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Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 is underpinned by the provision of quality inclusive education for all young persons, including persons with disabilities. The universal design for learning (UDL) framework provides the basis for establishing an inclusive pedagogical learning environment in classrooms. However, implementing such an inclusive pedagogical framework continues to be profoundly challenging across all countries, including Australia. Teacher attitude is the most important construct in efforts to create inclusive educational contexts. The aim of this study was to examine secondary school teachers' attitudes towards the UDL framework in Australia. One hundred and twenty mainstream secondary classroom teachers in Sydney completed an online survey. The mean values and standard deviations of a self-designed UDL framework were calculated to examine teacher attitudes. Correlations and multiple regressions were conducted to verify the relationship between teachers' attitudes and their background variables. The main results indicated that Australian secondary school teacher attitudes towards the UDL framework were generally positive, although they still had some practical concerns, such as having inflexible ideas about how to provide instructions. The findings provide useful insights for developing professional teacher training to promote inclusive education, where the UDL framework is a lens for interpreting inclusive education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students with disabilities continue to experience barriers to accessing tertiary (i.e., postsecondary) education in Australia. Using the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) may help educators proactively address barriers through the design of more accessible and inclusive educational experiences. However, at present, references to UDL appear in only a small number of Australian educational policies and tertiary institute websites, and few tertiary educators use UDL in practice. In this article, we describe how a team of educators, learning designers, accessibility advocates, and people with disabilities from multiple institutions across Australia collaborated to co-create a free, accessible eLearning program to build workforce knowledge and skill in UDL. We first describe how the advisory group was established, how the Knowledge to Action cycle was used to guide the activities of the advisory group, and the evaluation framework that was used to assess the outcomes of the eLearning program. We share potential future activities to raise awareness of UDL and influence policy and practice in local contexts and propose directions for future work in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategies and guidelines for best practice environmental design typically have a singular focus and intended outcome, for example, green infrastructure management for urban cooling in a hotter climate. However, when applied to specific situations such as aged care, matters such as accessibility, wayfinding, and safety are also critical. Combining various audit tools offer multiple benefits to meet a variety of needs for thermal comfort, health, and well-being, as well as cost-effectiveness. In the absence of such a tool, using a place-based analysis, we developed a novel audit tool for external settings of residential aged care facilities (ACFs) incorporating urban cooling, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), and universal design criteria. To determine how ACFs perform in the face of increased levels of urban heat required evaluation of additional urban cooling measures. The Audit Tool was developed and tested in collaboration with ACFs across sub-tropical and tropical areas of Australia, varying in climate, scale, and urban density. Quality of life for residents, visitors, and staff of ACFs can be supported by the provision of green infrastructure to improve the thermal comfort of outdoor settings and, if located appropriately, reduce the need for an increase in internal air-conditioning. The aim of this article is to propose a user-friendly Hybrid Environmental Design Audit Tool (HEDAT) to support facility managers, planners, and design consultants to inform the prioritization and targeting of interventions and monitoring of implementation and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive education in Australia has resulted in a concerted push for the differentiation of pedagogical teaching approaches by educators across Kindergarten to Year 12 (K-12) learning environments. Such approaches have been shown to meet a diverse range of learner needs found in today's classrooms. While progress is evident at the primary and secondary levels of education, implementing effective inclusive practices in higher education appears stagnant. Utilising the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in a fully online pre-service teacher training unit, multiple means of representation of the learning content and multiple means of engagement were explicitly incorporated into the online unit design. This approach aimed to proactively support the engagement of all students in an online teaching and learning environment. This study provides preliminary evidence that the application of UDL principles resulted in higher levels of student engagement and lower rates of student attrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of students with disability enrolled in tertiary education has increased significantly in the last decade. This has prompted a move to make learning and teaching more accessible to all students. Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, can be used as a framework to guide tertiary educators in the planning and delivery of their courses. The effective implementation of UDL allows all students to access course materials, removing the need for some of them to actively seek support and disclose their disabilities. A rapid review was conducted to locate both theory and evidence to support the use of UDL at the tertiary level, as well as to seek guidance for its effective implementation. A total of 52 articles were included in the study and annotation was used for data extraction. Results indicated that UDL is well supported by theory, and studies revealed high satisfaction rates for UDL for both students and instructors. Implications for practice are suggested. As the current study was conducted at a university in Australia, the current research (which is largely from the United States) has been examined with the Australian university context in mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the social, cultural, and structural processes and practices, that are manifested in the built environment and mediated spatially, that create and maintain experiences of exclusion, otherwise known as spatial injustice. Expanding on two decades of case study research and empirical data collected in spatial justice across Canada and Australia, this paper interrogates perspectives of power and spatial injustices that still exist today. These case studies are based in institutions like malls, museums, urban precincts, and universities to usher in a new understanding of universal design through the lens of spatial justice and include creative practice (films), (dis)-audits, co-design processes, and disability allyship. This paper expands on the first comprehensive set of studies across spatial typologies, and how power and spatial justice are manifested and designed into architecture and interior environments-and their fields of knowledge. Key takeaways are new ways of knowing, teaching, and doing in architecture and design to create spatial justice and cultures of inclusion.

