Politics of Accessibility : From Sociological and Informational Approach

本研究首先聚焦于美国的法律的制度，赋予信息的可及性。由此可见，《康复法》第508条修正案、《辅助技术法》、《美国残疾人法》和《电信法》在其中发挥了关键作用，正是由于这种法律的环境，才推动了通用设计和辅助技术的发展。特别是屏幕阅读器的发展，使视障人士访问计算机成为可能，以及几个重要活动对提高Web可访问性的贡献是显着的。在“可访问性政治”的压力下，微软最终开发了Microsoft Active Accessibility，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可访问性产品，成本低，时滞短。此外，它还促进了万维网联盟在网络无障碍方面的努力。S...这项研究还比较了美国和日本流行和重要的公共和私人网站的可访问性。私人网站之间没有显着差异。而公共网站之间存在着明显的差异。很明显，这一结果来自于美国《康复法》第508条修正案的实施。S..本研究还对美国电视广播中隐藏字幕的历史进行了研究。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，特别是在黄金时段，最后，对帮助视力障碍、听力障碍、运动障碍、认知和/或学习障碍者的各种辅助技术进行了审查。

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.