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Disability Research Network e-Newsletter: June 2008 - 14th Edition
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Editor’s Comments: 
Welcome to the 14th edition of the Disability Research Network e-newsletter (in association with the Research Institute of Health and Social Change, Manchester Metropolitan University and Breakthrough UK Ltd).  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed to this edition, bearing in mind that last month, I was unable to put together a newsletter. To avoid what happened last month, please; remember to submit contributions for the next edition by latest 28th June, 2008. When submitting, remember to use simple text version for easy accessibility. Once again, thank you for your support.
 
Best Wishes
Tsitsi Chataika
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Coordinator’s Comments: 
Please find below the 14th e-newsletter from this established but expandable network. Our aims are to provide informal, off the press and informative monthly details of disability research activities, which might be of interest to audiences including disability activists, organisations of disabled people, students, researchers, policy makers, families, practitioners and local authorities.

This sharing and networking links into the aims of the Disability Studies Association (http://www.disabilitystudies.net/). This network relies, obviously, on regular monthly input. When contributing, please include the following:

* / funding priorities' which readers might be able to link into for funding bids. The details of your institution and one contact person and their email address
* Monthly commitment to provide us with BRIEF information (inc. related web links) about disability research activities you and your colleagues are involved through emails each month me (you will be reminded by email). This could be no more than a few lines – and no attachments – as we want to keep it workable, informal and relatively easy to read.
* To provide details on such things as news on forthcoming publications;
conferences/seminars you are attending or hosting; funding opportunities of interest to disability researchers; news from local and national government; international disability issues; stories from research; ideas for research that you would like to explore with interested others; disability studies teaching materials and resources; links to new policy and user consultation, etc …
* To provide in your email information categorised in terms of your institution e.g. ‘News from the Research Institute of Health and Social Change, Manchester Metropolitan University’; ‘Activities of the disability studies team at University of Northumbria’
* To make the email simple text without loads of formatting for ease    of putting together
* To posit other ideas for developing the e-newsletter - perhaps a section on 'possible future research
 
Very best wishes
 
Dan Goodley
d.goodley@mmu.ac.uk 
 
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Contents:
1. News Manchester Metropolitan University, Research & Social Change New Funded Projects - RIHSC is please to announce new funded projects and a Call for two conferences
2. News from the Social Policy Research Unit, University of York - Report and Conference
3.  News from Sheffield Hallam University, The Autism Centre – Ongoing Research Project on Autism
4. News from Portsmouth University – Call for a Conference and MSc Applied Psychology of Intellectual Disabilities Course
5. News from Social Role Valorization Interest Group
6. Special Request from Tsitsi Chataika - Afro-Brits Award Nomination
7.  News From Zimbabwe's National Association of Socities for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCOH), Harare, Zimbabwe - Ongoing violence in Zimbabwe 
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1. News from Manchester Metropolitan University Research Institute for Health & Social Change (RIHSC)
 (a) New Funded Projects - RIHSC is please to announce new funded projects below: 
 
(i) NEW ESRC FUNDED PROJECT
"Does every child matter, post Blair? The interconnections of disabled childhoods"
http://www.rihsc.mmu.ac.uk/postblairproject/

(ii) NEW BRITISH COUNCIL/PMI2 FUNDED PROJECT
http://www.rihsc.mmu.ac.uk/malaysiaukdisability/
(b) 2008 Annual RIHSC Conference 
 RIHSC is publicising a conference taking place on Tuesday, 1st  and  Wednesday, 2nd July 2008. Details of the conference are available at:
http://www.rihsc.mmu.ac.uk/docs/RIHSC_Conference_2008.pdf

Venue: John Dalton Building, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5GD 
YOU ARE ALL WELCOME. To book your place please contact rihsc@mmu.ac.uk 
 



Keynotes: 
(i) Creating an evidence base fit for practice and fit for purpose: A new perspective - Professor Ann Moore Director of the Clinical Research Centre for Health Professions, University of Brighton 
 
(ii) Governing Lifestyles: What's the problem?  - Dr Adam Burgess 
School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent 
 
