The tremendous issues of technology - disabled persons and technology

A recent Gartner study found that nearly half of U.S. businesspeople check their email on vacation. Yet, the same study found that more than a third of business email is "occupational spam"--unnecessary email sent by co-workers.

As our working mobility increases, we end up doing more. The expectation is that we're always "on"--always reachable by phone or email, always ready to take care of business no matter what the hour. Is it any wonder that we're feeling burned out?

Then there's the running-on-a-treadmill feeling we get from trying to keep up with technology: researching it, buying it, learning how to use it, upgrading it, and fixing it when it breaks.

Technology does let us do things we've never been able to do before, but new devices, applications, concepts, and paradigms have also made us realize how unprepared we are to deal with the issues such innovations raise. Legal, ethical, and moral questions bubble to the surface and are hashed out in courtrooms, chambers of Congress, and private homes. The issues include intellectual property, accessibility, usability, security, and privacy. Let's look at each one.

Intellectual property. The high profile Napster case has made intellectual property almost a household phrase. The online music-sharing service has been pitted against record companies and musicians who shouted, "Copyright violation!" U.S. federal courts have ruled that the service must shut down until 100 percent of copyrighted material is filtered out of its offerings. In the meantime, Napster is developing a membership-based service. As of this writing, record companies are exploring whether they can collect damages.

Another electronic copyright case, The New York Times v. Tasini, went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Jonathan Tasini and other freelance writers sued the newspaper after it reused their articles in digital databases without obtaining permission or offering additional compensation. The court ruled that digital publication constitutes a separate use from print publication. The freelancers won the case, but the outcome is pending at press time. The New York Times has threatened to remove all of the articles from the databases instead of paying the writers.

The implication of the Napster and Tasini cases is that copyright issues are not to be taken lightly. The 1990s preponderance of free goods and services on the Internet may have led people to believe, falsely, that what's online is public property.

What does intellectual property mean for you? First, don't take what's not yours. That's a pretty simple concept, but it gets tricky around online education. Current U.S. copyright laws don't make provisions for electronic transmission of information for education. So the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, signed into law by President Clinton in 1998, includes a charge to the U.S. Copyright Office * http://Icweb.loc.gov/capyright to investigate provisions to the act that should be made for distance education. The office compiled reports and submitted them to Congress.

At press time, legislation was pending that will allow distance learning courses managed by accredited or certified organizations and nonprofit libraries to use and transmit copyrighted works under certain conditions. (For more information and the current status of the bill, look for the Twenty-First Century Distance Learning Enhancement Act on the Copyright Office Website. It's currently listed under "new and pending legislation.")

The second thing you should know about intellectual property is that there are ways to protect what's yours. Technology exists and is being developed to guard electronic content. For instance, encryption software such as Clever Content * www.clevercantent.com can now lock down parts of a Webpage on the Internet, an intranet, or an extranet so that information can't be printed, copied, or forwarded.

Another option is the computer language XrML (eXtensible rights markup language) that lets users tag text, images, video, and so forth with copyright information; restrict access to content; and track who is accessing it. The language was developed by a Xerox spin-off company, Content Guard * www.contentguard.com. New solutions to protect electronic content are being developed every day.

What's the future for intellectual property? Perhaps this: education on reading, writing, and 'right--copyright, that is. In the United Kingdom, the Creative Industries Task Force, which includes representatives from the music, broadcasting, and publishing industries, has published a report recommending that intellectual property issues be included in the citizenship curriculum, which will become mandatory in U.K. secondary schools beginning in fall 2002. But some people say that the subject is in too much flux to be taught yet. Will we see copyright issues taught in schools worldwide? Only time will tell.

Accessibility. We all know the frustration of a Webpage that won't load, a document that won't download, or an email that won't open. For millions of people with disabilities, those simple tasks that most of us do daily, usually without thought, can be sources of great frustration each time they attempt to complete them. Visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive impairments make it difficult to access and use standard technology.

In response to those difficulties, many countries, including the United States, are instituting accessibility requirements for technology procured by the government. According to Nua Internet Surveys, the governments of France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia have all issued accessibility guidelines, and most have made accessibility mandatory for federal Websites.

