Thesiss

One major problem facing society today is accessibility for the physically disabled. There is a crucial need to increase awareness of accessibility issues that people with physical disabilities face and to address their needs. In this society of mass production, providers are al…

Healthcare as a system has been and will always be a vital public provision to support human existence. The onus rests with every nation's healthcare system to provide health services; and individuals to consciously embrace healthy living. The health status of people in rural ar…

The Scottish Parliament which (re)convened in 1999 was designed to engender a new style of political practice. This ‘new politics’ was intended to address perceived failures within the ‘Westminster approach’ to policy‐making and the ‘democratic deficit’ believed to have emerged …

This thesis documents research providing improvements in the field of accessibility modelling, which will be of particular interest as computing becomes increasingly ubiquitous. It is argued that a new approach is required that takes into account the dynamic relationship between…

The study focuses on enrolled nurses' experiences of conversion and altered perceptions of self and others as they progress through a conversion course to first level. The experience involves a cultural transition that requires questioning of traditionally held values and adopti…

Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) and Massively Multi-player On- line Games (MMOGs) are a popular, immersive genre of computer game. For some disabled users, eye-gaze offers the only input modality with the potential for sufficiently high bandwidth to support the range of …

This dissertation examines the issue of walkability planning in Jakarta by investigating what matters to pedestrians and how pedestrian space is produced. The research employs mixed methods, including pedestrian network groundtruthing, structured streetscape observations, multim…

With the recent failure of another highly publicized peace talks, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a polarizing and contentious geopolitical crisis. Following the Israeli victory in the Six Day War of 1967, the West Bank and its substantial Palestinian population have li…

The conflict conditions that afflict the livelihoods of Palestinian residents living in the West Bank are embedded within the population's ability to travel more so than any other routine activity. For Palestinian residents, domestic and international travel is a process of foll…

The technology necessary for hands-free video gaming is available, especially for head-gesture-centric controls. However, remapping controls to head gestures ranges from frustratingly tedious to impossible. I propose a common language of gestures and game actions that categorize…

Disability in America addresses the lack of the history of disabled Americans in museums in the United States and how this problem can be solved. Much of the history of the disabled in the United States is ignored by public history institutions, a concerning problem when the dis…

In this dissertation, I argue that attempts by activists and policy makers to improve access to Japan’s built environment, education, employment, entertainment, and welfare systems for disabled populations over the last one hundred and fifty years have not always helped impaired…

Refugee and immigrant populations are at an increased risk of having posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and exhibit a significant amount of variance in trauma treatment outcomes that may be impacted by sociocultural factors. This study examines the impact of demographic variab…

Within public history the concept of digital curation is, comparatively, relatively new despite the growing role it plays in the education of the public for any institution. While museums and other institutions, such as archives and libraries, work to uphold long established sta…

This dissertation contributes analytical and methodological tools for the empirical investigation of policy interactions in urban policy analysis. To do so, the Policy Interactions Framework (PIF) is developed and applied to explore the hypothesis that urban outcomes are better …

There is a rising presence of students with disabilities on college campuses and yet, many campuses are not architecturally equipped to accommodate students with physical disabilities or limitations. This study assesses the physical accessibility of the Russell Sage College camp…

Global flood forecasting can benefit developing countries and ungauged regions that lack observational data, computational infrastructure, and human capacity for streamflow modeling. Many technical challenges exist to provide flood predictions on a global scale. First, existing …

Food pantries and free meal programs provide a critical service to low-income individuals and families living in the Des Moines MPA given the high rates of poverty and food insecurity. The geographic proximity of food assistance programs for low-income individuals and families p…

This thesis is concerned with the challenges of devising a full-masked theatre performance that is largely accessible to audiences of every age, social background and culture. The contribution to original knowledge is in the study's examination of the relationship between the de…

This thesis discusses the challenges and opportunities facing the field of accessibility, particularly as computing becomes ubiquitous. It is argued that a new approach is needed that centres around adaptations (specific, atomic changes) to user interfaces and content in order t…