#18612
Increasing the Accessibility of the Web through Style Sheets, Scripts and 'Plug-ins'
The W3C WAI Page Authoring Guidelines (Vanderheiden, et al, 1998a) contains nineteen general concepts that Web page authors should follow to make their pages more accessible and usable, not only to people with disabilities, but for newer page viewing technologies (mobile and voice), for electronic agents such as indexing robots, and etc. In this paper/presentation, we will talk about and demonstrate how scripts and style sheets can be implemented today, and still work on systems that do not support scripts and style sheets ('Transform gracefully'). We also talk about and demonstrate how the data in a table can be presented and navigated both via scripting and by an accompanying application ('Context and navigation').
Chisholm, Wendy and Mark Novak. University of Wisconsin (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#31633
Is Universal Design Really Universal?
Today, as I write this article, my Google search found “about 13,200,000” references. There is no denying that the concept of Universal Design has gained widespread use. But what does it really mean?
Salmen, John. uiGarden (2008). Design>Usability>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#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
#22802
A growing debate pits accessibility against usability. From our point of view, it’s like pitting peanut butter against jelly. This article helps you create a page that is both usable and accessible, saving readers the trouble of scrolling with a little help from JavaScript and the Document Object Model.
Gustafson, Aaron. List Apart, A (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
#18605
Online Universal Design and Evaluation Tool
A major project of the Trace Center is the development of an on-line design and evaluation tool to assist product developers in creating better and more usable products. The design tool will lead designers through a process that encourages them to ask questions about their design and provides them with information about aspects or features of their product that might pose access barriers. A listing of possible strategies and ideas they might use to address the accessibility issues or to make their product more generally usable is provided. Specific examples, audio and video clips, copies of reference documents and studies, and resources they can contact or refer to will all be included over time.
University of Wisconsin. Design>Usability>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#18607
The Product Design Ideas Browser is a reference tool that focuses on design strategies used to address the Telecom Act Accessibility Guidelines. Select an item from the list of Accessibility Guidelines in the navigation pane to find ideas and strategies that will be helpful in the design of more accessible and usable products.
#19036
Once the information on a web page has been made, strictly speaking, accessible to assistive technologies, the question then becomes whether or not that site is 'easy-to-use' for people with impairments. It is not always enough to retrofit accessibility features to a pre-existing site that was designed without considering the needs of these users.
Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
#13133
Setting Usability Requirements For A Web Site Containing A Form 
We describe the challenges of understanding and setting usability requirements for a web site containing a form. We define 'usability requirements.' Ideally, usability requirements should be defined early in a project. In practice, we often find that the first opportunity we have is when we are asked to undertake an evaluation. Collecting the users' opinions of the requirements as part of the evaluation can often prompt the organization into investigating the users, leading to a better set of requirements and, eventually, a better web site.
Miller, Sarah and Caroline Jarrett. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Accessibility>Web Design>Usability
#19189
Stuckness and Low Vision: How Technology and Socratic Classroom Dialogue Changed my Life
Gloria discusses her low-vision condition, the problems it poses in her life and work and the accommodation strategies she has developed.
Reece, Gloria A. Usability Interface (2003). Design>Usability>Accessibility>Visual
#18614
Surpassing Gutenberg--Access to Published Information for Blind Readers
We examine some surprising reasons to explain why electronic book publishing will become a versatile medium comprising 10% of all consumer book sales in the U.S. by 2005, estimated by Anderson Consulting at $2.3 billion. The Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF) both pin this expectation on open standards--any book, anytime, anywhere, for anyone. Electronic books will succeed, we argue, in part because they provide communicative opportunities not available in traditional, static print media. But, they will also succeed because of developments in technology for blind readers which will benefit all readers regardless of ability or disability. As evidence we offer, among other points, Microsoft Corporation's licensing of technology developed to benefit blind people for use in Microsoft Reader and mainstream publishing applications. We demonstrate, further, that technology transfer from disability to mainstream use has solid historic precedent.
Sajka, Janina and George Kerscher. American Foundation for the Blind (2002). Design>Usability>Accessibility>Visual
#19049
Text-only websites are not suited to all users with impairments. Although they are often ideal for users who are blind and use a screen reader, accessibility goes far beyond this user group.
Magennis, Mark. Frontend Infocentre (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#18599
Thirty-Something (Million): Should They Be Exceptions?
There are over thirty million people in the U.S. with disabilities or functional limitations (of which a major cause is aging), and this number is increasing. An examination of the role of human factors in addressing this population is presented which would include both special designs for disability/aging and the incorporation of disability/aging into mainstream human factors research and education. Statistics regarding the size and characteristics of this population are presented, including the costs of disability. Examples demonstrating the economic and commercial feasibility of incorporating disability/aging considerations in mass market designs are provided along with a discussion of the benefits to non-disabled users.
University of Wisconsin. Design>Usability>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#22752
UK Accessibility Investigation of 1,000 Web Sites - Results Released
An investigation of 1000 UK Web sites carried out on behalf of the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) reveals unacceptably poor (in fact woeful) accessibility. At least 81% of sites failed to meet the minimum accessibility standard, and this figure is likely to be much higher.
Dodd, Jon. Usability Professionals Association (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
#18600
Universal Design Interface Standards
Essential to the ability of people to come up to universally designed products and know how to operate them is the existence of interface standards. Work is currently under way in a number of areas to ensure that people: 1. Know what to do to operate products they encounter; 2. Are able to connect any assistive technologies they may have with them to the products they encounter.
