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The aim of this study was to identify the socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude and accessibility factors related to the utilization of antenatal care (ANC) service among pregnant women in the Kham District, Laos. Data for this cross-sectional study were collected in July 2008, using a two-stage cluster sampling strategy from 24 selected villages in the Kham District. A total of 310 married women of reproductive age who had at least one child and had delivered the last child within two years from the date of data collection were interviewed using structured questionnaires. To examine the predictors of ANC utilization, odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated through a logistic regression model. The results showed that about 53.9% of mothers did not receive any ANC service due to the following reasons: no time (93.4%), not necessary (83.8%), feeling embarrassed (74.3%), and living far away from the ANC facility (71.3%). We found that significant predictors of ANC utilization (p-value < 0.05) were: level of education (OR = 6.8, 95% CI = 2.7-16.8), income (OR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.2-5.7), knowledge (OR = 6.5, 95% CI = 2.4-17.6), attitude (OR = 3.0, 95% CI = 1.3-7.1), distance (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.1-7.6), availability of public transportation (OR = 4.5, 95% CI = 2.0-10.4), cost of transportation (OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.1-5.7), and cost of service (OR = 4.6, 95% CI = 2.2-9.6). Our study shows that the utilization of ANC service was very low. Among other factors, limited knowledge, and lack of a good attitude along with misconceptions about ANC services were the major constraints behind this low utilization. Future health care activities should be focusing on improving women's awareness of ANC. ANC staffs should conduct frequent visits to pregnant women until ANC services become easily accessible to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional aim in transportation planning is to maximise gains associated with vehicular travel distances or times, indirectly prioritising populations that live near existing or proposed roads—remote populations that first require hours of walking to reach roads are overlooked. In this paper, rural roads optimisation is performed using a new model that estimates proposed roads' accessibility gains, considering reductions in vehicular travel time and reductions in walking time required by remote populations to reach them. This ensures that even the most remote populations that may benefit from new roads are included in their evaluation. When presented with a large number of proposed roads and the requirement of determining a plan within a suitable budget, it is often infeasible to construct all proposed roads. In such instances, subsets of well-performing road-combinations that are evaluated with respect to multiple objectives need to be identified for analysis and comparison–for which multi-objective optimisation approaches can be employed. Traditional optimisation approaches return a small number of road-combination plans only, limited to user-specified budget levels and objective weight sets. This paper presents an innovative heuristic solution approach that overcomes such limitations by returning thousands of well-performing solutions scattered across a budget span, and not limited in number to user-specified objective weight sets at fixed budget levels. The heuristic is employed along with a more traditional weighted-sum integer-linear programming approach to determine high-quality road-combination plans selected from 92 roads recently proposed for construction in Nepal's remote Karnali province. Using these two approaches with inputs from the new multi-modal accessibility model, it is illustrated how rural roads planning can be performed to the benefit of rural populations regardless of their proximity to roads. New planning and analysis benefits of the heuristic are demonstrated by comparing its solutions to those determined by the weighted-sum approach, providing a level of detail and sophistication not previously possible for rural roads planning and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media is one of the major channels for knowledge diffusion, including scientific discovery. As a consequence, it has been under discussion whether altmetrics can be used as an alternative indicator for research evaluation, complementing the traditional indicators such as citations. The study contributes to the discussion by exploring the factors relevant to the attention that publications receive on social media. Based on 20,310 academic papers published by the Royal Society in the past ten years, the study found that posting accounts are the major force for boosting the amount of attention received on Twitter. Timely posting and accessibility also help to increase the attention. The findings suggest that publications' social popularity can be easily influenced by non-paper factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have a profoundly higher risk of death or injury than their peers when natural disasters occur. International policies call for inclusive disaster risk reduction education (DRRE) to help ameliorate this situation. This paper focuses on Indonesia, which has one the highest incidences of these disasters. A three-part structured literature review was undertaken regarding DRRE and children with SEND, followed by a questionnaire to in schools. Firstly, potential papers were screened against explicit criteria, yielding 23 papers for inclusion in the review. Secondly, these 23 papers were screened for identifiable DRR programmes, producing 