‘We’re in a good place right now’: Women entrepreneurs share their experiences at U of T event
Building a startup company is a daunting prospect – often more so if you’re a woman. But things may finally be starting to change. That was one takeway from a panel discussion, held on the eve of International Women’s Day, featuring three female founders from the University of Toronto. While all three panellists – Leila Keshavjee, Saara Punjani and Pooja Viswanathan – acknowledged the myriad…
Continue ReadingThe Ethical Implications of Autonomous Wheelchairs
We talked about what autonomous wheelchairs are, and some of the barriers that will need to be overcome before fully autonomous wheelchairs enter the marketplace in our last blog post. We will now examine some of the ethical limitations of autonomous wheelchairs, as well as the benefits that they will bring to people who use…
Continue ReadingDavid’s Sentina
Long term care homes often face challenges with safety regarding power mobility devices. The high concentration of people who use power wheelchairs and people at high risk of injury from falls creates a challenge for therapists and staff to find solutions that maximize independence, while preventing undue risk to other residents. Long-term care facility staff are…
Continue ReadingTTC vs. The World: Subway Transit Accessibility
I recently saw an article on the transit accessibility around the world, which was fascinating. It is good to see that transit commissions around the world are working towards a more accessible future (albeit slowly). The Toronto Transit Commission was left off of the list, so I decided to investigate. Being much newer than Paris…
Continue ReadingAccessible Birthday Gift Ideas for People Who Use Wheelchairs!
Finding the perfect gift is an art. It needs to be useful, unique and most importantly a personalized representation of your friendship. Choosing the right gift that your friend will actually use is challenging. Here is a list of ideas for gifts you can get for a friend who uses a wheelchair. For more ideas, check…
Continue ReadingThe Prevention of Wheelchair Collisions
Wheelchair collisions are very common, and can be extremely costly. As a result, safety concerns are a major reason for limiting access to independent power mobility (Mihailidis et al., 2011). This is a problem, as access to power mobility increases independence and quality of life by enabling people to interact with their surroundings (Bourret et al.,…
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