Cross-Cultural Differences in Verbal And Visual Communication Have ImplicationsFor Interface Design for International Users: A Survey of International Studentsand Faculty at the University of Minnesota in Current Interfaces  

The purpose of this study is to find out how English speaking computers causes the inconvenience of non-English speaking users, especially Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Because these oriental scripts are based on ancient Chinese ideographic characters. I want to explore the language and culture differences of the these countries which may be critical factors in determining how software tools can best accommodate different user groups at the U. of Minnesota. I hope, by conducting this research, I can gain insights into appropriateness of certain interaction technologies indifferent cultural environments.

McDowell, Earl E. and Pi-hai Sun. STC Proceedings (1994). Design>User Interface>Accessibility>International

Deaf and Hearing-Impaired

It is hard to make a hat that fits all heads. If one were made, most people would find it uncomfortable. This fact could be the realistic of the web sites design. Web developers face the same issue creating web pages for more general usage. For those deaf and hearing-impaired people, some special technologies should be applied to ease their web browsing and searching. This report will focus on such disabled characteristics.

Universal Usability. Articles>Usability>Accessibility>Audio

Deafened to Their Demands: An Ethnographic Study of Accommodation  

After a semester of working with the population of Deaf students on a larger southwestern, suburban University campus, it became clear that the institution would not be able to provide reasonable accommodations requested by deaf students. As I witnessed students, rightfully fighting for reasonable accommodations (as outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act), I saw individuals both inside and outside the institutional structures attempt change only to find themselves rebuffed. The institution itself was not able to accommodate the reasonable and lawful demands of the deaf population of students at the university, but interestingly the efforts of reformers inside the institution were similarly unable to enact significant change. The institution was unable to hear the pleas of its students but was equally unable to accommodate the demands of members of the administration seeking to provide services to these students.

Salvo, Michael J. Kairos (2002). Academic>Accessibility>Education

Deafness and the User Experience

Because of limited awareness around Deafness and accessibility in the web community, it seems plausible to many of us that good captioning will fix it all. It won’t. Before we can enhance the user experience for all deaf people, we must understand that the needs of deaf, hard of hearing, and big-D Deaf users are often very different.

Herrod, Lisa. List Apart, A (2008). Articles>User Experience>Accessibility>Audio

Dealing With Special Mobility Needs: A Lesson in Patience and Coping  

A great deal has been done over the years to make the lives of people with special needs easier. However, a great deal more needs to be done. This is an article about the special mobility needs of a career technical communicator. Through personal anecdotes and observations, the author establishes the point that the only way to really treat people with special needs fairly is to actually sit with them and understand what they are going through.

Vais, Fabien. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Accessibility

The Death of the Technical Author?

Technical Authors do not have high prominence in the workplace, and they don't have the best of images (as can be seen by the movie 'The Technical Writer'). Today, there are a number of Technical Authors struggling to find new employment in the current IT sector, and one can find messages on Internet newsgroups questioning the future employment prospects for Technical Authors in North America and Europe. Some wonder whether the role of the Technical Author will disappear, like other careers have in the past. In this article we look at the problems faced by Technical Authors in defining their role, and make some recommendations for the future.

Birn, William. Cherryleaf (2003). Articles>Writing>Professionalism>Technical Writing

Defining Technical Communication: Management  

Management of technical communication is a very broad field, consisting of everything from self-management to managing an entire department or cross-functional team. Though the field of management is generally the same in all occupations, managers in technical communication deal with slightly more technical material than those in business. My research has led me to view management of technical communication in terms of small, medium, and large-scale managerial job functions.

McRae, Chris. Mercer University (2002). Careers>TC>Professionalism

Design for People with Disabilities in Japan

Design for people with disabilities sometimes works fine. However, without involving everyone, i.e., unless it will benefit everyone in the society, such design will remain as a kind of orphan technology and will eventually fail to be applied widely. The direction of design therefore should be universal/inclusive.

Kose, Satoshi. uiGarden (2008). Design>Accessibility>Regional>Japan

Design of Haptic and Tactile Interfaces for Blind Users

Since computer use became more widespread in the 1980's and 1990's, considerable effort has been put into ensuring that the blind have equal access to state of the art techology. However, the dominance of graphical user interfaces and direct manipulation has reduced the effectiveness of old speech-based systems. This article discusses aspects of tactile and haptic interfaces, reviews current research on the topic, and provides design principles for practitioners culled from recent research.

Christian, Kevin. Universal Usability (2000). Design>User Interface>Accessibility>Visual

Designing a Touch Screen Kiosk for Older Adults: A Case Study

An independent-living senior center recently approached us with a request to 'build a system that could track the fitness activity of their approximately 160 older residents.' The center houses a Fitness Club that offers seven different fitness classes, personal training, physical therapy, a pool, a spa, and access to a multitude of exercise equipment (i.e., stationary bikes, treadmills, and weights). At the time of the request, residents were signing their names and activities on a sheet of paper as they entered the Fitness Club. Occasionally, the sign-in sheets were summarized into monthly reports to show resident attendance by class and the type of equipment they were using.

