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October 26-27, 2006
Hard-Wiring Inclusion
Conference
Online workshops Fall 2005.
   

2004 Summer Institute : Final Report


How do government and industry
decision-making shape the development
of information technologies?

The original PowerPoint presentation is also available in Acrobat (PDF) format.

Aldred H. Neufeldt
Community Rehabilitation & Disability Studies
University of Calgary


The Context

Week in review

Q 1. How have people with disabilities identified challenges and benefits of new technologies

Q 2. How can we develop information technologies (ITs) to enhance the participation of people with disabilities?

Q 3. How do ITs create opportunities and new barriers for people with disabilities?

Q 4. How do government and industry decision-making shape the development of ITs?


Two Parts to Today’s Question

How do government and industry decision-making shape the development of ITs?

  • Business and Industry
  • Government –the State
    • As these have an affect on individuals

Process: pursue questions through a mutual learning and exchange process

Social institutions affecting Information
Technology Developments of Relevance to
People with Disabilities

Inter-relationships
Chart showing inter-relationship between the State, Business and Household/IT User

Social institutions affecting Information
Technology Developments of Relevance to
People with Disabilities

Inter-relationships
Chart from Aldred Neufeldt's presentation

Differences
Public Sector Business Sector
  • Service Language
  • Service values dominate
  • State defines context
  • Activities funded thru’taxation or insurance
  • Clients stay with provider long term
  • Competitors of little concern
  • Business Language
  • Market values dominate
  • Marketplace the context
  • Activities funded through sales of goods or services
  • Clients loyal only to a point
  • Competitors a major concern -market share
Similarities
  • Most organizational theories applicable to both
  • Values such as concern for employee well being, ‘good corporate citizenship’, etc. found in private sector as well as public sector
  • While private sector often seen as ‘hard nosed’, and public sector as ‘soft’, private sector remarkably vulnerable to ‘fashions’of management based on little more than case study evidence (e.g. management styles, rationales for mergers, etc.)
  • Both affected by the same biases about and perceptions of disability

Social institutions affecting Information
Technology Developments of Relevance to
People with Disabilities

Inter-relationships
Chart from Aldred Neufeldt's presentation
Vision

Visions of desirable future IT drawn from two sources of evidence:

  • Knowledge-based
  • Value-based

These are Intertwined –our value-based views shape our understanding of the worth of knowledge-based ideas and technologies –as well as whether or not to make use of such ideas/technologies


Sources of Evidence in Shaping our
Futures –the ‘V’Heuristic

Chart from Aldred Neufeldt's presentation
Question 1

How does industry decision-making shape the development of information technologies?

  • In general?
  • As ITs pertain to people with disabilities?

Question 2

How does government decision-making shape the development of information technologies?

  • In general?
  • As ITs pertain to people with disabilities?

Thank you to our expert panelists
And to you, the participants!
  Page modified: September 02 2005 10:54:28