Disclaimer:
Research announcements and participation requests are posted to this
site for informational purposes. Postings
of the following research initiatives do not indicate the direct support,
endorsement or involvement by the DisAbled Women's Network Ontario.
Ethical
Guidelines for Research
with Pacific DAWN: Pacific DisAbled Women's Network
Reprinted with permission from Joan Meister
Posted
August 30, 2001
CALL
FOR A BOOK ON FILM AND DISABILITY:
THE PROBLEM BODY: Portrayals of Disability, Illness, Obesity, and Age
in Film
We seek papers for a book collection that will analyze the normative
body as spectacularly depicted in film. In particular, we are looking
for papers examining portrayals of bodies in all their problematic constructions:
disabled, ill, obese, old. Submissions should address variable determining
factors that define the problematic relationship between "normal" and
"abnormal" bodies.
We welcome selections that will contribute to the research fields of
Disability Studies, Body Criticism, and Film Studies by looking critically
at a range of problem bodies through the lens of disability. We do not
wish merely to introduce the disabled body, the ill body, or the elderly
body as the next overlooked critical frames within body criticism. Rather,
we wish to reveal - through the visual dramatization of disability -
the problem body as a complicated multiplication of physical and social
problems that demand rich discourse to advance thinking beyond the simple
focus on either this [adjective] body or that [adjective] body.
Our book seeks to bring together disparate essays that take on discourse
surrounding bodies through the promising field of disability and film,
and remedy readings of celluloid disability as merely - and continually
- metaphorical. We welcome essays that address any national cinema or
historical period, with careful attention to the filmic devices and
mechanisms that situate certain bodies as "other." We intend for "The
Problem Body" to integrate discourses about so-called anomalous bodies
in order to discuss their depictions as more than figurative, to view
the filmed body as more than just a metonymic repository for cultural
signification.
POSSIBLE TOPICS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT RESTRICTED TO:
- Filmed Representations of Disability, Obesity, Age, Illness
- Documenting Problem Bodies
- Audience Reception to Problem Bodies on Film
- Filmic Constructions/Reconstructions of Disability as Ableist Spectacle
- The Intersection of Gender, Race, and Class with Disability
- The Intersection Between Culture, Sexuality, Nationality, and Disability
- Embodiment and Star Power in Disability Cinema
- Filmic Challenges to the Limits of Current Body Theory
- Disability Theory as Framework to Re-evaluate Film
Please notify us of your intention to submit by sending a title, a
2-sentence description, and contact information by October 26, 2001.
Our deadline for 300-word abstracts is January 21, 2002. We expect
final papers to be submitted in May 2002.
Sally Chivers schivers@interchange.ubc.ca
Nicole Markotic markotic@ucalgary.ca
Sally
Chivers is a postdoctoral fellow in the English
department at University of British Columbia and Nicole Markotic
is an assistant professor at the University of Calgary.
Posted
August 24, 2001
Hello.. I am a blind
woman in receipt of Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
benefits. I am hoping to connect with anyone who shares concern over
the lack of accessible correspondence from ODSP and who would
be willing to participate in lobby efforts to affect positive change.
I am not able to read the correspondence mailed to me from the ODSP
office as it is sent to me in a format that is NOT accessible to me,
(their correspondence is either filled with charts, or it is handwritten
) nothing has been done to accommodate me.
Despite repeated calls to ODSP to request that all my correspondence
be transmitted to me via email, computer disk, or braille format, and
that they please STOP sending me handwritten letters, nothing has changed.
ODSP's response has been to simply pass the buck , informing me that
it's not their responsibility, or by saying that I should have someone
else read these documents to me with no regard for my right to privacy
and confidentiality.
ODSP continually make excuses, claiming they do not have the technology
to send me correspondence by email, and further stating that all correspondence
is mass-mailed.
This is a systemic issue that I am certain affects more than just myself.
My goal is to file a human rights complaint against ODSP.
Together, we can
make ODSP accessible to everyone. After all, the Ontario Disability
Support Program (ODSP) is supposed to be for Persons with Disabilities!
I encourage anyone who is concerned with this issue and wished to participate
in a joint effort to bring about change, to kindly contact me.
