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How do professionals who create computing technologies consider accessibility?

Published: 22 October 2012 Publication History

Abstract

In this paper, we present survey findings about how user experience (UX) and human-computer interaction (HCI) professionals, who create information and communication technologies (ICTs), reported considering accessibility in their work. Participants (N = 199) represented a wide range of job titles and nationalities. We found that most respondents (87%, N = 173) reported that accessibility was important or very important in their work; however, when considerations for accessibility were discussed in an open-ended question (N =185) the scope was limited. Additionally, we found that aspects of empathy and professional experience were associated with how accessibility considerations were reported. We also found that many respondents indicated that decisions about accessibility were not in their control. We argue that a better understanding about how accessibility is considered by professionals has implications for academic programs in HCI and UX as to how well programs are preparing students to consider and advocate for inclusive design.

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Cited By

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  • (2024)I feel for you! The effect of empathy exercises on accessibility awarenessUniversal Access in the Information Society10.1007/s10209-023-01081-zOnline publication date: 13-Jan-2024
  • (2024)Understanding mindsets, skills, current practices, and barriers of adoption of digital accessibility in Kuwait’s software development landscapeUniversal Access in the Information Society10.1007/s10209-023-00980-523:3(1427-1446)Online publication date: 1-Aug-2024
  • (2023)Blending Accessibility in UI Framework Documentation to Build AwarenessProceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3597638.3608380(1-12)Online publication date: 22-Oct-2023
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      cover image ACM Conferences
      ASSETS '12: Proceedings of the 14th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on Computers and accessibility
      October 2012
      321 pages
      ISBN:9781450313216
      DOI:10.1145/2384916
      Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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      Published: 22 October 2012

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      Author Tags

      1. accessibility
      2. diverse users
      3. inclusive design
      4. professions

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      Cited By

      View all
      • (2024)I feel for you! The effect of empathy exercises on accessibility awarenessUniversal Access in the Information Society10.1007/s10209-023-01081-zOnline publication date: 13-Jan-2024
      • (2024)Understanding mindsets, skills, current practices, and barriers of adoption of digital accessibility in Kuwait’s software development landscapeUniversal Access in the Information Society10.1007/s10209-023-00980-523:3(1427-1446)Online publication date: 1-Aug-2024
      • (2023)Blending Accessibility in UI Framework Documentation to Build AwarenessProceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3597638.3608380(1-12)Online publication date: 22-Oct-2023
      • (2023)How the Alt Text Gets Made: What Roles and Processes of Alt Text Creation Can Teach Us About Inclusive ImageryACM Transactions on Accessible Computing10.1145/358746916:2(1-28)Online publication date: 13-Jul-2023
      • (2023) “It could be better. It could be much worse”: Understanding Accessibility in User Experience Practice with Implications for Industry and EducationACM Transactions on Accessible Computing10.1145/357566216:1(1-25)Online publication date: 28-Mar-2023
      • (2023)How accessibility affect other quality attributes of software? A case study of GitHubScience of Computer Programming10.1016/j.scico.2023.103027(103027)Online publication date: Sep-2023
      • (2023)Mapping 20 years of accessibility research in HCIInternational Journal of Human-Computer Studies10.1016/j.ijhcs.2023.103018175:COnline publication date: 1-Jul-2023
      • (2022)Methodological Standards in Accessibility Research on Motor Impairments: A SurveyACM Computing Surveys10.1145/354350955:7(1-35)Online publication date: 15-Dec-2022
      • (2022)Including Accessibility in Computer Science EducationProceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3517428.3550404(1-5)Online publication date: 23-Oct-2022
      • (2022)The use of ADKAR to instil change in the accessibility of university websitesProceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference10.1145/3493612.3520476(1-5)Online publication date: 25-Apr-2022
      • Show More Cited By

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