Part of the School of Computer Science’s Information Management Group.
To support the dissemination of the work, the following technical reports and peer reviewed publications have been created:
@inproceedings{michailidou08a, Address = {New York, NY, USA},
Author = {Michailidou, Eleni and Harper, Simon and Bechhofer, Sean},
Booktitle = {SIGDOC '08: Proceedings of the 26th annual ACM international conference on Design of communication},
Date-Modified = {2009-02-12 14:28:26 +0000},
Url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1456536.1456581},
Isbn = {978-1-60558-083-8},
Keywords = {Web Design, Visual Perception, Aesthetics, Visual Complexity, ViCRAM, elements and density as the number of each structural element on Web Design, Visual Perception, Aesthetics, Visual Complexity, Web Design, Visual Perception, Aesthetics, Visual Complexity, ViCRAM, EIVAA},
Location = {Lisbon, Portugal},
Pages = {215--224},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Visual complexity and aesthetic perception of web pages},
Year = {2008},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1456536.1456581}
}
@inproceedings{michailidou2008b, Address = {New York, NY, USA},
Author = {Eleni Michailidou and Simon Harper and Sean Bechhofer},
Booktitle = {Assets '08: Proceedings of the 10th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on Computers and accessibility},
Url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1414471.1414495},
Isbn = {978-1-59593-976-0},
Keywords = {ViCRAM, eye tracking, visual impairments, visual perception, web accessibility},
Location = {Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada},
Owner = {Eleni Michailidou},
Pages = {121--128},
Publisher = {ACM},
Timestamp = {2008.10.28},
Title = {Investigating sighted users' browsing behaviour to assist web accessibility},
Year = {2008},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1414471.1414495}
}
@inproceedings{Harper2005fk, Abstract = {Anecdotal evidence suggests that Web document summaries provide the sighted reader with a basis for making decisions regarding the route to take within non-linear text; and additional research shows that sighted people use 'Gist' summaries as decision points to bolster their browsing behaviour. Other studies have found that visually impaired users are hindered in their cognition of the content of Web-pages because users must wait for an entire Web-page to be read before deciding on it's usefulness to their current task. In these cases, we draw similarities between sighted and visually impaired users, in that sighted users cannot see the target of a Web Anchor and are therefore 'handicapped' by the technology. Previously, we have investigate four simple summarisation algorithms against each other and a manually created summary; producing empirical evidence as a formative evaluation. This evaluation concludes that users prefer simple automatically generated 'gist' summaries thereby reducing cognitive overload and increasing awareness of the focus of the Web-page under investigation. In this paper we focus on the development of 'FireFox' based tool which creates a summary of a Web page 'on-the-fly'. The algorithm used to create this summary is based on the results of our formative evaluation which automatically and dynamically annotates Web pages with the generated 'gist' summary. In this way visually impaired users are supported in their decisions as the relevancy of the page at hand. },
Address = {New York, NY, USA},
Author = {Simon Harper and Neha Patel},
Booktitle = {{Assets '05: Proceedings of the 7th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on Computers and accessibility}},
Date-Added = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Date-Modified = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1090785.1090804},
Isbn = {1-59593-159-7},
Keywords = {Accessibility, Human Centred Web, ViCRAM, Modelling, Document Engineering, Tools, Visual Impairment, Web Accessibility, Visual Complexity, Metrics},
Location = {Baltimore, MD, USA},
Month = {October},
Pages = {90--97},
Publisher = {ACM Press},
Title = {{Gist Summaries for Visually Impaired Surfers}},
Url = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2005fk.pdf},
Year = {2005},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2005fk.pdf},
Bdsk-Url-2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1090785.1090804}
}
@inproceedings{Harper2005zr, Abstract = {The accessibility of application components is key to enhancing the usability, ergo the user experience, of profoundly blind computer users. However, this accessibility is hampered when platform independent applications are developed because the normal operating system / application interface is abstracted. This means that implicit information inferred by the operating system in platform specific builds is not available in platform independent developments. The current most common platform independent language is Java and the key interface environment for Java is a set of Java Foundation Classes (JFC) known as 'Swing'. Based on faults, identified from conducting systematic testing of Swing applications, we have developed a web-based programming manual for writing accessible Java applications and checking their accessibility. Here, we present the major points from this manual as an abridged set of programming checks to help programmers overcome many of the technical errors that lead to accessibility faults when programming Swing. },
