Disability Resource Digest

Volume 8 Issue 5 May 2008

Access to electronic media for the hearing and vision impaired - (Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy). "This discussion paper identifies existing arrangements for access by people with a hearing and or vision impairment to electronic media, outlines arrangements in some overseas jurisdictions, and invites comments on a number of key issues."

http://www.apo.org.au/linkboard/results.chtml?filename_num=206727

Advisory Committee Presents Report on Updated 508 Standards - (Access Currents). "On April 3, the Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC) presented its report to the Access Board on updating accessibility criteria for information and communication technologies. The committee's report recommends revisions to the Board's standards for electronic and information technology covered by section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. It also addresses updates to guidelines for telecommunications products issued by the Board under section 255 of the Telecommunication Act."

http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/refresh/report/ (Report)

Blind users still struggle with 'maddening' computing obstacles - by Lamont Wood (ComputerWorld). "Put your graphical user interface to this test: Adjust the contrast on your display until the screen is completely black. Now, perform basic e-mail, word processing and Web-browsing tasks. What? Having a problem? Welcome to the world of the 1.3 million Americans who are blind. For them, the world of personal computers, office automation and the Internet offers mixed blessings. That world wasn't designed for them, but with the right assistive technology, they can take part in it. When everything works well, they have access to an ocean of information vastly greater than anything previously available to the blind. But pitfalls and maddening frustrations are a constant reality."

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9077118

Effective usability and accessibility testing - (IT-Director). "Creating a usable and accessible Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solution should start at the design stage and continue through every phase of the life cycle, including the monitoring of the production systems. Designing the user interface with input from usability and accessibility experts will ensure a good design, by removing a large number of simple pitfalls and including existing best practice. The use of well-trained developers, good tools and a variety of automated testing tools should ensure that sloppy coding does not compromise the original design. Bad coding is likely to result in some unexpected usability and accessibility issues."

http://www.it-director.com/business/compliance/content.php?cid=10429

Microtel Inns & Suites Tapped for 'Disability Matters' Award - (NewswireToday). "Microtel Inns & Suites has been named a winner in the marketing category of the Disability Matters Award Competition for the brand's significant contributions to the needs of travelers with disabilities. Disability Matters honors select companies that have made contributions in work/life, diversity and marketing initiatives related to people with disabilities and their families. Microtel is the award-winning chain of all-new construction, interior corridor economy/limited service hotels."

http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/32265/

National Credit Reporting Companies, Blind Community, Announce Landmark Initiative to Provide Accessible Online Credit Reports - (ICDRI). "The nation's three major consumer credit reporting companies today unveiled a comprehensive program to provide improved access to important credit information for people who are blind or visually impaired. The initiative, crafted with the American Council of the Blind, its California affiliate and several individual members of the blind community, will help protect the credit information of individuals who cannot read a standard print credit report."

http://www.icdri.org/legal/accessibleCreditReport.htm

Westminster Abbey to launch unique Braille-guided Touch Tour for blind and partially sighted people - (yourable). "Westminster Abbey is to launch a self-guided Braille Touch Tour - believed to be the first guide in the UK that allows blind and partially sighted visitors complete independence within such an historic monument. Touch Tour participants will have the opportunity to touch and feel parts of the Abbey dating back nearly 1,000 years. The tour - which has been endorsed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) - will go live today (April 21) and, for the first time, will allow blind and partially sighted people to use a Braille guide to guide themselves round one of the country's most famous and historic landmarks."

http://www.youreable.com/TwoShare/getPage/01News/01Current/April2008/westminster

Advocacy

Enabling the Disabled - Casting Off the Stigma of Epilepsy - by Joyce Bender (Cuttingedgeneews). "I have a great way to quiet a room – start talking about my epilepsy to a group of strangers. There is always a look of surprise and shock when they discover that I am a person with epilepsy. I can read the 'balloon' above the heads of those who suddenly look like deer caught in headlights. In cartoons, the 'balloons' above the characters tell us what they are really thinking. I know the words in their 'balloons' include: 'I thought you were fine' or 'I never knew she had this terrible problem' or 'Oh, no, epilepsy, I do not want to talk to you about it.' Most people with hidden disabilities do not discuss their disabilities, due to the stigma attached. In the United States today, approximately three million Americans are people with epilepsy and many do not disclose it."

http://www.thecuttingedgenews.com/index.php?article=403

When disability is not disabling - by Adam Makary (Aljazeera). " The UN's World Health Organisation estimates that at least 10 per cent of the world's population has some form of disability. To the advantage of the disabled, Victor Pineda is one of them. A degenerative muscular disorder does not faze Pineda, 29; however, how the world looks down upon people with disabilities, does. After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley in 2000, Pineda embarked on a personal journey aimed at promoting equal opportunities for people with disabilities. Though he uses a wheelchair, the journey to change mindsets has taken Pineda to distant places. He visited Qatar recently for the third International Forum on Children with Special Needs, hosted by the Shafallah Centre for Children with Special Needs in the capital, Doha."

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2C5C96BE-47FC-4CB1-B38E-0CE8E5964496.htm

Education

Barrier-free Elearning: Accessible IT Through Podcasts, Webinars and Online Courses - July 7 & November 3, 2008. "Barrier-free E-learning has been significantly updated and also enriched with new multimedia. The course now is based on the realization that course content authors, faculty and instructional designers, are placing that content inside a courseware or learning management system. Most of the Web accessibility issues relate to that interface, and only a few accessibility features are relevant to the actual course content. The revisions focus on a limited set of accessibility issues and also stress how to achieve accessibility using familiar software that designers are already using. University, business and public schools all are adopting one or more forms of online learning technologies for delivering education and training. Online learning is simultaneously praised and roundly condemned. In any case, it is sweeping across America and into other countries. One of the results of the rapidity of this explosive growth is that, until recently, little attention has been paid to making these technologies accessible to people with various disabilities. Modern adaptive computer technology has the potential to provide the most level learning space in history for these students. However, the wrong technology choices may erect new and needless barriers to the full inclusion of these students."

