6.4 Case Study: an example of how
262
III
List of authors and members of
326
evaluation may change the
COST 219ter
design: ATM project in Portugal
IV
Further information
329
6.5 Recommendations
273
6.6 Opportunities and challenges
276
6.7
References
279
7
What obstacles prevent
practical broadband
applications being
produced and exploited?
7.1 Executive summary
281
7.2 Introduction to interactive
281
management format
7.3 Results
285
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Towards an inclusive future
1. Introduction
Patrick Roe
There is no question that over the last twenty years, since the inception of the
original COST 219 Action, a considerable shift in attitude and awareness has
occurred towards including people with disabilities and older people in all aspects
of society.
From a situation of ignorance and overall lack of awareness, there is now a general
acceptance at a political, societal and even to a certain extent at an industrial level
that it is no longer acceptable to develop products and services that will exclude a
substantial proportion of the population, including people with disabilities and
older people.
This is not to say that all issues have been resolved, far from it. For example, one
of the aspects that still needs to be conveyed to all stakeholders is that embracing
the Design for All principle is not a one off effort but an ongoing and permanent
commitment over the longer term. However at least there is now a state of
recognition that these issues have to be addressed and a realisation that if these
complex issues are suitably handled with appropriate strategies and policies, there
are exciting potential rewards to be gained. Indeed, with the well-publicised
ageing of the population the issue of technology at the service of older people is
seen as an opportunity and an integral part of future strategies in tackling the
problem of how to keep people in their homes for as long as possible (chapter 3).
A crucial and recurring theme throughout the book is that it is vital to design
products and services right from the beginning that can be used by the broadest
possible section of the population (Design for All approach discussed in chapters
3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, for example).
The purpose of this book is to give the reader an overall picture of the current
situation with the latest trends in products and services that can be used by as
many people as possible including people with disabilities and older people
(chapter 2). One example from section 2.3.2 will show how remote sign language
interpretation using 3G telephony had a high take up when priced affordably.
Other examples presented in chapter 2 include showing how new technologies can
help with safe navigation (section 2.2.1) and how the potential of broadband can
be fulfilled in providing useful new services (section 2.3.1). Some of the latest
issues concerning relay services and text telephony are discussed in sections 2.3.3
and 2.4
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There is also a presentation of the latest possibilities of using speech processing
(section 2.2.2). This technology has been promising much for many years, and the
reader will be able to assess the degree of maturity it has now reached whilst
being able to appreciate the potential for using it in applications for people with
disabilities.
Another very important emerging technology/area is that of Ambient Intelligence
(AmI). The potential implications for all citizens are immense. In chapter 4, the
reader will get an insight into the exciting new possibilities that AmI could offer
people with disabilities and older people. The approach used has been to take the
ISTAG (IST Advisory Group) scenarios (with some adaptations) and to analyse what
would happen if people with disabilities were introduced into the scenarios. In this
way, it has been possible to carry out a detailed analysis of some of the
implications and possibilities of AmI for people with disabilities. This should help all
potential users answer the question, “The Future is here, can I live with it?” Ethical
issues related to A m I , which are of course of particular relevance to all
disadvantaged groups, are discussed in section 4.3.
An important component in this gathering groundswell of awareness is the
willingness of governments, both at national and EU level, to introduce new laws
and/or regulation, backed up by standardisation, so as to ensure equal rights of all
citizens in relation to access and use of technology.
A comprehensive review of the current situation is given in chapter 5, where the
reader will be able to gather a clear idea of the available choices within the review
of Framework Directives and the potential impact these decisions will have on
people with disabilities. The EU is clearly at an important regulatory crossroads
with the next few years being crucial in determining which is to be the future
direction of regulation. This chapter indicates how the interest of disadvantaged
users can be protected within this Framework Directives review without hampering
innovation and investment.
An additional key issue raised in chapter 5 is that of certification, be it self-
d e c l a ration certification, certification/accreditation of suppliers or third-party
certification schemes. The various options and their implications are discussed
leading on quite naturally to chapter 6 where an overview can be found of current
trends in accessibility evaluation and what types of evaluation and usability
assessment are currently being carried out by test houses. The reader will be able
to gather information about a mobile phone evaluation toolkit developed within
the framework of COST 219ter (section 6.3) which is a simple methodology for
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assessing the accessibility of a mobile phone. The best time to use this toolkit
would be while testing/checking other protocols and design issues. A case study
from Portugal of how evaluation may change the design is also given in section
6.4.
Despite the growing awareness and increasing technological possibilities, offered
for example by broadband, there is still widespread frustration that more truly
accessible and usable products are not appearing on the market. To try and
understand the reasons for this lack of products and services COST 219ter resolved
to employ the Interactive Management (IM) methodology with the triggering
question “Considering the availability of powerful broadband technologies and the
development of relevant scenarios, what are the obstacles that prevent us from
producing more practical applications?”. The intriguing results and ensuing
roadmap from of these two (IM) workshops are described in detail in chapter 7.
Without revealing too much, it is possible to say that the process yielded some
unexpected results. For example, the roadmap on page 293 shows that some very
fundamental issues, such the difficulty in turning a statement of user needs into
design requirements, still needs to be resolved in order for there to be more
practical applications and products on the market.
This roadmap also highlights some of the challenges that still lie ahead on the road
to inclusion. The momentum is surging ahead pushing all components of our
society including, users, disability organisations, regulatory authorities, legislators,
standardisation bodies, civil servants, governments and industry towards having to
grapple with new issues and break new ground. There is no turning back now and
by the end of this book, the reader should have a better appreciation of the point
we have reached on this road towards a truly inclusive future.
Note from the Editor
Although the Members of COST 219ter are well aware of the WHO “International
Classification of Disability, Functioning and Health (ICF)”, the terminology used
through out the book is not wholly consistent. This is partly for reasons of style but
also partly reflects the various opinions and preferences of the authors, amongst
whom no consensus was reached (and probably never will be) on what were the
most acceptable terms to be used. The Editor decided to respect this variety of
usage and hopes that no offence is taken by anyone.
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