IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsoctx/v14y2024i11p215-d1504741.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Academic Coverage of Online Activism of Disabled People: A Scoping Review

Author

Listed:
  • Gregor Wolbring

    (Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada)

  • Laiba Nasir

    (Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada)

  • Dana Mahr

    (Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany)

Abstract

Disabled people need to be activists given the many problematic lived realities they face. However, they frequently encounter obstacles in traditional offline activism. Online activism could be a potential alternative. The objective of this scoping review is to examine the extent and nature of the coverage of disabled people in the academic literature that focuses on online activism. We searched the abstracts in Scopus, Web of Science, and the 70 databases in EBSCO-HOST for the presence of 57 terms linked to online activism or online tools or places for online activism, which generated 18,069 abstracts for qualitative analysis. Of the 18,069 abstracts, only 54 discussed online the activism by disabled people. Among these 54 relevant abstracts, only one contained the term “Global South”. No relevant abstracts were found that contained the terms “Metaverse” or “Democrac*” together with “activis*”. Only two relevant abstracts contained the phrase “digital citizen*”. Out of the 57 terms, 28 had no hits. The thematic analysis identified 24 themes: 6 themes in 30 abstracts had a positive sentiment, 7 themes in 30 abstracts had a negative sentiment, and 11 themes present in 23 abstracts had a neutral sentiment. There were three main themes: the positive role and use of online activism; the technical accessibility barriers to online activism; and the attitudinal accessibility problems arising from ableist judgments. The intersectionality of the disability identity with other marginalized identities and the issue of empowerment were rarely addressed, and ability judgment-based concepts beyond the term’s “ableism” and “ableist” were not used. The study underscores the necessity for further research given the few relevant abstracts found. The study also indicates that actions are needed on barriers to online activism and that examples for best practices exist that could be applied more often. Future studies should also incorporate a broader range of ability judgment-based concepts to enrich the analysis and to support the empowerment of disabled activists.

