[accessibleimage] Re: proposes solutions to us currency access problem

It would seem that random placement would cut down on efficiency on 
identification. I've also read somewhere that the tactile markings on some 
bills wear down, so I hope good research is done across the board.

L...

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Steven Landau 
  To: accessibleimage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2008 9:29 AM
  Subject: [accessibleimage] Re: proposes solutions to us currency access 
problem


  sylvie, thanks very much for your excellent short summary of the issue of 
access to currency in the US. I don't know much about the technical problems 
what could result from even doing something so seemingly simple as adding 
tactile markings to bills. I imagine that some machines, like the ones they use 
to count money, could have a problem with any marking that changes the 
thickness of the bills, especially if that mark occurs in the same place on all 
bills.  I know from our work in manufacturing tactile pictures, that when you 
have a large stack of tactile sheets that all have the same markings, that the 
stack gets higher in the place where the marks occur. This could cause jams, 
etc. Maybe the mark would have to happen in a random place, so that a pile of 
money would stay more or less flat; I wonder what a randomly-placed mark, 
however, would do to either make it easier or harder to detect counterfeits....




  On Tue, May 27, 2008 at 7:43 AM, Lisa Yayla <lisa.yayla@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

    Sylvia, 
    The solutions you wrote about sound very good. 
    I was thinking there might be also a transition stage - the time when old 
bills are still around before going over to accessible bills and
    that there might be a way to make old bills accessible before they are 
taken out of circulation.
    What if banks had embossing equipment so when ever an "old" bill comes in 
it is run through an embosser and a embossed mark 
    is placed on it?
    Best,
    Lisa



    accessibleimage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx skrev 27. mai 2008 kl. 09:26 +0000:
    This issue is being debated among disability advocates from the two main
    organizations of the blind, the American Council of the Blind and the
    National Federation of the Blind.


    I think it is very appropriate for tactile designers to also give it serious
    consideration.


    Those who haven't been keeping up with these debates should be aware that
    the majority of legally blind people in wealthy countries are older adults,
    and I very much doubt
    if most of them are members of any Blindness organization. Most teachers and
    counselors I know of who work with older people who have lost vision as
    adults are told again and again by the majority of these people that they
    would love to once again be able to quickly identify their money on their
    own, so as to maintain some degree of independence and dignity in stores, on
    public transit, in taxis, and in restaurants, etc. Credit-debit cards can't
    be used everywhere; for example, they can't be used on many public transit
    bus systems. and some older people don't feel comfortable using them anyway.


    Most people with low vision, and all blind people, are unable to
    distinguish one denomination of American paper money from another. Blind
    people must ask sighted people for help in order to count and sort their
    bills. Some may be able to afford and feel comfortable with machines that
    can identify the denominations and speak the values out loud. But, many
    people, especially older people who have lost vision as adults,  cannot
    afford to buy such machines, or they feel uncomfortable using them, and
    these machines make many nervous in check-out lines, where they slow things
    down a bit.


    In the United States, visual impairment is the third most common chronic
    condition, after arthritis and heart disease, among the elderly.


    It is noteworthy that 17% of
    adults aged 65 through 74 and 26% of those aged 75 and older have some form
    of visual impairment (Lighthouse International, 2003).


    We should also keep in mind that the United States is constantly replacing
    worn-out currency.  Altering the size and design of denominations of bills
    above the one-dollar bill would cost something like 5 percent of what the
    government has spent on producing currency in the past decade.


    The Treasury spent a considerable amount of money redesigning our currency
    in 1996 and 2004. But, both times they basically ignored recommendations
    presented by a 1995 National Academy of Sciences report that recommended
    making changes that would facilitate identification of different
    denominations by touch.


    As a matter of fact, the United States had paper currency that varied in
    size before 1929. It began producing all denominations of bills in the
    same-size in 1929.  All other countries with paper currency vary the bills
    in size according to denomination or include other features that help  all
    people, sighted and nonsighted, in distinguishing between different
    denominations of bills. Some add embossed dots, some have raised ink or
    foil.
    In Europe, for example, the Euro varies in size: the greater the value of
    the bill, the greater the length. Each bill also has a raised number and
    foil perceptible to touch, which not only helps those people who are blind
    but is considered a security feature to prevent counterfeiting. In Japan,
    the denominations each have a different geometric watermark shape in the
    corner. Canadian bills have a different set of raised symbols. For example,
    the $5 note has one raised symbol; the $10 note has two symbols.


    Okay, tactile designers, let's work on some ideas for what the U.S. bills
    could have!


    Best regards,


    Sylvie



    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: "Steven Landau" <sl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
    To: <accessibleimage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
    Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2008 4:51 PM
    Subject: [accessibleimage] Re: proposes solutions to us currency access
    problem



    yes, it will, indeed, be interesting to see this case go to the supreme
    court, if it comes to that.  You are right, that if they just add braille,
    or some other tactile marking to the existing paper money, that won't be
    robust enough to last very long. I know that currency these days has a lot
    of sophisticated anti-counterfeiting measures, such as watermarks, very tiny
    printing in many colors, and a special thread that is somehow embedded in
    the paper, and that you can't see unless you hold it up to a light source. I
    am wondering if that thread could be modified to add some form of electronic
    tagging that could be read through some low tech means. But I think it would
    be best if the user did not need to own and carry another dedicated device
    for reading bills.


    On Sun, May 25, 2008 at 7:11 PM, Robert Jaquiss <rjaquiss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
    wrote:


    >  Hello List:
    >
    >      It will certainly be interesting to see if the treasury appeals this
    > ruling to the Supreme Court. For those outside of the U. S., the Treasury
    > can appeal the currency ruling to the U. S. Supreme Court which is our
    > highest court. Because of the large cost of redesigning the currency and
    all
    > the handling equipment, some people have advocated that the Treasury
    simply
    > provide any blind person who wants one a talking currency identifier.
    These
    > are currently in the $250 range, but it is believed that if the government
    > bought a million of them that the price would drop. I have also heard that
    > embossed bills tend to flatten out erasing their markings. Perhaps a
    marking
    > could be applied to bills, but I wonder if currency counters and other
    > handling equipment would jam with the extra thick currency. One thing I am
    > certain of is that there will be much discussion of this topic on the
    > blindness related lists.
    >
    > Regards,
    >
    > Robert Jaquiss
    >
    >




    -- 
    steven landau
    touch graphics, inc.
    330 west 38 street suite 1204
    new york, ny 10018
    usa
    p. 800-884-2440
    f. 646-452-4311
    c. 646-515-3492



    Lisa Yayla
    Huseby Kompetansesenter 
    Oslo Norway
    lisa.yayla@xxxxxxxxxx



  -- 
  steven landau
  touch graphics, inc.
  330 west 38 street suite 1204
  new york, ny 10018
  usa
  p. 800-884-2440
  f. 646-452-4311
  c. 646-515-3492 


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