Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, EDU Policy and Leadership

This study asked what elements should be included in a cognitive accessibility heuristic framework for parent-educators to compare STEM educational video games for K-5 level autistic children who require substantial supports? To provide an answer to this question, two component questions were asked: 1) “which computer learning game environment and affordance considerations should be included in a cognitive accessibility heuristic framework?” and 2) “which elements of which evidence-based practices should be included in a cognitive accessibility heuristic framework?” A heuristic framework was created that poses questions regarding autism cognitive accessibility considerations for game settings, user interface elements, and user interaction feedback elements that align with evidence-based practices for autism. A small group of 10 participants were parent-educators of autistic children who met the study question criteria and were solicited by convenience and snowball sampling. The heuristic was tested against two STEM-based computer learning games at the K-5 curricular level, specifically Box Island and Peg Plus Cat – Music Maker). Participants were asked to evaluate the heuristic against these games based on how they thought their autistic children would perceive the game experience. Data showed that the list of questions included in the heuristic appropriately considered autism cognitive accessibility when evaluating computer STEM-based computer learning game settings, when reviewing the game environment interface, and when responding to user interaction. The study concluded that participants considered all questions were valuable and should be included. Since the relative importance of some questions differed amongst participants, the heuristic also demonstrated sufficient flexibility to accommodate varying needs of the participants' autistic players. Participants indicated that stepping through the heuristic provided heightened awareness of autistic percept (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Geography

This study aims to examine gendered accessibility experiences in space and time, through developing enhanced space-time accessibility measures with the use of geographic information systems (GIS). Various situations in which gender differences in accessibility experiences manifest will be examined using the activity/travel diary data set of Portland, Oregon. This study provides a GIS-based geocomputational algorithm in order to enhance space-time accessibility measures with more rigorous representation of the temporal and spatial characteristics of urban opportunities (e.g. their geographical distribution and opening hours) and human activity-travel behavior (e.g. delay times, minimum activity participation time, and maximum travel time threshold). Furthermore, the proposed method takes into account the possible duration at each activity location given its opening hours and the effect of transport network, in addition to the consideration of the number and size of opportunities. The results showed that, in addition to women's lower accessibility in absolute terms, women's temporal autonomy was strictly entrapped at only a particular time of day (in the late afternoon, specifically) regardless of employment status. Furthermore, the study has examined gender differences in determinants of accessibility and in travel/location/activity contexts where people participate in discretionary activities. Women's lower levels of accessibility than men were largely due to additional constraints: household responsibilities. Compared to men, the level of availability of urban opportunities near home was found to be crucial in determining accessibility. In addition, people tend to enjoy the space-time autonomy in the work-to-home travel situation, and so the workplace and home are the most central locations of accessibility, as an origin and a destination. The importance of other locations is relatively higher for women than for men. Women have more household work, and so need to b (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2023, Geography (Arts and Sciences)

In recent years, research on accessibility to urban services through public transport has gained popularity due to its direct impact on urban socio-economic disparity. While evaluating accessibility to urban services is crucial, there remains a significant gap in assessing the level of access to public transport in urban areas. The widely used PTAL methodology for assessing public transport access has limitations that can undermine the accessibility of certain areas. To address this, the present study revised the methodology to incorporate and evaluate access from both non-residential and residential units in Columbus. Additionally, the study examined the accessibility to urban services via public transport to understand socio-economic disparities among different groups and neighborhoods. The findings reveal that the revised PTAL methodology better suits Columbus, and it is observed that the level of access to public transport does not decline gradually outwards from the downtown, rather the study area have pockets of high access at different Block Groups. Moreover, even though the access index values represent the level of access in the study area, the Equivalent Doorstep Frequency derived from the access index shows stronger correlation with accessibility indicators, meaning it has stronger influence on accessibility to urban services. The disparity in public transport based accessibility to urban services aligns with the patterns observed in other US cities, where poor and minority groups in the inner city tend to have substantially better accessibility to urban services. The disparity in transit-based accessibility among different socio-economic groups in different neighborhoods indicates that many poor BGs will not be benefitted by the future transit service improvement projects. Notably, the BGs with high concentration of poor in Northland, Northeast and East Columbus neighborhoods have very poor accessibility to urban services by public tr (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2022, Curriculum and Instruction: Educational Technology

