FACE Disabled People, Technology and Internet

Abstract

This thesis is based on the Internet experiences of people with significant mobility/physical impairments who are proficient and experienced computer users in their computer world but have limitations in mobility that severely restrict their functioning in the physical world. The Internet functioning of this group is analysed by means of the factors attitude, control and enabling, with the main focus on what is achievable when all access problems such as unadapted interfaces, beginners? difficulties and the digital divide are overcome. If the virtual world is fully available but the real world is not ? what are the effects on learning, self image, communities of practice, sense of coherence, power and control? What are the effects on peer-to-peer learning and co-operation? Independent living concepts and theories manifest themselves throughout the thesis, most obviously, perhaps, in the selection of issues that are studied and in the perspectives. The theoretical background and concepts are those of disability studies, with a social model and independent living perspective, and with strong influences from rehabilitation engineering and design. Throughout the thesis elaborations and clarifications of the possibilities of interplay and co-existence between rehabilitation engineering and design and disability studies are made. Different aspects of function design and technology are examined from an expanded view on functioning, where technology is put in an individual and social context with the FACE (Function ? Attitude, Control, Enabling) tool.

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