Category: Comment

#3 ‘The use and non-use of assistive technologies’ by Soderstrom and Ytterhus


The third instalment in an academic free for all.

SÖDERSTRÖM, S. & YTTERHUS, B. (2010) The use and non-use of assistive technologies from the world of information and communication technology by visually impaired young people: a walk on the tightrope of peer inclusion. Disability & Society, 25, 3, 303-315.

Disability and Society
Disability and Society

This paper by Sylvia Soderstrom and Borgunn Ytterhus presents an essential insight into the importance of social context for the take up of technology, and the place of assistive technologies within this matrix. They remind us that users do not exist in a vaccuum, that, in affluent societies ‘how people use technology is symbolic of various values and identities’. This qualitative study is relatively small, but its results are referent to a swathe of complex socio-technical relations. In this sense it is powerfully illustrative. Where ICT is found to broadly symbolise competence, belonging and independence – the specific nature of specialised assistive technologies can symbolise restriction, difference and dependency. The implications of such findings have resonance across Human Factors, HCI and education, and emphasise the peer-to-peer nature of in/accessibility and its delivery.

#2 ‘Identity and Disability’ by Nick Watson


The second post in my solo April blog festival.

WATSON, N. (2002) Well, I know this is going to sound very strange to you, but I don’t see myself as a disabled person: identity and disability. Disability & Society, 17, 5, 18.

Disability and Society
Disability and Society

In March 2011 Aleks Krotoski, UK technology journalist and researcher wrote a piece about Disability and the Internet for the Observer. Although I recognised many of her arguments and observations, I disagreed with several key aspects of her analysis. In particular, her assertion that disabled people ‘pass’ as non-disabled online. Hers is a very blunt statement – and it is this concern, that disabled people who do not present themselves (or see themselves) as disabled online might in some way be complicit in maintaining, rather than challenging a disabling status quo that Watson’s research tears into.

Here Watson challenges a ‘passing’ interpretation of the actions of disabled people – presenting disabled people’s own accounts and identifying in the process an opposite interpretation, a political assertion of disability as normal. Watson’s research gives important nuance to this crucial area. For anyone writing, designing or researching disability and technology – this paper makes essential reading.

Note: My PhD explores this territory with respect to Social Networks. For an additional alternative reponse to Kotoski’s article, see how Ouch’s Disability Bitch goes into CyberSpasm

#1 ‘Aversive disablism: subtle prejudice toward disabled people’ by Mark Deal


To take advantage of Routledge’s free Education journal access over the course of April 2011, I’m presenting papers to highlight research with powerful applications in the fields of technology, disability and education. Comments and suggestions are, as always, welcome.

DEAL, M. (2007) Aversive disablism: subtle prejudice toward disabled people. Disability & Society, 22, 1, 14.

Disability and Society
Disability and Society

Aversive Disablism is a little-known social phenomenon that exerts huge influence in the lives of people with disability. Deal’s paper highlights the importance of understanding and challenging this form of subtle disablism to ensure (amongst other aims) that design communities responsible for our built (or digital) environment do not perpetuate a society that actively disables people with impairments. In this sense, aversive disablism represents an important concept, without which any vocabulary of disability or design is incomplete. I drew on this paper for my 2010 Blogging Against Disablism post and Web4All joint paper with Brian Kelly and David Sloan last year, applying Deal’s arguments to incorporate online environments. Deal writes lucidly for a broad audience, as such this paper represents essential reading for all.

Further reading:

  • Consider Goggin and Newell’s groundbreaking 2003 book Digital Disability. This identifies the outcomes of web developer’s disregard for disabled users requirements  as “doing production”, resulting in a disabling web that enacts disability. The authors arguments are developed for contemporary Web 2.0 discourse by Ellis and Kent (2010) in their book Disability and New Media. Ellis and Kent develop this notion of “doing production” with regard to Social Networking Sites – their insights into the structural production of disability in social networks, I feel, resonates strongly with Deal’s notion of aversive disablism.

Next post out on Monday 4th.

30 Days of Academia: Your Guide to Routledge in April 2011


Over the course of April, Routledge are giving free open access to all Education journals, with no academic subscription or institutional affiliation necessary and no strings attached.  The Routledge stable includes some mighty journals for those involved in Technology, Disability and Education, including Disability and Society, the Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research and Studies in Higher Education. Together, these journals and their peers offer access to hundreds of pieces of groundbreaking research.

