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Reaching out: evaluation of health promotion website for children with disabilities and their families
- Authors:
- HERNANDEZ Virginia Rondero, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work in Disability and Rehabilitation, 4(1), 2005, pp.87-103.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This article describes how a state health authority in the USA capitalized on the increased popularity of the Internet among consumers by launching a website devoted to improving communication among persons interested in children with disabilities and their families. The health authority collaborated with a local school of social work to redesign the website using the family-centered model and evaluate its effectiveness. A sample of 51 respondents participated in the web-based survey. The article describes the process and methods of evaluation as well as the results of the survey to enhance feedback for the website's further development. Lessons learned for the design, development, and marketing of future websites are also covered. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
A common open space or a digital divide?: a social model perspective on the online disability community in China
- Authors:
- GUO Baorong, BRICOUT John C., HUANG Jin
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 20(1), January 2005, pp.49-66.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This paper explores the use and impact of the Internet by disabled people in China, informed by the social model of disability. Based on survey data from 122 disabled individuals across 25 provinces in China, study findings suggest that there is an emerging digital divide in the use of Internet amongst the disability community in China. Internet users in the study do not appear to be representative of most disabled people in China. For the minority of disabled people who do have access to the Internet, however, its use can lead to significantly improved frequency and quality of social interaction. Study findings further suggest that the Internet significantly reduced existing social barriers in the physical and social environment for disabled people. Implications for future research, and strategies for increasing reducing the digital divide between the minority of Internet users and the majority of disabled people in China are discussed.
Disabled people and the internet: experiences, barriers and opportunities
- Authors:
- PILLING Doria, BARRETT Paul, FLOYD Mike
- Publisher:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 90p.
- Place of publication:
- York
The Government intends to make all government information and transactions available electronically by 2005. An increasing proportion of useful commercial and social information is available online. However, disabled people can face particular challenges using the Internet - for example, cost, access difficulties and unfamiliarity with electronic technology. (These limiting factors can be exacerbated for older age groups to which many disabled people belong.) This research examined whether the provision of information, goods and services through the Internet removes many of the access barriers faced by disabled people, or adds to them. Views were obtained from enquirers to AbilityNet, a UK charity giving free computing advice to disabled people, and from focus group participants.
All our children belong: exploring the experiences of black and minority ethnic parents of disabled children
- Editor:
- BROOMFIELD Annette
- Publisher:
- Parents for Inclusion
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 84p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Report on the result of a three-year pilot project which examined the experiences of black and minority ethnic families seeking inclusion for their disabled children. Outlines how families described being subject to discrimination and negative stereotyping when trying to access services, information or support.
Disability portfolio
- Author:
- RESOURCE
- Publisher:
- Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 12 pamphlets.
- Place of publication:
- London
Resource: the Council for museums, archives and libraries has issued new guidelines this month to help improve accessibility to collections for disabled people of all types. 2003 is European year of disabled people and the Resource Disability Portfolio is a major contribution to the year. Museums, archives and libraries have developed a wealth of good practice over the past few years. However, our research shows that there are still some significant barriers to access. Museums, archives and libraries connect people to information and knowledge, creativity, culture and identity. Resource's new Disability Portfolio will encourage staff to build on the good practice that already exists working towards equal access for disabled people to the collections and services of museums, archives and libraries and equal opportunities in employment. The Disability Portfolio is a collection of twelve guides which include disability in context; meeting disabled people; training for equality; and audits.
Does the Internet open up opportunities for disabled people?
- Author:
- JOSEPH ROWNTREE FOUNDATION
- Publisher:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- York
The Government intends to make all government information and transactions available electronically by 2005. An increasing proportion of useful commercial and social information is available online. However, disabled people can face particular challenges using the Internet - for example, cost, access difficulties and unfamiliarity with electronic technology. (These limiting factors can be exacerbated for older age groups to which many disabled people belong.) Almost all questionnaire respondents welcomed the Government's initiative to put all services online, provided that alternative communication methods remained available. Internet usage enabled questionnaire respondents to communicate with others, and to reach a variety of information resources in spite of difficulties. These groups included those who were unable to leave their homes, those who found writing or reading common forms of print inaccessible, or those with speech impairments. Two-thirds of Internet users in the survey wanted to use the Internet more, cost being the main reason holding them back. Cost - of buying a computer, of online access and of assistive devices - was also the most common reason preventing Internet non-users getting online. Questionnaire respondents and focus group participants who needed assistive devices had significant problems in identifying what to use, in affording it, and in getting guidance or training with the equipment. Disabled Internet users who needed assistive devices to use a computer and the Internet found fewer websites that were easy to use and navigate than did those not using assistive devices. Only about one in ten respondents knew the location of their local UK Online centre (where help is available to learn initial Internet-using skills); there was little knowledge of the training provided by UK Online centres or other organisations. About 40 per cent of Internet-using respondents had tried but had been unable to find suitable training locally.
Basic guide to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995
- Author:
- MORTON Christina
- Publisher:
- Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO)
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 15p.
- Place of publication:
- London
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) creates rights for disabled people. Its main focus is on employment, access to goods, services and facilities, and education. However, there are also sections on the sale and letting of property and access to transport.The DDA defines who is protected under the term disability. Only those people who are, or have been, disabled under these terms are covered by the Act. According to the Act people are disabled if they have ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’
Disability
- Author:
- THORNTON Patricia
- Journal article citation:
- Research Matters, 17, April 2004, pp.17-22.
- Publisher:
- Community Care
Looks at the findings of a series of studies which highlight the gaps in housing needs of disabled children and their families.
The web: access and inclusion for disabled people: a formal investigation conducted by the Disability Rights Commission
- Author:
- DISABILITY RIGHTS COMMISSION
- Publisher:
- Stationery Office
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 48p.
This report demonstrates that most websites are inaccessible to many disabled people and fail to satisfy even the most basic standards for accessibility recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium. It is also clear that compliance with the technical guidelines and the use of automated tests are only the first steps towards accessibility: there can be no substitute for involving disabled people themselves in design and testing, and for ensuring that disabled users have the best advice and information available about how to use assistive technology, as well as the access features provided by Web browsers and computer operating systems. Disabled people must frequently overcome additional obstacles before they can enjoy the full range of information, services, entertainment and social interaction offered by the Web: blind people need sites to provide, for example, text as an alternative to images for translation into audible or legible words by specially designed screenreading devices; partially sighted people may be especially reliant upon large-format text and effective colour contrast; people who are dyslexic or have cognitive impairments may benefit in particular from the use of simpler English or alternative text formats, such as Easy Read, and from the clear and logical layout of an uncluttered website; people whose first language is British Sign Language may also find Plain English indispensable; and people with manual dexterity impairments may need to navigate with a keyboard rather than with a mouse.
Digital disability: the social construction of disability in new media
- Authors:
- GOGGIN Gerard, NEWELL Christopher
- Publisher:
- Roman and Littlefield
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 182p.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Oxford
Media representation of and for the disabled has been recharged in recent years with the expansion of new media worldwide. Interactive digital communications - such as the Internet, new varieties of voice and text telephones, and digital broadcasting - have created a need for a more innovative understanding of new media and disability issues. This analysis offers a global perspective on how people with disabilities are represented as users, consumers, viewers or listeners of new media, by policymakers, corporations, programmers and the disabled themselves.