Search

This paper draws attention to the health‐related work that disabled people do when engaging with rehabilitation services. Medical sociology has a rich history of looking at the 'illness work' that patients do, while disability studies scholars have explored the cultural value placed upon paid work and the effects on social status of being unable to work. Yet, a longstanding froideur between these two disciplines, which have fundamentally opposed ontologies of illness and disability, means that neither discipline has attended closely to the rehabilitation‐related work that disabled people do. The concept of 'adjusting' to illness highlights seemingly irreconcilable disciplinary differences. Yet this article argues that the notion of 'adjustment work' can elucidate the socio‐political character of the work disabled people do in their rehabilitation, which could create a more substantial and sustainable dialogue on this subject between disability studies and medical sociology. To make this case, we discuss interview data from the Rights‐based Rehabilitation project, which sought to explore disabled people's lived experiences of rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Africa, the work experiences of disabled people can help employers and the government build more inclusive workplaces. Nonetheless, research exploring disabled people's work experiences at various employment stages is limited, particularly in Africa. The study applies ethnographic research methods to examine the work experience of those with visual, speech, hearing, mobility and psychological disabilities in Ghana. Data were coded and analysed using content and descriptive methods. The findings suggest that disabled people face several barriers, including inadequate accommodation, negative stereotyping, stigmatization, discrimination and poor performance evaluation at work. This paper argues that transformational leadership is a prerequisite for African governments and private sector employers seeking to improve the workplace environment and build an inclusive culture within these spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, research emerging from the sub-discipline of 'geographies of disability' has highlighted the significant socio-spatial barriers that shape disabled people's everyday lives. Disabled people's battles to obtain equitable access through the justice system when they are victims of crime is one such arena in which these barriers become readily apparent, and yet to date, geographers' engagement with the spaces of the criminal justice system has been noticeably absent. This paper seeks to redress this lacuna by discussing the findings of qualitative research undertaken in Ireland on disabled people's experiences of the criminal justice system as victims of crime. It highlights not just how the justice system presents practical barriers to disabled people such as inaccessible courthouses or Garda stations, but also the fundamental ways in which legislation constitutes certain groups of disabled people as vulnerable or incapable, and therefore 'out-of-place' in the justice system. The paper makes a case for building disciplinary connections between geographies of disability, geographies of crime and 'critical legal geographies' in rendering these barriers visible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper challenges the notion of “care”, arguing that people who need support in their daily lives have been constructed as “dependent people”. Instead, the author argues, if we want to empower people we must learn from the Independent Living Movement, from the people who struggled against segregation and insisted that access to personal assistance over which they have control is a civil rights issue. The paper takes issue with Clare Ungerson's perspective on the new direct payments legislation. This legislation is an important stage in the achievements of a civil rights movement and social researchers have a moral responsibility to collaborate with this movement in any work which they develop on issues which are not of mere academic interest but which concern people's rights to choice and control in their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence points to embodiment being perceived as a lived human experience that bridges the natural and the cultural. Therefore, embodied social identities seem to be related with the way people perceive their body as beautiful/ugly, namely worthy/not worthy. Using data from interviews with employees with disability, this paper explores the process of shaping the body within the postcolonial masculine organizational culture. On these grounds, we argue that the above process involves taking decisions at three levels: first, one must decide what their body is; second, define what their body can be; and third, assume what their body will be. Further, the data revealed how those with "ugly bodies" construct their identities in relation to nondisabled colleagues. Our theoretical and managerial contribution includes a better understanding of how workplace and social life tend to be organized based on the ideal(able) body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a human–machine interface for disabled people with spinal cord injuries is proposed. The designed human–machine interface is an assistive system that uses head movements and blinking for mouse control. In the proposed system, by moving one's head, the user moves the mouse pointer to the required coordinates and then blinks to send commands. The considered head mouse control is based on image processing including facial recognition, in particular, the recognition of the eyes, mouth, and nose. The proposed recognition system is based on the convolutional neural network, which uses the low‐quality images that are captured by a computer's camera. The convolutional neural network (CNN) includes convolutional layers, a pooling layer, and a fully connected network. The CNN transforms the head movements to the actual coordinates of the mouse. The designed system allows people with disabilities to control a mouse pointer with head movements and to control mouse buttons with blinks. The results of the experiments demonstrate that this system is robust and accurate. This invention allows people with disabilities to freely control mouse cursors and mouse buttons without wearing any equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Self-organization amongst users of community care services preceded the consumerist developments of the 1980s and early 1990s, but can be considered to have been "legitimized" by top-down objectives relating to "user involvement". Nevertheless, the objectives and value bases of disabled people's organizations and organizations of users (or survivors) of mental health services have not always been consistent with those of consumerism, and user groups have experienced tensions in determining the extent to which they should respond to official agendas. Drawing on theories of new social movements and of citizenship, this paper considers the developing place of user organizations within systems of