Thursday, July 03, 2008

Report on electronic voting trials

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has provided a brief report on the two trials of electronically voting at the 2007 federal election. 1511 Defence personnel in Iraq, Solomon Islands, East Timor and Afghanistan voted electronically using
the Defence Restricted Network to communicate with a specially developed AEC system. 850 people used a separate system in Australia for those who are blind
or have low vision. Reports on the trials are being written for the Parliamentary committee which recommended the trials.

I used the low vision system and found it worked well. The system was similar to that used for the ACT elections and was developed by the same company. While e-voting has been controversial in the UK and the USA, the Australian trials appear to haven been uncontroversial. Neither trial involved use of the public Internet, with the defence system being a classified military network and the low vision system printing paper ballots to be scanned.

The ACT Electoral Commissioner talked 9 April 2008 about e-voting in Canberra to the ACT Society for Technology and the Law in a presentation entitled "E-voting; casting votes or casting doubt?".
In its review of the 2004 election, the Joint Standing
Committee on Electoral Matters recommended that
electronically assisted voting be trialled at the next federal
election. The Government supported these recommendations
and the trials went ahead at the 2007 election.

Defence e-voting trial

A total of 1511 Defence personnel on deployment in Iraq,
Solomon Islands, East Timor and Afghanistan cast their vote
electronically in the 2007 federal election.
The Defence e-voting trial saw cooperation between the AEC
and Defence in all matters of implementation. While the AEC
developed the software and housed the voting database,
the Defence Restricted Network was the medium used to
transport the encrypted votes.

E-voting trial for people who are blind
or have low vision

The AEC worked closely with a reference group, which
consisted of representatives of the major service providers
and peak bodies in the disability sector as well as Human
Rights Commissioner Graeme Innes. In developing the trial,
the AEC also looked at electronic voting systems in Victoria
and the ACT.

Nationally there were 850 votes cast using this system
in 29 sites.

Evaluations of the two trials are now being conducted for
Parliament’s consideration. ...

From: The Tally Board, No. 4, Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), June 2008


ps: Thanks to Sylvano for pointing this item out.

Labels: , ,

posted by Tom Worthington at 10:29 AM 0 comments links to this post

Monday, June 23, 2008

UK Government fails own web accessibility guidelines

The UK Government's Central Office of Information (COI) has set a minimum standard of accessibility for public sector websites. Unfortunately their web site detailing the policy fails to meet the standard set, makes misleading claims of conformance with the standard and does not comply with their own guidelines.

The COI has set a minimum standard of accessibility for new UK public sector websites at Level Double-A of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines . This is required as of December 2009 for central government departments and March 2011 for central government executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

The COI suggests using free and commercially available automated testing tools as part of measuring accessibility. However, applying one such test, the Web Accessibility Test (TAW), the COI's page failed with eight level 2 problems (excerpt of the report appended). This indicates that the page does not meet at Level Double-A of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The problems with the page are minor and easily corrected.

The COI's help page, states that the "... website's objective are to conform to the Guidelines for UK government websites, which support the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, Level AA, to ensure a Web accessibility standard have been achieved and are maintained." The statement is misleading, as it suggests the web site meets Level Double-A, when it does not. Also the statement does not use the wording suggested in COI's own policy document.

In contrast the Australian Government accessibility policy requires a lower level of compliance, to Level A of the W3C guidelines. The web page from the Australian Government Information Management Office (Australian equivalent to UK COI) stating this requirement not only meets this requirement, but exceeds it, passing the more stringent automated Level Double-A test (excerpt appended), which the UK COI failed.

UK Government Web Page Test

TAW Logo
TAW 3.0 (6/24/08 1:11 AM) Validation conform to WAI guidelines, W3C Recommendation 5 May 1999
Testing outcome: http://www.coi.gov.uk/guidance.php?page=131
Anar a la pàgina principal de Fundación CTIC
Test summary outcome

AutomaticHuman review
Priority 1049
Priority 2837
Priority 3Not analysed
2. Human review1. Human review1. Human review1. Human review2. Human review1. Human review2. Automatic1. Human review2. Human review1. Human review2. Human review1. Human review2. Human review1. Human review2. Human review
1. Human review1. Human review2. Human reviewImages from COI's public information films: Backwards (Fire Safety); Teacher (Road Safety); Arms Length (Firework Safety)
1. Human review1. Human review2. Human review
This page was printed from the COI website at 00:11 on Tuesday, 24 Jun 2008. It is subject to © Crown Copyright.
2. Human review1. Human review1. Human review1. Human review2. Human review1. Human review 2. Human review1. Human review1. Human review1. Human review2. Human review1. Human review

Found issues: ...

