The harmonization of accessibility standards for public policies

Today, Individuals Can Access An Ever-Increasing Number Of Services Via The Internet. However, Only When All People Are Able To Completely Access The Internet Can A Digital Society Be Considered Universal. We Present A Proposal To Harmonize Accessibility Standards That All Countries Must Adhere To.This work is supported by the DeepEMR project (TIN2017-87548-C2-1-R) and the Spanish Subtitling and Audio Description Center

AWA, marco metodológico específico en el dominio de la accesibilidad para el desarrollo de aplicaciones web

La Web es la herramienta principal para poder ejercer como ciudadanos en la Sociedad de la Información en la que estamos inmersos. A través de ella se accede a múltiples servicios y sin embargo, muchos de estos servicios no son accesibles a todas las personas. Las barreras de accesibilidad afectan en mayor grado a las personas con discapacidad, pero hay otros muchos grupos de usuarios en riesgo de exclusión. El uso equitativo de la Web es un derecho para todas las personas. A pesar de que en muchos países este derecho está regulado por ley, los datos indican que hay muchos sitios y aplicaciones web no accesibles. Existen importantes iniciativas, a distintos niveles, con el objetivo de que se diseñe una Web universal y accesible, pero se han detectado obstáculos en el camino para conseguirlo, que se revelan en este trabajo. Como propuesta de solución a esta situación, desde la perspectiva de la Ingeniería, se presenta el soporte metodológico AWA (Accessibility for Web Applications). AWA proporciona un espacio de trabajo para incluir el requisito de la accesibilidad en las organizaciones dedicadas al desarrollo web. AWA proporciona guías a los profesionales de la ingeniería para incorporar requisitos de accesibilidad desde distintas perspectivas: (a) en las organizaciones y empresas, integrando políticas de accesibilidad y calidad; (b) en el proceso de desarrollo siguiendo un enfoque metodológico, que aporte sistematización en la integración de la accesibilidad desde el inicio y, por último, (c) siguiendo un enfoque de Diseño Centrado en el Usuario (DCU) que sitúe al usuario como protagonista y le haga participar del proceso de diseño. Todo ello en un marco de Diseño Inclusivo, para contemplar a los usuarios con discapacidad, contextos de uso desfavorables, en definitiva, teniendo en mente toda la diversidad funcional existente. Como resultado de aplicar el enfoque AWA las páginas web finales y la interfaz de usuario de la aplicación serán accesibles siguiendo las Pautas de Accesibilidad al Contenido en la Web (WCAG) de la Iniciativa de la Accesibilidad Web (WAI). Los requisitos de accesibilidad se han obtenido mediante una abstracción de las WCAG en el contexto del proceso de desarrollo de software. De igual manera, se han acomodado en el proceso de desarrollo las actividades del DCU a través de la integración de diversos mecanismos de accesibilidad, resultado de utilizar de manera combinada un conjunto de técnicas de usabilidad con inclusión. Distintas partes del marco metodológico AWA se han aplicado en tres escenarios reales: en el diseño e implementación de un sitio web, utilizando un Content Management System (CMS) de código abierto; en el desarrollo de una plataforma personalizable de acceso público a Internet para personas con discapacidad, llevado a cabo en una empresa de desarrollo de software, siguiendo un enfoque ágil de generación dinámica de páginas web y, por último, se ha llevado a cabo una propuesta de integración de AWA sobre el Método de Ingeniería Web OOWS (Object Oriented Web Solutions) siguiendo una estrategia MDA (Model Driven Architecture).------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Web is the main tool for being able to act as citizens in the Information Society in which we are immersed. Through it you access to multiple services, yet many of these services are not accessible to everyone. The accessibility barriers affect in a higher degree to people with disabilities, but there are many other user groups at risk of exclusion. The equitable use of the Web is a right for all people. Although in many countries this right is regulated by law, the data indicate that there are many web sites and applications that are not accessible. There are important initiatives, at different levels, with the goal of designing a universal and accessible Web, but obstacles have been detected in the path to obtain this goal, which are revealed in this work. As a proposed solution to this situation, from the engineering perspective, the methodological support AWA (Accessibility for Web Applications) is presented in this thesis. AWA provides a workspace in order to include the accessibility requirement in the organizations devoted to web application development. AWA provides guidance to engineering professionals to incorporate accessibility requirements from different perspectives: (a) in organizations and businesses, integrating accessibility and quality policies, (b) in the development process following a methodological approach that provides systemization in the integration of accessibility from the outset and, finally, (c) following a User-Centered Design (UCD) approach that places the user as a the main figure and makes him/she participate in the design process. All this is considered in a framework of Inclusive Design, for contemplating the disabled users, unfavorable contexts of use, in short, keeping in mind all the existing functional diversity. As a result of applying the AWA approach the final web pages and the user interface of the application will be accessible following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Accessibility requirements have been obtained by means of an abstraction of the WCAG in the context of the software development process. Similarly, the activities of the UCD have been adapted in the development process through the integration of various accessibility mechanisms, being the result of using in a combined way a set of techniques of usability with inclusion. Different parts of the AWA methodological framework have been applied in three real scenarios: in the design and implementation of a web site using a open source Content Management System (CMS); in the development of a customizable platform for public Internet access for people with disabilities, conducted in a software development company, following an agile approach to create dynamic web pages and, finally, carrying out a proposal of integration of AWA on the Web Engineering method OOWS (Object Oriented Web Solutions) following an MDA (Model Driven Architecture) strategy