http://easi.cc/workshops/bfel.htm

TARGET Discovery Series - " Discovery Series Fast Facts:

·         Informative and engaging educational programs on a variety of topics

·         The 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of every month: 1 pm EST

·         Attend at USDA TARGET Center or live online through Web Connect

·         No cost, anyone can attend

·         Email target-center@usda.gov to register."

http://www.usda.gov/oo/target/discovery/

Employment

A positive attitude to disability - (BBC). "Denmark and France were quite different when it came to helping disabled people into work. As Preeti and I landed in Madrid after a two hour flight from Paris, we were soon to discover that Spain also had some common themes. For example, like France, Spain also has a quota system. Also like France, the Spanish employers generally ignore the quota. This is reflected in the statistics, as fewer than 30% of disabled people in Spain are in work. The Spanish have two different sets of quota targets for disabled workers. The first is aimed at the private sector, which states that 2% of the workforce, in any company which employs more than 50 people, must have a disability. For public administrations, it is 5% of the workforce. If they can't meet their quota targets, they do have other options. Employers can buy services or goods from a disabled workshop or a disabled self-employed person."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7326009.stm

Workplace Skills Initiative - "The Workplace Skills Initiative (WSI) is pleased to announce its third Call for Proposals. The Workplace Skills Initiative (WSI) funds demonstration projects which respond to a range of skills-related challenges in Canadian workplaces, in order to improve productivity and position Canada to effectively compete in the global knowledge-based economy."

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/workplaceskills/skills_initiative/index.shtml

Ethics

Equality obsession puts vulnerable at risk - by Minette Marrin (Timesonline). "The prevailing obsession with equality leads sometimes, like many good intentions, to cruelty and injustice, not least against people with learning disabilities. Last week the newspapers were full of pictures of a sweet-faced boy with Down's syndrome of about 18, looking much younger, who has been so unjustly treated by the police and the procurator fiscal in Scotland that, most unusually, the Scottish Crown Office has just apologised to his family. This unfortunate young man, who attends the special needs department of a college in Lanarkshire, allegedly pushed or slapped an Asian girl with special needs on the same course. It was a very minor incident, rather like a playground spat, which I would have expected their course workers to sort out."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/minette_marrin/article3779862.ece

Mapping the individual: cheaply - by Charles Arthur (Guardian.co.uk). "By 2015, babies might have their entire DNA read at birth, as costs of sequencing plunge. Charles Arthur looks at the implications for individuals and society. . . Had one of his parents been slightly less fortunate in their choice of a mate, James Watson might not have helped discover the structure of DNA in 1953. Instead, he would have been born deaf, and then lost his sight as he became a teenager. Equally, as he is, had he been less fortunate in the genetic lottery when he chose his wife, either of their sons might have had the same fate. This is because Watson's complete DNA - his genome - contains a single gene for Usher's syndrome, an inherited disorder which affects hearing and sight."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/24/research.politics

On deafness, disability and embryo selection - by Carol George (phgFoundation). "Amendments proposed last year in a review of the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act contain a new provision in relation to fertility treatment that has offended members of the deaf community and raises important questions about government policies on embryo selection and serious disability. The controversy is centered on a new licensing condition proposed in clause 14(4) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill that would prohibit the selection of a 'disabled' embryo when a normal one is available. Embryos known to have a genetic abnormality (including a gender-related abnormality) that places them at 'significant risk' of 'serious disability or illness' are not to be preferred over those that are not known to have the abnormality."

http://www.phgfoundation.org/news/4073/

General Interest

ADAPT Announces 10 Best and Worst States for Community Services - (NSCIA). "In the plaza of the Hall of the States, ADAPT announced the 2008 Ten Best and Ten Worst States in the delivery of home and community services to people with disabilities and older Americans. The Hall of States building is home to the National Governors Association, an organization that has been very vocal in recent years about the preference of community services over nursing homes and other institutions, yet has not been able to inspire its own members to improve their provision of those services."

http://www.spinalcord.org/news.php?dep=1&page=6&list=1720

Groups Partner With Holocaust Center For Nation's First Disability Holocaust Memorial - by Dave Reynolds (Inclusion Daily Express). "After two years of working together, disability groups in Nottingham are ready to unveil the United Kingdom's first sculpture to remember the nearly one million Europeans with disabilities that were murdered or sterilized during the Nazi regime in the last century. Members of the Nottinghamshire Disabled People's Movement and the Pioneers Young Disabled People's Forum formed a partnership with the Holocaust Centre in Laxton to draw attention to this history, which members say is not well known and poorly represented."

http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/2008/04/25/042508ukholocst.htm

Marcie Roth: No Stopping for Road Blogs - (spinalcord.org). "As CEO and executive director of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA), Marcie Roth , is a passionate spokesperson and can often be found in some pretty unexpected places. Currently, Roth is sharing her enthusiasm and expertise in Qatar as a US Delegate to the Shafallah Forum on Children with Disabilities. Read on to hear some of her experiences in her own words."

http://www.spinalcord.org/news.php?dep=1&page=0&list=1683

NZ disability group awarded US$50,000 grant - (Scoop). "The Disabled Persons Assembly (DPA) has been awarded a US $50,000 grant as part of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award, announced Disability Issues Minister Ruth Dyson today. The prestigious Roosevelt Award has been won by the New Zealand Government in recognition of the progress made in advancing the participation of disabled people across New Zealand society. The US $50,000 grant, which is part of the Award, is given to an outstanding non-government disability organisation selected by the winning country."

