June 30, 2007

Ready for Some Summer Fun on the Lake?

It looks like these two are ready!

Posted by rollingrains at 08:12 PM

Why Make a Trip to Pichincha in Ecuador?

Maybe it is simply to ride a horse at Fundación Amor & Energía “AM-EN”:


AMEN is a non-profit making charity. Most of the people who receive therapy cannot afford to pay for the sessions. AM-EN relies almost exclusively on international grants and donations.

The Foundation Amor y Energía (love and energy) AM-EN is an independent, non- profit charitable organization committed to the social development of handicapped children and young people.

Since its establishment the foundation has worked in the area of the rehabilitation of people with disabilities through riding therapy and other conventional and alternative therapies.

Based in a developing country of in South America , AM-EN was founded in 1995 by the German citizen Heidi Paliz. The United Nation Voluntary Fund for Disability sponsored it from 1999 until 2005. Their mandate was as a training project at a national level in and sub regional level in Central America.

Children, whose physicians had stated would never be able to speak or walk, have, after some time at the Foundation, started to make their first steps and pronounce their first words.

AM-EN also rescues horses, which are often badly treated in South America . Many of these older horses can earn their living through working with the handicapped children.

More information:

Fundación Amor & Energía “AM-EN”
P.O.Box 17-22-20016
Quito, ECUADOR
Tel.: (593) 2 2440 444 / 099 19 34 74

Posted by rollingrains at 05:52 AM

June 29, 2007

Simi Linton on the Evolution of Adaptation

simi_linton

When Simi Linton began her blog not long ago I am certain that some server somewhere measuring the Blogoshere registered a spike in "the Force." Today she posts a reflection on "adaptation" where she observes:

“Survival of the fittest” means best fit of life forms and their environments. Attempts to create human perfection is wrongheaded and prejudicial. Instead, as a society we should focus on creating environments (physical, social, cultural etc) that increase survival, comfort and the active participation of all members of society.

She explains:

In the sixth edition of Origin of the Species, Darwin, discusses various criticisms of his theory of natural selection that have come to light since the original publication. He notes that a “distinguished German naturalist has asserted that the weakest part of my theory is that I consider all organic beings as imperfect: what I have really said is that all are not as perfect as they might have been in relation to their conditions.” (P. 288 The Origin of the Species, 6th edition, January 1872)

Here is an example of where Darwin shines as a very early proponent of the social model of disability. Whereas the German naturalist interprets Darwin as finding imperfection in individuals, Darwin recognized that individuals “perfection” can only be understood in relation to their environment.

For the full article, Adaptation is in the Air, follow this link to Disability Culture Watch:

http://similinton.com/blog/?p=43

Posted by rollingrains at 10:27 AM

Four Stories of Universally Designed Space - Built with Off-the-Shelf Products!

There is nothing more satisfying than an expert who has a knack for simple accurate answers. Meet Jack Catlin, partner at Wheaton based LCM Architects with that skill. Here he is describing the application of Universal Design to a new 50,000-square-foot commercial office building in Chicago:

"There's nothing special about this," [Catlin] said. "It's just about doing the research. It's about thinking about things upfront."

And, dispelling myths that there is some esoteric knowledge involved in Universal Design:

Virtually everything in the building was purchased off-the-shelf from typical suppliers. One of the only custom-made items in the building is a stainless-steel typewriter built into the elevator wall, allowing deaf passengers to communicate in case of an emergency, Catlin said.

"We want people to know how easy it is to do," he said, "once they know the right questions to ask."

Read the full story at the Chicago Tribune.

< ! -- User-friendly building optimizes disabled access

By Trine Tsouderos
Tribune staff reporter
Published June 19, 2007

The front door at Access Living's old headquarters on Roosevelt Road closed way too fast for Pearl Mathews.

She would hit the button to automatically open the door, but then it would close on her and her wheelchair halfway through.

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Access Living headquarters


Entry for all

No longer. The disability rights organization's new building in River North has automatic sliding doors that whoosh open -- and stay open -- as Mathews, a housing counselor, approaches in her chair. "It's like they are just there waiting for me," she said.

The entry is just one feature of the new building, which was designed to go far beyond what the Americans with Disabilities Act requires. Rather, the building was built with "universal design" in mind, meaning it was built to be user-friendly for people with and without disabilities (the building is environmentally friendly to boot).

The 50,000-square-foot commercial office building at 115 W. Chicago Ave., is the first of its kind in Chicago and is among the first in the nation, built as proof, its owner said, that universal design doesn't mean expensive and it doesn't mean institutional.

Institutional was the last thing architect Jack Catlin, partner at Wheaton based LCM Architects, wanted.

"We wanted lively," he said.

At first glance, the Access Living headquarters, which opened in February, looks like a modern, light-filled office building. The outside is brick and glass, the inside is airy thanks to an atrium. The walls are brightened with art. The furniture is sleek and contemporary.

But a closer look reveals many subtle, important differences. At the entrance, there's a wheelchair ramp cut into the curb in front of the building. Heating elements under the concrete sidewalks melt ice and snow, making it easier for people using wheelchairs to enter and exit, and preventing them from dragging the slushy mess inside.

The entire sidewalk in front of the building slopes oh-so-slightly from the street-grade alleys on either side of the building, saving wheelchair users from steep ramps. A thick, dark, grooved line leads from a drop-off spot on the sidewalk through automatic double doors to the reception desk to help people with visual impairments and developmental disabilities find their way simply.

"There's nothing special about this," Catlin said. "It's just about doing the research. It's about thinking about things upfront."

A good example of that is Access Living's entrance itself: What kind of doorway would work best for the most people and, at the same time, be as environmentally friendly as possible?

"We had a big battle over the doorway," said Marca Bristo, Access Living's president and CEO.

Principles

The doorway, they knew, had to be automatic and at street level. No steps. One of the seven principles of "universal design," a concept developed by disability architecture pioneer Ron Mace, is that everything should be as simple and intuitive as possible, meaning that it doesn't take any special knowledge or effort for anybody to, say, enter a building. Access Living also wanted the entry to be as energy-efficient as possible.

Catlin, who uses a wheelchair, suggested a big automatic revolving door, which would keep heated and cooled air from escaping while accommodating all kinds of users.

"We asked folks their opinions about that, and some were adamantly uncomfortable with that," said Bristo, who also uses a wheelchair. Users of large power chairs said revolving doors -- even large ones -- were nerve-racking, while people with visual impairment said such doors were hard to use because each one is just a little bit different.

"My question was always: Is it green and is it universal?" said Bristo, who wants the building to receive Silver LEED certification, a prestigious, national, 'green'-building benchmark. "If the answer was no, I would push people to go back to the drawing board."

Catlin returned with large automatic sliding double doors and an air curtain in the vestibule for energy efficiency. "Everything you see was thought of in many different ways," he said.

Throughout the building are scores of other features chosen for their universal user-friendliness. The refrigerator in the kitchen is a side-by-side design, which is easier for people in wheelchairs to use. The hallways are 6 feet 8 inches wide -- enough to accommodate two people in wheelchairs and a person walking by. The sinks in the restrooms are shallow, leaving more legroom underneath for people in wheelchairs. Like those in airports, the restrooms themselves have no entry doors (the stalls do, of course), making entering and exiting easier.

Making adjustments

The cubicle work spaces are adjustable inch by inch, making it possible to accommodate people of different sizes and needs. Elevators open on both sides to hurry loading and unloading passengers with wheelchairs. Every evacuation stairwell is supplied with special evacuation chairs, which make it possible for for a person in a wheelchair to be guided safely down stairs. Everywhere, everything is automatic -- lights, shades, water fountains, fire doors.

"It's really a lot of silly little things that add up," said Karen Washington, an employment-readiness skills coordinator at Access Living.

In the elevator, for example, the Braille now is next to the buttons for the floors, said Washington, who is visually impaired. When the Braille is on top of the buttons, she often would inadvertently push buttons for wrong floors while reading the Braille with her fingers, she said.

Virtually everything in the building was purchased off-the-shelf from typical suppliers. One of the only custom-made items in the building is a stainless-steel typewriter built into the elevator wall, allowing deaf passengers to communicate in case of an emergency.

The total construction cost for the four-story building, which also has a "green" roof, was almost $9.8 million. Furnishings ran $1.2 million. The total project cost, including line items such as architect's fees and land (which was purchased from the city at a steep discount), was $12.9 million. "That's a good price," Catlin said.

"We want people to know how easy it is to do," he said, "once they know the right questions to ask."

-----------

ttsouderos@tribune.com

--!>

Posted by rollingrains at 12:08 AM

June 28, 2007

Of Travel, Spirituality, and Invisible Disability

One job of an editor is to sift through available stories and make selections - "move one to the head of the line" so to speak.

Today, reading Naveed's blog, Rethinking Disability, it was clear to me that this thoughtful piece by Ayesha Malik Nasson reprinted from Religion and Sprituality is worthy of your attention. I recommend the whole piece but in keeping with the Rolling Rains themes of travel and disability I excerpt the following as she reflects on the boundary-crossing inherent in disability -- and the ambiguity of having a hidden disability:

I can only imagine how outrageous it appears when I’m wheeled to the head of the security line, and then I get up and walk through the metal detector. Or when I’m wheeled to and dropped off at the departure gate and then I wander around browsing in the nearest magazine shop until it is time to leave. Or if I get up to board when they make the announcement for those who need extra time. I wonder if some of the security guards suspect me of a terrorist plot, if other passengers think it is a ploy to avoid the endless lines, or if stewards doubt my need to get on the plane first, but what can I do besides try to limp for their benefit?

On the other hand, there are times when my disability is quite apparent. Being visibly disabled is a double-edged sword as it provides an obvious explanation while burdening one with society’s (and one’s own) mixed attitude toward disabilities. I often think that illness is the last frontier in topics that can be spoken of in a personal or professional context. Hale and hearty people feel uncomfortable bringing it up or are simply oblivious to health issues, and I fluctuate between wanting it to be “out there” and keeping it a private matter, not wanting to be solely defined by my illness.

Continue reading the whole article here: http://fidvi.wordpress.com/2007/06/19/approaching-disability/

Posted by rollingrains at 05:36 AM

Congresso de Turismo Inclusivo em Portugal (Portuguese)

Um evento que perdi foi sobre turismo inclusivo -- congresso organizado pela Escola Superior de Educação de Coimbra, no Mélia Palácio da Lousã.


