Um hello everyone good afternoon good morning uh or good evening to you all wherever you are uh thank you for joining us in today's idea early career researchers talks um at this state um I would like to make a note that we are recording this session and the recordings will be made available on the our idea uh website today I'm hosting Dr. Jimin Choi to speak on an interesting topic that is the journey to work applying universal design from transit to the workplace. I found it really interesting. Uh I hope you will also learn um interesting concepts in this presentation. Dr. Choi is uh the director of research at the center for inclusive design and environmental access in the university of Buffalo. Dr. Choi holds a PhD in urban and regional planning from the University of Bufallo. Her work focuses on advancing equity and inclusion for underrepresent populations particularly for people with disabilities by improving mobility and well-being through research on accessibility and usability of transport and the built environment including workplaces. At the idea social innovation lab, Dr. Choi worked at within Hub four supporting various projects and contributing to web- based assessment tools and on workplace inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility research activities. 

For those who may not know about IDEA, it is an acronym of the inclusive design for employment access. idea is a social innovation lab with a focus on creating stronger and diverse labor market that is inclusive and accessible for persons with disabilities. Researchers and partners um of the idea engage in developing evidence-based tools and various resources through a co-designing process. The vision of this social innovation lab is that these tools and resources would help to advance workplaces uh capacity for recruitment uh hiring on boarding retention mentorship and promotion of workers with disabilities. 

Um welcome again to this early career researchers talk. My name is Anan Ga Ahmed. I am a post-doctoral researcher at Queens University working uh with Dr. Daniel Samosh and supporting the ideas in incubator hubs 3. Um currently I am researching on disability inclusive mentorship for transition to work and career success of persons with disabilities. I am also interested in research on the health and employment outcomes of injured and seek workers with acquired disabilities. Um I'm coordinating and hosting this monthly discussion forum inviting various early career researchers to talk on some interesting topics that can help us to elevate our understanding on workplace accessibility, inclusion and equity. I love hosting this talk as it connects all of us um with diverse who have diverse educational background research experiences but working in our own way to improve accessibility inclusion of uh workplaces for persons with disability. 

So thank you all of you for joining us today. Dr. Choi will uh guide us to explore how universal design can be applied to to the journey to work. She will explore help us to explore from getting to work to being at work to sustaining their participation over one's work life course. Drawing on the goals of universal design principles, Dr. Choi talks will examine how transportation and workplace environment can shift inclusion for broad range of users. Her presentation introduced key universal design concepts share and shares relevant research findings that she's working on currently. It highlights how inclusive design principles goes beyond accessibility compliance to support usability, well-being and social inclusion across work journey of persons with disabilities. Uh Dr. Choi is here with us today. Um and uh housekeeping uh for all of us after our speaker talk I will lead a discussion session at the end using Q&A function you can post your your reflection questions that you can see the Q&A function at the bottom of your screen to post your question or um any comment any uh reflection. Dr. Choi thank you for joining us today to speak about your work. Uh I will now turn the stage open for you to speak for our audiences and I'm so uh excited to learn from your presentation. Welcome.

Thank you Ansha. Thank you so much for introduction and also inviting me to this talk. At this right moment my baby is crying. So I'm not sure if you guys are also hearing that. But hi everyone. Thanks for joining today's talk. Just I'll give you a brief introduction of myself again. So my name is Jimmy Choy and I'm the director of research at the idea center which stands for center for inclusive design and environmental access at the university at Buffalo and we just use another different acronym IDEA other than ID sale and I'm also part of four in the idea team and as an mentioned please go through as I go through the presentation please feel free to send any question through the Q&A box and I'll address them at the end of the presentation.

So today I'll begin with a brief introduction to the idea center and the work we do and I'll then discuss the rational for universal design and introduce the goals of ED and discuss who benefits from UD as well. And then finally I'll share some several universal design related research activities that we did.

