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PurposeLimited research focuses on the challenges that exist at the intersection of race and dis/ability for Black men on the autism spectrum in encounters with law enforcement. An interdisciplinary approach is necessary to fully comprehend and mitigate the complex challenges. This conceptual article presents Critical Dis/ability (DisCrit) Theory, a framework usually applied to education, as a lens through which to think about encounters between Black autistic men and police officers. The article concludes with recommendations for collaboration between social scientists, police scholars, law enforcement and the public to improve the outcomes of police encounters involving Black men on the autism spectrum.Design/methodology/approachUsing a literature review and analysis of current events, this conceptual article explores the intersections of race and disability, specifically neurodiversity, in policing using Critical Dis/ability (DisCrit) theory, and its predecessors, Intersectionality Theory and Critical Race Theory (CRT).FindingsAn interdisciplinary approach might be a potential solution to improve police encounters with Black autistic men. Expanding the theoretical frameworks utilized in scholarship about policing might allow for innovative approaches to examine current practices in law enforcement. Collaboration and critical dialogue may yield opportunities for further research and shifts in practice.Originality/valueThis conceptual article uses two incidents from recent events to highlight the need for increased scholarship around the intersections of autism and race, with a particular focus on Black autistic men. It advocates for the use of social science frameworks, namely DisCrit Theory, as a novel way to approach new research regarding race and dis/ability.

BACKGROUND: Communication via the internet is a regular feature of everyday interactions for most people, including autistic people. Researchers have investigated how autistic people use information and communication technology (ICT) since the early 2000s. However, no systematic review has been conducted to summarize findings. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to review existing evidence presented by studies about how autistic people use ICT to communicate and provide a framework for understanding contributions, gaps, and opportunities for this literature. METHODS: Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses(PRISMA) statement, we conducted a comprehensive review across five databases, searching for studies investigating how autistic youth and adults use ICT to communicate. Authors reviewed the articles for inclusion and assessed methodological quality. RESULTS: Thirty-two studies met the eligibility criteria, including 19 quantitative studies, 12 qualitative studies, and 1 mixed methods study, with data from 3026 autistic youth (n = 9 studies) and adults (n = 23 studies). Ratings suggest that the evidence base is emergent. Underrepresented groups in the sample included autistic women, transgendered autistic people, non-White autistic people, low income autistic people, and minimally speaking and/or autistic adults with co-occurring intellectual disability. Three main themes emerged, including variation in ICT communication use among autistic youth and adults, benefits and drawbacks experienced during ICT communication use, and the engagement of autistic youth and adults in the online autism community. CONCLUSIONS: Further exploration of the positive social capital that autistic people gain participating in online autism communities would allow for the development of strengths-based interventions. Additional research on how autistic people navigate sexuality and ICTs is needed to identify mechanisms for reducing vulnerability online. Additional scholarship about underrepresented groups is needed to investigate and confirm findings regarding ICT communication use for gender, racial, and socioeconomic minority groups. LAY SUMMARY: WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY? People use the internet to communicate (talk and connect) with one another. Some research has found that autistic people may prefer to communicate using the internet instead of in person. Over the past 20 years, there has been research about how autistic people use the internet. To understand what research has discovered so far, we collected published research about how autistic youth and adults use the internet to communicate. WHAT DID THE RESEARCHERS DO? We used scientific best practices as described in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to collect research about how autistic people us the internet to communicate. We included research that uses words (qualitative research) and numbers (quantitative research). First, we searched several places that list research studies to find research on autistic people and the internet. Then, we removed research that did not fit what we were looking for (our criteria). Finally, we then read the full articles, collected their most important findings, and looked for patterns. WHAT DO THESE FINDINGS ADD TO WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN? Thirty-two studies met our criteria, including 19 studies that used closed-ended survey questions that tested relationships between variables, 12 studies that used open-ended interviews and looked for patterns and connections among participants, and 1 mixed methods study. In total, 3026 autistic youth of ages 10–17 years (number of participants = 9 studies) and adults (number of participants = 23 studies) participated in these 32 studies. We rated each of the 32 studies for quality and learned that the evidence base is preliminary, meaning that more rigorous high-quality studies are needed before we can be confident in the findings. We found three main themes: (1) differences in the ways that autistic youth and adults used the internet to communicate, (2) benefits and drawbacks experienced when using the internet to communicate, and (3) the engagement of autistic youth and adults in the online autism community. Some of the benefits of social media for autistic people include more control over how they talk and engage with others online and a greater sense of calm during interactions. However, findings suggest some drawbacks for autistic people, including continued feelings of loneliness and the desire for in-person friendships. Social media provides opportunities for autistic people to find others on the autism spectrum and form a stronger identity as part of the autism community. The study also showed that there is little research about autistic women, autistic transgender people, autistic racial/ethnic minorities, or autistic people from lower socioeconomic status (SES) groups. WHAT ARE POTENTIAL WEAKNESSES OF THIS STUDY? We only included research in scientific articles, and there may be useful information on this topic in books, student research, or online. HOW WILL THESE FINDINGS HELP YOUNG ADULTS ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM NOW OR IN THE FUTURE? This study can help identify gaps and opportunities for new research, support the importance of online autistic communities, and suggest possible training opportunities about how to support autistic people when they use the internet for communication.