Web Accessibility Requirements for Media Players

Video Content continues to strenghten on the Web, because of that fact, it is neccessary to include video content with suitable accessibility requirements to be used by all people. User Agent (such as player, browser), also have to include accessibility requirements. In this paper a set of basic guidelines is included for professionals who want to embed video players on their Web.This research work is supported by the Research Network MAVIR (S2009/TIC-1542 (see wwwmavir.net/)), and GEMMA (TSI-020302-2010-141) and SAGAS (TSI-020100-2010-184) research projects

User-centered requirement engineering for accessible chats in m-learning

Chat applications are useful synchronous tools in mobile learning (m-learning) environments. However, these tools have accessibility problems which cannot be avoided by students and teachers with disabilities. This paper focuses on detecting these accessibility problems. Specifically, this paper presents the Requirement Engineering (RE) process carried out to obtain the requirements needed to improve the interaction for people who experience problems with the Flow and Rhythm of the conversation in chats. A methodological approach has been followed and Software Engineering (SE) and Human Computer Interaction (HCI) disciplines were combined in order to improve the interaction during the chat.This research was partially supported by the MA2VICMR (S2009/TIC-1542) project. Also, our thanks to all users who took part in the studyPublicad

Lexical Simplification System to Improve Web Accessibility

People with intellectual, language and learning disabilities face accessibility barriers when reading texts with complex words. Following accessibility guidelines, complex words can be identified, and easy synonyms and definitions can be provided for them as reading aids. To offer support to these reading aids, a lexical simplification system for Spanish has been developed and is presented in this article. The system covers the complex word identification (CWI) task and offers replacement candidates with the substitute generation and selection (SG/SS) task. These tasks have followed machine learning techniques and contextual embeddings using Easy Reading and Plain Language resources, such as dictionaries and corpora. Additionally, due to the polysemy present in the language, the system provides definitions for complex words, which are disambiguated by a rule-based method supported by a state-of-the-art embedding resource. This system is integrated into a web system that provides an easy way to improve the readability and comprehension of Spanish texts. The results obtained are satisfactory; in the CWI task, better results were obtained than with other systems that used the same dataset. The SG/SS task results are comparable to similar works in the English language and provide a solid starting point to improve this task for the Spanish language. Finally, the results of the disambiguation process evaluation were good when evaluated by a linguistic expert. These findings represent an additional advancement in the lexical simplification of texts in Spanish and in a generic domain using easy-to-read resources, among others, to provide systematic support to compliance with accessibility guidelinesThis work was supported in part by the Madrid Government (Comunidad de Madrid-Spain) under the Multiannual Agreement with UC3M in the line of Excellence of University Professors under Grant EPUC3M17, in part by the context of the V PRICIT (Regional Programme of Research and Technological Innovation), and in part by the Accessible Technologies Award-INDRA Technologies and the Fundación Universia (www.tecnologiasaccesibles.com