In this paper, the authors consider a novel eudaemonic approach to spatial design, proposed by Mikus et al., and examine how researchers and practitioners can co-design with participants to achieve a flourishing interpretation of Aristotle's concept of eudaemonia (i.e., being one's best self). The approach was tested in doctoral research conducted during 2021 at a time when many areas were under lockdown, necessitating a virtual approach. The research engaged nine older adults, aged 65-80 and living alone in Australia, and nine design professionals via creative methods including interviews, cultural probes, and co-design workshops. Combining these methods in concert with respectful engagement was found to produce not only the aimed-for principles to guide eudaemonic home design but also unintended yet beneficial consequences resulting from meaningful inclusive praxis. Here, the authors reflect on the importance of recognising eudaemonic design as a means of careful methodological praxis to precipitate promising participant outcomes, ranging from individual intrinsic motivation to collective mutual inspiration, to enhance the research experience, and to promote flourishing.

BACKGROUND: Design for All or Universal Design is a relatively new domain in Ergonomics. With globally ageing populations, it has however recently gained significant interest. OBJECTIVE: This position paper summarizes the outcomes of a workshop held at the virtual 21st Triennial Congress of the International Ergonomics Association. The paper expands the horizon of traditional Ergonomics into a domain where people are differently abled and establishes a platform for the essential needs of future ergonomic standards which are required to inform inclusive design guidelines, or Design for All, extending the range of users. METHODS: The paper includes contributions from Asian, Australian, European and US workshop participants who are accessibility design experts in their respective geographic regions. The paper summarizes issues related to anthropometry in the Design for All, based on recent work in the US (Access board) and actual developments in various national and international accessibility standardization bodies, such as the Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand, the European Standardization Organization (EN 17210:2021; EN 17161:2019) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 21542:2021 and BS ISO 7176-5:2008). CONCLUSIONS: The paper concludes that despite the identification of a significant gap in knowledge of the anthropometry of people with disabilities as far back as 1990, work towards bridging the gap and enabling ergonomic standardization has not progressed since then globally. The lack of standardization in anthropometric data on people with a physical disability continues to complicate provision of data for mobility and accessibility design and hampers accessibility standardization efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women with disabilities experiencing violence can face challenges accessing domestic and family violence (DFV) services. Our research explored how these services understood and operationalized access for women with disabilities. In this article, we use Levesque, Harris, and Russell's access framework to show how to be accessible to women with disabilities, and DFV services can widen the lens of access and accessibility to respond to women's own priorities. These centered around appropriateness, approachability, and acceptability. Addressing these broader issues of access in policy and practice alongside disability-specific needs can better align what services offer and what women need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Community design features, such as sidewalks and street crossings, present significant challenges for individuals with disabilities, hindering their physical performance and social integration. However, limited research has been conducted on the application of Universal Design (UD) to address these challenges, particularly concerning specific demographic groups and population cohorts. Understanding the influence of environmental features on physical performance is crucial for developing inclusive solutions like UD, which can enhance usability and social integration across diverse populations., Objective: This study aims to bridge this gap by investigating the complex relationships between environmental barriers, health conditions, and routine activity performance. An index was developed to evaluate users' UD performance based on functional capacity, providing scientifically rigorous and objectively measured evidence of UD effectiveness in creating inclusive built environments., Method: Using data from the Problematic Activities Survey (PAS) conducted in the U.S., Canada, and Australia and targeting individuals with and without functional limitations, multinomial logit models were employed to estimate the probabilities of encountering performance problems. This analysis led to the development of the Problematic Performance Value (PPV) score., Results: The results demonstrated significant disparities in PPVs across various health conditions, particularly concerning curb ramps. Individuals facing mobility issues in their legs/feet, arms/hands, or back/neck encounter more pronounced challenges, especially when curb ramps lack proper design elements. Similarly, individuals with vision impairments face heightened difficulties with traffic signals, particularly due to issues with audible signal systems. These findings underscore the importance of addressing micro-level environmental challenges to accommodate individuals with varying functional capacities effectively., Conclusions: By providing insights into the most problematic daily activities encountered by diverse populations, the PPV score serves as a valuable indicator for guiding environmental design improvements and promoting equitable space usage. This can be used to guide improved UD solutions and decide areas of concentration by providing generalized information on specific environmental features that contribute to user performance.

