Accessibility of Thai university websites: Awareness, barriers and drivers for accessible practice

Governments and organizations have to respond to a range of legislative and policy initiatives intended to promote equal opportunity for all. The Thai government has passed a number of laws which aim to protect its citizens from discrimination and from breaches of their human rights by government departments and agencies. The Persons with Disabilities Education Act B.E. 2551 (2008) and the Thailand Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy Framework (2011-2020) required government agencies to delivery equal education and access to online information for all Thais. Most Thai universities receive government subsidies, and therefore have an obligation to contribute to national prosperity so that all Thais can benefit from their activities, or as the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology and The National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (2011, p. 23) states “The creation of content, database, online content which promotes lifelong learning, the development of school websites and other digital content should follow the web accessibility standard”. Given the Thai government’s commitment to lifelong learning and the creation of accessible materials, this thesis sought to investigate to what level Thai universities were implementing web accessibility in their websites and e-learning materials. A mixed method approach was employed in order to explore the level of accessibility awareness, barriers to web accessibility implementation and possible drivers for accessibility uptake which might exist within Thai universities. Quantitative data derived from automated and manual web evaluations was gathered based on WCAG 2.0 guideline in order to determine the actual levels of accessible design apparent in Thai university websites. Fifty representative universities were selected from the top ranked Thai universities and a number webpages were tested from within each of the university websites. In addition, online surveys were conducted with three stakeholder groups within the Thai university sector, namely lecturers, web staff and senior managers. These surveys were design to set the context for quantitative website assessment findings and provide evidence as to these stakeholders understanding of web accessibility as a concept. Finally, follow-up interviews were conducted after the web assessments and surveys were analysed so as to reduce ambiguity and increase understanding, creating a very clear picture of the standing of web accessibility in Thailand’s universities. The findings of the data analysis indicate that Thai universities have low levels of web accessibility implementation in their websites and e-learning materials, even though web accessibility requirements had been embedded in Thai laws and policies for over a decade. In terms of web evaluation, the university webpages had accessibility problems across all aspects of WCAG 2.0’s POUR principles, with not a single tested webpage passing even the lowest level of WCAG 2.0 compliance. The survey and interview data revealed very low levels of awareness of web accessibility amongst Thai university staff members as well as lack of knowledge regarding students with disabilities and their specialised technology needs. Whilst Thai university staff were generally supportive of the concept of web accessibility and supporting students with special needs, this was accompanied by some less supportive views, including students with disabilities being taught only in specialised educational facilities or only where there were sufficient numbers of such students to make the investment in accessibility worthwhile. A number of universities in this study featured university admission requirements which could be classed as a discriminatory and not aligned with the requirements of the Thai government. In fact, this thesis revealed an almost total lack of awareness within the Thai university sector of Thai government policy regarding web accessibility and equality in education. This thesis proposed a Smart Thailand : Accessible Learning model and an associated implementation framework which together might lead to an environment in which Thai universities would be more willing and able to implement the tenets of web accessibility and provide an equitable learning experience for all Thai citizens, especially those with disabilities

Public Service Delivery: Role of Information and Communication Technology in Improving Governance and Development Impact

The focus of this paper is on improving governance through the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the delivery of services to the poor, i.e., improving efficiency, accountability, and transparency, and reducing bribery. A number of papers recognize the potential benefits but they also point out that it has not been easy to harness this potential. This paper presents an analysis of effective case studies from developing countries where the benefits have reached a large number of poor citizens. It also identifies the critical success factors for wide-scale deployment. The paper includes cases on the use of ICTs in the management of delivery of public services in health, education, and provision of subsidized food. Cases on electronic delivery of government services, such as providing certificates and licenses to rural populations, which in turn provide entitlements to the poor for subsidized food, fertilizer, and health services are also included. ICT-enabled provision of information to enhance rural income is also covered