Suggested Citation

  • Gregor Wolbring & Laiba Nasir & Dana Mahr, 2024. "Academic Coverage of Online Activism of Disabled People: A Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-55, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:14:y:2024:i:11:p:215-:d:1504741
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/14/11/215/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/14/11/215/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tsion Berie & Sean A. Kidd & Gregor Wolbring, 2024. "Poverty (Number 1 Goal of the SDG) of Disabled People through Disability Studies and Ability Studies Lenses: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-52, July.
    2. Süleyman Ahmet Menteş, 2019. "Online Environmental Activism: The Case of Iğneada Floodplain Forest," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(3), pages 21582440198, September.
    3. Gregor Wolbring & Aspen Lillywhite, 2023. "Coverage of Allies, Allyship and Disabled People: A Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-38, November.
    4. Bryony Hoskins & Massimiliano Mascherini, 2009. "Measuring Active Citizenship through the Development of a Composite Indicator," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 90(3), pages 459-488, February.
    5. Yeo, Rebecca & Moore, Karen, 2003. "Including Disabled People in Poverty Reduction Work: "Nothing About Us, Without Us"," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 571-590, March.
    6. repec:sae:envval:v:26:y:2017:i:4:p:503-522 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Gregor Wolbring & Simerta Gill, 2023. "Potential Impact of Environmental Activism: A Survey and a Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-46, February.
    8. Robert Stock, 2023. "Broken elevators, temporalities of breakdown, and open data: how wheelchair mobility, social media activism and situated knowledge negotiate public transport systems," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 132-147, January.
    9. Gregor Wolbring & Aspen Lillywhite, 2023. "Burnout through the Lenses of Equity/Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Disabled People: A Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-31, May.
    10. Chiara Salvatore & Gregor Wolbring, 2021. "Children and Youth Environmental Action: The Case of Children and Youth with Disabilities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-27, September.
    11. Umu Akcil, 2018. "The use of mobile learning for visually impaired learners school in tolerance education contents," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 969-982, December.
    12. Gregor Wolbring & Laiba Nasir, 2024. "Intersectionality of Disabled People through a Disability Studies, Ability-Based Studies, and Intersectional Pedagogy Lens: A Survey and a Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-77, September.
    13. Gregor Wolbring & Simerta Gill, 2023. "Occupational Concepts: An Underutilized Resource to Further Disabled People and Others Being Occupied: A Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-43, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tsion Berie & Sean A. Kidd & Gregor Wolbring, 2024. "Poverty (Number 1 Goal of the SDG) of Disabled People through Disability Studies and Ability Studies Lenses: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-52, July.
    2. Gregor Wolbring & Rochelle Deloria, 2024. "Health Equity and Health Inequity of Disabled People: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-51, August.
    3. Gregor Wolbring & Laiba Nasir, 2024. "Intersectionality of Disabled People through a Disability Studies, Ability-Based Studies, and Intersectional Pedagogy Lens: A Survey and a Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-77, September.
    4. Gregor Wolbring & Aspen Lillywhite, 2023. "Coverage of Allies, Allyship and Disabled People: A Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-38, November.
    5. Gregor Wolbring & Maria Escobedo, 2023. "Academic Coverage of Social Stressors Experienced by Disabled People: A Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-31, September.
    6. Gregor Wolbring & Simerta Gill, 2023. "Occupational Concepts: An Underutilized Resource to Further Disabled People and Others Being Occupied: A Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-43, December.
    7. Gregor Wolbring & Aspen Lillywhite, 2023. "Burnout through the Lenses of Equity/Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Disabled People: A Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-31, May.
    8. Mitra, Sophie, 2010. "Disability Cash Transfers in the Context of Poverty and Unemployment: The Case of South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 1692-1709, December.
    9. Cheng Peng & Xunbo Wu & Yelin Fu & Kin Keung Lai, 2017. "Alternative approaches to constructing composite indicators: an application to construct a Sustainable Energy Index for APEC economies," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 747-759, October.
    10. Raymond Lang & Marguerite Schneider & Maria Kett & Ellie Cole & Nora Groce, 2019. "Policy development: An analysis of disability inclusion in a selection of African Union policies," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 37(2), pages 155-175, March.
    11. Emily Lewis & Sophie Mitra & Jaclyn Yap, 2022. "Do Disability Inequalities Grow with Development? Evidence from 40 Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-13, April.
    12. Mont, Daniel & Nguyen, Cuong, 2013. "Does Parental Disability Matter to Child Education? Evidence from Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 88-107.
    13. Gregor Wolbring & Rachel Mackay & Theresa Rybchinski & Jacqueline Noga, 2013. "Disabled People and the Post-2015 Development Goal Agenda through a Disability Studies Lens," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(10), pages 1-31, September.
    14. Roger Chapman Burk & Richard M. Nehring, 2023. "An Empirical Comparison of Rank-Based Surrogate Weights in Additive Multiattribute Decision Analysis," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 20(1), pages 55-72, March.
    15. Ajit K. Dalal, 2010. "Disability–Poverty Nexus," Psychology and Developing Societies, , vol. 22(2), pages 409-437, September.
    16. Nur Hazwani Mohamad Roseli & Nurulnadwan Aziz, 2023. "Affective Design Components of Educational Application for Children," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 15(4), pages 191-199.
    17. Elena Cigu & Ana-Maria Bercu & Mihaela Tofan & Silviu Mihail Tiță, 2021. "Exploring the Fiscal Responsibility through Active Citizenship for Governance Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    18. Kenny, Daniel C. & Costanza, Robert & Dowsley, Tom & Jackson, Nichelle & Josol, Jairus & Kubiszewski, Ida & Narulla, Harkiran & Sese, Saioa & Sutanto, Anna & Thompson, Jonathan, 2019. "Australia's Genuine Progress Indicator Revisited (1962–2013)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 1-10.
    19. Jeyapraba Suresh, 2023. "Poverty is Lack of Capabilities: A Literature Review," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(3), pages 462-476, March.
    20. Derek Asuman & Charles Godfred Ackah & Frank Agyire-Tettey, 2021. "Disability and Household Welfare in Ghana: Costs and Correlates," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 633-649, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:14:y:2024:i:11:p:215-:d:1504741. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.