EQUAL ACCESS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES TO EMPLOYMENT IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION – REAL POSSIBILITY OR FICTION?

The aim of the article is to try to evaluate actions taken by the country, which are supposed to change the image of public administration perceived as an employer, who refuses to employ people with disabilities or whose only motivation is to avoid being charged with contribution to PERON. An evaluation will be based on further answers to some essential questions. In the first place, the author will try to establish whether the actions taken by the country in order to remove barriers to employing people with disabilities were also effective with organs, which are its emancipation. It will require referring to many normative regulations in force in RP; both these which are the results of actions of national legislator and those, which result from Poland making commitments in the international arena. Subsequently one must be considered if actions of specific public administration body are taken for the employment of people with disabilities, may be considered as effective and whether the rights of people with disabilities were there respected. This thought in turn will require referring to how institutions responsible for increasing the employment of people with disabilities in public administration work in practice.

School Zoning Policy and Equalization of Education Access for Poor Students in Yogyakarta City

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of school zoning policies on equal access to education for underprivileged students in Yogyakarta City. This research was motivated by the low quality and inadequate access to education for underprivileged students in Indonesia. Starting in 2018, the Central Government implemented a school zoning policy to improve the quality and equitable access to education for underprivileged families in every region. This research was carried out in 16 State Junior High Schools in Yogyakarta City. This was the research location because it was one of the national pilot areas chosen by the Central Government. A quantitative approach was used to evaluate secondary school data before and after the implementation of the zoning policy. The results showed that: (1) there was an increase in access to education for underprivileged students; and (2) the imbalance in the quality of favorite and non-favorite schools did not change and this was influenced by the economic conditions of each region. It can be concluded that the school zoning policy increased equal access to education for underprivileged students, but the next challenge for the Yogyakarta City Government is ensuring equal quality of education across junior high schools. Keywords: school zoning policy, equal access, junior high school, underprivileged student

Determinants of Equal Access to Higher Health Education Opportunities in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Background: Today, the health higher education system has a privileged position in maintaining, rebuilding, producing, and creating new knowledge and responsibilities in medical universities. Solving these problems requires adopting a scientific and research approach in order to provide fair conditions and equal educational opportunities. Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the determinants of equal access to higher health education opportunities in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Iran. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study evaluated contextual, input, process, and output indicators. Samples included the documents and statistics of seven schools of KUMS and 358 students of these schools in the academic year 2020 - 2021. Census sampling was used for the documents, and relative stratified random sampling was applied for the descriptive sections. Data analysis was performed in SPSS using TOPSIS and multiple linear regression models in a stepwise manner. Results: The independent variables were significant regarding the variable of inequality in educational opportunities among the medical students of KUMS (F = 590.11; P < 0.001). The variables of the model explained 99.7% of the variance of the dependent variable, indicating inequality between the KUMS medical schools in terms of the studied indicators. Conclusions: Government policies should be focused on the development of educational equality in medical sciences on all levels of health, education, and technological developments. Our findings indicated differences between the medical schools of KUMS in terms of educational indicators and the location of the schools in less privileged, semi-privileged, and privileged areas.

Measuring childhood disability and AIM programme provision in Ireland

The social inclusion of children with disabilities, and in particular their inclusion in early learning and care settings, is key to maximising their wellbeing, care and future education. It is therefore vital that children with disabilities have equal access to early learning and school age care and education. Joint research, published by the ESRI and Pobal explores a number of existing challenges experienced by children with disabilities in this area.

Persistent racial/ethnic associated disparity in anti-tumor effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors despite equal access.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of both lung cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma demonstrating clear benefit over traditional chemotherapy alone in the metastatic setting. While the overwhelming majority of ICI trial participants have been White patients, results of these trials have been broadly applied to patients of all ethnic/racial backgrounds. It has, therefore, not been well defined if response to ICIs differs between ethnic/racial populations or socio-economic groups. We reviewed response to ICI of 208 patients with diagnoses of lung or head and neck cancers treated with ICI between 2015 and 2020 at one of three clinical pavilions associated with the Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. Two of these pavilions (Harris Health System and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center) serve large minority patient populations and provide equal access of care to patients regardless of means. Of the 208 patients, 175 had a diagnosis of lung cancer [non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) or small cell lung cancer (SCLC)] and 33 had a diagnosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC); 38% self-identified as Black, 45% as non-Hispanic White, and 18% as Hispanic. The objective response rate (ORR) was similar for lung cancer (31.4%) and HNSCC patients (27.3%) (p=0.894). Statistically, the ORR for Hispanic and Black patients did not differ compared to non-Hispanic White patients (H 23.7%, B 28.6%, W 35.5%; H vs. W p=0.189; B vs. W p=0.338). When considering patients treated with ICI monotherapy, the ORR for Hispanic patients dropped to 13.3% and was significantly lower than the ORR of the non-Hispanic White patients while the ORR of Black and non-Hispanic White patients remained about the same (B 29.3% and W 34.6%, H vs. W p=0.0285; B vs. W p=0.5131). Immune related adverse events (irAEs) were the lowest in the Hispanic population occurring in only 30% of patients compared to 50% of patients exhibiting irAEs in the Black and non-Hispanic white cohorts. ICIs demonstrate comparable anti-tumor effects in lung cancer (NSCLC + SCLC) and HNSCC during routine clinical practice regardless of race or ethnicity. The significantly lower ORR observed in our cohort for Hispanic patients, particularly when used as monotherapy, is an unexpected finding and will require additional study to identify potential biological and non-biological confounders which could contribute to reduced ICI effectiveness in this patient population.

Dis/Abled Student Campusmaking: Sites of New Possibility

Scholars have attempted to reveal the structural barriers that dis/abled students cope with and navigate during college, but it remains unclear how these students interpret their experiences on campus and what strategies they employ to manage and respond to unsupportive and hostile campus climates. In this paper, we describe freedom movements that sought to secure equal access to opportunities and rights for people with dis/abilities, and we highlight and explain forms of resistance among d/Deaf and dis/abled postsecondary students. To do so, we draw on dis/ability critical race theory and also advance the concept of campusmaking, which refers to the ways that students navigate complex campus spaces and create sites of togetherness and resistance. We discuss broader structural and climate issues facing college students with dis/abilities, particularly those who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color. In so doing, we gain insight into dis/abled student campusmaking amid and in spite of ableist and racist postsecondary contexts. We conclude with a discussion of the gaps in existing research and the questions that warrant further study.