Kathy Boxall

Research ethics and the use of visual images in research with people with intellectual disability

Abstract The aim of this paper is to encourage debate about the use of creative visual approaches in intellectual disability research and discussion about Internet publication of photographs. Image-based research with people with intellectual disability is explored within the contexts of tighter ethical regulation of social research, increased interest in the use of visual methodologies, and rapid escalation in the numbers of digital images posted on the World Wide Web. Concern is raised about the possibility that tighter ethical regulation of social research, combined with the multitude of ethical issues raised by the use of image-based approaches may be discouraging the use of creative visual approaches in intellectual disability research. Inclusion in research through the use of accessible research methods is also an ethical issue, particularly in relation to those people who have hitherto been underrepresented in research. Visual approaches which have the potential to include people with profound and multiple intellectual disabilities are also discussed.

Towards a dialogue for practice: reconciling Social Role Valorization and the Social Model of Disability

This article offers a comparative evaluation of two approaches to the organisation of learning disability services and individualised support for people with learning difficulties – Social Role Valorization (SRV) and the Social Model of Disability. Brief descriptive accounts of each approach are given, together with reference to critiques of SRV from UK academics, including those writing from a Social Model perspective. The applicability of the Social Model to people with learning difficulties, and critiques of their marginalization by it, are also discussed. The paper goes on to argue that whilst the analysis of devaluation is similar between the two approaches, academic debates have focussed more on ideological differences, thus losing the opportunity for a sharing of their respective contributions to addressing oppression. The possibility of a ‘dialogue for practice’ is raised.

Adults with cystic fibrosis and barriers to employment

Existing research on cystic fibrosis (CF) tends to view CF as a long‐term medical condition of childhood, thus reinforcing the mistaken view that few children with CF survive into adulthood. Despite the fact that people with CF are increasingly living into older age there has been little research into the employment of adults with CF. Those studies which have been undertaken portray CF as a ‘serious illness’ which causes employment problems. In contrast, this paper discusses findings from a study which explored the employment experiences of adults with CF from a social model perspective. The findings reveal barriers to employment which are similar to those experienced by other disabled people, as well as barriers related to the ‘impairment effects’ of CF. The authors conclude that adults with CF have valuable perspectives to contribute to social model analysis and the development of employment‐related policy solutions.

Service user research in social work and disability studies in the United Kingdom

In recent years, there has been growing interest in the involvement of service users in research as well as in research studies that are led by service users. Although this interest in service users’ roles in research has been evident in both social work and disability studies, the two research disciplines have remained remarkably separate in the United Kingdom. This paper examines the epistemological underpinnings of social work research and disability studies research and explores the tensions, possibilities and power dynamics of collaboration between the two research disciplines in the United Kingdom. It concludes by outlining possibilities for social model approaches to social work research.

Disability, hospitality and the new sharing economy

Purpose This paper aims to explore the place of disabled guests in the new world of hotel and holiday accommodation shaped by the sharing economy. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses Levitas’s (2013) Utopia as Method as a methodological tool to develop hypothetical future scenarios which are used to explore the place of disabled guests in peer-to-peer holiday accommodation. Findings Analysis of hypothetical scenarios suggests that, without state intervention, the place of disabled guests in both traditional hotels and peer-to-peer holiday accommodation is far from secure. Research limitations/implications This is a new area and our discussion is therefore tentative in its intent. Practical implications Planners and policymakers should consult with, and take account of, the needs of disabled people and other socially excluded groups when regulating shared economy enterprises. It may be helpful to put in place broader legislation for social inclusion rather than regulate peer-to-peer platforms. Any r...

Towards inclusive tourism? Stakeholder collaboration in the development of accessible tourism

ABSTRACT Stakeholder collaboration is increasingly being lauded as important in the development of accessible tourism. The purpose of this study is to explore how stakeholders collaborate in the development of accessible tourism. Drawing on research conducted in Western Australia, the study utilises qualitative approaches in its exploration. The evidence from the study strongly indicates that there is minimal collaboration between stakeholders in the development of accessible tourism. The findings suggest that when there are multiple and diverse stakeholders at play, an organic, circulatory and developmental approach to stakeholder collaboration should be adopted to innovatively move towards inclusive tourism – an ideal that aspires to equal access and inclusion for all. To this end, four emergent interrelated themes are considered: control and coordination, communication, clarity of roles and responsibilities and collaboration and integration. From these themes, a framework that can be applied to encourage collaboration is proposed.