With the growth of online learning, as well as the use of technology to supplement in-person learning, technology has enabled many opportunities for creating highly interactive and highly accessible learning environments. However, it is important to design learning environments to be accessible to diverse learners and learners with disabilities. Educational institutions must comply with legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as moral and ethical concerns related to inclusive institutional cultures. As a result, educational institutions should provide professional development and the resources necessary to help faculty members develop accessible course content. Furthermore, the theory of Universal Design for Learning provides a framework for ensuring access to learning opportunities as a part of the course design process. UDL helped to ensure all learners can benefit from accessible learning experiences. This research study explored the use of online professional development and its role in creating accessible online learning environments. A questionnaire was distributed to faculty members to determine if the participation in professional development resulted in positive beliefs towards accessibility. In addition, faculty skills for creating accessible content were evaluated. Courses taught by participating faculty members were evaluated for accessibility using Blackboard Ally, and faculty members were asked about their familiarity with UDL. The research study determined that there was not a significant difference between faculty members who took online professional development compared to those who did not take professional development in relation to attitudes towards accessibility, as well as faculty skills in creating accessible content. The research study identified a significant difference in accessibility of online content, using Blackboard Ally accessibility scores, between faculty members who participated in professional develo (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2021, Geography

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted human lives in numerous ways and the only way to bring back the normal is mass vaccination. To achieve that, strategic allocation of the COVID-19 vaccine centers is imperative. This research was undertaken to evaluate the spatial pattern and accessibility of COVID-19 vaccine centers in the state of Michigan. Additionally, the study evaluated the socio-economic disparities to access the COVID-19 vaccine centers. To fulfill the objectives, the study collected a wide range of data on vaccination (locations of vaccine centers, number of vaccines distributed and administered, percentage of vaccinated population, number of people with at least one dose of vaccine, etc.), socioeconomic aspects (age, race, ethnicity, poverty level, access to automobile, etc.), and road network connectivity. The geographical pattern of these vaccine centers is analyzed by using spatial statistical techniques that include the Average Nearest Neighbor Index and Spatial Autocorrelation (both global and local). While the global spatial autocorrelation examined the spatial pattern of the vaccine centers in the overall study area, the local spatial autocorrelation technique helped to understand the existing spatial mismatch between the locations of the vaccine centers and residences of the elderly and low-income population in the study area. Following the spatial pattern analysis, to understand the accessibility of existing vaccine centers, the 2 steps floating catchment area (2SFCA) method is utilized. The evaluation was conducted at the census tract level, which provided greater details at the finer level. Finally, various socio-economic inequalities based on income, race, and ethnicity are examined based on the accessibility scores of the census tracts by using the weighted average accessibility scores, geographically weighted regression models, and Bivariate local indicators of spatial autocorrelation. The results of these ana (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2018, Geography

Research has shown that neighborhood has significant effects on health outcomes; this emphasizes the importance place plays in health care planning and urban health geography. As much as a place or a spatial location is essential, the people who live in such neighborhoods or area are also important. Pharmacies everywhere in the world play a significant role in the overall wellbeing and welfare of people. It is vital that while business owners and professionally trained pharmacists seek to locate their stores in locations where they would make the maximum profits; it is also essential to ensure that everyone regardless of demographic status has equal access to it. Accessibility could be defined in many terms, but this study focuses more on spatial accessibility on how people living in different geographic locations( demand locations) enjoy relative ease to a place of service(supply location). To measure this relative easiness, this study uses two geographic information system based technique; the proximity analysis and the two-step floating catchment area method to analyze how all the population in Lucas County access their pharmacies. The study uses the census block group data as a unit of analysis, and the results were compared to the outcomes of Multnomah County. The reason for this comparison is to observe if the expected variations in accessibility in Toledo would be the same for Portland that is adjudged as a model of 21st-century urban planning in the country. The final results from the two methods show that African Americans enjoy better accessibility than white, and people living below the poverty line also enjoy better accessibility. A simple OLS regression was used to analyze the relationship between accessibility scores and socioeconomic and demographic status. The results show that in Toledo, Blacks, Whites, Bachelor's degree, Poverty have a significant relationship with accessibility. However, in Portland, housing units stocks, whites, people with a bac (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Psychology

