Purely Academic? Exploring the Relationship Between Theory and Political Activism

This paper discusses the relationship between political activism and theory and asks to what extent the production of disability theory is 'useful' in broad terms. Through out the paper I locate myself as part of the disabled peoples movement, and write from a position of a shared value base and analyses of a collective experience. In doing so, I make no apology for flouting academic pretentions of objectivity and neutrality. Rather, I believe I am giving essential information which clarifies my motivation and political position.     

The social construction of the meaning of acute stressors: a qualitative study of the personal accounts of police officers using a stress counselling service

The police profession is one in which acute stressors are encountered more frequently than in other occupations. Using the personal accounts of 35 police officers attending an in-house stress counselling clinic, the aim of the present study was to provide a qualitative examination of how the institutional context of policing influenced the ways in which acute stressors signified to individual police officers experiencing felt distress. Using the framework of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy as an analytical tool, it is argued that beliefs contributing to the experience of felt distress are related to the way in which policing as both an identity and an activity is constructed through the police organizational culture. Not only do these constructions influence the ways in which officers perceive themselves and their environments, but they also operate at the collective level to 'normalize' some emotional responses and to 'pathologize' others which, it is argued, could impact upon the outcomes of interventions such as stress counselling.     

Disability and identity: the challenge of epilepsy

Through examining the case of people with epilepsy (which, as we demonstrate, has an ambiguous status in relation to both popular and academic conceptions of disability) we explore the fluid, negotiable and contingent nature of identity and, in particular, the identification as ‘disabled’. Disability, we argue, cannot be reduced to either biology or social oppression, or even primarily to biological or social factors: it is the outcome of a complex interaction between a multiplicity of factors – biological, environmental, social, psychological, cultural and political – which will interact and be experienced differently by different people, at different times and in different situations. Rather than conceiving of disability in ‘all or nothing’ terms and of differing explanations as competing and mutually exclusive, it would be more productive to see them as partial and potentially complementary contributions to the better understanding of a complex and multifarious reality.     

How Many Old People Use Community Services? A Review of Survey Findings

Several surveys of the aged have been conducted in Australia in recent years. They give rise to questions about the usefulness of their findings, particularly in determining the extent to which the aged use community services and in planning future services. This paper reviews the methods and findings of five of these surveys carried out between 1981 and 1986. It looks at the way questions were constructed, the time reference used, the populations and samples, problems of non-response and of definition. Explanations for the variability in reported service use are addressed. Finally, issues relating to the interpretation and application of survey findings are raised and discussed.     

Problem gambling and property offences: an analysis of court files

This article outlines some of the major findings regarding criminogenic problem gambling in Crofts' (2002) analysis of New South Wales Local and District Court files. The article details firstly the advantages and disadvantages of relying upon court files as a source of information on gambling related crime. The article then outlines the personal characteristics of the subjects in the study, the relationship of gambling to the commission of their offences and judicial responses. The study provided qualitative information on when people are likely to seek treatment for problem gambling and also highlighted problem gambling as a significant motivation for employee theft. The study also suggests that the reasons for problem gambling may impact upon offending patterns.     

Stages In Therapy For Men Whose Partners Do Not Enjoy Sex

‘We live in a society in which we are continually told of our ‘right’ to sexuality; the new understanding which sees enjoyable sex as a right, not a privilege, of human beings (Health, 1982). This paper summarises some of the author's experiences in working with male partners of couples who present with sexual concerns. Patterns of progress are traced through four stages, labelled for convenience: engagement, withdrawal, ‘eureka’ and balance. These stages evolve as the man moves from patriarchal assumptions about performance and entitlement towards a more truly mutual sexual interaction with his partner.