Browsing by Author "Wolbring, Gregor"

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    An Analysis of the Rio + 20 Discourse Using an Ability Expectation Lens
    (2012) Noga, Jacqueline; Wolbring, Gregor
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    Anticipatory Governance, Anticipatory Advocacy, Knowledge Brokering, and the State of Disabled People's Rights Advocacy in Canada: Perspectives of Two Canadian Cross-Disability Rights Organizations
    (2017) Diep, Lucy; Wolbring, Gregor; Hendrikse, Jesse; Lashewicz, Bonnie
    Advancements in science, technology and innovation (STI), both conceptualized and emerging, are continuing to impact society as a whole, and disabled people in particular, in numerous ways. How STI advancements should be governed to address the impacts has been discussed for some time and several STI governance frameworks have emerged to tackle this challenge. While each framework may vary by strategy and approach, anticipatory practice (or foresight) and public engagement are two approaches utilized across these different strategies. The purpose of this study was to examine the utility and consequences of anticipatory governance practice (which entails anticipatory practice and public engagement) as an indicator of success for STI governance for disabled people. Using a multiple-case study research design, and the frameworks of Ability Studies and Sherry Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation, my thesis focuses on the views of advocates for disabled people’s rights from two national cross-disability rights organizations in Canada on the practical reality of advocacy in Canada and the capacity of disabled people to engage in and influence discourse on STI governance, especially in an anticipatory way, and what they see as approaches to increase disabled people’s influence on STI governance. I also explore the role of the knowledge broker as a facilitator for collaboration and information exchange to support cross-disability rights organizations in the practice of anticipatory advocacy. The study’s main conclusion is that the application of anticipatory practices to governance frameworks generates the need for anticipatory advocacy - the capacity and ability to advocate in an anticipatory way to be part of anticipatory governance discourses. However, anticipatory governance is, as a practical reality, a privileged discourse that is limited to those who fulfill certain abilities to participate in this practice. For disabled people and cross-disability rights organizations, anticipatory practices pose many barriers and challenges and much work remains to be done for and by disabled people in order to ensure their meaningful engagement in anticipatory governance practices for STI.
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    Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: What is the Role of Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, Audiologists, Nurses and Speech Language Pathologists According to Academic Literature and Canadian Newspaper Coverage?
    (2020-01-20) Villamil, Valentina; Deloria, Rochelle; Wolbring, Gregor
    Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) increasingly influences products and processes used by social workers, occupational therapists, audiologists, nurses and speech language pathologists (health professionals for short) in general and in their rehabilitation practice. Health professionals are expected to fulfil many roles and within the narrative of AI/ML health professionals can hold multiple roles. We performed a scoping review using the academic database Scopus, the 70 databases accessible through EBSCO-Host and the database Canadian Newsstream through which we accessed 300 Canadian English language papers as sources. We found minimal engagement with the roles of the covered health professionals related to AI/ML whereby nurses were covered much more than the other health professionals. The main role mentioned for all occupations covered in our study was the one of clinical user. Many other roles expected from health professionals such as being advocates for their field and clients or being policy developers, educators and researchers were rarely or not at all mentioned depending on the health professional. Our role narrative analysis of AI/ML related to the covered health professionals reveals significant gaps in need to be filled.
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    Coverage of ethics within the artificial intelligence and machine learning academic literature: The case of disabled people
    (2019-04-17) Lillywhite, Aspen; Wolbring, Gregor
    Disabled people are often the anticipated users of scientific and technological products and processes advanced and enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Disabled people are also impacted by societal impacts of AI/ML. Many ethical issues are identified within AI/ML as fields and within individual applications of AI/ML. At the same time, problems have been identified in how ethics discourses engage with disabled people. The aim of our scoping review was to better understand to what extent and how the AI/ML focused academic literature engaged with the ethics of AI/ML in relation to disabled people. Of the n = 1659 abstracts engaging with AI/ML and ethics downloaded from Scopus (which includes all Medline articles) and the 70 databases of EBSCO ALL, we found 54 relevant abstracts using the term “patient” and 11 relevant abstracts mentioning terms linked to “impair*”, “disab*” and “deaf”. Our study suggests a gap in the literature that should be filled given the many AI/ML related ethical issues identified in the literature and their impact on disabled people.
