Showing papers on "Web accessibility published in 2015"

Ensuring Digital Accessibility through Process and Policy

Abstract: Ensuring Digital Accessibility through Process and Policy provides readers with a must-have resource to digital accessibility from both a technical and policy perspective. Inaccessible digital interfaces and content often lead to forms of societal discrimination that may be illegal under various laws. This book is unique in that it provides a multi-disciplinary understanding of digital accessibility. The book discusses the history of accessible computing, an understanding of why digital accessibility is socially and legally important, and provides both technical details (interface standards, evaluation methods) and legal details (laws, lawsuits, and regulations). The book provides real-world examples throughout, highlighting organizations that are doing an effective job with providing equal access to digital information for people with disabilities. This isnt a book strictly about interface design, nor is it a book strictly about law. For people who are charged with implementing accessible technology and content, this book will serve as a one-stop guide to understanding digital accessibility, offering an overview of current laws, regulations, technical standards, evaluation techniques, as well as best practices and suggestions for implementing solutions and monitoring for compliance. This combination of skills from the three authorslaw, technical, and research, with experience in both corporate, government, and educational settings, is unique to this book, and does not exist in any other book about any aspect of IT accessibility. The authors combination of skills marks a unique and valuable perspective, and provides insider knowledge on current best practices, corporate policies, and technical instructions. Together, we can ensure that the world of digital information is open to all users. Learn about the societal and organizational benefits of making information technology accessible for people with disabilities Understand the interface guidelines, accessibility evaluation methods, and compliance monitoring techniques, needed to ensure accessible content and technology. Understand the various laws and regulations that require accessible technology Learn from case studies of organizations that are successfully implementing accessibility in their technologies and digital content

Exploring perceptions of web accessibility: a survey approach

Abstract: The equality of access – accessibility – is difficult to quantify, define, or agree upon. Our previous work analysed the responses of web accessibility specialists in regard to a number of pre-defined definitions of accessibility. While uncovering much, this analysis did not allow us to quantify the communities’ understanding of the relationship accessibility has with other domains and assess how the community scopes accessibility. In this case, we asked over 300 people, with an interest in accessibility, to answer 33 questions surrounding the relationship between accessibility, user experience (UX), and usability; inclusion and exclusion; and evaluation, in an attempt to harmonise our understanding of web accessibility. We found that respondents think that accessibility and usability are highly related and also think that accessibility is applicable to everyone and not just people with disabilities. Respondents strongly agree that accessibility must be grounded on user-centred practices and that accessib...

Accessibility to electronic communication for people with cognitive disabilities: a systematic search and review of empirical evidence

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to identify and synthesize measures for accessibility to electronic communication for people with cognitive disabilities by seeking answers to the following research questions: What measures to make electronic communication accessible to people with cognitive disabilities are evaluated and reported in the scientific literature? What documented effects do these measures have? Empirical studies describing and assessing cognitive accessibility measures were identified by searches of 13 databases. Data were extracted and methodological quality was assessed. Findings were analyzed and recommendations for practice and research were made. Twenty-nine articles with considerable variations in studied accessibility measures, diagnoses, methods, outcome measures, and quality were included. They address the use of Internet, e-mail, telephone, chat, television, multimedia interfaces, texts and pictures, operation of equipment, and entering of information. Although thin, the current evidence base indicates that the accessibility needs, requirements, and preferences of people with cognitive disabilities are diverse. This ought to be reflected in accessibility guidelines and standards. Studies to systematically develop and recommend effective accessibility measures are needed to address current knowledge gaps.

Towards a unified definition of web accessibility

Abstract: To better understand what researchers and practitioners consider to be the key components of the definition of web accessibility and to propose a unified definition of web accessibility, we conducted an analysis of 50 definitions of web accessibility. The definitions were drawn from a range of books, papers, standards, guidelines and online sources, aimed at both practitioners and researchers, from the across the time period of web accessibility work, from 1996 to 2014 and from authors in 21 different countries. The analysis extracted six core concepts that are used in many definitions, which are incorporated into a unified definition of web accessibility as "all people, particularly disabled and older people, can use websites in a range of contexts of use, including mainstream and assistive technologies; to achieve this, websites need to be designed and developed to support usability across these contexts".

