Accessibility and Usability Issues

Democratic governments seek to serve all citizens equally and fairly. Achieving this ideal in e-governance will in large measure be determined by government’s commitment to the development of websites and web applications that encourage and enable participation by all. Accessibility and usability are gateways to participation. This chapter examines the professional and legal standards for accessibility and usability as well as studies on actual implementation. A survey of New York State webmasters found that while IT professionals considered usability and accessibility important, none of them rated user satisfaction as excellent. Agency management was perceived as less aware of the importance of usability and accessibility than IT professionals. Assuring usability and accessibility is an on-going, iterative process that requires continual accountability and involvement of user/citizens, political leaders, and IT professionals.

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Accessibility and Usability Issues

Assistive Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-4422-9.ch044 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 884-904

Author(s):

Eugene Monaco ◽

Stephen Lackey ◽

Edward Skawinski ◽

Rebecca Stanley ◽

Carol Day Young

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

User Satisfaction ◽

Iterative Process ◽

Web Applications ◽

New York State ◽

It Professionals ◽

Political Leaders ◽

Large Measure ◽

Legal Standards ◽

Agency Management

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“Better Than Ever”?

Playing Politics with Natural Disaster ◽

10.7591/cornell/9781501748530.003.0007 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 92-103

Author(s):

Timothy W. Kneeland

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Local Governments ◽

New York State ◽

Local Economy ◽

Business Community ◽

Small Business Administration ◽

Political Leaders ◽

Public Corruption ◽

Recovery Act

This chapter assesses the plans to redevelop Corning, Elmira, and Wilkes-Barre after the signing of the Agnes Recovery Act into law on August 20, 1972. While political leaders touted community spirit, individuals within these cities found themselves worse off than before the flood. To rebuild their homes and businesses, people took out loans through the Small Business Administration program at one-percent interest. Initially welcomed after the flood, these loans caused many people to fall into long-term debt on property they had already purchased. According to one resident of Elmira, who served in the New York State Senate, the loans saddled the inhabitants of the communities in New York and Pennsylvania with burdensome mortgages funded by outside banks, which contributed little to the local economy. While some people struggled, others enriched themselves; the influx of federal and state money available to local governments proved too strong a temptation for corrupt officials. In addition to inspiring public corruption, the Agnes Recovery Act benefited the most influential members of the community at the expense of ordinary citizens. Members of the local business community oversaw redevelopment in Corning, Elmira, and Wilkes-Barre, and in nearly every case, their interests overshadowed the ideas and input of other members of the community.

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Eliezer Ben-Rafael, Crisis and Transformation: The Kibbutz at Century's End, New York: State University of New York Press, 1997, £17.25, xii+282 pp. (ISBN 0-7914-3225-4).

Sociology ◽

10.1017/s0038038598210133 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 613-637

Author(s):

CHRISTOPHER WARHURST

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

New York State ◽

State University ◽

York State

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Cultural Competence Needed to Distinguish Disorder from Difference: Beyond Kumbaya

Perspectives on Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations ◽

10.1044/cds22.2.64 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 64-76 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Catherine J. Crowley ◽

Kristin Guest ◽

Kenay Sudler

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

New York City ◽

Public Schools ◽

Cultural Competence ◽

York City ◽

Cultural Sensitivity ◽

Graduate Program ◽

Language Disorder ◽

New York State ◽

Deep Understanding

What does it mean to have true cultural competence as an speech-language pathologist (SLP)? In some areas of practice it may be enough to develop a perspective that values the expectations and identity of our clients and see them as partners in the therapeutic process. But when clinicians are asked to distinguish a language difference from a language disorder, cultural sensitivity is not enough. Rather, in these cases, cultural competence requires knowledge and skills in gathering data about a student's cultural and linguistic background and analyzing the student's language samples from that perspective. This article describes one American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)-accredited graduate program in speech-language pathology and its approach to putting students on the path to becoming culturally competent SLPs, including challenges faced along the way. At Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) the program infuses knowledge of bilingualism and multiculturalism throughout the curriculum and offers bilingual students the opportunity to receive New York State certification as bilingual clinicians. Graduate students must demonstrate a deep understanding of the grammar of Standard American English and other varieties of English particularly those spoken in and around New York City. Two recent graduates of this graduate program contribute their perspectives on continuing to develop cultural competence while working with diverse students in New York City public schools.

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