OZeWAI

This site has been created as a venue for sharing web content accessibility information in Australia.

OZeWAI. Design>Accessibility>Regional>Australia

"Page X of Y" Gives Wrong Numbers

If you have applied the latest service release for your version of Word, and you still have the Page X of Y problem, any of the solutions mentioned below will work for you.

Rado, Dave and Suzanne Barnhill. Word MVP Site, The (2002). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word

PDF and Accessibility

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

PDF Can Comply With Section 508. Now It's Your Move

A blind person cannot read from a screen any more than from a printed page. Technologies nonetheless exist that allow blind and other disabled users impressively full-featured access to documents. To be accessible, however, the document contents must be available to these so-called 'assistive' technologies.

Johnson, Duff. PlanetPDF (2003). Articles>Accessibility>Adobe Acrobat>Section 508

PDFs and Accessibility

Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format that allows the page creator to ensure that all fonts, formatting and graphics etc are preserved throughout the document regardless of the platform on which it is being viewed. Due to the control the author has over the style of the document, a number of accessibility problems can be identified.

Draffan, E.A. and Sue Harrison. TechDis (2002). Design>Information Design>Accessibility>Adobe Acrobat

PDFs and Section 508: Compliance, Accessibility, and Usability  

This paper addresses limitations and problematic issues of usability and accessibility involved in the creation and use of Adobe Acrobat PDF files for people with visual impairments who use screen readers as an assistive device. In some cases, due to technological limitations, PDF documents can present information incorrectly to such persons. A document which is accessibility compliant may then not be fully usable by individuals with visual impairments. The lack of specific guidelines for accessible PDF documents complicates the issue, though a series of W3C PDF Checkpoints provides some guidance. Problematic issues discussed include footnotes, special characters and formats, acronyms and abbreviations, and tables.

Dolin, Samantha and Jane L. Willig. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Accessibility>Adobe Acrobat>Section 508

Personal Values and Professional Ethics  

We consider the effects of personal values systems on codes of ethics and how community and professional standards of behavior may reinforce professional codes. We suggest that a professional code of ethics is strengthened and reinforced as it more closely follows this rich history.

Stoner, Russell B. and Ann Marie LaBara. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>TC>Ethics>Professionalism

Photosensitive Epilepsy

Photosensitive epilepsy is a form of epilepsy that is triggered by visual stimuli, such as flickering or high contrast oscillating patterns, and it's believed that around 3% to 5% of people with epilepsy are susceptible to photosensitive material. Photosensitive epilepsy is usually triggered where the flicker rate is between 16Hz to 25Hz, although it's not uncommon for seizures to be triggered by flicker rates between 3Hz to 60Hz. The condition most commonly effects children, and is usually developed between the ages of 9 and 15 years, and most prevalent in females.

Lemon, Gez. Juicy Studio (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Cognitive Psychology

Plongez dans l'Accessibilité

Ce livre répond à deux questions. La première question est Pourquoi je dois rendre mon site web plus accessible ? Si vous n'avez pas de sites web, ce livre n'est pas pour vous. La seconde question est Comment puis-je rendre mon site web plus accessible ? Si vous n'êtes pas convaincu par la première réponse, vous ne serez pas interessé par la seconde.

Pilgrim, Mark. Dive Into Accessibility (2002). (French) Books>Web Design>Accessibility

Position Paper on the Suitability to Task of Automated Utilities for Testing Web Accessibility Compliance

Automated tools can make our jobs significantly easier, more thorough, and more cost effective. But, they are only the first necessary step in addressing accessibility-removing the barriers. We must now address the special condition of usability related to handicapped users and accept that user-based evaluation is the only true test of success.

Killam, Bill and Bill Holland. Usability Interface (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

Positioning Floating Objects

Word 2000 can be a nightmare when it comes to positioning shapes – Word 97 was much more predictable.

Rado, Dave. Word MVP Site, The (2002). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word

PowerPoint Accessibility Techniques

There's nothing wrong with posting presentations in their original format; however, you must also post an HTML-based version to ensure maximum accessibility.

WebAIM (2003). Presentations>Accessibility>Design>Microsoft PowerPoint

Practical Plans for Accessible Architectures

Accessible design requires a deeper understanding of context. It's about providing alternative routes to information, whether that route is a different sense (seeing or hearing), a different mode, (using a tab key or a mouse), or a different journey (using an A to Z site index instead of main navigation). However, accessibility is much easier to achieve when the right foundations are put in place as prerequisites during site planning and strategy.

