Hello Colleagues:
I thought you would find the following newsletter of interest. Item 1
is entitled: Visual Memory Is Key To Use Of Graphic Interfaces. I have
attended the entire newsletter.
Regards,
Robert
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Jellinek" <dan@headstar.com>
To: <eaccess@headstar.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 11:32 AM
Subject: E-Access Bulletin: Issue 109, January 2009
> ++E-ACCESS BULLETIN
> Access To Technology For All, Regardless Of Ability
> - ISSUE 109, January 2009.
>
> A Headstar Publication.
> http://www.headstar.com/eab/ .
>
> Sponsored by:
> Ford Motor Company
> ( http://www.ford.co.uk ).
>
> Please forward this free bulletin to others (subscription details at the
> end). We conform to the accessible Text Email Newsletter (TEN)
> Standard:
> http://www.headstar.com/ten/ .
>
>
> ++E-Access '09: Technology For All
> - Access To All Technologies By People With Disabilities
> - Fifth Annual Conference And Exhibition
> http://www.headstar-events.com/eaccess09/
>
> In an ageing population, and in tough economic times, ensuring all
> your customers, service users and staff are included in everything you
> do is more vital than ever, from your externally-facing websites to
> internal IT systems.
>
> E-Access Bulletin's fifth annual conference and exhibition on access to
> technology by people with disabilities is taking place on 23rd April
> 2009 at Olympia Conference Centre in London. Our keynote speaker is
> Bill Thompson, technology critic and broadcaster, who will explore the
> day's key themes.
>
> Other speakers include Graeme Whippy, Senior Manager, Lloyds TSB
> IT Accessibility Group; Shadi Abou-Zahra, of the W3C Web
> Accessibility Initiative, on the new international web access guidelines
> WCAG 2.0; Julie Howell, Chair of the committee developing a new
> British Standard for web accessibility BS8878; and Damon Rose,
> Editor of the award-winning BCC disability website 'Ouch', on the
> future of accessibility.
>
> Places cost just £195 +VAT for public sector delegates; £295 +VAT
> for private sector; and £165 + VAT for small charities and non-profits
> (turnover less than £150k a year). To find out more and sign up today,
> visit:
> http://www.headstar-events.com/eaccess09/
>
> [Special notice ends].
>
>
> ++Issue 109 Contents.
>
> +1: Visual Memory Is Key To Use Of Graphic Interfaces
> - Phase 1 findings from survey of blind programmers.
>
> 02: Tech Industry Slams 'Fragmented' EU Inclusion Policy
> - Warning of 'massive failure' by member states.
>
> 03: Sign Language Videos And Virtual Tours Win Cultural Awards
> British Library among Jodi Mattes prizewinners.
>
> News in Brief: 04: Driving Innovation - computer exam system; 05:
> Future Build - ICT access in schools; 06: Language Access - web
> speech translation.
>
> Section Two: 'The Inbox' - Readers' Forum.
> 07: Double Opt-In - Captcha alternative; 08: Style Problems? -
> possible glitch with browser tool.
>
> Section Three: Special Report - Access To The Web.
> 09: Quality, Not Quantity: The Dutch government's IT agency has
> developed a set of principles whereby web-based information can be
> viewed on as many devices as possible, boosting accessibility and
> helping ensure it will be future-proofed against changes in technology.
> Dan Jellinek reports on this and other key European web access case
> studies, including the French Railway's ticketing site.
>
> [Contents ends].
>
>
> ++Section One: News.
>
>
> +01: Visual Memory Is Key To Use Of Graphic Interfaces.
>
> New research has found it is easier for blind computer programmers to
> use and develop graphical user interfaces (GUIs) when they have
> previously been sighted and retain some visual memory. This memory
> helps programmers to visually represent GUIs, even if the interfaces
> themselves were designed after they had lost their sight, it found.
>
> The research, termed the 'Combine project' (
> http://fastlink.headstar.com/hayhoe1 ),
> was conducted by Dr. Simon Hayhoe, editor of the 'Eco' collaborative
> website on blindness and the arts.
