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This study aims to examine the usability of three popular electronic reading devices (e-readers) to determine which device provides the best functionality for individuals with print disabilities. Adaptability and flexibility for use with assistive technology are also evaluated.

This study reports the results of a usability test of e-readers and their potential for use by individuals with print disabilities. Students enrolled in a School of Library and Information Science evaluated and compared the devices through a series of tasks designed to measure functionality. Participants completed a series of questionnaires and engaged in small group discussion about the efficacy of the devices. Likert scales and open-ended evaluation were employed in the evaluation and analysis.

Two of the three devices examined offered no accessibility features for individuals with low or no vision who require assistive technologies to use information and communication technologies. The third device, while offering greater universal access functionality for individuals with mild-to-moderate print disabilities, also had weaknesses for individuals with severe print disabilities.

With the rapid deployment of e-readers, little research has been completed measuring the accessibility and functionality for individuals with print disabilities in library or educational environments. The paper provides data on the usability of e-readers for users with print disabilities and recommendations for adopting e-reader use in libraries and educational environments. It will inform and guide information professionals seeking to provide greater access to resources for patrons with specialized access needs.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the accessibility of Apple’s iPad. The discussion focusses on the accessibility of this technology to children and young people with cerebral palsy (CP), reviewing a range of literature. Terms including “inclusion” are debated alongside the practicalities associated with implementing assistive technologies in educational settings. The benefits of technology for those with CP are explored, with examples including augmentative and alternative communication systems. The current suitability of the iPad for children and young people with CP is discussed, alongside ways in which eye-gaze technology may be employed to increase inclusivity.

The paper provides a consideration of multiple methods for evaluating the inclusivity of mainstream technologies. It is contended that the universal design for learning (UDL) principles are likely to be the most appropriate, due to their applicability to educational settings. Furthermore, the UDL principles acknowledge the heterogeneity of those with CP, and this is suggested to be useful due to its ability to be integrated alongside some of the principles of assistive technology.

The discussion contends that Apple’s iPad may be redesigned in order to meet the needs of users with CP. Eye-gaze technology is suggested as one way to include this group of users, due to the altered interface interaction. Despite some challenges with the eye-gaze technology, the paper suggests that this alteration to the iPad may result in increased accessibility not only for those with CP, but also others with fine motor difficulties. It is concluded that the integration of eye-gaze technology with Apple’s iPad may be a potential avenue for future investigation.

By altering the interface interaction on Apple’s iPad, the device may be more accessible to users with fine motor difficulties, such as those with CP. It is suggested that the paper may inspire future research concerning the practicalities of integrating eye-gaze technology on a small, portable device.

Those who are of lower socioeconomic status are less likely to have access to assistive technologies; the cost of Apple’s devices is relatively higher than those produced by other technology companies, confining their availability to wealthier consumers. This may also lead to a divide in inclusive technical capital (Hayhoe, 2015), whereby wealthier users may have an increased potential to access inclusive assistive technologies and thus increase their capital.

The paper integrates a discussion of the UDL principles with their application to both assistive technologies and educational settings. It is speculated that this paper may be valuable to those researching in the field of assistive technologies, who may build upon the present discussion with a research study. It is also anticipated that the consideration of the use of the iPad for children and young people with CP may be of use to those working in education who wish to integrate technology into the education of those with a range of special educational needs.

Federal legislation and increasing support for the full inclusion of all students in precollege education have resulted in higher expectations and increased participation of students with disabilities in academic programs that have prepared them for college studies. As a result, greater numbers of people with disabilities are attending postsecondary academic institutions and participating in distance learning offerings. This article focuses on the role that libraries can play in assuring that all distance learning students and instructors have access to the electronic resources they offer. It can be used to help libraries develop policies, guidelines, and procedures for making their electronic resources accessible to people with disabilities.

