**BOX ITEMS

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

The Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal is a bi-annual Journal, for private circulation only, for researchers, planners, administrators, professionals, donor organisations and implementing agencies involved in disability and rehabilitation. The major emphasis of the Journal is on articles related to policy development, concept clarification, development of methodology in the areas of service delivery, training of manpower and programme evaluation, and development of technology related to rehabilitation. Other information related to rehabilitation of disabled people that may be of use to implementing agencies, academicians and donor organisations are also welcome. The views expressed in the Journal are those of the contributors alone. Articles sent to the Editor will be published after they are edited to suit the format of the journal, under three different sections, namely, Developmental articles, Original articles, and Letters to Editor, subject to their suitability after PEER REVIEW. They may also be published elsewhere if so desired, after acknowledging the source. Copies of the Journal are mailed free of cost. The Journal and its associate publications are available on the Internet at

Format. The whole manuscript must be typed in double space (including references), and have generous margins. Number all pages in sequence beginning with the title page. Submit TWO COPIES of all elements arranged in the following order, beginning each part at the top of a new page. Sending the article on a diskette (Windows 95 version) will be useful.

Title Page. This should contain the concise title of the manuscript, the names of all authors, and at the bottom of the page, the institution where the work has been carried out, and the address for all correspondence and reprints.

Abstract. The second page should contain an Abstract of not more than 150 words, stating the purpose of the study, the methods followed, main findings (with specific data and their statistical significance if possible), and the principal conclusions. Emphasise new and important aspects of the study or observations.

Text. Articles must be concise and usually follow the format : Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion. The matter must be written in a manner which is easy to understand, and should be restricted to the topic being presented.

Acknowledgements should be placed as the last element of the text before references.

Measurements should be reported in metric units ( metre, kilogram, litre). Abbreviate measurements according to the standard, internationally accepted style. Provide initial definition of unusual abbreviations.
Tables. These must be self explanatory and few in number. Tables must not duplicate information in the text. Each table must have a short title and should be numbered with Arabic numerals (1,2, etc).

References. In citing other work only references consulted in the original should be included. If it is against citation by others this should be so stated. Abstracts, personal communications and unpublished work may not be used as references, although reference to written communication may be inserted in brackets in the text. Papers accepted but not yet published may be included in the references, by mentioning the Journal's name and adding "In Press" in brackets. Reference to manuscripts not accepted for publication must be made only in the text, in brackets. References should be numbered and listed consecutively in the order in which they are first cited in the text, and should be identified in the text, tables and legends by Arabic numerals in brackets. The full list of references at the end of the paper should include names and initials of all authors. When there are more than 6 authors, only the first 3 are to be given followed by et al; the title of the paper; the journal title abbreviated according to the style of Index Medicus; year of publication; volume number; first and last page numbers. References to books should give the book title, place of publication, publisher and year; those of multiple authorship should also include the chapter title, first and last page numbers, and names and initials of editors.

E.g.

1. Twible RL. Final Fieldwork Placements of Australian Occupational Therapy Students in CBR Projects in India. ACTIONAID Disability News 1996; 7 (2): 68-72.
2. Pandey RS, Advani L. Perspectives in Disability and Rehabilitation. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Private Ltd., 1995.
3. Thomas M, Thomas MJ. Evaluation Based Planning for Rehabilitation Programmes in India. In : O'Toole B, McConkey R, eds. Innovations in Developing Countries for People with Disabilities. Chorley, UK, Lisieux Hall Publications, 1995 : 243-254.

For more detailed information about the Vancouver system, authors should consult 'Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals' (Br Med J 1988; 296: 401-405).

Manuscripts and all editorial correspondence should be sent to :
Dr. Maya Thomas, Editor, Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal, J-124, Ushas Apartments, 16th Main, 4th Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore - 560011, Karnataka, INDIA.
Ph : 91-80-6633762 Fax : 91-80-6633762 Email : thomasmaya@hotmail.com

We request readers to send us any of their publications in rehabilitation to the Editor, Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal. If found suitable, these publications will be listed in the information on publications section of the journal. Organisations and individuals who wish to be on the mailing list to receive the journal, may also contact the Editor.

The Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal has an associate publication called "Friday Meeting Transactions". This newsletter, which is mailed free of cost on request, carries reports of different aspects of CBR application, and the summaries of transactions of the "Friday Meetings" held at Bangalore, India, on the last Friday of every odd month between 2 and 5 pm at Ashirvad, St. Mark's Road Cross, Bangalore - 560 001. These meetings are open to all those who are interested in updating their knowledge on community based rehabilitation and related topics. The "Friday Meeting Transactions" is also available on the Internet at http://www.dinf.ne.jp/doc/prdl/othr/apdrj/apdrj.html Those who wish to receive a printed copy, may contact the Editor, Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal.

`Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal', `Friday Meeting Transactions' and the `Friday Meetings' conducted in Bangalore, India, on the last Friday of every odd months, are a set of efforts to update the current knowledge related to `Community Based Rehabilitation' in a wide variety of people interested in this field. These activities have been maintained with the efforts of various promoters and participants. The information generated is also disseminated through the internet for readers world wide, and attempts are being made to generate a corpus fund to sustain the activities beyond the interests of individual sponsors. As an addition to the present efforts, a book authored by different authors from around the world on contemporary themes in CBR is planned to be brought out. This book will be mailed free of cost to those who specifically request for it, by writing to the Editor, Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal. Since we would like to reach out to a group of interested readers in CBR, and reduce the costs by restricting mailing to the non-readers, I would be grateful if you could fill the feed-back questionnaire and mail it back to me at the earliest. The readers and the sponsors of the journal will also be grateful for your efforts to improve its corpus fund.

AN INTRODUCTION TO ACTION FOR DISABILITY

As sponsors of the Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal, we felt we should give readers an insight into the background and current goals of Action for Disability (AFD). AFD was established in 1988 with the purpose of supporting and promoting awareness and education into disability issues. We are a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and the majority of our income comes from our training courses and from voluntary contributions, as well as some funding from the British Government for a rehabilitation programme in Bosnia-Herzegovina. One of our major goals is to raise awareness and knowledge about disability and by so doing to raise the profile of rehabilitation. In the UK we run a continuous programme of study days, workshops and courses on a wide range of disability issues. It is possible for health professionals to obtain a University Certificate in Disability Studies if they attend 75% of our course programme. Our programme receives national accreditation and we hope in this way to educate people in as many aspects of disability and rehabilitation as possible.

We run a comprehensive disability library based at Hunters Moor in Newcastle. We have over 400 books on a wide range of disability issues as well as unpublished reports on many topics including those by the Department of Health, the Royal College of Physicians and the World Health Organisation. We carry an extensive list of journals and have access to modem CD-ROM search facilities and to the Internet. We run a travelling fellowship scheme which has enabled many health professionals to attend conferences in the UK and abroad, and in some cases, to work in other countries. Our aim is to enable health workers to broaden their knowledge so that they can pass on their new found skills to others.

In the Spring of 1999 AFD, in conjunction with the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, will be holding a Certificate Course in Neurological Rehabilitation. This will be a six week course based in Newcastle upon Tyne with attachments and visits to other rehabilitation facilities in the North of England The course will be a combination of formal teaching, demonstrations, assignments and clinical attachments. It will be residential and accommodation can be arranged. The course is open to all disciplines and would suit practising clinicians in the field of rehabilitation, neurology, geriatrics and paediatrics and related areas. The course will cover topics in the fields of principles of management, management of physical disabilities, management of psychological disabilities and aspects of handicap. The cost of the course will be approximately £3500 but we are hopeful that we will be able to offer some free places to people from developing countries and eastern Europe.

We have been running an MSc Course in Rehabilitation Management in conjunction with CREST (Centre for Rehabilitation and Engineering Studies) and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne since 1992. It is a two year part time course that consists of six two week modules. Each module develops a particular skill and knowledge related to clinical, educational and research aspects of rehabilitation. The course is open to applicants with any relevant health professional qualification, such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nursing, medicine, clinical psychology and bioengineering. Since 1996 AFD has been responsible for organising a phased rehabilitation programme to support rehabilitation centres throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina. Over the past two years many rehabilitation professionals, from both sides of the political divide, have visited a number of rehabilitation centres around the UK. Teams of UK health professionals have visited the Muslim Croat Federation and Republika Srpska. The programme has now ended although AFD continues to support the centres by sending rehabilitation text books and journals, and personal contact and support between health workers and centres is continuing. It is felt that the programme has been very successful and this format for exchanging knowledge and information between health professionals has been of mutual benefit.

Since 1991 AFD has been working with several organisations in South India and is currently funding two community based rehabilitation (CBR) programmes. They are Rural Aid in Tamil Nadu and Social Action for Child Rehabilitation, Emancipation and Development (SACRED) in Andhra Pradesh. These programmes could be described as our 'pilot projects' and the continuance of our move into CBR will depend on the success of these programmes. We do not have offices in India but we have two Board members in India who we rely on for support and advice with regard to what we are trying to achieve. Occasionally we send volunteers to India. They are health professionals who are keen to work closely with lay people as well as qualified staff to help train and educate in the rehabilitation process. Although we envisage providing this support for some years to come, we hope that eventually training will be self sustainable. We are working with partners in Tanzania to develop a CBR project in the Hai district. This project is still very much in the planning stage but we hope to move this forward in the not too distant future. We are also enthusiastic that the infrastructure already in place should allow for scientific evaluation of the effectiveness of the CBR interventions. Currently we do not fund individuals, nor do we fund health workers to come to the UK for training as past experience has shown us that this is not usually the most effective way of exchanging information. In the future, we hope to work in partnership with more organisations and are always keen to hear from those with similar interests to our own. Tracey Mole

