1.

The disability paradox: high quality of life against all odds

a. Gary L. Albrecht , Patrick J. Devlieger (1999)
b. Phenomena: This paper builds on the work of Sol Levine to examine a disability
paradox: Why do many people with serious and persistent disabilities report that
they experience a good or excellent quality of life when to most external
observers these individuals seem to live an undesirable daily existence?
c. Discipline: Social Science?
d. Views on PWDs:
i. Conversely, one can argue that if people have disabilities, they cannot be
considered to be in good health nor possess a high level of life satisfaction.
People with disabilities are assumed to be limited in function and role
performance and quite possibly stigmatized and underprivileged (Brown et
al., 1994)
ii. Kottke (1982,80), a distinguished expert in rehabilitation medicine,
expresses this view when he states that ``the disabled patient has a greater
problem in achieving a satisfactory quality of life. He has lost, or possibly
never had, the physical capacity for the necessary responses to establish
and maintain the relationships, interactions, and participation that healthy
persons have''. Research evidence, however, presents a more complex
picture. In practice, the anomaly is that patients' perceptions of personal
health, well-being and life satisfaction are often discordant with their
objective health status and disability (Albrecht and Higgins, 1977;
Albrecht,1994).
iii. Quality of life is broader than the notion of health-related quality of life.
The latter notion developed as a result of major concerns in health care
because of chronic illness, new technology, cost containment, interest in
medical outcomes, and a concern to humanize health care (Albrecht, 1992;
1996). While the distinction between these two types of quality of life is
important in many contexts, such as physical, role and social functioning,
vitality, and mental health (Lerner and Levine, 1994), it is critical in
studying disability not to restrict the notion of quality of life to health
related issues. The domain of disability extends far beyond health related
concerns to encompass the person's well-being, definition of self and
social position (Grimby et al. 1988). As a holistic concept, quality of life
goes beyond activities of daily living and disease categories because it
directs attention to the more complete social, psychological and spiritual
being. Furthermore, people with disabilities have claimed minority status
due to discrimination and vigorously reject being reduced solely to
persons with poor health and diminished function. The authors shift away
from the notion that physical impairments determine PWDs’ quality of
life. They now start to recognize social context and external environment
as important factors of the quality of life.
 iv. Within this research tradition, there has been a search to determine the
components that define and predict quality of life. From our holistic
perspective, there are a number of components that can inØuence the
inherent balance and well-being of persons with disabilities. For example,
Ross and Willigen (1997) found that education improves well-being
because it increases access to nonalienated paid work and economic
resources that increase the sense of control over life, as well as access to
stable social relationships. Education therefore seems to be a component
that potentially impacts balance. Likewise, strong social support networks
and community ties o€er promise in bu€ering people with disabilities from
stress, helping them maintain a balance and anchoring them in the daily
activities of the community (Pescosolido et al.,1995). On the other hand,
pain and isolation are found to be negatively associated with quality of
life (Baszanger, 1989; Carey, 1994; Grant and Haverkamp, 1995)
e. Methodology: The paper uses a qualitative approach to develop an explanation of
this paradox using semi-structured interviews with 153 persons with disabilities
f. Findings: 54.3% of the respondents with moderate to serious disabilities reported
having an excellent or good quality of life confirming the existence of the
disability paradox. Analysis of the interviews reveals that for both those who
report that they have a good and those who say they have a poor quality of life,
quality of life is dependent upon finding a balance between body, mind and spirit
in the self and on establishing and maintaining an harmonious set of relationships
within the person's social context and external environment.
2. Reproductive health care experiences of women with physical disabilities: A Qualitative
study’, Archive of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
a. Becker et. Al (1997)
b. Phenomena: Reproductive health care experience/needs of women disabilities
c. Views on PWDs:
i.
 ii.
d. Earlier studies focused on the medical aspects of studying PWDs, seeing
disability as bringing about the difficulties faced by pwds in their reproductive
health.
e. The authors approached the study by suggesting that because of this, women with
disabilities also have difficulty acquiring satisfactory reproductive health services.
f. Methodology: Qualitative interview
g. Findings: environmental factors, such as access to health care and attitudes of
medical professionals, and internal factors, such as a woman's attitudes toward the
health care system and previous medical experiences, contribute jointly to
reproductive health maintenance. These factors are, in turn, influenced by the
woman's disability and are moderated by her demographic characteristics, such as
socioeconomic status
3. Democratic Dilemmas: Notes on the ADA and Voting Rights of People with Cognitive
and Emotional Impairments
a. Kay Schriner, Lisa Ochs, and Todd Shields (2000)
b. Phenomena: the use of the competence standard (and myth) to justify the
exclusion of some individuals with cognitive and emotional impairments
c. Presented the history of defining the electorate, what are the distinctons/
categories established
d.
 e. Focused on policy affecting PWD electoral participation
4. Cognitive Impairment and the Right to Vote: Rethinking the Meaning of Accessible
Elections
a. Kohn (2008)
b. Phenomena: Voting among persons with cognitive disabilities
c. Views on PWDs:
i.