In the United States, more than 53 million people with disabilities (about 20 percent of the population) will be served by the recent enactment of accessibility requirements under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which states that all electronic and information technology procured, used, or developed by the federal government after June 25, 2001, must meet accessibility standards. Technology that's affected includes not only copiers, fax machines, telephones, and other electronic devices, but also Websites and software.

Accessibility requirements for Websites and software include

* compatibility with screen-reader programs

* option to use keyboard commands instead of mouse navigation

* ability to use style sheets or other tools that override system-design settings

* text alternatives for animations and alt tags that describe images

* no use of color as the sole feature indicating information or aiding navigation

* audio and video captioned or transcribed.

Many of Section 508's requirements follow the recommendations of the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) * www.w3c.org.

Accessibility isn't just the law; it also makes sense. Experts are quick to point our that features added or adapted to meet Web accessibility standards also help users who don't have the latest technologies. Beth Archibald Tang, Web producer at Virginia-based consulting firm Caliber Associates, has been working with information technology and accessibility issues for 10 years. She says, "[Website] accessibility means that people with disabilities, people with slower modems or browsers, and people with older hardware and software can have equally meaningful, usable, and accessible experiences as those with T1 lines and gee-whiz gizmos."

Nathan Lowell, technologies manager for the National Center on Low Incidence Disabilities, notes that a 28.8 kbs modem is still the de facto standard for accessing the Internet and will be for a while. "If a person has to wait 75 minutes for a two-minute audio clip describing a single PowerPoint slide [to download]," he says, "I'd call it inaccessible."

Tang notes another benefit of accessibility standards: Considering the accessibility of a Website or product means that you're focused on the user and on providing him or her with high-quality technology. "You're not just slapping something together to get it to market," Tang says. "You've put a lot of thought into it, and you remember that there are real people on the other end." All users will benefit from better design when accessibility is taken into account, she says.

How do you get started making your technology accessible? Tang warns against Websites and software packages that claim they can check your site for accessibility. Some tools, like Bobby * www.cast.org/bobby are a good starting point. But a qualitative aspect should always be involved in assessing accessibility: A human must make judgment calls weighing one decision over another. "There are good, better, and best ways of doing things," Tang says. She recommends Mike Paciello's book, Web Accessibility for People With Disabilities, and Brandon Hall's e-learning accessibility report * www.brandon-hall.com/publications.html for help.

But Nathan Lowell believes we may be asking the wrong question. He encourages people to consider, "Do we need this technology?" rather than "How do we make this technology accessible?" "We do too much because we can," he says, "not because we should." Lowell reminds us that we're all disabled in one way or another. Sighted people, for instance, are darkness impaired: Put them in a dark room and they're pretty much helpless.

Usability. Closely tied to accessibility is usability. Many people see them as two shades of the same color. Amy Thurston, usability project engineer at Maryland-based User Works * www.userworks.com defines usability as the "effective, efficient relationship between a product, its users, and the goals that the user wants to accomplish." She says usability can encompass initial ease of use, operational ease of use, and learnability.

If you've ever struggled to program a microwave, VCR, or cell phone, Thurston says, or spent hours on the phone with the customer service departments for those products, you've been affected by poor usability. "Good user design saves lives, improves the lives of those who work and play with usable products, and makes people happier," she says.

Ensuring usability is important when designing and developing Webpages or Web-based training. As in considering accessibility, thinking about the usability of a site or page focuses you on the user or learner experience of your design. So says Ramona Materi, who developed an informational Website * www.okanagan.net/users/mcq/6l5Proj on usability in Web-based learning as a project for her master's program in distance education. She says it's important to ask whether a Website is easy to use and intuitive and whether learners can find what they need quickly. In other words, she says, "What's the fuss factor of your site?"

Materi points out that some users dislike the mechanical aspects of e-learning or may experience computer phobia. So it's especially important to make the experience pleasant and hassle-free. "Otherwise," she says, "they're so busy having their worst fears confirmed that any learning becomes incidental if it occurs at all."

Many of the features to consider for usability mirror those for accessibility. They include

* display speed

* color

* ease of navigation (site map, informative headers, and so forth)

* content that's well written, concise, and correct

* readily available technical help or tips, and contact information for site owners.

