The Langara Voice - March 15, 2018

This issue of the Langara Voice includes headline stories "First place doesn't matter. First position does," "Recycling made easy(ish): City works with community groups to create collection hubs," "Luxury the new norm: City subsidizes pricey units in South Vancouver," "Sensory overload," "Rugby on wheels," and "Culture clash.

Artful Bionics: Pushing the Limits of Visual Expression in Prosthetic Design

Traditional prosthetic design revolves around functionality, aiming to hide and downplay an individual\u27s limb difference as much as possible. This may not only negatively affect the user\u27s desire to wear their prosthetic but may also negatively affect their self-confidence and sense of identity. Expression is a primary way to communicate identity, yet some traditional prosthetics may deny expression, leaving users without an immediate means to express themselves apart from the stigmatizing label of \u27disability\u27. This study examines the ability of art when combined with bionic prosthetic technology to change the perception of disability, empower self confidence in prosthetics users, and increase the functional benefits of prosthetics. To elevate prosthetic technology, future designs must not only excel at functionally but must support increased aesthetic quality and allowance for personal expression. These objectives are examined through a participatory approach to design, where kids become active participants in the customization and design of their own prosthetic arms. Involving the user in the creative process can bring higher positive results in prosthetic functionality, expressed personal identity, emotional engagement, and ownership of the prosthetic. This study reports the results of this exploration by designing and hand painting expressive, customizable sleeves for bionic arms in preparation for a clinical trial beginning with Limbitless Solutions

The gestural body in performance: a practice-based study of the perceptions of physicality and meaning through the invisibly disabled body

This study investigates the concept of the gestural body as a site for communication in performance, using autobiographical practice to examine the influence of invisible disability on the perception of physicality and meaning. It adopts a practice-based methodology, locating me as creative practitioner at the heart of the investigation, enabling me to generate a deeper epistemological understanding as I engage reflexively through the research process (Barrett and Bolt, 2007). My psychosomatic approach means that my performance training and experience of living with ME influence the notion of embodiment, and I investigate how this impacts perception of what is performed (Grosz, 1994; Leder, 1990). The study explores ways in which shifts in the performance space and time, including the displacement of the embodied space and the experience of chronic time, may influence perception for both the performer and the audience (Morris, 2008). The research also explores the process of coming out as invisibly disabled in performance, and how this contributes to perceptions of the gestural body (Fassett and Morella, 2008). Ultimately, the thesis seeks to establish a foundation of knowledge relevant to the research of embodiment and lived experience, and to those investigating the previously neglected area of invisible disabilities in performance

A Novel Rehabilitation Therapy Design for Stroke

Background: The type of rehabilitation therapy available for stroke survivors, and when they receive it is crucial to optimize recovery. This study investigated the problems surrounding upper limb rehabilitation, relevant neuroscience research and potential avenues for enhancing recovery. Therapies employing visual art have been shown to improve psychological outcomes, yet no studies have identified a correlation between art engagement and sensory-motor recovery. Methods: Practical experience with patients was gained over a 16-month period through volunteer placement at a hospital complex care unit. Structured interviews were conducted with experts in the field of rehabilitation science. Their insights into potential benefits of art for stroke therapy were recorded and analyzed. Innovative design tools were used to understand key stakeholder’s needs and perspectives. Literature reviews on stroke care is presented in the introduction and art therapy practices plus relevant neuroscience research was reviewed in separate chapters. Results: A brief analysis of publicly funded stroke programs revealed services were viewed as uneven regionally, inequitable and lacking in resources and patients are dissatisfaction with quality of care. Empirical evidence from fieldwork revealed art activities for stroke were typically unstructured and facilitated by placement students, volunteers and family members. Experts interviewed expressed a common theme: art therapies, that may benefit sensory-motor outcomes beyond psychotherapy, warrant testing and measuring. An analysis of Art Therapy research uncovered its benefits and shortcomings. Current neuroscience that supports the need to design more effective therapies was discussed. Results from research tools showed the benefits of collaborative design solutions. Conclusion: The paper included a proposal for an art program and recommended that it be implemented in a hospital facility. The prototype is patient-centered, comprising an art focus program for survivors, family members and volunteers and an art intervention: an 8-week, clinical trial (including functional assessment) to be co-designed and implemented by a collaborative health care team. Finally, the knowledge gained from this research is a starting point for further investigation into patient centered, value-based art programs for stroke recovery. Keywords: stroke, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, upper limb, quality of care, visual ar

Taking charge - dance, disability and leadership: exploring the shifting role of the disabled dance artist

Over the past two decades dancers with disabilities have made a significant contribution to the professional contemporary dance sector. Key shifts and initiatives across various contexts in dance have increased debate and practice concerned with dance and disability and the intersections between these two areas. Discourse focussed on dance and disability has been centred upon access and participation in dance, there is a considerable deficit in practice, research and scholarly activity that explores the progression of the disabled dancer into leadership roles in dance. A lack of disabled role-models holding autonomous, high profile, decision making positions in the sector is detrimental to the position of both disabled dance artists currently practicing and those aspiring to work and train in contemporary dance. Dance artists with disabilities possess knowledge of training and working in dance that is as yet under-researched and under-represented in both academic and practice based contexts. Understanding and utilising the knowledge and experience existing in disabled dance artists is central to ensuring progression in the sector. Underpinning this thesis is the claim that disabled dance artists are valued, assessed and critiqued within an existing epistemological framework in dance that is based on normative bodies, rather than through systems and a vocabulary that account for the individual dancer. The research, centred around the UK and undertaken by a disabled dance artist-researcher, addresses an existing lack of scholarly activity about dance and disability produced by a disabled researcher. Chapters 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 offer 3 case studies of disabled dance artists these sections give insight into the lived experience of training and working in dance with a physical disability, in addition these chapters offer discussion specifically relating to the case study participants perception of themselves as leaders in dance. The penultimate chapter 7, Reflections on Practice presents autoethnographic research relating to the authors’ experience of using practice as both a vehicle and an artefact for research into dance, disability and leadership. Offering the practice and research of disabled artists within this thesis contributes a new perspective to the field of dance and disability, specifically by privileging the voices and practice of disabled artists and researchers. By challenging a hierarchy of normative leadership ideologies the potential of the disabled dance artist as leader is presented at the forefront of this study

Listening to Voices of Exceptional Students to Inform Art Pedagogy

This study explored the pedagogical practices that fostered engagement for seven participants with physical disabilities and in some cases multiple exceptionalities who successfully earned a credit in a high school Visual Arts course. It answered the key question: What can art educators learn from students\u27 stories of art education that would better enable art educators to enact a pedagogy that engages students with disabilities in the Visual Arts classroom? A narrative inquiry methodology was employed to gather stories and art work from these key informants acting as active agents in their own storied responses that were triangulated with field notes from the researcher’s own “lived-experience” and the literature surrounding the topic. The researcher draws from literacy engagement theory purporting that art is a language that can be used to engage students with physical disabilities if careful consideration is given to media employed, contemporary art education practices, teacher and student relationship including the teacher’s perspective of students with disabilities, and Universal Design for Learning concepts in classroom organization. Due to the fine motor control issues, students with disabilities in this study prefer more fluid media involved in the discipline of sculpture, painting, printmaking, or new media to create projects where the subject matter and artistic expression are ultimately self-determined. The findings of this thesis may be applied to all subject areas as they indicate that the teacher’s capacity to communicate effectively, have a flexible approach to accommodating curriculum content, possess problem-solving ability, and a positive personality, can be linked with student engagement for exceptional students in the classroom