exclusion by language…

I’ve been sent a link reporting on an Accessibility Hack Event at Birmingham. This is a great idea – put together the people who are interested in accessibility. We should do this at Lincoln. Here’s a few comments on the blog post.  

The affordances of digital data have never been utilised effectively – it’s the optimum opportunity for ensuring equality of digital access but too often the theory gets privileged over practice and the opening promotion video by GPII is typical:

e.g. user is recognised at public access point and now sees large print on ticket machine = one happy user  but…. magnified text requires increased screen size – other wise you need navigational devices which then mean all the information can’t be seen at once… another e.g…..back of seat monitor on aircraft customised to suit user preferences – you can hardly see (or hear) these in the first place – so increased text size is not going to assist…

The ratio between content and monitor size is so relevant but easily overlooked.  I’m working with someone with macular degeneration whose family have bought them a new widescreen Acer laptop all set up to display large tools and text. But email via Windows Live is almost unusable because the screen size doesn’t support the chosen display size. Sounds obvious but unless you’ve tried it….

The idea of providing accessibility rather than having to  adapt to a standard environment has long been a dream of Assistive Technology users. This is why I’m so interested in the idea of ‘intuitive digital data’ which knows how to adapt to the device being used or ideally can provide itself in the appropriate file format as requested – something I believe we are working towards.

A keynote speaker at the event was correct in saying accessibility should be a right for all, and whereas most people see accessibility as about disabled people, it is actually about everybody – then they spoiled it saying the aim is to deliver the best website that is ‘accessible to as many people as possible, a website that is accessible to everyone would just be text, which would be ugly’.

This second statement is both contradiction and backwards step – accessibility is not about as many people as possible – it’s about everyone full stop – and a website which is accessible to everyone does not have to be plain text – that’s the reason text-only alternatives were dropped. A fully accessible website can have pictures and multimedia and interactive forms – it just needs to include the information to be given in alternative formats,  and all content to be correctly and appropriately labeled for screen readers.

An Accessibility Hack Day is a great opportunity to bring people together to talk about important issues. It’s in the nature of digital exclusion to be invisible. But the key issue the blog post raised for me is how the language was indicative of the current cultural shift away from the social model of disability – which sees the external environment as disabling by not recognising and providing for a diversity of requirements (digital disability is an ideal example where we have the technology to ensure 100% access but all the barriers are economic, political etc) and back to the old medical model of disability which saw the reason for lack of participation as being caused by individual impairment – be that physical, sensory or cognitive. It’s concerning how the language of disability is changing with references to disabled people rather than people being disabled by society – you may think this is being pedantic – but it isn’t.

The GPII video says ‘those of us with disabilities often run into a situation where the technology doesn’t work well enough to meet our abilities’. Another presenter refers to ‘people who are severely disabled with motor neurone disease’  These are examples of language use which need to be challenged. The Social Model calls for disability to be seen as something imposed on individuals by society – motor neurone disease is an impairment – and to call someone disabled by it is an example of the old medical model in action. I worked with someone with motor neurone disease whose used a computer for years. But the disease is reducing ability to move fingers and keyboards are designed with the assumption that we will only hit one key at a time.  With a keyguard in place, the computer can be used again (although it means a laptop remains inaccessible). 

The solution lies first and foremost in the external environment where the limitations of the technology are the disabling factor. Subscribing to a social barriers model is an essential prerequisite to enabling independence and social participation – in particular with ensuriong digital inclusion.  Technology can be empowering but the problems begin when perceived solutions derive from the viewpoint of the technologist – not the user – we have to step outside of our world and into the life-world of other people in order to experience the barriers to know how best to help remove them.

Finally – the disclaimer at the end of the GPII video sort of says it all.

The contents however do not necessarily represent the policy of the funders and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.  It would have been more encouraging if it had said Accessibility is the policy of the funders and you can assume endorsement!

Warning! the Microsoft phone scam is still happening

The Microsoft phone scam is still going strong. It works like this. You get a call from someone saying they’re from Microsoft and they’ve heard from your ISP that you have virus problems on your computer. They then get you to open Windows Events Viewer and display a seemingly scary array of files with red crosses and yellow exclamation marks next to them. They tell you these are viruses and you need to open a certain website and key in a six digit security code – then hey presto they have access to your computer. After pretending to fix everything they ask for a fee and enough people pay this to make the scam a lucrative one. Microsoft will never phone you unsolicited. If you get a call from Microsoft hang up.  More importantly tell everyone you know to hang up because there are plenty of people out there who in all innocence will believe it and think they are acting in their own best interests.

With the sender’s permission I’m sharing this text message from a friend with sight loss who was the unlucky recipient of just such a call. For once, it was a benefit to be using screen reading software which couldn’t cope with the poorly labeled site and she was unable to enter the 6 digit number. Needless to say ‘Microsoft’ didn’t call her back as they promised and left her in a distressed state for 24 hours.

