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Web Accessibility for the Blind:. Corporate Social Responsibility or Litigation Avoidance?. Jonathan Frank Suffolk University Boston, MA. Background. 45m. blind individuals worldwide 1.3m. blind individuals in US (0.48% pop.) Web Accessibility Guidelines & Laws Lawsuits.
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Web Accessibility for the Blind: Corporate Social Responsibility or Litigation Avoidance? Jonathan Frank Suffolk University Boston, MA
Background • 45m. blind individuals worldwide • 1.3m. blind individuals in US (0.48% pop.) • Web Accessibility Guidelines & Laws • Lawsuits
Previous Work on Web Accessibility • Frustrated and annoyed blind users [Lazar et al, 2004] • Time-oriented accessibility ignored [Takagi 2004] • Website increasing complexity [Zeng et al 2004] • Developers use syntactical checking [Mankoff 2005] • Lack of training, client support, confusing guidelines, inadequate software tools [Lazar et al, 2004]
CSR Postures • Reactive • Defensive • Accommodative • Proactive
CSR Propensity +/- Product/ Service Type + Website Accessibility (CSR Posture) Perceived Litigation Threat + + Time - Web Media Complexity + Model
Measuring Accessibility • Enabling people with disabilities to perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web” [Henry 2006] • Limitation of popular tools • Alternative approach -- aDesigner – IBM • navigability and listenability metrics
Method • Wayback Machine • Initially sampled 1st occurrence of homepage 4/03, 2/06, & 6/07
Gains in Accessibility after Target Case Begins(Feb-06 to Jun-07)