To celebrate, from Friday April 1st onwards, I will introduce and link a selection of papers that have been hugely influential in developing and challenging my thinking on disability, technology and education. This curated compilation represents a guided tour of some of Routledge’s ‘Greatest Hits’, to inform readers outside universities (in particular, techies, geeks, accessibility professionals, and others) and, I hope, help open up and apply disability theory and digital inclusion research for debate amongst new audiences. The list will also have relevance for scholars and academics in the field, and those whose universities do not currently subscribe to these journals (for example, my own institution, the University of Nottingham, does not supply access to the Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, I have my associate lectureship at Sheffield Hallam to thank for this particular literature hack!).

So, over the course of April I invite you to join me as I introduce each paper. You can subscribe to the blog to receive an alert via RSS feed or email when each post goes live, or simply drop by in over the course of the month and see what my suggested bibliography has to offer. If you are considering compiling a similar list in conjunction with Routledge’s Education free-for-all, be sure to signpost below. Comments and suggestions are welcome!

Page Numbering for Your Thesis


Tips for thesis-making: the first in an occasional series.

Your university or department will supply specific guidance on page formatting and the presentation of the thesis, but in my experience (and the experience of PhD students around me) finding the information on how to achieve correct presentation of a thesis using Word is surprisingly difficult, as is remembering the process once you’ve worked it out. In particular, issues of page numbering (sounds simple: it isn’t) and combining separate chapter documents whilst maintaining/generating Endnote references without duplication (sounds complicated: it is) can add hours to tight submission timescales. In this first post I address page numbering. This is not a beginners guide to Word. This is aimed at people with reasonable proficiency.

I know what you want to do. You have combined all of your chapters and additional appendices, abstract etc into one document. You have saved the thesis file. You have backed up the file, diligently, in a million different places. You now need a Title page without numbering, the following pages (your acknowledgements, abstract, table of contents, table of figures) require Roman Numerals, your thesis then begins on what needs to be Page 1, the first page of your first chapter and run throughout the remainder of this substantial document. Of course you know what you want do to. Now we just have to get Word to do your bidding.

First, remove any pre-standing page numbers from your document. Next, on the Home menu, go to the Paragraph section and select Show/Hide Formatting button (to ‘show paragraph marks and other hidden formatting symbols’). This will allow us to see the formatting interventions we are about to make. 

A Word Menu is shown with the Show Formatting button highlighed
A Word Menu is shown with the Show Formatting button highlighed

The next step is to insert a Section Break between the early pages of your thesis and what will be Chapter 1 Page 1. The Section Break is the key. In Word 2007 (my current edition) the section break is found on the Page Layout menu as ‘Breaks’. Firstly, make sure you have selected the area where you wish the page numbers to be differentiated (the page before Chapter1). Now, go to Page Layout > Breaks. It has a sub menu (pictured) containing Page Break options and Section Break options. Select “Next Page: Insert a section break and start the new section on the next page”. The Section Break may alter formatting around it. Keep the section break and make whatever changes need to be made to keep everything else in its place.

Page Layout menu shown with Breaks submenu and Section Break option
Page Layout menu shown with Breaks submenu and Section Break option

 Now we add the numbers. Above the Section Break, select the Insert menu. From there, click next to Page Number to access the Page Number Menu. Select “Format Page Number”. In the box marked “Page Number Format” select your preferred numbering for the opening pages of your thesis.

Next, with your cursor still in the opening section of your thesis, insert page numbers in the usual way. This should give you your desired numbering for the opening sections of the thesis.

To add usual numbering to the main part of the document you need to return to the Page Numbering menu. Select “Format Page Number”. In the box marked “Page Number Format” select your preferred numbering for the remaining pages of your thesis.
Move your cursor to a section of the thesis after your Section Break (where usual numbering is intended). Now insert page numbers in the usual way. At this point you should have number i, ii, iii, iv, through to 1, 2, 3, 4, for the whole document.

But what about your title page? This is currently page i, and it doesn’t look great. Click your mouse in the footer of the first page. A new Design menu is activated at the top of the Word window (pictured). In the Design menu, go to the Options sub menu, and tick the box marked “different first page”. This will remove the number from your title page.

The Design menu is shown with the
The Design menu is shown under the Header and Footer Tools tab. From here the Different First Page can be selected.

Congratulations, you’re done! If you have an automatically generated Table of Contents, update it now to see the results.

Event: Investigating Socio-Technical Experiences of Disability in Social Media.


