Ummmm, could be us Canadians have a diferent situation, but I beg to
differ. (about access only being used for the disabled or in this case
Deaf consumer). I feel a slight amount of authority on the issue because
I am both Deaf and disabled and have had need of access in many cases. You
know those electric doors at shopping malls that either respond to weight
on the floor pads or have electric eyes detecting motion? Originally meant
for shopping carts and women pushing strollers but now part of the common
sense of most major shopping places to provide what is close to "universal
access" in the sense no need to push a button.
Deaf access has had some similar outgrowths- the second language
community, at least in Canada use captioning to help learn English and to
develop better vocabulary, people use captions when a family member is
talking onthe phone and the volume of tv is distracting. Captioning of
speeches is useful not only for Deaf people but for people who have
auditory processing problems and who need visual access. In addition, most
( in my humble opinion) academic papers are nearly impossible to process
in their entireities when spoken aloud so the hard copy electronic or
printed allows a Deaf or otherwise interested person to read more than
once, what was spoken, until they "get it". I agree that sign language
interpreters should NOT be used for the entertainment of hearing people
who think it LOOKS PRETTY ( at concerts or at meetings) And i think it is
a waste of a very very scarce resource to provide interpreters at a public
event just so the interpreter is on camera and its good PR- there are
hundreds of demands for interpreters which go unmet because there are NOT
ENOUGH GOOD interpreters to go around. HOWever, I do differ on the
captioning front. I think courts have been transcribing their proceedings
for legal record long before a deaf juror or witness asked for it. So,
lets use the technology for everyone, lets make universal access truly
universal and even if it means making a request of an organization which
is NOT disability related, I think it makes sense to do so. I certainly
have enjoyed, for three years, the ability to check out papers at the CSUN
technology and persons with disabilities conference ON THE WEB without
attending the rather expensive conference. This was not done for the
"disabled people" but for everyone who needed access to the information
and could not attend the event.
I feel strongly that the Singer debate is worthy of dissemination to as
broad an audience as possible- I think Johnathon was just suggesting one
avenue that might not have been considered yet. Tanis
Tanis is moving in August please stay tuned for new address and phone
number. Visit http://members.xoom.com/doetanis1/newhome.html for some
links. Pls send attachments to [log in to unmask] not to this email thanks.
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