Address = {UK},
Author = {Simon Harper and Ghazalah Khan and Robert Stevens},
Booktitle = {{Accessible Design in the Digital World}},
Date-Added = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Date-Modified = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Keywords = {Accessibility, Human Centred Web, ViCRAM, Modelling, Visually Impaired, Java Accessibility, Transcoding},
Location = {Dundee, Scotland, UK},
Month = {August},
Notes = {{Winner of the IBM Research Best Paper Prize.}},
Publisher = {British Computer Society},
Title = {{Design Checks for Java Accessibility}},
Url = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2005zr.pdf},
Year = {2005},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2005zr.pdf}
}
@inproceedings{Harper2004ij, Abstract = {A high quality of free movement, or mobility, is key to the accessibility, design, and usability of many 'common-use' hypermedia resources (Web sites) and key to good mobility is context and preview. This is especially the case when a hypertext anchor is inaccurately described or is described out of context as confusion and disorientation can ensue. Mobility is similarly reduced when the link target of the anchor has no relationship to the expected information present on the hypertext node (Web page). Confident movement with purpose, ease, and accuracy can only be achieved when complete contextual information and an accurate description of the proposed destination (preview) are available. We suggest that sighted people can benefit from additional context and preview information included in hyperlinks and disprove the empirical evidence that suggests these users do not benefit from link descriptions which have this enhanced information. We briefly describe a middleware system to automatically expand context and preview in link descriptions thereby 'fixing' terse links, links out of context, and inaccurate or inadequate preview information. Finally, we conduct a formative evaluation which shows us that a system to expand context and preview would be useful in different ways depending on the type of link.},
Author = {Simon Harper and Yeliz Yesilada and Carole Goble and Robert Stevens},
Booktitle = {{Proceedings of the Fifteenth ACM Conference on Hypertext and Hypermedia}},
Date-Added = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Date-Modified = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1012807.1012843},
Isbn = {1-58113-848-2},
Keywords = {Accessibility, Human Centred Web, ViCRAM, Modelling, Document Engineering, Tools, Visual Impairment, Web Accessibility, Visual Complexity, Metrics},
Location = {Santa Cruz, CA, USA},
Month = {August},
Pages = {116--125},
Publisher = {ACM Press},
Title = {{How Much is Too Much in a Hypertext Link? Investigating Context and Preview -- A Formative Evaluation}},
Url = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2004ij.pdf},
Year = {2004},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2004ij.pdf},
Bdsk-Url-2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1012807.1012843}
}
@inproceedings{Harper2004bs, Abstract = {Movement, or mobility, is key to the accessibility, design, and usability of many hypermedia resources (websites); and key to good mobility is context and preview by probing. This is especially the case for visually impaired users when a hypertext anchor is inaccurately described or is described out of context. This means confusion and disorientation. Mobility is similarly reduced when the link target of the anchor has no relationship to the expected information present on the hypertext node (web-page). We suggest that confident movement with purpose, ease, and accuracy can only be achieved when complete contextual information and an accurate description of the proposed destination (preview) are available. Our past work (1) deriving mobility heuristics from mobility models, (2) transforming web-pages based on these heuristics, and (3) building tools to analyse and access these transformed pages; has shown us that a tool to expand context and preview would be useful. In this paper we describe the development of such a middleware tool to automatically and dynamically annotate web-pages with additional context information present within the page, and preview information present within hypertext link destinations found on the page.},
Author = {Simon Harper and Carole Goble and Robert Stevens and Yeliz Yesilada},
Booktitle = {{Proceedings of the ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility}},
Date-Added = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Date-Modified = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1028630.1028643},
Isbn = {1-58113-911-X},
Keywords = {Accessibility, Human Centred Web, ViCRAM, Modelling, Document Engineering, Tools, Visual Impairment, Web Accessibility, Visual Complexity, Metrics},