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0804/S00129.htm

Uncommonly typical: 12-year old earns national honor for use of technology - by Laurie Bailey (PostGazette). "According to his mother, Mark Steidl, 12, is a pretty typical kid. He loves music and being outside with friends near his Highland Park home. Mark is an honor student at his Overbrook school who taught himself to read at age 4 and has composed music. Typical? How about extraordinary? Mark has cerebral palsy, which robs him of the physical ability to sing or hold a musical instrument. But it does not prevent him from being a high achiever. On Friday, Mark and his parents, Tina Calabro and David Steidl, celebrated in Boston when he received the 'Yes I can!' award from the Council for Exceptional Children, an international organization, at its annual convention and expo."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08101/871814-55.stm

When a Mind Begins to Disappear: A Young Family's Journey to the Dark Side - by Alan Mozes (HealthDay News). "Construction foreman Jim Mueller was in his early 30s when his memory started to go. He'd forget things: his schedule, his equipment, where he was, and where he was going. Sometimes even the names of his daughters and his wife. But nothing prepared the Mueller family for the doctor's verdict. 'When they said Jim had Alzheimer's, I was in shock,' Jim's wife, Michelle, quietly recalls. 'I mean, I had heard of Alzheimer's because of President Reagan. And I had worked at one time when I was younger to care for someone with Alzheimer's (but) I thought that was for people when they got older. And I really didn't believe it.' Jim Mueller, now 39, is, in fact, just one of an estimated 500,000 Americans currently battling the daily ravages of early-onset Alzheimer's (sometimes called young-onset Alzheimer's) -- a form of the incurable and devastating neurodegenerative disease that strikes those in their mid-30s to mid-60s."

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/614483.html?chan=search

Government

Canadian

Province Supports Tax Measures and Support Trusts for People with Disabilities - "The Provincial [Newfoundland and Labrador] Government has amended regulations to support improvements to the tax system for individuals with low incomes, and people with disabilities and their families by exempting both the federal Working Income Tax Benefit and the Registered Disability Saving Plan from the calculation of Income Support benefits. The two exemptions are effective April 1, 2008."

http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2008/hrle/0331n06.htm

U.S.

Who Gets My Vote? - by Josie Byzek (Abilitymagazine). "I'm a registered Democrat in Pennsylvania and for the first time ever my primary vote actually matters. It's exciting, but scary. What if I choose wrong, and my vote is the vote that pushes my candidate into the White House, where he or she ends up being another clunker? Plus, I have a responsibility to figure out which candidate would do the best job on issues that matter most to the disability community. Given that none of the candidates, to my knowledge, has spoken the words 'disability issues' on Meet the Press or even The Tonight Show, this is a harder task than it seemed at first."

http://www.newmobility.com/articleView.cfm?id=11131

Health/Wellness

Bladder Matters - by Bob Vogel (Abilitymagazine). "Spinal cord injuries above T10 generally result in a spastic bladder rather than a flaccid bladder. Unmanaged, a spastic bladder causes problems — some embarrassing and some life-threatening. The danger is that when the urethral sphincter clamps down, urine has nowhere to go and the high pressure can cause dysreflexia, damage to the bladder, and reflux — urine backing up into kidneys and causing further damage. Although a spastic bladder can often be managed with anticholergenics such as Ditropan or Detrol, there are other options, including treatment with Botox. Interestingly, the stuff the rich and famous get injected into their facial muscles to temporarily smooth wrinkles can also be used 'off-label' to quiet the bladder."

http://www.newmobility.com/articleView.cfm?id=11139

The hidden cost of failing sight - by Tash Shifrin (Guardian.co.uk). "If the UK Vision Strategy is to become not just another document, but a framework for real action, ministers across the UK will need to dramatically increase their efforts. "The four governments have let us down," RNIB director of policy and advocacy, Fazilet Hadi, says bluntly. 'There has been no real understanding that sight is a public health issue,' she says. 'We are realists and we know that smoking, obesity and heart disease are up at the top of the public health agenda, but smoking, for example, has an impact on sight loss. They fail to link sight into that broader agenda and they do virtually nothing on sight itself'."

http://society.guardian.co.uk/visionofthefuture/story/0,,2271098,00.html

Legal

B.C. court upholds award for herpes-paralyzed man - (CTV). "The B.C. Court of Appeal says a man left paralyzed by a sexually-transmitted disease is entitled to a disability payment from his health insurance company and dismissed their appeal of the award. Randolph Charles Gibbens, 45, contracted Type-2 herpes after having unprotected sex with three women in January and February 2003. Gibbens went to his doctor complaining of headaches and muscle pain but wasn't diagnosed. His doctor diagnosed a viral illness and prescribed symptomatic treatment. Four days later, Gibbens went to a hospital emergency department, complaining of urinary retention, kidney pain and pelvic discomfort. He had been vomiting for two days and was very shaky and unco-ordinated. He was diagnosed with urinary retention, possible alcohol withdrawal and epigastric pain. His health continued to deteriorate until Feb. 23, 2003, when he was left paraplegic."

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080415/herpes_paralysis_080415/20080415/

Law to help students with learning disability passes - by Ehud Zion Waldoks (The Jerusalem Post). "The Knesset approved a law to help students in higher education with learning disabilities on Tuesday evening. The law, proposed by MK Zevulun Orlev (NU-NRP), requires academic institutions to provide various sorts of assistance to those with learning disabilities such as tutoring, learning aids and a system to grade tests while taking into account their disability, among other things. The law is set to go into effect over the next six years to enable the ground to be prepared properly. The law has been in the works since the 15th Knesset."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1206632392693&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Media

Arts and disability action plan 2008-2010 (Australia Council for the Arts) - "As an Australian Government agency, the Australia Council has developed the arts and disability action plan 2008-2010 to guide the organisation in its operations, programs and strategies in relation to access and equity for people with disabilities."

