Together Apart: Increased Crowd Heterogeneity Influences Crowd Dynamics and Interpersonal Distance at Bottlenecks

Despite considerable research efforts, most controlled empirical studies on crowd movement usually rely on homogeneous crowds, i.e., research participants are typically young adults without disabilities. Consequently, little is known about pedestrian movement in more diverse and heterogeneous crowd conditions, e.g., when persons with reduced mobility are present. This gap may be particularly relevant at bottlenecks, along the path of a moving crowd that limit the capacity of pedestrian flow. Here, we present results from 12 studies in which participants (total N = 252) with and without visible disabilities moved together in a crowd. In each study, groups of participants walked together in a hallway with a bottleneck at the end. The point of speed adoption, distances between neighbours, and behavioural activities were analysed. We found (1) that participants with disabilities reduced their speed further away from the bottleneck than participants without disabilities; (2) participants without disabilities stayed closer to neighbors with disabilities than to neighbors without disabilities; and (3) participants interacted and communicated with each other to organise in front of the bottleneck. These results underline the importance of studying representative and heterogeneous samples in crowd dynamics. We also argue that more interdisciplinary research is needed to better understand the dynamics of interactions between neighbors in a crowd. A more nuanced understanding of pedestrian dynamics holds the promise of improving the validity of simulation tools such as movement and evacuation models.

Introduction for Instructors

Chapter 1 seeks to empower instructors who may not have taught about disability previously. This book is for instructors of various types of undergraduate and graduate classes. The chapter addresses the rationale and goals for this book. It gives an outline of the book, describes the overall goals of the activities, and the audience for the book. This chapter covers basic concepts like language, intersectionality, and hidden and visible disabilities and gives the rationale for doing the activities in this book. It can be tempting to simply state directions, give handouts, and let students do the activities. However, as with most homework, clear guidance increases the value.

Creating a more inclusive environment for students with disabilities: Findings from participatory action research

The goal of this participatory action research (PAR) project was to engage and empower students with disabilities and raise awareness of disability-related issues to campus communities. Ten student co-researchers and six faculty/staff co-researchers attended weekly research meetings to discuss challenges faced by students with disabilities. The team presented PAR findings to the campus community as their action project. Twelve themes generated by the co-researchers were presented and illuminated lived experiences of students with disabilities within university settings. Themes included the physical university layout and internal experiences such as internalized stigma and isolation from peers. Results of the PAR project as well as a focus group post-PAR project describe individual and systemic outcomes. This study demonstrates the power of incorporating students' voices in creating university programming initiatives that not only supports their academic success but also allows students to feel heard and supported. Success in increasing campus inclusion requires a collaboration among key university gatekeepers and students particularly in support of students who may not have visible disabilities.

Clinico-epidemiological pattern of determinants of visible disabilities among patients affected with leprosy in Raipur district, Chhattisgarh

Background: Widespread implementation of MDT has been an extremely successful strategy for leprosy control across the world including India instead of it Chhattisgarh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli are yet to achieve elimination. Identifying the causes of delay in presentation remains a matter of concern, Hence the present study was conducted with intent to assess the clinico-epidemiological patterns of determinants of Leprosy patients with visible disabilities (Grade II disability) in Raipur District of Chhattisgarh.Methods: This community based cross sectional study was conducted in Raipur district during August 2017- October 2019. 87 Newly diagnosed leprosy patients with visible Grade II disabilities registered during 1st April 2016- 31st March 2017 were included in the study. Patient’s information was obtained from their treatment card and was tracked in the community; necessary information was obtained in a predesigned pretested proforma and clinical examination was carried out.Results: Out of 87 study participants, almost are all the subjects had multi-bacillary type of leprosy. The mean duration between appearance of 1st symptoms & diagnosis was 14.59±11.87 months.Conclusions: The current study has observed many gaps in patient care viz. Lack of supervision of treatment, follow up examination and assessment of disability during course of care. Ignorance of early signs and symptoms was found to be the commonest cause of delayed diagnosis.

