A Service Oriented Ontological Framework for the Semantic Validation of Web Accessibility

The Web serves as the principal mediator for information sharing and communication on a worldwide scale. Its highly decentralized nature affords a scale free growth, where each endpoint (i.e., Web site) is created and maintained independently. Web designers and developers have the onus of making sure that users can interact without accessibility problems. However, coping with users with disabilities poses challenges on how to ensure that a Web site is accessible for any kind of user. When (and if) this is done, designers and developers do it in a post-hoc way, (i.e., verify and tweak Web sites according to guidelines such as WCAG). In this Chapter the authors present SWAF, the Semantic Web AccessibilityFramework, a base framework for supporting the integration of accessibility services into Web design and development processes. SWAF affords both tailoring accessibility to user needs and specifying the semantic validation of accessibility guidelines in different application situations.

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A Service Oriented Ontological Framework for the Semantic Validation of Web Accessibility

Virtual Communities ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-100-3.ch201 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 388-406 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rui Lopes ◽

Konstantinos Votis ◽

Luís Carriço ◽

Spiridon Likothanassis

Keyword(s):

Web Sites ◽

Web Site ◽

Web Design ◽

Scale Free ◽

Service Oriented ◽

Development Processes ◽

Accessibility Guidelines ◽

Post Hoc ◽

Ontological Framework ◽

Web Designers

The Web serves as the principal mediator for information sharing and communication on a worldwide scale. Its highly decentralized nature affords a scale free growth, where each endpoint (i.e., Web site) is created and maintained independently. Web designers and developers have the onus of making sure that users can interact without accessibility problems. However, coping with users with disabilities poses challenges on how to ensure that a Web site is accessible for any kind of user. When (and if) this is done, designers and developers do it in a post-hoc way, (i.e., verify and tweak Web sites according to guidelines such as WCAG). In this Chapter the authors present SWAF, the Semantic Web AccessibilityFramework, a base framework for supporting the integration of accessibility services into Web design and development processes. SWAF affords both tailoring accessibility to user needs and specifying the semantic validation of accessibility guidelines in different application situations.

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The Ethics of Web Design

Global Information Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-939-7.ch243 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 3410-3429

Author(s):

Jack S. Cook ◽

Laura Cook

Keyword(s):

Web Sites ◽

Web Site ◽

World Wide ◽

Web Design ◽

Web Accessibility ◽

The World ◽

Technological Issue ◽

Accessibility Issues ◽

Web Designers ◽

Complete Access

Web accessibility is really not a technological issue but rather a cultural problem. A Web site is said to be Web accessible if anyone, regardless of capabilities or disabilities, using any kind of Web browsing technology to visit the site has full and complete access to the site’s content and has the ability to interact with the site if required. If properly planned from the start, a Web site can be functional, accessible and aesthetically pleasing. This chapter focuses on ensuring access to information available on the Internet. The overall objective is to increase awareness of Web accessibility issues by providing rationale for why Web designers should be interested in creating accessible sites. Specifically, this chapter identifies some of the emerging digital barriers to accessibility encountered by those with disabilities. Current efforts to address these barriers legally are identified and their effectiveness for breaking down barriers is discussed. The World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C’s) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is discussed, followed by a study of the 50 most visited Web sites. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the importance of this topic and future developments.

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The Ethics of Web Design

Information Security and Ethics ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-937-3.ch259 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 3805-3823

Author(s):

Jack S. Cook ◽

Laura Cook

Keyword(s):

Web Sites ◽

Web Site ◽

World Wide ◽

Web Design ◽

Web Accessibility ◽

The World ◽

Technological Issue ◽

Accessibility Issues ◽

Web Designers ◽

Complete Access

Web accessibility is really not a technological issue but rather a cultural problem. A Web site is said to be Web accessible if anyone, regardless of capabilities or disabilities, using any kind of Web browsing technology to visit the site has full and complete access to the site’s content and has the ability to interact with the site if required. If properly planned from the start, a Web site can be functional, accessible and aesthetically pleasing. This chapter focuses on ensuring access to information available on the Internet. The overall objective is to increase awareness of Web accessibility issues by providing rationale for why Web designers should be interested in creating accessible sites. Specifically, this chapter identifies some of the emerging digital barriers to accessibility encountered by those with disabilities. Current efforts to address these barriers legally are identified and their effectiveness for breaking down barriers is discussed. The World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C’s) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is discussed, followed by a study of the 50 most visited Web sites. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the importance of this topic and future developments.

