Does the cognitive interview promote the coherence of narrative accounts in children with and without an intellectual disability?

We examined whether the cognitive interview (CI) procedure enhanced the coherence of narrative accounts provided by children with and without intellectual disabilities (ID), matched on chronological age. Children watched a videotaped magic show; one day later, they were interviewed using the CI or a structured interview (SI). Children interviewed using the CI reported more correct details than those interviewed using the SI. Additionally, children interviewed using the CI reported more contextual background details, more logically ordered sequences, more temporal markers, and fewer inconsistencies in their stories than those interviewed using the SI. However, the CI did not increase the number of story grammar elements compared with the SI. Overall children interviewed with the CI told better stories than those interviewed with the SI. This finding provided further support for the effectiveness of the CI with vulnerable witnesses, particularly children with ID.

Assessing the effectiveness of the cognitive interview for children with severe intellectual disabilities

We examined whether the cognitive interview (CI) procedure increased event recall in children with severe intellectual disabilities (ID) compared with children with no ID. Forty-six children with and without ID watched a videotaped event; they were aged between eight and 11 years. The next day they were individually interviewed using the CI or a structured interview (SI). Interviews consisted of free recall and specific questions, some of which contained leading or misleading information. The leading and misleading questions determined children’s susceptibility to information presented after the event. Overall, children without ID reported more correct information than children with ID. For all children, the CI led to more correct recall than the SI without increases in incorrect details or confabulations. Although the CI did not decrease children’s susceptibility to the misleading questions compared with the SI, children without ID disagreed with more of the misleading suggestions than children with ID. These results suggest that the CI may indeed be a valuable tool to elicit information from very vulnerable witnesses.

Review : a history of intelligence and "intellectual disability"

In many respects, A History of Intelligence and Intellectual 'Disability' is a confronting work. At a literal level, it comprises eighteen chapters verging on a total of quarter of a million words, apart from twenty-two pages of primary and secondary sources. Many of its chapters are drawn from Chris Goodey's articles since the early 'nineties in such journals as Ancient Philosophy, Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, History of the Human Sciences, and Political Theory. However, he immediately warns us that such articles exist as a "more primitive form" (vii) of the current volume.

The evolution of freedom of association in Australia's federal industrial relations law: from trade union security to workplace rights

The early provisions protecting freedom of association in Australian federal industrial relations law supported trade union security. The interests of individuals were seen as adequately protected by collective groups. This principle dominated the industrial relations laws from 1904 to the mid-1970s. However, from the late 1970s, the laws were incrementally altered to promote freedom of choice and the rights of individuals not to be part of trade unions. The reframing of the laws also reflected changes in the wider Australian community, manifested particularly in the decline of union density rates. These changes were also part of an international trend, favouring the ideology of neoliberalism which contributed to an unsympathetic environment for trade unions. The current Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) has signalled a return to collectivism, although freedom of choice is at the heart of the laws rather than the promotion of collective groups. In the absence of legislative support promoting the viability of collective groups, this freedom to choose is threatened, leaving many workers with little choice but to disassociate.

A review of the impact of different types of leading interview questions on child and adult witnesses with intellectual disabilities

Children and adults with intellectual disabilities have traditionally been considered poor witnesses because they are easily misled and produce less accurate information in interviews when compared with individuals without intellectual disabilities. However, witnesses’ levels of accuracy depend on the types of questions that they are asked, such as whether they are open or closed and whether they contain misleading information. In the current systematic review, we examined the literature investigating the different types of misleading questions commonly used in interviews, and their influence on the memories of adults and children with and without an intellectual disability. Thirteen articles that met inclusion criteria were reviewed. It was found that, compared with other question types, open and closed questions that presumed certain information to be true elicited the greatest number of errors in children and adults with intellectual disabilities compared with other question types. These findings reinforce the notion that the onus is on interviewers – particularly when interviewing vulnerable witnesses – to avoid leading questions that presume information that may not be true.

