The diploma thesis strives to map and analyze the pastoral care of people with disabilities in the Czech Republic, both theoretically and practically. The theoretical scope of the topic uses primarily scientific literature from the field of neurology, psychology and sociology. In this theoretical part, it does not ignore the social policy of the state, which should help these people. Great emphasis is also placed on biblical and ecclesiastical teachings. Professional literature from the field of special pedagogy and pastoral theology is used as well for analysing the practical aspects of the topic, but mainly it draws from the practical experience of respondents to the questionnaire created in the framework of this thesis. The first two chapters describe physical disabilities from the perspective of neurology and psychology. The third chapter analyses theoretically attitude of society and the state to this issue. The fourth and fifth chapters deal with the question of disability in terms of Bible and church documents. The next chapter maps the social activities and services of charities in the Czech Republic which are provided to people with physical and other types of disabilities. The seventh chapter analyses the practical approach and communication of these people, both by the majority of...

Uppsatsen syfte är att undersöka tillgänglighet vid busshållplatser i Västerås kommun och se om prioritering av tillgänglighet skiljer sig åt mellan stad och landsbygd. Arbetets utgångspunkt är att titta på huruvida Västerås kommun förhåller sig till de nuvarande riktlinjer för en tillgänglig busstrafik som Region Västmanland tagit fram. Studien fokuserar sig främst på fysiska funktionsnedsättningar och bygger på kvantitativa datainsamlings-metoder. För att kunna besvara arbetets syfte och frågeställningar, så tog vi hjälp av insamlad tidigare forskning, empiri och förhållning till Region Västmanlands riktlinjer. Resultatet vart att Västerås kommun prioriterar tillgänglighet i högsta grad i tätorten, medans det råder stora brister på landsbygdstrafiken. / The intention of this essay is to investigate accessibility at bus stops in Västerås municipality and to see whether priority of accessibility differs between the city and countryside. The main point of this study is to see whether Västerås municipality relates to the current guidelines for an accessible bus traffic, as the Region of Västmanland has developed. This study focuses mainly on physical disabilities and is based on quantitative methods. To answer the purpose and questions, we took help from previously collected research, empiricism and relation to Region Västmanland guidelines. The result was that Västerås municipality prioritize accessibility mainly in the city, meanwhile there are major shortcomings in rural traffic.

As every person has the right to participate in leisure, recreational and sports activities, children with disabilities have the same right to freely participate in the activities of their preference without restrictions. Community-based interventions aim to promote this right by modifying the whole environment or enhance the already existing onewith appropriate equipment. However, there is a lack of community-based interventions to promote participation in leisure activities for children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders and physical disabilities. As a consequence, this systematic literature review aims to identify those community-based interventions and point out their characteristics that are described as effective concerning children’s and youth’s attendance, involvement and activity competence. Furthermore, it is crucial to specify whether those activities are based on children’s preferences. After a scholarly search, both quantitative and qualitative studies were evaluated. Six intervention studies were characterized as appropriate to be included in the review providing important information for those interventions approaches. A narrative analysis of the results was based on the Family Participation Related Construct (fPRC) theoretical framework. Results showed that interventions were based on the children’s and youth’s preferences and intervention referred to the environment rather than to the participants themselves. Furthermore, availability, accessibility, adaptability, acceptability and affordability were all considered in the intervention process while the modification or identification of appropriate environment played a vital role in the interventions’ implementation. However, despite the fact that studies aimed to increase participation, some of the used measurements focused on activity competence rather than participation. All the above were critically discussed, giving the incentive for further research implications in the emerged results. / Καθώς κάθε άτομο έχει το δικαίωμα να συμμετέχει σε δραστηριότητες αναψυχής, ψυχαγωγίας και αθλητισμού, τα παιδιά με αναπηρία έχουν το ίδιο δικαίωμα να συμμετέχουν ελεύθερα στις