November-December 1996 OPEN LINE The Technology Policy Newsletter of the World Institute on Disability Open Line, the newsletter of the World Institute on Disability's Technology Policy Division, is published six times a year to inform recipients of significant developments regarding accessibility for disabled people to telecommunications and information technologies. Information, comments and suggestions from the readership are most welcome. World Institute on Disability 510 16th Street, Suite 100 Oakland, CA 94612 Betsy Bayha, Editor 510-763-4100; 510-763-4109 FAX; 510-208-9496 TTY Oklahoma University Researchers Shed New Light On Hearing Aid-Digital Wireless Phone Problems: Researchers at the University of Oklahoma launched an examination of compatibility problems between hearing aids and digital wireless Personal Communications Services (PCS) in the Spring of 1995. Now, having identified several contributing factors in initial clinical trials, the university's Center for the Study of Wireless Electromagnetic Compatibility is engaged in a Phase II study which investigators hope will lead to the development of standards and solutions. The research group said it expects by January 1997 to have evaluated most North American digital phone technologies and types of hearing aids. Among the general conclusions: All three phone technologies tested interfered in many, but not all, instances with hearing aids in terms of speech recognition, annoyance to hearing aid users within 2 cm (less than an inch) of the phone, bystander detection threshold, and bystander annoyance at 10 inches to 10 feet. Hearing aid wearers reported no interference while using analog cellular phones. On the average, hearing aid users did not experience annoyance unless the phones were within two feet. Only 2 percent at 3.3 feet and 12 percent at 1.6 feet reported annoying interference. However, results varied by hearing aid type, hearing loss configuration and phone technology. Users of behind-the-ear (BTE) aids experienced the most interference, and in-the-canal (ITC) users the least. Shielding the BTE aids with a metallic coating effectively reduced bystander interference at all distances. Placing a copper shield between the phone antenna and the hearing aid reduced interference. However, the technical feasibility of the shielding approach as a solution has not been evaluated. The perception of interference increased in correlation with hearing loss severity. The research team pointed out that in the Phase I trials, it focused on "worst-case" conditions for both hearing aids and phone technologies, and that more investigation is required under "normal" operating conditions. Phase II, said researchers, is placing an emphasis on identifying the mechanism of the interactions, which would lead to the development of standards and the evaluation of solutions. Authors of the Phase I report were: A. "Ravi" Ravindran, Robert E. Sclegel and Hank Grant of the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla, and Pamela Matthews and Perma Scates of Hough Ear Institute, Oklahoma City. The address: Center for the Study of Wireless Electromagnetic Compatibility, University of Oklahoma, School of Industrial Engineering, Sarkeys Energy Center, Room R-208, 100 East Boyd, Norman, OK 73019. Giant Telecom Firms Pledge Tangible Implementation of Universal Design: Major telecommunications corporations serving millions of customers in the northeastern and southwestern parts of the U.S. have in recent weeks put themselves on the line in terms of extending accessibility of their services and products. Declaring their dedication to Universal Design and promising to continue working with the disability community to bring about easier and less expensive accessibility in telecommunications were NYNEX, provider of voice and data communications in northeastern states, and SBC Communications, Inc., of San Antonio, which has pledged to start expanding its focus on Universal Design pending approval of the proposed merger of Pacific Telesis and Southwestern Bell Telephone. NYNEX Adopts UD Principles The NYNEX pledge is contained in the adoption of these five "Accessibility and Universal Design Principles:" 1. NYNEX will provide quality services that can reasonably accommodate a broad range of diverse users, including individuals with disabilities. 2. NYNEX will review its existing services to determine which services should be more accessible. 3. NYNEX will design and develop its services, to the extent readily achievable, so as to be accessible to a broad range of users. 4. NYNEX will market and provision its services in a manner consistent with accessibility by a broad range of diverse users. 