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Toward More Accessible Technology
by Chloe Albanesius
While federal agencies work toward complying with federal requirements that their information technology systems be accessible to people with disabilities, a U.S. Education Department-funded group based at the Georgia Institute of Technology is looking to ensure that states also comply.
The Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center, funded by Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, is charged with helping states successfully develop, market and buy accessible technology, and one of its initiatives is a survey of technology accessibility in state governments.
"About 48 states had some type of legislation or policy [that required] their Web sites [to be] accessible to those with disabilities," Deborah Buck, the director of state IT accessibility initiatives at the center, said of the study. "We discovered that 13 states have something in place regarding accessibility ... [and] we identified 19 states as having something relating to procurement of information technology as accessible."
Buck plans quarterly updates of the survey that was posted on the center's Web site in April. "One thing we've become acutely aware of is that industry is certainly ecstatic that [the states] are moving forward" with IT accessibility, she said.
There is concern, however, that states will develop their own standards, Buck said. While each state has different needs, wildly varying policies could "put industry in a quandary," she added.
Two states of note are Oklahoma and Missouri, she said. Linda Jaco, director of the Oklahoma assisted-technology project, said states must comply with the rules on tech accessibility if they accept federal money under the Assistive Technology Act. "Realizing the enormity of that charge," she said, "we were looking for a way to strengthen our presence in regards to this issue."
As a result, Jaco and her team approached the state legislature with the idea of creating a task force to oversee IT accessibility issues. The idea passed unanimously. With representatives from government, academia and the disabled community, the 20-member task force is charged with seven key tasks, from "reviewing federal laws requiring accessibility ... [to] developing identification standards for the state," she said.
Jaco will meet in August with Buck and Diane Golden, director of Missouri's assisted-technology program, to review the state's progress. "If it's necessary to introduce legislation, we want to do it by next spring," Jaco said.
In Missouri, Golden said her team has made state-run Internet sites more accessible. "Southwest Missouri University is a wonderful example," she said. "They have two students they pay every semester to do training and Web-site review to make sure it's fully accessible."
"What has created a significant problem is procurement of off-the-shelf products," she said. "We are struggling with how to develop and put into place procedures" for procurement. Golden pointed to telecommunications and software as two of Missouri's big issues, as they are a "vast majority of our commercial purchases."
That is where the training center's expertise is valuable. "[Buck] is trying to put together the tech experts to bring in and go through this process with us," Golden said.
Michigan Gets Tough On Spam
Michigan is the latest state to target unsolicited commercial e-mail known as spam via legislation.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Tuesday signed into law a bill, H.B. 4519, that will require marketers to designate the subject lines of their messages with "ADV" for advertisement. In addition, the senders of such e-mail must include valid contact information and give recipients the ability to be removed from e-mail lists. Violators could face misdemeanor charges, with a punishment of up to one year in jail and fines of up to $10,000. The attorney general's office or consumers could file civil charges against the senders.
"This new law will return control of the e-mail inbox to the customer," Granholm said in a release. "This is the first step to restoring privacy."
In other news, Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski last week signed into law a bill, H.B. 242, that will allow computer-based exams to certify public accountants in the state.
N.C. Attorney General Opposes Telecom Merger
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper last week expressed concern over the proposed merger of the Raleigh, N.C.-based phone carrier BTI Telecom with Georgia-based ITC DeltaCom Communications.
"BTI is headquartered in our state and provides jobs and telecommunications services to many North Carolinians," Cooper said in a release. "We must examine this merger closely to determine whether it's good for North Carolina or whether it would lead to cuts in services and jobs."
ITC DeltaCom filed an application with the state utilities commission last week requesting that BTI become its subsidiary, but Cooper also filed a response asking the commission to delay action until the details are further examined.
The Political Scoop In Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania political junkies are getting their virtual diet of gossip courtesy of PoliticsPA.com.
The Washington Post reports that the two-year-old site has daily news briefings and political commentary that has caught the eyes of everyone from T.J. Rooney, the state's Democratic Party chairman, to Republican U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter. The Pennsylvania site is one of five similar sites. The others are hosted in New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire and Vermont, and the anonymous Publius Group runs them all.
PoliticsPA solicits tips via an e-mail address on the Web site. The secretive nature of the site's publishers has some people skeptical of its accuracy, but Specter, who requires his staff to print a copy for his commute from Washington, said, "I think it's lively."
Lights, Camera, Scalpel
Hospitals looking for a little self-promotion have turned to featuring the handiwork of their most prominent surgeons on the Internet.
The Boston Globe reports that Massachusetts General Hospital on March 6 broadcast online a prostate-cancer surgery. Harvard University medical school professor Michael Zinner provided commentary in an adjoining room for the 3,000 or so that tuned into the webcast, fielding questions from about 20 participants.
The main goal is have surgeries serve as learning tools for medical students at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, where viewing live surgeries will earn them continuing medical-education credits from Harvard. However, in the competitive world of surgery, the online presence also can be a lucrative marketing tool.
The hospital since has webcast a unique lung-cancer procedure and has plans for two other webcasts on Sept. 4 and Oct. 30.
Virginia Is For Lovers Of Surveillance
Virginia is watching. The Washington Post reports that in an effort to curtail traffic on the Beltway that circles the Washington, D.C., area, cameras will videotape the license plates of cars crossing the American Legion Bridge in order to assess traffic patterns. The bridge is a primary artery for traffic between Virginia and Maryland in the region.
A consultant hired by the state will videotape the plates crossing the bridge in both directions and determine the cars' starting points by cross-referencing the numbers with motor-vehicle records, said Tom Farley, northern Virginia administrator for the Virginia Transportation Department. To record vehicle direction, cameras also will be recording plate numbers along Interstate 270 in Maryland and at Beltway exits in Montgomery County, Md., and Fairfax County, Va.
The intent is to see how best to divert traffic on the bridge, Farley said.
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