General social stereotypes characterize people with disabilities as asexual, invisible, and stigmatized. Therefore, sexualizing people with disabilities becomes taboo. The goal of this study is to explore how Internet pornography depicts a female wheelchair user. Using qualitative, inductive content analysis and a case study approach, I analyze 24 images from a specific, relevant website for a theme that appears most prevalent in sexuality and disability literature, the sexuality/disability split, wherein individuals’ sexualities are not pictured, felt, or acknowledged in concomitance with their disabilities. My results indicate that a sexuality/disability split does occur to some degree, but that the subject also challenges the sexuality/disability split. Finally, I show how these results apply to an emerging interactionist paradigm of feminist and disability theories.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effect of ingesting an 8% carbohydrate (CHO) beverage during a moderate intensity exercise trial on performance outcomes, fuel utilization and blood glucose levels of wheelchair athletes (spinal cord injury (SC I) or cerebral palsy (CP)). The secondary purpose was to analyze the dietary intake of the eight participants and to determine if they were meeting current sport nutrition guidelines for macronutrients and fluids recommended in the joint position statement developed by the American Dietetic Association (ADA), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and Dietitians of Canada (DC).<p> Under random, double blind conditions eight athletes (6 males, 2 females); mean age 36 ± 8.5 y with a SCI (n = 7) or CP (n = 1) completed two exercise trials on an adapted stationary hand cycle; each trial was 60 minutes in duration at 65 % VO2peak followed immediately by a 30-minute performance trial. During the first 60-minutes the participants were given four 200 ml dosages (15, 30, 45, 60-min) of an 8% CHO beverage or a taste-matched placebo beverage. Blood lactate and glucose levels were sampled during the 60-minute exercise trial (pre, 20, 40, 60-min) and immediately after the 30-minute performance trial (post, 2, 5, 10-min). Heart rate was monitored continuously during the exercise and performance trial. Expired gas samples were also taken for 5-min periods during the exercise trial and then continuously during the performance trial. These values were used to calculate respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and carbohydrate oxidation. Dietary intake was assessed with a three day food record.<p> No significant differences were apparent between beverage trials for total distance (km), average speed (kmhr-1) or maximum speed achieved (kmhr-1). Significant differences were evident for blood glucose values, RER and CHO oxidation between the two beverage trials (p< .05). At the end of the 30-minute performance trial blood glucose values were significantly higher in the CHO trial (4.8 ± 1.3 mmol.l-1 vs. 4.0 ± 0.5 mmol.l-1 for placebo trial; p< .05). The CHO beverage resulted in higher CHO oxidation during the last 5 minutes of the performance trial, 2.1 ± 1.0 gmin-1 vs. the placebo beverage 1.9 ± 1.0 gmin-1 (p< .05). The CHO beverage trial resulted in significantly higher RER values during the final 5 minutes of the exercise trial and during the final 10 minutes of the performance trial. At the 20-25 minute mark RER values were significantly higher with the CHO beverage trial (1.04 ± 0.10) vs. the placebo trial (1.01 ± 0.11) (p< .05). During the final 5 minutes of the performance trial RER values were also significantly higher with the CHO beverage trial (1.06 ± 0.11) vs. the placebo trial (1.01 ± 0.10) (p< .05). The results indicated the participants were not meeting the current dietary guidelines for able-bodied athletes and active adults. Only 25% of the participants met the daily caloric requirements for active adults. Carbohydrate recommendations of 6 to 10 gkg-1 body weightd -1 were not met by any of the wheelchair athletes Seven participants were within the acceptable macronutrient range (AMDR) for CHO. For protein intake, 63% of the participants were meeting the protein recommendations active adults and all of them were within the AMDR. Average caloric intake from fat exceeded current recommendations of 20 to 25%; two participants were above the AMDR. The results demonstrate that the 8% CHO beverage consumed during exercise resulted in higher CHO oxidation rates and elevated blood glucose values, but it did not result in a performance gain.