(iii) 'Can we use your photo?' 
Power, authority and voice in research with people with learning difficulties - Dr Sue Ralph; RIHSC, Manchester Metropolitan University 
 
(c)On the 3 July 2008, following on from the RIHSC conference of  1st and 2nd July, there will be another conference - "Theorising Culture and Disability Interdisciplinary Dialogues"

Venue: Manchester Metropolitan University, E29, Chester Street, Manchester, M1 5GD

The conference has been organised by RIHSC: Social Change and Well Being Research Centre & English Research Institute

Conference Programme
9.00am     Welcome
 
9.30am     Introduction

Professor Dan Goodley, Manchester Metropolitan University
Theorising Culture and Disability: Interdisciplinary Dialogues

10.00am     Panel 1 

Dr. Rebecca Mallett, Sheffield Hallam University
Claims for Comedic Immunity: Or, What Do You Get When You Cross Contemporary Comedy with Disability?

Dr. Alison Wilde, University of York 
Spectacle, performance and the re-presentation of disability and impairment.

11.30am     Break

11.45am     Panel 2

Dr. Bret Smith, University of Exeter 
Storied boundaries within disability research: Some theoretical reflections on ‘how close is too close’ to research participants, and ‘how far is too far’

Dr. Kate?ina Kolá?ová, Charles University, Prague.
Performing the Pain, Opening the Body for Pleasure

1.15pm     Lunch
2.00pm     Panel 3

Dr. Stuart Murray, University of Leeds, 
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Interdisciplinary Disability Studies in the UK

Dr. Lucy Burke, MMU, and Dr. David Bolt, Newcastle-under-Lyme College
Symbiosis and Subjectivity: Literary Representations of Disability and Social  Care 

3.30pm     Break

3.45pm     Panel 4

Dr. Clare Barker, University of Leeds
Disability and Postcolonial Studies: Initiating Interdisciplinary Dialogues

Irene Rose, University of Manchester 
Teaching A Dead Dog New Tricks: Appraising Interdisciplinarity Through Critical Engagements with Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

5.15pm     Book Launch

We are honoured to launch Dr. Stuart Murray’s Representing Autism: Culture, Narrative, Fascination, the first book in his eagerly awaited LUP series, Representations: Health, Disability, Culture.

This event has been arranged in association with Journal of Literary Disability (soon to be Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies), the Cultural Disability Studies Research Network, Review of Disability Studies, and Liverpool University Press.

The MMU map is available at  http://www.mmu.ac.uk/about/locations/allsaints.php 

Contact
Prof Dan Goodley
Professor of Psychology and Disability Studies
Manchester Metropolitan University
RIHSC, Psychology and Social Change 
Gaskell Campus
Manchester, M13 0JA
Tel: (+44) 0161 247 2526
Fax: (+44) 0161 247 6842
E-mail: d.goodley@mmu.ac.uk
 
2. News from the Social Policy Research Unit at the University of York
New research report available: "Evaluation of the Pilot Programme of the Integrated Children's System: The disability study"
The Integrated Children's System (ICS) is currently being implemented in Children's Social Service Departments (SSDs) across England and Wales. The ICS aims to provide a single approach to assessment and review for all 'children in need', based on electronic information recording and sharing amongst different groups of practitioners. Despite its holistic aims, questions have been raised about the use of ICS with disabled children. This research explores the use of ICS with families of disabled children in four local authorities who were piloting the system.The full research report and the Research Works summary can be downloaded from: http://php.york.ac.uk/inst/spru/pubs/child.php
 
Contact:
Rachel Pitman 
Email: rp17@york.ac.uk 

3. News from Sheffield Hallam University, the Autism Centre
 
We are currently working on a project with Sutherland House School, a specialist school for children on the autism spectrum, based in Nottingham. The study was initiated by Rebecca Checkley one of the speech and language therapists at the school. Rebecca had previously carried out a pilot study to evaluate the impact, on children's communication and learning, of using software that enables laptops to be used by pupils as voice output communication aids (VOCAs). Rebecca's results, published in the journal Good Autism Practice (GAP) demonstrated very positive skill development. Rebecca is now project managing this second study to evaluate use of the VOCA in classroom settings. Project participants include the pupils themselves, parents/carers and staff within the school. Sheffield Hallam is contributing to the research design of the study and supporting with the data analysis and write up. Members of the Autism Centre team who are working on this are Sue Chantler, Nick Hodge and Lisa Reidy.
 
