Accessible Technology and the Developing World

Description

When digital content and technologies are designed in a way that is inaccessible for persons with disabilities, they are locked out of commerce, education, employment, and access to government information. In developing areas of the world, as new technical infrastructures are being built, it is especially important to ensure that accessibility is a key design goal. Unfortunately, nearly all research on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) accessibility and innovation for persons with disabilities-whether from the legal, technical, or development fields-has focused on developed countries, with very little being written about developing world initiatives. Accessible Technology and the Developing World aims to change this, by bringing increased attention to ICT accessibility in developing areas. This book brings together a unique combination of contributors with diverse disciplinary backgrounds, including authors from well-known non-governmental organizations, significant United Nations entities, and universities in both the developing and developed world. Together, they present a unique and much needed review of this critical and growing area of work, and primarily address three core themes - the lack of attention given to innovations taking place in the developing world, the need to ensure that infrastructures in the Global South do not present barriers to people with disabilities, and the need to exercise caution when applying techniques from the Global North to the Global South that won't transfer effectively. This book will be of use to researchers in the fields of civil rights, development studies, disability rights, disability studies, human-computer interaction and accessibility, human rights, international law, political science, and universal design. Foreword • Judith Heumann Contents Introduction • Jonathan Lazar and Michael Ashley Stein GLOBAL AND REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES 1. Development for All: How Human Rights Break Down Barriers to Technology • Marianne Schulze 2. Addressing the Drivers of Digital Technology for Disability-Inclusive Development • Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo and Deepti Samant Raja 3. Global Trends for Accessible Technologies in the Developing World: An Analysis of the Results of the Digital Accessibility Rights Evaluation Index • H. E. Luis Gallegos, Martin Gould, and Axel Leblois 4. Digital Accessibility Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean • Francesca Cesa Bianchi 5. Digital Accessibility in the Asia-Pacific Region • Nirmita Narasimhan 6. The Role of Technical Standards in Improving Digital Accessibility in Under-Resourced Regions and Communities • Judy Brewer and Shadi Abou-Zahra 7. Digital Inclusion in the Global South: Work Globally, Act Locally • Betsy Beaumon 8. Digital Accessibility and Intersectional Discrimination • G. Anthony Giannoumis and Rannveig A. Skjerve LEGAL FRAMEWORKS, DESIGN APPROACHES, AND APPLICATIONS 9. The Relevance of the CRPD and the Marrakesh Treaty to the Global South’s Book Famine • Paul Harpur and Michael Ashley Stein 10. The Patent System, Assistive Technologies, and the Developing World • Amy L. Landers 11. Accessible ICT as a Ray of Hope for Disability Rights in Pakistan • Marva Khan, Muhammad Atif Sheikh, and Abia Akram 12. Design Approaches for Creating Person-Centered, Context Sensitive, and Sustainable Assistive Technology with the Global South • Mario Andrés Chavarria, Klaus Schönenberger, Anthony Mugeere, Samia Hurst and Minerva Rivas Velarde 13. Ludic Design for Accessibility in the Global South • Manohar Swaminathan and Joyojeet Pal 14. A Multi-Country Comparison of ICT and Educational Accessibility for Blind Students • Sachin Pavithran and Maria Hernandez Legorreta 15. Ride-Hailing as Accessible Transit: A Case Study of Blind Users in India • Vaishnav Kameswaran and Joyojeet Pal 16. The Role of Ugandan Public Universities in Promoting Accessible Information and Communications Technology • Patrick Ojok 17. Accessible Mobile Banking in India • Raja Kushalnagar Index