Include 2011 : The role of inclusive design in making social innovation happen.

Include is the biennial conference held at the RCA and hosted by the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. The event is directed by Jo-Anne Bichard and attracts an international delegation

Promouvoir le recours aux aides techniques de seconde main pour les personnes en situation de handicap ou de perte d’autonomie

Le champ des aides techniques recouvre un grand éventail d’outils permettant de prévenir ou de compenser la perte d’autonomie des personnes handicapées. Leur utilité est considérable pour améliorer la qualité de vie des utilisateurs et leur inclusion dans la société. Cependant, le coût des équipements, comme les reste-à-charge ou les délais d’acquisition, sont très variables, et l’accès aux aides techniques demeure aujourd’hui très inégal dans les pays développés. La question de cet accès se pose avec d’autant plus d’acuité que les besoins croissent mécaniquement par l’effet du vieillissement de la population et de la dépendance. Dans le même temps, le gisement des aides techniques non utilisées pour des raisons diverses (par exemple, le décès) représente à la fois un gaspillage et une richesse potentiellement valorisable. Ce constat a conduit quelques pays à développer des programmes de mise à disposition des aides techniques de seconde main. A partir d’une revue de la littérature, cet article recense les arguments motivant la mise en œuvre de ces programmes, de même que les critères de décision pour rendre effective la circularisation des aides techniques

Results of the Accreditation Process to Guide Postsecondary Certificate-Granting Institution Improvement

Research gaps exist in knowledge about postsecondary certificate-granting institutions, as well as results of accreditation processes. This qualitative study focuses on national accreditation results that can: 1) define strengths and improvement areas in these institutions; 2) determine why action is taken or not taken on accreditation recommendations; and 3) identify results, strengths, and challenges of accreditation. This research base can guide improvements in these institutions and the North Central Association – Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI) process. The population was 125 accredited schools in ten states, representing 96% of all NCA CASI accredited public, postsecondary institutions. Methods included: document analysis, interviews, and peer review validation. All commendations and recommendations in the 125 school NCA CASI accreditation reports were coded. Interview participants were selected using a maximum variance sampling with completion and licensure/certification passage averages as the variance component. Interviews were conducted with selected 15 NCA CASI school coordinators, one State Department Coordinator and one AdvancED/NCA CASI representative. Seven school personnel from five states participated in a peer-review validation process. Results indicate: 1) the accreditation report documentation shows the highest percentage of schools receive commendations related to: business, industry and community involvement; pupil personnel services; positive school culture and relationships; safety and space considerations, and data collection processes. Highest percentage of schools recommendations focused on: data analysis and decisions; lack of space; student support service strategies; business, industry, and community support strategies; and increased documentation. 2) Interviews identified themes of action taken on accreditation report recommendations: documentation, compliance, performance measures, and process improvements. Actions not taken related to: resource costs or philosophical differences. 3) Accreditation process strengths are: financial aid access; credibility; continuous improvement framework; critical analysis of self study using internal teams; and gaining external peer-review team perspectives. Accreditation challenges or areas in need of improvement are: accountability duplication; resource constraints; subjectivity/ philosophical differences; and suggestions for process improvements. These NCA CASI accredited institutions show an average of 84.5% completion, 87.9% placement, and 89.7% licensure/certification performance rates

Sensitivity analysis in a scoping review on police accountability : assessing the feasibility of reporting criteria in mixed studies reviews

In this paper, we report on the findings of a sensitivity analysis that was carried out within a previously conducted scoping review, hoping to contribute to the ongoing debate about how to assess the quality of research in mixed methods reviews. Previous sensitivity analyses mainly concluded that the exclusion of inadequately reported or lower quality studies did not have a significant effect on the results of the synthesis. In this study, we conducted a sensitivity analysis on the basis of reporting criteria with the aims of analysing its impact on the synthesis results and assessing its feasibility. Contrary to some previous studies, our analysis showed that the exclusion of inadequately reported studies had an impact on the results of the thematic synthesis. Initially, we also sought to propose a refinement of reporting criteria based on the literature and our own experiences. In this way, we aimed to facilitate the assessment of reporting criteria and enhance its consistency. However, based on the results of our sensitivity analysis, we opted not to make such a refinement since many publications included in this analysis did not sufficiently report on the methodology. As such, a refinement would not be useful considering that researchers would be unable to assess these (sub-)criteria