Location = {Atlanta, GA, USA},
Month = {October},
Pages = {63--70},
Publisher = {ACM Press},
Title = {{Middleware to Expand Context and Preview in Hypertext}},
Url = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2004bs.pdf},
Year = {2004},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2004bs.pdf},
Bdsk-Url-2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1028630.1028643}
}
@article{InSubmission-TAP,
author = {Simon Harper and Eleni Michailidou and Huangmao Quan},
Date-Added = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Date-Modified = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Journal = {ACM Trans. Appl. Percept.},
Keywords = {VICRAM},
Title = {Analysing the Visual Complexity of Web Pages},
Volume = {In Submission},
Year = {2010}
}
@article{Harper2008yl, Abstract = {The visual complexity of Web pages is much talked about; 'complex Web pages are difficult to use', but often regarded as a subjective decision by the user. This subjective decision is of limited use if we wish to understand the importance of visual complexity, what it means, and how it can be used. We theorise that by understanding a user's visual perception of Web page complexity we can understand the cognitive effort required for interaction with that page. This is important because by using an easily identifiable measure, such as visual complexity, as an implicit marker of cognitive load we can design Web pages which are easier to interact with. We have devised an initial empirical experiment, using card sorting and triadic elicitation, to test our theories and assumptions; and have built an initial baseline sequence of 20 Web pages along with a library of qualitative and anecdotal feedback. Using this library we define visual complexity, ergo perceived interaction complexity, and by taking these pages as 'prototypes' and ranking them into a sequence of complexity, we are able to group them into: simple; neutral; and complex. This means we can now work toward a definition of visual complexity as an implicit measure of cognitive load. },
Address = {New York, NY, USA},
Author = {Harper, Simon and Michailidou, Eleni and Stevens, Robert},
Date-Added = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Date-Modified = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1498700.1498704},
Issn = {1544-3558},
Journal = {ACM Trans. Appl. Percept.},
Keywords = {Accessibility, Human Centred Web, Visual Complexity, VICRAM},
Month = {March},
Number = {2},
Pages = {1--18},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Toward a definition of visual complexity as an implicit measure of cognitive load},
Url = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2008yl.pdf},
Volume = {6},
Year = {2009},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1498700.1498704}
}
@article{Harper2007vn, Abstract = {n 1891 master cutler Karl Elsener invented his first multi function tool, the `Offiziermesser', a soldier's knife designed to universally meet the needs of the soldier and woodsman. This officer's knife was renamed by American GIs1 in 1945 to the more commonly known `Swiss Army Knife'. Adopted by outdoor enthusiasts worldwide, its popularity has increased, as have the number of varieties and styles. The tool, which is designed-for-all your outdoor needs, and built so that one design is universally acceptable to all, now has over 100 combinations. One of the key ideas of making the World Wide Web (web) accessible to users with disabilities is this same idea of design-for-all, which so inspired Karl Elsener: a concept which proposes that every web page should be designed so that as many people as possible can access it, regardless of any sensory or cognitive impairments. However, design-for-all can mean many things to many people. Some discuss design in terms of the society at large, by making reference to socio economics, ethics, and issues of general discrimination. Others see design-for-all as a technological issue and a problem to be solved. Still others link design-for-all to a way of thought that should encompass everyone. In the context of computing and software development, many suggest that technology must focus on designing products so that they are usable by the widest range of people. Yet, in reality, every person is a unique individual and so this view cannot possibly be sustainable or achievable.},
Author = {Harper, Simon},
Date-Added = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Date-Modified = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10209-007-0071-2},
Journal = {Universal Access in the Information Society},
Keywords = {Accessibility, Human Centred Web, ViCRAM, Modelling, Document Engineering, Tools, Visual Impairment, Web Accessibility, Visual Complexity, Metrics, Technical-Letter},
Number = {1},
Pages = {111--113},
Title = {{Is There Design-For-All?}},
Ty = {JOUR},
Url = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2007vn.pdf},
Volume = {6},
Year = {2007},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2007vn.pdf},
