Appreciating the world of autism through the lens of VIG-Exploring perceptions, experiences and emerging narratives on autism

D. App. Ed. Psy.The current research volume encompasses three chapters; initially considering existing literature, then methodological considerations, followed by the current empirical research project. Initially a systematic synthesis of literature was conducted to explore how video has been applied as an active intervention tool in interaction-focused interventions for children labelled with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The synthesis highlighted the tentative promise of using Video Interactive Guidance (VIG) to promote synrhythmia and attunement between parents and children with ASD. Following this the bridging document allowed for a more specific consideration of epistemological, methodological and ethical factors in preparation for the empirical research. The final chapter outlines the empirical research which aimed to identify understandings and narratives around ASD through the application of VIG. Findings of the current study suggest that VIG offers an effective tool for in-depth exploration of complex, multi-storied understandings of ASD and the perceived parental role. The intervention was perceived to promote greater awareness of the child‘s communication skills, beyond the ‗common‘ understandings of ASD, by providing a novel outsider perspective on interactions. The intervention also promoted parental efficacy through recognition of parenting skills in supporting the development of strength-based narratives. VIG was seen to provide a platform for an exploration of existing narratives and the construction of new, preferred realities

Beyond coming out: lesbians’ (alternative) stories of sexual identity told in post-Apartheid South Africa

Over the last several decades, the ‘coming out’i story has become entrenched as the central narrative with which lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people can narrate their experiences of claiming a sexual identity and storying their lives in general (Bacon, 1998; Blackburn, 2009). It has developed into a “canonical narrative” (Bruner, 1987, p. 15), or a culturally recognisable story for LGB people, in that it involves the recounting of a series of familiar events in moving from a place of shame to one of self-acceptance about one’s sexual identity (Cohler & Hammack, 2007; Plummer, 1995). The ‘coming out’ canonical narrative additionally operates as a counter-narrative, which has enabled LGB people to voice their sexuality within heterosexist and heteronormative confines (Blackburn, 2009). Nevertheless, there are limitations (and limiting effects) to this narrative, and further refinement of how we understand sexual identity narratives is required. To illustrate this argument, we draw on a narrative-discursive study of eight lesbians’ stories of sexual identity in post-apartheid South Africa

(Dis)allowances of lesbians’ sexual identities: Lesbian identity construction in racialised, classed, familial, and institutional spaces

This article explores how lesbian identity construction is facilitated and constrained by the raced, classed, gendered, familial, and geographical spaces that women occupy. We present a narrative-discursive analysis of eight lesbians’ stories of sexuality, told within a historically white university in South Africa. Three interpretative repertoires that emerged in the narratives are discussed. The ‘disallowance of lesbian identity in particular racialised and class-based spaces’ repertoire, deployed by black lesbians only, was used to account for their de-emphasis of a lesbian identity through the invocation of a threat of danger and stereotyping. The ‘disjuncture of the (heterosexual) family and lesbian identity’ repertoire emphasised how the expectation of support and care within a family does not necessarily extend to acceptance of a lesbian identity

Staff members' negotiation of power in client engagement: analysis of practice within an Australian aged care service

With increasing focus on client control and active client roles in aged care service provision, client engagement is highlighted as fundamental to contemporary care practice. Client engagement itself, however, is complex and is impacted by a range of issues including the relationships and power dynamics inherent in the care context. These dynamics do not simply reflect the roles that are available to or taken up by clients; just as important are the roles and positions that staff of aged care services are offered, and take up, in client engagement. This paper presents the findings of a study that explored client engagement practice within a large Australian service provider. Analysis of interview and focus group discussions addressed the ways in which staff were positioned – by both themselves and by clients – in terms of the roles that they hold within engagement practice and the power relations inherent within these. Analysis of power from the dominant policy perspective of choice and control, and the alternative perspective of an ethic of care suggests that power relations within the care context are dynamic, complex and involve on-going negotiation and regulation by clients and staff members in aged care. The use of these two contrasting perspectives reveals a more dynamic and complex understanding of power in care practice than dominant uni-dimensional approaches to critique suggest

The life-history trade-off between fertility and child survival.

Evolutionary models of human reproduction argue that variation in fertility can be understood as the local optimization of a life-history trade-off between offspring quantity and 'quality'. Child survival is a fundamental dimension of quality in these models as early-life mortality represents a crucial selective bottleneck in human evolution. This perspective is well-rehearsed, but current literature presents mixed evidence for a trade-off between fertility and child survival, and little empirical ground to evaluate how socioecological and individual characteristics influence the benefits of fertility limitation. By compiling demographic survey data, we demonstrate robust negative relationships between fertility and child survival across 27 sub-Saharan African countries. Our analyses suggest this relationship is primarily accounted for by offspring competition for parental investment, rather than by reverse causal mechanisms. We also find that the trade-off increases in relative magnitude as national mortality declines and maternal somatic (height) and extrasomatic (education) capital increase. This supports the idea that socioeconomic development, and associated reductions in extrinsic child mortality, favour reduced fertility by increasing the relative returns to parental investment. Observed fertility, however, falls considerably short of predicted optima for maximizing total offspring survivorship, strongly suggesting that additional unmeasured costs of reproduction ultimately constrain the evolution of human family size

