The effectiveness of communication interventions in providing older people with information on access to in-home health and social care services: A systematic review protocol

The objective of this review is to locate, critically appraise and synthesize evidence on the effectiveness of communication strategies for providing older people access to information regarding in-home health and social care services. The review question is: What is the effectiveness of communication interventions in providing older people with information about in-home health and social care services?

An Evidence-Based Approach to Access Reform (Working Paper 22)

In August 2000, the federal government began an internal review of the Access to Information Act (ATIA). The ATIA gives Canadians a qualified right of access to records held by federal institutions. Decisions about reform should be based on good evidence about the operation of the Act and the likely impact of proposed reforms. This paper describes how data on ATIA operations is collected by federal institutions and provides a guide to academic researchers interested in conducting empirical research on the operation of the law. It constructs a small dataset that describes the processing of a sample of 663 requests received in 1999, and uses this dataset to illustrate the potential of an evidence-based approach to ATIA reform. The dataset can be downloaded from http://evidence.foilaw.net. The project was supported by a $4,800 grant from the Principal’s Development Fund of Queen’s University awarded in May 2001. Comments should be sent to the principal investigator, Alasdair Roberts, at roberts@policystudies.ca.

United States still no closer to database legislation

Last year European Intellectual Property Review published an article comparing the latest version of the proposed US database legislation, the Collections of Information Antipiracy Bill with the UK's Copyright and Rights in Database Regulations 1997. Subsequently a new US Bill, the Consumer and Investor Access to Information Act has emerged, the Antipiracy Bill has been amended and much debate has occurred, but the US seems no closer to enacting database legislation. This article briefly outlines the background to the US legislative efforts, examines the two Bills and draws some comparisons with the UK Regulations. A study of the US Bills clearly demonstrates the starkly divided opinion on database protection held by the Bills' proponents and the principal lobby groups driving the legislative efforts: the Antipiracy Bill is very protective of database producers' interests, whereas the Access Bill is heavily user-oriented. If the US experience is any indication there will be a long horizon involved in achieving any consensus on international harmonisation of this difficult area.

Use and access to ICT in students of public secondary schools in Chihuahua City, Mexico: inclusion in teaching and digital literacy

This paper addresses the issue of the digital divide in students of public secondary schools at Chihuahua City, Mexico. It seeks to identify potential inequality of opportunities with regards to subjects’ access to information, knowledge and education through the ICT (internet, mobile telephony, broadband and television). The study takes three schools as investigative stage, using the survey as a data collection instrument, identifying patterns of behavior regarding: general knowledge of them, access to computer equipment and internet, and characterization of their use. Other aspects of analysis are the identification of the educational level of parents and access to technology resources available for academic and non-academic purposes in various application areas (home, school and social environment). The proposal concludes, that it is through the recollection of alternatives suggested by the teachers themselves to incorporate ICT for teaching purposes in a systematic and planned fashion, whose greatest reflection manifests in better digital literacy indicators.