IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2015 - 17

often than I would like to admit, I
am forced to ask for assistance from
a sighted person, call a company if
there is a phone number listed, or
forget about doing whatever I had
planned to accomplish online.
Another significant obstacle facing the blind is the prohibitive cost
of assistive technology. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people who
are considered legally blind, which
encompasses a fairly wide range
of visual acuity, are economically
disadvantaged due to extremely
high levels of unemployment and
underemployment. An even greater
financial burden falls upon those
who rely on Braille displays. The

EDiToRiAL

Braille displays cost far more than
a simple screen reader with synthesized speech that can run on virtually any computer and which can
now, in some cases, be obtained
free of charge. Imagine paying an
extra $1500-$2000 for a computer
screen because you don't want to listen to an automated voice but would
rather read because it improves your
efficiency. Consider how much this
discourages Braille literacy and the
negative impact on our entire society
as our children are learning to rely
on tools like spellcheck rather than
learning to spell.
I believe the fact that the population of blind people is a minority is

one of the major reasons our technology needs are not always met.
Some people are not aware of what
we need when they are creating websites and programs. When it comes to
purchasing assistive technology, we
face the law of supply and demand.
Though I am grateful for the technology I use every day, only time will tell
whether the situation will improve.

Author Information
Mindy Hartman is a vocalist, narrator,
and blindness educator. Her company
is Out of Sight Ministries, PO Box 701,
Chambersburg, PA 17201. Email:
outofsightministries@comcast.net.

(continued from page 7)
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be informed by cultural, ethical, social,
political, religious concerns that must
be considered during the patient care
process [23]. Fully-fledge uberveillance, whether it is "surveillance for
care" or "surveillance for control" might
well be big business in the future [24],
but for now academicians and funding bodies should be less interested in
hype and more interested in hope.

Author Information
T&S Magazine Editor-in-Chief Katina
Michael is an Associate Professor in
the School of Information Systems
and Technology at the University of
Wollongong, NSW, Australia.

References

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june 2015

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IEEE Technology and Society Magazine

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http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/biomedical/ http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/ https://www.youtube https://www.capbluecross
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2015
