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ACCESS TO THE
INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY AND EMERGING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES BY
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
September 30, 1996
National Council on Disability
1331 F Street, N.W., Suite 1050
Washington, DC 20004-1107
202-272-2004
202-272-2074 TT
202-272-2022 Fax
http://www.ncd.gov
The views contained in this report do not necessarily represent
those of the Administration, as this document was not subjected
to the A-19 Executive Branch review process.
NATIONAL COUNCIL
ON DISABILITY
Members
Marca Bristo, Chairperson
John A. Gannon, Vice Chairperson
Yerker Andersson, Ph.D.
Larry Brown, Jr.
John D. Kemp
Audrey McCrimon
Bonnie O'Day
Lilliam R. Pollo
Debra Robinson
Shirley W. Ryan
Michael B. Unhjem
Rae E. Unzicker
Hughey Walker
Kate P. Wolters
Ela Yazzie-King
Staff
Ethel D. Briggs, Executive Director
Speed Davis, Executive Assistant to the Chairperson
Billie Jean Hill, Program Specialist
Jamal Mazrui, Program Specialist
Mark S. Quigley, Public Affairs Specialist and Editor
Brenda Bratton, Executive Secretary
Stacey S. Brown, Staff Assistant
Janice Mack, Administrative Officer
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The National Council on Disability wishes to express its appreciation
to Dr. Gregg C. Vanderheiden and Maureen Kaine-Krolak, OTR, MSEE,
Trace Research and Development Center, Waisman Center and Department
of Industrial Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, for
their work on this report.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Executive Summary
Briefly, What Is the National Information Infrastructure,
and What Can I Do with It?
Components of NII
Where Is NII Going?
Implications for People with Disabilities
General Accessibility Guidelines
Goals
Options
Forces That Cause Change in Design and Accessibility
Strategies for Achieving Change
Conclusion
Additional Readings
Appendix: Mission of the National Council on Disability
PREFACE
The National Council on Disability would like to remind the reader
that the topic covered by this paper is dynamic and changes daily.
Even as this document was being finalized, telecommunication legislation
was passed that significantly rewrote the rules of the game. Although
most of the changes were anticipated and incorporated into this
document, the impact of the legislation is still being analyzed.
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Background
As part of its research agenda, the National Council on Disability
(NCD) established a community-based, cross-disability consumer task
force on technology in January 1995. Known as Technology Watch (Tech
Watch), the 11-member task force provides information to NCD on
issues relating to emerging legislation on technology and helps
monitor compliance with civil rights legislation, such as Section
508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
This report falls under the purview of NCD's Tech Watch.
What Is the Information Superhighway?
In general, the National Information Infrastructure (NII), or the
information superhighway, refers to a system of information networks
and information services that will connect people across the country
and internationally, and provide them with a variety of information.
NII will connect the home, school, workplace, community, and eventually
any other place on earth via local area network (LAN)-based, wireless,
and satellite networks. Services will include all of those provided
by the telephone, television, computer, and Internet systems today,
plus many new services. NII should not be equated with the Internet.
The Internet is the global network of computers that supports certain
communication protocols, thereby facilitating electronic mail (e-mail),
the World Wide Web, and other forms of information exchange. The
Internet will be a major component, but in the long run, NII will
be much more pervasive, much faster, and much more convenient.
Where Is NII Going?
Although no one knows exactly where NII is going, there are a number
of clear trends, most of which have significant implications for
individuals with disabilities.
One major trend is the convergence of the various communication,
telecommunication, and computing fields. The lines between them
are blurring rapidly. A second major trend is toward the client/server
or net-centric model, in which the bulk of the program, data storage,
and so forth, is located on a central system or a network, making
available much more powerful capabilities at much lower expense.
A related change is the development of "applets," small application
programs that are downloaded from the network to the personal communicator/computer
whenever they are needed. When the user is finished with them, they
disappear, to be downloaded again when they are needed.
A close corollary to these developments is distributed serving,
in which the product or service being purchased is made up of many
components from different sources that are automatically combined.
Multimedia animation and virtual reality (VR) are also coming into
much more frequent use. Although they have been somewhat limited
to date because of slow network speed, use of both will be increasing
as networks get faster. They will be appearing not just in entertainment,
where their major use is today, but in education, shopping, and
virtually every other aspect of daily life.
The form of access to NII is also changing and now includes information
appliances and personal digital assistants, set-top boxes that provide
access via the television set, public service terminals or kiosks
such as automatic teller machines (ATMs), and public service vending/transaction
terminals such as fare machines. Constraints for providing access
will be slightly different for each of these forms.
In addition to these trends, the concept of a universal address
or telephone number is beginning to be discussed. This number would
be an identity that would follow people throughout their lives.
The concept of "smart cards," including wireless smart cards, is
also being considered. These are small credit-card-sized devices
with a computer in them. With the wireless variety, information
about individuals and their preferences could be communicated to
a device simply by approaching the device. Products or services
could also be paid for without handling currency.
Implications for People with Disabilities
NII has the potential to level the playing field in many areas
of life, but it can also pose new barriers.
Advantages
For people with disabilities, NII provides all the advantages provided
to everyone else, plus some special ones. The special advantages
include the following:
- Drastically increasing the ability of individuals with some
types of disabilities (including visual, hearing, physical, and
cognitive/language impairments) to access and use information.
- Decreasing the personal isolation that individuals experience
because of restrictions in their ability to move about, communicate,
or get together with others sharing their interests or situation.
- Allowing individuals to interact with others in a way that makes
their disability invisible or irrelevant.
- Allowing convenient access to educational and medical services.
Disadvantages
Anyone who cannot afford or who cannot physically access and use
NII will be at a severe disadvantage. Inaccessibility poses a special
risk for individuals with disabilities. If access depends on third-party
developers' ability to create special interfaces, people with disabilities
are likely to always be left 6 to 12 months behind. In addition,
multimedia trends pose difficulties for individuals with visual
impairments, and pointing and gesture interfaces are difficult for
individuals with physical impairments. Voice input can create problems
for both individuals with hearing impairments and those with physical/speech
impairments if no alternate input options are provided.
Barriers and potential barriers
Barriers to use of emerging communication and transaction technologies
include
- The standard socioeconomic barriers;
- The complexity in the design of many of the products;
- The use of graphic interfaces;
- The use of touchscreens and pointing interfaces where alternate
input techniques are not available;
- Virtual environments;
- Sound;
- Animation and interactive systems;
- The sealed nature of public systems, which must have built-in
access accommodations if they are to be made accessible.
Although all of the above are potential barriers to people with
disabilities, strategies are available today to provide access to
the various types of environment. In some cases, the techniques
are quite good, and provide complete and efficient access to the
information/service. In other cases, rudimentary strategies have
been developed, but further work is required. The interface field
generally is evolving rapidly, and new technology and interface
developments are creating new challenges.
General Accessibility Guidelines
Some general access strategies can be applied across all information
systems. In the list below, the major disability groups that would
be affected by each strategy are shown in brackets.
- Visual information--All information that is presented
visually (or stored as an image), should have an alternate or
supplemental presentation (or storage format) that does not require
vision (e.g., auditory format or ASCII text). [blindness, cognitive/language
impairment]
- Auditory information--All information that is
presented auditorily (or stored as a sound file), should have
an alternate or supplemental mode of presentation (or storage
format) that does not rely on hearing (e.g., visual mode or ASCII
text file). (Auditory information includes beeps or any other
sounds that convey information.) [hearing impairment, deafness,
cognitive/language impairment]
- Eye-hand coordination controls--All controls that
require eye-hand coordination (mice, trackballs, ordinary touchscreens),
should have an alternate or supplemental mode that does not require
eye-hand coordination (e.g., keyboard, Talking Fingertip touchscreen).
[blindness, physical impairment]
- Physical requirements--Any input or control mechanisms
that require fine movement control, physical dexterity, reach,
or strength should have an alternate mechanism (such as scanning
or keyboard navigation) that does not have such physical requirements.
Mechanisms that require simultaneous activation of two buttons,
latches, and so forth, should be avoided. Timed responses should
be avoided, or a mechanism provided for extending the times. [physical
impairment, cognitive/language impairment]
- Operation--The operation of the device/system
should be as simple, predictable, and error tolerant as possible.
[cognitive/language, low vision, physical disability, blindness]
- Connectivity--Wherever possible, provide an external
standard connection point should be available to connect alternate
displays and/or alternate input/control mechanisms (e.g., infrared
link or RS232 port with alternate display and control capability).
[blindness, physical impairment]
Goals Regarding Accessibility and NII
Goal 1: Products should be both accessible and USABLE
by people with disabilities.
Goal 2: Source materials (print, audiovisual, multimedia,
VR) should be presentation independent or multimodal.
Goal 3: Public systems should be directly accessible by
the widest possible constituency.
Goal 4: To the extent feasible, accessibility to all products
should be direct (built-in), rather than requiring the user to modify
the product or purchase assistive technologies in order to use the
product.
Goal 5: Devices and systems should be flexible enough that
people who lack one or more of the following capabilities can still
use them: Vision; hearing; speech; fine movement control; reach;
average cognitive skills; average ability to concentrate.
Although these goals may seem ambitious, some products already
come close to achieving or do achieve all of these objectives. Achieving
these goals would also increase the general usability and flexibility
of next-generation systems for all users.
Options
Two general options exist for making products and systems accessible
by people with disabilities. One is to design the products so they
are directly usable by people with disabilities. The other is to
design them so they can be adapted or used with assistive technologies.
A third, hybrid option is to design products with both characteristics.
1. Built-in access
Built-in access has a number of advantages. It does not require
individuals with disabilities to purchase or own special equipment.
It is convenient because it does not require individuals to carry
special assistive technologies with them. There is no delay between
the moment a device is released and in general use and the moment
that third-party manufacturers can develop access adaptations. The
user is not left without access because third-party manufacturers
deem the market for access devices too small. Individuals who are
progressively losing their abilities (e.g., because of aging), and
who may be in denial, are able to successfully access and use the
systems for which they would not purchase or use an assistive technology
because of the stigma. Built-in access is particularly effective
if the access features are a natural part of the adjustability of
the device and are routinely used by others.
The major difficulty with this approach is that it is not always
practical to build access for every type, degree, and combination
of disability directly into every instance of a product (e.g., dynamic
braille displays for individuals who are deaf-blind).
2. Adaptation or use in conjunction with assistive technologies
This approach also has advantages. Individuals can use an interface
that is familiar to them for controlling different appliances. Such
an interface provides an access mechanism for individuals with severe
or multiple disabilities, where building access directly into the
product is not currently practical. On small or inexpensive systems,
for which direct built-in access may be extremely difficult, a small
connection link may be quite practical.
The disadvantages of this approach are the need for individuals
to wait for assistive technologies to be developed for each new
product, then to purchase those technologies and carry them about.
3. Hybrid approach
The hybrid approach is to build as much direct access into a product
as is practical, and to work with assistive technologies as a fallback
for individuals for whom direct access is not possible or practical.
It combines the advantages of the first two options, while circumventing
most of their individual disadvantages. The primary issue is to
determine when accessibility should be directly built in, and when
the device should be used with third-party assistive technologies.
Usually it is not optimal or even realistic to expect users to carry
special assistive technologies with them. However, for individuals
with severe and multiple disabilities (e.g., deaf-blindness), there
may be no other practical approach for some products. There may
also be limitations on extremely small or inexpensive products.
Forces That Cause Change in Design and Accessibility
Three major factors can cause change:
1. Awareness that there is a problem and that solutions
can be implemented economically.
Almost without exception, when researchers have visited companies
to encourage more accessible (more universal) designs, executives
were either unaware of the problems their current designs posed
or unaware that cost-effective solutions could be easily implemented
to make their products more accessible. (In many cases, executives
were unaware that people with disabilities use their products.)
Basic awareness is essential to progress.
2. Knowledge of specific, acceptable and effective
solutions.
Once industry has been made aware of a problem, there have frequently
been requests for more specific information related to the problems
and solutions. Specific, detailed ideas and options have been requested,
along with as much flexibility as possible. (Some industry members
who have been embarrassed by moving forward with one implementation
only to be criticized for not doing it right, also want some assurance
of consensus within the disability community before proceeding.)
Specific, practical, flexible and cross-disability approved guidelines
are needed to move forward with any speed in this area.
3. Motivation to move the priority high enough to
get it acted on.
Almost all company representatives have commented that both internal
and external motivations were necessary to either get accessibility
programs moving or keep them moving. A surprising number have said
that legislation requiring accessibility would be helpful to their
efforts by
- Raising the priority from "really should do this, really want
to do this" to "really must do this" so that accessibility programs
can compete with other "must do" priorities within the company;
and
- Leveling the playing field by requiring the competition to also
take the time initially to build the features in or to learn how
to design more universally.
Other motivating forces mentioned included larger market (usually
deemed negligible for any one feature); demand by customers; recognition
in the press (e.g., if all product reviews in the press also evaluated
product accessibility); and right thing to do (usually not enough
by itself to move from "want to do" to "must do").
Strategies for achieving change
If the agents of change are awareness, knowledge, and motivation,
then the strategies for causing change should be based on these
agents. The strategies include those presented in the document "Policy
Recommendations from the Universal Access Project," by Deborah Kaplan.
There are recommendations specifically for government, for industry,
for technical/research groups, and for consumers. All are considered
key to bringing about the changes necessary to ensure NII access
for everyone.
Strategies for increasing awareness
The need for increased awareness of access issues and strategies
is not limited to industry designers and engineers. Researchers
in both the public and private sectors must to be included in activities
to increase awareness. Likewise, policy makers and people with disabilities
must be more aware of the issues and strategies surrounding access
to information systems.
