Digital Transformation, Participation and Disability
A special issue of Societies (ISSN 2075-4698). This special issue belongs to the section "Disabled People/People with Disabilities (Non-Medical Coverage)".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 252
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Digital technologies increasingly shape participation in education, work, social life and civic engagement. While digital transformation creates new opportunities for participation and empowerment, research also shows that digital systems can reproduce or intensify existing social inequalities, particularly for persons with disabilities and individuals experiencing multiple forms of marginalisation. Beyond questions of accessibility alone, growing research highlights the importance of participation, technology adoption and user involvement in shaping inclusive digital environments.
This Special Issue aims to advance interdisciplinary research on disability, participation and inclusion in digitally mediated societies. It focuses on how digital technologies influence access, participation, agency and technology use across different life domains. In particular, the issue seeks contributions that examine participatory approaches, technology acceptance and intersectional inequalities in the context of digital transformation.
We invite empirical articles, conceptual papers and review articles from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- digital accessibility and inclusive design
- assistive and emerging technologies, including AI-based systems
- participatory research, co-design and user-led innovation
- technology acceptance, digital literacy and digital skills
- digital inequalities and intersectional perspectives on exclusion and participation
By bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives, this Special Issue aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of how digital societies can be shaped to support equitable participation and social inclusion.
Dr. Vanessa Heitplatz
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as conceptual papers are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- disability
- digital inclusion
- accessibility
- technology acceptance
- digital transformation
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