Self-Determination Workshop Series
Session Webcast
USING
THE INTERNET TO PROMOTE
SELF-DETERMINATION & EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING
Held
Tuesday,
Oct. 22, 2002
The
Internet can be a useful tool for
the promotion of self-determination
and emotional well-being. By
providing access to diverse
information, the Net provides new
and enhanced opportunities for
increasing self-determination for
people with psychiatric
disabilities. It links individuals
with online communities, like-minded
peers, thorough mental health and
health information, and tools for
taking charge of their own lives.
This webcast will address current
trends and web-based resources in
these areas, with sessions focusing
particularly on community activism
and employment. A moderated panel
will conclude the webcast with
personal stories of
self-determination and a brief
discussion about how one might
assess the reliability of
information found on the Internet.
 Session
I
NetActivism: Leveling the Playing
Field
Presented by Edward Schwartz
"The
Internet can help us strengthen
democracy in America, irrespective
of our views on particular issues.
Going online makes it easier for us
to communicate, keep track of what's
happening with government and
politics at all levels, and convey
our concerns to people in power. Of
course, the Internet can also drive
us further apart, if all we seek are
new ways to meet our needs entirely
within our own homes without regard
to one another. The technology is
nothing more than energy moving
through wires and machines. What it
does for and to us depends on how we
use it" (Schwartz, NetActivism,
How Citizens Use the Internet,
1996). [For example, people with
HIV/AIDS have used the Internet to
gain worldwide support for their
demands related to funds for
research and treatment and the cost
of prescription drugs. People with
other physical and mental
disabilities can use the Internet to
achieve self-determination in this
way as well.] The presenter will
discuss how the Internet is helping
people with limited financial
resources participate in online
communities that start functioning
as advocacy groups. These
individuals and groups can then take
advantage of the Web to get
information relevant to their
causes, and use email to put
pressure on elected officials at
every level. [Back
to Top]
 Session
II
The Electronic Career Stairway:
Steps to Finding the Right Work via
the Internet
Presented by Howard
Dansky
This
session will provide practical
guidance and information on Internet
sites and software resources to
seek, find, and secure a job. There
are more than 100 sites that post
job openings and/or offer job search
skills tips and career advice, and
the presenter will explore the kinds
of information they offer and how to
get at it. Participants who are
seeking work, as well as
practitioners providing services to
support job seekers, will learn to
identify, access, and use sites and
tools instrumental in setting and
achieving work-related goals.
Session content will cover resources
that facilitate all phases of the
job search: self-assessment of
interests, skills, knowledge, and
abilities, as well as
support/accommodation needs;
creating "self-marketing
tools" like resumes and
letters; finding where the jobs are
- in which the Internet, as a
networking tool and constantly
updating information source, is a
uniquely helpful ally; and
sharpening
self-presentation/interview skills
to compete for and secure the job
one has found. [Back
to Top]
Panelists
will respond to questions about how
to determine the validity and
reliability of information provided
on the Internet, and will share
personal stories about how the
Internet has fostered their own
self-determination. [Back
to Top]
For
more information, please contact the
MHSRP/UIC NRTC Web Team (webcast@psych.uic.edu)
Register
Now!
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