FW: Thematic Session on Non-visual Access to Complex Document at HCII 2005

 
 
Gregg

 -- ------------------------------ 
Gregg C Vanderheiden Ph.D. 


Subject: Thematic Session on Non-visual Access to Complex Document at HCII
2005

NON-VISUAL ACCESS OF COMPLEX DOCUMENT COMPONENTS
[Thematic Session, 11th International Conference on Human Computer
Interaction]
22-27 July, 2004 - Las Vegas, Nevada

In recent years we have witnessed a significant push towards the use of the
Web for the 
delivery of course-material and, more in general, to sustain the task of
coursework 
engineering. This is particularly evident in the realm of Web-based distance
education, 
which is quickly becoming the favorite media to reach a more diverse student
population 
(e.g., rural areas and students with limited mobility).
One of the primary limitations experienced by a blind student using a
computer is the 
inability to benefit from the visual feedback presented on the screen. 
Existing technology has proposed effective ways to reduce this access
limitation in the 
context of textual components of Web documents, through the use of adequate 
peripherals and software, allowing the output of the programs' execution to
be presented 
as refreshable braille or as synthesized speech.
On the other hand, scientific and engineering documentation and publications
are highly 
structured, and require the use of mathematical formulae, charts, tables,
and diagrams for 
an adequate presentation. All these components are inherently
multidimensional. The 
spatial layout of information in highly structured documents is inherent
part of the 
semantics of the documents, and direct visual feedback and visual context is
required to 
warrant adequate understanding and navigation of the document.

The purpose of this special session is to present recent research results
and discuss 
research directions in the area of non-visual accessibility of complex
documents, 
including 
*	Accessibility of mathematics 
*	Accessibility of tables, frames, and other complex document
components 
*	Web accessibility 
*	Multimodal document presentation methods for visually impaired
individuals 

Paper Formats: 
In order to organize the session, we seek notes of interest, in the form of
title, list of 
authors, and a one paragraph abstract by April lst. Full papers are expected
by October 15 
and they will be reviewed by a committee of experts. 

Important dates 
*	Note of interest: April 1st, 2004 
*	Paper submission: October 15, 2004
*	Notification of acceptance: November 15, 2004
*	Camera ready: February 1st, 2005
*	Conference: July 22-27, 2005

Received on Wednesday, 24 March 2004 00:43:41 UTC