Accessibility of E-Commerce Websites for Vision Impaired Persons

In this thesis accessibility problems with websites for vision-impaired persons are discussed in detail. General accessibility problems and those specific to e-commerce websites,especially on-line shopping websites are discussed. Accessibility problems are analyzed from the perspective of a screen reader user. As a solution for the accessibility problems identified, the WCAG 2.0 guidelines are reviewed and new changes are proposed to improve the existing guidelines. Enhanced solutions using tactile media capable of providing a better web browsing experience for vision-impaired persons are also discussed

Pastoralism, Uncertainty and Development

This book explores the connection between pastoralism, uncertainty, and development. It makes the case that recognizing how pastoralists make productive use of variability and embrace uncertainty is central to understanding how pastoral systems in marginal dryland and montane systems work. Further, the book argues that such understandings about how reliability is generated in the context of highly variable settings offer wider lessons for rethinking development policy and practice in today’s uncertain, turbulent world

Synthesis of Hollow Nanotubes of Zn₂SiO₄ or SiO₂: Mechanistic Understanding and Uranium Adsorption Behavior

We report a facile synthesis of Zn₂SiO₄ nanotubes using a two-step process consisting of a wet-chemical synthesis of core–shell ZnO@SiO₂ nanorods followed by thermal annealing. While annealing in air leads to the formation of hollow Zn₂SiO₄, annealing under reducing atmosphere leads to the formation of SiO₂ nanotubes. We rationalize the formation of the silicate phase at temperatures much lower than the temperatures reported in the literature based on the porous nature of the silica shell on the ZnO nanorods. We present results from in situ transmission electron microscopy experiments to clearly show void nucleation at the interface between ZnO and the silica shell and the growth of the silicate phase by the Kirkendall effect. The porous nature of the silica shell is also responsible for the etching of the ZnO leading to the formation of silica nanotubes under reducing conditions. Both the hollow silica and silicate nanotubes exhibit good uranium sorption at different ranges of pH making them possible candidates for nuclear waste management