No / This chapter explores the use of mobile devices in supporting practice based learning for health and social care students and practitioners, against a of current UK disability legislation. The authors present the ‘Mobile Enabled Disabled Students’ case study in depth, accounting for its methodology and discussing the outcomes and implications. They will demonstrate how the features of mobile devices can support the organisational, memory and writing needs of dyslexic students specifically and how they can add value generally to learning and assessment processes. They make recommendations for implementing mobile assessment for practice learning based on a theory of mobile learning designed for accessibility.

In a descriptive survey, the accessibility of primary healthcare services in Molemole was explored and factors impacting on accessibility were identified. The research sample consisted of 134 community members who visited one of five clinics (one a mobile clinic) in Molemole. Questionnaires, information lists, observations and field notes were used as research instruments. Ethical principles were adhered to, and validity and reliability maintained. Findings indicated that geographical, financial and cultural accessibility were satisfactory. Functional accessibility seemed problematic. The main reasons for dissatisfaction were attitudes, shortages of staff, unavailability of treatment, dysfunctional hours and fragmented services. Recommendations included optimal utilisation of staff and resources, improvements on infrastructure and support systems, community involvement in decision-making, as well as reassessing service point locations and policies on medications, supplies and equipment. / Health Studies / M. A. (Health Studies)

Thesis (Dr. P.H.)--University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: B, page: 0969. Adviser: Charles E. Begley. Includes bibliographical references.

In a descriptive survey, the accessibility of primary healthcare services in Molemole was explored and factors impacting on accessibility were identified. The research sample consisted of 134 community members who visited one of five clinics (one a mobile clinic) in Molemole. Questionnaires, information lists, observations and field notes were used as research instruments. Ethical principles were adhered to, and validity and reliability maintained. Findings indicated that geographical, financial and cultural accessibility were satisfactory. Functional accessibility seemed problematic. The main reasons for dissatisfaction were attitudes, shortages of staff, unavailability of treatment, dysfunctional hours and fragmented services. Recommendations included optimal utilisation of staff and resources, improvements on infrastructure and support systems, community involvement in decision-making, as well as reassessing service point locations and policies on medications, supplies and equipment. / Health Studies / M. A. (Health Studies)

Orientador: Silvana Aparecida Borsetti Gregório Vidotti / Banca: Maria Cândida soares Del-Masso / Banca: Marcos Luiz Mucheroni / Banca: Plácida Leopoldina Ventura Amorim da Costa Santos / Banca: Valter Vieira de Camargo / Resumo: A natureza atual da World Wide Web (Web) que destaca a participação colaborativa dos usuários em diversos ambientes informacionais digitais conduz ao desenvolvimento de diretrizes que enfocam a Arquitetura da Informação Digital Inclusiva para diferentes públicos nas mais diversas ambiências informacionais. O conceito de acessibilidade digital visa à inclusão de usuários com deficiência em ambientes informacionais digitais, com foco na melhoria da interação dos sujeitos com o ambiente de modo a proporcionar a melhoria de qualidade de vida. A pesquisa propõe diretrizes para um ambiente informacional digital inclusivo, visando apontar os elementos de acessibilidade que permitem a promoção da inclusão informacional digital, de forma a destacar os referenciais da Arquitetura da Informação Digital, de recomendações internacionais e das estruturas de representação das informações, em especial dos atributos de acessibilidade, com o olhar da Ciência da Informação e das novas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação. Têm-se como hipóteses: os atributos de acessibilidade utilizados para representação de conteúdos em ambientes informacionais digitais não contemplam satisfatoriamente as descrições dos recursos digitais que atendam as necessidades especiais dos usuários; a Arquitetura da Informação carece de novos elementos de acessibilidade digital com foco nas necessidades especiais dos usuários; as recomendações de acessibilidade internacionais, isoladamente, não fornecem subsídios para o acesso universal. Tem-se como tese a necessidade de desenvolvimento de metodologias com diretrizes que contemplem os elementos de acessibilidade digital focados na tarefa do usuário. Como problema de pesquisa tem-se que a de que as atuais metodologias e recomendações utilizadas para o desenvolvimento de ambientes informacionais digitais não contemplam integralmente... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract:The current nature of World Wide Web (Web), which highlights the collaborative participation of users in some digital information environments, lead to development of guidelines with a focus on Inclusive Digital Information Architecture for a different audiences in multiples informational ambiences. The concept of digital accessibility aims to include users with special needs in digital information environments, focusing on improving the interaction between subjects and the environment in order to provide improved quality of life. This research proposes guidelines for a inclusive digital information environment, aiming to identify the elements of accessibility that allow the promotion of inclusion digital information, in order to highlight the references of the Architecture of Digital Information, the international recommendations and the structures representation of information (specially accessibility attributes), with the look of Information Science and New Technologies of Information and Communication. The research have the follow hypotheses: the accessibilities attributes used to represent the content in digital information environments do not satisfactorily contemplate descriptions of digital resources that supplies the special needs of users; the Information Architecture needs new elements of digital accessibility with a focus on special needs of users, international accessibility guidelines, in a singular way, does not provide subsidies to a universal access. The thesis is as to the need to develop methodologies with guidelines that contemplate the elements of digital accessibility focused on the task of the user. The research problem is that actual methodologies and recommendations used for the development of digital information environments do not cover all the elements of accessibility with a focus on user needs. The proposition is to present, through a methodological approach... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

