Sarah Lewthwaite

A challenge to web accessibility metrics and guidelines: putting people and processes first

This paper argues that web accessibility is not an intrinsic characteristic of a digital resource but is determined by complex political, social and other contextual factors, as well as technical aspects which are the focus of WAI standardisation activities. It can therefore be inappropriate to develop legislation or focus on metrics only associated with properties of the resource. The authors describe the value of standards such as BS 8878 which focus on best practices for the process of developing web products and include a user focus. The paper concludes with a case study that illustrates how learning analytics could provide data to support the improvement of the inclusivity of learning resources, providing a broader perspective beyond the digital resource.

Web accessibility standards and disability: developing critical perspectives on accessibility

Abstract Purpose: Currently, dominant web accessibility standards do not respect disability as a complex and culturally contingent interaction; recognizing that disability is a variable, contrary and political power relation, rather than a biological limit. Against this background there is clear scope to broaden the ways in which accessibility standards are understood, developed and applied. Methods: Commentary. Results: The values that shape and are shaped by legislation promote universal, statistical and automated approaches to web accessibility. This results in web accessibility standards conveying powerful norms fixing the relationship between technology and disability, irrespective of geographical, social, technological or cultural diversity. Conclusions: Web accessibility standards are designed to enact universal principles; however, they express partial and biopolitical understandings of the relation between disability and technology. These values can be limiting, and potentially counter-productive, for example, for the majority of disabled people in the “Global South” where different contexts constitute different disabilities and different experiences of web access. To create more robust, accessible outcomes for disabled people, research and standards practice should diversify to embrace more interactional accounts of disability in different settings. Implications for Rehabilitation Creating accessible experiences is an essential aspect of rehabilitation. Web standards promote universal accessibility as a property of an online resource or service. This undervalues the importance of the user’s intentions, expertize, their context, and the complex social and cultural nature of disability. Standardized, universal approaches to web accessibility may lead to counterproductive outcomes for disabled people whose impairments and circumstances do not meet Western disability and accessibility norms. Accessible experiences for rehabilitation can be enhanced through an additional focus on holistic approaches to accessibility blending digital and physical solutions, the use of BS 8878 and mixed-method approaches to accessibility benchmarking. Web standards and accessibility conformance should be considered together with user input and the recognition and development of local accessibility and rehabilitation expertize.

Developing countries; developing experiences: approaches to accessibility for the real world

The need for developing countries to consider appropriate strategies for enhancing access to networked resources by disabled people provides an opportunity to assess the merits and limitations of the approaches which have been taken in western countries. This paper reviews the limitations of dependence on a constrained technical definition of accessibility, and builds on previous work which developed a holistic approach to Web accessibility and a generic model to assist policy makers in understanding the complexities of addressing Web accessibility. We explore how such approaches can be deployed by practitioners and developers with responsibilities for the deployment of Web services within the context of limited resources, flawed technologies, conflicting priorities and debates within disability studies on the nature of disability. A pragmatic framework is presented which supports promotion of digital accessibility within a wider social inclusion context. It learns from past difficulties and aims to assist policy makers and practitioners across the world in decision-making when seeking to deploy accessible Web-based services within the context of limited resources, conflicting priorities and the limitations of technical accessibility guidelines.

Teaching Research Methods in the Social Sciences: Expert Perspectives on Pedagogy and Practice

ABSTRACT Capacity building in social science research methods is positioned by research councils as crucial to global competitiveness. The pedagogies involved, however, remain under-researched and the pedagogical culture under-developed. This paper builds upon recent thematic reviews of the literature to report new research that shifts the focus from individual experiences of research methods teaching to empirical evidence from a study crossing research methods, disciplines and nations. A dialogic, expert panel method was used, engaging international experts to examine teaching and learning practices in advanced social research methods. Experts, perspectives demonstrated strong thematic commonalities across quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods domains in terms of pedagogy, by connecting learners to research, giving direct and immersive experiences of research practice and promoting reflexivity. This paper argues that through analysis of expert responses to the distinct pedagogic challenges of the methods classroom, the principles and illustrative examples generated can form the knowledge and understanding required to enhance pedagogic culture and practice.

