Article Summary by Susanna Martin Creating assistive technology for older adults means understanding their needs, wants and values. Researchers can achieve this by collaborating with older adults during the development process. Unfortunately, opportunities for collaboration are limited. We also know little about what older adults think about being involved in technology research. To gain a […]
Category: Special Issues
Hybrid Performances in Sport: Cybathlon Spectatorship for Critically Imagining Technologies for Disability Futures
Article Summary by Edmund Barker and Harry Parker Assistive technologies, such as wheelchairs and prosthetic legs, have been helping some people participate in Sport who wouldn’t be able to otherwise. In some ways these technologies have helped to make disability more present and visible across many sporting cultures. For the most part, however, differently abled […]
Deaf-led Alarm Design: Technology and Disability in Home, Work and Parenthood
Article Summary by Gretchen Von Koenig Security alarms, alarm clocks, baby monitors and fire alarms are everyday devices in our homes that help us wake up, feel secure and care for our families. In the history of alarm designs that are dominated by auditory-based alerting systems, stories of how alarms were hacked for deaf needs […]
Digital Production and itDf
Editorial by Eleanor Webster Over the course of the Imagining technology for Disability futures symposium, held in Leeds in April 2024, I was often asked: “what is it you actually do?” This didn’t come as much of a surprise to me: digital producing is a nebulous title and my job is the kind that most […]
Imagining Alternative Futures with Augmentative and Alternative Communication: A Manifesto
Article Summary by Darryl Sellwood and Graham Pullin As authors who use AAC devices, we emphasize the need for disabled individuals to be directly involved in creating solutions that impact our lives. Our manifesto challenges the conventional, technology-driven future of AAC, advocating instead for social inclusion and equity. We stress the importance of interdependence […]
Meaning and Role of Functional-Organic Distinction: A Study of Clinicians in Psychiatry and Neurology Services
Article Summary by Alice Chesterfield and Jordan Harvey Despite much controversy, the functional-organic distinction attempts to distinguish symptoms, signs, and syndromes that can be explained by diagnosable biological changes (‘organic’) from those that cannot (‘functional’). It appears across medicine but has particular relevance in neuropsychiatric settings where it is often central to treatment decisions and […]
Narratives of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Healing Through Music in Ian McEwan’s On Chesil Beach
Article Summary by Neha Hejaz and Rajni Singh This article is an attempt to acknowledge the clinical uses of fictional narratives of Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA) within health care. The purpose of studying fiction lies in exploring the lives of individuals in an imaginative manner, offering a deeper existential understanding of problems, and developing of […]
Personalism and Boosting Organ ResERVOirs: A Consideration of Euthanasia by Removal of Vital Organs in the Canadian Context
Article Summary by Jamie Grunwald Canada’s decriminalisation of assisted death has elicited significant ethical implications for the use of assisted death in healthcare contexts. Euthanasia by removal of vital organs (ERVO) is a theoretical extension of medically assisted death with an increased plausibility of implementation in light of the rapid expansion of assisted death eligibility […]
Hospital Space Interpreted According to Heidegger’s Concepts of Care and Dwelling
Article Summary by Hye Youn Park In today’s era, hospitals have solidified their position as central hubs closely intertwined with human life, overcoming numerous diseases through remarkable progress in science and technology. Despite being the focal point of human existence, discussions about hospital spaces often linger within the therapeutic tool perspective, emphasizing the effectiveness of […]
Redefining Global Cardiac Surgery Through an Intersectionality Lens
Article Summary by Dominique Vervoort, Lina A Elfaki, Maria Servito, Karla Yael Herrera-Morales and Kudzai Kanyepi Around the world, more than six billion people are unable to undergo heart surgery. This is a result of an absence of surgeons and other health workers, insufficient money or health insurance, limited supplies, or a combination of factors. […]