1,720,984 research outputs found
A Possible Framework for the Design of Learning Programs in Assistive Technology for People with Intellectual Disabilities in Inclusive Educational Environments
No full textIn an inclusive society, people with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) are socially connected and fully participate in all realms of life, including education and employment. In a digital society being able to use technology for learning and working is a condition for participation and not remaining behind. For that reason, efforts should be made to assure that all citizens have access to technology and are helped, if needed, to develop their digital skills. The objective of this paper is to provide a framework for designing learning programs addressed to people with ID. The aims of these programs would be to support the development of digital skills and enable the use of Assistive Technologies (AT) or the combination of Information Communication Technology and AT (ICT-AT). The framework provided is based on the European funded project “Keeping Pace with Assistive Technology (KPT)” that was adapted for the specific target group of people with ID
Approcci partecipativi ed emancipativi nella ricerca sulla disabilità. Sostegno alla cittadinanza attiva e realizzazione di azioni socialmente innovative
No full textQuesto articolo affronta il dibattito sviluppatosi intorno agli approcci partecipativi ed emancipativi nella ricerca sulla disabilità. La sua finalità è di rendere evidente l'assunto per dare una risposta alla domanda di ricerca che consiste nel capire fino a che punto la ricerca partecipativa ed emancipativa possa rappresentare un paradigma in grado di contribuire all'emancipazione delle persone disabili e allo sviluppo di una trasformazione delle strutture e relazioni sociali fondamentali.
L'articolo è ispirato principalmente dalla revisione della letteratura accademica e dall'analisi di documenti internazionali, che hanno portato a interpretazioni e proposte per una nuova traiettoria di ricerca nel campo della disabilità.
La prima parte presenta un breve sommario dei principali autori e teorie in merito alla ricerca partecipativa ed emancipativa e al modo in cui questi approcci possono trasformarsi in strumenti in grado di sostenere l'autodeterminazione delle persone disabili nell'ambito della ricerca.
Nella seconda parte si è cercato di suggerire una possibile traiettoria di ricerca, nella quale il paradigma partecipativo ed emancipativo, se applicato a un modello di disabilità come problema di diritti civili, possa guidare la raccolta e l'analisi di dati e informazioni con il coinvolgimento attivo e la partecipazione delle persone disabili, al fine di sviluppare soluzioni innovative, di trasformare le strutture sociali e modificare le relazioni
Participatory approach for the development and implementation of a service of “Smart homes for independent living experiences”
No full textThis experience focuses on the case study realized by the USL Bologna and Emilia-Romagna’s Center for Assistive Technology of Corte Roncati, aimed at developing and implementing a service of “Smart homes for independent living experiences” through a participatory approach. It was aimed at promoting living experiences in apartments through innovative activities for the development of personal autonomy in young adults and adults with disabilities. The Living Lab approach influenced the outcomes of the experimentation in a positive way, as reported by the interviews and the focus groups
The choice and use of enabling technologies in educational environments: research findings and case report
No full textThis chapter is informed by the work of researchers that report research outcomes and
case studies regarding the adoption of AT solutions in educational environments.
The aim is to provide school staff and other professionals in the field of education an
insight of state of art research and related practice innovation including different
examples of technologies for the empowerment of learners with disabilities are
presented.
A detailed description of six case studies is provided by their respective authors, each
of whom has highlighted specific aspects of the AT practices and experiences
implemented.
The common feature of these case studies consists of enabling learners to achieve a
major sense of autonomy, independence, belonging to the community as well as to
overcome some cultural and social barriers through the use of innovative solutions.
In detail, case studies are structured in a way that captures the general description of
the setting, the persons involved, the main barriers, needs and opportunities identified.
Also, case studies reported in this chapter highlight how technology was made helpful
and effective in addressing the needs and opportunities, what were the outcomes of the
use of technology, and what conditions have to be met in order to make a similar
experience possible and replicable on the base of lessons learned and authors’
recommendations.