An extensible environment for guideline-based accessibility evaluation of dynamic Web applications

Abstract: During the last decade, Web site accessibility and usability have become increasingly important. Consequently, many tools have been developed for automatic or semi-automatic evaluation of Web site accessibility. Unfortunately, most of them have not been updated over time to keep up with the evolution of accessibility standards and guidelines, thus soon becoming obsolete. Furthermore, the increasing importance of CSS in the definition of modern Web page layout, and the increasing use of scripting technologies in dynamic and interactive Web sites, has led to new challenges in automatic accessibility evaluation that few of the existing tools are able to face. This paper describes MAUVE, a software environment for Web site accessibility and usability evaluation. The tool is characterized by the possibility to specify and update the guidelines that should be validated without requiring changes in the tool implementation. It is based on an XML-based language for Web Guidelines Definition. It allows checking both HTML and CSS to detect accessibility issues and is able to validate dynamic sites as well, based on the use of a set of plugins for the most popular browsers.

WELFIT: A remote evaluation tool for identifying Web usage patterns through client-side logging

Abstract: Although websites evaluation tools use different data sources (e.g., Web pages, server logs, and mouse tracks), few of them support remote evaluation using detailed observational data. Without considering data that represent the user’s real interaction with the interface, usability problems and/or accessibility barriers may remain unknown. This work contributes to the field by providing a tool to identify usage patterns based on client-side event logs and by presenting event stream composition characteristics. The work results from a long-term project and the tool is now available to the community. The system records usage data during real use, identifies usage patterns, and indicates potential user interface design problems. The proposed tool was experimented, counting on 180 participants, during a 15 month period collecting data from website usage. Results obtained are promising regarding the identification of usage patterns and the characterization of event streams based on the types of events that compose them.

Evaluating Web Accessibility of Educational Websites

Abstract: Web accessibility concerns of building websites that are accessible by all people regardless of their ability or disability. The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has been established to raise awareness of universal access. WAI develops guidelines which can help to ensure that Web pages are widely accessible. Assistive technology is used to increase, improve, and maintain capabilities of disabled persons to execute tasks that are sometimes difficult or impossible to do without technical aid. Also it helps them achieve their scholar, professional and social activities. This paper exposes an approach to investigate accessible contents of educational websites to ensure and measure its compliance with accessibility standards for visually impaired people. This study focuses on studying existing standards and investigating its applicability on educational institute websites. This will increase accessibility on e-learning materials that are provided by educational institutes. In this paper a sample of websites at selected universities in Jordan are evaluated in terms of accessibility in comparison to some universities websites in England and Arabic region. Results show that accessibility errors of universities websites in Jordan, and Arab region exceed the ones in UK by 13 times, and 5 times consequently.

Evaluating Alternatives for Better Deaf Accessibility to Selected Web-Based Multimedia

Abstract: The proliferation of video and audio media on the Internet has created a distinct disadvantage for deaf Internet users. Despite technological and legislative milestones in recent decades in making television and movies more accessible, there has been less progress with online access. A major obstacle to providing captions for Internet media is the high cost of captioning and transcribing services. This paper reports on two studies that focused on multimedia accessibility for Internet users who were born deaf or became deaf at an early age. An initial study attempted to identify priorities for deaf accessibility improvement. A total of 20 deaf and hard-of-hearing participants were interviewed via videophone about their Internet usage and the issues that were the most frustrating. The most common theme was concern over a lack of accessibility for online news. In the second study, a total of 95 deaf and hard-of-hearing participants evaluated different caption styles, some of which were generated through automatic speech recognition.Results from the second study confirm that captioning online videos makes the Internet more accessible to the deaf users, even when the captions are automatically generated. However color-coded captions used to highlight confidence levels were found neither to be beneficial nor detrimental; yet when asked directly about the benefit of color-coding, participants strongly favored the concept.

Accesibilidad web en el espacio universitario público argentino

Abstract: The study presents a first web accessibility diagnosis carried out in 2012 on a sample of pages from the Argentine public university space. The evaluation establishes the compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, taking into account the methodological recommendations from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The results suggest that the web accessibility barriers encountered are serious for the most part (level A). The most frequent are related to markup language syntax, content presentation, non-text content and visual readability of text. Likewise it is shown that by addressing these barriers, certain groups of people could benefit specifically.

