#28757
From Starfish to Butterfly: the Amazing Story of the AccessAbility SIG 
This paper describes the remarkable history of the Society's newest Special Interest Group--the AccessAbility SIG--tracing it back to its origins in 1997 as the Special Needs Committee (SNC). The SNC, founded by Judy Skinner, was originally chartered to assist technical communicators with disabilities in the practice of our profession by researching and publicizing assistive technologies and techniques to overcome those limitations. Over its 5-year lifespan, the committee expanded its mission to include a second overarching goal--assisting all technical communicators in developing information products that are fully accessible to end users with disabilities.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2007). Articles>Accessibility>Community Building
#28758
IEEE and STC Ethical Guidelines Call for Fairness on Disabilities and Accessibility
This is a guest article the author was invited to write for the April 2006 online newsletter of the IEEE Professional Communication Society (PCS), in which the AccessAbility SIG encourages its IEEE professional counterparts with an interest in accessibility to form a similar special interest group, affiliate with us, and create a mutually beneficial synergy. With the permission of IEEE, the article is reprinted in these Proceedings in support of the AccessAbility SIG's informational session on Leadership Day and to encourage cooperation between the two professional organizations in the pursuit of accessibility both in communication products and in general.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2007). Articles>Accessibility>Policies and Procedures
#22973
Members of an educational community, business, or agency can all have the best intentions when it comes to creating a Web presence that is accessible to those with disabilities. Too often, however, these individuals with good intentions wait for someone to come and help lead them. Change is a difficult path. It is common to be told to acquire new skills because change is going to happen. So you do just that...you obtain the skills you were asked...you wait for some new policy, some new set of procedures, someone who will support what you were implicitly asked to do...yet nothing happens. This scenario occurs frequently when nobody takes a leadership role. Even when leadership will occur within a group, the group will be more effective if someone takes the responsibility of 'carrying the flag' to it’s intended destination. You probably remember the famous line, 'If not you, who? If not now, When? If you truly believe that accessibility to your Web site is important (or required) for your organization, then I ask you to answer this question for yourself. Your own actions or inactions will speak louder than any voice you give to this effort. You should not assume that someone else would take this role. You should not assume that it would happen in the near future. The only way you can assure that Web accessibility will become a part of the path of change in your organization is if you consider taking the lead, now.
WebAIM (2003). Articles>Accessibility>Management
#23712
Several stories of Lone Star and Rocky Mountain Chapter STC members who have achieved victories over disabilities.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>TC>Accessibility
#23909
Integrating Usability and Accessibility 
Usability is a concept that we intuitively know when we experience it. The notion of usability can refer to ease of use, ease of learning, efficiency and usefulness. To render a satisfying user experience, a well-designed product should have a combination of these features.
Johannesen, Leila, Joe Sacco, Tim Hogan and Marc Boegner. IBM (2004). Articles>Usability>Accessibility
#22938
Interview with DMXzone's Bruce Lawson
Find out why self-confessed non-techie Bruce Lawson has been winning friends and influencing people with his support for web standards and web accessibility.
Lawson, Bruce. Accessify (2003). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Standards
#20654
Introduction to Web Accessibility
Most people today can hardly conceive of life without the Internet. It provides access to information, news, email, shopping, and entertainment. The Internet, with its ability to serve out information at any hour of the day or night about practically any topic conceivable, has become a way of life for an impatient, information-hungry generation. Some have argued that no other single invention has been more revolutionary since that of Gutenberg's original printing press in the mid 1400s. Now, at the click of a mouse, the world can be 'at your fingertips'--that is, if you can use a mouse . . . and if you can see the screen . . . and if you can hear the audio—in other words, if you don't have a disability of any kind. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Before focusing on the challenges that people with disabilities face when trying to access Web content, it makes more sense to discuss the ways in which the Internet offers incredible opportunities to people with disabilities that were never before possible. The Web's potential for people with disabilities is truly remarkable.
WebAIM (2005). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility
#23173
Joe Clark's Answers -- in Valid XHTML
An extremely interesting but rather long read -- answers each question thoroughly and, there is plenty of discourse following the piece itself.
Clark, Joe. Slashdot (2002). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>XHTML
#27415
A Journey Through Accessibility
Identifies web accessibility problems throughout the web generations, and summarises where we are now, and what we can expect for the future.
Scano, Roberto. Juicy Studio (2006). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
#22943
If you are serious about getting your web site accessible, you need to get the right tools for the job. Can Lift for Dreamweaver deliver the goods?
Accessify (2003). Articles>Reviews>Accessibility>Web Design
#19601
List Provides Way for Developers to Reach Testers with Visual Impairment
A mailing list now connects users with visual impairments willing to act as testers and website developers concerned with accessibility.
Light, Ann. Usability News (2003). Articles>Usability>Accessibility
#23732
Making Documentation Accessible to Users With Disabilities
Good documentation takes into account the needs of people with disabilities. Such documentation is termed 'accessible' and provides support for the assistive technologies used by people with disabilities. For example, accessible documentation provides a text equivalent for each graphic element, such as a picture, flow diagram, or icon. This provision is necessary for users who rely on screen readers to read the documentation.
Chappell, Gail B. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Documentation>Accessibility>Technical Writing
#23734
Making Web-Based Online Help Accessible: A Case Study
Accessibility is about providing successful access to information, and the use of information technology by people who have disabilities. The IBM® WebSphere® Commerce development team adopted IBM’s mandate to make its software accessible, and achieved a high level of accessibility in its release of the IBM WebSphere Commerce, Version 5.4, suite of products. Continuing with the next release, the WebSphere Commerce development team strove for an even higher level of accessibility. This paper discusses some of the experiences and lessons learned from making WebSphere Commerce online help and software accessible. It examines some of the most common issues from the User Experience, Information Development, and Test perspectives.
