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In this chapter, we explore the lived experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) prisoners, arguably the most vulnerable minority in the prison estate, using the data from our correspondence study with transgender women and non-binary individuals incarcerated in male establishments in England and Wales. We provide a brief review of the extant literature, describe the English prison system and the regulations concerning transgender prisoners, and analyze two axes of vulnerability of TGNC prisoners: social (stemming from relationships between prisoners) and institutional (resulting from the prison regime). Along the social axes, we find, in contrast with prior research, that our respondents defied the stereotypes of trans prisoners as submissive to males in a hypermasculine prison society and as involved primarily in abusive relationships. Along the institutional axes, we find that, despite the progressive by international standards transgender prison regulations, prisoners were subject to vicissitudes in treatment that negatively affected their ability to express their gender and their health. Focusing on access to gender-affirming items (clothing, prosthetics, make-up) and gender-affirming medical treatment, we develop recommendations for the prison service that could improve the conditions of confinement for TGNC prisoners.

Assistive technology (AT) is a tool to help people gain, maintain, or regain independence. AT funding options in the United States are varied. One fairly unique option is last-resort state funding, which is available in just a few states. In this case study, we explore the kinds of AT that were purchased from a state AT fund over a five-year period and for whom the AT was purchased. The case study followed a three-phase community-based participatory research process that included initial interviews with key stakeholders, compiling the data into a usable form, and follow-up interviews with key stakeholders to seek their analysis and opinions related to the data. Overall, patterns in the results were generally expected, or at least didn’t cause alarm. The data suggest that AT providers are becoming more proficient at finding ways to provide more devices and services to their clients, they are likely becoming increasingly effective at providing services to their clients without having to purchase them, they are successful in finding funding for the less expensive devices or are reusing devices that have already been purchased, and that community outreach programs are successful in increasing fund usage by ethnic minority populations. General implications of these findings are presented with the goal of improving functional outcomes for AT users.

Ridley Scott’s 1982 cinematic production of Blade Runner, based loosely on a 1968 story by Philip Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), is read within a general context of critical theory, the purpose being twofold: first, to highlight the film’s fit with, and within, several issues that have been important to critical theory and, second, to explore some questions, criticisms, and extensions of those issues – the dialectic of identity/difference most crucially – by speculations within and on the film’s text. The exploration is similar in approach to studies of specific films within the context of issues of social, cultural, and political theory conducted by the late Stanley Cavell. Interrogations of dimensions of scenarios and sequences of plotline, conceptual pursuit of some implications, and assessments of the realism at work in cinematic format are combined with mainly descriptive evaluations of character portrayals and dynamics as these relate to specified thematics of the identity/difference dialectic. The film puts in relief evolving meanings of prosthetics – which is to say changes in the practical as well as conceptual-semantic boundaries of “human being”: what counts as “same” versus “other”? “domestic” versus “foreign”? “integrity” versus “dissolution”? “safety” versus “danger”? And how do those polarities, understood within a unity-of-opposites dialectic, change, as human beings are confronted more and more stressfully by their own reproductions of “environment” – that is, the perspectival device of “what is ‘text’ and what is context’?” – and variations of that device by direct and indirect effects of human actions, as those actions have unfolded within recursive sequences of prior versions of perspectival device, a device repeatedly engaged, albeit primarily and mainly implicitly, as a “prosthetic that could not be a prosthetic.”

This chapter investigates the need to focus on the gap between the pure quantification of the body, expressed by robotic implants, and recent research aiming to recover qualitative aspects of touch, such as sensation. The solution proposed is to analyse new implant technologies with a stereoscopic vision that is able to consider sensation both as intensity of neural signals and as something that we feel. The central question is: what is the value of introducing qualitative analysis into typically quantified robotics research, governed by data?

This chapter focuses on the increasing use of both assistive technology (AT) and teacher assistants (TAs) to support students with disabilities within the inclusive classroom, and why it is vital that teacher assistants have appropriate training in the area of AT. A description of assistive technology and its role in inclusion of students with special needs is provided along with a description of training in assistive technology that was undertaken with teacher assistants. Implications for training and support of teacher assistants in the area of assistive technology are also discussed.

Purpose – This chapter argues that assistive technology itself, rather than a shared disabled identity, can be the basis for peer interaction and therefore serve as the basis for community. Specifically, prosthetic technology serves as a point of connection between amputees of different backgrounds.

Methodology – Data are from 20 in-depth qualitative interviews with a diverse group of men and women who lost legs or feet since 2002. The analysis of these interviews is enriched by ethnographic observation of support groups, mobility clinics, and visits to rehabilitation facilities.

Findings – Despite misgivings about support groups and socializing with others simply because of shared impairment, respondents reported connecting with peers through trading technical information and insights into prosthesis use. Thus, the notion of community may be most clearly understood in terms of interaction with shared objects and environments rather than shared identity.

Limitations – As with most qualitative studies, the findings here cannot be generalized to the greater amputee population in the United States.

Practical implications – The findings suggest that groups organized around activities that help people learn prosthetic legs can be the basis for community.

Social implications – This example suggests that communities of users can be a unique source of technical information about assistive technology that professionals cannot necessarily provide.

Value of paper – The analysis brings a unique perspective to the question of community and disability by drawing on sources from science and technology studies to theorize communities of users of assistive technology.

We illustrate the potential of diaries for advancing scholarship on organization studies and grand challenges. Writing personal diaries is a time-honored and culturally sanctioned way of animating innermost thoughts and feelings, and embodying experiences through self-talk with famous examples, such as the diaries written by Anne Frank, Andy Warhol, or Thomas Mann. However, the use of diaries has long been neglected in organization studies, despite their historical and societal importance. We illustrate how different forms of analyzing diaries enable a “deep analysis of individuals’ internal processes and practices” (Radcliffe, 2018) which cannot be gleaned from other sources of data such as interviews and observations. Diaries exist in different forms, such as “unsolicited diaries” and “solicited diaries” and have different purposes. We evaluate how analyzing diaries can be a valuable source to illuminate the innermost thoughts and feelings of people at the forefront of grand challenges. To exemplify our arguments, we draw on diaries written by medical professionals working for Doctors Without Borders as part of our empirical research project conducted in extreme contexts. We show the value of unsolicited diaries in revealing people’s thought world that is not apprehensible from other modes of communication, and offer a set of practical guidelines on working with data from diaries. Diaries serve to enrich our methodological toolkit by capturing what people think and feel behind the scenes but may not express nor display in public.

The competition reality television show Dragula (Boulet Brothers, 2016-present) features a parade of monsters from the horror canon. Each episode, queer drag artists present outfits based on the show's aesthetic tenants: horror, filth and glamour. Nearly every outfit presented by the show's contestants, dubbed ‘drag monsters’, features some element of monstrosity and many pay specific homage to monsters from horror cinema. In drawing the monster figure into the world of gender performance, Dragula showcases the vast queer possibility of the monster figure. Like queerness itself, these drag monsters prove monstrosity is fluid and need not by associated to any one specific gender; the monster figure provides a canvas on which these artists can move between both human and non-human and male and female. This chapter traces the show's horror lineage – most notably the text from which it queers its name, Bram Stroker's Dracula (1987), and Stephen King's Carrie (1974) as well as the alternative precedent set by the drag legend Divine. Its analysis demonstrates Dragula's creative power in reimaging gender beyond the binary of man/woman by way of the monster figure.