Causal Uncertainty (CU; Weary & Edwards, 1994) is an aversive motivational state associated with beliefs that one is uncertain about the causes of events. CU threatens one's ability to accurately predict and control the environment. As such, CU constitutes a threat to self-worth. Some people experience CU more often than others and may come to hold chronically-accessible CU beliefs. Preliminary evidence for the chronic accessibility of CU has been found by Edwards and Weary (under review). However, it is not clear that this evidence reflects only accessibility, or also the personal relevance and perceived threatening nature of CU-related stimuli. The studies described here provide converging evidence for the findings of Edwards and Weary (under review). They go on to provide evidence for the proposition that CU is negatively evaluated and for the relationship between self-worth and responses to uncertainty in causally-uncertain individuals.

Doctor of Education (EdD), Wright State University, 2024, Leadership Studies

This dissertation focused on a novel improvement to the current method for adapting assessments into American Sign Language (ASL). Bilingual Deaf adults participated in back translations across the United States, and those back-translation decisions were assessed by human experts to judge similarity in meaning. Translations were compared to original text samples using two types of Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) models to compute semantic textual similarity (STS) scores, and to calculate weighted Youden Index (WYI) Scores. These scores were used to determine the ideal cutoff to be used when making judgments and compared to human expert decisions. The results revealed that WYI scores calculated using the Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) model performed best and effectively predicted expert decisions for 25% of items, thus substantially reducing the need for human review for many items. These results suggest that while there is great promise for using these methods to reduce cognitive load for back-translation tasks, there is still a crucial need for human attention in such tasks. This research points to the potential of machine learning for streamlining the creation of ASL assessments and increasing accessibility for the Deaf community. However, it also underscores the essential role of human experts in ensuring accuracy and cultural sensitivity. While future advancements in machine learning may one day replicate similar human capabilities, a combination of technology and skilled professionals remains crucial for bridging these communication gaps and providing equitable access to services for Deaf individuals.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Kinesiology

The primary purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of Disabled African American adults accessing and navigating physical activity facilities in rural communities. The secondary purpose was to identify alternative physical activity facilities of participants who do not utilize physical activity facilities. This descriptive qualitative study was situated within the social-ecological model (SEM) theoretical framework and the intersectionality conceptual framework. The participants were five Disabled African American adults from rural communities of Georgetown and Williamsburg Counties in South Carolina (Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor). The primary data sources were semi-structured interviews and visual artifacts (photographs) of the physical activity facilities and alternative spaces disclosed by the participants. The data were analyzed qualitatively and analytically (e.g., transcripts and artifacts) using a line-by-line thematic analysis approach to produce themes. Through the researchers' analysis, three major themes emerged, which were as follows: (a) Keep on Keeping On [resiliency and commitment to remaining physically active], (b) Ease on Down de Road [participants' journey to physical activity and interactions in physical activity facilities], and (c) We are Family [family and community members impact on participants' accessibility]. These findings underscore the importance of addressing accessibility barriers through culturally relevant, population-specific inclusive programming at the institutional level. Additionally, community-level infrastructure improvements, such as enhanced transportation and safe, accessible spaces for physical activity, are essential in supporting the physical activity engagement of rural African American adults with mobility disabilities. Implications drawn from this study suggest that stakeholders in rural health, community planning, and adapted physical activity should collaborate to design targeted interventions tha (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education, Miami University, 2024, Educational Leadership

