Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas State University-San Marcos, 2007. / Vita. Appendices: leaves 101-117. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 5-7, 33-36, 65-66, 95-98).

The Contact Hypothesis (Amir, 1969) suggests that attitudes toward a minority group can be modified. However, attitudinal change depends upon the nature of the contact. The main purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the B.C. Wheelchair Sports Demonstration Team Presentation on attitudes of junior high school students toward physically disabled persons This was measured by the Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons Scale (ATDP) (Yuker et al., 1960) and the Modified Issues in Disability Scale (MIDS) (Makas, 1985). The treatment consisted of a one hour structured program that included contact with physically disabled persons and information about their disabilities. One hundred and thirty-one able-bodied students (ages 13-15) from four junior high schools in two British Columbia school districts participated in this study. Students from one school in each district attended the British Columbia Wheelchair Sports Demonstration Team Presentation. Students from the other school did not attend and were assigned to the control group. This research used a one-group pretest-posttest design with a posttest-only control group as a follow-up . four weeks after the treatment. Subjects in the experimental group completed the ATDP prior to and immediately after the treatment. As a result of the high correlation (r=.91) between the MIDS and ATDP with a prior sample of 15 year old students, both experimental and control groups completed only the MIDS four weeks after the treatment. All subjects completed the Social History Questionnaire (SHQ) (Makas, 1989) on each occasion. The SHQ gathered information on gender, birth date, place of residence and prior contact with physically disabled persons. A t-test for dependent samples comparing differences between pre- and posttest MIDS scores of the experimental group was not significant (p=.112 for a 2-tailed test). However, in the follow-up portion of the study, an analysis of variance of the ATDP found a significant difference between the experimental and control groups (p=.007). There were no significant interactions of gender, age or previous contact with treatment. The findings of this study show that able-bodied students' attitudes can be positively modified with an information plus contact program. Although the modification was not immediate, a delayed effect occurred. Three focuses of further investigations might include the following: a need for attitude modification research related to disabled persons particularly in the junior high school age group; continued reliability and validity testing of the MIDS, and a refinement of the SHQ to more accurately assess prior contact with disabled persons. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

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Spinal Cord Injuries (SCIs) are debilitating injuries where damage to the spinal cord causes a loss of mobility and feeling in muscles innervated below the injury point. Tetraplegia refers to an SCI in the cervical region of the spinal cord that impacts on the functionality of all four limbs. ‘Complete’ tetraplegia results in complete paralysis of the legs, partial or complete paralysis of the arms and trunk, and in the most severe cases, the neck. The independence of people living with tetraplegia is heavily dependent on assistive and mobility devices. Understanding the strength characteristics of people with tetraplegia is crucially important for the suitable and effective design of mobility and rehabilitative devices such as wheelchairs. A study using a stationary dynamometer and video capture measured kinetic and kinematic characteristics of wheelchair propulsion for 15 subjects with C5-C7 tetraplegia. This study differentiated between subjects with different injuries, at two different test resistances, and was more comprehensive than other reported studies on MWC propulsion. Some of the subjects in the study with C5-C6 injuries had no elbow extension capability, while others had undergone a deltoids-to-triceps tendon transfer procedure called TROIDS, which restores some elbow extension capability. No differences were found in any of the push phase metrics between those who had undergone the TROIDs procedure, and those who had not, suggesting that TROIDs provides no significant benefit for mobility. As expected, subjects with C7 tetraplegia recorded velocity and power outputs significantly higher than those for subjects with C5-C6 tetraplegia. To better understand the strength characteristics over the full range of motion in the sagittal plane, and thus potentially modify the design of mobility devices to better suit these characteristics, a novel method for gathering strength data in multiple directions and positions was developed. This method had advantages over other commonly used methods. In particular, it was inclusive of complex muscle and joint interactions that would otherwise be very difficult to build into a model. Sagittal horizontal push strength was measured using this method for 8 able bodied and 4 tetraplegic subjects. There were clear trends in the data from the able-bodied subjects, and a fourth order polynomial (R-squared = 0.8) was fitted to the data for modelling purposes. Data for the tetraplegic subjects varied significantly from the able-bodied data, but inter-individual variation was such that no model would provide a satisfactory fit to the data indicating a very high degree of patient-specific behaviour. One multi-directional data set, consisting 1584 measurements in the sagittal plane, was gathered for an able-bodied subject. The main trends in this measured data were successfully captured by a model consisting of twelve fourth-order polynomials. Building on these measurements, and employing a human model in the constraint modelling environment, SWORDS, this thesis develops a conceptual design tool for comparing the effectiveness of different hand force paths. Initial simulations using hypothetical hand paths indicated that the proposed method for predicting the direction of the applied force needs to be verified, and likely refined, for hand paths that differ significantly from the traditional wheelchair push-rim path. This proposed procedure has the potential to be a powerful tool for optimising and modifying the design of wheelchairs or human powered devices to utilise previously untapped abilities for any given population.

Six elite wheelchair shooters undertook a simulated competition of 2 hr duration under three different conditions: 1. 24-26 °C and 40% humidity (C), 2. 36 °C and 60% humidity (H), and 3. the H condition whilst using simple head, neck and torso cooling devices (HC). The trials were undertaken at the same time on consecutive days in a counter-balanced, randomised order. Two shooters were removed from the H trial at t=75 and t=105 min, respectively, due to tympanic temperature elevations above 39 °C, but were able to complete the full 2 hr of competition during the C and HC conditions. Heart rates were significantly elevated for the group during the H condition compared to C and HC (106 ± ll, 80 ± 10, 90 ± 7 beats.min-' respectively at t=90 min, p<0.05) as were perceptions of thermal discomfort (6.4 ± 0.7, 3.5 ± 0.4, 4.8 ± 1.0 respectively at t=90 min, p<0.05). These responses were at least partially alleviated by the use of the simple, yet practical, cooling devices. Practically, this may improve performance in shooting competitions as it allows more time to fire a shot between heart beats, and enables shooters to concentrate more easily on the task required of them. Responses to heat exposure were more pronounced in athletes with a higher level of disability (CS versus T4 versus cerebral palsy), and those who wore heavy leather shooting jackets (rifle versus pistol shooters). Although further research is recommended, it would appear that the rules governing shooting attire and prolonging exposure to heat should be reconsidered for events in which wheelchair athletes compete.

Powered wheelchairs offer a means of independent mobility for older adults who are unable to walk and cannot propel a manual wheelchair. Unfortunately, cognitively impaired older adults may be denied this means of independent mobility. There is concern that these adults are unable to drive a powered wheelchair safely or properly. Intelligent wheelchairs offer an approach to address this problem. This research outlines the development and evaluation of an Intelligent Wheelchair System (IWS) that is proposed to make powered wheelchairs safer and easier to use for cognitively impaired older adults. The IWS has anti-collision and navigation functions. Hardware results show a 1000% increase in computational speed compared to the previous IWS. Clinical results with dementia patients show that the IWS has the potential to increase safety by reducing frontal collisions, and by promoting safe completion of movement tasks. Usability of the system may be an issue.