Access for all: the rise of the Paralympic Games

2007 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Gold ◽  
Margaret M. Gold
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
Opening Ceremony ◽  
Past Half Century ◽  
Athletes With Disabilities ◽  
International Participation ◽  
Central Arena ◽  
Changing Attitudes ◽  
Therapeutic Competition ◽  
Second World ◽  
Paralympic Games

The Paralympic, or Parallel, Games for athletes with disabilities have played a major role over the past half century in changing attitudes towards disability and accelerating the agenda for inclusion. This article charts their development from small beginnings as a competition for disabled ex-servicemen and women in England founded shortly after the Second World War to the present day ambulatory international festival of Summer and Winter Games organized in conjunction with the Olympic Games. The Paralympic Games trace their origins to the work of Dr (later Sir) Ludwig Guttmann at the National Spinal Injuries Unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire who used sport as an integral part of the treatment of paraplegic patients. A sports competition was held at the hospital to coincide with the Opening Ceremony of the London Games in July 1948. This became an annual event attracting the first international participation in 1952, after which it became the International Stoke Mandeville Games. From 1960 onwards attempts were made to hold every fourth Games in the Olympic host city. Despite initial success in staging the 1960 Games in Rome and the 1964 Games in Tokyo, subsequent host cities refused to host the competitions and alternative locations were found where a package of official support, finance and suitable venues could be assembled. In 1976, the scope of the Games was widened to accept other disabilities. From 1988 onwards, a process of convergence took place that saw the Paralympics brought into the central arena of the Olympics, both literally and figuratively. In the process they have embraced new sports, have encompassed a wider range of disabilities, and helped give credence to the belief that access to sport is available to all. The Paralympics also underline the change from sport as therapeutic competition to that of elite events that carry intrinsic prestige, with growing rivalry over medal tables. For the future, however, questions remain as to whether the current arrangements of separate but supposedly equal festivals assist the continuing development of the Paralympics or perpetuate difference.

Embodied interactions: Towards an exploration of the expressive and narrative potential of performance costume through wearable technologies

Scene ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Pantouvaki
Keyword(s):  
Smart Materials ◽  
Costume Design ◽  
The Body ◽  
Wearable Electronics ◽  
Live Performance ◽  
Wearable Technologies ◽  
Opening Ceremony ◽  
Interactive Interfaces ◽  
Specific Fragment

The use of smart materials and wearable electronics has rapidly expanded in the field of fashion, introducing new interactive qualities of surfaces, materials and garments. In fashion garments, the performative environment functions as an abstract site for experimentation, expression and communication of the wearer through the intelligent garment. However, there is still limited use of embodied technologies in the field of performance costume for text-based and music-based performance, with the exception of integrated lighting technologies, currently broadly used in musical performance. This article provides a critical review of specific examples of technology-led garments in live performance, and uses a specific fragment from the Athens 2004 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony as a case study to highlight how technologies embedded in costume can create interactive interfaces between the body of the performer and the environment – the space, the other performers, the audience – becoming a transmitter and receiver of emotions, experiences and meanings in innovative ways. By analysing this case, as well as by posing questions, this article aims at generating a discourse on the expressive and narrative potential of the use of intelligent materials and embodied technologies within the creative practice of costume design.

scholarly journals Preface

2021 ◽  
Vol 2066 (1) ◽  
pp. 011001
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Engineering Application ◽  
Video Conference ◽  
Editorial Committee ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Opening Ceremony ◽  
Southern University

2021 International Conference on Information Technology and Mechanical Engineering Youqiang Xing1, Shuanghua Yang2 1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southeast University, China 2Engineering College, Southern University of Science and Technology, China E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 2021 International Conference on Information Technology and Mechanical Engineering were successfully held online from 29th to 30th April 2021, Hangzhou, China. The conference was jointly organized and sponsored by Shaanxi Juxing Exhibition Co., Ltd and Juneng Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. Called by Dr. Youqiang Xing from Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southeast University and researcher Shuanghua Yang from the Engineering College, Southern University of Science and Technology, the conference invited scholars and experts in the fields of information technology and mechanical engineering from various universities to participate in the review and guidance of this conference. The conference focuses on the latest research fields such as “information technology” and “mechanical engineering”, and aims to provide an international cooperation and exchange platform for experts, scholars and business managers in the fields of information technology and mechanical engineering application to share their research achievements, discuss the key challenges and research directions of the development of this field, and jointly promote the industrialization cooperation and continuous innovation of international academic achievements. This collection of Proceedings compiles oral and paper presentations submitted by the authors and scrutinized by the Special Committee. The conference was scheduled to be held on April 29-30, 2021 at Marco Polo Holiday Hotel, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. In view of travel restrictions and indoor activities related to COVID-19, we were forced to move the conference online. Attendees were notified one month in advance that the on-site conference was changed to an online conference, and the time and order of the conference were determined. The online conference was held on the video conferencing software Tencent Meeting. The video conference was held on the original date, but due to the large number of attendees, we extended the Meeting for 2 days. Due to the wide coverage of this conference and the large number of attendees, we divided the conference into main venue and sub-venue. The opening ceremony was held in the main venue and a speech was delivered by the invited speaker. After the main venue, we divided the invited 154 authors into 3 groups. Each author spoke for about 10-15 minutes on detailed material in the slides, with the same amount of time set aside for questions and discussion. The format of questioning and discussion was that after each author’s introduction, the conference chairman and committee members asked and answered questions. At least one attendee could ask questions that will be answered by the speaker. This conference has brought together many excellent works and the latest ideas and concepts. New ideas have been provided in the fields of information technology and mechanical engineering applications. For this, we have set up three awards, which were won by six authors. Due to the large number of attendees and the instability of the video conference software, we edited and retained part of the conference speech pictures and videos after the video conference. We put some screenshots of the conference on the official website for display. Although most attendees expressed regret that we had not been able to have the informal face-to-face discussions that usually take place between conferences, the virtual conferences had been surprisingly successful. The organizing and editorial committee of the ITME2021 hopes you enjoy the reading of this volume of the JPCS. Besides, we wish to thank all authors and participants for providing their valuable contributions for this proceeding as well as the reviewers for their constructive recommendations and criticism aiding to improve the presented articles. Likewise, we are confident that this issue will serve as a reference for experts, scholars and enterprise managers in the fields of the information technology and mechanical engineering. List of Photos, Organizing Committee are available in this pdf.

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