Showing papers on "Web standards published in 2021"

What A Tangled Web We Weave

Abstract: The author argues for a disciplined, engineering approach to the creation of business critical Web based systems. Web engineering is an adaptable, incremental (evolutionary) process populated by a set of framework activities that occur for all business-critical WebApp projects, regardless of the size or complexity. The following framework activities might be considered for Web engineering work: formulation, planning, analysis, modeling, page generation and testing, and customer evaluation. These activities are applied iteratively as a Web based system evolves. Project management for Web engineering is governed by the unique characteristics of WebApp projects. These characteristics precipitate questions whose answers can make or break a project.

ATON: An Open-Source Framework for Creating Immersive, Collaborative and Liquid Web-Apps for Cultural Heritage

Abstract: The web and its recent advancements represent a great opportunity to build universal, rich, multi-user and immersive Web3D/WebXR applications targeting Cultural Heritage field—including 3D presenters, inspection tools, applied VR games, collaborative teaching tools and much more. Such opportunity although, introduces additional challenges besides common issues and limitations typically encountered in this context. The “ideal” Web3D application should be able to reach every device, automatically adapting its interface, rendering and interaction models—resulting in a single, liquid product that can be consumed on mobile devices, PCs, Museum kiosks and immersive AR/VR devices, without any installation required for final users. The open-source ATON framework is the result of research and development activities carried out during the last 5 years through national and international projects: it is designed around modern and robust web standards, open specifications and large open-source ecosystems. This paper describes the framework architecture and its components, assessed and validated through different case studies. ATON offers institutions, researchers, professionals a scalable, flexible and modular solution to craft and deploy liquid web-applications, providing novel and advanced features targeting Cultural Heritage field in terms of 3D presentation, annotation, immersive interaction and real-time collaboration.

Usability and Accessibility Assessment of Saudi Arabia Mobile E-Government Websites

Abstract: The rapid spread of smart mobile technology is transforming the way how governments provide information and services to their citizens. We all are rely more on our devices, namely smartphones, laptops, or desktop to get information and a wide range of services from government websites. Such heavy usage of government websites results in an increased need for efficient and effective delivery of government services. Therefore, mobile government websites’ usability and accessibility are essential dimensions that determine the quality and accessibility of mobile e-government. The main objective of this research is to analyze the accessibility and usability aspects of selected public sector websites in Saudi Arabia. This study investigates how well the Saudi mobile e-government websites comply with usability standards and accessibility guidelines recommended in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Websites assessments were conducted using manual evaluation and complemented by different automated analysis tools. This study applies a number of evaluation techniques to assess Saudi government websites accessed from desktop or mobile devices, such as an automated website testing technique, mobile-friendliness testing, and content observation technique. Various tools have been used for site evaluation, such as GTmetrix (PageSpeed Score, YSlow Score), WAVE, Google mobile-friendly test, and Dareboost for mobile websites. The study uncovers shortcomings regarding non-compliance to international web standards recommendations. The findings revealed usability and accessibility problems that affect the performance of government websites. In order to improve these websites within these aspects, several recommendations were suggested for improving the usability and accessibility of websites in Saudi Arabia that will make sure different groups of citizens are satisfied with the website features and services provided by them.

Using Web Standards to Design Accessible Data Visualizations in Professional Communication

Abstract: Introduction: Data visualization is a reliable tool for professional communication practitioners to synthesize and present data for a variety of audiences. However, data visualizations have a range of accessibility concerns, including visual acuity, color/contrast difficulties, color blindness, and size/scale issues. Data visualizations should therefore be designed following web standards for complex images to ensure that they are accessible to audiences with diverse needs. Key concepts: Drawing from work in professional communication and disability studies, practitioners recognize that users have varied accessibility needs. “Universal design” as a guiding principle is less helpful than targeted approaches to design that reflect actual user needs. Such targeted approaches should follow web standards for accessible design because they enable interaction with newer accessibility technologies and put more control in the hands of users. Key lessons: Follow these best practices to create visually accessible data visualizations. 1. Design the visual for accessibility by using whitespace, creating contrast, maintaining size/scale, and labeling the visual clearly. 2. Implement the visual using web standards to create semantic connections between the visual and text for both users and accessibility technologies. This goal can be achieved with textual description, overview/data/presentation context, or ARIA semantic links. 3. Test the visual for accessibility through user tests and industry-standard tools. Implications for practice: Web standards provide a blueprint for designing accessible data visualizations for online spaces, but professional communicators should be aware of the coding expertise and necessary infrastructure needed to deploy these visuals. Nevertheless, with increasing use of public-facing data visualizations to convey information on global issues, such as COVID-19, the need for these visuals to be accessible to all audiences becomes paramount.

