Dr. James Aniyamuzaala

School

University College Dublin

Keywords

Assistive Technology, Public Funding, Equity, Higher Education, Inclusive Design.

Abstract

This research study identifies a gap in knowledge in the theory, policy and practice of applying equity principles in public funding systems globally, and identifies Ireland as an example of good practice, albeit with room for further improvement.
The thesis provides the results of a carefully designed major case study of Ireland’s University College Dublin (UCD), considering the needs of and provision for students using HEAT solutions in their studies and communications as part of the university community. The research challenges the proposition that all the different HEAT needs, and solutions were fully and equitably covered by the public funding policies and programmes in Ireland, pointing to areas for improvement which often require solution finding that combines policy with theoretically and ethically informed practice, and that also requires a personalised approach to the specific needs of individuals, thus providing a rich source of comparative good practice for Europe. The three phases of the research - from initial high level Horizon Mapping to detailed Literature Review including both academic and policy materials considered in tandem, followed by deep case study and analysis of new data - comprehensively produces a substantial thesis with findings that can be studied in future for their applicability to international contexts by future scholars, policy makers and AT practitioners alike.
The methodology of the research project stems from the key principles of Inclusive Design. The methodology also combines a theoretical application through the lens of Constructivist Ontology, considering public policies and programmes as socially constructed objects. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDS) was applied as the selected epistemology. This allowed for all the literature and policy studies reviewed to be evaluated in the context of generating new knowledge in this little-studied domain, which crosses several major areas of interdisciplinary theory, policy and practice. In terms of academic disciplines, the main field of study is Assistive Technology. The cognate fields are Public Policy, Critical Disabilities Studies, Education, and Inclusive Design. This nexus of fields and their related theories and areas of policy and practice supported the choice of engaging in an Embedded Single Case Study applying a mixed methods approach with qualitative and quantitative tools employed to collect and analyse the primary data in response to the research question and research gap.
The findings of the research study include identifying and situating the AT public funding systems in operation Ireland as an example of a sectoral Neoliberal-Corporatist system, characterised by means tested practices, lack of Intersectoral coordination and dominated by a Biopsychosocial approach to the funding of AT solutions; and offering a new understanding of the impact of means-testing as a barrier to full and equitable coverage for diverse AT users. The original and substantial contributions to the field of knowledge include: articulation of major paradigms in Critical Disability Studies as applied to AT: Person+ Biosociotechnoenvironmental (PEBSTE) AT outcome model; identification of new AT funding models such as the Neo Liberal-Corporatist model, the Social Democratic funding model and the Corporatist funding model, all considered in an original framework informed by the theories of Critical Assistive Technology (CAT) and AT Complex Adaptive Systems (ATCAS).
It is hoped that this thesis and the new data it provides may enrich future academic studies, where these results can be applied to the in-depth study of other national AT provision systems, so that this work may inform Irish, pan-European and global policy and practice and support the greater agenda of recognizing and supporting equitable funding for AT and HEAT solutions as part of the agenda of promoting Accessibility as a Human Right.