Open accessibility data interlinking

This paper presents the research of using Linked Open Data to enhance accessibility data for accessible travelling. Open accessibility data is the data related to the accessibility issues associated with geographical data, which could benefit people with disabilities and their special needs. With the aim of addressing the gap between users’ special needs and data, this paper presents the results of a survey of open accessibility data retrieved from four different sources in the UK. An ontology based data integration approach is proposed to interlink these datasets together to generate a linked open accessibility repository, which also links to other resources on the Linked Data Cloud. As a result, this research would not only enrich the open accessibility data, but also contribute to a novel framework to address accessibility information barriers by establishing a linked data repository for publishing, linking and consuming the open accessibility data

Adapting online learning resources for all: planning for professionalism in accessibility

Online resources for education offer opportunities for those with disabilities but also raise challenges in how to best adjust resources to accommodate accessibility. Automated reconfiguration could in principle remove the need for expensive and time-consuming discussions about adaptation. On the other hand, human-based systems provide much needed direct support and can help understand options and individual circumstances. A study carried out within an EU-funded accessibility project at The Open University in parallel to studies at three other European universities. The study combined focus groups, user-testing, management consultation and student survey data to help understand ways forward for accessibility. The results reinforce an holistic view of accessibility, based on three factors: positioning the university as a positive provider to disabled students; developing processes, systems and services to give personal help; and planning online materials which include alternatives. The development of a model that helps organisations incorporate professionalism in accessibility is described, though challenges remain. For example a recurrent difficulty in providing adequate self-description of accessibility needs implies that a completely automated solution may not be attainable. A more beneficial focus, therefore, may be to develop systems that support the information flow required by the human 'in the loop'

Open Science in Lattice Gauge Theory community

Open science aims to make scientific research processes, tools and results accessible to all scientific communities, creating trust in science and enabling digital competences to be realized in research, leading to increased innovation. It provides standard and transparent pathways to conducting research and fosters best practices for collecting, analysing, preserving, sharing and reusing data, software, workflows and other outputs through collaborative networks. Open Science appears to be becoming the norm with its applications spanning throughout the whole research cycle of a project. The importance of making Open Science a reality is nowadays reflected in funding policies, research infrastructure and politics. In these proceedings we present the basic Open Science principles explaining briefly best practices for materialising Open Science. Subsequently, we present the results of the landscaping survey of Open Science in the Lattice Gauge Theories community. Finally, we provide directions in which the Lattice Gauge Theory community could move in order to enhance Openness and FAIRness (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, Reusability) in Science

palaeoverse: A community‐driven R package to support palaeobiological analysis

1. The open-source programming language ‘R' has become a standard tool in the palaeobiologist's toolkit. Its popularity within the palaeobiological community continues to grow, with published articles increasingly citing the usage of R and R packages. However, there are currently a lack of agreed standards for data preparation and available frameworks to support the implementation of such standards. Consequently, data preparation workflows are often unclear and not reproducible, even when code is provided. Moreover, due to a lack of code accessibility and documentation, palaeobiologists are often forced to ‘reinvent the wheel’ to find solutions to issues already solved by other members of the community. 2. Here, we introduce palaeoverse, a community-driven R package to aid data preparation and exploration for quantitative palaeobiological research. The package is freely available and has three core principles: (1) streamline data preparation and analyses; (2) enhance code readability; and (3) improve reproducibility of results. To develop these aims, we assessed the analytical needs of the broader palaeobiological community using an online survey, in addition to incorporating our own experiences. 3. In this work, we first report the findings of the survey, which shaped the development of the package. Subsequently, we describe and demonstrate the functionality available in palaeoverse and provide usage examples. Finally, we discuss the resources we have made available for the community and our future plans for the broader Palaeoverse project. 4. palaeoverse is a community-driven R package for palaeobiology, developed with the intention of bringing palaeobiologists together to establish agreed standards for high-quality quantitative research. The package provides a user-friendly platform for preparing data for analysis with well-documented open-source code to enhance transparency. The functionality available in palaeoverse improves code reproducibility and accessibility, which is beneficial for both the review process and future research

Examining the Effects of Disabilities on VR Usage and Accessibility Issues for Persons with Disabilities

Virtual Reality (VR) is an emerging technology that’s popularity has been increasing at a yearly rate. Despite this, concerns about the accessibility of VR devices are ever-growing as many users struggle to use the technology, especially users with disabilities. This study analyses how different types of disabilities affect how often a user uses VR and any associated re-occurring difficulties that are related to specific types of disability. To do this, a previous survey regarding VR accessibility run by Disability Visibility Project and ILMxLAB is examined. In this survey, 79 participants who identify as having a disability answered questions related to their experience of using VR. In this study, the results from the survey are sorted into six different categories representing their types of disability (Visual, Auditory, Lower body, Upper body, Hands, Cognitive). Using a mixed methodology, the data from the survey is tested using logistic regression – to test the relationship between disability and usage, while content analysis is used to examine specific difficulties the participants wrote about in the open-ended questions. Results showed that participants with a visual disability were 90% less likely to use VR at least once a month when compared to users with motor, auditory or cognitive disabilities. No correlation could be confirmed between the other five categories and VR usage. Also highlighted were 25 difficulties that appeared in three or more participants’ open-ended question responses. These difficulties highlight barriers that people with disabilities regularly face (such as not being able to stand, read text or require subtitles) which should be considered in VR development to make the technology more accessible

Assessment of Transparency Practices in Urban Land Administration: The Case of Wolkite Town Manucipality, Ethiopia

Good governance in land administration is becoming an important issue in both developed and developing countries. This study has been undertaken to assess transparency practices in urban land administration in wolkite town municipality, Ethiopia. The study employed a cross sectional survey research design. Data were collected both from primary and secondary sources using surveys, key informants interviews, focused group discussions and document analysis. Questionnaire survey data were collected from 380 sampled household respondents; and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The study found that there was limited access to land information to most urban residents; and clarity of land services were failed to be transparent to its customers. The study also revealed that the decision making process was not open and participatory. The major challenges of land administration in the study area were corruption, bureaucracy, political interference, poor management and incompetence. The study concludes that the land administration services were not transparent based on the views and experiences of survey respondents. It is recommended that enlighten urban residents on urban land  laws, rules and regulations, ensuring accessibility of information, capacitating service providers  and increase application of information communication technologies are essential to ensure transparent land governance and administration in the study area. Keywords: Clarity; Accessibility; Transparency; Land Administration; Wolikte Town DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/14-17-02 Publication date:September 30th 202

Marketing of Library Services for Enhanced Accessibility in National Open University of Nigeria: Challenges and Strategies for Intervention

This study is a descriptive survey on challenges and enhancement strategies for the marketing of library services for improved accessibility to students of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). Three specific objectives, three research question and one null hypothesis guided the study. Population for the study consists of 15 librarians from the six study centres libraries in the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. The study used a questionnaire and interview to collect data from 15 librarians in the six study centre libraries in the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. The data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviation and hypotheses were tested using ANOVA statistics at a 0.05 level of significance. The results showed that there is no significant difference in the mean responses of librarians on strategies and methods employed in the various study centre libraries of NOUN for improved accessibility of the library services to their students. The results identified some of the challenges in the marketing of library services for improved access for students in the libraries studied to include; inadequate funding, lack of marketing plan, unavailability of online public access catalogue and negative attitude of librarians and library staff towards marketing. The enhancement strategies for marketing of library services for improved accessibility to these students include carrying out marketing research to determine the needs of Users; allowing library management control over students library fees, organizing workshops and training for librarians and library staff on marketing principles and procedures