This study examines how pre-existing disabling conditions influenced the recovery process of survivors of Hurricane Katrina. It focuses specifically on the barriers that hindered the recovery process in these individuals. Focus groups were convened in four Gulf Coast states with 31 individuals with disabilities who lived in or around New Orleans, Louisiana, prior to Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Qualitative data were analysed using grounded theory methodology. Five themes emerged as the most significant barriers to recovery: housing; transportation; employment; physical and mental health; and accessing recovery services. While these barriers to recovery were probably common to most survivors of the disaster, the research results suggest that disability status enhanced the challenges that participants experienced in negotiating the recovery process and in acquiring resources that accommodated their disabilities. The findings indicate that, when disaster recovery services and resources did not accommodate the needs of individuals with disabilities, recovery was hindered. Recovery efforts should include building accessible infrastructure and services that will allow for participation by all.

Results suggest that disaster recovery is facilitated by case managers with disability expertise, including knowledge about the needs of individuals with disabilities and about disability-related services.

We report on an investigation into the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of an informational and instructional Website in order to generate guidelines for instructional designers of read/write Web environments. We describe the process of design and development research, the problem addressed, the theory-based solution, and the evaluation and testing of that solution. Based on our experience, we then identify sixteen guidelines for future designers and developers of read/write Web-based learning environments. The study demonstrates how read/write Web technologies can be used to address general problems that have intrinsic societal importance; examines implementation of a read/write technology in a real-life context, thereby testing distributed cognitions learning theory; informs the design of similar environments; and provides grounded theory for the design and development of read/write Web learning environments.Keywords Design and development research Á Read/write Web Á Web 2.0 Á Distributed cognitions Á Social constructivismThe emergence of read/write Web (Web 2.0) technologies such as wikis, Weblogs, Real Simple Syndication, Webcasts, and interactive photo galleries, has empowered users to actively contribute to the content of the Internet. By 2003, 44% of adult Internet users had participated in the interactive capabilities of the Internet by posting in at least one read/ write Web environment (Lenhart et al. 2004). With so much activity initiated in such a short time, questions arise about the read/write Web's impact on educational processes. Some futurists and change theorists predict that as a result of Web-based user empowerment, a paradigm shift will take place in education of the magnitude of that created by the

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