This study addresses the accessibility challenges faced by underrepresented students in international education, primarily focused on study abroad programs at the higher education level. Systemic barriers in place often hinder these students from participation in study abroad programming due to costs, academic, familial, or other reasons. The aim of this study was to evaluate one program option that appears to reduce accessibility barriers for students and analyze if certain elements within it are able to be imitated by other institutions to more collectively improve study abroad accessibility throughout the field. This qualitative case study uses Miami University's John E. Dolibois European Center in Luxembourg, known as MUDEC, as a case study for a program model that could be used to break down accessibility barriers in study abroad. Through in-depth interviews, assessments, and surveys with current MUDEC students and alumni, this study identifies key factors contributing to MUDEC's success in promoting inclusivity. This study concludes that MUDEC not only provides increased access but also indicates that participants' self-reported gains in personal and professional skills, including cultural competency and adaptability, lead to personal growth and increased employability post-study abroad. This challenges the status quo in international education and demonstrates the importance of reducing access barriers so more students can benefit from the gains present in a term abroad. The findings outline that MUDEC does successfully mitigate barriers to participation through its cost structure and intentional programming decisions. Notably, the program's tuition model aligns costs with those of the home campus, including the portability of scholarships and financial aid, significantly reduces financial obstacles. Furthermore, MUDEC's implementation of academic cohorts exemplifies an effective strategy to engage students who might otherwise not consider internat (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2024, Educational Administration

This mixed-methods study delves into the intricate relationship between pedagogy, pedagogical measures, and equity concerns in education, focusing on implementing Inclusiveness, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) principles. The findings underscore the necessity for educational institutions to navigate legal constraints while prioritizing the creation of inclusive learning environments. Key recommendations include establishing robust support mechanisms such as guidebooks to help educators adapt to legal changes without compromising their teaching approaches. Additionally, future research should explore innovative strategies to promote IDEA, particularly from the perspectives of marginalized communities. Advocating for collaboration among educational institutions, policymakers, and stakeholders, the study emphasizes the importance of fostering conducive learning environments that facilitate the growth and success of all students. It stresses the significance of inclusivity, transparency, diversity, and accessibility in constructing a more just educational system. Combining qualitative observations with quantitative analysis, the study offers a comprehensive understanding of the diverse impacts of legislative changes and equity issues in education. Its practical implications are valuable for policymakers, educators, and stakeholders striving to create inclusive educational settings. The study calls for immediate action and targeted interventions to achieve equitable outcomes and address complex challenges. The study proposes explicitly the creation of an instructional guidebook for general education instructors to assist them in navigating evolving legal frameworks and addressing issues related to IDEA.

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Information Technology

Open-source software projects have become prevalent in everyday applications, and it is imperative to continue supporting these projects while empowering the people behind them. The state of diversity and inclusion efforts within the leadership of open-source communities is of utmost importance and help shape effective strategies for positive change. The purpose of this research is to gain insight into the challenges, experiences, and perspectives of individuals involved in open-source community leadership. Using participatory design methodology, this research explores what framework and design characteristics will help to develop a tool for the selection of open-source community leaders. Eleven people from open-source software communities were recruited to participate in a participatory design activity to inform the selection and design of a tool to support informed decision-making by voting bodies associated with a particular open-source community. The results show that profile and demographics of individuals, map view of group location, leadership experience of individuals and trends over time were found to be the most useful to open-source community members when learning more about candidates running for open-source boards. The discussion describes how these types of features can be integrated into tools used by these communities to make selections and how tools such as this one could be extended to other use cases.

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2024, Design

This master's thesis used a research-through-design approach to determine how themed elements & interactive microcontroller consoles could improve the sense of presence in immersive experiences. The hypothesis was that removing handheld controllers and allowing people to touch and feel the environment they were seeing in a virtual reality headset would allow them to natively explore and engage with contextual interactive elements. The final product, Project Orbweaver, was an exciting multi-disciplinary immersive experience that transported players to a cosmic environment beyond our solar system. The experience was comprised of four elements interacting in unique ways to deliver an exciting virtual reality attraction. The first element was the virtual environment & VR component, tasked with immersing players in the teleporter and space station scenes. The second element was the microcontroller interaction system featuring three interactive stations with minigames for the player to complete. The third element was the theming and preshow that immersed players in the story. Finally, the fourth element was the live interaction between the player and experience facilitator; Everybody that came through the experience got slightly unique dialogue and conversation based on how they approached the minigames on the interactive stations. This thesis serves as a documentation of the development process while also presenting a framework that can be used to create similar experiences.

