Patricia Acosta-Vargas

Evaluation of the web accessibility of higher-education websites

This article describes a study to assess the accessibility of the contents concerning the websites of 20 universities from all around the world. The accessibility assessment was carried out to verify compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The main goal of this study is to determine if even people with disabilities can access and use websites of the universities with higher academic prestige. Besides, in our approach we also make use of the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) is an approach for determining how well a website conforms to WCAG 2.0. The WCAG-EM provides a guidance on using the methodology and considerations for specific situations. From the results, we can conclude that the majority of the tested websites do not achieve an acceptable level of compliance. Universities with high academic prestige do not show a greater level of web accessibility. By performing the evaluation of university websites, we have identified that there are major barriers to a large number of users.

Toward a Combined Method for Evaluation of Web Accessibility

This study describes the problems of web accessibility, especially for people with disabilities, as external conditions can distort user behavior and limit the data that can be obtained. Several studies recommend combining some methods with each other to achieve better results. This article proposes a combined approach, with the application of automatic and heuristic tools to make websites more accessible. In this study, we apply the Web Site Accessibility Assessment Methodology (WCAG-EM) considered in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0). From the results, we conclude that most tested websites can achieve an acceptable level of compliance. We propose that future work can focus on optimizing this combined approach, also this study can serve as a guide to help develop more inclusive websites.

Quality evaluation of government websites

This article describes a study on the quality evaluation of governmental websites of 20 countries with the highest level of competitiveness. The accessibility assessment was carried out to verify compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The main goal of this study is to determine whether people with disabilities are able to access and use government websites. In addition, we considered the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) to determine how easily a website can be accessed according to WCAG 2.0. The WCAG-EM provides guidance on how to use the methodology and considerations for specific situations. From the results, we conclude that the majority of the websites do not achieve an acceptable level of compliance. The websites of governmental institutions with the highest level of competitiveness do not show a greater level of web accessibility. Several non-compliance errors were found on the websites; by performing this evaluation, we have identified that there are major barriers for a large number of users. Therefore, there is significant work pending to make the websites examples of best practice in e-government sites.

Web accessibility polices of higher education institutions

This article describes a study on the assessment process of web accessibility policies adopted by 51 university websites across the world, which are ranked by Webometrics. The web accessibility assessment was aimed at validating compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0; these guidelines are defined and published by the World Wide Web Consortium. The primary goal of this study is to identify a group of universities with academic prestige and determine their level of commitment to providing accessible information about university facts and activities through their main websites, as well as making it available to everyone including people with disabilities. Awareness about the scope of web accessibility policies is a topic of interest for organizations that are operating a website. Some policies can be applied to address internet issues such as privacy of personal data and web accessibility for people with disabilities. Policies of web accessibility are dynamic in nature due to the evolution of technology; therefore, any gaps in web accessibility should be addressed immediately and applied at different levels within an organization. From a legal perspective, in some websites, policies are depicted in the legal terms posted in the website, and in the functionality and features that the website offers to its users. In the evaluation phase various parameters were tested such as the implementation of web accessibility policies, version, level, availability of contact information for complaints, conformance logo, educational information, and help and support tools.

Method for Accessibility Assessment of Online Content Editors

This paper defines a method for evaluating the accessibility of online content editors by considering Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) and part B of the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (ATAG 2.0). The method includes 63 accessibility features that should be met by the images, headings and tables, which are inserted through an online content editor. The compliance of these guidelines contributes to the creation of accessible content so that visually impaired people using assistive technologies can easily access the content. Furthermore, the results of this study provide criteria for those people who have the responsibility of selecting an accessible online content editor. The proposed method has made it possible to meet the objective set out in this research document and can be used to evaluate the accessibility of learning management systems and course management systems.

Interaction with a Tele-Rehabilitation Platform Through a Natural User Interface: A Case Study of Hip Arthroplasty Patients

Using a tele-rehabilitation platform for motor recovery obliges the user to interact at a remote distance from the computer. In such a situation, a natural user interface can be used both to record the therapeutic movements performed by the patient, and to navigate in the web application. Nevertheless, it is necessary to assess the user experience to validate the system usability. The present paper describes an experiment to test the usability of a platform designed to enhance the recovery of patients after hip replacement surgery. The user experience is evaluated through several metrics (completion time and usability questionnaire) and the results are related to a sociodemographic questionnaire. A clustering approach is implemented to identify a relationship between the user’s profile and the interaction performance with the platform.

