Purpose: This is a position paper describing the elements of an international framework for assistive techhnology provision that could guide the development of policies, systems and service delivery procedures across the world. It describes general requirements, quality criteria and possible approaches that may help to enhance the accessibility of affordable and high quality assistive technology solutions. Materials and methods: The paper is based on the experience of the authors, an analysis of the existing literature and the inputs from many colleagues in the field of assistive technology provision. It includes the results of discussions of an earlier version of the paper during an international conference on the topic in August 2017. Results and conclusion: The paper ends with the recommendation to develop an international standard for assistive technology provision. Such a standard can have a major impact on the accessibility of AT for people with disabilities. The paper outlines some the key elements to be included in a standard.
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Over the last two decades, institutions for higher education such as universities and colleges have rapidly expanded and as a result have experienced profound changes in processes of research and organization. However, the rapid expansion and change has fuelled concerns about issues such as educators' technology professional development. Despite the educational value of emerging technologies in schools, the introduction has not yet enjoyed much success. Effective use of information and communication technologies requires a substantial change in pedagogical practice. Traditional training and learning approaches cannot cope with the rising demand on educators to make use of innovative technologies in their teaching. As a result, educational institutions as well as the public are more and more aware of the need for adequate technology professional development. The focus of this paper is to look at action research as a qualitative research methodology for studying technology professional development in HE in order to improve teaching and learning with ICTs at the tertiary level. The data discussed in this paper have been drawn from a cross institutional setting at Fontys University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands. The data were collected and analysed according to a qualitative approach.
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Over the past decade, the maker movement and in its slipstream maker education have attained worldwide popularity among educators, politicians, and the media. Makers’ enthusiasm for creative design and construction, using old and new tools has proven contagious, and is worth exploration and critical reflection by the community of engineering and technology education (ETE). This chapter describes what has been said about “making” by philosophers and educators; what maker education is, and what is new and not so new about it; why it has gained momentum; what the evidence is about its effectiveness and its possible weaknesses; and how mainstream technology education may benefit from maker education. This chapter concludes with ideas for a research agenda.
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Recalling that a majority of those who need assistive technology do not have access to it, and that this has a significant impact on the education, livelihood, health and well-being of individuals, and on families, communities and societies, Member States adopted a resolution on Improving access to assistive technology during the 71st World Health Assembly in May 2018. Among other mandates, Member States requested the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) to prepare a global report on effective access to assistive technology in the context of an integrated approach, based on the best available scientific evidence and international experience, with the participation of all levels within the organization and in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders. In fulfilling this commitment, aiming to improve access to assistive technology, this global report: • presents the first comprehensive data set of its kind and analysis of current assistive technology access; • draws the attention of governments and civil societies to the need for, and benefits of, assistive technology, including its return on investment; • makes recommendations for concrete actions that will improve access; • supports implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and • contributes towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in making universal health coverage (UHC) inclusive – leaving no one behind. The global report explores assistive technology from a variety of perspectives.
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Transitions in health care and the increasing pace at which technological innovations emerge, have led to new professional approach at the crossroads of health care and technology. In order to adequately deal with these transition processes and challenges before future professionals access the labour market, Fontys University of Applied Sciences is in a transition to combining education with interdisciplinary practice-based research. Fontys UAS is launching a new centre of expertise in Health Care and Technology, which is a new approach compared to existing educational structures. The new centre is presented as an example of how new initiatives in the field of education and research at the intersection of care and technology can be shaped.
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Assistive technology supports maintenance or improvement of an individual’s functioning and independence, though for people in need the access to assistive products is not always guaranteed. This paper presents a generic quality framework for assistive technology service delivery that can be used independent of the setting, context, legislative framework, or type of technology. Based on available literature and a series of discussions among the authors, a framework was developed. It consists of 7 general quality criteria and four indicators for each of these criteria. The criteria are: accessibility; competence; coordination; efficiency; flexibility; user centeredness, and infrastructure. This framework can be used at a micro level (processes around individual users), meso level (the service delivery scheme or programme) or at a macro level (the whole country). It aims to help identify in an easy way the main strengths and weaknesses of a system or process, and thus guide possible improvements. As a next step in the development of this quality framework the authors propose to organise a global consultancy process to obtain responses from stakeholders across the world and to plan a number of case studies in which the framework is applied to different service delivery systems and processes in different countries.
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Background: Although particular technologies can enhance the quality of life (QoL) of people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (we use the term pervasive support needs), their objectives and outcomes are understudied. A systematic literature review was therefore conducted to explore this topic.Method: A search of four databases yielded 64 studies. Data were extracted on their general characteristics, methods and sample characteristics as well as the technology types, QoL domains and application within ecological systems. A narrative synthesis was subsequently developed.Results: Most of the studies applied assistive technology (AT) and focused on personal development and self-determination on an individual level.Conclusions: Technology can enhance the QoL of people with pervasive supportneeds. There are indications that although MT and UD-based technology are used in practice, few studies have examined these technologies. Therefore, there is a knowledge gap regarding the kinds of technology that are used in practice.
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Quantifying measures of physical loading has been an essential part of performance monitoring within elite able-bodied sport, facilitated through advancing innovative technology. In wheelchair court sports (WCS) the inter-individual variability of physical impairments in the athletes increases the necessity for accurate load and performance measurements, while at the same time standard load monitoring methods (e.g. heart-rate) often fail in this group and dedicated WCS performance measurement methods are scarce. The objective of this review was to provide practitioners and researchers with an overview and recommendations to underpin the selection of suitable technologies for a variety of load and performance monitoring purposes specific to WCS. This review explored the different technologies that have been used for load and performance monitoring in WCS. During structured field testing, magnetic switch based devices, optical encoders and laser systems have all been used to monitor linear aspects of performance. However, movement in WCS is multidirectional, hence accelerations, decelerations and rotational performance and their impact on physiological responses and determination of skill level, is also of interest. Subsequently both for structured field testing as well as match-play and training, inertial measurement units mounted on wheels and frame have emerged as an accurate and practical option for quantifying linear and non-linear movements. In conclusion, each method has its place in load and performance measurement, yet inertial sensors seem most versatile and accurate. However, to add context to load and performance metrics, position-based acquisition devices such as automated image-based processing or local positioning systems are required.
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The vast literature on accountability in the public sector (usually called ‘public accountability’originating from political science and public administration tends to emphasize the positive dimension of holding authorities to account. As formulated by one prominent scholar in the field, ‘[a]ccountability has become an icon for good governance’: it is perceived as ‘a Good Thing, and, so it seems, we can’t have enough of it’ (Bovens, 2005: 182, 183). Accountability has, thus, become one of the central values of democratic rule – varying on a well-known American slogan one could phrase this as ‘no public responsi bility without accountability’.
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The Sport Empowers Disabled Youth 2 (SEDY2) project encourages inclusion and equal opportunities in sport for youth with a disability by raising their sports and exercise participation in inclusive settings. The SEDY2 Inclusion Handbook is aimed at anybody involved in running or working in a sport club, such as a volunteer, a coach, or a club member. The goal of the handbook is to facilitate disability inclusion among mainstream sport providers by sharing SEDY2 project partners’ best practices and inclusive ideas.
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