[gui-talk] Fwd: E-Access Bulletin, April 2010: Campaigning Peer Blocks Weakening Of Web Access Law.
Steve Pattison
srp at internode.on.net
Fri Apr 23 01:47:30 UTC 2010
From: Dan Jellinek dan at headstar.com
To: eaccess at headstar.com
++E-ACCESS BULLETIN
Access To Technology For All, Regardless Of Ability
- ISSUE 124, April 2010.
A Headstar Publication.
http://www.headstar.com/eab/ .
Please forward this free bulletin to others (subscription details
at the end). We conform to the accessible Text Email
Newsletter (TEN) Standard:
http://www.headstar.com/ten/ .
++Special Notice: e-Access '10: Technology For All
- 13 July, Olympia 2, London
- Co-Hosted by OneVoice for Accessible ICT Coalition.
E-Access Bulletin's sixth annual conference and exhibition on
access to technology by people with disabilities, is taking
place on 13th July 2010 at Olympia Conference Centre in
London.
This year we welcome as co-hosts OneVoice for Accessible
ICT Coalition, the UK's leading umbrella body uniting a range
of organisations in the joint cause of access for all. Members
include AbilityNet, BCS, Intellect and the Society for IT
Management (Socitm).
Our programme this year covers the business, legal and
ethical drivers for accessibility, and the path to success for
organisations of all sizes, whatever their track record so far.
Technologies covered include everything from the web to
smartphones and cloud computing.
For more information and to register today, please visit:
http://www.headstar-events.com/eaccess10/
[Special notice ends].
++Issue 124 Contents.
01: Campaigning Peer Blocks Weakening Of Web Access Law
- But parts of new Equality Bill are "borderline impenetrable"
02: US Government Helps Job Applicants With Disabilities
- Mass 'hiring event' plus Rehabilitation Act overhaul.
03: E-Book Guide Highlights Benefits And Obstacles
- Readers, literature and retailers under the microscope.
News in Brief: 04: One Voice - Accessible ICT business
benefits; 05: Instant Messages - speaking app for
smartphones; 06: Digital Consolidation - Inclusion taskforce
merged.
Section Two: Conference Report - CSUN 2010, San Diego.
07: The 25-Year Buzz: The California State University
Northridge (CSUN) Technologies and Persons with
Disabilities Conference, the largest assistive technology event
in the world, celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. Held in
San Diego, the theme of this year's conference was
employment, featuring a keynote speech from the only
serving blind person in the US Special Forces. John Lamb
was there.
[Contents ends].
++Section One: News.
+01: Campaigning Peer Blocks Weakening Of Web Access Law.
A campaigning peer has ensured that the new Equality Act, an
update of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), includes a
commitment to online accessibility, by successfully moving
an amendment as the law passed through the House of Lords.
Lord Low of Dalston, vice president and former chairman of
the Royal National Institute of Blind People and himself
blind, moved a change of wording to the Act to state that
when providing information, organisations' processes should
"include steps for ensuring that. the information is provided
in an accessible format."
The Act ( http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2009-
10/equality/documents.html ) passed into law last week after
being rushed back through the Commons without a vote in
the 'wash-up' period before this week's dissolution of
Parliament for the General Election.
Lord Low said the change would allow for easier regulation
by enforcement authorities such as the Equalities and Human
Rights Commission (EHRC). The EHRC has separately
released a draft code of practice on the law (
http://bit.ly/aN8W5i ) which refers to website accessibility:
"As well as giving rise to an obligation to make a reasonable
adjustment to their website, [failure to make a website
accessible to those with visual impairments] will be unlawful
(unless they can justify it)."
However, the Equality Act has been criticised for its complex
language and ambiguity. Struan Robertson, a technology
lawyer with Pinsent Masons and editor of legal news website
Out-Law.com ( http://www.out-law.com/ ), told E-Access
Bulletin that parts of the new law are "borderline
impenetrable".
