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Technology for sensory impairments (vision and hearing)
Published in Alex Mihailidis, Roger Smith, Rehabilitation Engineering, 2023
J. A. Brabyn, H. Levitt, J.A. Miele
While text-based email communication and the textual components of social media present few barriers to the blind user, the increasing graphical and video content of the web and social media is another story. The Web Accessibility Initiative was launched with cooperation from the World Wide Web Consortium and many public and private entities to try and address such problems by developing guidelines that have been adopted by industry, including guidelines for web authoring software to help ensure that web pages contain features that make their content more accessible to a blind user with a regular screen reader. The commonly used web browsers include the ability to increase or decrease the displayed font size, and there are a small number of specially developed accessible web browsers designed to produce output for blind and visually impaired persons. For pictorial information, web authors are encouraged but not obliged to label pictures with “alt text” descriptors, so access is spotty. Facebook has developed “Automatic Alt Text” software intended to help blind users interpret its pictures, and research in computer vision, AI, and deep learning show future promise in assisting with this difficult problem.
Nonfunctional Testing
Published in William E. Lewis, David Dobbs, Gunasekaran Veerapillai, Software Testing and Continuous Quality Improvement, 2017
William E. Lewis, David Dobbs, Gunasekaran Veerapillai
The criteria for Web-based technology and information are based on access guidelines developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium. Many of these provisions ensure access for people with vision impairments who rely on various assistive products to access computer-based information, such as screen readers, which translate what’s on a computer screen into automated audible output, and refreshable Braille displays. Certain conventions, such as verbal tags or identification of graphics and format devices, such as frames, are necessary so that these devices can “read” them for the user in a sensible way. The standards do not prohibit the use of Web site graphics or animation. Instead, the standards aim to ensure that such information is also available in an accessible format. Generally, this means use of text labels or descriptors for graphics and certain format elements. (HTML code already provides an “Alt Text” tag for graphics that can serve as a verbal descriptor for graphics.) This section also addresses the usability of multimedia presentations, image maps, style sheets, scripting languages, applets and plug-ins, and electronic forms.
Perceptual Impairments
Published in Julie A. Jacko, The Human–Computer Interaction Handbook, 2012
Julie A. Jacko, V. Kathlene Leonard, Molly A. McClellan, Ingrid U. Scott
Not only are the tools inadequate for many visually impaired users, but many Web pages do not follow accessibility guidelines set forth by the W3C, the World Wide Web Consortium (http://www.w3.org/wai) or the web accessibility guidelines from the U.S. Federal Section 508 (http://www.section508.gov). The two most popular screen readers are JAWS (Job Access with Speech) and Window-Eyes. Despite their popularity, users have identified issues with their accessibility and usability. In a recent survey of visually impaired users, Lazar et al. (2010) found the following as top causes of user frustration to be Page layout causing confusing screen reader feedbackConflict between the screen reader and applicationPoorly designed/unlabeled formNo alt text for picturesMisleading linksInaccessible PDFScreen reader crash
EASIER System. Evaluating a Spanish Lexical Simplification Proposal with People with Cognitive Impairments
Published in International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 2022
Rodrigo Alarcon, Lourdes Moreno, Paloma Martínez, José A. Macías
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) (W3C, 2022b), which are part of the W3C WAI include specific guidelines that, if followed, help make web content accessible to people with cognitive and learning disabilities. However, Small et al. (2005) conducted research on people with cognitive disabilities browsing websites that met WCAG guidelines. A usability study found that most users were able to access the Internet, but were unable to successfully use the websites. Several web navigation problems were detected, in addition to user satisfaction and perceived usability issues. This study clearly demonstrates that the WCAG guidelines do not sufficiently take into account the needs of people with cognitive disabilities. Further research is needed to better understand how these cognitive disabilities affect the use of web-based media and resources. Another important initiative to consider is the” Cognitive and Learning Disabilities Accessibility Working Task Force (W3C-COGA)” (W3C, 2022a). One of the goals of this working group is to provide guidance on how to make websites and applications for users with cognitive disabilities, guiding both the designs themselves and the design process.
Digital inclusion of people with disabilities: a qualitative study of intra-disability diversity in the digital realm
Published in Behaviour & Information Technology, 2020
However, the role of digital inclusion in PwD’ social inclusion is not debate-free. Regardless of the continuous enrichment of Web Accessibility Initiative Guidelines, research has found that people with disabilities frequently experience digital exclusion and require a greater level of customisation, training and support in order to effectively and beneficially use technology (e.g. Fox 2011; Ofcom 2013; Darcy, Green, and Maxwell 2017). Researchers have argued that people with disabilities continue to lag behind in Internet access and skills those without disabilities, making it likely for this disadvantage in accessing online resources of social, economic and mental nature to compound the socioeconomic disadvantages they face (e.g. Macdonald and Clayton 2013; Dobransky and Hargittai 2016). Such critical accounts stress the gap in policy commitment to promoting universal access for PwD and that a lack of access to technology is a ‘denial of opportunities’ or ‘inability to control one’s environment’ that can be interpreted both politically and materially (Sourbati 2012, 574; Easton 2014, 277). From a different perspective, others have questioned the extent to which online participation and activities pave the way for increased social capital and inclusion compared to offline participation (e.g. Viluckiene 2015), while some consider digital participation a potential risk to offline socialisation, due to creating technological dependencies and a spatial narrowing of social connections (Chib and Jiang 2014).
Perceptions of web accessibility guidelines by student website and app developers
Published in Behaviour & Information Technology, 2022
The W3C founded the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) in 1996, which developed the WCAG to help create accessible website pages. The initial WCAG version 1.0 was developed in 1999 and the WAI updated to WCAG version 2.1 in 2018. This new version includes four guiding principles and 13 guidelines to ensure website page content such as text, images, forms, and sounds accessible to people with disabilities (https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/#conformance). Perceivable means that websites must present to users in ways that they can easily perceive them. For example, text can be read aloud to people who cannot see the screen. Operable means that websites must operate in ways that allow users to perform the tasks they need to do. For instance, websites should have more than one way to find content because some people depend on hierarchical navigation while others depend on search functions. Understandable means that the information and operation of the website interface must be understandable to the broadest audience possible. For example, this requirement should help people with cognitive disabilities understand content. Robust means that websites must be accessible by a variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. In particular, this requirement enables assistive technologies to process the content reliably, and to present or operate with it in different ways (https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/intro.html#introduction-fourprincs-head). Additionally, the U.S. government provides guidelines and tools through Section 508 (https://www.section508.gov/), which requires that all electronic and information technology in the federal government be accessible to people with disabilities (Rouse, 2010). In another example, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1990, has been extended to websites of public entities in a 2003 publication entitled, ‘Accessibility of State and Local Government Web sites to People with Disabilities’ (https://www.ada.gov/websites2.htm). The ADA now requires that all government websites offer communications through accessible means.