Theories of embodiment recognise the critical politics of emplacement associated with the body, as well as its situatednesses in, and as, sites of performance. What happens when such locations shif...

Social isolation is a core challenge associated with autism. Interpersonal relationships and the resources and support embedded in the social networks of autistic young adults could impact key adult outcomes, including quality of life, mental health, employment, and independence. However, little research systematically measures the networks of autistic young adults and network impact on key adult outcomes. This article demonstrates how social network analysis can be adapted for the field of autism to measure young adult networks. We provide examples as to how this approach could be implemented to yield key insights into the amount and quality of interpersonal relationships and the types of resources embedded in the networks of autistic young adults. The network protocol was feasibility tested with autistic adults during the posthigh school transition period (n = 17, 19–27 years). The parents of three of the recruited young adults also successfully completed a complementary network survey, allowing for the inclusion of the parent-reported network using duocentric network analysis, never before applied to parent–child networks. The implementation data collected from the study suggest feasibility of egocentric and duocentric approaches, with several important modifications to adapt the measure for the field of autism. The future potential of social network research for understanding autism in adulthood is discussed., Lay summary What was the purpose of this study? Many autistic young adults are disconnected from people, communities, and organizations that could provide them with valuable social resources to support their transition to adulthood. This study tests the feasibility of using social network methods to measure the resources that autistic young adults gain from their social connections. Future studies using our social network measure might provide valuable information about possible interventions that could help autistic youth acquire the social resources needed for successful adult outcomes. What did the researchers do? To test the feasibility of our social network measure, 17 autistic adults, between the ages of 19 and 27 years, were recruited to complete a survey about their social connections and the resources provided to them by their social connections. The parents of three of the autistic adults were also surveyed to provide information about the social connections that they relied on to help their autistic young adult to transition successfully. What were the results of the study? All participants successfully completed our survey online. We analyzed the network data to illustrate what types of information the survey produced. We demonstrated how the survey captures different types of support that people gained from their networks. We also used network pictures to show how network measures characterize connections among supporters of autistic young adults. This research successfully lays the groundwork for future studies to test whether the social resources young adults on the autism spectrum receive from their networks impact their adult outcomes. What do these findings add to what is already known? We know very little about the social networks for young adults on the autism spectrum. Also, no studies have used duocentric network analysis to measure the social capital of youth and their parents together. This project produced new useful ways of collecting social network data from young autistic adults that will produce knowledge about how to help young adults on the autism spectrum build networks that will yield the social resources needed to support positive adult outcomes. What are potential weaknesses of this study? The study was only designed to test the feasibility of the social network measure and does not provide generalizable information about how networks might impact outcomes. Also, the social network measure only allowed participants to identify five people, possibly under-reporting the actual size and composition of autistic young adult networks. How will these findings help young adults on the autism spectrum now or in the future? If future research suggests that social network factors help young adults on the autism spectrum to improve outcomes, then network interventions, guided by social network data, can be created.

