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User Labs_John_Knight_to_guest_speak_at_WMita_DDA_meeting
| User-Labs John Knight to guest speak at WMita DDA meeting
29 June 2004, West Midlands, UK
User-Lab's John Knight to guest speak at WMita DDA meeting
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design User-Lab’s John Knight to
guest speak at West Midlands IT Association (WMita) Disability
Discrimination Act (DDA) meeting
----Begins----
John Knight, Usability Engineer at User-Lab
http://www.user-lab.com is to guest speak at West Midlands IT
Association (WMita) http://www.wmita.co.uk/ DDA meeting focusing
upon the issues of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
The event is to be held at Orchard Room, The Pear Tree Inn and
Country Hotel Wednesday 30th June 2004 5.30pm - 8.30pm, and has
been organised as WMita addresses concerns over disability act.
Concerns, speculation and confusion amongst information
technology companies regarding the timing and implications of
the DDA, has prompted the WMita to take a lead in offering
advice.
One effect of the DDA, which is scheduled to come into force in
October 2004, will be to ensure that websites are accessible to
blind and disabled users, but IT specialists have complained
that little information is available to help them ensure its
successful implementation.
WMita’s response is a presentation organised by the Hereford and
Worcester Branch featuring a leading authority on DDA, John
Knight, Usability Engineer of Birmingham Institute of Art and
Design at the University of Central England.
Charles Huthwaite of WMita’s H&W Branch said: “Web accessibility
is a hot topic at the moment and we feel we can learn a lot from
John’s knowledge and experience in this area. Many hold the view
that DDA could potentially destroy the effectiveness of their
websites but our advice to them is not to panic. We intend to
give practical, down to earth advice on what the new Act
requires, what needs to be done and what indeed DDA is all
about,” explains Huthwaite.
This presentation is the first in what WMita intends to become a
series of road shows about DDA and accessibility in general
which will result in WMita offering clear advice and guidance to
its members and the West Midlands IT community. This
presentation is the first in what WMita intends to become a
series of road shows about DDA and accessibility in general
which will result in WMita offering clear advice and guidance to
its members and the West Midlands IT community.
---Ends----
----Notes to editors----
This press release in available in PDF, plain text and Word
formats. Photographs are available of the User-Lab team.
The media spokesperson for User-Lab is John Knight, Usability
Engineer.
For more information and to register for The Disability
Discrimination Act (DDA) event visit:
http://www.wmita.co.uk/events/DisabilityDiscriminationActHereford
andWorcesterMeeting or http:/ inyurl.com/ypheu.
The event:
Venue: Orchard Room, The Pear Tree Inn and Country Hotel, Smite,
Worcester, WR5 3BN
Telephone: 01905 756565, Fax: 01905 756777
Wednesday 30th June 2004, 5.30pm - 8.30pm
About User-Lab: http://www.user-lab.com
User-Lab is a non-profit making organisation based at Birmingham
Institute of Art and Design http://www.biad.uce.ac.uk/. The lab
is part of the Institute’s Research Department and is staffed by
a multidisciplinary team with expertise in digital media design,
human-computer interaction, psychology and software engineering.
The lab comprises three purpose built testing and design labs
that are equipped with the latest technology for conducting
behavioural, physiological and psychological research. The lab
has two related functions: to carry out research into the
digital experience and, based on the results of this work, to
develop an innovative commercial service.
In the two years since its inception, the lab has been involved
in a number of collaborative projects with RDAs, FEs, charities
and the public and private sector. The outcomes of these
projects range from assisting start up businesses to training,
as well as the lab’s core business of user-centred design
services.
User-Lab run Web Accessibility Training with the Royal National
Institute for the Blind (RNIB) http://www.rnib.org.uk/ and
ECOTEC an international research and consultancy organisation
http://www.ecotec.com/.
----Contact----
Elemental PR:
Rachel Hawkes, Account Executive, Elemental PR Email:
user-lab@elementalpr.co.uk
Direct Telephone: +44 (0)870 745 9292, Mobile: +44 (0)7930
375663, Fax: +44 (0)870 745 9293, Website:
http://www.elementalpr.co.uk
Address: Second Floor, 145 -157 St John Street, London, EC1V
4PY, England, UK
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About the author:
Elemental PR - The public relations consultancy
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