An illustrated ear with sound waves going through an assisting device in the ear.

Society Relegating People with Disabilities to Second Class Goes Virtual

I still do not have  a narrowed topic, but my general topic will be about web accessibility. As I continue my research, I am leaning toward a topic that looks at whether both the public and private sectors do enough to make their websites accessible.

Search 1

Database Used: Applied Science & Technology

Advanced keyword search: TX web AND TX accessib*

Boolean term: AND

Limiters: Linked Full Text, Published data after 01-01-2012

Search Results: 66 results. This search was not particularly helpful as accessibility/accessible can have two connotations, the first and more common connotation is more about the number of people that have access to something such as data, and the second connotation is more about making the web accessible to people with disabilities. While both are about access, the ways to give that access often differ greatly.

Subject Terms: Groves, Karl; Accessible design; Accessible web design; Internet content; Website management; Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Cite: Charski, M. (2015, March). WEB ACCESSIBILITY: Is Your Content Ready for Everyone? [Review of WEB ACCESSIBILITY: Is Your Content Ready for Everyone?]. EContent; EContent. http://ezproxy.fhsu.edu:2048/login?url=https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.fhsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asa&AN=101435177&site=ehost-live&scope=site

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Search 2

Database Used: Computer Science Collection

Advanced keyword search: Entire document: web accessibility AND Entire document: screen read*

Boolean term: AND

Limiter: Full-text, peer-reviewed, date > 2012

Search Results: 36 results. Though few results, nearly every article was more in line with the type of accessibility that I am looking for in my paper, so this was a quality search.

Subject Terms: Student engagement, teachers, epidemics, online education, physically disabled persons, collaborative learning, COVID-19, disabled students

Cite: He, W., Zha, S., Watson, S., & He, Y. (2022). Promoting Inclusive Online Learning for Students with Disabilities in Information Systems Courses. Journal of Information Systems Education, 33(1), 7+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A695152622/CDB?u=klnb_fhsuniv&sid=bookmark-CDB&xid=2a55e643

Annotation: Promoting Inclusive Online Learning for Students with Disabilities in Information Systems Courses looks at the difficulties students with disabilities face in Information Systems and Information Technology courses because of a lack of accessibility and representation. The authors look at the barriers that students with disabilities face and ways they can overcome those barriers. The article also looks at ways that instructors of these classes can help students move past these barriers.

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Search 3

Database Used: Computer Science Collection

Advanced keyword search: Entire document: assistive technology AND Entire document: accessib*

Boolean term: AND

Limiter: Full-text, peer-reviewed, date > 2012

Search Results: 78 results. The results were mixed in that I either received results that seemed well outside of the scope of my research, but the few results that were good appear to be very good.

Subject Terms: handicapped discrimination, web sites (world wide web), disability rights, web site design, physically disabled persons

Cite: McDonald, D., Goette, T., & Petoia, H. (2018). Gauging ADA Compliance in the 21st Century Business Internet: A Pilot Study. Communications of the IIMA, 16(4), COV1+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A629499426/CDB?u=klnb_fhsuniv&sid=bookmark-CDB&xid=cb860385

Annotation: Gauging ADA Compliance in the 21st Century Business Internet looks at how well, and how poorly, businesses are complying with the ADA and 1973’s Rehabilitation Act. The study takes six businesses and evaluates their accessibility through different measurements using a simple yes/no answering system to their questions. The study concludes that based on their findings, businesses are still doing a poor job of making their websites accessible to those with disabilities and that further study is necessary.

About Lance Perkins

I am Lance, a senior majoring in Web and Mobile Application Development. I live in northwest Illinois with my spouse and our dog and cat. In my spare time, I enjoy traveling with my spouse, disc golf, poker, chess, and hiking. My pronouns are he/him.

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