Inclusive Digital Environment Processes
In Process
The first web accessibility guideline was released in 1995 by Gregg Vanderheiden. The W3C’s WCAG 1.0, based on the 1998 Unified Web Site Accessibility Guidelines, was followed by WCAG 2.0 in 2001, with WCAG 3.0 currently under development.
Despite this progress, a recent study found that over 70% of websites, including those of major retailers and politicians, remain significantly inaccessible to blind users. This has led to questions about whether WCAG is sufficient.
This paper examines websites used by blind users, identifying well-performing and poorly performing sites, and analyzes WCAG and other literature to recommend improvements for digital inclusion.
Telegraph
In Process
When people with disabilities face challenges in their digital environments—be it with operating systems, hardware, or applications—they often turn to tech support for help. While some issues are resolved, others remain, and the valuable insights from these experiences often go untapped. Telegraph is a product designed to safely, easily, and effectively capture and transmit the experiences—both triumphs and challenges—of users with disabilities across operating systems, hardware, application software, websites, assistive technologies, and emerging technology modalities. Telegraph will identify patterns, provide critical discovery research, and, when necessary, report persistent complaints and make recommendations to drive meaningful change.
Inclusive Digital Environment Systems
Out For Publication
This paper examines the relationship between user experience and accessibility, contributing to the development of a universal framework for digital environment accessibility. Systems integrating operating system software, hardware, application software, and embedded assistive technologies provide superior accessibility for disabled users. Conversely, poorly integrated systems reliant on third-party applications impose significant additional costs and challenges in reliability and maintainability. Fifteen participants (seven female, eight male), aged 23 to 65, were recruited via snowball sampling from three universities and three agencies. Semi-structured interviews, lasting approximately 30 minutes, explored participants' experiences and preferences in performing work and communication tasks. Accessibility was examined as a systemic issue to identify which Digital Environment Systems (DES), encompassing operating systems, hardware, applications, and assistive technologies, offer optimal access for blind and visually impaired (BVI) users. Apple devices, particularly the iPhone and iPad, were favoured due to their integrated design along with the perceivable, operable, reliable, consistent, and interoperable experiences they provide.