Access For All

9th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility – 16/17th April 2012 – Lyon, France

The World Wide Web has changed the way we search, access, consume and produce information. While existing superficial content allows us to browse and interact with the Web, we are far from taking full advantage of it. Laying beneath the surface of the Web there are a number of phenomena such as trends and patterns in information structure and in user behaviour that do shape the way we communicate, consume and browse. As far as accessibility is concerned, Web content plays a central role in an ecosystem where user agents, authoring tools, crowd-sourcing frameworks and testing tools determine how accessible is the Web. As these components are moving to the cloud, their mere activity and interplay produces large amounts of data. For instance, thousands of testing reports are being generated every day by automatic tools and auditors. Moreover, crowd-sourcing tools are facilitating a myriad of accessibility fixes and providing guidance to users.

In parallel, announcements made by UK and US governments, amongst others, to make public data available are contributing to adding enormous amounts of data to the Web. While some of these data repositories consist of raw data, some other are explicitly structured and semantically annotated set of documents. However, users still find it difficult to access to these data mainly because of information overload and access barriers. So even if the major goal of Open Government initiatives is to foster transparency, the reality is that citizens struggle to access.

So we can find data produced by the accessibility ecosystem -users and tools- and intentionally uploaded data. The former, if adequately exploited, can yield invaluable knowledge to better understand web accessibility as a phenomenon. The latter provide us mechanisms to arrange these data on the web so that they are accessible for machines although not for humans. As a result, topics of interests include (but are not limited to):

• Intelligent processing of the massively produced reports by accessibility testing tools.
• Web mining and AI techniques for accessibility testing and repairing.
• Usage patterns of accessibility tools on the cloud.
• How to use data produced by means of crowd-sourcing accessibility fixes.
• How data produced while interacting and traversing the Web can improve accessibility.
• How to create user profiles from log data.
• The characterization of the Web at a macro and micro-scale.
• Accessibility of Linked Data repositories.
• Using Linked Data to better organise knowledge on Web accessibility.
• Web authoring guidelines and tools
• Mobile accessibility
• User modeling and the adaptive web
• Adaptation and transformation of existing Web content
• Design and best practice to support Web accessibility
• Technological advances to support Web accessibility
• End user tools
• Accessibility guidelines, best practice, evaluation techniques, and tools
• Psychology of end user experiences and scenarios
• Innovative techniques to support accessibility
• Universally accessible graphical design approaches
• Accessible graphic formats and tools for their creation

More information on the event website.

The study on eAccessibility2020 (“Study on Implications from Future ICT Trends on Assistive Technology and Accessibility”, SMART 2010/0077) aims to provide the EC with recommendations on future research policy, especially regarding FP8 (ICT & FET) and the next Competitiveness & Innovation Programme (CIP).
Also, the study will make suggestions on relevant standardisation issues and on EC policy activities for the wider mainstreaming and adoption of eAccessibility. To do so the study team will elaborate and validate specific use and technology-scenarios for 2020. These scenarios will result from vigorous interaction with eAccessibility-related stakeholders and experts, which will involve among other the identification and assessment of ‘Drivers of Change’ affecting the course of eAccessibility (i.e. key-trends, micro-trends and weak-signals).
The study approach adopts a variety of methodologies, tools and activities and it is presented at www.e-accessibility2020.eu together with news, e-surveys and eventually the study results.
All interested individuals or organisations are invited to register in the study’s website so as to stay informed and/or participate in the study activities.
The study is conducted for the European Commission, DG Information Society & Media, Unit ‘ICT for Inclusion’.

CDAC, Mumbai is organising two workshops titled “National Workshop on FOSS Desktop Accessibility” & “National Workshop on FOSS Adoption in Education” during August 26-27, 2011 as a part of National Resource Centre for Free/Open Source software (NRCFOSS) – Phase II initiative.
“National Workshop on FOSS Desktop Accessibility” on August 26, 2011 will focus on exploring the current trends in the field of accessibility particularly in regard to FOSS. This workshop intends to work as a platform to encourage the use of FOSS tools and techniques in creating assistive technologies that are free-of-cost, available to all, easily maintainable etc. for such a large portion of population in country like India. The workshop will also like to leverage the experiences of all stakeholders to identify and address the issues of those areas of accessibility that are still untouched.
Similarly, “National Workshop on FOSS Adoption in Education”, on August 27, 2011 is intended to explore the benefits, role, developments of technology, specifically FOSS, in education. FOSS provides software that are free of cost, easily maintainable, community support, customizability freedom, etc. Various FOSS tools in education will be demonstrated in the workshop. The participants will also get to experience the work of C-DAC Mumbai in promoting technology/FOSS in education. The workshop will provide an opportunity to interact with participants from different organizations and industry practitioners.
The workshop will involve keynote and invited lectures by distinguished researchers and/or professionals. We take this opportunity to extend you an invitation for participation in the above said workshops. Looking forward to see you or your representative at the event.
Kindly use the following URLs to access more details about the workshops:
- National wrokshop on FOSS Desktop Accessibility
- National Workshop on FOSS Adoption in Education

Last year at the pre-conference program of the ICCHP-congress (International Congress on Computers Helping People with Special Needs) in Vienna, the first Summeruniversity was organized for blind and low vision students who want or have to do mathematics, statistics or science.