Priority 2[WAI] Priority 2 accessibility issues. A Web content developer should satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will remove significant barriers to accessing Web documents. 8 automatically detected problems and 37 problems that require human review have been found.

3.5 Use header elements to convey document structure and use them according to specification.

  • Human review required Verify that all headers are properly marked up ("h1"-"h6" elements).
  • Improper header nesting: Header levels must not increase by more than one level per heading. Do not use headings to create font effects; use style sheets to change font styles (1)
    • Line 32:

11.2 Avoid deprecated features of W3C technologies.

  • This HTML element uses deprecated attributes. (7)
    • Line 19:
    • Line 38:
    • Line 38:
    • Line 38:
    • Line 49:
      1. Line 54:
      2. Line 55:

...

From: TAW 3.0 Validation Testing outcome for http://www.coi.gov.uk/guidance.php?page=131, to WAI guidelines, W3C Recommendation 5 May 1999, as at 6/24/08

Australian Government Web Page Test

TAW Logo
TAW 3.0 (6/24/08 1:25 AM) Validation conform to WAI guidelines, W3C Recommendation 5 May 1999
Testing outcome: http://webpublishing.agimo.gov.au/Accessibility
Anar a la pàgina principal de Fundación CTIC
Test summary outcome

AutomaticHuman review
Priority 1030
Priority 2037
Priority 3Not analysed
2. Human review1. Human review1. Human review1. Human review2. Human review1. Human review2. Human review1. Human review1. Human review1. Human review2. Human review1. Human review1. Human review2. Human review1. Human review2. Human review

Accessibility

1. Human review2. Human reviewThis item is a mandatory requirement

Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a system is usable by as many people as possible without modification. Web pages often have access issues for people with disabilities or with technological constraints.

Australian Government departments and agencies are also required to maximise their use of new technologies by ensuring that their websites address access and equity issues for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Tell Me About?

The Australian Government aims to achieve fairer and more accessible government services and programs through its Access and Equity Strategy. The strategy seeks to promote fairness and responsiveness in the design, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of government services in a culturally diverse society.

The Government's Access and Equity Strategy is guided by the Access and Equity Framework (Department of Immigration and Citizenship) formerly known as the Accessible Government Services for All Framework. It was developed in 2006 in consultation with Australian Government agencies, taking into account their ability to contribute both as separate portfolios and to whole-of government responses to the challenges faced by our culturally diverse nation.

Its four principles, and the corresponding performance indicators, address key responsibilities of government:
  • Responsiveness – Extent to which programs and services are accessible, fair and responsive to the individual needs of clients
  • Communication – Open and effective channels of communication with all stakeholders
  • Accountability – Effective and transparent reporting and review mechanisms
  • Leadership – A whole of government approach to management of issues arising from Australia’s culturally and linguistically diverse society.

The framework suggests strategies for the implementation of these principles. It aims to assist agencies to analyse their performance and better share good practice responses to challenges and opportunities.

Progress in implementing the Access and Equity Strategy is published in the Access and Equity Annual Reports (Department of Immigration and Citizenship).

Why Must I?

Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 agencies must ensure that people with disabilities have the same fundamental rights to access information as the rest of the community.

Under the Commonwealth Disability Strategy, (Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Australian Government agencies are obligated to remove barriers which prevent people with disabilities from having access to their policies, programs and services.

Under the 2000 Government Online Strategy departments and agencies are required to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (World Wide Web Consortium).

Agencies must achieve level "A" conformance (all Priority 1 checkpoints are satisfied), and it is recommended that agencies achieve level "AA" conformance (all Priority 1 and Priority 2 checkpoints are satisfied).

