Search results

This thesis elucidates the use of powered mobility devices in a Swedish context. The overall aim was to increase and deepen the knowledge on powered mobility device use in relation to participation and accessibility in different environments and among different user groups, with a specific focus on independence and autonomy. An additional aim was to contribute to the knowledge base regarding the optimization of use of such devices. The thesis is based on four studies in which different research approaches were applied through the combination of different types of data in order to interpret the complexity of powered mobility device use. Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods were utilized. The first study was a prospective cohort study in which data was collected using structured interviews at baseline and two follow-ups. The second study was an exploratory multiple longitudinal case study. A focus-group methodology with a descriptive design was used in the third study. The fourth study was a cross-sectional study based on survey data collected from people with spinal cord injury. The main contribution of the studies that constitute the empirical basis of this thesis is that the purpose of providing people with powered mobility devices is mostly fulfilled in that such devices provide their users' with greater opportunities for participation. Nevertheless, there are also problems in terms of accessibility in various environmental arenas that have an impact on mobility. An additional important contribution is that the results show that the experiences of users of powered mobility devices should be taken seriously as they convey different aspects of how the use of such devices could be optimized. In conclusion, this thesis contributes to our understanding of the use of powered mobility devices and has the potential to optimize independence in terms of mobility and participation among users of such devices. Finally, the results have practical implications for occupational therapy in the provision of powered mobility devices. Likewise, this new knowledge about the needs of powered mobility device users in terms of accessibility are of importance to politicians, professionals and other stakeholders engaged in housing provision and physical planning.

The art, science and politics of creating a mentally healthy society ; Recent research has suggested that there is limited information about mental health help-seeking among young African—Caribbean and South Asian communities. This study explores the mental health support needs and perceptions of the Samaritans among young African—Caribbean and South Asian people living in Luton. Five single-sex focus groups were conducted among the three main South Asian groups and African—Caribbeans in Luton. This paper describes the challenges faced by service providers and potential users from minority ethnic groups in respectively providing and accessing mental health services. Finally, the paper makes some recommendations for developing culturally competent and more visible service provision.

This paper examines the question of cultural difference in debates of multiculturalism and the related issue of shared values and rights that transcend cultural difference, both in terms of multicultural citizenship within specific nations as well more universally. We argue that alternative
media produced in multi-ethnic public sphericules is potentially productive as a space of cultural expression enabling a dialogue across and within cultures both minority and majorities on what constitutes such shared values and rights, and for the redefinition of the identities of multicultural
nations in the West. Intrinsic to this is the question of representational politics, in particular the inclusion of voiceless subalterns. We suggest that the public sphericules of diasporic-alternative media might provide a way of engaging ethnic minorities with the mainstream public sphere
and cultural difference, and could contribute towards addressing the question of marginalization of minority cultures.

Research among students with physical and sensory disabilities who have succeeded in continuing their education at post‐compulsory level as far as higher education, revealed that they have a high level of perceived personal control. This is strongly linked with educational attainment irrespective of severity of disability. The emphasis of these students upon self‐help groups, and institutional response to student needs within a discourse of rights, rather than of welfare, has lessons for equity policy and practice with respect to other disadvantaged groups. The wider implications of intervention strategies and compensation programs which label and further marginalise members of disadvantaged groups are explored in the paper, in the context of the social construction of categories of disadvantage and difference, the analysis of competing discourses and social trends of individualisation and globalisation.

Published online : 21 February 2014 ; The article discusses new studies of foreign soldiers in the Italian armed groups of the (Anti-)Risorgimento against the background of recent scholarship on 'transnational soldiers', which acknowledges the complexities of foreigners' initial motives for enlistment and of the transnational processes inside the single armies. The article suggests that from the mundane structures of military life to the perceptions of the rank-and-file, many aspects of the soldiering experience in the multinational armed groups on all sides of the Risorgimento actually advanced rather than obviated national boundaries. This paper further demonstrates that the military cultures of the nationalists and the anti-unity forces were much more porous and mutually constitutive than is often recognised. The histories of the 'transnational soldiers' in the armed groups of the Risorgimento and Anti-Risorgimento are crucial for a possibly new, comparative history of the armed groups of the (Anti-)Risorigmento. This paper explores approaches of the culturally revived 'new military history' and suggests that it provides much still unrealised potential for Risorgimento historiography.

AbstractWe consider a broad set of variables used by social scientists and clinicians to identify the leading predictors of five‐year survival among American adults. We address a question not considered in earlier research: Do the strongest predictors of survival vary by age, sex or race/ethnicity? The analysis uses hazard models with 30 well‐established predictors to examine five‐year survival in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We find that the simple measure of self‐assessed health and self‐reported measures of functional ability and disability are the strongest predictors in all demographic groups, and are generally ranked considerably higher than biomarkers. Among the biomarkers, serum albumin is highly ranked in most demographic groups, whereas clinical measures of cardiovascular and metabolic function are consistently among the weakest predictors. Despite these similarities, there is substantial variation in the leading predictors across demographic groups, most notably by race and ethnicity

In this paper, we will find the Brauer trees and the decomposition matrices of the symmetric groups , when n=25 for p=17 by using -inducing for calculates modular characters from the ordinary characters of the symmetric group.
Also, we find all the blocks of defect 0 and 1 and we will depend on the results of the decomposition matrices of the symmetric groups when n=24 for p=17

MeddaWindischerIn international law, minority rights instruments have been traditionally conceived for, and applied to, old minority groups with the exclusion of new minority groups originating from migration. This blog argues that the extension of the scope of application of legal instruments of minority protection, such as the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM), is conceptually meaningful and beneficial to the integration of new minorities stemming from migration.