[AI] Infosys Labs - Web 2.0 Challenges Accessibility? another must read post.
Hello friends, This post gives expression to many of the facts that a differently abled person suffers from in his every day life. Please read and commend. Infosys Labs - Web 2.0 Challenges Accessibility? Does Web 2.0 Challenge Accessibility? By Shrirang Sahasrabuddhe and Ajay Kolhatkar PhD Web 2.0 poses a volley of challenges for the differently-abled user and any step ahead in the technology must mull on inclusiveness Download With its global reach and versatility the world wide web has had a huge impact on the way we work and live. The web has enabled access to a range of news, information, services and entertainment. It has also provided means for social interaction, civic participation and in many cases, a means of livelihood. While for the able user the web opened a wealth of information and entertainment, it provided more independence, work opportunities and social interaction for people with different abilities (PwDA). Assistive technologies such as screen readers and speech recognition have made the websites easily accessible for people with visual and auditory impairments. Over the past few years developments in web technologies such as JavaScript, cascading style sheets (CSS), eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and Asynchronous Java and XML (AJAX) have transformed the web from being a mere information provider to an interactive medium that allows two-way communication between a website and its users. It has converted the web users from being passive consumers to being active producers and consumers of content. The new web harnesses collective wisdom of crowds through means such as wikis, blogging, tagging and social networking. Rather than being a means of disseminating marketing information the web is now being used to involve consumers in the processes of product design, development, marketing (buzz or word of mouth) and even after sales support. This new web — christened Web 2.0— provides interactions that are visually rich, contents that comprises multi-media and experiences that pan both real and virtual worlds. Most such visually rich applications rely extensively on user interactions especially using mice or other interface devices. While all the above are welcome changes for able users, for PwDAs it creates new challenges for access and usage. What follows is a brief discussion on the need to address the requirements of differently-abled people, challenges posed by some of the technologies and possible resolutions of some of these challenges. NEED FOR ACCESSIBILITY According to World Health Organization (WHO), close to 10% of the world’s population (a little over 650 million people) suffers from some form of disability [1]. However some country specific statistics, collated from the respective country’s census data, indicates that the malaise might actually be larger. Table 1 gives an indication of the percentage of PwDA population as a percentage of total population. As per the WHO, disability is an umbrella term that covers impairments, limitations on human activities and restriction in social participation. Since the use of information and communication technology (ICT) is increasingly becoming a vital part of educational, economic and social life for everyone today, people with different abilities are likely to be excluded unless efforts are undertaken to make ICT accessible. On a contrasting note, as per US Department of Labor estimates, the PwDAs in the US have discretionary income of $175 billion [8]. In the UK a similar estimate puts the number at £200 billion and in Canada the estimate is $26 billion [8]. This clearly indicates that there is a huge untapped market that has expectations of high quality products and services that are available at competitive prices. Another important consideration is the fact that for most able users the internet is just one more medium for transaction. But for a differently-abled individual, it is probably the most important (and sometimes the only) means of interaction with the world outside. It also affords them the much desired sense of independence. In 2000, the National Organization on Disability and Aetna U.S. Healthcare instituted Harris Interactive to conduct a survey of Americans with Disabilities [9]. One of the findings of this research was that four out of ten people with disabilities were online and spent twice as much time on the internet compared to their able counterparts. Notwithstanding such an overwhelming case for making the web an accessible place, almost 97% of the WWW is inaccessible as per the United Nations Global Audit of Web Accessibility conducted in 2006 [10]. MAKING WWW AN ACCESSIBLE PLACE In view of the situation described in the previous section, a world wide effort is on to make the WWW an accessible place for all. The efforts are at multiple fronts of instituting legal requirements, to creating new standards and guidelines for web development, to developing tools and services for assessing if a website
Re: [AI] Infosys Labs - Web 2.0 Challenges Accessibility? another must read post.
Unless the web designers consider the requirements of all types of their users, the minorities (in their view), though a considerable number, will be ignored and they have to fight for their rlights. Renuka. On 10/24/13, habeeb. c wrote: > Hello friends, > This post gives expression to many of the facts that a differently > abled person suffers from in his every day life. Please read and > commend. > Infosys Labs - Web 2.0 Challenges Accessibility? > Does Web 2.0 Challenge Accessibility? > > By Shrirang Sahasrabuddhe and Ajay Kolhatkar PhD > Web 2.0 poses a volley of challenges for the differently-abled user > and any step ahead in the technology must mull on inclusiveness > > Download > > With its global reach and versatility the world wide web has had a > huge impact on the way we work and live. The web has enabled access to > a range of news, > information, services and entertainment. It has also provided means > for social interaction, civic participation and in many cases, a means > of livelihood. > While for the able user the web opened a wealth of information and > entertainment, it provided more independence, work opportunities and > social interaction > for people with different abilities (PwDA). Assistive technologies > such as screen readers and speech recognition have made the websites > easily accessible > for people with visual and auditory impairments. > > Over the past few years developments in web technologies such as > JavaScript, cascading style sheets (CSS), eXtensible Markup Language > (XML) and Asynchronous > Java and XML (AJAX) have transformed the web from being a mere > information provider to an interactive medium that allows two-way > communication between > a website and its users. It has converted the web users from being > passive consumers to being active producers and consumers of content. > The new web harnesses > collective wisdom of crowds through means such as wikis, blogging, > tagging and social networking. Rather than being a means of > disseminating marketing > information the web is now being used to involve consumers in the > processes of product design, development, marketing (buzz or word of > mouth) and even > after sales support. This new web — christened Web 2.0— provides > interactions that are visually rich, contents that comprises > multi-media and experiences > that pan both real and virtual worlds. Most such visually rich > applications rely extensively on user interactions especially using > mice or other interface > devices. > > While all the above are welcome changes for able users, for PwDAs it > creates new challenges for access and usage. What follows is a brief > discussion on > the need to address the requirements of differently-abled people, > challenges posed by some of the technologies and possible resolutions > of some of these > challenges. > > NEED FOR ACCESSIBILITY > According to World Health Organization (WHO), close to 10% of the > world’s population (a little over 650 million people) suffers from > some form of disability > [1]. However some country specific statistics, collated from the > respective country’s census data, indicates that the malaise might > actually be larger. > Table 1 gives an indication of the percentage of PwDA population as a > percentage of total population. > > As per the WHO, disability is an umbrella term that covers > impairments, limitations on human activities and restriction in social > participation. Since the > use of information and communication technology (ICT) is increasingly > becoming a vital part of educational, economic and social life for > everyone today, > people with different abilities are likely to be excluded unless > efforts are undertaken to make ICT accessible. > > On a contrasting note, as per US Department of Labor estimates, the > PwDAs in the US have discretionary income of $175 billion [8]. In the > UK a similar estimate > puts the number at £200 billion and in Canada the estimate is $26 > billion [8]. This clearly indicates that there is a huge untapped > market that has expectations > of high quality products and services that are available at competitive > prices. > > Another important consideration is the fact that for most able users > the internet is just one more medium for transaction. But for a > differently-abled individual, > it is probably the most important (and sometimes the only) means of > interaction with the world outside. It also affords them the much > desired sense of > independence. > > In 2000, the National Organization on Disability and Aetna U.S. > Healthcare instituted Harris Interactive to conduct a survey of > Americans with Disabilities > [9]. One of the findings of this research was that four out of ten > people with disabilities were online and spent twice as much time on > the internet compared > to their able counterparts. > > Notwithstanding such an overwhelming case for making the web an > accessible place, almost 97% of the WWW is inaccessible a
