A comparative analysis of the cultural representation of disability in school textbooks in Iran and England

The paper details the findings of a study which focused on the analysis of the cultural representation of disability in school textbooks in Iran and England. The paper argues that whilst inclusive education could facilitate the incorporating of disabled pupils into mainstream schools, there needs to be deeper examination as to how this transition should take place for children aged 3-13. The paper suggests that in such examinations school textbooks might be of significance in familiarizing non-disabled pupils, teachers and authorities with the issues related to disability and disabled pupils

Constructing impairment and disability in school reading schemes.

This paper examines the cultural construction of disability detailed within school reading schemes. The study by the employment of proto text analysis followed the ‘reading journeys’ that a four and five year old child experienced during the course of one academic year. The study examined 61 reading books that contained 2199 illustrations, 100 photographs and 1006 pages of text. The major finding of the research is that the reading schemes contained a limited construction of disability and one which was contextualised within medical deficit and narrative prosthesis. The research concludes that school reading schemes are potentially acting as a Trojan horse to introduce a page thin hegemonic that inculcates young children into the systems of dominance and ‘ableist’ agendas which are seemingly replete in our society

Ante-mortem diagnosis of localized invasive esophageal aspergillosis in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia

Opportunistic infection with invasive aspergillosis (IA) is increasingly frequent in immunocompromised patients, particularly in those with hematological malignancies. In this setting, IA typically involves the lung, with extra-pulmonary involvement usually occurring in the setting of disseminated infection. We report a case of localized gastrointestinal IA complicating induction chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Oral voriconazole was successful as primary treatment, with no evidence of progressive infection despite further myelosuppressive chemotherapy. A review of the literature suggests that although localized gastrointestinal IA is rare, involvement of the gastrointestinal tract is not uncommon in disseminated infection. Thus, in patients with hematological malignancies who develop significant gastrointestinal symptoms, we recommend that endoscopic investigations and biopsies are performed to exclude IA as a potential cause