One Page Profiles and EHC plans the Wiki way: Using RIX Wikis to implement EHC plans

The SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) Reforms, launched in September 2014, introduce a system of support which focuses on putting children and young people (aged 0-25) at the heart of planning and decision making. They and their parents/carers must be able to participate in this process, putting the new Education Health and Care Plans (ECHP) into place through person-centred practice and co-production with their education, health and care professionals. The focus is on support to improve outcomes for children and young people rather than simply provision of support. These reforms demand that support professionals work together with children, young people and their families to ensure they have choice and control over their futures and enjoy full healthy and active lives. It requires not only a legal but a cultural change

Probabilistic Timed Automata with Clock-Dependent Probabilities

Probabilistic timed automata are classical timed automata extended with discrete probability distributions over edges. We introduce clock-dependent probabilistic timed automata, a variant of probabilistic timed automata in which transition probabilities can depend linearly on clock values. Clock-dependent probabilistic timed automata allow the modelling of a continuous relationship between time passage and the likelihood of system events. We show that the problem of deciding whether the maximum probability of reaching a certain location is above a threshold is undecidable for clock-dependent probabilistic timed automata. On the other hand, we show that the maximum and minimum probability of reaching a certain location in clock-dependent probabilistic timed automata can be approximated using a region-graph-based approach.Comment: Full version of a paper published at RP 201

Multimedia Advocacy for Person Centred Planning: Small Research Pilot Report

The Rix Centre has been commissioned by the Royal Borough of Greenwich to devise and conduct a pilot study of the Multimedia Advocacy Approach being applied to Person-Centred Planning with the young people from Charlton Park Academy in Greenwich. This commission was one of the initiatives as part of Greenwich Special Educational Needs and Disability Pathfinder project. Royal Borough of Greenwich is one of 20 Pathfinders across England appointed by the Government to test new approaches to supporting children with special needs

PRISM: a tool for automatic verification of probabilistic systems

Probabilistic model checking is an automatic formal verification technique for analysing quantitative properties of systems which exhibit stochastic behaviour. PRISM is a probabilistic model checking tool which has already been successfully deployed in a wide range of application domains, from real-time communication protocols to biological signalling pathways. The tool has recently undergone a significant amount of development. Major additions include facilities to manually explore models, Monte-Carlo discrete-event simulation techniques for approximate model analysis (including support for distributed simulation) and the ability to compute cost- and reward-based measures, e.g. "the expected energy consumption of the system before the first failure occurs". This paper presents an overview of all the main features of PRISM. More information can be found on the website: www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~dxp/prism

Evaluating the reliability of NAND multiplexing with PRISM

Probabilistic-model checking is a formal verification technique for analyzing the reliability and performance of systems exhibiting stochastic behavior. In this paper, we demonstrate the applicability of this approach and, in particular, the probabilistic-model-checking tool PRISM to the evaluation of reliability and redundancy of defect-tolerant systems in the field of computer-aided design. We illustrate the technique with an example due to von Neumann, namely NAND multiplexing. We show how, having constructed a model of a defect-tolerant system incorporating probabilistic assumptions about its defects, it is straightforward to compute a range of reliability measures and investigate how they are affected by slight variations in the behavior of the system. This allows a designer to evaluate, for example, the tradeoff between redundancy and reliability in the design. We also highlight errors in analytically computed reliability bounds, recently published for the same case study

Assume-guarantee verification for probabilistic systems

We present a compositional verification technique for systems that exhibit both probabilistic and nondeterministic behaviour. We adopt an assume- guarantee approach to verification, where both the assumptions made about system components and the guarantees that they provide are regular safety properties, represented by finite automata. Unlike previous proposals for assume-guarantee reasoning about probabilistic systems, our approach does not require that components interact in a fully synchronous fashion. In addition, the compositional verification method is efficient and fully automated, based on a reduction to the problem of multi-objective probabilistic model checking. We present asymmetric and circular assume-guarantee rules, and show how they can be adapted to form quantitative queries, yielding lower and upper bounds on the actual probabilities that a property is satisfied. Our techniques have been implemented and applied to several large case studies, including instances where conventional probabilistic verification is infeasible

