Latest / Podcasts By Donna Jodhan / Remarkable World Commentary Episode #55: Unaffordable Access Technology

Transcript

Remarkable World Commentary Episode #55: Unaffordable Access Technology · Podcasts By Donna Jodhan

• 0:13
  Podcast Commentator: Greetings. Donna J Jodhan, LLB, ACSP and MBA,
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  invites you to listen to her biweekly podcast,
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  Remarkable World Commentary.
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  Here, Donna shares some of her innermost thoughts,
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  insights, perspectives, and more with her listeners.
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  Donna focuses on topics that directly affect the future of kids,
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  especially kids with disabilities.
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  Donna is a blind advocate, author, site loss coach,
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  dinner mystery producer, writer, entrepreneur,
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  law graduate, and podcast commentator.
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  She has decades of lived experiences, knowledge,
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  skills, and expertise in access technology and information.
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  As someone who has been internationally recognized for her work and roles.
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  She just wants to make things better than possible.
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  Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Hello there! My name is Donna and welcome to the second week of my October
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  biweekly remarkable bi weekly commentary.
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  And I want for today to address the topic of unaffordable access technology.
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  So what is unaffordable access technology all about?
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  Okay. This is something that has perpetuated over the years,
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  and it does not seem to be getting any better.
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  It is a chronic challenge slash problem for many of us who cannot afford to
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  have the best and greatest technology under our fingers.
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  And especially when it comes to access technology.
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  It continues to be out of the reach of those who really,
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  really need it. And it affects different groups in different ways in that if we cannot
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  have the best and greatest access technology,
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  it means that we are being left behind when it comes to engaging and communicating
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  online. No matter which industry it is, it could be the banking industry,
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  the travel industry. It could be, you know, doing your shopping,
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  anything like that. That's what it is all about.
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  Okay. So. It's unaffordable to so many.
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  And this obviously leads to falling behind when it comes to groups such as seniors,
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  those who are technically shy, those who simply cannot afford to purchase
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  access technology to help them out.
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  Okay. And. Developers, designers and companies continue to price
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  their products beyond the reach of the pockets of.
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  Those customers I just talked about, it's beyond their reach because they cannot
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  afford it. And especially so for access technology.
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  You know, you have a lot of people who depend on screen readers,
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  for example, who depend on technology that enlarges their screens,
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  who depend on technology for different reasons.
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  Access technology is unaffordable, and we need to find ways to bring down the
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  prices of these pieces of technology.
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  We need to convince society as a whole that access technology benefits so many people,
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  millions of people worldwide, not just seniors,
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  not just the technology, not just persons with disabilities.
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  It benefits many, many others.
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  And this is what I think we're missing out on.
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  Now. Is it because developers and manufacturers and others believe that it's a
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  very small market? Is this why they do not put much effort into making sure that access
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  technology is made available in an affordable manner to others?
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  What is it? So we need to start working on developers,
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  designers and companies and manufacturers to get them to buy into a truthful
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  fact that access technology is unaffordable because of their present barriers and
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  attitudes. But access technology can be beneficial to many,
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  many people. In addition to seniors, the technically shy persons with
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  disabilities. And let me just say that the markets,
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  the consumer markets for seniors and for persons with disabilities is growing rapidly.
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  So we need to step in and start pushing developers,
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  designers, companies and manufacturers to find ways to make access technology more
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  affordable and more available.
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  Okay. I'm Donna Jodhan, wishing you a great rest of the day,
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  a great rest of the week, and a great rest of the month.
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  Please contact me at Donna Jodhan at gmail.com.
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  And that's about d o n j o d h a n.
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  It's Donna Jodhan at gmail.com.
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  Take care now and we'll see you the next time.
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  Bye for now.
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  Podcast Commentator: Donna wants to hear from you and invites you to write to her at Donna at gmail.com.
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  Until next time.