Disability hate crime: persecuted for difference

This article briefly discusses the long history of violence towards disabled people which sets the context for an analysis of the modern‐day form of violence known as disability hate crime (DHC). People who look or behave differently to others often find themselves victims of violent crimes. The language used to describe disabled people contributes to their diminished position in society. A brief review of definitions of DHC and exploration of news media coverage of the Pilkington and Askew DHC cases are undertaken. Cultural scapegoating of disabled people is discussed. Disabled people are perceived as contributing to their own victimisation, the lack of support afforded to them by society and the failure of systems meant to protect them. As long as disabled people remain outside mainstream society, they are unlikely to achieve the same levels of respect and protection from crime that other groups in society are afforded.     

Exploring elementary students’ perceptions of disabilities using children's literature

The portrayal of characters in children's literature can be a very powerful influence on young children. Teachers have a responsibility to expose children to characters of all types, including those with disabilities. The goal of this study was to explore how third and fourth grade students responded to characters with disabilities in children's books. We read a total of 12 books that included characters with disabilities to students in two third‐grade and one fourth‐grade class at three elementary schools. We video‐recorded discussions about the books and identified the following four themes, all of which related to influences on students’ responses to the character with a disability: (a) societal messages, (b) academic responses, (c) teacher influence and (d) portrayal of disability. We recommend that teachers carefully select books featuring characters with disabilities based on the way the disability is portrayed in the book, and, after the read‐aloud, use questioning strategies that encourage students to make thoughtful, deep comments rather than giving ‘expected’ responses.     

Addressing the Persistence and Retention of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education: Incorporating Key Strategies and Supports on Campus

This article explores the key characteristics of postsecondary education programs that help youth and young adults with disabilities persist and remain in college. Student support factors include services that develop stronger self-determination skills, teach and support young adults' self-management skills, expose students to assistive technology, and promote career development by providing internships or other career-related experiences. In conjunction with student support services there are two professional development emphases for instructional faculty that contribute to the institutional support needed by college students with disabilities. Students benefit when faculty have an increased awareness and knowledge of the characteristics and needs of students with disabilities and when faculty incorporate concepts of universal design into their instruction and curriculum.     

Nomadic inquiry in the smooth spaces of the field: A preface

Framing this essay as a preface to a return to the field in order to collect more data for her study of the older, white southern women of her hometown, this researcher uses Laurel Richardson's (1994) concept of ''writing as a method of inquiry'' in order to revisit some of the places in which she has already done field work. By employing Deleuze and Guattari's (1980 1987) image of the nomad deterritorializing space, she revisits some of those spaces- mental space, the space of the text, and the space of theory- in order to work out of the failure of her received understanding of fieldwork and to think differently about the spaces and places in which her research takes place.     

Disrupting White Privilege: Diving beneath Shame and Guilt

Abstract

The persistence of white privilege and escalating racism in the United States challenges religious educators to analyze the roots and destructive potential of both. This article draws on historical and contemporary analyses in dialogue with personal reflection and the oral histories of two leaders who seek to recognize and live beyond their own privilege. The purpose of the study is to describe the landscape of white privilege and analyze the intersections of public and personal dynamics. The analysis reveals the educational potential of personal narratives and structural analysis in understanding and transforming white privilege into humble work for justice.     

‘What on Earth are They Doing in a Racing Car?’: Towards an Understanding of Women in Motorsport

Abstract

Motorsport is an under-researched area of socio-historical study. There is particularly limited academic understanding of female involvement in the social world of motorsports. Therefore, this paper focuses on the role of the media in presenting and establishing motorsport for women. In particular, a documentary analysis of articles published by a UK national newspaper group from 1890, and a case study of an all-female UK-based motor-racing championship are used to account for gendered processes that have influenced attitudes and behaviours towards women motor racers. The motor car emerged through technological progress in an overtly masculine-dominated industrial period. Traditional assumptions and biologically deterministic attitudes towards women were used by men to position motoring and motor-racing as a male preserve. Newspaper reporting throughout the 1930s suggests an era of heightened success for women motor racers as a result of gaining access to a key resource in the form of Brooklands motor-racing circuit. Following the Second World War, there was increasing commercialization and professionalization of male-dominated motorsport, as well as renewed marginalization and trivialization of female participants within the newspapers. These processes continue to influence perceptions of women in contemporary motorsport.     

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Celebrity Media Diet and the Cultivation of Emerging Adults’ Materialism

The present study used cultivation theory to explore the relationships between celebrity media diet and materialism for a sample of 224 emerging adults. Results indicated main effects between both celebrity magazine consumption and celebrity TV news consumption on materialism. Total celebrity media diet was also significantly related to materialism. Findings suggest that a media diet high in celebrity culture and lifestyle has significant impact on emerging adults’ preoccupation with consumerism, particularly for women. This research contributes to a growing body of literature on the effects of a celebrity-saturated media environment and the cultivation of materialistic attitudes.