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NEWS
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022
www.alltogethernow.org.uk
Government blasted by ombudsman
AN OMBUDSMAN has heavily criticised the Government for refusing to rectify the injustice caused by its treatment of more than 118,000 disabled benefit claimants who have been denied compensation following a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) blunder. The ombudsman’s criticism came after an investigation into how DWP treated a disabled woman with several long-term physical and mental health conditions who was left unable to heat her home or buy the food she needed to keep healthy for five years. The ombudsman has now called on DWP to write to Ms U to apologise, to pay interest on top of the arrears it had already paid her, and to make a payment of £7,500 as compensation for the impact of its failings. Ombudsman Rob Behrens said: “It is human to make mistakes but not acting to right wrongs is a matter of policy choice. In this case, that choice has been made by the very organisation that is responsible for supporting those most in need.” DWP has now said it would be issuing an apology and providing compensation to Ms U, as recommended.
Vets group honoured
THE Liverpool branch of the Royal Signals Association have received the Freedom of the City. Formed in 1929, the Signals have a proud history of supporting veterans in the city, providing comradeship, support and advice to former Royal Signals and their dependants in need or hardship. The branch – based at the Alamein Barracks on Liverpool Road, Huyton –- has over 150 active members. Chairman Bob Taylor said: “To be recognised in this way is a huge privilege.”
Digital inclusion blow
DIGITAL inclusion charity AbilityNet, found manysenior executives see online access as a “never-ending task” rather than an opportunity to innovate and build an ethical brand accessible to all. Other key findings from the charity’s survey include: n 26% believe they “lack the internal skills and experience” to drive digital accessibility. n Less than half of businesses have a named person who is responsible for digital accessibility. n 32% said measuring the impact of digital accessibility is the most significant barrier.
Sit back and blast off to the Universe
W
E humans who have never been to space (that’s most of us!) now have the chance to experience the Universe like never before.
British astronomers have created Audio Universe: Tour of the Solar System, a sound-based show making space a more immersive and inclusive experience for all – and especially blind and partially sighted children and adults. The show, lasting around half an hour, takes its audience on a journey inside a special spacecraft fitted with a “sonification machine” that turns the light from objects in space into sounds. It has been developed by astronomers from the universities of Newcastle and Portsmouth, supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, part of UK Research and Innovation. The aim of the project is to bring the wonders of the Universe to people at all levels – from school pupils to academics – in an accessible way, with a particular focus on those who are blind, are visually impaired, or have low vision. Near the start of the show, the audience “listens” to the stars that appear above the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile. Each star in the sky is represented by one musical note. The colour of the star determines the pitch of the note and the brightness of the stars determines the volume of the note. The brightest stars also appear first (as is the case for stars appearing after sunset), and the position of each star determines in which speakers it can be heard.
Astronomers create audio space tour
Blind astronomer Dr Nic Bonne from the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, acted as a consultant on the project and plays himself in the show, acting as the expert tour guide. Dr Bonne said: “As someone with a vision impairment I really wish this kind of show had existed when I was a kid.” A blind school pupil also gave up his time, once a week for several months, to provide his perspective of being a blind youngster who is interested in the Universe. This was made possible through Rachel Lambert, a Qualified Teacher of Children and Young People with Vision Impairment, who also plays the voice of the spaceship’s captain for the show. Rachel said: “I think this show will raise the expectations and aspirations of children with a vision impairment. There is an excellent role model in real life astronomer Dr Bonne. “It is very important for all children to have those role models in real life situations who they can aspire to, and who demonstrate that they can do whatever they want to do.” Newcastle University’s Dr Chris Harrison created and directed the Audio Universe show. He said: “Astronomers have realised the potential to use our ears instead of, or as
well as, our eyes to explore the latest gigantic datasets coming from telescopes. “By developing sound-based approaches to represent astronomy, which are useful for children all the way to professional researchers, we hope with our Audio Universe project to increase accessibility to enjoy the wonders of the Universe and to increase representation of the blind community as professional astronomers.” The project uses a specially designed computer code called Sonification Tools and Resources for Astronomers Using Sound Synthesis (STRAUSS) to represent real astronomical data through sound in a variety of ways. The code’s lead developer Dr James Trayford, from the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, said: “Our code was originally developed for research applications, with the aim to use our ears to detect subtle signals in the data that our eyes might miss. “However, the code can be used for many applications, and we were delighted to use it for our new educational show.” In contrast to standard astronomy shows, the soundtrack was designed first so that it would be educational and enjoyable on its own, and only then were visual animations added. Composer Dr Leigh Harrison said: “Getting this balance right was important for creating a show that was both true enough to the data to remain educational and scientific, but also resulted in an overall enjoyable experience for the audience.”
n See the show at www.audiouniverse.org/
. . . . reaching people who are digitally excluded . . .
