Despite the physical health and psychosocial benefits, few individuals with acquired physical disabilities participate in sport. This manuscript-based thesis is composed of four studies that aim to provide a more nuanced understanding of the theoretical and contextual factors that influence sport participation among this population. Study 1 investigated the predictive value of the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA). The HAPA model has been used among a variety of populations; however, it has not been used to predict sport participation among adults with acquired physical disabilities nor has athletic identity been considered as a supplement to the model. Results of the structural equation model demonstrated that the modified HAPA model explained 19% of the variance in sport participation. Study 2 explored how athletic identity was lost or (re)developed after acquiring a physical disability. Eleven adults with an acquired physical disability participated in semi-structured interviews. Participants’ stories of sport pre- and post-injury fit into three distinct narratives. The non-athlete narrative focused on physical changes in the body; the other two narratives primarily focused on present sport behaviour. Study 3 explored the influence of the perceived self and disability on participation in specific types of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), such as sport, after injury. Fourteen participants completed semi-structured life story interviews. A structural and content analysis of participant narratives revealed that beliefs about disability and comparisons to peers were influential in motivating individuals to consider some LTPA while rejecting others, such as sport. Study 4 explored peer athlete mentors’ responses to four mentee narratives. A narrative analysis of the responses revealed that peer athletes generally tailored their responses and information to the vignette’s specific view of disability. However, deeply negative and resistant narratives elicited more variant responses from the peers, including responses that accepted the resistance to those that challenged their perceptions of disability. As a whole, this dissertation enables a more nuanced understanding of the theoretical and contextual determinants of sport among individuals with acquired physical disabilities. This dissertation will better inform and identify opportunities for interventions that increase sport participation among this population. / Thesis (Ph.D, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2013-04-23 19:32:36.636

No description available.

No description available.

This research explored inter-professional collaboration amongst professionals involved in meeting the special needs of pupils with physical impairment in special schools. The principle of adopting a multi-professional approach for assessing and meeting special needs is enshrined in much recent social and educational legislation. However, its implementation has been acknowledged as presenting a challenge to professionals who each have their own professional culture, values and expertise; and who are employed by different agencies with their own priorities, funding, and organisation. Services offered to 'clients' by this multi-professional team are the outcome of the interaction between both social and psychological factors which exist amongst professionals in particular social contexts. Three social psychological theories were used to develop a framework which offered possible explanations of inter-professional behaviour in the special school context. The three approaches were Realistic Conflict Theory(R.C.T.) developed by Sherif(1966), Social Identity Theory(S.I.T.) developed by Tajfel(1978) and the Contact Hypothesis based on the work of Gordon Allport(1954). Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were adopted for data collection. In the first phase of the research an interprofessional collaboration scale was developed. It was validatd by members of seven professional groups identified as being involved, to varying degrees, with pupils with physical impairment. The collaboration scale was incorporated into a postal questionnaire in the second phase of the research. The questionnaire sought professional views relating to professional identification, perceived goal conflict, in-group favouritism and differentiation against out-groups and involvement in collaborative activities. Data were gathered from 263 members of seven different professional groups, working in 53 special schools. Finally qualitative data were gathered, using semi-structured interviews, from 12 respondents, 6 teachers and 6 physiotherapists, working in 3 special schools. The research resulted in the validation of an interprofessional collaboration scale which was shown to have high internal reliability. Professionals perceived themselves as being involved in the activities described in the scale, and indicated that collaboration was both desirable and beneficial. The identification scale, used to measure professional identification, was shown to have high internal reliability in accordance with the findings of previous studies in which it had been used. It revealed that respondents identified positively with their professional group, but this identification was not associated with inter-group differentiation as predicted by social identity theory. Multi-variate analyses identified contact to be the best predictor of in-group favouritism and differentiation. This was in contrast to the findings of previous studies in which conflict and identification had been identified as the best predictors of inter-group differentiation. Contact was also shown in this study to be the best predictor of collaboration. Interview data added to these quantitative findings revealing the purposes of contact and sources of conflict to be linked to involvement in collaborative activities. A link between identification and self-esteem, as predicted by social identity theory, was also in evidence in the interview data. Professional perceptions of parents' views relating to collaboration indicated little progress towards partnership with parents. It was concluded that future research should investigate in greater detail the relationships between inter-professional contact, conflict and collaboration, and develop the use of social identity theory in a professional context. Finally it was concluded that investigating the relative value of a collaborative approach as opposed to other multi-professional approaches, may be beneficial in informing the planning and organisation of special provision for pupils with physical impairment.