On the 8th March 2011 from 4-6pm I will be presenting my doctoral research to researchers and students at Liverpool Hope University’s Centre for Culture and Disability Studies in the Faculty of Education. This guest lecture is offered as part of ‘Introduction to Research Methods: Disability Studies’.  If you would like to attend, please contact the CCDR’s Deputy Director Dr. Ria Cheyne via cheyner@hope.ac.uk.  More details about the location, slides and so forth will be added closer to the day. I hope to see you there!

Title: Disability 2.0: Investigating Socio-Technical Experiences of Disability in Social Media.

Abstract: For many young people, social networks are an essential part of their student experience. My research explores disabled students experiences of disability in social networks to understand how dis/ability difference is ascribed and negotiated within such networks, and the impact it has on student life. This research is firmly located within the social sciences, drawing on the thinking of Foucault to develop understandings of disability and power relations online. However, its research object, the socio-technical mediation of disability, is interdisciplinary; drawing on research territories that are unfamiliar to many disability studies researchers.

 In this talk, I give a backstage look at negotiating a path through interdisciplinary disability studies research, touching on information sciences and human computer interaction, and the particular problems and opportunities that this kind of activity presents. I introduce the notion of ‘bricolage’ as a user-friendly multi-perspective methodology and research approach that has enabled me to develop new, technology-enhanced and accessible research methods, and develop a research lens drawing on complementary methods from Activity Theory, Phenomenography, Discourse Analysis and Case Study.

This will be an interactive session aimed at researchers and students. Prior knowledge of the methods and technologies presented is not necessary. Following on from an orientation in social media research for disability studies, I will also talk about the findings of my research, which consider the ways in which social technologies reposition disabled people within taxonomies of identity, enabling some and dis-abling others.

Who is Researching Disability in Facebook?


This is my first post of 2011, I’d really appreciate your thoughts to develop these arguments. Comments, as ever, are welcome!

At New Year I met some new people and began explaining my PhD research into Disability and Social Networks (no doubt more technically and tediously than my audience had hoped). In the following discussion a ‘disability’ vignette came up. A reveller described how a colleague at work was currently out of the office sporadically, due to anxiety. She was signed off work on grounds of stress. However, word had spread around the office that, despite the leaves of absence being taken, this person had posted several upbeat messages on Facebook over weekends, including photos from parties and other social events. Others in the office were beginning to question the reality of her mental health on this basis.

My own research highlights how the boundaries of disability shift in social networks, as disability and ability are ascribed and mediated by peers, tools and the social context. To me, this vignette highlights the complexity of disability and its representation online, alongside some worrying developments in disability-surveillance.

Research into Facebook highlights powerful social norms that are enacted in social media due to context-collapse. Importantly, Facebook in particular, is an upbeat space where users present their ‘best’ self for scrutiny before a mixed audience of friends, family, associates etc; lots of different contexts are collapsed into one. As a result, many people upload their only best (sometimes airbrushed) photos, comment with only their wittiest witticisms and so on. This instigates a powerful norm of ingratiation. In research interviews, the disabled students I spoke to repeatedly stated that Facebook was not a place to publicly express depression or serious mental illness. Indeed, for some, the only signifier of such disabilities in networked publics was silence, a lack of interaction resulting in greater isolation. Such silences may be noticed by attentive friends, however, as we will see, to insurers and employers, it is noise, not silence, that attracts the most attention.

Somehow, Facebook interactions known to be private and frivolous, have become caught up in a legal and corporate project to define how much disability is required to qualify as disabled. In these terms, Facebook is conveniently identified as the inside track, the Truth of what is going on. Within this, any number of assumptions about what constitutes a disability are enacted. More importantly, an underlying concern can be perceived regarding the force with which the boundaries are decided without reflection. I would argue that these moves ‘discipline’ disabled people. In this way, disabled people must perform a strictly defined role. The abilities of a disabled person are rendered suspect: and, according to this view, there is nothing more offensive than a disabled person who is not disabled, or not disabled enough. Within this dichotomy there is no room for grey areas, i.e. the complexity and diversity of impairments that exist in day to day life. Grey areas are difficult; it is much easier to render these issues in cartoonish black and white.

A recently example comes from the Chicago Tribune (also printed in the LA Times).  The Tibune highlight how insurers are looking to Facebook for evidence to challenge claims.

If someone receiving disability benefits for a bad back brags on Facebook or Twitter about finishing a marathon, chances are their insurance company will find out and stop the cheques.