Customer Service Evaluations of Employees With Disabilities: The Roles of Perceived Competence and Service Failure

Although employees with disabilities represent a significant percentage of the American hospitality labor force, they often face workplace discrimination. Despite this reality, no research has examined whether customer service evaluations are affected by employees with visible disabilities and the mechanisms behind why and when customer service evaluations can be negatively impacted by employee disability status. This is a significant gap in the literature focusing on disability discrimination because customers—through their customer service evaluations—play a significant role in the evaluation of hospitality employees. Therefore, the current article examined if employee disability status (i.e., does or does not have a disability) influences customer service evaluations using experimental methods in which a hotel service experience is performed by an employee who does or does not have a disability. The current research found that (a) customers do evaluate hospitality employees with disabilities lower than employees without disabilities, (b) customer service evaluations are negatively impacted by employee disability status because they are perceived as less competent than employees without disabilities, and (c) customers are more likely to do so in the presence of a service failure.

How adaption of historic listed buildings affords access

Purpose Providing accessible and inclusive environments fulfils legislative obligations and creates financial benefits. Historic-listed buildings rely on heritage tourism for continued financial support. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how historic-listed buildings adapt to afford access to people with disabilities (PwD), through physical and non-physical interventions. Design/methodology/approach Using a case study approach of an historic property, research comprises of: an observational visitor survey, determining visitor demographic regarding visible disabilities; an access audit, determining current accessibility; interviews with the property’s Access Team; and desktop-based research. Findings The results depict the complexity, challenges and barriers in making historic buildings accessible for PwD. Through alternative training and inclusive initiatives, the findings reveal how historic buildings may support the multiplicity of individuals’ access requirements. Research limitations/implications Further research incorporating longer surveying periods, wider demographic of interviewees and multiple case study analysis would provide richer, comparable data in understanding the intrinsic complexities involved in creating accessibility within historic buildings. The implications of this research could transcend management, conservation and adaptation of listed buildings in identifying the defined barriers and solutions to overcome them. Originality/value The originality of this paper relates to the use of alternative services creating access when physical changes are deemed “unreasonable”. A conceptual framework is developed depicting the complexity, challenges and barriers in making historic buildings accessible for PwD.

The Influence of Wheelchair Users on Movement in a Bottleneck and a Corridor

Emergency exits as bottlenecks in escape routes are important for designing traffic facilities. Particularly, the capacity estimation is a crucial performance criterion for assessment of pedestrians’ safety in built environments. For this reason, several studies were performed during the last decades which focus on the quantification of movement through corridors and bottlenecks. These studies were usually conducted with populations of homogeneous characteristics to reduce influencing variables and for reasons of practicability. Studies which consider heterogeneous characteristics in performance parameters are rarely available. In response and to reduce this lack of data a series of well-controlled large-scale movement studies considering pedestrians using different types of wheelchairs was carried out. As a result it is shown that the empirical relations ρ¯(v¯) and Js¯(ρ¯) are strongly affected by the presence of participants with visible disabilities (such as wheelchair users). We observed an adaption of the overall movement speeds to the movement speeds of participants using a wheelchair, even for low densities and free flow scenarios. Flow and movement speed are in a complex relation and do not depend on density only. In our studies, the concept of specific flow fits for the nondisabled subpopulation but it is not valid for scenario considering wheelchair users in the population.

Misconceptions about Stroke: Causal Attributions for Stroke-Related Symptoms Reflect the Age of the Survivor

With visible disabilities, observers tend to overgeneralise from the disability. In contrast, with invisible disabilities such as traumatic brain injury and stroke, observers often fail to allow for challenges resulting from the disability. Persons who have suffered a stroke claim that people misunderstand their symptoms and stigmatise them as a result of these symptoms. This misunderstanding, which happens particularly with young survivors of stroke, may reflect people's causal attributions for symptoms that follow a stroke. Using a scenario design, this cross-sectional study examined whether people attribute ambiguous symptoms that may result from stroke to other causes (the stroke survivor's personality and age) and whether these attributions reflect the age of the stroke survivor. Participants (N = 120) read scenarios describing a male who was aged either 22, 72, or whose age was unstated and who showed four symptom changes: fatigue, depression, irritability and reduced friendships. For each symptom change, participants rated three causal attributions: the person's age, his personality and stroke. The age of the person in the scenario affected attributions; when the person in the scenario was 22, participants attributed his symptoms significantly more to his personality than to his age or stroke, whereas when he was 72, participants attributed his symptoms more to his age than to his personality or stroke and when his age was unstated, they attributed his symptoms equally to age, stroke and personality. Because misattributions for stroke symptoms hinder rehabilitation, therapy can target people's misattributions to enhance rehabilitation for survivors of stroke.