Hearing in athletes with intellectual disabilities : the need for improved ear care

Background The Special Olympics offer the opportunity for athletes with intellectual disabilities to participate in a range of sports at regional, national and international level. A parallel Healthy Athletes programme was introduced to ensure safety at the games but also to collect data on the health needs of those with intellectual disabilities (ID).

Method This study reports on the introduction of a hearing screen for the first time at national games in Great Britain. Given the availability of free local healthcare it was unclear whether the screen would simply duplicate services already accessed locally.

Results Of the 996 athletes who went though the hearing screen 40% were identified with a previously unrecognised hearing loss, 52% required medical ear care and 43% required wax removal. Despite complex competing stimuli within the screening area only 15 of the subjects were unable to complete the full screen. Local clinical services are carried out in more controlled environments therefore it is reasonable to presume that it would be possible for them to provide assessment of ear care and ongoing audiological assessments where needed. It was found that carers and sports coaches were generally unaware of the hearing needs of the athletes, in spite of the fact that they worked so closely with them.

Conclusions The importance of imparting information to carers and coaches, together with the need for access to regular ear care locally is underlined in this study.

Procedural and declarative memory in children with and without specific language impairment

Background: Much evidence has accumulated to indicate memory deficits in children with specific language impairment. However, most research has focused on working memory impairments in these children. Less is known about the functioning of other memory systems in this population.

Aims: This study examined procedural and declarative memory in young children with and without specific language impairment.

Methods & Procedures: A total of 15 children with specific language impairment and 15 non-impaired children of comparable age, gender and handedness were presented with measures of procedural and declarative memory. Procedural memory was assessed using a Serial Reaction Time (SRT) Task in which children implicitly learnt a ten-item sequence pattern. Declarative memory for verbal and visual information was assessed using paired associative learning tasks.

Outcomes & Results: The results from the SRT Task showed the children with specific language impairment did not learn the sequence at levels comparable with the non-impaired children. On the measures of declarative memory, differences between the groups were observed on the verbal but not the visual task. The differences on the verbal declarative memory task were found after statistically controlling for differences in vocabulary and phonological short-term memory.

Conclusions & Implications: The results were interpreted to suggest an uneven profile of memory functioning in specific language impairment. On measures of declarative memory, specific language impairment appears to be associated with difficulties learning verbal information. At the same time, procedural memory is also appears to be impaired. Collectively, this study indicates multiple memory impairments in specific language impairment.

Relationship between verbal working memory and the SCAN-C in children with specific language impairment

Purpose: An ongoing concern with the evaluation of auditory processing disorders is the extent that assessment instruments are influenced by higher order cognitive functions. This study examined the relationship between verbal working memory and performance on the Test for Auditory Processing Disorders in Children--Revised (SCAN-C; Keith, 2000b) in children with specific language impairment (SLI) and typically developing (TD) children.

Method: Sixteen children with SLI and 16 TD children ages 8/4 to 11 years participated in the study. The children were presented with the SCAN-C and tests measuring verbal working memory.

Results: Initial comparisons revealed that the SLI group obtained significantly lower scores than the TD group on the SCAN-C. However, after controlling for verbal working memory, significant differences between the 2 groups were no longer observed. Correlational analyses revealed that the composite score from the SCAN-C was related to all tests assessing verbal working memory.

Conclusions: Performance on the SCAN-C may be related to working memory functioning. As a consequence, it is unclear whether difficulty on this task should be viewed as a problem with auditory processing or a problem with verbal working memory.

The role of reflexive capability in relation to intellectual capital on multi international partnerships

This paper reports the results of an analysis of five Malaysian firms who have worked successfully on multi international partnerships and/or megaprojects. A case study methodology was employed to examine the barriers and successful strategies the firms used in decision making in various international markets. A common characteristic across the firms was the ability to self reflect and adapt their practices to different international conditions despite numerous differences between countries including cultural, social, project governance structures, regulatory, terminology and codes. A reflexive capability model developed from the social sciences theory of individual agent reflexivity was developed to explain the way in which firms as an entity can develop awareness, responsiveness and adaptability for long term success in diverse international markets. This paper builds upon an initial Australian study which developed the model grounded in empirical observations of internationalising design construction firms by presenting the results of a second study of Malaysian firms. Results indicate that the model of reflexivity capability is a useful way to interpret practices that are undertaken in multi partner relationships on larger more complex projects. Successful Malaysian firms within joint venture relationships display an ability to self reflect and adapt. This transformation process is critiqued in relation to the relationships between social, cultural and intellectual capital. Reflexive capability is a characteristic of the successful case study firms working within global models of practice. The reflexive capability model is explained in relation to common themes identified in relation to the management of intellectual capital in successful multi international partnerships and megaprojects.

Why business academics remain in Australian universities despite deteriorating working conditions and reduced job satisfaction : an intellectual puzzle

In the last two decades, Australia's 38 universities have been subjected to profound changes affecting the working lives of their academic staff. That the working conditions of staff have deteriorated cannot be denied, while many studies have shown that job satisfaction has been affected adversely. Paradoxically, there is little evidence that academics are seeking employment outside the university system. In this article, the authors report the findings from their survey of over 3000 academics employed in business disciplines in Australian universities, which aimed to find explanations for this phenomenon.

Putting human rights into practice with people with an intellectual disability

Human rights create a protective zone around persons and allow them the opportunity to further their own valued personal projects without interference from others. In this paper we apply the concept of human rights to people with an intellectual disability. First we briefly analyze the concept of human rights, their structure, and justification. Second, we directly apply our model of human rights to persons with an intellectual disability and argue that it has the resources to bridge the perceived gap between rights and needs and to offer practitioners ethically defensible practice guidance. We supplement this abstract analysis with a case example. Finally we conclude with some reflections on the future of a human rights viewpoint in the arena of intellectual disability.

An investigation into the subjective wellbeing of people with an intellectual disability

This thesis investigated the theory of subjective wellbeing homeostatic control for a sample of New Zealand people with mild to moderate intellectual disability, compared to non-disabled people. This involved three linked quantitative studies that investigated the internal buffers of self-esteem, control and optimism.