Despite Australia’s and Victoria’s stated commitment to promoting multiculturalism and equality, and to eradicating racism, our knowledge about the nature, extent and impact of different forms of racism on diverse populations is not as well-developed as it should be. Stakeholders addressing racism increasingly recognise that anti-racism initiatives must rely on robust scholarly evidence and high-quality data. Yet existing data have serious limitations. We report on a stocktake review of racism data collected nationally in Australia and with a specific focus on Victoria. We provide a comprehensive overview, summary and synthesis of quantitative data on racism, identify gaps in racism data collection, analysis and uses, and make recommendations on bridging those data gaps and informing anti-racism action and policy. Overall, the review examines data collected by 42 survey-based, quantitative studies, discussed in over 120 publications and study materials, and 13 ongoing data collection initiatives, platforms and projects. Based on the review, we identified eight gaps to racism data collection and analysis and to collection methodologies. We recommend four interconnected ways to fill racism data gaps for anti-racism researchers, organisations and policymakers: 1) Further analyse existing data to address critical questions about racism; 2) Collect and analyse additional data; 3) Enhance data availability and integration; and 4) Improve policies that relate to the collection, analysis, reporting and overall management of racism data.

This article introduces the special issue, Everyday Multiculturalism in/across Asia. It provides an overview of the international and inter-disciplinary research papers included in the special issu...

Since 2006, although South Korean “multiculturalism” policies have attempted to grapple with increasing ethnic and cultural diversity within Korean society, a homogenous national imaginary continue...

Background Racism has been identified as a major source of injustice and a health burden in Australia and across the world. Despite the surge in Australian quantitative research on the topic, and the increasing recognition of the prevalence and impact of racism in Australian society, the collective evidence base has yet to be comprehensively reviewed or meta-analysed. This protocol describes the first systematic review and meta-analysis of racism in Australia at the national level, focussing on quantitative studies. The current study will considerably improve our understanding of racism, including its manifestations and fluctuation over time, variation across settings and between groups, and associations with health and socio-economic outcomes. Methods The research will consist of a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Searches for relevant studies will focus on the social and health science databases CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed and Scopus. Two reviewers will independently screen eligible papers for inclusion and extract data from included studies. Studies will be included in the review and meta-analysis where they meet the following criteria: (1) report quantitative empirical research on self-reported racism in Australia, (2) report data on the prevalence of racism, or its association with health (e.g. mental health, physical health, health behaviours) or socio-economic outcomes (e.g. education, employment, income), and (3) report Australian data. Measures of racism will focus on study participants’ self-reports, with a separate analysis dedicated to researcher-reported measures, such as segregation and differential outcomes across racial/ethnic groups. Measures of health and socio-economic outcomes will include both self-reports and researcher-reported measures, such as physiological measurements. Existing reviews will be manually searched for additional studies. Study characteristics will be summarised, and a meta-analysis of the prevalence of racism and its associations will be conducted using random effects models and mean weighted effect sizes. Moderation and subgroup analyses will be conducted as well. All analyses will use the software CMA 3.0. Discussion This study will provide a novel and comprehensive synthesis of the quantitative evidence base on racism in Australia. It will answer questions about the fluctuation of racism over time, its variation across settings and groups, and its relationship with health and socio-economic outcomes. Findings will be discussed in relation to broader debates in this growing field of research and will be widely disseminated to inform anti-racism research, action and policy nationally. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42021265115.

"Our research looked at Asian Australians’ experiences of racism before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined how these experiences are associated with their mental health, wellbeing and feelings of belonging. We analysed how targets and witnesses respond to racist incidents, and whether they report these incidents.

In Australia, intercultural understanding has been prioritised in education and curriculum documents at both federal and state levels. Alongside this educational priority, schools have also...

This article shows how the meaning of citizenship has changed in South Korea since the partial emergence of a multicultural society in the past two decades. It does so by analysing how newspaper ed...