Bdsk-Url-2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10209-007-0071-2}
}
@article{michailidou06, Address = {New York, NY, USA},
Author = {Michailidou, Eleni},
Url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1196148.1196154},
Journal = {SIGACCESS Access. Comput},
Keywords = {ViCRAM, Web Accessibility, Visual Complexity, Human Perception, Eye Tracking},
Number = {86},
Pages = {24--27},
Publisher = {ACM Press},
Title = {ViCRAM: visual complexity rankings and accessibility metrics},
Year = {2006},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1196148.1196154}
}
@misc{hcwlab37, Abstract = {The World Wide Web has become the mean of distribution and use of information by individuals, teams, organizations and communities. Visually Impaired web users, being part of the society need to have the same ease of access as all other users. Such access, however, is limited, difficult and sometime impossible for them. This is due to the fact that the way information is presented on the web is becoming more and more complex making it even harder for disabled people. The ability to evaluate a web page usually affects the way someone is actually going to use the site. Getting an overview of a web page helps both the sighted and Visually Impaired people understand what the page is all about. This project aims to develop a tool designed to support Visually Impaired people evaluate a web page before actually using it. That tool will minimize the gap that exists between sighted and Visually Impaired users by giving the former ones feedback on the visual complexity of a document and specifically a web page. We first describe the problems that Visually Impaired web users face while accessing a web page. Then, with the help of an experiment we identify the metrics and factors that distinguish a web page as visually complex. The definition of visual complexity helps design a model that gets implemented to develop the program that supports Visually Impaired users by giving a correct feedback on the complexity of the page.},
Author = {Eleni Michailidou},
Keywords = {ViCRAM, Visual Perception, Visual Complexity, knowledge elicitation, card sorting},
Month = {September},
School = {The University of Manchester},
Title = {Metrics of Visual Complexity},
Url = {http://hcw-eprints.cs.man.ac.uk/37/},
Year = {2005},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://hcw-eprints.cs.man.ac.uk/37/}
}
@conference{Harper2004dz, Abstract = {Layout and structure are key to good visual design. They are the conduit for both the content and the graphics. They are also very important for disabled (e.g. dyslexic users) people and specifically visually impaired users, as they need to be quickly and easily interacted with. This workshop aims to address layout, structure, and presentation from the viewpoint of accessibility and good visual design; where these are in opposition, the workshop aims to facilitate discussion between interested parties so that a solution (or at least the beginners of a solution) can be formulated. We support inclusive design however how can this be the case if users have differing needs? The organisers also assert that no one should be hindered when interacting with layout. Will making layout accessible hinder sighted or 'conventional' users? Conventional workshops on accessibility tend to be single disciplinary in nature. However, we are concerned that this focus on a single participant group prevents the cross-pollination of ideas, needs, and technologies from other related but separate fields. This workshop is decidedly cross disciplinary in nature and brings together users, accessibility experts, graphic designers, and technologists from academia and industry to discuss how accessibility can be supported. We also encourage the participation of users and other interested parties as an additional balance to the discussion. Our aim is to focus on accessibility by encouraging participation from many disciplines. Views often bridge academia, commerce, and industry and arguments encompass a range of beliefs across the design accessibility spectrum. Many people contributed to the success of the program. We would like to thank the programme committee for their exceptional work and dedication in the review process. We would also like to thank the authors for their excellent work and delegates for their participation. It's our sincere hope that the W4A will continue to provide an excellent forum for researchers and practitioners of the accessibility and design communities to exchange ideas and to help grow this community together. We hope you all find this workshop useful, memorable, and above all, good fun!},
Author = {Simon Harper and Yeliz Yesilada and Carole Goble},
Booktitle = {{W4A '04: Proceedings of the 2004 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)}},
Date-Added = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Date-Modified = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/990657},
Editor = {Simon Harper and Yeliz Yesilada and Carole Goble},
Isbn = {1-58113-903-9},
Keywords = {Accessibility, Human Centred Web, W4A, Accessible Layout, Web Accessibility, Visual Design, ViCRAM, W4A-2004},