So first I'd like to just share a little bit about the idea center. So it was founded in 1984 and our mission is to produce knowledge and tools to increase the quality of life for groups who have been marginalized by traditional design practices. So this slide shows an aerial view of UB campus including Hayes Hall where there's that's the home of the idea center. And the idea center is we have a multid-disciplinary team with architects, planners, engineers and researchers focus and we focus on works related to accessibility and inclusive design. So our work includes research, design, consulting like development activities and also we do education and training related to universal design. And the domain spans across transportation like workplaces, public spaces, housing and community environments. And we also conduct accessibility and universal design evaluations. So we collaborate with organizations on real world projects and develop tools and training programs and we also do have the certification program to support more inclusive environments for diverse population.

And before discussing the goals of UD and I just first want to briefly introduce the rational for universal design and why it matters for participation in work and everyday life.

So many business and organizations today are placing greater emphasis on inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility. So often this is referred to as either idea EDIA or DIA initiatives and because they recognize the value of diverse and inclusive workplaces they are putting emphasis on these initiatives and this is how we define each term. So inclusion, this focuses on creating environments where people feel respected, supported and valued. And diversity recognize and values differences between people and equity we define as it relates to the fair access to opportunities, information, and resources. And accessibility focus on identifying removing barriers to participations. And while these concepts are increasingly discussed in workplace settings, but the accessibility and universal design are still not always fully integrated into broader inclusion efforts. So that's something that I want to raise. So business just increasingly recognize the importance of inclusion accessibility, but there are still limitation in how accessibility is addressed in practice. So accessibility efforts often receives less attention within broader idea and initiatives and existing accessibility standards primarily focus on just minimum compliance requirements. So these standards may not fully address broader issues related to usability, comfort and wellness and social integration and also like overall user experience across diverse populations. So that's why we bring in the universal design concepts because universal design expands the accessibility paradigm to consider a much broader range of users and also the abilities and experiences. So rather than just focusing only on the compliance, universal design aims to create environments and systems that are more usable, inclusive, and supportive for everyone.

So I just want to start with what universal design is not. So it's not accessible design or ADA design. So both accessibility and UD started with the disability rights movement but they are not the same. Accessible design is typically enforced through the legislations of prescriptive accessibility codes and standards. Typically the bare minimum required to reduce the barriers for people with disabilities and legislations has also focused primarily on the mobility impairments and to some degree like visual and hearing impairments but really does not address many people with a broad range of human ability who still may have difficulty using the environment. That also includes like cognitive impairments for instance. They are not typically addressed by accessibility requirements. So, universal design focuses on finding solutions that benefit everyone regardless of their abilities or disabilities and it reduces stigma and provides benefit to all users. So, it is a processoriented there's no end state. And just to help understand the difference between accessible design and universal design, I'd like to look at this example of the whole of remembrance at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum that's located in Washington DC. So it was it was built and permitted and that's intended to be accessible at the time of its construction. First we must understand the context of this space. It is a solemn space that's intended for quiet reflection. And you can see here that the design consists of a sunken floor areas that's surrounded by exhibits.

And the space includes like multiple stairs and a platform lead to the sunken floor space. And the although the lift technically provides the accessibility, it does not fully create an inclusive and integrated experience. So anyone who has used the platform lift knows that they are loud, noisy and slow. So, not only does this disturb the solenoidness of the space and but it just disrupt and it disrupts everyone in the room but also pulls potentially like undesired attention to the its users as well. So in this case the lift also appears visually disconnected from the surrounding environment and making accessibility feels like an afterthought rather than part of the overall design. So this also raises a broader design question. So could the same special experience have been achieved without creating an immediate barrier in the first place?

So this is how we define universal design because a universal design must address social participation expanding it to health and wellness and conceptualizing it as a process rather than an end state. and that it might vary in its application based on context. So to accomplish this, we propose the following definition of universal design. So we define it as a process that enables and empowers a diverse populations by improving human performance, health and wellness and social participation.

And in short, the elevator message here is that the universal design makes life easier, healthier, and friendlier for all.

