Analysis of U.S. Senate Web Sites For Disability Accessibility

U.S. federal government web sites have increased significantly the level of services and information offered to various internal and external stakeholders. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 amended Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which complemented the intent and aims of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As a result, federal agencies and departments were mandated to provide disabled stakeholders with access to key information from federal web sites. However, since this enactment, some federal web sites still do not meet fully the legal requirements to accommodate users with disabilities. Additionally, web sites of members of the U.S. Congress technically do not fall under regulation. Without regulation, non-adherence to accessibility standards by congressional web sites may result in poor or ineffective utilization by citizen consumers or other stakeholders with disabilities. The purpose of this study is to examine the accessibility statistics for a pseudo-random sample of 50 web sites of U.S. Senators. The main web page of each site was evaluated with an online web site analysis software tool – Truwex. Three factors were used to gauge the level of accessibility: criteria based on Section 508, WCAG 1.0 standards, and WCAG 2.0 standards. Results suggest that the vast majority of the U.S. Senate web sites do not meet the federal legal guidelines that otherwise are imposed on other U.S. governmental agencies and departments. Many of the sites contain consistent patterns of non-compliance, and some minor changes could result in increased accessibility for disabled stakeholders

Türkiye’deki top 50 fortune firmalarının kurumsal websitelerinde engelli içeriği

As a result of worldwide increased awareness in disability, organizations in Turkey are also assumed to reconsider their values, norms and behaviors accordingly. Considering the intention of maintaining legitimacy in especially high revenue firms, this study aims to reveal similarities and differences about disability disclosure of top 50 Fortune firms’ websites in Turkey. Website contents are analyzed via content analysis. Results indicate that firms give emphasis on ‘physical conditions in facilities’, ‘education of people with disabilities and employees’, ‘products’, ‘requirements to get services’ and ‘donations’. In some industries firms share similar contents though differences are more than similarities in overall. Firms’ poor application of disability employment related legislations are also discussed in results. Accordingly this study reveals current understanding while emphasizing potential improvements.Engellilik konusunda dünya genelinde artan farkındalık neticesinde, Türkiye’deki örgütlerin değerlerini, normlarını ve davranışlarını bu doğrultuda gözden geçirdikleri varsayılmaktadır. Bu çalışmada meşruiyetini koruma niyetinde olan, özellikle de yüksek gelirli firmalar dikkate alınarak, Türkiye’nin en iyi 50 Fortune firmasının web sitelerinin engelli kavramına ilişkin içeriğinde benzerlik ve farklılıkları ortaya çıkarmak amaçlanmıştır. Web sitesi içerikleri, içerik analizi kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Sonuçlara bakıldığında, firmalar ‘tesislerdeki fiziksel koşullar’, ‘engelli ve çalışan eğitimi’, ‘ürünler’, ‘hizmet alabilme koşulları’ ve ‘bağışlar’ konularına ağırlık vermişlerdir. Bazı sektörlerde firma web sitelerinin benzer içerikleri paylaştığı görülmektedir, ancak genel olarak farklılıklar benzerliklerden fazladır. Firmaların engellilere yönelik yasal zorunlulukları uygulamadaki yetersizliği de sonuçlarda tartışılmıştır. Bu açıdan, yapılan çalışma mevcut anlayışı ortaya koyarken, olası iyileştirme alanlarını da vurgulamaktadır.No sponso

The influence of website design features and consumer characteristics on internet banking adoption in Saudi Arabia

Recent years have seen rapid growth of Internet technology and its incorporation into many areas, including banking. Despite the potential advantages offered, however, adoption of Internet Banking (IB) has been relatively low. This thesis aims to enhance understanding of customers' adoption of IB, with particular reference to commercial banks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It investigates the rationale for and current status of IB in the KSA. Then, taking as a framework the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB), with the additional construct of website features, it investigates what factors may influence Saudi customers' adoption of IB, including the potential impact of website features at different stages of the customer's decision-making process (DMP). The research targeted policy makers, IB managers and clients in all 11 commercial banks operating in KSA. Data were collected in two phases, each containing qualitative and quantitative elements. In phase one, focused on the bank perspective, interviews were held with 11 bank officials, to explore the thinking behind their IB provision and website design. Then, content analysis was used to investigate the features of 22 websites – 1 corporate and 1 individual site for each bank. In phase two, semi-structured interviews (N = 40) were used to explore bank clients' perceptions of IB, and their responses used to inform a survey, delivered online and through bank branches, of IB users' (N = 651) and non-users' (N = 409) attitudes and behaviours in relation to IB. Results showed that bank managers attempted to attract and support clients throughout the DMP, and this was reflected in website content. However, support was constrained by some erroneous assumptions about clients, and the regulatory environment. Obstacles to IB use included psychological, marketing, educational, technical, cultural and linguistic barriers. IB non-users' intention to try IB was influenced by Trust and Subjective Norms, while users' intention to continue was influenced by perceived Relative Advantage and Compatibility, Ease of Use, Self-Efficacy, Resource Facilitating Conditions and Website Characteristics. Attitudes to IB also differed by clients' gender, age, income, education and Internet experience. Implications are drawn for technology adoption and e-marketing theory, and recommendations are made to government, the central bank and commercial banks to enhance the functionality and attractiveness of IB

The influence of website design features and consumer characteristics on internet banking adoption in Saudi Arabia

Recent years have seen rapid growth of Internet technology and its incorporation into many areas, including banking. Despite the potential advantages offered, however, adoption of Internet Banking (IB) has been relatively low. This thesis aims to enhance understanding of customers' adoption of IB, with particular reference to commercial banks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It investigates the rationale for and current status of IB in the KSA. Then, taking as a framework the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB), with the additional construct of website features, it investigates what factors may influence Saudi customers' adoption of IB, including the potential impact of website features at different stages of the customer's decision-making process (DMP).The research targeted policy makers, IB managers and clients in all 11 commercial banks operating in KSA. Data were collected in two phases, each containing qualitative and quantitative elements. In phase one, focused on the bank perspective, interviews were held with 11 bank officials, to explore the thinking behind their IB provision and website design. Then, content analysis was used to investigate the features of 22 websites – 1 corporate and 1 individual site for each bank. In phase two, semi-structured interviews (N = 40) were used to explore bank clients' perceptions of IB, and their responses used to inform a survey, delivered online and through bank branches, of IB users' (N = 651) and non-users' (N = 409) attitudes and behaviours in relation to IB.Results showed that bank managers attempted to attract and support clients throughout the DMP, and this was reflected in website content. However, support was constrained by some erroneous assumptions about clients, and the regulatory environment. Obstacles to IB use included psychological, marketing, educational, technical, cultural and linguistic barriers. IB non-users' intention to try IB was influenced by Trust and Subjective Norms, while users' intention to continue was influenced by perceived Relative Advantage and Compatibility, Ease of Use, Self-Efficacy, Resource Facilitating Conditions and Website Characteristics. Attitudes to IB also differed by clients' gender, age, income, education and Internet experience.Implications are drawn for technology adoption and e-marketing theory, and recommendations are made to government, the central bank and commercial banks to enhance the functionality and attractiveness of IB