From 2009-2014, the Canadian Disability Policy Alliance, a Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) awarded 10 scholarships.
To be eligible to receive one of these scholarships, students had to be:
- doing research on disability policy for their thesis. Preference was given to students studying Canadian disability policy.
- in second year of Master’s or third year of PhD program.
- involved with a community partner / disability organization in their research.
Preference was given to students with a disability, to Canadian students, and to students studying at a Canadian university. A CURA investigator was assigned to act as a resource for scholarship recipients.
Scholarship Recipients
Rachel Cooper (2012-13)
Rachel Cooper was a second year MSc candidate in the Health Studies and Gerontology program from the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo.
Rachel’s thesis was a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of the OT and PT resources accessed by people with Cerebral Palsy in long term care settings and how these needs and services evolve throughout their life course.
Kim Desmarais (2012-13)
Kim Desmarais was working towards her Masters of Arts in Child Study at Concordia University.
Kim’s research focused on the potential impact of implementing a SBI (situation-behaviour-impact) program with a group of children who have mild disabilities, and comparing the results with a group of typically developing peers.
Kathy Howery (2012-14)
Kathy Howery worked toward her PhD at the University of Alberta. Her thesis examined the experience of using a speech generating device in the classroom for students with severe speech impairments, as well as the meaning of having a voice or no voice is for persons with disabilities.
Mark Iantkow (2012-14)
Mark Iantkow was a PhD candidate seeking to impact educational policies on inclusive design and he will be examining inclusive design education.
His thesis examined the potential for designers to learn about and become more sensitive to and proficient in the nuances of – inclusive design.
Jeannette Kobelka (2011-12)
Jeannette Kobelka was a Master’s candidate in the Critical Disability Studies program at York University. Jeannette’s research used an arts-informed, photographic approach to examine spaces of leisure as indicators of citizenship for children with physical disabilities.
Jeanette Moss (2011-12)
Jeanette Moss was pursuing a Masters in Public Policy at Simon Fraser University (SFU).
The federal government has undertaken a 3-year review of the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN) collaborated with the Canadian Federal Government to develop the RDSP, and PLAN which is a non-profit family-founded organization, is currently gathering data that will inform their position to take forward to the review. This past summer, I worked at PLAN gathering data related to the facilitators and barriers to RDSP as well as the changes families would like to see to improve the plan. Based on this data, my research will focus why only 9% of the eligible population have opened an RDSP and other issues surrounding the uptake of the RDSP, and in accessing the Registered Disability Saving Program. The thesis aimed to explore the role of financial literacy in influencing access to the RDSP.
Beata Chledowski (2010-11)
Beata Chledowski was enrolled in a Master’s program through the Atlantic Training Centre for Applied Health Research at the University of New Brunswick. Her thesis work explored access to mobility and prosthetic devices in Atlantic Canada.
Chris Riddle (2010-12)
Chris Riddle was a PhD candidate in the Philosophy Department at Queen’s University.
His thesis traced how the concept of equality has been applied in the context of Section 15 of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Sara Guilcher (2009-11)
Sara Guilcher was a Ph.D. student in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto.
Her thesis used gender-based analyses to examine care-giving networks, the process/journey of care provision, and associated adverse outcomes (i.e., secondary complications, emergency department (ED) visits, and re-admissions).
David Shannon (2009-10)
David Shannon was pursing a PhD is Disability Studies at the University of Leeds.
His thesis aimed to identify “best practices” to be put forward as a model for consideration on the most effective means of enforcing and promoting disability rights.