Bot-Roche, Diba, Frances Mullally, Vijay Sivashankar and Donna Sutarno. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Documentation>Accessibility>Help
#18767
Meet the Special Needs Committee: Many Stories, One Mission
The STC Special Needs Committee was formed in 1998. Its charter is to research special needs in technical communication to find and publish ways in which we can leverage technology both to help technical communicators with disabilities practice our profession and also to help end users with disabilities access information in the products we prepare.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Accessibility>Community Building
#22993
Microsoft Word Accessibility Techniques
Most people use word processors incorrectly. Rather than use true headings, they simply enlarge the font size and make it bold. If you do this, the document has no real structure that can be discerned by a screen reader. The correct way to provide structure within Word documents is to use Word styles.
WebAIM (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Accessibility>Microsoft Word
#31913
Middle-Aged Users' Declining Web Performance
Between the ages of 25 and 60, people's ability to use websites declines by 0.8% per year — mostly because they spend more time per page, but also because of navigation difficulties.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2008). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Elderly
#25682
Minimizing Bias in Computer Systems
Computer punch card tallying systems pose serious problems for fair elections. In particular, under-educated groups are more likely not to understand how the computerized system works. In this workshop we were concerned with understanding bias in computer systems and developing methods to help minimize bias through the design process.
Friedman, Batya, Eric Brok, Susan King Roth and John Thomas. SIGCHI Bulletin (1996). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Accessibility
#26144
National Policies for Government Web Writers
Every country has its own requirements for public sector web sites. Legislation and policies vary greatly, and express an attitude. I base my Quality Web Content workshops for government web content writers on the policy of the country concerned. Some countries consider that an accessible site requires accessible writing. Others don't.
McAlpine, Rachel. Quality Web Content (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Writing
#26850
New Heuristics for Understanding Older Adults as Web Users 
This article reports on a study performed for AARP on the needs of older Web users. It defines a model of older users that includes four dimensions (age, ability, aptitude, and attitude). It defines 20 heuristics, as well as personas and tasks for reviewing Web sites, and a methodology for doing persona-based, task-based heuristic review that would allow us to evaluate many sites in a relatively short time in a highly realistic way. Finally, it reports the results of an analysis of 50 Web sites for general audiences that include older adults, using that methodology.
Chisnell, Dana E., Janice C. 'Ginny' Redish and Amy Lee. Technical Communication Online (2006). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Elderly
#26034
New Plasma Screens Fail London's Commuters
Although the new screens at Waterloo station use the latest screen technology and look very impressive, they have not been designed with the hassled and hurried commuter in mind.
Usability by Design (2005). Articles>User Interface>Accessibility>Usability
#27502
La norma di riferimento è la legge 1 marzo 2006, n. 67 pubblicata nella Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 54 del 6 marzo 2006. Tale norma è di iniziativa governativa (Ministro senza portafoglio per le Pari opportunità Stefania Prestigiacomo, Ministro del lavoro e politiche sociali Roberto Maroni di concerto con il Ministro della giustizia Roberto Castelli) e risale al 2 luglio 2003 - vale a dire sette giorni prima dell'emanazione del dlgs 216/2003.
Scano, Roberto. Webaccessibile.org (2005). (Italian) Articles>Accessibility>Legal>Standards
#20351
Le linee guida del W3C in materia di accessibilità dei siti web hanno avuto un forte impatto soprattutto nei paesi anglosassoni dove, per primi, i governi hanno recepito tali linee guida rendendole di fatto obbligatorie per la realizzazione dei siti internet delle amministrazioni pubbliche. In Europa esistono delle comunicazioni della Commissione Europea che sono state recepite dai vari paesi. In quest'area del nostro sito andremo ad esporre i documenti normativi delle varie nazionalità approfondendo l'analisi della normativa europea e italiana.
Bertini, Patrizia. IWA-HWG (2003). (Italian) Articles>Accessibility>Legal>Italy
#23741
Our SIG’s “e-Lifelines”: Tapping Online Resources to Help Meet Special Needs
The Special Needs SIG’s 'e-Lifelines' come in four categories: (1) a comprehensive Web site, (2) a dynamic and data-rich online newsletter, (3) a robust listserv, and (4) specialized e-mail distributions. This paper will take a quick look at each of these 4. More details will be provided in Session UID 8E, “From Disabled to Enabled: Meeting Special Needs to Ensure Accessibility.” During the freeform part of the progression, attendees will have an opportunity to locate areas of specific interest to them, ask questions, and give suggestions and feedback to the facilitators that will help make the Special Needs Web site even more effective and valuable. Attendees will receive a copy of the SIG newsletter and a current list of disabilityrelated Web resources.
Lockley, Cynthia A. and Mike Murray. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Accessibility>Online
#31630
Overcoming Environmental Barriers
On May 3, 2008, something extraordinary happened: the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities went into effect. The goals of the Convention are lofty: it insists that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms and sets out eight guiding principles and obligations to meet them.
Quesenbery, Whitney. Usability Professionals Association (2008). Articles>Usability>Accessibility>International
#30189
The rapid growth in the use of PDFs on Websites has lead to increasing concerns about accessibility, particularly for the users of screen reading technology, which converts text into synthetic speech or electronic Braille.
Hudson, Roger. WebUsability (2004). Articles>Accessibility>Software>Adobe Acrobat