This thesis is focused on two aspects related to wheeled mobility: 1) Evaluating the impact of a new tire design on powered mobility, and 2) Instrumentation that permits better monitoring and assessment of wheeled mobility in everyday use. The Tweel technology tires developed by Michelin USA are comprised of an outer polyurethane ring supported by polyurethane fins instead of metal spokes, which allow the tire to deflect under pressure. As a wheelchair tire they offer a potential breakthrough as they have deflection properties similar to a pneumatic tire while maintaining the low maintenance of a solid foam-core tire. A study was conducted to compare the Tweel technology tires to standard solid foam-core tires for vibration transmission, traction and overall life span. The Tweel technology tires failed produce any significant difference in vibration transmitted to the user compared to solid foam-core tires. Additionally, the Tweel technology tires showed significant signs of deterioration after a month long field trial, thus indicating a short life span. However, Tweel technology tires provided better traction on both dry and wet concrete. Overall, Tweel technology tires have to be re-engineered to provide better damping properties, leading to lower vibrational levels transmitted to the user. The second section this thesis addressed the need to develop a methodology of measuring mobility in everyday usage. This section is part of a greater ongoing research project at CATEA (Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access) aimed at understanding everyday wheelchair usage. Methodology was developed to measure bouts of mobility that characterize wheelchair usage; which includes the number of starts, stops, turns and distance traveled through the day. Three different technologies which included, Accelerometer unit on the rim of the drive wheel, Gyro-Accelerometer unit on the frame of the chair and Reed switches, were tested. Testing included various criteria for accuracy, durability and compatibility for measuring bouts of everyday wheeled mobility. Although a single technology could not be used to measure all aspects of mobility, the Accelerometer unit on the rim met the design criteria for measuring starts stops and distance, while the Gyro-Accelerometer unit met the requirements for measuring turns.

In the wheelchair family, a manual wheelchair is most commonly used by the lower-limb disabled, while its manual mode creates the lowest mechanical effi-ciency and the highest rate of upper-limb injury. Electric wheelchairs on the market are much more labor-saved; however, with their drive systems mostly combining with the bodies of the wheelchair, electric wheelchairs appear to be bulky and are not easily-carried. While in a limited space, on a short-distance moving, or in/off the elevator, electric wheelchairs cannot be practicably switched to manual ones. Thus, this text aims to develop a switchable dou-ble-action manual/electric wheelchair with an auxiliary driving wheel, expect-ing to increase the mechanical efficiency and not to enlarge the body of the wheelchair; the module-disassembled drive system is intended for the conven-ience of carrying. Besides, in order to keep both the manual and the electric functions, the caster contains a set of separable orientation control system, while enables the caster to be switched in both the modes of 360-degree rotation and of being controlled by the user. In this way, the use of the wheelchair would be-come much more multiple-choice.

Nowadays, almost all existing wheelchairs have the problem that they only satisfy the disabled people to use for normal moving and transportation. A new wheelchair with a gear system guide rail which installed in the car is presented in this paper. The gear guide rail system will transport the whole wheelchair and person on it into the car. This wheelchair system will help people with disability whatever passengers or drivers to get into cars automatically. In this paper, the operation and the strength will be analysed through 3D model and theoretical calculations. Surveying to Swedish market, Volvo XC60 and V60 is chosen to design the size of the wheelchair. Besides, this new wheelchair system also can be suitable for the cars which are larger than those two car models.

Persons with paraplegia who use a manual wheelchair for mobility are at high risk for overuse injuries in the upper extremities. Years of shoulder overuse performing transfers, wheelchair propulsion, dressing, bathing, and household chores, (activities of daily living or ADL) leads to an increased incidence of cumulative trauma to the shoulders. Few studies have addressed the stressful task of wheelchair transfers among SCI individuals. The goal of this pilot study is to develop valid and reliable measurement technologies to quantify shoulder musculoskeletal stressors during wheelchair transfers and pressure relief tasks among individuals with SCI. Using a standard wheelchair, 10 participants were asked to perform 3 typical pairs of independent transfer tasks: wheelchair to/from bed, wheelchair to/from commode, and wheelchair to/from vehicle. Also, two pressure relief tasks (P/R) were performed sitting in a wheelchair, one using the armrest and one using the wheels. By observation, the transfers in descending order from the most demanding to the least demanding were as follows: vehicle, commode, and bed. During a P/R using the wheels there is a 40% greater max shoulder force and a 47% greater mean shoulder force than when using the armrest. The max shoulder force of over 1000 N is generated at the initial push off, during a P/R using the wheels, then the force drops 45% to an average of 558 N. The max shoulder force of 722 N at the initial push off, during a P/R using the Armrest, drops 48% and then averages 378 N. During a P/R using the wheels there is a 104% greater max shoulder torque and a 17% greater mean shoulder torque than when using the armrest. As in the initial large amount of shoulder force there is also a large amount of shoulder torque that drops 77% during a P/R using the wheels. The shoulder torque decreases 62% during a P/R using the armrest. Because of the greater distance the body's Center of Mass (COM) travels during the P/R using the armrest, 24% more work is done.

