"Not wishing to be the white rhino in the crowd" : disability-disclosure at University

This article reports on a qualitative study identifying the drivers for and boundaries to disability-disclosure in interability interactions as experienced by 13 students with physical impairments at five Belgian higher education institutions. Through surveys and in-depth interviews, the study explored whether the students experience, prefer, and expect differences in communication about their impairments with temporarily able-bodied peers, instructors, and staff. Interviews provided insight into the nuances of disclosure and topic avoidance decisions that differ by disclosure target: disabilitydisclosure is mainly a balancing act between fulfilling physical needs and maintaining a normal, positive identity. The visibility of impairments seems to play a minor role in the students’ initial orientation toward disclosing. The functions of disability-disclosure as posited by the Communication Predicament of Disability Model and the CARE-keys to effective interability communication (i.e., Contact, Ask, Respect, Empathy) are discussed as well as the implications of the findings for Communication Accommodation Theory

A Call to Action: Taking the Untenable out of Women Professors’ Pregnancy, Postpartum, and Caregiving Demands

Despite becoming increasingly represented in academic departments, women scholars face a critical lack of support as they navigate demands pertaining to pregnancy, motherhood, and child caregiving. In addition, cultural norms surrounding how faculty and academic leaders discuss and talk about tenure, promotion, and career success have created pressure for women who wish to grow their family and care for their children, leading to questions about whether it is possible for these women to have a family and an academic career. The current paper is a call to action for academia to build structures that support women professors as they navigate the complexities of pregnancy, the postpartum period, and the caregiving demands of their children. We specifically call on those of us in I-O psychology, management, and related departments to lead the way. In making this call, we first present the realistic, moral, and financial cases for why this issue needs to be at the forefront of discussions surrounding success in the academy. We then discuss how in the U.S. and elsewhere, an absence of policies supporting women places two groups of academics—department heads (as the leaders of departments who have discretion outside of formal policies to make work better for women) and other faculty members (as potential allies both in the department and within our professional organizations)—in a critical position to enact support and change. We conclude with our boldest call—to make a cultural shift that shatters the assumption that having a family is not compatible with academic success. Combined, we seek to launch a discussion that leads directly to necessary and overdue changes in how women scholars are supported in academia

Negotiating stigmatisation of deviant behaviour: an exploration of locals’ perceptions of nude tourists

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Using PCR-Based Detection and Genotyping to Trace Streptococcus salivarius Meningitis Outbreak Strain to Oral Flora of Radiology Physician Assistant

We recently investigated three cases of bacterial meningitis that were reported from a midwestern radiology clinic where facemasks were not worn during spinal injection of contrast agent during myelography procedures. Using pulsed field gel electrophoresis we linked a case strain of S. salivarius to an oral specimen of a radiology physician assistant (RPA). We also used a real-time PCR assay to detect S. salivarius DNA within a culture-negative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimen. Here we extend this investigation through using a nested PCR/sequencing strategy to link the culture-negative CSF specimen to the case strain. We also provide validation of the real-time PCR assay used, demonstrating that it is not solely specific for Streptococcus salivarius, but is also highly sensitive for detection of the closely related oral species Streptococcus vestibularis. Through using multilocus sequence typing and 16S rDNA sequencing we further strengthen the link between the CSF case isolate and the RPA carriage isolate. We also demonstrate that the newly characterized strains from this study are distinct from previously characterized S. salivarius strains associated with carriage and meningitis

The Effects of Playing with Thin Dolls on Body Image and Food Intake in Young Girls

This study experimentally tested the effects of playing with thin dolls on body image and food intake in 6- to 10-year-old Dutch girls (N = 117). Girls were randomly assigned to play with a thin doll, an average-sized doll, or Legos in a no doll control condition. After 10 min, they participated in a taste-test and completed questionnaires about body image. No differences were found between conditions for any of the body image variables. However, girls who played with the average-sized doll ate significantly more food than girls in other exposure conditions. Although no support was found for the assumption that playing with thin dolls influences body image, the dolls directly affected actual food intake in these young girls

A megbocsátás pszichológiája: kialakulása, hatásai és fejlesztése

A megbocsátás az interperszonális sérelmekre adott egyik lehetséges válasznak tekinthető, melynek fókuszában a sérelmet elszenvedő személy kognitív, érzelmi és viselkedéses válaszaiban bekövetkező proszociális változás áll. A megbocsátás mentális és fizikai egészségre kifejtett pozitív hatása jól dokumentált. Magas szintje alacsony szorongás- és depressziószinttel társul, illetve sikeresen csökkenti a stresszre adott fizikai választ (kortizol és kardiovaszkuláris reaktivitás). A megbocsátást - hatásai alapján - olyan emóció fókuszú megküzdési módként definiálhatjuk, mely sikeresen csökkenti az interperszonális sérelem nyomán kialakult stresszreakciót. Az utóbbi években számos intervenciós technikát dolgoztak ki, melyek a megbocsátás támogatását, illetve fejlesztését tűzték ki célként. Ezek a módszerek általában sikeresen növelik a megbocsátásra való hajlandóságot.</o:p

Consumer vulnerability and the transformative potential of Internet shopping: An exploratory case study

Ten&nbsp;million individuals in the UK who suffer from long-term illness, impairments or disability can be considered as vulnerable consumers (Office for Disability Issues, 2010). Despite this, there are few studies on the use of the Internet for grocery shopping by the disabled and none which offers an understanding of the multiple facets of consumer vulnerability. The purpose of this study is to contextualise the use of the Internet for grocery shopping using an exploratory case to provide fresh insights into the 'actual' vulnerability of "Danni" &ndash; a disabled housewife and mother. The consumer focussed methods used here were combined multiple complementary approaches. The findings illustrate that whilst the use of the Internet reduces the impracticalities of shopping in-store, the normalcy afforded to Danni through shopping in-store (including her sense of self) was not met by the technological offerings. The paradoxes associated with using online provision and the strategies adopted to manage these by Danni demonstrate engagement/disengagement and assimilation/isolation. Policy implications and insights for retailers are provided

"I'm not being rude, I'd want somebody normal" Adolescents' perception of their peers with Tourette's syndrome; an exploratory study

Background: Tourette’s syndrome (TS) is a highly stigmatised condition, and typically developing adolescents’ motives and reason for excluding individuals with TS have not been examined. Aims: The aim of the study was to understand how TS is conceptualised by adolescents and explore how individuals with TS are perceived by their typically developing peers. Method: Free text writing and focus groups were used to elicit the views of twenty-two year ten students from a secondary school in South East England. Grounded theory was used to develop an analytical framework. Result: Participants’ understanding about the condition was construed from misconceptions, unfamiliarity and unanswered questions. Adolescents who conceived TS as a disorder beyond the individual’s control perceived their peers as being deprived of agency and strength and as straying from the boundaries of normalcy. People with TS were viewed as individuals deserving pity, and in need of support. Although participants maintained they had feelings of social politeness towards those with TS, they would avoid initiating meaningful social relationships with them due to fear of “social contamination”. Intergroup anxiety would also inhibit a close degree of social contact. Participants that viewed those with TS as responsible for their condition expressed a plenary desire for social distance. However, these behavioural intentions were not limited to adolescents that elicited inferences of responsibility to people with TS, indicating that attributional models of stigmatisation may be of secondary importance in the case of TS. Implications for interventions to improve school belonging among youths with TS are discussed