http://www.apo.org.au/linkboard/results.chtml?filename_num=208010

 Celebrity & Hero Witnesses Support Equal Access - (AAPD). "The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is delighted that celebrity and hero witnesses will testify at a Hearing held by the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet on draft legislation, 'Enhancing Access to Broadband Technology and Services for Persons with Disabilities' on May 1, 2008. These witnesses include: Jamaal Anderson, defensive end and 2007 first round draft pick of the NFL Atlanta Falcons whose father is a leading deaf educator and former board member of Gallaudet University; Russell Harvard, a deaf Hollywood actor appearing in the double-academy award winning movie 'There Will Be Blood'; and Sergeant Major Jesse Acosta, a distinguished army veteran whose vision was seriously injured in Iraq. These witnesses' statements offer support for the legislative and regulatory agenda of the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT), numbering nearly 200 national, regional and local members, a coalition advocating for new technologies to be made accessible to people with disabilities."

http://www.aapd.com/News/telecomm/080501aapd.htm

Julian Schnabel - by Allen Rcuker(Abilitymagazine). "From Salvador Dali to Andy Warhol, many a famous artist has taken a stab at directing movies, with results ranging from the eccentric to the moronic. But world-renowned painter Julian Schnabel continues to make movies that are accessible and sure-handed. So far, he's directed three acclaimed features: Basquiat (1993), about another celebrated artist who was his friend; Before Night Falls (2000), about a defiant gay Cuban writer; and his current release, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), about a magazine editor imprisoned within his own paralyzed body. In term of accolades and media noise, Diving Bell is Schnabel's breakthrough film. At this writing, he'd won Best Director at Cannes, Best Director at the Golden Globes—where his film also took best picture—and had been nominated for an Oscar for Best Director. And this was just as awards season was getting started."

http://www.abilitymagazine.com/Schnabel.html

Positive Exposure - "Insults, fear, discrimination and hatred based on genetic, physical and behavioral differences plague our society. Positive Exposure attacks public fears about difference with positive images and powerful life stories. Utilizing photography and video interviews, our educational, training and multi-media exhibition programs focus on people living with genetic, physical and mental health conditions of all ages and ethno cultural heritages."

http://www.positiveexposure.org/files/positive_exposure.pdf

Save the Date: Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the World Institute on Disability at

http://www.wid.org/ever-widening-circle

 Still loud, still proud - (DisabilityNow). "The actor and writer Mat Fraser talks to Paul Carter about freak shows, performing in the nude and the 50th anniversary of the drug Thalidomide that caused his impairment. Mat Fraser remains one of the most recognisable disabled people in the UK today. 'Apparently, I'm like, 5th, he says. 'I used to be 3rd. Still, we've all got to be yesterday's crip sometime!' Despite the wry humour, Mat, now 46, shows little sign of fading quietly into obscurity."

http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/living/features/still-loud-still-proud

Tommy Hollenstein: Tracking Art - by Sam Maddox (NewMobility). "Tommy Hollenstein's artwork is colorful and chaotic yet infused with the optimism and transformative drama that define the Southern California experience. Tommy is a native Angelino ex-surfer boy who sports a mini-Mohawk bleach job and a tanned and mellow Valley boy manner. He's been getting lots of traction, so to speak, with his work. He paints by joystick — that is, with the tires of his power wheelchair — rolling through paint spilled on the floor, or with a dab of color coated on the tires to layer colors toward a unique, complex whole. He calls it a sort of 'action painting'."

http://www.newmobility.com/articleView.cfm?id=11137

Medical

Canadians' access to new medicines delayed or blocked by government policies and drug plans - (FraserInstitute). "Canadian patients are having difficulty obtaining new medicines as a result of lengthy delays by the federal government to approve new prescription drugs and the refusal of provincial drug plans to pay for the new medicines, says a new study by independent research organization the Fraser Institute."

http://www.fraserinstitute.org/commerce.web/newsrelease.aspx?nid=5291

 FDA Approves VYVANSE (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate), the First and Only Once-Daily Prodrug Stimulant to Treat ADHD in Adults - "Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for VYVANSE (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate), for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults. VYVANSE, introduced in July 2007 for the treatment of ADHD in children aged 6 to 12 years, is now the first and only once-daily prodrug stimulant approved to treat adults with ADHD. In its first eight months of availability, more than one million VYVANSE prescriptions have been filled."

http://www.add.org/news/VYVANSE.pdf

 Gene therapy may alleviate blindness, study shows - (CTV). "Researchers have used gene therapy to restore vision in a small group of young adults with a form of retinal degeneration, two new studies report. The studies' subjects had a form of retinal degeneration known as Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA). LCA causes blindness by damaging the retina so it can no longer process light. Scientists injected a normal version of a gene known as RPE65, which is mutated in one form of LCA, into the eyes of patients with the disease. They injected one eye and left the other eye untreated. In the American study, the patients, one aged 19 and two 26-year-olds, were treated at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Within two weeks, they noticed that their vision improved in the treated eye."

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080428/eye_study_080428/20080428?hub=Health

Policy/Research

508 and Higher Ed. - by Jon Whiting (WebAim). "The National Center on Disability and Access to Education (NCDAE), a partner, is currently involved in a project to help educational institutions improve the accessibility of their online content. As part of the project, I recently conducted an evaluation of 100 randomly-selected web pages, each from a different higher education institution website. The pages were evaluated for Section 508 compliance. The results were a little surprising. . .only three of the one-hundred pages complied with Section 508. Although more details will be submitted for publication soon, I wanted to share some of my results and opinions with the WebAIM community."

http://webaim.org/blog/508-and-higher-ed/

Adults with autism to be audited - (BBC News). "For the first time the government is to calculate the number of adults with autism in England. Announcing the £500,000 project, Care Services Minister Ivan Lewis said autistic adults are too often abandoned by health and social services. The National Autistic Society welcomed the move, saying it hopes it will mark a turning point in the way the needs of adults with autism are met. The statistics will be used to form a national strategy."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7389228.stm

CAAC Report Focuses on Development and Disability - (Sangon.net). "The Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) has completed a study on Including Disability within the Context of Development: Opportunities, Challenges, Constraints and Strategies."

http://www.sangonet.org.za/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9131&Itemid=1

http://www.caac.up.ac.za/newsfiles/SANPAD_report_22_feb.pdf  (Report)

