- Political Theory, Critical Social Theory, Disability Studies, Critical Disability Studies, Political Philosophy, Social Policy, and 20 moreHuman Rights, Human Rights Theory, Social and Political Theories of Justice & Human Rights, Social Justice, Moral Philosophy, International Human Rights Law, Minority Rights, Equality and Non Discrimination, The Rights of Persons With Disabilities, Sociology, Critical Theory, Feminist Theory, Critical Discourse Analysis, Feminist Philosophy, Sociology of Intellectual Disability, Care Ethics, Feminist Disability Studies, Social and Political Philosophy, Liberalism, and Public Policy - Social Welfare Policyedit
- Dr Laura Davy is a Research Fellow in the Equity and Diversity stream at the Public Service Research Group, UNSW Canberra. A political theorist and sociologist, her research foc... moreDr Laura Davy is a Research Fellow in the Equity and Diversity stream at the Public Service Research Group, UNSW Canberra. A political theorist and sociologist, her research focuses on disability and care theory and policy. Her current research analyses the range of influences shaping disability policy in Australia and internationally, such as the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the shift towards market-based social services delivery.edit
Drawing on the built environment concept of “inclusive design” and its emphasis on creating accessible environments for all persons regardless of ability, I suggest that a central task for feminist disability theory is to redesign... more
Drawing on the built environment concept of “inclusive design” and its emphasis on creating accessible environments for all persons regardless of ability, I suggest that a central task for feminist disability theory is to redesign foundational philosophical concepts to present opportunities rather than barriers to inclusion for people with disability. Accounts of autonomy within liberal philosophy stress self-determination and the dignity of all individual persons, but have excluded people with intellectual disability from moral and political theories by denying their capacity for individual autonomy, seen as a chief marker of moral personhood. This paper modifies and extends feminist theories of relational autonomy by arguing for the need to view autonomy as a feature of persons that is manifested only through relations of support, advocacy, and enablement. An “inclusively designed,” relational account negotiates the tensions encountered in attempts to apply autonomy to people with high support needs, and politicizes the concept as an advocacy tool for people with intellectual disability and their allies.
Research Interests:
The term 'co-evolution' originates in biology, meaning “the influence of closely associated species on each other in their evolution”. Ehrlich and Raven [10] first used the term in reference to biological evolution when looking at the... more
The term 'co-evolution' originates in biology, meaning “the influence of closely associated species on each other in their evolution”. Ehrlich and Raven [10] first used the term in reference to biological evolution when looking at the relationship between the patterns of evolution of plants and butterflies, stating that it describes the simultaneous, reciprocal evolution of interacting populations. Reciprocity is an element of co-evolutionary relationships stressed by all definitions in the literature. In biology, co-evolution refers to the change of a biological entity triggered by the change of a related entity [42]. Each entity exerts certain pressures and influences over the other, affecting the evolutionary trajectory of each.
Research Interests:
This paper considers the design requirements of carers of young people with disability. Most young people with disability live in the home of their carer for extended periods of their life and some never leave. Although the issue of... more
This paper considers the design requirements of carers of young people with disability. Most young people with disability live in the home of their carer for extended periods of their life and some never leave. Although the issue of young people with disability and care has been well explored, there is a paucity of research concerning the home environment and how it does or does not support the role of caring. The research questions that framed this systematic explorative literature search and narrative analysis are: what tensions, if any, may exist between a carer’s needs and the needs of the person with disability in home design; what design features of the physical home environment would enable carers to care in the home in more comfortable and sustainable ways; and what assessment criteria should home design and modification professionals consider when assessing for home modifications or adaptations which will support a whole-of-household approach to assessment and incorporate the needs and preferences of all members of a household, including carers. As a result of the analysis undertaken, we found that a number of aspects of home design are important to carers and ion order to facilitate better practice, these have been distilled into an attention-directing framework specific to relevant design criteria.