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The Ethics of Web Design

Information Security and Ethics ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-286-7.ch004 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 73-101

Author(s):

Jack S. Cook ◽

Laura Cook

Keyword(s):

Web Sites ◽

Web Site ◽

World Wide ◽

Web Design ◽

Web Accessibility ◽

The World ◽

Technological Issue ◽

Accessibility Issues ◽

Web Designers ◽

Complete Access

Web accessibility is really not a technological issue but rather a cultural problem. A Web site is said to be Web accessible if anyone, regardless of capabilities or disabilities, using any kind of Web browsing technology to visit the site has full and complete access to the site’s content and has the ability to interact with the site if required. If properly planned from the start, a Web site can be functional, accessible and aesthetically pleasing. This chapter focuses on ensuring access to information available on the Internet. The overall objective is to increase awareness of Web accessibility issues by providing rationale for why Web designers should be interested in creating accessible sites. Specifically, this chapter identifies some of the emerging digital barriers to accessibility encountered by those with disabilities. Current efforts to address these barriers legally are identified and their effectiveness for breaking down barriers is discussed. The World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C’s) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is discussed, followed by a study of the 50 most visited Web sites. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the importance of this topic and future developments.

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Increasing Web Accessibility and Usability in Higher Education

Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, Second Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-198-8.ch165 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 1157-1163

Author(s):

Barbara A. Frey ◽

Ashli Molinero ◽

Ellen Cohn

Keyword(s):

Web Sites ◽

Web Site ◽

Web Design ◽

Web Accessibility ◽

The Internet ◽

Web Pages ◽

Web Site Design ◽

Wheelchair Users ◽

Site Design ◽

Internet Connections

Just as wheelchair ramps and elevators provide access to wheelchair users, good Web design provides “electronic curb ramps” to the Internet for individuals with visual or other disabilities (Waddell, 1997). Research shows it is easier and less expensive to initially construct accessible Web pages rather than to retrofit the pages with corrections. Most of the technical requirements for accessible Web design can be met if Web designers adhere to the straightforward principles suggested by the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative. Accessible Web site design benefits all users, not just persons with disabilities. This is because users with slow Internet connections, users who access the Internet via personal Web devices and users who are speakers of foreign languages may also experience accessibility challenges (Rose & Meyer, 1996). In short, accessible Web sites increase usability. Accessibility, a component of usability, suggests “information systems flexible enough to accommodate the needs of the broadest range of users … regardless of age or disability” (Waddell, 1997). Usability is achieved by designing with the end user in mind, to ensure that a user has access to any Web site, no matter when or how the access is sought (Pearrow, 2000).

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Eliminating Invisible Barriers: Health Web Site Accessibility

Californian Journal of Health Promotion ◽

10.32398/cjhp.v1i1.220 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 70-86

Author(s):

Christine Rzepka

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Web Sites ◽

Web Site ◽

People With Disabilities ◽

High Tech ◽

Accessibility Issues ◽

Accessibility Guidelines ◽

Use Of The Internet ◽

Simple Evaluation ◽

The Web

One of the top reasons given for use of the internet is the ability to search for health information. However, much of the planning for web-based health information often fails to consider accessibility issues. If health care organizations and community agencies’ web sites have the latest, most wellresearched information on the health topics of the day, it is useless to those who cannot access it because of invisible technological barriers. Many flashy, high-tech sites were designed only to appeal to the needs of the mainstream population, with no consideration given to how people with disabilities must adapt their use of the web in order to access information. This article addresses issues of access specific to web site development, and will explore barriers to accessibility frequently experienced by web users with disabilities, requirements for ADA compliance, and how people with disabilities use the web. Web site accessibility guidelines, as well as simple evaluation tools, will be discussed. A thorough review of the article will enable even the least tech-savvy of health educators to enhance their skills in planning and evaluating web sites to promote access for people with disabilities.

