COMMUNALLY PRODUCED CULTURAL SERVICES’ ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION BY USING SMARTPHONE AND APPS

Merja Saarela, Häme University of Applied Sciences

merja.saarela@hamk.fi

ABSTRACTCommunally produced cultural services’ accessibility information by using smartphone and apps

Merja Saarela

Häme University of Applied Sciencies, Hämeenlinna, Finland

As a part of Culture for All Act in Finland, The Education and Culture Ministry’s recommendation is that public officers should evaluate public services’ accessibility in every 3 to 5 years. An accessible cultural site offers everyone an opportunity to take part and to gain new experiences. A welcoming, open attitude to diversity and awareness of diverse audiences is required during all stages of service planning, financing and production. Despite the recommendation, those who mostly need information on accessibility complain that the information is hard to find when needed.

KUPS -project focused on identifying, producing and sharing culture and leisure services’ accessibility information communally by using smartphones. The purpose of the pilot was to empower people with disabilities to produce and evaluate services’ accessibility information by using smartphones and apps. The project made possible for the community of people with disabilities to produce and share them selves openly the services’ accessibility information needed.

The pilot was created mainly around the power of social-media perspective 1) participation and communally produced information, 2) using smartphones and mobile Apps, 3) crowdsourcing, 4) interactivity and co-creation, and 5) service design methods.

The pilot took place in Finland, Hämeenlinna, at the Verkatehdas Culture and Congress Centre. The mostly used apps were Google, Foursquare, Blindsquare, MBraille, Tap tap see, Dragon dictation.

In a three months KUPS -pilot (15.8.-31.12.2013) 3 blind and 3 physically disabled people learned to use smartphones (iPhone5), apps and social media in meaningful way, and produced cultural services’ accessibility tips. Tips were visible and accessible to all service users. Other users, including service providers, could interact and comment on written tip, or create tip of their own. Based on our findings, this method is efficient, easy to use and complements conventional accessibility evaluation methods.

1. BACKGROUND• An accessible cultural site offers everyone an opportunity

to take part and to gain new experiences. A welcoming, open attitude to diversity and awareness of diverse audiences is required during all stages of service planning, financing and production.

• In Finland, as a part of Culture for All Act, The Education and Culture Ministry reccommends public officers to evaluate public services’ accessibility every 3-5 years.

• Despite the recommendation, according to people with disabilities, the most important accessibility information is very hard to find.

2. PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT• To make it possible for the community of people with

disabilities to produce and share them selves openly the servces’ accessibility information needed.

• To develope a new mobile based method to produce accessibility information.

• PILOTING (15.8.-31.12.2013):1. participation and communally produced information, 2. using smartphones and mobile Apps, 3. Crowdsourcing, 4. interactivity and co-creation, 5. Service design methods.

3. GROUP OF INFORMANTSVoluntary people from local Visually impaired people’s Society of Kanta-Häme and local Invalid people’s Society of Kanta-Häme were asked to join informants group:• 3 physically disabled people, aged 20 - 40 years• 3 visually impaired people, aged 45 - 60 years

4. PILOT’S CULTURE SITESVerkatehdas Culture and Congress Centre, Hämeenlinna:• Hämeenlinna Concert hall• Hämeenlinna Art Museum• Bio Rex Cinema

5. EQUIPMENTS AND DATA COLLECTING• Informants learned to use smartphones (iPhone5) with

mobile Apps and produced cultural services’ accessibility tips. Smartphones were sponsored by Elisa Oyj.

• Apps we used: Google, Foursquare, BlindSquare, MBraille, Tap tap see, Dragon dictation.

• Tips accumulates on service providers webpages, and were thus visible and accessible to all service users on webpages, and for all Foursquare and BlindSquare users. A service provider or service user was able to interact and comment on left tips, or create tip of their own.

6. DATA ANALYZING ACCORDING TO INFORMANTS SERVICE PATH AND TIPS

Service path points from planning at home to actual art experience at Movie Theater

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7. MOBILE BASED MODEL FOR ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION PRODUCTION

8. CONCLUSIONS1. The method is simple, easy to use and in many ways useful.2. The method encourages and broadens possibilities of

people with disabilities to participate society’s activities as active citizens. There is evidence that people's engagement with their community enhances their feeling of wellbeing and forges stronger community spirit.

3. Method enables creation of personal networks, which are particularly important in supporting the integration of people with disabilities into the wider community, feel secure, and to make friends.

4. Accessibility tips will provide more information about the local area services that are accessible and has proved to be worth visiting.