Media releases

• Digital accessibility should be driven by community input, say Brock experts

  Tuesday, May 14, 2024 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY: May 14 2024 – R0062

  While the journey to making the online world more accessible requires forward thought and technological innovation, a key component for progress dates back well before the creation of computers.

  Listening to input from the community — in this case, centring the voices of disabled community members — is critical to enhancing digital access and inclusion for persons with disabilities, say Brock University experts as Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) nears on Thursday, May 16.

  Priscilla Burnham Riosa, Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Disability Studies, says “taking a community-driven approach should be at the forefront when initiating projects intended to serve a particular community’s needs.”

  In 2020, Burnham Riosa led a project designed to understand the employment experiences and needs of job seekers on the autism spectrum to inform the development of an autism-focused online employment platform.

  The research team conducted focus groups with Autistic people, their family members and employment professionals and then applied those findings to the development of an employment website. The researchers also “gathered iterative feedback on the site and modified it based on the perspectives of Autistic people and their supporters throughout the process,” Burnham Riosa says.

  “Community involvement in developing meaningful digital resources and supports was instrumental to our project,” she says. “Engaging and prioritizing the voices of and input from members of the community — in our case, the Autistic community — was central to creating meaningful work.”

  Maureen Connolly, Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, says although one in four Canadians identifies as a member of a disabled community, “decades of research show that non-disabled people get their information about disabled communities from media or popular culture, and not from interactions with disabled people themselves.”

  As a result, Connolly says, ableism continues to be a part of emerging technologies, including those that could help support digital accessibility.

  “We saw, when courses and assessment of student work moved online during the pandemic, proctoring software and digital submission and engagement technology that were ableist in their design,” she says. “But everyday programs like the Microsoft 360 Suite now have accessibility tools built in for everyone to use. There is a lot in place for us all to be doing better.”

  Connolly also cautions that there is no “accessibility utopia” where a single change or adjustment results in accessibility for all. Even meeting minimum standards to comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) does not necessarily mean that a tool or process is fully accessible, she says.

  “We can put materials online to increase digital access, but without examining how they will be used, we keep falling into habits of reproducing bad practices that prevent us from achieving digital accessibility,” says Connolly.

  Priscilla Burnham Riosa, Associate Professor in Brock’s Department of Applied Disability Studies, and Maureen Connolly, Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, are available for media interviews on this topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Maryanne St. Denis, Manager, Content and Communications, Brock University mstdenis@brocku.ca or 905-246-0256 

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  Categories: Media releases

• Investment, leadership will be key to success of Toronto’s WNBA franchise, say Brock experts

  Tuesday, May 14, 2024 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY: May 13 2024 – R0061

  It will all come down to dollars and sense — of both collaboration and leadership.

  That’s what Brock University experts say will be needed for women’s professional basketball to find success after tipping off in Toronto in 2026.

  As news whirls of an expansion franchise of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) heading to Canada, professors in Brock’s Department of Sport Management suggest there are a few critical steps that should be taken to ensure the team finds a permanent home court.

  Michele Donnelly, Assistant Professor of Sport Management, says a willingness to invest resources in the long term will be crucial to the success of Toronto’s WNBA expansion team.

  “We know that fans want to be able to buy a jersey with their favourite player’s name on the back, attend games in modern sport venues and follow their teams on various media platforms,” she says. “Making these things available to as many fans as possible will help Toronto’s WNBA team be successful.”

  There are signs that fan interest is growing.

  “Attendance at the WNBA pre-season game in Toronto in May 2023 clearly demonstrated an interest in, and excitement about, women’s basketball,” Donnelly says. “It is about time Canada has a WNBA team, and it is good to see that Kilmer Sports Inc. has pursued the franchise after Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) denied support for a Toronto team.”

  The groundswell of support extends well beyond basketball, with more people recognizing how “exciting, entertaining and impressive” women’s sport is, Donnelly says.

  “Audiences around the world have increasingly been given the opportunity to learn this, largely due to the efforts of women athletes and existing women’s sport fans,” she says. “Women athletes have done an incredible amount of work to promote themselves and their sports using social media and other non-traditional media platforms. Their successes are being recognized, and more mainstream media outlets and corporations are interested in the audiences those athletes have cultivated. From a business perspective, professional women’s sport is now viewed as a more profitable option for broadcasters and sponsors.”

  Shannon Kerwin, Associate Professor of Sport Management, says the WNBA has created a collaborative culture that must be maintained as an expansion moves forward.

  “Ensuring that the values of the WNBA — and less so the values attached to the other sport franchises in Toronto — are held constant with the new franchise will be key to its success,” she says. “We know that the movement towards embracing women’s sport is fierce and staying true to the values that have grown the professional women’s game in North America will be paramount.”

  The new WNBA team will need to navigate its place in a large sport market, but there is room to leverage connections with the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) and professional women’s soccer league already built within Toronto, Kerwin says.

  “Being mindful of the ground that has been laid for women’s sport in Toronto by leagues, sponsors, organizations and the sport research community will be important for overcoming any barriers that may be faced,” she says.

  Taylor McKee, Assistant Professor of Sport Management, calls the arrival of the WNBA to Toronto a “watershed moment for professional sport in Canada” that is “long overdue” given the high-quality basketball talent the country has produced in recent decades.

  In last year’s NCAA tournament, Canada had 22 women competing, along with four active Canadian WNBA players this season.

  McKee says MLSE may have missed the mark by turning down the franchise expansion opportunity.

  “Countless metrics have demonstrated the immense growth in women’s sport in North America. Closer to home, the seeming initial success of PWHL Toronto would appear to have given MLSE enough proof of concept to support the pursuit of a franchise,” he says. “However, ultimately putting forward the capital to bring a WNBA team to Toronto is not an endeavour free of risk. It is decidedly possible that MLSE’s decision will look short-sighted if the WNBA franchise enjoys the type of success that many anticipate is possible.”

  The team will benefit from the leadership of Larry Tanenbaum, the Toronto billionaire who heads Kilmer Sports Inc., McKee says.

  “That it was Tanenbaum who successfully brought a WNBA franchise to Toronto is crucial given the importance of stable, committed and well-heeled ownership and Tanenbaum’s previous track record,” he says.

  Assistant Professors Michele Donnelly and Taylor McKee, and Associate Professor Shannon Kerwin, all of Brock University’s Department of Sport Management, are available for media interviews on this topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Maryanne St. Denis, Manager, Content and Communications, Brock University mstdenis@brocku.ca or 905-246-0256

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  Categories: Media releases