Estudo preliminar para a avaliação da acessibilidade de um sítio Web

O avanço e difusão da tecnologia, em particular da Internet, obrigaram à disponibilização de informação com qualidade e facilmente acessível. Tais exigências vêm confirmar a relevância do papel da interface como elemento principal na interacção do utilizador com os sistemas de informação. É, por isso, fundamental que a interface seja fácil de usar e que vá ao encontro das expectativas e necessidades de todos os utilizadores. O desenvolvimento de interfaces que satisfaçam utilizadores com necessidades distintas, independentemente das suas capacidades motoras e perceptivas, culturais e sociais não é uma tarefa que possa se considerada simples [1]. De acordo com vários especialistas em Interacção Homem-Computador, [1], [2] e [3] as interfaces devem ser construídas respeitando os princípios de desenho centrado no utilizador, visando um elevado grau de usabilidade e em conformidade com directrizes de acessibilidade básicas. Este trabalho apresenta uma metodologia para avaliação da acessibilidade de um sítio Web, baseado num documento disponibilizado pela Web Accessibility Initiative, WAI, [4], a ser aplicada à secretaria on-line de uma escola do ensino superior.Instituto Politécnico do Porto. Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Port

Web Accessibility Among the Countries of the European Union: a Comparative Study

In a short period of time, the World Wide Web (the Web) has had a huge impact on our society and lives. The Web provides access to news, email, online purchasing, fun activities, etc. However, the Web is often a barrier to access to information and services for some groups of disabled users. To support the accessibility of web sites, different accessibility guidelines and standards have been introduced for the last ten years. Unfortunately, web developers often lack sufficient knowledge to meet these guidelines. To assure and certify the fulfilment of web accessibility guidelines, various automatic accessibility evaluation tools have been developed. In this paper, a comparative study of the web accessibility of official websites from countries of the European Union is presented. Two automatic evaluation tools have been used to perform the comparison: the W3C Markup Validation Service to check the source code of the web pages, and eXaminator to test the accessibility.Partly supported by the EU Tempus Project ERAMIS 159025-TEMPUS-1-2009-1-FR-TEMPUSJPCR

Accessibility of Websites for People with Disabilities (PWD) in Malaysia: An Empirical Investigation

According to a report by Department of Social Welfare Malaysia (http://www.jkm.gov.my), there are approximately 277, 509  registered disabled people in Malaysia  since November 2009. The growing  number of people with disabilities in Malaysia indicates the importance of safeguarding the interest by this special underserved group in Malaysia. Thus, this study aims to investigate the accessibility of website for disabled user in Malaysia. A total of 100 websites were chosen from four Malaysia portals; (i) Malaysian Information Network on Disabilities (MIND), (ii) Malaysian Christian Association for Relief (Malaysian CARE), (iii) Kiwanis Disability Information and Support Centre (KDISC) and (iv) Hati. The study revealed several issues pertaining  to website accessibility for people with disabilities in Malaysia. We end our study with few recommendations for  to improve few of the accessibility criteria that may be overlooked by website developers

Developing and Implementing an Accessible, Touch-based Web App for Inclusive Learning

With the prevalence of mobile devices and platforms used throughout the world and the increasing number of organizations with mobile versions of their web sites, it is essential that those applications and sites are accessible, usable and flexible. This project involved the inclusive development and iterative evaluation of a platform-independent, web-based learning app. Usability testing with students, faculty, and individuals with disabilities were combined with manual accessibility evaluations to ensure that a wide range of users and devices would be able to benefit from the structure of such an application. The results of this project detail the process of creating a flexible, platform-independent mobile learning app as well as some of the broader benefits that can result from accessibility and usability improvements to a mobile application. The resulting prototype has been implemented in a “live” environment at a non-profit organization that serves individuals with disabilities

Healthcare Web Accessibility: Litigation Avoidance or Strategic Opportunity?

In 2006, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) sued Target Corporation alleging that the retailer’s website was inaccessible to the blind, in violation of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and various California statutes. Target eventually settled the case for US$9.7 million. The Target case presents an interesting dilemma to private sector healthcare providers. What corporate strategy is appropriate in the case of web accessibility? US Federal and state laws do not specifically require a private company to make its website accessible to customers with disabilities. However, the adverse media exposure from a private class action suit by a disability group can significantly damage a company’s reputation for corporate social responsibility (CSR). We develop a model of corporate web accessibility behavior based on literature linking CSR activities to corporate financial performance. We test its use within the healthcare industry focusing on private-sector companies that deliver online healthcare information. We compare our sample to a group of non-healthcare companies with a reputation for corporate social responsibility for the years before and after the onset of the Target litigation. Results reveal significant differences in the way healthcare corporations choose to address web accessibility

Search engine UIs: remote usability testing with blind persons

This paper describes a remote usability testing which was the final phase of a research project aimed at improving usability of web search tools for blind users who interact via screen reader and voice synthesizer. The testing aimed to evaluate a new implementation of Google user interfaces - according to a set of criteria previously proposed specifically for search engine user interfaces - for the simple search and the result exploration. To prepare the environment for the remote testing we needed to re-implement the original Google interfaces, using Google APIs, PERL programming and XSLT transformations. The results of the testing highlight how Google interfaces, although accessible, may be further improved in order to simplify the interaction for the sightless. In this article, first an overview of the project is introduced; then we discuss the design and implementation of the UIs. Finally, we describe in detail the usability testing which involved 12 totally blind persons

Advanced IT education for the vision impaired via e-learning

Lack of accessibility in the design of e-learning courses continues to hinder students with vision impairment. E-learning materials are predominantly vision-centric, incorporating images, animation, and interactive media, and as a result students with acute vision impairment do not have equal opportunity to gain tertiary qualifications or skills relevant to the marketplace and their disability. Due to its logical, rather than physical, nature IT help desk and network administration roles are ideal for people who are blind. This paper describes the development of a fully accessible e-learning environment to deliver advanced IT network curriculum to adults with acute vision disabilities. The components include a virtual classroom, accessible learning materials, a remote computer laboratory, and delivery of the learning materials by vision impaired instructors. Industry standard courses in advanced IT were redeveloped, and the accessible on-line learning environment was developed to deliver the courses. Vision impaired students who excelled in the pilot project were trained as instructors, gaining industry-standard instructor certifications. These instructors were used to assist with the design of accessible methods and delivered the materials to the vision impaired students.The project has been operational for four years with a pilot project being conducted over a two year period, followed by the delivery of the courses both local and remote vision impaired students across the globe using this accessible e-learning environment for the past two years. Evaluation results indicate that vision impaired students situated both locally and remotely gained equivalent grades to their sighted counterparts given additional time to comprehend and experiment via the virtual classroom and remote computer laboratory. In addition, the use of vision impaired instructors has resulted in more innovative approaches to accessible teaching methods and delivery of the curriculum