Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Human Augmentation Technology: Exploring Exoskeleton Patents, Mridula A. Debnath

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Human augmentation technology has numerous applications in rehabilitation medicine, disability management, military settings, workplace/industrial settings etc. Such technology can be studied through patent exploration, where the contents of each patent can highlight specific intentions and usage for the invention. This project uses a small sample of exoskeleton patents from China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States, to demonstrate how similar technology is designed for different purposes. Three distinct patent categories have been identified: Disability & Rehabilitation, Prevention of Injury, and Enhancement. Disability & Rehabilitation patents describe exoskeletal devices that are intended for use in medical settings. These may be …

University Students With Disabilities, Accessibility, And The "Return To Normal", Kate M. Mahoney, Samuel A. Schneider, Anika Sebudde

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

In the context of the "return to normal" on university campuses in the ongoing pandemic, our research team wondered what students with disabilities could tell us about what makes university classes and services more and less accessible to them, and in that broader context, what pandemic modifications they hope continue. After two years of innovation, if we rush back to normal, we are at risk of squandering hard-won new skills, technology, and insights that are of broad value for all students. Disabled students' experiences and perspectives, as reported in 80 survey responses and 16 interviews, disrupt common assumptions about accessibility …

Uwo Students' Use Of Social Media To Navigate Accessibility, Anika Sebudde, Samuel Schneider, Kate M. Mahoney

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Our research group explored Western University students' use of social media to navigate issues and experiences with accessibility and disabilities.

Our goal was to determine how students use social media platforms to discuss access issues and uncover common trends of student experiences with accessibility at Western University.