This year there is no ICCHP, but the event was so successful that it was decided to have ICCHP-Summer University at the ICCHP in the even years and have it elsewhere in the odd years. In hands-on workshops students work with accessible software and technology. Workshop leaders often are students (or researchers) with a visual impairment. Not only knowledge, also experiences can be shared.
The Summer University aims principally at students in their last year of secondary education or their first year in higher education. But it appeared that also more advanced students thought this a very interesting event, as do teachers and other professionals, involved in making studying material accessible.

This year there is a Student track, a Teacher (& Transcriber) track and a Lab, a place for developers and students to meet. Not only computer solutions are presented, there are workshops both for teachers, transcribers and students on the production and use of tactile images. In the lab students can use models that explain geometric concepts and perspective. There is a workshop for teachers on how to use them in inclusive classrooms.

We’ll have workshop leaders and attendants mostly from Europe, but also from Japan and USA. The beautiful and very well accessible venue in Telč in the Czech Republic, guarantees a very pleasant stay and opportunities to meet with peers and experts. Shuttle buses from Prague and Vienna will be available. The participation fee, approximately 100 Euro’s, including accommodation, meals, shuttle bus and leisure-time activities, is very low, thanks to a generous subsidy from the Czech Government.

You’ll find the program on www.icchp-su.net. There still are some places available, but don’t wait to register to avoid disappointment. If you have any further questions you can contact Dorine in ‘t Veld (ditveld@bartimeus.nl).

The 6th Cambridge Workshop on Universal Access (UA) and Assistive Technology (AT), also known as CWUAAT 2012, will take place at the Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge, UK on 26-29 March 2012.

We received a call for participation for the workshop theme: “Designing Inclusion for real-world applications”, which refers to the emerging potential and relevance of the latest generations of inclusive design data, tools, techniques and thinking, to mainstream project applications such as healthcare and the design of working environments. Previous research developments have addressed these issues in the context of simple daily living activities based on single tasks. New developments are now extending the scope of the approach into real-world applications.
Inclusive Design Research involves developing tools and guidance for supporting product designers to design for the widest possible population for a given range of capabilities. In the context of demographic changes leading to a greater number of older people, the general field of inclusive design research strives to relate the capabilities of the population to the design of products by better characterising the user. Inclusive populations of older people contain a greater variation in sensory, cognitive and physical user capabilities. These variations may be co-occurring and rapidly changing leading to a demanding design environment.

Important Dates

• Deadline for submission of long and short papers: 15 August, 2011
• Notification of paper acceptance: 19 September, 2011
• Deadline for camera-ready version of submitted papers: 24 October, 2011
• Advance registration (ends): 16 January, 2012
• Late registration (ends): 20 February, 2012
• CWUAAT Workshop: 26 – 29 March, 2012

Electronic submission of papers is now available via the conference website.

They seek original research papers describing investigations within the following broad categories:

• Designing For Real-World Applications: Work And Healthcare
• Designing Inclusive Assistive And Rehabilitation Systems
• Measuring Product Demand And Peoples’ Capabilities
• Mainstreaming And Scaling Technology For Healthcare
• Designing Cognitive Interaction With Emerging Technologies
• Effective Engagement With Industry
• Designing Inclusive Spaces: Architecture And Buildings
• Collaborative And Participatory Design For Inclusion
• Data Issues: Visualizing Inclusion: Mining Of Profile Data
• Legislation, Standards And Policy In Inclusive Design

User Forum

CWUAAT 2012 will contain a single paper session allocated as a user forum. This is intended to give users of assistive technology and beneficiaries of improved accessibility an opportunity for an oral presentation of 25 minutes. Both short and long papers will be accepted in this category and topics and themes are not restricted. We welcome academic position papers, social and research agendas, critiques of provision of technology or poor accessibility, engineering or technical papers regarding product design and usage in work and daily living.