Reimagining social work case studies: a social work—creative writing collaboration

Abstract This paper describes a joint social work and creative writing project which analysed case studies from textbooks on reading lists for the Bachelor of Social Work course at Edith Cowan University. The textbook case studies were analysed from the perspectives of both social work and literary craft and it was found that they presented simplified scenarios which were limited in terms of diversity and rarely portrayed depth or complexity. The case studies were also often bereft of information about social workers’ or service users’ human qualities and frequently portrayed service users in terms of the problems they presented to the social worker. The authors argue that depicting social workers and service users in this way can create the impression that social work is a distanced procedural activity and can also serve to distance service users’ lives and experiences from social work students. Drawing on research in creative writing craft, as well as analysis of the textbook case studies, principles for writing engaging text-book case studies were developed and the paper concludes by arguing for the use of these principles when crafting social work case studies.

Working with the enemy? Social work education and men who use intimate partner violence

Abstract This article examines service user involvement in social work education. It discusses the challenges and ethical considerations of involving populations who may previously have been excluded from user involvement initiatives, raising questions about the benefits and challenges of their involvement. The article then provides discussion of an approach to service user involvement in social work education with one of these populations, men who use violence in their intimate relationships, and concludes by considering the implications of their involvement for the social work academy.

Living a ‘normal life’? Formal and informal supports in the lives of adults with cystic fibrosis

Drawing on a small-scale qualitative study of the life experiences of adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) in the UK, this paper explores the formal and informal supports used by the adults to achieve and maintain a lifestyle of their choice. Many adults with CF do not have visible impairments and are faced with deciding to disclose CF so they can claim the formal supports of independent living, or presenting as ‘normal’ and forfeiting the formal supports which may accompany disclosure. At an individual level, both strategies can offer a route to a ‘normal life’. However, wider analysis of independent living and formal and informal supports in the lives of adults with CF is overdue; this paper presents an initial such analysis in the context of the UK coalition governments vision for adult social care and the voluntarism of ‘Big Society’.

A straight talking introduction to being a mental health service user

A Straight Talking Introduction to Being a Mental Health Service User is part of a series of ‘straight talking guides’ published by PCCS books. The book is written in straightforward, friendly, language with several whole-page black-and-white illustrations. Because the book uses an endnote system, academic references do not interrupt the flow of the chapters and notes and references at the back of the book can be followed up by interested readers. This is a small book that packs a lot of punch. Because of its size (4.5 x 7 x 0.25 inches), I expected to read it in one sitting but soon realised that it reads like a much bigger volume. This is partly because the margins are very narrow and there are no blank pages between chapters, but mainly because Peter Beresford has packed a huge amount into this pocket-sized book and it was necessary to stop from time to time to digest what I was reading. Dominant understandings of ‘mental illness’ (located in biomedical impairment of the minds of individual mental health service users) are prevalent in mental health services. Encapsulating these dominant understandings and the workings of the mental health system in relatively few words, and in a ‘straight talking’ manner, would have been a difficult enough task. However, Beresford’s book goes further than this: in addition to offering ‘straight talking’ explanations of dominant perspectives on mental illness, it also captures mental health service users/survivors’ differing perspectives and understandings of their experiences of madness and distress, including those that challenge dominant biomedical views in favour of social model understandings. This would have been a considerable achievement in a much larger volume – to achieve this in a pocket-sized book is all the more impressive. As someone who has had direct personal experience of the mental health system, I was interested to see what Beresford’s guide to being a mental health service user might have to say to someone who finds themselves on the receiving end of mental health services for the first time. I hoped that this small volume might be something I could recommend to friends in this situation and perhaps also relatives of people experiencing madness and distress; in both respects, the book does not disappoint. When I experienced my first extended period of mental distress, I knew nothing about ‘mental illness’ and read avidly, desperately trying to understand and make sense of my experiences. The books and papers I found most helpful were those written by people who had personal experience of madness and distress (and some more ‘academic’ texts that included direct quotes from mental health service users). The important thing for me was reading about other mental health service users whose experiences resonated with my own; books and papers by academics or mental health ‘experts’ were less helpful and also felt ‘less authentic’. The author of this Disability & Society Vol. 27, No. 2, March 2012, 295–305