Advancements in web accessibility evaluation methods: how far are we?

Abstract: Achieving web accessibility has become a global aim nowadays, especially with the significant inclusion of the Internet in our daily lives. There exist different accessibility evaluation methods that support web developers and designers during websites' development life cycle, and each has different benefits and drawbacks. However, many studies show that there is a continued lack of equality between disabled and non-disabled people in benefitting from the web, especially with the prolonged growth of web development standards and techniques, which raises a demand for continuous improvement in web accessibility evaluation methods in order to gain reliable results. Given this demand, our paper investigates the advancements in web accessibility evaluation methods for the past five years (2011-2015). The results reveal a lack of significant evolution of these evaluation methods. Based on our findings, more efforts are required for enhancing accessibility evaluation techniques in order to achieve better web accessibility.

Web content and design trends of Alabama academic libraries

Abstract: – This paper aims to evaluate the website content of Alabama academic libraries to examine their services, content and compliance with design and accessibility standards. , – A content analysis was conducted on 24 academic library websites discovered through Jeanne Burke’s Higher Education Directory and the Alabama Colleges directory website. All data were collected within a month. , – Study data revealed that while academic libraries are offering more online services, many continue to lack certain services or fail to implement basic web design and accessibility standards. , – Inclusion into the study was limited to the independent library websites of Alabama institutions offering four-year degree courses and content data discoverable within three clicks of the home page. Future studies might identify why certain libraries lack reference chat services, social media accounts and/or certain accessibility accommodations. Additional research might evaluate multilingual websites and their methods for providing language options. , – The results of this study should assist in the evaluation of library websites and increase awareness of design and accessibility standards, enabling designers and policy makers to improve upon future website designs. , – This study presents a depth of evaluation and currency unseen in most web content analyses. The extent of this study should provide librarians, web designers, and library policy makers with a suitable comparison for website projects and evaluations.

Web Accessibility for Older Adults: A Comparative Analysis of Disability Laws

Abstract: Access to the Internet is increasingly critical for health information retrieval, access to certain government benefits and services, connectivity to friends and family members, and an array of commercial and social services that directly affect health. Yet older adults, particularly those with disabilities, are at risk of being left behind in this growing age- and disability-based digital divide. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was designed to guarantee older adults and persons with disabilities equal access to employment, retail, and other places of public accommodation. Yet older Internet users sometimes face challenges when they try to access the Internet because of disabilities associated with age. Current legal interpretations of the ADA, however, do not consider the Internet to be an entity covered by law. In this article, we examine the current state of Internet accessibility protection in the United States through the lens of the ADA, sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, state laws and industry guidelines. We then compare U.S. rules to those of OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) countries, notably in the European Union, Canada, Japan, Australia, and the Nordic countries. Our policy recommendations follow from our analyses of these laws and guidelines, and we conclude that the biggest challenge in bridging the age- and disability-based digital divide is the need to extend accessibility requirements to private, not just governmental, entities and organizations.

Analysis of the Content and Characteristics of University Websites with Implications for Web Designers and Educators

Abstract: The development of customer-centered websites is a difficult but essential component of many organizations' overall management information systems. Specifically, the study examined the content and ...

Accessibility from Scratch: One Library's Journey to Prioritize the Accessibility of Electronic Information Resources

Abstract: The increased development and use of electronic and information technology in higher education raises questions about accessibility for individuals with disabilities. In academic libraries, providing accessible electronic information resources ensures equal access and opportunity to information. This article provides a contextual understanding of accessibility in higher education as well as strategies for evaluating, negotiating, and procuring accessible electronic resources licensed through third party vendors.

