Accessibility as an integral factor in e-government web site evaluation : The case of Dubai e-government

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which accessibility is taken into account in the assessment and ranking of e-government web sites through the lens of a specific study related to Dubai e-government.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper considers a case study related to Dubai e-government and it evaluates the accessibility of each of the 21 Dubai e-government web sites, based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and using an automated accessibility testing tool. A bivariate correlation analysis is performed to assess the correlation between web site ranking and accessibility score.

Findings

The research reveals that contrary to common intuition and some earlier studies, there is a weak correlation between e-government web site ranking score and web site accessibility.

Research limitations/implications

The paper uses an accessibility metric that is a proxy indicator of web accessibility and is not a real assessment of accessibility as experienced by a person with disability.

Practical implications

When re-examined through the lens of Rawls's moral theory, this research suggests that accessibility should be given a higher priority in the general evaluation and ranking of e-government web sites.

Social implications

The paper promotes universal accessibility to e-government information and services.

Originality/value

The paper uses ethical arguments to highlight the need to comprehensively consider accessibility as a major criterion in the assessment and ranking of e-government web sites.

Citation

Kamoun, F. and Basel Almourad, M. (2014), "Accessibility as an integral factor in e-government web site evaluation : The case of Dubai e-government", Information Technology & People, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 208-228. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-07-2013-0130