12 items. Thirdly, evaluations of these 12 programmes were sought. The findings revealed that children with SEND were largely absent within the published research, the DRRE programmes, and all subsequent evaluations of the DRRE programmes. Questionnaire responses from 769 teachers from across Indonesia indicated that DRRE was often lacking, and that no programmes that were being used were accessible for all children. This is the first study to gain this insight and it concludes that there is a need for DRRE across mainstream, inclusive, and special schools, which has an inclusive and enagaing pedagogy that is accessible for all children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper analyses the economic and social impacts of implementing the European Accessibility Act (EAA). The study explores the trade-off between equality and efficiency as conceptualised by Arthur Okun. It evaluates how the EAA aims to enhance accessibility for persons with disabilities within the EU member states. Design/methodology/approach: This paper employs a theoretical framework based on Arthur Okun's concepts of equality and efficiency. The study reviews existing literature, including policy documents and academic research, to outline the EAA's assumptions and provisions. It also analyses the anticipated economic and social effects of the directive's implementation by examining relevant data and case studies. Findings: The study finds that while the EAA promotes greater accessibility and social inclusion for persons with disabilities, significant challenges and risks may limit its effectiveness. These include the economic burden on businesses and national authorities' need for comprehensive and timely implementation. However, the directive has the potential to drive innovation, enhance market competitiveness, and improve the overall quality of life for individuals with disabilities by providing equal opportunities and reducing social disparities. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the discourse on the intersection of economic efficiency and social equality by applying Okun's theoretical framework to the context of the EAA. It offers a unique perspective on the directive's potential impacts, highlighting the importance of designing policies that promote social objectives. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, businesses, and disability advocacy groups on the implementation and implications of the EAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to indicate a framework for exploiting the potential role of assistive technology (AT) in supporting care and participation of people with disabilities and elderly people through appropriate service delivery systems (SDS). The paper is based on the findings of the AAATE/EASTIN workshop "Service Delivery Systems on Assistive Technology in Europe" (held in Copenhagen on May 21-22, 2012, under the patronage of the Danish EU Presidency), on the roadmaps indicated by the previous HEART Study published in 1995 by the European Commission, and on a consensus process within the Board of the AAATE (Association for Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe) and the EASTIN Association (European Assistive Technology Information Network). The first chapter Background) discusses the reasons why a position paper on this issue was deemed useful; it also summarises the key themes of the Copenhagen workshop and recalls the HEART Study. The second chapter (The scope of an AT SDS), discusses the concept of assistive solutions - intended as individualised interventions providing users with appropriate environmental facilitators (AT products, personalised environmental modifications, personal assistance) to overcome disability and enable participation in all aspects of life - and the mission of a SDS - ensuring that all people with disabilities can access appropriate assistive solutions that are able to support autonomy in their life environment. The paper also points out that AT service delivery policies should be well coordinated with accessibility policies i.e. those related to infrastructural interventions ensuring that the mainstream environment, products and services are usable by all people, including those with reduced function or who depend on assistive technology. The third chapter (Basic features of an AT SDS) discusses why public SDS are needed for AT, what the main AT SDS models are, and how a SDS process can be described and monitored in terms of quality. The discussion is organised into answers to eight recurring questions: 1) Are assistive technology products going to disappear in the future, due to the embodiment of accessibility features in mainstream products; 2) Why shouldn't assistive technology products be dealt with as common consumer goods, purchased directly by users without the intermediation of service delivery systems; 3) Are there different approaches for AT service delivery; 4) When can a medical model, or a social model, or a consumer model be considered appropriate; 5) Independently of the model and the Country or Region, is it possible to identify common steps in the service delivery process; 6) How does each step influence the costs and the outcomes of the whole process; 7) How can the SDS process be monitored by quality indicators; and 8) How can information support the service delivery process. The last chapter (Some recommendations) provides a number of useful recommendations for those who are engaged in the design, development and implementation of AT SDS policies. The recommendations are clustered round the six SDS quality indicators suggested by the HEART Study: Accessibility, Competence, Coordination, Efficiency, Flexibility, User Influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]