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    Coverage of ethics within the artificial intelligence and machine learning academic literature: The case of disabled people
    (2019-04-17) Lillywhite, Aspen; Wolbring, Gregor
    Disabled people are often the anticipated users of scientific and technological products and processes advanced and enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Disabled people are also impacted by societal impacts of AI/ML. Many ethical issues are identified within AI/ML as fields and within individual applications of AI/ML. At the same time, problems have been identified in how ethics discourses engage with disabled people. The aim of our scoping review was to better understand to what extent and how the AI/ML focused academic literature engaged with the ethics of AI/ML in relation to disabled people. Of the n = 1659 abstracts engaging with AI/ML and ethics downloaded from Scopus (which includes all Medline articles) and the 70 databases of EBSCO ALL, we found 54 relevant abstracts using the term "patient" and 11 relevant abstracts mentioning terms linked to "impair*", "disab*" and "deaf". Our study suggests a gap in the literature that should be filled given the many AI/ML related ethical issues identified in the literature and their impact on disabled people.
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    "Cripping" Resilience: Generating New Vocabularies of Resilience from Narratives of Post-secondary Students Who Experience Disability
    (2015-05-27) Hutcheon, Emily; Wolbring, Gregor
    This study is an exploration into the kinds of meanings embedded in dominant conceptions of resilience, and the ways such conceptions may be deployed, shaped, and reshaped through an encounter with “disability.” The purpose of this project is to critique, deepen and expand on existing understandings of resilience through the storied accounts of 14 post-secondary students in Alberta who experience disability. Robert McRuer’s Crip Theory, and other scholarship in critical disability studies, assists in the identification of critiques and in proposing alternative meanings of resilience (referred to in this study as “cripping” resilience). New vocabularies of resilience, emerging from three kinds of narratives (Narrative of Movement, Complicating Narrative, and Narrative of (Re)imagination), are proposed to more realistically reflect the life experiences, meaning constructions, and (dis)identities of people who experience disability. Lastly, new vocabularies of resilience and new theoretical treatments suggest avenues for crafting more accessible university settings.
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    A Culture of Neglect: Climate Discourse and Disabled People
    (M/C Media and Culture, 2009-10-21) Wolbring, Gregor
    The scientific validity of climate change claims, how to intervene (if at all) in environmental, economic, political and social consequences of climate change, and the adaptation and mitigation needed with any given climate change scenario, are contested areas of public, policy and academic discourses. For marginalised populations, the climate discourses around adaptation, mitigation, vulnerability and resilience are of particular importance. This paper considers the silence around disabled people in these discourses.
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    Disabled People and the Post-2015 Development Goal Agenda through a Disability Studies Lens
    (MDPI, 2013-09-25) Wolbring, Gregor; Mackay, Rachel; Rybchinski, Theresa; Noga, Jacqueline
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    ECOHEALTH THROUGH AN ABILITY STUDIES AND DISABILITY STUDIES LENS
    (Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2013-10-10) Wolbring, Gregor
    Purpose – The goal of this chapter is to cultivate interest in the societal dynamic of ability expectations and ableism, a dynamic first thematized by the disabled people rights movement but which is also broadly applicable to the study of the relationship between humans, animals, and environments. Another aim of this chapter is to think about disabled people within ecosystem approaches to health through the ableism framework and to show that insights gained from disability studies are applicable to a broader study of health within contexts of environmental degradation. Building from this approach, the reader is invited to consider the utility of the conceptual framework of eco-ability ‘‘expectations’’ and eco-ableism as a way to understand health within coupled social- ecological systems. Methodology/approach – This chapter uses an ability expectation and ableism lens and a disability studies and ability studies approach to analyze the relationship between humans, animals, and environments. Findings – Certain ability expectations and ableism are responsible for (a) the invisibility of disabled people in ecological health discourses; (b) the standoff between anthropocentric and biocentric/ecocentric approaches to health; and (c) the application of scientific and technological advancements to address problems arising out of current relationships between humans, animals, and environments. Originality/value of chapter – The reader is introduced to the concepts of ableism and eco-ableism, which have not yet been used in EcoHealth discourses and flags the need for further engagement with disability issues within the field.
