Context-Aware Services for Physical Hypermedia Applications

In this paper we present an approach for designing and deploying context-aware services in the context of physical hypermedia applications, those applications in which mobile users explore real and digital objects using the hypermedia paradigm. We show how to adapt the objects’ response to the user’s navigation context by changing the role these objects play in the user’s travel. We first motivate our research with a simple example and survey some related work; next we introduce the concept of travel object and show that physical objects might assume the role of different type of travel objects. We then present an architectural approach for context-aware services and describe its evolution into a software substrate for physical hypermedia services. We conclude by indicating some further work we are pursuing.Publicado en: OTM'06 Proceedings of the 2006 international conference on On the Move to Meaningful Internet Systems: AWeSOMe, CAMS, COMINF, IS, KSinBIT, MIOS-CIAO, MONET - Volume Part IIFacultad de InformáticaLaboratorio de Investigación y Formación en Informática Avanzada (LIFIA

Context-Aware Services for Physical Hypermedia Applications

In this paper we present an approach for designing and deploying context-aware services in the context of physical hypermedia applications, those applications in which mobile users explore real and digital objects using the hypermedia paradigm. We show how to adapt the objects’ response to the user’s navigation context by changing the role these objects play in the user’s travel. We first motivate our research with a simple example and survey some related work; next we introduce the concept of travel object and show that physical objects might assume the role of different type of travel objects. We then present an architectural approach for context-aware services and describe its evolution into a software substrate for physical hypermedia services. We conclude by indicating some further work we are pursuing.Publicado en: OTM'06 Proceedings of the 2006 international conference on On the Move to Meaningful Internet Systems: AWeSOMe, CAMS, COMINF, IS, KSinBIT, MIOS-CIAO, MONET - Volume Part IIFacultad de InformáticaLaboratorio de Investigación y Formación en Informática Avanzada (LIFIA

Reingeniería orientada a aspectos para mejorar la accesibilidad de sitios web

La Accesibilidad Web es una de las facetas de la calidad en uso y una protagonista esencial al éxito de un sitio Web. Sin embargo, las encuestas muestran repetidamente que la Accesibilidad en la Web para personas con discapacidad es decepcionantemente baja. Esta categórica realidad propició en numerosas organizaciones y comunidades de investigación el desarrollo de enfoques para dar soporte a la Accesibilidad Web. Actualmente existen diversos enfoques para asistir de una u otra manera al diseño de aplicaciones Web Accesibles. En contraposición, no existen esfuerzos similares en la actividad de reingeniería de aplicaciones Web ya existentes. Rediseñar aplicaciones Web para mejorar su Accesibilidad puede implicar el análisis de diferentes aspectos, y los distintos aspectos pueden generar distintas propuestas de mejora, incluso relacionadas en algunos casos. Ese tipo de interrelaciones puede estudiarse mediante la aplicación de técnicas que provienen del Desarrollo de Software Orientado a Aspectos (AOSD). Nuestra investigación está dirigida a proponer un enfoque para mejorar la Accesibilidad de sitios Web en base a aspectos.Eje: Ingeniería de Software y Base de DatosRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Reingeniería orientada a aspectos para mejorar la accesibilidad de sitios web

La Accesibilidad Web es una de las facetas de la calidad en uso y una protagonista esencial al éxito de un sitio Web. Sin embargo, las encuestas muestran repetidamente que la Accesibilidad en la Web para personas con discapacidad es decepcionantemente baja. Esta categórica realidad propició en numerosas organizaciones y comunidades de investigación el desarrollo de enfoques para dar soporte a la Accesibilidad Web. Actualmente existen diversos enfoques para asistir de una u otra manera al diseño de aplicaciones Web Accesibles. En contraposición, no existen esfuerzos similares en la actividad de reingeniería de aplicaciones Web ya existentes. Rediseñar aplicaciones Web para mejorar su Accesibilidad puede implicar el análisis de diferentes aspectos, y los distintos aspectos pueden generar distintas propuestas de mejora, incluso relacionadas en algunos casos. Ese tipo de interrelaciones puede estudiarse mediante la aplicación de técnicas que provienen del Desarrollo de Software Orientado a Aspectos (AOSD). Nuestra investigación está dirigida a proponer un enfoque para mejorar la Accesibilidad de sitios Web en base a aspectos.Eje: Ingeniería de Software y Base de DatosRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Experiences of People with Visual Impairments in Accessing Online Information and Services: A Systematic Literature Review