Emergency Management Research and People With Disabilities: A Resource Guide - "The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) is pleased to provide this online resource guide on emergency management research and people with disabilities. This resource guide is the culmination of cooperative efforts by NIDRR, the Department of Education, the Research Subcommittee of the Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities (ICC), and the New Freedom Initiative Subcommittee of the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR)."

http://www.ncddr.org/new/announcements/EMRfPwD/index.html

A framework for influencing change – responding to violence against women with disabilities, 2007-2009 - by Keran Howe (The Victorian Women with Disabilities Network Advocacy Information Service). "This framework addresses violence against women with disabilities by outlining 12 key strategies to guide the advocacy work of the VWDN Advocacy Information Service, and targeting family violence and sexual assault as priority areas of concern."

http://www.apo.org.au/linkboard/results.chtml?filename_num=205566

Fruition of groundbreaking treaty on disability rights hailed by UN officials - (UN.org). "The top United Nations human rights and development officials today warmly welcomed the news that yesterday the first international convention on the rights of persons with disabilities got its twentieth ratification, meaning that the landmark treaty will now come into force on 3 May. 'I am extremely happy,' Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in Geneva, noting that people with disabilities and their supporters struggled for a very long time to achieve this result."

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=26213&Cr=disab&Cr1=

UN Convention on Disabilities Ratified by 20 Countries - "The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has now been ratified by 20 countries, a major step in the overall process leading ultimately to implementation and enforcement. 'We are very pleased that this important global treaty has reached this important milestone,' said Marcie Roth, CEO and executive director of NSCIA. The Convention will enter into force 30 days after the 20th ratification, on May 3, 2008. The countries that have ratified the Convention are now obliged to establish national arrangements for coordinating Convention implementation. The Conference of States Parties will convene not later than six months after the 20th ratification. They will appoint a Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the time of their first meeting. The Committee will have the job of monitoring national progress, further interpreting the Convention Articles and dealing with complaints from within countries which have signed and ratified the Optional Protocol."

http://www.spinalcord.org/news.php?dep=1&page=0&list=1672

History of Disability - by Lauren Den Hartog (insideToronto). "History of disability in Canada takes centre stage at a new ROM exhibit. Identical grey sweatsuits, a 50-year-old trunk and a braille watch are just some of the items on display in a new exhibit exploring Canadian disability history at the ROM. Curated by faculty members from Ryerson University's School of Disability Studies, Out from Under: Disability, History and Things to Remember, is a collaboration between students, scholars and alumni from Ryerson University. The exhibit features 13 items that all feature prominently in the history of Canadians with disabilities and is the first of its kind in Canada."

http://www.insidetoronto.ca/News/Annex/article/46473

Human Rights Policy in Ontario - 2008 Edition - "On this 45th anniversary of the Ontario Human Rights Code, I am pleased to present the fourth edition of Human Rights Policy in Ontario, a publication first introduced in 1998. I am also pleased that Carswell, a respected publisher of employment and human rights related material, is our partner in putting together this latest compendium of the Ontario Human Rights Commission's policies and guidelines. Since the Code was introduced, society's understanding of human rights has evolved, and protections under it have expanded to reflect these changes. Where the Code once covered six grounds -- race, creed, colour, nationality, ancestry and place of origin, today there are 15 protected grounds including the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of gender, marital and family status, disability, and sexual orientation."

http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/resources/news/policybook

The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education - "The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal integrating and coordinating basic and applied research relating to individuals who are deaf, including cultural, developmental, linguistic, and educational topics."

View Current Issue (Volume 13 Issue 2 Spring 2008

National Council on Disability Recommends Improving Federal Data Describing the Status of Americans with Disabilities - "The National Council on Disability (NCD) today released Keeping Track: National Disability Status and Program Performance Indicators (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2008/Indicators_Report.html), calling on the Federal Government to do more now to improve federal data describing the status of Americans with disabilities. This report is the result of a year-long effort. It describes what is known about the status of people with disabilities in the United States, and examines current data to assess the extent to which they meaningfully measure the well-being of people with disabilities. "

http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/news/2008/r08-560.htm

National Forum on Disability Issues featuring The 2008 Presidential Candidates (invited) - July 26, 2008 Columbus, Ohio - "The National Forum on Disability Issues, featuring the 2008 Presidential Candidates (invited) is a historic, nonpartisan forum on national disability policy to be held on July 26, 2008 in Columbus, Ohio at Veterans Memorial. The venue allows us to welcome over a thousand Americans with disabilities and their friends and family (registration required) to attend the event and to commemorate the 18th anniversary of our civil rights law, the Americans with Disabilities Act. The forum will feature time slots for the presidential candidates to individually present their visions for the future of disability policy in America followed by questions from the audience, asked through a moderator. This presidential candidates forum builds on the success of our November primary-focused forum in New Hampshire, where the disability community made history with its first-ever disability presidential candidates forum with participation from seven presidential candidates, five of them in person."

http://www.aapd.com/News/election/080423aapd.htm

http://www.aapd.com/News/election/downloads/candidate_ques.doc (Candidate Questions)

Study Shows Disability Support Workers Undervalued - (Service And Food Workers Union). "Study Shows Disability Support Workers Undervalued. The Service and Food Workers Union is pleased by further study results that show something needs to be done about pay rates for workers supporting people with disabilities. An independent job evaluation commissioned by the PSA and released today has shown that public hospital health/therapy assistants and corrections officers' jobs are of substantially similar size and value when you compare the knowledge, skills, emotional and physical demands and levels of responsibility of each."

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0804/S00013.htm

http://www.psa.org.nz/Disability_support.asp (PSA report)

Rehabilitation

What can we learn from the personal insights of individuals living and coping with Multiple Sclerosis? - by K. S. Malcomson; A. S. Lowe-Strong; and L. Dunwoody (Informaworld). "The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the personal accounts of individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Hence the study presents individuals experiences of living with MS to date and the effective self-management strategies employed to cope in day-to-day life." (Abstract only. Full text article available through subscription).