I denna rapport redovisas arbetsgången för produktutvecklingen av ett rullstolsunderrede med nya design- och konstruktionslösningar. Det slutliga konceptet är ett underrede med två centrala konstruktionslösningar; en hydraulcylinder som medger vertikal sitthöjdsjustering, samt en vaggfunktion i sittplattan som medger ökad balans vid vinkeljustering. Samtliga funktioner på underredet har anpassats för att erbjuda ett enklare och renare ramverk. / This report covers the work procedure for the product development of an undercarriage to a wheelchair, featuring new design- and constructional solutions. The final concept is an undercarriage with two main constructional solutions; a hydraulic cylinder supporting vertical height adjustments and a function which enables the occupant to be tilted forwards or backwards whilst maintaining posture stability. All functions for the undercarriage have been adapted to offer a simpler and cleaner framework.

Darbe atlikta Šiaulių ir Kauno sportininkų, žaidžiančių vežimėlių krepšinį, treniruočių efektyvumo lyginamoji analizė. Iškelta hipotezė, kad vežimėlių krepšinį sportuojančių sportininkų fizinių ypatybių ir žaidimo įgūdžių rodikliai priklauso nuo žaidimo stažo, treniruočių skaičiaus, negalės sunkumo laipsnio (balų), bei žaidėjų amžiaus. Testuojant buvo nustatytas vežimėlių krepšinį žaidžiančių neįgaliųjų fizinių ypatybių (anaerobinės ištvermės, greitumo, vikrumo) ir žaidimo įgūdžių (varymo, metimų) lygis. Atlikta statistinė (Stjudento T testas dviems nepriklausomoms imtims) testavimo rezultatų analizė. Tyrime dalyvavo Šiaulių „Entuziasto“ ir Kauno „RSK“ žmonių su fizine negalia sporto klubų vežimėlių krepšinio komandų sportininkai (n=18). Tiriamieji buvo paskirstyti į eksperimentinę (Šiaulių komanda) ir kontrolinę (Kauno komanda) grupes. Empirinėje dalyje buvo nagrinėjama vežimėlių krepšinį žaidžiančių neįgaliųjų rezultatų priklausomybė nuo treniruotumo, žaidimo stažo, negalios laipsnio, bei žaidėjų amžiaus. Svarbiausios empirinio tyrimo išvados: 1. Įvertinus Šiaulių ir Kauno neįgaliųjų krepšininkų fizinių ypatybių ir vežimėlių krepšinio žaidimo įgūdžių lygį, matomas akivaizdus Kauno sportininkų rezultatų pranašumas. 2. Nustatyta, kad didžiausią poveikį vežimėlių krepšinio žaidėjų fizinėms ypatybėms ir žaidimo įgūdžiams turi žaidimo stažas. Palyginus abiejų komandų žaidimo stažą, matome, kad vidutiniškai Kauno komandos sportininkai vežimėlių krepšinį sportuoja 8.6... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In this paper the analysis of training effectiveness of sportsmen playing wheelchair basketball was fulfilled in Kaunas and Šiauliai. The research was make with the help of testing to fix and evaluate the pecullarities of disabled sportsmen playing wheelchair-basketball ( endurance, speed, agility ) and the level of skills ( throwing the ball into the basket, going with the ball ) and the factors of the game. Sportsmen from Šiauliai and Kaunas from the wheelchair basketball teams took part in the research. In the empirical part of the research the peculiarities of physical features of disabled sportsmen, the level of skills, the age, the length of the play and the degree of being disabled were compared. The main conclusions of the empiric part are: 1. After having estimated the level of skills and physical peculiarities of disabled basketballers between Kaunas and Šiauliai, we can state that the results of Kaunas sportsmen are superior. The experience of the Kaunas players is of great significance (x=8,6). 2. It is determined that the experience of the game has a very great influence on the physical peculiarities of the sportsmen. Comparing the experience of both teams we can see that Kaunas sportsmen have been playing basketball for 8,6 years but the sportsmen of Šiauliai team only 3,3 years. So this decided better physical skills and rezults of the Kaunas team sportsmen. 3. Having evaluated the dependence of physical peculiarities and skills of disabled sportsmen upon... [to full text]

