{"id":{"repo_id":"uwo","oai_identifier":"oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/35490"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwo/oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/35490","repository":{"repo_id":"uwo","name":"Western University","base_url":"https://uwo.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The “Other” athletes: Representations of disability in Canadian print media during the London 2012 Paralympic Games","abstract":"In our highly mediated society, media culture plays a critical role in socialization and offers a conduit for the naturalization of ideas. By this reasoning, stories told by the media about Paralympic athletes have the potential to influence our understanding of disability. This study reveals the representation of Paralympic athletes in Canada’s two national newspapers The National Post and The Globe & Mail surrounding the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Eighty-eight articles were collected over a 40-day period from August 15, 2012 – September 23, 2012. A critical disability studies lens guided methods of media frames analysis. Results demonstrated that coverage favoured an athletic frame, but medicalization and ‘supercrip’ stories remained highly pervasive. The presence of these underlying messages indicates that disability is still viewed as a problem to be solved or a situation to be overcome. These ideas are discussed as forms of “Othering,” problematizing representations that the media continues to present.","abstract_html":"In our highly mediated society, media culture plays a critical role in socialization and offers a conduit for the naturalization of ideas. By this reasoning, stories told by the media about Paralympic athletes have the potential to influence our understanding of disability. This study reveals the representation of Paralympic athletes in Canada’s two national newspapers The National Post and The Globe & Mail surrounding the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Eighty-eight articles were collected over a 40-day period from August 15, 2012 – September 23, 2012. A critical disability studies lens guided methods of media frames analysis. Results demonstrated that coverage favoured an athletic frame, but medicalization and ‘supercrip’ stories remained highly pervasive. The presence of these underlying messages indicates that disability is still viewed as a problem to be solved or a situation to be overcome. These ideas are discussed as forms of “Othering,” problematizing representations that the media continues to present.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Maika, Melinda A"],"institution":"The University of Western Ontario","degree_name":"MA","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Kinesiology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Karen Danylchuk"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-12-11","date_published":"2014-12-11","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:55:59Z","subjects":["Paralympic","Media representation","Framing","Athletes with disabilities","Canadian newspaper","Othering"],"languages":["en_ca"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/35490","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Karen Danylchuk"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Maika, Melinda A"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-10T20:38:18Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-10T20:38:18Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2014-12-11"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The University of Western Ontario"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Kinesiology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MA"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Paralympic","Media representation","Framing","Athletes with disabilities","Canadian newspaper","Othering"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_ca"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/35490"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In our highly mediated society, media culture plays a critical role in socialization and offers a conduit for the naturalization of ideas. By this reasoning, stories told by the media about Paralympic athletes have the potential to influence our understanding of disability. This study reveals the representation of Paralympic athletes in Canada’s two national newspapers The National Post and The Globe & Mail surrounding the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Eighty-eight articles were collected over a 40-day period from August 15, 2012 – September 23, 2012. A critical disability studies lens guided methods of media frames analysis. Results demonstrated that coverage favoured an athletic frame, but medicalization and ‘supercrip’ stories remained highly pervasive. The presence of these underlying messages indicates that disability is still viewed as a problem to be solved or a situation to be overcome. These ideas are discussed as forms of “Othering,” problematizing representations that the media continues to present."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The “Other” athletes: Representations of disability in Canadian print media during the London 2012 Paralympic Games"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Karen Danylchuk"],"dc:creator":["Maika, Melinda A"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-07-10T20:38:18Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-07-10T20:38:18Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2014-12-11"],"dc:description":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."],"dc:description.abstract":["In our highly mediated society, media culture plays a critical role in socialization and offers a conduit for the naturalization of ideas. By this reasoning, stories told by the media about Paralympic athletes have the potential to influence our understanding of disability. This study reveals the representation of Paralympic athletes in Canada’s two national newspapers The National Post and The Globe & Mail surrounding the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Eighty-eight articles were collected over a 40-day period from August 15, 2012 – September 23, 2012. A critical disability studies lens guided methods of media frames analysis. Results demonstrated that coverage favoured an athletic frame, but medicalization and ‘supercrip’ stories remained highly pervasive. The presence of these underlying messages indicates that disability is still viewed as a problem to be solved or a situation to be overcome. These ideas are discussed as forms of “Othering,” problematizing representations that the media continues to present."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/35490"],"dc:language.iso":["en_ca"],"dc:publisher":["The University of Western Ontario"],"dc:subject":["Paralympic","Media representation","Framing","Athletes with disabilities","Canadian newspaper","Othering"],"dc:title":["The “Other” athletes: Representations of disability in Canadian print media during the London 2012 Paralympic Games"],"dc:type":["thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Kinesiology"],"thesis:degree_name":["MA"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:55:59Z"}