Sally Robinson

Bio: Sally Robinson is an academic researcher from Flinders University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Intellectual disability & Inclusion (disability rights). The author has an hindex of 10, co-authored 68 publications receiving 341 citations. Previous affiliations of Sally Robinson include Griffith University & University of Dundee.

Preventing abuse in accommodation services: from procedural response to protective cultures.

Abstract: This article reviews current approaches of disability accommodation services to addressing the abuse and neglect of people with intellectual disability who live in them. We review international literature and provide practice examples from accommodation services for people with intellectual disability in Australia to develop a framework of current research, policy and practice in this area. The results of this review show that dominant policy and practice approaches do not give adequate consideration to the prevention and protection of people from harm, focusing primarily on responding to individual instances of maltreatment. Managerial, compliance-based systems may be deflecting attention from recognizing and responding more effectively to abuse and neglect at individual, systemic and structural levels. The current dominant approach fails to develop a culture of prevention and protection for people with intellectual disability. Further, some systemic and structural preconditions are set which make abuse and neglect less likely to be prevented.

Belonging and exclusion in the lives of young people with intellectual disability in small town communities

Abstract: In recent policies, it is assumed that communities welcome the inclusion of young people with intellectual disability. However, little is known about perspectives of young people themselves. This article reports on research that sought to address this gap. Young people with intellectual disability living in three Australian small town communities participated in pictorial mapping and photo-rich methods to explore belonging and exclusion and links between these. Young people’s feelings of comfort and safety with local spaces and people were important for their sense of belonging. Emplaced relationships with family and some friends were key to strong belonging, as were positive attachments to disability support workers and spaces. Social exclusion, either from particular places or more generally, was keenly felt. Young people’s confidence, willingness to enter social spaces and relationships were magnified by ways that systems responded to their impairment, at worst fracturing their sense of feeling welcome...

Will Policy Makers Hear My Disability Experience? How Participatory Research Contributes to Managing Interest Conflict in Policy Implementation

Abstract: Participatory evaluation gives primacy to the experience of people affected by the policy. How realistic is it for researchers to persuade government of its benefits, given the gap between participatory policy theory and government evaluation practice? We apply this question to the Resident Support Program evaluation. The program coordinates support for people living in boarding houses and hostels in Queensland, Australia. We found that a participatory, longitudinal, formative evaluation process facilitated service user contribution to research outcomes, service experiences and policy implementation. In addition, the values position of participatory research can contribute to managing interest conflict in policy implementation.

Preventing abuse of children and young people with disability under the National Disability Insurance Scheme: a Brave new world?

Abstract: Evidence shows that children and young people with disability experience violence, abuse, and neglect at rates considerably higher than their peers. Despite persistent efforts to address it, these rates do not appear to be declining over time. As Australia moves towards implementing a national policy of personalised disability support, new opportunities and risks arise concerning personal safety in young people's lives. This paper reviews the existing evidence on abuse and neglect of children and young people with disability to help identify the nature of these risks and potential ways of thinking about and responding to these. Applying a social ecological lens, the discussion points to the importance of working productively with the multidimensional realities of these children's lives at a time when the policy and services designed to support them are also in a state of flux. The paper invites and challenges researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to engage critically with the knowledge alre...

Who is an author

Abstract: Authorship of scientific papers is an important activity for the academic researcher, as papers provide a forum for communication of scientific results and can be used to provide references of scientific merit. Authors are responsible for the content of reports, and of course, the presentation of results should be as accurate and unbiased as possible. However, manuscripts can be written in a variety of ways using different words and expressions. In addition, each scientific author does not need to write every single word in the manuscript nor is he/she a novelist. The definition of scientific authorship is not clear-cut and is interpreted differently in various scientific communities. This issue is far from new, and during my years I have seen several commentaries on this subject. Kassirer and Angell, Editors of the New England Journal of Medicine, discussed the issue of authorship in an Editorial published in 1991. I consider this Editorial important as it emphasizes the importance of scientific input and the need to define the contribution of an author particularly in multicenter trials [1]. In order to define roles more clearly, Rennie et al. suggested using “contributors” as a more appropriate designation for some authors [2]. The scientific paper when published is open for discussion, and all authors should be able to provide input of scientific value. All submissions to the European Journal of Heart Failure must include a statement about the role of each author and a signed document defining each author's contribution. This requirement was implemented as a consequence of several reports of papers being published without the knowledge of some of the co-authors. An example is the Sudbo paper, published in the Lancet in 2005, in which several of the 13 co-authors claimed that they were not aware of the submission or the full result [3]. The European Journal of Heart Failure complies with the definitions of authorship as outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors which is available online at: http://www.icmje.org. We have no further requirement more than an author should have made a scientific contribution. In our May issue, we published an Ethics statement from the HEART network [4]. In this statement, we repeat what we have stated on our website since June last year. The purpose of the statement is to ensure transparency

Review of Research.

Abstract: According to WHO, the permissible limit of arsenic till 1993 was 0.05 mg. /L of drinking water. In 1993, WHO modified the maximum level and brought it down to 0.01 mg./L. According to the report of School of Environment Studies of Jadavpur University (1992-1993), West Bengal has 6 districts, affected by arsenic contamination of ground water. The present paper attempts to find out the vulnerability and impact of arsenic on human being. A detailed survey was conducted at Dahapara village of Murshidabad district to assess the present condition of the area giving emphasis on the identification of sources of arsenic pollution.