Jane Bringolf, Author at - Page 91 of 111

Keep it Simple for Inclusion

First there was closed captioning and then live captioning. Audio describing came along soon afterwards. Now we have the possibility of “simultaneous simplification”. Two researchers wanted to ensure people with various cognitive conditions could participate in a conference. Using audio transcribing facilities, interpreters simplified the language of the speakers in real time.

After the conference they interviewed participants and found people with significant cognitive conditions were able to fully participate in a professional conference. Participants also retained the information a few weeks later. Of course, people who don’t speak the language of the speaker also benefit. The title of the short paper is, Simultaneous Simplification: Stretching the Boundaries of UDL.

Editor’s note: I’d like to see academics writing for the general population instead of writing in academic code for the benefit of other academics. Useful knowledge on many things would become more readily available to everyone. It’s time to have universally designed academic papers.

Universal design approach to internal environments

Floor finishes, lighting, acoustics, hearing systems, signage and alarm systems are all included in a guide to taking a universal design approach to internal environments and services.

Building for Everyone covers each of the features in detail. Of course, they also have to be considered within the overall design of the building.

There is also a section at the end on human abilities and design. It covers walking, balance, handling, strength and endurance, lifting, reaching, speech, hearing, sight, touch and more.

Universal design approach to fitouts

All you ever wanted to know about reception desks, waiting areas, storage, coin operated machines, kitchen sinks and ticket dispensers? These and other related topics are covered in a guide to taking a universal design approach to facilities in buildings. This is a companion to the internal environments booklet. One of the key issues in creating universally designed places and spaces is that the details are often left until last and not integrated into the whole of design.

Published by the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design in Ireland, these guides are is very detailed. Checklists help guide the reader through the material. The guides links with others in the series.

Theme park rides: thrills, spills and inclusion

Theme park rides often have rules about who can ride based on body size, health conditions and ability. But these rules are sometimes needlessly excluding. Ride manufacturers produce a manual for the park owners with very broad references to disability. These rules are set with the idea of protecting riders. But are these needed? With enough information most people would self select their theme park rides.

The accident rates for ride attractions and found that obesity, not usually mentioned in the rules, is responsible for more accidents than those for people with disability. The analysis found that restrictive criteria exclude people with disabilities broadly, while permitting other groups to self-determine their participation. Publicly available injury data do not provide evidence to justify the extent of mandatory exclusion.

Using information from 100 amusement ride manufacturers’ manuals, an article reports on eligibility criteria and safety for people with disability, and where disability is reported in an injury. The conclusion is that people with disability are excluded more often than is warranted. “There is no clear evidence that people with disabilities are at undue risk when permitted to self-select”. However, they will need appropriate information so they can make the right decision.

The title of the paper is, Disability and participation in amusement attractions, by Kathryn Woodcock.

Camp Manyung is accessible for just about everyone. Check it out. Plenty of thrills there!

What does inclusion actually mean?

Kat Holmes found the origin of include was to “shut in”. Similarly, the origin of exclude was to “shut out”. Maybe “inclusion” is not the right word for describing the inclusion of everyone in products, places and things. So what does inclusion actually mean?

Holmes explains in the video below, that the topic of diversity is discussed as gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnicity, and race. Disability is usually mentioned last in the list, if at all. “But it is the one category that transcends all other categories”, she says. “Abilities are constantly changing”.

Holmes’ offers an alternative way for designers to consider diversity, and is based on her book, Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design. An engaging talk for all upcoming designers in any field. And not just professional designers either. We all design things every day, so we all have a role to play.

Editor’s Note: I discussed this issue in a 2009 paper. Inclusion requires those who are already included to invite into the group those who are excluded. Semantics are important. What we need is inclusiveness – that’s where inclusion has already happened and there are no exclusions. Inclusion is a futuristic concept – it’s something we are striving for. It it were achieved, no further discussion would be needed.

Quotable quotes on universal design

There are many definitions and explanations of universal design. But sometimes the way people talk about it expresses it better. Here are some quotable quotes on universal design.

