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Blogging About Web Accessibility and Usability

Blogging about web accessibility and usability, web development, and general topics surrounding these issues

 

Technology Used to Counter Abuse of Disability Parking

January 31st, 2012

TVNZ One News reported new technology that allows monitoring of mobility parking spaces. The new technology is touted as a breakthrough and the developers say it might even eliminate disability parking poaching altogether.

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New Zealand Media Continues To Use Inappropriate Disability Language

December 13th, 2011

Journalists need to respect disability language. There have been many instances of the use of the expression "Wheelchair bound" in the New Zealand press. When someone points out this is an expression to be avoided, the journalists or newspapers have been saying they thought the expression appropriate. They continue to use it.

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Taking Advantage Of Web Technologies To Increase Service Provision And Decrease Costs

November 29th, 2011

This article is the entire text of the research paper I prepared for my presentation at the Disability Studies: Every Body In Conference, held in November 2011 in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Download the PDF version of this paper.

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When Admiration Reflects Low Expectations

October 29th, 2011

I use a wheelchair. At least once a week I overhear comments from well-meaning, but ignorant people about me. They express admiration at the fact I am doing mundane things such as grocery shopping or exercising. I'm tired of this misplaced "respect" or "admiration".

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Wheelchair Innovations and Designs

October 20th, 2011

There was a blurb about a new "8-speed chair" in the NZ Herald's Tech Universe of 17 October. It is a new design for a "rowable" wheelchair, appropriately called the RoChair. I had a look at the chair and I am just not convinced. This is the latest in a series of wheelchair innovations and designs that we've seen pop up over the last couple years. But do these new wheelchair designs appropriately fill a need?

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