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Background Insufficient wheelchair training among rehabilitation professionals has been identified as an important factor that hinders access to appropriate wheelchair services. The aim of this study was to develop a toolkit to promote the integration of wheelchair education into academic curricula of rehabilitation programs. Methods A participatory action research design was carried out in three phases: (1) development of the Initial and Alpha Versions involving secondary analyses of surveys ( n = 72), interviews ( n = 14), and academic training partners meeting presentations ( n = 16); (2) development of the Beta Version based on feedback from collaborators ( n = 21); and (3) development of the Launch Version based on feedback from participants attending presentations of the Beta Version at conferences, symposiums, and webinars ( n = 94). Results Over 100 individuals participated in reviews of the Seating and Mobility Academic Resource Toolkit (SMART). Initial development addressed modifiable factors that perpetuate insufficient wheelchair education in academic curricula (e.g., limited awareness, limited expertise). Internal feedback on the web-based Alpha Version resulted in modifications of appearance and multimedia, structure and design, and navigation. External feedback then led primarily to fine-tuning the navigation of SMART. Positive reviews were received from global wheelchair professionals (i.e., educators, researchers, clinicians). The Launch Version of the SMART ( smart.wheelchairnetwork.org ) provides a forum for sharing and accessing resources to inform the integration and enhancement of wheelchair content into university rehabilitation programs. Conclusions As an open-source open-access online “living document,” SMART has the potential to promote the integration of wheelchair service provision education into academic curricula of rehabilitation programs. Future studies will explore the ease of use and the effectiveness of the SMART.

States and aid agencies use employment programs to rehabilitate high-risk men in the belief that peaceful work opportunities will deter them from crime and violence. Rigorous evidence is rare. We experimentally evaluate a program of agricultural training, capital inputs, and counseling for Liberian ex-fighters who were illegally mining or occupying rubber plantations. Fourteen months after the program ended, men who accepted the program offer increased their farm employment and profits, and shifted work hours away from illicit activities. Men also reduced interest in mercenary work in a nearby war. Finally, some men did not receive their capital inputs but expected a future cash transfer instead, and they reduced illicit and mercenary activities most of all. The evidence suggests that illicit and mercenary labor supply responds to small changes in returns to peaceful work, especially future and ongoing incentives. But the impacts of training alone, without capital, appear to be low.

This article investigates the targeting of cyclone relief within villages in Fiji. It focuses on how relief allocation is linked with informal risk sharing and elite capture, both of which are directly related to kinship. The results are as follows. First, food aid is initially targeted toward kin groups according to their aggregate shocks and then shared among group members. Right after the cyclone, when aid is scarce, households with damage to their housing and with greater crop damage are allocated less aid within the group. Instead, they receive greater net private transfers in other forms, especially in labor sharing. Consistent patterns are found in village, cropping, and housing rehabilitations. Second, there is no elite capture of food aid in the kin group, and instead, traditional kin leaders share food with others; however, non-kin-based community leaders capture aid when it is allocated across kin groups. Third, distinct from food aid demanded by all, tarpaulins demanded by victims only strongly target individual housing damage at the village level—not the kin group—independent of social status. As with food aid, victims with greater crop damage are given a lower priority. Implications for relief policies are discussed.

This article argues that Egypt's implementation of an economic reform and structural adjustment programme since 1991 has not led to a reduction of its hegemony over certain welfare services. Yet its role in the provision of free health and educational services has been drastically curtailed. This is evident if the pre- and post adjustment situations are analysed in terms of the poor's access to education and health services. The introduction of cost recovery measures has negatively impacted on the poor and increased their vulnerability to exploitation by exposing them to a wide range of 'hidden' and informal fees. Further, the introduction of special policies designed to mitigate the rising costs of education and health care are not being implemented due to a set of institutional and political reasons. The consequences of the increasing privatisation of educational and health services on the poor are examined by looking at the detail of those living in the densely populated community of Bulaq el Dakrour in Cairo.