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Web Site Mobilization Techniques

Advances in Computer and Electrical Engineering - Advanced Methodologies and Technologies in Network Architecture, Mobile Computing, and Data Analytics ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-7598-6.ch136 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1837-1845

Author(s):

John Christopher Sandvig

Keyword(s):

Mobile Devices ◽

Web Sites ◽

Web Site ◽

Web Design ◽

Laptop Computers ◽

Digital Devices ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Desktop Computers ◽

Physical Limitations ◽

User Friendly

Mobile-friendly websites are designed to render well on all digital devices, including smartphones, desktop computers, laptop computers, and tablets. Creating a user-friendly experience on mobile devices requires specific web design techniques. These techniques are designed to accommodate the small screens and other physical limitations of mobile devices. This chapter describes the three primary techniques for creating mobile-friendly web sites: responsive, separate URL, and server adaptive. It explains how each technique is implemented, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and their relative popularity. It also describes an emerging mobile technique called accelerated mobile pages.

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Web Accessibility and the Law

Design and Implementation of Web-Enabled Teaching Tools ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-107-0.ch001 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 1-24 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Holly Yu

Keyword(s):

Web Sites ◽

Ad Hoc ◽

Web Design ◽

Web Accessibility ◽

Legal Responsibility ◽

Web Pages ◽

State Laws ◽

Section 508 ◽

Rehabilitation Act ◽

Accessibility Issues

Through a series of federal and state laws and standards, the legal foundation concerning Web accessibility that impact people with disabilities and their ability to fully overcome digital barriers and participate in the Web environment has been established. Currently, the concept of accessible design or universal design is increasingly becoming an important component of Web design. However, the unanswered questions in laws, the absence of the obligation in fulfilling legal requirements, and the general unawareness of the need to make Web pages accessible have created barriers in implementing the Americans with disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act as amended in 1998, and others. In many cases, the absence of obligations is due to unfamiliarity with legal responsibility of creating accessible Web sites. As a result, the response to Web accessibility concerns frequently comes about only on an ad hoc basis. Identifying these barriers is the first step toward solutions. There are legal and practical approaches for addressing Web accessibility issues in policies, education, research and development, and technology and tools.

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Web Design Based on User Browsing Patterns

Encyclopedia of Data Warehousing and Mining, Second Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-010-3.ch317 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 2074-2079

Author(s):

Yinghui Yang

Keyword(s):

Web Sites ◽

Web Site ◽

Web Design ◽

Online Information ◽

Navigation Data ◽

Information Scent ◽

Site Search ◽

User Expectations ◽

Corporate Web Sites ◽

Search For Information

It is hard to organize a website such that pages are located where users expect to find them. Consider a visitor to an e-Commerce website in searching for a scanner. There are two ways he could find information he is looking for. One is to use the search function provided by the website. The other one is to follow the links on the website. This chapter focuses on the second case. Will he click on the link “Electronics” or “Computers” to find the scanner? For the website designer, should the scanner page be put under Electronics, Computers or both? This problem occurs across all kinds of websites, including B2C shops, B2B marketplaces, corporate web-sites and content websites. Through web usages mining, we can automatically discover pages in a website whose location is different from where users expect to find them. This problem of matching website organization with user expectations is pervasive across most websites. Since web users are heterogeneous, the question is essentially how to design a website so that majority of the users find it easy to navigate. Here, we focus on the problem of browsing within a single domain/web site (search engines are not involved since it’s a totally different way of finding information on a web site.) There are numerous reasons why users fail to find the information they are looking for when browse on a web site. Here in this chapter, we focus on the following reason. Users follow links when browsing online. Information scent guides them to select certain links to follow in search for information. If the content is not located where the users expect it to be, the users will fail to find it. How we analyze web navigation data to identify such user browsing patterns and use them to improve web design is an important task.

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