ICT Barriers for People with Disability in Namibia: Evidence from the 2011 Namibia Population and Housing Census

Computer technology and the Internet have a tremendous potential to increase the independence of people with disabilities. We investigated the extent to which people with disabilities access information communication technologies (ICT) (focusing on access to computers, internet and mobile phone) and how their ICT access compares with the ICT access of the rest of the Namibian population. More specifically, we investigated factors that affect people with disabilities ICT access in Namibia. The study relied on the 2011 Namibia Population and Housing Census as the main data source for analysis. The results showed people with disabilities are disadvantaged in ICT access. The study reveals that education level, work status, age and place of residence are important factors associated with ICT access among people with disabilities. Results also show that there is less disparity between employed and unemployed individuals with disabilities than without disabilities. Additionally, the results show that those classified as “blind”, “autistic”, “hearing difficulties” and “mental disabled” fair worse than people with other disabilities in computer, internet and/or cell phone access. There is a need to consider unique issues affecting ICT access for people living with disabilities to achieve Namibia’s goal of equitable access for all as envisioned in its Vision 2030

Digital inclusion - the vision, the challenges and the way forward

This paper considers the vision and aspiration of digital inclusion, and then examines the current reality. It looks beyond the rhetoric to provide an analysis of the status quo, a consideration of some facilitators and challenges to progress and some suggestions for moving forward with renewed energy and commitment. The far-reaching benefits of digital inclusion and the crucial role it plays in enabling full participation in our digital society are considered. At the heart of the vision of universal digital inclusion is the deceptively simple goal to ensure that everyone is able to access and experience the wide-ranging benefits and transformational opportunities and impacts it offers. The reality is a long way from the vision: inequality of access still exists despite many national campaigns and initiatives to reduce it. The benefits and beneficiaries of a digital society are not just the individual but all stakeholders in the wider society. Research evidence has shown that the critical success factors for successful digital participation are (i) appropriate design and (ii) readily available and on-going ICT (Information and Communication Technology) support in the community. Challenges and proven solutions are presented. The proposition of community hubs in local venues to provide user-centred ICT support and learning for older and disabled people is presented. While the challenges to achieve digital inclusion are very considerable, the knowledge of how to achieve it and the technologies which enable it already exist. Harnessing of political will is necessary to make digital inclusion a reality rather than a vision. With the cooperation and commitment of all stakeholders actualisation of the vision of a digitally inclusive society, while challenging, can be achieved and will yield opportunities and rewards that eclipse the cost of implementation

U.S. Government Manual 2008-2009 Edition: Department of Labor

[Excerpt] The purpose of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of the United States, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment. In carrying out this mission, the Department administers a variety of Federal labor laws guaranteeing workers’ rights to safe and healthful working conditions, a minimum hourly wage and overtime pay, freedom from employment discrimination, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation. The Department also protects workers’ retirement and health care benefits; provides for job training programs; helps workers find jobs; works to strengthen free collective bargaining; and keeps track of changes in employment, prices, and other national economic measurements. As the Department seeks to assist all Americans who need and want to work, special efforts are made to meet the unique job market problems of older workers, youths, minority group members, women, individuals with disabilities, and other groups

How a Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review of NIDILRR’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers

Over 50 million United States citizens (1 in 6 people in the US) have a developmental, acquired, or degenerative disability. The average US citizen can expect to live 20% of his or her life with a disability. Rehabilitation technologies play a major role in improving the quality of life for people with a disability, yet widespread and highly challenging needs remain. Within the US, a major effort aimed at the creation and evaluation of rehabilitation technology has been the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. As envisioned at their conception by a panel of the National Academy of Science in 1970, these centers were intended to take a “total approach to rehabilitation”, combining medicine, engineering, and related science, to improve the quality of life of individuals with a disability. Here, we review the scope, achievements, and ongoing projects of an unbiased sample of 19 currently active or recently terminated RERCs. Specifically, for each center, we briefly explain the needs it targets, summarize key historical advances, identify emerging innovations, and consider future directions. Our assessment from this review is that the RERC program indeed involves a multidisciplinary approach, with 36 professional fields involved, although 70% of research and development staff are in engineering fields, 23% in clinical fields, and only 7% in basic science fields; significantly, 11% of the professional staff have a disability related to their research. We observe that the RERC program has substantially diversified the scope of its work since the 1970’s, addressing more types of disabilities using more technologies, and, in particular, often now focusing on information technologies. RERC work also now often views users as integrated into an interdependent society through technologies that both people with and without disabilities co-use (such as the internet, wireless communication, and architecture). In addition, RERC research has evolved to view users as able at improving outcomes through learning, exercise, and plasticity (rather than being static), which can be optimally timed. We provide examples of rehabilitation technology innovation produced by the RERCs that illustrate this increasingly diversifying scope and evolving perspective. We conclude by discussing growth opportunities and possible future directions of the RERC program

