Thesis ID: CBB001567399

Fulfilling the Promise of the Personal Computer: The Development of Accessible Computer Technologies, 1970--1998 (2012)

unapi

Petrick, Elizabeth (Author)


University of California, San Diego
Gates, Kelly
Thorpe, Charles
Westman, Robert
Gates, Kelly
Golan, Tal
Thorpe, Charles
Westman, Robert
Gere, Cathy
Golan, Tal


Publication Date: 2012
Edition Details: Advisor: Gere, Cathy; Committee Members: Gates, Kelly, Golan, Tal, Thorpe, Charles, Westman, Robert.
Physical Details: 312 pp.
Language: English

In this dissertation, I examine the historical development of accessible personal computer technologies for people with disabilities, within the United States. I discuss the creation of these technologies within large, mass-market computer companies and small, third-party developers, along with their promotion and dissemination by disability and technology advocacy groups. I argue that accessible personal computer technologies were a part of the struggle for civil rights for people with disabilities, which became enacted through technological accommodations that allowed for new abilities and new forms of social participation. I divide my analysis into five parts: First, the emergence of civil rights legislation for people with disabilities in the 1960s and 1970s, alongside the use of earlier computer technology by professionals with disabilities and computer researchers trying to benefit people through cutting-edge technologies designed for their use. Second, I examine the creation of early accessible technologies within the personal computer industry and their promotion by disability activist groups, who disseminated knowledge and expertise to potential consumers, while providing feedback on users' needs to developers. Third, as computer technology began to standardize in the mid-1980s, I study the role of corporate philanthropy in furthering the development of accessible technologies and in channeling resources to non-profit organizations and individuals with disabilities. Fourth, the revitalization of the disability rights movement, in the late-1980s, led to the passage of stronger civil rights legislation for people with disabilities; I examine these laws and their affects on disability and technology advocacy groups. Fifth, I conclude with an analysis of accessible personal computer software, in the 1990s, as computer technology stabilized and accessibility had become mainstream, while new challenges remained to ensuring personal computers could work with the needs of all users. The development of accessible personal computer technologies for people with disabilities involved a struggle to fulfill the promise the technology holds: to enact civil rights and allow for fuller participation in society, to augment human abilities and provide for new forms of social interaction, and to meet the needs of all users as a universal technology.

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Description Cited in Dissertation Abstracts International-A 74/05(E), Nov 2013. Proquest Document ID: 1272153054.


Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001567399/

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Authors & Contributors
Petrick, Elizabeth
Berney, Barbara
Frank Mondelli
Joy Marie Lisi Rankin
Basl, John
Wiltshire, Alex
Concepts
Technology and society
Personal computers and computing
Disability technology
Computers and computing
Disabilities; disability; accessibility
Civil rights
Time Periods
20th century, late
21st century
20th century
20th century, early
Places
United States
Norway
Japan
France
Canada
Taiwan
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