"For me, the biggest disappointment about the Equality Act is
that for an act on accessibility, it's difficult to access," said
Robertson. "That's unfortunate, because one of the great
things about the DDA was that it was easy to identify the
duties that people were under".
Robertson said that although the new Equality Act as
amended may provide clarification on web accessibility for
some businesses, the law remains broadly the same as its
predecessor, the DDA. "The differences are quite subtle and
it will not have a material impact on the state of accessibility
of website across the UK," he said.
And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:
http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=415
+02: US Government Helps Job Applicants With Disabilities.
The Obama administration is undertaking two major exercises
to help people with disabilities apply for government jobs,
delegates heard at last month's California State University
Northridge (CSUN) Technologies and Persons with
Disabilities Conference.
Employment was the central topic at CSUN, the largest
assistive technology event in the world, this year celebrating
its 25th anniversary. Less than a third of blind people of
working age in the US have a job, delegates heard.
On 26 April, federal agencies will be interviewing an
estimated 600 disabled people selected from around 4,000
applicants to a special 'hiring fair' in Washington organised
by the Office of Personnel Management and the Labor
Department's Office of Disability Policy (
http://www.usajobs.gov/DisabilityHiringEvent.asp ).
The US government is also set to overhaul Section 508 of the
country's Rehabilitation Act, the law that obliges federal
agencies to buy accessible equipment for disabled employees
including computers, photocopiers and telephones.
At CSUN the government held a public hearing at which
delegates were able to respond to proposals to refresh Section
508 to include newer technology such as mobile technology
and electronic books. The overwhelming message was that
change should come as quickly as possible. Further
comments are invited by June 21:
http://www.access-board.gov/news/ict-draft-rule.htm
The Access Board also proposes to supplement its ADA
Accessibility Guidelines, which cover access to facilities, to
broaden coverage to include certain types of interactive
transaction machines such as point-of-sale machines and self-
service kiosks.
NOTE: This month's E-Access Bulletin carries exclusive
reporting from CSUN from Ability Magazine editor John
Lamb. See Section Two.
And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:
http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=418
+03: E-Book Guide Highlights Benefits And Obstacles.
A guide to the accessibility benefits and obstacles of major
electronic book formats, including technical formats, e-book
readers and reader software, has been published by the Royal
National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).
E-book readers covered by the document (
http://www.rnib.org.uk/livingwithsightloss/readingwriting/ebo
oks/ ) include dedicated e-book readers; e-book reading
software; and e-book readers for mobile phones.
Dedicated readers include the Amazon Kindle (benefits
include text-to-speech; obstacles are that text-to-speech
currently applies to book content only, though Amazon have
announced it will have audible menus by mid-2010); plus the
Bookeen Cybook Gen 3, Sony Pocket and Sony Touch
(benefits of all three include various text size options;
obstacles include no text-to-speech feature).
The guide also provides a list of retailers and websites from
which e-books and readers can be purchased or downloaded.
E-books are becoming more widespread in public libraries
around the UK, with many branches embracing the lending of
digital books, a model already widely adopted in the US.
According to a report in a recent issue of E-Access Bulletin's
sister publication, E-Government Bulletin, the new breed of
library will not only make an ever-wider range of research
and searchable reference information available over the web
to their users, but promote the temporary lending of electronic
books of all kinds: http://www.headstar.com/egblive/?p=433 .
