Social isolation and older men: meeting the need?
Dr Paula Devine (QUB) et al In Northern Ireland, as elsewhere, there has been a growing recognition of the needs of older people within a range of policies and strategies. Within these, the prioritisation of social inclusion for older people acknowledges that social inclusion and active ageing have strong links to health and well-being. At the same time, men’s health is a growing concern internationally. Social isolation, loneliness and depression are increasingly identified as major issues for men throughout the life course. Men often have less involvement in support and friendship networks than women do. Alongside this, service provision has
Including all: Improving arts accessibility for people with varying visual and hearing ability
Dr Sarah Eardley-Weaver (QUB) Media accessibility and social inclusion are increasingly prominent issues in today’s rapidly developing technological and multicultural world, as reflected in legislation and in a growing social awareness of inclusion as a fundamental human right. However, there remains a lack of promotion and awareness of the accessibility facilities for the blind and partially-sighted, as well as the deaf and hard-of-hearing, especially within the arts such as theatre, cinema, opera and museums. This presentation discusses findings from pioneering research into translation and accessibility issues in the arts, focusing on audio description, touch tours, sign language interpreting and subtitles/captioning.