Thurston describes her company, UserWorks, as a human-factors engineering firm specializing in developing and evaluating user-centered design and researching all aspects of usability. The company performs user requirements and task analyses, conducts focus groups, designs and evaluates hardware and software, and performs ergonomic evaluations of user interaction with products.

Thurston says that the hardest part of her job is convincing companies to incorporate user-centered design and testing into their products. Although user-centered design can rake place at the same time as traditional design and adds little to no extra time to the process, many companies are still hesitant to take the leap of faith, she says.

Once they do, they realize it's worth the money. Usability and accessibility experts alike stress that being able to say your Website or product is usable and accessible is a marketing tool that can help your product stand our in the crowd. Usability can retain people who might be turned away by confusing navigation or other usability problems, and accessibility can attract people who would otherwise not be able to use your product or Website.

Thurston says that when clients see how typical users interact with their products, they're "blown away--surprised, impressed, astounded, embarrassed, and amazed."

Security. Code Red, SirCam, ILOVEYOU, Kornikova. Once upon a time, a virus made you stay home in bed and a worm was just something in a bottle of tequila. Nowadays, electronic viruses and worms can cause serious damage to your computers and your business. According to McAfee, an application service provider for security products, computer viruses cost businesses more than US$17 billion in 2000. The ILOVEYOU worm, also known as the Love Bug, caused about US$10 billion in damage.

Hackers can break into your computer or Website and operate at will. Nor even the U.S. government is immune. Recently, a Commerce Department Website devoted to privacy accidentally revealed confidential information about American firms. The Safe Harbor site allowed businesses to register and become certified in order to satisfy the European directive that limits transfer of information to countries that don't meet security standards. But the security loophole allowed anyone who visited the site to access databases that held answers to detailed questions about businesses, and to delete or change the information. "If the government can't control its own information, why is it asking the private sector to do any better?" asks Jim Harper, editor of privacy site Privacilla.org, in a Wired News article.

You have virus software, tight? If not, get over to a site such as McAfee.com immediately. Then, update your virus software frequently, never open attachments you're not expecting, and investigate firewalls that enable you to access the Internet while retaining internal network security. Two to try: Black Ice Defender and Norton Personal Firewall. Also, if you're worried about prying eyes gaining access to sensitive files or email, research encryption software such as Interscope's BlackBox, recommended by ZDNet as easy to use and inexpensive.

If you'd rather leave your computer or network security up to an expert, security consultants can assess your risk and work to protect you. Those companies are doing brisk business even during the economic slowdown. Internet Security Systems * www.iss.net estimates that one in five of its new customers in 2001 is hiring the company to protect against sabotage by workers who've been laid off.

But security education firm Hackademia * www.hackadamia.com says that focusing too much on external threats ignores the main security risk: careless employees. "The more successful an enterprise is at keeping intruders out of its networks, the more likely intruders are to focus instead on vulnerable employees," says CEO Neal O'Farrell. Hackademia offers onsite seminars and Web-based training for employees to demonstrate the link between individual behavior, security vulnerability, and the viability of the workplace. "Only when security becomes as second nature as being polite to customers will it really be effective," says O'Farrell. "That's what we're aiming for."

Privacy. Electronic privacy is a hot issue whether it's at work or at home, your privacy or customers' and employees'. Who can collect information about where you go on the Web? Who can request personal information as you surf, and what can they do with that data? Answers to those questions are still up in the air, ethically and legally.

How do we ensure Internet privacy? Some people favor "opt-in" permission from Web users: To gather information about people and their Web habits, you must first ask for and receive permission. Others favor "opt-our" permission: People who don't want their information collected must contact the company. Privacy experts tend to favor opt-in although many companies assert it's too expensive to implement and may interfere with activity on the Web.

In response to consumer concerns, some companies are creating a new position: chief privacy officer. IBM has a CPO; so do AT&T, American Express, General Motors, and Verizon. The responsibilities of the CPO are varied. A story in ZDNet's e-newsletter AnchorDesk defines the role: "Privacy is more than physically securing data, it encompasses design decisions, public policy, and even legal compliance." Few people in other roles want to add those responsibilities to an already full plate, so the CPO handles the issues with his or her fingers in multiple business-process pies.

