Accessing an autism diagnosis is a key milestone, both for an individual and their family. Using a qualitative methodology, the current study examined the views and experiences of ten autistic adults, ten parents of children on the autism spectrum, and ten professionals involved in autism diagnosis, all based in the United Kingdom (UK). Interviewing these 30 respondents about the diagnostic process and subsequent support options, the goal was to identify aspects of the diagnostic process that are working well, and areas in which improvements are needed. Using thematic analysis, three key themes were identified: the process of understanding and accepting autism; multiple barriers to satisfaction with the diagnostic process; and inadequate post-diagnostic support provision.

Forensic mental health inpatients in medium secure settings have a limited capacity for sexual expression during their stay in hospital, due to a number of factors, including a lack of willingness on behalf of staff to engage with sexual issues, as a result of safety fears and ambiguity regarding the ability of the patient to consent. Furthermore, UK forensic medium secure units do not provide conjugal suites for patients to have sexual relations, with their spouse or other patients. To date, there is no empirical research on how forensic psychiatric patients (or service users) manage their sexuality, whilst in hospital and when released into the community. Here, we present an analysis of semistructured interviews with patients at a UK medium forensic unit, in order to explore these issues further. More specifically, we examine how the public exclusion of sexuality from these units results in sexuality being experienced as sectioned off or amputated, such that a new form of sexuality emerges; one that has been cultivated by the psychologically informed practices operating within the unit. This process, we argue produces a Psychologically Modified Experience (PME), a new form of self-relation that continues to modify when released into the broader ecology of the community. IntroductionForensic mental health services in the UK are based around secure hospital units, varying from low to high security, that are embedded in local health services. Persons diagnosed with severe or enduring mental health issues who have entered the criminal justice system after committing a criminal offenceknown as an 'index offence' -may be detained or 'sectioned' under the Mental Health Act (1983) and subsequently transferred to a secure unit for a significant, open-ended period of time. Two-thirds of forensic mental health service users spend over two years on a section, with twenty percent detained between five and ten years and eighteen percent between ten and twenty years (Rutherford & Duggan, 2007). This period of detention can occur at a critical period in the individual's development of adult sexuality and personal relationships, with over half of all patients being within an age range of twenty to forty years of age (Rutherford & Duggan, 2007). Sexuality and personal relationships are therefore significant issues for service users (Lowson, 2005). However, we have found in previous studies 2 ( AUTHORS, 2007) that staff working in secure forensic mental health units express significant concerns around service-user sexuality.When patients engage in sexual activity with one another, this raises a significant number of dilemmas for staff. This includes the impact of such activity on the health and wellbeing of the patients concerned, given their current state and the timing of the events concerned in relation to the duration of the stay on the unit. It also raises a concern for patient's rights and whether sexual activity has been consensual for all who are involved. We found (AUTHORS, 2007) that staff reported extensive...

This study examines the strategies used, and the challenges faced, by global sport company adidas as it established a major sponsorship deal with the New Zealand Rugby Football Union. In particular the study focuses on how adidas 'localised' into the New Zealand market, how they used the All Blacks as part of their global marketing campaign and, the resistance they encountered based on claims they were exploiting the Maori haka.

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Some people with physical disabilities experience difficulties in forming and maintaining intimate and sexual relationships (Taleporos and McCabe, 2001). Individuals with physical impairments may variously be seen as inferior, ‘not up to scratch’ and can be less valued than those thought to embody the cultural ideal of ‘normality’ (Edwards and Imrie, 2003). The loss of an anatomical part such as an arm or a leg can therefore set up a complex series of perceptual, emotional and psychological responses that can limit or prevent individuals from fully experiencing the kinds of intimate relationships that many of their ‘non-disabled’ counterparts can more freely enjoy (Oliver, 1990). Drawing on a series of semi-structured interviews and a group visual workshop with five men and two women with varying acquired and congenital limb absences, this study explores the variety of ways in which sexual relationships and intimacies are negotiated and managed. Certain participants reported a great deal of anxiety regarding their perceptions of sexual attractiveness, and experienced feelings of loss of desirability as a sexual partner. Others reported engaging in an ‘active management of visual information’ about the body, through methods of concealment and exposure. Compensatory strategies were also reported as a way to effectively maintain existing intimate relationships. Finally, hyper-masculine or hyper-feminine enactments of sexuality were described within a range of social and intimate contexts as a means to ‘normalise’ the disabled body. The findings of this study provide a richer and more contextualised understanding of the highly complex adjustment process faced by individuals with limb absence, who actively engage in sexual and intimate relationships.

Local sporting stadia exist as sought after promotional platforms for multinational corporations to associate their brands with major international mega-sporting events. However, in conjunction with a global climate of corporate sign wars (Goldman and Papson, 1996) and the continued threat of ambush marketing, these sporting spaces exist as contested terrains where a range of power relations are effectively played out at the global-local nexus. In this paper, we examine issues pertaining to ambush marketing and the brand protection/clean venue policies employed by local organising committees in two case studies: the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 1999 FIFA Under-17 World Soccer Championships in New Zealand. We identify similar strategies utilised at both sporting events to protect official sponsors while discussing some of the implications of these issues on the lived experiences of spectators and citizens who are inevitably connected to the wider structures of power operating within and through these local sporting spaces.Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Scherer, J., Sam, M. and Batty, R. (2005) 'Sporting sign wars: advertising and the contested terrain of sporting events and venues', Int.

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Individuals with mental health problems are considered to be part of a group labeled 'vulnerable' in forensic psychology literature and the legal system more generally. In producing witness statements, there are numerous guidelines in the UK, designed to facilitate the production of reliable and valid accounts by those deemed to be vulnerable witnesses. And yet, it is not entirely clear how mental health impacts on reliability and validity within the judicial system, partly due to the diversity of those who present with mental health difficulties. In this paper, we set out to explore how legal professionals operating in the UK understand the impact of mental distress on the practical production of witness testimonies. Twenty legal professionals, including police officers, judges, magistrates and detectives were involved in a semi-structured interview to examine their knowledge and experience of working with mental health problems, and how they approached and worked with this group. A thematic analysis was conducted on the data and specific themes relevant to the overall research question are presented. These include a) dilemmas and deficiencies in knowledge of mental health, b) the abandonment of diagnosis and c) barriers to knowledge: time restrictions, silence, professional identity and fear. Finally, we explore some of the implications of these barriers, with regard to professional practice.