And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:
http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=421
++News in Brief:
+04: One Voice: A report on the business case and other
drivers for accessible IT, 'Accessible ICT: Benefits to
business and society', has been published online in accessible
PDF format by the OneVoice for Accessible ICT Coalition:
http://www.onevoiceict.org/tools/tr-tools.asp
OneVoice, an umbrella group of charities, businesses and
professional associations, will this year be co-hosting E-
Access Bulletin publisher Headstar's annual conference on
access to technology by people with disabilities, e-Access
'10:
http://www.headstar-events.com/eaccess10/
+05: Instant Messages: A text-to-speech application that reads
emails and text messages aloud from a BlackBerry
smartphone, developed as a 'hands free' safety aid for
motorists, could benefit blind and visually impaired users, say
the Royal National Institute of Blind People. The SafeReader
from Vlingo, developers of voice-activated interfaces for
mobile devices, is operated by voice commands and reads all
text messages and emails received to the user:
http://www.vlingo.com/safereader/
+06: Digital Consolidation: The government's Digital
Inclusion Taskforce, charged with bringing online the millions
of people who have never used the internet, has been merged
into the Digital Participation Consortium of broadcasting and
telecommunications regulator Ofcom. The taskforce, a team
of experts on education, health, government and social
inclusion including RNIB Chairman Kevin Carey, lost its
home as advisory team to former Digital Inclusion Champion
Martha Lane Fox when Lane Fox's role was broadened to that
of the government's overall 'Digital Champion':
http://www.digitalparticipation.com/
[Section One ends].
++Sponsored Notice: Adept Transcription
- Alternative Formats At Affordable Prices.
When you want alternative formats for disabled colleagues,
customers and staff, call Adept.
Formats we produce include audio, audio description, Braille,
BSL, Easy Read, e-docs for websites, large print, Makaton,
Moon and sub-titles, at prices from a penny a word.
Whether handling a newsletter, training DVD, equality
scheme, public service leaflet, contract or consultation, we
provide:
- One-stop shop for all formats
- Products quality-checked by users
- Corporate presentation including your house style
- Fast turnaround of one document or thousands
- Multi-format discounts
- Accessible packaging
Contact us at:
Tel: 0208 133 5418 (precede with 18001 for typetalk)
Email transcription at adept-uk.org
[Sponsored Notice ends]
++Section Two: Conference Report
CSUN 2010, San Diego
+The 25-Year Buzz
by John Lamb.
Gatherings of technologists always have an atmosphere of
excitement about them whether it's generated by the thrill of
discovering the next big thing or just catching up on the
gossip about what's hot and what's not.
But there is an even more special buzz to the California State
University Northridge (CSUN) Technologies and Persons with
Disabilities Conference, the largest assistive technology event
in the international calendar and this year celebrating its 25th
anniversary.
Some 5,000 people thronged the massive towers of the
Manchester Hyatt Hotel in San Diego at the end of March,
many of them vision-impaired. Some 200 hotel staff had
received special training in disability awareness from the
university, not that those walking flat out across the lobby
with a white cane in front of them looked as though they
needed much help.
Harry Murphy was the man who started it all back in 1985.
He was working with deaf students at the time. "I kept getting
questions such as 'what are you doing for students with
learning disabilities, or what are you doing for students with
computers?'" he recalls.
Initially, Murphy envisaged a conference of 200 people from
Southern California, but 600 turned up from around the
world. "It was like having a tiger by the tail: you can't stop
swinging or it will bite you. We ended up occupying two
hotels at Los Angeles airport."
The setting up of Northridge's own Center on Disability grew
out of the event. "People just kept asking what sort of
technology we had in our university, so we raised $300,000
to establish a computer contact center."
This year's central topic was employment. The keynote
speech was delivered by Captain Ivan Castro, the only
serving blind person in the US Special Forces, who
highlighted the fact that less than a third of blind people of
working age in the US have a job, a situation that the feisty
Dinah Cohen is keen to rectify.
"The problems are huge but it isn't a hidden issue anymore.
Best practice doesn't work; we are looking for next practice,"
said Cohen, who is director of the Computer and Electronic
Accommodations Program (CAP).
Her organisation provides training and equipment to disabled
federal employees and disabled service people. Over the past
20 years CAP has provided assistive technology to over
85,000 civil servants, including 14,000 wounded service
personnel.
However, with disabled people representing a decreasing
proportion of the government workforce, CAP is involved in
educating federal officials on how to hire more of them. At
the end of April, federal agencies will be interviewing 600
disabled people in a single day for jobs.
