Accessible World: Examining Accessibility through Social, Legal, and Technological Perspectives
Disciplines
Disability Studies | Technical and Professional Writing
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Persons with disabilities rely heavily on technology to conduct their day-to-day lives. While disability is often seen as “dependent”, using technology does not mean people with disabilities cannot be independent (Watson et al., 2020). Current accessibility features on mobile phones, advanced gaming technologies, hearing aids, and more types of assistive technologies and accessibility features provide countless people with an improved lived experience. However, the current state of accessibility with respect to assistive and web technologies as explored from a social, legal and technical perspective remains unexamined. The social lens examines interactions between humans and society. The legal lens inspects the legal pressure on companies to incorporate accessibility as well as the government’s duty to protect the rights of people with disabilities. Finally, the technological lens explores the available assistive technologies and state of accessibility with consideration of how inclusive design can improve product design overall. This research looks to fill a gap in our understanding about the importance of accessibility in all types of digital products from these three perspectives.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - Technical Communication and Interactive Design
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Laura Palmer
Accessible World: Examining Accessibility through Social, Legal, and Technological Perspectives
Persons with disabilities rely heavily on technology to conduct their day-to-day lives. While disability is often seen as “dependent”, using technology does not mean people with disabilities cannot be independent (Watson et al., 2020). Current accessibility features on mobile phones, advanced gaming technologies, hearing aids, and more types of assistive technologies and accessibility features provide countless people with an improved lived experience. However, the current state of accessibility with respect to assistive and web technologies as explored from a social, legal and technical perspective remains unexamined. The social lens examines interactions between humans and society. The legal lens inspects the legal pressure on companies to incorporate accessibility as well as the government’s duty to protect the rights of people with disabilities. Finally, the technological lens explores the available assistive technologies and state of accessibility with consideration of how inclusive design can improve product design overall. This research looks to fill a gap in our understanding about the importance of accessibility in all types of digital products from these three perspectives.