Politics of Accessibility : From Sociological and Informational Approach

这项研究首先关注的是美国的法律制度，它赋予了人们获取信息的权利。因此，《康复法》第508条修正案、《辅助技术法》、《美国残疾人法》和《电信法》似乎发挥了关键作用。在这样的法律环境下，促进了通用设计和辅助技术的发展。特别是屏幕阅读器的发展，使视障人士能够访问计算机，以及一些重要活动对提高网络可访问性的贡献是值得注意的。在“无障碍政治”的压力下，微软最终开发出了Microsoft Active accessibility，这是一种面向通用设计的机制，支持第三方软件供应商开发更好的屏幕阅读器和其他无障碍产品，成本更低，滞后时间更短。此外，它还推动了万维网联盟对网络可访问性的努力。考虑到美国的这种社会状况……，本研究还比较了美国和日本流行和重要的公共网站和私人网站的可访问性。在私人网站之间没有观察到显著差异。而公共网站之间存在着明显的差异。这一结果显然来自于美国《康复法案》第508条修正案的执行。本研究还研究了美国电视广播的封闭字幕的历史。这项主要针对聋人消费者的服务现在被认为是理所当然的，尤其是在黄金时段。最后，对各种辅助技术进行了详细的审查，这些辅助技术可以帮助有视觉障碍、听力障碍、运动障碍、认知和/或学习障碍的人。

This research first focused on U.S. legal system that empower accessibility to information. As its result, it appeared that Rehabilitation Act Section 508th Amendment, Assistive Technology Act, Americans with Disability Act and Telecommunication Act have been playing key roles.Owing to this legal environment, the development of universal design and assistive technology have been prompted. Especially the development of screen readers which make it possible for the persons with visual impairment to access computer and contribution from several important activities which enhance web accessibility are remarkable.By the pressure of the "politics of accessibility", Microsoft finally developed Microsoft Active Accessibility, a universal design oriented mechanism that supports third party software vendors' development of better screen readers and other accessibility products with lower cost and shorter time lag. Furthermore, it put spur on the effort of World Wide Web Consortium to web accessibility.Considering this social situation in U. S.., this research also compared popular and important public and private web sites in U.S. and Japan with regard to the r accessibleness. No significant difference is observed among private web sites. while clear difference exists among public web sites. It is apparent that this result came from the enforcement of Rehabilitation Act Section 508th Amendment in U. S..This study also researched the history of closed captioning of T.V. broadcasting in America. This service mainly targeting deaf consumers is now taken for granted especially at prime time.Finally, all kinds of assistive technology which assists persons with visual impairment, hearing impairment, motor impairment, cognitive and/or learning disability was scrutinized.