Source:
http://esec-tv.blogspot.com/2007/05/turismo-acessvel-na-esec.html

Congresso Acessivel Flyer


Apresentacoes do Congresso:

Andre Leman
Download .pdf file

Eduardo Abeu
Download .pdf file

Eugénia Lima Devile
Download .pdf file

Fátima Alves
Download .pdf file

Javier Melgosa
Download file

Joana Prates
Download .pdf file

Manuela Fialho
Download .pdf file

Ricardo Espirito Santo
Download file

Do sitio:

A temática de Turismo Acessível ou Turismo para Todos tem merecido pouca atenção, quer por parte da indústria turística quer por parte dos académicos e do sector público em geral, ao contrário do que se passa noutros domínios da actividade turística, amplamente discutidos. O grupo de pessoas com mobilidade reduzida é muito diversificado e inclui pessoas portadoras de deficiência, idosos, pessoas que transportam carrinhos de bebé, pessoas que transportam bagagem pesada, ou com outros problemas de mobilidade. Neste sentido, o mercado de Turismo Acessível é muito superior ao que se poderia esperar e tem também um efeito multiplicador na economia, dado que as condições acessíveis significam maior nível de qualidade dos serviços e conforto para todos os potenciais utilizadores, o que resultará numa maior procura. No entanto, a acessibilidade dos bens e serviços turísticos para pessoas com mobilidade reduzida continua a ser precária, apesar de se assistir a uma mudança gradual e de se terem feito alguns esforços, não só a nível regulamentar, mas também pelo surgimento de algumas iniciativas que promovem o Turismo para Todos.. A realização deste Congresso de Turismo Acessível pretende reflectir sobre esta problemática, associando um conjunto de entidades que têm responsabilidade acrescida incluindo o mundo académico, representado pelo Curso de Turismo da Escola Superior de Educação de Coimbra, que constitui um factor primordial na mudança de atitudes e na formação de futuros técnicos de Turismo. Por outro lado, o conceito de Região Solidária, cujo promotor é a Dueceira, no âmbito do território abrangido pelo Programa LEADER+ELOZ de Entre Lousã e Zêzere, perspectiva um conjunto de acções tendo por base a definição de novas abordagens ao conceito de solidariedade, cidadania, participação activa e educação cívica das populações, quer seja a nível social, económico, ambiental ou patrimonial. Neste contexto, a associação de desenvolvimento Dueceira, ao apoiar a realização deste Congresso, avança num processo articulado de intervenção que perspectiva assumir o Turismo Adaptado enquanto factor de diferenciação e identidade territorial. Assim, a organização deste Congresso contempla objectivos de vária ordem que no seu conjunto, permitirão chamar a atenção para a importância da remoção de barreiras e do desenvolvimento de actividades turísticas acessíveis, de modo a contribuir para o desenvolvimento de um Turismo para Todos. São objectivos específicos deste evento:

* Promover o debate sobre as questões subjacentes ao desenvolvimento de um turismo para todos
* Informar os diferentes actores para as necessidades específicas das pessoas com mobilidade reduzida
* Discutir o papel dos diferentes actores na promoção de um turismo livre de barreiras
* Reflectir sobre os desafios e oportunidades económicas que se colocam à indústria turística neste domínio.
* Apresentar casos de boas práticas

Reflectir como tornar a região competitiva de um ponto de vista social e económico, diferenciando-a enquanto alavanca de um processo de transformação de mentalidades e de realidades físicas assume-se como o macro-objectivo inerente a esta proposta de Congresso. Pretendemos deste modo, alargar o âmbito do Programa Região Solidária, assumindo este conceito como mote de todas as intervenções futuras.
De realçar ainda, que no decorrer do Congresso, serão apresentados iniciativas e casos de boas práticas que se possam vir a assumir enquanto acções-piloto, a desenvolver nesta região e que poderão estimular iniciativas mais vastas a nível nacional. A criação de uma rota turística adaptada que envolva uma rede de agentes públicos e privados; a concepção de um selo de acessibilidade, entre outras possíveis intervenções, podem constituir-se exemplos de acções que se integrem no projecto Região Solidária.

Posted by rollingrains at 12:41 AM

June 27, 2007

TripCart Spotlights the T-List

TripCart is a fine travel blog. Keith at TripCart has done a great service to travel bloggers by adding some organization to the ever-expanding T[travel]-List. What you see below is his list and code (snatched straight from his site) with a little cleanup to the Portguese language contributions.

BTW, don't miss Keith's brilliant Picture-of-the-Day entries!

We were looking over all of those great blogs on the T-List the other day and realized that the list could use a little re-organization.  There were a few repeats, a few dead sites, and a few sneaky marketers who had managed to get their name on the list.  So now we present you with a new version of the T-List separated by language and category to make it easier to digest.  Please add your own additions and pass it along.  Special thanks to Mathieu at radaron for starting this whole thing back in March.

Travel Blogs in English

General Travel Blogs



Foreign Language Travel Blogs


Portuguese Travel Blogs

June 26, 2007

The Text of the Hotels.com Discrimination Complaint

Below is the text of the complaint filed against Hotels.com. The original is also available here: Download file


