Microcomputer technology and the provision of alternative data entry devices offers numerous opportunities for physically disabled individuals to integrate into work and school settings. For therapists specializing in adapted access one of the main challenges involves prescribing and customizing suitable input devices since objective procedures to facilitate this process are lacking. The two papers presented in this thesis aimed to respond to this limitation. In the first paper the adapted access process was viewed within the context of a human factors model. A critical review of the literature relating specific human factors criteria (e.g. digit loading) to ergonomic solutions (e.g. input/output efficiency) substantiated clinical approaches to adapted device prescription and customization. Two case studies were used to illustrate the application of this approach to physically disabled individuals. The second paper investigated therapists' abilities to judge the mechanical characteristics of switches. Objective data characterizing the activation force-displacement trajectories for eight commonly used adapted switches were collected and compared to clinicians' subjective evaluation of the same characteristics. The major finding was that although therapists' subjective estimates of activation force and displacement were reasonably good there were specific areas of weakness that should be rectified with quantitative, objective data. It is anticipated that these two papers will enhance the application of microcomputer usage for physically disabled individuals.

This work seeks to expand understandings regarding the impact of occupational illnesses and injuries on development. It identifies a marked lack of attention to the safety of workplaces in international policy, which belies the importance of occupational health concerns in creating sustainable and effective development policies. Using a materialist epidemiological framework of analysis, I argue that traditional development paradigms have failed to take into account the importance of quality of employment when determining policies for and in the Global South. The case study of the asbestos industry in Brazil is provided to illustrate the physiological, political, and socioeconomic effects that occupational illnesses may have in society. By examining how family members are affected by their interactions with the Brazilian asbestos industry in those three areas, I identify a far-reaching and under-examined burden created by the presence of unsafe workplaces. I conclude that development policies that ignore occupational health concerns ultimately serve to perpetuate structured social and economic inequalities and contribute to ongoing poverty in the Global South. Significant theoretical and practical re-orientations by both policy-makers and researchers are needed if meaningful improvements in development policy are to occur that take into account the importance of workplace quality.

Thesis (Ph.D.) --University of Adelaide, Medical School, Dept. of Public Health, 2005. / Title from t.p. of source document (viewed April 2, 2007). "December 2004" Bibliography: leaves 337-352. Also available in print version.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1939.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1945.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1945.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1939.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Aberdeen University, 2008. / Title from web page (viewed on June 11, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.