WHDM 306: Applied Research (3 credits)

Disability management professionals are expected to interpret scientific literature and translate academic knowledge into their professional practice. At times, they may also be involved in primary data collection to answer complex research questions and evaluate the impact of work disability management interventions. This course aims at building real-world competences in the design and implementation of research methodologies within the workplace. Throughout the course, real-life examples from research in the field of work disability will be utilized as examples. This course is designed to build on previous BDM courses, which introduce research methods and statistical analytical techniques. The skills developed in this course include the practical skills and insights required to undertake an independent research project in the final year of the program. The course places a particular emphasis on research that is most relevant to workplace health and disability management such as needs analysis, program evaluation, or implementation research. This course is also relevant to preparing students for additional research training at the postgraduate level.

WHDM 409: The Changing Nature of Work (1.5 credits)

The purpose of this course is to examine factors that affect the nature of work and how it is performed. This will include technological change, work organization, the divide between rote work and more cognitively complex tasks, globalization and organizational mobility, and the use of outsourcing and temporary employees. There will be an emphasis on how the transformation of work in the contemporary world of work impacts upon the field and practice of disability management.

WHDM 401: Ergonomics (3 credits)

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the score of ergonomics and the application of ergonomic principles to work organization. It includes an overview of concepts and related theory and ergonomic assessment processes, and the identification and application of solutions.

WHDM 303: Introduction to Vocational Rehabilitation (1.5 credits)

In this course, students will examine vocational rehabilitation processes that can be implemented when a physical or mental health condition prevents workers from returning to the job that they carried out prior to incurring a disability. These processes include providing appropriate assessments and counselling to identify an optimum career/job direction; a search for resources, including training opportunities, job coaching, the development of job search skills, and supportive assistive devices and technologies; and identifying funding sources for implementing the vocational rehabilitation plan.

WHDM 203: Disability & Society (3 credits)

The purpose of this course is to provide an in depth analysis of the scope and focus of disability policy and legislation from a societal perspective using the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a framework. It will provide students with a grounding in the regulatory framework within  which disability policy is deployed through legislation and regulation in a number of areas that are central to disability management including independent living and mobility, education, health, rehabilitation, employment, adequate living standards and social protection. Legal cases that have set precedents in the field will be reviewed and analyzed. Students will critique the application of disability policy and legislation in terms of their impact on equality of participation and full citizenship for persons with disabilities and the role that Disability Management can play in achieving these aspirations.