ii. Since anecdotal evidence suggests that election workers may also serve as
gatekeepers to the vote by potentially screening out individuals with
suspect cognitive capacities, educating election workers about the voting
rights of persons with cognitive disabilities is also likely to be of particular
value. Canada, notably, would be an excellent place to test the efficacy of
various approaches of providing such education as Canada has an
unusually simple approach to the issue: mental disability is no basis for
disenfranchisement in federal elections.
iii. Given the deleterious effect of selectively disenfranchising persons with
cognitive disabilities, democracies should take affirmative steps to
increase the cognitive accessibility of voting systems. Just as democracies
have found ways to make voting more accessible to persons with physical
disabilities, democracies can and should design voting systems that
enhance the cognitive accessibility of the vote. While prescribing any
particular approach to increasing the cognitive accessibility of the voting
process is outside of the scope of this article, several approaches are worth
consideration and evaluation.
5. The Electoral Participation of Persons with Special Needs
a. Michael J. Prince (2007)
b. Phenomena: electoral participation of PWDs
c. Views on PWDs:
i. Persons with disabilities have a health condition and/or functional
impairment that, in interaction with public attitudes and policies, along
with economic and social barriers, limits their ability to participate as
citizens and full members of the community. This group includes people
with a wide array of physical and mental disabilities that can vary by
severity and duration.
ii. There is a notable absence of social science studies examining the role of
individuals as nomination contestants, members of political parties,
members of community groups engaged in campaigns, electoral
candidates, campaign workers and workers providing assistance at polling
stations. Most of the modest information we gathered about these other
roles came from newspaper sources and dealt with people with disabilities.
iii. The outreach measures and recommendations discussed in this paper are
intended to advance the political citizenship of persons who are homeless,
individuals with literacy challenges and people with mental or physical
disabilities. However, to be effective, these measures and
recommendations must be complemented and reinforced by investments in
the economic, cultural and social components of citizenship.
iv. The culture of voting appears repeatedly in the literature on electoral
participation. In Canada, D’Aubin and Stienstra (2004) stress the role of
“negative public attitudes about people with disabilities” as a contributing
factor in the under-representation of the disabled in political affairs. The
literature points to various fears that many homeless electors have about
registering on a voters list (Jelowicki 2000) and the skepticism
surrounding such efforts (Borcea 2004). In the U.S., Jackson, Brown and
Wright (1998, 281) comment that simply making it easier for
disadvantaged citizens to vote is “unlikely to produce major change” in
turnout unless “the desire, willingness, and capacity of citizens to
participate” is elevated.
v. Thus, a cultural perspective reveals a mixture of attitudes toward voting. It
indicates there is further important work to do in tackling barriers to
participation and self-reliance: we need to improve access to public
services and supports for daily living, and we need to enhance awareness
and respect for the diverse groups and needs in our communities.
d. Methodology: a literature review of voter participation and related electoral-
behaviour studies in Canada as well as in the United States and United Kingdom;
a survey of outreach practices in Canada at the federal, provincial and territorial
levels; case studies; and policy analysis to develop recommendations on best
practices for elector outreach in Canada.
 e. Findings: To promote voter turnout, then, special measures of assistance for
disadvantaged groups in Canadian society are warranted.
6. Facilitating an Equal Right to Vote for Persons with Disabilities
a. Lord et al. (2014)
b. Phenomena: electoral participation of PWDs and policy on making elections
PWD-inclusive
c. Views on PWDs:
i. Full and effective participation was the leitmotif of the CRPD drafting
process and is one of its core general principles expressed in article 3(c).
The CRPD therefore reflects participatory models of democracy according
to which stakeholder involvement serves a function beyond facilitating
outcomes. Participation serves as an adjunct to democratic institutions,
enhances individual freedom and autonomy by allowing one to retain
control over one’s life, enhances belonging among individual citizens to
their community, and fosters education essential for responsible social and
political action. For persons with disabilities—much as is the case for all
persons—the socializing, educative and freedom-enhancing role of
participation in decision making is a precondition to full personhood and
rights realization.
d. Findings:
This article has demonstrated that the management and administration of
elections is a highly complex field that spans a wide range of subject
matter and requires the engagement of multiple disciplines. Access and
participation by traditionally disadvantaged groups, whether persons with
disabilities, women, youth, illiterate persons, or ethnic, linguistic, racial,
and religious minorities, require specific and targeted interventions. All
components of successful election management should trigger attention to
access, including assessments of the extent to which election standards—
and the broader legal framework—conform to international standards.