The W3C guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with disabilities. However, following them will also make web content more available to all users. These guidelines do not discourage content developers from using images, video, etc., but rather explain how to make multimedia content more accessible to a wide audience.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

The W3C guidelines provide a series of checkpoints that can be used to ensure that websites are accessible. Each checkpoint has a priority level assigned by the Working Group based on the checkpoint's impact on accessibility.

Priority 1

W3C states that a web content developer must satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it impossible to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint is a basic requirement for some groups to be able to use Web documents.

Level of Compliance: The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's view is that compliance with the W3C WCAG 1.0 guidelines to the Single-A level is a minimum rather than a desirable outcome. Websites that demonstrate such compliance may still be difficult or impossible to access for many users with a disability.

Priority 2

W3C states that a web content developer should satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will remove significant barriers to accessing Web documents.

Priority 3

W3C states that a web content developer may address this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it somewhat difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will improve access to Web documents.

How Do I?

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission provides information on World Wide Web Accessibility standards, guidelines, tools and techniques.

Government resources

Other resources

Who Can Help?

A list of workshops and training is available from HREOC - World Wide Web Accessibility.

For queries and assistance contact Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission - 1. Human reviewdisabdis@humanrights.gov.au.

For further details regarding access and equity requirements, contact:

Multicultural Affairs Branch
Department of Immigration and Citizenship
1. Human reviewaccess&equity@immi.gov.au

What's Related?

2. Human review1. Human review1. Human review1. Human review2. Human review1. Human review...

From: TAW 3.0 Validation
Testing outcome for http://webpublishing.agimo.gov.au/Accessibility
conform to WAI guidelines, W3C Recommendation 5 May 1999, 6/24/08 1:25 AM


---

Labels: , ,

posted by Tom Worthington at 4:23 PM 1 comments links to this post

Monday, March 17, 2008

London 2012 Olympics Website Accessiblity

In contrast to the Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010, the organizers of the London 2012 Olympics seem to have put some thought into the accessibility of their web site. The site passes a basic automated test. It has some interesting features, such as three versions of the color scheme and layout:
  1. Normal
  2. Dyslexia: Limited graphics and only one column of text.
  3. Highvis: The high visibility version has yellow text on a black background.
Unfortunately these are accessed via three icons of increasingly large images of the letter "A". These are usually used to access versions of a web site with larger text. The reader is going to get confused when instead they get a different layout.

The London team made some unfortunate choices with their visual materials, with some animated footage reported to trigger photosensitive epilepsy seizures. This is covered by W3C web accessibility checkpoint "Verify that there is no blinking content in the page".

Labels: , , ,

posted by Tom Worthington at 5:34 PM 0 comments links to this post

2010 Commonwealth Games Website Problems

The next Commonwealth Games in 2010, are to be held in Delhi, India. Unfortunately the official web site for the games, is not easy to use. It first has a Flash multimedia presentation which takes about 20 seconds to load on the average Internet connection and then displays a web page which fails a web accessibility test, with dozens of errors.

As a result the games web site will be difficult to use on old web browsers, on slow Internet connections, on hand-held devices and by people for whom English is not their first language. The games committee needs to get some of the excellent web designers India has to fix the site. Much of what applies to the Beijing Olympic Web site design, would be applicable to India.

Here are some of the errors reported by TAW (Web Accessibility Test), based on the W3C - Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG 1.0):

Found issues:

Priority 1[WAI] Priority 1 accessibility issues. A Web content developer must satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it impossible to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint is a basic requirement for some groups to be able to use Web documents. 34 automatically detected problems and 99 problems that require human review have been found.


1.1 Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content). This includes: images, graphical representations of text (including symbols), image map regions, animations (e.g., animated GIFs), applets and programmatic objects, ascii art, frames, scripts, images used as list bullets, spacers, graphical buttons, sounds (played with or without user interaction), stand-alone audio files, audio tracks of video, and video.