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a779966109?jumptype=alert&alerttype=new_issue_alert,email

Self-Help

New Web Community Brings Together Parents of Visually Impaired Children - (AFB). "When parents learn their child has a visual impairment, it can be overwhelming. Parents wonder, 'Will my child fall behind at school?' or 'Will my child make friends?' or 'Will my child have a successful career?' With only 93,600 visually impaired school-aged children in the U.S., over half of whom have additional disabilities, it's easy for families facing vision loss to feel alone. To help these families connect with each other and give busy parents, grandparents and other caretakers a place to find comprehensive resources and support 24 hours a day, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and the National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI) today launched FamilyConnect, an online, multimedia community for parents and guardians of children with visual impairments."

http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?DocumentID=4122

Paralysis Resource Guide Request Form - "The Paralysis Resource Guide is a FREE 336-page book, a comprehensive information tool for people affected by paralysis and for those who care for them. You may request multiple copies."

http://www.paralysis.org/site/apps/ka/ct/ContactSent.asp?c=erJMJUOxFmH&b=3896639&en=lwJRJ7OWJmLVJ6MXImITK6OTJoJ3KfP3JlITIfO8LwJfH&SupporterID=8pILLYNCJkKNKSNvEoF

Sports

Disability Bitch vs the Paralympics - by Disability Bitch (Ouch). ". . . Now, forgive me if I'm being a little dense here, but if you are going to have a sporting competition especially for the disableds, it seems bizarre to prevent disabled people from entering it just because they aren't disabled in the right way. Anything else would suggest that the Paralympics isn't a competition for disabled people, but rather a competition for a select few cripples with socially acceptable impairments. It reinforces hierarchies of disability, that's what it does. The ones who go fastest, the ones who are most like the Abled - they're the ones that win prizes. If it truly was a competition celebrating disabled people, surely you'd give the prizes to the slowest, most crippified among us?"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/features/b1tch/080508.shtml

Disability bonds athletes - by Bill Wells (TheRepublican). "Their disabilities brought them together. Their friendship kept them together. Longtime friends Mike Prout and Justin Zook have traveled all over the world competing in swimming events for people with disabilities. In August, their friendship and worldly experiences will continue to grow when they head to China as members of team USA for the 2008 Paralympics at Beijing. The teammates earned two of 20 spots after their performances at the USA Swimming Trials at the University of Minnesota over the weekend. For both Prout and Zook, a pair of local college students, it will be the second time they will be representing their country at the Paralympics, as both competed at the 2004 Games at Athens, Greece."

http://www.masslive.com/sports/republican/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/120783169542710.xml&coll=1

Karate champ proves blindness no disability - by Belinda Cranston (Sydneymorningherald). "He's the first blind person in Australia to obtain his black belt in karate, has his own fashion website and is part-way through a bachelor of business degree. Now Dawson Ko is starring in a television advertisement that began screening nationally last month. The 24-year-old from Burwood can be seen on commercial television stations, calmly preparing for moves that have enabled him to compete at state and international tournaments against sighted competitors."

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/karate-champ-proves-blindness-no-disability/2008/04/05/1207249538539.html

Maryland First State to Pass Sports Equity Law for Students with Disabilities - (NSCIA). "Atholton senior and wheelchair athlete Tatyana McFadden has won races against some of the best competition in the world, but her most recent victory came away from the track. McFadden's testimony in front of the General Assembly was pivotal in it unanimously passing a bill that requires schools to provide disabled students with access to high school sports teams, either among themselves or with able-bodied students."

http://www.spinalcord.org/news.php?dep=1&page=0&list=1680

Pistorius waits on Olympic news - (BBC Sport). "Double amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius is set to hear within the next three weeks whether he can compete at this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. The South African finished his two-day appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne on Wednesday. In January, athletics' governing body the IAAF banned him from able-bodied events. It claimed the 21-year-old's prosthetic limbs give him an unfair advantage, but he disagrees."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/7243481.stm

Wheelchair racing dropped from Beijing Games - (CBC). "Chinese Olympic organizers have eliminated wheelchair racing from the Beijing Games, Radio-Canada learned Friday. As a result, Quebec-born paralympic wheelchair racing champion Chantal Petitclerc will not compete in the Beijing Olympics in August. Wheelchair racing has been a demonstration sport in the Olympics, as well as a major paralympic event, since 1984. Petitclerc will compete at the Beijing Paralympics, which run Sept. 7-17. She has long argued that wheelchair racing should move from a demonstration sport to a fully recognized sport at the Olympics. Petitclerc said Friday's decision is a huge step backward for the sport. The Olympic event has been a huge showcase not just for wheelchair racing but for all paralympic athletes, she said."

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/amateur/story/2008/04/11/petticlerc-paralympics.html

Technology

ADA Technical Assistance CD-ROM - "This free CD-ROM contains a complete collection of the Department's ADA materials. It includes the Department's regulations, architectural design standards, and technical assistance publications. Designed for easy use on laptop computers in the field, or other computers that lack high speed Internet access, the CD-ROM will make searching documents and identifying appropriate ADA information easier and more efficient. Documents on the CD ROM are provided in a variety of formats, including HTML, WordPerfect, and text (ASCII), to enable people with disabilities and others to gain easy access, translate materials to braille, or use screen readers. Many documents are also provided in Acrobat PDF format so that they appear as they do in print and permit the publication to be reprinted by personal computers."

http://www.ada.gov/adatacd1.htm

The Rise of the Body Bots - by Erico Guizzo and Harry Goldstein (IEEE Spectrum Online). "Science-fiction fans have long become accustomed to the idea of steely commandos clad in robotic exoskeletons taking on huge, vicious, extraterrestrial beasts, shadowy evil cyborgs, or even each other. . . . Today, in Japan and the United States, engineers are finally putting some practical exoskeletons through their paces outside of laboratories. But don't look for these remarkable new systems to bust bricks or spew lightning. The very first commercially available exoskeleton, scheduled to hit the market in Japan next month, is designed to help elderly and disabled people walk, climb stairs, and carry things around."