In a highly globalised world with increasing ethno-nationalistic tensions and conflicts, the importance of intercultural education has never been greater. The challenge remains, however, as to whether educating for mutual respect and social cohesion can be achieved through traditional modes of schooling or whether additional approaches that are not necessarily school-centric are required. Drawing on in-depth qualitative data including video diaries, narrative interviews and focus groups with Australian secondary school students and semi-structured interviews with teachers, this paper discusses such an endeavour in which a museum exhibition on identity and belonging is employed as an interactive space for meaningful encounter among students and as a form of professional learning that enlivened teaching practice. Using the concept of reflexive ethnicity, this paper examines whether cognitive and affective encounters outside the ‘school gate’ create opportunities for critical learning about ethnicity that can complement and enhance school curricula and classroom learning. More importantly, the paper explores how the possibility of building on such activities to create and sustain teaching practice can challenge entrenched static notions of ethnicity. The paper concludes that reflexive encounters with ‘difference’ within an interactive museum space can unsettle prejudice and provide a deeper and more meaningful understanding of ethnic identity that goes beyond rote classroom learning.

The study examines how white teachers talked to children about national identity and cultural diversity by drawing on qualitative research with eight- to 12-year-old students and their teachers from four Australian primary schools with different racial, ethnic and cultural demographics. Despite a range of explicit and implicit approaches that fostered different levels of critique among students, teachers often communicated Australian national identity as commensurate to white racial and Anglo-Australian cultural identity. We identified three main approaches teachers used to talk about national identity and cultural diversity: cultural essentialism, race elision and a quasi-critical approach. We conclude that the wider education system needs to develop a more formal curriculum structure that guides teachers in developing a better awareness of the power of white normativity, and to critically and explicitly counter discourse and practice that centres whiteness as foundational to dominant conceptuali...

This paper examines the ways in which transnational Korean adoptees experience identity as an embodied subjective process that is simultaneously contested and objectified by social perceptions of their bodies in their adoptive countries and South Korea. To analyse these lived experiences, I draw primarily on embodiment theories such as Budgeon's [(2003). Identity as an embodied event. Body and society, 9, 35–55] sociological concept of ‘body as event’ and Csordas’ [(2002). Body/meaning/healing. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan] cultural phenomenological view of the body not as an object but as a ‘subject of culture’. To analyse processes of (re)embodiment, I draw on Ahmed's [(2007). A phenomenology of whiteness. Feminist theory, 8, 149–168] concepts of ‘space’ and ‘whiteness’. Based on ethnographic data in South Korea and semi-structured interviews with 22 adult Korean adoptees, this paper demonstrates how Korean adoptees’ embodied identities are lived in relation to racialised experiences of belonging an...

This chapter examines the politics of belonging through the inter-ethnic relations of primary school children in South Korea. Drawing on ethnographic and interview data of 11–12 year olds from monoethnic and multiethnic Korean family backgrounds, this chapter examines multiethnic and monoethnic children’s experiences of racialised difference in the forced togetherness of school, how children navigate feelings of contested belonging, and their experiences of peer sociality, rejection and marginalisation. Going beyond multicultural education, cultural or linguistic assimilation and an imagined national Korean identity, this chapter argues for an affective understanding of belonging in a society grappling with the meaning of belonging in the face of increasing racial, ethnic and cultural diversity, past and present nation-building, and intensifying globalisation.

The Immigration Museum Melbourne, Australia, launched the Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours exhibition in 2011. Aimed primarily at secondary school students, this long-term installation seeks to foster reflection on identity and belonging, as well as dialogue about racism, through an interactive, immersive museum experience. This paper describes a multi-method research project, which included narrative interviews, focus groups and video diaries with 47 Year 11–12 students from three secondary schools in Victoria, Australia, and discusses each method's contribution to an overall empirical understanding of the installation's impact on students' experiences. Emerging findings suggest the ways in which the exhibition space supports students to encounter and engage with individual stories and experiences, thus moving beyond an abstract tolerance of cultural diversity by unsettling the self and destabilising stereotyped and prejudiced interpretations of the ‘other’. The paper concludes by discussing the potential for...