For the Press Release as a Word file: Download file

CLASS ACTION

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF


INTRODUCTION
1. Plaintiffs bring this action to remedy ongoing discrimination against persons with mobility disabilities who desire to, but cannot, use hotels.com’s worldwide reservation network to make reservations for hotel rooms. Although hotels.com represents on its website that it offers the lowest rates available as well as “the information travelers need to book the perfect trip,” a traveler with a mobility disability, in fact, cannot use hotels.com’s travel reservation services. Hotels.com does not provide information about accessibility features, and it will not guarantee reservations for accessible rooms.
2. Hotels.com describes itself as one of the five largest online travel agencies in the world, reporting $2.3 billion in gross bookings in 2006. It is one of the nation’s leading providers of hotel, bed and breakfast and other lodging accommodations (collectively, “hotel rooms”), offering hotel rooms to consumers through its Internet website and telephone customer service representatives.
3. The website allows consumers without disabilities to engage in efficient comparison-shopping and to make hotel reservations with the guarantee that reservations booked through hotels.com will be at the lowest available rates.
4. Although consumers can easily reserve certain types of hotel rooms, such as suites, hotels.com does not allow consumers with mobility disabilities to reserve a hotel room that is usable by them. In addition, hotels.com will not guarantee an accessible room even if the consumer takes the extra step of calling one of the company’s “customer care” representatives. Thus, if an individual who depends on a wheelchair or other assistive device makes a reservation through hotels.com, she runs a real risk that – despite having prepaid for the room and made the reservation well in advance – she will literally not be able to enter or use the room once she arrives at the hotel.
5. Hotels.com’s practices deny individuals with mobility disabilities equal access to the services and accommodations it provides, and prevent them from obtaining the benefits of the low-price guarantees that hotels.com offers.
6. Such conduct directly violates the Unruh Civil Rights Act, Civil Code §51 et seq., which is California’s principal bulwark against all forms of discrimination including discrimination on the basis of a disability, and the Disabled Persons Act, Civil Code §54, et seq., which guarantees individuals with disabilities the same access as other members of the public to all advantages and privileges of public facilities, including hotels and lodgings. Violations of these laws constitute unfair competition within the meaning of the Unfair Competition Law, Business & Professions Code §17200.
7. Plaintiffs seek injunctive and declaratory relief to redress hotels.com’s violations of California law. Because Defendants’ practices adversely impact thousands of disabled Californians, Plaintiffs ask the Court to certify their claims for class treatment and to order relief that will benefit all members of the Class.
PARTIES
8. Plaintiff AXIS Dance Company (“AXIS”) is a not-for-profit performing arts organization with offices in Oakland, California. AXIS’s mission “is to create and perform high quality contemporary dance that is developed through the collaboration of dancers with and without disabilities.” (http://www.axisdance.org.) AXIS performers include dancers who have mobility impairments and who require and perform in wheelchairs.
9. AXIS dancers travel extensively to performance locations throughout California and the United States. For example, for the remainder of 2007 and 2008 performances are planned in San Francisco, Chico, Cerritos, and Palmdale, California, as well as in seven other states. AXIS dancers, including plaintiffs Judith Smith and Bonnie Lewkowicz and other dancers with mobility disabilities, have previously traveled to and stayed at hotels in Redding, Chico, Sacramento, Davis, Pleasanton, Dixon, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Cerritos, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, San Jose, Long Beach, Pacific Grove, Ukiah, Santa Rosa, Merced, Roseville, and San Diego, California.
10. AXIS pays all of its dancers’ travel expenses, including the costs of their hotel accommodations, and the managing director of AXIS generally makes all necessary airline, hotel, and other travel reservations. It is often a challenge for her to identify and make reservations for multiple wheelchair-accessible rooms in the same hotel. AXIS has attempted to locate and reserve accessible rooms suitable for its mobility-impaired dancers through hotels.com, but it has never made such reservations because hotels.com will only allow it to request, but not to make guaranteed reservations for, accessible rooms.
11. AXIS is a tax-exempt organization pursuant to I.R.C. §501(c)(3). All of its income is derived from contributions and grants. AXIS has suffered, and it continues to suffer, direct economic harm due to its inability to obtain the discounted hotel rooms, special air and hotel travel packages, and low-price guarantees offered by hotels.com.
12. Plaintiff Judith Smith is an individual who is a resident of Alameda County, California. Ms. Smith became physically disabled at the age of 17 as the result of an automobile accident. She depends on a wheelchair for mobility and is disabled as defined under applicable law. Because of her disability, Ms. Smith requires accessible accommodations whenever she travels.
13. Ms. Smith is one of the founders and, since 1997, the Artistic Director of AXIS. She travels to and performs with AXIS at an average of 26-30 cities outside the San Francisco Bay Area each year, including in other California cities.
14. In addition to her professional trips, Ms. Smith travels about four to six times a year for personal reasons, and she plans to continue such travel in the future. The availability of an accessible room and the price of the room are important factors and limitations on Ms. Smith’s personal travel. Ms. Smith desires to use but, due to her inability to obtain a guaranteed reservation for an accessible room, has been deterred from using hotels.com to book hotel rooms for her travels. Ms. Smith has suffered, and she continues to suffer, direct economic harm due to her inability to obtain the discounted hotel rooms, special air and hotel travel packages, and low-price guarantees offered by hotels.com.
15. Plaintiff Bonnie Lewkowicz is an individual who is a resident of Alameda County, California. She became physically disabled at age 15 as a result of an All-Terrain-Vehicle accident. Ms. Lewkowicz depends on a wheelchair for mobility and is disabled as defined under applicable law. Because of her disability, Ms. Lewkowicz requires accessible hotel rooms when she travels.
16. Ms. Lewkowicz is also a founding member of and performer with AXIS. She often travels out of town with AXIS and stays in hotels in other California cities where the company performs. In addition, she travels out of town for personal reasons approximately four to six times each year.
17. Ms. Lewkowicz plans to continue to be an active traveler and she will continue to need accessible hotel rooms. The availability of an accessible room and the price are important factors and limitations on Ms. Lewkowicz’s professional and personal travel. Ms. Lewkowicz desires to use but, due to her inability to obtain a guaranteed reservation for an accessible room, has been deterred from using hotels.com to book hotel rooms for her travels. Ms. Lewkowicz has suffered, and she continues to suffer, direct economic harm due to her inability to obtain the discounted hotel rooms, special air and hotel travel packages, and low-price guarantees offered by hotels.com.
18. AXIS, Ms. Smith and Ms. Lewkowicz are each ready, willing and able to act as class representatives and to vigorously prosecute this action on behalf of the proposed Plaintiff Class.
19. Defendant hotels.com, L.P. is a Texas limited partnership with its principal office in Dallas, Texas. Hotels.com does business through its interactive website and contracts with hotels throughout the United States, including hundreds of hotels in the State of California. Hotels.com actively solicits business in California and advertises its goods and services to California consumers on local radio stations and other media. It is also registered as a seller of travel services in California.
20. Defendants Does 1 through 20 are persons or entities whose true names and capacities are unknown to Plaintiffs, who therefore sue them by such fictitious names. Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and on that basis allege, that each of the fictitiously named Defendants perpetrated or is responsible for some or all of the wrongful acts and omissions alleged herein. Plaintiffs will seek leave of court to amend this complaint to state the true names and capacities of such fictitiously named Defendants if and when they are ascertained.
21. At all times mentioned herein, each Doe Defendant was the agent or employee of the other Defendants and was acting within the course and scope of such agency or employment. The Defendants are jointly and severally liable.
VENUE
22. Venue is proper in this Court and in this County pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure §§395 and 395.5, because Defendant does business in this County, the business practices at issue were conducted throughout California, including in this County, liability arose in this County, and events and conduct giving rise to the violations of law asserted herein occurred in this County. In particular, Plaintiffs Smith and Lewkowicz reside in this County, and they have suffered discrimination on the basis of their disabilities and been deterred from taking advantage of the benefits and services offered by hotels.com in this County. AXIS also has its principal place of business in this County, and has likewise suffered injury here.
CLASS ACTION ALLEGATIONS
23. Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure §382, Plaintiffs bring this action on behalf of themselves and all other persons similarly situated. The Class consists of all individuals in California who are disabled because of a mobility impairment and therefore require an accessible room when they travel, and who have been and continue to be deterred from using hotels.com to make room reservations for accommodations in California because of hotels.com’s refusal to guarantee reservations for accessible hotel rooms. Excluded from the Class is any individual who has previously made travel reservations through hotels.com, and hotels.com’s officers and employees.
24. Plaintiffs are unable to state the precise number of potential members of the proposed Class. The Class numbers in the thousands, and members of the Class are sufficiently numerous and geographically diverse that joinder of all members is impracticable. A 2005 survey by Harris Interactive conducted for Open Doors Organization (ODO) reported that 69% of adults with disabilities – over 21 million people – traveled for business and/or pleasure between 2003 and 2005, with about 20% traveling 6 or more times within those two years. About 52% of those travelers – 16 million individuals – stayed in hotels, motels and inns. Internet bookings now account for over half of all U.S. travel bookings, and two out of five travelers with disabilities use the Internet to support their travel needs. Even if only 1% of those individuals has been deterred from using hotels.com, this lawsuit will benefit thousands of individuals.
25. There is a community of interest among the members of the proposed Class in that there are questions of law and fact common to all of their claims. Those common issues include, but are not limited to: whether hotels.com will guarantee a reservation for an accessible hotel room; whether hotels.com has the ability to provide the services Plaintiffs need; and whether hotels.com’s practices violate the Unruh Act, violate the Disabled Persons Act, constitute unfair competition, or violate other provisions of California law.
26. Plaintiffs’ claims are typical of, and not antagonistic to, the claims of all other members of the Class because hotels.com conducted and continues to conduct its business in a manner which caused, continues to cause, and will in future cause all Class members to suffer the same or similar injury. Plaintiffs, by advancing their claims, will also advance the claims of all other similarly-situated individuals.
27. Plaintiffs and their counsel will fairly and adequately protect the interests of absent Class members. There are no material conflicts between Plaintiffs’ claims and those of absent Class members that would make class certification inappropriate. Plaintiffs’ counsel are experienced in consumer, disability rights, and class action litigation, and will vigorously assert Plaintiffs’ claims and the claims of all Class members.
28. A class action is superior to other potential methods for achieving a fair and efficient adjudication of this controversy. Whatever difficulties may exist in the management of this case as a class action will be greatly outweighed by the benefits of the class action procedure, including but not limited to providing Class members with a method for the redress and prevention of their injuries and claims that could not, given the complexity of the issues and the nature of the requested relief, be pursued in individual litigation. Further, the prosecution of separate actions by the individual Class members, even if possible, would create a risk of inconsistent or varying adjudications and incompatible standards of conduct for the Defendant.
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
29. Individuals with mobility disabilities make up a significant percentage of hotel travelers. The Internet is an essential, and growing, resource for these individuals. According to statistics provided by the Travel Industry Association of America, reliance on the Internet by adults with disabilities for planning and booking trips exceeds that of the general public.
30. Hotels.com is one of the nation’s largest and most popular providers of hotel and lodging accommodations, representing that it offers accommodations at more than 70,000 properties worldwide including hundreds of properties in California. Hotels.com offers rooms at hotels and other lodgings and various travel packages at a discounted price.
31. Hotels.com owns and operates an interactive website which enables California consumers who are searching for a hotel room to obtain information about pricing, room amenities, and room availability for those properties, to comparison shop for the best available price, to arrange and purchase discounted “package deals” including rooms, rental cars and airfare, and to make guaranteed reservations for hotel rooms.
32. Potential customers may make hotel reservations online, or by calling a hotels.com Customer Care Representative at a toll-free telephone number.
33. Hotels.com bills itself as a “one stop shopping source for hotel prices, amenities and availability” and claims that it specializes in providing travelers with accommodations during sold-out periods. In addition to “offer[ing] the information travelers need to book the perfect trip,” hotels.com advertises that it offers the “Lowest Rates – Guaranteed,” and that “prepaid hotel and vacation rental reservations booked through hotels.com are guaranteed to be the lowest rate you can find.” If a traveler books a hotel room through hotels.com and later discovers a cheaper rate, hotels.com will, subject to specified conditions, make up the difference in price.
34. To take advantage of the discount rates offered by hotels.com, a customer must (a) make and secure his or her reservation directly through hotels.com and not through the hotel itself; (b) pay hotels.com in advance for the room; and (c) contact hotels.com – and not the hotel – concerning any changes to the reservation.
35. The hotels.com website allows potential customers to search for various types of amenities, but it does not allow an individual to search for accessible rooms, does not define what qualifies a room as accessible, and does not uniformly report on the accessibility features that may or may not be offered. Nor are the Customer Care Representatives able to provide that information.
36. More important, if an individual with a mobility disability is able to figure out through other means that a hotel does in fact offer accessible rooms, hotels.com allows him or her to request such a room but will not guarantee that an accessible room will in fact be available. Instead, hotels.com considers features such as accessibility to be optional “amenities” – just like a king-size bed or a kitchenette – and will not guarantee that a room with such amenities will be available when the customer arrives at the hotel. Thus, although hotels.com advertises and offers guaranteed reservations for standard rooms and for suites, an individual who requires an accessible room cannot reserve such a room through hotels.com. She or he cannot find out until arrival and check-in at the hotel whether or not an accessible room is in fact available.
37. Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and on that basis allege, that hotels.com has the ability to provide Plaintiffs and the Class with the search features and the ability to secure guaranteed reservations that they need. For example, hotels.com allows a traveler to reserve specific types of accommodations, including suites, through its website.
38. Features such as a doorway large enough to permit a wheelchair to enter, hallways wide enough to allow a wheelchair to maneuver, and grab bars and roll-in showers are not “amenities” but absolute necessities for individuals with mobility impairments such as the Plaintiffs and members of the Class herein. Without such features, the Plaintiffs and Class members cannot stay in a hotel room.
39. It would be impractical and dangerous for Plaintiffs and the Class to rely on a room reservation unless accessibility is absolutely guaranteed. Because of their inability to reserve an accessible room, Plaintiffs have never booked any type of reservation through hotels.com.
40. Plaintiffs have given written notice to hotels.com about their inability to use its room reservation services and asked hotels.com to take action to remedy its violations of California law. Hotels.com has declined to take any corrective action. Plaintiffs will continue to be prevented and deterred from making hotel reservations through hotels.com unless and until hotels.com changes its practices to enable them to make guaranteed reservations for accessible rooms. Plaintiffs would reserve hotel rooms through hotels.com if they could make reservations guaranteeing them accessible rooms.
41. Hotels.com’s practices have a substantial impact on those who wish to travel within California. According to the website, three of the twelve “most popular cities” that users of hotels.com travel to are in California, and San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego are among the top five most frequently visited destinations.
42. Plaintiffs seek no monetary relief (apart from attorneys’ fees and costs) in this action. The amount in controversy does not exceed $5,000,000 in the aggregate or $74,999 for any Plaintiff or for any member of the proposed Class.
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Discrimination Prohibited by the Unruh Act)
43. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference as if set forth in full herein each and every allegation of paragraphs 1 through 42, inclusive.
44. The Unruh Civil Rights Act, Civil Code §51 et seq. provides that all persons within California, “no matter what their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, … [or] medical condition are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever.”
45. Plaintiffs and all members of the proposed Class are “persons” protected by the Unruh Act.
46. Hotels.com is a “business establishment” which provides services, advantages and accommodations to the public.
47. Hotels.com’s failure to allow Plaintiffs and the Class to guarantee accessible hotel rooms violates the Unruh Act by, among other things, denying Plaintiffs and the Class physical accommodations; preventing Plaintiffs and the Class from taking advantage of the reservation services hotels.com provides; and preventing Plaintiffs and the Class from benefiting from hotels.com’s guaranteed low prices.
48. Hotels.com’s violations of the Unruh Act are continuing and ongoing. Unless and until this Court intervenes, declares hotels.com to be in violation of the law, and issues an appropriate injunction, hotels.com will continue to harm Plaintiffs and the Class.
49. Plaintiffs are entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses under Civil Code §52.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray for the relief set forth below.
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Unfair Competition)
50. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference as if set forth in full herein each and every allegation of paragraphs 1 through 42 and 44 through 48, inclusive.
51. California Business and Professions Code §17200 et seq., the Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), defines unfair competition to include any unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice. The UCL authorizes any person who has suffered injury in fact and who has lost money or property as a result of such unfair competition to bring an action for relief under the statute. The UCL authorizes the courts to enjoin acts of unfair competition and to issue declaratory and other equitable relief.
52. The business acts and practices of hotels.com as described herein constitute unlawful business practices in violation of the UCL in that:
a. Hotels.com’s conduct violates the Unruh Act as alleged in the First Cause of Action, above.
b. Hotels.com’s conduct violates California’s Disabled Persons Act (“CDPA”), Civil Code §54 et seq. The CDPA guarantees individuals with disabilities “the same right as the general public to the full and free use” of all public facilities and full and equal access to the accommodations, advantages, and facilities of hotels and places of lodging. The failure of hotels.com to allow Plaintiffs and the Class to guarantee accessible hotel rooms denies Plaintiffs and the Class physical accommodations and interferes with their rights to enjoy equal access to the rooms, goods, and services of the hotels which hotels.com represents and with which it contracts.
53. The business acts and practices of hotels.com as described herein constitute unfair and deceptive business practices in violation of the UCL in that hotels.com’s website and other advertising is misleading to consumers. The website represents that consumers can find all the information they need and guarantee a stay at a hotel by using hotel.com’s services, but those promises do not hold true for travelers who require accessible accommodations.
54. The unlawful, unfair acts and practices of hotels.com have injured, and continue to injure, the Plaintiffs and the Class insofar as they have been deprived of the opportunity to reserve rooms and stay at hotels which contract reservation services to hotels.com, have had to expend significantly more time identifying potential accommodations and making reservations than they would have had to spend had they been able to use hotels.com’s online reservation system, and have incurred higher costs for hotel rooms than they would have had to pay if they had been able to book rooms through hotels.com. Plaintiffs and the Class have lost money as a result of hotels.com’s acts of unfair competition.
55. Hotels.com’s violations of the UCL are continuing and ongoing. Unless and until this Court intervenes, declares hotels.com to be in violation of the law, and issues an appropriate injunction, hotels.com will continue to harm Plaintiffs and the Class.
56. Plaintiffs are entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses incurred in the filing and prosecution of this action pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure §1021.5.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray for relief as set forth below.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
Based on the foregoing, Plaintiffs respectfully pray for relief as follows:
1. For an order certifying this case as a class action, and appointing Plaintiffs as the representatives of the Class;
2. For an order finding and declaring that the acts and practices of hotels.com as set forth herein are unlawful and unfair;
3. For an order permanently enjoining hotels.com from continuing to engage in such acts and practices and from failing to adopt reasonable procedures by which mobility-impaired individuals who require accessible hotel rooms can search for appropriate rooms and make a reservation guaranteeing that an accessible room will be available to them;
4. For an award of attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses incurred in the filing and prosecution of this action; and
5. For such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.

Dated: May__, 2007 Respectfully submitted,

CHAVEZ & GERTLER LLP

DISABILITY RIGHTS ADVOCATES

PUBLIC JUSTICE, P.C.

By: ____________________
Mark A. Chavez

Attorneys for Plaintiffs
*****************************************************************************************************************************
CHAVEZ & GERTLER LLP
MARK A. CHAVEZ (Bar No. 90858)
NANCE F. BECKER (Bar No. 99292)
42 Miller Avenue
Mill Valley, California 94941
Telephone: (415) 381-5599
Facsimile: (415) 381-5572
Email: mark@chavezgertler.com
nance@chavezgertler.com

DISABILITY RIGHTS ADVOCATES
SIDNEY WOLINSKY (Bar No. 33716)
KEVIN KNESTRICK (Bar No. 229620)
2001 Center Street, Third Floor
Berkeley, California 94704-1204
Telephone: (510) 665-8644
Facsimile: (510) 665-8511
Email: swolinsky@dralegal.org

PUBLIC JUSTICE, P.C.
VICTORIA W. NI (Bar No. 212443)
LESLIE BAILEY (Bar No. 232690)
555 Twelfth Street, Suite 1620
Oakland, California 94607-3616
Telephone: (510) 622-8150
Facsimile: (510) 622-8155
Email: vni@publicjustice.net
lbailey@publicjustice.net

Attorneys for Plaintiffs


IN THE SUPERIOR COURT FOR THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF ALAMEDA


JUDITH SMITH, BONNIE LEWKOWICZ, and AXIS DANCE COMPANY, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated,

Plaintiffs,

v.