  • Human review required Verify that text equivalent for image is useful
  • Missing text equivalent for image (30)
    • Line 249: <img src="images/Home_Banner_01.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 250: <img src="images/Home_Banner_02.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 251: <img src="images/Home_Banner_03.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 252: <img src="images/Home_Banner_04.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 253: <img src="images/Home_Banner_05.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 254: <img src="images/Home_Banner_06.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 255: <img src="images/Home_Banner_07.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 256: <img src="images/Home_Banner_08.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 257: <img src="images/Home_Banner_09.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 258: <img src="images/Home_Banner_10.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_1.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_2.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_3.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_4.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_5.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_6.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_7.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_8.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_9.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_10.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_11.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_12.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_13.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_14.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_15.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_16.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_17.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 276: <img src="images/cwgindia.gif" width="100" height="100" border="0" usemap="#Map">
    • Line 280: <img src="images/ioa.gif" width="100" height="103" border="0" usemap="#Map3">
    • Line 284: <img src="images/cwg2008.gif" width="100" height="114" border="0" usemap="#Map4">


  • Human review required If describing the image will add information, you need to provide a description of the image with a valid longdesc attribute (34)
    • Line 249: <img src="images/Home_Banner_01.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 250: <img src="images/Home_Banner_02.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 251: <img src="images/Home_Banner_03.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 252: <img src="images/Home_Banner_04.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 253: <img src="images/Home_Banner_05.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 254: <img src="images/Home_Banner_06.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 255: <img src="images/Home_Banner_07.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 256: <img src="images/Home_Banner_08.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 257: <img src="images/Home_Banner_09.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 258: <img src="images/Home_Banner_10.jpg" width="100" height="147">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_1.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_2.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_3.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_4.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_5.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_6.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_7.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_8.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_9.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_10.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_11.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_12.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_13.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_14.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_15.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_16.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 268: <img src="images/ico_17.gif" width="59" height="63">
    • Line 275: <img src="images/logos/cwgnew.jpg" alt="CWG New Logo">
    • Line 276: <img src="images/cwgindia.gif" width="100" height="100" border="0" usemap="#Map">
    • Line 280: <img src="images/ioa.gif" width="100" height="103" border="0" usemap="#Map3">
    • Line 284: <img src="images/cwg2008.gif" width="100" height="114" border="0" usemap="#Map4">
    • Line 290: <img src="images/sheroonew1.jpg" alt="Sheru" width="89" height="150">
    • Line 344: <img src="images/News/1000daystogo.gif" alt="1000 Days Celebration" width="660" height="150">
    • Line 386: <img src="http://www.findlocalweather.net/forecast.php?forecast=hourly&pands=VIDP&place=New Delhi / Palam&state=In&config=png&alt=hwiccmet" border="0" alt="Click for the latest New Delhi / Palam weather forecast.">


  • Missing text equivalent for this image map area (3)
    • Line 278: <area shape="rect" coords="2,0,99,99" href="http://thecgf.com">
    • Line 282: <area shape="rect" coords="1,1,99,102" href="http://www.olympic.ind.in">
    • Line 286: <area shape="rect" coords="2,2,99,114" href="http://www.cygpune2008.com">



6.2 Ensure that equivalents for dynamic content are updated when the dynamic content changes.



  • Missing accessible alternative content in the body of IFRAME (1)
    • Line 289: <iframe src="clock.htm" height="150" width="150" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">


  • Human review required Verify that equivalents of dynamic content are updated and avaliable as often as the dynamic content. (9)
    • Line 6: <script language="javascript">
    • Line 198: <script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript">
    • Line 241: <script src="Scripts/AC_RunActiveContent.js" type="text/javascript">
    • Line 347: <script type="text/javascript">
    • Line 351: <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" width="220" height="310">
    • Line 358: <script type="text/javascript">
    • Line 360: <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" width="300" height="225">
    • Line 374: <script type="text/javascript">
    • Line 376: <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" width="200" height="300" title="News of CWG">



2.1 Ensure that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup.



  • Human review required Check it through the whole document

4.1 Clearly identify changes in the natural language of a document's text and any text equivalents (e.g., captions).



  • Human review required Check it through the whole document

5.1 For data tables, identify row and column headers.



  • Human review required if this is a data table identify column and row headers (6)
    • Line 247: <table width="1000" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
    • Line 269: <table width="1000" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
    • Line 302: <table width="125" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="Menu" >
    • Line 340: <table width="660" height="452" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" >
    • Line 384: <table width="185" height="180" border="0">
    • Line 394: <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="Menu1">



5.2 For data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers, use markup to associate data cells and header cells.