Pedro Jauregui, an information security consultant in Monterrey, Mexico, worked for five years as CPO for an international Mexican company. The position was created in response to a vulnerability that appeared during an important negotiation. In the role, Jauregui

* developed and communicated policy

* instituted a privacy and security awareness program for employees

* assessed vulnerability

* audited information-security practices

* measured the employee awareness level, raising it from 65 to 95 percent.

Jauregui says that the CPO role is more important now than ever. The CPO should be an auditor and advisor, supervising the applications development function and using real-time intrusion detection systems. His best advice for creating a CPO position: Find a high-level sponsor.

Should your company have a chief privacy officer? If so, who fits the role? Some people say that the duties should fall to the person in charge of security; other people think that a security officer wouldn't focus enough on policy. Whether you're creating a new position or adding responsibilities to an existing position, the CPO should be able to work across the organization and define the role along the way. Jauregui suggests a technical support background, mixed with systems development and communication skills. AnchorDesk says that to be effective, a CPO should have the authority and management support to take command across departments when privacy issues develop.

If you're running an e-learning program, privacy and security may be issues for your learners. Although your company may not be issues for your learners. Although your company may not be ready for a CPO, you can make employees feel safer. Godfrey Parkin, president of e-learning supplier MindRise * www.mindrisecom and author of the company's Internet and e-business curriculum, suggests the following five steps:

1. Create a privacy policy, and feature it prominently on your Website. Explain what information is collected, what it's used for, and who has access to it.

2. Secure personal data with encryption technology when it's transmitted, and notify users that you do.

3. Let learners pick their own IDs and passwords rather than assigning them.

4. Re: Cookies, use one-time, self-terminating ones.

5. Destroy learner data as soon as it's no longer needed. Archive data that you need to keep, either offline or behind firewalls.

Consumers and learners aren't the only people concerned with privacy on the Internet. According to various reports, as many as 78 percent or as few as 30 percent of companies monitor employees by reading their email, listening to their voicemail, or counting their keystrokes. Usually, the goal isn't to determine who's slacking off but to make sure workers aren't leaking trade secrets or engaging in improper behavior such as sexual harassment that the company could be sued for. Is monitoring employees legal? Yes, if workers are notified that they may be watched.

Many people are troubled by the idea that their moves may be monitored, and some are fighting back with specialized software. Programs such as SafeWeb * www.safeweb.com can encrypt or erase your browser history. This kind of tool is used not only by Web surfers who don't want companies capturing their info, but also by employees who don't want their Web use tracked at work.

Marco Beemsterboer, a consultant in The Netherlands, says that if bosses are allowed to monitor employees, then employees should be able to monitor bosses. In other words, Internet-access data and other tracking information should be open for everyone to view. After all, he says, when a boss makes mistakes, he or she puts workers' jobs at risk. Admitting that the idea is controversial, Beemsterboer claims, "It will create a more transparent and honest situation in the workplace ... which will in the end dramatically increase employee involvement and decrease existing paranoia between hierarchy levels."

Just because we can do something, should we? That's a moral question and a financial one. The love of technology has been shouted from the rooftops, but what is it really costing us, and do we really need it? Technology 2001 is about reevaluating. That doesn't have to mean shelving technology or halting its development, but it does mean taking a hard look at its purpose and usefulness, as well as at the issues it raises. The days of buying technology for technology's sake are over.

Reassessing our need for technology is especially important in the present economic downturn. In a recent CIO.com poll asking whether e-learning is underway at their companies, 83 percent of respondents said no. Though CIOs recognize the potential of e-learning, the infrastructure requirements and cost are proving to be obstacles in this economy.

In another example, Temple University recently shut down Virtual Temple, its for-profit distance education endeavor. In the Chronicle of Higher Education Online, University president David Adamany said the program wasn't economically viable. Temple will still offer distance education classes but will integrate them with its current offerings.

Stephen Lahanas, learning technology consultant and list owner of the online discussion forum e-learning leaders, asserts that the biggest flaw of the new economy is assuming that the old economy has to be thrown out. Instead, he says, technology should be applied to current approaches to improve or reengineer them. "The same holds true for education," he says. "We don't have to reinvent it nor is it advisable to do so. Our mandate should be to improve and empower it."

Now you have some issues to consider.

Eva Kaplan-Leiserson is T+D's trends and technology.

COPYRIGHT 2001 American Society for Training & Development, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group