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/oct05/1901

WebAnywhere: A Screen reader on the go - "WebAnywhere is a web-based screen reader for the web. It requires no special software to be installed on the client machine and, therefore, enables blind people to access the web from any computer they happen to have access to that has a sound card. . . . WebAnywhere runs on any machine regardless of what operating system it is running and regardless of what browsers are installed. . . . We have recently released the source of WebAnywhere as an open source project."

http://webinsight.cs.washington.edu/projects/webanywhere/

Conferences

( New Conferences)

    Audio Conference Series Session Schedule - "All Sessions are scheduled from 1:00-2:30 p.m. (90 minute sessions) Central Time Zone(CT). The program is available in three formats:

·         Teleconference

·         Streaming Audio via the Internet

·         Real-time Captioning via the Internet

All sessions will have a written transcript as well as a digital recording of the session archived on this site." The dates of the sessions are listed on the site. The first session titled " Employer Best Practices: Recruitment and Hiring of People with Disabilities" will be presented on May 20, 2008.

http://www.ada-ohio.org/informat.htm

Canadian

Eighth International Conference on the Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations - June 17-20, 2008 | Montreal, Quebec. "Welcome to website of the Eighth International Conference on the Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations. This Conference is to be held in Montréal, Canada 17-20 June 2008. This conference will address a range of critically important themes in the study of diversity today. Main speakers will include some of the world's leading thinkers in the field, as well as numerous paper, workshop and colloquium presentations by researchers and practitioners."

http://d08.cgpublisher.com/

CHHA - IFHOH, Congress 2008 - July 2-6, 2008 | Vancouver, British Columbia. "The Canadian Hard of Hearing Association and the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People invite you to attend the International Congress for persons with hearing loss to be held in Canada at the fabulous Sheraton Vancouver Wall Center in downtown Vancouver. Programs will be of interest to all persons with hearing loss, and to those who live, work and are part of the lives of persons with hearing loss. This Congress is a 'must' if hearing loss has touched your life."

http://www.chha-ifhohcongress2008.com/

Vision 2008, the 9th International Conference on Low Vision - July 7-11, 2008 | Montreal, Quebec. "In 2008, the 9th International Conference on Low Vision will be held from July 7 to 11 in Montréal, one of Canada's major cities. The Institut Nazareth & Louis-Braille (A Rehabilitation Centre specialized in visual impairment) and the University of Montréal's School of Optometry will oversee the organization of this Conference in partnership with the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) under the auspices of the International Society for Low Vision Research and Rehabilitation (ISLRR)."

www.vision2008.ca

    Brain Development & Learning Conference: Making Sense of the Science - July 12-15, 2008 | Vancouver, British Columbia. - " An interdisciplinary conference devoted to improving children's lives by making cutting-edge research in neuroscience, child psychology, & medicine understandable & applicable to those who work with children on a daily basis."

http://www.interprofessional.ubc.ca/BDL_subpages/bdl.html

Biennial Conference - International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication -August 2-7, 2008 | Montreal, Quebec - "In August 2008 the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) will hold its 13th international conference in Montreal. ISAAC brings together people with communication disabilities, professionals, researchers, and academics from all over the world to present and discuss the latest advances for people who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)."

http://www.isaac2008.org/ex_intro.html

21st RI World Congress - Disability Rights and Social Participation: Ensuring a Society for All - August 25-28, 2008 | Quebec City, Quebec. "The international community is facing a unique opportunity to drastically improve the living conditions of hundreds of millions of people with disabilities by implementing the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This treaty provides the framework for the development of good policies, actions and projects which can have a positive impact on the lives of people with disabilities all over the world. People with disability, their family and friends, human rights advocates, experts, government representatives, service providers and civil society leaders from all over the world will gather in Quebec City, Canada from August 25-28, 2008, for the 21st RI World Congress to discuss key disability issues and build partnerships."

http://www.riquebec2008.org/

Third ICOH Conference on Psychosocial Factors at Work - September 1-4, 2008. | Québec City, Quebec. "The Third ICOH-WOPS international conference "Psychosocial Factors at Work: From Knowledge to Action" will take place in Québec City, September 1-4, 2008. The two first International ICOH Conferences on Psychosocial Factors at Work were held in Copenhagen in 1998 and in Japan in 2005. Both conferences were highly successful attracting more than 300 international researchers in the field. The 2008 conference will address four major themes: Preventive interventions; Disability management and Return to work; Psychological harassment at work; and Public policies on mental health at work. Papers will include mental health, musculosqueletal and cardiovascular diseases; quantitative and qualitative methodology. We hope that you will attend the Conference and it will be a pleasure to welcome you."

http://www.icoh-wops2008.com/Afficher.aspx?langue=en

    23rd year of the Canadian Seating & Mobility Conference - September 24-26, 2008 | Toronto Ontario. "This year's program promises to offer an exciting and interesting variety of topics for all of us who work in the area of assistive technology. The Conference program consists of educational workshops, paper and poster presentations as well as keynote speaker. Our theme this year is 'Life is a Highway ' and the Conference incorporates international speakers, issues and ideas to compliment the theme."

http://www.csmc.ca/

Tenth International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility - October 13-15, 2008 | Halifax, Nova Scotia. "The ASSETS series of conferences is aimed at providing a technical forum for presenting and disseminating innovative research results that address the use of computing and information technologies to help persons with disabilities."

http://www.sigaccess.org/assets08/

The 3rd National Spinal Cord Injury Conference and the 16th Interurban Spinal Cord Injury Conference - November 6-8, 2008 | Toronto, Ontario. "Toronto Rehabilitation Institute is pleased to announce that the 3rd National Spinal Cord Injury Conference and the 16th Interurban Spinal Cord Injury Conference will be held as one national event on Spinal Cord Rehabilitation: Innovation, Impact and Future Directions at the Hilton Toronto Hotel on November 6, 7, 8, 2008. The conference will include a pre-course, plenary sessions, poster displays and concurrent workshops that are intended to promote collaboration and exchange among attendees in a variety of formats."

http://www.torontorehab.com/education/scic08index.htm

U.S.