local governance. It looks at the way in which groups have sought to assert the legitimacy both of experiential knowledge and of their position as citizens in the face of official responses which have constructed them as self-interested pressure groups. It draws on empirical research investigating local groups of disabled people and of mental health service users conducted in the first part of the 1990s. It discusses the significance of shared identity as a basis for collective action alongside more pragmatic motivations to influence the nature of health and social care services. In the context of appeals to "community" and "partnership" which are starting to replace the discourse of markets and contracts as the key metaphor for both policy-making and service delivery, the article considers likely future roles for groups comprising people often excluded from community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the recent advances in the field of protection of the rights of disabled people in Uzbekistan, their right to work and be protected from unemployment is not fully implemented. The reported levels of disability employment remain significantly low. The findings of this pilot qualitative study reveal that the current institutional framework which takes its roots in the Soviet disability policies coupled with environmental and attitudinal barriers is restricting disabled people's right to work. Based on the lived experiences of disabled people in Tashkent city and the Tashkent region this study calls for the removal of all the barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining a political economic perspective with a case study approach, this paper examines the intent, process, and consequences of rationed care for disabled people under the U.S. managed care system. Two disabled persons were followed over a three-year period as they sought care for major episodes relating to chronic depression and post-polio syndrome. The findings illustrate a marked disparity between the concept and goals of rationed care and the experience of consumers of services. For these people, care is rationed at the service level and also in terms of restricted access to, and payment for, the care sought. This often results in inadequate treatment and inflated costs. These problems are due in large part to the competitive nature of the major stakeholders, institutional coalitions that work against patients, emphasis on profit maximisation, devaluing of the lives of disabled people and the weak bargaining position that disabled persons hold as consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article suggests it is important to unpack the notion of “empowerment” in community care so that the position of those who provide “hands-on” care is scrutinised alongside the empowerment of “users” of care. The particular case of the forthcoming Direct Payments legislation, whereby disabled people will be able to opt for cash rather than services and become employers of personal assistants, is considered. It is argued that both employers and employees in these care relationships are likely to be on low incomes, that the work is likely to be insecure and possibly unregulated, that there might be a problem of labour supply, and that in the long run, this form of employment might generate hardship for the workers so employed. Other forms of reconciling the interests of both users and “carers” are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This policy analysis reviewed the current legislation and policies on the economic empowerment of people with disabilities in Uganda and explored the views of national stakeholders on the implementation of these policies in practice. The analysis was conducted through a document review and in‐depth stakeholder interviews. The study found that anti‐discrimination policies can only do so much for disability inclusive recruitment. Questions about policy implementation, stakeholder ownership, trust and efficiencies within the system and sufficient accountability mechanisms need addressing, if the existing framework is to be effective and positively impact the lives of people with disabilities in Uganda. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of International Development published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While self-directed support for people with disabilities and their families represents a welcome shift toward self-determination and increasing control, the risk of managing with insufficient funds remains. This article examines whether different types of case management can mitigate that risk by providing support when people have only a small direct funding package. It applies the question to an evaluated program of self-directed support in Queensland, Australia that allocated A$4000 with one of two approaches to case management: program-focused or organizationally oriented. Case management contributed to the effective use of limited budgets and addressing goals when it promoted choice and control, built relationships, and enabled flexible fund use. Program-focused case management seemed to be less constrained in enhancing social participation than organizationally oriented case management, which tended to restrict some participatory opportunities. These findings are consistent with earlier research, which indicated that case management can interfere with participation. Even in the context of a small funding allocation, a case management approach that promotes flexibility and person-centered planning, control over funding, and capacity building can improve the effectiveness of self-directed support; however it does not overcome the inherent limitations of insufficient funds for adequate support, or the cost of case management itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Scabies outbreaks in community facilities may reach large dimensions and take a protracted course. Highly contagious crusted scabies is a major cause of nosocomial outbreaks. Patients and methods: On the occasion of an extensive scabies outbreak in a north Bavarian sheltered workshop and its associated residential homes with over 500 exposed individuals, a multifaceted control strategy was developed and pursued. Knowledge from a comprehensive review of the literature was utilized. Results: Our successful scabies elimination concept includes: 1) Careful organization (formation of an outbreak management team, registration and information of all exposed individuals, prospective time management, financial calculation); 2) simultaneous clinical examination of all individuals at risk; 3) synchronous topical treatment of all exposed individuals with permethrin 5 % cream on day 0, repeated treatment of proven and doubtful cases on days 1 and 14; systemic treatment of selected cases with oral ivermectin; 4) decontamination and quarantine measures; 5) follow-up investigations and repeated treatment if indicated. Conclusions: Management of large institutional scabies outbreaks requires a high degree of motivation, communication skills and perseverance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]