Posts Tagged ‘book’
Independent for Life
09/26/2012
order online at University of Texas Press
From INDEPENDENT FOR LIFE: HOMES AND NEIGHBORHOODS FOR AN AGING AMERICA
edited by Henry Cisneros, Margaret Dyer-Chamberlain, and Jane Hickie, forward by John W. Rowe,
Copyright © 2012. Courtesy of the University of Texas Press.
Do you want to age independently in your own home and neighborhood? Staying home, aging in place, is most people’s preference, but most American housing and communities are not adapted to the needs of older people. And with the fastest population growth among people over 65, finding solutions for successful aging is important not only for individual families, but for our whole society. In Independent for Life, former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros and a team of experts on aging, architecture, construction, health, finance, and politics assess the current state of housing and present new possibilities that realistically address the interrelated issues of housing, communities, services, and financial concerns.
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Medicine Unplugged: Your phone, your DNA, your data
06/21/2012
By Eric J. Topol, M.D. (original article on Huffington Post)
Just as the little mobile wireless devices radically transformed our day-to-day lives, so will such devices have a seismic impact on the future of health care. It’s already taking off at a pace that parallels the explosion of another unanticipated digital force — social networks. Read the rest of this entry »
How Universal Design is influencing Architecture
04/30/2012
Could Universal Design Be the Next Mainstream Movement in Architecture, Planning?
New textbook provides the first comprehensive introduction to a growing field
Release Date: April 20, 2012
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Universal design, which employs design to encourage health and wellness and other quality-of-life improvements, may be poised to become the next mainstream endeavor in architecture and planning, according to two leading experts in the field. (I hope they’re right. – Wayne)
Edward Steinfeld, director of the University at Buffalo’s Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDeA Center), and Jordana L. Maisel, the center’s director of outreach and policy studies, are authors of a new textbook, “Universal Design: Creating Inclusive Environments.”
“We believe we are close to a watershed moment,” the authors write in the preface to the book, which was released on April 10 and includes chapters on housing, interior design, transportation and more. “Whether they know the term or not, the work of leading architects and design firms reflects the adoption of universal design concepts.” Read the rest of this entry »
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The End of Illness
01/20/2012
Today’s article is adapted from The End of Illness by Dr. David B. Agus and an ABC News story about his book. (video below)
“The end of illness is closer than you might think,” says Agus, a professor of medicine at USC. But to achieve that, people must look at their bodies in a whole new way. He and many others like him are challenging long-held beliefs about what “health” means and are promoting health & wellness as ways to extend life, improve vitality, and lower the cost of medical care.
As a cancer doctor and researcher on the front lines, Dr. Agus became infuriated by the statistics and lack of progress within the medical profession, and that got him thinking about alternative approaches. He likens it to “having to go to war to understand peace,” since the goal should be to avoid war in the first place. And shouldn’t the same apply to health – striving for ways to eliminate illness rather than just treat its symptoms? Read the rest of this entry »
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The Future of Health Care Delivery
01/16/2012
Author’s summary by Stephen C Schimpff, MD
Health Care in the United States is a paradox. We are the most abundant, highly advanced market in the world, where research, commitment of providers, and dollars spent are unmatched. And yet… medical care is not uniformly available, is much too expensive and the quality of care is all too often less than satisfactory and not nearly safe enough. It is time for a different approach. .
There are many disruptive, often transformational changes coming, which will further complicate matters for the average patient. These changes are being driven by an aging population, our adverse lifestyles and behaviors, an increasing shortage of providers, our attitudes about the end of life, and a nascent rise in consumerism.
One of the most important changes is a shift from acute illness (e.g. pneumonia, appendicitis) to chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes with complications, heart failure and cancer) which are lifelong once developed, difficult to manage and very expensive to treat – yet mostly preventable.
There are also many misconceptions about what medical care delivery is and what it could and should be. For example, Read the rest of this entry »
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Tools & Gadgets for Independent Living
08/15/2011
Using a "lively narrative style," Suzanne introduces readers to new and existing technologies, where to find them, and how to pay for them.
“The Illustrated Guide to Assistive Technology and Devices” by Suzanne Robitaille reached #1 on Amazon’s Assistive Technology List, and I’m happy to republish this excerpt with her permission. This book has been universally praised since it cuts through the clutter surrounding assistive devices with a simple conversational style. It’s organized according to disability and easily explains the best type of device for a multiple situations, home, work, on the road, or at school.
The book “combines research and personal insight to help even the most novice user make better, more informed choices about assistive technology.”
- Frances West, IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center
Chapter 1
WHAT IS ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY?
Having a disability isn’t easy. Believe me, I know. I have had a hearing disability since I was four years old. Growing up profoundly deaf impacted my education, my lifestyle, and eventually my employment. Indirectly, it affected my parents, my sister, my teachers, my friends, and my bosses.
But being deaf was also a blessing. It helped me build character; it gave me insight into a more realistic world than the one in which my peers lived; and it brought for me a love of books, and of writing, which my wonderful mother–who, like the rest of my family, was hearing– encouraged me to pursue as a career.
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