Doctor of Organization Development & Change (D.O.D.C.), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Organization Development

This study explores staff perspectives that promote access for and participation of persons with disabilities (PWD) at fitness facilities. Practitioners and scholars often approach access and barrier-reduction through recommendations that change the physical environment. However, these strategies are often costly. Few acknowledge the social environment whereby barriers are overcome communally rather than individually. Because of the lack of literature focused on fitness facility staff, this study approaches closing the gaps by investigating the level of awareness of barriers staff have, whether staff are interested in pursuing training or professional development opportunities, and the relationship training has on their perceived future job performance. Research hypotheses examine the relationship between awareness and training desire, whether attitude towards PWDs mediates or moderates this relationship, and the relationship between training desire and perceived job performance. Observed results suggest a significant positive relationship between training desire and perceived job performance. Additional analyses report significant positive relationships between a person's education and their attitude, and attitude with training desire and perceived job performance. Concluding, those with stronger more positive beliefs that the interaction, presence, and/or participation of PWDs leads to growth for themselves, organizations, and society were more interested in training that developed their competencies around working with clients with mobility, cognitive, and/or sensory disabilities as well as saw themselves as providing greater value to their organization if they received training for working with PWDs. As such, practitioners should target staff attitudes and learning orientations to promote access for and participation of PWDs.

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2024, Pharmacology

Globally, an estimated 420 million people today suffer from debilitating vision loss caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR), retinitis pigmentosa (RP), or glaucoma; a large majority of these cases (up to 90%) have only minimally effective or no treatment options available. These chronic, progressive retinal diseases arise from a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors that disrupt, and eventually compromise, cellular and tissue stability. Such disruptions accumulate with repeated exposures to stress over time, leading to progressive visual impairment and, in many cases, legal blindness. Despite decades of research, effective treatments to preserve eyesight have remained elusive for the millions of patients suffering from these debilitating disorders, especially in the vast majority of cases that are in early stages of disease progression, wherein lies the greatest opportunity to slow or halt vision loss. In the coming decades, population aging will exacerbate the increase in global prevalence of vision impairment and blindness, thus underscoring a critical, unmet need for innovative, new ophthalmic medications. In pre-clinical studies, we demonstrated the efficacy of prototypical ‘stress resilience-enhancing drugs' (SREDs) that preserved both retinal morphology and function across a variety of genetic and environmental animal models of AMD, DR, RP, and glaucoma. These small-molecule therapies can be subdivided according to primary mechanism of action, resulting in two distinct subclasses of SREDs: 1) epigenetic modulators that include inhibitors of select histone deacetylases (HDACi) or methyltransferases (SUVi); and 2) selective inhibitors of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEi). With pharmacological inhibition of histone deacetylase 11 (HDAC11) or suppressor of variegation 3-9 homolog 2 (SUV39H2), key histone-modifying enzymes involved in promoting reduced chromatin accessibility, stress-induced retinal (open full item for complete abstract)

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, 2024, Social Work

Social work is an occupation that is very diverse; a social worker can provide support in schools, hospitals, mental health agencies, domestic violence shelters, day habilitation units, private practices, homeless shelters and more. Regardless of the number of career paths that social work offers, social workers share the commonality of wanting to better the quality of lives of individuals. Due to systemic oppression, social workers often serve people who struggle disproportionally. The Deaf Community is a marginalized population that could greatly benefit from the resources that social workers offer. Are there adequate efforts being made to ensure that social workers can be accessed by all? The following research aims to uncover the discrepancies that lie in social work access for the Deaf Community in comparison to the hearing population. Data was collected from 20 Hearing and 20 Deaf and Hard of Hearing participants. The participants were given a quantitative survey with one qualitative component asking questions regarding their experiences with social services in Ohio. Results indicated, Deaf/Hard of Hearing individuals have more negative experiences with social services than Hearing individuals, though this finding was not statistically significant. More studies must be done in the future to expand on this research.