Carin Headrick
cheadric@uoguelph.ca
Posted
August 6, 2001
FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL PHASE II
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Focus: Women with Disabilities
Have
you been impacted by changes to social assistance benefits, employment
insurance, or cpp/qpp pension benefits?
How
are you affected by the current housing situation in Canada?
What
about the Canadian government's immigration policies?
Are
you willing to share your stories and experiences with us regarding
any of these important issues and how they impact on your life as a
woman in Canada?
The National
Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC) is looking
for women to participate in Focus Group Discussions or complete a questionnaire
regarding income support, housing and immigration policies.
NAC is nterested
in hearing from women from all backgrounds and experiences and in particular
women from the following groups: Aboriginal Women, Black Women, Women
of Colour, Women with Disabilities and Francophone women.
Email: Suzanne Bradley at nacco@web.ca
for a copy of the questionnaire
Posted August
5, 2001
Older Workers
and E.I.
Tell the Government what you think
If you are an individual or organization involved in the delivery of
EI-funded employment assistance services in the Toronto area, or if
you have a personal or professional interest in such services, we need
your help. We are seeking respondents for a survey on the adequacy
and effectiveness of the training opportunities offered under the current
system, especially for older and other high-needs clients.
This survey is part
of a larger study of the employment insurance regime being sponsored
by the Law Commission of Canada, with additional funding from the Social
Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The LCC is an independent
federal law reform agency which solicits and publishes research into
socially critical aspects of the law and advises Parliament about possible
directions for change. If you want to know more about this organization,
you can check out their website at www.lcc.gc.ca.
The question all
you cynics are asking right now, of course, is why should you bother
with yet another survey? Is anyone out there really listening? In fact,
change is very much in the wind right now. Evaluations of existing Labour
Market Development Agreements have suggested a need for more top-down
oversight. There are rumours that the federal government is thinking
of reinvolving itself in training. Adding to the impetus, the Ontario
Human Rights Commission recently called for an age-based analysis of
all government programs and policies. By assisting us in this research,
you can help ensure that the experience and the opinions of those on
the front lines of the employment assistance sector will be taken into
account when these developments begin to bear fruit.
If you would like
to add your voice to the record, please download and complete the attached
questionnaire, and return it, along with any additional comments, to
terracon@sympatico.ca.
Alternatively, you can send hardcopy material by fax to: E.I. Project,
519-433-8459 or by surface mail to E.I. Project, 39 Gunn Street, London,
Ont. N6G 1C6.
URL: http://www3.sympatico.ca/terracon/soc-legal/EI_survey/index.html
Sample Survey:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/terracon/soc-legal/EI_survey/survey_html.html
Re-Posted
May 17, 2001
(timeline extended to June 15, 2001 and age of participants to age 50)
Physically
Challenged Women Required For A Research Study
What is it?
A research study on the Impact of disability on Women. It is a comparative
study of Canadian and Indian Women with disabilities.
What is Involved?
Participants will participate in one interview with the researcher that
will take about one hour. Your identity will not be revealed and confidentiality
will be maintained.
Do I Qualify?
Canadian Women with Disabilities (WWDs) from 16 – 50 years old
having physical disabilities that hinder your from doing some normal
chores of life using a wheel chair, gadgets, splints, or any other kind
of appliances for their mobility, diagnosed as having Rheumatoid Arthritis,
Osteo-arthritis, Cerebral Palsy, Poliomyelitis, Post-polio syndrome,
Scoliosis, Hemiplegia, Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury, Upper of Lower
limb amputation, finger or toe disarticulations, Ankylosis, Muscular
Dystrophy or Atrophy, Dwarfism, Congenital deficiencies.
Those who have overcome
some of these difficulties and who are leading a challenging life too
are invited to participate.
Participants with
multiple disabilities (mobility + visual/speech/or mental health problems)
too are welcome.
While it doesn’t matter how long you have had the disability, you
should have had the problem for at least one month.
Where?
Kingston, Toronto, Aurora or anywhere in Ontario.
Interviews will be held where convenient for you.
Who do I contact?
