Disability and disaster recovery: a tale of two cities?

This paper examines the connections between disability and disaster from a global perspective. Concepts from the research and policy literature are used to distinguish between individual and social models of disability, and between natural hazards and human disasters. These concepts are then employed to investigate data on the response to disabled people’s recovery needs in two recent case studies: the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. The analysis combines primary, secondary and tertiary sources to explore disability issues in the reconstruction of inclusive communities and the lessons that may be learned about disaster preparedness in poor communities. The conclusions suggest that more attention should be paid to social model approaches, particularly in understand global links with poverty, and that disabled people’s organisations should be resourced as agents of disaster recovery and preparedness

Trauma Exposure Among Women in the Pacific Rim

Purpose Healthcare professionals who provide services in the immediate or long‐term aftermath of traumatic events need to understand the nature and frequency of traumatic events in the lives of women. However, research on trauma exposure in women has only recently begun to assess events other than intimate partner and sexual violence and has not supported direct statistical comparison of cross‐national and cross‐cultural data. The purpose of this descriptive, correlational study was to describe and compare trauma exposure prevalence and type in community‐based samples of women in the United States, Colombia, and Hong Kong. Design Women were recruited through posted notices at community health sites, snowball sampling, and online advertisements (N = 576). The Life Stressor Checklist‐Revised (total score range 0 to 30) was used to determine the type and prevalence of trauma exposure. Data were collected by native language members of the research team. Methods Descriptive statistics were used to summarize demographic characteristics and trauma exposure for the total sample and each community‐based sample (location). Between‐location differences were tested using Fisher\u27s exact tests for categorical measures and general linear models with pairwise a posteriori least squares t‐test for continuous measures. Responses to open‐ended questions were translated and categorized. Findings Over 99% of women in the total sample reported at least one traumatic life event. The mean number of traumatic life events per participant was 7, ranging from 0 to 24. Although there was consistency in the most commonly reported trauma exposures across locations, the rates of specific events often differed. Conclusions Historical, political, geographic, and cultural factors may explain differences in trauma exposure among women in the four locations studied. Clinical Relevance This study offers relevant knowledge for providers in diverse locations who provide services to women who have experienced traumatic events and provides evidence for the need for future research to further enhance knowledge of trauma exposure among women, and on the effects of trauma in women\u27s lives

Condoms and Contradictions: Assessing Sexual Health Knowledge in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer Youth Labelled with Intellectual Disabilities

Background: Accessible, culturally relevant data collection tools to assess the sexual health knowledge of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) young people labelled with intellectual disabilities are sparse. Materials and Methods: Using community-based participatory research (CBPR) we piloted a variety of interactive activities designed to assess the sexual health knowledge and decision making skills of LGBTQ young people with intellectual disabilities. Results: Posters created by youth participants suggested substantial sexual health knowledge and empowerment, while individual knowledge assessment scores indicated a range in understanding of risks and strategies to avoid pregnancy, HIV and herpes. Conclusions: These findings reinforce the importance of using multiple strategies to assess sexual knowledge with this population. Creative evaluation strategies catering to the cultural specificities, sexual experiences, and cognitive abilities of diverse youth help to clarify gaps in knowledge and areas for renewed attention

Danish and British Protection from Disability Discrimination at Work - Past, Present and Future.

Denmark and the United Kingdom both became members of what is now the European Union (EU) in 1973 and are thus equally matched in terms of opportunity to bring their anti-discrimination laws into line with those of the EU and other supra-national bodies such as the United Nations (UN) and the Council of Europe. Our investigation, based on existing reports, academic analysis and case law rulings involving alleged discrimination on grounds of disability, has revealed some major differences in the level of protection provided by each country’s legislature and judicature, but also by other mechanisms that extend beyond these traditional measures, such as workplace collective agreements.While the UK has a long history of supporting people with disabilities by legislating in all aspects of society, Denmark has been at the forefront with social mechanisms, but has been reluctant to ensure equality in the labour market. However, both countries have been equally unsuccessful in ensuring opportunities for disabled workers, and consideration is given here as to whether one system of dealing with this is better than another. We conclude that neither strict regulation imposed by the EU or national governments, nor the laissez-faire method of leaving the level of protection to be decided by collective agreement is entirely satisfactory. A different perspective altogether would be to adopt the substantive diversity theory which would focus on a person’s abilities and what they are able to do, and to gear society to embrace diversities, as the Danish employment agency Specialisterne has done so successfully in the case of adults with autism. Countries such as Denmark and the UK have much to learn from each other to tackle successfully this last bastion of workplace inequality