Empirical evaluation of educational interactive systems

[EN ]Educational software systems are usually highly interactive systems that needs to be evaluated from two different perspectives, first as interactive software, mainly using usability and accessibility approaches, and second as an educational product that needs to be evaluated from its learning impact. The empirical evaluation methods may be quantitative, with a more deductive reasoning, or qualitative, with a more inductive reasoning, oriented, however mixed approaches have been used extensively because they combine the both main methods with a more pragmatic knowledge focusing on knowing the consequences or solving problems. The empirical evaluation of interactive educational software due to its own characteristics requires a mixed approach typically. This special issue is devoted to identify, share and valorise best practices and experiences, with a very solid modelling background, that are focused on the empirical evaluation of educational interactive systems with a special emphasis on mixed quantitative and qualitative approaches

Strategy for Integrated Knowledge and Innovation Management in Venezuela Municipality

Context: In the municipality, postgraduate actions respond to the demands of society, with innovation focused on the territory. However, integrated knowledge and innovation management is insufficient locally. Aim: To socialize the design process of an integrated knowledge and innovation management strategy proposed for the municipality of Venezuela, and the impacts made after two years of implementation. Methods: Discussion groups of local actors in the government, the university center, and the productive sector, were formed. The instruments used were interviews to local actors, women, young people, and productive actors, which allowed for corroboration of the real state of the context. Results: It is possible to address major challenges considering the potentialities and weaknesses of the context through integrated and coherent actions by local actors. Conclusions: The diagnostic demonstrated social, economic-productive, and environmental potentialities to promote local development. The theoretical-methodological rationale of integrated knowledge and innovation management evidenced the necessary relationship between knowledge management-local development - actors-strategic management. The strategy designed, and the results of implementation, demonstrated that the major challenges in the territory can be coped with the potentialities and weaknesses of the context, by means of integrated and coherent action of local actors

Accessibility evaluation of Moodle centred in visual impairements

Proceedings of: 7th International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies (WEBIST 2011), Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands, May 6-9, 2011The use of new technologies has been increasing during last years in education. More specifically, the use of e-learning systems provides for students more freedom to learn through Internet when and where they prefer in each moment. However, e-learning tools are not perfect tools. Most of these e-learning tools present accessibility barriers, so not all students are able to use them completely in their studies. The goal of this paper is to evaluate if Moodle e-learning web tool is accessible for visually impaired people using assistive technologies like screen readers. The evaluation has been divided in two main objectives: first, to evaluate Moodle from a user perspective, simulating the interaction of a blind student with the system and using a screen reader; second, to evaluate Moodle from an accessibility expert perspective, analysing if Moodle is in accordance to ATAG and WCAG W3C guidelines.The work presented in this paper has been partially founded by GEMMA (TSI-020302-2010-141) and SAGAS (TSI-020100-2010-184) research projects

Accessibility barriers for users of screen readers in the Moodle learning content management system

In recent decades, the use of the Internet has spread rapidly into diverse social spheres including that of education. Currently, most educational centers make use of e-learning environments created through authoring tool applications like learning content management systems (LCMSs). However, most of these applications currently present accessibility barriers that make the creation of accessible e-learning environments difficult for teachers and administrators. In this paper, the accessibility of the Moodle authoring tool, one of the most frequently used LCMSs worldwide, is evaluated. More specifically, the evaluation is carried out from the perspective of two visually impaired users accessing content through screen readers, as well as a heuristic evaluation considering the World Wide Web Consortium's Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines. The evaluation results demonstrate that Moodle presents barriers for screen reader users, limiting their ability to access the tool. One example of accessibility problems for visually impaired users is the frequent inability to publish learning contents without assistance. In light of these results, the paper offers recommendations that can be followed to reduce or eliminate these accessibility barriers.This study has been partially funded by the MA2VICMR (S2009/TIC-1542) research project.Publicad

