Web Accessibility
Web accessibility
Web accessibility is all about making the Internet as available as possible to all types of people, including the disabled and elderly. There are a number of techniques that web designers can include in their website to help people who might have difficulties. Web accessibility is aimed at helping people who:
· Are physically disabled
· Have impaired vision or are blind
· Are deaf
· Suffer from dyslexia
· Are not familiar with using the Internet
“Refers to the inclusive practice of making websites usable by people of all abilities and disabilities. When sites are correctly designed, developed and edited, all users can have equal access to information and functionality”
(Ref: Wikipedia)
It is important to make sure that as many people as possible have access to the Internet as the Internet has become a huge resource to people’s everyday lives. Tailoring websites to make sure they are compatible with people’s disabilities helps make people who might not be able to use the Internet feel more independent and gives them the chance to contribute to the Internet. Many websites have what are known as accessibility barriers which is the term used to describe a website that is difficult or impossible for disabled people to access. Web accessibility is not exclusively to help disabled people; it is also aimed at the elderly and people who might have temporary disabilities such as a broken arm for example. Features such as including the option to make the text bigger on a web page can help people with poor eye sight or dyslexia. Refreshable braille tablets allow blind or visually impaired people to read websites. Products such as Type Talk make writing easier for people who are unable to type by allowing them to talk into a microphone and the Software will type what they are saying.
An example of how a company has made changes to its environment in order to comply with the needs of someone with a disability is; Ms.Laitinen who works for an insurance company; she is blind and requires to use a computer at work. To help with her disability she uses a screen reader, which reads out what is written on screen, her screen reader also has the ability to be linked with a refreshable braille tab. Without this additional help Ms.Laitinen would not be able to do her job.
Disability Discrimination Act
The Disability Discrimination act was passed in 1995, since October of 2010 the legislation has since been updated with the Equality act; however the DDA is still in effect. The act ensures that it is unlawful for employers to directly or indirectly to discriminate against a person who is disabled in anyway. It also means that employers need to make reasonable adjustments to their work environment to make sure that disabled people have access to equipment that is necessary, for example including ramps and lifts for people in wheelchairs.
“The Disability Discrimination Act which makes it unlawful to discriminate against people in respect of their disabilities in relation to employment, the provision of goods and services, education and transport”
(Ref: www.wordiq.com)
This act is a very important piece of legislation and is a huge step towards making a fairer working environment for people with disabilities, it is not exclusively aimed at the physically disabled though, it is also to ensure that people who are blind or deaf also are treated equally and are provided with necessary features or software they might require. Included in the legislation is the right of an employer to have “reasonable medical criteria for employment” which I think is fair on behalf of the employer. I think however that the legislation could be made more beneficial by including clearer guidelines for employers to follow. In regards to the Internet, if I did not include additional features to make my web page accessible to people with disabilities I would be in breach of this act and could face having my website shut down, this is something I am going to have to take into account and is also a legal and ethical consideration. I would not want to make my website in any way offensive or discriminatory against any group of people so it is of great importance that I take this act into consideration.
An example of direct Disability Discrimination is; a pub allows a family with a child who has cerebral palsy to drink in their beer garden but not in their family room. The family with the disabled child is not given the same choices that other families have.
An example of indirect Disability Discrimination would be; a local authority produces an information leaflet about its services for local people. It does not produce an easy-to-read version of the leaflet in order to save money. This would make it more difficult for someone with a learning disability to access the services and could amount to indirect discrimination.
(ref: www.adviceguide.org)
Data protection act
The Data Protection Act was passed in 1998 which governs the processing and keeping of data held on living people by all organisations. It was mainly designed to restrict how companies handle peoples data and protect it from falling into the wrong hands. Private data includes peoples: address, phone number, bank details etc. The person who has data held on them has the right to view and correct any of their data held. It is the responsibility of the company to not use the data for any malicious purpose and to not lose their data.
“The Data Protection Act 1998 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which defines UK law on the processing of data on identifiable living people. It is the main piece of legislation that governs the protection of personal data in the UK”
(Ref: Wikipedia)
One example of a company breaching this act would be Virgin Media, who lost over 3000 of their customers personal details by losing an unprotected disc with the data on it. Although the company seemingly accidently lost the disc on accident, they are still liable for prosecution as it is the responsibility of the company to keep the data safe. Most companies avoid putting people at risk by encrypting any personal data they hold.
(Ref: contractoruk.com)
Computer misuse act
The computer misuse act was set up in 1990 and is for the prevention of improper use of computers and their software. This includes, hacking, logging on to someone’s account, copying or editing software. This act applies to all people and is punishable by imprisonment or fine. There are three main principals of this act which are:
- Unauthorised access to computer material.
- Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences.
- Unauthorised modification of computer material.
“Is designed to prevent unauthorised access to computer systems, and the use of such access to facilitate serious crime.”
(Ref: Norman Creaney – computer misuse act)
Before this act was introduced, in 1984 two men managed to gain access to content that they were not authorised to look at. This was done in a very simplistic way, one of the men looked over the shoulder of a man working for BT when he was accessing their database. This then allowed the two men to log into BT’s database giving them access to many people’s personal data, including that of Prince Phillip. This highlighted the need for a law to govern people from doing this again. Because of this BT were in breach of the Data Protection Act as they reportedly had their password set as 1234.
Obscene publication act
The obscene publication act was introduced in 1959 and is a method of restricting what kind of content can be allowed to be publicised. There are exceptions to this law, if the explicit content is justifiable in regards to its purpose. Organisations such as W3 check and enforce this law with websites based in the UK. The legislation behind the act specifies that if obscene content with the sole purpose of causing offense is made public and is likely to be seen by people who may be offended by it. The persons who publish the content are held responsible for breaching this act.
“An Act to amend the law relating to the publication of obscene matter; to provide for the protection of literature; and to strengthen the law concerning pornography.”
(Ref: swarb.co.uk)
This act is not very specific in regards to what is acceptable and what is not. In regards to my website I can take this act into account and relate it to my own work, this means I will not intentionally include offensive or upsetting material. Because the website I am creating might indirectly include images of peoples bodies (with the intent of showing their tattoo) I will have to be cautious and consider including some sort of warning to people who might consider the content upsetting.
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