based on the analysis of texts and interviews, the approach to disability followed by each Bachelor of Social Work program was found to incorporate a broad range of disability theory, particularly social pathology and critical disability perspectives. However, there was little evidence of classroom discussion and use of social work practice approaches supporting these perspectives. It was argued in the literature review to the study that anti-oppressive social work approaches, such as structural social work, were congruent with critical disability perspectives, but that there is also a need for an “infused” approach to integrating disability content into core curriculum. In conclusion, I also suggest that the Canadian Association for Social Work Education has an important leadership role to play in providing specific recommendations for disability inclusion in social work education.