Government agencies, such as NCD, can employ strategies
such as defining access as a policy goal; ensuring that the topic
of access is a high priority; including at least a section discussing
disability access issues in any documentation on NII; assuming a
leadership role in publicizing the benefits of access; including
access in policy initiatives regarding universal service and universal
access; and requiring that all grants dealing with NII include a
statement describing how recipients will address issues of disability
access. Agencies can also support efforts to secure broad input
from disability groups, bring the different groups together to identify
acceptable cross-disability access strategies, and promote activities
that can heighten public and industry awareness of access issues.
Private industry can establish company-wide policy on accessibility,
establish and implement internal disability access teams, encourage
collaboration across all company divisions and segments to explore
access issues, and ensure that product support mechanisms exist
to allow appropriate communication and interaction with people with
disabilities.
Technical and research groups can publish professional papers
describing research and development efforts regarding disability
access issues, publicize access-related research and development
efforts, and participate in and disseminate information at disability-
and nondisability-related conferences.
Consumers and disability constituencies can make access
needs known to providers and give both positive and negative feedback,
provide input to government and industry regulatory and policy boards
such as NCD's Tech Watch, closely consider cross-disability access
issues in contrast to those of their own particular constituency,
work cooperatively with other disability constituencies, and participate
in government- and industry-sponsored activities to promote awareness
of access issues.
Strategies for Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge
The creation and dissemination of knowledge pertaining to access
have two major components. First, research must be sponsored to
develop answers and solution strategies to the many access issues
posed by emerging technologies. Second, the knowledge obtained must
to be disseminated to researchers, developers, manufacturers, policymakers,
and consumers.
Government can create funding programs that target accessibility
research, recognize that much government-funded research is conducted
in areas that are complementary to accessibility research and require
that accessibility be included in such research, foster university-industry
research and development efforts, promote efforts between disability-oriented
technology research groups and research groups focused on next-generation
information system and human-computer interfaces, work at all levels
to disseminate information to agencies having direct contact with
individuals with disabilities, disseminate information to disability
advocacy and consumer groups, publicize new information in appropriate
journals and media, encourage consumer and user participation in
educating policymakers regarding access issues, and include consumer
feedback mechanisms for all NII development activities.
Industry can include people with disabilities in human factors
and product design research and in alpha and beta testing cycles,
provide access to early product betas and developer support for
third-party access developers and manufacturers, and provide adequate
training to product support staff.
Technical and research groups can, in addition to the strategies
listed for government and industry, work closely both with groups
representing a variety of disabilities and with industry.
Consumers and disability communities can educate themselves
and others regarding existing and future technologies and related
access issues, educate product and service providers as to specific
product-and service-related access needs, and work within the framework
of government and industry concerns.
Strategies for increasing motivation
Although legislating change is not the only mechanism for motivating
change, a surprisingly large number of company executives have confidentially
suggested legislation as the most effective mechanism for causing
change within their companies. They have cited two key factors in
coming to this conclusion.
First, without some type of forcing factor (i.e., legislation),
providing access to people with disabilities falls into the important
or very important category and not into the urgent or critical category.
Second, almost all companies involved in information technology
are in fierce competition with multiple rivals. Legislation or regulations
that require everyone to address these issues have the effect of
leveling the playing field, so the company that does address them
does not risk potential disadvantage.
However, executives are quick to follow with an admonition that
setting such legislation or standards in this area must be done
carefully, or it could be very problematic. Unlike public telephones,
elevators, and restrooms, which tend to be standard in appearance
today, communication and information appliances and systems take
on myriad different forms. Moreover, it is expected that the technologies
in this area will continue to advance and evolve at an astonishing
rate, making it difficult to predict what form, size, or shape the
technologies of the future will have. Conversely, if access regulations
are sufficiently general to allow for endless implementations, it
becomes difficult to judge exactly what constitutes compliance.
Probably the most effective strategy, therefore, is to set performance
standards based on a reasonableness test. For example, a product
should be usable by all individuals with disabilities whenever building
such capabilities into products is reasonable and achievable. A
measure of reasonable and achievable can then be based on whether
other companies or competitors include such features in their products.
This approach provides great motivation for companies to step forward
and be among the first, since in doing so they demonstrate that
accessibility is reasonable and achievable, thus compelling their
competition (under the regulations) also to address the issue. Unlike
their competitors, however, innovative companies will not have to
consider redesign of their system to provide access. Thus, moving
first provides companies a competitive advantage and saves them
time and redesign.
NOTE: The legislation passed by Congress uses the term "readily
achievable," which is not as strong as "undue burden" or "reasonable
and achievable" but still applies in the situations described
above.
Legislative or regulatory action is a critical strategy for providing
motivation. It is not the only strategy, however, and is therefore
presented along with other recommendations below.
Government can increase motivation by updating regulations
to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to better account for
information technology, adopt performance benchmarking for accessibility,
encourage the private sector to work collaboratively with experts
designing technological solutions to access barriers, include access
and universal design requirements in existing or new legislation,
set standards according to legislative mandates, apply standards
and requirements to all government efforts, and include requests
or requirements for disability access in all federal and state purchase
requests.
Motivation can be increased by all players by providing documentation
to industry of any increase in market size or market penetration
that would result from incorporating access, stimulating customer
requests for access features, promoting and achieving the inclusion
of disability access features in product reviews, providing recognition
or awards for particularly well-designed products or services, and
developing cross-disability consensus regarding recommended access
features.
BRIEFLY,
WHAT IS THE NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE, AND WHAT CAN I
DO WITH IT?
What is the National Information Infrastructure, or the information
superhighway?
When people speak of the National Information Infrastructure (NII)
or the information superhighway, they have various ideas of what
the terms refer to. In general, NII refers to a system of information
networks and information services that will connect people across
the country and will provide them with a variety of information
resources and services. Eventually, NII will be part of a much larger
Global Information Infrastructure, or GII.) Connectivity will be
possible in the home, school, workplace, community, and beyond,
and will be accomplished via terrestrial, satellite, and wireless
networks. Information that will be available includes print materials,
sound recordings, graphics/pictures, movies, databases, and software.
Services such as telemedicine, distance learning, publishing, and
telecommuting will be possible; and federal, state, and local government
services will be provided via these networks.
Much more than the Internet
Although many people equate NII with the Internet (our current
electronic information highway system, which is a global network
of computers that supports certain communication protocols, thereby
facilitating e-mail, the World Wide Web, and other forms of information
exchange), the envisioned and developing NII system is much broader
than this. The information superhighway will allow information to
be accessed in a variety of environments and via a variety of technologies,
including the computer, the telephone, the television (via set-top
boxes), and public information systems such as touchscreen kiosks.
As NII development progresses, a diverse range of industries will
be involved in development efforts, including
- broadcast television,
- cable television,
- cellular and personal communications,
- computer hardware and software,
- consumer electronics,
- infotainment and advertising,
- publishing,
- local and long distance telephone companies,
- electric utilities,
- satellite providers, and
- wireless cable.
What use would I have for NII?
An extremely wide variety of things can be done on the current
NII (let's call it a limited access highway), and even more will
be possible on the NII that is emerging (let's call that the information
superhighway, plus all its feeder roads and the driveways leading
up to your house, school, company, etc.).
Following are some things that can be done using today's technologies,
as well as some future capabilities. Many of the items listed under
"tomorrow" are being demonstrated in laboratories today, but we
do not yet have the bandwidth or connections to implement them.
The situation is continually changing.
Technologies available today
Below are some services and activities that are possible on NII
using today's technologies. In some cases, services and activities
are possible using existing information infrastructure. In other
cases, the technology is available to support the activity or service,
but the connectivity (e.g., the wiring into homes and schools) is
not.
Have a hobby?
Use the Internet to subscribe to newsletters about your hobby
or to create and distribute your own newsletter. Participate in
interactive discussions on topics of interest with people from
your town or from anywhere in the world.
Need to communicate with your family in an emergency?
Send an emergency alert to everyone in your family simultaneously
and have it arrive moments later. Various members of the family
can easily contact other family members to make arrangements or
to provide regular updates.
Trouble with your taxes?
Get any forms you need from the system. Complete the forms--the
system can do all the math for you--and submit them. If you need
help, you can make inquiries to the IRS or seek advice on assistance
online from consultants or companies doing tax work. Or you can
do the work yourself, tapping into public domain tax help systems.
Need a job, or simply curious about whether you could get
a better job?
Use the system to confidentially search massive job databases.
Set up a search that will automatically check the job postings
every day, and alert you only if it finds job postings that meet
your criteria. Or put your name, resume, and qualifications in
a confidential job bank that prospective employers can search.
Want to buy a particular type of car?
Post the make, model, year, and other characteristics. Have the
system return a list of all cars meeting your criteria that are
for sale, with sellers listed in order by their distance from
you. The list can include pictures, and the system can be customized
to perform tasks such as periodic searching for a particular rare
car.
Hungry?
Order a pizza via your system.
Paying bills?
Use your system to collect, list, and pay bills; transfer money
between accounts; and quickly check any or all of your account
balances.
Want to read a book?
Have full access to your library's card catalog to see which
books are available. In the future, download any book instantly
to a small reader the approximate size and weight of a paperback.
Want to travel?
Have the system describe various travel destinations and options.
Tell the system where you want or need to go and obtain a list
of all accommodations in the area. Customize the listings you
order by distance from your destination, by cost, or by both.
Get descriptions of the places that interest you, including pictures
of the exterior, lobby, and rooms. Book a room with a keystroke
or a click of the mouse.
Next, have the system find all the flights and list them with
their costs. Pick a flight, and have the system show you all the
available seats. Choose your own seat, and have the tickets sent
to your house (or just log into an itinerary so that you need
only identify yourself as you get on the plane). Making changes
is easy, since your system knows all your arrangements.
Looking for a rare tool or stamp, or a hard-to-find pen or
utensil?
Electronically search through hundreds of thousands of related
products and have the system show you the best matches, until
you find what you want.
Want to know what the weather's like?
Have instant access, from any location, to weather conditions
anywhere in the world.
Want to know what the traffic's like?
From any location (including your car), have instant access to
traffic conditions in any monitored location.
Want to go to a movie or see a play?
Get a listing of all movies, plays, or other entertainment in
town, including starting times and locations. View promotional
stills or videoclips from movies or plays of interest.
Want to stay home and watch a movie?
Access any movie at any time on your own television. It's like
having a video store at your fingertips, except the movie you
want is never out of stock. You can locate the desired movie without
wandering around searching, or you can browse by title, topic,
actor, or whatever category suits you.
Have a security problem at your home?
Set up a system with a surveillance camera that automatically
calls you and lets you see what's going on if any sensors (fire,
smoke, burglar, etc.) are triggered. If you see something suspicious
or a problem, call the local authorities and patch them in so
they can observe as well.
Need to send a message with explicit directions?
Send a message to anyone from almost any location, with voice,
writing, or signed communications, along with sketches or drawings
if needed.
Want to catch up on the news, but always miss the newscast?
Check on the status of any news stories at any time.
Need to conduct some research for school, work, or your hobby?
Ask your system to collect information from the millions of databases
on NII and prepare a compilation of materials for you to peruse.
Set the parameters of the search as narrowly or as broadly as
you wish, and include parameters for how you'd like the information
sorted. Ask your system to bring back articles, pictures, sound
recordings, or videoclips/movies as needed.
Have a confidential medical question but feel awkward talking
about it even anonymously?
Log into computer-assisted help lines that guide you to information
on just about any topic, completely anonymously, with no human
involvement.
Have a child in school?
Find out what the evening homework assignment is. Check on the
school lunch for tomorrow (or for the week). Check on the school
calendar for scheduled parent-teacher conferences, extracurricular
activities, tutoring opportunities, and so forth.
Are you in school?
Use the net to learn about various schools, programs, or courses
of study. Have the system compare the courses you've taken with
those required for any degree, and get a report of what would
still be needed to complete that degree. See what courses are
offered and which ones still have openings. Register for courses
and pay fees. Apply for financial aid. Use the system to communicate
with your professor, and perhaps even take some online courses.
Tap into any of a vast array of libraries and other resources
on the net. Use the simulation programs on the net to carry out
laboratory exercises, and so on, either on campus or at home.
Use online tutoring services.
Having trouble finding someone?
Find any listed phone number or address anywhere in the United
States.
Want to get a divorce?
Use the divorce kiosks in Nevada. (They work so well that even
lawyers are using them to prepare filing papers for clients.)
Are you a scientist?
Use NII to connect massive computer systems across large distances.
Study the stars; predict the weather; study molecular physics;
run simulations of nuclear, biological, or other systems. Use
high-speed, high-bandwidth communication channels to carry out
experiments on equipment located across the country or across
the globe; tie together remote scientists, equipment, and sites
in collaborative efforts.
Are you a business person?
Use the system to link employees around the city, the state,
the country, or the world to allow rapid exchange of documents
and information and to carry out collaborative activities. Have
an integrated data processing system, make information on your
products available to anyone at any time, allow people to order
(and possibly ship) your products to them at any time, and eventually
(see below) conduct live virtual meetings.
Have a disability?
See all of the above for easier and more accessible ways of doing
many of the things you do through slower or more travel-intensive
means today.
Can't read the label on a can (because you are blind or have
low vision, or the label is written in a foreign language)?
Call a friend and hold the can up so the friend can read the
label to you. Or, in the future, use your system to grab an image
of the label and send it to a service to read it back to you electronically
(all without human intervention).
