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The social and human rights models of disability: towards a complementarity thesis

LAWSON, Anna
BECKETT, Angharad E
2020

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This article aims to reorient thinking about the relationship between the long-standing social model of disability and the rapidly emerging human rights model. In particular, it contests the influential view that the latter develops and improves upon the former (the improvement thesis) and argues instead that the two models are complementary (the complementarity thesis). The article begins with a discursive analysis of relevant documents to investigate how each of the two models has been used in the crafting and monitoring of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This highlights the increasing importance of the human rights model in this policy context. It also provides examples of the operation of the two models which inform the remainder of the discussion. We then critique the comparisons between the models which underpin the improvement thesis; and, drawing on Foucault’s technologies of power and Beckett and Campbell’s ‘oppositional device’ methodology, deepen and develop this comparative analysis. The result, we argue, is that the two models have different subjects and different functions. In the human rights context, their roles are complementary and supportive.

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Malay version of the Neck Disability Index

LIM, H H R
TAN, S T
TANG, Z Y
KOH, E Y L
KOH, K H
May 2020

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Purpose: Translating the Neck Disability Index (NDI) into the Malay language (NDI-M); evaluation of psychometric properties in patients with neck pain.

 

Methods: The NDI-M was translated according to established guidelines. In the first visit, 120 participants completed the NDI-M, visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain and demographic details. 98 participants returned to complete similar questionnaires and the Global Rating of Change (GRoC) scale. The NDI-M was evaluated for internal consistency, test-retest reliability, content validity, construct validity and responsiveness.

 

Results: The NDI-M demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.84) and good test-retest reliability (ICC2,1 = 0.79). Content validity was confirmed with no floor or ceiling effects. Construct validity was established revealing three-factor subscales explaining 68% of the total variance. The NDI-M showed a moderate correlation with VAS (Rp = 0.49, p < 0.001). Regarding responsiveness, a moderate correlation between NDI-M change scores and VAS change scores was found (Rp = 0.40, p < 0.001). However, there was no significant correlation between NDI-M with GRoC (Rs = 0.11, p = 0.27).

 

Conclusions: The NDI-M is a reliable and valid tool to measure functional outcomes in patients with neck pain. It is responsive in detecting changes in pain intensity during a patient’s rehabilitation journey.

Work ethics and societal norms influence sick leave and return to work: tales of transformation

MOLDVIK, Isa
STAHL, Christian
MUSSENER, Ulrika
February 2020

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Purpose: This study’s purpose was to explore how people on sick leave manage societal norms and values related to work, and how these influence their perspectives of themselves throughout the rehabilitation process.

 

Materials and methods: This was a longitudinal interview study with a narrative approach, comprising 38 interviews with 11 individuals on long-term sick leave. Data collection was conducted in two phases and analysed iteratively through content analysis.

 

Results: The results suggest that work ethics and societal norms influence individuals’ views of themselves and the sick leave and rehabilitation process. Conforming one’s personal values to the work norm can create internal conflicts and cause feelings of shame for not being able to live up to the established norm. The strong work norm may create unrealistic expectations, which in some cases may result in constraining the return to work process.

 

Conclusion: To transform a sick leave narrative into a positive one, societal norms and their influence on identity needs to be recognised. Stakeholders involved in the process can contribute to a positive transformation by not only supporting return to work, but also to acknowledge and help people manage their self-image as having a disability that limits their ability to work.

An observation study of power practices and participation in group homes for people with intellectual disability

SVANELÖV, Eric
2019

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This study explored how participation constitutes and is constituted by practices of power in group homes for people with intellectual disability. The study used disciplinary power as theoretical perspective and was based on 50 h of observation in two group homes with a total of 15 residents. The analysis identifies practices of power and their relationship to individual agency and participation. The results show that institutional structures construct practices of power that define codes of conduct for the group home residents and their possibility for participation. This study offers implications for the daily lives of residents in group homes for people with intellectual disability.

Critique of deinstitutionalisation in postsocialist Central and Eastern Europe

MLADENOV, Teodor
PETRI, Gabor
2019

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In this paper, we explore critically deinstitutionalisation reform, focusing specifically on the postsocialist region of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). We argue that deinstitutionalisation in postsocialist CEE has generated re-institutionalising outcomes, including renovation of existing institutions and/or creation of new, smaller settings that have nevertheless reproduced key features of institutional life. To explain these trends, we first consider the historical background of the reform, highlighting the legacy of state socialism and the effects of postsocialist neoliberalisation. We then discuss the impact of ‘external’ drivers of deinstitutionalisation in CEE, particularly the European Union and its funding, as well as human rights discourses incorporated in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The analysis is supported by looking at the current situation in Hungary and Bulgaria through recent reports by local civil society organisations. In conclusion, we propose some definitional tactics for redirecting existing resources towards genuine community-based services.

Teaching disability: strategies for the reconstitution of disability knowledge

DÍAZ, Karim Del Rocío Garzón
GOODLEY, Dan
2019

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As teachers of disability studies, working with students from the health and psychological sciences, we tackle some of our pedagogical challenges and offer productive possibilities. We begin by introducing the offerings of disability studies and then consider our first question: how might we invite disability into our teaching? We introduce a Spanish tale – Por cuatro esquinitas de nada – that, while aimed at children and not explicitly engaged with a disability, permits us to engage in inter-textual analyses of disability. We find that students move through different stages of what we term distinction, idealisation and invisibility/concealment. We then address our second question – what does it mean to teach disability? We answer this with reference to the generative practices of two teaching methodologies: disposal and disavowal. We conclude the paper by considering the importance of generating critical theories of disability.

Provocations for Critical Disability Studies

GOODLEY, Dan
LAWTHOM, Rebecca
LIDDIARD, Kirsty
RUNSWICK-COLE, Katherine
2019

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This article posits a number of provocations for scholars and researchers engaged with Critical Disability Studies. We summarise some of the analytical twists and turns occurring over the last few years that create a number of questions and concerns. We begin by introducing Critical Disability Studies; describing it as an interdisciplinary field of scholarship building on foundational disability studies theories. Critical Disability Studies scholarship is being produced at an exponential rate and we assert that we need to take pause for thought. We lay out five provocations to encourage reflection and debate: what is the purpose of Critical Disability Studies; how inclusive is Critical Disability Studies; is disability the object or subject of studies; what matters or gets said about disability; and how can we attend to disability and ability? We conclude by making a case for a reflexive and politicised Critical Disability Studies.

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