Dėl diskusijos tarp tyrėjų ir dėl darbų trūkumo apie vežimėlių krepšinio specialiuosius fizinius gebėjimus, aerobinį pajėgumą ir žaidimo įgūdžius. Aktualūs ir reikšmingi moksliniai tyrimai analizuojantys šių rodiklių kaitą negalios sunkumo laipsnio, amžiaus, žaidimo stažo aspektais. Tyrimo tikslas: nustatyti ir įvertinti vežimėlių krepšinio žaidėjų fizinių ypatybių, aerobinio pajėgumo ir žaidimo įgūdžių rodiklių kaitą pažeidimo laipsnio, amžiaus, žaidimo stažo aspektais. Tyrimo uždaviniai: 1. Nustatyti ir įvertinti ve��imėlių krepšinio žaidėjų specialiųjų fizinių gebėjimų rodiklių priklausomybę nuo negalios sunkumo laipsnio, amžiaus, žaidimo stažo. 2. Nustatyti ir įvertinti kokią įtaką vežimėlių krepšinio žaidėjų žaidimo rodikliams turi negalios sunkumo laipsnis, amžius, žaidimo stažas. 3. Nustatyti ir įvertinti vežimėlių krepšinio žaidėjų aerobinio pajėgumo rodiklių priklausomybę nuo negalios sunkumo laipsnio, amžiaus, žaidimo stažo. Specialiųjų fizinių gebėjimų ir žaidimo rodiklių testais buvo ištirti 42 vežimėlių krepšinio žaidėjai. Visi tiriamieji buvo suskirstyti i tris grupes pagal pažeidimo laipsnį, pagal amžių ir pagal žaidimo stažą. Atliekant nenutrūkstamą nuosekliai didinamą fizinį krūvį rankų ergometru „Monark“, dujų analizatoriumi „Oxycon Mobile“ buvo ištirtas 21 vežimėlių krepšinio žaidėjas. Jie taip pat buvo suskirstyti i tris grupes pagal pažeidimo laipsnį, pagal amžių ir pagal žaidimo stažą. Buvo nustatyti fizinio darbingumo, kvėpavimo, dujų apykaitos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Because of discussion among researchers and shortage of research works in respect of special physical abilities, aerobic performance and playing skills of wheelchair basketball players. There are actual and relevant scientific research analyzing these problems in aspects of players age, disability and time playing wheelchair basketball. Aim of the research was to determine and evaluate special physical abilities, the aerobic performance and playing skills of weelchair basketball players according to playing experience, age and disability. Goals of research : 1. To determine and evaluate physical features of weelchair basketball players according to playing experience, age and disability. 2. To determine and evaluate playing skills of weelchair basketball players according to playing experience, age and disability. 3. To determine and evaluate the aerobic performance and of weelchair basketball players according to playing experience, age and disability. By methods of testing and pedagogical observation 42 wheelchair basketball players participating in wheelchair basketball competitions were under research. Participants of the research were divided into different groups according to their age, disability and time playing wheelchair basketball. The following wheelchair basketball players participating in the research according to the International wheelchair basketball classification system were divided: eight 1-1,5 point players, fifteen 2-2,5 points players, 8– 3-3,5... [to full text]

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