Universal design for learning (UDL) is an inclusive pedagogical framework for breaking down barriers to the learning process for all students. The framework consists of 3 principles, 9 guidelines, and 31 checkpoints. UDL has been named by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) as a recommendation for all classroom teachers in Australia as a means of personalising learning for students with disability and diverse learning needs. To measure the confidence of Australian teachers in implementing this inclusive pedagogical framework, 97 teachers were surveyed. Results demonstrated that primary teachers were generally more confident than secondary teachers at implementing the principles, guidelines, and checkpoints underlying UDL. However, in both groups confidence levels varied in relation to the underlying elements of the inclusive pedagogical framework. Both primary and secondary teachers were more confident at implementing principle one, compared with principles two and three. The implications of this study will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Past research has shown that Australians affected by miscarriage want a website specific to both miscarriage and their local region that is accessible, comprehensive, evidence-based and informed by experts. The aim of this study was to design, develop and evaluate the Miscarriage Australia website using human centered design., Methods: A four stage human centered design approach was used to develop the Miscarriage Australia website which aimed to: (1) Understand the issue and why users need a website; (2) Define users' specific needs; (3) Design solutions to meet those needs; and (4) Evaluate the design by testing with end users. Across the four stages, various types of data and data analysis were developed and utilized including interviews, desktop research, development of personas and tone of voice, followed by usability testing. Process and content were guided by designers, developers and an expert advisory committee of key stakeholders., Results: Analysis and synthesis of user research across Stages 1 and Stage 2 found 11 key themes pertaining to user's miscarriage experiences and support needs. Using the themes, common experiences, goals, motivations and behaviors of users were identified and similar user types grouped and used to inform the development of two personas. Using the personas and user research findings, design elements (Stage 3) including the "tone of voice guidelines" were developed recommending the Miscarriage Australia website be calm, empathetic, hopeful and authoritative. The tone of voice guidelines guided branding and over 100 pages of content was informed by the research team and reviewed by a 13-member Expert Clinical Advisory Committee over two rounds to ensure it was evidence based and reflected best practice. Using a contextual inquiry approach, usability testing was undertaken with 8 end users to test a low fidelity mockup and high-fidelity prototype of the website. Overall, end users reported the website was highly acceptable in terms of the design, content, layout, language and terminology, describing it in line with the intended tone of voice. Users reported the website was easy to use and navigate and provided useful and appropriate content and resources. Minor areas for improvement included slight changes to specific images, improved links for navigating sections, and a title change to one section heading., Conclusion: The Miscarriage Australia website was successfully implemented and commended by users as meeting their needs. As a result of using human centered design, the Miscarriage Australia website provides an ideal template or blueprint on how to develop a successful and useful digital resource for users, particularly around sensitive women's health issues., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Bilardi, Webb, Trieu, Sharp, McIntosh and Temple-Smith.)

As Australia endeavors to sustain growth of its international education industry, there have been major concerns regarding the experience of international students. This review examines the international student experience in Australia, particularly issues surrounding study–work–life balance (SWLB), acculturation, health, and well-being. The current university initiatives of pastoral care services and peer mentoring are evaluated and noted to be underutilized by students. Consequently, an internationalized, university-wide peer-mentor-embedded classroom initiative is proposed. While attempting to overcome the main methodological issues identified, future research is invited to test whether such an initiative is effective in producing positive acculturation, SWLB, health and well-being outcomes for both international and local students. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Playspaces bring children and adults together for fun and social interaction but are rarely designed for the inclusion of all community members. In Australia, local government authorities (councils) are responsible for parks and playspaces. The New South Wales state government launched their inclusive playspaces policy in 2017. A guideline document was proposed but a guideline does not guarantee implementation. Consequently, an inclusive design process for developing the guide became the strategy. The task was to develop a guide that explained the concepts of inclusion and universal design within the playspace context. The project took an iterative and collaborative approach to the design of the guide. Intended users were those involved in creating playspaces, not playspace users per se. The participatory governance structure involved three levels of collaboration: a small steering group of experts, a larger group with key stakeholders, and a wider group of stakeholders and interested persons. This collegial and participative process consisted of a series of meetings and workshops which fostered learning and ideation for all participants. Through this process three underpinning concepts emerged: Can I get there? Can I play? Can I stay? The process educated and informed stakeholders, encouraged participants to contribute to the outcomes and provided community-led guidance for those contracted to design the guideline. The result was an inclusive playspace guide that recognized the design guidance required by council personnel in the context of universal design. The process and governance structure provides a good working model to build on. The success of the guideline was recognized with a national award from the Institute of Landscape Architects for Community Contribution. The purpose of this paper is not to comment on or evaluate the outcome of the guidelines. Rather, it is to document the inclusive and participatory governance structure and iterative process from a professional participant perspective.