Location = {New York City, USA},
Month = {May},
Organization = {W4A},
Publisher = {ACM Press},
Title = {{Accessible Layout - The Tension Between Accessibility and Visual Design}},
Url = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2004dz.pdf},
Year = {2004},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2004dz.pdf},
Bdsk-Url-2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/990657}
}
@misc{Harper2004mi, Abstract = {Layout and structure are key to good visual design. They are the conduit for both the content and the graphics. Being able to easily and quickly interact with the layout and structure is crucial for reading and understanding the content. This is particularly important for disabled people (e.g. visually impaired) as the layout and structure usually hinder them accessing the content rather than helping them easily interact with it. Conventional journals on accessibility tend to be single disciplinary in nature. However, we are concerned that a single disciplinary approach prevents the cross-pollination of ideas, needs, and technologies from other related but separate fields. This special issue is therefore, decidedly cross disciplinary in nature. It brings together a range of papers from the perspectives of users, accessibility experts, graphic designers, and technologists from academia and industry to inform how accessibility can be supported. To strengthen the cross-disciplinary nature of this special issue, we have also solicited the views and thoughts of nine world-renowned researchers all from related but different fields which mainly do not focus on the accessibility domain. We asked for their views on how accessibility affects them or (will) should affect them. Throughout the remainder of this introduction we will relate their thoughts and concerns to material selected for this special issue.},
Address = {London},
Author = {Simon Harper and Yeliz Yesilada and Carole Goble},
Date-Added = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Date-Modified = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13614560412331325271},
Editor = {Simon Harper and Yeliz Yesilada and Carole Goble},
Issn = {1361-4568},
Journal = {{New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia}},
Keywords = {Accessibility, Human Centred Web, W4A, Accessible Layout, Web Accessibility, Visual Design, ViCRAM, W4A-2004},
Month = {December},
Pages = {115-126},
Publisher = {{Taylor and Francis}},
Title = {{Introduction - Special Issue on Accessible Hypermedia and Multimedia}},
Url = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2004mi.pdf},
Volume = {{10 (2)}},
Year = {2004},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2004mi.pdf},
Bdsk-Url-2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13614560412331325271}
}
@techreport{hcwlab39, Abstract = {This is a short report on the comparison of two classification methods that are used to identify the visual complexity level of a set of Web pages. Ranking data are collected from two approaches: programmatic and perceptual. These ranks are analyzed to compare the correlation of the prediction using both approaches. It was determined that the ranking order assigned to the set of Web pages from the two approaches are significantly correlated. },
Author = {Eleni Michailidou and Huangmao Quan and Simon Harper},
Keywords = {ViCRAM, visual complexity, Web pages, perception, Fingerprinting the visual complexity of web pages },
Month = {February},
Owner = {Eleni Michailidou},
Timestamp = {2008.10.28},
Title = {Web Page Visual Complexity: A Relationship Between Two Classification Methods},
Url = {http://hcw-eprints.cs.man.ac.uk/39/},
Year = {2008},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://hcw-eprints.cs.man.ac.uk/39/}
}
@techreport{hcwlab44, Abstract = {The visual appearance of a Web page influences the way a user will interact with the page. Part of the ViCRAM project is to determine how Web page structural elements (such as font, tables, links, and images) and their characteristics (such as colour and size) can be used to determine the visual presentation and complexity level of a Web page. This report describes an investigation into how users perceive the visual complexity and aesthetic appearance of Web pages. Results show a strong correlation between users? visual complexity perception of a Web page, structural elements and aesthetic appearance. Data analysis derived models that estimate the visual complexity and aesthetic level of a Web page using the structural elements of the page.},
Author = {Eleni Michailidou},
Keywords = {ViCRAM, visual complexity, user perception, aesthetics, EIVAA},
Month = {May},
Owner = {Eleni Michailidou},
Timestamp = {2008.10.28},
Title = {Determining Users' Perception of Web Page Visual Complexity and Aesthetic Characteristics},
Url = {http://hcw-eprints.cs.man.ac.uk/44/},
Year = {2008},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://hcw-eprints.cs.man.ac.uk/44/}
}