Contact: 
Dr Nick Hodge
Email: N.S.Hodge@shu.ac.uk
 
4. News from Portsmouth University
 
(a) The Department of Psychology are pleased to announce a conference to celebrate 20 years of intellectual disability studies at the University of Portsmouth:
 
Empowering people with intellectual disabilities, their families and supporters: reflections on research and practice
 
Venue: Park Building, University of Portsmouth
Date: Friday 12 and Saturday 13 September 2008
Fees: £90.00
 
This conference and associated workshops are aimed at service workers, families and supporters of people with intellectual disabilities and students of disability studies. It will explore themes such as family strengths, resilience and empowerment and contemporary theories to rethink ways of celebrating intellectual disability as another aspect of human diversity.
 
Speakers include:
(i) Prof Carl Dunst, Director, Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute, Asheville, North Carolina, USA
(ii) Prof Dan Goodley, Professor of Psychology and Disability Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
(iii) Dr Karl Nunkoosing, Principal Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, UK
(iv) Prof Sue Buckley, Emeritus Professor of Developmental Disability, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth; Director, The Down Syndrome Educational Trust, UK
(v) Mr Andrew Bright, Director, National Development Team, UK
 
For further information visit:
www.port.ac.uk/IntellectualDisabilitiesConference
Or contact:
Dr Christine Jenkins
Telephone: 023 9284 6314
Email: christine.jenkins@port.ac.uk
 
(b) MSc Applied Psychology of Intellectual Disabilities
This course enables students to help citizens with intellectual disabilities lead empowered lives: This unique, part-time distance learning course, delivered via the internet, provides an opportunity for those supporting children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their families to enhance their knowledge and skills and gain an academic qualification.
Course content: key topics include social construction, empowerment, supporting families and communication, in the context of the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.
 
Entry requirements: a first degree or equivalent or a professional qualification and relevant experience. You should be employed or involved in voluntary work with children or adults with intellectual disabilities.
 
For further information please contact the course leaders:
 
Dr Christine Jenkins                               Dr Karl Nunkoosing
Telephone: 023 9284 6338                      Telephone: 023 9284 6339 
 Email:christine.jenkins@port.ac.uk          Email: karl.nunkoosing@port.ac.uk
 
5. News from Social Role Valorization Interest Group
(a) Notes of a meeting of an SRV interest group, held in Stafford on 10th May 2008
 
Introduction
 
Following the fourth international Social Role Valorization conference, held in Ottawa in May 2007, a group of people from UK and a few other European countries had attempted to discover what, if any, interest there was in SRV and SRV related events in the UK. A meeting, held at Salford University on 10/11 November 2007, organized by David and Debbie Race, had resulted in 25 people coming together to discuss this issue. That meeting included some people with many years of SRV involvement and teaching, including team leaders and organisers of PASS and PASSING workshops, and others who had newly become aware of SRV. Included in the relatively new attendees were a small group from Staffordshire, who were working on developing SRV within the NHS Trust there, led by Mike Newbury from Staffordshire University, an experienced SRV teacher.
The notes of that meeting were circulated to those who attended, and also to as many of their contacts as possible, and included a number of tasks that some of those attending agreed to take forward. In particular, these included the following:
-The development of a website
-The organising and carrying out of a ‘front-room PASSING’ i.e. an informally arranged evaluation of a service setting who were willing to make their service available. The idea of this was for experienced team leaders to become accustomed to the new version of PASSING, published in 2007, with a view to putting on some form of PASSING workshop in due course
-The organization of a second open invitation event in six months time
 
As will be seen below, developments happened on most of these, and the second event was organized for 10/11 May 2008, in Stafford, immediately following the ‘front room PASSING’ which took place on 8/9 May.
 