5. NYNEX will employ these Universal Design Principles NYNEX-wide, in its relationships with customers, employees, shareholders, and suppliers. NYNEX will encourage companies related to but not controlled by NYNEX to adopt these principles. In an amplifying statement, NYNEX said in situations where a modification does not meet the "readily achievable" wording of the law, it "will conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether the modification should nonetheless be made." The corporation promised to consult with users in its review. Frank Bowe, Hofstra University expert on telecom accessibility, hailed the adoption of the principles: "The steps NYNEX is taking are the kinds of initiatives that will be needed throughout corporate America if the Information Age is to become as accessible to people with disabilities as the built environment now is becoming." SBC Agrees on UD as 'Goal' SBC Communications, Inc. Senior Vice President and General Counsel James D. Ellis, in a letter to WID, said his firm "agrees with the disability community that Universal Design should be the goal for new products and services, because it is easier and more cost effective for accessibility . . . to be addressed at the design stage, rather than later at the retrofit stage." Betsy Bayha, acting director of Technology Policy for WID, said Ellis's commitment in behalf of SBC is "particularly important in view of the merging of Southwestern Bell and Pacific Telesis, which will encompass an immense territory and include millions of customers." Ellis said SBC will be working with disability leaders in the combined companies' territory "to determine an appropriate planning and implementation process." He said the policy of cooperation would include product development processes, usability testing, marketing and dealings with vendors, and would have the full support of SBC's top management. Message From the Director: Photo: Betsy Bayha Mergers, strategic partnerships, buyouts and breakups...the era of deregulation ushered in by the new Telecommunications Act is transforming the communications industry at a record pace. So it is somehow fitting that we announce the breakup of the Blue Ribbon Panel Project. Launched in 1990, by WID's Technology Policy division, the Blue Ribbon Panel brought together top experts working in the field of accessible technology to advise consumers and members of the telecommunications industry about the critical need for universal design of telephones and other communications equipment and services. More than five years of effort paid off with the inclusion of disability access language in Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Perhaps more importantly, the work of the Blue Ribbon Panel helped to build a strong nationwide network of advocates and allies who have carried the message to their constituents and communities. And our efforts continue apace. While the Blue Ribbon Panel is no more, WID continues to work in close alliance with the individuals and organizations who participated in that effort. You will no doubt be reading about our ongoing collaborations in the pages of Open Line. WID will also continue its strategic partnerships with industry supporters, who have responded positively to our message that universal design benefits us all, by improving the design of products as well as expanding business opportunities. On behalf of Deborah Kaplan, the former director of WID's Technology Policy division, and the many staff members who have supported our work over the years, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to members of the Blue Ribbon Panel who have helped achieve lasting benefits in communication access for all people especially people with disabilities. Betsy Bayha Acting Director Division on Technology Policy (text box) International Hard of Hearing Group Calls for Action: This, just in from Open Line's European bureau: A resolution adopted by the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People at a meeting in Graz, Austria. Member countries of the IFHOH report that people who use hearing technology -- hearing aids, assistive listening devices, cochlear implants -- are increasingly experiencing difficulties when using digital wireless telephones. Therefore, the IFHOH resolves that all digital wireless telephones should be made accessible to and usable by people who use hearing technology. The federation, with headquarters in Hertfordshire, England, has members in 31 countries. FLASH From the Future Stanford's Archimedes Project Gains Leverage With Its Total Access System: "What can you do for Jackie?" the headmistress in a New Zealand school asked Neil Scott 20 years ago when he was just starting his career as a computer systems designer. Jackie had lost most of her mobility to cerebral palsy but Scott found she could make consistent, discrete movements with her knees, so he taught her to use them to punch out dots and dashes. She mastered Morse code in two weeks; Scott adapted a computer for her, and Jackie was on her way. And Scott was on his way, pursuing a lifelong career of helping people gain access to computer technology that eventually brought him to The Interface Lab at the Center for the Study of Language and Information at Stanford University, where he is senior research engineer for the Archimedes Project. The project's goal is to promote equal access to information for individuals with disabilities, those with motor impairments who cannot use a keyboard or mouse or dial a telephone or pick up a computer printout, people with speech disabilities, or those who are hard of hearing, have low vision or learning disabilities, Project Leader Betsy Macken and Scott embrace the view that while computer technology can create problems for people with disabilities, it can also provide the leverage needed to provide access to a world of activities and information. Hence