Morfología macroscópica de alteración de la piedra del conjunto catedralicio de Granada/España

Los principales factores de alteración que actúan en el conjunto catedralicio de Granada son, uno natural de origen térmico, dadas las bajas temperaturas que se alcanzan en invierno, y las grandes oscilaciones térmicas que se registran durante gran parte del año, y los de origen antropogénico, fundamentalmente los de mal uso de elementos de sujeción metálicos oxidables y los de contaminación atmosférica debida a productos de combustión. De esta forma, los mecanismos de alteración primordiales son los de heladicidad por la expansión producida por la congelación del agua retenida en los poros y microgrietas, sobre todo en los elementos arquitectónicos de mayor superficie de exposición y en su orientación umbría. Los indicadores a que ello conduce son las fisuras y fragmentaciones. Así, muchos elementos de piedra de Santa Pudia de la crestería de la Capilla Real se han perdido y los que quedan se encuentran muy degradados. La piedra de Sierra Elvira de las cornisas, más compacta, también se ve afectada por este mecanismo, iniciado por las microgrietas provocadas por dilataciones diferenciales debidas a oscilaciones térmicas, que facilitaron el acceso al agua. La expansión de hierros al oxidarse ha provocado la fracturación y fisuración de gran número de elementos ornamentales como bolas, pináculos, etc, que han obligado al desmontaje de muchos de ellos por el riesgo de caída, sobre todo en las terrazas superiores del monumento. Los mecanismos de disolución, ciclos de cristalización y acción química han conducido a la pérdida abundante de materia, tanto en forma de arenizaciones, sobre todo en las zonas de mayor humedad, como de formación de huecos (picados, alveolizaciones, estriados), en aquellas zonas más expuesta al viento. Esto afecta de forma generalizada a las zonas bajas en todo el perímetro del edificio, excepto en gran parte de la fachada principal, así como en todos los antepechos y en las superficies situadas debajo de las cornisas. Estas arenizaciones se ven favorecidas cuando existen placas biológicas o depósitos de inquemados, siendo estos últimos de mayor abundancia en las superficies más cercanas a la Gran Vía y en su orientación hacia ésta. Por último, y sobre todo por su repercusión estética, es necesario mencionar los abundantes depósitos de guano de palomino, cuya mayor presencia se da en la fachada principal.The main factors of deterioration that affect the Cathedral Whole of Granada are one of natural thermic origin due to the low temperatures during the winters and the higher thermic oscillations and those of anthropogenical origin: fundamentally the oxidation of metallic elements and atmospheric pollution due to burnt products. For this reason, the more important deterioration mechanisms arethe freezing ones due to the expansión produced in the v^ater retained inside the pores and microcracks, fundamentally in the architectonic elements with high expositional surface and in their shady orientation; the main indicators produced are fissuring and spalling. In this way, a lot of elements of Santa Pudia stone located in the Royal Chapel crenellations have disappeared and the rest are very deteriorated. The more compact Sierra Elvira stone used on the upper zone of the cornices has also been affected by the freezing mechanism, which starts with the microcracks produced by differential dilatations due to the thermic oscillations which made the water access easy. The iron corrosión and later expansión of the oxidation products has provoked the cracking and fissuring of many ornamental elements like balls, pinnacles, etc, and this situation has obliged their dismantling on the upper zones due to the danger to the public. The mechanisms of dissotution, crystallization cycles and Chemical action have led to abundant material loosening in the form of grain disgregation overcoats on the higher humidity zones, and formation of hollows (pitting, alveolar erosión, striations) in the zones more exposed to the winds. This situation is generalized in the lower zones of the monument, except on the main fagade, and in the parapets and lower zones of the cornices. The grain disgregations are more important when biological crusts or unburned deposits exist, the latter being of major abundance on the surfaces near the Gran Vía and in its orientation. It is necessary to mention the pigeon dung deposits, very important in the main fagade, with greater stetical repercussion