Am I missing something?

Whitney, Gill; Kolar, Irena

doi:10.1007/s10209-019-00648-z

“…Thanks to the Internet, online publics have ever increased access to information, however, the Internet remains inaccessible to certain groups of people (Lewis and Klauber, 2002). In the case of blind and partially sighted people, this could include websites with poor colour contrast, or pages where text is built into image files and thus uninterpretable by a screen reader (Whitney and Kolar, 2019). A third-party guide can help mediate these experiences by making the information accessible.…”

Section: Third Party Guides: Travel Agents Tour Companies and Tour Gu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Sight Specificity: Investigating Third Party Guiding Services for Blind and Partially Sighted Sightseers

Smith

2024

Preprint

0

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This paper investigates the techniques third-party guides employ to create positive experiences for their blind and partially sighted clients. The literature reviewed outlines the implications of sightseeing while blind and the role that third party guides can play within the experiences of sightseeing, particularly for those who experience disability . Qualitative content analysis was used on five transcripts of expert interviews conducted by the researcher with professional travel agents and tour providers who provide services to blind and partially sighted clients. The results of the analysis indicate the importance of thorough communication among all stakeholders prior to the sightseeing experiences, the need for expert scouting trips to assess the accessibility of prospective destinations, and the role on-site guides play in chaperoning and supporting clients. Despite challenges encountered in their work, the experts prioritise educating tourism professionals and members of the public in an effort to reduce the attitudinal barriers that stand in the way of robust accessibility improvements. 1 Throughout this MRP when discussing disability I employ person-first language, in accordance with Wright's (1960) seminal argument: "Since physique does stimulate value judgments, it is particularly important to use expressions insofar as feasible that separate physical attributes from the total person" (p. 8).

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“…Thanks to the Internet, online publics have ever increased access to information, however, the Internet remains inaccessible to certain groups of people (Lewis and Klauber, 2002). In the case of blind and partially sighted people, this could include websites with poor colour contrast, or pages where text is built into image files and thus uninterpretable by a screen reader (Whitney and Kolar, 2019). A third-party guide can help mediate these experiences by making the information accessible.…”

Section: Third Party Guides: Travel Agents Tour Companies and Tour Gu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Sight Specificity: Investigating Third Party Guiding Services for Blind and Partially Sighted Sightseers

Smith

2024

Preprint

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper investigates the techniques third-party guides employ to create positive experiences for their blind and partially sighted clients. The literature reviewed outlines the implications of sightseeing while blind and the role that third party guides can play within the experiences of sightseeing, particularly for those who experience disability . Qualitative content analysis was used on five transcripts of expert interviews conducted by the researcher with professional travel agents and tour providers who provide services to blind and partially sighted clients. The results of the analysis indicate the importance of thorough communication among all stakeholders prior to the sightseeing experiences, the need for expert scouting trips to assess the accessibility of prospective destinations, and the role on-site guides play in chaperoning and supporting clients. Despite challenges encountered in their work, the experts prioritise educating tourism professionals and members of the public in an effort to reduce the attitudinal barriers that stand in the way of robust accessibility improvements. 1 Throughout this MRP when discussing disability I employ person-first language, in accordance with Wright's (1960) seminal argument: "Since physique does stimulate value judgments, it is particularly important to use expressions insofar as feasible that separate physical attributes from the total person" (p. 8).

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“…Much of the research on accessibility and social media focuses on persons with visual disabilities. Research specifically about alt text usage has found that a lack of consistent use of alt text has led some blind and low-vision users to leave Twitter because of the lack of accessibility (Morris et al, 2016;Whitney & Kolar, 2020). In a study of blind users' web use, a lack of alt text for images was one of the top complaints (Lazar et al, 2007).…”

Section: Social Media and Accessibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

‘May Be a Picture of a Dog and a Book’: The Inaccessibility of Public Library Social Media Feeds

Hill

¹

,

Oswald

²

2023

Partnership

3

0

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This research investigates the accessibility of Ontario public libraries’ social media feeds. Social media plays an important role in how public libraries engage with their communities. This patron engagement outside of library-maintained websites, raises questions around accessibility for persons with disabilities. Given the increasing usage of social media as a communication mechanism, how accessible are Ontario public library social media feeds? Of specific interest here is the use of alternative text (alt text) attributed to images posted on Ontario public libraries’ social media posts. Findings indicate a dearth of alt text on social media feeds. Suggestions are made for creating good alt text in order to create a more equitable environment.

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Am I missing something?

Abstract: (2020) Am I missing something? Experiences of using social media by blind and partially sighted users. Universal Access in the Information Society, 19 (2). pp. 461-469.

Cited by 14 publications

References 23 publications

Beyond Sight Specificity: Investigating Third Party Guiding Services for Blind and Partially Sighted Sightseers

Beyond Sight Specificity: Investigating Third Party Guiding Services for Blind and Partially Sighted Sightseers

Beyond Sight Specificity: Investigating Third Party Guiding Services for Blind and Partially Sighted Sightseers

‘May Be a Picture of a Dog and a Book’: The Inaccessibility of Public Library Social Media Feeds

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