Policy and Outreach Initiatives (DS1)

This paper aims to examine Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) effectiveness in eliciting protective action responses from people with disabilities. We examine varying mechanisms including WEA signal notification type and demographic characteristics.

July 26, 2021 – The Wireless RERC submitted comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regarding their request for input on the draft Internet Use Survey. A 67-question survey that they anticipate adding to the November 2021 edition of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS). A focus of our comments was ensuring that interviewers conducting personal visits are properly equipped to communicate with people who have...

In June, President Biden signed an Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce [EO 13985]. Among the directives of EO 13985 is to “develop and issue a Government-wide Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Strategic Plan (Government-wide DEIA Plan).”  The hope is that this strategic plan will harmonize inclusive and accessibility efforts across government sectors. 

In regulatory news, the...

Throughout May, the world celebrated Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). The U.S. Access Board published a press release commemorating the progress of accessibility in the country. They acknowledged their accessibility and inclusion programming over the last few months leading up to GAAD. Individuals or companies looking to improve their accessibility practices can take one of GAAD’s virtual training sessions and learn more about digital accessibility guidelines and standards....

During March, disability advocates and members of the community celebrated Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) coordinated with state and local municipal governments to raise awareness for better inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all aspects of human life. Each year a resource guide...

Researchers on the WirelessRERC team published an article on the progress of technology on learning transfer. The abstract of the text: The COVID-19 pandemic has had major implications on socially vulnerable populations, especially minoritized populations. This article examines how technology-mediated learning can both operate as a tool to rectify inequities and a weapon that antagonizes existing divides for socially disadvantaged minoritized Black students. In analyzing this subsection of...

In February, the annual African American Conference on Disabilities (AACD) was virtual, free, and lasted throughout February. Britney Wilson, a graduate of Howard University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a Black woman born with Cerebral Palsy, gave the opening speech. She discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic illustrates why disability, and especially at the intersection of race and disability, has always been and always will be a social justice issue that deserves more...

Flipbook SOT Forum Program

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