Overcoming Barriers to Adoption and Implementation of Web Accessibility

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Overcoming Barriers to Adoption and Implementation of Web Accessibility Access Denied 1 Access Denied: Overcoming Barriers to Adoption and Implementation of Web Accessibility by Glen Farrelly A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION We accept the thesis as conforming to the required standard ________________________________________________ Dr. Michael Real, Thesis Supervisor Date School of Communication & Culture Royal Roads University ________________________________________________ Dr. Phillip Vannini, Thesis Co-ordinator Date School of Communication & Culture Royal Roads University ________________________________________________ Dr. David Black, Internal Committee Member Date School of Communication & Culture Royal Roads University ________________________________________________ Dr. Gerry Nixon, External Committee Member Date School of Leadership Studies Royal Roads University ________________________________________________ Dr. Joshua Guilar, Director Date School of Communication & Culture Royal Roads University Royal Roads University, July 2009 © Glen Farrelly 2009 [email protected] Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l’édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-58696-9 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-58696-9 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L’auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l’Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L’auteur conserve la propriété du droit d’auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author’s permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privée, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont été enlevés de thesis. cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n’y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Access Denied 2 Abstract As Canadians increasingly integrate online activities into their daily lives, disabled people are frequently impeded from accessing websites due to code and design barriers. Despite the W3C guidelines to improve web accessibility, adoption remains low. The responsibility to implement accessibility tends to fall on web practitioners, yet prior scholarship has failed to consult this group on their barriers to adoption. Qualitative interviews with web practitioners found that current social and individual values, inadequate guidelines and support, and monetary demands are halting the diffusion of web accessibility in Canada. These factors perpetuate an artificial construct of online disability and impede developments towards an inclusive Web medium. Recommendations to remediate this environment and thus improve accessibility rates in Canada are offered. Keywords: web accessibility, accessibility, disability, web development, web design Access Denied 3 Acknowledgments I would like to thank my wife for her invaluable and tireless support. I also would like to thank the research participants for freely giving their time, candour, and insight. This thesis was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Access Denied 4 Table of Contents Abstract…………………………….…………………………….………………………………..2 Acknowledgments…………………………….…………………………….……………………..3 Table of Contents…………………………….…………………………….…………….………..4 List of Figures…………………………….…………………………….…………….……….......6 Chapter 1: Web Accessibility Benefits and Barriers Introduction…………….…………….…………….…………….…………….….………………7 What is Web Accessibility? …………….…………….…………….…………….………8 Do Disabled People Use the Web? …………….…………….…………….….….….…...9 The Internet as Disabling Agent…………….…………….…………….….….….…..…10 Brief History of Accessibility………….…………….…………….…………….………12 Expanded Web Accessibility Integration Model…………….…………….…………….16 Chapter 2: Assembling Web Accessibility Research Background…………….…………….…………….…….…………….…….………….….……18 Stakeholder Perceptions…………….…………….…………….…….…………….……18 Web practitioner knowledge and attitudes…………….…………….…………...18 Client knowledge and attitudes…….…………….…….…………….….….…....19 Societal Foundations…………….…………….…………….…….…………….…….…19 Education and training…………….…………….…………….…….…………...19 Media and industry coverage…………….…………….…………….….….…....20 Attitudes towards disability …………….…………….…………….….….….…20 Present statistics on inaccessibility……….…………….…………….….….…...21 Policy and law…………….…………….…………….…….…………….…..….22 Market forces…………….…………….…………….…….…………….….…...22 Customer demand and advocacy…………….…………….…………….….…...22 Tools and Resources…………….…………….…………….…….…………….…..…...23 Guidelines…………….…………….…………….…….…………….….………23 Support material…………….…………….…………….…….…………….……23 Authoring tools…………….…………….…………….…….…………….….…24 Testing support……….…………….…………….…….…………….….….……24 End User Factors…………….…………….…………….…………….………………....25 Chapter 3: Description of Interview Process Method…………….…………….…………….…….…………….…….…………….….….…..26 Format…………….…………….…………….…….…………….…….…………….….26 Sampling and Recruitment…………….…………….…………….…….……………….26 Interview Structure…………….…………….…………….…….…………….….…..….27 Data Analysis…………….…………….…………….…….…………….….….….…….27 Chapter 4: Web Practitioners Reveal their Accessibility Barriers Findings and Discussion…………….…………….…………….…….…………….…….….….28 Individual and Societal Factors…………….…………….…………….….….….….…...29 Interpersonal relations between disabled and nondisabled people………………30 Disabled people don‟t complain…………….…………….…………….….…....31 Misconceptions of disability…………….…………….…….…………….….….32 Access Denied 5 Excuses and apathy…………….…………….…………….…….……………....34 Education has lessons to learn…………….…………….…………….….……...36 Media and industry coverage of web accessibility……….…………….…….….37 External Obstacles…………….…………….…………….…….…………….……...….38 W3C guidelines need guidance….…………….…….…………….….….………39 Inadequate tools for the job…………….…………….…………….….….……...41 Support material unsupportive……………….…………….…….……………....42 Advisors misadvising…………….…………….…………….…….…………….43 Positive Deviance…………….…………….…………….…….…………….….……….43 Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations…………….…………….…………….…….………………45 References…………….…………….…………….…….…………….…….…………….……...49 Appendix A: Glossary…………….…………….…………….…….…………….….….….…....56 Appendix B: Interview Details…………….…………….………................................................58 Appendix C: Participants‟ Thoughts on Requiring Web Accessibility…………….……………59 Access Denied 6 List of Figures Figure 1: Expanded Web Accessibility Integration Model………………………………….17 Access Denied 7 Chapter 1: Web Accessibility Benefits and Barriers The leading body for web standards, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), published voluntary accessibility guidelines in 1999, the year I began my Internet career. The guidelines instruct web practitioners on how to remove barriers preventing disabled people from using the Web. Despite these guidelines and the passage of time, web accessibility rates in Canada and internationally have remained low. For years, I participated in Internet industry events, took courses, and followed trade news, yet I never encountered these guidelines. While managing a website in 2006, I heard of the issue from a colleague. Learning of the difficulties disabled people face using the Web and appreciating the medium‟s potential, I decided to strive for accessibility in an upcoming website relaunch. Implementation, however, was considerably more difficult than anticipated. I encountered ample prescription, but little support. Without a mandate from management or clients, I struggled to reconcile the social importance of the work with its significant time commitment. I was intrigued by the question of whether my experience was similar to that of other web practitioners. Prior to interviewing peers, I presumed they would be largely unaware of this issue. My research uncovered most web practitioners have at least a fair degree of familiarity with web accessibility, but this often was not translating into adoption. It thus seems awareness of the issue is not a leading cause of inaccessibility, and that other factors shape practitioners‟ decisions to implement accessibility. There is little research on the adoption challenges of web accessibility. To answer my research question of why more Canadian websites are not accessible, a foundational examination of the issue‟s dimensions was therefore required. Published work in this area has tended to
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