HOTELS.COM L.P. and Does 1-20,

Defendants.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
) Case No.:

CLASS ACTION

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF

Posted by rollingrains at 12:26 AM

June 25, 2007

Only the Start of Resolution in Chennai: After the Apology Comes the Willingness to Adopt International Standards of Business Practice

IBN News reports that Air Sahara has responded to the international scandal that it caused by attempting to roll back the rights of travelers with disabilities.

Jetlite, a division of Jet Airways and was formerly Air Sahara, on Thursday apologised to Rajiv Rajan with cerebral palsy for refusing to let him board a Delhi–bound flight in Chennai on Monday.

The airline also said it would sensitise its staff to the special needs of people with disability. "We regret the inconvenience caused to Rajiv Rajan. We will train our staff to be sensitive towards people with special needs. We apologise for the inconvenience," Jetlite said in its public apology.

Already the premise of the "solution" is faulty.

It is not "special needs" of the disabled at issue here but the universal needs of customers for quality service.

Once again, people with disabilities -- with knowledge of their dignity and a strong sense of community -- spoke the truth that all fliers experience with increasing reglarity: The customer service quality of the air travel industry has deteriorated to an intolerable degree. When we fly we are customers first.

Air Sahara made a disastrous business decision. It confused the ability to segment markets for research and marketing purposes into a decision to enforce a caste system relegating some demographics to perpetual disservice.

The problem does not lie at the level of line staff. "Sensitising" them with some incident-driven face-saving is not sufficient -- although, as the Service Employees International Union points out, it is necessary even from the line worker's perspective.

The airline's act was not an inconvenience. As numerous commentators have noted, it was an assault on dignity. It jeopardized a man's livelihood. It severely damage brand identity. It was a violation of law. It was the revelation of a business ethic that remains distorted at the highest executive levels of the airline. Until the ethical handicap is removed at the source it will continue to afflict the entire company.

The correct solution?

The training needs to be delivered first in the Air Sahara Board Room.
It needs to be a curriculum created by people with disabilities. The disability community alone can ably instruct the company on the conditions under which it will eagerly turn over its hard-earned finances to be satisfied customers. They have done so in numerous countries around the world.
And Rajiv Rajan needs to be lead trainer.

That would be an apology. That would be good business.

Source:
http://www.disabilityindia.com/html/news.html#sorry

Posted by rollingrains at 07:30 PM

Resources for Training Travel Industry Professionals in Inclusion

Sincere apologies are followed by acts of reconcilliation. Effective reconcilliation requires accurate knowledge of the aggrieved party.

To facilitate the effectiveness of Air Sahara's public apology the following list of training resources is offered. To delive them I recommend my capable Indian colleagues:

EuForMe Project
http://www.euforme.net/

EuForme Document Links
http://www.euforme.net/documents

Diada
http://apintech.com/diada/

Diada Documents
http://apintech.com/diada/public.html

Diada Portal (Accessible Tourism Learning Hub)
http://accessibletourism.learnhub.net/

Posted by rollingrains at 01:52 AM

June 24, 2007

To Oakland, California: A Short Trip - A Long History

There is a comfort to culture. A shared history helps weave the tentative threads of introductions into a tangled web of conversation that does not want to end.

Whirlwind wheelchairs

Last night there was more than 100 years of disability culture’s history-making in the room as Deborah Kaplan hosted a barbeque and impromptu salon in Oakland, California. I look forward to her plan to plan to extend the ritual into the South Bay soon.

The evening was quintessential disability culture – unavoidably interdependent as the tasks of meal preparation, serving, and clean-up ebbed and flowed between guests of differing abilities. Held in a co-housing community, with food gathered from street markets and shops no more than three accessible blocks distant, the menu featured stories shared with humor and intelligence.

Looking up at the almost-full-moon illuminating the dinner table I could imagine the globe-encompassing view from that vantage point in space as an icon of the dinner scene. Names flew past trailed by short vignettes:

Ralf Hotchkiss told how Kalle Konkola, from Finland launched him into a project in Africa that eventually grew into Whirlwind Wheelchairs I recalled Kalle as whirlwind himself blowing across the University of Washington campus in about 1975 while I, his host, tried to keep up with him and introduce him to the university’s first Disabled Students Commission that we had just established. Both Ralf and I shared that we carried around Kalle’s trademark gift - wheelchair safety reflectors - for decades!

Deborah told evocative stories of Topong Kulkanchit leading her and a delegation of disability advocates through overwhelmingly supportive crowds of Thai citizens in the people power demonstrations overthrowing the government.

We caught each other up on the work being done by Rosangela Bermain-Beiler, Paul Longmore, Richard Gomes, Simon Darcy, Tom Richert, Marca Bristo and many more. We scanned through projects by ADAPT, recalling back to the days of Wade Blank, the W3C Web Accessibility Intiative, Vidyasagar, DNI, DPI, AAPD, SEIU, - and even AARP.

Ralf’s legends of boarding busses, trains, and especially, airplanes would be enough to satisfy any screenwriter of action and adventure movies. Rajiv Rajan, reinforcements are on the way when Ralf returns to his shop in Chennai. Bravo to the 100 community members who linked arms in public solidarity not only with Rajiv – but with thousands of us over the years who believe that “physiology is not destiny” and have gone on to prove it by implanting practices of Universal Design in every part of this world.

Posted by rollingrains at 06:18 PM

June 23, 2007

Heather Holman's Hotels of the Rich and Famous

Heather Holman wrote from Hotels of the Rich and Famous. She point out several hotels that she features who have paid attention to Universal Design. (Although there is nothing to indicate that fact on her site yet.)

Gr8! Now we can all get in -- let's work on becoming rich and famous!

Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa
http://www.hotelsoftherichandfamous.com/hotels/arizona-biltmore-resort-and-spa/arizona-biltmore-resort-and-spa.cfm

Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
http://www.hotelsoftherichandfamous.com/hotels/grand-floridian-resort-and-spa/grand-floridian-resort-and-spa.cfm

The College Hotel
http://www.hotelsoftherichandfamous.com/hotels/the-college-hotel/the-college-hotel.cfm

The Clarence
http://www.hotelsoftherichandfamous.com/hotels/the-clarence/the-clarence.cfm

The Homestead
http://www.hotelsoftherichandfamous.com/hotels/the-homestead/the-homestead.cfm

the homestead

Posted by rollingrains at 07:37 PM

US National Organization on Disability Announces Museum Partnership Awards Program

From press release:

The National Organization on Disability ( http://www.nod.org/ ) has announced the National Partnership Awards program (link to .pdf), a new competition for forty eligible [museums] from across America designed to recognize their work on behalf of people with disabilities. The associations are invited to demonstrate, via the competition, their leadership in supporting local initiatives that benefit people with disabilities.

The competition, which is sponsored by Prudential Financial, Inc.
( http://www.prudential.com/ ), will commemorate the 25th
anniversary of the founding of the National Organization on
Disability.

The winners of the competition will demonstrate innovative
programs or projects that involve improving access to jobs,
education, religious worship, voting, transportation, housing,
social opportunities, recreation, cultural or sports activities,
or emergency preparedness. The winning programs or projects will
help people with disabilities become full and equal participants
in the life of their community. The competition is designed to
highlight the work of the association's chapters or affiliates
and inspire others to create equally effective programs or
projects.

Five winning associations will receive $2,000 each to acknowledge
one of their chapters or affiliates for an outstanding program or
project that showcases how their members help citizens with dis-
abilities participate in and contribute to the economic, social,
and cultural vitality of the community.

The list of eligible associations, program guidelines, and entry
form are available at the NOD Web site.


Deadline: August 31, 2007

RFP Link:
http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10007788/nod

Posted by rollingrains at 01:57 AM

June 22, 2007

Blogs Turisme @ Handica.com

There is not a lot of content on the topic of travel at the Handica.com blog -- but their intention is good!

See (French) http://www.blogs-handicap.com/categories/Voyages+-+Tourisme.html

Posted by rollingrains at 11:41 PM

Vidyasagar and India's National Trust Raise the Pressure on Air Sahara

The furor over discrimination against airline passengers continues in India with 100 protesters forming a human chain at the Chennai airport:

"We've been facing discrimination from various airlines and Monday's incident was the height of it. It not only violated human rights, but also the International Civil Aviation rules," said Smitha, Assistant Coordinator – Vidyasagar, an NGO which organised the agitation.

At the heart of the conflict is the refusal of Air Sahara to serve Rajiv Rajan.

The passenger, 34–year–old Rajiv Rajan, working with an NGO called Vidyasagar, was due to fly to New Delhi on Monday morning to attend a meeting of the National Trust, a body under the ministry of social justice and empowerment, that works for disabled persons. The directorate–general of civil aviation (DGCA), the regulator in the civil aviation sector, has sought an explanation from the airline Jetlite (known till now as Air Sahara) for its refusal to board Rajiv Rajan.


Head of the National Trust, Poonam Natarajan, said that the trust would definitely take up the matter with the social justice ministry. Rajiv Rajan was travelling to New Delhi to attend a subcommittee meeting of the National Trust to decide on the issue of imparting training to persons with disabilities.

Via Disability News India - original source: http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/349

Posted by rollingrains at 04:45 AM

US Access Board Proposes Guidelines for Federal Outdoor Developed Areas

Outdoor accessibility has been a long-deferred issue in the US. The Access Board is taking it on. The following is a communication from the US Access Board:

The Board has released for public comment new accessibility guidelines for Federal parks and recreation areas. As proposed, the guidelines address access to new or altered trails, beaches, and picnic and camping areas on sites managed by the Federal government. Achieving accessibility in outdoor environments has long been a source of inquiry due to challenges and constraints posed by terrain, the degree of development, construction practices and materials, and other factors. In developing these guidelines, the Board seeks to clarify how, and to what extent, accessibility criteria can be applied to outdoor developed areas.

The guidelines specify where compliance is required and provide detailed technical criteria for achieving access. These specifications derive from existing Board guidelines for buildings and facilities, but have been modified and tailored for application to outdoor developed areas. Conditions that necessitate departures are recognized, including situations where meeting certain provisions would compromise natural features, require prohibited construction methods or materials, or be infeasible due to terrain. For example, a portion of a trail could be exempt from minimum width requirements where rock outcroppings or similar natural features restrict the trail width.

The guidelines were developed by a regulatory negotiation committee chartered by the Board. The Outdoor Developed Areas Regulatory Negotiation Committee’s 27 members included representatives from parks and outdoor recreation associations, disability groups, state and Federal land management agencies, and others. This rulemaking approach enables interested groups and stakeholders to assume a leadership role in drafting a new regulation and provides a forum for different, and sometimes competing, interests to reach consensus on its substance. The Board’s proposal substantively tracks the detailed specifications developed by the committee and submitted to the Board.

The guidelines would apply to sites developed or altered by Federal land management agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Army Corps of Engineers, among others. The Board intends to develop guidelines for outdoor developed areas controlled by non-Federal entities at a future date.

The guidelines, which are posted on the Board’s website at www.access-board.gov/outdoor/nprm/, are available for comment until October 18th. A notice published with the guidelines discusses the provisions, poses questions to the public on various issues, and includes instructions for providing comments. Comments can be submitted by email, fax, or mail. In addition, the Board will hold public hearings on the guidelines in Denver on July 24th and in Washington, D.C. on September 6th. For further information, contact Bill Botten at botten@access-board.gov, (202) 272-0014 (v), or (202) 272-0082 (TTY).

