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Overview of NSI websites and accessibility score from the WTKollen
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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/29175.].
The implementation of PWA as a necessary feature aims to provide added value and enhance website performance. This is intended to address several common issues in websites, such as limitations in displaying pages offline and the cost of developing native applications across various operating system platforms, both for desktop and mobile devices. Da...
Citations
... inaccessible (Snaprud & Velazquez, 2020). Bourdieu (2004) and Ferreira and Silva (2020) caution that the implications of processes of mathematization vary between fields, contexts, and moments in history. ...
Data visualizations (DVs) are visual representations of quantitative data, which are used to convey information. The aim of my PhD research was to better understand the implications for readers of the use of DVs in journalistic media. Journalistic DVs were explored from the perspectives of
(1) Visual-numeric literacy (VNL), which describes the capabilities that DVs demand from readers,
(2) Everyday mathematics, which is the mathematics that people engage with in various life situations (school, work, domestic life, etc.), and
(3) Mathematization as a social process, the tendency of some human practices to become increasingly quantitative and mathematical.
In this PhD, the main theoretical perspective was social semiotics, but it was also informed by a sociological perspective of late modernity. The empirical base for the studies in this PhD was textual analysis of newspaper weather forecasts (NWFs) in the period 1945-2020 and journalistic COVID-19 DVs, and an analysis of interviews with young adults on their sense making of COVID-19 DVs.
The analysis revealed that NWFs shifted over time from verbally ‘telling’ readers about the weather, to offering abundant information in tables and maps that the readers must organize and interpret themselves. The senders’ voice changed from being a conversationalist or scientist to a blend of an advertiser and a scientist. These changes relate to processes of mathematization in meteorology and journalism. The analysis of journalistic COVID-19 DVs showed that the DVs convey much information (how many, where, how it changes, etc.) through numerous formats (maps, line graphs, etc.), complex sign systems (coordinates, relative numbers, color codes, etc.) and flexible use of conventions (e.g., missing vertical axis). Readers were expected to make sense of these DVs and interpret their significance and implications. Cues about data sources, data handling methods and errors invited readers to reflect on the trustworthiness of the data and their visualization. The interviews showed that adults have unequal opportunities for making sense of DVs. It was observed that the three aspects of VNL, decoding, acting (e.g. toggling in a DV, using a DV for making decisions) and reflection were mutually supporting one another, and a readers’ background knowledgeabout the situation (i.e., COVID-19) supported the understanding of the sign system.
Regarding VNL, everyday mathematics, mathematization as a social process and the connection between these perspectives my research offers evidence that the use of DVs in journalistic media has increased over time, that they mediate information from experts (meteorologists, epidemiologists) to lay people, that the VNL required of readers is quite sophisticated, and that journalistic DVs have changed everyday mathematics. The changes do not consist of more or less mathematics, but of an increased variety of quantitative information presented in visual, flexible and informal systems. A sociological synthesis relates the complexities of reading DVs to mathematization as a social process. For example, globalization and reembedding (of journalism, DVs, meteorology, epidemiology, data collections, mathematical models, VNL, etc.) enable readers of DVs to access more and more diverse information yet creates obstacles for intimacy and trust through the increased opacity of underlying data collections and mathematical models. Insight into these mathematical processes is necessary for reflecting critically on DVs. Mathematics education can play a key role in helping students to develop their VNL and pave the way for participating in society, and lifelong learning.
... In this context, obstacles to accessing data can exacerbate societal inequalities, particularly among individuals with disabilities, who already contend with various social and economic disparities. Recent examples have highlighted challenges in accessing public health information [24] [25] [26], political data [27], preserving professional autonomy [28], and securing quality education [29] [30]. ...
Purpose
A remote user test was performed with two versions (one accessible and another one non-accessible) of three types of web-based charts (horizontal bar chart, vertical stacked bar chart, and line chart). The objectives of the test were a) to validate a set of heuristic indicators for the evaluation of the accessibility of statistical charts presented in a previous work [7]; b) to identify new barriers and preferences for users with low vision in the access and use of this content not previously contemplated.
Methods
12 users were tested, with a variety of conditions associated with low vision: low visual acuity (6 users), reduced central vision (2 users), reduced peripheral vision (2 users), blurry vision (1 user), sensitivity to light (3 users), Nystagmus (2 users) and color vision deficiency (CVD) (4 users).
Results
From a quantitative standpoint, accessible versions of charts were more efficient, effective, and satisfactory. From a qualitative point of view, results verify the relevance of heuristics H2, Legend; H3, Axes; H6, Data source (as data table); H10, Safe colors; H11, Contrast; H12, Legibility; H13, Image quality; H14, Resize; H16, Focus visible; H17, Independent navigation; related to the proposed tasks. As new observations, tooltips were highly valued by all users, but their implementation must be improved to avoid covering up significant parts of the charts when displayed. The data table has also been frequently used by all users, especially in the non-accessible versions, allowing them to carry out tasks more efficiently. The position and size of the legend can be a significant barrier if it is too small or appears in an unusual position. Finally, despite the limitations related to color perception, some users prefer color graphics to black and white, so, to target all profiles, it is necessary to redundantly encode categories with colors and patterns as well.
A remote user test was performed with two versions (one accessible and one non-accessible) of three types of web-based charts (horizontal bar chart, vertical stacked bar chart, and line chart). The objectives of the test were: (a) to validate a set of heuristic indicators for the evaluation of the accessibility of statistical charts presented in a previous work (Fariñas Falcón et al. in Mediocentro Electrónica 21(1):65–68, 2017); (b) to identify new barriers and preferences for users with low vision in the access and use of this content not previously contemplated. 12 users were tested, with a variety of conditions associated with low vision: low visual acuity (6 users), reduced central vision (2 users), reduced peripheral vision (2 users), blurry vision (1 user), sensitivity to light (3 users), Nystagmus (2 users) and color vision deficiency (CVD) (4 users). From a quantitative standpoint, accessible versions of charts were more efficient, effective, and satisfactory. From a qualitative point of view, results verify the relevance of heuristics H2, Legend; H3, Axes; H6, Data source (as data table); H10, Safe colors; H11, Contrast; H12, Legibility; H13, Image quality; H14, Resize; H16, Focus visible; H17, Independent navigation; related to the proposed tasks. As new observations, tooltips were highly valued by all users, but their implementation must be improved to avoid covering up significant parts of the charts when displayed. The data table has also been frequently used by all users, especially in the non-accessible versions, allowing them to carry out tasks more efficiently. The position and size of the legend can be a significant barrier if it is too small or appears in an unusual position. Finally, despite the limitations related to color perception, some users prefer color graphics to black and white, so, to target all profiles, it is necessary to redundantly encode categories with colors and patterns as well.
