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The author takes a comprehensive look at the accessibility of e-resources for all people, including those with disabilities, in the context of collection development (CD).
Abstract
Purpose
The author takes a comprehensive look at the accessibility of e-resources for all people, including those with disabilities, in the context of collection development (CD).
Methodology/approach
Employing a combination of research methodologies
Findings
Several professional library organizations recommend accessibility-sensitive selection and procurement procedures. However, not all students enrolled in library school programs might learn about the issue. Few books on the subject cover the issue adequately. Nationwide, CD policies requiring conformance to accessibility standards are the exception; and when librarians meet to make decisions about the selection of specific e-resources, the needs of people with disabilities are rarely on their radar screens.
Research limitations/implications
Researchers conducting similar surveys in the future might want to not only select a statistically more representative sample of academic libraries but also widen their focus and include both accessibility and usability in their investigations.
Practical implications
Textbook authors and course instructors in the area of CD need to address accessibility and usability. Librarians need to raise the issue with database and e-book vendors during license negotiations.
Social implications
The acquisition of e-resources designed to be accessible and usable for all will enable people with disabilities to participate more fully in our information-driven society.
Originality/value
The data collected provide for a broad discussion of the extent to which the needs of people with disabilities are considered in connection with CD.
Ranjit Singh, Abid Ismail, Sibi PS and Dipendra Singh
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the US states and territories’ official tourism information websites based on the Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) and Section…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the US states and territories’ official tourism information websites based on the Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) and Section 508 guidelines to identify the compliance of websites towards disabilities policies and their behaviour pattern.
Design/methodology/approach
The official tourism websites of 57 states and territories were analysed through the TAW tool for WCAG 2.0 and AChecker for Section 508. Cluster analysis was used to produce a group of websites underlying the accessibility issues obtained from the online tool to understand the common pattern of behaviour.
Findings
The result revealed that websites have serious and significant accessibility issues underlying the prescribed guidelines that would interfere with the use of the website by disabled people. The main issues that make the website least accessible focussed on the following guideline of WCAG 2.0: compatible, navigable, text alternative, distinguishable and adaptable.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical results provide the US states and territories’ tourism authority to better understand web accessibility in their websites and its impact on disabled people.
Originality/value
As the web plays an important role in individual lives, this study highlights the accessibility issues which need immediately focussed and technically planned actions from the respective states and territories to ensure that designed web content should communicate effectively and universally.
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Keywords
Eleanor Loiacono and Scott McCoy
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), companies must provide customers with disabilities access to their “physical” stores. With the advent of the pure Web store, some…
Abstract
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), companies must provide customers with disabilities access to their “physical” stores. With the advent of the pure Web store, some wonder if the ADA will extend into “cyberspace”. So, are companies ready? This study assesses Web sites to determine their readiness. Results reveal that only 9 percent of the sites have accessible home pages.
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Diana K. Wakimoto and Aline Soules
This paper seeks to compare the accessibility features and ease of use of three tutorial creation products – Camtasia® 6 (by TechSmith®), Captivate® 4 (by Adobe®), and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to compare the accessibility features and ease of use of three tutorial creation products – Camtasia® 6 (by TechSmith®), Captivate® 4 (by Adobe®), and VoiceThread® – to determine which product creates the most accessible tutorials.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper tested the accessibility of the tutorials created using Camtasia, Captivate, and VoiceThread against the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template® (VPAT®) criteria. The tests were completed using JAWS®, a screen‐reading software application. Results were compared to determine which product(s) created the most accessible tutorials. The products' ease of use and user manuals were also evaluated.
Findings
Camtasia and Captivate exceed VoiceThread in terms of accessibility compliance. In testing the products, the paper concluded that the VPATs were accurate, with minor exceptions. All products provide user manuals and help guides; Camtasia and Captivate have steeper learning curves than VoiceThread.
Research limitations/implications
This study compares only three of the available tutorial creation products. Accessibility features may change with new versions.
Practical implications
The results of the evaluation will enable other librarians to make more informed decisions when purchasing and using tutorial creation products.
Social implications
Ensuring accessibility of online resources is everyone's responsibility. This paper will help readers to meet that goal.
Originality/value
While there are comparison studies of the features of Camtasia, Captivate, and VoiceThread, accessibility features are largely uncovered. This study adds this dimension to the literature, enabling librarians to make more informed decisions when selecting and using these products to create accessible tutorials.
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Mark van Hoorebeek, Stuart Walker and John Dermo
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the parameters of the duty of reasonable adjustment to facilitate access to e‐learning resources.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the parameters of the duty of reasonable adjustment to facilitate access to e‐learning resources.
