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1 – 10 of over 2000
Book part
Publication date: 14 December 2015

Debra A. Riley-Huff

To provide librarians with a better understanding of what makes online content truly accessible and to increase awareness of the current common accessibility issues found in…

Abstract

Purpose

To provide librarians with a better understanding of what makes online content truly accessible and to increase awareness of the current common accessibility issues found in library web sites and vendor supplied electronic resources.

Methodology/approach

A through and in-depth literature review takes a look at the web accessibility problems historically found in library web sites. It then briefly explains the basics of web accessibility and delves more deeply into structural content access, which is the hallmark of true accessibility. The simple mechanics as well as the pros and cons of traditional methods of providing keyboard access to web content is discussed. The chapter then provides a gentle introduction to HTML5 and the Web Accessibility Initiative-Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA), current use, techniques for use, and application opportunities. The chapter also provides the research results of a broad examination of the basic structural accessibility state of many current database providers.

Findings

The research shows that the accessibility of library web sites is improving; however many library vendor database products still have significant accessibility problems.

Practical implications

Through the practical accessibility explanations, the chapter points out the ways librarians can use this knowledge to work with users and communicate with product providers regarding the accessibility of library resources.

Originality/value

This chapter provides a rich resource for understanding and implementing web accessibility, particularly as it applies to keyboard navigation and the new accessibility features in HTML5 and WAI-ARIA.

Details

Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities and the Inclusive Future of Libraries
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-652-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 June 2018

Glenn D. Walters and Scott A. Duncan

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between differences in performance and verbal intelligence quotients (PIQ and VIQ) and the four facet scores from the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between differences in performance and verbal intelligence quotients (PIQ and VIQ) and the four facet scores from the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL–R) (Hare, 2003).

Design/methodology/approach

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and PCL–R facet scores provided by 181 male federal inmates as part of a forensic evaluation were analyzed with multiple regression, paired t-tests, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

Findings

Of the four PCL–R facet scores, only elevations on Facet 4 (antisocial) produced a significant WAIS-Revised (Wechsler, 1981) PIQ over VIQ (PIQ>VIQ) effect. In addition, only Facet 4 achieved significant ROC accuracy and correlated with the PIQ>VIQ discrepancy after other potentially important variables were controlled. In a follow-up study of 46 male inmates, Facet 4 correlated negatively with the Verbal Comprehension and Working Memory indices of the WAIS–Third Edition (Wechsler, 1997) and accurately classified a significant portion of Perceptual Organization Index (POI)>WMI cases but not a significant portion of POI>VCI cases.

Practical implications

Verbal comprehension and executive function deficits are examined as possible explanations for the relationships observed in this study.

Originality/value

These results have potentially important implications for forensic assessment in that they suggest that only certain specific features of the psychopathy construct are related to the well-known PIQ>VIQ discrepancy.

Details

Journal of Criminal Psychology, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2009-3829

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2015

Georgios Merekoulias and Evangelos C Alexopoulos

Bradford formula (index) or factor (BF) was originally designed for use as part of the overall investigation and management of absenteeism. Work ability index (WAI) is an…

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Abstract

Purpose

Bradford formula (index) or factor (BF) was originally designed for use as part of the overall investigation and management of absenteeism. Work ability index (WAI) is an instrument that has been used to evaluate work ability. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate retrospectively, the properties of the WAI, the BF and their combination – the sickness absence probability factor – in predicting future sickness absence.

Design/methodology/approach

Data on sickness absences of shipyard employees for the period 2002-2006 were utilized for the calculation of the relevant BFs. The Greek version of the WAI questionnaire was also used. The sickness absence probability factor was calculated by summing up the scores of the two other tools, after transforming them into categorical variables.

Findings

Increased BF values are positively and strongly correlated to increased sickness absenteeism levels in the following years (p<0.001), especially for the immediate following years. WAI score is also strongly negatively correlated to absence. The combination of BF and WAI acted even better.

Originality/value

The use of tools, like the BF and the suggested sickness probability factor, should be considered by occupational health personnel in order to act proactively on sickness absenteeism, since they were found to be related to future absenteeism. Actions should follow health and safety rules and ethics and should be undertaken by competent health personnel.

Details

International Journal of Workplace Health Management, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8351

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 December 2019

Helen Wakeling and Laura Ramsay

The purpose of this paper is to validate the learning screening tool (LST) and the adapted functioning checklist-revised (AFC-R) as screening tools to aid programme allocation…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to validate the learning screening tool (LST) and the adapted functioning checklist-revised (AFC-R) as screening tools to aid programme allocation, and to investigate whether programme decision makers were using the tools as per the guidance provided by HMPPS Interventions Services.

