{"product_id":"making-computers-accessible-elizabeth-r-petrick-9781421416465","title":"Making Computers Accessible: Disability Rights and Digital Technology","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe revolution in accessible computer technology was fueled by disability activism, the interactive nature of personal computers, and changing public policy.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1974, not long after developing the first universal optical character recognition technology, Raymond Kurzweil struck up a conversation with a blind man on a flight. Kurzweil explained that he was searching for a use for his new software. The blind man expressed interest: One of the frustrating obstacles that blind people grappled with, he said, was that no computer program could translate text into speech. Inspired by this chance meeting, Kurzweil decided that he must put his new innovation to work to \"overcome this principal handicap of blindness.\" By 1976, he had built a working prototype, which he dubbed the Kurzweil Reading Machine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis type of innovation demonstrated the possibilities of computers to dramatically improve the lives of people living with disabilities. In \u003ci\u003eMaking Computers Accessible\u003c\/i\u003e, Elizabeth R. Petrick tells the compelling story of how computer engineers and corporations gradually became aware of the need to make computers accessible for all people. Motivated by user feedback and prompted by legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, which offered the promise of equal rights via technological accommodation, companies developed sophisticated computerized devices and software to bridge the accessibility gap. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeople with disabilities, Petrick argues, are paradigmatic computer users, demonstrating the personal computer's potential to augment human abilities and provide for new forms of social, professional, and political participation. Bridging the history of technology, science and technology studies, and disability studies, this book traces the psychological, cultural, and economic evolution of a consumer culture aimed at individuals with disabilities, who increasingly rely on personal computers to make their lives richer and more interconnected.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Elizabeth R. Petrick\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1421416468\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781421416465\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Johns Hopkins University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/01\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 208\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.90lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 5.90w x 0.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2015","brand":"Elizabeth R. Petrick","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48449574961407,"sku":"9781421416465","price":52.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_77f5eb77-d8aa-413d-b93c-1c238a3c97dc.jpg?v=1777263996","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/making-computers-accessible-elizabeth-r-petrick-9781421416465","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}