Educational Resources Accessible on the Tele-rehabilitation Platform

This research is part of a telemedicine platform project to guide and accompany the patient online, during rehabilitation after total or partial hip replacement surgery. The study proposes to apply the Accessibility Guidelines for educational content in accordance with the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) accessibility guidelines. The main functionalities of the tele-rehabilitation platform involve the execution of rehabilitation movements, remote communication with health professionals, and therapeutic education of the patient during the recovery process. This article discusses the guidelines that the teaching-learning resources for elderly patients must meet to generate inclusive and easily accessible resources. The present study takes into consideration specific parameters relevant to the design of educational resources, with the aim of providing more accessible and inclusive educational guidelines for elderly patients.

Analysis and Improvement of the Web Accessibility of a Tele-rehabilitation Platform for Hip Arthroplasty Patients

This paper explains some of the challenges that exist to make accessible the web interfaces of a Tele-rehabilitation platform for hip arthroplasty patients and propose an iterative method to improve the level of accessibility using automatic evaluation tools. Web accessibility is not concerned with the specific conditions of people who use the Web, but with the impact that their conditions have on their ability to use it. If the web interfaces of the Tele-rehabilitation platform for hip arthroplasty patients are not accessible enough, the patients will not be able to understand, perceive or operate adequately the platform to benefit completely of the physical therapy. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) provides a set of rules and recommendations to help solve the problems of Web accessibility. Additionally, there are evaluation tools that allow identifying main web accessibility problems. These tools are best exploited when used by accessibility experts. The purpose of this research is threefold. First, to present the results of a web accessibility evaluation of the web interfaces of the Tele-rehabilitation Platform for Hip Arthroplasty Patients using three the evaluation tools: WAVE, AChecker and TAW. Second, to analyze the results presented by the tools according to the WCAG 2.0 guidelines to define a list of accessibility improvements. Third, to implement the improvements through the re-factorization of the existing code and re-testing the improved web interfaces to verify that they meet acceptable accessibility levels.

A Real-Time Algorithm for Movement Assessment Using Fuzzy Logic of Hip Arthroplasty Patients

The present work proposes a model of detection of movements of patients in rehabilitation of hip surgery in real time. The model applies the Fuzzy Logic technique to identify correct and incorrect movements in the execution of rehabilitation exercises using the motion capture device called XBOXONE Microsoft’s Kinect. An algorithm generates a multivalent logical model that allows the simultaneous modeling of deductive and decision-making processes. This model identifies the correct and incorrect movements of the patient during the execution of rehabilitation exercises. This model uses all the information collected from 24 points of the body with their respective axes of coordinates (X, Y, Z). Using data mining analysis, the algorithm selects the most remarkable attributes, eliminating non-relevant information. The main contributions of this work are: creation of a patient profile based on the movement of the human being in a generic way for the detection and prediction of execution of physical exercises in rehabilitation. On the other hand, an avatar was developed in 3D, which copies and evidences graphically the exercises performed by patients in real time.

Analysis and Improvement of the Usability of a Tele-Rehabilitation Platform for Hip Surgery Patients

The Tele-Rehabilitation platform for hip surgery allows patients to carry out part of their rehabilitation at home, without the need to travel long distances to a rehabilitation centre. A lack of usability that may prevent effectiveness, efficiency, and the satisfaction of patients, may lead to problems of confusion, error and delay, or even abandonment of the physical therapy. To perform the usability analysis, a set of heuristics were selected relating to aspects such as navigation, visual clarity, coherence, prevention of errors, user guidance, online help and user control. A cognitive walkthrough technique was also applied. With the results of the analysis, the design and implementation of improvements were performed. The web interfaces of the Tele-Rehabilitation platform were evaluated once again and compared with the baseline to ensure there was an improvement in usability.