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Access to Emergency Alerts for People with Sensory Disabilities

This project focuses on providing accessible emergency alerts for people with sensory disabilities. Efforts include forming an advisory board, establishing a working group, and creating information requirements based on existing authoritative works. The project aims to develop a demonstration model and conduct usability testing.

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Access to Emergency Alerts for People with Sensory Disabilities

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  1. Access to Emergency Alerts for People with Sensory Disabilities 2nd Annual Advisory Board Meeting Thursday February 23, 2006 Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Marcia Brooks Project Director WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) 617.300.3431 marcia_brooks@wgbh.org

  2. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Efforts to Date • Formed Advisory Board • Formed Working Group • Includes emergency management personnel, providers of notification services and equipment, and others • Meets monthly via phone conference

  3. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Efforts to Date • Working Group, continued: • Established working group “wiki” (collaborative editing environment) • Varied resources • White papers, project documents in progress, social science research • Concept map, to facilitate gap analysis

  4. Concept Map Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access

  5. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Efforts to Date • Draft information requirements suggest how a warning message should integrate the relevant needs of people with sensory disabilities within: • Database management and information processing • Alert distribution systems • Receiver equipment

  6. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Efforts to Date • Information requirements drawn from existing authoritative works: • National Science and Technology Council “Red Book” report on “Effective Disaster Warnings” • OASIS Emergency Management Technical Committee warning format requirements • World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

  7. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Efforts to Date • Established Public Access Repository • Summary documents of user needs • Design requirements for accessible products and services • Usability research • Subject-related news articles & conference announcements

  8. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Efforts to Date • Outreach • Presented overview of e-mail alert services at “Accessible Emergency Notification and Communication State of the Science” conference at Gallaudet • Submitted paper for Third Annual International Meeting of Information Systems for Crisis Response & Management at New Jersey Institute of Technology

  9. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Efforts to Date • Establishing contacts at Massachusetts state agencies, to develop state model for notification • Developing partner relationships to conduct testing and develop demonstration models

  10. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Efforts to Date • Just completed consumer focus groups (Mary Watkins) • With the RERC on Telecommunications Access, filed comments to the FCC regarding the Emergency Alert System (Gerry Field)

  11. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access What’s Ahead • Refine use cases, information requirements • Conduct usability testing • Develop demonstration model • Conduct test implementations and evaluations of use cases in products and services • Continue development of information repository • Project concludes September 30, 2007

  12. Focus Groups Update Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Mary Watkins Outreach Director Media Access Group at WGBH

  13. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Focus Groups • Convened to solicit direct input from the community:a. How emergency messages are receivedb. The content and usefulness of messagesc. Satisfaction and/or frustration with aboved. Ideal delivery mechanisms and message content

  14. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Focus Groups • Tech Savvy and Non-Tech Savvy Consumers:- Hard-of-Hearing and Late-deafened Consumers(NVRC)- Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumers (TDI) - Blind and Visually Impaired Consumers (AFB) - Deaf-Blind consumers (Helen Keller National Ctr)

  15. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Focus Groups • Hard-of-Hearing and Late-deafened Consumers • Receive emergency information via: - Television- Radio (if residual hearing) - E-mail or news Web sites (text as online video not captioned)- Personal devices such as pagers, cell phones, Blackberries- From family, neighbors, strangers

  16. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Focus Groups • Tech Savvy Hard-of-Hearing and Late-deafened ConsumersConcerns: - Broadcast weather alerts utilize Doppler/area maps that make pinpointing locations difficult without benefit of audio- Power outages, extreme vulnerability in the dark- Relevance of emergency messages via e-mail diluted by less than vital information (“high wind” warnings)- PA systems in public spaces not useful (hearing aids block background noise)

  17. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Focus Groups Hard-of-Hearing and Late-deafened Consumers Wish List- Text displays in public buildings - Hearing aid coupled with a PA system to transmit emergency messages directly (Bluetooth)- Portable speech to text device- GPS in cell phone with local emergency mgmt agency reachable - Radio text alerts- Captioned Internet video, easy to activate, delivered in real time- Device to wake you, complete with external power supply

  18. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Focus Groups • Ideal messages for deaf, hard of hearing and late-deafened consumers:Notification and what to doURL for more informationDevelop consistency: keywords, order of infoOffer hierarchy of notification options/scenariosOffer variety of message detail based on device text display (address problem of truncated text)

  19. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Focus Groups Ideal messages for deaf consumers:- Establish color codes and keywords for people who don’t have great English skills (broadcast or text msgs)- Incorporation of sign language interpreters for emergency newscasts or e-mailed alerts

  20. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Focus Groups Non Tech Savvy Hard-of-Hearing and Late-deafened ConsumersIdeal Messages- Messages delivered via existing public tech vs. personal devices - Method of capturing TV captioning text if missed or if scrolling too fast - LED signs on highways, display alerts in cars - TV station/channel with text information on full screen- Neighborhood watch program (though privacy/safety concern)- Programs to have police/fire personnel notify household

  21. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Focus Groups Blind and visually impaired consumers receive emergency information/notification via:Radio, television (increasingly), ham radio (fast, direct) Satellite radio Weather radios that turn on during emergencies Automated calls by local emergency agencies E-mail alerts from local tv stations Sirens if in a small or rural communityFamily, friends, neighbors (secondary source)

  22. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Focus Groups Blind and visually impaired consumers expressed these concerns: - Televised text scrolls and graphics cater to sighted audience - TV reporters that say “over here” and “in the red area” - Diminishing number of locally owned and operated radio stations (hence availability and reliability of local alerts) - Stations (tv and radio) that cover wide areas and therefore don’t provide enough specifics during weather events - Training of public officials needed, especially around importance of guide dogs (not a pet)

  23. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Focus Groups Suggestions from blind and visually impaired consumers: - Improve what currently exists, take what “is” and make it more accessible - Broadcast audio warnings in additional languages - Use beepers to alert users to emergency situation, seek further info - 800 number for emergency info in your area - Phone options preferable to instant messaging - Dissemination software that can send messages via more than one type of media/device - Stick with low tech options to maximize accessibility

  24. Access Alerts Project ncam.wgbh.org/alerts www.incident.com/access Focus Groups Suggestions on message content from Blind and Visually Impaired consumers: - Relatively few complaints on quality of warning notification now - EAS warnings taken seriously, capture attention, build on this with tones on other devices - Improve broadcast weather reports by reducing vague pointing and “over here/there” - Concern comes with “what do I do now” post evacuation (transportation, shelters, etc. when away from home and tv/radio) Suggestion beyond current project: Engage local communities of blind and visually impaired consumers and first responders similar to TDI’s CEPIN project

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