Want to have one mailbox where you get all your faxes, e-mails,
voice messages, and so forth?
With centralized translators, you can have faxes, voice mail,
e-mail, and so on, all changed into whichever form of communication
is most accessible to you or most convenient for you--including
print, electronic form, voice, and so on. You can also choose
in what form you'd like to have the information presented at any
time. Information can be presented in voice while you're driving
your car, for example, or in print for your files or for tucking
into your pocket.
Tomorrow's technologies
Want to travel to and see places you don't have the time,
money, or physical ability to visit?
Travel to and explore places throughout the world, where you
are able to see and hear everything exactly as if you were there
and to move about freely. If you are older or have a mobility
impairment, you can just point and move about effortlessly--even
visiting with people, having dinner with them, and so on. (You
supply your own food).
Want to communicate with someone in another country, but
you don't speak the language?
Carry on a conversation with someone from another country, where
you hear each other speaking in your own native tongues.
Want to carry on a face-to-face conversation with someone
who is deaf, but you don't know sign language?
Speak to the person who is deaf, and have his or her terminal
device convert your speech to text or sign language. When the
individual communicates back using sign language, have your terminal
device convert the sign language into speech.
As you look through the list, you will probably find many things
you have no interest in, or would not be interested in paying for.
However, you will likely find other activities that do interest
you. Some of these activities are things you are able to do today,
but in other ways. Others represent new capabilities that you would
have--if you had access to NII.
For all the information, services, and capabilities that NII has
to offer, it is important to recognize that people who have access
will be able to do many things faster, easier, and during more hours
of the day, but people without access will enjoy none of those advantages.
COMPONENTS
OF NII
To make NII accessible and to better recognize existing and potential
access issues, it is important to understand the various components.
Although there are numerous ways of classifying NII components,
for this discussion NII is divided into four categories:
- Sources of information;
- Transmission mechanisms (pipeline);
- Translation and other services during the transmission process;
and
- Viewer-controllers.
1. Sources of information
The first component of NII is the information provider. Providers
are the people who create the information or data that are sent
over NII to others. Information must be produced either in accessible
formats or in formats which can be easily translated into accessible
formats. Examples of information sources include
- Publishers (books, magazines, newspapers, special newsletters)
- Libraries
- Government services (information on employment, financial aid,
taxes, hours of service, services available)
- Most commercial companies (information on products, prices,
deliveries, stock, hours)
- Companies whose products can be sent over the wire (movies,
advice, newsletters, product or topic information)
- Local schools (homework assignments, homework aids, schedules,
meetings, school lunch menus)
- Universities (course schedules, financial aid information, program
descriptions, research opportunities, job openings)
- Clubs (announcements, newsletters, meetings)
- Online information services (CompuServe, Prodigy, Genie, eWorld)
- Your family (plans, schedules, coordination of emergencies,
group letters/updates, gift lists at holidays)
- You (things you want to sell, your resume, services you can
provide to others, personal newsletters, advice or information
on a variety of topics)
2. Transmission mechanisms
Once connected to the information highway, the user has no idea
exactly what channels the information will take, either coming or
going. In most cases, the information will travel over many different
transmission mechanisms along the way.
Some examples of different transmission mechanisms are:
- Telephone line
- The Internet
- Cable television wiring
- Special fiber optic links
- Microwave
- High-speed telephone/data lines (ISDN)
- Satellite
- Cellular telephone
- Radio carrier or subcarrier
3. In-transmission services
In the past, some telephone operating systems were barred from
altering the signal in any substantive way between origin and destination.
With the new Telecommunications Act, however, such barriers have
been removed. As more general
NII services unfold, information may be translated between the
sender and the receiver in many different ways. In many cases, these
mechanisms increase accessibility options. Some examples of translations
include
- Translation of fax or e-mail to voice
- Translation of voice to e-mail or fax
- Translation of fax to e-mail
- Translation of e-mail into fax
- Translation from one language to another
- Translation of text telephone (TT/TDD) to voice, or voice to
TT/TDD (providing more direct, secure, and confidential communication)
- Frequency shifting (to better match the hearing profile of the
receiver)
- Speech filtering (to increase the intelligibility of some types
of speech)
With these translators, information can be made available in the
form most convenient at any particular time (e.g., via voice for
someone who is driving a car, but in printed form at home or at
the office). It is also possible to convert information from a form
that is inaccessible to some people into other forms that are accessible
(e.g., converting a fax into e-mail or voice for someone who is
blind).
4. Viewer-Controllers
This category includes all systems or devices used to receive and
display information. (The sender of information is a source, as
described above.) To be accessible, the viewer-controller must both
be able to display the information in a form compatible with the
person receiving it and have controls that are compatible with the
individual's physical, sensory, and cognitive capabilities.
Viewer-controllers can take a wide variety of forms, including
- Computers
- Television sets (with special set-top adapter boxes)
- Standard telephones
- Telephones with video or touchscreens
- Kiosks (public information systems that look like a touch-sensitive
television screen mounted in a cabinet)
- Ordinary fax machines
- Cellular telephones with built-in display screens
- Text telephones
- Special information appliances
How it will feel to use NII
The look and feel of information systems will vary greatly, depending
upon their design, intended use, and the target audience. Some Internet-based
systems will be quite sophisticated and will provide powerful search
and retrieval software and techniques. They will be intended for
use by people with more experience and knowledge who require exact
or powerful tools.
Other systems will require no training and will be easier to use
than a VCR or a microwave oven. In some cases, operation will be
similar to changing channels on a television and then making selections
from choices presented on the screen. Some systems will have as
few as two or three buttons, while others will be activated by a
touch on the particular items or topics on screen that are of interest.
Other systems under development will allow you to talk to them and
explain what topic is of interest.
WHERE
IS NII GOING?
No one knows exactly where NII is going, although a lot of money
is changing hands as people try to find out. A number of trends
are clear, however, and most of them have significant implications
for individuals with disabilities, as will be discussed in a later
section. In this section, some terms and directions are introduced.
Convergence
One definite trend is toward a convergence of the various different
telecommunication and computing fields. While people now might carry
a cellular phone, a daily organizer, and a pocket or notebook computer,
and use fax machines or desk computers for e-mail, printing, or
writing, a merging of these technologies is beginning to develop.
Small, portable devices will have the ability to connect people
via voice, picture, transmitted documents (fax and e-mail), and
so forth. In some cases, the functions will be carried out by small
multifunctional portable computers. In other cases, the devices
will look more like touchscreen telephones with a touch-sensitive
display screen. Movies, telephone calls, documents, television shows,
and more will all be going over the same channels, which may be
run by the cable company, by the phone company, via satellite, or
by combinations of these. Users, however, will not be aware of which
mechanism is being used, and most won't care, as long as they can
maximize quality and minimize price. As this convergence occurs,
fax machines, phones, pagers, computers, and so on, will be seen
less as devices and more as functions. Multiple devices or the same
device may be used to carry out these functions at different times
and in different environments.
Client/server model
Currently, most software that runs on personal computers is loaded
onto the computer and run on the computer. No connection or communication
with other computers is necessary to run the program. The program,
the data, and the computing power are all resident directly in the
personal computer.
The trend is increasingly toward a client/server model, where the
computer in front of the user is connected via a network (over a
local area network, via phone lines, or via wireless transmission)
to other computers. When the user runs a program, part of the program
may be running on the computer in front of the user, and part on
the computer(s) at the other end of the connection. Similarly, the
data or information the user is working with may be stored on the
local device or may be stored on one of the other computers. Thus,
when the user looks up a phone number, the local device may in fact
be accessing databases stored on computers located anywhere in the
world.
To look up something in an encyclopedia, the researcher would generally
access large store of information on a remote computer. As the user
looks at entries, individual pages may be temporarily sent to the
computer for viewing. In addition, the user might find that small
application programs or "applets" (see below) are downloaded to
the computer where the user can run them to view simulations, access
additional search capabilities, or experiment with a topic. When
that page or experiment if finished, the information and applet(s)
may be "thrown away," and easily accessed again at another time.
For any applications that need a lot of computing power, the processing
may actually be done on a remote computer, with only the results
sent back to the local computer to be displayed.
The result is an ability to have a much simpler and lower cost
device in front of the user. This device can tap into and have available
any amount of computing power or storage necessary, by simply taking
advantage of computing power and storage at other locations connected
via a network and available on request.
With smaller, more portable, and lower cost systems, it is possible
to have terminals or access screens located around the house or
to have systems that are small enough to be easily carried about.
Applets
The term "applet" comes from "application," with the suffix "et"
added to signify smallness. An applet is a tiny application or program.
When used today, it generally refers to a small application program
that is downloaded over the network (usually the Internet) and that
runs on a personal computer. The Java programming language developed
by Sun Microsystems and recently licensed by Netscape, Apple, Microsoft,
and others for inclusion in their Web browsers has greatly increased
the focus on applets. Although it is difficult to characterize the
immense potential of this technology in a few sentences, an example
might give a glimpse of its potential impact.
Imagine browsing through a Web site on science education or automobile
repair. You come to a location where a small demonstration might
be the most effective means of communicating information to you.
You could download a movie showing a simulation of a science experiment
or automobile engine, but this would take a long time over your
phone modem (perhaps 20 minutes to half an hour). Instead, a small
applet or mini-program is downloaded, which you can then run.
The applet would generate the simulation of the experiment or
engine function. Now imagine that the same simulation allows you
to not just watch the presentation, but actually interact with
it. You are able to change the experiment (e.g., make the support
beams wider or narrower) and see how that change affects the strength
of the system; make adjustments to the engine and see how that
affects its performance; and see how either system might fail
under circumstances you can control. This type of interaction,
of course, would not be possible with a video or film and would
not be possible if you tried to run the application on a remote
system, because of transmission delays.
All of these capabilities, including the ability to provide full
motion, interactive video environments in two and three dimensions,
are possible today using the Java, VRML (virtual reality mark-up
language), and other extensions which are currently being released
in the Netscape 3 browsers.
Multimedia animation
As more and more companies vie for people's attention on the information
superhighway, competition is increasing. Only companies that can
capture and hold people's attention are going to make money and
survive. Four of the strategies they are using to do this involve
creating
- A genuinely useful service;
- A fascinating and attractive appearance;
- An intriguing or interesting presentation; and
- A comfortable, easy-to-use, familiar feel.
Most of these strategies are tending toward graphic, multimedia
interfaces. The major limitation that inhibits more use of multimedia
approaches is the time it takes to transmit the multimedia information
over phone lines. As faster mechanisms are developed to transmit
information, and as techniques such as applets are allowing multimedia
presentations that do not require as high a bandwidth, three-dimensional
graphic- and sound-based interactive materials are increasingly
used. Although the cost of creating such materials will keep them
from dominating much of the public information portion of the network,
this type of information is likely to increase on the commercial
portions of the network. This increase will have clear ramifications
for individuals with low bandwidth connections to the information
superhighway(s), just as the move by CompuServe, America Online,
etc., from text-based to graphic-based browsers has.
Virtual reality
The ability to create a virtual world on screen (or, using a special
headset, all around the user), in which the user can move about
and manipulate things, has many ramifications and uses. Some of
the first applications, as one would imagine, are in the entertainment
area. However, VR also has applications in travel, learning, and
even in making systems more familiar and easier to use. For example,
individuals who find it difficult to relate to computers and menus
might find it much easier to go shopping via computer if all they
had to do was to push a shopping button, point to a picture of a
grocery store on the screen, and then find themselves standing in
the front of a grocery store. They would be able to move up and
down the aisles, as they are used to doing in a real store, and
see the store products arranged on the shelves. To buy something,
they would simply point to the product on the screen and pull it
down to the basket at the bottom of the screen. They could point
to different objects on the shelves and have the prices automatically
shown. They could also obtain a price comparison between two similar
products by simply drawing a line between them with their finger.
A running total shown in the corner of the screen could show them
how much they have spent. When they are finished, they would simply
go to the virtual checkout counter, and the groceries would be charged
to their account and delivered to their home.
Schools may use this technique to allow students to conduct physics
and chemistry experiments as well as to study geography, world culture,
history, and so on. The technologies will allow students to carry
out individual experiments on virtual apparatuses and using virtual
chemicals that would be too expensive or elaborate for individual
schools to own, but which cost virtually nothing (in comparison)
as simulated lifelike interactive presentations.
Information appliances and personal digital assistants
Advances in both electronic technologies and information architectures
are allowing systems to become smaller and smaller. Already there
is a small device called a Simon, which is the size of a fat cellular
phone. The Simon is a cellular phone, a calendar, a to-do list,
an address book, a sketchpad, a calculator, and a notepad. It sends
and receives e-mail, has filing capability, can show local and international
time, can send and receive faxes, has a PC-card (the credit card-sized
modules that slip into the side of modern computers), and of course
has a game. These and other personal digital assistants (PDAs) will
increase in number and will decrease in size and cost. As they incorporate
voice interaction, they can become indispensable tools for maintaining
and organizing personal information as well as handling all types
of communication and interaction, including Internet or NII/information
superhighway interactions.
In addition to information appliances in portable forms, such appliances
will begin to appear around the home. The United States already
has more televisions than flush toilets. Eventually, an information
screen may be found in most rooms of the house. Families and individuals
will use these screens to view movies or television programs; look
up information; store and retrieve recipes; talk to others using
voice or voice and image; do our homework; and/or just read. Some
of these screens will be mounted on walls; others will be on small
tablets. As the display screens become fine enough to simulate the
size and appearance of a regular printed page, it will be convenient
to have something the size of a paperback book but a third the thickness
and weight, without a cover to fold back, and which can be used
to display, at any moment, a book currently being read or one that
was just recommended to you by a friend.