Cultural Resources Survey for the Eden Road Realignment Project, City of Arlington, Tarrant County, Texas

This report documents the substantive findings and management recommendations of a cultural resources survey conducted by Integrated Environmental Solutions, LLC (IES) for the Eden Road Realignment Project in the City of Arlington, Tarrant County, Texas. As the City of Arlington is a political entity of the State of Texas, it is required to comply with the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). In addition, as the project will require a Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) Nationwide Permit (NWP) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), portions of the project are subject to the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended. All work conformed to 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 800, and 13 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) 26, which outline the regulations for implementing Section 106 of the NHPA and the ACT, respectively. The goal of the survey was to locate, identify, and assess any cultural resources, which include standing historic-age buildings/structures and archeological sites that could be adversely affected by the proposed development, and to evaluate such resources for their potential eligibility for listing as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL) or eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The cultural resources survey was conducted by Project Archeologist Thomas Chapman and Staff Archeologist Alexandra Younger on 08 May 2018 under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 8398. The Area of Potential Effects (APE), located at the intersection of Eden Road and Curry Road, encompasses approximately 24.7 acres. During the IES survey, no archeological sites were documented within the APE. No further work is warranted. However, if any cultural resources, other than those documented within this report, are encountered during construction, the operators should stop construction activities and immediately contact the project environmental representative to initiate coordination with the USACE and THC prior to resuming any construction activities

Appreciating the world of autism through the lens of VIG-Exploring perceptions, experiences and emerging narratives on autism

The current research volume encompasses three chapters; initially considering existing literature, then methodological considerations, followed by the current empirical research project. Initially a systematic synthesis of literature was conducted to explore how video has been applied as an active intervention tool in interaction-focused interventions for children labelled with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The synthesis highlighted the tentative promise of using Video Interactive Guidance (VIG) to promote synrhythmia and attunement between parents and children with ASD. Following this the bridging document allowed for a more specific consideration of epistemological, methodological and ethical factors in preparation for the empirical research. The final chapter outlines the empirical research which aimed to identify understandings and narratives around ASD through the application of VIG. Findings of the current study suggest that VIG offers an effective tool for in-depth exploration of complex, multi-storied understandings of ASD and the perceived parental role. The intervention was perceived to promote greater awareness of the child‘s communication skills, beyond the ‗common‘ understandings of ASD, by providing a novel outsider perspective on interactions. The intervention also promoted parental efficacy through recognition of parenting skills in supporting the development of strength-based narratives. VIG was seen to provide a platform for an exploration of existing narratives and the construction of new, preferred realities.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Appreciating the world of autism through the lens of VIG-Exploring perceptions, experiences and emerging narratives on autism

The current research volume encompasses three chapters; initially considering existing literature, then methodological considerations, followed by the current empirical research project. Initially a systematic synthesis of literature was conducted to explore how video has been applied as an active intervention tool in interaction-focused interventions for children labelled with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The synthesis highlighted the tentative promise of using Video Interactive Guidance (VIG) to promote synrhythmia and attunement between parents and children with ASD. Following this the bridging document allowed for a more specific consideration of epistemological, methodological and ethical factors in preparation for the empirical research. The final chapter outlines the empirical research which aimed to identify understandings and narratives around ASD through the application of VIG. Findings of the current study suggest that VIG offers an effective tool for in-depth exploration of complex, multi-storied understandings of ASD and the perceived parental role. The intervention was perceived to promote greater awareness of the child‘s communication skills, beyond the ‗common‘ understandings of ASD, by providing a novel outsider perspective on interactions. The intervention also promoted parental efficacy through recognition of parenting skills in supporting the development of strength-based narratives. VIG was seen to provide a platform for an exploration of existing narratives and the construction of new, preferred realities.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Beyond coming out: lesbians' stories of sexual identity in the context of a historically white university

Substantial contributions have been made by lesbian and gay developmental theorists in understanding the development of lesbian and gay sexual identities, or what has come to be known as the coming out process. “Coming out of the closet” has become a central metaphor, in western contexts, for the recognisable process gay men and lesbians undergo in order to claim a relatively stable and enduring sexual identity, while overcoming obstacles such as heterosexism. Lesbians’ sexual identities are examined in this thesis through a Foucauldian lens which is fused with a narrative-discursive perspective. The aim of this study is not to trace a progressive development of identity, but rather to consider how lesbians in this study are located within a specific context, namely, a historically white university in post-apartheid South Africa, and how their identities are dynamic products of ever-shifting socio-historical spaces. Eight lesbians’ stories are analysed using the narrative-discursive method, which allows for a consideration for how the construction and negotiation of identities is shaped and constrained by social and discursive conditions. The women in this study do utilise the concept of coming out to some extent in their stories, but this narrative does not entirely account for their experiences. Instead, these women’s accounts reflect the way in which they personally experience heterosexism, and how they constantly negotiate their sexual identities within certain social and geographical spaces. When the nuances of lesbians’ contexts are taken into account, it becomes clear that claiming a lesbian identity is more than just about “coming out”, and rather about an on-going process of identity management