The Impact of New Technologies on the Quality of Life of People with Disabilities

The Impact of New Technologies on the Quality of Life of People with Disabilities PDF Author: Theo Bougie
Publisher: Council of Europe
ISBN: 9789287150073
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
This report analyses the impact of new technologies on the quality of life of people with disabilities, including consumer technology and, of course, assistive technology. It takes into account the different types of disability, covering not only physical and sensorial impairments, but also intellectual disabilities, mental illnesses and restrictions in social participation due to personal or environmental factors. The study gives examples of good practice and indicates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of new technologies for enhancing the quality of life of disabled people. Proposals are made for such enhancement through legislation, service delivery, design, standardisation and market development.

The Impact of New Technologies on the Quality of Life of People with Disabilities

The Impact of New Technologies on the Quality of Life of People with Disabilities PDF Author: Theo Bougie
Publisher: Council of Europe
ISBN: 9789287150073
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
This report analyses the impact of new technologies on the quality of life of people with disabilities, including consumer technology and, of course, assistive technology. It takes into account the different types of disability, covering not only physical and sensorial impairments, but also intellectual disabilities, mental illnesses and restrictions in social participation due to personal or environmental factors. The study gives examples of good practice and indicates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of new technologies for enhancing the quality of life of disabled people. Proposals are made for such enhancement through legislation, service delivery, design, standardisation and market development.

The Future of Disability in America

The Future of Disability in America PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309104726
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 619

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Book Description
The future of disability in America will depend on how well the U.S. prepares for and manages the demographic, fiscal, and technological developments that will unfold during the next two to three decades. Building upon two prior studies from the Institute of Medicine (the 1991 Institute of Medicine's report Disability in America and the 1997 report Enabling America), The Future of Disability in America examines both progress and concerns about continuing barriers that limit the independence, productivity, and participation in community life of people with disabilities. This book offers a comprehensive look at a wide range of issues, including the prevalence of disability across the lifespan; disability trends the role of assistive technology; barriers posed by health care and other facilities with inaccessible buildings, equipment, and information formats; the needs of young people moving from pediatric to adult health care and of adults experiencing premature aging and secondary health problems; selected issues in health care financing (e.g., risk adjusting payments to health plans, coverage of assistive technology); and the organizing and financing of disability-related research. The Future of Disability in America is an assessment of both principles and scientific evidence for disability policies and services. This book's recommendations propose steps to eliminate barriers and strengthen the evidence base for future public and private actions to reduce the impact of disability on individuals, families, and society.

Over the Horizon

Over the Horizon PDF Author: Gregg Vanderheiden
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 55

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Book Description
This policy paper explores key trends in information and communication technology, highlights the potential opportunities and problems these trends present for people with disabilities, and suggests some strategies to maximize opportunities and avoid potential problems and barriers. Specifically, this paper discusses technology trends that present opportunities for universally designed products, and for improved availability, usability, and affordability of assistive technology that can have significant impact on quality of life for people with disabilities. The first trend discussed is the ever-increasing computational power plus the decreasing size and cost of technology--resulting in technology that is more portable, affordable, and for which it is easier to build in access. Second, advances in interface technology are creating new opportunities for better assistive technologies, more accessible mainstream technologies, and entirely new ways for users to control both. Third, new advances will soon enable people to be connected to communication and information networks, at any time, wherever they are--making real time assistance only a button press or voice command away. Finally, the proliferation of virtual places via the World Wide Web is changing the way we approach communications, education, work, and commerce, increasing access to goods and services without the need to leave home. Seven general action items are advanced and discussed: (1) Maximize the effectiveness of assistive technologies and lower their cost--in order to maximize people's general abilities and independence. Key strategies: Foster results-oriented R & D all the way to commercial availability; (2) Maximize the accessibility of mainstream information and communication technology products, so that people with disabilities and seniors can use standard products as they encounter them. Key strategies: Increase funding for research, proof of concept, and commercial hardening of approaches to accessible design of mainstream products to advance understanding in this area; craft accessibility regulations so as to help employees build business cases; (3) Ensure that access to the Internet and other virtual environments is provided, as it has been to physical places of public accommodation; (4) Address new barriers to the accessibility of digital media caused by digital rights management (DRM), including when visual and audio rights are sold separately; (5) Base all policy regarding information and communication technology (ICT) accessibility on a realization of the importance of the business case. Where a solid business case cannot be built based on market forces alone, create accessibility regulations and effective enforcement mechanisms that provide a clear profit advantage to those who comply and a disadvantage to those who do not; (6) Create accessibility laws and regulations that are not technology specific, but are based on the functions of a device. Provide clear guidance as to what is sufficient to meet the standard, and allow requirements to index themselves to technologies, as they evolve, using baselines. To the extent possible, harmonize laws and regulations with those of other countries for products that are sold internationally; and (7) Ensure that up-to-date information about accessible mainstream technology (AMT) and assistive technology (AT) is available to and being used by the public.