>
> GUIs are rapidly replacing older text-based mainframe systems. These
> text-based systems were preferred by programmers who had no visual
> memory and so had never experienced GUIs.
>
> Hayhoe told delegates at last week's BETT 09 educational technology
> conference in London that social and cultural factors have also
> influenced opinion on blind people, often causing them to be
> underestimated and limiting educational opportunities. There are also
> generational and educational factors in how blind people work with
> new technologies. "We can't think of blindness as just a perceptive
> problem", he said.
>
> The ongoing research project surveyed a group of computer
> programmers registered as blind; those born blind; those with
> assimilated blindness (someone who went blind during the period of 4-
> 18-years-old); and those with visual memory (people going blind in
> adulthood).
>
> Participants were asked whether they used text-based programming
> environments or GUIs, and for the latter, how these were represented
> or imagined by the individual, for example with the use of visual
> metaphors to navigate the system.
>
> The work could help inform future interface design, Hayhoe said.
> Areas he hopes to address in a second phase of the study include the
> motivations of blind students who become programmers, and whether
> it is common for programmers with visual memory to reject the use of
> Braille. This last point arises after the case studies of those with
> visual
> memory showed that they preferred to use suitably adapted mainstream
> methods to understand programming languages.
>
>
> +02: Tech Industry Slams 'Fragmented' EU Inclusion Policy.
>
> The lack of a coherent approach to boosting technology accessibility
> across European nations has been attacked by a leading technology
> industry spokesman.
>
> Mark McGann, Director General of the European Information,
> Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry
> Association (EICTA), told the recent European Commission Vienna
> conference on digital inclusion that the lack of a cohesive approach in
> this field has been "a massive failure".
>
> He said the situation with accessibility was similar to that found with
> the switchover to digital television, which has happened in a
> fragmented fashion across Europe. "Too often we don't have one
> Europe, a single market. We have been advocating a single European
> approach to switchover for years."
>
> Governments need to set a regulatory framework for accessibility,
> McGann said, but "we don't want 27 policies" - policies should be
> unified and co-ordinated at a European level.
>
> Both the unified and national policies should focus on the goals of
> accessibility, not the specific means of attaining them, he said. "We do
> not recommend that individual governments go into technologies or try
> to choose a technological winner, that would fail. [But] now more than
> ever, governments have an obligation to show leadership in this
> domain."
>
> On the other hand, there were positive signs, McGann said. With
> digital TV, for example, once the policy side becomes more co-
> ordinated, the technology itself "will be much more accessible than
> analogue ever was."
>
>
> +03: Sign Language Videos And Virtual Tours Win Cultural Awards.
>
> The National Trust, the British Museum and the V&A are among the
> recipients of last month's annual Jodi awards for excellence in
> accessible cultural websites and digital media (
> http://fastlink.headstar.com/jodi2 ).
>
> The British Museum won the Excellence in Web Accessibility Award
> for its BSL Schools Web Project (
> http://fastlink.headstar.com/bm1 ). The museum worked with the Frank
> Barnes Primary School for deaf children in London to produce videos
> for some of the exhibits in British Sign Language (BSL).
>
> The Excellence in Accessible Digital Media Award was scooped up by
> the National Trust for a series of accessible virtual tours. Some 14
> tours are currently active and a further eight are still in development by
> the Trust's partner in the project Corvidae (
> http://corvidae.co.uk/panoramas/ ).
>
> The Victoria and Albert museum picked up the Excellence for People
> with a Learning Disability Award for a series of art-based educational
> workshops for people with learning difficulties which is now in its
> third year. The project is called Outside Pathways (
> http://www.outsideinpathways.org.uk/ ).