Current Developments in Services for People with Intellectual Disabilities

[Taken from Executive Summary] This literature review is the culmination of the Saskatchewan Community Living Division jurisdictional study which began in the autumn of 2003. Following a brief survey of developments in providing services to people with intellectual disabilities (hitherto the People) for creating the questionnaire for this study, information was gleaned from the provinces and territories on their services. The CLD Jurisdictional Project was completed in the spring of 2005. Subsequently, a thorough search and examination of pertinent resources for serving this People and for policy development was conducted. From over 800 documents about 350 were selected for this literature review. The material is recorded in the following chapters: Public Consultation and Policy Development; Social Philosophy: the philosophical influence on contemporary social issues; Definition of disabilities; Needs assessment systems; Human Rights; Advocacy; Community services & Deinstitutionalization; Issues and Influences; Citizenship; Inclusion; Self-determination; Person-centered planning; Supports; Respite; Individualized funding; Canadian governmental initiatives; Provincial Services

Building Wealth on the Foundation of Employment Portfolio Series

[Excerpt] The vision of the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) is to advance the economic futures of workers, including those with disabilities. The unique mission of the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) within USDOL is to promote the involvement, cooperation, and collaboration of multiple federal, state, and local agencies with the private sector, to increase participation of individuals with disabilities in the workforce and economic mainstream. No single program, policy, funding stream, or strategy is a universal solution for the multiple challenges encountered by individuals with disabilities who want become economically self-sufficient. Yet, across the federal government, there are tools and strategies now being implemented to help lift low-income wage earners—including individuals with disabilities—out of poverty and empower them through employment and expanded economic opportunities. This portfolio series introduces asset development concepts, tools, and activities that individuals with disabilities, their families, and the workforce development professionals who support them can use to build wealth on the foundation of successful employment

Developing a Shared Understanding: Paraeducator Supports for Students with Disabilities in General Education

In order for groups of people to become effective teams it is vital that they develop a shared understanding of the underlying beliefs, values, and principles that will guide their work together. This shared understanding evolves over time as members learn about each other, spend time together, and engage in the work of their group. Having a shared understanding provides a basic structure within which teams: • develop common goals; determine actions that will lead toward the attainment of their goals; ensure that their actions are consistent with their beliefs; and judge whether their efforts have been successful

Creating a Pathway to a Better Financial Future: Developing State Strategies for Asset Development and Wealth Creation for People with Disabilities

Dedicated economic advancement strategies - such as savings and building assts, homeownership, and entrepreneurship -- are increasingly viewed as an important part of public policy efforts to give people with disabilities expanded access to the labor market. While no single program, policy, funding stream, or strategy to build assets has proven to be a universal solution for the multiple challenges encountered by low income individuals and their families, a variety of tools and strategies are being implemented by federal, state and local governments and communities to help lift disadvantaged wage earners - including workers with disabilities -- out of poverty. This brief introduces basic asset development concepts, tools, and activities that states can use as a framework for developing comprehensive, integrated state asset development strategies for people with disabilities and their families

Connecting People With Disabilities: ICT Opportunities for All

This essay won 1st prize in a nationwide essay competition organized by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority on World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2008. Theme of the Year was "Connecting People with Disabilitie: ICT Opportunities for All" The Prize was given by Prime Minister of Pakistan.Disability; Information Communication Technology; ICT; IT; Internet