Building the accessibility arena:
A State Level Seminar on Accessibility, Challenges, Possibilities and Experience for Visually Impaired.
In the age of globalization, the emphasis is often laid on making technology accessible to all sections of society. This aim is almost fully realized by developed nations to such an extent that access to technology available itself has led to their progress in all walks of life. Unfortunately, in underdeveloped nations, the importance of accessible technology as a means to achieve inclusive society is seldom realized. Notwithstanding the fact that such factors as poverty, population and policy decisions are chiefly responsible for this failure, one can never delay the attempts to establish the inclusive setup since it alone can lead to collective progress.
Besides the access to technology, there is also a dire need to make both the infrastructure and the public environment barrier free. The non-disabled people are ignorant of such accessible devices as signboards which help the hearing impaired, audio signals which help the visually impaired and ramps which help the physically challenged in our country. Indeed this ignorance hinders the development of persons with disabilities. The same impediment also extends its impact on education, employment and other services and thereby obstructs the empowerment of persons with disabilities. It is the attempt to overcome the impediments by scientific means that has led to what is called Assistive Technology.
The screen readers which help the blind to access the computers, mobile phones and many other gadgets, the OCR Software which convert the image into text that subsequently read by screen readers and the magnifying devices which enable the people with low vision to see the monitor clearly are a few well known examples of Assistive Technology for the visually impaired. Though these assistive devices enable the visually impaired people for education and employment, these devices are not available at affordable prices. The need of the hour is therefore to make both assistive devices affordable and public environment barrier free.
In order to create interest and awareness among the authorities, professionals and other stake-holders with fresh thoughts on accessibility for the visually impaired and the need for barrier-free environment, a one-day State-Level Seminar on Accessibility for the visually impaired is being organized by Karna Vidya Technology Centre (KVTC) – A non-profit technology centre functioning with the moto: “Empowerment through Employment for the Visually Impaired”— by providing employability oriented courses.
The seminar will focus on the means of access to:
- Barrier Free Environment
- Computer Application
- Mobile Application
- Web Accessibility
Format of the Seminar:
The seminar will have four sessions on the above said topics along with an interactive session at the end. Each session will begin with a special address by plenary expert speakers in that field, followed by paper presentations. The paper presenters can author their papers based on:
- Experiential challenges resolved through simple tips
- Understanding and associating accessibility with day-to-day life
- Accessible assistive technology relevant to Home management, Education and Employment
- Ways and means to make Technology accessible and affordable
- Current status and scope of research in accessibility
Authentic, scholarly and unpublished research papers are invited from:
- Government Officials
- IT Professionals
- Students pursuing Engineering courses
- NGOs working for the visually impaired and
- Visually impaired students and scholars
Important Instructions:
Please send your abstracts only in 150-300 words by August 29, 2014 to email : info@kvtc.in and kvtc.chennai@gmail.com
Note: The volume will be published with an ISBN (International Standard Book Number).
Editing Requirements
- Paper size: A4,
- Font & size: Times New Roman 12, Spacing: 1.5 lines,
- Margin of 1 inch on all four sides.
- Title of the paper: bold, Sentence case (Capitalize each word), centered.
- Text of the paper: Justified.
- References must be acknowledged and mentioned at the end of the paper
- The paper should not exceed seven (7) pages
- Each Paper must be accompanied by a declaration that it is an original work and has not been published anywhere else.
- Short bio-note of the contributor(s) indicating name, institutional affiliation, brief career history, postal address, mobile number and Email, must also be attached as a different sheet along with the full paper
- The papers submitted should contribute new knowledge or innovative critical perspectives on the subject explored.
Selection of the Papers:
- Final selection for presentation and publication of the papers will be made only by the approval of the Expert Panel.
- The panel will consist of an Educationist, Technocrat, IT Expert and an a Disable Activist.
- The paper presenters shall get one free complimentary copy of the book
Note: Mode of Submission is only by Email
Important Dates:
Last date for submitting the abstract is on 29 August 2014
Intimation of the acceptance of the abstract: 02 september2014
Last date for submitting the full paper is 16 September 2014
For more details
KARNA VIDYA TECHNOLOGY CENTRE
RR Tower III, Ground Floor, Thiru-Vi-Ka Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai – 600 032. India.
Phone: 9444976822 / 9840018012
Email: info@kvtc.in | www.kvtc.in