This paper follows three previous ones which have reflected on the grass-roots campaign in Australia to mandate a basic access standard in all new housing. The original negotiations with government and the housing industry for this reform were at first disingenuous then reluctant despite human rights obligations. A tenacious campaign over two decades by user stakeholders, researchers, and principled housing providers finally convinced political leaders to mandate national access provisions for all new housing in the National Construction Code. The paper discusses what assisted and hampered this campaign. It then discusses why politicians eventually favoured the interests of ordinary people over the self-interests of the housing industry.

This paper examines the design of typical new houses in Western Australia to determine if the designs are taking into account the needs of older adults. Older adults who move to a new suburban house are generally 'pulled' to move by the perceived benefits of the new home. A sample of new homes in the 'New Homes' weekly supplement of the West Australian Newspaper was reviewed and analysed to determine what emphasis had been given to designing houses that could be adapted to the needs of older adults. The findings indicate that there has been no change in the project home market between 2005 and 2007 in relation to considering the diversity in age and ability of prospective home occupants and that older people commissioning new homes do not appear to be demanding that the homes be designed on universal design principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Approximately half of the substance dependence treatment population is estimated to have a cognitive impairment, which reduces participation, retention, and post-treatment outcomes. Cognitive behaviour change approaches are less effective for this population and cognitive remediation strategies have been found to improve outcomes. Evidence on modified programs to remove environmental barriers for treatment seekers with disability does not exist., Objective: A modified residential substance misuse treatment program in New South Wales, Australia, was piloted and evaluated to address this knowledge gap., Method: Of 67 residents who received treatment during the evaluation period, 33 were screened as having cognitive impairment. Twelve residents took part in an interview and 10 staff in a focus group to understand their views of the pilot program. Resident characteristics and retention rates and themes about program benefits and challenges are reported., Results: Treatment completion was up to five times higher for residents with cognitive impairment after the new program was implemented. The pilot program provided simplified written and visual materials and concrete examples and introduced a daily virtues program to embed new learning and support behaviour change. Resources to allow staff to engage more intensively with residents and provision of ongoing staff training were viewed as essential for program success., Conclusions: Environmental adaptations, including a combination of conventional treatment modalities with accessible design and person-centred principles, removed barriers to treatment for residents with cognitive impairment. Creating a climate where respect, tolerance and peer support were normalised was likely to have been particularly beneficial for these residents., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Industry and academic perspectives have become more focused on designing for Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) over the past few years, both in general and particularly within the built environment. This renewed interest appears to have stemmed from a basis of respect-based 'due diligence' in 2018 to one of necessity in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought areas of difference into focus and exacerbated them, making it harder for people to live their everyday lives. In this paper, the authors seek to bridge the divide between academia and industry on the subject of Inclusive Design (ID) through their use of a combination of an academic and grey literature review as well as empirical research conducted with scholars and practitioners. These multiple methods focus less on the academic perspectives and more on how the industry has responded to the research and market demand. It clarifies nuanced differences among ID-related terms, provides best practice examples for wellness in the built environment, and identifies governing body guidelines (i.e., principles, protocols, policies) that have been enacted for ethical and business differentiating purposes.

This project aimed to scope existing methods of evaluating the application of universal design to built environments and to explore relevant knowledge of key stakeholders, such as architects, access consultants and people who experience disability. The project commenced in 2017. Ethics approval was gained and a mixed methods approach was employed. Methods of data collection included electronic survey and in-depth interview. Early survey findings are reported in this paper. A descriptive approach was used to analyse quantitative data. A total of 157 survey responses were received from across Australia (83%) and internationally (16.6%). Preliminary findings indicate that most survey respondents (72%) had been involved in the process of applying universal design to the design of built environments. Although evaluating the application of universal design was rated as "extremely important" by 85% of respondents, only 36% had such experience. Of these, 74% had used specific tools for this purpose. Non-standardised checklists and access audits were the most frequently used and preferred tools. Overall, stakeholders perceived themselves to have 'some knowledge' on universal design theory and application. This project offers insight into how universal design is understood and applied to the design of built environments. Findings suggest that evaluation is less common than application and that there is a need to strengthen existing methods of evaluation to provide greater detail on universal design processes and outcomes.

