More barriers? Yes please!: Strategies of control, co-optation, and hijacking of online disability campaigns in Scotland

Trevisan, F. (2010) More barriers? Yes please!: Strategies of control, co-optation, and hijacking of online disability campaigns in Scotland. In: APSA Political Communication Division Pre-Conference: Power and Strategy in a New Communication Environment, Washington D.C., USA, 1 Sep 2010,

Abstract

Can the internet help disabled people overcome traditional barriers to participation and become empowered? This paper shades light on this issue by innovatively combining disability studies and internet politics research. Two case studies from Scotland are presented in order to empirically investigate the “emancipatory” potential of the internet for disabled people. Whilst authoritative work in disability studies has claimed that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can constitute powerful tools against disabling, exclusionary barriers, the analysis carried out for this paper returned contradictory results. Besides organisational strategies aimed at controlling, co-opting, or even hijacking disabled people’s online “voices,” the investigation also revealed more positive, albeit limited, opportunities for participation strongly connected to the type of online tool used and the surrounding context. Whilst stressing the potential ambivalence of the internet for disabled users, such outcomes also hinted at a new, more nuanced idea of empowerment through ICTs capable of aligning expectations more closely to reality, and whose relevance could be extended to other “marginal” groups in the political arena. Building upon these findings, the paper concludes with a series of recommendations for future research in the area of disability and the internet.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Trevisan, Dr Filippo
• Authors: Trevisan, F.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > MRC/CSO SPHSU

Related URLs

• Social Science Research Network (SSRN)