The World Wide Web is the largest source of electronic information in the world. Over the years, rapid advances in the internet have made it less accessible thereby making it increasingly difficult for people with visual impairments to access online information and services. This paper systematically reviews previous research to identify challenges that people with visual impairments face, and the role of accessibility technologies and guidelines to support people with visual impairments in their access to online information and services. The findings discuss three categories emerged from the literature: inaccessible content for the visually impaired, improving website accessibility for the visually impaired, and accessibility technologies and their benefits and limitations for people with visual impairments. The findings further discuss the usability issues which are present in accessing online content, the different attempts that have been made to mitigate these problems, and the different guidelines and tools that can be adopted by web designers to make websites more accessible for the visually impaired. It also discusses the versatility and availability of various accessibility technologies. Although these technologies provide basic access to online information, they are greatly limited in their functionality. Therefore, it is up to the web designers to change their perceptions when designing websites. With the proper use of the guidelines, the capabilities of accessibility technologies can be accommodated in making information provided accessible to all users including those with visual impairments. The contributions of this research are that it offers a rigorous narrative review to summarise the state of knowledge on challenges that people with visual impairments face in accessing online information and services, the support and limitations of accessibility technologies in addressing some of these challenges. In addition, this study identifies gaps and areas that deserve more scrutiny in future research including digital exclusion issues among the visually impaired, explanation on the unwillingness of web designers to develop accessible websites, improvements to accessibility technologies to support increasingly visually complex websites, among others. Since the visually impaired are a diverse group with different degrees of impairments, needs and preferences, we encourage researchers to involve them in future studies. Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/pajais/vol11/iss2/3

Model-Based Concerns Mashups for Mobile Hypermedia

Mobile (or Physical) Hypermedia combines the navigational style typical of Web applications with the functionality of location and context-aware software. Users explore digital and physical relationships while accessing to information about their actual location, e.g. the object in front of them. Similar to “conventional” Web applications one might suffer usability problems when dealing with multiple informational concerns, but the situation gets worse because of screen size issues, the need to avoid user distraction, etc. In this paper we outline our model based approach for building mobile hypermedia applications by combining (“mashing up”) information corresponding to multiple concerns in a modular, usable way. Architectural issues are discussed and a simple example is presented together with its implementation.Laboratorio de Investigación y Formación en Informática Avanzad

Physical Hypermedia: a Context-Aware approach

In this paper we describe an original architecture for building and deploying physical hypermedia applications, i.e. those applications in which digital and real world objects are linked together using the well-known navigational metaphor of the World Wide Web. We also explain how our architecture evolved from a substrate for implementing location-based services to a powerful and open basis for supporting different navigation semantics and for building travel assistance services according to the current user’s context. After motivating our research and describing the architecture, we illustrate our ideas with some simple examples and compare our research with other related work in the subject.Facultad de InformáticaLaboratorio de Investigación y Formación en Informática Avanzad

Physical Hypermedia: a Context-Aware approach

In this paper we describe an original architecture for building and deploying physical hypermedia applications, i.e. those applications in which digital and real world objects are linked together using the well-known navigational metaphor of the World Wide Web. We also explain how our architecture evolved from a substrate for implementing location-based services to a powerful and open basis for supporting different navigation semantics and for building travel assistance services according to the current user’s context. After motivating our research and describing the architecture, we illustrate our ideas with some simple examples and compare our research with other related work in the subject.Facultad de InformáticaLaboratorio de Investigación y Formación en Informática Avanzad

A Flexible Architecture for Context-Aware Physical Hypermedia

In this paper we present the rationale and the main components for a modular and extensible architecture for building and deploying physical hypermedia software. We show that this kind of software systems poses strong requirements on supporting software (such as Web browsers) because they involve complex context-aware navigation semantics. By using some simple archetypical examples we also show how to provide context-aware assistance to the mobile user, as he explores the physical world

A Flexible Architecture for Context-Aware Physical Hypermedia

In this paper we present the rationale and the main components for a modular and extensible architecture for building and deploying physical hypermedia software. We show that this kind of software systems poses strong requirements on supporting software (such as Web browsers) because they involve complex context-aware navigation semantics. By using some simple archetypical examples we also show how to provide context-aware assistance to the mobile user, as he explores the physical world.Laboratorio de Investigación y Formación en Informática AvanzadaFacultad de Informátic