Design/methodology/approach
Educational providers continue to develop new methods of delivering content in digital format, the increasing use of broadband, web‐based resources and new content creation software provides numerous methods of delivering excellence in content creation and delivery. It is important that this excellence is available to all; to this end the disability aspects of e‐learning provision are discussed in this paper, specifically relating to a anticipatory “duty of reasonable adjustment” to facilitate access to computer‐based learning resources within the UK education sector.
Findings
The paper concludes that the concept of reasonable adjustment is likely to remain unclear within the current statutory framework, is dynamic in relation to e‐learning software applications, and will continue to increase in scope and complexity as advanced software applications are used on a larger scale in the education sector.
Practical implications
After relating general accessibility approaches to the various open and proprietary source software applications and the concept of “lock in,” the paper argues that knowledge of reasonable adjustment is optimally considered in the early planning stage of development rather than after implementation, under the legislatively mandated anticipatory model. Further conclusions are presented which propose that the approaches described can be scaled up to provide general themes, which benefits the full spectrum of disability alongside the wider student cohort.
Originality/value
Further work is discussed and includes a potential UK extension of the analysis presented by Scroggins in 2007 concerning measurement and structural modeling of reasonableness under the provisions of the US Rehabilitation Act of 1998 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
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This chapter discusses a bottom-up design strategy to support the principles of Universal Design and Universal Design for Learning adapted for online course development. The…
Abstract
This chapter discusses a bottom-up design strategy to support the principles of Universal Design and Universal Design for Learning adapted for online course development. The concept of Universal Design demands a holistic, bottom-up instructional design model for online course development that integrates technology, accessibility, recent instructional and learning theories, and a participatory postmodern worldview. This study is intended for faculty, instructional designers, administrators, assistive technology staff, and Web multimedia software vendors associated with higher education. The research assists these target audiences to design and develop online courses that are accessible without special adaptation or modification. The components of Universal Design for online learning support newer emergent approaches to instructional design, various programming solutions used in the software engineering field for efficiency, Universal Design for Learning, and legal guidelines associated with accessibility.
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Kristina L. Southwell and Jacquelyn Slater
The purpose of this paper is to discover whether digitized materials from special collections libraries can be accessed using screen reader technology.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discover whether digitized materials from special collections libraries can be accessed using screen reader technology.
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers looked at 69 US academic library web sites from the ARL in 2011 to determine whether textual materials sampled from their digitized special collections were readable with screen reader technology.
Findings
The researchers found that 42 percent of the sampled digital collection items are screen‐readable, while 58 percent are not readable.
Research limitations/implications
Screen readers are not evaluated against one another for effectiveness with digital collections. Library web site pathways to digital special collections were not evaluated with screen readers.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine the accessibility of digitized special collections materials to persons using a screen reader.
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Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to explore how the principles of universal design can be implemented by faculty and course designers to help give all learners access to equivalent…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how the principles of universal design can be implemented by faculty and course designers to help give all learners access to equivalent information. It describes how information communication technologies can create barriers to information access, particularly when course content is rich in multimedia, but also how such technologies can be utilized to creates bridges to accessible content through designing for accessibility from the outset.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper offers a brief review of current international guidelines and US legislation related to information communication technologies in higher education. It documents the challenge of meeting these best practices and legal mandates, as evidenced by recent legal cases in the USA resulting from inaccessible course content in higher education. Finally, it describes how universal design can enhance accessibility for individuals with visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive impairments and provides concrete suggestions for making content more accessible to all learners, not just those with disabilities.
Findings
Given the challenges of creating accessible content that provides equivalent information to all learners, faculty and course designers can implement the principles of Universal Design to enhance the learning environment for all students and ensure they are in compliance with guidelines and regulations. Such compliance is facilitated by emerging standards for accessible content and emerging technologies for making content accessible to all without the need for special accommodations.
Originality/value
This paper focusses on concrete approaches to achieving accessibility in higher education, a matter of increasing concern for moral reasons (it is the right thing to do) and for legal reasons given recent lawsuits.
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This article details the public policy framework that establishes the legal foundation for requiring access to Web‐based information resources for people with disabilities…
Abstract
This article details the public policy framework that establishes the legal foundation for requiring access to Web‐based information resources for people with disabilities. Particular areas of focus include: the application of the fair use doctrine to an understanding of disability access to digital information; the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to Web‐based services; and the application of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act to Federal Web‐based resources and the extent to which Section 508 may be applicable to states through linkage under the Assistive Technology Act.
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Richard Cardinali and Zandralyn Gordon
Outlines barriers which face those with disabilities. Presents the US Federal Government’s view under the recent legislation and introduces the work of the Access Board. Examines…
Abstract
Outlines barriers which face those with disabilities. Presents the US Federal Government’s view under the recent legislation and introduces the work of the Access Board. Examines Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and its probable impact on the public and private sector and also considers the exceptions the act allows. Provides a representative sample of comments from private industry organizations.
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