Doctoral Consortium

As one of the most successful aspects of CWUAAT ‘10, the event will again include a Doctoral Consortium. Candidates who submit to the doctoral consortium will be able to attend the workshop at a greatly reduced registration and 10 places have been allocated for this purpose. The two presentations judged to be the best by the consortium panel will win a podium presentation in the main workshop.
Demonstrations. It is hoped that participants will be able to gain hands-on experience with working systems. Space and time will be available for demonstrations of software and hardware.

Organising Committee

Dr Patrick Langdon, Engineering Design Centre, University of Cambridge
Prof John Clarkson, Engineering Design Centre, University of Cambridge
Prof Peter Robinson, Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge

Guest Editors

Dr Jonathan Lazar, Towson University, USA
Prof Ann Heylighen, K.U.Leuven, Belgium

Design for All (DfA) is design for human diversity, social inclusion and equality (EIDD Stockholm Declaration, 2004). It supports the creation of products, services and systems that can be used by as many people as possible without the need for special adaptation and has a people-centred approach at the heart of it. DfA has origins in the field of barrier-free accessibility but has grown to encompass much more. It can meet the great social challenges of our time such as ageing populations, the need to include differently-abled people in mainstream design as well as engage with people excluded on the basis of social, economic, financial or geographic boundaries. Inclusion is central to a DfA approach, bringing with it better design thinking, improved products and services, market success and socially-centred innovation.

DfA has been appropriated by designers working in different disciplines such as consumer products, packaging and communication design, transport and mobility as well as the built environment and sustainable development.

There is a need to progress DfA from being just seen as an ideology or philosophy to becoming a practical part of the everyday design process and demonstrating the value of the approach. In this context, Design for All Europe and Fundación ONCE promote a major new publication on Design for All which seeks to gather good examples of DfA that include people whether old or young, differently-abled, of any gender, culture or race.

The aim is to convey the practical experience of implementing Design for All drawn from designers, educators, policy makers, businesses and other organizations, articulating the key elements for success as a good practice guide for others to follow.

The publication will seek to achieve the following objectives:

• Collect interesting European and global experiences on Design for All in all design sectors including the built environment, products, services, IT, transport and information design.
• Analyze each experience and outline key factors in describing their success. The editorial team will look at each accepted case study to see how other people working in DfA may benefit from the learnings and how work might be transposed or reproduced in other areas, sectors or countries.
• Publish a book in Spanish and English – the first of its kind – that exclusively showcases DfA case studies and the importance of design that considers human diversity. The book will be distributed across the EU.

If you would like to be included please send an abstract of 200 words written in international English for consideration by the editorial team. Guidelines as below:

• Abstracts should describe design stories or case studies that address the publication theme of Design for All in Action, explicitly stating how it can be considered to have a people-centred approach.
• Market-ready solutions are preferred but the editorial committee will consider abstracts that describe exceptional work that may not be on the market.
• Issues concerning DfA methods for involving people in the design process and case studies describing how DfA policy or legislation has influenced design practice, can also be submitted.
• Abstracts are in international English and NOT academic English. The editorial team will give advice on final contributions.
• Abstracts are solicited from individuals, companies, industry, universities, research facilities, government bodies, voluntary sector organizations or anyone who has a DfA story to tell. Designers, students, start-ups, educators, marketers, policy-makers, managers, academics and business leaders are also encouraged.
• Abstracts should include a short description of: the project, user groups, design process, outcomes, and any measures of success.

Timetable for submission:

• 25 July 2011: abstracts of 200 words sent to Sara Pérez at sperez@technosite.es
• Abstracts reviewed by editorial committee.
• 15 September 2011: notification of acceptance to authors
• 15 September 2011 to 7 November 2011: Authors of accepted abstracts work on developing a complete chapter of their work. This will be no more than 750 words and will include images.
• 7 November 2011: Chapters submitted to be reviewed by editorial committee
• 19 December 2011: Feedback on chapters given to authors
• 20 February 2012: ‘Camera-ready’ chapters submitted by authors for inclusion in the book
• 15 April 2012: Book printed
• May 2012: Book launched

Editorial Committee:

Lead editors:

Jesús Hernández, Dirección de Accesibilidad Universal, Fundación ONCE

Finn Petren, President, EIDD – Design for All Europe

Editors:

Avril Accolla, Vice-President, EIDD – Design for All Italia

Onny Eikhaug, Programme Leader, Norwegian Design Council

Rama Gheerawo, Deputy Director, Helen Hamlyn Centre, Royal College of Art

Peter Neumann, EDAD

Chris Ramsden, President, Chartered Society of Designers

Key contacts:

Book facilitator:

Merih Kunur, based in UK

merih.kunur@network.rca.ac.uk