“Got software problems – Microsoft have been in touch and we tried to sort it out. But I couldn’t manage without sighted assistance. This happened yesterday and I really felt like giving the computer up. They are supposed to be calling me back. They don’t know what to do about helping an unsighted person. I daren’t use the computer. ”

It’s all sorted now but there’s still the need to tell everyone you know – if they say they’re from Microsoft its safe to say no thank you and goodbye.

More information here  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/18/phone-scam-india-call-centres

lest we forget….

While protests are in the news there’s another – more invisible – coalition led disaster which is causing exclusion and distress on a daily basis. This is the government’s attitude towards people with sight loss who are struggling to operate in digital environments because of insufficient action to ensure digitally inclusive practice and accessible web design. As the government moves towards the online-only provision and management of welfare it’s doing nothing to challenge the increasingly visual nature of the Internet and digital designers assumptions of a narrow range of access criteria (i.e. everyone uses a Mouse, their Eyes and Ears – the MEE-Model). This is making it difficult to impossible for users of assistive technology, in particular screen readers, to have equity of digital access. At the same time it also ensures denial of participation in the public sphere where the platforms for debate and dissent are increasingly digital ones.

Digital discrimination is already a serious problem and will become even more critical as more services look to online provision believing it will increase efficiency and cut costs. Assumptions about access need to be challenged; not everyone can operate an out of the box laptop bought from a local supermarket or a high street retailer and the way in which the government is choosing to ignore this is an issue which needs to be made more public.

Training my dragon…

The latest released version is 11 and this is 8. I don’t know how much things have changed but I suspect some of these issues are still valid. Firstly you need an Internet Connection to activate the software and the only reference to this is on the box in very small print, not on the top, the front the back or the side but underneath! Secondly, a product sold to ‘replace slow and painful typing’ and enable you to ‘control your PC’ still requires manual dexterity with the mouse to turn the microphone on.

I’d heard voice training was problematic but although it insisted my sound system quality was unacceptable, it got to know me very quickly. The activities were a visual challenge. I’ve enlarged everything scalable on my screen but the training windows remained small – an example of the single fixed format syndrome. Accuracy is not brilliant; you have to speak clearly and precisely so it’s not conducive to an open plan office or any degree of privacy. There will always be issues with some words and while you can train it to recognise specific vocabulary specific it still struggles with Hull; a bit like the Nintendo Brain Trainer which has similar problems with blue.

Overall, the biggest issue is remembering the commands. Like any new skill, there’s a lot to remember and not all of it intuitive. Backspace makes sense but ‘Scratch that’ for delete? I found accuracy decreased when I used it for real and it assumed punctuation rather than waiting to be asked. The need to use the Dragon Pad rather than the Word window is another limitation; I can’t find how to enlarge this without the mouse and keyboard commands respond to what ever else is open rather than Dragon Pad itself.

I’m being critical and it’s early days, but the setting up has been tough on my eyes and the need to use the mouse seems to defeat the hands-free element or have I misunderstood the marketing? It doesn’t appear conducive to free thinking or creative writing although it could be good for poetry where you are looking to create the maximum impact with the fewest words; minimalism may be key to good dragoning.

I think it could be a powerful piece of software but like all assistive technology it comes with its own training and support needs and these in themselves can be formidable barriers. Unless you follow the Mouse, Eyes and Ears MEE-Model of computer use (or have capable and willing sighted assistance) then you’re going to have to work twice as hard to have the same ease of use and take twice as long to get where you’re going to. Nevertheless, with 20-20 vision or without it – I’m not defeated yet…

Microsoft sucks!

Access to digital environments remains problematic. Because I’m also photophobic the contrast of black on white is too harsh. In Word I can change the background colour. On the Internet I’ve used my browser controls to ignore specified colours in favour of my own choice with mixed results. Graphics are either not transparent or too transparent!

  

 

The inflexibility of Windows is a major obstacle. I’m working at 220% in Word which is comfortable; a bit like sunglasses on a sunny day, but the contrast between this and the unchanged size of the toolbars and menus is a continual strain. Windows is a discriminatory digital environment. I don’t know how Microsoft have got away with it for so long and the magnifier in their accessibility tools is useless.

The power of digital data is its flexibility meaning it can be customised to suit individual preference. I want to adapt my computer use to suit my own requirements. I want the same experience and ease with vision impairment that I get when my vision is not impaired but it isn’t happening. The digital connection to the internet I rely on as my primary source of communication and access to information is increasingly problematic and I’m being denied an equivalent experience.

Next, I’m going to try Dragon Naturally Speaking but in the mean time, and I never thought I’d say this, it’s a relief to turn off my laptop and do something less stressful instead!

Have a good weekend 🙂

Digital copy right or wrong?

What rights do you have when you own a book? Daniel Reetz has built his own book scanning device (Wired) and comments show how other people routinely make digital copies. Does ownership give you the right to do this? Is there a difference if you’ve borrowed a book from a library, or a friend or found it on the train Bookcrossing style  It’s clear I need to get my head around the law on digital copyright; like using Refworks, or accessing the electronic journal database, it’s not one of my strongest points so any suggestions of where to start will be most welcome.