What follows is a summary of the deliberations of the network meeting, which in fact took place on the 10th May only. It is not intended to be a verbatim account of what took place, though the headings put on paper by groups discussing issues are reproduced. In terms of actions, however, the decisions taken at the meeting are set out at the end of this account. The meeting was attended by fifteen people, ten of whom had attended the previous event, and the organizers had received apologies and continued interest from a further ten. David and Debbie Race had taken responsibility for co-coordinating the meeting, with the Stafford group kindly arranging the venue
 
Updates on developments since the November meeting
 
After a round of introductions, David Race informed the meeting on developments since the November meeting. As noted above, the ‘front-room PASSING’ had just taken place, with two teams of four people, led by David and Debbie Race respectively. A small planning group had met twice in between November and now, and potential team members had originally been up to eleven, but due to pressures of work and last-minute emergencies the eight people noted above made up the team members. This eight consisted of five people with considerable experience in SRV and PASS(ING) team leading and three from the Stafford study group, and the services had been selected from those with which the Stafford people were involved. This had ensured ease of access, though providing some dilemmas in terms of feedback. The personal reactions to the two days had been shared in the morning, and remained confidential to the group, but the implication for future events and the SRV interest group were also highlighted, and Debbie Race spoke on this as later i on the agenda.
 
Progress had been made on the website by Paul Jenkins and Karl-Johan Johansen, but unfortunately illness had caused a delay in the final launch. It was hoped that this could now proceed, so that something was in place by the next meeting of the group.
 
Finally, this meeting of the group had been organised, and attracted some new attendees. David Race indicated that the identity of the group, and other matters to do with its functioning, would be discussed as the main business of the day.
 
‘Front-room PASSING’ – feedback and implications for the future
 
As noted above, details of the sites and the results were confidential to the teams, but more general feedback on the process, and thoughts for the future, were summarised by Debbie Race.
 
The facts of the process were that the teams had met on the morning of day one, carried out the detailed ‘enquiry’ interview with the service leaders in the rest of the morning, and then been on site for the afternoon and early evening. Team members had then carried out individual ratings, as on a PASSING workshop, in the evening, prior to the full conciliation the next day. Day two then began with the ‘poll’ of ratings, followed by the foundation discussion, conciliation of ratings, and highlighting of issues to be fed back to the service. As this was not a formal evaluation, the feedback would be in terms of a written report, of a general nature, in keeping with the position that the services had allowed the team access to the site primarily for their learning. Issues raised regarding the process therefore could be divided into those relating to the specific process just outlined, and then what that might mean for the possibility and format of future events.
 
On the process, there was general satisfaction from the experienced team leaders that they could work with the new PASSING, that there were a number of improvements on previous versions (and on PASS) and that a PASSING workshop could definitely happen. There were some issues with regard to participants who knew the sites being team members, and it was concluded that the benefits of being able to get access informally probably outweighed the drawbacks for this sort of event, but that for a full-scale workshop then the principle of no conflict of interest would be important. The Stafford team members appreciated the really thought provoking and stimulating nature of the process, and reflected, as many first time PASSING team members had over the years, the difficulty of getting back into the everyday pressures of work, and how there would need to be discussion on how their learning could be used to re-invigorate their local interest group.

This then led on to thoughts of future events, which were presented to the meeting as areas for discussion, not as definite decisions. They centred on three areas:
(i)How this would work with the current service/social climate, in particular the national move to individualised budgets, the much greater market based values in services, with the accompanying emphasis on outcome based commissioning and the virtual impossibility of staff being released for training for more than a few days at a time. The implications were that feedback would have to be carefully handled, lest it become yet one more ‘audit’ (and one which could be used in a negative way. A further consideration was that there may need to be an emphasis, in both SRV training and PASSING workshops, on working with families and carers, since they would be having an increasing role in service development, and that any events would have to be shorter than had been the case previously.
(ii)That it was important for anyone attending a PASSING workshop, of any format, to have undertaking SRV training. This had implications, again for the wider group in terms of the identified shortage of SRV training in the UK, and also the variety of what training there was.
(iii) That a realistic initial step would be a three day, one site, PASSING workshop, with the requirement of at least a basic SRV training (allowing for the point above) and practice of the rating process via simulations. The emphasis would be on the use of PASSING as a learning tool, which learning participants could take back into their working (and family) lives.
 