Overview of the Proposed Guidelines for Outdoor Developed Areas

The guidelines would apply to outdoor developed areas constructed or altered by Federal land management agencies. Exemptions and departures from certain criteria are recognized where access would:

▪ substantially harm cultural, historic, religious, or significant natural features or characteristics;

▪ substantially alter the nature of the setting or its purpose;

▪ require prohibited construction methods or materials;

▪ be infeasible due to terrain or prevailing construction practices.


These exceptions apply primarily to requirements for trails. As proposed, they would permit departures only from those specifications that would pose one of the recognized conflicts. All other specifications would still apply.

Trails

Specifications for trails address firmness and stability, running and cross slopes, width, and other characteristics. They would apply to new trails or to altered portions of existing ones. Application would be limited to trails that already connect to designated trailheads or to existing accessible trails so that compliance results in a continuous accessible network. Exceptions and conditions permit departures where compliance would be difficult due to factors such as topography or would conflict with prevailing construction practices. For example, at sites where only natural surface materials are allowed, certain departures from criteria for firmness and stability may be allowed. To make compliance more feasible, some trail specifications differ considerably from existing Board guidelines for accessible routes, such as those permitting a steeper and more continuous running slope.

Beaches

The guidelines address beach access and would require access routes to the water’s edge at intervals up to a half mile at new beaches. Accessible beach routes also would be required at redeveloped beaches that are served or bordered by pedestrian routes, such as a boardwalk. Criteria for these routes address surface, slope, width and other features and are similar to those for trails. Temporary beach routes would be permitted in alterations.


Picnic and Camping Areas

Scoping and technical requirements for picnic and camping elements are included in the guidelines. These provisions cover:

▪ picnic tables ▪ fire rings, fireplaces, and wood stoves

▪ cooking surfaces ▪ trash containers

▪ overlooks and viewing areas ▪ benches

▪ utilities and sinks ▪ warming huts

▪ rinsing showers and pit toilets ▪ signage

▪ parking for camp sites and camping vehicles

For most elements, access would be required to at least half the number provided in each area. The guidelines also address connecting accessible routes to these elements. Specifications for these routes are more stringent than those for trails since camping and picnic areas typically involve more site development and are subject to fewer accessibility challenges.

Supplementary Technical Provisions

The proposed guidelines are structured as a stand-alone document, although many provisions derive from existing facility guidelines. They include a section of supplementary technical provisions that address fundamental aspects of accessibility, such as wheelchair turning space and accessible reach ranges.

Posted by rollingrains at 01:29 AM

June 21, 2007

Offloading Rajeev: Buffeted by Unfriendly Skies

CNN–IBN hosted a panel comprising an aviation expert and disability activists on the show India 360 to discuss the treatment of Rajiv Rajan By Air Sahara.

Here is bit of the report from IBN:


Via Disability News India:

Rajiv with cerebral palsy – which essentially means a brilliant mind caged inside a disobedient body – was denied permission to fly Air Sahara, which is now called JetLite after Jet Airways took over the airline, on Monday. The passenger was also made to wait at the airport for three long hours in spite of his special condition.

Does this mean the airlines violated the dignity of Rajan? Should action be taken against the airline for preventing disabled people from flying? These were questions discussed by
The Director General of Civil Aviation has already served a notice on the airline, asking for an explanation on the treatment meted out to Rajiv Rajan. On its part, the airline pulled out the rulebook to defend itself, saying Rajiv was not allowed to board the aircraft in compliance with the rules of International Air Transport Association.

"If they are not accompanied by somebody, or they don't have a certificate to certify themselves medically fit to fly, then under IATA regulations, it would be inappropriate to board them," Garry Kingshott, Ceo of JetLite, says.

But Rajiv claims he doesn't need a fit to fly certificate. "Fit to fly certificate is meant for medically ill people, not for disabled people. I thought they were going to push me off my wheelchair. So, I left and called the police," he says.

Rajiv says this was not his first brush with such discrimination. In fact, he had suffered at the hands of Jet earlier as well. The treatment meted out to Rajiv has now thrown open a debate about equality and right to dignity of disabled people and also about the discrimination faced by these people in their day to day life.

Source:
http://www.disabilityindia.com/html/news.html#airline

Posted by rollingrains at 11:17 PM

Arona en Tenerife

arona

Posted by rollingrains at 03:51 AM

June 20, 2007

Violation in Chennai: Air Travel Denied Disability Activist

Let me state my bias from the outset, "I support Rajeev Rajan and his discrimination complaint against SpiceJet and JetLite." Further, I find it very encouraging that the government of India has taken swift and forceful action on his behalf. I have asked Rajeev to send in his own account of what occurred for publication in the Rolling Rains Report.

Here's a point under debate. Were the airline personnel malicious? Insensitive? Ignorant?

On the one hand, none of that is important in light of the abuse of Rajeev's rights and dignity.

On the other, locating the source of the problem may illustrate that we have further evidence supporting the California SEIU's claim that airline workers, who often have the best of intentions, are placed in impossible situations through lack of training. If that is true, then we have the opportunity for a truly global movement of solidarity in which both consumers and service providers are passionatelys striving for the same outcome.

My observation is that, for all the promise of this encouraging convergence of goals the cause of the problem lies in the failure to design transportation systems around the principles of Universal Design. And, that failure of imagination points to systemtized injustice embedded in travel industry business practices and resulting in lost revenue. The cause of the problem lives in managerial suites far removed from the site of the conflict.

Monday, June 18, 2007 (Chennai, New Delhi)

Rajeev Rajan is someone who fights for the rights of the disabled worldwide but Air Sahara denied him a boarding pass to fly from Chennai to Delhi...

The government has reacted strongly to NDTV's report of a disabled person who was not allowed to board an Air Sahara flight on Monday evening in Chennai without first getting a fit-to-fly certificate.

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a notice to the managements of SpiceJet and JetLite (Air Sahara's new name) asking for an immediate explanation. The airlines could face action if the DGCA is not satisfied with its reply.


The article by Sam Daniel and Sandeep Phukan goes on further to explain:

Rajan says the airline authorities insisted on an escort and a fitness to fly certificate and called the police to evict him.

His repeated pleas that he is a frequent flier and ought to be treated with dignity went unheard.

When Rajeev contacted another airline, SpiceJet, they too refused him a ticket.

All of us with disabilities know that we are too often called upon to provide the sort of "just-in-time" training at the point of service that Mr. Rajan attempted. I suggest that we start billing for these services.

There is a predictable frequency to the ignorance about our comunity by those we have paid to serve us as passengers. The cure for ignorance is education. Are they being educated by anyone besides passengers? To what management level within the air transportation industry must this ignorance be eradicated before the policy of pervasive underpreparedness of front line professionals is eliminated?

I applaud Mr. Rajan's decision to take this incident to consumer court.

This ia a generous act of public education on his part. He is uplifting the ignorant from their moral confusion about the rights and realities of the disability community.

As a point of law, I hold that he is entitled to compensation for providing these educational services. He ought to be compensated at the rates customary for any professional educator. He has spent a lifetime mastering the content he is imparting to his student. His compensation ought to include the "course development time" he has invested -- a lifetime of becoming an expert on living with cerebral palsy.

Full article:

DGCA issues notice to Air Sahara
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070015952

Posted by rollingrains at 04:58 PM

Post-Katrina: US Access Board to Name Advisory Panel on Emergency Transportable Housing

The Access Board will determine guidelines on emergency housing in the wake of disasters such as Katrina.

The only real question: Will all FEMA-funded manufactured housing units be Visitable?

Board to Name Advisory Panel on Emergency Transportable Housing

The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina exposed a number of shortcomings in the government’s ability to respond to large-scale disasters, among them access to emergency housing. Working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and other agencies, the Board has examined the accessibility of trailers procured by the government to house those displaced by natural disasters. Access issues and constraints have been identified and explored in consultation with these agencies as well as disability groups and manufacturers.

The Board has determined the need to supplement its facility guidelines to tailor and clarify coverage of emergency transportable housing and plans to organize an advisory committee to assist in this effort. To ensure a balanced cross-section of interests, the committee will include representation from disability groups (including the Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities, the National Council on Independent Living, and the United Spinal Association), industry and code groups (such as the Recreation Park Trailer Industry Association, the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, the Manufactured Housing Institute, and the National Fire Protection Association), and government agencies (among them FEMA, HUD, and the Department of Justice). The Board will soon publish a notice on the formation of this committee and its proposed membership which will be posted on the Board’s website. For more information, contact Marsha Mazz at mazz@access-board.gov, (202) 272-0020 (v), or (202) 272-0081 (TTY).

Posted by rollingrains at 01:41 AM

June 19, 2007

Travel Career Options for People with Disabilities in India

If you are a young person in India who wants to pursue a career in tourism there are numerous courses available.

But what if you also have a disability and have a special interest in Inclusive Tourism?

The first question has a straightforward answer that involves a national Reservation (Affirmative Action) System. The availability of quality curriculum on inclusion in the travel & hospitality industry is less apparent -- which his probably not a hopeful sign.

If you have a disability and wish to prepare for a career in the tourism industry the following are the pertinent regulations:


Reservation for Physically Handicapped Candidates


Age Limit

For candidates from General and Physically Handicapped categories, only those whose date of birth falls on or after July 01,1984 are eligible. In the case of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates upper age limit is relaxable by 3 years. For these two categories (SC & ST) candidates, born on or after July 01, 1981 will be eligible. Date of birth as recorded in the Secondary Education Board/ Pre-University Certificate is the only authentic proof that will be accepted. At the time of counseling, this certificate must be produced in original as a proof of age, failing which the candidate will not be considered for provisional admission.

Disability

For Physically Handicapped (PH) candidates (including leprosy cured) as specified by the Government of India, 3% seats are reserved. Except for their admissible level of disability, such candidates should otherwise be fit to pursue the course.

(a) Orthopaedically Handicapped Candidates:

Only those Orthopaedically Handicapped candidates who have locomotion disability or cerebral palsy with locomotion impairment of minimum of 40% and maximum of 75% and fall in the following categories are eligible to apply.
B.L. – Both Legs affected but not arms.
O.A. – One Arm affected (R or L)
a. Impaired reach
b. Weakness of grip
c. Ataxia
O.L. – One Leg affected (R or L)
M.W. – Muscular Weakness and limited Physical endurance.

(b) Visually Handicapped Candidates:

Only those visually handicapped candidates who suffer from any one of the following conditions are eligible to apply.
i. Visual acuity not exceeding 6/60 or 20/200 (Swollen) in the better eye with correcting lenses.
ii. Limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of 20 degree or worse.

(c) Hearing Impaired Candidates:

Only those Hearing impaired candidates having disability between 40% to 75% shall be eligible.
Medical Certificate issuing Authority for PH Candidates
At the time of submission of application, Physically Handicapped candidates will be required to necessarily attach the copy of Physically Handicapped Certificate issued by Chief Medical Officer(CMO) Central Govt./ State Govt./ Municipal Corporation run Hospitals. Such candidates are required to produce the original Medical Certificate both at the time of Counselling and at the time of Admission at the Institute.


Physical Fitness
All qualified candidates will have to submit a physical fitness certificate from a Registered Medical Practitioner in the prescribed format given in this Brochure at the time of admission.

Applications are invited for admission to the two-year intensive M.Sc. Hospitality Administration Program offered at the following Institutes of Hotel Management under the National Council in collaboration with Indira Gandhi National Open University:

• Institute of Hotel Management, Library Avenue, Pusa Complex, New Delhi – 110012 Fax : 011-25843177 (e-mail: ihmpusa@rediffmail.com)

• Dr.Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management, Sector 42-D, Chandigarh – 160036 Fax: 0172-2611956 (e-mail: ihmchd@sify.com)
• * - 500007 Fax : 040-27427898 (e-mail: ihmhyderabad@rediffmail.com)

Further information:

http://www.successcds.net/2006/NCHMCT-JEE-2006-Hotel-Management.htm

Posted by rollingrains at 01:45 PM

June 18, 2007

Travel Abroad Testimonials from the Disability Community

Documentation of Inclusive Travel is catching on all over.