Accessibility of Thai university websites: Awareness, barriers and drivers for accessible practice

Abstract: Governments and organizations have to respond to a range of legislative and policy initiatives intended to promote equal opportunity for all. The Thai government has passed a number of laws which aim to protect its citizens from discrimination and from breaches of their human rights by government departments and agencies. The Persons with Disabilities Education Act B.E. 2551 (2008) and the Thailand Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy Framework (2011-2020) required government agencies to delivery equal education and access to online information for all Thais. Most Thai universities receive government subsidies, and therefore have an obligation to contribute to national prosperity so that all Thais can benefit from their activities, or as the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology and The National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (2011, p. 23) states “The creation of content, database, online content which promotes lifelong learning, the development of school websites and other digital content should follow the web accessibility standard”. Given the Thai government’s commitment to lifelong learning and the creation of accessible materials, this thesis sought to investigate to what level Thai universities were implementing web accessibility in their websites and e-learning materials. A mixed method approach was employed in order to explore the level of accessibility awareness, barriers to web accessibility implementation and possible drivers for accessibility uptake which might exist within Thai universities. Quantitative data derived from automated and manual web evaluations was gathered based on WCAG 2.0 guideline in order to determine the actual levels of accessible design apparent in Thai university websites. Fifty representative universities were selected from the top ranked Thai universities and a number webpages were tested from within each of the university websites. In addition, online surveys were conducted with three stakeholder groups within the Thai university sector, namely lecturers, web staff and senior managers. These surveys were design to set the context for quantitative website assessment findings and provide evidence as to these stakeholders understanding of web accessibility as a concept. Finally, follow-up interviews were conducted after the web assessments and surveys were analysed so as to reduce ambiguity and increase understanding, creating a very clear picture of the standing of web accessibility in Thailand’s universities. The findings of the data analysis indicate that Thai universities have low levels of web accessibility implementation in their websites and e-learning materials, even though web accessibility requirements had been embedded in Thai laws and policies for over a decade. In terms of web evaluation, the university webpages had accessibility problems across all aspects of WCAG 2.0’s POUR principles, with not a single tested webpage passing even the lowest level of WCAG 2.0 compliance. The survey and interview data revealed very low…

The challenges of Web accessibility: The technical and social aspects of a truly universal Web

Abstract: This paper explores the concept of Web accessibility and how technologies, guidelines and policies have evolved since the turn of the twenty-first century in order to address the ideals of equitable access to online content for all people. The paper discusses the high availability of assistive technologies built into consumer devices and the associated accessibility guidelines for Web sites and content. Through examination of the literature, this paper shows that the accessible design and assessment of Web sites can be complicated, and that social media, corporate and government Web sites are yet to fully realise the goals of an accessible Web. The paper concludes with the view that disability awareness, more than technology and policy, is perhaps the primary obstacle to a more universally accessible Web.

Web accessibility of the Malaysian public university websites

Abstract: The accessibility of the Malaysian public university websites is crucial to make sure that all of the staff, students and visitors of the website have equal opportunities to access the university’s information.Furthermore, with the objective to achieve high ranking web of universities or webometrics, it is important that the webmasters of the web to ensure that their web accessibility comply with the standards and guidelines. This paper evaluates the accessibility of the 20 public universities in Malaysia based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and Section 508 of the United States Rehabilitation Act. The result suggested that although there are some improvements have been made as compared to the findings from the previous studies, some actions need to be taken to ensure that the universities websites are accessible to everyone regardless of their ability, constraint and limitation. Among the issues that are important to be highlighted include distinguish ability, keyboard accessibility, navigability, adaptability and text alternative for non-text elements.

A Delphi Study of Factors Hindering Web Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities

Abstract: The importance of the web is increasing, not only as a communication channel but also in enhancing the quality of life for many. Accordingly, there is a growing interest in web accessibility (WA), which involves the creation of an environment in which everyone can equally access and use the web. WA is especially important to those who have disability as it can directly influence their quality of life. This study explores the factors that hinder WA for persons with disabilities and how can they be alleviated. Using a Delphi method, study showed that the main factors hindering web accessibility are lack of the following: publicity and awareness; management's interest; institutional or financial support from the government; objective evaluations of accessibility compliance; availability of experts; accessibility education and relevant educational institutions; the understanding of accessibility compliance. Being one of few pioneering WA studies, this research contributes to both theory and practice.

