Preparing for the future: ageing and alternative and augmentative communication

Despite a large body of literature focusing on how the normal aging process affects quality of life, little is known about how aging influences the lives of those who use alternative and augmentative communication (AAC). This article explores issues relevant to aging and AAC, examining the responses of 78 augmented communicators aged 30 years and older who participated in a larger national survey of 270 adults with cerebral palsy. The survey sought information about health, modes of communication, and access to information. The results indicate that those involved in the AAC field must work with individuals who use augmentative communication to ensure that they maintain their health, well-being, and effective communication as they age.

Indigenous knowledge and climate change: settlement patterns of the past to adaption of the future

For centuries the Aboriginal Peoples of Australia have been confronted with major ecological, geological and climate events, and had to adapt home shelters and settlements to seasonal variations. Many of these changes have been captured in the cultural traditions of the indigenous people reflecting a harsh coastal environment. Weather patterns and climate change were gauged by the occurrence of the tidal changes, landscape changes, recurring weather events and the acknowledgement of six seasons. Community settlements got established and relocated to adapt to the patterns of nature. This paper investigates if this ancient knowledge can provide answers for adaptation of coastal settlements to a changing climate. Drawing upon recent published literature on predicted coastal climate change impacts in the different regions of Australia, and the review of indigenous settlement planning according to a six season cycle, the author explores traditional knowledge as input to a potential Design Based Adaptation Model for coastal settlements along the Australian coast.

The future of the past: digital media in Holocaust museums

This essay critically examines the implications of digital media for the remembrance of the Holocaust in contemporary museum spaces, a development that has seen fundamental shifts in thinking around agency, education and entertainment. Expanding existing discussions of this issue into the Australian context, the essay takes as its central case study the design and integration of interactive StoryPod screen media in Melbourne’s Jewish Holocaust Centre. Addressing both the limitations and potentialities of interactive digital technologies for facilitating visitor-viewers’ engagement with survivor stories, the analysis highlights that digital media can be used to complement and enhance – rather than replace – traditional artefact and photographic displays, and will play an integral role in the Holocaust museums of the future.

Uncorking the Mommy Market: Phenomenal Facebook following has Marilé Borden contemplating the future of Moms Who Need Wine

Marilé Borden ’94 has hundreds of thousands of people watching her Facebook page Moms Who Need Wine. Now what to do with them?

Using Technology to Increase Collaboration Between the Library, Teaching Faculty, and the Campus at Large

This article outlines many different ways of using technology to better link academic librarians and faculty, focusing particularly on how the appropriate use of technology in Acquisitions can improve the image of the library. The article presents a comprehensive overview of how technologies can be used to make Acquisitions not just a book purchasing department, but a department that works proactively to impress consituents, helping to make the library a central and prestigious part of the campus community. While the article's primary focus is on academic libraries, much of the discussion is also applicable to other types of libraries.

November 2001: Scryers, Crystal Balls, and the Future

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September 2001: The Future of Library Services

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