This book tablet may be a single-function device (e.g., for displaying
books) or may provide all of the other communication and personal
organization functions described above (as could any of the wall
or desktop panels).
Set-top boxes
The first steps toward these information systems are represented
by the television set-top boxes. These are small boxes that sit
on top of the television set and connect the television set to special
information services via cable, telephone, or satellite. Such set-top
box information systems are currently being piloted in a number
of areas of the country. Although the systems are limited by the
relatively poor display resolution of current television sets and
a low information bandwidth, they represent the first step toward
the true next-generation information systems. Although these systems
can give some initial glimpses of what might be possible, it is
important not to confuse the Internet and these cable-based information
roads with what will be possible nor with what will happen as true
information superhighways come into place over the next decade or
two.
Public service terminals (kiosks)
As more and more services, especially government and public services,
are made available via electronic channels, a problem of equity
of access occurs. That is, how can access to these channels of communication
be provided to individuals who do not have computers or "personal
information terminals"? Two strategies are currently being used.
One is to provide access via terminals in public libraries. A second
is to provide information kiosks in public settings. These public
information or service terminals allow access by everyone using
those public facilities, regardless of personal resources.
In addition to providing access to information that might be available
over electronic networks, electronic information kiosks are being
used as building directories, as directories in shopping malls,
and even to help locate products in individual supermarkets, department
stores, and so on.
Public service vending (fare and ticket machines)
Another use of kiosks is to dispense products or tickets. Public
kiosks are now being used to sell everything from baseball tickets
to subway cards to renewal stickers for license plates. As kiosks
that provide multiproduct or service vending are being developed,
the interfaces on the kiosks tend to get more complicated and involve
technologies such as touchscreen displays.
As more and more services are available via public terminals, the
hours and locations at which the services are available via direct
human contact tend to decrease. This decrease has implications for
individuals who may have difficulty using the public service terminals/kiosks.
Universal address
The idea of a universal address or phone number has been a controversial
topic. Rather than having a phone number or address tied to a particular
phone or location, such universal phone numbers or addresses would
be tied to an individual. As people traveled (during hotel check-in,
for example), they could log in and let a central resource know
where they were. Phone calls made to their phone number would then
cause the phone in their hotel room to ring. An individual might
have multiple phone numbers to provide different levels of access:
for example a personal phone number, a public phone number, and
a private business phone number. Notification of location could
also be done automatically. Thus, if a person were wearing a badge
and moving about an office building, phone calls could come to whichever
phone was closest at the time of the call. For many individuals,
the closest phone would be the small wallet-sized information appliance
with phone function in their pocket.
Wireless smart cards
Another controversial item is a smart card that can be read from
a distance. With such a card, a person can transmit information
to another device without removing the card from a pocket. Prototype
smart cards are approximately the size of a fat credit card. Unlike
standard cards, however, these cards would contain electronics that
allow them to store information about their user, store financial
credit (or electronic cash), and store information about preferences.
Many different functions have been proposed for such a smart card.
One application would allow people who had purchased passage on
an airline to forgo the use of a paper ticket and instead have their
presence noted and their electronic ticket validated as they walked
through the doorway to board the plane. Individuals could also set
personal preferences and cause kiosks or other devices to behave
according to those preferences by simply walking up to them. For
example, the device would speak in the proper language, use spoken
instead of printed instructions, or printed instead of spoken instructions,
and so forth. Individuals could also pay for services or products
without having to physically take out and manipulate their card
(e.g., passing it through a card reader).
Distributed serving
In addition to the more straightforward applications and characteristics
of the next-generation information systems are a number of other
more subtle capabilities that may also have a significant impact
on the types of services that are possible and which are delivered.
For example, a shopper typically purchases a product from one location,
and the product comes with all of the parts delivered from that
location. As information is purchased over the networks, in a single
order for a company's product, different components may be sent
electronically from different sources. For example, if a person
ordered a movie from Paramount Pictures and asked for it to be sent
with captions, the digital information for the movie may come from
Paramount Pictures and the captions from a captioning center. The
two components would arrive essentially simultaneously at the purchaser's
terminal/viewer, where they would be linked and the movie could
then be viewed along with the captions. Simultaneously, a bill may
be sent from the captioning center to Paramount Pictures for use
of the captions. Similar arrangements could be made for ordering
movies with sound tracks or captions in different languages. The
same technique could be used to substitute descriptions for pictures
or to provide other specialized services. Users may be able not
only to select different levels of captions to go with their movie,
but to select their preferred captioning service or language translation
service whose price may be either included in the film or available
as a surcharge if the individual wants something beyond what is
standard.
IMPLICATIONS
FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
NII has the potential to level the playing field in many areas
of life for people with disabilities. Because it has this high potential,
the consequence of not making next-generation information system
technologies and systems accessible is a serious one. This section
will consider the benefits and advantages that will be available
to people with disabilities in a highly accessible NII. It also
looks at what might be some of the disadvantages for individuals
with disabilities should NII not be accessible to them, as well
as the potential barriers to providing access.
Advantages posed by the developments in NII
General Advantages
First and foremost, the advances in NII have the potential for
providing a vast number of benefits to everyone, including people
with disabilities. If the systems are designed in a way to make
them accessible, they will yield the same myriad benefits discussed
in the previous sections of the report.
Disability-Related Advantages
In addition to advantages for the general population, the next-generation
and emerging technologies will provide additional benefits for people
with disabilities. These technologies (if acceptable and usable)
will be able to address some of the barriers and problems currently
faced by individuals with disabilities and afford them special advantages.
These advantages include the following:
- Drastically increasing the ability of individuals with some
types of disabilities to access and use information.
- Decreasing the personal isolation that some individuals experience
because of restrictions in their ability to move about, to communicate,
or to easily congregate with others sharing their interests and
situation.
- Allowing individuals to interact with others in a way that makes
their disability invisible or irrelevant.
- Providing opportunities to participate in distance learning
programs or to receive medical services from a remote location
when travel is difficult.
Individuals with mobility or travel impairments will be able to
shop, learn, travel, receive medical services, and work from their
homes or other facilities. In some cases, NII developments may allow
individuals with mobility impairments to go to their local office
and carry out business that normally would have required them and
their colleagues to travel around the country, which would be more
difficult for them. This "mobility" can open new horizons for learning
on all levels and allow individuals to "travel" to environments
that they might not be physically able to get to or explore.
Individuals with physical manipulation difficulties can use the
simulations or virtual environments to participate in activities
they wouldn't be physically able to do. For example, an individual
with severe athetoid cerebral palsy would not be able to easily
construct mechanisms, operate delicate instruments, and carry out
chemical experiments in the laboratory using fragile glassware.
However, if the mechanisms, instruments, and glassware were all
simulations on the screen (or in a virtual environment), these individuals
would be able to participate in such activities using keyboard control
or whatever other interface worked best for them.
With today's technologies, it is already possible to create new
circuits, designs, and experiments using only simulators that can
be replicated in real life with the same results. Thus, these strategies
can be used not only in learning environments, but also in professional
activities.
Individuals with sensory impairments can access information that
was previously unavailable to them. For example, the vast libraries
of books that exist in printed form but are inaccessible to people
who are blind (except for the small portion of the libraries available
in braille or on audio tape) will all be available and accessible
when the primary mode for their distribution is in electronic form.
Similarly, as speech recognition systems improve, it will be possible
to transform materials that are spoken (e.g., recorded speeches)
into print.
Individuals with cognitive impairments can request that information
be presented at different levels of complexity or in different primary
formatstechniques that will find increasing use in the attempt to
create systems that are appropriate for individuals with a wide
range of cognitive and language skills. The new systems also present
the opportunity to have online help available at any time while
a user is operating any of these technologies. Online help can take
the form of computer-based help files, artificial intelligence assistance,
or live contact with an expert or resource person (for an extra
charge).
In addition to all the standard uses that NII technologies are
designed for, it is possible to combine these new technical capabilities
in ways that can provide even more powerful new capabilities and
opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Three potential
examples are provided: "Lean Cuisine," "Listening Pen," and "The
Companion."
Lean Cuisine
Persons who are blind might sign up for a service offered by
their phone company that will automatically convert any fax sent
to them into electronic text, which is then sent to their e-mail;
they might sign up for another service that provides voice access
to their e-mail. Although such features might be used primarily
by businesses wanting extremely high quality OCR (optical character
recognition) translation and access to e-mail by phone, the person
who is blind could also use these features to get access to the
cooking instructions on the back of a Lean Cuisine frozen dinner.
He would simply take the Lean Cuisine dinner and fax an image
of its back (where the directions are) to himself. The fax would
automatically be routed through the fax-to-e-mail converter (since
that is the way he has it set up) and converted to e-mail. He
would then dial up his e-mail and have the fax read to him. In
this case, he would hear the directions from the back of his frozen
dinner package.
Listening Pen
Persons who are deaf may carry a small directional microphone
that looks like a pen or is worn as part of their eyeglasses.
When talking with someone, they would point the pen toward the
person's mouth. The speech would be picked up and sent out digitally
over the net to powerful filter and speech recognition software
running on a large computer. The result could be sent back to
a small virtual display mounted on the deaf person's glasses,
which would project the image so that it appeared to float in
front of them. In this fashion, speakers would have their words
literally written all over their face. Using voice print technology,
it would even be possible for the speaker to be identified, if
for example a person was sitting at a meeting where different
people around the room were speaking in turn. By using remote
computing connected via wireless networks, individuals who are
deaf could have access to much more powerful speech recognition
algorithms than they would be able to or care to carry with them
all day. Instead, they may pay a small service charge to use search
recognition algorithms, owned and maintained by a network service
bureau, which would otherwise be too expensive for an individual
to afford and changing too rapidly for an individual to keep up
with.
The Companion
One hypothetical device, called "The Companion," brings together
many of these concepts to show how a personal assistive technology
in the future could help people with cognitive impairments. The
device provides the following functions:
- Calendar reminder system that can awaken its users, remind
them of appointments and their schedule for the day, alert them
to items on the schedule that are different from their routine
(a doctor's appointment or a regularly scheduled event that
doesn't occur on this day).
- Cueing system that can help sequence users through their morning
routine--dressing, simple meal preparation, and so on.
- Artificial intelligence to adapt the above functions to what
is actually going on, to help detect when the users appear to
be having a problem, to help them problem-solve when it detects
a problem (or when users indicate they have a problem by pressing
a "Help" button).
- GPS (Global Positioning System) that uses satellite information
to pinpoint users' location at any time, so the system can answer
questions and better understand where it and the users are.
- Access to the city and major building maps so the system can
help provide directions on request.
- Camera and optical character recognition system that users
can point at any sign or text, press a button, and have the
sign or text read to them.
- Infrared link for communicating with similarly equipped computers,
kiosks, information systems, ATMs, and so on.
- Electronic smart card/debit card for cashless money transactions.
- Communication link to a central resource service that has
complete information about users and can link them to a resource
person for more serious problem-solving and for all the situations
in which the limited artificial intelligence of the current
device is not able to help.
The use of such a system could best be exemplified via a short
scenario:
Tim is awakened in the morning by his Companion, which reminds
him what day it is, and what is the first thing he needs to do.
It also reminds him that he has a meeting tonight with his counselor,
and that he is supposed to show up at the alternate worksite this
morning. Tim has worked out a routine with his Companion in which
he sort of mumbles what he's doing as he goes through his morning
routine, and the Companion notes whether any important activity
seems to be missing or out of order and asks him simple questions
that also act as reminders. Tim walks to the bus stop. As the
buses pull up, he aims the Companion at the name on the bus windshield
display and pushes the trigger. The Companion reads the name of
the bus to Tim, notes the bus, and gives Tim some cues about whether
the buses seem to be ahead or behind schedule. Tim's Companion
knows exactly which bus stop they're standing at (from the satellite
GPS) and what time it is, so that it can be sure Tim is where
he should be and also give him some idea of when to expect the
bus.
When the proper bus arrives, Tim gets on board, authorizes
his smart card by voice to transfer the proper fare to the bus,
and takes his seat.
On his way home from the meeting with his counselor, Tim
is tired, falls asleep on the bus, and rides past his normal transfer
stop. The Companion detects this and tries to awaken him, but
it is tucked between Tim and the wall of the bus, where it is
muffled, and Tim doesn't hear the signal over the noise of street
construction. When Tim wakes up, he is in an unfamiliar neighborhood.
He panics and gets off the bus, which drives away. He further
panics and presses the Help button on his Companion. The Companion
runs through a standard set of questions and comments to calm
Tim and help him apply his own problem-solving skills. Tim aims
the Companion at a number of street signs, pushing the button
to have them read to him. The Companion knows where they are,
but it is late, and the Companion does not have any information
for this neighborhood with regard to the safety or potential resources
for Tim. It advises Tim to call in, so Tim pushes the button to
contact the central resource point. A specially trained resource
person appears on the Companion's screen; by using the Companion's
camera, Tim is also visible to the resource person. All of Tim's
information is displayed directly on the screen in front of the
resource person, along with whatever information the Companion
can provide on the situation, including Tim's exact location.
The resource person directs Tim to a local building that will
be safe and calls a cab, since there are no buses that will easily
get him back home from that location at this time of night.
Such a system would make a profound difference for the many people
who are essentially able to live independently as long as they
have some mechanism for helping them over rough spots, assisting
them with specific activities they may have difficulty with (such
as reading), and helping them get out of situations when things
go wrong.