A PRODUCTION CENTRE EMPLOYING ONLY PERSONS WITH VISUAL DISABILITY

The Shree Ramana Maharishi Academy For The Blind, Bangalore, has a training cum production centre where people with visual disability manufacture packing cartons. This novel idea was the brain child of late Shri. Thirumurthy, who was the secretary of the Academy and who realised the importance of vocational training for disabled persons, particularly those with visual impairment, to make them gain self confidence and become productive members of society. Shri. Thirumurthy initially blindfolded himself and tried working on various hand operated and motorised machines, to evolve a vocational training programme suitable for the visually impaired persons.

The Academy started a full fledged training centre exclusively for disabled persons in 1972, with hand operated machines. In 1975 motorised machines were introduced for production and training. A second line production unit was started in 1997, which enlarged the capacity further. Currently, about 70 disabled persons are trained every year. The trained staff of the unit take active part in identifying persons with disabilities who have the right aptitude to participate in the training. Initially the candidate along with his family member has to participate in the vocational guidance and counselling session to ascertain his needs and to fully understand his inherent potential through interaction with his peers. He then develops confidence and motivation to work, and wants to be economically independent contributing to the society and his family. The packaging unit serves the dual purpose of skills training, and income generation as a commercial activity.

In achieving these objectives, the Academy has had to address the conflicts associated with balancing between skills training and income generation on the one hand, and between carrying out welfare activities and operating an income generating unit as an independent profit centre, on the other. The unit was recently upgraded with technical and financial assistance from the Netherlands It now has modern machinery to enable it to become contemporary in the fast changing industrial scene.. At present, the main areas of focus for the packaging unit are the transition from a training unit to a production unit to enhance profitability, improvement of the capacity utilisation from a low 25% to higher levels, identification of key factors for success of the unit, attracting and retaining large orders, and building control systems to ensure sustained profitability.

The success of this programme depends greatly on the industrial houses who provide the Academy with work orders and employ the trained persons.

T.V. Srinivasan

Mailer :
Dr. Michael P. Barnes
Professor of Neurological Rehabilitation
Chair, Action for Disability

1st December 1998

Dear Reader,
Action for Disability is a charity with an international reputation for the support of the poorest disabled people in developing countries. We work closely with local partners in these countries to establish innovative community based rehabilitation projects, while at home we help to raise awareness and knowledge about disability by organising workshops and courses which enable many professionals to obtain a university qualification in rehabilitation. In order to promote the development of technology related to rehabilitation and to disseminate it, we support the renowned Centre for Rehabilitation and Engineering Studies at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, the World Congresses of Neurological Rehabilitation, one of the best stocked libraries on disability studies in the UK, and the Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal.

The Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal is one of the foremost journals which disseminates peer reviewed academic knowledge in the field of community based rehabilitation. It has an international editorial board that reviews articles of authors from different parts of the world, and about 2000 copies are mailed free of cost to readers primarily from developing countries, who are unable to pay for it. The journal is also disseminated through the Internet.

Action for Disability is currently supporting the entire production and mailing costs of the Journal. In order to sustain this journal on a long term basis, we have established a corpus fund at the Co-operative Bank, 53/57 Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne NE99 1AN, UK (Bank sort code : 08-90-06, Account number : 50022821, Account name : Action for Disability No. 1 Account - registered charity No. 1000471).

We at Action for Disability, and the readers of the Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal will be grateful if you could contribute at least US $30 every year for the next few years to this corpus fund, so that we can use the earnings from this investment to continue to maintain the publication of this journal for a long time, with minimal short term support. We will be happy if you are in a position to contribute a larger amount. However, we will continue to mail the journal free of cost to all readers, even if you are unable to contribute to the corpus fund.

Enclosed please find an addressed envelope marked 'Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal' to mail your demand draft. Please enclose a note specifying that the contribution is for the corpus fund of the Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal. We will acknowledge the receipt of your contribution as soon as possible.

With warm regards,

Dr. Michael P. Barnes

Title:
ASIA PACIFIC DISABILITY REHABILITATION JOURNAL Vol. 10 @ No. 1 @ 2000

Produced by:
Shree Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind, 3rd Cross, 3rd Phase, J.P. Nagar, Bangalore - 560 078, India.
Tel : 91-80-6631076, Fax : 91-80-6638045

Printed at:
National Printing Press, 580, K.R. Garden, Koramangala, Bangalore - 560 095, India. Tel : 91-80-5710658