If you have not been therre recently, you may want to visit TransitionsAbroad.com for their section on Travel & Disability. Here's a catalog of their offerings:

Simon Says Teach Abroad by Melissa Mitchell

The Accessible Himalayas by Mary Ann Davis

18 Tips for International Travelers: Survival Strategies for Going Abroad: A Guide for People with Disabilities by Laura Hershey

Accessible Melbourne by Anne Vize

Disability Travel in Egypt by Lynn Atkinson

Accessibility Overseas: Is There a Way to Get There? by Sharon Gerlach

Adventures in Teaching from a Wheelchair in Venezuela by Marie Sharp

Young Adults with Disabilities Explore World by Pamela Houston

Study Abroad in Ireland by Johana Schwartz

Study Abroad with a Disability by Beth Ocrant

Abroad with a Disability: Prepare Yourself for the Unexpected by Jennifer Kettler

Resources for Study Abroad with a Disabilities in Europe by Tracy Scharn

Study Abroad and Accessibility: Overseas Experience leads to Activism at Home by Shannon Cun Lin Huy

Diversity in Study Abroad: Ways to Include Underrepresented Communities in Exchange Programs by Carole Patterson

Travel With a Purpose by Pamela Houston

Why Not Visit the U.K.? by J. E. Killick

Paris by Wheelchair by David W.E. Smith

Disability Travel Abroad Checklist by Barbara Ballard

Traveling with a Service Dog by Tracy Scharn

Source:

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/travel/disability/index.shtml

Posted by rollingrains at 06:37 PM

Friends Around the World Eulogize Topong Kulkanchit

In Malaysia Peter Tan posts on Topong's life while from her home in New York Brazilian activist Takeo Ogura writes for the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) .

Peter reflects:

I thought to myself, “Here is a very brave man who is doing great things, not only for his peers with disabilities but also for his nation.”

Therefore, there was a great reluctance in my heart to accept that this great person has left us so soon and so suddenly. There is still so much that he can do to contribute to the disability movement in Thailand and the Asia-Pacific. There is still so much that we can learn from him. He was a free spirit and very charismatic. He never let his disability stop him from living life to the fullest. His demise has left a gaping void in the disability movement that will be difficult to fill.

Full article:
http://www.petertan.com/blog/2007/06/07/topong-kulkhanchit-dies/

The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) Regional Secretariat in Asia/Pacific (RSA/P) is in great mourning over the sudden loss of one of the greatest leaders of the disability movement in our ESCAP Region, Mr. Topong Kulkhanchit. On behalf of the entire Deaf community in the ESCAP Region, I extend my deepest condolences to his family and to the organizations with which he was concerned. We share this great sadness with you. Topong had a great understanding of the needs of the Deaf, and was a constant friend and advisor for the National Association of the Deaf in Thailand. We will strive to carry on the fight for full participation and equality to which Topong dedicated his life.

WFD RSA/P
Director
Takeo Ogura

Posted by rollingrains at 01:32 AM

June 17, 2007

The Devil Wears Prada -- and Drives an Amigo?

We could have a lot of fun with this if I could find a satisfacory comment system plug-in for the Rolling Rains Report! This article, received through the generosity of reader Scott Seale, ought to provoke some thought. Let me lead in by reiterating my refrain that conflicts over scarce resources -- scarcity itself as a "fact" of life for people with disabilities -- is primarily a policy decision. It is the decision not to implement Universal Design.

Michelle Bailey, a 22 year old TAB is handicapped by her four inch heels. Solution? She rents a mobility aid:

Michelle Bailey, a 22-year-old Texan, takes a break in Las Vegas on her scooter. She says four-inch heels are why she uses it.

In increasing numbers, Las Vegas tourists exhausted by the four miles of gluttony laid out before them are getting around on electric mobility scooters.

These aren't trendy Vespa motorbikes. They are more like updated wheelchairs.

Forking over about $40 a day, healthy tourists are cruising around Las Vegas casinos in transportation intended for the infirm (sic).

Tom Flynn, meeting the demands placed on his business, Universal Mobility, looks for guidance in the vapidity of the Medical Model of Disability (with its built-in method of limiting access and enforcing scarcity - prescriptions):

"You can't really discriminate against anybody," said Tom Flynn, owner of Universal Mobility. "We don't require a prescription or an explanation of why they need it."

But how does all this impact the disability community? The elimination of stigmatization of disability and, by extension, adaptive equipment, is a good thing, right? It is something we have worked at tirelessly for decades.

So what to make of those who are not inculturated into disability values but appear to be disabled and generate ill-will toward our community. For example:

"It was all the walking," 27-year-old Simon Lezama said on his red Merits Pioneer 3. Mr. Lezama, a fit-looking restaurant manager from Odessa rented it on day three of his five-day vacation, "and now I can drink and drive, be responsible and save my feet."

And, once again, as in the current situation with the Service Employees Union Internationa (SEIU)l, it is the lowest-paid, customer service staff who bear the brunt of the failure of leadership to adopt Universal Design:

"Several hotel bell desk workers, who handle most rental requests from tourists, said they try to discourage people who do not appear to need the scooters. But refusing the self-indulgent is not a viable option."

Watch for this story to permute and repeat itself around the world wherever Inclusive Destination Development is not adopted and as Boomers age into "the travel years."

Source:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/travel/unitedstates/stories/DN-vegaslazy_0610tra.ART.State.Edition1.4452a90.html

Posted by rollingrains at 11:37 PM

Iloho Launches Community for Airfare Search and Travel Reviews

iloho logo

Iloho is a new online community for travelers, with a distinct focus on airfare, set to launch sometime tonight. The company is backed by WebFlyer Network owner Randy Petersen.

This community is for user-generated news and reviews from travelers. Partnering with FlyerTalk and the WebFlyer Network, Iloho has created a community for trip planning in a more defined manner while layering in information gathered from other users. Stories can be rated so that the most helpful users’ content is the most relevant for searches. Users can share itineraries and use geo-tagging to better provide an integrated travel experience, while Iloho provides fare comparison functionality to help you find the best airfare deals.

In related news, TripAdvisor is working in some more community-oriented features for its travel site as well.

Source:
http://mashable.com/

Posted: 17 Jun 2007 11:16 PM GMT-06:00

Posted by rollingrains at 12:21 AM

June 16, 2007

Media Informasi Yang Aksesibel: KetikaTuna Rungu Membaca Dunia (Indonesian)

For the complete post with photos see: Stories of Journeys

Mereka bisa melihat dengan jelas isi dunia, mereka bisa berjalan menjelajahi isi dunia, tapi apa yang mereka bisa ketahui tentang indahnya kicau burung, tangisan seorang aktris di layar televisi atau bunyi alarm tanda kebakaran?

Tuna rungu dalam deskripsi yang dikeluarkan oleh WHO adalah mereka yang kehilangan keseluruhan kemampuan untuk mendengar baik dari salah satu atau kedua telinganya. Data WHO tahun 2005 menunjukkan bahwa 278 juta penduduk dunia mengalamai kehilangan pendengaran di kedua telinganya dari tingkatan sedang hingga berat. Secara fisik, teman-teman dari tuna rungu memang tidak terlihat mengalamai hambatan, namun tanpa kita sadari kelompok ini termasuk yang sangat sulit mengakses lingkungannya. Karakter mereka yang -pada umumnya- juga mengalami kesulitan dalam berkomunikasi secara oral, dan bahkan pada banyak penderita tuna rungu sangat mempengaruhi kemampuan mereka memahami kalimat, menyebabkan mereka sulit untuk dapat beradaptasi dengan lingkungan yang -mau tidak mau harus kita sadari -dibangun sebagai lingkungan dengan budaya lisan.

Dari karakter tuna rungu tersebut, kita dapat memahami bahwa apa yang hingga ini sulit mereka dapatkan adalah akses terhadap informasi. Pertanyaannya kemudian adalah apa yang dapat kita lakukan untuk merubah kondisi tersebut menjadi lebih baik? Beberapa contoh dalam berbagai bidang berikut ini barangkali dapat menjadi sebuah wawasan maupun pemicu kreatifitas dalam menciptakan aksesibilitas informasi untuk semua tanpa terkecuali bagi tuna rungu.

English abstract:

http://myrhythm.wordpress.com/2007/06/15/towards-accessible-tourism-through-creating-accesible-signage/

Complete Indonesian posting:

http://myrhythm.wordpress.com/2007/06/08/media-informasi-yang-aksesibelketika-tuna-rungu-membaca-dunia/

Posted by rollingrains at 06:23 PM

June 15, 2007

Greetings from Accessible Tempe!

Access Tempe Logo

From Nancy Black at the Tempe Convention & Visitors Bureau:

Greetings from Accessible Tempe!

I have exciting news! Our Access Tempe Guide is available on line and it is accessible to those who use screen readers. Now information about Tempe’s accessible features and services is just a click away. You may view the Access Tempe Guide by following this link: http://tempecvb.com/Access.asp.

For more information contact:

Nancy Black
Tourism Development Manager
Tempe Convention & Visitors Bureau
51 W. Third Street, Suite 105
Tempe, AZ 85281

nancy@tempecvb.com

480-894-8158/800-283-6734
www.tempecvb.com

Posted by rollingrains at 03:09 AM

Livro em Portugues por Joao Manoel Ardigo (Portugues)

Escrevei um livro sobre essa aventura que foi imposta a mim. Conto como foi minha adaptação, pós-cirurgia, tratamentos, fisioterapias, reabilitação sexual e diversos outros temas, tais como; como voltei a dirigir mesmo sendo tetra, dizer que também podemos ter uma vida sexual ativa e muito mais... Um livro de auto-estima. Repleto de aventuras, alegria, tristezas e decepções, mas o mais importante muita fé em Deus... Uma ótima leitura: UMA NOVA VIDA EM MINHA VIDA

Bem o que narro aqui são fatos que aconteceram durante sete anos de minha vida. Fatos estes que me deram muita tristeza, as quais tento transformar na mais pura alegria.

Nova Vida

O sofrimento não deve ser levado como penitência ou castigo e sim a oportunidade de aprender melhor sobre o que a vida nos oferece, é como se fosse uma segunda chance que para a maioria das pessoas isso não ocorre.
Para quem tinha toda uma vida pela frente e num segundo, um carro quebrado, um outro vindo em nossa direção, uma luz forte e o tempo de uma frase “vai baterrrrrr.....”, e pronto tudo perdido.

E aqui estou eu, hoje com 33 anos e tetraplégico buscando absorver e entender o que de melhor a vida tem para me oferecer e eu a ela. Renascer, ter que aprender tudo de novo como se fosse um bebê, e assim eu fiz.

SE ALGUEM SE INTERASSAR EM COMPRA MEU LIVRO ENTRE EM CONTATO ATRAVES DO E MAIL:

livro01_2005@hotmail.com
jmapr33@hotmail.com
Valor do livro 22,00 reais, já com desp. postais.

Posted by rollingrains at 01:07 AM

June 14, 2007

Educational Travel: Accessible Hostel at Indraprastha College for Women

This news note on the internationalization of Universal Design best practices in higher education is courtesy of of Disabiity News India (DNI):

New Delhi: The Indraprastha College for Women is all set to have a new hostel from next academic year. The new hostel will be disabled–friendly and equipped with amphitheatre, bank and a studio for mass communication.

Indraprastha College Prayer


''We want to make our girls comfortable in the hostel and give them the comfort of home. Moreover, we want to make this complex a small students activity centre where they can spend evenings after the classes,'' said Manasvini M Yogi, media co–ordinator of the college. The new hostel will have 140 rooms with 200 seats and will have s special accommodation facility for the guests of residents. ''Being associated with a large number of foreign universities, international students and faculty members keep visiting us. The new hostel will also have rooms for these guests,''

said Yogi.