Great care must be taken, however, in designing these systems,
to ensure that they function in the form of a benevolent companion
that facilitates and amplifies the natural decision-making skills
of the individual and that operates in either facilitative or
suggestive mode rather than directing the individual. While many
disabilities can be facilitated through the use of a prosthetic
device that replaces the lost function with an artificial version
(e.g., an artificial arm, an artificial ear, artificial vision),
trying to replace an individual's cognitive abilities with an
artificial brain risks a situation of providing an artificial
intelligence with a body, rather than providing an individual
with intelligence. However, a device that helps to strengthen
or maximize the abilities of the individual while minimizing the
impact on free will and decision making (or perhaps enhancing
it) could significantly facilitate the ability to function and
enhance the person's opportunities in life.
Devices such as the Companion do not exist today, but many of
the components do. Also, the same principles apply for using the
assistive technologies and setting up the daily routines and support
structures of individuals with cognitive impairments. Further,
with the rate at which technology, miniaturization, and artificial
intelligence are progressing, it is likely that all of the capabilities
described here will be available early in the next century (which
is just a few years off)--and long before we are ready to program
and apply them effectively.
Disadvantages posed by the developments in NII
General disadvantages
People who are unable to access and use the new communication,
information, and transaction systems while their colleagues (and
competitors) can will be at a severe disadvantage. This is true
whether they cannot afford access or cannot physically attain it.
However, the lack of access generally has greater impact on people
with disabilities because they cannot effectively use many of the
alternate strategies available today.
Disability-related disadvantages
In addition to the large potential disadvantage described above,
other disadvantages arise that are unique to people with disabilities.
The extremely rapid rate of development in this area makes it difficult
or impossible for third-party vendors to create access technologies
to keep up with the new information technologies. For example, individuals
who make screen readers for people who are blind just cannot keep
up with the different computer operating systems as they are released.
On NII, we see even more rapid development, with Java, PDF (portable
document format), and Macromedia Director all released as new presentation
technologies on the Internet over a span of six months, with no
access solutions, or even clear definitions of the potential access
approaches, existing for any of them. Part of this problem can be
addressed by building in accessibility rather than relying on third
parties to try to catch up and add it later. Much work needs to
be done in this area, as discussed below.
Another problem is that some of the multimedia technologies are
being developed in a manner that makes access extremely difficult
for people with any type of disability. Strategies are being developed
to address this issue, but developers of these new multimedia technologies
have limited awareness of the problem.
If accessibility is not built in, individuals with disabilities
who try to secure the various third-party access hardware or software
adaptations face a significant cost that often exceeds the price
of the software or hardware for which access is sought.
Barriers and potential barriers to access and use by people
with disabilities
Standard socioeconomic status barriers
Many individuals with disabilities are unemployed or underemployed,
making it difficult for them to access and use some of these new
technologies. The socioeconomic barrier is not unique to people
with disabilities, however, and is treated in depth in other studies.
Complexity
A problem with current electronic systems is the level of complexity
in their designs. Although some progress is being made in this area,
the introduction of these systems increases the complexity of carrying
out many tasks. For example, individuals who were previously able
to operate simple fare machines are now find the more modern and
flexible, multipurpose machines much more complicated and difficult
(and in some cases impossible) to operate. The same thing is happening
with phone systems; individuals who used to be able to call up and
make a doctor's appointment or ask a question are finding themselves
lost in touchtone-based phone routing systems they do not understand.
Graphic user interfaces
Graphic user interfaces on newer communication and information
systems are somewhat complex, with subtle but important issues complicating
a full understanding.
Graphic user interfaces can provide a significant barrier to individuals
who use screen readers to access information on computers or other
devices if information is rendered in purely graphic (i.e., not
textual) form, which the screen reader cannot recognize.
The situation is quite different for the person who is not blind.
Graphics can simplify the user interface for those who can see and
can reduce the cognitive and language skills needed to operate devices,
thus increasing their accessibility by individuals with cognitive
and language disabilities.
On public systems such as ATMs, building directories, fare machines,
information kiosks, and so on, it makes no difference to a person
who is blind whether the information on the screen is displayed
in textual or graphic form. Since an individual who is blind is
unable to install a screen reader on these systems (e.g., an ATM),
the systems are equally inaccessible in graphic or textual format.
The only way to provide access in these cases is either to build
a voice output mechanism directly into the system or to send a textual
description of the screen contents to (and allow commands to come
back from) some external access device via a connector such as an
infrared link. In either case, it does not matter if the information
is presented on screen in graphic form if it can also be presented
in verbal (spoken text or braille) form either directly or via an
assistive device using a standard external connector.
For example, a kiosk that displays the temperatures across the
country only as different colors on a map of the United States poses
a significant barrier to access. Unless the information is also
available by specifying a location (via text), the temperature information
is in all probability be completely inaccessible. Here, the differentiation
between source, pipeline, and viewer is very important. If the weather
information created by Company A is being displayed on a public
kiosk designed by Company B, it will be impossible for Company B
to make the temperature information accessible, unless Company A
also provides the information in a fashion which can be queried
and present in textual format. If the information is present from
the source in an inherently graphical format, there is generally
little that can be done at the viewer end, except as a very custom
solution to a particular application.
There is, or course, some information which is inherently visual
in nature, and which we do not know how to easily convey. For example,
da Vinci's Mona Lisa or Picasso's Guernica are inherently
visual, in the same way that Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is essentially
auditory. However, these issues of access are not the issues of
concern here. We are primarily concerned with those situations where
a) information that is not inherently visual is translated into
visual format to facilitate presentation to those with sight, and
b) where the nonvisual format of the information is not preserved
or made available so that those individuals without vision can also
access the information.
Thus, graphic user interfaces are a two-edged sword. They can provide
a benefit to individuals with some types of disabilities. If properly
implemented, they may also be used by people who have visual impairments
without imposing significant barriers. However, they are often implemented
in ways that unnecessarily reduce access to or interpretability
of information by individuals with visual impairments.
Touchscreen kiosks and products
The use of touchscreens on kiosks, portable electronic devices,
cellular phones, and so on, poses another potential barrier to access.
This type of interface has historically been particularly difficult
to use by individuals who are blind, since the number and location
of the keys or hot spots on the screen continually change during
use, and there are no tactile indicators of the number or location
of such keys. Recently, however, strategies have been developed
to allow individuals with reading difficulties, low vision, and
even complete blindness to directly and efficiently access and use
touchscreen-based kiosks. Techniques such as the Talking Fingertip
(described below), developed under funding by the National Institute
on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), provide a means
to access virtually all of the information and interface types on
present-day touchscreen-based kiosks.
- Talking Fingertip: This feature enables users
who have low vision, have print or language disabilities, or cannot
read well due to literacy or second-language problems to gain
access to all information displayed on a touchscreen. The Talking
Fingertip feature causes a kiosk or other touchscreen-based information
system to read aloud any words, phrases, buttons, or other objects
on the screen whenever the user touches such objects. A special
button below the touchscreen can be used either to temporarily
invoke the feature (for people who have trouble seeing/reading
only some items on the screen) or to confirm selections (if the
Talking Fingertip is locked on). Users with poor motor coordination
may choose to confirm selections in this manner, to avoid inadvertent
selections.
- Talking Fingertip SpeedList: This feature allows
people who have no vision to use any touchscreen kiosks or devices.
Users can access all screen information (words, buttons, on-screen
number pads, on-screen keyboards, etc.) by sliding a finger (or
mouthstick, head pointer, prosthesis, or other assistive device)
up and down the left edge of the touchscreen, where a list of
all items on the screen is displayed and read aloud. To select
an item on the SpeedList, the user moves a finger up and down
the list and presses the button mounted below the touchscreen
when the desired SpeedList item is reached. This feature can be
used by people with vision, print, or language impairments, who
otherwise couldn't see or understand the information on the screen.
The SpeedList feature also facilitates use by people with upper
extremity weakness, incoordination, or other mobility impairments.
Infrared data links
Now common on most new computers, this feature also has the potential
to allow individuals with assistive devices to easily link to and
operate kiosks and other public information systems. Using a modified
Talking Fingertip technique, along with an assistive device with
an infrared link, access to a kiosk has been demonstrated via infrared
technologies.
Virtual environments
Although VR environments are most commonly thought of in connection
with games or specialized research applications, they can also be
used to render remote transaction systems much more user friendly
by making them resemble people's existing shopping experiences.
For example, users may approach a store in a VR shopping environment.
Moving forward, they enter the store and find themselves standing
in the vestibule with various aisles arrayed in front of them, each
with a different label designating the type of products in that
aisle (housewares, hardware, lawn and garden, etc.). Moving forward
and steering left or right, they can scan the products as they move
down the aisle. If shoppers see something of interest, they can
touch it and ask for a demonstration. The "store" fades away, leaving
only the interested shoppers and the product (for example, a lawn
mower or hedge clipper); a person who seems to appear out of thin
air begins to demonstrate the product. At any point, shoppers can
stop the demonstration. They then find themselves standing back
in the store aisle, at which time they can select the item for purchase,
having it show up at their door a few days later, or they can put
it back on the shelf. Throughout the process, as shoppers move through
the store, little cherubs fly in and out of their vision, carrying
product or special offers.
NOTE: This type of multimedia visual, interactive, virtual
environment can be made accessible and usable by individuals who
are blind (even individuals who are deaf-blind) using strategies
such as the Talking Fingertip SpeedList technique or the SpeedList
technique combined with an assistive device and information system
having infrared capabilities. Such strategies would give the user
a verbal (text or braille, etc.) list of the items or choices
available at any given moment without having to deal with the
visual representation on screen. These same structures and strategies,
which can be built into the system as it is constructed, can be
used to allow power shoppers or users with slower systems to more
quickly enter information, search information, make selections,
and purchase products or services within this same virtual environment.
Sound
The increased use of sound on systems that used to be silent may
pose another barrier. Signs, building directories, and computers
used to be completely silent or involve fairly simple alerting sounds.
As text-to-speech, digitized speech, and other sounds are increasingly
incorporated into these systems, individuals who have hearing impairments
or are deaf are finding it increasingly difficult to successfully
use them. Add-on technologies are usually of limited value. Unless
access is built into these systems directly, most of them probably
will not be accessible or usable by the large and growing number
of individuals with hearing impairments. Fortunately, strategies
exist to provide access to almost all types of auditory information
used in information and transaction systems. Features such as closed
captioning, ShowSounds, SoundSentry, and others can provide on-screen
visual indicators of any application program or computer-generated
sound event. In addition, since NII is a digital environment, it
is possible to attach text or other visual representations to any
audio event that occurs on a public information system. Attaching
such representations ensures that all auditory information is accompanied
by captioning or some other visual event, thus rendering the information
accessible to people with hearing impairments. However, these features
will be functional only if the providers of the original content
also supply the captions or text to be shown when the ShowSounds
flag is active. The ShowSounds flag per se is only a partial solution;
it provides a mechanism to allow the user to request captions, but
it cannot create captions if none were provided in the original
material.
Advances in speech recognition also hold promise for providing
increased access to information systems. For users unable to operate
a touchscreen or keyboard, whether the impairment is physical, sensory,
or cognitive, speech input offers yet another alternative information
access method. The use of such strategies, however, is spotty at
present, except where some type of legislative mandate exists.
Animation and interactive systems
Animation is increasingly being used to create more interesting
and attractive multimedia systems. Although the gratuitous use of
animation is usually considered to be as being of dubious lasting
value (particularly if it slows down the use of the system), use
of animation and graphics within interactive sites and situations
is growing. While some situations can be addressed using strategies
similar to those discussed above in relation to kiosks and VR, effective
strategies have not yet been identified in other interactive environments.
This is a serious concern that needs to be addressed if individuals
with low vision or who are blind are not to face significant barriers
in education, training, and employment environments.
Sealed nature of public systems (making them difficult to
adapt)
Public systems present a unique access problem. Unlike personal
systems, which often can be adapted to meet the needs of the individual
owner, public systems must be directly usable by individuals with
a wide range of abilities or disabilities, without requiring modification.
For example, it would not be possible for individuals with a physical
or sensory disability to open an ATM and reprogram the computer
inside to install a screen reader or other specialized software
to provide access. Similarly, officials in charge of electronic
building directories, fare machines, or even computers in libraries
generally do not want individual users to open or otherwise modify
their systems. Even the cable companies who install set-top boxes
on television sets in homes generally do not want their users to
open or physically modify or reprogram those boxes. Where such boxes
are used to buy and sell products over the air or to provide information
and services, this concern becomes even greater. Finally, for many
small hand-held or mass-produced products (such as the communication
tablets discussed previously), it may not be easy or even possible
to open or modify the system.
Two forms of accessibility
In all of these cases, accessibility must be built into the product.
This accessibility/usability usually takes one of two forms:
- Direct access: A set of features or optional settings
that allow the product to be used directly by individuals with
a wide range of abilities. For example, the set might include
a volume control and headphone jack; a feature to cause all speech
to also be displayed as text on screen; a mechanism to allow any
words that appear on screen to be spoken for those with reading
difficulties; and a Talking Fingertip SpeedList with voice output
to allow access by individuals with visual impairments or blindness.
- Standard access connection: A mechanism to allow
individuals with severe or multiple disabilities (deaf-blindness,
high-level spinal cord injury, etc.) to easily connect special
assistive input or display devices without having to open or modify
the product (e.g., using low-cost infrared link).
Recent work has shown that building cross-disability access features
into a product can involve little or no increased hardware cost
and low software costs if the features are considered from the beginning
of the design process.
