We Care...Access for Persons with Disabilities: 02/16/09

Monday, February 16, 2009

Buses for the disabled

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/2/16/north/3276029&sec=North

Congratulation to Rapid Penang company for their aim to increase the number of Rapid Penang buses for Jun (added 200 buses). It's not the number i'm impressed of but their intention in social welfare by providing the new buses with the facilities for persons with disabilities. The new buses will be disabled-friendly.

How will it disabled-friendly?

The new buses will be fitted with a ramp each to enable wheelchair-bound passengers to board the bus. In addition, the Rapid Penang had also installed the Global Positioning System (GPS) on all its buses to monitor their (OKU) movements.

So, let us wait until Jun and see how is the accessibility provided. Is it match with the persons with disability need or it just only the implementation.

Let us wait until its time...jeng..jeng..jeng.

Help us to help them...

We are final year students from School of Social Science majoring in Anthropology & Sosiology. This blog is to share some knowledge and the idea about the accessibility for persons with disabilities. We try to concern on every single places and areas especially at the commercial buildings. We hope that through this blog we can produce conciousness among the community about the importance to provide the comfortable, convenience and applicable facilities for persons with disabilities especially the corporate community. We welcome your opinion, comment and suggestion...Together we share and care about this issue...Help us to keep them smiling...

Accessibility

Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product (e.g., device, service, environment) is accessible by as many people as possible.

Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" the functionality, and possible benefit, of some system or entity.

Accessibility is often used to focus on people with disabilities and their right of access to entities, often through use of assistive technology.

Several definitions of accessibility refer directly to access-based individual rights laws and regulations. Products or services designed to meet these regulations are often termed Easy Access or Accessible.

Accessibility is not to be confused with usability which is used to describe the extent to which a product (e.g., device, service, environment) can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use.

Accessibility is strongly related to universal design when the approach involves "direct access." This is about making things accessible to all people (whether they have a disability or not). -wikipedia-

Disability

Disability is a lack of ability relative to a personal or group standard or norm. In reality there is often simply a spectrum of ability. Disability may involve physical impairment such as sensory impairment, cognitive or intellectual impairment, mental disorder (also known as psychiatric or psychosocial disability), or various types of chronic disease. A disability may occur during a person's lifetime or may be present from birth.

Disability may be seen as resulting directly from individuals, in which case the focus is typically on aspects of those individuals and how they could function better. This view is associated with what is generally termed a medical model of disability. Alternatively, the interaction between people and their environment/society may be emphasized. Here, the focus may be on the role of society in labeling some people as having a disability relative to others, while causing or maintaining disability in those people through attitudes and standards of accessibility that favor the majority (a prejudice dubbed "able-ism"). This view is commonly associated with a human rights or social model of disability. -wikipedia-