Wireless Inclusive RERC| Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA - Emergency Communications

Proceedings of the Wireless RERC 2021 State of Technology Forum

Mz22 — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 18:44:16 +0000

Publication Type:

The Wireless RERC convened the Virtual State of Technology (SoT) Forum 2020One on March 23-24, 2021. The 2021 virtual SoT was a focused, robust event, with a lively, informed, and diverse group of attendees representing the research community, people with disabilities, industry, technologists, advocates, policymakers, and disability service providers who explored the state of, and emerging trends in, inclusive wireless technologies and applications.

The Forum Proceedings is an interactive document with papers, presentations, videos, and bios from the two-day event. Further, it opens with a summation of the event and closes with a chapter on key activities to pursue to ensure inclusion is always at the forefront of wireless technology, design, development, and deployment.

Date of Publication:

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

FirstNet – Survey of Individuals with Disabilities' Experiences with First Responders

Mz22 — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 15:02:54 +0000

We want to better understand the experiences of people with disabilities when they interact with first responders (fire, police, or EMS) and what you would like first responders to know about you for any future interactions. If you identify as an individual with hearing, vision, mobility, and dexterity disabilities we especially welcome your participation.

To participate you must be:

Over the age of 18
Fluent in English
Not located in the European Union (EU).

This survey is expected to take 10-20 minutes to complete. If you are interested, please use this link to complete the survey. https://gatech.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1H8O9Qyhuc5KAcK.

Note that there is no compensation for participation.

Date of Publication:

Thursday, July 8, 2021

FirstNet – First Responder Survey

Mz22 — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 14:53:19 +0000

FirstNet is in the process of considering user-interface design and development, including understanding what the experiences of first responders are like when they interact with individuals who have disabilities (sensory or mobility impairments). This will eliminate the need for ‘retrofitting’ the system once it has been established.

To better understand the conditions that first responders must address, we are conducting a survey of first responders (Ends July 31, 2021).

We are interested in the interactions that first responders have with people with disabilities and what first responders would want to know about these individuals for any future interactions. If you are an active first responder (fire, police, or EMS) you are eligible even if you have never had any interactions with people with disabilities; we are still interested in your thoughts and opinions!

To participate you must be:

Over the age of 18
An active first responder (Fire, Police, or EMS)
Fluent in English
Not located in the European Union (EU).

This survey is expected to take 10-20 minutes to complete. If you are interested, please use this link https://gatech.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8rmpyto6uW1LVSS.

Note that there is no compensation for participation.

Date of Publication:

Thursday, July 8, 2021

TDI Nonprofit Requests Participants for Communication Access Survey

dbright7@gatech.edu — Thu, 06 May 2021 02:49:37 +0000

May 2021 — TDI recently released a community survey to improve understanding of people with hearing impairments’ communication access in telecommunications, media, technology, and emergency communications. They encourage all people deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, deafblind and deaf with mobility issues aged 18 and over to respond. The TDI anticipates the survey taking approximately 5 to 10 minutes to complete. By completing the survey, participants will be enrolled in a drawing for a $10 Amazon gift card. After the survey closes, TDI will randomly draw five individuals. The survey can be found at: surveymonkey.com/r/TDI_TechAccess_Survey2021

TDI Public Notice Soliciting Survey Participants

Date of Publication:

Friday, March 26, 2021

Wireless RERC on the Record: Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and Emergency Alert System (EAS)

dbright7@gatech.edu — Thu, 06 May 2021 02:40:21 +0000

Publication Type:

Policy Filings

May 2021 — The Wireless RERC submitted reply comments to the FCC in response to their Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry in The Matter of Amendment of Part II of the Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts [PS Docket No. 15-94; 15-91]. In our reply comments, we indicated support for expanding the Presidential alert class to allow activation by FEMA. By expanding the alert class, agencies responsible for detecting the threat have the authority to issue the alert. We also concurred with CTIA and NYCEM’s recommendations to relabel the alerts “Federal” instead of “Presidential” or “National” because of news response regarding public perceptions of this label. We also agree that the term presidential is unfortunately inflammatory and may elicit responses contrary to the intention of the emergency message specifically (e.g., protective action) and the system entirely (i.e., public trust) because a small qualitative study of Georgia Tech personnel in 2018 showed that mobile phone users mentioned a preference for receiving the WEA test without the title "Presidential Alert" and would like to have seen the notification titled along the lines of "National WEA Test." As asserted by CTIA, "the effectiveness of emergency alerting will be lost if people simply ignore or opt-out of receiving these critical messages." Finally, the WirelessRERC supported previous recommendations to alert the public about new alert labels based on our survey data on WEA response based on user knowledge.

Date of Publication:

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

AFB Shares Impact of COVID-19 on People with Vision Disabilities

Mz22 — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 20:14:39 +0000

September 2020 — The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) recently released a comprehensive report on the impact of COVID-19 on people with visual disabilities in the following subject areas: healthcare, employment, social experiences, education, transportation, voting, access to food, meals, and supplies. In this study of 1,921 U.S. participants, 92% of participants indicated that they had access to technology. However, many participants expressed that this access to technology did not mean access to information. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of participants shared that they were concerned that visual information about COVID-19 on television was not accessible to them. As a result of needing vital information relating to COVID-10, 80% of participants indicated that they have increased their use of assistive technology apps such as Aira and Be My Eyes.

Participants had varying levels of agreement to “increased use of apps designed to connect people with visual impairments with sighted assistance.” Seventeen percent (17%) of female participants strongly agreed or agreed with this statement compared to only 9% of males. The statement also received higher agreement levels from those who were blind (20%) compared to those with low vision (6%). COVID-19 has also altered how some participants utilize visual-interpreting services. Some respondents shared that they use visual-interpreting services to verify the location of items delivered to their home and to read and enter CAPTCHA information on websites [p. 24]. Technology was used differently to create social connections between people with visual impairments. 808 participants shared that they contacted other people with vision disabilities in their personal network for COVID-19 support while 785 did not reach out to any organized group for support or support for information. Some of AFB recommendations are provided below:

Any government agency distributing information about the coronavirus should provide equivalent levels of access to people who are visually impaired.
Information presented in graphical form, such as maps and bar graphs need provide text equivalents.
Product developers should incorporate digital accessibility into products as the products are initially being developed.
Provision should be made for visual interpreting services, such as Aira and Be My Eyes, to ensure that people with limited financial resources can take advantage of these services.

The report also shares the most up-to-date and salient findings on technology use, technology tools used, app/programs used, and other concerns. This report is comprehensive in the six major subject matters. The survey was distributed across a diverse demographic of people with visual disabilities. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the respondents were White, 7% were Hispanic/LatinX, 6.7% were Black, 3% were Asian. The report is publicly available as are the early releases of results of the analysis. [Source: AFB]

Flatten Inaccessibility

Date of Publication:

Monday, October 5, 2020

Wireless RERC Input to FEMA’s Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101

Mz22 — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 18:47:49 +0000

January 2020 - Salimah LaForce, Wireless RERC and Danny Housley, Center for Inclusive Designs and Innovation, provided input to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 2020 Revision of Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101: Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans. The last time the Guide was updated was in 2010, predating the commercial availability of Wireless Emergency Alerts. As such, recommendations were made to update the communications sections to make reference to mobile emergency alerting and to include guidance on elements of accessible emergency messaging. We also recommend that they expand their hazard and risk assessment section to highlight that some people in the jurisdiction may be particularly at risk during and in the wake of disaster. These include people who rely on electrical power to operate their life-sustaining durable medical equipment at home. Also, people who rely on assistive technologies to communicate and/or navigate their environments. Also, beyond the identification of populations who have increased risk of harm during emergency events, we recommended advising jurisdictions to assess their capabilities and resources to respond to those that have been identified as needing "additional assistance." For example, through registries of people with disabilities never account for all people with disabilities that live in the jurisdiction, those that have registered have the expectation that "help is on the way." Help is not always on the way due to a variety of reasons not always under the emergency response personnel's control. What can be controlled, however, is incorporating a response plan specifically for the people on the registries and others identified as needing "additional assistance...in advance of, during, and following an emergency." Other issues addressed include:

References to people with Limited English Proficiency mentioning people whose first language is American Sign Language (ASL), because they are not always thought of as needing language accommodation.
Use of the term special in relation to needs and how it can create or reinforce a cognitive bias.
Specifically mentioning assistive technology (AT), and the importance of not separating a person from their AT.
Having AT readily available in a shelter situation.

Date of Publication:

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Wireless RERC on the Record: Survey Dissemination via a WEA Message

Mz22 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 21:16:32 +0000

Publication Type:

Policy Filings

October 2019 - The Wireless RERC submitted a letter to the FCC responding to their notice regarding Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission: Enhanced Geo-Targeted Wireless Emergency Alerts [WT Docket No. 10-254: DA 12-1745]. We supported the FCC’s initiative to collect data on the geo-targeting capabilities of WEA messages using an embedded link to the survey within the message. The proposed data collection method will improve the ecological validity of the survey results, as the survey will be taken in an uncontrived setting. Our letter also recommended that the FCC, at a later date, consider collecting data on factors impacting WEA efficacy for people with disabilities.

Date of Publication:

Monday, October 21, 2019

Wireless RERC Research Included in Book Chapter, Text-to-Action: Understanding the Interaction Between Accessibility of Wireless Emergency Alerts and Behavioral Response

Mz22 — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 13:34:06 +0000

Publication Type:

Papers

Wireless RERC project director (PD), Salimah LaForce, and DeeDee Bennett, former Wireless RERC PD and currently, associate professor at the University at Albany, The State University of New York co-authored Text-to-Action: Understanding the Interaction Between Accessibility of Wireless Emergency Alerts and Behavioral Response. This book chapter was published in Risk Communication and Community Resilience and focuses on the accessibility of emergency alerts on mobile devices for vulnerable populations emphasizing concerns of people with disabilities. The chapter describes accessibility considerations across the warning process; receiving factors that impact understanding, and responding (i.e., the decision to take protective action) to alerts and warnings sent via mobile wireless devices. It provides background information on wireless alerting mechanisms and summarizes the results from several studies related to WEA. Studies summarized in this chapter were supported by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDLRR); the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), FEMA-Integrated Public Alert and Warning Project Management Office; and the DHS Science and Technology Directorate. It is available in both hard copy format and on Kindle.

Text-to-Action: Understanding the Interaction of Between Accessibility Wireless Emergency Alerts and Behavioral Response

Date of Publication:

Friday, June 28, 2019

Real Emergency Access for Aging & Disability Inclusion (REAADI) for Disasters

Mz22 — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 18:34:47 +0000

June 2019 – The collaboration of twenty-eight associations, the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR), composed letters to the House and Senate in support of the Real Emergency Access for Aging and Disability Inclusion (REAADI) for Disasters Act. Thus far, this extensive support has resulted in the bill being introduced by U.S. Representatives Langevin and Casey in the House and Senate [S. 1755 and HR. 3208). The REAADI Act developed several processes to promote well-designed emergency preparedness, disaster response and recovery system to ensure the safety, rights, and dignity of people with disabilities. This Act would establish a National Commission on Disability Rights and Disasters to study the needs of individuals with disabilities, create a network of centers focused on training and technical assistance, direct the Department of Justice to review the spending of disaster funds, and create a grant program for increased inclusion strategies with people with disabilities. The implementation of the REAADI Act hopes to ensure that older people and people with disabilities are not disproportionately affected by the disaster [Source: ANCOR and REAADI for Disasters Act].

ANCOR Joins Letters of Support for Disability-Specific Disaster Relief Legislation

REAADI Act One-Pager

Date of Publication:

Wednesday, June 26, 2019