Two Case Examples
Kiosks
Electronic kiosks are devices found in public spaces, from which
the user can get information, purchase things, or carry out other
transactions. They are a rapidly growing phenomenon used increasingly
by government agencies, public services, and private industry as
a quick and convenient way to make services available in multiple
locations around the clock.
Probably the most familiar kiosk at present is the automated teller
machines. These machines, which are maintained by various banking
entities, allow people to walk or drive up and make deposits, withdraw
money, pay bills, check account balances, transfer money between
accounts, and so on.
How are kiosks being used?
Other kiosks are being used today in all of the following ways
By government agencies:
- To provide information about government services;
- To allow people to apply for government services;
- To provide information on jobs;
- To allow people to schedule court dates;
- To allow people to pay fines;
- (In Nevada) To allow a person to prepare all the paperwork needed
to file for divorce.
By airports and hotels:
- To provide information about where to find things in the airport
or hotel;
- To provide a directory for the locations of restaurants, hotels,
and so on;
- To allow people to make reservations;
- To provide information on tourist sites, travel information,
and so on.
By vending companies:
- To provide the ability to buy almost anything via video catalog;
- To allow travelers to send gifts or flowers;
- To sell tickets to sporting events, allow people to check the
view from any given location before buying a ticket, and get information
on schedules and players.
As building directories:
- To provide a convenient way to search for people by name, agency,
and so on.
- To provide floor and room number as well as specific directions
for finding people.
By universities to allow students:
- to locate buildings on campus maps,
- to locate rooms within buildings,
- to explore interests and get suggestions for courses of study,
- to find out about courses of study,
- to look up information about classes,
- to register for classes,
- to view and/or print their transcript,
- to conduct an audit of their current courses,
- to determine what additional courses they would need to complete
any given course of study,
- to apply for financial aid,
- to check on the status of their financial aid application,
- to get advice on course loads,
- to get answers to commonly asked questions,
- to check on university policy,
- to find out about extracurricular activities,
- to sign up for university or extracurricular programs,
- to check on availability of books in the library,
- to check the availability of workstations at various laboratories
around campus.
What do kiosks look like?
Kiosks can take a wide variety of forms. Some of them look like
desks; others are built directly into a wall. Most kiosks today
consist of a touchscreen display that resembles a television screen.
The display may sit on a counter or may be mounted in a cabinet
about 3 feet square and 5 or 6 feet tall. If the kiosk accepts payments
for goods, fines, and so on, it typically includes a credit card
reader. Sometimes it has a printer to allow the user to have a printout
of the information.
Touchscreens may have a number of characteristics. Among them are
the following:
- To get people to use the kiosks, the information is presented
in a user-friendly fashion. Pictures and talking heads usually
appear to explain what is available and help the user to operate
the kiosk.
- To minimize the learning and cognitive demands, simple screens
with just the number of choices needed are usually presented.
For example, if only two choices are needed at any point, two
large buttons are provided. If it's necessary to enter some numbers,
a keypad appears on the screen. If the user must enter his or
her name, an entire keyboard might appear.
- To provide flexibility, a touchscreen may have any number of
keys, buttons, or controls. As new programs are created, new buttons,
keys, and other controls can be added without changing the hardware.
Entirely new programs can be downloaded to the kiosks over phone
lines without touching the kiosks at all.
How accessible are kiosks?
Kiosks pose a number of issues for people with disabilities. They
must be positioned so that people who are using wheelchairs or people
who are shorter than average can access them. Although touchscreens
used to be a barrier for people with disabilities, it is now possible
to create usable touchscreens (see the section on the Talking Fingertip).
However, most kiosks do not incorporate this strategy and are currently
not usable by people with low vision or blindness. Talking heads
make the kiosks easier to use by people with cognitive impairments,
but they can create problems for people with hearing impairments
or deafness if they are not implemented with text alternatives to
the speech output. Similarly, use of graphics onscreen and systems
that require fine motor control can cause problems if alternative
access strategies are not provided.
Interactive Television and Set-Top Boxes
Interactive television is another emerging electronic device. With
regular television, a single signal is broadcast, which everybody
sees on the television set. There is no way for individual viewers/controllers
to send any information back to the source.
With interactive television, the user is able to send information
back to the source as well as to receive information from it. In
the simplest form, the information sent to the user does not change,
but the user can respond to the source with information such as
a desire to purchase a particular item. With true interactive television,
however, the image that users see on their television set is a function
of what they do. Interaction with the television is similar to a
user's interaction with a computer.
How is interactive television being used?
Interactive television can be used for any of the services and
activities described earlier for NII. It can also be used to carry
out any of the functions mentioned for uses of Kiosks, except for
dispensing tickets, cash, or actual products. However, with a credit
card, it would be possible to order any of these items and have
them delivered.
Essentially, interactive television can allow a television to act
as a multimedia access point to the information superhighway. As
a result, the information superhighway is not just for people with
computers and modems, but also for anyone having a television set
and the requisite connection devices.
What does interactive television look like?
To have interactive television services, the user needs some type
of controller box and a connection to the information services.
The controller box functions something like the cable television
controller boxes did, except that it has additional circuitry that
allows it to generate more specific graphics on the screen and to
work with the information services. Since the controller box would
probably sit on top of the user's television set, it is often called
a "set-top box."
The set-top box, of course, must be connected to a company or companies
providing the various information and other services. A number of
companies and industries are currently scrambling to be the ones
to provide these services. The telephone company would like to install
higher speed telephone lines and provide the services (as well as
videophone and other services) through these lines. Cable television
companies would like to expand their systems and provide the services.
Satellite broadcasters are also interested, and are exploring technologies
that would operate in conjunction with phone or cable as well as
independently. How the signals get to the user, however, is not
as relevant as whether the signal is available at all and whether
users can afford to pay for it. Both of these are hot topics at
present, in the same way that the availability of electricity to
all parts of the country was once a hot topic of debate. Eventually,
however, like electricity, connections to the information superhighway
will be inexpensive and plentiful, with connections available in
most rooms (or every room) of the house.
Probably the best way to envision what interactive television will
look like is to consider what CD technology looks like today, especially
children's programs and games on CD ROMs. What appears on screen
varies tremendously from one vendor to another. Each tries to look
different to clarify its identity and to provide an interface that
is easy to use and attractive. Buttons and menus may appear on screen
that are controlled with either arrow or number keys on the remote
control or by talking to the screen with the control. In some cases,
choices are listed on the screen. In other cases, pictures of the
products appear on screen as an announcer describes or demonstrates
them. Systems that can support high bandwidth (lots of information
available to each household) would allow users to wander through
a simulated shopping mall, enter stores, look over items, request
more information, launch small videos that demonstrate items, and
pay for items that would then be shipped to them (or downloaded
from the network if they were movies, music, or other products that
could be converted into electronic form and transmitted).
How accessible is interactive television?
The systems will undoubtedly use graphic user interfaces. However,
even if the interfaces were all in textual format, they would be
inaccessible to people with low vision or blindness because there
is currently no mechanism to load a screen reader onto a television
set-top box. It is possible, however, to build voice modes into
any of these systems, which would make even the graphic user interface
accessible.
The graphic content of the systems, however, is another matter.
Whether the interface is graphic or text based, if graphic content
(pictures, movies, etc.) is presented there will be an access problem
for people with visual impairments unless an alternative form of
the information is also presented.
Interactive television systems are also likely to contain extensive
audio information, usually as a part of an audiovisual presentation.
Access for individuals with hearing impairments or deafness can
also be provided if alternative presentation is available.
For the most part, these systems will be designed to be as simple
as possible to operate, thus limiting the cognitive requirements
as much as possible. As more choices are provided, however, the
cognitive requirements will go up. Simple adjustable interfaces
and interoperability will help to provide diversity of interfaces,
including customizable interfaces to better match people's cognitive
abilities.
In general, interactive television will be operated using a remote
control of some type, with voice commands introduced as voice recognition
gets better and cheaper. People with physical disabilities or speech
impairments may have some trouble with such interfaces. Again, the
ability to use different physical interfaces with the system, as
well as the ability to operate the systems with either speech or
a physical interface, would be helpful.
GENERAL
ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES
Various general access strategies can be applied across all information
systems. They are presented below, along with the major disability
groups that would be affected by the use of these strategies.
1. Visual information
All information presented visually (or stored as an image) should
have an alternative or supplemental presentation (or storage format)
that does not require vision (e.g., auditory format or ASCII text).
- Blindness
- Cognitive/language impairment
2. Auditory information
All information presented auditorily (or stored as a sound file)
should have an alternative or supplemental mode of presentation
(or storage format) that does not rely on hearing (e.g., visual
mode or ASCII text file). Auditory information includes beeps or
any other sounds that convey information.
- Hearing impairment, deafness
- Cognitive/language impairment
3. Eye-hand coordination controls
All controls that require eye-hand coordination (mice, trackballs,
ordinary touchscreens) should also be provided in an alternative
or supplemental mode that does not require eye-hand coordination
(e.g., keyboard, Talking Fingertip touchscreen).
- Blindness
- Physical impairment
4. Physical requirements
Any input or control mechanisms that require fine movement control,
physical dexterity, reach, or strength should also be provided in
an alternative mechanism (such as scanning or keyboard navigation)
that does not. Mechanisms that require simultaneous activation of
two buttons, latches, etc., should be avoided. Timed responses should
also be avoided, or a mechanism provided, that would extend the
times.
- Physical impairment
- Cognitive/language impairment
5. Operation
The operation of the device/system should be as simple, predictable,
and error tolerant as possible.
- Cognitive/language
- Physical disability
- Low vision
- Blindness
6. Connectivity
An external standard connection point that can be used to connect
alternative displays or alternative input/control mechanisms (e.g.,
infrared link or RS232 port with alternative display and control
capability) should be provided whenever possible.
- Blindness
- Physical impairment
GOALS
The final sections of this report explore the options and strategies
that might increase the ability of people with disabilities to use
the emerging communication, information, and transaction technologies.
A number of general goals or objectives are presented first, followed
by a discussion of options and strategies that might be used to
achieve these goals.
Goal 1: Products should be both accessible and USABLE by people
with disabilities.
The word accessible is used in two ways in the area of information
systems, particularly NII. The first refers to the ability of any
individual to afford and have access to the new information devices
and systems. Although this type of accessibility does not relate
specifically to persons having a disability, a disproportionate
number of them are unemployed or underemployed. Economic limitations
to accessibility are not experienced by wealthy individuals with
a disability. Since this topic is treated extensively in other places,
it is not addressed further in the options and strategies section
of this report. However, it is a real issue and poses a barrier
for many individuals with disabilities.
The second way that the word accessible is used is in relation
to the ability of a person who has a disability to actually operate
the new information-transaction systems and to receive and perceive
the information that is presented or displayed by the systems. A
goal in designing next-generation information systems should be
to maximize the number of individuals who are able to access the
systems and information regardless of the type, degree, or number
of disabilities they have.
A separate but equally important goal is to ensure that these systems
are usable by these same people. It is not sufficient to
have accessible systems if the means of access are so difficult
or roundabout that it takes the individual five or ten times longer
than their colleagues without disability to use the system. Such
differences in efficiency can put individuals with a disability
at a disadvantage that prevents them from competing in educational
or employment situations involving the use of these systems. A goal,
therefore, should be to ensure that next-generation systems are
both accessible and usable with a comparable degree of efficiency
by people with the widest possible range of abilities or disabilities.
It is, of course, important to achieve such access for individuals
with various disabilities without interfering with the access and
usability of the systems by individuals with other disabilities
or by people who do not have disabilities.
Goal 2: Source materials (print, AV, multimedia, VR) should
be presentation independent or multimodal.
There is no single presentation mode that is optimal across disabilities.
Information presented in a visual information format works well
for individuals who are deaf, but is inaccessible by people who
are blind. Information presented auditorily yields exactly the opposite
result. One goal therefore should be to have all information available
in a form that allows it to be presented in different modalities
(visually, auditorily, tactually), allowing users to choose the
form that works best for them.
Two strategies for doing this are to make information available
in presentation-independent form and to have information available
in multimodal form. ASCII text is an example of presentation-independent
information. ASCII text is pure data that can be presented visually
as letters on a screen, sent to a voice synthesizer and presented
auditorily, or fed to a dynamic braille display and displayed tactually.
A picture, on the other hand, is a visual presentation of the information.
To make it multimodal, a picture would have to be accompanied by
a textual description. A movie presents some information visually
and some auditorily. To make a movie multimodal, there should be
a text description of the auditory information (which can be rendered
visually) and a description of the visual information (which can
be presented auditorially). The resulting package would allow an
individual to view the information in visual, auditory, or tactile
form.
Goal 3: Public systems should be directly accessible by the
widest possible constituency.
By nature, public systems do not allow people with disabilities
to open or modify them. Systems such as kiosks, ATMs, electronic
building directories, and fare machines therefore need to be directly
usable by people with disabilities. Whenever possible, individuals
should be able to approach and use a system without having to carry
special assistive devices or technologies with them. Where it is
not known how to do this in commercially practical fashion, mechanisms
should be provided to allow people with disabilities to easily connect
the necessary assistive technologies to the system for access.
Goal 4: To the extent feasible, accessibility to all products
should be direct (built-in), rather than requiring the user to modify
the product or purchase assistive technologies in order to use the
product.
This goal is directed to all information products used in the home,
education, employment, or community environments. While it is much
more practical to modify products purchased for personal use than
it is to modify public systems, the need to modify each device in
order to make it accessible presents a considerable burden and in
some cases is not possible.