  • Human review required If this is a multilevel table, should identify structural groups of rows and groups of columns (7)
    • Line 247: <table width="1000" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
    • Line 269: <table width="1000" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
    • Line 295: <table width="772" border="0">
    • Line 302: <table width="125" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="Menu" >
    • Line 340: <table width="660" height="452" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" >
    • Line 384: <table width="185" height="180" border="0">
    • Line 394: <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="Menu1">



6.1 Organize documents so they may be read without style sheets. For example, when an HTML document is rendered without associated style sheets, it must still be possible to read the document.



  • Human review required Ensure this document can be read without style sheets (7)
    • Line 16: <style type="text/css">
    • Line 245: <table width="1000" height="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="position:absolute; top:0px; left:0px; " bgcolor="#ffffff" >
    • Line 264: <a href="business_tenders.html" style="text-decoration:none; color:Blue">
    • Line 268: <div id="Layer1" style="position:absolute; width:1003px; height:60px; z-index:2; left: 0px; top: 84px;">
    • Line 383: <div id="apDiv6" style=" background-color:#ffe4b3" align="center" >
    • Line 412: <DIV style="position: absolute; top: 67px; left: 375px; width: 341px; height: 24px; font-size: 12pt; font-family:Arial; color:808080">
    • Line 413: <DIV style="position: absolute; top: 66px; left: 374px; width: 341px; height: 23px; font-size:12pt; font-family:Arial; color:white">



6.3 Ensure that pages are usable when scripts, applets, or other programmatic objects are turned off or not supported. If this is not possible, provide equivalent information on an alternative accessible page.



  • Human review required Verify that dynamic content is accessible or provide an alternative. (12)
    • Line 6: <script language="javascript">
    • Line 198: <script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript">
    • Line 241: <script src="Scripts/AC_RunActiveContent.js" type="text/javascript">
    • Line 347: <script type="text/javascript">
    • Line 351: <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" width="220" height="310">
    • Line 354: <embed src="videos/newanimlogo.swf" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="220" height="310">
    • Line 358: <script type="text/javascript">
    • Line 360: <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" width="300" height="225">
    • Line 363: <embed src="videos/f2.swf" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="300" height="225">
    • Line 374: <script type="text/javascript">
    • Line 376: <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" width="200" height="300" title="News of CWG">
    • Line 379: <embed src="images/Theme_of_CWG.swf" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="200" height="300">


  • Human review required Missing accessible alternative content in the body of OBJECT (3)
    • Line 351: <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" width="220" height="310">
    • Line 360: <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" width="300" height="225">
    • Line 376: <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" width="200" height="300" title="News of CWG">


  • Human review required Missing NOEMBED element with accessible alternative content for EMBED in this page (3)
    • Line 354: <embed src="videos/newanimlogo.swf" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="220" height="310">
    • Line 363: <embed src="videos/f2.swf" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="300" height="225">
    • Line 379: <embed src="images/Theme_of_CWG.swf" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="200" height="300">



7.1 Until user agents allow users to control flickering, avoid causing the screen to flicker.



  • Human review required Check it through the whole document

8.1a Make programmatic elements such as scripts and applets directly accessible or compatible with assistive technologies, if functionality is important and not presented elsewhere.



  • Human review required This element may not be accesible to all users. Please ensure there is an accesible interface to this object (12)
    • Line 6: <script language="javascript">
    • Line 198: <script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript">
    • Line 241: <script src="Scripts/AC_RunActiveContent.js" type="text/javascript">
    • Line 347: <script type="text/javascript">
    • Line 351: <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" width="220" height="310">
    • Line 354: <embed src="videos/newanimlogo.swf" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="220" height="310">
    • Line 358: <script type="text/javascript">
    • Line 360: <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" width="300" height="225">
    • Line 363: <embed src="videos/f2.swf" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="300" height="225">
    • Line 374: <script type="text/javascript">
    • Line 376: <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" width="200" height="300" title="News of CWG">
    • Line 379: <embed src="images/Theme_of_CWG.swf" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="200" height="300">


...