So you may have heard the term inclusive design. We actually use inclusive design, this term a lot in our center. Both universal design and inclusive design describe the same concept and philosophy. The terms can be used interchangeably and design for all is another common term in Europe that's used to describe the same

and in this presentation I'll organize a discussion around the journey to work that's getting to work being at work and sustaining participation in work over time. So when thinking about universal design and inclusive design, it is important to recognize that access to work involves more than the workplace itself. So the full journey includes transportation systems, pathways, workplace environments, and long-term participation in work over time. All that together, I think that builds a support system for employment and getting to work. for example, could include like factors like transportation access, wayfinding, boarding, transfer, and timing and reliability. And being at work, it could involve the usability andivity of workplace environments like including circulations in the workplace and like sensory conditions and communication and organizational practices and sustaining work participation that could relate to comfort. predictability, safety, wellness, and the ability to continue participating in work over time. So using this framework, I'll discuss the goals of UD and share related research activities across different stages of the journey to work.

So next I want to introduce the goals of UD universal design and share examples of how these goals can support more inclusive transportation and workplace experiences.

To accompany the UD definition, we at our center developed eight goals of UD. These eight goals are derived from the definition and categorized into three improvement areas. That's human performance, health and wellness and social participation.

And one goal is body fit. So does the design, we just asked this question, does the design accommodate a wide range of body sizes and abilities? So this example shown here shows adjustable seat to stand workstations that can support people with different heights, seating positions and mobility needs. So in workplaces and transportation settings I think it's important the body fit means like providing enough space and reach range and flexibility so people can comfortably complete tasks and that could include people using wheelchairs or other assisted devices.

Another goal is comfort. So we ask are the demands of the design within desirable limits of body function and perceptions.

So lighting, temperature and sound are some factors to consider here. For example, as shown in this photo in this office space, suspended acoustic tiles and low pile carpet tiles, they observe stocks. And there are also three levels of lightings. That's natural daylighting, down lighting above in the acusi clouds and test lighting at the desk. And also chairs are adjustable in heat and the floor is soft but not so soft as to disrupt the rolling of an office chair or a wheel mobility device. So all this together could create really comfortable environments at the workplace setting. Another goal is awareness. So we ask, does the design ensure that critical information for use is perceived easily? And awareness is especially important when getting to work and navigating workplaces. For example, like here, transit information such as bus arrival, route information, and boarding location should be easy to perceive through multiple channels, including visual displays like audio announcements and high contrast signage. So, these features can help people quickly understand where to go and also what is happening around them.

Another goal is understanding and we ask does the design make methods of operation and use intuitive and clear. So this image shows colorcoded artwork used as landmarks in a workplace building in the office building. So different floors use different color thing here and making it easier for worker and visitors to recognize locations and navigate the buildings. So design features like clear layouts, consistent signage, and recognizable visual cues can reduce confusion and also help people predict where spaces and departments are located.

Another goal is wellness. So we asked does the design contribute to health promotion, avoidance of disease and protection of from hazards. So this streetscape image, this is a streetscape improvements in New York City. This includes bike lanes, wider sidewalks, seating areas, and planters. And this creates a safer and more comfortable environment for walking and bicycling. And improving safety and comfort in the travel environment can really encourage active transportation and also support healthier and more sustainable access to work. Another goal is social integration. We ask, does the design treat all groups with dignity and respect? And this image shows a wheelchair user boarding transit alongside other passengers using the same route and boarding process. So too often like accessible routes require separate entrances like extra equipment or additional assistance and features such as low floor buses and level boarding allow actually allow people using mobility devices to travel in the same way as everyone else. So this reduce stigma stigma and supporting more that actually support more inclusive everyday experiences. Another

goal is personalization and we asked does the design have opportunities for choice and expression of individual preferences. So this is the first ISUD certified co-working space located in Buffalo. Our architect actually participated in UD design consulting for this project and this co-working space offers a variety of work settings. So I thought it's a great example. This includes like quiet personal rooms, open work areas, meeting rooms and lounge sittings and also some collaboration spaces. So providing different types of environments allows workers to choose settings that best support their tasks and also comfort and work styles. And this could also still support the organizational needs.