the name, Archimedes, after the Greek mathematician and inventor, famous for his statement about levers: "Give me a place to stand and I will move the world." While efforts are expanding to build disability access into technology at the blueprint stage -- what we understand as universal design -- the Archimedes Project has taken a different approach that complements universal design, it's called the Total Access System (TAS). This approach has tremendous potential for people with multiple disabilities or for those with highly specific access needs that would be impractical to build into off-the-shelf technology. A personal accessor that looks like a compact personal computer, complete with monitor, keyboard and mouse, is designed to meet the specific needs of the user by equipping it with whatever adaptive equipment is needed. The accessor interfaces with a Total Access Port (TAP), a box slightly larger than a pack of playing cards, which translates the user's commands and passes them on to the "host" computer. Archimedes already has TAPs specially designed to work with a number name-brand computers and is adding more. "TAS is simple to install, relatively inexpensive, and portable," says Scott. "You just choose the TAP appropriate for the machine you are working on. The port is the glue which allows us to mix and match. TAP looks after all the connections in such a way that the host computer isn't aware that the accessor user exists. So there are no time penalties, no compatibility issues." The host computer needs no modifications because the special accommodations have been built into the TAS.. This divide-and-conquer approach, as Scott calls it, also assures that the accessor doesn't become obsolete when an operating system or applications software is changed on the host unit. Furthermore, the accessor "belongs" to the user, who can use it at school, at home, or on the job. Scott is especially enthusiastic about using TAS with emerging speech recognition systems (especially Dragon Dictate) "based on resonances of the vocal tract and the cavities that make up your mouth and other physiological characteristics, which are constant." Thus, even if the user came down with a cold, the system would recognize the words, nasal congestion and clogged sinuses notwithstanding, and match them up with the user's words previously spoken in a normal voice. The Archimedes team expects TAS to speed progress in many areas of accessibility: Faster and more efficient speech-driven accessors, eye-tracking accessors, tracking microphones, access to Graphical User Interfaces, and much more. We'll keep you informed. [Diagram: Total Access System (TAS) (3 vertical blocks as laid out below) ACCESSOR TAP HOST User Interface Screen AccelerationRoutinesComputer TAS Interface Total Access Port (TAP)Keyboard ;;; Mouse In this diagram there are 3 vertical blocks labeled ACCESSOR, TAP, & HOST. Arrows go both directions in the ACCESSOR block between User Interface & Acceleration Routines, as well as between Acceleration Routines & TAS Interface, and between the TAS Interface and the Total Access Port in the TAP block. There are dotted lines around the ACCESSOR block. A single direction arrow goes from the Total Access Port to the Screen in the HOST block. 2 single direction arrows go from the Total Access Port to the Computer. One single arrow goes from the computer to the Total Access Port. And 1 single arrow each go from the Keyboard and Mouse to the Total Access Port.] Bobby Offers Help to Website Designers: CAST (the Center for Applied Special Technology in Peabody, Mass.) wants everyone to meet Bobby. Bobby is a graphical web-based program to help web site designers and graphic artists make their web pages accessible to the largest possible number of people. Bobby assists in identifying design problems that might prevent pages from being displayed properly on the various web browsers -- America Online, Netscape Navigator, Mosaic, Lynx, Microsoft Explorer, and others. In addition, Bobby performs a series of tests to catch and correct problems that could make a site inaccessible to people who are blind, deaf, or have other disabilities. CAST is a not-for-profit research and development organization that concentrates on expanding opportunities for people with disabilities through the innovative development and application of technology. It is dedicated to the concept of Universal Design -- building access and support directly into products from the beginning rather than retrofitting special technologies later on. More information about Bobby can be obtained from: Chuck Hitchcock, Director, Universal Design Lab, CAST, 39 Cross Street, Peabody, MA 01960. Phones: (508) 531-8555 voice; (508) 531-0192 fax; (508) 531-3310 TTY. email: chitchcock@cast.org or chitchcock@aol.com. Oh yes. Bobby was named after the jaunty British cop image that stands in attendance at the CAST website, "there to help everyone, to be of service just like the legendary British bobby," said Hitchcock. And no, Chuck isn't related to the late film director. Rules are Needed on Telecom Access Disability Community Tells FCC: The Federal Communications Commission must promulgate rules on telecommunications accessibility if it is to comply with the intent of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 