[nfbwatlk] Braille discussion in the Monitor

[Lauren Merryfield]

Hi,
That's not so bad.  But if BANA is not going to include the Nemeth Code, 
then the NFB will need to do something about that.
Thanks
Lauren

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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Prows, Bennett (HHS/OCR)" <Bennett.Prows at HHS.GOV>
To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 2:12 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Braille discussion in the Monitor


> Hi Listers,
>
> For those who are interested, here's the resolution that was passed at 
> this year's NFB convention on the Braille code issue. You can find all of 
> them in a word document at the NFB national web site.
>
> /s/
>
> Bennett Prows
>
>
> Resolution 2012-13
> Regarding Braille Codes
>
>
> WHEREAS, Braille has been the primary means of literacy for blind people 
> since its invention in the 1800s; and
>
> WHEREAS, the potential for the integration of Braille into education and 
> everyday life is now greater than ever because of the proliferation of 
> computers and mobile devices that can generate Braille; and
>
> WHEREAS, the ability of a Braille user to write in Braille for instant 
> communication and collaboration with non-Braille readers is becoming ever 
> more essential in our digital age; and
>
> WHEREAS, although the accurate, automated conversion of print to Braille 
> (forward translation) and from Braille to print (back translation) is 
> possible, inconsistencies within the current Braille codes, as well as 
> changing print conventions not effectively addressed in the current 
> literary Braille code, serve as significant roadblocks to translation; and
>
> WHEREAS, these underlying difficulties may be exacerbated by continuing 
> efforts to tweak the current system; and
>
> WHEREAS, the adoption of a more systematic symbol set providing for 
> greater flexibility and fewer exceptions to rules would increase the 
> accuracy of forward- and back-translation and would also enable Braille 
> transcribers to focus attention on issues of formatting and representing 
> graphics or other essential visual elements; and
>
> WHEREAS, since 1992 the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) and 
> later the International Council on English Braille have been engaged in 
> the development of a single system called Unified English Braille (UEB) to 
> reduce conflicts and ambiguities by unifying some of the current multiple 
> Braille codes; and
>
> WHEREAS, UEB has been developed with input from many people with the 
> intention of achieving an optimal balance among many factors, including 
> keeping our current general-purpose literary code as its basis, enabling 
> Braille to convey the same information as print, allowing for the addition 
> of new symbols not currently available in literary Braille, providing 
> flexibility to change as print changes, reducing the complexity of rules, 
> and allowing greater accuracy in back-translation; and
>
> WHEREAS, the use of some dedicated Braille codes for specific subjects, 
> which permit the flexibility to represent those subjects fully, continues 
> to be necessary and desirable; and
>
> WHEREAS, the current version of the Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics 
> and Science Notation, implemented in the United States forty years ago, 
> has been widely recognized as an ingenious, powerful, and efficient system 
> for representing mathematics and scientific notation in Braille; and
>
> WHEREAS, the wholesale adoption of UEB would bring about relatively few 
> changes from current methods of representing literary materials but would 
> cause radical changes to Braille for technical materials; and
>
> WHEREAS, a solution involving the adoption of UEB along with continued use 
> of the current Nemeth Braille Code, while not fully unifying all codes, 
> would improve the utility of Braille in the digital age and increase 
> flexibility for both technical and non-technical uses: Now, therefore,
>
> BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention 
> assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas, Texas, 
> that this organization call upon the Braille Authority of North America to 
> adopt the symbols and rules of Unified English Braille as the standard for 
> general-purpose, non-technical materials; and
>
> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization express its strong support 
> for the continued use of the current Nemeth Braille Code as the standard 
> code for the teaching and production of materials that are primarily 
> mathematical in nature; and
>
> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon BANA to work with 
> all stakeholders to develop a gradual implementation plan that brings 
> about a minimum of disruption to the education of blind children, takes 
> into account the needs of Braille users of all ages and in all walks of 
> life, and provides clear guidance to educators and Braille producers about 
> when to use which code.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> Behalf Of Mary Ellen
> Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2012 8:41 AM
> To: 'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'
> Subject: [nfbwatlk] Braille discussion in the Monitor
>
> I'm sorry that I don't remember the precise issues, but at least three
> articles on the Braille code and the rammifications on deciding whether 
> and
> how to change it have been published within the past year.
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