This thesis examines the accuracy of accessibility information for parks and the related experiences of visitors. It explores whether or not there is a gap between the information that is made available to the public and the experiences that are available on the ground. People with mobility impairments encounter barriers to movement. The provision of information on accessibility may assist those with impairments to select recreational opportunities that are compatible with their interests and abilities. Accordingly, the availability and accuracy of information on accessibility is evaluated through comparison with on-site field observations. Four parks of different management types – local, regional, provincial and national – are examined. Promotional information was gathered primarily from brochures and websites. Key informant interviews were conducted and on-site measurements of accessibility were taken. The quantity and accuracy of information on accessibility varied between the parks. Inconsistencies were found between the information on accessibility and the on-site situations. Details on park features like parking, trails, washrooms, visitor centers and campsites lacked volume, specifics and accuracy, and these features are important to individuals with a mobility impairment. Stronger links should be established between the monitoring of accessibility and the timely, accurate provision of accessibility information. There is willingness among park officials to address accessibility issues but financial constraints are widely regarded as being an impediment to action. As such, physical improvements to accessibility are most likely to occur as a part of general maintenance schedules. Nevertheless, regular systematic monitoring and reporting is not expensive and would benefit park management by enabling them to provide more accurate information to the public. The study also suggests that greater engagement with the impaired community could be beneficial to parks, official, and visitors.

This dissertation presents three separate studies designed to examine perspectives on employment for individuals with disabilities from employers and educators. First, a literature review was conducted on the studies published in the past decade to provide an update of employers' attitudes toward employees with disabilities. Investigated factors included studies? methodologies, research procedures, and employer characteristics. Research findings indicated that employers increasingly showed favorable attitudes toward individuals with disabilities and demonstrated willingness to hire workers with disabilities. Employers' previous experience with workers with disabilities was associated with positive employer attitudes. Secondly, 168 employers and 105 educators were surveyed regarding their perspectives on valued employability skills for entry-level employees with and without disabilities. The second study primarily focused on examining employers' perspectives of the most valued employability skill areas and specific employability skills as well as associated employer factors (i.e., respondents' genders and types of business/industry). Differences between employers' expectations for employees with disabilities and for those without disabilities were analyzed. The study results presented findings on important employability skills and discrepancies between rating for employees with and without disabilities were discussed, and reported the effects of respondent factors. Lastly, the third study investigated and compared both employers and educators' expectations on important employability skills. Study identified differences of ratings on important employability skills between employers and educators. Study also found out how they viewed differently on employability skills for employees with and without disabilities. To sum up, this dissertation revealed updated trends of employers' attitude toward workers with disabilities. It also identified critical employability skills viewed by employers and educators for entry-level workers with disabilities. The comparisons between employers and educators' perspectives provided information on what schools should include or emphasize in vocational preparation programs to prepare students with disabilities for future employment.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / ABSTRACT This thesis reports on a study which explored the sexual health needs of men and teenage boys with a moderate to profound intellectual disability. Qualitative in design, this study was exploratory in nature as it sought to develop theoretical knowledge in male sexual health as a broad concept as opposed to testing a theory or hypothesis related to sexual health. Literature on sexuality and intellectual disability was reviewed in addition to male-specific literature on intellectual disability. In addition, mainstream literature on sexuality, sexual health, masculinity and men’s health was also reviewed. The literature review highlighted that the intellectual disability specific literature had largely ignored mainstream literature and had failed to acknowledge emerging work in men’s health and masculinities. Moreover, the literature identified a problematised focus toward sexual matters and males with an intellectual disability. The topic of enquiry was explored via an ethnomethodological design. Data consisted of interviews with 17 paid support staff, over 100 hours participant observation in community group homes, and triangulated with relevant artefacts from the field. The constant comparative method was used to analyse the data. Participants described the notion of men and teenage boys with a moderate to profound intellectual disability as being Conditionally Sexual. Conditionally Sexual was framed by three interconnected themes: 1) sexual development, 2) conditionally masculine, and 3) gendered service delivery. Through consideration of the implications to theory, practice, research, and policy, a propositional framework for a masculine health environment has been outlined. This framework is based on a salutogenic notion of male sexual health and the development of a healthy masculinity.