Masculinity theory in applied research with men and boys with intellectual disability

Researchers in intellectual disability have had limited theoretical engagement with mainstream theories of masculinity. In this article, the authors consider what mainstream theories of masculinity may offer to applied research on, and hence to therapeutic interventions with, men and boys with intellectual disability. An example from one research project that explored male sexual health illustrates how using masculinity theory provided greater insight into gendered data. Finally, we discuss the following five topics to illustrate how researchers might use theories of masculinity: (a) fathering, (b) male physical expression, (c) sexual expression, (d) men's health, and (e) underweight and obesity. Theories of masculinity offer an additional framework to analyze and conceptualize gendered data; we challenge researchers to engage with this body of work.

The pharmaceutical industry, intellectual property rights and access to medicines in Pakistan

The pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan is worth around US$ l.18 billion, with annual growth in 2010 approaching 10 per cent (Khan, 2012). There are more than 650 registered companies, including 31 multinationals, which in 2006 had a market share in value terms of 53.3 per cent, with national firms controlling the remaining 46.7 per cent (IMS Health, 2007). In 2007 medicines worth about US$100 million were exported. Medicines are a vital component of healthcare, and Pakistan spends around three-quarters of its healthcare budget on medicines (WHO, 2004). This chapter provides an overview, from a public health perspective, of the national pharmaceutical market and the development of drug policies and regulation. Pakistan adopted a Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) compliant patent regime in 2000, and the intersection between patents and public health is a central policy challenge. This chapter highlights key issues related to intellectual property, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), and production and access to medicines.

Do we need both cognitive and behavioural components in interventions for depressed mood in people with mild intellectual disability?

 Background: A growing literature suggests that people with mild intellectual disability (ID) who have depressed mood may benefit from cognitive-behavioural interventions. There has been some speculation regarding the relative merit of the components of this approach. The aim of this study was to compare (i) cognitive strategies; (ii) behavioural strategies; and (iii) combined cognitive-behavioural (CB) strategies on depressed mood among a sample of 70 individuals with mild ID. Methods: Staff from three participating agencies received training in how to screen individuals with mild ID for depressive symptoms and risk factors for depression. Depressive symptoms and negative automatic thoughts were assessed prior to and at the conclusion of the intervention, and at 6-month follow-up. The interventions were run in groups by the same therapist. Results: A post-intervention reduction in depression scores was evident in participants of all three interventions, with no significant difference between groups. A significant reduction in negative automatic thoughts post-intervention was evident in the CB combination group and was maintained at follow-up. Examination of clinical effectiveness suggests some advantage of the CB combination in terms of improvement and highlights the possible short term impact of behavioural strategies in comparison with the longer-term potential of cognitive strategies. Conclusions: The findings support the use of group cognitive-behavioural interventions for addressing symptoms of depression among people with ID. Further research is necessary to determine the effectiveness of components. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

"It's about freedom": contesting dominant representations of devout Muslim women in the space of the nation

Since September 11 there has been a rise of Islamophobia in Australian public discourse, matched by a growth of racialised attacks on visibly identifiable Muslims in public space. These cultural racisms have arisen in a context where Islamic religious signifiers and practices have come to be read as signs of fundamentalism, terrorism and threat to national political traditions and cultural values. In particular, the hijab has become a symbol of these tensions, with the veiled woman being read as the embodiment of a ‘repressive and fundamentalist religion’. However, as some Muslim and feminist scholars have proposed, these readings rob Muslim women of their ability to articulate the reasons why wear the veil or engage in gendered religious practices. This paper argues that this enacts a form of disembodiment, whereby Muslim womens’ ability to comfortably inhabit their bodies and assert themselves in the public sphere is limited. In particular the paper draws upon two case studies which express this disembodiment, whilst highlighting the counter-strategies that devout Muslim women are adopting to reinsert their bodies and narratives in the national frame. The first refers to the recent media backlash which followed a public lecture held at Melbourne University by Islamic organization Hikmah Way, where the audience was segregated along gender lines. The second draws upon interviews conducted with veiled Muslim women in Sydney, following the Cronulla riot. These interviews show how Muslim women are contesting dominant representations of the hijab in western popular discourse by recoding it as a signifier of religious and national identity, and as an expression of democratic freedom.