The Cancer Genome Atlas profiled 279 head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) to provide a comprehensive landscape of somatic genomic alterations. Here we show that human-papillomavirus-associated tumours are dominated by helical domain mutations of the oncogene PIK3CA, novel alterations involving loss of TRAF3, and amplification of the cell cycle gene E2F1. Smoking-related HNSCCs demonstrate near universal loss-of-function TP53 mutations and CDKN2A inactivation with frequent copy number alterations including amplification of 3q26/28 and 11q13/22. A subgroup of oral cavity tumours with favourable clinical outcomes displayed infrequent copy number alterations in conjunction with activating mutations of HRAS or PIK3CA, coupled with inactivating mutations of CASP8, NOTCH1 and TP53. Other distinct subgroups contained loss-of-function alterations of the chromatin modifier NSD1, WNT pathway genes AJUBA and FAT1, and activation of oxidative stress factor NFE2L2, mainly in laryngeal tumours. Therapeutic candidate alterations were identified in most HNSCCs.

This chapter focuses on the intersection between affect, race and whiteness and provides a new insight into the affective power of whiteness by considering how whiteness is relationally produced and reproduced in educational spaces. Not only in terms of how whiteness is embodied through interactions among teachers and students but also how whiteness becomes spatially embodied. The chapter also focuses on the attention to how racialised spaces affect the potential for critical discussions of race and whiteness to be had in classroom discussions and the differentiated power such spaces have on the white and non-white bodies. It argues that the space itself embodies whiteness and the bodily feeling of the place and the affective residue of that spatially embodied whiteness can impact how people feel when they are in that space, even many years later.

In order to promote positive intercultural relations, reduce racism and promote harmony in diverse societies, we must better understand the processes by which both minority and majority children and young people learn about and negotiate racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity, processes known as ethnic-racial socialization. A critical gap within the field of ethnic-racial socialization is a systematic literature review that includes a diverse range of population groups. The primary goal of this paper is to systematically review research over the past 30 years that has examined ethnic-racial socialization processes for both minority and majority children and young people. Studies (n = 92) that included implicit or explicit ethnic-racial socialization as a primary outcome variable along with examination of racism/discrimination, intergroup contact and/or cross-cultural interactions were reviewed. Our main findings highlight that the majority of studies continue to focus on the ethnic-racial socialization of African American children by parents. However, emerging studies involving different ethnic-racial and cultural groups demonstrate the need to consider how multiple social and environmental factors and multiple influential agents differentially impact on the types of messages used with children and young people. Implications for future research, in relation to the adoption of multi-level frameworks and understanding the contribution of multiple agents across a range of contexts, are discussed.

Ethnic-racial socialisation is broadly described as processes by which both minority and majority children and young people learn about and negotiate racial, ethnic and cultural diversity. This article extends the existing ethnic-racial socialisation literature in three significant ways: (1) it explores ways children make sense of their experiences of racial and ethnic diversity and racism; (2) it considers ways children identify racism and make distinctions between racism and racialisation; and (3) it examines teacher and parent ethnic-racial socialisation messages about race, ethnicity and racism with children. This research is based on classroom observations, semi-structured interviews and focus groups with teachers, parents and students aged 8–12 years attending four Australian metropolitan primary schools. The findings reveal that both teachers and parents tended to discuss racism reactively rather than proactively. The extent to which racism was discussed in classroom settings depended on: teachers’...

This study examines egalitarianism as an ethnic-racial socialization message used by teachers with 8–12 year old children in four socio-demographically diverse elementary schools in Melbourne, Australia. The three main types of egalitarian messages identified are i) procedural-justice color-blindness, ii) distributive-justice color-blindness and iii) colormuteness, and each is explored in relation to how teachers talk to children about racial, ethnic and cultural diversity, and racism. We conclude that teacher confidence and capability, and to a lesser degree, school context, influenced the types of egalitarian messages used about diversity and the extent to which teachers had explicit and critical discussions about racism.

In parallel with many nations’ education policies, national education policies in Australia seek to foster students’ intercultural understanding. Due to Australia’s location in the Asia-Pacific region, the Australian government has focused on students becoming “Asia literate” to support Australia’s economic and cultural engagement with Asian countries. Drawing on Allport’s optimal contact principles and key factors supporting intercultural understanding, this study examines two “sister school” cultural immersion trips in Indonesia and East Timor to explore ways in which their different approaches supported positive intergroup contact and helped foster intercultural understanding among students. Focus groups and interviews with school project teams and analysis of both researcher and teacher project field notes and documents suggested that these schools’ programmes could be mapped onto Allport’s contact principles in different ways. The paper concludes with promising approaches that can help to inform sist...