Chicago Tribune

The newspaper leads with an extreme example, the ‘person with a bad back’ signed off work, who then posts to Facebook that they have completed a marathon.  This vignette is offered as the quintessential disability con.  Underneath this headline, however, any number of more complex cases cascade; including the mundane case of the person experiencing anxiety attacks, signed sporadically on and off work and but maintaining a social life. Expressing such a life in Facebook is important – to challenge stigma and resist isolation. However, whilst employers and insurers stalk the network, I’m concerned that users will be forced to choose between performing Normal according to non-disabled network norms OR performing the externally defined role of the Disabled Person. Increasingly, physical or cognitive impairment has nothing to do with it.

Hack is a Feminist Issue


Tomorrow (Tuesday November 9th),  the Learning Sciences Research Institute here at Nottingham University is having an Open Day. Within this are a schedule of talks including my own short presentation on bricolage and interdisciplinary working. I make my presentation at 9.30am, following Dr Charles Crook and Prof. Mike Sharples. 

In this short presentation I will talk about the realities of articulating digital research in the field. Increasingly new digital tools and media are available to researchers, each offering a new affordance in terms of data collection. These can emerge over the course of a PhD project. The pragmatics of research mean that we may often draw on such tools, however, there appears to be a tension between this apparently pick-and-mix approach and the wider theoretical demands of methodology grounded in a particular paradigm, discipline or theory. This is not a new problem, this sort of ‘hacking’ for research purposes has theoretical lineage in sociology, where it is known as bricolage. Viewing research hacking activities through this sociological lens exposes the value of bricolage as an agile, economical, interdisciplinary, feminist and anti-hegemonic undertaking. Using examples from accessibility and my own digital disability research, I introduce and recommend bricolage as the Swiss-Army Knife of research approaches. 

Disability Research Forum 2010-2011


I recently recieved this call on behalf of the Disability Research Forum. They write:

Now into its sixth year, the Disability Research Forum (DRF) continues to foster informal networks of disability scholars and provide researchers with opportunities to present their work in a friendly and encouraging environment. 

Dates for upcoming seminars are below (we have tried to vary the day and time of the meetings to allow a range of people to attend). 

  1. Thurs. 14th October 2010: 11.30am-1.30pm
  2. Mon. 15th November 2010: 12pm-2pm
  3. Tues. 14th December 2010: 12pm-2pm
  4. Tues. 15th February 2011: 1pm-3pm
  5. Fri. 25th March 2011: 11.30am-1.30pm
  6. Tues. 12th April 2011: 2pm-4pm

If you, or anybody you know, would like to present at a DRF seminar please get in touch.  Alternatively, let us know if there is an issue/article/academic book you’d like to facilitate a round table discussion on.   Even if you do not intend to present, feel free to come along, listen and share your thoughts.  

This year we are also planning to hold some seminar-days – details of these will follow shortly  … and remember 14th-15th September 2011 sees the return of the hugely successful ‘Normalcy and the Mundane’ Conference at Manchester Metropolitan University.

These informal seminars are held in Room 10111 (First Floor) Arundel Building, Charles Street, City Campus, Sheffield Hallam University, S1 1WB. 

For lunchtime slots, please feel free to bring your own food and drink.

For more information (including access information) please contact: Dr Rebecca Mallett.

We are always thrilled to have new faces so please spread the word by circulating this as widely as possible – thank-you

12 Ways to Attend a Conference for Less: part 2


Numbers 7-12

Here’s my final offering, part 2 of ‘Ways to Attend a Conference for Less’. If you think I’ve missed something, or you have additions to make – please add your thoughts via comments. Contributions are more than welcome!

7. Be a Rapporteur 

A rapporteur is a person appointed to investigate an issue or situation and report back to the appointing organisation. If you know of NGOs, charities, departments, committees, associations and agencies in your field that may be interested in a national event you are targeting, contact them directly. State that you are planning to attend Conference X and ask whether they would be interested in your acting as a rapporteur for them and – if so – whether the organisation would be able to supplement your attendance. It is highly unlikely that the organisation will pay your registration costs (they would most likely send their own people), however, you may be able to negotiate all or part of your travel costs in return for a report on the conference that pays close attention to the particular interests of your new sponsor.

Note: This is by no means an easy way to bring down your conference costs, as it requires careful organisation.  As with ‘Be a Journalist’ (below) you may want to consider having a CV to hand, with proof of writing experience to demonstrate you have the skills necessary. Also, you will need to make sure that the conference sessions that you are interested in will be commensurate with the interests of the organisation sponsoring you. 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you are supplying a professional service to your sponsor. Your note-taking will need to be of a high-quality, and you may need to dedicate substantial time to writing-up your report. On the other hand, this could be an excellent way of introducing yourself to potential sponsors (employers?!) and proving yourself to be both useful and professional. 