Chaparro, Barbara S. and Laszlo Stumpfhauser. Usability News (2001). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Elderly

Designing an Accessible Web

For many Internet users, the full range of Web content is not accessible. This paper gives a quick overview of the subject of Web accessibility and calls for information designers to join the effort of making the web accessible to all users.

Gao, Wei. EServer (2001). Design>Accessibility>Web Design

Designing Documentation for Visually-Impaired Users  

Preparing 'large-print' texts requires more than changing type size; it involves writing and structuring materials to meet the needs of an audience with varied physical challenges. For large print documents, format considerations include: using appropriate type, line length, and other design elements; setting all material flush left; and using lay-flat bindings. For braille documents, text may also need to eliminate or explain unusual symbols. Content considerations for both may include: replacement of graphics with descriptive text: brief orientation to the physical location and dimensions of objects; and reminders of help services. Cassette tapes offer one alternative to print or braille texts, plus serve other audiences.

Barthel, Brea. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Accessibility

Designing Documents with a Word Processor

This tutorial presents a brief overview of how to achieve interesting, effective designs for your pages using the basic features of your word processor. Specifically, it introduces you to important design principles to consider as you design a document and helps you analyze the design of sample documents. Although the design principles presented here apply to both print and online documents, the primary focus is on design strategies for paper documents.

Munger, Roger H. Bedford-St. Martin's (2007). Articles>Document Design>Word Processing

Designing for Accessibility

Here are some useful tools for people designing accessible websites for the Federal government.

NOAA. Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Government

Designing for Accessibility

Any large audience for a Web site will include users who have physical challenges to accessing your content. Designing for accessibility means that you should be developing Web pages that will remain accessible despite any physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities, work constraints, or technological barriers. Most mainstream Web sites are so heavily image- and media-intensive that they are not suitable for adaptive devices such as screen readers, voice browsers, and braille translators. Many of the guidelines necessary for developing accessible content naturally lend themselves to creating good design.

Sklar, Joel. Indus (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

Designing for the Elderly

Does the research suggest that there are differences in younger and older users? What can we do to enable older adults to interact with our Web sites at the same level as younger adults?

Bailey, Robert. Web Usability (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Elderly

Designing for Users With Cognitive Disabilities

Users with cognitive disabilities interact with technology in different forms. Designers need to understand the deficits of users with cognitive disabilities in order to design materials that are accessible to those users. This paper provides an overview and analysis of the current state of service to those with cognitive disabilities, and makes practical suggestions on design issues, as well as suggesting further areas for research.

Kolatch, Erica. Universal Usability (2000). Design>Usability>Accessibility

Designing More Usable Documents

This section of Designing a More Usable World is dedicated to cooperative efforts linked toward creating more usable documents for all. A number of interrelated efforts and projects are listed below.

University of Wisconsin. Resources>Usability>Accessibility

Designing More Usable Web Sites

This section of Designing a More Usable World is dedicated to cooperative efforts linked toward building a more usable Web for all. At the present time, there are a number of interlocking and interrelated efforts.

University of Wisconsin (2001). Resources>Usability>Accessibility>Web Design

Designing Pages Accessible to Limited Textual Comprehension Users

Many pages relating to web accessibility address the needs of web users who have sensory limitations -- the classic example of accessible web authoring is the proper use of the ALT attribute of the IMG (image) tag to provide a textual equivalent that benefits, among others, web users with visual impairments. Similarly, keyboard-accessible techniques can open up the World Wide Web to users who are unable to use a mouse or other 'traditional' input device due to motor or dexterity disabilities.

Bartlett, Kynn. Kynn (1999). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

Designing Universally Accessible WWW Resources for People with Disabilities

This course is designed for web content developers to learn about the disability access issues faced by people with disabilities in using the web and how web resources can be designed to improve accessibility. The course provides a foundation on how people with disabilities access information on the web using mainstream browsers and specialized assistive technologies like speech renderings. Participants will learn about the two main standards for web accessibility, the W3C Web Content Accessibility Standards and the Section 508 requirements for web materials. The strengths and weaknesses of different evaluation and repair tools will be presented to help participants understand how to use the available tools to evaluate and repair their web resources. Participants will learn about common HTML accessibility problems, and HTML and CSS techniques that can be used to improve accessibility. Captioning of multimedia materials is also covered for Microsoft Media Player, Real Player and Quicktime, and the accessibility of non-W3C technologies like PDF and Flash will also be discussed.

University of Illinois (2002). Academic>Courses>Accessibility>Web Design

Designing Your Web Site for the Blind

Yet those of us who are fully sighted forget that as we make the Web our main information vehicle, we may be cutting out millions of customers or potential customers. And these millions (5 to 10 million in the U.S. alone, by some estimates) have every moral and legal right to have access to that information.

Ball, Guy. Boston Broadside (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Visual

Determine the Index Number of the Current Paragraph, Table, Section ...

The first questions is – why do you need to know the index number?

Rado, Dave. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Indexing>Microsoft Word