ABSTRACT
Assistive technology (AT) as a field explores the design, use and evaluation of computing technology that aims to benefit people with disabilities. The majority of the work consequently takes the functional needs of people with disabilities as starting point and matches those with technological opportunity spaces. With this paper, we argue that the underlying philosophical position implied in this approach can be seen as reductionist as the disabled experience is arguably richer and often more complex as can be projected from the functional limitations of people. Thinkers and activists in Disability Studies have conceptualised disability in various ways and more recently, critical realism was proposed as a philosophical position through which the many different facets of the disabled experience could be incorporated. In this paper, we explore the possibility of using a critical realist perspective to guide designers in developing technology for people with disabilities and thereby aim to contribute to the philosophical underpinnings of AT. After a brief review of historical conceptualisations of disability, we introduce the critical realist argument and discuss its appeal for understanding disability and the possible roles technology can have in this context. Subsequently, we aim to translate this philosophical and moral debate into a research agenda for AT and exemplify how it can be operationalised by presenting the OutsideTheBox project as a case study.
- Benton, L., Vasalou, A., Khaled, R., Johnson, H., and Gooch, D. Diversity for Design: A Framework for Involving Neurodiverse Children in the Technology Design Process. In Proceedings of the 32Nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI '14, ACM (New York, NY, USA, 2014), 3747--3756. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Bhaskar, R. A Realist Theory of Science. Leeds Books, Leeds, 1975.Google Scholar
- Bowers, J. The logic of annotated portfolios: communicating the value of 'research through design'. In Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems Conference, DIS '12, ACM (Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom, 2012), 68--77. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Collier, A. Critical Realism: An Introduction to Roy Bhaskar's Philosopy. Verso, London, UK, 1994.Google Scholar
- Corker, M., and Shakespeare, T. Mapping the Terrain. In Disability/Postmodernity: Embodying Disability Studies, M. Corker and T. Shakespeare, Eds. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2002.Google Scholar
- Dalton, N. S. Neurodiversity & HCI. In CHI '13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA '13, ACM (Paris, France, 2013), 2295--2304. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Frauenberger, C., Good, J., Fitzpatrick, G., and Iversen, O. S. In pursuit of rigour and accountability in participatory design. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 74, 0 (2015), 93 -- 106.Google ScholarDigital Library
- Harris, J. One principle and three fallacies of disability studies. Journal of Medical Ethics 27, 6 (Dec. 2001), 383--387.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Harrison, S., Tatar, D., and Sengers, P. The three paradigms of HCI. In Proceedings of alt.chi, ACM SIGCHI (2007).Google Scholar
- Kuhn, T. S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, enlarged, 2nd edition ed. University of Chicago Press, 1970.Google Scholar
- Lopez, J., and Potter, G., Eds. After Postmodernism: An Introduction to Critical Realism, 1st ed. The Athlone Press, Contiuum imprint, London, UK, 2001.Google Scholar
- Mankoff, J., Hayes, G. R., and Kasnitz, D. Disability studies as a source of critical inquiry for the field of assistive technology. In Proceedings of the 12th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on Computers and accessibility, ASSETS '10, ACM (Orlando, Florida, USA, 2010), 3--10. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Newell, A. F., Gregor, P., Morgan, M., Pullin, G., and Macaulay, C. User-Sensitive Inclusive Design. Universal Access in the Information Society 10, 3 (July 2010), 235--243. Google ScholarDigital Library
- of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation, U. Fundamental principles of disability. Summary of a meeting, London, UK, Nov. 1976.Google Scholar
- Oliver, M. The politics of disablement. Palgrave Macmillan, 1990.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Organization, W. H. Towards a common language for functioning, disability and health. Tech. rep., Geneva, 2002.Google Scholar
- Pullin, G. Design Meets Disability. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, Sept. 2011.Google Scholar
- Rittel, H., and Webber, M. Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy sciences 4, 2 (1973), 155--169.Google Scholar
- Sanders, E., and Westerlund, B. Experiencing, exploring and experimenting in and with co-design spaces. In Proceedings of the Nordic Design Research Conference (May 2011).Google Scholar
- Schön, D. A. The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. Basic Books, New York, 1983.Google Scholar
- Shakespeare, T. Disability Rights and Wrongs Revisited, second endition ed. Routledge, Oxon UK, 2014.Google Scholar
- Shinohara, K. A new approach for the design of assistive technologies: design for social acceptance. ACM SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing, 102 (2012), 45--48. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Shinohara, K., and Wobbrock, J. O. In the shadow of misperception: assistive technology use and social interactions. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, ACM (2011), 705--714. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Söder, M. Tensions, perspectives and themes in disability studies. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research 11, 2 (June 2009), 67--81.Google ScholarCross Ref
- WHO, W. H. O. Autism Spectrum Disorders & Other Developmental Disorders -- From Raising Awareness to Building Capacity, December 2013.Google Scholar
- Wobbrock, J. O., Kane, S. K., Gajos, K. Z., Harada, S., and Froehlich, J. Ability-Based Design: Concept, Principles and Examples. ACM Trans. Access. Comput. 3, 3 (Apr. 2011), 9:1--9:27. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- Disability and Technology: A Critical Realist Perspective
Recommendations
Living Disability Theory: Reflections on Access, Research, and Design
ASSETS '20: Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and AccessibilityAccessibility research and disability studies are intertwined fields focused on, respectively, building a world more inclusive of people with disability and understanding and elevating the lived experiences of disabled people. Accessibility research ...
Disability studies as a source of critical inquiry for the field of assistive technology
ASSETS '10: Proceedings of the 12th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on Computers and accessibilityDisability studies and assistive technology are two related fields that have long shared common goals - understanding the experience of disability and identifying and addressing relevant issues. Despite these common goals, there are some important ...
Critical realism and learning analytics research: epistemological implications of an ontological foundation
LAK '15: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Learning Analytics And KnowledgeLearning analytics is a broad church that incorporates a range of topics and methodologies. As the field has developed some tension has emerged regarding a perceived contradiction between the implied constructivist ethos of the field and prevalent ...
Comments