Disabling communications? A capabilities perspective on media access, social inclusion and communication policy

Abstract

Digital information and communication technologies (ICTs) feature prominently in programmes to promote social inclusion and to implement extensive reform in public service provision across Europe.The transition to an all-digital communications environment and the digital 'switchover' of public services bring to the fore a need to rethink access as a goal of public policy. This paper probes patterns of internet diffusion among disabled people using capabilities framework and resource-based models of access. The analysis highlights the multi-dimensional character of media access capability as the space to evaluate policies for social inclusion; the relational character of disability as a phenomenon of the interface between personal circumstances and structural disadvantage; a capability failure resulting from a gap in policy commitment to promote universal access for disabled people and other excluded groups; and a requirement for policies sensitive to the need for additional resources to equalize the media access capabilities of these individuals.

The Role of Mobility Digital Ecosystems for Age-Friendly Urban Public Transport: A Narrative Literature Review

“…To assess implementation of policy goals, justice-oriented research into mobility [ 91 ], transport [ 92 ] and ICT [ 93 ] has been drawing on the capabilities approach (CA) as developed by Sen [ 94 ] and Nussbaum [ 95 ]. The concept of capabilities for wellbeing has been applied here to study policy responses to the needs, experiences and practices of diverse groups.…”

Use of social media by self-help and mutual aid groups

“…In recent years, a more complex and nuanced pictured has emerged in relation to access and use of ICT. Having been largely overlooked until very recently disability is increasingly recognised as an excluding factor in the use and access of ICTs (Sourbati, 2012). Cost and technical accessibility barriers, rather than the person's impairment, are largely identified as the main reasons, as adaptive technology often lags in development behind the technology to which it is supposed to enable access and remains expensive and difficult to learn (Dobransky & Hargittai, 2006).…”

“…However, as the UK government plans to make public services 'digital by default' (Helsper, 2011), along with a growing interest in utilising social media in healthcare delivery, those who are unable or choose not to engage with digital ICTs will have a potentially lower level of choice and a reduced range of benefits available to them (Sourbati, 2012).…”

Impacts on quality: Enjoyment factors in blind and low vision audience entertainment ratings: A qualitative study

“…Blind and low vision (B/LV) children and adults of all nationalities continue to experience barriers to accessing many of their own cultural artefacts, due to the lack of access to audio description (AD), a secondary sound track produced to provide description of important visual elements of media content for people who cannot see [1, 2]. Cultural access is restricted when media is inaccessible, further excluding B/LV people in society [3], despite ongoing advocacy for AD to be considered a human right and a normal expectation for humans [4, 5]. Without access to AD and other forms of assistive media technologies, “the gap widens between a person’s abilities and the sociocultural perception of their disabilities” [6].…”

“…Meanwhile, Canadian media, including televised and nationally broadcast Canadian cultural content, has been evolving [14] in a decentralized form, like all media. B/LV viewers are continuing to experience barriers [3, 15] to accessing cultural media content, thereby potentially limiting their digital competency [16]. There has been little empirical research in this area of media and cultural literacy for B/LV adults with respect to entertainment, despite its substantial impact [6].…”