University of Wisconsin. Design>Usability>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#18448
Universal Usability Guidelines for Users with Slow Connections
Since the beginning of 'age of the Internet', the load time of Web pages has been the major concern among the designers and the users. Analysis of traffic patterns of the web sites has shown how the users get frustrated about slowness of the connection. WWW, which stands for 'World Wide Web', has been pronounced as 'World Wide Wait' by many users. Web designers often want to use graphics, animation, and even sound and video to represent or enhance web site content. However, these can generate longer waiting times unless the users have a high speed connection and research shows that web users don't like to wait. Tenth Georgia Tech GVU WWW Survey (1998) showed that slow ads, speed of the Internet and graphics are among the problems that the users complained most.
Ayan, Necip Fazil. Universal Usability (2001). Design>Usability>Accessibility>Bandwidth
#18443
Universal Usability Web Design Guidelines for the Elderly (Age 65 and Older) 
The use of computers in everyday life, particularly the Internet, is growing at an astonishing rate. The idea of universal usability has been put forward to address the problems of building 'An Information Society for All'. Ben Shneiderman proposed three challenges to attain universal usability for Web-based and other services: technology variety, user diversity, and gaps in knowledge. While a variety of groups and organizations are working on hardware and software accessibility, how to design an easy-to-use interface that accommodates all user communities remains a major task. On the other hand, the population of older people is increasing at an extraordinary rate. People 45 years and older will soon make up more than half the adult population, and people 85 years and older are the fastest growing age group. While technology is rapidly being integrated into most aspects of life, changing the nature of work, the form and scope of personal communication, education, health care delivery, and home, older people are highly likely to be active users of technology.
Zhao, Haixia. Universal Usability (2001). Design>Usability>Accessibility>Elderly
#22830
User Modeling for Adaptive and Adaptable Software Systems
Universal Usability requires that user interfaces accommodate users with a wide variety of expertise and knowledge. Moreover, individual users' needs and preferences change as they use a software system. Systems that guide the user through an evolutionary learning process or adapt the user interface to the user provide a solution to this challenge. This paper introduces the techniques, highlights several examples of systems that implement them and provides guidelines for practitioners who wish to develop adaptive and adaptable interfaces.
Kules, Bill. University of Maryland (2000). Design>User Interface>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#26516
User-Centred Design (UCD): 6 Methods
Learn all about user-centered design, the methods available to you, and how and when they should be employed.
Fidgeon, Tim. Webcredible (2005). Design>User Centered Design>Accessibility>Usability
#14236
UUGuide: Practical Design Guidelines for Universal Usability
Even if technology is made more affordable and accessible, it still must be usable by a wide variety of people – experts and novices, abled and disabled – using a wide variety of hardware and software – old and new, text-based and audio/video. Universal usability has thus become another related, but distinct area of research. This web site seeks to identify some of the major issues faced by hardware and software designers who wish to build with universal usability in mind. The Table of Contents to the left contains a list of papers on topics related to universal usability organized into two groups. The first group, User Communities, identifies some of the groups of people who require special considerations when designing hardware and software. The second group, Hardware and Software, looks at the problem from the other direction and identifies hardware and software solutions to usability issues that effect a number of groups. All of the papers were written as resources to provide guidelines for practitioners.
Browne, Hilary, Jeff Carver and Erica Kolatch. Universal Usability (2000). Design>Usability>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#19369
It's important for Web designers to have a basic understanding of the mechanics of human visual perception. To the extent that your pages are 'easy on the eyes,' readers will find your site more inviting and more readable. Conversely, pages that visually overstimulate a reader are not only more difficult to read, but much more likely to result in eyestrain, fatigue, even headaches (none of which is particularly popular among readers).
Sullivan, Terry. All Things Web (1996). Design>Usability>Accessibility>Web Design
#22967
Visual vs. Cognitive Disabilities
Graphics are not directly accessible to people who are blind, yet graphics can be beneficial (in some cases necessary) to individuals with cognitive disabilities. Are these two disability types at odds with each other? How can Web developers reconcile the needs of these two very different audiences? Read more about the apparent conflicting interests in our feature article.
Bohman, Paul, Shane Anderson and Sachin Pavithran. WebAIM (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#30765
Visually Challenged Users and Need for a Universally Accessible Web Site
Visually impaired people suffer from no faults of their own. This is quite worthy of consideration that a little more efforts toward adoption of certain features in your web site can help them retrieve information in the desired manner. Their ease of accessibility to your web site will not go unrewarded; they can well augment your business interests by turning into your most valuable customers.
Azam, Rahbre. Amateur Writerz (2008). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#18456
Voice Interfaces: Assessing the Potential
Visual interfaces are inherently superior to auditory interfaces for many tasks. The Star Trek fantasy of speaking to your computer is not the most fruitful path to usable systems.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2003). Design>Usability>Accessibility>Voice
#18611
Working on Accessible Web Content Guidelines and Designing More Usable Documents
Many individuals, especially those with visual, physical, and/or cognitive disabilities, have trouble navigating the content of data tables on the World Wide Web. These problems exist because most browsers do not allow keyboard navigation of the data tables, which is an essential technique used by many people with disabilities whether or not they use assistive technology (AT).
Novak, Mark. University of Wisconsin (2001). Design>Usability>Accessibility
#31572
对设计者来说，使环境能够符合人体的机能是老生常谈的事。但是从消费者的观点来看，设计能够增加个体的能力和其在社区参与的程度则是一个相对来说比较新的想法。在以技术驱动的全球经济中，生活的节奏使得可用性更加重要。低生产力，不便和错误的设计带来的损失往往是巨大的。全球人口老化是另外一个重要的驱动力，尤其是在消费产品的主要市场——发达国家。
Steinfeld, Edward. uiGarden (2008). (Chinese) Design>Usability>Accessibility>Universal Usability