World Development Report 2016

World Development Report 2016 PDF Author: World Bank Group
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464806721
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
Digital technologies are spreading rapidly, but digital dividends--the broader benefits of faster growth, more jobs, and better services--are not. If more than 40 percent of adults in East Africa pay their utility bills using a mobile phone, why can’t others around the world do the same? If 8 million entrepreneurs in China--one third of them women--can use an e-commerce platform to export goods to 120 countries, why can’t entrepreneurs elsewhere achieve the same global reach? And if India can provide unique digital identification to 1 billion people in five years, and thereby reduce corruption by billions of dollars, why can’t other countries replicate its success? Indeed, what’s holding back countries from realizing the profound and transformational effects that digital technologies are supposed to deliver? Two main reasons. First, nearly 60 percent of the world’s population are still offline and can’t participate in the digital economy in any meaningful way. Second, and more important, the benefits of digital technologies can be offset by growing risks. Startups can disrupt incumbents, but not when vested interests and regulatory uncertainty obstruct competition and the entry of new firms. Employment opportunities may be greater, but not when the labor market is polarized. The internet can be a platform for universal empowerment, but not when it becomes a tool for state control and elite capture. The World Development Report 2016 shows that while the digital revolution has forged ahead, its 'analog complements'--the regulations that promote entry and competition, the skills that enable workers to access and then leverage the new economy, and the institutions that are accountable to citizens--have not kept pace. And when these analog complements to digital investments are absent, the development impact can be disappointing. What, then, should countries do? They should formulate digital development strategies that are much broader than current information and communication technology (ICT) strategies. They should create a policy and institutional environment for technology that fosters the greatest benefits. In short, they need to build a strong analog foundation to deliver digital dividends to everyone, everywhere.

Living in the State of Stuck

Living in the State of Stuck PDF Author: Marcia Joslyn Scherer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Assistive technology is radically changing the lives of people with disabilities. Here, Dr. Scherer sets the background for this radical transformation and discusses the implications of assistive technology for the lives of those born disabled, or who become disabled later in life. In the author's words, "this book shows, how, paradoxically, the more technology became available and the more free from limitations individuals became, the more stuck they seemed." A severe disability no longer need prevent a person from attaining the same educational, personal, and career goals as other adults. Scherer details assistive devices that enhance the quality of their lives, mobility, speech, and ability to work. But while these devices may enhance independence, Scherer explains how friends and relatives can better understand the personal issues and needs that arise from living with a disability and 'needing' these devices. This is a unique, well-researched account that will help anyone - disabled or not - deal with the physical and emotional aspects of adjusting to a life with assistive technology.

Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities

Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities PDF Author: Arie Rimmerman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110701462X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
Social inclusion is often used interchangeably with the terms social cohesion, social integration, and social participation, positioning social exclusion as the opposite. This book provides a thorough conceptual review and search for domestic and international perspectives of social inclusion and disability. It highlights and responds to core questions related to social inclusion of people with disabilities nationally and internationally.

Technology for Adaptive Aging

Technology for Adaptive Aging PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309091160
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Emerging and currently available technologies offer great promise for helping older adults, even those without serious disabilities, to live healthy, comfortable, and productive lives. What technologies offer the most potential benefit? What challenges must be overcome, what problems must be solved, for this promise to be fulfilled? How can federal agencies like the National Institute on Aging best use their resources to support the translation from laboratory findings to useful, marketable products and services? Technology for Adaptive Aging is the product of a workshop that brought together distinguished experts in aging research and in technology to discuss applications of technology to communication, education and learning, employment, health, living environments, and transportation for older adults. It includes all of the workshop papers and the report of the committee that organized the workshop. The committee report synthesizes and evaluates the points made in the workshop papers and recommends priorities for federal support of translational research in technology for older adults.

Psycho-Social Perspectives on Mental Health and Well-Being

Psycho-Social Perspectives on Mental Health and Well-Being PDF Author: Srinivasan Padmanaban
Publisher: Medical Information Science Reference
ISBN: 9781799811855
Category : Mental health
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"This book examines the physical, social, and emotional aspects of mental health and well-being"--Provided by publisher.

Disability and Technology

Disability and Technology PDF Author: Alan Roulstone
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317376889
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 325

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Book Description
This edited collection brings together keynote articles from the journal Disability & Society to provide a comprehensive and though-provoking exploration of the place of technology in disabled people’s lives, documenting and analysing the growing impact of technology on disability and society over recent decades. The authors explore theoretical, empirical and moral dilemmas that arise with the changing relationship between technological change and the lives, aspirations and possibilities of disabled people. The volume is organised into three parts which consider early foundational work connecting disability and technology; key empirical studies related to the optimum use of technologies for independence and inclusion; and new moral and social dynamics thrown up by technological developments for disabled people’s lives.

Living in the State of Stuck

Living in the State of Stuck PDF Author: Marcia Joslyn Scherer
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781571290793
Category : People with disabilities
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Assistive technology has radically changed the lives of persons with disabilities, enabling them to work and perform in ways they might never have dreamed possible for themselves. But while these devices do improve physical capabilities, this functional gain is not synonymous with enhanced quality of life. The larger questions are too often ignored: What does the individual define as "rehabilitation success"? How does a given device contribute to fulfilling that person's needs? Are environmental factors -- from psychological resistance to insufficient training for use -- compromising the effectiveness of the device?