TY - JOUR

T1 - A Sociotechnical History of the Ultralightweight Wheelchair

T2 - A Vehicle of Social Change

AU - Stewart, H.

AU - Watson, N.

N1 - The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Science, Technology, and Human Values, 45 (6), 2020, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2020 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Science, Technology, and Human Values page: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/sth on SAGE Journals Online: http://journals.sagepub.com/

PY - 2020/11/1

Y1 - 2020/11/1

N2 - The emergence of the ultralightweight wheelchair has transformed the lives of millions of disabled people. It has radically changed the principles and practices of wheelchair design, manufacture, and prescription and redefined wheelchair users and wheelchair use. Designed and built largely by wheelchair users themselves, it was driven initially by a desire to improve sport performance and later by a wish for improved access to the community and built environment. In this paper, we draw on oral histories and documentary sources to reconstruct its sociotechnical history. We employ the analytical concept of "boundary object" to illuminate how the wheelchair as a technological artifact is implicated in relations of social change and show the role of wheelchair users in the development and emergence of the ultralightweight wheelchair. We highlight the tensions and negotiations within this history and the push and pull between different social groups. The emergence of the ultralightweight wheelchair helped to reconfigure ideas about wheelchairs and their users and allowed wheelchairs to gain a foothold within broader social and technological infrastructures. What makes this account powerful is that this is a success story for a group who have historically been excluded from design processes.

AB - The emergence of the ultralightweight wheelchair has transformed the lives of millions of disabled people. It has radically changed the principles and practices of wheelchair design, manufacture, and prescription and redefined wheelchair users and wheelchair use. Designed and built largely by wheelchair users themselves, it was driven initially by a desire to improve sport performance and later by a wish for improved access to the community and built environment. In this paper, we draw on oral histories and documentary sources to reconstruct its sociotechnical history. We employ the analytical concept of "boundary object" to illuminate how the wheelchair as a technological artifact is implicated in relations of social change and show the role of wheelchair users in the development and emergence of the ultralightweight wheelchair. We highlight the tensions and negotiations within this history and the push and pull between different social groups. The emergence of the ultralightweight wheelchair helped to reconfigure ideas about wheelchairs and their users and allowed wheelchairs to gain a foothold within broader social and technological infrastructures. What makes this account powerful is that this is a success story for a group who have historically been excluded from design processes.

KW - wheelchairs

KW - assistive technology

KW - disability history

KW - boundary objects

U2 - 10.1177/0162243919892558

DO - 10.1177/0162243919892558

M3 - Journal article

VL - 45

SP - 1195

EP - 1219

JO - Science, Technology, and Human Values

JF - Science, Technology, and Human Values

SN - 0162-2439

IS - 6

ER -