Investigating the problems faced by older adults and people with disabilities in online environments

Submitted by mlb78 on Fri, 09/16/2016 - 17:23
TitleInvestigating the problems faced by older adults and people with disabilities in online environments
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2007
AuthorsCurran, K., Walters, N., and Robinson, D.
JournalBehaviour & Information Technology
Volume26
Issue6
Pagination447-453
ISSN Number0144929X
Accession Number27217264
Keywordsolder adults, Web accessibility, Website Accessibility, world wide web
AbstractIrresponsible and inaccessible web design causes unnecessary problems to certain website users. By applying the web content accessibility guidelines to a website the amount of possible users who can successfully view the content of that site will increase especially for those who are in the disabled and older adult categories of online users. We present the results of assessing the compliance of a selection of websites with guidelines set out by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). It was found that most sites evaluated were inaccessible to those with disabilities. Only one of the selected sites passed all three priority levels set out by the WAI. In many cases, minor modifications to sites will make them accessible to people with disabilities. Therefore it can only be speculated that the reasons for lack of conformance may vary from lack of awareness of the issue, time constraints or the general stress of having to keep up with new technologies. Companies who overlook users with disabilities however may be doing so at long-term risk to their legal position, public image and ultimately business success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
NotesThis study examines a set of websites against the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) for older adults and people with disabilities. Sites being examined consist of four categories: the government sites, the university sites, the shopping sites and the charitable sites. The automated software being used was called Cynthia. Results showed that most sites were inaccessible.
URLhttp://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01449290600740868
DOI10.1080/01449290600740868