Elizabeth John
52 Henderson Drive, Unit 16,
Aurora, ON
L4G 3L2
e-mail: johne_India@yahoo.com
Tel: 905-726-9523
(Elizabeth John is with the
School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen’s
University)
Posted
April 4, 2001
CONTRIBUTORS
NEEDED
Nurturing Assistance Project
The Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (CILT) is seeking contributors
for its Nurturing Assistance Project.
We would like to hear from:
The goal of the
project is to define nurturing assistance more clearly and to explore
ways to make the process more rewarding for parents and children, and
more workable and cost-effective for service providers.
A book will be produced
as a result, including a "how-to" guide for parents, prospective
parents, service providers and funders wishing to establish nurturing
assistance services. Publication is scheduled for September 2001.
CILT is grateful
to the United Way of Greater Toronto for continuing its support of the
Parenting with a Disability Network (PDN) through the Nurturing Assistance
Project. The United Way of Greater Toronto also provided funding for
CILT's 1999 publication, The Parenting Book for Persons with a Disability:
From planning your family to raising adolescents.
If you have a story
or experience to share, or would like to review the draft publication,
please contact:
Mary Ocampo at CILT, (416) 599-2458, Ext. 26;
1-800-354-9950 (toll-free in Ontario);
TDD: (416) 599-5077;
fax: (416) 599-3555;
email: pdn@cilt.cnd.com
Posted March
13, 2001
I am an independent
researcher and am looking for some fairly specific information. First
I am looking for the most up-to-date statistics about violence
against disabled women (domestic violence, sexual assault), preferably
by disability type.
Secondly, I am gathering ideas from service agencies about the best
methods of providing disabled women with information and education on
violence and abuse and how to recognize, prevent, and respond to it.
I anticipate that the methods may vary by disability type. If you have
any ideas on the second topic I would really appreciate your input.
Also, if you are
aware of any high-quality research on the first
(other than the US National Study, and the DAWN Canada survey done in
the late 1980's) I would really appreciate you pointing me in the right
direction.
I am finding that
these reports are very difficult to discover as many have not been published
in professional journals, but rather are non-governmental organizational
or even governmental documents.
Thank you in advance
for your effort to respond,
Jill Rettinger
Jill.Rettinger@jus.gov.on.ca
Posted March
13, 2001
My name is
Amanda Scott and I am a graduate student at Carleton University in the
School of Social Work. As part of my coursework for a Master's level
course in Policy Analysis and Decision Making, I am searching for candidates
with whom to conduct brief (20 minute) interviews concerning the Disability
Tax Credit.
I am wondering if
there might be someone at DAWN who is knowledgeable of this issue and
may be willing to assist me in this regard.
Thank you very much.
Amanda Scott
Politique sociale/Social Policy
DRHC/HRDC
tel.: (819)994-6645
fax: (819)997-0696
e-mail: amanda.scott@spg.org
Posted March
9, 2001
(reposted May 17, 2001 with new timeline and
age of participant)
Physically
Challenged Women
Required For A Research Study
What is it?
A research study on the Impact of disability on Women. It is a comparative
study of Canadian and Indian Women with disabilities.
What is Involved?
Participants will participate in one interview with the researcher that
will take about one hour. Your identity will not be revealed and confidentiality
will be maintained.
Do I Qualify?
Canadian Women with Disabilities (WWDs) from 16 – 45 years old
having physical disabilities that hinder your from doing some normal
chores of life using a wheel chair, gadgets, splints, or any other kind
of appliances for their mobility, diagnosed as having Rheumatoid Arthritis,
Osteo-arthritis, Cerebral Palsy, Poliomyelitis, Post-polio syndrome,
Scoliosis, Hemiplegia, Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury, Upper of Lower
limb amputation, finger or toe disarticulations, Ankylosis, Muscular
Dystrophy or Atrophy, Dwarfism, Congenital deficiencies.
Those who have overcome
some of these difficulties and who are leading a challenging life too
are invited to participate.
Participants with
multiple disabilities (mobility + visual/speech/or mental health problems)
too are welcome.
While it doesn’t matter how long you have had the disability, you
should have had the problem for at least one month.