 Issues for discussion - communication from Wolf Wolfensberger
 
David Race informed the meeting about the existence of the North American SRV Council, of which he was a corresponding member, and the fact that the notes of the previous meeting of this group had been sent to the Council for information. Their deliberations had generated a personal letter from Wolf Wolfensberger, raising a number of issues, some of which had been discussed in November, and some that might benefit from a more focussed discussion. Whilst it was acknowledged that the letter was not from the Council formally, and in any case they did not have, or had ever claimed, authority over events in the UK, there was general appreciation of the interest in what was happening in our group, and in the trouble taken by Wolf Wolfensberger to write.
As noted above, some of the issues were very much discussed at the last meeting, and since that meeting was by definition exploratory, it was felt that the group would benefit from using the issues raised in the letter as headings for more detailed discussion in small groups.
David did not read the letter out directly, but put up the following four headings as his interpretation of the underlying issues being raised:
-Who is the group? – this raised the matter of the identity of the group, whether it needed formalising in terms of membership, and whether, and to what degree, it was specific to SRV
-The level of awareness of SRV as a social science theory – this raised the matter of the use of ‘values’ and ‘values based training’ in previous discussions and in describing events, including SRV and PASSING events, in that way. 
-The question, also noted in the issues from the front room PASSING event, of the need for SRV training before people come on PASSING workshops – the additional issue from Wolf Wolfensberger was the preference, in the ‘Trainer Formation model’ used by the Council to accredit trainers, for 3 day ‘SRV-10’ taught workshops to be the main method of SRV training, along with 2-site PASSING workshops.
-The fact that PASSING workshops were now ‘more sophisticated,’ and that the roles of Team Leader and ‘Floater’ (The person or persons who were responsible for the overall process, and for effectively supervising the Team Leaders) had developed accordingly. Again, David explained that, in the UK, there had only ever been three ‘2-site’ PASSING workshops – one the first ever one, headed by Susan Thomas, in 1984, one led by Oxana Metiuk and David Race, in Chester in 1999, and one led by two Australians, Errol Cocks and Peter Millier, in Newcastle in 2000. The great number of PASS and PASSING workshops in the UK, between 1980 and 2000, with considerably fewer in the last five of those years, had been one site workshops, often with a day of SRV teaching at the start of the workshop, and with practice of rating via simulations. The collective experience, therefore, of the UK network was not the same as that in the other countries that still carried out significant amounts of SRV and PASSING training. This also meant that there were many parts of the UK service system that had no knowledge of SRV, despite it being at the root of many of the developments in government policy. It is also of interest that the current minister responsible for Valuing People had attended a PASS workshop in the 1980s as an advocate, and the head of the Valuing People implementation team had also attended a PASS(ING) workshop. The issue for discussion was thus the approach of this fragile group to the sort of event they might want/be able to put on (and the earlier comments from the ‘front room PASSING’ group were of relevance here)
 
Feedback from discussion groups
 
Using that information and those headings, the meeting split into three groups, and the headings of their feedback is given below. Obviously, there were points of disagreement, and the views of those attending might not be followed by others in the network not at the meeting, and therefore the actions which followed were more limited than the full range of suggestions covered by the groups.   
   
Action points
Various issues discussed in the groups raised points for further discussion in the wider network, rather than being resolvable on the day. The following action points were agreed, however, with those responsible for taking them forward
 
Membership – formal structure
Notes of this meeting would be sent by David and Debbie Race to all on the mailing list, with a request than they be disseminated to all interested parties, with an accompanying e-mail requesting
a)     whether the recipient wished to be part of an e-mail based membership list, with no payment in the first instance
b)     If they did, a request for views on possible options for a formal structure for the group, offers from people to take on roles in that structure, views on subscriptions if any, views on the frequency and content of whole network meetings, and an invitation to attend an event in November which would produce a set of proposals on the future to be agreed by all those on the membership list
 
