Universal Access to Civic Information

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The report addresses the issue of access to "civic information. " In the first chapter, the authors define civic information as "information that a citizen needs and wishes to know in daily life situations. " A citizen has a role as an active entity and cooperative player in the community and should be a producer of dynamic information. The authors' approach to developing fundamental academic concepts for the field of welfare information through application of information technology to welfare issues is discussed.In the second chapter, some progressive case examples of civic and/or public life information presented on the websites of local authorities and "public access channels" of cable television are introduced. Then, by using computer-mediated communication (CMC), the authors explore possibilities for reforming what have been usual patterns of community formation.In the last chapter, the authors introduce the status of information assurance/assistance at Nagano University, which has experience and a proven reputation in supporting disabled students. The Barrier-free Network Project in Maruko Town is also introduced, regarding both the perspective of information disclosure/public services evaluation and also that of "virtual group-workshop" plans. The present researchers also collected information regarding welfare information related projects at other schools, and in the appendices of the report, case studies of experiments for universal access at an elementary school and a school for the blind are included.