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    Historical analysis of Canadian newspaper coverage of organ transplant and organ donation
    (2014-12-05) Cheung, Jennifer; Wolbring, Gregor; Wolbring, Gregor
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    Human Enhancement: The need for Ability Expectation Governance
    (Swiss Government the French and German version, 2015-02-15) Wolbring, Gregor
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    Influencing discussions and use of neuroadvancements as professionals and citizens: Perspectives of Canadian speech-language pathologists and audiologists
    (IOS Press, 2022-03-25) Villamil, Valentina; Wolbring, Gregor
    Early involvement of stakeholders in neuroethics and neurogovernance discourses of neuroscientific and neurotechnological advancements is seen as essential to curtail negative consequences. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and audiologists (AUs) make use of neuroadvancements including cochlear implants, brain-computer interfaces, and deep-brain stimulation. Although they have a stake in neuroethics and neurogovernance discussions, they are rarely mentioned in having a role, whether as professionals or as citizens.
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    Influencing discussions and use of neuroadvancements: Perspectives of Canadian occupational therapists
    (IOS Press, 2022-10-17) Villamil, Valentina; Djebrouni, Manel; Wolbring, Gregor
    The early involvement of many actors including health professionals is identified in neuroethics and neurogovernance discussions as crucial in constructing conversations around awareness, reaction, and knowledge development pertaining to the ethical, legal, and societal consequences of neuroscientific or neurotechnological advancements (NA). Occupational Therapists (OTs) have a stake in NA; however, OTs are rarely mentioned within this context. Lifelong learning (LL) could be used to increase OTs knowledge on NA and its consequences. However, LL is rarely mentioned within neuroethics and neurogovernance discussions.
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    Investigating Occupational Therapy: from Disability Studies to Ability Studies
    (Elsevier, 2016) Wolbring, Gregor; Chai, Tsing-Yee (Emily)
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    Is There an End to Out-Able? Is There an End to the Rat Race for Abilities?
    (M/C Media and Culture, 2008-07-31) Wolbring, Gregor
    The purpose of this paper is to explore discourses of ‘ability’ and ‘ableism’. Terms such as abled, dis-abled, en-abled, dis-enabled, diff-abled, transable, assume different meanings as we eliminate ‘species-typical’ as the norm and make beyond ‘species-typical’ the norm. This paper contends that there is a pressing need for society to deal with ableism in all of its forms and its consequences.
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    Parents without Prejudice
    (Disabilitybooks, 2004) Wolbring, Gregor
    Its from a book Reflections from a Different Journey: What Adults with Disabilities Wish All Parents Knew. Edited by Stanley D. Klein, Ph.D. and John D. Kemp
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    Recreating Parks as Places for Restoration, Reconnection, and Reconciliation
    (2018-04-27) Carruthers Den Hoed, Donald Gordon; Quinn, Michael S.; Wolbring, Gregor; Lysack, Mishka; Shapiro, Bonnie L.; Draper, Dianne L.; Wright, Pamela A.
    This integrative research study builds on the emerging theme of valuing parks for providing health benefits through experiences in nature, and explores how transdisciplinary inquiry can inform the role parks play connecting people to nature in the face of current global environmental challenges. The iterative research process drew upon several academic disciplines including environmental studies, health, social work, and education, and co-created knowledge with park managers and through conversations with Indigenous (Stoney Nakoda) elders. The study centered on a quasi-experimental field experience where 34 members of the public spent one hour in urban and remote natural sites—the latter presented as either sacred, undesignated nature, or as a park. Participants completed surveys on place preference and perceived health effects, attention restorativeness, and completed the Connection to Nature Scale instrument. Salivary cortisol samples were collected to assess physiological impacts of nature experiences. Though sample size was small, results provided a rich picture of how people perceived and were affected by experiences in natural settings. The study reveals a preference for remote natural sites, especially when presented as a park, and a spiritual connection with those places. It also reveals potential health effects of elements such as wind and rain, expands the definition health effects of nature to include contributions to wellbeing, and reveals a gap between health benefits of nature and reciprocal care of nature as well as a gap between park managers and the agencies they represent. Though challenging, transdisciplinary inquiry is shown to be a fruitful approach to exploring the role of parks in the Anthropocene. Finally, Indigenous collaboration in transdisciplinary park research offers a possible roadmap for connecting people to nature and a potential role for parks to play in reconciliation.