Combination of automatic and manual testing for web accessibility

Master's thesis Information- and communication technology IKT590 - University of Agder 2018Web accessibility is an indispensable medium for online communication and digital inclusion nowadays. With the recent adoption of the Web Accessibility Directive making the Internet resources accessible has become a legal obligation and strikes a need for more detailed and reliable ways of web accessibility evaluation of the websites. Throughout the years, many tools have been developed for testing web accessibility as well as a plethora of metrics that are expected to convey the results. Unfortunately, in most cases the findings appear to be incomplete since the studies rely only on one testing method, i.e., automatic or manual. The study has set itself a goal to contribute with knowledge to solving three research questions. First, how to combine results from automated and manual evaluation of web accessibility? Second, how to express the integration results in a quantitative manner? Finally, what is the impact of the dynamic content on the integration results when the content of the website is frequently updated and personalized? This thesis proposes a novel approach to integration of manual and automated accessibility testing, where the results of the evaluations are combined on the basis of accessibility guidelines. Additionally, a quantitative metric – Union Score, together with a graphical visualization called Accessibility Pie Chart, are propounded, as the means for expressing the outcomes of the accessibility evaluation with use of the combined approach. The research has been grounded on the mixed-method approach and embedded the findings of the conducted interviews into a quantitative study. In order to find emphirically the most suitable method for combining manual and automated testing, fifteen web pages selected from two websites were chosen for evaluation with two testing tools: WTKollen Checker and WTKollen User-Testing Tool. The findings of the analysis show that WCAG 2.0 may serve as a bridge between manual and automated evaluation outcomes and result in an increased coverage of the Success Criteria. The proposed metric has been preliminarily validated with regard to its application for benchmarking purposes and supplemented with a graphical way of presenting accessibility testing results. Furthermore, it is concluded that the suggested integration approach can be deployed. Yet, the challenge of dynamic content evaluation requires more research attention. The study has contributed to the current state of knowledge about web accessibility evaluation and the results are expected to be used for implementation of the novel approach. For the future paths, a more extended study on the proposed metric’s properties is advised. Also, the importance of further research in the area of dynamic content evaluation is highlighted

E-Governance: Strategy for Mitigating Non-Inclusion of Citizens in Policy Making in Nigeria

The Nigerian federation that currently has 36 states structure adopted the Weberian Public Administrative system before now as an ideal way of running government, which was characterized with the traditional way of doing things without recourse to the deployment of Information Communication Technology (ICT). Today e-governance is seen as a paradigm shift from the previous way of governance. Research has shown that, the adoption and implementation of e-governance is more likely to bring about effective service delivery, mitigate corruption and ultimately enhance citizens’ participation in governmental affairs. However, it has been argued that infrastructure such as regular electricity power and access to the Internet, in addition to a society with high rate of literacy level are required to effectively implement and realize the potentials of e-governance for improved delivery of services. Due to the difficulties currently experienced, developing nations need to adequately prepare for the implementation of e-governance on the platform of Information Communication Technology (ICT). Hence, this study seeks to examine whether the adoption and implementation of e-governance in the context of Nigeria would mitigate the hitherto non-inclusion of citizens in the formulation and implementation of government policies aimed at enhanced development. To achieve the objective of the study, data were sourced and analyzed majorly by examining government websites of 20 states in the Nigerian federation to ascertain if there are venues for citizens to interact with government in the area of policy making and feedback on government actions, as a way of promoting participatory governance. The study revealed that the adoption and implementation of e-governance in the country is yet to fully take place. This is due to lack of infrastructure, low level of literacy rate and government inability to provide the necessary infrastructure for e-governance to materialize. The paper therefore, recommends among others the need for the Federal Government to involve a sound and clear policy on how to go about the adoption and implementation of egovernance through deliberate effort at increasing budgetary allocation towards infrastructural development and mass education of citizens