Where?
Kingston, Toronto, Aurora or anywhere in Ontario.
Interviews will be held where convenient for you.
Who do I contact?
Elizabeth John
Louise D. Acton Building
Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen’s University
13 George Street
Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6
School of Rehabilitation Therapy
e-mail: johne_India@yahoo.com
Tel: (613) 533-6000 x75628
Thank You!
Posted
March 5, 2001
W A N T E D: Participants
for a research study on women ageing with a spinal cord injury.
We would like to
find out the unique needs and concerns of women ageing with a spinal
cord injury. This information is important to help women with SCI plan
and prepare for their later years, and will provide an important resource
to service providers and policy makers.
Those Eligible to
Participate:
Women over the
age of 40 who have had a traumatic spinal cord injury
Living anywhere
in Ontario
Interviews will
be conducted by phone at your convenience.
We are also looking
for participants for four focus groups to be held in accessible locations
throughout the province.
All costs of attending
groups will be reimbursed.
For further information,
please call (416) 243-3699 or
1-888-805-5550 or email at mgould@oise.utoronto.ca
This study is funded
by the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation and is conducted through the School
of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen’s University, with the co-operation
of West Park Health Care Centre and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.
Posted February
24, 2001
Legal
Information Workshops: Province-wide project seeks advisory committee
members from women's groups
The Ontario
Women's Justice Network (OWJN)
and METRAC are looking for Advisory Committee members from Ontario
women's organizations to assist us with the development and implementation
of the following project. If you would like to participate or would
like more information, please contact Paula Wansbrough, Project Coordinator,
at (416)392-3138 or owjn@web.ca.
The project is in
its initial stages of development. At this time, workshop packages are
only available to Advisory Committee members.
For further information,
please visit the OWJN site
Pinpoint URL: http://www.owjn.org/new/workshop.htm
Where Now with
Disclosure?
CALL FOR INFORMATION
Professor Susan
Boyd at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law is researching
the extent to which women's personal records (diaries, therapy notes,
psychiatric records, social assistance records, general medical records,
etc.) are being used as evidence against them in child custody disputes.
Have you run into this either yourself or with clients? What have been
your/your clients' experiences? Does your organization have any procedures
with handling a request for such information? Are women being discouraged
from undertaking personal therapy or from disclosing certain issues
(e.g. a substance abuse problem) because they fear that their records
could be used against them?
If you have any
information or thoughts on this subject that would be useful to Susan,
please contact her at boyd@law.ubc.ca
Posted January
30, 2001
Study examinging
accesibility to Ontario fitness centres, health clubs, and university
and municipal fitness facilities for Ontarians with a physical disability
and/or visual impairment.
RESEARCH
STUDY HAS BEEN COMPLETED
Thank
you to everyone who participated!
posted on behalf
of
Dawnelle Hawes, B.A., B.Kin., M.Ed.
project coordinator
Trillium Grant Inclusive Physical Conditioning
dawnelle.hawes@primus.ca
Research Recruitment Announcement
posted January 13, 2001
This particular
study is, at present, confined to disabled women in the northern midwest
U.S. but they would be happy to hear from volunteers for future related
studies.
Some of us find
it important to relate to a community in our lives, some of us do not.
Community can be many things. Some people see community as a group of
people who are joined together by a common goal or purpose. Some examples
of community might be church groups, neighborhood groups, parenting
groups, ethnic and disability groups.
We are interested
in talking with women with disabilities between the ages of 18-64, who
are willing to talk to a graduate student researcher about the meaning
and place of community in their life. You do not need to participate
in a community in order to participate in this project.
This research project,
through the University of Illinois at Chicago, is designed to include
the voices of women with disabilities in research. Results will be reported
in a master's thesis, for the purpose of contributing to a better understanding
of the experiences of women with disabilities.
Your responses will
remain anonymous and confidential.