This thesis is based on a two-year ethnography, conducted in a special school, on how young people with physical disabilities use the internet. The thesis focuses on four key areas identified during the research. Firstly, the thesis highlights the embodied rhythms or pace and journeys or wayfaring that characterise how young people move in and between digital media and that are not captured by studies focusing on typologies of internet use. Secondly, the thesis discusses how young people with physical disabilities struggle to overcome stigma and exclusion in their online relationships, as rather than facilitate disembodied communication(s), digital media is increasingly saturated with normative visuality. Thirdly, the thesis discusses how young people with physical disabilities use of digital media is regulated by their teachers and parents, often limiting their use of this medium. Finally, the thesis explores how the young people enact disability in different contexts including the special school, mainstream colleges and the home, and what this tells us about these institutional contexts. In addition to participant observation the fieldwork also involved in-depth interviews with a small cohort of young people with physical disabilities and video diaries produced by participants that showcased how they use the internet in the home. Interviews were also carried out with some school staff from the special school as well as parents of participants. Home visits enabled observation of how participants use the internet in domestic settings, and some participants were followed to their mainstream colleges as they progressed into further education, or attended placements during the two-year period. A concern addressed in the thesis is how inequalities are reproduced and embedded in young people with physical disabilities habitual use of the internet. At the same time, the study found that these young people used the internet much in the same way as their able-bodied peers, for example, to play games, socialise and post images to garner approval. Video diaries revealed significant differences in the rhythms and journeys underpinning the way in which the young people used digital media, articulating contextual and habitual factors and the level of their disability. Furthermore, these young people used the internet to find, build and maintain social relationships online, to explore their sexuality and to engage in self-promotion on social networking sites. However, when online they also encountered various obstacles and struggled to overcome bodily stigma and exclusion within the visual and narrowly normative presentation of the self-online. School teachers and parents were found to adhere to regulatory policies and advice on how to mediate young people s access and use to digital media. This study found the regulatory practices (monitoring, blocking, filtering content) restricted how young people with physical disabilities could access and use digital media in the home and at school. For some participants their gender and ethnicity was found to intersect with their disability making them subject to substantial regulatory practices in the home. Moreover, the students who were more able-bodied found ways to evade the regulatory practices encountered in the school and at home. Finally, the study also found that the special school created a protective environment that fosters an inclusive space, where students with different abilities can prosper. In contrast however, their transition to mainstream colleges reveal that when they are expected to practice and adjust their disability to the normative practices in place for able-bodied students, they become hindered in their ability to feel included and perform academically.

Dance performance that is inclusive of dancers with differing corporealities has the potential to generate positive societal change with regard to perceptions of physical difference. Dance is a valuable site for exploring the placement of the physically disabled body in contemporary society, and for disrupting existing perceptions of disability as transgressive. This can come about through the embodied presence of both dancer and viewer, entering into a relationship grounded in intersubjectivity, without having to rely on symbolic signification. This thesis examines the placement of disabled bodies in dance performance from the intersecting perspectives of Critical Disability Studies, Performance Studies and Interpersonal Neurobiology in order to formulate a framework for theorizing perceptions of disability, the act of viewing dance and the impact of choreographic intent on viewers’ perceptions of physical difference. In the first section, the sociopolitical placing of disabled bodies in western society is interrogated and a historiological study of both disability identity and the emergence of integrated dance is critically analysed. The second section provides detailed analyses of three dance performances that are inclusive of dancers with physical disabilities: GIMP (2009), Heidi Latsky, Diagnosis of a Faun (2009) Tamar Rogoff, and water burns sun (2009) Petra Kuppers. Each represents a specific understanding of disability, creating an evolutionary framework for conceptualizing different perceptions of disabled bodies as either monstrous freak, heroic victim or corporeally diverse. The third section creates connections between new knowledge in interpersonal neurobiology and viewers' perceptions of disability that are activated through viewing dance performance, thus providing an understanding of the mechanisms of discrimination and marginalization of people who embody difference, as well as uncovering mechanisms that have the potential to be reparative. The application of neuroscientific knowledge to Performance Studies can be modulated and expanded by considering the interpersonal communicative dimension of dance performance that is inclusive of differing corporealities. A theoretical approach that encompasses the neuroscientific conceptualization of intersubjectivity in creating empathic attunement between viewer and dancer, can offer a means of understanding the innate potential of dance performance to bring about societal change.