δραστηριότητες της προτίμησής τους χωρίς περιορισμούς. Οι κοινοτικές παρεμβάσεις στοχεύουν στην προώθηση αυτού του δικαιώματος τροποποιώντας ολόκληρο το περιβάλλον ή ενισχύοντας το ήδη υπάρχον με κατάλληλο εξοπλισμό. Ωστόσο, υπάρχει έλλειψη κοινοτικών παρεμβάσεων για την προώθηση της συμμετοχής σε δραστηριότητες αναψυχής για παιδιά και νέους με νευροαναπτυξιακές διαταραχές και σωματικές αναπηρίες. Κατά συνέπεια, αυτή η συστηματική βιβλιογραφική ανασκόπηση στοχεύει στον εντοπισμό αυτών των παρεμβάσεων που βασίζονται στην κοινότητα και επισημαίνει τα χαρακτηριστικά τους που περιγράφονται ως αποτελεσματικά όσον αφορά την παρουσία, τη συμμετοχή και τη δραστηριότητα των παιδιών και των νέων. Επιπλέον, είναι ζωτικής σημασίας να προσδιοριστεί εάν αυτές οι δραστηριότητες βασίζονται στις προτιμήσεις των παιδιών. Μετά από μια επιστημονική αναζήτηση, αξιολογήθηκαν τόσο ποσοτικές όσο και ποιοτικές μελέτες. Έξι μελέτες παρέμβασης χαρακτηρίστηκαν κατάλληλες για να συμπεριληφθούν στην ανασκόπηση παρέχοντας σημαντικές πληροφορίες για αυτές τις προσεγγίσεις παρεμβάσεων. Μια αφηγηματική ανάλυση των αποτελεσμάτων βασίστηκε στο θεωρητικό πλαίσιο Οικογενειακής Συμμετοχής Σχεδιασμού (fPRC). Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι οι παρεμβάσεις βασίστηκαν στις προτιμήσεις των παιδιών και των νέων και η παρέμβαση αναφέρεται στο περιβάλλον και όχι στους ίδιους τους συμμετέχοντες. Επιπλέον, η διαθεσιμότητα, η προσβασιμότητα, η προσαρμοστικότητα, η αποδοχή και η προσιτή τιμή εξετάστηκαν στη διαδικασία παρέμβασης, ενώ η τροποποίηση ή ο προσδιορισμός του κατάλληλου περιβάλλοντος έπαιξε ζωτικό ρόλο στην υλοποίηση των παρεμβάσεων. Ωστόσο, παρά το γεγονός ότι οι μελέτες αποσκοπούσαν στην αύξηση της συμμετοχής, ορισμένες από τις μετρήσεις που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν επικεντρώθηκαν στην ικανότητα δραστηριότητας παρά στη συμμετοχή. Όλα τα παραπάνω συζητήθηκαν κριτικά, δίνοντας το κίνητρο για περαιτέρω ερευνητικές επιπτώσεις στα αποτελέσματα που προέκυψαν.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of negative influences facing children with physical disabilities living in rural areas. Children with physical disabilities living in rural areas of South Africa have to deal with many negative influences in addition to their disability. The main theme is that all children in rural areas face negative influences, but these are far worse for the children with physical disabilities. Societal and educational exclusion and poverty continue to place these children at a disadvantage despite South Africa’s policies that promote inclusion and equality. These rights are central to a meaningful democracy yet; research indicates that children with physical disabilities remain in a hopeless situation in the rural areas. To escape their plight inclusive education is pivotal. It is argued that the government’s capacity to deal with all the negative influences is limited and this therefore necessitates community involvement. Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-ecological approach was used both to investigate the impact of the negative influences facing children with physical disabilities as well as providing a framework that tackles the barriers that prevent this marginalised group of children having an equal opportunity to education. A qualitative and ethnographic study was undertaken to investigate these issues. This entailed the researcher living in four rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal, and collecting data through community participation, observations, questionnaires and interviews as well as photographs and drawings collected from the children. Data was analysed and poverty and exclusion clearly impacted not only on the children with physical disabilities, but their parents/caregivers. It became clear to the researcher that unless this group of children received early intervention to prepare them for education they would not be able to be included in formal education from Grade 1 but would need to begin their schooling in a specialised and exclusive environment. A framework for intervention based on Bronfenbrenner’s model was formulated that involved community involvement on the micro and mesosystemic levels. This framework is unique in that it will provide intensive early intervention for children with physical disabilities with the explicit aim of preparing them for inclusion and at the same time giving their parents/caregivers an opportunity to escape their plight of poverty.Every child in South Africa according to our Constitution and other policies is guaranteed equality. This equality needs to be provided to children with physical disabilities before they attend formal schooling and end up floundering never having had the opportunity to lift themselves out of the cycle of poverty that they face. Contemporary models for understanding these negative impacts and exclusion suggest that an important outcome of rehabilitation services is to optimise children with physical disabilities participation in the home, school and community life. Bronfenbrenner’s Model is based on the premise that disability involves an interaction between features of the child and features of the environment that can be adapted to promote educational inclusion and thus reduce the cycle of poverty. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Contexte : Les enfants atteints de maladies chroniques utilisent souvent des médecines complémentaires. Plusieurs études traitent de l’utilisation de ces traitements et des facteurs qui y sont associés chez les enfants atteints d’arthrite juvénile mais aucune étude n’est longitudinale. De plus, aucune n’a documenté l’utilisation de ces traitements chez les enfants ayant des incapacités physiques en attente de services publics de réadaptation. Objectifs : Les objectifs de cette étude étaient de déterminer la fréquence d’utilisation des médecines complémentaires chez les enfants atteints d’arthrite juvénile et d’incapacités physiques, d’évaluer leur efficacité telle que perçue par les parents et d’explorer les facteurs associés à leur utilisation. Méthodes : Une cohorte d’enfants atteints d’arthrite juvénile idiopathique (n=182, âge moyen : 10,2 ans) qui fréquentent des cliniques d’arthrite et une cohorte d’enfants ayant des incapacités physiques en attente de services de réadaptation publics (n=224, âge moyen : 2,6 ans) ont été suivis durant une période d’un an. L’utilisation des médecines complémentaires et la perception de leur efficacité d’après les parents ont été évaluées à l’aide de statistiques descriptives à chaque trois mois pour la cohorte d’enfants atteints d’arthrite et au début de l’étude pour la cohorte d’enfants ayant des incapacités physiques. Les facteurs associés à l’utilisation de ces traitements ont été explorés par des analyses de type GEE (« Generalized estimating equations ») et des régressions polytomique et logistique. Résultats : L’utilisation antérieure de ces médecines était de 51,1% pour les enfants atteints d’arthrite et de 15% pour les enfants ayant des incapacités physiques. Les médecines complémentaires étaient considérées comme étant efficaces dans 72% des cas par les parents d’enfants atteints d’arthrite et dans 83% des cas par les parents d’enfants ayant des incapacités physiques. Les facteurs associés à l’utilisation des médecines complémentaires chez les enfants atteints d’arthrite étaient l’utilisation antérieure des médecines complémentaires par les parents et la perception des parents que les médicaments prescrits ne sont pas utiles pour leur enfant. Chez les enfants ayant des incapacités physiques, les facteurs associés à l’utilisation des médecines complémentaires étaient l’origine culturelle canadienne, un niveau de scolarité plus élevé que le diplôme d’études secondaires et une moins bonne qualité de vie reliée à la santé. Finalement, l’utilisation des médecines complémentaires semblait associée à de moins bons résultats chez les enfants atteints d’arthrite. Conclusion: Une proportion non-négligeable des enfants participant à la présente étude ont utilisé des médecines complémentaires. Leur utilisation était plus fréquente chez les enfants atteints d’arthrite juvénile idiopathique, surtout chez ceux dont les parents avaient déjà utilisé les médecines complémentaires par le passé et chez ceux qui trouvaient la médication peu efficace. Chez les enfants ayant des incapacités physiques, l’utilisation des médecines complémentaires était associée à des facteurs socio-démographiques et à des besoins plus élevés en matière de santé. Les médecines complémentaires étaient considérées comme étant efficaces dans les deux cohortes mais leur utilisation était associée à de faibles résultats chez les enfants atteints d’arthrite. Ces résultats démontrent l’importance d’évaluer l’utilisation des médecines complémentaires afin de mieux renseigner les parents et de les aider à prendre les meilleures décisions possibles concernant le traitement de leur enfant. / Background: Children with chronic diseases often use complementary and alternative health care (CAHC). Several studies described the use of these treatments and the factors associated with it. However, no longitudinal studies were conducted to determine the use of these treatments over time. Furthermore, no study has evaluated CAHC use in children who were waiting for public rehabilitation services. Objective: The aim was to determine the frequency of CAHC use in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and children with various physical disabilities (PD), to evaluate its effectiveness from the parents’ points of view and to explore the factors associated with their utilization. Methods: A cohort of children with JIA (n=182, mean age: 10.2 years) who attended arthritis clinics and a cohort of children with physical disabilities (n=224, mean age: 2.6 years) waiting for public rehabilitation services were followed for one year. We evaluated the use of CAHC and its effectiveness from the parents’ points of view at three month intervals for children with JIA and at the beginning of the study for children with PD, using descriptive statistics. We explored factors associated with their utilization, using GEE (“Generalized estimating equations »), polytomous and logistic regression. Results : Previous use of CAHC was 51.1% for children with JIA and 15% for children with PD. CAHC was considered beneficial in 72% of the cases by parents of children with JIA and in 83% of the cases by parents of children with PD. Factors associated with higher use of CAHC in children with JIA were previous use of CAHC by parents and lower perceived helpfulness of prescribed medications (p<0.05). In children with PD, factors associated with higher use of CAHC were Canadian cultural background, mother’s level of education higher than high school and lower health-related quality of life. Finally, in children with JIA, CAHC use was associated with worse outcomes. Conclusions: Many children in our study used CAHC. Its use was more common in children with JIA, particularly among those whose parents used it previously and found medications to be less helpful. For children with PD, use of CAHC was associated with socio-demographic factors as well as higher children’s health needs. CAHC were perceived to be beneficial in both cohorts but its use was associated with worse outcomes for children with JIA. This underlines the importance for health professionals to evaluate CAHC use in order to better inform parents, which may help them make the best decisions regarding their child’s treatment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of negative influences facing children with physical disabilities living in rural areas. Children with physical disabilities living in rural areas of South Africa have to deal with many negative influences in addition to their disability. The main theme is that all children in rural areas face negative influences, but these are far worse for the children with physical disabilities. Societal and educational exclusion and poverty continue to place these children at a disadvantage despite South Africa’s policies that promote inclusion and equality. These rights are central to a meaningful democracy yet; research indicates that children with physical disabilities remain in a hopeless situation in the rural areas. To escape their plight inclusive education is pivotal. It is argued that the government’s capacity to deal with all the negative influences is limited and this therefore necessitates community involvement. Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-ecological approach was used both to investigate the impact of the negative influences facing children with physical disabilities as well as providing a framework that tackles the barriers that prevent this marginalised group of children having an equal opportunity to education. A qualitative and ethnographic study was undertaken to investigate these issues. This entailed the researcher living in four rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal, and collecting data through community participation, observations, questionnaires and interviews as well as photographs and drawings collected from the children. Data was analysed and poverty and exclusion clearly impacted not only on the children with physical disabilities, but their parents/caregivers. It became clear to the researcher that unless this group of children received early intervention to prepare them for education they would not be able to be included in formal education from Grade 1 but would need to begin their schooling in a specialised and exclusive environment. A framework for intervention based on Bronfenbrenner’s model was formulated that involved community involvement on the micro and mesosystemic levels. This framework is unique in that it will provide intensive early intervention for children with physical disabilities with the explicit aim of preparing them for inclusion and at the same time giving their parents/caregivers an opportunity to escape their plight of poverty.Every child in South Africa according to our Constitution and other policies is guaranteed equality. This equality needs to be provided to children with physical disabilities before they attend formal schooling and end up floundering never having had the opportunity to lift themselves out of the cycle of poverty that they face. Contemporary models for understanding these negative impacts and exclusion suggest that an important outcome of rehabilitation services is to optimise children with physical disabilities participation in the home, school and community life. Bronfenbrenner’s Model is based on the premise that disability involves an interaction between features of the child and features of the environment that can be adapted to promote educational inclusion and thus reduce the cycle of poverty. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

No description available.

No description available.

