Involving, Empowering, and Training End Users with Disabilities to Fully Participate in the Web Accessibility Directive Objectives First Results from the UPowerWAD Project.

In this paper, we present the first results from the UPowerWAD Project - a project which aims to raise awareness and to empower and train people with disabilities to take active participation in the implementation of the Web Accessibility Directive (WAD). We give an overview of the results on how to capture and categorize feedback from users in the context of web accessibility and present best practices for structuring and reporting web accessibility issues. The results will be discussed focusing on the relevance and implications for further steps in the project.

Key parameters of head-heart electrical stunning need to be adapted to improve stunning effectiveness and meat quality in pigs of different genetic lines.

Adjustment of key parameters of electrical stunning of pigs is necessary to better respect animal welfare and avoid impairments of meat quality. In the present study, we analysed the effect of genetic line, stunning program and genetic line × stunning program interactions on stunning effectiveness, carcass and meat quality traits in 10,338 pigs from five different genetic lines in a German slaughterhouse using electrical stunning (two-cycle method head/heart current). Genetic line, stunning program and its interaction significantly influenced stunning effectiveness and pH in the semimembranosus muscle. Backup stunning rates ranged from 1.59 to 5.01% in the five genetic lines, and were significantly decreased (2.85%) in program 1 using a current of 1.3 to 1.35 A, 800 Hz and 1 s for the head-cycle compared to program 2 (4.73%) with 1.8 A, 100 Hz and 4.5 s. We suggest to consider genetic line × stunning program interactions when adjusting officially defined stunning parameters for head-heart electrical stunning.

Usage of digital media by people with intellectual disabilities: Contrasting individuals' and formal caregivers' perspectives.

Although participation in the digital world is an important means for taking part in our society, people with intellectual disabilities are still largely excluded from the manifold possibilities of digital participation. In our study, we investigate attitudes of both formal caregivers and people with intellectual disabilities in Germany regarding their usage of digital media. Our sample consisted of 24 formal caregivers working in residential or outpatient facilities in Germany, and 50 people with intellectual disabilities living in those settings. Data were collected during semi-structured interviews with formal caregivers and focus group discussions with people with intellectual disabilities, and analyzed using inductive content analysis. The findings illustrate that the perspectives on digital media usage differ between people with intellectual disabilities and formal caregivers regarding (i) interest in accessing the Internet and digital media, (ii) interest in education programs, and (iii) the variety of applications used. The perspectives of both target groups will be discussed and contrasted.

Definition of "Total Accessibility" for Public Transport.

The paper describes the approach and results of a German study as an example of strategies in German legislation relating to accessibility in public transport. In the study a participatory approach was followed to reach consensus about the interpretation and definition of a new legislative term "vollständige Barrierefreiheit (total accessibility)".

Participation and Autonomy for Users with ABI Through Easy Social Media Access.

The Mediata app is a mobile application providing easy access to internet and social media for persons with acquired brain injury. This paper presents design, working hypotheses and expected results of a participative user experience study to evaluate the impact of the Mediata application on participation and autonomy of users with acquired brain injury.

Better Questions, Better Answers: Structured Web Accessibility Evaluations for Non-Experts.

Large scale benchmarking of web accessibility can benefit from human input to complement results produced by automatic evaluation tools. This paper presents a novel method that enables non-experts to provide input on web accessibility. The semi-automatic approach guides the evaluators through a structured process with clear instructions. We present a template to describe different types of user input and an outline of the empirical validation.

Way-Finding Support in Public Transport Environments provided by the NAMO Mobile Travel Assistance System.

The NAMO travel assistance system is a mobile application providing support for elder travellers in public transport and on foot. The system combines technical and human support during the journey, especially in situations where many seniors experience orientation difficulties. Several approaches to way-finding and orientation support have been developed. This paper introduces the different approaches and presents the results of the extensive user evaluations, leading to recommendations for future development of mobile travel assistance applications for seniors.

Implementing UNCRPD - Barrier Free Access to Buildings in NRW - Database and Signet "NRW Inklusiv".

UNCRD [1] has reemphasized the relevance of barrier free accessibility to infrastructures. Article 9 deals with accessibility of the manmade environment including buildings. Although accessibility has been required by people with disabilities for decades the existing built infrastructure often lacks adequate accessibility. If at all, it addresses requirements for users of wheelchairs but not for users with sensory or cognitive challenges. In this paper the development of a survey and publication of data from buildings is reported. The methodology is based on user participation and inclusion and follows a civil society approach, embedded in the overall strategy for inclusion in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). The internet portal presenting the information to the public is a first step to improve accessibility. An award on this data basis is proposed as incentive.

Water- and ionic-liquid-soluble branched polythiophenes bearing anionic and cationic moieties.

The synthesis of ionically functionalized branched polythiophenes with either carboxylic acid (anionic, P3T-COOH) or methylimidazolium (cationic, P3T-MIM) end groups is presented. Due to the large number of end groups present in the polymer, the functionalization has a major impact on the solubility of the polymers. In the case of P3T-COOH, the polymer shows a fully reversible phase transfer between organic solvents and water, depending on the pH. Remarkably, the ionic-liquid-modified polymer P3T-MIM is soluble in a room-temperature ionic liquid. The absorption properties are unaffected by the functional end groups.