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This is the first part of a two‐part paper that considers the assessment criteria for incapacity benefit (IB) and employment and support allowance (ESA) and how these benefits apply to claimants who are unable to work because they experience episodes of lost or altered consciousness.Part one considers how the IB/ESA appraisal system works in practice and looks specifically at the legal interpretation of lost and altered consciousness. Part two, which will be published in a future issue, will give practical guidance to advisers.

This article describes how affordable e‐commerce solutions have increased access to local and family history publications produced through special interest groups. It points the way to future provision in Local Studies libraries for secure ordering facilities for public use, and explores some of the issues surrounding such provision.

Following a market research phase early in 2001, LITC at South Bank University are moving a head in developing targeted consultancy services in digital imaging. The current phase of this initiative will result, early in 2002, in one day short courses in digital imaging awareness, at which interested parties in education, healthcare and the cultural sector will gather to share experience and examine good (and not so good) practice in case studies. The initiative fits well with LITC’s involvement in wider aspects of online educational resource identification and provision through EC and JISC funded projects, and in initiatives to assess the take‐up of digital images in UK HE and FE.

LITC at South Bank University (SBU) was funded through the JISC under the DNER 5/99 programme to digitise pre‐indexed 35mm slides of buildings, architectural features, and environmental subjects. The digital images will be mounted in the VADS JISC funded repository for wide dissemination by the end of 2001. The total project budget was £41,000, including £26,000 from the JISC. The funding provided for a 12‐ month project period to end July 2001, with actual digitisation being carried out by iBase on SBU premises between March and June 2001. The initial target for digitisation was 20,000 slides, dependent on a number of factors as will be highlighted below. The costs of hosting the digital collection by VADS was not included in project funding.

With the support of the ADC‐LTSN and the CEBE, the Faculty of the Built Environment (FBE) and Learning and Information Services (LIS) at South Bank University are collaborating to develop electronic resources for students of a building construction technology degree course, in a one‐year project dubbed “HERBE” – Higher Education Resources for the Built Environment. Delivery will be via the Blackboard VLE and CD‐ROM.

Following earlier comparative evaluations of software for the management of references and citations by Maggie Shapland, reported in LIBS 89/90, February 2000, in which EndNote 3.1.0 was included, there has been a release of EndNote 4 by ISI ResearchSoft. The new version is described as an online research tool, a reference database and a bibliography maker. This new evaluation refers to the earlier evaluation comments and adopts similar categories for evaluation to facilitate comparison. These are, with new categories shown in italics:

This paper considers the funding of supported housing schemes. These are schemes that house vulnerable people with special needs in the community. The paper looks at why the future of these schemes has been threatened by a series of legal decisions interpreting the housing benefit regulations.The paper analyses the relevant regulations and looks at how they apply to supported housing schemes. It then sifts through the details of the case law and concludes by looking at the lessons that may be learned in the future.

This paper starts with an overview of why and how online learning material is being reused. This sets the context for a detailed description of EASEL (Educator Access to Services in the Electronic Landscape, http://www.fdgroup.com/easel). This European project is directed towards technological solutions for the reuse and sharing of teaching and learning materials available online. In doing so EASEL deploys emerging open international standards for educational metadata and develops some original approaches to ‘content packaging), course construction tools and cross metadata searching through a Z39.50 and an XML/RDF search gateway.

This paper aims to update the recent two‐part review of UK Incapacity Benefit and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) as they affect claimants suffering from impairments of consciousness.

The paper reviews the changes in legislation and recent opinions and rulings of Upper Tribunal judges.

Altered as well as totally lost consciousness must be considered in legislation. The yardstick is significant loss of awareness or concentration. If alcohol dependence has been diagnosed as an underlying cause then only the effects rather than the mechanism need be considered.

Claimants, advocates and decision makers should use these criteria when applying for, or granting, benefit on these grounds.

Looks at the themed issue articles and the areas they cover relating to digital imaging issues. Lists the sources of support and introduces the various contributors.