as passed by Congress. This is the emphatic message being sent to the FCC by the Consortium For Citizens With Disabilities (CCD) Task Force on Telecommunications and Communications Access in response to the Commission's Notice of Inquiry issued in mid-September. The disabled community, nationwide, contends that without clear guidance from the FCC as to the extent and nature of accessibility requirements, companies will be free to ignore the concept of universal design and they will find it easier to argue, when complaints are filed, that retrofitting is "not readily achievable." Universal design seeks to ensure consideraton of the access needs of all individuals, including those with the full range of disabilities, when designing and fabricating new telecommunications products and services. In order to incorporate this concept, the CCD task force argues, it is critical for the FCC to issue regulations requiring companies to consider and meet access needs at the earliest stages of development. "Without clear guidance, companies may intentionally or unintentionally ignore access needs at these early stages," says Jenifer Simpson of the CCD. "Yet, once the products and services are manufactured or deployed, it becomes much more costly and burden some to retrofit them for access." The CCD acknowledged that the FCC has demonstrated a sincere commitment to ensuring that all Americans, including those with disabilities, have access to telecommunications products and services, citing their numerous rule-making proceedings on such matters as telecommunications relay services, hearing aid compatibility, and decoder-equipped television receivers. The Task Force urges the FCC to "continue this trend toward reversing decades of discrimination against individuials with disabilities," through the development of rules to implement Section 255 and related disability access issues of the new law. Rules are necessary, according to representatives of the disabled community, because the market has not historically addressed and responded to the need for disability access. Simpson, who covers Capitol Hill from the government activities office of United Cerebral Palsy in Washington, DC, said the FCC is now circulating comments received in response to its Notice of Inquiry issued in September. Individuals and organizations now have the opportunity to respond to points and issues raised. The deadline for these replies is Nov. 27. In particular, she suggested letters to FCC Commissioners Rachelle B. Chong and James H. Quello, who have expressed reservations concerning FCC drafting of access regulations (with copies to Commission Chairman Reed Hundt). The FCC address is: 1919 M Street NW, Washington, DC, 20554. The CCD is a coalition of over a hundred national consumer, service provider, parent and professional organizations that advocate on behalf of people with disabilities and their families. Hofstra Parley Report, Updated, Now Available: "Access to the Information Superhighway," a 50-page report on proceedings from a conference held early this year at Hofstra University, Long Island, NY, is now available -- edited and updated by Hofstra Professor Frank Bowe, who chaired the conference. It includes a keynote address by WGBH's Larry Goldberg (along with excerpts from the Federal Communications Commission's guidance on captioning and video description), an address by Maureen Krolak (then with the Trace Center at the University of Wisconsin), excerpts from the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (since passed by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton) and World Wide Web addresses for key disability-related Internet sites. Also, the FCC's notice of inquiry issued in September on the Telecom Act's section 255 (access to services and products) is available from Dr. Bowe, both in print and on disk. While the deadline for comments (Oct. 28) passed just as Open Line was going to press, the need to be familiar with what is happening continues, and more opportunities will occur for interested individuals to tell the FCC that Americans with disabilities see a need for specific regulations and guidelines on how access should be provided in the Information Age. (See "Rules are Needed," adjoining column.) For more information: Prof. Frank Bowe, 124 Hofstra University Hempstead, NY 11550-1090. serfgb@hofstra.edu 1-516-463-5782 (voice) 1-516-463-5153 (TTY) 1-516-463-6503 (fax) Address Correction Requested World Institute on Disability Technology Policy Division 510 16th Street, Suite 100 Oakland, CA 94612 510-763-4100 510-763-4109 FAX 510-208-9496 TTY E-mail: OpenLIne@wid.org Staff Betsy Bayha, Acting Director, Division of Technology Policy Shelby Jones, Department Assistant The Technology Policy Division of the World Institute on Disability Gratefully Acknowledges these industries for their support. Adobe Interactive Services Association American Express MCI Foundation Ameritech Microsoft AT&T Minitel USA Bell Atlantic Motion Picture Association of America Bellcore NEC Foundation BellSouth NYNEX CTIA Pacific Telesis Group Citibank Southwestern Bell Electronic Industries Association Sprint Ericsson United Technologies GTE U S West Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. The Walt Disney Company .