The Impact of e-Democracy in Political Stability of Nigeria

The history of the Nigerian electoral process has been hitherto characterized by violence stemming from disputes in election outcomes. For instance, violence erupted across some states in Northern Nigeria when results indicated that a candidate who was popular in that part of the country was losing the election leading to avoidable loss of lives. Beside, this dispute in election outcome lingers for a long time in litigation at the electoral tribunals which distracts effective governance. However, the increasing penetrating use of ICTs in Nigeria is evident in the electoral processes with consequent shift in the behavior of actors in the democratic processes, thus changing the ways Nigerians react to election outcomes. This paper examines the trend in the use ICT in the Nigerian political system and its impact on the stability of the polity. It assesses the role of ICT in recent electoral processes and compares its impact on the outcome of the process in lieu of previous experiences in the Nigeria. Furthermore, the paper also examines the challenges and risks of implementing e-Democracy in Nigeria and its relationship to the economy in the light of the socio-economic situation of the country. The paper adopted qualitative approach in data gathering and analysis. From the findings, the paper observed that e-democracy is largely dependent on the level of ICT adoption, which is still at its lowest ebb in the country. It recognizes the challenges in the provision of ICT infrastructure and argues that appropriate low-cost infrastructure applicable to the Nigerian condition can be made available to implement e-democracy and thus arouse the interest of the populace in governance, increase the number of voters, and enhance transparency, probity and accountability, and participation in governance as well as help stabilize the nascent democrac

Get yourself connected: conceptualising the role of digital technologies in Norwegian career guidance

This report outlines the role of digital technologies in the provision of career guidance. It was commissioned by the c ommittee on career guidance which is advising the Norwegian Government following a review of the countries skills system by the OECD. In this report we argue that career guidance and online career guidance in particular can support the development of Norwa y’s skills system to help meet the economic challenges that it faces.The expert committee advising Norway’s Career Guidance Initiativ

Inclusive Learning and Teaching in a Digital World

Introducing learning and teaching platforms based on digital technology has been an on-going process for more than a decade now all across Asia and Europe. Within the two regions, the initiative in introducing digital technology to teaching and learning has been discussed at the supra-national level in the case of Europe, while governments and HEIs in Asia seem to individually plan and implement the policy respectively at its own pace. With diverse contexts and backgrounds of countries in Asia, policies at the national and institutional level can be examined primarily based on the specific contexts of each country’s educational systems and orientations. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has abruptly changed the scenario and pace of implementing digital technology in teaching and learning in these regions. These changes were exponential. It was inevitable for every country and its respective education institutions to consider the way in which teaching and learning can be delivered and provided through digital and on-line technology. As mentioned by the OECD, “One change likely to remain after the pandemic ends is the intensified use of digital technologies in the delivery and management of higher education” (Weko & Morley, 2020)

MethOds and tools for comprehensive impact Assessment of the CCAM solutions for passengers and goods. D1.1: CCAM solutions review and gaps

Review of the state-of-the-art on Cooperative, Connected and Automated mobility use cases, scenarios, business models, Key Performance Indicators, impact evaluation methods, technologies, and user needs (for organisations & citizens)

Evaluation and design of e-government: A holistic overview of e-government initiatives in Harrisonburg, and the challenges of adopting a citizen-centered design

In the past decade, e-Government has received a lot of attention from academia, policy agencies, and IT providers, all of whom attempt to assess and track the factors that lead to a successful e-Government service. I propose a top-level approach assessing e-Government in Harrisonburg as a whole, and then I explore project-level methods of design and implementation. More specifically, I identify 29 electronic services offered by the City and rank them according to a pre-defined four-stage ranking system. This assessment demonstrates that the majority of the services considered fall under the Interaction and Transaction stages (Stages 2 and 3 respectively). This organizational approach is followed by an analysis of the factors that may lead to failure and lack of use of e-Government initiatives, and how a citizen-centered design can be employed to avoid such failures. I then describe the challenges of using a citizen-centered design in e-Government based on my experiences working on the Resource Recovery Facility in Harrisonburg. Lastly, I examine future research topics that should be considered when discussing e-Government