Special Issue of TOCHI on Web Accessibility
ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI)

Special issue editors: Andrew Sears (UMBC), Vicki Hanson (IBM T. J. Watson
Research Center), and Brad Myers (CMU) 

September 1, 2005: Deadline to submit Abstract/Intention to submit statement 

November 1, 2005: Deadline to submit manuscripts for review 

The Web has become pervasive in our society, with people using the web for
personal communication, research, company intranets, online purchasing,
entertainment, and more. For many people, however, access to this information
is not a given. Individuals with various disabilities, including visual,
physical, hearing, and cognitive, often experience difficulties using the
Web. The W3C has created guidelines for web content designed to make sites
accessible. Research has shown, however, that even websites designed
according to these guidelines may not be easily used by persons with
disabilities. What do we need to do as HCI professionals to understand and
prepare our systems to maximize the accessibility and usability of websites? 

The aim of this Special Issue is to present high quality, original,
manuscripts related to the topic of Web accessibility that will contribute to
the usability of the Web for all persons, regardless of ability or
disability. All manuscripts must be related to HCI and not on general issues
of  website compliance. Manuscripts must be original, but significant
expansions and revisions of papers recently presented at conferences are will
be considered. Possible topics include: 

    Empirical studies of issues related to the usability of websites by
    persons with disabilities (e.g., individuals with vision, motor, hearing,
    and cognitive limitations that make it difficult to read and interact
    with Web content; issues of Web access by older adults is appropriate). 

    Technologies, tools or methods for easing Web access for persons with
    disabilities (e.g., hardware devices, transcoding technologies, and Web
    services) backed up with empirical studies that demonstrate their
    effectiveness. 

Abstract/Intention to Submit: that we can assess the suitability of your
proposed paper for the special issue, and make sure that we have sufficient
reviewers ready for the number of papers to be submitted, please e-mail an
abstract of about 150-200 words to tochi2005@umbc.edu by September 1, 2005. 
The final manuscript is due November 1st but early submissions are encouraged. 

All contributions will be rigorously peer reviewed to the usual exacting
standards of TOCHI. Further information, including TOCHI submission
procedures and advice on formatting and preparing your manuscript, can be
found at: http://www.acm.org/tochi/ 

Final manuscripts are to be submitted via the ACM online manuscript system
at: http://acm.manuscriptcentral.com/ 

To discuss a possible contribution, please contact the special issue editors:
tochi2005@umbc.edu

Contributed by Andrew Sears