Accessibility and inclusion are at the very core of what libraries are all about and libraries and librarians have an essential, catalytic role to play in facilitating the full participation of people with disabilities in society. Inclusive librarians ensure that their library’s facilities, services, programs, collections, and technology are designed in ways in which all people, regardless of their ability, have an opportunity to participate in and use them. The purpose of this chapter is to raise librarian awareness to the importance of providing effective, well-designed, inclusive programs and services to patrons with disabilities and ensuring that all libraries are physically and virtually accessible to everyone.

The chapter provides a brief review of the history and current state of accessible and inclusive libraries, including the laws and policies governing it and identifies some of the major barriers to successful accessibility and inclusion (including insufficient time and money, externally controlled decision-making, unawareness of existing services, and inadequate training).

The chapter offers a variety of practical strategies for overcoming those barriers, with potential or actual examples of how librarians have/can put them into action.

The chapter concludes with descriptions of special national, regional, and state initiatives, including Syracuse University’s Project ENABLE (Expanding Non-discriminatory Access By Librarians Everywhere), Florida State University’s Project PALS (Panhandle Autism Library Services), and the Illinois State Library’s Targeting Autism projects, all designed to help librarians ensure that their library’ facilities, programs, and services are accessible and inclusive.

Solid freeform fabrication (SFF) has the potential to revolutionize manufacturing, even to allow individuals to invent, customize, and manufacture goods cost‐effectively in their own homes. Commercial freeform fabrication systems – while successful in industrial settings – are costly, proprietary, and work with few, expensive, and proprietary materials, limiting the growth and advancement of the technology. The open‐source Fab@Home Project has been created to promote SFF technology by placing it in the hands of hobbyists, inventors, and artists in a form which is simple, cheap, and without restrictions on experimentation. This paper aims to examine this.

A simple, low‐cost, user modifiable freeform fabrication system has been designed, called the Fab@Home Model 1, and the designs, documentation, software, and source code have been published on a user‐editable “wiki” web site under the open‐source BSD License. Six systems have been built, and three of them given away to interested users in return for feedback on the system and contributions to the web site.

The Fab@Home Model 1 can build objects comprising multiple materials, with sub‐millimeter‐scale features, and overall dimensions larger than 20 cm. In its first six months of operation, the project has received more than 13 million web site hits, and media coverage by several international news and technology magazines, web sites, and programs. Model 1s are being used in a university engineering course, a Model 1 will be included in an exhibit on the history of plastics at the Science Museum London, UK, and kits can now be purchased commercially.

The ease of construction and operation of the Model 1 has not been well tested. The materials cost for construction (US$2,300) has prevented some interested people from building systems of their own.

The energetic public response to the Fab@Home project confirms the broad appeal of personal freeform fabrication technology. The diversity of interests and desired applications expressed by the public suggests that the open‐source approach to accelerating the expansion of SFF technology embodied in the Fab@Home project may well be successful.

Fab@Home is unique in its goal of popularizing and advancing SFF technology for its own sake. The RepRap project in the UK predates Fab@Home, but aims to build machines which can make most of their own parts. The two projects are complementary in many respects, and fruitful exchanges of ideas and designs between them are expected.

This study aims to examine competitive entry in the presence of cross‐subsidization of firms in the telecommunications industry.

How variations in cross‐subsidies, received via the separations mechanism, influence firms to enter the territories of incumbents is assessed for the population of local exchange firms in the USA.

Firms able to obtain greater cross‐subsidies, on average, experience less entry within their territories. Competition has evolved considerably in the telecommunications industry in the last two decades.

These results point to the need for evaluating cross‐subsidies, where these may still exist, so as to encourage entry.

This article is the first to look at the consequences of an important regulatory phenomenon and its impact on competition. The results at the confluence of regulation and competition policies have potential applications across the world.

The business leaders of today need guidance for managing virtual teams more than ever before. This chapter sets out the case for transforming businesses into virtual communities, with 10 key practical strategies designed to help global business leaders manage their increasingly dispersed and diverse virtual teams.

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.