8. Be a Volunteer 

Those of you paying attention will have spotted the great Comment contributions from Karen about volunteering at conferences. Volunteering may ensure you can attend a conference for free, or at a reduced rate. This point merges with the next, but note that being a volunteer need not be the experience of a general dogsbody.  If a conference is not delivered by an Events Management Company, there should be opportunities available. 

9. Be a Conference Organiser 

Closely linked to Volunteering, this Conference Organisation also recognises the value in getting involved in a conference at a more formative level. Routes into conference organisation may come for students in the form of Post-Graduate conferences, local Research Networks, or larger conferences organised within your department or by colleagues in your field. Unconferences offer another way in, for those wanting to get their hands dirty (thanks again to Karen on this!). 

Organisational committees usually require regular meetings to arrange and discuss the finer points of organisation. If you are a post-graduate student, your role may depend on the networks you are involved in, or simply how pushy/assertive you are. You may be representing your host institution, relaying information or working to represent and involve your peers. If you are not a departmental or business insider with funds to deploy, remember you may have leverage in terms of your own expertise (Accessibility? Technology? Education? Other?) and your access to contributions ‘in-kind’. There are particular aspects of support that all conferences require, including helping hands to promote the event to relevant communities, Referees to gauge and review the quality of papers submitted, and session Chairs who introduce speakers, co-ordinate questioning and ensure that presentation slots run to time.

10. Be Self-Employed

Becoming self-employed is a significant step that should not be taken lightly. In effect you are setting up a small business which will entail managing your tax return, record keeping and invoicing amongst other things. However, as a freelancer [registered sole-trader] in the UK I’m able to offset business expenses against tax.  Conferences, travel and subsistence (meals and overnight accommodation) make up part of my business expenses. Clearly there’s a balance to be struck here – as to claim for expenses you need to ensure enough taxable income to make this viable.

More information about becoming self-employed is available via Business Link   and HMRC.  The Inland Revenue also provide a guide to “Expenses and Benefits” .  For a plain language version aimed at Freelancers consider the Freelance Advisor Guide.

11. Off-set the Costs

Substantial Freebies are relatively rare. Many conferences include a ‘goodie bag’ containing a memory stick with the conference proceedings therein, a journal or two and some note paper. However more notable Goodies do exist. Were you thinking of buying an iPad? Maybe you should’ve registered for this year’s Handheld Learning Conference . At between £495-£595.00, their early-bird registration is steep – but it includes a free iPad and a £100 voucher for the Game Based Learning Conference. Double trouble!   

12. Attend Remotely

Attending a conference remotely is an increasingly viable option as conferences become ‘amplified’.  Whilst conferencing from the comfort of your own home or place of work might not be as glamorous as jetting to distant climes for cocktails and parallel sessions, it’s difficult to find a more convenient option. Where else can you watch presentations in your pyjamas? Don’t answer that.

The term ‘amplified events’ was coined to describe ways in which networks and related technologies are being used to enhance the impact of, and access to, discussions and learning at events such as scholarly conferences.

Amplified events may make use of Twitter (as an event ‘back channel’), Slideshare (making presentation slides available), social networks, live video streaming, downloadable video and event ‘hashtags’ to allow content to be easily found. Blogrolls may combine all the online commentary posted after an event offering a ‘digested read’ of key speakers and sessions. From this point it’s increasingly possible to follow up such leads online, making connections with delegates without attending in person.  Some events take place entirely within virtual spaces (although I must admit, my SecondLife avatar is getting a little dusty).  Moreover, even those events that are not formally represented online may have been compromised by rogue Tweeters; counter-surveillance and wi-fi lock-down not withstanding.  Read more about the benefits of amplified events on Brian Kelly’s blog

If you are unable to attend for any reason, developing your own strategies for navigating multi-media coverage makes observation and interaction possible. I increasingly find that tracking hashtags for key conferences in my field allows me to extend my Twitter network to incoporate new people that I might never have otherwise discovered. Of course, there are other benefits.  For example, last year the Handheld Learning Conference 2009 made many of their presentations available to watch online and download via iTunes. This meant I was fortunate to be able to listen to a keynote by the Great Ray Kurtzweil whilst washing up with my Ipod in my pocket. This allowed me to multi-task though chores and with my work schedule unaffected.  Listening to and viewing presentations in this way later informed my blog post about the conference’s inclusion strand.