>
>
>
> ++News in Brief:
>
> +04: Driving Innovation: An accessible examination system to allow
> disabled people to study for basic computer user qualifications,
> including the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), has been
> developed by the British Computer Society. The Multi Accessible Test
> System allows candidates to sit the ECDL with a text-only option or
> with video clips showing sign language interpretation or synthetic
> narration accompaniment:
> http://fastlink.headstar.com/bcs4
>
> +05: Future Build: Local IT accessibility and special educational needs
> experts and professionals must be allowed to be involved closely with
> local council's projects to build new schools under the government's
> Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, the charity
> AbilityNet has warned. In a statement released at this month's
> education technology conference BETT 09, AbiltyNet said BSF was a
> wonderful opportunity, but it also presented "huge potential pitfalls" if
> the needs of pupils with disabilities and SEN are overlooked in the
> planning stages of school building projects:
> http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/edu_bsf .
>
> +06: Language Access: A new version of the 'Talklets' talking web
> page system from Textic includes real-time spoken translation of
> English text into French, Spanish, German, Polish or Chinese. The
> system - which embeds code into participating websites to access
> software on the company's servers - uses the Google translation
> feature to create a written translation and then converts this into
> speech. Word and pdf documents can also be translated into foreign
> speech, and further languages are promised in 'the near future':
> http://www.textic.com .
>
> [Section One ends].
>
>
> ++Sponsored Notice: Fortune Cookie
> - Web Sites That Really Work.
>
> Fortune Cookie's dedicated web accessibility team makes sure that
> everyone finds the web sites we design easy to use. As well as being
> accessible, Fortune Cookie sites are beautiful and deliver stunning
> return-on-investment. They're award-winning too. In 2007, our work
> was nominated for major web design awards 11 times.
>
> Legal & General, Kuoni, Diabetes UK, FT Business - just some of the
> big name brands on Fortune Cookie's client list.
>
> Every business can benefit from making its web site more accessible.
> If you'd like to know what accessibility can do for your business, talk
> to Fortune Cookie.
>
> Visit our web site at:
> http://www.fortunecookie.co.uk
>
> Julie Howell is our Director of Accessibility. Email Julie at:
> Julie.Howell@fortunecookie.co.uk .
>
> [Sponsored Notice ends].
>
>
> ++Sponsored Notice: Adept Transcription
> - Alternative Formats At Affordable Prices.
>
> When you want alternative formats for disabled colleagues, customers
> and staff, call Adept.
>
> Formats we produce include audio, audio description, Braille, BSL,
> Easy Read, e-docs for websites, large print, Makaton, Moon and sub-
> titles, at prices from a penny a word.
>
> Whether handling a newsletter, training DVD, equality scheme, public
> service leaflet, contract or consultation, we provide:
> - One-stop shop for all formats
> - Products quality-checked by users
> - Corporate presentation including your house style
> - Fast turnaround of one document or thousands
> - Multi-format discounts
> - Accessible packaging
>
> Contact us at:
> Tel: 0208 133 5418 (precede with 18001 for typetalk)
> Email transcription@adept-uk.org
>
> [Sponsored Notice ends]
>
>
> ++Section Two: 'The Inbox'
> - Readers' Forum.
>
> Please email all contributions or responses to:
> inbox@headstar.com .
>
> +07: DOUBLE OPT-IN: Tedd Sperling, a freelance programmer based
> in the US and frequent correspondent to E-Access Bulletin on the
> inaccessibility of most 'CAPTCHA' tools (the distorted visual or audio
> codes users of some websites must decode to register).
>
> Further to the report in our November issue of a talk given by Robin
> Christopherson of AbilityNet, referring to problems with registering on
> the Google website, Tedd writes: "As you may remember, I've given
> the CAPTCHA 'need' quite a bit of thought and investigation over the
> years. I've written all sorts of CAPTCHAs, including an audio one.
>
> "However, my current solution is simply an automated double-opt-in
> method for anyone wanting to post a comment, as can be demonstrated
> here:
> http://sperling.com/four-things-clients-should-know.php .
>
> "I don't think this method is too much to ask of users and I don't think
> it is inaccessible. Additionally, this method throws the burden of
> banning posters onto my shoulders and not on the user by making them
> pass a CAPTCHA test.