And lastly, the cultural appropriateness is a goal of UD. So we asked does the design respect and reinforce cultural values and the social and environmental context. This example is museum lab at the children's museum of Pittsburgh. This is also the first is certified museum in the country in the US. The project preserved and revitalized the historic character of the 129year-old building while integrating modern accessibility and usability features. And it demonstrates how historic workplaces and public space can maintain cultural identity and architectural heritage while still supporting diverse users and contemporary needs.

So I want to talk about who benefits from universal design.

For people with disabilities, universal design can support more independent and equitable participation in work and transportation. For individuals who are neurode diversion, it can reduce cognitive road and support different ways of processing information. You've also design can also support people of various size, stature and sensitivities like either they are very tall and very short. those who are left-handed or chemically sensitive. So, it can improve comfort, usability, and access across workplace and transportation environments. And for people with temporary or non-apparent conditions, it can provide flexibility and reduce barriers during changing life situation. And for aging adults, it can support safety, comfort, and continued participation in the workforce over time.

or people from diverse cultural and social backgrounds. It can create environments that are more intuitive, understandable, and welcoming.

The point is we are all beneficiaries of universal design and our abilities and needs change over time and across situations. So whether carrying like a materials on the way or recovering from an injury or aging or using a mobility device like more usable environments can support a wide range of people in everyday work and travel experiences.

Now I'd like to share several research activities from the idea center that related to transportation and workplace environments. While these studies were not all directly focused on employment, I thought together they actually provide important insights into how environments and transportation system can support more inclusive access to work and I'll organize this examples around the journey to work that is getting to work being at work and sustaining participation in work over time. So let's start with the first one and getting to work should be considered across the travel chain. So from trip planning and transit stops to boarding and writing and reaching the final destination. So it should be considered across the entire travel chain to ensure that the full journey to work is accessible and inclusive. and through we actually received this funding from Nyler National Institute on Disability Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research in the United States. So through this transportation research we examined accessible public transportation and vehicle design and there were many different research included in this project but among the various studies we conducted I'll just focus today on sharing our rich securement study and just to give you some background on the wheelchair securement system. The system are used to help keep wheelchair users safely positioned while riding on a vehicle. And in the US, accessibility guidelines require accessible buses to like large transit buses to include two designated wheelchair securement areas. And the most commonly used systems rely on the four tie down system. That's using the four tie-down straps. But both wheelchair users and bus operators have reported usability and safety challenges with these systems. So in this study, we evaluated two New York wheelchair securement system. One was a 3.4 facing system that's shown on the image on the left. This uses the three straps and a tension lever to secure the wheelchair while they're facing forward. And the other one was the semi-automated rearfacing system that's shown on the image on the right where the wheelchair faces the back of the bus and is secured using the automated arms and a user control the button and we initially conducted the laboratory testing and expanded this research into a real world field testing on real transit buses. So for field testing, we examine the system from multiple perspectives by collecting survey feedback from wheelchair users. Also analyzing video observations during those trips that were made and also we gathered the input from bus operators.

And for the wheelchair user evaluation, this are the okay findings. So for the wheelchair user evaluation, participants included manual and power wheelchair users and scooter users. So this figure shows user perceptions of each securement system using the rapid tool. This tool was developed at the idea center to evaluate usability and universal design performance and larger the web shapes. This that indicates better usability and more inclusive design. And here the orange line represents manual wheelchair users and yellow line represent the power wheelchair users and the green line indicate the scooter users. And what this show is that overall participants perceive the semi-automated rearfacing system that's shown on the right graph as supporting greater independence. independent scale was located on the bottom right because SRF the semi-automated one reduced the need for assistance from the bus operator and manual. This graph also shows that manual and power wheel user generally rated this system more positively across most usability measures compared to the forfacing system that's shown on the left graph. You'll see their places have a larger web or yellow and orange line. But scooter users depicted in the green line, they experienced greater manual wearing and usability challenges with the specifically with the rearfacing system. So some participants also expressed some concerns related to the rearfacing travel that's related to the social discomfort and difficulty orienting themselves while riding the bus.

