Regulatory Compliance and Web Accessibility of UK Parliament Sites

This research seeks to review whether web accessibility and disability laws lead to strong compliance among UK e-government web sites. This study samples 130 sites of the UK members of Parliament using an online accessibility testing tool and determines if the site design complies with disability laws and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Awareness is raised about issues disabled users face when attempting to use UK e-government sites. A discussion of UK and international disability law is reviewed in light of web accessibilty: the UK’s Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) of 1995 and the UN Treaty on the Rights of the Disabled. Although these mandates aim to provide equality in access to web sites for people with disabilities, the results of this study show that total openness of these sites is not widespread and the mere existance of laws does not guarantee compliance

Analysis of UK Parliament Web Sites for Disability Accessibility

The growth of the Internet has led to an increase in the number of public services offered by U.K. government entities on their Web sites. A variety of consumers use e-government sites, and those individuals with disabilities are guaranteed the same access government sites under the U.K.’s Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) of 1995. This law provides equality in access, and implements penalties for non-adherence to the law. Industry standards also exist which helps site developers to create better site accessibility. However, despite both standards and legal regulations, total openness of sites for people with disabilities is still not widespread. The purpose of this study is to examine the level of accessibility of a randomly selected sample of 130 members of the U.K. House of Commons. Each site was analyzed using an online software tool –Truwex - to determine if they met industry Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) levels 1.0 and 2.0 standards and DDA law. The results showed that the majority of the sites did not meet either guidelines or legal mandates. Many of the sites displayed similar precedents when it came to the types of non-compliance, and could easily improve compliance with minor changes

Reviving Negotiated Rulemaking for an Accessible Internet

Web accessibility requires designing and developing websites so that people with disabilities can use them without barriers. While the internet has become central to daily life, websites have overwhelmingly remained inaccessible to the millions of users who have disabilities. Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to combat discrimination against people with disabilities. Passed in 1990, it lacks any specific mention of the internet Courts are split as to whether the ADA applies to websites, and if so, what actions businesses must take to comply with the law. Further complicating matters, the Department of Justice (DOJ) initiated the rulemaking process for web accessibility in 2010, only to terminate it seven years later without issuing a rule—leaving the disability community without meaningful online access and businesses without clear standards. Meanwhile, complaints about the accessibility of websites have flooded federal agencies and the courts. Against that backdrop, this Note calls for the DOJ to use negotiated rulemaking, a regulatory innovation from the 1980s that has since faded in use, to achieve web accessibility. Given that the Supreme Court has declined to resolve whether the ADA’s protections apply to the internet, the business and disability communities should come together through negotiated rulemaking to build consensus on web accessibility

Usability and Accessibility in E-commerce Web Sites

This paper argues that the accessibility and usability of an e-commerce web site are the primary determinants of customer experience. They are also top factors for improving conversion rate and hence the return on investment. Accessibility of web sites to people with disabilities is a legal requirement in many countries. Section 805 in the US and the Disability Discrimination Act in the UK both require providers to make their web sites accessible to people with disabilities. Organizations are now realizing the social and financial benefits of making web sites accessible to people who are older or who have disabilities. The paper reviews usability and accessibility international Standards, guidelines and practice and the current state of e-commerce usability and accessibility. Case studies of e-commerce web sites accessibility and usability and an approach to their evaluation are presented. These include a major telecommunication company, a travel agency and a bank. These case studies describe examples of current practice in the United Arab Emirates; a country with a rapidly growing economy and the highest rate of Internet use in the Middle East [3]. Despite the wealth of information and guidelines available on accessibility, the web site tested neglected some basic accessibility features

Assistive technology : going beyond the disability

This paper is part of the ongoing research into designing and developing an Essentiality and Proficiency tool. The tool is a proxy service that will enable the user to view web content in a manner most beneficial to them. The research has stemmed from the inaccessibility of the web content even though standards and legislations such as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 have come in to place (Elizabeth 1995; Brewer 1999). The paper will concentrate on the need to establish user profiles to ensure the tool can be used by all. However, for the purpose of my PhD research I have concentrated on the visually impaired as this is identified as the largest disability group (Kottapally, Ngo et al. 2003; Gooday and Christopherson 2004)

E-learning accessibility practices within higher education: a review

The 2001 Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA) made it an offence for educational institutions to discriminate against a disabled person by treating him or her less favourably than others for a reason relating to their disability. The Act covers all aspects of student services, including provision and use of electronic materials and resources. Learning technologists have therefore been charged with the responsibility of ensuring that electronic teaching materials can be accessed by disabled students. In an attempt to explore how learning technologists are developing practices to produce accessible electronic materials this paper will present a review of current accessibility practice. The review will focus on what key professionals (academics, researchers, educational developers and staff developers) within the learning technology field are saying and doing about making electronic materials and resources accessible to disabled students. Key issues that may influence the "accessibility" practices of learning technologists are highlighted; the importance of these issues for developing an understanding of "accessibility" practices is discussed and implications for future research are identifie

Making online learning accessible to disabled students: an institutional case study

Based on the authors’ reflections on experience working at the Open University, approaches to making online learning accessible to disabled students are considered. The considerations are applicable to all concerned with online learning and indeed anyone seeking to trade, disseminate information and mediate services online. In reflecting on the Open University experience of making online material accessible, pedagogic, organisational and cultural issues are highlighted and it is argued that it is important to address these issues in order to effect the organisational change needed to ensure that accessibility challenges are effectively met

Using multimedia to enhance the accessibility of the learning environment for disabled students: reflections from the Skills for Access project

As educators' awareness of their responsibilities towards ensuring the accessibility of the learning environment to disabled students increases, significant debate surrounds the implications of accessibility requirements on educational multimedia. There would appear to be widespread concern that the fundamental principles of creating accessible web‐based materials seem at odds with the creative and innovative use of multimedia to support learning and teaching, as well as concerns over the time and cost of providing accessibility features that can hold back resource development and application. Yet, effective use of multimedia offers a way of enhancing the accessibility of the learning environment for many groups of disabled students. Using the development of ‘Skills for Access’, a web resource supporting the dual aims of creating optimally accessible multimedia for learning, as an example, the attitudinal, practical and technical challenges facing the effective use of multimedia as an accessibility aid in a learning environment will be explored. Reasons why a holistic approach to accessibility may be the most effective in ensuring that multimedia reaches its full potential in enabling and supporting students in learning, regardless of any disability they may have, will be outlined and discussed