SRV events
As part of the e-mail above, but separate from issues of membership and structure, would be a request for people to indicate where and how, if at all, they were involved in SRV teaching, and whether they would be interested in joining an event that would either compare different styles/content of teaching, and/or be an SRV teaching event involving the various people who taught SRV at the moment. This was not intended to be some sort of ‘grading’ of teaching, but merely to find out what, if anything, was being taught as SRV
 
PASSING events
Two planning groups were set up, with an invitation to anyone not at the meeting to join in, covering the following two events.
a)     A ‘PASSING workshop,’ format to be confirmed, but open to those who had undertaken SRV training, possibly with a ‘refresher session at the start. Given the current state of SRV teaching, and the need to gain greater information on this, it was likely that such a workshop would not happen until 2009. Those at the meeting who formed the basis of the planning group were John Gilkes, Bryan Smith, David and Debbie Race
b)     Another ‘front-room PASSING – especially for those who had wanted to come on the one just held, but also as a repeat event for people from the Stafford group. The core group for this was Mike Newbury, Donna Want, and Rob Henstock, and the base venue was likely to be the University of Staffordshire campus in Shrewsbury
 
Next network event
I was agreed that a one-day event, from 10am to 5pm should be the next one, primarily a ‘business’ event to decide the future of the network and the responses to the actions above. It would again be held on the Saturday after a ‘front-room PASSING’ and so will probably be in Shrewsbury on a Saturday in November, provisionally on the 8th or 15th. It was recognised that future events would need to move about the country more than the first three, but given the likely developments and changes to be decided at the next meeting then future events might take a significantly different form, as well as venue, so this would be part of the debate between now and November. David and Debbie Race would co-ordinate this as part of the actions above, and Mike Newbury and the Stafford group would sort out the venue
 
(b) Follow up of the above notes

Based on the notes above, we are trying to consult as many people as possible about the structure and future direction of the group, and so we are inviting people, in the first instance, to indicate whether they are interested in joining the group, as an e-mail network in the first instance and with no other commitment. If you are interested in joining, then please let us know at Debbierace@aol.com or DavidRace51@aol.com. We would also like to hear your views, over the next six months, on, first, possible options for a formal structure for the group. As you will see from the notes, a range of views were expressed at our meeting as to what this might be, whether there should be subscriptions, the frequency and content of whole network meetings, and many other issues. We would hope, therefore, that over this period the membership e-mail list can be a forum for discussion of everyone's views. We would then invite as many people as possible to attend an event in November whose main business would be to produce a set of proposals on the future of the network to be agreed by all those on the membership list.

We also, however, would like to hear from people on two further related matters. One, to ascertain what, if any teaching or training is going on that is described as 'Social Role Valorization.' So if you give such training, or are aware of such training going on in your part of the world, then we would be interested to hear from you. Finally offers from people to take on roles in whatever structure emerges for the group would be most welcome. There are no 'reserved places' for anyone, we rely on people prepared to make the commitment that would go with such roles as 'network co-coordinator, 'treasurer' 'website developer' and others that may emerges as appropriate to whatever structure is decided upon.

We do hope this initiative will be of interest to you and look forward to hearing from as many people as possible.
 
Since that meeting the following discussion forum has been set up - anyone interested is invited to go to http://srvboard.freeforums.org and register, or simply contact us.

Contacts:
David Race                                               Debbie Race 
DavidRace51@aol.com                          Debbierace@aol.com 
                                                     
6. Special Request from Tsitsi Chataika (Newsletter Editor)
 
I have been nominated to contest for the Afro-Brits Award in the category of "Contribution to Education" - This is an award that is given to Africans in UK who have achieved for themselves, for Africa, as well as the UK, and the world over. I believe that I deserve to win this award, and I am therefore appealing for you to vote for me. The more votes I get, the more chances of me winning this prestigious award to be held in Leeds on the 25th July 2008.  To vote, go to www.afro-brits.com and then click Nominees for 2008 and on the left, look for "Contributions to Education", and cast your vote on Dr Tsitsi Chataika's name. You can only vote once on your computer for each category. So, use your home computers, work computers, and library computers for me to get more votes. Tell your family and friends all over the world to vote for me. One of my closest friend and a Zimbabwean disability  activist, who knows me well as written the justification of why I deserve this award,.
 