Labels: ,

posted by Tom Worthington at 4:52 PM 0 comments links to this post

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Tactile Ground Surface Indicators

Tactile Ground Surface IndicatorsABC Radio National By Design program had a segment on Tactile Ground Surface Indicators (TGSI) today. The guest was Murray Mountain, Chairman, Australian Standards Technical Committee ME/64. TGSIs are bumps or ridges on the ground to help people with limited eyesight to find they way around. Australia leads the world in standards and design of TGSIs and you will see them at Australian railway stations on the edges of platforms, and at the bottom and tops of flights of stairs in public buildings.

As Murray described them, the most common indicators are truncated cones 4 to 5 mm high. They are arranged in a rectangular grid. The indicators are designed not only to be easily felt through the feet or with a cane, but also to be seen. Their design has been carefully researched to make them prominent enough to be noticeable, but not a tripping hazard. Also they have to be long lasting and easy to install.

The Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) released Guidelines on access to buildings and services in 2007. This provides guidance to designers, builders, planners, certifiers, building managers and access consultants about access to buildings and services for people with disabilities, inlcuding use of TGSIs. This accompanied by The good, the bad and the ugly – design and construction for access which has examples of what can go wrong. The first problem covered is inappropriate use of TGSIs.

As well as the round knobs for warning of a hazard, there are directional tiles with ridges to steer people in a particular direction, such as to the entrance to a railway station. Usually the directional tiles end with the warning tiles, to indicate where to stop. I saw an unfortunate absence of warning tiles on the footpath outside the Beijing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games headquarters. Directional tiles had been laid down the center of the footpath with no warning tiles. So the path guided people into obstructions such as poles and off the high curb into six lanes of traffic. In contrast the Sydney Olympics had a clear policy for use of the paths and was praised for its efforts.

As Australia is the leader in TGSI standards, there would be an opportunity for training materials, planning an installation aids. These could be web based and include tests and checks. The would appear to be a large market for such support in China.

Standards and guides include:
  1. AS/NZS 1428.4:2002 Design for access and mobility - Tactile indicators
  2. TRAINING PROGRAM Tactile Ground Surface Indicators Workshop - 1428.4
  3. BS 7997:2003 Products for tactile paving surface indicators. Specification
  4. DR 04020 Design for access and mobility - Part 4.1: Tactile indicators
  5. JIS T 9251:2001 Dimensions and patterns of raised of parts of tactile ground surface indicators for blind persons
TGSIs are also known as tactile guide pathways and Tactile paving. US ones are known as Detectable Warnings and use truncated domes, rather than cones. The indicators need not be any particular color, but must have sufficient contrast to be easily seen. The international work is under Working Group ISO/TC 173/WG 7 - Provisions and Means for Orientation of Visually Impaired Persons in Pedestrian Areas.

In Japan, TGSIs are commonly known as "Braille Blocks" (Tenji Block) , by analogy to Japanese braille (Tenji 点字). The paths (usually yellow) do not use braille, just the same grid of dots as used in Australia.

See also books:
  1. Americans with Disabilities Act

Labels: ,

posted by Tom Worthington at 10:45 AM 2 comments links to this post

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Beijing 2008 Olympics Online Coverage Blocked for Apple and Linux Users?

A blog entry by Tim Bray, speculates that the 2008 Beijing Olympics will only be available online to Microsoft Windows users and those with newer Apple Macs. This seems unlikely, as if for no other reason it would make the Olympics less accessible to the disabled, exposing NBC and Microsoft to lawsuits for unlawful discrimination. I was one of the expert witnesses in the accessibility case over the 2000 Olympics and invited to Beijing in 2003 to talk at a BOCOG 2008 Olympic web site symposium.
Not all is sweetness and light around the Olympics. The 2008 version in Beijing will be made available online; but only via Silverlight. Which means that if you use a Linux or Solaris box, or one of the few million pre-Intel Macs that are still out there, the Olympic Community doesn’t want peons like you on board. This seems scandalous to me, but nobody else seems to care.

From: Tab Sweep — World, Tim Bray, 2008/01/13
Just to unravel what is being said: Silverlight is a Microsoft developed web browser plugin to provide similar features to Adobe Flash. Tim refers to a blog entry by a Microsoft staff member who makes claims about exclusive coverage of the Olympics:

On 8-8-08 the 2008 Summer Olympic Games will officially kick off in Beijing, China. ...