The amphitheatre will have a big stage performances. It will also have seating arrangements. ''This will give enough space to our students to showcase their creative skills and practice a variety of co–curricular activities. We will also have a bank facility in the complex,'' said Yogi. Meanwhile, the college has built ramps all over the premises to facilitate movement of the physically disabled students from class rooms to library to canteen. They have recently developed a section of dictionaries and books in Braille for the visually impaired .

Source:
Times of India via DNI

Posted by rollingrains at 04:10 PM

Curso de Formación en Turismo Accesible (Spanish)

El Real Patronato sobre Discapacidad es un organismo público adscrito al Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales que, entre otras actividades, promueve la aplicación de los ideales humanísticos, los conocimientos científicos y los desarrollos técnicos hacia el perfeccionamiento de las acciones públicas y privadas sobre discapacidad, prestando apoyos a organismos, entidades, especialistas y promotores en materia de estudios, investigación y desarrollo, información, documentación y formación.

En esta línea de actuación y con el trabajo de coordinación de Polibea Turismo, ha puesto a disposición de la Escuela Universitaria de Turismo de Lanzarote el desarrollo, en sus instalaciones de C/ Rafael Alberti, 50, en Tahíche (Lanzarote), de un Curso de Formación en Turismo Accesible que tendrá lugar los próximos días 5, 6 y 7 de Junio en horario de 16:00 a 19:00 horas.

La finalidad de este Curso es dotar a los estudiantes, futuros gestores de todos los eslabones de la cadena turística, de conocimientos y formación que potencien la equiparación de oportunidades en materia turística y que generen un incremento de la participación de las personas con discapacidad en todo tipo de actividades de ocio.

http://www.polibea.com/turismo/noticia1.htm

Posted by rollingrains at 12:20 AM

June 13, 2007

"Good Samaritan" Design as Architectural Solution at Heritage Sites?

The tide is turning against retrofitting for inclusion. The leading edge of this retreat from justice is often most blatantly stated in projects involving "heritage sites".

Simple calculations of immediate cost trump future-oriented stewardship of social good. The gutting of the International Building Code is one example. The arguments put forward by administrators at St. Stephen's College at Dehli University add the pernicious resurgence of the philosophy of patronizing exclusion.

When inclusion is not held as a fundamental good -- but rather as a "Good Samaritan's" option -- the iron rod of a caste system is barely disguised by a guilding passing as virtue. Below Mr. Vinod Choudhury abdicates the institutional responsibility to educate by claiming as virtue the generosity of students who daily compensate for his college's structures of exclusion.

Rather what he exposes is a case where students seem to enter his school with an innate sense of the justice of inclusion and an inclination to make that possible. Meanwhile the "curriculum" imposed by St. Stephen's architecture is a relentless education in injustice and exclusion-by-design. Is that the heritage upon which Dehli University was built? Less than Universal Design is a travesty.

New Delhi: AT A time when most Delhi University (DU) colleges are making structural changes in their buildings to make the environs disabled–friendly St. Stephen's has decided against construction of ramps for wheelchair user students. Authorities say no external construction of any kind is possible in St. Stephen's since it is a heritage building. St. Stephen's is one of the three colleges that constituted Delhi University in 1922, the formation year.

But there's no need to worry Vinod Choudhury Media Advisor, St. Stephen's, said: "We are a very student friendly college and

the good samaritan in us makes us want to help students ascend stairs whenever they need help. We have had a lot of students in the past who were wheelchair user. And students have always volunteered to help, without being instructed." A.D Mathur, Convener of Admissions, said: "There are several issues with constructing ramps, the technical specifications like low roofs and old pillars are some limitations which we cannot overlook." On ambilift, he said, "That is way too expensive and we haven't given that option a thought."

One wonders about the college's awareness of the world around it.

The Service Employees Union International (SEIU) points out that even those whose profession it is to help travelers with disabilities at airports find themselves inadequately prepared for the task. Does St. Stephen's expect that undergraduates rushing to their next class are better prepared? Or is the real answer that institutional standards of safety for their students are so abysmally low as to be nonexistent? Certainly "there's no need to worry" if that is the case.

Perhaps confident Temporarily Able Bodied (TAB) college spokepersons need a 48 hour disability simulation -- say during the notoriously serene registration or finals weeks. I would not be surprised to hear afterward that they were dropped down the stairway on campus -- as I was the year before I co-founded the University of Washington's first Disabled Students Association.

One wonders about the academic quailty of an institution that is unwilling to invest even a single rupee of the currency it was created to produce -- thought -- to pursuing its own mission.

Intellectual malfeasance lies at the heart of such hubris.

Source:

Hindutan Times, Dehli Edition quoted in Disability News India
http://www.disabilityindia.com/html/news.html#Stephen

Posted by rollingrains at 04:02 AM

June 12, 2007

Creating a better balance of work, living and leisure, for disability and ageing

This Call for Papers just arrived for the Designing Inclusive Futures Workshop of the The 4th Cambridge Workshop on Universal Access (UA) and Assistive Technology (AT) : CWUAAT 2008. It will be held 13-16 April, 2008:

DESIGNING INCLUSIVE FUTURES: “Creating a better balance of work, living and leisure, for disability and ageing”

WORKSHOP THEME

The workshop theme “Designing Inclusive Futures” reflects the need to explore the issues and practicalities of design that is intended to extend our active future lives in a coherent way. This encompasses design for inclusion: in the workplace; for businesses; for the individual and of products in these contexts.


The philosophy underlying inclusive design specifically extends the definition of product users to include people who are excluded by disability and rapidly changing technology, especially the elderly and ageing, and prioritises the role and value of impairment and disability in innovation and new product and service development. It also addresses the context of use, both physical and psychological, and the complexity of interactions between products, services and their interfaces in specific contexts of use, such as in the workplace and during independent living. Universal access and assistive technology are seen as key focussing domains for these issues.

The workshop aims to encourage wide-ranging discussion, co-operation and collaboration within and between the universal access and assistive technology research communities in the context of inclusive design. We hope this will lead to new solutions to reduce exclusion and difficulty arising from impairment with special application to our future lives, in the workplace, at home and at leisure.

Following the last CWUAAT 2006 and the two previous successful events in Cambridge in 2002 and 2004, the conference will return again to Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge on 13th – 16th April 2008.

The 4th Cambridge Workshop on Universal Access (UA) and Assistive Technology (AT) : CWUAAT 2008

13-16 April, 2008

The general themes are:-

• Designing Assistive and Rehabilitation Technology for working and daily living environments

• Measuring inclusion for the design of products for work and daily living

• Computer Access, Intelligent Environments and New Technologies for inclusive design

• Accessible and Inclusive Design for work and daily living environments

• Assembling new User Data for inclusive design

• Social, Workplace and Environmental Context of Product use

• Legislation, Standards and Government Awareness of Inclusive Design

Contributions on other topics relevant to Assistive Technology, Universal access, and Inclusive Design will also be accepted. Please note that we welcome the submission of papers that include user testing of prototype systems or demonstrators with real users. Space and time will be available for demonstrations of software and hardware.

We expect that the accepted long papers will be published as a book by Springer-Verlag, UK. Short papers will be published in the proceedings. Selected long papers will appear in a special edition of the Universal Access in the Information Society (UAIS) journal published by Springer.

As one of the most praised aspects of CWUAAT 06, the event will again include a Doctoral Consortium on the first morning of the conference. Candidates who submit to the doctoral consortium will be able to attend the workshop at a greatly reduced registration and 10 places have been allocated for this purpose. The two presentations judged to be the best by the consortium panel will win a podium presentation in the main workshop.

SOLICITED CONTRIBUTIONS

CWUAAT aims to solicit:

• Formal papers (6-10 pages), reporting original work relevant to the workshop themes;

• Poster presentations (1-2 pages abstract, 3-4 pages for camera-ready copy); and

• Demonstrations (1 page description)

Further details of paper format and electronic submission instructions will be available on the conference web-site. All papers will be reviewed by at least two members of the programme committee, and the accepted papers will be presented during the workshop.

IMPORTANT DATES

Deadline for submission of formal/position papers, poster abstracts:- 3 September, 2007

Deadline for demonstration submissions: 1 October, 2007

Notification of paper acceptance: 12 October, 2007

Deadline for camera-ready version of submitted papers: 16 November, 2007

Advance registration (ends): 18 January, 2008

Late registration (ends): 28 February, 2008

CWUAAT Workshop: 13-16 April, 2008

ORGANISING COMITTEE

Prof John Clarkson, Engineering Design Centre, University of Cambridge

Dr Patrick Langdon, Engineering Design Centre, University of Cambridge

Prof Peter Robinson, Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge

CONTACT INFORMATION AND EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST TO

pml24@eng.cam.ac.uk

cwuaat-enquiries@eng.cam.ac.uk

http://rehab-www.eng.cam.ac.uk/cwuaat/cwuaat08.htm

DEMONSTRATIONS

It is hoped that participants will be able to gain hands-on experience with working systems. Space and time will be available for demonstrations of software and hardware.

We hope you will take this chance to plan to submit a paper to CWUAAT and look forward to seeing you in 2008.

Pat Langdon, John Clarkson, and Peter Robinson: Organising Committee for CWUAAT’08.

Engineering Design Centre

Cambridge University Engineering Department
Trumpington Street
Cambridge CB2 1PZ

Phone: 01223 748245

Fax: 01223 766963

e-mail: mjh94@hermes.cam.ac.uk

Posted by rollingrains at 05:45 PM

June 11, 2007

Hamilton Ontario Works to Make Parks Inclusive

"Hamilton recently adopted a barrier-free design policy that will be used when the city constructs facilities," reports Kevin Werner in a June 8 article in Mountain News. It sounds as if the community has rallied to make itself inviting to Visitors as well as the Home Team:

Before last weekend there was no park within the borders of the city of Hamilton that was accessible to the developmentally challenged.

"When I found that out, it was a shock," said Ward 7 councillor Scott Duvall, shaking his head.

The first term councillor earlier this year was confronted with that stark reality when desperate representatives of the non-profit organization Hamilton Challenger Baseball Association asked for help in seeking a park to allow their developmentally challenged members play baseball.

Full story:
http://www.hamiltonmountainnews.com/hmn/news/news_806944.html

Thanks to Aqeel Qureshi for submitting this sory.

Posted by rollingrains at 12:32 PM

June 10, 2007

Allahabad Museum Moves Toward Accessibility

GALLERIES OF the Allahabad Museum, specifically the ones on the upper floor, will now be made accessible to the senior citizens as well as physically disabled people.

The task will be accomplished with the help of construction of a lift in the museum building, the proposal for which is awaiting the approval of the Allahabad High Court.

According to the chairman of the museum Prof RK Verma, the renovation of the museum building will definitely attract more visitors to the spot and thus it is extremely necessary to add a lift to the museum so that the senior citizens and physically disabled people are not devoid of the opportunity to visit the galleries of the first floor. However, the sources have disagreed to the new project and describe it is as waste of money.

Source: Disability News India
http://www.disabilityindia.com/html/newsmay.html#Museum

Originally published by by Bilal Zuberi at http://pakistaniat.com/2007/02/27/pakistan-internet-cafe-computer-software-for-the-blind-disabled/

Posted by rollingrains at 03:03 AM

June 09, 2007

Topong Kulkanchit: Tireless Advocate

Topong


This eulogy for a friend and unstinting advocate for Inclusive Tourism was circulated today by
Shoji Nakanishi Chairperson, DPI Asia Pacific Region.

Topong was one of the few people who consistently provided me with news of important developments in the promotion of Inclusive Tourism before I had learned about it from some other source. My mailbox would frequently include emails with timestamps eflecting his practice of waking early to communicate at the convenience of his North American and European colleagues.:


Topong Kulkanchit, DPI Asia-Pacific Development Officer, passed away at 11:20 (Thai local times) on 7 June 2007. He returned from the South Asian workshop on 'Capacity Building of Southern Disabled People's Organizations in Bangladesh on 5 June. At that time his condition was bad, so that he stayed at home for a while. Then he developed a high fever over 40 degrees and was taken to the Army Hospital. In the night on 6 June, his condition turned to be critical. He had cardio-respiratory arrest 5 times until the morning. After the struggle with illness, while he was taken heart massage from doctors, he passed away.