MaaS (Mobility as a Service) beskrivs ofta som ett framväxande digitalt koncept för att hantera framtida mobilitets- och hållbarhetsutmaningar. Konceptet är emellertid ett relativt nytt fenomen som fortfarande är i sitt utvecklingsstadie, där fokus har hamnat på att övertyga användare till att välja MaaS över privat fordonsägande. I denna övertygelse har dock minoritetsgrupper som människor med fysisk funktionsnedsättning prioriterats bort. Litteratur inom området lyfter människor med fysisk funktionsnedsättnings upplevda frustrationer som följd av denna problematiska bortprioritering, men att dessa beskrivningar är väldigt övergripande. Genom en kvalitativ intervjustudie med åtta respondenter har en ökad och mer djupgående förståelse för människor med fysisk funktionsnedsättnings subjektiva förstahandsupplevelser av att använda olika mobilitetstjänster kunnat skapats, vilket också är syftet med denna studie. Genom denna kunskap från insamlad empiri tillsammans med insikter från litteraturstudien har två designimplikationer identifierats och utforskats: Digital informationsdistribuering och Rättvisa premisser.  Dessa designimplikationer är ämnade att användas vid både utveckling av nuvarande mobilitetstjänster med tillhörande digitala applikationer och vid framtidens visioner av att integrera flertalet mobilitetstjänster i en gemensam digital plattform, exempelvis MaaS. Designimplikationerna blir således viktiga att ta hänsyn till för att främja ett mer inkluderande samhälle, där dessa typer av mobilitetstjänster och framtida koncept inte exkluderar någon, både vad gäller själva användandet av tjänsterna och vid utvecklingen av dem. / MaaS (Mobility as a Service) is often described as an emerging and innovative digital concept for handling future mobility and sustainability challenges. However, the concept is a relatively new phenomenon still in its development stage, focusing on convincing users to choose MaaS over private vehicle ownership. In this belief, however, minority groups such as people with physical disabilities have been less prioritized. The literature review highlights the perceived frustrations of people with physical disabilities due to this problematic deprioritization, but these descriptions are deficient. Through a qualitative interview study with eight respondents, an increased and more in-depth understanding of the subjective first-hand experiences of using mobility services by people with physical disabilities has been created, which is also the purpose of this study. From this knowledge from collected empirical data and insights from the literature study, two design implications have been identified and explored: Distribution of digital information and Fair premises.  These design implications are intended to be used both in developing current mobility services with associated digital applications and in future visions of integrating the majority of mobility services in a common digital platform, for example, MaaS. The design implications thus become essential to consider in order to promote a more inclusive society where these types of mobility services and future concepts do not exclude anyone, both in terms of the actual use of the services and their development.

For a variety of reasons, college students with disabilities encounter stressors beyond those of students who do not have disabilities. One of the more salient examples is that students with disabilities are required to disclose that they have a disability and to communicate with faculty and staff in order to receive academic accommodations, as afforded to them under sub-part E of Section 504 of the Education and Rehabilitation Act of 1974. Therefore, postsecondary institutions are required to make appropriate accommodations available to students with disabilities, but they are not required to proactively seek them out. The purpose of this study was to learn about the needs that students with physical disabilities have concerning their successful transition into professional careers. This was accomplished by analyzing how five current senior students with disabilities reflected on their experiences, particularly in terms of using work preparation programs and/or accommodations necessary for them to participate in employment recruitment activities provided by the university’s career services office. The intent of those services was to transition disabled students from the university environment into the workforce. The findings showed that the students perceived they did not receive a lot of information regarding the services available, and they also expressed that the university should have done more in transitioning them into their professional life. The basic premise is that higher education professionals, key support staff, and administrators who provide work preparation programs, career, transition and accommodation services to disabled students are in a position to help remove informational barriers, facilitate the use of services and accommodations, and to actively encourage students with disabilities to enter the workforce upon graduation. The results of this study may inspire university personnel to find creative ways to get students involved and motivated to seek services available to them, to be best self-advocates to students needing their services, and to understand the transition challenges that exist between academic life and entry into the workforce. By being more aware and sensitive about the needs of students with disabilities, the professionals who work with them might be better positioned to help them experience a successful and more supported transition into a competitive employment and independent life after college.