We have signed an agreement to partner with NBC Universal to build a Silverlight 2.0 based web broadcast of the 2008 Summer Olympic games. This agreement also sets MSN as the official home of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

As a part of this, we will provide users with exclusive access to over 3000 hours of live and on-demand video content via Silverlight streaming. This means that viewers can access every minute of every event. Additionally, the amount of meta-data attached to each of the streams will be extensive and include links to player bios, medal counts, shortcuts to particular events (i.e. athlete x’s third long-jump attempt), maps of the Olympic facilities, pop-up overlays with real-time event alerts, headlines, video search capabilities, etc. ...

From: 2008 Olympics brought to you by Silverlight, January 07, 2008 2:54 AM, Somasegar

This in turn refers to an agreement with NBC, which was reported earlier by news sources:
... NBC Universal, owner of the exclusive U.S. media rights to this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing, China (August 8-24, 2008), announced today that it was teaming up with MSN and Microsoft in an unprecedented strategic alliance to create "NBCOlympics.com on MSN", a next-generation online experience for Olympic fans across the United States. With thousands of hours of competition video in both live and on-demand formats, deep analysis and results delivered from NBC's award-winning broadcast and digital media teams, and Microsoft's Silverlight technology to deliver deeply immersive user experiences, NBCOlympics.com's coverage will be powered by MSN and Microsoft technology to complement NBC's broadcast programming and put millions of fans in control of the Olympic sports,
athletes and countries they want to watch.
.... During the Beijing Games, NBCOlympics.com (www.nbcolympics.com) content will be prominently featured on the MSN.com homepage (www.msn.com), seen by
over 100 million users per month, as well as on MSN Video (video.msn.com) and across the MSN and Windows Live networks, all moving the massive MSN Network audience to NBCOlympics.com's complete coverage of the Games.

As a result of this unprecedented alliance, "NBCOlympics.com on MSN" will
deliver: -- 2,200 hours of live event video coverage, with more than 20
simultaneous live video streams at peak times
-- More than 3,000 hours of on-demand video content including full-event
replays, highlights, features, interviews and encore packages.
-- An "enhanced playback mode" powered by Silverlight that gives users the
choice of a high-quality full screen viewing experience that is as good
or better than anything on the Internet today
-- Unique metadata overlays powered by Silverlight that enable fans to
have access not only to high quality video, but also to the wealth of
related content including results, statistics, comprehensive bios,
rules and expert analysis from NBC's Olympic digital media team in
Beijing
-- Live video alerts so fans can stay connected to the events and teams
they care most about
-- Social networking features that enable fans to share aspects of their
Olympic experience with friends ...

Adam Freifeld of NBC Sports, +1-201-965-2971, adam.freifeld@nbcuni.com; or
Adam Sohn of Microsoft, +1-503-443-7000, adamso@microsoft.com

From: NBC Universal and Microsoft Team Up On Unprecedented Web Offering for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Reuters, an 6, 2008 9:30pm EST
Some points to note from this:
  1. USA only: The International Olympic committee allocates TV rights to the games on a country basis. NBC only has the U.S. media rights to 2008 Olympics and so whatever is done will only effect those in the USA.
  2. Video Only: The media release was about the way video will be delivered online, it does not necessary mean that other Olympic information, such as text, audio and still images will be delivered this way. In addition, even if NBC and Microsoft only deliver information in this format, similar information should be available from other Olympic suppliers.
  3. Accessibility Law: Under the laws of the USA, Australia, UK and many other countries, organizations providing services via the web are required to supply them to persons with a disability. Failing to do this is unlawful. This principle was established in the 2000 Sydney Olympics case which I was an expert witness for. It seems unlikely that NBC or Microsoft could fail to be aware of their obligation to provide access for the disabled to Olympic coverage. Microsoft's web site includes a case study for the Toronto 2008 Olympic Bid, which mentions accessibility for people with a disability. Microsoft's search engine returned 250,000 hits on "2000 olympics web accessibility" and 16,000 on "2008 Olympics "web accessibility".
See also:

Labels: , , , ,