Topong was a great leader in the disability movement. Before he became disabled in 1986, Topong had served Royal Thai Army. Following his graduation from Royal Military Academy in 1981, he extended his study and training at the US. Army Infantry School in 1984-85. He got car accident during his patrol duty near Thailand-Malaysia border in 1986, injured his cervical cord, and became quadriplegic. He was promoted to be lieutenant colonel after leaving the army in 1989. While taking rehabilitation at the hospital, he participated in DPI Regional Assembly held in Thailand in 1988. His encounter with disability sector led him to deep commitment to equal opportunities of persons with disabilities in society. Then he got a chance to participate in the Nagoya City Marathon and to visit an independent living center, Human Care Association in Japan. During his visit, he stayed my home and learned that a person with severe disability could live in community not in hospital. He began to live in community where he started to drive a car and to write by himself.

Then he became President of the Association of the Physically Handicapped in Thailand (APHD) and developed APHD from a small organization coving only Bangkok area to a nation-wide organization. He was also an activist in an independent living (IL) movement, after he had invited to an lL study trip in U.SA. in 1991 organized by the Human Care Association of Japan. He was always a great leader of our movements, such as establishment of Rehabilitation Law, making accessible stations of Bangkok Sky-train, and organizing campaign for barrier-free new Bangkok airport. Appointed as Regional Development Officer of DPI-Asia-Pacific region in 1999, he used his talent for fostering young leaders with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific. His attractive character caught many disabled persons’ minds and brought unprecedented success in the last 20 years of disabled persons’ movements in Asia-Pacific region. 26 Asia-Pacific countries joins DPI as member as a result of his tireless efforts made at regional, national, grassroot and individual levels. In the region, there is no person with disability who has never heard of Topong Kulkhanchit.

Our strong movement deeply owes to his activity. Once he said “Leader works when staff are tired. Leader keeps awake to work when staff go to bed. Leader works without taking meal when staff are hungry,.” He spent his life as his words. He continued his fight until his last moment and I believe he fulfilled his life.

May he rest in peace. I also offer my sincere condolences to his wife Ying, and his mother and sister.

We persons with disabilities left behind carry his torch and continue to fight to realize his vision of society of full participation and equality.

Posted by rollingrains at 08:34 PM

June 08, 2007

Support The Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

It is a fundamental of advocacy for Universal Design that the failure to implement UD puts travelers at disabilities at risk -- as well as those who serve us. It is very encouraging to read that the Service Employees International Union is ready to make common cause with us and work together for the growth on Inclusive Travel. I encourage you to take the action step requested by the union and contact Kevin Rudiger. I have.

The following notice comes via the Justice for All Network:

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) represents thousands of passenger service workers at airports around California. As you may know, these workers provide many important services, including wheelchair and aisle-chair services and other forms of assistance for passengers with disabilities.

Many workers have long complained that they have not received
sufficient training to provide the levels of service expected.

The Union seeks support for providing assistance to passengers with
disabilities.

An SEIU survey indicates that many of these workers are not receiving
training that includes: how to safely operate a wheelchair; how to
provide services to persons with disabilities; how to distinguish
the different abilities of individuals with disabilities; and how
long a person can be kept waiting in a wheelchair unattended. That
is, at many airlines and airports, these training standards are
not being met. As such, workers are currently gathering
information for a possible complaint with the Department of
Transportation.


Action Step: You are encouraged to send your needs and
perspectives as a passenger with disabilities to SEIU. Please
contact Kevin Rudiger at (213)673-2246 or via email
rudigerk@seiulocal1877.org

Posted by rollingrains at 12:38 AM

June 07, 2007

New International Building Code

Press release distributed through the Justice For All Network publication Disability Potpourri:

New International Building Code eliminates requirements for disabled in existing apartments undergoing alterations

Jackson Heights, NY - The 2007 Supplement of the International
Building Code (IBC) will no longer require apartments undergoing
alterations to provide adaptability features to accommodate people
with disabilities.

Under previous editions of the IBC, an alteration to more than 20
units in an existing building would trigger a requirement for two
percent of the units to be provided with basic adaptability
features.

A proposal (G-206) submitted during the International Code
Council's (ICC) fall hearings in Orlando, Florida led to the
elimination of the IBC's requirement to provide important
adaptability features in existing apartments undergoing alterations.

Staff from the U.S. Access Board, the U.S. Department of Housing &
Urban Development (HUD) and the United Spinal Association, were
unsuccessful in a bid to have an alternative proposal requiring
minimal adaptability requirements in existing apartments revisited
during the ICC's hearings in Rochester, NY on May 24, 2007.

The National Association of Home Builders and The National Multi-
Housing Council provided testimony against the proposal asking for
minimal adaptability requirements, citing the additional costs and
space that would be necessary to comply.

Further information:
http://www.aapd.com/News/housing/070601usa.htm

Source - press release:

Contact:
Dominic Marinelli
716-828-9139
dmarinelli@unitedspinal.org

Posted by rollingrains at 07:49 PM

On Samarthya from Mahesh in India

samarthya


Mahesh is going to earn honorary "Contributor of the Week" with the flurry of excellent submissions he has sent in to the Rolling Rains Report recently. Thank you!

I call your attention to the Basin-South Asian Newsletter published by Development Alternatives. Featured prominently is the work of Samarthya. The current issue (2007 No. 8) is available here. Download file

From Samarthya's web site:

Samarthya, National Centre for Promotion of Barrier Free Environment for Disabled Persons whose main motto is “Let’s make the world accessible’’ has been promoting and advocating for:

Access to the built environment & information- “Design for All”
Accessible transportation- “Mobility for All”
Accessible tourism– “Tourism for All”
Samarthya has promoted the concept of Universal Design i.e. “Design for All” in the making of Dilli Haat (recipient of National Award by the Hon’ble President of India on promotion of Barrier Free Environment), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and High Capacity Bus System (HCBS)/Low Floor Buses. It had conducted

Samarthya has promoted the concept of Universal Design i.e. “Design for All” in the making of Dilli Haat (recipient of National Award by the Hon’ble President of India on promotion of Barrier Free Environment), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and High Capacity Bus System (HCBS)/Low Floor Buses.

Source:

http://www.samarthyaindia.com/conferencedetails.html

Information on the newsletter:

Development Alternatives
B 32 TARA Crescent
Qutab Institutional Area
New Delhi 110016
Tel : +91 -11 2680 1521, 2680 4482
Email: basin@devalt.org
Website: www.devalt.org

Posted by rollingrains at 06:53 PM

June 06, 2007

Chinese Media on the 2008 Paralympics

Paralympic Pictograms

Sometimes it is instructive to follow a single story over time in the same publication. Here is ChinaDaily.com on the upcoming Paralympics:

Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games pictograms unveiled
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/2007-05/24/content_879097.htm

Designer inspired by Paralympic athletes
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/2008/2007-05/23/content_879034.htm

Games official calls for better understanding
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2007-05/25/content_880001.htm

Games for Disabled boosts hopes at Paralympics
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/2008/2007-05/21/content_876799.htm

Paralympics a growing blip on public radar
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/2008/2007-05/25/content_880481.htm

Paralympics to see more reporters than ever
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/2008/2007-05/29/content_882588.htm

Paralympics new focus of international media
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/2008/2007-06/01/content_885211.htm

Posted by rollingrains at 02:15 PM

June 05, 2007

Carolyn R. Scheidies on travel with a Disability at Associated Content

Associated Content is a portal for writers. Carolyn R. Scheides is an AC writer. Yesterday she posted a piece called, How to Travel With a Disability. Although she has been publishing with AC since February this seems to be the first time she has self-identified as disabled and taken on the topic of travel with a disability here.

Congratulations Carolyn. Keep adding the voice of your experience to the growing dialogue on this topic. People are listening.

Posted by rollingrains at 06:18 AM

June 04, 2007

When Green & Universal Design Separate

P. J. Bremier reflects on Marin County, California where green and Universal Design seem have to diverged rather than converged as in so many other parts of the world:

A few years ago, it seemed that universal design was the wave of the future. It was an approach that considered accessibility and safety in homes, especially for seniors and those with impaired mobility.

It made sense not only because of our aging population but because anyone could have a temporarly health problem or injury and have to rely on crutches. And yet home designs with accessibility and safety in mind seem to have been left behind in the energetic response to the worldwide green design movement.

Building green is about saving resources, sensible choices and creating a healthy living environment. But if these large, multistory homes are decked in eco-friendly clothes but don't feature an awareness of the future, they can't serve our generation-spanning population.

Find the rest of the story at Fine Living: Challenges of home design for our aging population

Posted by rollingrains at 06:48 AM

Building a Habitable Future

In 2002, the National Association of Home Builders developed a certification program aimed at training contractors on the unique needs of the elderly and how to modify their homes to make them safe. In the five years since, more than 1,000 builders, architects, home remodelers and other professionals have signed up for NAHB's three-day aging-in-place course.

Certified aging-in-place specialists, or CAPS, follow many of the principles of Universal Design, which aims to accommodate users of all sizes and abilities.

Read more in a series on Universal Design as a solution to aging-n-place at Moving On: With new products, renovations, seniors can stay home.

Posted by rollingrains at 05:53 AM

June 03, 2007

Le premier Territoire rural de tourisme adapté (French)

Rhône-Alpes_map

Resources are available for developing inclusive Tourism in the Communauté d'agglomération Pays Voironnais region of the Rhone-Alps. For the article in French see here.

Resources:

Service Tourisme Pays Voironnais
http://paysvoironnais.info/OT/


Paysvoironnais.com
http://www.paysvoironnais.eu/

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communaut%C3%A9_d'agglom%C3%A9ration_Pays_Voironnais

Posted by rollingrains at 07:39 PM

June 02, 2007

As Medical Travel Grows So Does Consumer Information

Statistics show that the incidence of disability as a consequence of aging is decreasing in the US. We also know that these benefits still correlate strongly to income. The more affluent the less likely one is to be disabled. The following interview offers an insight into where disablement, income, travel, and medicine intersect. David Williams of the World Health Care Blog interviews Josef Woodman, author of Patients Beyond Borders.

David: Did you have a prototypical patient in mind when you wrote the book?

Josef: There are two types of medical tourists. One is the cosmetic surgery crowd and the Beverly Hills, Chevy Chase crowd. They head down to Brazil. They’ve got their own network. They spend probably twice and three times the amount they’d spend in America and come back home and brag about it. That’s a relatively low number. That’s not the crowd that we addressed.The crowd that we saw repeatedly in these hospitals were part of the 46 million uninsured and another 30 million under or partially insured. These are folks that are aging into expensive medical procedures, and they find themselves financially challenged. They’re in the middle class. They’re in the upper working class. They don’t want to have to sell their home or sell their small business just to pay for an expensive procedure.


Source:

http://www.worldhealthcareblog.org/2007/05/31/interview-with-josef-woodman-author-of-patients-beyond-borders-transcript/

Posted by rollingrains at 03:26 AM

June 01, 2007

Study: The Built Environment's Influence on Performance of Routine Activities

INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN A RESEARCH STUDY
The Built Environment's Influence on Performance of Routine Activities

A research team at the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental
Access (IDEA) is currently conducting a federally funded study on how
the built environment influences people's ability to perform routine
activities.

The research study uses online surveys to identify activities that are
most problematic for people in three built environments: Public
Buildings, Public Streets and Residential Environments. Follow-up
surveys then evaluate how well specific architectural design features
remedy those problems.

Individuals who participate in the online surveys will be eligible for
random drawings of $100 cash prizes as well as a $500 grand prize.
Participants will also be invited to join message board discussions
where they can share ideas and talk about topics of mutual interest.

To participate in the research or to obtain additional information,
please go to http://www.udeworld.com/research/index.php or contact us at
idea@buffalo.edu.

Posted by rollingrains at 07:55 PM