Kessler Foundation Awards $425,000 Grant to University of Hawaii Disability Employment Initiative

(firmenpresse) - WEST ORANGE, NJ -- (Marketwire) -- 01/24/12 -- Kessler Foundation awarded a in the amount of $425,000 to the Office
of Research Services at the , to advance employment opportunities for people
with disabilities. This Grant is part of in grants awarded in 2011. Since 2005, the Foundation has
awarded more than $20 million to innovative employment initiatives.
This Signature Employment Grant supports the development of a virtual
reality (VR) software application, EmployAble: A World Without Barriers, to
help jobseekers navigate the world of job hunting and adapt to the
workplace. This Virtual Employment Orientation and Support Center, the
first of its kind, will serve people with disabilities, including veterans
with traumatic brain injury (TBI). EmployAble will be developed by a team
of researchers, many of whom have disabilities. Collaborators include
University of Hawaii Center on Disability Studies, Virtual Ability, and
Abilicorp.
"Projects like EmployAble are especially important because TBI is the
signature wound of Iraq and Afghanistan," said , president and CEO of Kessler Foundation. "We need to do all we
can to ensure veterans' successful reintegration into society." Kessler
Foundation Research Center is also studying for rehabilitation applications.
EmployAble will draw on innovative components of commercial VR software
programs including Multiple User Virtual Environments (MUVE), Second Life
(SL) Virtual World Simulation (SIM). EmployAble will simulate social
interactions in the workplace and demonstrate commonly used assistive
technology, e.g. screen readers, captioning video programs, accessible
document creation, presentation programs utilizing accessible features
(VoiceThread, Adobe Flash, etc.), and text-to-speech software.
Kessler Foundation's two-year Signature Employment Grants fund pilot
initiatives, demonstration projects and social ventures that lead to the
generation of new ideas to solve the high unemployment and underemployment
of individuals with disabilities. The next application deadline is Feb. 3,
2012.
Kessler Foundation is the largest public charity in the field of
disability. Kessler Foundation Research Center advances care through
rehabilitation research to improve quality of life for persons with spinal
cord and brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological
conditions. Kessler Foundation Program Center fosters new approaches to the
persistently high rates of unemployment among people with disabilities
across the nation. Find us at and on
, , and .
Contact:
Carolann Murphy
973.324.8382
Lauren Scrivo
973.324.8384
973.768.6583
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Datum: 24.01.2012 - 16:49 Uhr
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