Process Model with Quality Control for the Production of High Quality Linked Open Government Data

Abstract: Governments worldwide have invested resources in publishing open data to promote new business and services and to promote transparency and accountability of public policies. However, due to different factors, such as different file formats and different information granularity, these data end up in informational silos, without having additional value besides what is contained in the data file itself. The linked data technology supports addressing this sort of problem, providing principles - based on Web standards - to connect distributed and heterogeneous data sources. Nevertheless, studies in the literature have shown that the perception of quality around open linked datasets is low, what impacts the consumption and reuse of these information by the society. In this work, we propose a model of process which embeds quality control activities (verification and validation) during the process. We adopted the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology to conceive and assess the method, using an illustrative case study. A quality assessment framework was applied and the case studys results were compared to others in the literature, showing an improvement in overall quality, through the selected metrics.

A Comparative Study in the Standardization of IoT Devices Using Geospatial Web Standards

Abstract: Although billions of devices are embedded in the World Wide Web through the Internet of Things, there is still a lack of a common, interoperable way to connect them and make them interact seamlessly. IoT has also found its way into the spatial web. Environmental monitoring and sensing platforms connected over the web by wireless sensor networks are now a common way to monitor natural phenomena. This study compares two open Web Standards ( OGC’s Sensor Observation Service and SensorThings API ) from the geospatial point of view. An IoT platform, called SEnviro , is used to integrate and evaluate implementations for each standard and contrast their qualitative and quantitative traits. The results of the study show that the SensorThings API proves to be the adequate Web Standard for IoT applications in terms of interoperability. It outperforms the contesting Web Standard in terms of flexibility and scalability, which strongly impacts on developer and user experience.

From Silo to the Web: Library Cataloging Data in an Open Environment

Abstract: The silos of library cataloging data have long been recognized as barriers to the seamless discovery of library resources via the Web and to the interaction of library data with Web data and other uses. In order to better serve users, library cataloging data must be available in a more open environment, and libraries are looking to linked data to present library resources in the data stream of the Web in a way that is seamless to users. This entails changing cataloging formats and tools to Web standards. While there is a lot of discussion and activity around linked data, this chapter approaches the highly technological topic in a way that is geared more toward a general and practical cataloging perspective.

Managing Versioned Web Resources in the File System

Abstract: While the WebDAV standard provides a well-established read/write mechanism for Web resources, as well as version management through its Delta-V extension, the complexity of the underlying protocol limits its practical adoption. The W3C Linked Data Platform (LDP) more recently provides an alternative approach for simultaneous resource and semantic metadata management on the Web. In combination with the HTTP Memento protocol, it has recently been successfully employed in the context of interoperable data management. Inspired by file system interfaces for WebDAV, we present factFUSE, the – to our knowledge – first user-space application for the joint management of arbitrary computer files and semantic RDF data & metadata in the file system based on the LDP and HTTP Memento Web standards.

Coping with Diversity - A System for End-users to Customize Web User Interfaces

Abstract: To address diverse interaction needs of heterogeneous users' groups, user interfaces must be flexible to accommodate for customization that are specific to each user profile. Although, existing web interfaces provide some flexibility, some problems still remain: a) manual adjustments carried out by end users are required for each web application; b) the flexibility provided by current web interfaces is insufficient to address diverse interaction needs of various users' profiles and c) few users are aware about such options to customize the presentation of web interfaces. To contribute to the customization of user interface according to the needs of diverse users, in this work we asses the suitability of a tool that customize web interfaces based on the needs and preferences of end users. UIFlex is a web-based browser plugin that enables users to define their interaction profile. In this task, users are supported by fifteen web-based design rules that were extracted from the literature and the knowledge of authorities. To customize the presentation of web interfaces, UIFlex relies on a set of rules defined for each individual user and "injects" JavaScript codes, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and in some cases HyperText Markup Language (HTML) codes in any page that follows W3C standards. UIFlex was evaluated by 104 users of diverse interaction profiles. The results obtained are promising and suggest that the solution improves the perception that the interactive system performs as desired by users.

Web of Things Interoperability for the Arrowhead Framework

Abstract: Defined as the ability for a system to exchange data with another system and consume data from another system, interoperability is a property that most distributed system developers tend to satisfy when designing new systems. In the IoT domain, the WoT W3C standard has been proposed to enable interoperability between devices and platforms.The Arrowhead framework has been implemented to ease IoT automation with the objective to enable IoT interoperability in this domain.This paper discusses how the W3C Web of Things standard can help the IoT automation framework Arrowhead in achieving the interoperability.