#19863
Idea Watch: A New Approach for your Professional Development 
Our field is young, yet great books and great ideas by technical communication gurus abound. How many of us, though, are steeped in these works? How many of us can intelligently discuss the great ideas and latest research? If new STC members ask us which authors constitute the foundation of our field, can we tell them? If so, have we read them cover to cover? Can we discuss ideas more? This paper presents the professional development programs that two STC members began in the fall of 1999. After realizing that their programs might be of interest to others, they formed a SIG called Idea Watch. In addition, they have informally polled numerous gurus and drawn up a list of “essential books.” This list is presented at the conclusion of this paper.
Hansen, Heidi and Jennifer Square. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>Education>Professionalism
#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
#18569
Imagine: You Complete Your Site and Then Discover...You Forgot Accessibility
It’s taken awhile, but webmasters are starting to get the hang of designing Web sites that work for most users. But don’t rest yet: webmasters will soon need to add a completely new set of Web design skills. Increasingly, Web sites will have to accommodate disabled users. Disabled users? That’s right. Even people with no sight at all can “hear” the Web, through special browsers that read out the code on Web pages. New US regulations require that all Federal sites (and the sites of Federal contractors) work in this format. Other countries are adopting similar rules, and non-government sites are increasingly coming under pressure from users to offer options for the disabled.
Sherman, Bernard and Terence de Giere. Everyone.net (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#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
#29276
Improving Accessibility for Motor Impaired Users
The unique requirements for motor impaired web users can often be overlooked or poorly implemented. Motor impairments can be caused by a stroke, Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a physical disability or even a broken arm. This group of users essentially have limited or no ability to use a mouse.
Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2007). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
#28515
Improving Ajax Applications for JAWS users
Popular screen readers use a virtual buffer to allow users to interact with web content, whereby the virtual buffer provides a mechanism for screen reader users to interact with web content. This article uncovers undocumented behaviour in JAWS 7.1 and later, which allows web developers to build Ajax applications that update the virtual buffer without any interaction from the user.
Lemon, Gez and Steve Faulkner. Juicy Studio (2007). Resources>Accessibility>Ajax
#26099
Improving Usability for Screen Reader Users
Find out how to improve usability and accessibility for screen reader users.
Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#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
#28741
The Inaccessibility of CAPTCHA: Alternatives to Visual Turing Tests on the Web
A common method of limiting access to services made available over the Web is visual verification of a bitmapped image. This presents a major problem to users who are blind, have low vision, or have a learning disability such as dyslexia. This document examines a number of potential solutions that allow systems to test for human users while preserving access by users with disabilities.
W3C (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Security
#22292
Inconsistencies in Information Architecture Deliverables
In my work as a web designer/IA I have come across many inconsistencies in the way IA's and other Web professionals refer to Web information architecture deliverables. In speaking with various Web design companies I have come across multiple terms for the same deliverables. Information architecture is a relatively new field which has yet to develop a consistent and universal set of deliverables, and terminology to refer to those deliverables. I also haven't come across a central repository of IA deliverables. This document is an attempt to fill that void.
Doss, Glen. GDoss.com. Design>Information Design>Professionalism
#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
#22483
Information Architecture: A Rose by Any Other Name...
The efforts to define our field and our role are understandable by-products of our economic times and of forces in our contexts of practice. What are the pressures behind this quest for definition? What are the options (and potential advantages) of refusing to pigeonhole ourselves?
Stott, Lynn. Boxes and Arrows (2004). Careers>Information Design>Professionalism
#18503
The Institute of Localization Professionals
The Institute of Localisation Professionals (TILP) has the primary aim of developing professional practices in localisation globally. TILP is a non-profit organisation, owned by its members and lead by a Council elected at its Annual General Meeting.
#19237
Institutional Web Sites and Legislation
The issue of accessible Web sites and legal arguments for providing them has seen much debate over the past eighteen months. In many countries across the world, anti-disability discrimination legislation has provided the acorn of an argument that service providers should provide their Web presence in a form that is accessible to the disabled community. However, like the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), and its associated guidelines, the providers, and indeed the designers, of the majority of Web sites have by and large ignored these arguments. However, following a recent case in Australia, there is now a very persuasive legal argument for including Web accessibility in the scope of anti-disability legislation in the UK. It is the purpose of this article to review these arguments, consider their consequences for the Web sites of Higher and Further educational institutions and, finally, to consider how the recent Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 might extend these duties further.
Sloan, Martin. TechDis (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Persuasive Design
#23402
Assuming that not everybody knows the INTECOM Code of Good Practice, we use this opportunity to publish it in this and following issues of TC-FORUM.
TC-FORUM (2000). Resources>TC>Professionalism
#21589
INTECOM's Code of Good Practice
To improve the standards of technical communication throughout the world, INTECOM has approved this code of good practice as a guideline for the professional technical communicator in his or her daily, highly important task.
INTECOM (2003). Articles>TC>Standards>Professionalism
#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
#19733
The International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet
ICDRI’s mission is to collect a global knowledge base of quality disability resources and best practices and to provide education, outreach and training based on these core resources.
#27043
This page contains information about making the Internet accessible.
#23933
There's a lot of bragging on the Internet about how big it is, how much information the Web has to offer. I ran across a discussion group posting a while back where the moderator announced that one of the search engines had indexed 9 billion words. I went to the University of California online catalog and did a quick calculation: 9 million titles x 300 pages x 500 words.
Coyle, Karen. Karen Coyle (1997). Presentations>Information Design>Accessibility
#29758
Internetministeriet fokuserer på webdesign og SEO ud fra et tilgængeligheds og anvendeligheds -princip.
Bredgaard, Thomas. Internetministeriet (2003). (Danish) Resources>Web Design>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
#13709
Intranet Accessibility and Section 508
A compelling reason to make your Intranet accessible to people with disabilities is because itï¿s the law. Section 508 of the United Statesï¿ Rehabilitation Act of 1972 requires that Federal agenciesï¿ electronic and information technology (EIT) be accessible to people with disabilities (vision, hearing, mobility) if the EIT is procured on or after June 21, 2001. If you develop hardware, software, Internet, or Intranet solutions for the U.S. Government, either as an employee of the U.S. Government or as a service or product provider, the procurement date is a critical factor in determining functional requirements of your Intranet.
Bine, Katharyn. Usability Interface (2002). Design>Accessibility>Web Design>Section 508
#25876
Introduction to Styles in Microsoft Word 
You can increase your efficiency and at the same time, improve the appearance of your Microsoft® Word documents by using styles.
Unwalla, Mike. TechScribe (2004). Articles>Word Processing>Style Sheets>Microsoft Word
#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