So I already discussed the first two findings on the previous slides and another important findings from the video observation was that the semi-automated rearfacing system resulted in lower rates of misuse and non-use compared with the 3.4 for pacing system. And again with the rearfacing board rearfacing system, bus operators still reported needing to assist passengers during the securement process in some situations. And both passengers and operators also experienced challenges related to system design that included compatibility issues, unclear feedback, and occasional malfunctions. So this highlights opportunities to improve user interface design and automation technologies.

And this is another study. So this is another NIDA funded transportation project focused on on demand transportation service for people with disabilities. And just to give you some background, so in the US, transit agencies are required to provide complimentary par transit services for people who cannot independently use fixed route transit systems. So these services are typically doortodoor or curve to curve. But writers and transit agencies have just reported continually reported the experience of challenging related to cost weight times and service reliabilities. So as a response, many transit agencies have partnered with TNC's like Uber, lead adaptive TNC's and taxi companies to offer more flexible ondemand transportation options with features like same day booking and real-time travel information.

To better understand these services, we interviewed 10 transit agencies across the US and surveyed writers with disabilities who had used both traditional transit and on demand services to compare their experiences.

And these are some of the key findings from both the trans agency interviews and the user experience surveys. And from the interview we learned that although on demand services show positive impacts on service flexibility and delivery, transit agencies still face challenges providing accessible and reliable service particularly related to wheelchair accessible vehicles, driver training, technology access and long keeping making this service long-term. And based on the writer survey, writers valued on demand services for their flexibility, real-time information, shorter wait times, and more reliable arrival times because they supported more spontaneous and predictable travel. In comparison, traditional par transit service are still valued for their affordability and advanced booking options. And what the result also showed was across both service types, operational factors such as weight times and driver professionalism were stronger predictors of overall satisfaction than the service model itself. So this highlights the importance of service quality and reliability.

And these are some key implications related to getting to work.

So while newer automated wheelchair securement systems can support greater independence and reduce the need for operator assistance, there's still no single solution that fully accommodates the wide range of mobility devices and user needs. So continued improvements in boarding, securement, user interface and automation technologies are still needed to support more independent, reliable and socially integrated travel experiences. This is especially important as transportation systems move toward the autonomous vehicle technologies

and having multiple transportation options can also support greater flexibility, choice and personalizations for getting to work and features such as real-time information, predictable travel time and reliable service can help create more inclusive and usable transportation experiences. So the key message here is that accessible and flexible transportation systems are essential for equitable access to work and community participation.

Next, I'd like to move from getting to work to being at work by sharing a workplace study funded through the previous Nyler RCU grant cycle. So this study used a post occupancy evaluation or POE to compare a newly constructed ISUD certified workplace shown on the right as site two and compared it with a older workplace building that's shown on the left as site one and site one did not intentionally incorporate universal design features. So just to give you some background the ISUD program I'm keep mentioning ISUD certified. So this ISUD program this stands for innovative solutions in universal design and it's kind of similar to lead certification but this focuses on universal design. So it includes more than 500 design and operational strategies that help organizations integrate universal design into workplace environments policies and everyday practices. So for this study before conducting the POE both sites were evaluated using UD environmental audit ISUD and site one received a lower score due to limited way finding maneuvering space and amenities and site two actually respires for and it included features like general circulation spaces, automatic doors, enhanced wave binding systems and glare free lighting nursing rooms and include safe workplace policies.