>
> "A double opt-in list is simply an email confirmation process that must
> be completed before allowing a person to post to a site. If a person
> wants to make a comment, they first submit their email address to the
> form at the bottom of any article. The form then records the email
> address given in a database; and emails a 'token' (a unique string of
> numbers and letters) to the user as part of a link.
>
> If the user clicks the link they are taken back to the web site and their
> email address is confirmed. After that, whenever they want to post,
> they can do so without hindrance.
>
> If a spammer wants to post something, then they don't normally go
> through the confirmation process. However, if they do and I don't like
> the post, then I simply ban the IP [internet address]. Thus far, it's
> worked for me."
>
> [Further comments please to inbox@headstar.com].
>
>
> +08: STYLE PROBLEMS? Diana Monahan of Moor End Technology
> College, Huddersfield, writes in to describe a problem she has
> encountered in attempting to use a website offering free accessible web
> browser style sheets to download, that has been mentioned in the past
> in E-Access Bulletin.
>
> "This may not be in your remit, but perhaps through the bulletin we
> can find a solution or an alternative," writes Diana. "In the past I have
> used the website
> http://www.oneformat.com/
> to decide which style sheet to use with my visually impaired pupils. I
> went to the site recently and was told by the school software that
> "Virus/spyware Troj/Comic-Fam has been detected in [the site]".
>
> "Is there any way of getting the problem sorted as this was a very
> useful website and I don't know of an alternative?"
>
> We have tried to contact the site's owner, but so far without success. If
> he or any reader is able to advise whether this is a problem with the site
> or might rather be a problem with Diana's local computer, their
> responses would be most welcome, to:
> inbox@headstar.com .
>
>
> [Section Two ends].
>
>
> ++Special Notice: Opportunities and risks of open source software in
> the public sector.
> -A Headstar Training/Positive Internet Masterclass
> Thursday 05 February 2009, Central London
> http://www.headstar-training.com/Open/
>
> Free and open source software have revolutionised ICT. In the public
> sector, an increasing number of bodies are making use of these
> technologies.
>
> Cost is the main driver, since open source software has few of the costs
> and licensing restrictions of traditional software. However, the area is
> complex, and the savings analysis - taking into account training, full
> cost of ownership, and other issues - can lead to confusion.
>
> Our masterclass can help. In our unique open source software overview
> training course aimed at the public sector, Nick Mailer unpicks the
> major controversies and myths surrounding free and open source
> software.
>
> Nick will illustrate how you can leverage this software into your ICT
> environment, and move on safely to larger scale deployments. He
> shows how best to get support, advice and maintenance, and how best
> to secure your investment. To book a place visit:
> http://www.headstar-training.com/Open/ .
>
> [Special notice ends]
>
>
> ++Special Notice: Web Accessibility Forum.
>
> Accessify Forum is a discussion forum devoted to all topics relating to
> web accessibility. Topics cover everything from 'Beginners' and 'Site
> building and testing' through to projects such as the new accessibility
> testing tool WaiZilla and the accessibility of the open source forum
> software itself.
>
> All you need to register is a working email address, so come along and
> join in the fun at:
> http://www.accessifyforum.com .
>
> [Special notice ends].
>
>
> ++Section Three: Special Report
> - Access To The Web.
>
> +09: Quality, Not Quantity.
> - by Dan Jellinek.
>
> Voluntary guidelines on web accessibility are all very well, but there is
> nothing like a law for ensuring everyone falls into line. Such was the
> message to emerge from last month's European Commission
> conference on digital inclusion held in Vienna.
>
> Alexander Fase, Web Guidelines Project Manager at the Dutch
> government ICT agency ICTU, told delegates that his organisation had
> developed a non-technical, 'quality' approach to accessibility standards
> which focused on ensuring all information could be accessed through
> any channel, now and in the future.
>
> Such an approach was vital in an ageing society, he said: it was
> estimated for example that the number of people in Holland aged over
> 55 would double by 2030, and the number of people with some level of
> impaired vision would double by 2020.