MFA, Kent State University, 2024, College of Communication and Information / School of Visual Communication Design

Education has always required the use of tools and resources to effectively impact learners. The creation of these tools, or modalities, requires advanced knowledge of design and an understanding of the needs of the users. Designers can use contemporary research on technology, inclusivity, and accessibility to develop impactful learning modalities. Written, visual, and multimodal content are explored in this research. Four digital web-responsive educational modalities (essay, quick text, infographic, and interactive) were created all providing the same information about tectonic plates. Users were randomly assigned a modality and then given as much time as needed to view or interact with it. When finished, they filled out a survey about their demographics, their comprehension of the information from the modality, and information about their educational experiences. While modality type did not impact users' comprehension scores, it was found that demographic information could play a role in users' abilities to understand scientific content. Adults with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers and children with an adult in the household with a STEM career performed better on the comprehension section than those not frequently exposed to STEM topics. Additional demographic information was analyzed, and standard deviations show that the additional information did not impact scores. By understanding what demographic details impact user education, better educational resources can be designed to accommodate user needs.

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

The older adult age group is a significant and growing population. After 60, older adults experience up to 3% decrease in muscle mass a year. This reduces their mobility and activity to exercise and often leads to loss of independence. Additionally, there are not many in-home exercise solutions for older adults to combat muscle weakness in the current market. Therefore, it is essential to explore these challenges and find an in-home exercise solution for older adults to combat muscle weakness, especially for those who are losing their independence. Literature reviews, market research, a survey of older adults, and interviews with geriatric physicians and personal trainers are conducted to establish an informed approach to designing lower body exercise equipment to combat muscle weakness and improve mobility. As older adults are an extensive age range, an exploration into mobility evaluation tools is conducted. A mobility level map is developed from a combination of Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and Walking Speed Test to further pinpoint the target group's motor skills and used as design criteria. Research results suggested that squats are one of the best lower body exercises that older adults can do to improve lower body strength and balance. Additionally, it is found that health, growth, and social connection are the primary motivations in the life of older adults. These indicate a need for a design solution composed of an in-house equipment for exercise and an app for motivating users. These were developed through three design phases. After each phase, a design review surveys with older adults and design review interviews with experts are conducted to collect feedback and suggestions for the following development. At the end of the development process, it is found that the function and design of the machine are in the right direction, but further testing and development are needed. Additionally, market positioning research should b (open full item for complete abstract)

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

Legally blind individuals who can still use their smartphones need a better designed weather alert system because weather emergencies are becoming more common. Using a trend analysis relevant data was pulled from the space before analyzing the current system in place for Wireless Emergency Alerts. From there a survey was compiled to find the best practices for designing an alert for Visually Impaired individuals of which seven responses were received. Currently, in regards to those with visual impairment, the system of notifications in place is not an effective system for emergency alerts. Alerts for people with visual impairments should be high-contrast alerts with a capitalized message in a san-serif typeface. Implementing the use of a full-screen alert should also be carefully considered as well as the current source of this research is directional and needs further results to be collected.

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Cross-Cultural, International Education

This research study focuses on exploring the parental struggles that parents of children with disabilities go through when trying to access special education for their children in the educational system of Kenya. The study documents the perspectives of parents through analysis of data anchored within their struggles and experiences as they navigate the system of education to access quality education for their children with disabilities. Based on a phenomenological approach, the study focuses on a sample of eight parents of children with disabilities. Hogan's (2019) Social Model of Disability and Medical Model of Disability help frame the study within the discussion of the experiences of parents of children with disabilities. The findings of this study are presented through specific themes, describing the personal challenges and experiences of these parents followed by an analysis of the same themes. These findings underscore systemic challenges in special education, cultural and societal attitudes and educational outcome and well-being issues faced by parents and their children with disabilities.