So these are some key findings from this study. So findings from the POE suggested that the implementation of ICU solutions including a variety of workspace and meeting options and enhanced wayinding system. They contributed to more positive employee experience in the workplace. So employees at the newer sites generally reported better navigation and overall usability of the environment. And at the same time the study also identified some limitations related to open workspace design. So open layout employees reported concerns related to the noise reduced privacy and unclear boundaries between circulation and work areas. So these findings kind of highlight the importance of balancing the collaboration, productivity and comfort in workplace design. And another important finding was that environmental audits alone were not enough to fully evaluate workplace inclusivity and usability. While the newer building scored higher on the audit, the POE revealed the additional employee experiences and usability concerns that were not captured through this audit alone. So these findings highlighted the value of ongoing user center evaluation to support continuous improvements in universal design workplace environments

and as I mentioned before I'm also part of h four with the idea still initiative where I work with Jordan Masel on a project and this was funded by government of Canada's new frontiers in research fund and h four focus on workplace places from an inclusive environmental design perspective. So this specific project we examined how companies across Canada and the United States are implementing best practices related to inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, and universal design within workplace environments. So this research explored areas including organization, organizational culture, human resources practices and built environment strategies and digital platforms. And as part of the study, we conducted interviews with pan companies of varying sizes and inter industries. And for this presentation, I want to briefly highlight findings related to the built environment from two organization that I referenced earlier in the presentation. So the first one example is the interview that I did with the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. That's a medium-sized nonprofit organization located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And they include the museum left, the first ISUD certified museum in the country. And the second example I want to bring up is the Uni Land Development Company. uh they are a medium-sized private real estate company located in in Ammerst and they developed participating in developing the Hansa co-working space that I previously shared as an example of universal design and personalization

and here are the key findings from the interview. So both organizations emphasize flexible and inclusive workplace design through a variety of workspace options and adaptable furniture, accessible circulations and consistent way finding systems. So these features supported different working styles and user needs. And the interviews also highlighted that the successful universal design implementation depends not only on physical design but also on organizational culture and staff awareness. So both organizations described making ongoing improvements based on employee feedback, observations and everyday workplace experiences.

And at the same time, both organizations discussed challenges related to balancing flexibility with productivity and organization. They also described difficulties sustaining inclusive practice over time and implementing UD within existing operational, special, and budget constraints. And overall, these findings highlighted the importance of embedding universal design into everyday workplace practice rather than treating it as a separate initiative.

And last study that I want to share is this is just the current study that we are working on and building on the previous POE research. We recently received a new Nidler funded RC focused on universal design applications. And one of the new project that's led by our colleagues Victor and Laura examines the performance and health benefits of universal design features in workplaces and that's targeted for employees who are neurody divergent. So the study will examine how work design features and indoor environment quality like lighting, acoustic and thermal conditions relate to employee health, well-being and work performance. So we'll be working on this in the next four years and although we don't have any like findings but I just wanted to share our current ongoing project. So these are some key implications related to being at work and you've also design can support more positive inclusive and usable workplace experiences for a diverse range of employees and inclusive workplace design is not only about providing flexible spaces but also about balancing collaboration, productivity, comfort, privacy and different user needs across workplace settings. And these studies also highlighted that successful universal design implementation depends not only on physical workplace features but also on organizational culture staff awareness and ongoing user centered evaluation and improvement over time. So the key message is that inclusive workplace design goes beyond accessibility compliance by creating environments that are more usable, comfortable, and supportive for a broad range of employees.

And these are some key implications related to sustaining work participation derived from all the research that we did. Sustaining participation in work requires transportation systems and workplace environments that remain usable, reliable, and adaptable as people's needs, technologies, and workplace practices change over time. And across these studies, one recurring theme was that inclusion cannot be achieved through a one-time accessibility solution. So it requires ongoing awareness, maintenance, evaluation and continuous improvement over time. And these findings also highlight the need for future research and practice that examines how transportation access, workplace usability, and organizational practices together shape long-term participation in work. So the key message is that sustaining work participation requires ongoing attention to transportation, workplace design and organizational practices.