This paper provides a systematic review of education literature focused on identifying school-based approaches for developing students’ intercultural understanding. Studies were assessed using selection criteria and then critically appraised for study quality. A key finding from the review is that developing students’ intercultural understanding beyond cultural awareness requires students and teachers to take a critical approach toward cultural diversity, as well as the opportunity for ongoing intercultural and intergroup contact. Studies reported that only building cultural awareness and knowledge is not enough to promote long-term changes in attitudes. There is a need for more rigorously evaluated longitudinal school-based interventions. Finally, studies consistently call for investment in teachers’ professional and personal intercultural capabilities. The paper concludes by calling for school-based interventions that are informed by best practice approaches at a whole school level in order to effectively develop students’ intercultural attitudes and skills.

Genetic changes underlying clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) include alterations in genes controlling cellular oxygen sensing (for example, VHL) and the maintenance of chromatin states (for example, PBRM1). We surveyed more than 400 tumours using different genomic platforms and identified 19 significantly mutated genes. The PI(3)K/AKT pathway was recurrently mutated, suggesting this pathway as a potential therapeutic target. Widespread DNA hypomethylation was associated with mutation of the H3K36 methyltransferase SETD2, and integrative analysis suggested that mutations involving the SWI/SNF chromatin remodelling complex (PBRM1, ARID1A, SMARCA4) could have far-reaching effects on other pathways. Aggressive cancers demonstrated evidence of a metabolic shift, involving downregulation of genes involved in the TCA cycle, decreased AMPK and PTEN protein levels, upregulation of the pentose phosphate pathway and the glutamine transporter genes, increased acetyl-CoA carboxylase protein, and altered promoter methylation of miR-21 (also known as MIR21) and GRB10. Remodelling cellular metabolism thus constitutes a recurrent pattern in ccRCC that correlates with tumour stage and severity and offers new views on the opportunities for disease treatment.

Summary We describe the landscape of genomic alterations in cutaneous melanomas through DNA, RNA, and protein-based analysis of 333 primary and/or metastatic melanomas from 331 patients. We establish a framework for genomic classification into one of four subtypes based on the pattern of the most prevalent significantly mutated genes: mutant BRAF , mutant RAS , mutant NF1 , and Triple-WT (wild-type). Integrative analysis reveals enrichment of KIT mutations and focal amplifications and complex structural rearrangements as a feature of the Triple-WT subtype. We found no significant outcome correlation with genomic classification, but samples assigned a transcriptomic subclass enriched for immune gene expression associated with lymphocyte infiltrate on pathology review and high LCK protein expression, a T cell marker, were associated with improved patient survival. This clinicopathological and multi-dimensional analysis suggests that the prognosis of melanoma patients with regional metastases is influenced by tumor stroma immunobiology, offering insights to further personalize therapeutic decision-making.

Many protein regions have been shown to be intrinsically disordered, lacking unique structure under physiological conditions. These intrinsically disordered regions are not only very common in proteomes, but also crucial to the function of many proteins, especially those involved in signaling, recognition, and regulation. The goal of this work was to identify the prevalence, characteristics, and functions of conserved disordered regions within protein domains and families. A database was created to store the amino acid sequences of nearly one million proteins and their domain matches from the InterPro database, a resource integrating eight different protein family and domain databases. Disorder prediction was performed on these protein sequences. Regions of sequence corresponding to domains were aligned using a multiple sequence alignment tool. From this initial information, regions of conserved predicted disorder were found within the domains. The methodology for this search consisted of finding regions of consecutive positions in the multiple sequence alignments in which a 90% or more of the sequences were predicted to be disordered. This procedure was constrained to find such regions of conserved disorder prediction that were at least 20 amino acids in length. The results of this work included 3,653 regions of conserved disorder prediction, found within 2,898 distinct InterPro entries. Most regions of conserved predicted disorder detected were short, with less than 10% of those found exceeding 30 residues in length.

This book contributes to the existing literature by offering a detailed account of South Korean society from the 1960s through the 1990s, to about 2005. It achieves this by analysing policy documen...