If you are interested,
please contact Principal Investigator:
Maureen E. O'Nell
Home (847) 864-3327 (v)
Work (847) 967-1800 ext: 114 (v)
E-mail monell2222@aol.com
Faculty sponsor:
Dr. Carol Gill
University (312) 355-0550 (v)
(312) 413-0453 (TTY)
E-Mail cg16@uic.edu
Request
for Participation of Women with disabilities in web-based Survey on
sexuality issues
submitted
October 12, 2000
Hi! My name is Kristi
Ketz and I am a doctoral student in Counseling Psychology at The University
of Memphis. I am currently doing my dissertation on sexuality issues
in women with disabilities. I am recruiting women with disabilities/illnesses
to complete a web-based survey. The link will appear below this message
if you are interested. I sincerely appreciate your help!!
Kristi Ketz
email: kketz@prodigy.net
URL: http://sagan.psyc.memphis.edu
address: 848 Thistledown Dr., #1
Memphis, TN 38117
Understanding
the Experiences of Women Who Use Wheelchairs for Full Time Mobility
in Their Homes
Investigators:
Denise Reid, PhD,
Department of Occupational Therapy
Jan Angus, PhD (cand.),
Faculty of Nursing
Patricia McKeever, PhD,
Faculty of Nursing & The Home Care Evaluation and Research Center,
University of Toronto
Contact: Jan
Angus, Faculty of Nursing 50 St George Street, Toronto, Ontario
M5S 3H4, (416) 978-0695, jan.angus@utoronto.ca
Despite the recent
home care trend in the Canadian health care system and the dramatic
advances in wheelchair development and production in recent years, there
is a paucity of research available that provides insights into wheelchair
users' expereinces of daily living.
Few studies have
been conducted to examine the perspectives of people who use wheelchairs
on a full time basis regarding the constraining and/or enabling aspects
of their home environments. Although a great deal has been written about
the home in the fields of housing, disability/ rehabilitation, and more
recently, medical geography, there is surprisingly littel attention
to the relationship between the person and the home.
The home has been
described as the place where one carries out one's daily activities.
These activities provide structure for one's life. However, the home
environment can play a significant role in facilitating or constraining
activity. It is suggested that the physical and social circumstances
that compose a home environment have a far greater influence on performance
of everyday activities than the ability or inability to perform a number
of activities independently.
Women, regardless
of age and disability status assume most responsibility for household
tasks and child care, but there is not definitive work exploring the
experience of homemaking for disabled women who use wheelchairs.
We wish to locate
10 to 12 women who use a wheelchair for full time mobility to participate
in a study of how they adapt and respond to their physical home environments
to perform daily household activities. These participants should meet
the following criteria: be between 25 and 50 years, have at least one
child living at home, reside in the greater Toronto area, have lived
in the same setting for at least 6 months, speak English without difficulty,
and not have any cognitive or other problems that would limit ability
to participate in interviews.
Inter views will
elicit participants' descriptions of their activities surrounding home
maintenance; structural modifications and alterations to their homes;
experiences with wheelchair use; relationships with family and others;
and demographic and health information. Interviews will be conducted
at times and locations of participants' choosing.
The findings from
this study will help to identify factors in the home environment that
are barriers to homemaking activities in women who use wheelchairs for
mobility. This information could be used by health professionals, builders,
home designers and others who are concerned with the needs of women
in similar situations.
We would appreciate
comments and feedback from anyone involved in the DAWN network. The
study is currently being designed and submitted for funding, and would
be strengthened by input from women (especially mothers) who have firsthand
experience with negotiating a home environment using a wheelchair for
mobility. We thank you for your assistance.
Jan Angus
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Nursing
University of Toronto
August 17, 1999
DAWN
Research Project
(outdated)
I am doing research
for the DisAbled Women's Network of Ontario (DAWN Ontario) on the accessibility
of Police Services and Women's Shelters for women with disabilities
who experience violence or abuse, in Northern Ontario. Much of
the research to date has been focused on larger centres and has not
included data on rural services or the experiences of aboriginal women
or women in small towns.
To provide the clearest
understanding of how women access services in Northern Ontario, and
the availability and accessibility of services we need to speak with
the women who experience violence or abuse and the providers of service.
By gaining both points of view, we will be able to identify the
gaps in service.