This banner was hanging at the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA) located at the University at Buffalo in 2004. The text reads,

“The essence of universal design lies in its ability to create beauty and mediate extremes without destroying differences in places, experiences, and things”. Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick, Designers.

Wall banner saying The essence of universal design lies in its ability to create beauty and mediate extremes without destroying differences in places, experiences and things

Accessibility vs universal design

Ed Steinfeld explains the difference between accessibility and universal design in, “The space of accessibility and universal design”, in the book, Rethinking Disability and Human Rights:

“Accessibility is a compensatory strategy conceived to prevent discrimination while universal design seeks to change the consciousness of those who create the built environment to address a broader conception of the human body.”

The website of Design and Architecture Norway (DOGA) explains:

“In simple terms, design thinking is about recognizing the designer’s methods for connecting the user’s needs with what is technologically possible and which provides a real market value.

Apple is well-known for making their products really easy to use. Here is a quote from Steve Jobs, former CEO, Apple.

“Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works.”

The universal design conference held in Dublin 2018 began with the words, “Good Design Enables. Bad Design Disables“. The Centre for Excellence in Universal Design has a good, but wordy description of universal design.

Slide at a conference with the words, good design enable. Bad design disables.

Diversity

The text in the sign by Arthur Chan says:

Diversity is a fact.
Equity is a choice.
Inclusion is an action.
Belonging is an outcome.

They are all are part of a universal design approach.

The signboard says, Diversity is a fact, Equity is a choice, Inclusion is an action Belonging is an outcome.

The late Judith Heumann has quoted this many times. She also said it is easier to change the design of the environment that to change attitudes. Her TEDx talk is worth a look.

“There are only two kinds of people in the world: people with disability and people yet to have a disability.”

Quote from Christina Mallon, Microsoft’s head of inclusive design: The end goal? “It’s that inclusive design becomes the only way to design, so that my job as an inclusive designer is just a designer. I want my job to go away.” From FastCompany article.

Overheard at a workshop: “So if you design for the extremes you include the middle”

Classroom design from a student perspective

What is the optimal classroom environment for students? Why not ask them? Designing Classrooms for Learning reports on a project that included student opinions about classroom design for learning about science. The project included a survey where students compared their “ideal” design with current design.

The study concludes that lighting, desk layout, places to put belongings and the layout of materials in the classroom all have an effect on student learning. “Student morale and learning can be affected greatly by the physical structure of the classroom, and that the involvement of students in the environment creating process can increase their motivation as well as empower them and develop a sense of community”.

According to the findings, something as simple as desk layout can make a big difference. Most teachers of adults have known this for some time. They take the time to rearrange rows of previously aligned tables and chairs into circular layout or into small group layout.

Given that every student learns differently, instructors need to provide multiple avenues for learning. This links with the theory of humans having different intelligences. You can read more on education, learning and universal design for learning, on this website.

Economic arguments for universal design in housing

The 2022 National Construction Code has at last included the Livable Housing Design Standard. Citizen advocacy and political will made this happen. But there were strong economic arguments. Research papers have produced solid economic arguments for universal design in housing over many years. However, these arguments failed in their quest. So the issues are beyond those of economics. For those who want the research, here is a list of papers, including the cost effectiveness of home modifications (or not needing them in the first place).

Selected articles on economic arguments

The cost of NOT including accessibility in new homes This landmark article by Smith, Rayer and Smith (2008) uses complex economic methodologies to show that a new home built today has a 60% likelihood of having an occupant with a permanent disability. People with disability live in families – not alone – which is often forgotten. They followed up this work in 2011 with similar results.

Universal design in housing: is cost the real issue? The Dalton-Carter economic evaluation disputes the Australian Building Codes Boards economic study.

A cost benefit analysis of adaptable homes by urban economist Martin Hill of Hill PDA. This 1999 conference paper shows how long these arguments have been running. The context is adaptable housing – the forerunner of universal design concepts in housing.