First, it is financially difficult to modify every product one
purchases. Second, many of the newer telecommunication devices being
proposed are small, sealed, highly integrated units that do not
lend themselves to disassembly and modification in the same way
that personal computers do. For some products, such as television
set-top boxes, systems are sealed to prevent customers from tampering
with them. The extremely rapid rate of development also makes keeping
up with hardware and software innovations difficult, if not impossible.
Often, new versions of software and products are released before
third-party vendors can distribute access solutions to the previous
version. The goals here, therefore, are to ensure that all products
are designed to take advantage of all known, practical access strategies
and to increase the number of practical strategies that are known.
Goal 5: Devices and systems should be flexible enough that people
who lack one or more of the following capabilities can still use
them.
- Vision
- Hearing
- Speech
- Fine movement control
- Reach
- Average cognitive skills
- Average ability to concentrate
Universal benefits
Although the goals may seem ambitious, some products already come
close to achieving or do achieve these objectives. Achieving these
goals would also increase the general usability and flexibility
of the next-generation systems for all users. Features that make
systems usable by people who are blind would also make it easier
for people to look up information or use the systems while they
are driving their cars (for example, to look up an address or phone
number for a client, or to book an airline flight). Features that
make systems usable by people who are deaf would allow the systems
to be used by others in noisy environments or in environments where
sound is not allowed (libraries, during a meeting, etc.). Features
that make systems usable by people with motor impairments might
allow use by individuals who are wearing gloves or holding an unruly
child. Features that make systems usable by people with low vision
could be used by people who left their glasses in the other room.
Features that make systems usable by people with cognitive impairments
would reduce errors and decrease the learning curve for all of us
and help us to use systems when we are distracted.
Thus, striving toward the above goals is not counter to standard
design practice, but rather an extension of it. This is a critical
issue that is too often overlooked or is dismissed as propaganda
due to lack of information.
OPTIONS
As discussed earlier, two general options exist for making products
and systems accessible by people with disabilities. One is to design
the products and systems so that they are directly usable by people
with disabilities. The other is to design them so that they can
be adapted or used with assistive technologies. A third option is
to design products with both characteristics. Each of these options
is discussed briefly, along with its corresponding advantages and
problems or issues.
Option 1: Built-in access
With this approach, products or systems are designed so that a
user does not need any assistive technologies or adaptations to
use the device or system. Instead, the systems allow sufficient
flexibility to adapt to or accommodate individuals with a wide range
of abilities or preferences.
Built-in access applies both to the operation of systems and devices
and to the information that is presented through them. For example,
a kiosk may use a touchscreen graphic interface with recorded sound.
However, a user may choose to turn on captions to have auditory
information presented visually or turn on a voice to allow visual
information to be presented auditorily. Speedlists along the edge
of the screen may allow individuals who are blind rapid access to
the contents of the screen, while a step selection option may allow
access by individuals with severe motor impairment. Multimedia information
presented on the screen might include a description track and a
caption track, again allowing individuals with different abilities
or limitations to choose the presentation format that best matches
their abilities.
Advantages
- The built-in access approach does not require an individual
with a disability to purchase or own any special equipment to
operate the system. This feature reduces the cost of accessing
the system and allows access by persons who do not have the financial
resources to secure special assistive devices.
- The technique is more convenient, since it does not require
that users carry the special assistive technologies with them
to access the systems or devices they encounter.
- There is no need for a delay between the time a device is released
and in general use and the time that third-party manufacturers
can develop an access adaptation compatible with it.
- Individuals are not left without access to systems because third-party
manufacturers believe the market is insufficient to warrant an
access device.
- Individuals who are progressively losing their abilities (and
may be in denial) are able to successfully access and use the
systems for which they would not purchase or use an assistive
technology. Built-in access is particularly effective if the access
features appear to be a natural part of the adjustability of the
device or system, and if they are also routinely used by others.
Problems or issues
The major difficulty with this approach is that it is not always
practical to build access for every type, degree, and combination
of disability directly into every instance of a product. For example,
it is difficult to build a dynamic braille display (at an average
cost of $2,000 to $5,000) into a $50 or $100 product, or even into
a $10,000 kiosk. Also, a dynamic braille display may be too fragile
to survive in a public outdoor environment. A similar problem may
arise for individuals with high spinal cord injuries who use sip-and-puff
or eyegaze techniques as their primary interface.
Option 2: Adaptation or use in conjunction with assistive technologies
The most straightforward example of this approach is products that
include a universal link, which allows people with a disability
to connect their own personal assistive technologies. One candidate
for this universal link would be the new infrared standard developed
by the Infrared Data Association (IrDA). Infrared links appear on
almost all new laptop and next-generation desktop computers and
provide a valuable and essentially no-cost tool for access. As this
infrared link capability appears as a part of standard laptop and
desktop computers, it becomes a relatively simple matter to use
the link as a mechanism to allow individuals who are deaf-blind
or who have severe physical disabilities to link into and use public
kiosks, building directories, and other information systems.
For example, individuals who are deaf-blind could carry a small
dynamic braille or other tactile device with them that would couple
to the kiosk using the infrared link. This capability has already
been implemented on a college campus demonstration kiosk.
Individuals who have no movement below the chin could drive up
to an electronic information directory using their sip-and-puff
wheelchair and, using the sip-and-puff mechanism and an infrared
link, operate the directory to find out where they need to go. With
remote access smart cards, they could also approach an e-cash-capable
ATM and operate the system, withdrawing money without having to
touch the ATM.
A second example is an open system in which users could install
their own software or hardware modifications within a product to
make it accessible to them. The installation of screen-reading software
on personal computers is an example. Adding software or hardware
modifications to a product, however, is usually a viable approach
only with computers or products owned by an individual. Most places
where devices are used by the public do not allow the public to
open or modify their systems, especially if electronic transactions
(ticket machines, ATMs, etc.) are involved. In such cases, the external
(alternative interface) connection would be the most viable.
Advantages
- Individuals can use the interface that is familiar to them in
controlling the different appliances. (However, this advantage
might be reduced or mitigated somewhat if the appliances used
some standard practices and conventions with any built-in access
strategies.)
- This strategy can provide a mechanism to allow individuals with
much more severe or multiple disabilities to access and use public
and in-home information systems and appliances.
- On some small or inexpensive devices, it may be extremely difficult
to build some types of access features directly into the product.
A small infrared link, however, may not be impractical.
Problems or issues
Most of the advantages listed under Option 1 would be lost under
Option 2. Individuals would have to own a special interface and
have it with them whenever they wanted to operate such systems.
Option 3: A hybrid approach
Option 3 is a hybrid that strongly encourages the approach described
in Option 1 but includes the universal link described in Option
2 as a fallback for individuals for whom direct access cannot be
built in.
Advantages
This combines the advantages of both Option 1 and Option 2 above.
Problems of issues
The primary issue here is where to draw the line. If a universal
link is provided to allow individuals to connect assistive technologies,
but very little or no attempt is made to build direct access into
a device, should the device be considered accessible? This problem
arises primarily in trying to set minimum accessibility standards
(e.g., an ADAAG (ADA Accessibility Guidelines) that covers electronic
information and transaction devices). It may be difficult to define
exactly how much effort should be expended in implementing Option
1 (direct access) approaches.
This problem is considerably compounded by the diversity of forms,
shapes, sizes, and configurations of information appliances. In
fact, the trend is not toward devices dedicated to particular functions
(e.g., a device called a phone and a device called a fax, or a device
called an ATM and a device called a ticket vendor), but rather toward
devices that carry out many or all of these functions. When users
can withdraw e-cash and electronically reset the cash counter card
in their smart cards using an e-cash dispenser built into the dashboard
of their rental car (for travelers' convenience), it will become
more difficult to define what an ATM is and which rules should apply.
Rules being considered for present-day ATMs, which are quite large
and sedentary, may not make much sense when an entire electronic
ATM is the size of a paperback book mounted sideways in the dashboard
of a rental car.
FORCES
THAT CAUSE CHANGE IN DESIGN AND ACCESSIBILITY
Awareness that there is a problem and that solutions can be
implemented economically.
Almost without exception, when researchers have visited companies
to encourage more accessible (more universal) designs, executives
were either unaware of the problems their current designs posed
or unaware that cost-effective solutions could be easily implemented
to make their products more accessible. (In many cases, executives
were unaware that people with disabilities use their products.)
Basic awareness is essential to progress.
Knowledge of specific, acceptable, and effective solutions
Once industry has been made aware of a problem, there have frequently
been requests for more specific information related to the problems
and solutions. Specific, detailed ideas and options have been requested,
along with as much flexibility as possible. (Some industry members
who have been embarrassed by moving forward with one implementation
only to be criticized for not doing it right, also want some assurance
of consensus within the disability community before proceeding.)
Specific, practical, flexible and cross-disability approved guidelines
are needed to move forward with any speed in this area.
Motivation to move the priority high enough to get it acted
on
Almost all company representatives have commented that both internal
and external motivations were necessary to either get accessibility
programs moving or to keep them moving. A surprising number have
said that legislation requiring accessibility would be helpful to
their efforts by
- Raising the priority from "really should do this, really want
to do this" to "really must do this" so that accessibility programs
can compete with other "must do" priorities within the company;
and
- Leveling the playing field by requiring the competition to also
take the time initially to build the features in or to learn how
to design more universally.
Other motivating forces mentioned included larger market (usually
deemed negligible for any one feature); demand by customers; recognition
in the press (e.g., if all product reviews in the press also evaluated
product accessibility); and right thing to do (usually not enough
by itself to move from "want to do" to "must do").
STRATEGIES
FOR ACHIEVING CHANGE
If the agents of change are awareness, knowledge, and motivation,
then the strategies for causing change should be based on these
agents. Some recommended strategies are given below. The strategies
listed include those presented in the document "Policy Recommendations
from the Universal Access Project," by Deborah Kaplan. Recommendations
are made specifically for government, industry, technical/research
groups, and consumers, as all of these are considered key agents
to bring about the changes necessary to ensure NII access for everyone.
Strategies for increasing awareness
The need for increased awareness of access issues and strategies
is not limited to industry designers and engineers. Researchers
in both the public and private sectors must be included in activities
to increase awareness. Likewise, policymakers and people with disabilities
must be made more aware of the issues and strategies surrounding
access to information systems.
Strategies government can use to increase awareness:
- Define access as a policy goal.
- Ensure that the topic of access is a high priority on national
agendas, public forums, and other environments where NII and next-generation
information systems are discussed or publicized.
- Include at least a section discussing disability access issues
in any documentation pertaining to NII or next-generation technologies
and systems (including not only the Internet or home-based systems,
but also high-performance computing, visualization research, etc.).
- Assume a leadership role in publicizing the benefits of access,
along with access issues and strategies. Provide publicity through
the popular press and through television exposure, in addition
to regular information dissemination channels.
- Include access in policy initiatives regarding universal service
and access, such as
National Telecommunications and Information Administration inquiries,
Federal Communications Commission Notices of Inquiry,
Information Infrastructure Task Force Policy Papers,
NII Advisory Council Final Reports.
- Require that all grants dealing with NII or next-generation
information systems include a statement on how recipients are
addressing issues of disability access their research. Even if
recipients do not have complete or ready answers, such requirements
would push them to consider looking at the central issue involved:
that people with disabilities will need to use the systems being
developed.
- Support efforts to secure broad input from the myriad disability
groups that will be using the information systems and devices.
- Support efforts to bring the various groups together to identify
acceptable, effective, compatible cross-disability interface strategies.
- Promote any activities that can be used to heighten public and
industry awareness of access issues.
Strategies private industry can use to increase awareness:
- Establish a company-wide policy on accessibility.
- Establish and implement internal disability access teams.
- Include members from different segments of the company, such
as engineering, product design, ergonomics, marketing, etc.
- Allow such groups to collaborate with all appropriate divisions
within a company. Do not expect them to function in isolation.
- Ensure that product support mechanisms exist to allow appropriate
communication and interaction with people who have disabilities.
Strategies technical and research groups can use to increase
awareness:
- Publish professional papers describing research and development
efforts directed toward or related to disability access issues.
- Publicize access-related research and development efforts in
trade journals and other industry publications.
- Participate in and disseminate information at disability- and
non-disability- related conferences.
Strategies consumers/disability constituencies can use to increase
awareness:
- Make product, service, and information access needs known to
product, service, and information providers. Provide both positive
and negative feedback.
- Provide input to government and industry regulatory and policy
boards.
- Closely consider cross-disability access issues, not just those
of a particular constituency.
- Work cooperatively with other disability constituencies.
- Participate in government- and industry-sponsored forums or
activities to promote awareness of access issues.
- Monitor the field to provide advisories to consumers, industry,
and government agencies about problems, progress, and issues regarding
accessibility.
Strategies for creating and disseminating knowledge
The creation and dissemination of knowledge pertaining to access
have two major components. First, research must to be sponsored
to develop answers and solution strategies to the many access issues
posed by emerging technologies. Second, the knowledge obtained must
to be disseminated to researchers, developers, manufacturers, policymakers,
and consumers.
Strategies government can use to create and disseminate knowledge:
- Create funding programs that target accessibility research.
Such research should specifically address access issues surrounding
current and emerging information and telecommunication technologies.
- Recognize that much government-funded research is conducted
in areas that are complementary to accessibility research. Require
large research and development programs that conduct such research
to include a component addressing accessibility issues.
- Foster joint university-industry research and development efforts.
- Promote joint efforts between disability-oriented technology
research groups and research groups focusing on next-generation
communication, information, and human-computer interface research.
- Work at local, state, and federal levels to disseminate information
to agencies having direct contact with individuals with disabilities.