NFB National Convention 2008 - June 29-July 5, 2008 | Dallas, Texas. "This year we are returning to Dallas and the beautiful Hilton Anatole Hotel, site of the 2006 convention. . . . The schedule this year is a departure from what many of us think of as the usual one. Preconvention seminars for parents of blind children and other groups and set-up of the exhibit hall will take place on Sunday, June 29, and adjournment will be Saturday, July 5, at 5:00 p.m. Convention registration and registration packet pick-up for those who registered online will begin on Monday, June 30, and both Monday and Tuesday will be filled with meetings of divisions and committees, including the Tuesday morning annual meeting, open to all, of the board of directors of the National Federation of the Blind."

http://www.nfb.org/nfb/National_Convention_2008.asp?SnID=1602533494

Toward Culturally Responsive Disability Services: An International Conference - October 6 and 7, 2008 | Niagara Falls, New York. Conference themes are:

·         Cultural competency education and training (pre service and in service)

·         Best practices in providing culturally responsive services in the disability and health services

·         Acquiring and strengthening cultural competence through international experience

·        Research on cultural competency

http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/conference2008/index.html

IDA 59th Annual Conference - October 29-November 1, 2008 | Seattle, Washington. "The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) is a scientific and educational nonprofit organization concerned with dyslexia and related language and learning difficulties. The IDA Annual Conference focuses on the latest advances in these and related fields. IDA is interested in a broad spectrum of research and practical presentations along these lines. The objective of the conference is to bring up-to-date information to a diverse audience that includes educators, researchers, physicians, psychologists, social workers, speech-language pathologists, administrators, parents, persons with dyslexia, and others."

http://www.interdys.org/AnnualConference.htm

    Technology, Reading & Learning Diversity 2009 - January 22-24 2009 | San Francisco California. "The mission of TRLD 2009 is "Opening Doors to Universal Learning." Universal Learning embodies the idea of equitable and flexible access to concepts and ideas for all students, all people. The digital age we live in creates a level playing field and multiple opportunities for all learners to achieve."

http://www.trld.com/about/mission/index.html

ATIA 2009 - January 28-31, 2009 | Orlando, Florida. "The ATIA Conference serves as a leading conference for the Assistive Technology community offering attendees the opportunity to participate in discussions with industry experts, learn about new technologies, best practices, and a host of specialized services. Assistive Technology products and technologies will be represented in various presentations, demonstrations and/or exhibits. In addition, hands-on labs will provide an opportunity to experiment with and evaluate the latest assistive technology devices and software."

http://www.atia.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3280

Overseas

4th Cambridge Workshop on Universal Access and Assistive Technology - April 14-16, 2008 | Cambridge, United Kingdom. "'Creating a better balance of work, living and leisure, for disability and ageing' The workshop theme 'Designing Inclusive Futures' reflects the need to explore the issues and practicalities of design that is intended to extend our active future lives in a coherent way. This encompasses design for inclusion: in the workplace; for businesses; for the individual and of products in these contexts."

http://rehab-www.eng.cam.ac.uk/cwuaat/

11th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs - July 9-11, 2008 | University of Linz, Austria. - "Over the last decades the advancement in Assistive Technologies (AT) and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have significantly influenced the life of people with disabilities. According changes in awareness and understanding of disability as well as social and legal frameworks, driven by Disability Rights and Independent Living Movements led to what is known as eAccessibility, Universal Design or eInclusion."

http://www.icchp.org/overview

Disability Studies Conference - September 2-4, 2008 | Lancaster University, United Kingdom. "The fourth international disability studies conference will take place at Lancaster University, UK. The purpose of the conference is to bring together researchers, practitioners, policy makers and activits to share and debate research, ideas and developments in disability studies. A call for papers and posters will be issued in January 2008. The closing date for abstracts will be 30th April. Submissions are particularly welcomed from students, activists and first time presenters, activists and first time presenters. We seek to provide a supportive environment for people making their first conference presentations and to be as accessible as possible to all delegates."

http://www.disabilitystudies.net/?content=3

    7th ICDVRAT - International Conference Series On Disability, Virtual Reality And Associated Technologies - September 8-11, 2008 | Maia & Porto, Portugal. "For 2008, ICDVRAT and ArtAbilitation will be held as an integrated conference between 8-10 September at the Forum Maia and will conclude with a special session on the 11th September at the Casa da Musica. See Programme Overview and Call for Papers links for details."

http://www.icdvrat.reading.ac.uk/

    4th International Forum on Disability Management - September 22-24 2008 | Berlin, Germany. "The professional performance of employees is the engine of a healthy society. Maintaining this capacity to work is the goal of disability management. Valuable knowledge remains in companies, people maintain their standard of living and social systems are unburdened. The International Forum on Disability Management has developed into a movement that spans continents, and new alliances have been formed. The people who meet at these gatherings are making a difference, tearing down walls between the concerned persons and developing cross-border return-to-work strategies. Disability managers from throughout the world exchange experiences and can learn from each other."

http://www.disability-manager.de/e/ifdm2008/index.html

19th IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics - July 5-9, 2009 | Paris, France. "Every four years, the World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics represents a unique and irreplaceable event attended by experts from around the world to discuss the latest findings in the field of ageing. The 19th congress, which is taking place in Paris in 2009, is particularly important, as it coincides with an ideological u-turn. Lifespan extension and the

growing number of elderly people, once considered as catastrophic, are now viewed as an indisputable progress."

http://www.gerontologyparis2009.com/site/view8.php