Forman, Frances. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

Prettier Accessible Forms

Forms are a pain. You can make them pretty, make them accessible, or go a little crazy trying to achieve both. Nick Rigby offers a happy solution.

Rigby, Nick. List Apart, A (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Forms

Print and Online Resources about Web Accessibility: An Annotated Bibliography    

This annotated bibliography discusses over 120 print and online resources related to Web accessibility. It lists and describes resources that offer practical advice on how to implement accessibility, particularly in relation to the WCAG 1.0 and Section 508 standards. It also summarizes the findings of empirical studies that have examined Web site accessibility via automated tests, such as Bobby, and studies that have gauged user performance with assistive technologies, such as screen readers. The bibliography lists forums for discussing accessibility with other practitioners and researchers, and it cites sources for news and events related to accessibility. The bibliography concludes with a short discussion of trends in accessibility research.

Mackiewicz, Jo M. Technical Communication Online (2006). Resources>Bibliographies>Accessibility>Web Design

The Problem with Automated Accessibility Testing Tools

Automated accessibility testing tools can be useful, but there are a number of disadvantages with relying on them.

Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

The Process and Prospects for Professionalizing Technical Communication    

Despite claims for at least the past quarter century of mature professional status for the field of technical communication, studies in the history and sociology of the professions provide criteria that suggest we are not yet truly a profession. This article reviews economic, sociopolitical, and ideological factors that characterize the modern professions and argues that the technical communication field, at best, only partially meets the criteria. The prospects for professional status of technical communication might be improved by developing a critical consciousness of the processes of professionalization and concertedly acting in ways that facilitate those processes.

Savage, Gerald J. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (1999). Careers>TC>Professionalism

Product Design Ideas Center

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.

University of Wisconsin. Design>Usability>Accessibility

Professional Development Overview  

The Professional Development stem provides sessions on how to grow your 'on-the-job' and.'off-the-job' skills as technical communicators. We control our professional growth and development by continuous learning in and away from our workplaces. The Professional Development sessions during this conference will stimulate new and challenging ideas.

Caruso, Anthony. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Education>Professionalism

Professional Identities: What Is Professional about Professional Communication?    

Professional communication is a growing component of English departments and other communication programs. Yet, in most cases, the term professional communication is used as a catchall term for various types of workplace and occupational writing. As such,professional communication, as it is currently framed, seems to have little to do with professionalsor the process of professionalization. This article calls for a more thoroughexamination of the concept of professional communication by reviewing (1) the ways inwhich researchers have used this term to describe the rhetoric of professionals who communicate,(2) the democratic and knowledge-based contradictions between rhetoricalscholarship and professional powers, and (3) the current challenges facing professionalworkers, including deprofessionalization and proletarianization. The author argues thatif professional communication research and teaching are to remain prominent parts ofacademic programs, researchers, theorists, teachers, and students must become moreaware of conceptual issues that inform and define professional work.

Faber, Brenton D. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>TC>Professionalism

Professional Resources

If you're an aspiring technical communicator or currently working in the field, you may find the following professional associations helpful.

Technical Communicators Resource Site (2004). Resources>Directories>Professionalism

Professional Title and Association du Jour

There's been a lot of chatter recently on one of the Yahoo Groups I belong to revolving around the issue of 'we get no respect.' A few people seem to have spent so much time commiserating about their lack of respect, you'd have to wonder just how they get any actual work done. The discussions on this not-so-new theme topic began as a response to Bruce Tognazzini's recent article entitled 'It's Time We Got Respect.' For those of you who are not so flush with unbillable hours to have had time to participate in this lively debate, I'll provide you some background and then get to the heart of the issue I think we, as usability professionals, need to further examine.

Usability Professionals Association (2003). Careers>Usability>Professionalism

Professional versus Practitioner: Making the Case for Theory

To the ongoing question over whether the status or role of the technical communicator is to be considered as that of a 'professional' versus a 'practitioner'. If the answer to this question is an unequivocal 'yes' then how do we as aspiring technical communicators position ourselves in the field to overcome this kind of prejudice and narrow-mindedness? Are there skills and theories that are important to learn or at least be aware of that will not only help foster respect for the field of technical communication as a recognized profession but also aid in distancing ourselves from being labeled mere practitioners?

Hubbard, Susan. Orange Journal, The (2002). Articles>TC>Professionalism

Programmatic Roles in Research, Professional Development, and Ethical Responsibility

Four presentations about the roles of programs in the professional, ethical, and research roles of its students and faculty.

Farkas, David K., Jennifer L. Bowie, Kenneth T. Rainey and W.J. Williamson. CPTSC (2005). Presentations>Education>Professionalism