What I am clear about is that those who have control over access to information have power but it’s those who have the least power in society who seem to be most affected and have the quietest voice. As a result we hear less about the text discrimination they suffer on a daily basis and most about corporation fears regarding revenue losses. The Association of American Publishers (AAP) want the blind to pay for any additional means of access and the US Authors Guild argue that a speaking e-reader counts as an ‘unauthorized public performance’ so should be banned. Amazon are no better; offering authors the option of disabling Kindle’s read-aloud function and I’m totally unimpressed by them saying they will soon produce ‘a blind-accessible Kindle’ – why haven’t they done so already!

Google are going to  pay $125 million to resolve claims by authors and publishers of Google-scanned books and will pay legal fees, as well as create a Book Rights Registry where copyright holders can register works to get a cut of Internet advertising revenue and online book sales. Why can’t Google simply pay what it takes to ensure virtual text can be listened to as well as seen? Why can’t Amazon put the needs of the visually impaired first instead of last? Why can’t there be some joined up thinking on access to digital data to end the current discrimination?

Yes, this is procrastination as the assignment is still largely undone, but it needs to be said and we all need to take responsibility for adding our voices to raise awareness of these issues.

Guide Cats for the Blind

Good publicity for Google  who are rolling out machine-generated captions on 13 of their channels including YouTube. Key phrases such as ‘The software engineer behind the technology, Ken Harrenstien, is deaf’ and ‘Vint Cerf, vice president at Google, is ….hard of hearing’ emphasise how there’s no one better to create an accessible internet than those who encounter the most barriers. Example Victor Tsaran, Yahoo accessibility engineer, seen on this video explaining how he screen reads his computer  Still no captions though.

On the subject of accessibility I’ve been reminded this week of two code checkers which offer comprehensive overhauls of your html. The FAE web accessibility checker and HERA . Also this week I’ve been helped out again by the British Computer Association for the Blind.  Incidently, if you haven’t come across the BCAB Guide Cats for the Blind cd series based on the musings of Les Barker, and if traditional humour is your thing, then give them a try.

I posted earlier this week about the ‘blindingly good’ WordPress site created by a VI blogger; an example of the opportunities the Internet provides for communication and access to information especially when your life gets limited by lack of sight. Digital data can, in the words of the BBC charter, inform, educate and entertain and has the potential do so much more. Equity of access should be a prime motivator to ensure no one gets left behind.  If the big-name-players with online presence like Google can start making alternative versions appear as second nature that’s a giant step forward. Amazon, Tesco, M&S and the rest take note.

blind people use computers – get used to it!

The recent publicity over the Amazon e-book reader Kindle is notable for the furore over DRM and the lack of publicity over its inaccessibility. Reams are being written about Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) the digital watermark which limits the use of downloaded files and gives the content provider control over what happens to the content. There’s two ways of looking at this. Firstly it protects copyright by preventing unlicensed copying and distribution (ensuring profits for publishers) and secondly publishers are stepping over the mark by imposing ‘rights’ as ‘restrictions’ that are more extensive then the existing copyright laws for non-digitised text. Unauthorized distribution of digital media has been almost impossible to control and the ebook industry is tackling this from the start; looking at the much pirated music and film industry for guidance.

 I have no problem with this ongoing debate. What concerns me is the way in which profits are in the driving seat. The voice of those unable to read the e-book screen is scarely being heard but their access is being denied when ebooks could make a huge difference to quality of life. Blind people use computers – get used to it. Digital data has the potential to transform communication and offer access to information for everyone not just those with eyes to see. The BBC have published three short video clips about e-book readers in the past two weeks and not one mentions access issues.

The lack of media interest in this blatant continuation of discrimination is appalling.

do they really mean getting ‘everyone’ online?

I love the idea that Martha Lane Fox is advocating using digital story lines in soap operas to encourage the ‘missing 10 million’ non-engagers to get online.  What a fabulous idea!

At last we can look forward to seeing characters with physical, cognitive and sensory impairment have equal access to the Internet for their shopping and banking and all the other advantages that MLF claims they are missing out on. Soap operas will do what they do best; raise awareness of pertinent, neglected issues and increase pressure on the government to do something about them.

MLF says   It’s often the people facing the toughest times who have the most to gain from what the technology has to offer…and as the internet is rapidly becoming a tool for everyday life we should work together to makes sure everyone can benefit.” I couldn’t agree more. But I fear she is missing the point.

Can I suggest that the more the focus is on providing services online (government, health, education, employment, retail etc) and reinforcing the argument that if you are not part of this digital revolution you are losing out – then the more you are disenfranchising the one group who are already struggling with barriers to participation in most of the aspects of daily life we take for granted.

The Government have even set up a Race Online 2012  website. But lauding the technology as having the potential to help those ‘living in some of the hardest social and economic conditions’  is one thing. Reducing the prohibitive cost of anything other than eyes and mouse mainstream access and legislating effectively to ensure workable accessible digital environments is something else altogether. If the government is serious about getting everyone online for 2012 then they have some radical thinking to do.