Thesis (M. Arch. A.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1980. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-133). / Designing environments to accommodate people in wheelchairs is far more than ramps and wide toilet stalls built according to the state building code. This study attempts to illuminate the functional imperatives behind certain standards (especially relating to spinal cord injuries) and to show how families with chair-bound members actually use their homes. There are seven case studies in the body of this work ranging from a situation where both parents are disabled to the typical nuclear family with only one disabled parent to 'families' composed of unrelated individuals sharing a home. Use of each house is illustrated via a diary-generated daily routine as well as by a house evaluation showing the adapted and unadapted features. The case studies are heavily illustrated with photographs. The final chapters discuss the issues and themes that emerged from the study and propose a model of individual competence that is based on an equilibrium among various options for adapting behavior and/ or physical surroundings. Prioritized standards are proposed, parallel to ANSI A117.1-1977, that advocate broad application of minimum accessibility standards, narrower application of acceptable accessibility standards and specialized application of adaptive accessibility standards. This proposal is made in order that a wider range of housing choices be made available to families with chair-bound member(s). In general it was found that most requirements for accessibility did not interfere with the needs of the ambulatory - except in the requirements for counter heights in the kitchen. / by Donna P. Duerk. / M.Arch.A.S.

No description available.

This study examined disabled people’s access to independent living in Scotland and Norway. At the time of the field work for this research in 2012, the literature revealed no comparable social enquiry combining the concepts of citizenship, independent living and governance. Within disability studies, independent living denotes a perspective that recognises the interconnected nature of life areas that affect lived experiences of disablement and inclusion of disabled citizens. From the independent living movement, Centres for Inclusive Living emerged as unique governance structures with full service-user involvement and run by disabled people for disabled people. This study focused upon to what extent the organisational governance structures in the Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living (GCIL) and Uloba Centre for Independent Living (Uloba) in Norway facilitate or impede disabled people’s access to independent living. The methodology adopted a mixed methods approach. The central method involved organisational case studies with GCIL and Uloba. This enabled an in-depth qualitative exploration through semi-structured interviews with the case study employees, service-user/co-owners and key experts within each country. In addition, an online survey was distributed to other organisations that operated within the disability field. The analytical framework used an integration of the social relational model of disability (Thomas, 1999) and meso level governance analysis (Lowe, 2004). The social relational model of disability provided structural (macro) and agency (micro) level interpretations and an emphasis on psychosocial elements of disability. It also enabled the synergy of a theory of impairment alongside a theory of disability. Meso (organisational) governance analysis focused attention on the connections between organisations in society. This focus revealed the lateral relationships with other meso level bodies, macro institutions and micro individual action. Research participants prioritised the areas of peer support, accessible housing and personal assistance. Peer support was found to take both informal and formal manifestations and acted as a foundation for the other two areas of independent living. The findings highlighted that Centres for Inclusive Living provide facilitation for access to independent living across macro, meso and micro tiers of society. In particular, empowerment, peer support and user led governance formed key strategies that enhanced disabled people’s access to independent living in Scotland and Norway.

No description available.

Throughout history the science of mass communication has been a topic of public and academic interest. In the past 3 decades portrayals of various minority groups have been of concern to researchers, health professionals and member of these groups. This study examines how people with disabilities are portrayed within the New Zealand print media and whether or not a traditional (often negative) or progressive (often positive) modes of representations predominate in coverage. Progressive focus views disability and the problems surrounding it as being located in society's failure to accommodate all members of the population. In contrast, traditional focus views people with disabilities as dysfunctional because he or she is unable to function in an environment designed by or for people without disabilities. The research corpus comprises relating to intellectual and physical disabilities and people with disabilities published in three major newspapers of New Zealand; The New Zealand Herald, The Dominion Post and The Sunday Star Times between the 1st of June and the 1st of August 2006 (N=101). These articles were collected and the content of each article was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Aspects such as structure, content, terminology, sources used and attributes assigned to the people with disabilities were analysed within each article as a means of determining whether an article was positive, negative or neutral. Results show that within the New Zealand print media disability is generally portrayed in a positive or neutral manner. Moreover, it was discovered that Clogston's (1989) classifications of traditional and progressive focus were problematic because results indicated that a traditional mode of focus was dominate but this did not reflect a negative portrayal of disability. This may have been due to the disparities between the findings of this thesis and previous research conducted in other countries over a decade ago. Furthermore, it was found that the main source within each article was the government and this supported past research (Tichenor, Donohue, and Olien, 1980).

A central political and social debate confronting societies around the world concerns the form and content of social democracy. The collapse of communism, the advent of globalization, the transformation of the social experiences in life, and other profound social, political and economic changes, have all created a perceived need within social democratic circles to rethink the policies and theoretical thought of the left. Social democratic politics is thus in a state of critical self-reflection. More precisely, in Australia, pragmatic social democracy has faced profound challenges with the emergence both of neo-liberal models of society and policy, and with the development of third way social democracy which seeks to combine the social justice concerns of pragmatic social democracy with the market based economics of neo-liberalism. To explore the dynamic contests between these different approaches, this thesis provides a critical exploration of the actual and potential contributions that policies modeled on pragmatic and third way social democracy, and on neo-liberalism, make to the lives of people with disabilities. People with disabilities continue to be socially excluded in capitalist societies including Australia, the UK, and the US, and as a result a key challenge for social democratic approaches is how to increase the social inclusion of people with disabilities.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 40 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 32-35).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Antioch University, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Mar. 29, 2007). Advisor: Carolyn B. Kenny. Keywords: performance ethnography, drama, Deaf theater, leadership, cultural identity, ethnographic research. Includes bibliographical references (p. 278-285 ).

<p> <p>&nbsp / </p> </p> <p align="left">People with disabilities are a minority group who has suffered disadvantage especially in the workplace. They currently enjoy Constitutional and legislative protection in a democratic South Africa.</p>

The aim of this study was to examine how Russian press represents people with disabilities. The study was conducted using the method of qualitative content analysis. The material for the analysis consisted of sixty articles selected from Russian's four national newspapers. The study covered a period of the year 2011. Labeling theory and stigma were used for the analysis of the results. The results showed that Russian press described discrimination of people with disabilities, social support provided to them by the Government and their active way of life. The newspaper articles mentioned that the Russian Government tries to integrate disabled people into society. The study did not find any significant differences in the representation of people with disabilities in various newspapers. It was found that the articles covered physical disabilities, such as mobility, hearing and visual impairments.