Rationale for Dr Tsitsi Chataika’s Nomination for the Afro-Brits Award 2008
By Kudzai Shava
 
Dr Tsitsi Chataika trained as a teacher in Zimbabwe from 1986 to 1989 and acquired a Certificate of Education in primary education. She started teaching from 1990 until 1992. In 1993, she studied for a Diploma in Special Education at the United College of Education in Zimbabwe, specialising in teaching people with visual impairment. In 1994, Dr Chataika became a special education teacher at Jairos Jiri School for the Blind in Kadoma, Zimbabwe. While she was at Kadoma Jairos Jiri School, she took evening classes to study for “A” levels since her dream was to go to university. After acquiring the required advanced level points, she decided to pursue her academic journey. From 1998 to 1999, she studied for a Bachelor of Education Degree at the University of Zimbabwe in Special Education. Upon completion, she went back to teach at Jairos Jiri School until January 2001 when she got a post of Disability Coordinator as head of the Disability Resource Centre at the University of Zimbabwe. In 2002, she was approached by the Zimbabwe Open University and she was requested to write a distance learning module on Ophthalmology, Orientation and Mobility of People with Visual Impairment, of which she accepted. The module was published in 2003. 
 
In 2002, she got a Commonwealth scholarship to study in the United for a Masters of Arts in Special Educational Needs at the University of Leeds; the course she successfully completed in September, 2003. While she was studying at Leeds University, she was also working tirelessly saving money for PhD studies she intended to pursue after completing the masters degree. Despite her heavy schedule, she also found time to do voluntary work with Terrins Higgins Trust in Leeds, - an organisation that focuses on HIV and AIDS.
 
In October, 2003, she enrolled for a fulltime PhD course at Sheffield University although this time, she had no full funding. As a self-funded international student, she also worked to sponsor herself. From 2004 to 2005, she worked as a research associate at Sheffield University where she was the only African in the Educational Studies department. The project examined disabled people’s experiences of work, the institutional barriers that exist and expose enabling change that promotes the employment opportunities of disabled people. In 2006, she got a full research excellence scholarship from Sheffield University Graduate Office to go to Penn State University in Pennsylvania, USA for a month to polish her research skills, particularly on conducting culturally sensitive research. While in USA, she wrote a journal article with her colleagues, which was later published in August, 2007. The journal article was on inclusive education in Zimbabwe. Dr Tsitsi Chataika was conferred her doctorate on the 14th December, 2007.
 
Because of her strong links with activities in Zimbabwe, together with her unwavering commitment to disability issues, she, in some cases, donated resources to Jairos Jiri School for the Blind. In 2006, she was appointed Trustee of the Zimbabwe Disabled People’s Training and Education Trust. 
 
In 2007, she worked as a visiting lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University (UK), where she taught MSc students specialising in vocational rehabilitation. Her main areas were on institutional discrimination in relation to the UK’s Disability Discrimination Acts (1995, 2005) and their impact on employment; and also on disability and ethnicity. During the same period, she also worked as a research assistant within the Centre for Educational Research and Social Inclusion at the same university. 
 
From May, 2007, she has been working part-time as the editor of the Disability Studies Association E-Newsletter (UK). After completing her PhD Studies, Dr Chataika was approached by the Zimbabwe Open University to be a supervisor of the MPhil/PhD programme, which started in May, 2003. As a committed Zimbabwean who derives her joy in seeing other people progress in their lives, she accepted the request. Currently, she is supervising three PhD students who are based in Zimbabwe through the internet and telephone modes.  She is also a postdoctoral research fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). Dr Chataika and her research colleagues at MMU got a research funding from the British Council to do a project entitled: "Towards a culturally sensitive disability studies: Interconnections of disability studies in and across Malaysia and the UK". On this project, Dr Chataika will be focusing on the social model disability and postcolonial analysis of disability in Malaysia. From mid August, 2008 to mid October, 2008 and also in July and August, 2009, she will be in Malaysia doing this research.
 
