How Starbucks Helps the Deaf Community ORDERING COFFEE JUST GOT EASIER
3 of the Most Dynamic Fictional Lawyers Is Everything Better On TV?
If you’ve ever visited a Starbucks coffee shop, you’ve likely heard a patron rattle off a drink order that was more specific than your grandma’s pecan pie recipe. For example, they might say, “I’ll take a Grande, four-pump, nonfat, no-whip, extra-hot mocha.” Without missing a beat, the barista scribbles the order on the cup and starts making the drink. Orders like this one are a mouthful for
even the most seasoned Starbucks guru, but for deaf people, it can be difficult to even order a cup of black coffee. Adam Novsam, a deaf utility analyst at Starbucks headquarters in Seattle, set out to address that difficulty by heading the launch of the company’s first deaf-friendly signing store. OPERATION The store’s grand opening took place in October in Washington, D.C. Its overall success relies primarily on its purposeful operation and design elements. In 2005, the ASL Deaf Studies Department at Gallaudet University created the DeafSpace Project using design elements, such as space and proximity, sensory reach, mobility, light, and acoustics, to address potential challenges for deaf people. Starbucks’ signing store incorporates these aspects of DeafSpace to make their store more accessible. For customers new to sign language, the store features some high-tech options for assisting with communication, ordering drinks, and receiving beverages at the handoff counter, including digital notepads and a console with two-way keyboards for back-and-forth conversations. APRONS All store partners at the signing store are proficient in ASL, whether they are hearing, hearing-impaired, or deaf. However, deaf partners wear special green aprons embroidered with the ASL spelling of Starbucks. What’s more, these aprons were created by a deaf supplier! EDUCATION For hearing customers who aren’t fluent in ASL — even those just ducking in to grab a cup of coffee to go — the signing store offers an opportunity to learn something new. For example, they can learn how to sign a word like “espresso” in ASL merely by reading the chalkboard above the register with the “sign of the week.” Starbucks’ decision to make their product more accessible has benefited thousands of customers all along the East Coast. Hopefully, as time goes on, other corporations will choose to follow suit so we can make a more deaf-friendly society.
Every time our team here at Kevin Patrick Law walks into the courtroom, we are excited and prepared to help our clients in the best possible ways. Over the years, we’ve noticed the prospect of practicing law often seems way more exhilarating on TV than it actually is. Part of this exhilaration stems from the fictional nature of the cases, but another part is due to the men and women portraying the attorneys. Hollywood has a memorable way of presenting legal professionals at their most dynamic, so we wanted to highlight three of the most fun TV lawyers: Elle Woods, 'Legally Blonde' Practicing law requires careful preparation, and no one prepares like Elle Woods. She might be a slow starter when it comes to delivering an argument, but few are better at finishing it than she. What makes Woods the complete package is her ability to stay true to her character and never settle for anything but the best — all while remaining the most fashionable attorney to ever set foot in the courtroom. She is passionate, hardworking, and determined. Jackie Chiles, 'Seinfeld' Chiles probably isn’t the best attorney on this list, but he might be the most memorable, particularly in his cases involving Kramer’s scorching coffee or the balm that supposedly ruined his golf game. Unfortunately, Chiles didn’t have the attorney skills to keep the group of friends from going to jail when they broke the county’s “Good Samaritan” law. Still, his upbeat personality and humorous law tactics make him worthy of a specific kind of veneration. Jack McCoy, 'Law and Order' The attorneys on this list are the types who work for a large firm or hang their shingle in front of their own law offices. Others, like Jack McCoy, work for the government in some capacity. During the 17 seasons that “Law & Order” was on the air, McCoy advanced all the way up to district attorney, bringing down the most loathsome criminals along the way.
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