The Prerequisites for Independent Living

[Excerpt] Independent Living is a term that was coined in the 1960s by the American disability movement. Today it has become a buzz word frequently used and abused by consumers and professionals alike. In its most common connotation it refers to living in the community as opposed to living in an institution. But Independent Living is also an attitude, an ideology, and a social and political international movement

The Prerequisites for De-Institutionalization

[Excerpt] One of the main prerequisites of de-institutionalization for physically disabled people is an effective housing policy. A policy that entails non- discriminatory public works programs, non-discriminatory housing subsidies and non-discriminatory building codes. Non-discriminatory public works programs make sure that in all new construction which is financed and undertaken by any municipal, regional or state government agency barrier-free or universal design principles are enforced. This instrument does not require legislative changes. If the Regional Government of Tenerife, for example, were serious about accessibility in residential construction, they could start already tomorrow by including non-discrimination clauses together with operational definitions of accessibility in their procurement contracts; no bidder would receive a contract without guaranteeing full accessibility of the finished structures

Checklist for Organizing Independent Living Events

[Excerpt] In this checklist the author covers the steps of planning, event format, event contents and media work which are crucial to the success of a workshop, training session, seminar or conference on Independent Living. The notes are intended to serve as a checklist for planning training sessions, seminars, workshops or conferences on Independent Living

Independent Living and Attendant care in Sweden: A Consumer Perspective

[Excerpt] One of the main aims of the growing Independent Living Movement , the international civil rights movement of people with disabilities, has been to gain control over the services that are necessary for participating in society on equal terms. Of these services attendant care has been identified by the movement as perhaps the most critical prerequisite for a dignified and productive life for persons with severe disabilities

Manuscriptorium Digital Library and ENRICH Project: Means for Dealing with Digital Codicology and Palaeography

Codicology and palaeography in the digital age can be developed both through adapting existing methods and using information and communication technologies. This can be achieved e.g by projects focusing on the integration of individual resources under a single user interface. This is the aim of the Manuscriptorium digital library as well as the ENRICH project. The integration is based on the centralisation of metadata from various resources and on the distributed storage of data, mainly digital images. This is implemented through a distributed complex digital document, containing the so-called identification record and more data types. The construction of the integrated Manuscriptorium digital library within the ENRICH project is being done in four basic ways: automatically, or semi-automatically respectively manually, and those both online and offline. This has made it possible to amass more than 5,000 documents. For Manuscriptorium, a search is important, which allows information to be gathered through special fields and the differences in graphics to be harmonised. The aim of the ENRICH project is also the creation of tools for the compilation of virtual collections and documents. In its method of integrating resources, the Manuscriptorium endeavours to be an instrument of codicological and palaeographic research

The International Effects of Climate Change on Agricultural Commodity Prices, and the Wider Effects on New Zealand

This research takes a closer look at the effects of climate change on New Zealand agriculture and on the wider economy, including indirect international effects such as changes in the prices of goods exported from and imported to New Zealand, as well as carbon prices and policies. Economic loss from short term catastrophic events such floods and landslides is not investigated. Infometrics (2007) presented an initial quantitative analysis of some of the above issues. In this paper they update the part of that report that looked at the effect of climate change on agricultural commodity prices, by considering some new scenarios based on international research since 2007, and expand the time-period from 2025 to 2070.agricultural commodity prices, GE modelling

Local Authorities and Communicators Engaged in Science: PLACES Impact Assessment Case Study of Prague

Regional aspects of science communication represent a potential asset and as such are quite suitable topic for further examination with respect to future social and economic development in Prague based on the city's main development strategies. Closer analysis of SCIP aspects at re- gional level can present a suitable complement for development of suitable measures and projects of the regional innovation and education policies. This study focuses on research questions related to regional dimension of science communication, its impacts and suitable tools. Document analysis and questionnaire distributed among selected experts were chosen as tools for elaboration of the study. Results suggest that regional dimension of science communication policy and initiatives is a relevant one in case of Prague. However, the attention given to this topic by national and regional authorities is unsatisfactory resulting in lack of co-ordination of activities of the respective stakeholders. Impacts of SCIP, as far as causality can be identified, lie in encouraging young people in their interest in science, increasing awareness of general public in science-related issues and explaining role of science in society and problems that science is facing. To maximise effects of science communication there is a space for national and regional authorities to play an integrating role. Given the concentration of SCIP actors, the City of Prague could aspire to develop its science communication policy in order to promote itself as a Central European centre of science

US Outlook and German Confidence: Does the Confidence Channel Work?

One channel of business cycle shock transmission which gained attraction only recently is the confidence channel. The aim of the paper is to find out whether the confidence channel is actually working between the US and Germany. This is analysed using times series methods. In contrast to other studies the direct informational content of leading US indicators for German producer confidence and the significance of asymmetric reactions is tested. The results show that there is a relationship between the respective variables, which has become closer during the nineties. However the hypothesis of asymmetries had to be rejected.Confidence Channel, Business Cycle, Leading Indicators