Beyond legal measures, election access must encompass civil and voter
registry development targeting persons with disabilities; records and
technology management with attention to accessibility concerns; and
strategic and operational planning for enhanced access. Likewise,
inclusive voter and civic education; capacity building and professional
development of election management bodies and personnel; development
of codes of conduct and professional standards; and election official and
poll worker training programmes must integrate election access
components. So too must election commodity specifications, procurement,
planning, and logistics; the design of ballots and election forms; and
procedures and systems to deter and flag election fraud be attuned to
identifying and removing barriers that persons with disabilities may
experience in these contexts. Attention should be paid to accessibility in
the context of applying modern technologies to electoral processes as well
 as the implications for election budgeting of inclusion. Finally, accessible
electoral complaints mechanisms (administrative and judicial bodies) and
post-election activities should provide opportunities to redress barriers to
election access for persons with disabilities.
7. What Are You Doing Here? `Nondisabled’ people and the disability movement: a
response to Fran Branfield
a. Paul S. Duckett, 1998
b. Phenomena: Criticism of Branfield regarding PWDs
c. Views on PWDs:
8. Enabling the Voter Participation of Canadians with Disabilities: Reforming Canada’s
Electoral Systems
a. Michael J. Prince (2014)
b. With respect to civic inclusion and democratic citizenship, the specific focus of
this article is on certain organizational arrangements surrounding the right to vote.
The intent is to understand a specific set of socio-political activities and
interactions; in this case, the relation between electoral administration and
participation of electors with a disability.
c. The main purpose of this article is to review voting methods deployed by electoral
management bodies in Canada useful to electors with disabilities (such as mail
ballots) as well as methods specifically designed to assist electors with disabilities
in voting (such as electronic voting devices, templates, and ballots in Braille).
Another purpose is to identify best practices designed to reduce barriers that
electors with disabilities face and to effectively communicate and reach this group
of electors.
d. Answer to RQ
i. Barriers to voting are not exclusively or predominantly explicable in terms
of individual impairments. Additionally the access of electoral systems is
not explained simply by reference to the presence of an array of voting
methods. Rather, the accessibility of, and opportunity for voting by people
with disability depends on a number of policy, environmental and social
factors
ii. In recent decades, electoral management bodies and governments have
undertaken changes to election processes, expanding the range of voting
methods for electors with disabilities and taking other steps to facilitate
civic engagement. In general, these changes are shifting the mix of
disability models embedded in electoral systems. The shift is gradually
away from individual and medical conceptions, toward the functional and
social concepts, with greater attention to interactions between electors and
technologies and to the role of public policies, activism and societal
institutions in fostering a sense of opportunity, participation and
belonging. To date, this movement is most apparent in regard to Elections
Canada and Elections Ontario.
iii. Electoral reforms have addressed several different broad categories of
impairments: For electors with permanent disabilities, serious illness or
infirmity – general early voting (by mail and/or in person) and mobile
polling for those in hospitals, rest homes, seniors’ centres and other care
facilities. For electors with physical mobility issues – level access for
advance polls and polling day, sip and puff devices, paddles, drive-
through polling places and redesigned desktop voting booths. For electors
with hearing challenges – sign language interpretation services, hard of
hearing counter cards, pocket talkers/personal amplifiers, multilingual
guides and TTY facility. For visually impaired electors– templates,
 magnifying glasses or sheets at polling places, tactile buttons for voting
devices, and material offered in Braille, and large size printing of ballots at
polling places. For electors with any disability, a widespread reform has
been the right or opportunity to obtain assistance from another person or
election official.
iv. Communication and outreach activities should address both personal and
social attitudes toward the electoral process in a multifaceted and targeted
strategy. Measures need to focus on the attitudes of several groups of
actors and relationships: election workers towards electors with disabilities
and any individual that accompanies them, for example, personal assistant,
interpreter or peer support; health care administrators and staff toward
residents with disabilities; family members of people with disabilities;
and, the attitudes of individuals with disabilities concerning politics,
democracy and voting.
e. Methods: The main research methods are, firstly, a review of the election-related
legislation and administrative practices of electoral bodies in federal, provincial
and territorial jurisdictions in Canada, in particular practices designed to assist
electors with disabilities in voting; secondly, a select review of academic and
community literature on voter turnout, barriers, and attitudes toward the electoral
process; and, thirdly, consultations with officials in Elections Canada, which
enabled the verification of the information collected and contributed to the
authenticity of the analysis.