These experiences come from different sources. Four of the cases consist research
studies developed in the framework of the ASSISTID Programme. The first one
explores the challenges faced in using virtual reality in special education, the second
ASSISTID case report is on adapting the Irish Matching Person with Technology tool
through a Universal Design approach, the third one on assistive technology for reading
and comprehension for learners with autism and intellectual disability and the fourth
one of this programme is on assistive technology for inclusive learning in non classroom
settings. In addition, the fifth case report of this chapter concerns the use of
a digital solution for helping people with cognitive disabilities to learn new skills and
achieve independence, and the last one reports the experience of robot-based activities
for creating an inclusive learning scenario developed by the Assistive Technology
Center ofAIAS Bologna Onlus
Designing Trajectories of Research for Understanding Barriers to Inclusion and Emerging Needs of Vulnerable Groups
No full textThe aim of this paper consists in proposing an inclusive and holistic approach in the research of various themes af-fecting vulnerable groups. The point of view adopted to define a research framework and the consequent trajectories of research for understanding emerging needs is based on the inclusive pedagogy, considered as “good pedagogy” (UNESCO, 2000), for its fundamental task to ensure that the gains achieved for a person in a problematic situations become quality for all. The main concepts adopted refer to: active citizenship, self-determination and new ways of understanding complex issues, such as multiple discrimination; multiple disabilities; inclusion in learning and employment; new conflicts and migration; ageing, and also new hopes, such as: active participation; ICT; aids; emancipation; professional competences. The objective is precisely to go beyond the state of the art in order to suggest trajectories of research aimed at understanding existing and emerging needs of vulnerable groups adopting a holistic approach. In order to design and generate innovative strategies and solutions that could reduce those cultural, social, environmental and economic barriers to inclusion
The Role of Assistive Technology in Fostering Inclusive Education: Strategies and Tools to Support Change
No full textThe Role of Assistive Technology in Fostering Inclusive Education uses evidence-based research to explore issues related to implementation of ICT-based Assistive Technology (ICT-AT) in education. It focuses on programmes and activities that aim at the empowerment of the learners with disabilities, as well as the empowerment of the entire educational ecosystem.
The book provides a synthesis of political and theoretical discussions as well as practical experiences on the implementation of ICT-AT in education. Analysing international policy frameworks in relation to inclusive education and technology, it discusses examples of school self-assessment and action plan methodologies for digital inclusive education, as well as case studies of innovative ICT and AT solutions in educational environments. The authors elaborate on digital empowerment as a wider societal challenge through reflection on the barriers that people with disabilities meet in education and beyond.
This book will be of great interest for academics, researchers, and postgraduate students in the fields of inclusive education and assistive technology, as well as those interested in education research and policy development
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
LLP- COMENIUS: "Success at School (SAS) through Volunteering"
No full textThe issues of young people’s school failure, disaffection and disengagement has been and still is a topic of debate at the European level, made worse by the current prolonged economic crisis. At the 2000 European Council in Lisbon, the European Union defined the dimension of the school failure problem as: “The number of 18 to 24 years old youngsters with only lower-secondary level education who are not in further education and training”. An EU benchmark was set that the proportion of early school leavers should not be more than 10% by 2010 (European Commission, 2006). By 2006 only six of the twenty-seven Member States had met this benchmark (Austria, Slovak Republic, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Croatia). The average early school leaving statistics in the remaining twenty-one countries was 18% and worsened further as the number of young people not in education, employment and training (NEET) has increased across the EU.
School failure is a major cause of social and professional exclusion among youngsters. Although the causes are many and complex, young people who have abandoned education cite traditional educational provision and an inability to feel included and appreciated as the main reasons of their disaffection and disengagement. This calls for innovative and young people’s centred solutions to the problem.
The SAS project proposes a further alternative pedagogical approach based on a positive experience acquired outside school through informal or non-formal learning, such as participating in volunteering activities. A volunteering-based experience would enable young people to acquire and/or develop skills and competences useful for young people to return to education or work.
Volunteering is part of non-formal and informal learning supported by the Copenhagen process. Specifically, the SAS project seeks to use volunteering as means to give young people the opportunity to develop skills within associations. Volunteering through and within an association would enable young people to apply theoretical knowledge learned at school, enrich and expand their social network, and acquire or develop social and professional skills and competences. Moreover, volunteering would help young people to develop a positive image of themselves; increase their self-esteem and self-efficacy, and provide them with practical opportunities to develop work-related skills. To be involved in an association is also a way to develop key competences enhanced by the European Council and the European Parliament in December 2006 (eight key competences) specifically learning to learn, social and civic competences, sense of initiative and entrepreneurship, cultural awareness and expression.
The main aim of the Success at School through Volunteering (SAS) project is to expose youngsters affected by early school leaving and living in difficult areas to a pedagogical approach through a training course for young people and a mentoring training package for adults working with young people meant to valorize a voluntary involvement in identifying the relevant skills and competences acquired through volunteering.
The SAS project aims to reduce the number of early school leavers and to improve learning outcomes for learners, especially youngsters from a migrant and disadvantaged background and with special needs through volunteering as an alternative pedagogical strategy integrating the “detour” approach
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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