Всё об образовании

By Vandenbark, R Todd

In March 2007, eighty-two countries signed the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including Canada, the European Community, and the United States. The convention's purpose was "to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity"1 Among the many proscriptions for assuring respect and equal treatment of people with disabilities (PWD) under the law, signatories agreed to take appropriate measures: (g) To promote access for persons with disabilities to new information and communications technologies and systems, including the Internet; and

(h) To promote the design, development, production and distribution of accessible information and communications technologies and systems at an early stage, so that these technologies and systems become accessible at minimum cost.

In addition, the convention seeks to guarantee equal access to information by doing the following:

(c) Urging private entities that provide services to the general public, including through the Internet, to provide information and services in accessible and usable formats for persons with disabilities; and

(d) Encouraging the mass media, including providers of information through the Internet, to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities.2

Because the Internet and its design standards are evolving at a dizzying rate, it is difficult to create websites that are both cutting-edge and standards-compliant.

This paper evaluates the challenge of Web design as it relates to individuals with disabilities, exploring current standards, and offering recommendations for accessible development. Examining the provision of LT for this demographic is vital because according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. public includes about 51.2 million noninstitutionalized people living with disabilities, 32.5 million of which are severely disabled. This means that nearly one-fifth of the U.S. public faces some physical, mental, sensory, or other functional impairment (18 percent in 2002).3 Because a library's mandate is to make its resources accessible to everyone, it is important to attend to the special challenges faced by patrons with disabilities and to offer appropriate services with those special needs in mind.

Current U.S. regulations, standards, and guidelines

In 1990 Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the first comprehensive legislation mandating equal treatment under the law for PWD. The ADA prohibits discrimination against PWD in employment, public services, public accommodations, and in telecommunications. Title II of the ADA mandates that all state governments, local governments, and public agencies provide access for PWD to all of their activities, services, and programs. Since school, public, and academic libraries are under the purview of Title II, they must "furnish auxiliary aids and services when necessary to ensure effective communication."4 Though predating widespread use of the Internet, the law's intent points toward the adoption and adaptation of appropriate technologies to allow persons with a variety of disabilities to access electronic resources in a way that is most effective for them.

Changes to Section 508 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act enacted in 1998 and 2000 introduced the first standards for "accessible information technology recognized by the federal government."5 Many state and local governments have since passed laws applying the standards of Section 508 to government agencies and related services. According to the Access Board, the independent federal agency charged with assuring compliance with a variety of laws regarding services to PWD, information and communication technology (ICT) includes

any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment, that is used in the creation, conversion, or duplication of data or information. The term electronic and information technology includes, but is not limited to, telecommunications products (such as telephones), information kiosks and transaction machines, World Wide Web sites, multimedia, and office equipment such as copiers and fax machines.6

The Access Board further specifies guidelines for "Web-based intranet and internet information and applications," which are directly relevant to the provision of such services in libraries.7 What follows is a detailed examination of these standards with examples to assist in understanding and implementation.

(a) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided. Assistive technology cannot yet describe what pictures and other images look like; they require meaningful text-based information associated with each picture. If an image directs the user to do something, the associated text must explain the purpose and meaning of the image. This way, someone who cannot see the screen can understand and navigate the page successfully. This is generally accomplished by using the "alt" and "longdesc" attributes for images: . However, these aids also can clutter a page when not used properly. The current versions of the most popular screen-reader software do not limit the amount of "alt" text they can read. However, Freedom Scientific's JAWS 6.x divides the "alt" attribute into distinct chunks of 125 characters each (excluding spaces) and reads them separately as if they were separate graphics.8 This can be confusing to the end user. Longer content can be put into a separate text file and the file linked to using the "longdesc" attribute. When a page contains audio or video files, a text alternative needs to be provided. For audio files such as interviews, lectures, and podcasts, a link to a transcript of the audio file must be immediately available. For video clips such as those on YouTube, captions must accompany the clip.

Свежая реальность обнаружилась у юзеров ресурса Fidel.ru. Инициаторы гарантируют, что-что услуга «Предзаказ» разрешает российским потребителям узнать свежие релизы музыки первыми.

Реализация устроена будто невозможно проще. На веб-сайте Fidel.ru сделана отдельная фазис, куда выгружается перечень всех намечаемых в обозримое завтра релизов. Юзер подбирает нужный альбом и оплачивает заявочка в любое комфортное время. В сутки официального релиза бери почту потребителя приходит уведомление о том, словно альбом стал доступен для скачивания.

Сейчас носиться в поисках по торговым центрам и следить гдазами за всеми новостями не обязательно: Fidel позаботился и оборона это — все будущие релизы первостепенный массы отечесвенных и западных лейблов отражаются общей лентой. Подобный расклад позволяет устроить услугу максимум комфортной для того клиентов. Необходимо только отметить желаемые покупки, и пуще не мыслить о них.

Кроме того позволительно подписаться на информационную рассылку из данной рубрики, используя фильтр по мнению жанрам либо отдельным правообладателям. Новость о волюм, что на альбом вашего любимого исполнителя судя по всему оформить «Предзаказ» придет по указанному почтовому адресу.

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