>
> "Old-school websites are only re-usable in a limited way - they are
> technologically complicated, and you had to redesign for a new
> corporate identity," Fase said. By contrast, the quality approach tries to
> ensure information will be available in the future, regardless of the
> emergence of new browsers and access devices. The approach is based
> around 125 quality requirements including keeping structure and
> design as separate as possible; and building websites according to the
> principle of 'layered design' (see
> http://www.webguidelines.nl ).
> His unit is also working on a business case for accessibility, to be
> published in 2009, Fase said.
>
> One of the most powerful statistics offered by Fase was that of the
> increase in accessibility of central government websites in Holland
> since it became a legal requirement. "Now web guidelines are
> mandatory, the score on accessibility is 10 times better than average,"
> he said.
>
> Matt May, Accessibility Engineer with Adobe Systems, agreed that the
> increasing use of multiple channels and devices to access web content
> meant that the basic requirements of what has been seen as
> accessibility for people with sensory impairments or disabilities are
> actually important for everybody.
>
> "I'm using a small notebook with a limited display so adjustment of
> text size is a universal issue now."
>
> It is also vital to realise that most people creating web pages do not
> actually use HTML, but rather intermediary 'authoring tools' such as
> Dreamweaver or Microsoft Word; programming tools; database-
> backed tools; or user-generated content, May said. "Today, many
> people are creating web content but may have never seen the code," he
> said.
>
> This means that the World Wide Web Consortium's 'ATAG'
> guidelines on the accessibility of web authoring tools are just as
> important as the consortium's better-known web content accessibility
> guidelines, (WCAG) he said. "As an industry, standards are very
> important to us, because we can take them to our developers."
>
> One case study of a major European retail website which was given an
> accessibility overhaul found that even the largest and busiest sites can
> be improved without major disruption.
>
> Voyages-SNCF, the ticket purchasing website of the French national
> railway, is the leading online retailer in France, turning over 1.86
> billion euros of revenue in 2007 from some 700,000 daily users.
>
> Christelle Lortet, e-Accessibility Project Officer at Voyages-SNCF,
> told the conference that accessibility had been a goal for the site for
> several years, with improvements made steadily as parts of the site
> entered their natural upgrade cycle. The organisation also funded
> accessibility training for everyone involved, including web developers,
> graphic designers and Lortet herself, as project manager.
>
> There were three main reasons for the move: "It was our desire, and
> the law, and a competitive advantage."
>
> Lortet had a powerful message for those who think that making a
> website accessible means that one has to change its look and feel to
> something less sophisticated: on two slides, she showed what the
> Voyages-SNCF website looked like before its accessibility overhaul,
> and what it looked like afterwards. The two pages looked almost
> identical, with some small colour changes to improve contrast: the
> huge majority of changes are hidden in the code, she said. "This should
> convince any CEO who thinks that accessibility would force a
> company to change the design of its web page," she said.
>
> [Section Three ends].
>
>
> ++End Notes.
>
> +How to Receive the Bulletin.
>
> To subscribe to this free monthly bulletin, email
> eab-subs@headstar.com
> with 'subscribe eab' in the subject header. You can list other email
> addresses to subscribe in the body of the message. Please encourage all
> your colleagues to sign up! To unsubscribe at any time, put
> 'unsubscribe eab' in the subject header.
>
> Please send comments on coverage or leads to Dan Jellinek at:
> dan@headstar.com .
>
> Copyright 2009 Headstar Ltd http://www.headstar.com .
> The Bulletin may be reproduced as long as all parts including this
> copyright notice are included, and as long as people are always
> encouraged to subscribe with us individually by email. Please also
> inform the editor when you are reproducing our content. Sections of
> the bulletin may be quoted as long as they are clearly sourced as 'taken
> from e-access bulletin, a free monthly email newsletter', and our web
> site address:
> http://www.headstar.com/eab
> is also cited.
>
> +Personnel:
> Editor - Dan Jellinek
> Reporters: Tristan Parker, Majeed Saleh,
> Editorial advisor - Kevin Carey
>
> ISSN 1476-6337 .
>
> [Issue 109 ends.]
>
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