Research & Policy news

Virgin America found in breach of access regulations

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The Virgin America airline has been fined for failing to make its safety videos accessible for passengers who are Deaf or hearing impaired.

Under the Air Carrier Access Act, which was introduced in 1986,airlines are required to offer either open captioning or sign language interpretation on all video safety briefings. Since beginning its service in 2007, Virgin America has failed to offer either. The US Department of Transportation has fined the airline $150,000 and ordered it to cease and desist from further violations of the Act.Virgin America has agreed to add captioning by 30 September 2013.

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Curtin University’s disability and television study

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Curtin University is looking for participants to take part in a study it is conducting to help understand the potential benefits and challenges that the digital television switchover will bring for Australians with disabilities.

The first phase of the study, which is titled ‘Disability on Television: Access, Representation and Reception’, is a survey which asks about:

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Print Disability Round Table: call for papers

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The Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities is now calling for presentation abstracts for its May 2014 event.

The Round Table focuses on how information can be made more available for those for whom print materials such as books and newspapers present a barrier. This includes people who are blind, vision impaired, have dyslexia or have limited dexterity.

The theme of the 2014 conference is ‘Information Access – Putting the person at the centre’. This explores how current systems and policy frameworks can be improved to put the needs of print disabled consumers first.

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Sensory impairment

Blind or vision impaired

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New access for a new century: we sit down with Karen Peltz Strauss

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At the recent M-Enabling Conference hosted by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network in Sydney, one of the keynote speakers was Karen Peltz Strauss, Deputy Bureau Chief at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the USA. Peltz Strauss has been involved in access to media and information by people with disabilities for many decades, working from both the consumer and regulatory sides. Media Access Australia’s CEO Alex Varley caught up with Peltz Strauss at M-Enabling to discuss the 21^st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA). Peltz Strauss was a major player in the development of the CVAA and now has the task of implementing the provisions of the Act in her capacity as a regulator.