Attitudes to telecare among older people, professional care workers and informal carers: a preventative strategy or crisis management?

This paper reports findings from an attitudinal survey towards telecare that emerged from twenty-two focus groups comprising ninety-two older people, fifty-five professional stakeholders and thirty-nine carers. These were convened in three different regions of England as a precursor to telecare service development. The results from this study suggest that informants’ views were shaped by prior knowledge of conventional health and social care delivery in their locality and the implication is that expectations and requirements in respect of telecare services in general are likely to be informed by wider perceptions about the extent to which community care should operate as a preventative strategy or as a mechanism for crisis management

Slacktivists or Activists?: Identity Work in the Virtual Disability March

Protests are important social forms of activism, but can be inaccessible to people with disabilities. Online activism, like the 2017 Disability March, has provided alternative venues for involvement in accessible protesting and social movements. In this study, we use identity theory as a lens to understand why and how disabled activists engaged in an online movement, and its impact on their self-concepts. We interviewed 18 disabled activists about their experiences with online protesting during the Disability March. Respondents' identities (as both disabled individuals and as activists) led them to organize or join the March, evolved alongside the group's actions, and were reprioritized or strained as a result of their involvement. Our findings describe the values and limitations of this activism to our respondents, highlight the tensions they perceived about their activist identities, and present opportunities to support further accessibility and identity changes by integrating technology into their activist experiences

Delivering together for inclusive development : digital access to Information and knowledge for persons with disabilities

This report focuses on digital inclusion as it relates to four of the 17 Goals for the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda: SDG 9 - Innovation, Industry, and Infrastructure, SDG 16 - Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals, SDG 4 - Quality Education. For each of the goals, a number of major challenges and key recommendations are defined. Finally, general recommendations are given for improving global digital inclusion overall

Enhancing Accessibility in U.S. Elections

In 2020, voters with disabilities turned out in force in one of the most consequential elections in U.S. history. According to data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 62 percent of disabled voters cast a ballot in the November 2020 election, compared with just about 56 percent of disabled voters who participated in the 2016 presidential election. 2020's high turnout is demonstrative of disabled voters' unwavering resolve to make their voices heard and to fully participate in American democracy. While all voters—regardless of disability status—experienced difficulties in registering to vote and casting ballots last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, disabled voters faced particularly significant challenges. This report examines the barriers disabled voters face when participating in elections and proposes solutions for improving the voting experience and encouraging voter participation

Disability and Technology

Disability and Technolog

The Machinery of Democracy: Voting System Security, Accessibility, Usability, and Cost

This report is the final product of the first comprehensive, empirical analysis of electronic voting systems in the United States. It comes after nearly two years of study with many of the nations leading academics, election officials, economists, and security, usability and accessibility experts.Up until this point, there has been surprisingly little empirical study of voting systems in the areas of security, accessibility, usability, and cost. The result is that jurisdictions make purchasing decisions and adopt laws and procedures that have little to do with their overall goals.The Brennan Center analysis finds that there is not yet any perfect voting system or set of procedures. One system might be more affordable, but less accessible to members of the disabled community; certain election procedures might make the systems easier to use, but they compromise security. Election officials and community members should be aware of the trade-offs when choosing one voting system or set of procedures over another, and they should know how to improve the system they choose.Included in this full report is an executive summary of the Brennan Centers analysis of voting system security, voting system usability, as well as voting system accessibility and cost.The Brennan Center analysis of cost is in part based upon a review of voting system contracts provided by jurisdictions around the country and a cost calculator [no longer available]. The cost calculator and contracts should assist jurisdictions in determining the initial on ongoing costs of various voting systems

Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: A Comparison of Four European Countries with Regards to Assistive Technologies

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is an international treaty that aims to promote, protect and ensure the rights of persons with disabilities so that they can fully participate in society and enjoy the same freedoms and opportunities as others. It provides an important framework for the inclusion of persons with disabilities with the help of Assistive Technologies (AT). This paper assesses and compares the implementation of the CRPD with regards to the availability of AT in four countries (Germany, Hungary, Portugal and Sweden), which to some extent represent different European regions. The paper is based on a review of relevant academic literature, the DOTCOM database and regulatory documents as well as on five validation interviews with national experts. In the countries studied, anti-discriminatory and other legislation is included at the highest level of the legal framework and contains detailed rules on definitions, remedies and legal procedures. There are specific prohibitions in several fields, such as employment, housing, and healthcare. Nonetheless, there are still cases of non-compliance with the CRPD and of laws and regulations which discriminate against persons with a disability. Additionally, there are great variations between countries. As very positive examples of favourable regulatory frameworks for furthering inclusion with the help of ATs do exist, there may be benefit in raising awareness of such examples to support other countries in developing their own measures