@techreport{hcwlab43, Abstract = {The visual appearance of aWeb page influences the way a user will interact with the page. A pilot study, showed that the number of different sections a page is organized into affects user perception of the visual complexity level of the page. That is, the more chunks (sections) a Web page is arranged into, the more visually complex it becomes. This report describes an online pairwise experiment that extends the pilot study. A set of variables are defined and used to modify a Web page into its chunk rendering. Corner, blocks, boxes and top-left-corners are also defined and identified on a set of Web pages? chunk renderings. Users had to compare this set of Web pages based on their visual complexity. Results show that the visual complexity score is significantly related with the organisation of the page determined by the number of boxes, blocks, corners and top-left-corners.},
Author = {Eleni Michailidou},
Keywords = {ViCRAM, visual complexity, blocks, chunk, visual perception},
Month = {April},
Owner = {Eleni Michailidou},
Timestamp = {2008.10.28},
Title = {Investigating Users' Visual Perception based on Web page Chunks},
Url = {http://hcw-eprints.cs.man.ac.uk/43/},
Year = {2008},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://hcw-eprints.cs.man.ac.uk/43/}
}
@techreport{hcwlab35, Abstract = {The World Wide Web has become the means of distribution and use of information by individuals, teams, organizations and communities. The way information is presented on the web is becoming more and more complex making access to information harder for web users with disabilities, especially visually impaired. Visually complex and simple web pages affect the way a user reads the page. This is an initial study using eye movement tracking methods. It provides supportive information on how sighted users perceive visual presentation of web pages, including where they glance first when they reach a page and for how long they fixate on specific areas of a web page. Qualitative analysis of this study's results gave feedback on the order of reading visually simple and complex web pages.},
Author = {Eleni Michailidou},
Keywords = {ViCRAM, Eye Tracking, Visual Perception, User Browsing},
Month = {February},
Title = {A Pilot Eye-Tracking Study: Understanding How Visually Complex Web Pages Influence Visual Attention},
Url = {http://hcw-eprints.cs.man.ac.uk/38/},
Year = {2008},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://hcw-eprints.cs.man.ac.uk/38/}
}
@techreport{Harper2004fu, Abstract = {Layout and structure are key to good visual design. They are the conduit for both the content and the graphics. Moreover, they are important for disabled people (e.g. dyslexic users) and specifically visually impaired users, as they need to be quickly and easily interacted with. The workshop aimed to address layout, structure, and presentation from the viewpoint of accessibility and good visual design; where these are in opposition, the workshop aimed to facilitate discussion between interested parties so that a solution (or at least the beginnings of a solution) can be formulated - in effect we ask the question 'Does Accessible Mean Dull?'. We support inclusive design; however, how can this be the case if users have differing needs? The organisers also assert that no one should be hindered when interacting with layout. Will making layout accessible hinder sighted or 'conventional' users? Conventional workshops on accessibility tended to be single disciplinary in nature. However, we were concerned that a single disciplinary approach prevents the cross-pollination of ideas, needs, and technologies from other related but separate fields. The workshop was therefore, decidedly cross disciplinary in nature and brought together users, accessibility experts, graphic designers, and technologists from academia and industry to discuss how accessibility could be supported. We also encouraged the participation of users and other interested parties as an additional balance to the discussion. Views often bridged academia, commerce, and industry, and arguments encompassed a range of beliefs across the design accessibility spectrum. Our aim was to focus on accessibility by encouraging participation from many disciplines, represented in the following discussion and paper abstracts.},
Address = {{New York, USA}},
Author = {Simon Harper and Yeliz Yesilada and Carole Goble},
Date-Added = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Date-Modified = {2010-12-06 09:32:56 +0000},
Doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1036401.1037130},
Editor = {Alan Creak},
Journal = {{SIGCAPH Comput. Phys. Handicap.}},
Keywords = {Accessibility, Human Centred Web, W4A, Accessible Layout, Web Accessibility, Visual Design, ViCRAM, W4A-2004},
Month = {November},
Number = {76},
Pages = {2-20},
Publisher = {ACM Press},
Title = {{Workshop Report: W4A - International Cross Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility 2004}},
Url = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2004fu.pdf},
Year = {2004},
Bdsk-Url-1 = {http://www.simonharper.info/publications/Harper2004fu.pdf},
Bdsk-Url-2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1036401.1037130}
}