Prescriptive and retrospective accessibility regulations, a rich architectural and cultural history, recent civil war and a distressed asset base make for considerable challenges. This paper describes how universal design principles formed the foundation of technical training delivered to Sri Lankan professionals, to assist them comply with accessibility regulations, and their obligations under the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The paper is based on work funded by the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and delivered by a delegation from the Australian Human Rights Commission. The training was based on 25 years' practitioner experience of applying universal design in the built environment. The commitment to removing barriers to the built environment for people with disabilities is evidenced by a set of robust regulations that are prescriptive and retrospective. Further, drafting and translation errors contribute to difficulty achieving these objectives and thus there is a poor level of understanding and compliance with accessibility regulations. This presented a seemingly intractable combination of difficulties. However, it was decided that providing the delegates with a robust understanding of universal design principles would allow them to navigate these difficulties by thinking about the problems differently, even if they could not achieve strict compliance. There were particular concerns about transport and the public realm. Lessons from Australia were shared including whole-of-journey transport planning and prioritisation methods such as principle pedestrian networks. Community and industry engagement were central themes to taking more strategic and universal design approach to solving complex problems.

The universal design movement arrived in Australia well before the turn of the century. A handful of individuals, often working as lone voices, are doing their best to incorporate the concepts into their everyday work and promote the concepts more widely. As is often the case elsewhere, the term "universal design" is misunderstood and confused with special and separate designs for people with disability rather than inclusion for everyone. Compliance to legislated disability access standards has created further confusion and as a consequence many myths about universal design have emerged. Such myths have held back the implementation and understanding of universal design and inclusive practice. Australian governments at all levels have shown little interest in promoting universal design principles, save for a casual mention of the term in policy documents. This is in spite of changes to disability and ageing policies promoting more autonomy and independence for individuals. When political leadership is absent, leadership often defaults to the community, or to be precise, to a handful of people with a passion for the cause. In 2013 a chance meeting of two unrelated individuals set the wheels in motion to establish a centre for universal design in Australia. This paper charts the development and progress of the organisation through volunteer effort, harnessing community support, maintaining international connections, using social media, and establishing a resource-rich website and newsletter.

This paper shows the complexity of housing and how it is the linch-pin for achieving economic, social and human rights imperatives. In Australia there are no minimum housing standards; the effect is now critical. In October 2017, a regulatory impact assessment was instructed, to consider Livable Housing Australia's Silver and Gold standards, for inclusion in the National Construction Code. A substantial research project provided a knowledge and evidence base of the policy perspective; an expanded statistical context; and detailed analyses of Silver, Gold and Platinum design levels. The policy perspective included greater economic focus. The effect on productivity, directly attributable to housing, is significant. 34 specific policy 'problems' were identified that could be solved or mitigated if acceptable standards of housing were introduced. It is reassuring that universal design has permeated all levels of government policy. The statistical context explored demographics, households, dwelling types; tenure; occupants; disability and carers. Detailed analyses challenged many common assumptions and re-framed accessible housing into a mainstream problem. 73% of all dwellings are separate houses and the average home has 3.1 bedrooms. There are tremendous opportunities for universally design-led mainstream solutions. The compliance gap analyses show which design features might cost more; have potential to be designed out; or be cost neutral. Many design features are cost neutral and arguably should be included within mandated standards. As there is a minimal gap between universal design standards and current housing, there is hope that all Australians will, one day, live in a universally designed home.

In Australia, the last frontier for universal design is mainstream housing. Developers in the private residential sector have consistently, and successfully, argued for the status quo to remain. Developers' claims of cost and lack of demand have swayed governments that are in favor of "letting the market decide". Disability- and age-specific housing and one-off projects have included many features that are considered universal design. So, the technical details are not an issue. The house-building sector in Australia consists of many parts, all held together by regulations and professional codes and norms of practice. Calls for accessible housing were heard by the Australian Government in 2010 and a set of voluntary guidelines were developed jointly by industry and disability advocacy groups. These became the "Livable Housing Design Guidelines". It was understood that industry needed time to reorganize to bring about the changes needed. Consequently, it was agreed to progressively introduce accessible features over ten years so that by 2020 all new homes should be built to a basic level of accessibility. However, it was obvious in 2017 that this goal was unachievable with voluntary guidelines. Mandating these guidelines has been shunned at every turn, but the need to mandate could no longer be ignored. Through community advocacy efforts, the body that regulates the National Construction Code has been brought to the negotiating table to discuss mandating basic access features in all new homes. This paper reports on the processes and progress of these negotiations and the outcomes to date.