No description available.

No description available.

<p>The aim of this study was to determine the types of sport that are available for the learner with a physical disability in ordinary schools in the Western Cape and what prevents and facilitates participation in sport.</p>

<p>Sport participation can play a vital role in enhancing life of youth with physical disabilities. This is because of the rehabilitative influence sport can have not only on the physical body but also on rehabilitating people with disability into society. A successful sport programme in which the youth with disabilities are involved should possibly respect youth‟s wishes regarding the preference of the sport. The Review of the literature revealed that little has been documented about the status of disability sport in developing countries. Given the psychosocial and physiological benefits of sport in everyone‟s life, including those with physical disabilities, there is a need for a study to document the status of sport of this sub-population in Rwanda. This study, therefore, aimed to identify the factors associated with sport preferences among youth with physical disabilities in Rwanda. A sequential mixed model design was used to collect data, specifically the sequential explanatory strategy. Data was collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire and a total number of 204 participants voluntarily answered the questionnaire. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among four (4) NPC staff to collect data regarding the challenges experienced by youth with physical disabilities with regard to sport preferences. The Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19 was used for data capturing and data analysis. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize demographic information as means, standard deviation, frequencies and percentages. Inferential statistics (chi-square and independent samples t-tests) were used to test the associations between different categorical variables (p&lt / 0.05). For the qualitative data, audiotaped interviews were transcribed and translated from Kinyarwanda into English, and the expressed ideas were coded and reduced into subthemes and categories. Thematic analysis was then done under the generated sub-themes. Permission to conduct this study was obtained from the concerned authorities. Ethical issues pertaining to informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality and the right to withdraw from the study were respected in this current study. The results of the current study revealed that the top five sports played by youth with physical disabilities were sit ball, sitting volleyball, volleyball, table tennis and wheelchair basketball. It also showed that youth with physical disabilities were committed to and enjoyed their sport experience. Additionally, they have had strong feelings about their physical abilities. Discouragingly, the results indicated that the youth with physical disabilities have had low perception that their parents were supportive of their participation in sport. The findings further showed that age, gender, use or non-use of mobility aids, and type of impairment influenced the choice of sport. However, there was no statistically significant association between demographic characteristics and some sports codes played in Rwanda. During the semi-structured interviews, the participants reported the challenges experienced by youth with physical disabilities with regard to sport preferences including physical factors (lack of accessible facilities, uneven playgrounds, transport to and from sport fields, resources and limited sporting codes available), social factors (lack of parental support and models) and financial factors (inhibit the implementation of many sport codes, high cost of adaptive equipment) which influence the youth with physical disabilities to choose a sport with sufficient facilities even if they do not like it. Factors that emerged as facilitators for sport preferences include: sport availability, perceived ability to handle a sport, friendship, facilities, improved individual competences, independence in mobility gained, and to take part in international tournaments. Based on the results of this study, and the role of sport in preventing many chronic diseases, it is apparent that there is a need to widen the spectrum of sport opportunities and to create awareness among youth with physical disabilities. Furthermore, there is a need to provide social and a local barrier-free inclusion of various stakeholders in recommending and designing sport programmes for the youth with disabilities.</p>