Home adaptations: Costs? or Savings? A survey of local authorities and Home Improvement Agencies: Identifying the hidden cost of providing a home adaptations service.

Accessible housing: costs and gains This article evaluates the costs and gains of modifying homes

Using Building Information Modeling with Universal Design Strategies. This article develops a technical framework to evaluate the costs and benefits of building projects.

Universal design in housing from a planning perspective. A comprehensive look at the housing landscape, an ageing population, and the need for universal design in housing.

Universal design in housing – does it really have to cost more? In a down to earth fashion Kay Saville-Smith discusses the “size fraud”

Barriers to Universal Design in Australian Housing is a short paper based on a thesis. It gives an indication of why economic arguments alone are insufficient to bring about change.

Can tourism improve walkability?

If local and state governments aren’t listening to residents about mobility, walkability, and wheelability then perhaps they might consider visitors and tourists with money to spend locally. But are they really interested in the extra tourist dollars? Does the local Chamber of Commerce think it’s all too difficult to create greater access and inclusion? The walkability issue isn’t just about footpaths, seating and toilets – it’s about all the links in the chain to make it happen – joined up thinking. Otherwise we end up with islands of access and inclusion. And you can’t be a bit inclusive – it either is or it isn’t. That means business, community and governments need to work in unison on the design of physical environments, customer service and tourist information. And of course the reverse of the question is, “Can walkability improve tourism?”

Accessibility and Equitable Tourism Services for Travelers with Disabilities: From an Charitable to a Commercial Footing, takes a corporate and social responsibility perspective on some of these issues. You will need institutional access for a free read – published in Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility in Tourism, where there is further reading.

A research paper from Turkey, Assessment of factors influencing walkability in shopping streets of tourism cities is also worth a read. They found that “Urban planning and design should focus on how to connect people and places together, by creating cities that focus on connectivity, accessibility, crime security, traffic safety, and comfort
and use’.

You can find some inclusive tourism guides, magazine articles and research papers in the tourism section on this website.

Playgrounds for all children

Inclusive play spaces are receiving more attention, but what equipment and design features are most suitable? Research in the US throws some light on this topic. Children, parents, teachers, landscape designers and equipment manufacturers all have a stake in the outcome. This means there are often gaps between what is required, what is available and what gets implemented.

Building Playgrounds for Children of All Abilities looks at legal requirements and provides some useful recommendations. You will need institutional access for a free read. Or you can access the paper via ResearchGate and ask for a free copy.

Also see Everyone Can Play published by the NSW Government.

Abstract

Schools and communities typically design and build playgrounds with little knowledge that the selected playground equipment meets the needs of children, caregivers, and teachers. In this article, the various categories of playgrounds are discussed and analyzed.

The focus of this discussion includes an overview of the legal requirements and guidelines for school and community playgrounds, a description of prior research highlighting the inadequacies in currently available playgrounds, and an explanation of the trends in playground design over the years.

We relate these topics to the need for universally designed playgrounds and a deeper commitment to designing playgrounds and play equipment that is empirically tested and meets the needs of all children, their teachers, and their families.

By discussing practical examples and research findings to illustrate the gap between playground manufacturers and their play equipment and playground consumers, this paper serves as a meaningful resource for teachers and other stakeholders so they have the knowledge to advocate for their students with disabilities in playground endeavors. Taking recent research findings into account, we provide a vision for playground policy change.

Click-away customers

Click-away customers are not those clicking on the pages on your website. They are clicking off because they can’t navigate the pages. A neat video by Barclays Bank debunks common myths about customer complaints, costs of being accessible, access being someone else’s job, it’s too small a market for all that time and effort, and accessible design is boring design. Towards the end there is a great statement, “accessible design should work well for those who need it, and be invisible to those who don’t”. A really useful video for anyone promoting accessible customer service in our digital world, and for others wondering if it really is worth the effort. The video is captioned.

Author: Jane Bringolf

Keep it Simple for Inclusion

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