"People want to see Federal Government walk the walk rather
than just talking about it. People without evident disabilities
are ignored, we want to breakdown the silos in government
and work together," said Kathleen Martinez, Assistant
Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy and
another of the star speakers at this year's CSUN.
Martinez, who is blind, had just completed a six-city listening
tour to gather information on barriers and best practices
relating to the employment of people with disabilities.
One lever in promoting disabled employment is Section 508,
the law that obliges federal agencies to buy accessible
equipment for disabled employees. The legislation requires
suppliers to adapt office equipment such as computers,
photocopiers and telephones.
At CSUN the legislators held a public hearing at which
delegates were able to respond to proposals to refresh Section
508. The US Access Board aims to update the legislation to
include newer technology such as real time text, ATMs,
mobile technology, electronic books, video and voice texts.
The overwhelming message was that change should come as
quickly as possible.
Not everyone was so keen, however. Book publishers are
arguing for exemptions to Section 508 to preserve digital
rights management to protect copyright, potentially preventing
the creation of machine-readable copies of texts accessible by
people with reading difficulties.
This is one issue that will go on generating excitement long
after the Hyatt Hotel has put away its CSUN guide-dog water
bowls for another year.
NOTE: John Lamb is editor of Ability magazine
http://www.abilitymagazine.org.uk/
[Section Two ends].
And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:
http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=424
[Section Two ends].
++Special Notice: Fortune Cookie
- Web Sites That Really Work.
Fortune Cookie's dedicated web accessibility team makes
sure that everyone finds the web sites we design easy to use.
As well as being accessible, Fortune Cookie sites are beautiful
and deliver stunning return-on-investment. They're award-
winning too. In 2007, our work was nominated for major web
design awards 11 times.
Legal & General, Kuoni, Diabetes UK, FT Business - just
some of the big name brands on Fortune Cookie's client list.
Every business can benefit from making its web site more
accessible. If you'd like to know what accessibility can do for
your business, talk to Fortune Cookie.
Visit our web site at:
http://www.fortunecookie.co.uk
Julie Howell is our Director of Accessibility. Email Julie at:
Julie.Howell at fortunecookie.co.uk .
[Special notice ends]
++Sponsored Notice: Accessify Forum
- Six Years of Accessibility Discussion.
Accessify Forum has been the number one destination for
accessibility
discussion on the web for nearly six years. Celebrating our
sixth birthday next month, you'll find discussion of
accessibility at all levels, from beginner to guru.
The site has recently been redesigned and the forum system
improved. This is still ongoing and you can join in the
discussions.
So whether you're looking to learn more about accessibility,
want to help others and improve on your own knowledge, or
just to browse the archives, come and join us at:
http://www.accessifyforum.com/
[Special notice ends].
++End Notes.
+How to Receive the Bulletin.
To subscribe to this free monthly bulletin, email
eab-subs at headstar.com
with 'subscribe eab' in the subject header. You can list other
email addresses to subscribe in the body of the message.
Please encourage all your colleagues to sign up! To
unsubscribe at any time, put 'unsubscribe eab' in the subject
header.
Please send comments on coverage or leads to Dan Jellinek
at:
dan at headstar.com .
Copyright 2009 Headstar Ltd http://www.headstar.com .
The Bulletin may be reproduced as long as all parts including
this copyright notice are included, and as long as people are
always encouraged to subscribe with us individually by email.
Please also inform the editor when you are reproducing our
content. Sections of the bulletin may be quoted as long as
they are clearly sourced as 'taken from e-access bulletin, a
free monthly email newsletter', and our web site address:
http://www.headstar.com/eab
is also cited.
+Personnel:
Editor - Dan Jellinek.
Reporter: Tristan Parker.
Editorial advisor - Kevin Carey.
ISSN 1476-6337.
[Issue 124 ends.]
Regards Steve
Email: srp at internode.on.net
MSN Messenger: internetuser383 at hotmail.com
Skype: steve1963
Twitter: steve9782
More information about the GUI-Talk
mailing list