Dr Tsitsi Chataika has been the editor of the Disability Studies Association E-Newsletter since May, 2007. She is also on the editorial board of Disability and Society Journal as the overseas editor.
 
Dr Chataika has presented extensively at both national and international conferences.  She also has three publications in press, and she is in the process of writing three more publications.
 
During her spare time, she assists university students, mainly from developing countries by proofreading and editing their assignments and research projects. Dr Chataika is also the national organising secretary, National Youth Board member, and Newsletter Editor of the Methodist fellowship in UK, which is comprised of 18 branches, stretching up to Scotland. In her local church, she is the secretary.
 
Prior to coming to UK, she was the national chairperson for leadership and Development in the Zimbabwe National Council of YMCA. She was also the project coordinator of the YMCA's after school programme that was based in Highfields, Harare, Zimbabwe.  The programme assisted children from low-income families with extra lessons. She was responsible for training the tutors for this programme, which were mainly university students. She also conducted gender and development workshops across Zimbabwe, which is one of the YMCA development programmes.  
 
Because of all the above, Dr Tsitsi Chataika befits to be a true ambassador on “Contribution to Education Afro-Brits Award.
 
7. News From Zimbabwe's National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCOH), Harare, Zimbabwe
 
(a) Statement by the National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped on the ongoing violence in Zimbabwe 
 
VIOLENCE DISABLES – STOP VIOLENCE!
 
As an umbrella body of organisations of and for people with disabilities in Zimbabwe whose mandate is to improve the lives and well being of people with disabilities, NASCOH notes with mounting concern and sadness that the senseless violence currently gripping the country has had the unfortunate effect of increasing the number of people with disabilities in the country.
 
This unfortunate development comes at a time when our health and social services departments are grossly overstretched and singularly unable to deal with the influx of casualties of violence.  It also places a heavy burden on disability organisations across the countries, which are commonly under-resourced; under funded and underserved, as, ultimately, they will have to bear the burden of rehabilitating and providing a wide range of support services to these newly-created people with disabilities.
 
Sadly, the effects of this violence, which, ironically, is ridiculously easy to avoid, will continue to haunt its victims and society long after the violence has ended.  Bread winners have been lost, while many of the victims have been so brutalised, mutilated and maimed that they have been deprived of the means of earning a living, thus further compounding the cycle of poverty that has almost become synonymous with disability.  
 
It is sad to note that it is not only physical disabilities that have been created, but that disabilities have been created across the whole disability spectrum.  Limbs have been severed and mutilated beyond use, thus adding to the physical disability population; people have been subjected to such brutal head injuries that their sight and hearing has been affected, thus swelling the numbers of the visually and hearing impaired; while some have been traumatised so much by the intensity and brutality of the violence that they have joined or will soon join the ranks of the mentally challenged.  Tragically, even innocent children have not been spared, as some of them have also been beaten up and forced to witness brutal beatings and horrific tortures of their parents and relatives.  These children have been scarred and traumatised for life. They have been deprived of their future.
 
The current violence is not only a flagrant assault on the country’s disability management efforts; it is inimical to the whole process of development, and an affront to ubuntu, the age-old African spirit of humaneness,  togetherness and sharing, for which Zimbabwe, especially, is renowned.  In this vein, we call upon the responsible parties to end this violence, and work towards the creation of a better Zimbabwe for all, including people with disabilities.
 
Contact Details:
NASCOH, 11 Peebles Road, 
Eastlea, Harare. 
Phone:+263 (0)4-776683, 
e-mail: nascoh@zol.co.zw
website: www.nascoh.org.zw.

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NB: A copy of this Newsletter is available at: 
http://www.breakthrough-uk.com/DRN.shtml
 
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END OF NEWSLETTER
For any further contributions and information contact: 
 
Dr Tsitsi Chataika
Email: t.chataika@yahoo.co.uk
Tel/Fax: +44113 293 8749 or +4479 03859902

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