So I want to end this presentation by emphasizing why this matters. UD is not about designing for a small group of people. It is about creating environments and systems that support diverse human needs and for everyone. In both Canada and the US, about one in four adults report having a functional disability and nearly one in five adult age 65 and older remain in the labor force and it's also increasing in number and an estimated 15 to 20% of the global populations is neurody divergent. So these numbers show that inclusive transportation and workplace environments are not a niche concern. They are central to supporting a diverse and changing workforce. And universal design help us move beyond accessibility compliance toward transportation and workplace systems that are more inclusive, flexible, and usable across the full journey to work at work and over time.

So that's end of my presentation and please share any questions you have in the Q&A box and I'll try to address them.

Thank you so much. That was really a wonderful presentation Jimmy. Thank you. um you really unpack such a a complex principle to make it more like understandable for this diverse research community who come from different background from social science from health science from engineering everywhere. So you really did amazing job to help us understand how does this universal design principle applied in our collective efforts to improve the inclusion of persons with disability in everyday life but particularly at workplaces. Thank you so much. Um to advance our learning I'm still waiting some questions from audiences. Please feel free to drop your question reflection on uh Q&A function. Uh I will bring them up to address them in our discussion. Um I'll give you a couple of minutes for audiences to do that as we continue to discuss. But I have also a couple of questions to um to initiate our conversation. Jimmy. Um I think we have one question.

All right. Um there's one question. What do you think are some of the main barriers to more workplaces incorporating in design?

Yeah, you can see the the main barriers to more workplaces in creating universal design. So I think one of the biggest barriers that many organizations still view accessibility and universal design primly as compliance requirements. So that's what I mentioned rather than as a part of organizational performance and inclusion. So as a result they often focus on minimum standard instead of looking at the long-term usability and employee experience. So and another major barrier is like uh organizational complexity. So in many workplaces responsibility for inclusion is just fragmented across different area it HR and operations. So it's difficult to coordinate kind of a comprehensive beauty approach. So I think that's another area big barrier there. So there are some practical constraints and also related to the existing building limitations and funding and renovation cost and competing with the organizational priorities. So there are several kind of big barriers that kind of limits the implementations of media. Interesting. Thank you Jamine. Um as we wait for uh questions from audiences. Um I really like the way how you conceptualize universal design for its benefits for the health and wellbeing of employees. um because that area the healthy and wellbeing of employees with disabilities often are not really into agenda. Usually when we do for workplace inclusion creating inclusive workplaces there is a huge concept of health and wellbeing behind all of the performance how we experience workplace. So I like that portion parts of your description as you highlighted in your presentation. Um you have mentioned that our capacity, working mechanisms and accommodation needs change over time, right? Um, if that's the case, can you speak a little bit about how universal design can help workplaces to prepare for ongoing changes of the work forces workforce capacity and needs of accommodation at workplace will change through time. So how concept like embedding universile design principle at workplaces will equip employers or workplaces to always being ready to address the ever evolving needs of workplaces uh I mean work forces at workplaces. You can speak from particularly from your conceptualization the journey to work including during transportation and is mostly missed. So how do you like how can you explain just speak a little bit about how universal design principles can help workplaces or employers to stay ready prepared for ongoing terms of workforce uh needs in capacity?

So how UD can help ongoing changes yes to the workforce

I think the

because as I mentioned in the presentation there has been a change of the workforce with larger portion of aging adults and there are now more focused. We know that there are people who are neurody divergent and the needs are changing over time to health like stress and like sensory needs and based on their life circumstances and their role in the job. So if workplace rely on the individual like combinations after barriers appears they're always like reacting to it rather than just proactively supporting the workforce. So that's why where the universal design actually becomes important because UD helps the workplace evolve from a narrow compliance or just accommodating the needs afterwards. So it's like a instead of having the accommodation mindset and towards creating more environments that are inherently more flexible and usable. So it's already an environment that's could accommodate like already usable but also it needs to still adapt to the changes and needs improvement continuously to accommodates like various needs and could that could serve people of diverse needs and changes. So

um yeah if if yeah you you just effectively address that question. If we design if we make our workplaces ready if our place is universally designed to accommodate the needs of all ranges of needs then whenever there is a change on the needs of our work forces then our workplace is already ready to address their needs accommodate and be flexible to to continue working that will ensure the sustainability of the um employees at workplaces and thank you for that and there's also one question um do you have anything to say or

so yeah so do you think that eventually universal design will become the normal standards for workplace and community spaces yeah yeah That's our second question.

