Measuring the Effectiveness of New Approaches to Housing Support Policy for Persons with Disabilities

Housing support policy for persons with disabilities who require access to 24‐hour formal or informal support is changing throughout Australia. This is consistent with international trends including: independent living in generic housing; facilitating choices about where and with whom people live; individualised home‐based support; and community integration. Are these trends leading to policies that are effective in the Australian context? This article presents a framework for analysing the effectiveness of new approaches to housing support using a rights perspective. The framework consists of four domains: client outcomes; administrative systems; service viability; and coordination between formal and informal carers. Applying the framework to six case studies found that they all aim to foster independence, while providing effective individualised, holistic housing support.     

How to benefit from publicly funded pre-competitive research: an empirical investigation for Germany’s ICR program

This paper contributes to the debate on the systemic effects of technology policy by investigating spillovers of pre-competitive publicly funded Industrial Collective Research (ICR) in Germany which is carried out by non-profit research institutes. Using data for 911 firms surveyed in 2006, the results show that non-actively involved firms in ICR projects use ICR results to a large extent. Almost all of these firms are engaged in collaborative research projects with non-profit research institutes. We conclude that company–scientists linkages are an important pre-requisite to absorb ICR results by non-actively involved firms in ICR projects.     

Law and ethics of deep brain stimulation

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a non-destructive, adjustable, and mainly reversible method of continuously giving electrical impulses into a small area of the brain via implanted electrodes. It has been established as a standard form of treatment for specific cases of Parkinson's disease, essential tremor and dystonia. It is currently being evaluated for several mental disorders, dementia and even alcoholism. In spite of its growing practical importance, the legal issues have so far undergone almost no analysis. The article outlines both the essential legal questions of DBS from the perspective of German Law as well as major issues of the current ethical debate, and the correlation of both fields.     

Supportive Community Resources Are Associated with Lower Risk of Substance Use among Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,and Questioning Adolescents in Minnesota

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Research has indicated that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer/questioning (LGBQ) adolescents have disproportionately high rates of substance use compared to...