Hi everybody,

Might I suggest that, in keeping with FAB's commitment to promote inclusion
and nondiscrimination, we spearhead an effort within the bioethics community
to make bioethics resources increasingly available in formats suitable for
those with visual and auditory impairments? Language translation and
web-based distance-education formats are beginning to help meet some needs
around the globe, but entire groups are still routinely struggling for
access. It really shouldn't have to fall to individuals with specific needs
to have to keep badgering for access, as Teresa notes, and as Alison
observes, the vast majority of us at various times work with people with
special access and learning needs even if we ourselves do not have them.

We will need leadership from those with experience in producing/using
various formats (and linkages with disability ethics networks will be
essential), but I believe the rest of us need to be actively supportive
about demanding accessible materials, sharing resource information and tips
about what is available and what works well, and supporting the efforts of
those with accessibility concerns so that they aren't alone in trying to get
additional formats produced. It isn't plausible to try to produce the
materials ourselves (FAB has no budget, for starters), but we can certainly
raise awareness, facilitate compilation of resource lists, and be a gadfly
for multiple formats to be produced.

Imagine what would happen if each of us raised the question of
braille/captioned/etc. format options with every editor/producer of our
work. Other useful steps might be to petition the National Reference Centre
for Bioethics Literature (at the Kennedy Institute at Georgetown), NIH and
other governmental funding sources, etc. about the need for help in finding
and accessing alternate formats.  We might even write multi-format
production into our grant budgets.  I suspect the NRCBL will be especially
helpful for assistance in resource list generating, although they have no
production budget themselves.

Thanks so much, Teresa, for highlighting a problem that too many of us take
for granted.
cheers,
Laura




-----Original Message-----
From: Alison Crane [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2002 8:44 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Movie with paternalist issues?


Teresa:

You are quite right.  I apologize for having failed to consider that in my
own recommendations.

Have you contacted the media center (whoever handles getting media equipment
into rooms at instructors' requests) at U-NM about the possibility of having
high-use instruction videos like Dax's Case subtitled?  My small liberal
arts college alma mater's media center, where I did work study as an
undergrad, would do subtitling and other kinds of video editing for
instructors by special request, although we only had one fully-trained
professional video editor on staff.  University of New Mexico and other
large universities, like my own Michigan State Univerisity, may be even MORE
able to do such things.

It might worth checking into since, as you say, there are limited A/V
sources which have made the audio portion available in text in anything like
a real-time format.  Also, consider that many DVD releases of these popular
videos will have English subtitle options even though they are already in
spoken English, and your media center ought to be able to get a DVD player
and TV for you if your classroom doesn't already have one.

The listserv may be interested in how your experience with getting these in
deaf-suitable format works out.  If you're not comfortable dispersing that
information to the listserv, please consider e-mailing me, personally, at
[log in to unmask] to let me know how it works out.  I've only been teaching for
two years and I've already had one blind student. I expect I will need to
accomodate a deaf or heard-of-hearing student before too long and would like
to be prepared.

Best,
  Alison Crane

----- Original Message -----
From: "Teresa Burke" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2002 11:30 AM
Subject: Re: Movie with paternalist issues?


> Thanks to all who have responded to my question about movies with
> paternalist issues.
> I'd like to point something out though, at the risk of 'soap-boxing' --
> only 'Patch Adams' and the William Hurt movie are closed captioned.  (I"m
> still trying to get info on 'Wit'.)  Essentially, what this means is that
> Deaf, deaf or hard of hearing instructors (like me, and i know there's at
> least one other deaf person on the list ) cannot easily access this
> information, nor can Deaf, deaf, or hard of hearing students.  Reading a
> script or watching an interpreter is a very different experience than
> watching a movie. At best, it is frustrating.
>
> So, this is just a suggestion that if you have deaf or hard of hearing
> students, you might want to think about inclusion and show a movie that
all
> can appreciate.  I mention this because it's been my experience that
> FABsters are very interested in creating an inclusive classroom
environment.
>
> Stepping off my soapbox,
>
> Teresa
>
> P.S.  FYI - the upper case "Deaf" indicates a person with audiological
> hearing loss, uses a signed language and identifies/socializes with a
> community of people like herself.  The lower case 'deaf' refers to people
> with severe to profound hearing loss who do not use a signed language and
> who socialize exclusively in the hearing world.   Both groups, as well as
> hard of hearing people, are likely to have difficulty understanding movies
> that are not captioned or subtitled.
>
>
>
> Teresa Burke
> Doctoral Student
> University of New Mexico
> Philosophy Dept.
> Humanities Bldg. rm 525
> Albuqeurque, NM 87102
> USA
> 505-277-2405 (voice msg)
> 505-277-8233 (TYY)
> 505-277-6362 (FAX)
> [log in to unmask]
>
>