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Ongoing projects and future ideas |
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Illustration: Oskar Krantz, daStudio.se |
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Critical places: In April 2009, the research phase of a project together with Dr. Kristofer Hansson was launched. The project concerns adolescents with mobility disabilities and their personal relations to critical places, i.e. places where one wants to be and interact, but where the physical environment renders partaking difficult/impossible.
Book about dysmelia: A project being prepared is a book together with Maria Gardsäter from the Swedish Dysmelia Association concerning aspects of growing up with dysmelia. The first phase of fund-seeking is currently under preparation.
Social meaning of assistive devices: One central idea of my thesis was the view of assistive devices as not only activity specific, but also as important features in the presentation of self and the externalisation of ideas and attitudes of the user. As of now, I am writing a theoretical article developing these ideas, further deepening the theoretical understanding of the ascribed meaning of assistive devices from a utilisation perspective, and the system of demands emanating from a given user towards an assistive device. Creation of meaning associated with use or non-use of technology, and its place in a social understanding of the everyday life of persons with disabilities, are central perspectives.
Assistive devices history: Future ideas include, but are not limited to, further research in the field of assistive devices, more specifically the history and development of technology for persons with disabilities. This can include a practice based perspective using theories generated from the above mentioned project concerning social meaning of assistive devices. One idea includes a book concerning the Swedish active wheelchair history from the 1970s and onwards. Another idea concerns further explorations in the field of upper limb prosthetics history, a field where research concerning the social and technical development through history is scarce.
Marginal normality: One perspective include the limits of normality, and the deviator (in a broad sense) as a necessary point of reference in the process of defining normality. In a further perspective, the person with the disability can be understood as a marginal man; interactants as caught in the stickiness of the disabled/deviant as necessary for the definition of self.
Dynamic aesthetics of cosmetic passive hand prostheses: One aspect of upper limb prosthetics rarely included in previous research is user needs and motivations concerning the usability and useworthiness of cosmetic aesthetic passive hand prostheses. First of all, I have yet failed to locate any clear definition or term used when addressing cosmetic aesthetic passive hand prostheses. Thus, a primary task can be to propose such a definition and a term covering the phenomenon. Obviously, cosmetic and aesthetic can both be seen as addressing the anthropomorphic shape, as well as the life-like impression, whereas passive implies the lack of three-dimensional dynamics of the rigid prosthetic hand. However, research does propose the possibility of making active use of a passive prosthesis, hence disarming the term one of its carrying elements. Nevertheless, the absence of user-controlled possibilities to alter the shape of the hand (without using the other hand), for instance in order to grip an object, can bee seen as supporting the continued use of the term “passive” when addressing such a hand, i.e. making active use of a passive device. |
