Activity 5.1 Legislation

Resource 1

In the Conclusion to the chapter, the author suggests that the introduction of standards, guidelines and legislation has not led to a significant improvement in accessibility.

• Is that how things appear from your context?

I agree that legislation has made an impact on the importance of accessibility, everyone knows they should try and make content/websites accessible. The problem is that they often don't know how or what is best practice. They often think the answer is to have an accessibility button which tells the users how to change windows accessibility functions, which isn't a huge help. One of the most commonly overlooked feature is ALT text, which seems to be one of the best accessibility features of current software.

Resource 2

• Which do you think benefits more from legislation: disabled students or educational institutions?

Disabled students benefit more from the legislation in place in the UK. It provides them with a legal right to education. However legislation does provide institutions with a framework to embrace disabled students which could help them attract more students to their institutions.

Resource 3

UN Enable

• Has your country ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?

Yes the UK has ratified but with a number of reservations.

Resource 4

• Look at the author’s concluding comments. What common factor or factors does she identify as hindering progress?

The most common factors identified by the author is that of communication and the provision of resources.

• Disabled people, especially in rural areas in the townships, need to be informed and educated about the policies and legislation to protect their rights.
• The implementation and enforcement of the legislation need to be monitored by a monitoring committee.
• Disabled persons organizations need more resources to strengthen their monitoring and implementation roles.

Resource 5

• Do you think that there are specific issues relating to disability and accessibility that are different from those arising with regard to other aspects of equality and human rights, such as racial discrimination?

I don't think so, to be honest I don't understand the question.