This educates professionals in the field and enables them to pass
along the information to the consumers they work with.
- Disseminate information to disability advocacy and consumer
groups. By distributing information at a grass-roots level, information
providers get feedback directly from end users.
- Publicize new information in appropriate trade journals, newsletters,
electronic resources, and so on, and in government-sponsored conferences,
consumer education programs, and radio/television/Internet announcements.
- Encourage consumer and user participation in educating policymakers
regarding access issues and strategies.
- Include consumer feedback mechanisms for all NII development
activities.
Strategies industry can use to create and disseminate knowledge:
- Include people with disabilities in human factors and product
design research.
- Include people with disabilities in alpha and beta testing cycles
for products and services.
- Provide access to early product betas and developer support
for disability access (third-party) developers and manufacturers,
who are usually too small to warrant the access that is given
to larger businesses.
- Provide adequate training to product support staff to ensure
familiarity with the specific problems that people with disabilities
might have in using company products or services.
Strategies technical and research groups can use to create and
disseminate knowledge:
- Follow (almost) all of the strategies listed for government
and industry.
- Work closely with groups representing a variety of disabilities.
- Work closely with industry.
Strategies consumers/disability constituencies can use to create
and disseminate knowledge:
- Educate selves and others to existing and future technologies,
and to related access issues and strategies.
- Educate product and service providers about specific product-
and service- related access needs.
- Work within the framework of government and industry concerns.
Learn about the problems and issues facing government and industry,
and propose practical, achievable solutions.
Strategies for increasing motivation
Although legislating change is not the only mechanism for motivating
change, a surprisingly large number of company executives have confidentially
suggested legislation as perhaps the most effective mechanism for
causing change within their companies. They cited two key factors
in coming to this conclusion.
First, almost all executives say they spend a large percentage
(or the majority) of their day handling crises and putting out fires
(or trying to light them under others). In this environment projects
that are considered merely important or very important fall victim
to urgent and critical issues. Without some type of forcing factor
(e.g., legislation), providing access to people with disabilities
falls into the important or very important category, not into the
urgent or critical category.
Second, almost all companies involved in information technology
are in fierce competition with multiple rivals. Executives fear
that work they perceive as potentially slowing or adding constraints
to projects might result in a loss of competitive edge.
Even if building accessibility or universal design features and
capabilities into company products would result in a more robust,
easier-to-use product, slowing down projects to bring staff and
designers up to speed in access areas is frightening to members
of industry.
Companies find it helpful to rely on external researchers to provide
predeveloped, tested, and proven techniques. They also like to know
that there is consensus among disability groups as to particular
access strategies. Such assistance still leaves the topic of access
in the "very important" category, however, with the need to invest
staff time before access strategies can be effectively understood
and implemented.
Executives say that legislation or regulations that require all
companies to address these issues have the effect of leveling the
playing field, so the company that does address them does not risk
a potential disadvantage. However, these same executives are quick
to follow with an admonition that adopting such legislation or standards
must be done carefully, or it could be problematic. Unlike public
telephones, elevators, and restrooms, which tend to be somewhat
standard in appearance today, communication and information appliances
and systems take on myriad different forms. Moreover, technologies
in this area advance and evolve at an astonishing rate, making it
difficult to predict what form, size, or shape they will take in
the future.
For example, it is not clear whether the telephone of the future
will be a device or just a function which may be included with a
variety of other functions in a device that looks more like a watch,
a pocket calculator, or a small earphone. Already, there are small
devices that can be inserted into the ear, to act as both a microphone
and an earphone. There are also voice-controlled telephones. Thus,
it is difficult to say that all telephones must have a particular
physical configuration, button size, or anything else when it is
not clear that all telephones will even have buttons, or that it
will be possible to physically identify a device as a telephone,
even if it is used to make phone calls. It is already possible to
make phone-like calls to others using a multimedia computer and
the Internet, without using telephones, the telephone company, or
telephone lines.
Conversely, if access regulations are sufficiently general to allow
for endless implementations, it becomes difficult to judge exactly
what constitutes compliance.
Probably the most effective strategy, therefore, is to set performance
standards that are based on a reasonableness test. For example,
a product should be usable by all individuals with disabilities
whenever building such capabilities into products is reasonable
and achievable. A measure of reasonable and achievable can then
be based on whether other companies or competitors include such
features in their products. This approach provides great motivation
for companies to step forward and be among the first, since in doing
so, they demonstrate that accessibility is reasonable and achievable,
thus compelling their competition (under the regulations) also to
address the issue. Unlike their competitors, however, innovative
companies will not have to consider redesign of their system to
provide the access. Thus, moving first provides them a competitive
advantage and saves them time and redesign.
NOTE: The legislation passed by Congress uses the term "readily
achievable," which is not as strong as "undue burden" or "reasonable
and achievable" but still applies in the situations described
above.
Legislative or regulatory action is a critical strategy for providing
motivation. It is not the only strategy, however, and is therefore
presented along with other recommendations below.
Strategies government can use to increase motivation:
- Update ADA regulations to better account for information technology
.
- Adopt performance benchmarking for accessibility and consider
incorporating access certification into the National Institute
of Standards in Technology systems testing and independent testing
labs.
- Encourage the private sector to work collaboratively with experts
designing technological solutions to access barriers. Government
encouragement can be accomplished through actions such as issuing
policy statements and hosting collaborative meetings, discussions,
and other joint activities that would provide opportunities for
creative problem solving.
- Include access and universal design requirements in existing
or new legislation, such as
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (done),
New language in ADA regulations (not done),
Language in telecommunications reform bill (done),
Telecommunications bill regulations (in process).
- Set standards according to legislative mandates, in functional
terms:
Establish performance standards that are dynamic and general enough
to survive in an era of ever-changing technology;
Set standards and performance goals, but leave room for innovative
approaches that can be used to achieve such goals;
Define accessibility in terms that are measurable but also dynamic,
general, and flexible enough to apply to technology that is constantly
changing;
Encourage standard testing agencies such as the National Software
Testing Laboratory to add accessibility to their testing criteria.
- Apply standards and requirements to all government efforts.
For example, ensure that all federal Web sites are accessible,
and that all federally funded kiosks and public information systems
are accessible.
- Consider methods of ensuring 508 compliance in the future with
respect to all federal entities charged with reviewing and evaluating
on a continual basis the effectiveness of policies, programs,
and activities concerning individuals with disabilities, such
as the National Council on Disability. This review becomes particularly
important as changes in federal procurement policies, occur.
- Include requests or requirements for disability access features
in all federal and state purchase requests.
Strategies government/industry/technical and research groups/consumers
can use to increase motivation:
- Provide documentation to industry of any increase in either
market size or market penetration that would result from incorporating
access features into products. Studies documenting the percentage
of major customers (e.g., large companies) that have employees
with disabilities they would like to be able to accommodate would
be particularly useful. (Most large companies would fall into
this category.)
- Stimulate customer requests for access features. One mechanism
for accomplishing this is to increase the awareness of consumers
(both individuals with disabilities and companies that have employees
with disabilities) so that they can ask sales force representatives
about the availability of such features.
- Promote and achieve the inclusion of disability access features
in trade magazine product reviews. Companies vie fiercely for
high scores in product comparison reviews, and a low rating can
have significant ramifications.
- Provide recognition or rewards for particularly well-designed
products or services and publicize such achievement.
- Develop cross-disability consensus regarding recommended access
features, so that industry will feel secure in incorporating such
features.
CONCLUSION
There are many potentials and many potential problems regarding
access to the information superhighway by people with disabilities.
Past work has indicated that where consumers, researchers, and industry
work together, effective and practical solutions can be found. Much
work needs to be done, however, to identify solutions to problems
of access to newly emerging technologies and to disseminate both
the known and new solution strategies to those building NII. Readers
of this report are encouraged to review the following documents
for additional NII history, background information, and perspective.
ADDITIONAL
READINGS
Bergman, Eric, and Johnson, Earl. 1995. Advances in human-computer
interaction, Volume 5. Toward accessible human-computer interaction.
Ablex Publishing Corporation. Norwood, NJ.
Brummel, Susan. 1994. "People with disabilities and the NII: Breaking
down barriers, building choice." Included in the September 1994
report, The information infrastructure: Reaching society's goals.
Report of the Information Infrastructure Task Force, Committee on
Applications and Technology, National Institute of Standards and
Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce. Washington, DC.
Edwards, Alistair D.N. (Editor). 1995. Extra-ordinary HCI.
Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Goldberg, Larry. 1995. "Universal access project: Source (content)
issues." CPB/WGBH National Center on Accessible Media. Boston, MA.
Hagins, Jerry. 1995. "Benefits and barriers: People with disabilities
and the National Information Infrastructure." Thesis. Austin, TX:
Center for Research on Communication Technology Society, University
of Texas at Austin.
Kaplan, Deborah. 1996. "Policy recommendations from the Universal
Access Project." Oakland, CA: World Institute on Disability.
Kaplan, Deborah, and DeWitt, John. 1993. Telecommunication and
persons with disabilities: Building the framework. Second report
of the Blue Ribbon Panel on National Telecommunications Policy.
Oakland, CA: World Institute on Disability.
Kaplan, Deborah, DeWitt, John, and Steyaert, Maud. 1992. Telecommunication
and persons with disabilities: Laying the foundation. Report
of first year of the Blue Ribbon Panel on National Telecommunications
Policy. Oakland, CA: World Institute on Disability.
Mazaik, Cheryl L. 1993. "Guidelines for producing accessible multimedia
for deaf and hard of hearing students." Boston, MA: WGBH.
Microsoft Corporation. 1995. Designing accessible applications:
Considerations in the design of applications for the Microsoft Windows
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APPENDIX
MISSION OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY
Overview and Purpose
The National Council on Disability (NCD) is an independent federal
agency led by 15 members appointed by the President of the United
States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
The overall purpose of NCD is to promote policies, programs, practices,
and procedures that guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals
with disabilities, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability;
and to empower individuals with disabilities to achieve economic
self-sufficiency, independent living, and inclusion and integration
into all aspects of society.
Specific Duties
The current statutory mandate of NCD includes the following:
- Reviewing and evaluating, on a continuing basis, policies, programs,
practices, and procedures concerning individuals with disabilities
conducted or assisted by federal departments and agencies, including
programs established or assisted under the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973, as amended, or under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance
and Bill of Rights Act; as well as all statutes and regulations
pertaining to federal programs that assist such individuals with
disabilities, in order to assess the effectiveness of such policies,
programs, practices, procedures, statutes, and regulations in
meeting the needs of individuals with disabilities.
- Reviewing and evaluating, on a continuing basis, new and emerging
disability policy issues affecting individuals with disabilities
at the federal, state, and local levels, and in the private sector,
including the need for and coordination of adult services, access
to personal assistance services, school reform efforts and the
impact of such efforts on individuals with disabilities, access
to health care, and policies that operate as disincentives for
individuals to seek and retain employment.
- Making recommendations to the President, the Congress, the Secretary
of Education, the Director of the National Institute on Disability
and Rehabilitation Research, and other officials of federal agencies,
respecting ways to better promote equal opportunity, economic
self-sufficiency, independent living, and inclusion and integration
into all aspects of society for Americans with disabilities.
- Providing the Congress, on a continuing basis, advice, recommendations,
legislative proposals, and any additional information that NCD
or the Congress deems appropriate.
- Gathering information about the implementation, effectiveness,
and impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42
U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).
- Advising the President, the Congress, the Commissioner of the
Rehabilitation Services Administration, the Assistant Secretary
for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services within the Department
of Education, and the Director of the National Institute on Disability
and Rehabilitation Research on the development of the programs
to be carried out under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
- Providing advice to the Commissioner with respect to the policies
and conduct of the Rehabilitation Services Administration.
- Making recommendations to the Director of the National Institute
on Disability and Rehabilitation Research on ways to improve research,
service, administration, and the collection, dissemination, and
implementation of research findings affecting persons with disabilities.
- Providing advice regarding priorities for the activities of
the Interagency Disability Coordinating Council and reviewing
the recommendations of this Council for legislative and administrative
changes to ensure that such recommendations are consistent with
the purposes of NCD to promote the full integration, independence,
and productivity of individuals with disabilities;
- Preparing and submitting to the President and the Congress an
annual report titled National Disability Policy: A Progress
Report.
- Preparing and submitting to the Congress and the President an
annual report containing a summary of the activities and accomplishments
of NCD.
Consumers Served and Current Activities
While many government agencies deal with issues and programs affecting
people with disabilities, NCD is the only federal agency charged
with addressing, analyzing, and making recommendations on issues
of public policy that affect people with disabilities regardless
of age, disability type, perceived employment potential, economic
need, specific functional ability, status as a veteran, or other
individual circumstance. NCD recognizes its unique opportunity to
facilitate independent living, community integration, and employment
opportunities for people with disabilities by ensuring an informed
and coordinated approach to addressing the concerns of persons with
disabilities and eliminating barriers to their active participation
in community and family life.
NCD plays a major role in developing disability policy in America.
In fact, it was NCD that originally proposed what eventually became
ADA. NCD's present list of key issues includes improving personal
assistance services, promoting health care reform, including students
with disabilities in high-quality programs in typical neighborhood
schools, promoting equal employment and community housing opportunities,
monitoring the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities
Act, improving assistive technology, and ensuring that persons with
disabilities who are members of minority groups fully participate
in society.
Statutory History
NCD was initially established in 1978 as an advisory board within
the Department of Education (Public Law 95-602). The Rehabilitation
Act Amendments of 1984 (Public Law 98-221) transformed NCD into
an independent agency. |