Design/methodology/approach

LST and AFC-R data were gathered for 555 men who had been assessed for programmes between 2015 and 2018 across eight prisons and one probation area. WAIS-IV IQ data were also gathered if completed.

Findings

The findings provide support for the use of the LST, and AFC-R in helping to make decisions about programme allocation. The LST and AFC-R correlate well with each other, and a measure of intellectual functioning (WAIS-IV). Those who were allocated to learning disability or challenges (LDC) programmes scored higher on the LST (greater problems) and lower on the AFC-R (lower functioning) compared to those allocated to mainstream programmes. The LST had adequate predictive validity. In the majority of cases, the correct procedures were followed in terms of using the tools for programme allocation.

Research limitations/implications

The sample size for examining the relationships between all three tools was limited. The research was also unable to take into consideration the clinical decision making involved in how the tools were interpreted.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the growing evidence about the effective use of LDC screening tools in forensic settings.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-8824

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 January 2018

Lucinda Charlotte Flinn, Charlotte Louise Hassett and Louise Braham

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) (Wechsler, 2008) is a cognitive assessment that is often used in secure forensic settings, however it has not been…

Abstract

Purpose

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) (Wechsler, 2008) is a cognitive assessment that is often used in secure forensic settings, however it has not been normed on this population. The purpose of this paper is to develop forensic normative data.

Design/methodology/approach

Patient files in a high secure forensic hospital were reviewed in order to obtain completed WAIS-IV (Wechsler, 2008) assessments and scores from the five indexes (verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, processing speed and full scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ)). This included reviewing patient files from all directorates, including male mental health, male learning disability, male personality disorder and the women’s service, yielding a sample size of n=86.

Findings

The qualitative descriptors obtained across the hospital ranged between extremely low and superior. The learning disability service scored significantly lower than the mental health and personality disorder services in verbal comprehension index, perceptual reasoning index, working memory index and FSIQ, and significantly lower than the mental health, personality disorder and women’s services in processing speed index. Mean scores from this study were significantly lower in comparison to those from the UK validation study (Wechsler, 2008).

Practical implications

The significant difference between scores from the current study and those from the UK validation study (Wechsler, 2008) highlights the need to have appropriate normative data for forensic populations. Clinicians should consider interventions that may serve to increase cognitive function, such as cognitive remediation therapy.

Originality/value

Whilst several special group studies have previously been conducted, this study is the first to develop forensic normative data for the WAIS-IV (Wechsler, 2008). Whilst the sample size was relatively small with limited female participants, the data collated will enable clinicians working in forensic establishments to interpret their assessments in light of this information.

Details

Journal of Forensic Practice, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-8794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 October 2013

John Sanders and Laura Galloway

The purpose of this paper is to investigate website quality in rural firms in four countries, by using Gonzalez and Palacios's Web Assessment Index (WAI). There is an assertion in…

1717

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate website quality in rural firms in four countries, by using Gonzalez and Palacios's Web Assessment Index (WAI). There is an assertion in the literature that quality is lower amongst rural firms than urban firms, and lower amongst small firms than large firms. The disadvantages of lack of access to skills and economic peripherality in rural areas are attributed to this. Concurrently, there is reason to surmise that the websites of firms in transition economies may be higher quality than those in market economies. The paper aims to explore websites in distinct rural regions to investigate if variation occurs.

Design/methodology/approach

To evaluate website quality the WAI was applied to a sample of 60 rural firms representing 15 each in Scotland, New Zealand, Southern Russia and Hunan Province in China. Analysis of the categorical data was performed using a variety of established methods.

Findings

The WAI is of use in terms of website quality management. Additionally, comparisons between the quality of websites in the sample of small rural firms with those of large firms in previous studies support the contention that large firms generally have better quality websites. Results also illustrate that there are some differences in website quality between rural small businesses in the different locations. In particular, small rural firms in Hunan Province in China had websites of observable better quality than those elsewhere. The authors conclude that skills, knowledge and infrastructure have a bearing on the sophistication of small firms' websites.

Research limitations/implications

Implications include that variation in the rural economy by region prevails as the rural economy is not, as often implied, a homogeneous concept.

Practical implications

There are implications in terms of exploring the effects of regulation, culture and infrastructure on rural small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The internet may indeed contribute to rural economies, but only insofar as it is facilitated by infrastructure and access to skills, and by culture and perceived usefulness by business owners.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the understanding of rural entrepreneurship as a heterogeneous concept by comparing practice in four distinct rural regions. It also adds weight to the emerging identification of exogenous factors as being at least as much a factor in determining the use of ICT in rural SMEs as endogenous motivations, skills and resources.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 December 2007

Mohammad Eyadat and Dorothy Fisher

The purpose of this research is to examine web accessibility initiative (WAI) guidelines for web accessibility so as to incorporate web accessibility in information systems (IS…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to examine web accessibility initiative (WAI) guidelines for web accessibility so as to incorporate web accessibility in information systems (IS) curriculum.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used the WebXact software accessibility evaluation tool to test the top pages of web sites of the 23 California State University (CSU) campuses in order to identify the level of compliance to federal standards. The authors also designed and conducted a questionnaire to survey the students who were enrolled in the first web development course at CSU, Dominguez Hills to access their knowledge and skills in various web accessibility topics.