Home modification practice for people with impairments of ability involves redesigning existing residential environments as distinct from the creation of a new dwelling. A redesigner alters existing structures, fittings and fixtures to better meet the occupant�s ability requirements. While research on case-based design reasoning and healthcare informatics are well documented, the reasoning and process of redesign and its integration with individual human functional abilities remains poorly understood. Developing a means of capturing redesign knowledge in the form of case documentation online provides a means for integrating and learning from individual case-based redesign episodes where assessment and interventions are naturally linked. A key aim of the research outlined in this thesis was to gain a better understanding of the redesign of spaces for individual human ability with the view to computational modelling. Consequently, the foundational knowledge underpinning the model development includes design, redesign, case-based building design and human functional ability. Case-based redesign as proposed within the thesis, is a method for capturing the redesign context, the residential environment, the modification and the transformational knowledge involved in the redesign. Computational simulation methods are traditionally field dependent. Consequently, part of the research undertaken within this thesis involved the development of a framework for analysing cases within an online case-studies library to validate redesign for individuals and a method of acquiring reuse information so as to be able to estimate the redesign needs of a given population based on either their environment or ability profile. As home modification for people with functional impairments was a novel application field, an explorative action-based methodological approach using computational modelling was needed to underpin a case-based reasoning method. The action-based method involved a process of articulating and examining existing knowledge, suggesting new case-based computational practices, and evaluating the results. This cyclic process led to an improvement cycle that included theory, computational tool development and practical application. The rapid explosion of protocols and online redesign communities that utilise Web technologies meant that a web-based prototype capable of acquiring cases directly from home modification practitioners online and in context was both desirable and achievable. The first online version in 1998-99, encoded home modification redesigns using static WebPages and hyperlinks. This motivated the full-scale more dynamic and robust HMMinfo casestudies prototype whose action-based development is detailed within this thesis. The home modification casestudies library results from the development and integration of a novel case-based redesign model in combination with a Human- Activity-Space computational ontology. These two models are then integrated into a relational database design to enable online case acquisition, browsing, case reuse and redesign learning. The application of the redesign ontology illustrates case reuse and learning, and presents some of the implementation issues and their resolution. Original contributions resulting from this work include: extending case-based design theory to encompass redesign and redesign models, distinguishing the importance of human ability in redesign and the development of the Human-Activity-Space ontology. Additionally all data models were combined and their associated inter-relationships evaluated within a prototype made available to redesign practitioners. v Reflective and practitioner based evaluation contributed enhanced understanding of redesign case contribution dynamics in an online environment. Feedback from redesign practitioners indicated that gaining informed consent to share cases from consumers of home modification and maintenance services, in combination with the additional time required to document a case online, and reticence to go public for fear of critical feedback, all contributed to a less than expected case library growth. This is despite considerable interest in the HMMinfo casestudies website as evidenced by web usage statistics. Additionally the redesign model described in this thesis has practical implications for all design practitioners and educators who seek to create new work by reinterpreting, reconstructing and redesigning spaces.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / ABSTRACT This thesis reports on a study which explored the sexual health needs of men and teenage boys with a moderate to profound intellectual disability. Qualitative in design, this study was exploratory in nature as it sought to develop theoretical knowledge in male sexual health as a broad concept as opposed to testing a theory or hypothesis related to sexual health. Literature on sexuality and intellectual disability was reviewed in addition to male-specific literature on intellectual disability. In addition, mainstream literature on sexuality, sexual health, masculinity and men’s health was also reviewed. The literature review highlighted that the intellectual disability specific literature had largely ignored mainstream literature and had failed to acknowledge emerging work in men’s health and masculinities. Moreover, the literature identified a problematised focus toward sexual matters and males with an intellectual disability. The topic of enquiry was explored via an ethnomethodological design. Data consisted of interviews with 17 paid support staff, over 100 hours participant observation in community group homes, and triangulated with relevant artefacts from the field. The constant comparative method was used to analyse the data. Participants described the notion of men and teenage boys with a moderate to profound intellectual disability as being Conditionally Sexual. Conditionally Sexual was framed by three interconnected themes: 1) sexual development, 2) conditionally masculine, and 3) gendered service delivery. Through consideration of the implications to theory, practice, research, and policy, a propositional framework for a masculine health environment has been outlined. This framework is based on a salutogenic notion of male sexual health and the development of a healthy masculinity.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 174-199).

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, 2008. / Title from title page display. Bibliography: p. 38-63.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Marburg.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-72). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-72). Also available on the Internet.