In an increasingly digital world, the accessibility of digital services is an important question of inclusion. Despite judicial requirements for accessibility of digital public services, the inclusion of accessibility into design practices is a new research area.   This research project explores how to facilitate the inclusion of accessibility into design practices by creating a methodology that centres around an accessibility maturity assessment. The result of the assessment forms the basis for the selection of design methods that are mapped to the attributes of the model.   Preliminary research consists of an interview study, desk research and unorganized research activities. A case study is conducted at the Swedish Tax Agency, the result of which form the basis of the design intervention. Case study data is analysed with the help of an accessibility maturity model, which also serves as the core of the design intervention. For the intervention, adapted, proven design methods are connected to the attributes of the accessibility maturity model. A proof of concept is created in the form of a handbook and validated with designers and employees at the Tax Agency. The validation shows that there is promise in the proposed methodology, as the use of the design practices ensure that accessibility is a part of the entire design process. Further research should investigate the use of the handbook in a case study in order to consolidate the practicalities of the methodology, as well as validate the utility of the methodology in a practical application.   Keywords: digital accessibility, digital public service, maturity model, accessibility maturity assessment, UX practices, universal design, disability   Contact: linneamichel@gmail.com

Purpose –Comparing the accessibility of e-commerce for General Merchandise, between major retailers and novelties, in the conformance of web accessibility guidelines, and the implementation of rich internet applications specifications. So that to figure out whether the differences exist between them, if so, what are the differences, and analyzing upcoming e-commerce and established e-commerce.  Method – The descriptive and quantitative case studies were used to evaluated 45 websites respectively from major retailers and novelties in General Merchandise of e-commerce, where sample websites were selected from Alexa’s rank lists. Then the WAVE tool, Accessibility Quantitative Metric (WAQM), and Fona assessment were applied for analyzing cases for representing the accessibilities and answering the research questions of purpose.  Findings – ARIA specifications as a kind of technological solution really had positive functions on web accessibility when only focusing on accessibility guidelines, because the novelty websites with less ARIA attributes resulting in lower accessibility levels generally, even though there were also many other elements that can affect accessibility.  Implications – In the main branch of General Merchandise, the degree of web accessibility in major retailer websites was better than that in novelties, which means as far as e-commerce is concerned, the accessibility of mature websites that had been established for a long time was contemporarily stronger than that of new websites with creative products.  Limitations – From the perspective of the sample, there were limitations in sample sources, size, websites languages, while in the technical aspect, the evaluation of dynamic contents just aims at keyboard navigation, and the tool of Fona assessment also had restrictions.

Civil engineers have many responsibilities to the public, among them designing safe, efficient, and reliable structures and infrastructure. But what is the responsibility of civil engineers towards ensuring that intended users can use these structures and infrastructure without encountering barriers? This research looks at the intersection of universal design (UD) and civil engineering to find if civil engineering students should learn about accessibility and UD during their undergraduate education and if civil engineering professionals should be held accountable when barriers are designed and constructed into the built environment. To answer these questions a survey was distributed to 222 building design professionals to gather their opinion and experience on the subject. Results show that civil engineers have limited knowledge of UD and accessibility requirements in the built environment and that they overwhelmingly believe that students should learn about these subjects during their civil engineering education. Furthermore, most participants agree that civil engineers do have a responsibility to ensure that the built environment is accessible to everyone. Based on the survey results, it is recommended to integrate a course about accessibility and UD in civil engineering curriculums. The curriculums of undergraduate civil engineering programs at Canadian universities were analyzed and it was found that no course discussing these subjects currently exists, but that there is space to implement them in a broader “social impacts of civil engineering” course. It is recommended that the CEAB recognizes accessibility and UD as useful and necessary subjects of education for civil engineering students. Finally, case studies of recent accessibility assessments of buildings are presented. It was found that while progress is being made in designing and constructing accessible structures, many are still not meeting all possible UD recommendations. The participation of professional civil engineers who have learned about accessibility and UD during their civil engineering education could improve the outcome of these projects. The findings of this thesis indicate that it is time to acknowledge civil engineers’ responsibility towards society and the need for a consistent approach to education about its social impacts, in particular about accessibility and universal design.

Today's digital products, services and experiences need to be designed with accessibility in mind in order to provide equal opportunities in use and enjoyment for the growing group of users with permanent, temporary and situational impairments. However, the topic still seems to be an afterthought in practice. With the research question 'What are the enablers and inhibitors for integrating accessibility into digital design processes from a systemic perspective?', this thesis aims to identify factors that drive or hinder accessibility efforts among design practitioners in Germany and how these factors may interrelate. Accessibility integration is therefore defined as a system. The research is based on a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with four UX Designers, two UI Designers and one Chief Creative Officer with varying experiences regarding accessibility in past projects. By conducting a content analysis, the responses are grouped into categories and further visualized in the form of system archetypes to understand systemic behavior. The findings indicate that integration of accessibility into digital design processes is influenced by many enabling and inhibiting factors, of technical, individual, societal, institutional, regulatory, economic and financial as well as cliental and organizational nature, turning the topic into a complex, wicked problem. While economic reasons were a dominant force driving the system's behavior, it appears that the underlying mental models of all actors involved are significantly contributing to the state of accessibility in design practice.

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