Findings

The research findings show that the majority of the CSU campuses' top web pages failed to meet WAI guidelines at some point. Moreover, two‐thirds of the students who responded to the survey have no knowledge of web accessibility topics included in the questionnaires. The results indicate that IS programs failed to incorporate accessibility in their curricula and produce web developers with the skills and knowledge in web accessibility.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this research is that the sample size is small. The authors intend to increase the number of universities' web site in the test and survey all students in the IS program in a future study.

Practical implications

This research is background work that will help the authors to incorporate accessibility topics in their web development courses that include web accessibility basic concepts, universal design, Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act, web content accessibility guidelines, WAI guidelines for web accessibility, and web accessibility testing tools.

Originality/value

This research improves the current state of web accessibility in curriculum higher education.

Details

International Journal of Web Information Systems, vol. 3 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-0084

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1992

Brewster Kahle, Harry Morris, Franklin Davis, Kevin Tiene, Clare Hart and Robin Palmer

In this paper we present a corporate information system for untrained users to search gigabytes of unformatted data using quasi‐natural language and relevance feedback queries…

Abstract

In this paper we present a corporate information system for untrained users to search gigabytes of unformatted data using quasi‐natural language and relevance feedback queries. The data can reside on distributed servers anywhere on a wide area network, giving the users access to personal, corporate, and published information from a single interface. Effective queries can be turned into profiles, allowing the system to automatically alert the user when new data are available. The system was tested by twenty executive users located in six cities. Our primary goal in building the system was to determine if the technology and infrastructure existed to make end‐user searching of unstructured information profitable. We found that effective search and user interface technologies for end‐users are available, but network technologies are still a limiting cost factor. As a result of the experiment, we are continuing the development of the system. This article will describe the overall system architecture, the implemented subset, and the lessons learned.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Book part
Publication date: 24 November 2022

Chin-Pang Lei

With its worldwide fame for making action films, Hong Kong cinema has been defined as masculine. Action films, including the costumed martial arts films and the modern gangster…

Abstract

With its worldwide fame for making action films, Hong Kong cinema has been defined as masculine. Action films, including the costumed martial arts films and the modern gangster films, have been a major genre in Hong Kong cinema from the 1960s on. Despite the dominant masculinity, women still play significant roles in some of these films. In fact, fighting women leave footprints in the history of Hong Kong cinema, which precede their counterparts in the West and even provide models for Hollywood after 2000.

This chapter focuses on the female characters portrayed by the acclaimed Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai, whose works have an ambiguous connection to mainstream genres. He modifies Hong Kong action films and creates unconventional female characters such as the drug dealer in Chungking Express (1994), the killer dispatcher in Fallen Angels (1995), the swordswoman in Ashes of Time (1994), and the kung fu master in The Grandmaster (2013). Wong's films have been mush discussed in academia, but the gender images therein are quite ignored. With high intertextuality, these characters are used to question mainstream action films and redefine women's roles in male's cinematic space. In addition, via the writing of these women, Wong constructs an open and ambivalent post-colonial Hong Kong identity. This paper contextualises the figures of sword-wielding and gun-shooting women and examines how Wong Kar-wai deploys these images to articulate the cultural identity of a post-colonial city.

Details

Gender and Action Films 1980-2000
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-506-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1992

Charles R. McClure, William E. Moen and Joe Ryan

This article summarizes a study that identified and described federal information inventory/locator systems. Such locator systems provide an important means of accessing a range…

Abstract

This article summarizes a study that identified and described federal information inventory/locator systems. Such locator systems provide an important means of accessing a range of government information not previously available to the public or other government officials. Overall, the study's goal was to improve access to and use of U.S. government information. The study produced a final report describing study efforts, identifying issues and conclusions, and recommending the design of an networked‐based government‐wide information inventory/locator system (GIILS) (Volume I), the Federal Locator Database (FLD) — a machine‐readable database of descriptive information on some 250 federal databases, of which fifty‐three met the study's criteria as a locator, and a user's guide to that database (Volume II includes a machine‐readable version of the database and the user guide and codebook). The study recommends that the U.S. Office of Management and Budget develop a policy framework requiring agencies to design and maintain machine‐readable locators, meeting certain requirements and standards and that these be accessible over the Internet/NREN.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 2 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

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