An Interactive Web Tool as a Social Innovation that Ensures Greater Efficiency in the Realization of the Rights of People with Disabilities to Barrier-free Access
Richard Sendi,
Boštjan Kerbler
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 4, August 2013
Pages:
142-153
Received:
30 July 2013
Published:
30 August 2013
Abstract: Guaranteeing people with disabilities full access to all aspects of life has, for decades, been accepted as a major global commitment. Notwithstanding the innumerable declarations and supporting legislation that have been adopted to this end, research and daily experiences show that people with disabilities continue to be inhibited, by various barriers, from fully participating in society. The recognition of this state of affairs prompted our search for a new solution that would facilitate greater efficiency in the realization of the rights of people with disabilities to barrier-free access. Such a solution is the interactive web tool we present in this paper. Created as the final result of a three-year research, the web tool is an instrument that enables the execution of concrete actions to remove concrete barriers, with the participation of the general public. On the basis of a review of the relevant literature, we also argue in the paper and provide supportive evidence, that the interactive web tool we developed is a ‘social innovation’. We conclude the article with the conviction that the creation of the interactive web tool is a giant step towards the gradual removal of barriers and eventual full inclusion into society of people with disabilities.
Abstract: Guaranteeing people with disabilities full access to all aspects of life has, for decades, been accepted as a major global commitment. Notwithstanding the innumerable declarations and supporting legislation that have been adopted to this end, research and daily experiences show that people with disabilities continue to be inhibited, by various barr...
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The Connection between the Depopulation of Localities and Passenger Rail Services in the Province of Buenos Aires in Argentina between 1960 and 2009
Juan Manuel Diez-Tetamanti,
Melisa Pontrelli-Albisetti
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 4, August 2013
Pages:
154-160
Received:
30 July 2013
Published:
30 August 2013
Abstract: Between 1960 and 2001 there were two processes that drew the interest of some social researchers in Argentina. On the one hand there was a process of rural depopulation from localities in the province of Buenos Aires (similar to the process of urbanization across Latin America). On the other hand, there was the break up of the railways that led to the cessation of passenger services to hundreds of localities inside the province of Buenos Aires. This study compares the two variables -localities in the interior of the province of Buenos Aires that lost population and railway lines which recorded decrease in the provision of passenger transport services. Census data and rail traffic between 1960 and 2009 are used. This crosses a quantitative methodology with concepts that the geographer Milton Santos has proposed. Maps are generated to look for any correspondence between these variables. Finally the concept of lag is applied to observe possible temporal relationships between variables. The results represent a first approach to a subject that has never been addressed with this methodology and analysis tool, verifying that it is necessary to incorporate more data to facilitate further analysis.
Abstract: Between 1960 and 2001 there were two processes that drew the interest of some social researchers in Argentina. On the one hand there was a process of rural depopulation from localities in the province of Buenos Aires (similar to the process of urbanization across Latin America). On the other hand, there was the break up of the railways that led to ...
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