Colonialism and the Rupturing of Indigenous Worldviews of Impairment and Relational Interdependence: A Beginning Dialogue towards Reclamation and Social Transformation

Impairment is a universal phenomenon, but it is given vastly different meanings in societies with differing cultural, political and economic structures. Understandings of impairment from Indigenous worldviews are grounded in a respect for the profound interdependency of all life in all its diversity and difference, bound together in a spider web of relations. Following Erevelles’ (2011) exposition of disability as a sociopolitical construct created as a means of patrolling the boundaries of citizenship through the control and manipulation of the constructed Other within a neocolonial state, I show how from the time of European contact onward, a Eurocentric interpretation of “disability” as an inherent lack of production-oriented capacity (and thus a deviation from valued, normative standards) has influenced understandings of impairment and disability within Indigenous societies in North America. This has marginalized people with impairments, and also forms part of a larger colonial project of assigning negative values to all forms of diversity and difference, marking them as deviations and as essentially synonymous with “disability.” At the same time, colonial relations of oppression and domination are responsible for conditions that give rise to both impairment and disability. I argue that the renewal and recentering of Indigenous worldview understandings of impairment and disability would support transformational change in our society through the power of interdependency and respectful relationships. Keywords: Indigenous worldview; Eurocentric worldview; personalism; impairment, disability; interdependency L’incapacité est un phénomène universel, mais peut avoir des sens énormement diverses dans des sociétés ayant des structures culturelles, politiques et économiques différentes. Les definitions de l’incapacité suivant une conception du monde autochtones sont basées dans un profound respect pour les différences et la diversité de tout vie à travers des rapports tissant entre eux une véritable toile d’araignée de relations interdépendantes. J’utilise le concept du handicap comme construction sociopolitique que propose Erevelles (2011), créé afin de patrouiller les frontières de la citoyenneté à travers le contrôle et la manipulation de la constitution de “l’autre” à l’intérieure des limites de l’état néo-coloniale. Je démontre que depuis les premiers contacts avec les Européens, la conception de l’incapacité et du handicap des sociétés autochtones en Amérique du nord a été influence par une interpretation eurocentrique de “handicap” en tant qu’un manque de la capacité de production. Ceci a marginalizées les personnes handicapées, et de plus, fait partie d’un projet coloniale plus vaste, qui consiste à assigner des valeurs négatives à toutes formes de diversité et de différences, les marquant commes des déviations de la norme, et qui sont essentiellement presentées comme synonyme de “handicap”. En même temps, les relations néo-coloniales d’oppression et de domination sont responsables de créées les conditions qui engendre l’incapacité et le handicap. Je propose que renouveller et recentrer les conceptions autochtones du handicap et de l’incapacité servivrait a soutenir les changements transfromateurs grâce à la puissance des relations respectueuses et interdépendantes. Mots-clés: conception du monde autochtone; conception du monde eurocentrique; personalisme; universalisme; normalité; interdépendanc

Sexual selection in the Swallow Hirundo rustica - A review

Darwinian theory of sexual selection and its development up to the present state of knowledge are sketched. The most important results of empirical studies on sexual selection in the Swallow Hirundo rustica are reviewed. The Swallow is a socially monogamous, slightly sexually dimorphic avian species. Long tail streamers are considered as sexual ornaments of males. Female preference for long and symmetric male tails has been inferred on both observational and experimental grounds. Experimental elongation of the tail causes short-term benefits and long-term costs in male reproductive performance. Behavioural consequences of sexual selection acting in the Swallow are discussed. An aerodynamic role of male tail streamers is also considered.Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 dofinansowane zostało ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę

Parasites, pawns and partners: disability research and the role of non-disabled researchers

Important methodological questions are raised by the act of researching disablement. Disability research has attracted much methodological criticism from disabled people who argue that it has taken place within an oppressive theoretical paradigm and within an oppressive set of social relations. These issues are of heightened significance for non-disabled researchers and bear many similarities to those faced by researchers investigating barriers to the social inclusion of women, Black and ‘Third World’ peoples. Such challenges have led to the development of an ‘emancipatory’ research paradigm. Six principles of emancipatory research are identified and the authors’ own research projects are critically examined within this framework. A number of contradictions are identified and an attempt made to balance the twin requirements of political action and academic rigour

Writing about accessibility

In this forum we celebrate research that helps to successfully bring the benefits of computing technologies to children, older adults, people with disabilities, and other populations that are often ignored in the design of mass-marketed products. --- Juan Pablo Hourcade, Editor </jats:p