Disability in America presents a five-prong strategy for reducing the incidence and prevalence of disability as well as its personal, social, and economic consequences. Although the preferred goal is to avoid potentially disabling conditions, the authoring committee focuses on the need to prevent or reverse the progression that leads to disability and reduced quality of life in persons with potentially disabling conditions.Calling for a coherent national program to focus on prevention, the committee sets forth specific recommendations for federal agencies, state and local programs, and the private sector. This comprehensive agenda addresses the need for improved methods for collecting disability data, specific research questions, directions for university training, reform in insurance coverage, prenatal care, vocational training, and a host of other arenas for action.

DEVELOPMENT CANNOT BE IMPOSED FROM THE OUTSIDE. IT HAS TO HAPPEN FROM WITHIN. This groundbreaking book from South Asia shows how homegrown experiments can be scaled up to transform the lives of millions of poor women and men in the developing world. Here are stories of development ideas that work?and of the visionary individuals who were determined to see them succeed. These achievements have taken place against all odds, in countries struggling with widespread corruption, weak governance, minimal infrastructure, deep-rooted social divisions, and poorly functioning judicial systems. South Asian economies are booming, yet millions are still excluded from participation in this growth. This book offers valuable lessons in how to make markets and services work to benefit poor people directly, enhancing their dignity and freedom of choice. Written by program insiders, these case studies show how governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector can initiate change, learning, expanding and adapting as they go. Ending Poverty in South Asia is an essential tool for policy makers, social scientists, and development practitioners?indeed for all who are interested in tackling poverty and growth issues from the bottom up.

People affiliated with lodges, a community program for people with psychiatric disabilities, were interviewed through small group face-to-face and telephone interviews about their perceptions of promising practices. Responses from the interviews appeared to fit the theme of the lodge serving many of the functions of a family. Relevant excerpts from the interviews were used to supplement this broad theme and implications for practice are discussed in terms of competency-based outcomes.

Public Expenditure Review of Armenia is part of the World Bank Country Study series. These reports are published with the approval of the subject government to communicate the results of the Bank's work on the economic and related conditions of member countries to governments and to the development community.This, the first full-scale World Bank Public Expenditure Review for Armenia, reviews the main fiscal trends in Armenia for the period of 1997-2001 and develops recommendations with respect to further fiscal adjustment, expenditure prioritization, and budget consolidation. The analysis focuses on the following core issues: sustainability of fiscal adjustment, fiscal transparency, expenditure priorities, and short-term expenditure management given the existing economy-wide institutional constraints.This study covers extra-budgetary funds, in-kind external grants, subsidies provided by the state-owned companies in the energy and utility sectors, and operations of the Social Insurance Fund, as well as regular budgetary spending. It suggests a medium-term action plan to address identified weaknesses. Sectoral chapters review health, education, and social protection and insurance. The report also analyzes budget support for core public infrastructure, and Armenia’s public investment program.World Bank Country Studies are available individually or by subscription, both in print and on-line.

Federal law requires that special education services be delivered in the “least restrictive environment.” This is a very important safeguard for parents of late-talking children who are seeking special education services for their child. The presumption is that special education services should be delivered in the regular classroom to the greatest extent possible, given the particular circumstances of each child. For most late-talking children, this means going to the school in their district and being taught in a regular classroom with a typical range of students. However, there are some children with severe behavior disorders, severe autism, or severe intellectual

Parents of a late-talking child are understandably preoccupied with the fact that their child is not speaking, and these parents are usually greatly relieved when their child finally does begin to talk. But even after a late-talking child develops normal speech and goes through other developmental stages, that’s not the end of the story. There are many additional obstacles to overcome, and overcoming them can be like trying to pick your way through a minefield. Delayed speech and language development may turn out to be just a stage a child passes through, but the parents of a late-talking child still