ITKAN Monthly Meeting – March 2016
Participatory Action Research
At times assistive technology is developed with little input from the people who use it most. This can be the result of the research approaches that are employed. In Participatory Action Research (PAR), the participants become active partners in the research process and play a role determining the direction the research will take.
At our next ITKAN meeting, Professor Eun-Jeong Lee will use her project related to the development of a manual/power assist hybrid wheelchair to discuss Participatory Action Research (PAR) as a developing model of engaging the disability community as active members of the process and strengthening the adoption of Assistive Technology meant to improve quality of life.
Eun-Jeong Lee is an associate professor and the division head of counseling and rehabilitation science in the department of psychology at Illinois Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on vocational rehabilitation, psychosocial issues facing family and caregivers of people with disability, multicultural issues related to help-seeking behavior, research methodology, and assistive technology for individuals with disabilities. Her publications include over 30 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters which focuses on the psychosocial/multicultural issues among people with disability and their caregivers, vocational aspects of disability and various factors contributing to successful outcomes such as physical/psychological well-being, quality of life, employment, and psychosocial adjustment.
The next meeting will be
March 10, 2016, 5-7PM
Aon Tower
Microsoft Technology Center, 2nd Floor
200 E. Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60601