Community living for people with intellectual disability has been encouraged and supported for a number of decades in Ireland. Systematic reviews have demonstrated the merits of community living and social inclusion and have highlighted the relative cost-effectiveness of delivering care in the community to individuals with intellectual disability. This chapter focuses on resident characteristics, costs and outcomes of two types of community residential facilities for people with intellectual disability in Ireland: village campuses and dispersed housing. Residents in village campuses fared better in terms of lower levels of reported victimisation than did those in dispersed housing. Village campuses accommodated a higher proportion of people with more severe or profound intellectual disability. Assessments of residents indicated higher dependency across residents in village campuses, as compared to those in dispersed housing.

This chapter presents a socioeconomic profile of childhood disability in an Irish context. Using data from the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) survey, it considers a range of dimensions. These include an analysis of the associations between the childhood disability status of a household and a range of socioeconomic indicators relating to labour market outcomes, levels of parental education, social class, income and economic hardship. The chapter compares households with and without a child with a disability on the basis of these socioeconomic measures. The primary carer of a child with a disability is considerably less likely to participate in the labour market and considerably more likely to turn down work opportunities, when compared to a primary carer of a child without a disability. Parents of a child with a disability are less likely to be educated at third level and more likely to be in the lowest social class.

Ireland represents a valuable case-study of disability and the labour market. People with disabilities face many barriers to full participation in the labour market, and as a consequence, their labour force participation rates and employment rates fall far below those for others of working age. The labour market is at the centre of economic research in the disability domain. This chapter describes the extent to which people with disabilities are in paid work in Ireland. The impact of disability on employment, and on earnings for those who are employed, has been widely studied, including a relatively emphasis on dynamic effects making use of longitudinal data that captures the onset of disability. In order to examine the factors affecting labour force participation and the impact of disability, the chapter focuses on econometric analyses of the microdata from large-scale household surveys.

Higher education has splintered into disciplinary enclaves in which the goal often becomes one of doing research to address disciplinary concerns and little else. On topics such as sustainability, there is an urgent need to become interdisciplinary, engaged and solutions focused. Maine’s Sustainability Centre (SSI) offers an exemplar for addressing complex environmental problems. This chapter presents a model for universities as they address a range of issues that interlink social and environmental concerns.

A broad measure of consensus has emerged in Ireland and internationally on the nature of disability and the principles that should guide disability policy. Disability is seen as a socioeconomic phenomenon, whereby disabled people are prevented from participating fully in social and economic activities due to the presence of various barriers. This chapter presents some key concepts discussed in this book. The book explores a range of issues and debates of relevance to the economics of disability. It examines the associations between disability and a variety of measures of social inclusion. The book examines the association between the childhood disability status of households and a range of socioeconomic outcome measures, including parental labour market outcomes, levels of parental education, social class and economic hardship. It also examines the economics of mental health services and presents a broad overview of key economic issues facing the provision of such services in Ireland.

The San community in D’Kar and surrounding villages has developed a Community Based Planning Programme focused on a community farm. The San are a population who has a history of marginalization and poverty within Botswana. The farm serves as a community organizer as well as food source and is administered by the San women. The program highlighted in this case study was developed to build leadership systems and capabilities for the women of the village while developing sustainable business opportunities for economic transformation. The tension between addressing issues of sustainability and business development are discussed.

Loyola University of Chicago is a Jesuit institution of higher education whose main campus is located in a crowded urban setting. The university has organized a satellite campus for both undergraduate and graduate students that focuses on restoration of the environmentally sensitive wetlands that surround the property as well as supporting life off the grid with organic farming practices supporting a healthy food system. This takes place in a context of moral and ethical focus, unusual in most universities. This chapter highlights the challenges of listening to community and establishing relationships as they integrate sustainable practices in an innovative and unconventional curriculum.

This chapter concerns the relationship between ageing and disability and whether there exists the possibility of a common approach to thinking about policy questions in relation to ageing and disability and their various interfaces. As more people age with disability, the medical model of ageing will come under increasing scrutiny from people demanding a social model of care provision. The chapter explores the implications of a more integrationist approach for older people and their families. Older people with disabilities in Ireland include people with a disability acquired at a younger age and those who acquire a disability later in life. Citizenship and entitlement are equally relevant to people with disability and to older people if only because so many people with disabilities are older. Most people agree that the importance of the person with a disability needs to be emphasised in the provision of health and social care.

Soil erosion is a major ecological problem in Nigeria in general but particularly in south eastern Nigeria. In addition to being a major issue, the incidence of soil erosion in Nigeria is a long standing problem as it has been a subject for numerous and high level discussions since the beginning of the 20th century. Agricultural practice is one of the suspected causes of soil erosion in the country, yet, concerted efforts are lacking in effectively tackling this menace. One weakness in the process of discovery is linked to the supply of fertilizers. This chapter examines the triple relationship existing among erosion, agricultural practice and access to fertilizers in Nigeria; it equally seeks to analyse the nature of the relationship that should exist among these three phenomena. Finally it calls attention to the role higher education should play in helping t o solve this hydra-headed monster.