Exploring pedagogical culture for accessibility education in computing science

This paper identifies some of the challenges of teaching and learning accessibility through the lens of pedagogy (which deals with the theory and practice of education). We argue that accessibility education in computing science presents a set of unique and challenging characteristics for those engaged in accessibility capacity building. Significant moves are being made to embed accessibility within academic curricula and professional domains. However, through a qualitative thematic review of the accessibility pedagogic literature, we find that the field lacks the pedagogic culture necessary to support widespread excellence in teaching and learning. Nonetheless, our review identifies aspects of this small but important literature that indicate how a pedagogic culture for accessibility can be stimulated through research, debate and discussion, to promote a more pedagogically-grounded approach to the field as a whole.

Critical Approaches to Accessibility for Technology-Enhanced Learning

In recent years there has been a push towards accessibility in technology?enhanced learning (TEL) across all levels of education. However, accessibility represents a shifting frontier. As technology evolves, so too do issues of equality and access. Here key developments in accessibility discourse and research are reviewed to demonstrate the value of attending to accessibility’s cutting edge in mainstream TEL practice.

Accessibility for older users through adaptive interfaces: opportunities, challenges and achievements

It has been widely suggested that accessibility to technology for older people could be improved by the provision of adaptive user interfaces. However there has been little practical work in the area. The MyUI project sets out to explore this area and to build infrastructure and three demonstrator applications based on interactive TV technology. This paper, looking at the project from a Human Factors perspective, explores whether accessibility for older people through dynamically adapting interfaces is a realistic goal, identifies some challenges and research questions, and provides an insight into some achievements and ongoing work in the project.

Government cuts to Disabled Students’ Allowances must be resisted

Cuts to essential grant funding for disabled students in England will put disabled students’ studies at risk. Proposed cuts to Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) in 2015 will redefine disability and damage the validity of equality indicators. As a result, the needs of many disabled students may be systematically overlooked, leading to unequal outcomes for students, academia and wider society.

From guinea pigs to design partners: working with older people in ICT design

Governments worldwide are recognising the reality and challenges of aging societies. Aging is often accompanied by increased incidence of impairments in the physio-motor, sensory and cognitive domains, as well as health problems, reduced socialisation, poorer finances, reduced sense of purpose and sometimes marginalisation from society. Technology can be very beneficial for older people but is too often problematical, sometimes creating digital exclusion

Critical Silences: Disability, Networked Technologies and the Global South

Digital networked technologies have become an increasingly integral part of human activity, shaping and being shaped by individual and collective lives. Across the world, networked economies increasingly position new technologies as key to effective governance, education, growth and the preparation of a future work force. Many countries in the global South are adopting policies and domestic strategies that seek to embed and integrate networked technologies as an essential part of everyday life (Toyama 2013). In this frame, technologies are held to ‘powerfully contribute to the worldwide democratisation, civic engagement and action-orientated social responsibility’ (Benson and Harkavy 2002). Policy developments such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stress the role of technology in enabling people with disabilities, putting the accessibility of digital tools and services at the centre of government policies. Yet, a move beyond the habitual exoticisation of technology and its assumed benefits is important. The claims made for technology as a route to social justice have not been substantiated (Selwyn 2013). In this chapter we examine not only the narratives that dominate mainstream understandings of technology and ‘digital divides’ but also the morenuanced debates in areas deemed most relevant to disabled people. We structure our account to recognise the lifecycle of mobile and networked devices, from (re)sourcing through to manufacture, usage, maintenance, disposal and governance. We do not intend to deny technology’s positive impacts; we seek to highlight silences in technology and disability discourse —disabled experiences that are missing— occluded by the arrangement of social, geopolitical, economic and cultural forces that shape our technologies and day-to-day life across the world.