The objective of
this unique opportunity is not to criticize but to determine how services
can be improved for women with disabilities who experience violence
and how best to assist service providers in increasing access for Northern
women.
I would like to
meet with as many women with disabilities and community service providers
as possible. If you would like to share your experiences with
accessing Northern Police Services and Shelters I can be reached (in
Thunder Bay) at 807-345-6157 before 3:30 (EST) and at home, 807-623-3799
after 4 p.m. My fax number at home is the same as my telephone
number. As well, information can be emailed to DAWN or personally
to my e-mail at reltanta@alumni.lakeheadu.ca.
My mailing address will be released to women wishing to write
their experiences by contacting the DAWN Ontario office at 800-561-4727
or via email at dawn@thot.net.
No one is asked
to provide intimate details of the violence or abuse experienced but
rather the experience with service providers and the legal system. Anonymity
and confidentiality is assured, only experiences will be cited in research
not people.
Thank you.
Michele El-Tantawy
Researcher for DAWN Ontario
Seeking
People with Disabilities to Participate in an Internet Project
Hello. I am
am Internet Strategist and Advocate for People with Disabilities who lives
with the effects of an unseen disability. Currently, I am involved
in an innovative website (H.O.P.E. PROJECT: Helping
Other People Excel) that seeks to celebrate "Positive"
stories of People with Disabilities.
It is our HOPE that
we can empower and inspire many online visitors, either with or without
disabilities by affecting ATTITUDES towards disability through promotion
and example.... for example: the site aspires to raise awareness
of appropriate use of "People First Language" in referring to People
with Disabilities. i.e. WE ARE PEOPLE FIRST..... and as such
we are People with disabilities ... WE come before the Disability.
Let us always remember to put the Person/People before our/their "disability".
If you have a success
story that may help to EMPOWER, INFORM, or ENRICH another individual,
please consider sharing your story with us.
We may be reached
at:
email: anello@thot.net
mail: Attn: Barbara Anello
H.O.P.E.
Project
162-975
McKeown Ave. #5A
North
Bay, ON P1B 9P2
Ciao
Barbara Anello
October, 1998
Personal
stories wanted from women about their lives
I am a disabled woman
writer in Orlando Florida. I've just gotten a book contract to write about
women and disability and want to include personal stories from women about
their lives. I'm interested in getting the word out so women can submit
their stories and I may do phone interviews with women for inclusion.
Can you alert disabled women in your country who might want to share some
of their life stories with me?
I can be contacted
at my e-mail address: mailto:SemiYung@aol.com.
I have been writing
a newspaper column for 4 years for two newspapers on disabled issues
and have been disabled with polio since age 3 and diagnosed with post
polio syndrome since about 1984. I look forward to hearing from someone
about this request.
Thanks.
Mona Hughes
November 4, 1997
Researching
Inadequate Gynecological Care
I'm a disabled freelance
writer who has been published in several newspapers and magazines, specializing
in disabled women's topics. I'm currently working on and researching
inadequate gynecological care for disabled women. I need somewhere similar
to this page of yours, where I can post a notice seeking personal stories
from disabled women, both positive and negative, regarding this issue.
Can you perhaps help me or direct me to where I may do this?
Although I live
in the U.S., my basic research has already told me that there are thousands
upon thousands (most likely more) of disabled women who DO NOT seek
annual mammograms, pelvic exams, gyn counseling, etc. due to the lack
of accommodation by the doctors. In fact if seen by their GYN doctor,
the women aren't even talked to about STD's and AIDS, birth control,
etc., because most doctors are still in the dark ages regarding disabled
women's sexuality and wrongly assume that because the woman is disabled,
she is sexually inactive.
I have found all
this all very hard to believe in this day and age, but know it to be
true given my trying experiences just trying to find someone to give
me an annual pap smear. When I have enough info, I plan on submitting
my article to Ms. magazine and also several disability magazines. It
would greatly help to have anonymous personal anecdotal experiences
of a wide cross-section of disabled women in all socio-economic and
ethnic groups.
Any help you can
give me in this area would be much appreciated.
Regards,
Joyce M. Faust
mailto:joymarie@snet.net
October 27, 1997