Assisted Interaction Data Analysis of Web-Based User Studies

Abstract: User behaviour analysis requires defining experimental sessions with numerous participants In this context, the specification of experiments is a demanding task, as several issues have to be considered such as the type of experiment, the type and number of tasks, the definition of questionnaires and the user interaction data to be gathered The analysis of collected data is also complex and often requires repeatedly examining recorded interaction videos In order to deal with these tasks, we present a platform called RemoTest which assists researchers to specify and conduct experimental sessions as well as to gather and analyse the interaction data This platform has been applied to define different formal user studies on the web and has assisted researchers in detecting the main interaction characteristics of different user profiles and settings

Evaluating findability of open educational resources from the perspective of users with disabilities: a preliminary approach

Abstract: e-Education is an umbrella term that refers to educational collaborative environments supported by technology that related not only formal academic institutions programs but also self-learners and teachers around the world. This educational paradigm is of paramount importance for society nowadays, because expands access opportunities to education at all levels. These learning environments can take advantage of Open Educational Resources. Using OER is a growing trend and it is turning into a recommendation by some governments and international education forums. Nevertheless, in spite of the availability of OER websites, quite a few of them do not consider accessibility design principles, therefore these websites present access barriers for users with disabilities. Besides, only a reduce number of these websites offer accessible resources, i.e. digital contents suitable for users with disabilities. On the other hand, in web environment, findability is a design consideration that improves the user's searchable experience by simplifying the location and acquisition of elements in websites. In this restricted scenario, findability of educational resources is a key issue for users with disabilities. In this research, we address the issue of findability of Open Educational Resources (OER), from the perspective of inclusive participation of users with disabilities, by considering three aspects: web accessibility, some usability best practices oriented to users with disabilities and Information Architecture. The evaluation is performed in some important and well known OER websites.

A study on the current status and strategies for improvement of web accessibility compliance of public institutions

Abstract: The circulation of information through the Internet allows us to promptly and conveniently deliver information. However, it is also causing a simultaneous occurrence of digital information gap and cultural lag phenomena. The gap in the ability to freely access and use Web site contents using the Internet is affecting not only the digital information gap, it also affects the competitiveness of individuals. In Korea, pursuant to Article 21 of the “Act on the Prohibition of the Discrimination against the Disabled and the Relief of their Rights” and Article 14 of its enforcement ordinances enforced from 2008, Web-accessibility compliance for each agency has been gradually made mandatory. Even if a Web-accessibility certification mark has been obtained, some Web sites are involved in legal disputes because of their violation of the Anti-Discrimination Act for the Disabled, which has been recently enforced. This study examines the actual situation of the compliance by conducting web accessibility assessment. 25 websites among the Korean public institutions in the science and technology field were selected and were assessed manually according to KWCAG 2.0. According to experts assessments using web accessibility requirement of KWCAG 2.0, 'Perceivable' shows the highest compliance rate (68 %). 'Operable,' 'understandable,' or 'Robust' shows the compliance rates of 64.5 %, 59.2 %, and 28.0 % respectively. Based on the findings of this study, some suggestions are presented to improve web accessibility compliance of the sites that received a web-accessibility certification mark from the National Information Society Agency in Korea.

Improving Services for Patrons with Print Disabilities at Public Libraries

Abstract: This article describes a project at Baltimore County Public Library (BCPL) that aims to improve access for people who are blind or who have low vision. As public libraries move toward providing more digital-based resources, this is an opportunity to provide access for patrons who need resources in an alternative format. This project focused on website accessibility, digital databases, physical library accessibility, staff training, and marketing. The article describes the steps that BCPL will take to turn these research findings into practice.

Accessibility, Quality and Performance of Government Portals and Ministry Web Sites: A View Using Diagnostic Tools

Abstract: Accessibility, quality, and performance of government websites and portals are key issues for e-government programmes. Although the number of government sites has increased rapidly in the past few years, their ultimate success will largely depend on their accessibility, quality and performance. This paper reports the results of an evaluative study of 19 e-government websites and portals using a common set of Web diagnostic engines. The findings reveal that none of the sites evaluated meet the recommended Priority AA conformance level. A number of accessibility, quality, and performance weaknesses were identified. Majority of the sites assessed fail to comply with perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust principles of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Several non-compliance errors were found on the websites. The page load time for most sites falls far below the acceptable level, spelling errors and bad links were also found. Significant work needs to be done in order to make these websites examples of best practice e-government sites.