Yeah, I think the many aspects of UD will increasingly become the standard practice because

because it will just happen because workforce demographic and technology and expect expectations are changing and it just UD provides some flexibility and inclusion just necessary for the organizational effectiveness. And

I think as the organizations move forward just relying on the accessibility compliance that doesn't provide really meet the diverse needs for everyone and it's I think it's just the direction that all organizations should hat and try to think about how they could improve their workplace and their path to the workplace to be more universally designed and also because there's no perfect solutions. So things have to be to actually be evolve through time as they move forward and future should probably be less about achieving just one final like design solution but something that could evolve over time.

Nice. Thank you so much. Um there's also one other question. Does the remote work factor into universal design and accessibility with recent return work order since the end of COVID lockdown? I have heard increasingly from people who found remote work improved their workplace being wellbeing significantly. So does the remote work factor into the universal design accessibility? How do you see that? the the role of inver design in this conceptualization

right

yeah I think like remote and hybrid work that's happening a lot after covid it became one of the really real world example of how flexible itself can function as a form of universal design. I think I mentioned in one of the slides for goals of UD in the personalization and it could actually it's important to give people like options and choices so people can have choose from like what could best accommodate their needs and the environments that they feel more most comfortable about. So it just I think it's strongly aligned with the UD and because UD aims to create environments that are more usable and supportive for broader range of people without requiring like constant individual adaptations. So I think everyone should have some choice. Although it may have some barriers from the organization perspective, but workplaces could also like the organization and the individual could benefit from having the flexibility and multiple modes of participation and having those choices.

Yeah, I think from the um from this concept when we see the seven principles of universal design, it's all about the choice of the person to to feel comfortable and like manage the the their work flexibly, easily that can enhance their overall health and wellbeing and performance. Um research just indicate that this COVID lockdown and um remote work at some point if it is their choice, if it is the best way to address their need and actually improve their well-being. But if it leads them to more isolation, there is also another um another negative impact of this remote work or being isolated at home. versus social participation at workplace. So it's the universal design principle is all about the choice as you mentioned. So it's it will allow the employees to the workplaces to address the needs of diverse employees based on their choice based on their demand and capacity and limitations so that it can definitely improve their well-being related to their work performance as well. So thank you for that interesting question and for your response has addressed that and unless there is any additional question I think um we reach our one hour limit of this talk. Uh thank you everyone for your active participation, for your engagement and thank you Jamine for your interesting conversation to present this interesting topic and also to lead this interactive Q&A session. Um and thank you everyone for joining us in this live session uh for everyone who will also listen watch this recording to at your convenient time. We really appreciate your engagement. We hope this conversation encourages our collective effort to consider and applying result design principles in our research conceptualization and the intervention to design more inclusive and accessible pathway to employment uh for persons with disability for whom we have a common focus at this this moment. Um now we are closing our May 2026 early career researchers talk um with this uh uh interactive conversation from Dr. Choy for your feedback audiences uh survey will be distributed after the session and you can also email to the idea national office if you are interested with our future talk join us on June 17 we have very interesting topic uh from Dr. Shan and Gillet. Uh if you want to know what the topic is, go to the idea website and get more understanding of what is coming. I'm making it secret and uh register there for our upcoming uh ACR talk. For those who need a certificate of participation, please reach out to the idea national office. They will manage your uh request. And thank you everyone. And as always, uh, let's continue our collective learning to learn from each other and grow our community of early career researchers. Thank you so much.