W2ID – Web 2.0 for People with Intellectual Disabilities

This report describes the work undertaken by the W2ID project partnership over two years of activity from January 2011. The W2ID project aimed to improve the employability skills, active citizenship and community participation of the European intellectual disability community. The Project co-developed and distributed a fully participatory Web.2.0-based peer-learning system called 'Klikin' that features 'easy-build' website software alongside learning and support resources. This was trialled and evaluated in a Pilot with a range of young learners and adults with intellectual disability in 5 European countries: Portugal, Latvia, Finland, United Kingdom and Austria. The W2ID project engaged partner organisations from across Europe that included national service provider agencies as well as smaller teaching and training organisations, a research and development centre and a pan European agency for organisations that deliver services for people with disabilities. The diverse expertise of the project partners and the input of people with intellectual disabilities were combined in the project to establish an innovative and inclusive European Web system. By actively involving the intellectual disability community as co-developers and participants, the project created a unique peer-learning network that enabled people to build and share personal experiences, knowledge and information. The project goal set out to make it easier for people of all abilities to participate in Web 2.0 activity such as generating their own content and using tools like blogs, social networks and wiki websites to enrich their lives. Participants with intellectual disabilities worked with partners to explore how cameras, microphones, computers and online software packages could be made more accessible for as wide a range of people to use as possible. A major review of the preferred activities of web users with intellectual disability was firstly undertaken. Learners with intellectual disability told the project partners what they like to do online; what they would like to do but found difficult; and what tools and websites they found most interesting and useful. This study informed the development of a new 'Klikin' online package and a European Support Hub website with training and support resources with a network of 'easy-build wiki websites', linked to national Web Portals managed for each of the participating countries. Over the second year of the project the Portals, Wiki Websites and the Support Hub have been populated with a mix of web 2.0 tools, advice and multimedia stories, that celebrate the lives of Europeans with intellectual disabilities and inspire the target group to use the Web in creative, safe and social ways. The W2ID project developed a clear brief from the people with intellectual disabilities who took part. Project partners refined the software packages and learning approaches to create the project‟s uniquely accessible online resource set. Participants were recruited for a pilot delivery of the Klikin system in year two of the Project, with training and support provided for the numerous organisations that took part in this large-scale project trial. Learners and their supporters participated in an in-depth survey of their experience of taking part in the Klkin pilot and their views about Web 2.0 technologies and what they could achieve. This evaluation survey demonstrated considerable personal impact for learners who took part in Klikin and has provided the first piece of authoritative research-based evidence of the potential benefit of the use of these technologies for inclusive lifelong learning. The Project partners also worked together to come up with a model that will enable Klikin to remain an easy to access resource for learners with intellectual disabilities, beyond the life of the project and into the future. Partners have formed an Alliance that will coordinate joint work across European countries to promote and deliver the Klikin package and continue the partnership to keep abreast of technological changes in the world of the Web and the further opportunities that these might bring for people at risk of exclusion in the future. The project developed a website to introduce the project in easy to understand terms, using multimedia content to help make the information accessible for potential participants with intellectual disabilities (www.w2id.eu ). A „European Support Hub‟ was also created, with resources and inspiring stories about the rich variety of ways in which the Klikin package has been used by learners, to help with the recruitment and dissemination process (http://blog.klikin.eu ). Over 370 people with intellectual disabilities took part in the W2ID project pilot and produced more than 140 'wiki websites' of multimedia content about themselves, their jobs and activities, what they like to do when they go out in their local communities and their interest in ICT, the web and multimedia. Most of these websites have been published on the Project‟s 'Klikin' European Portal where they can be accessed via sections organised according to the different languages used by the partner organisations (www.klikin.eu) The project partnership embraced a uniquely diverse range of organisations and the innovative teaching and learning methods that have been applied have resulted in the development of a rich and complex Klikin package. Over the project period this has built into an innovative online resource that has been developed in a genuinely inclusive programme of work across the partner countries. The project team are confident that this is an exemplary contribution to the quest for a really inclusive World Wide Web for all the citizens of the European Community

RIX Wiki Evaluation Toolkit

This Evaluation Toolkit provides guidance for service providers and commissioners in health, social care and education on how to measure the effectiveness of the use of the RIX Wikis software in person centred planning contexts

Using multimedia technology to enhance self-advocacy of people with intellectual disabilities: Introducing a theoretical framework for ‘Multimedia Advocacy’

Background: Multimedia Advocacy is the use of digital technology for people with intellectual disabilities as means of developing identities, being heard, connecting to family and care networks and, advocating for change. Methods: We explore principles and theories that underpin Multimedia Advocacy, mapping disciplinary approaches that have influenced the concept and praxis. Results: We describe relevant theories from cultural and media studies, personal therapeutic practices, communication, universal design, and systemic adoption of technology. We discuss new ways of achieving person-centred working with digital technology. We aim to develop a stronger theory/practice dialogue between these disciplines. Conclusions: The theories described highlight the importance of embedding access and use of digital technology within everyday settings. Long-term implementation plans and buy-in from all organisational levels are required for Multimedia Advocacy tools to be embraced by health and social care systems so the voice of an individual is included and genuine person-centred practice is achieved