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This paper deconstructs everyday mobility practices from a perspective of accessibility and social and transport (dis)advantage in two capital port cities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) – Freetown, Sierra Leone and Maputo, Mozambique. The paper proposes a novel framework that interprets social and transport (dis)advantage conditions as critical drivers of mobility behaviours and the resulting (in)accessibility that circumscribes individuals’ experience. Building on its framework, the paper raises unique empirical qualitative evidence from eight neighbourhoods about mobility practices across populations facing different degrees of social and transport (dis)advantage. The study’s design is grounded in the in-depth understanding of accessibility using qualitative methods as a counterpoint to predominant quantitative and spatial approaches, filling critical data gaps in cities in SSA. The findings reveal a deep-seated aspiration for car ownership, tempered by the urgency of other immediate material needs, as well as the dynamic nature of travel behaviour due to changing conditions during the day and throughout the year. The findings also indicate informality plays a significant role in enabling access to critical opportunities and the need to strengthen trust in popular transport systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have a profoundly higher risk of death or injury than their peers when natural disasters occur. International policies call for inclusive disaster risk reduction education (DRRE) to help ameliorate this situation. This paper focuses on Indonesia, which has one the highest incidences of these disasters. A three-part structured literature review was undertaken regarding DRRE and children with SEND, followed by a questionnaire to in schools. Firstly, potential papers were screened against explicit criteria, yielding 23 papers for inclusion in the review. Secondly, these 23 papers were screened for identifiable DRR programmes, producing 12 items. Thirdly, evaluations of these 12 programmes were sought. The findings revealed that children with SEND were largely absent within the published research, the DRRE programmes, and all subsequent evaluations of the DRRE programmes. Questionnaire responses from 769 teachers from across Indonesia indicated that DRRE was often lacking, and that no programmes that were being used were accessible for all children. This is the first study to gain this insight and it concludes that there is a need for DRRE across mainstream, inclusive, and special schools, which has an inclusive and enagaing pedagogy that is accessible for all children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased awareness, interest and use of assistive technology (AT) presents substantial opportunities for many citizens to become, or continue being, meaningful participants in society. However, there is a significant shortfall between the need for and provision of AT, and this is patterned by a range of social, demographic and structural factors. To seize the opportunity that assistive technology offers, regional, national and sub-national assistive technology policies are urgently required. This paper was developed for and through discussion at the Global Research, Innovation and Education on Assistive Technology (GREAT) Summit; organized under the auspices of the World Health Organization’s Global Collaboration on Assistive Technology (GATE) program. It outlines some of the key principles that AT polices should address and recognizes that AT policy should be tailored to the realities of the contexts and resources available. AT policy should be developed as a part of the evolution of related policy across a number of different sectors and should have clear and direct links to AT as mediators and moderators for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The consultation process, development and implementation of policy should be fully inclusive of AT users, and their representative organizations, be across the lifespan, and imbued with a strong systems-thinking ethos. Six barriers are identified which funnel and diminish access to AT and are addressed systematically within this paper. We illustrate an example of good practice through a case study of AT services in Norway, and we note the challenges experienced in less well-resourced settings. A number of economic factors relating to AT and economic arguments for promoting AT use are also discussed. To address policy-development the importance of active citizenship and advocacy, the need to find mechanisms to scale up good community practices to a higher level, and the importance of political engagement for the policy process, are highlighted. Policy should be evidence-informed and allowed for evidence-making; however, it is important to account for other factors within the given context in order for policy to be practical, authentic and actionable. Implications for Rehabilitation: The development of policy in the area of asssitive technology is important to provide an overarching vision and outline resourcing priorities. This paper identifies some of the key themes that should be addressed when developing or revising assistive technology policy. Each country should establish a National Assistive Technology policy and develop a theory of change for its implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPublic transport inherently involves encounters with other people. For women, negotiating everyday overcrowded, unsafe, and unreliable conditions is a major barrier to accessing public transport mobility that triggers emotions. Using qualitative research methods – in-depth interviews and visual surveys – this study delves beyond understanding the barriers and looks at the affective realm to comprehend how affects and emotions shape accessibility, acceptability, and affordability of public transport for women in Kolkata. The disruptive affects of overcrowded, unsafe, and unreliable conditions produce emotional ordeals, increase travel time and costs, and restrict mobility. The sense of despair that emerges compels women to adjust, accept, and even opt out of overcrowded, unsafe, and unreliable public transport more often than not. This paper argues that affects, emotions, reactions, and consequences are entangled and impact the accessibility, acceptability, and affordability of public transport. The contribution of this paper lies in bringing to the fore the need for feminist inquiries into gendered mobility inequalities and the role of affects and emotions therein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

App-based mobility (ABM) is an umbrella term for several transport services enabled through a smartphone application. Ride-hailing is the most popular ABM service, and even more than a decade after its introduction, it continues to raise concerns about its impacts on urban mobility. Previous ride-hailing research has primarily focused on understanding such impacts. However, how ride-hailing affects accessibility and social exclusion remains an understudied topic. Prior research highlights this knowledge gap and proposes a framework linking ABM with transport poverty, (in)accessibility and the resulting transport-related social exclusion (TRSE). Yet, empirical evidence is lacking to test such a framework. This paper addresses this gap by providing empirical evidence on how ABM affects accessibility using survey data collected for three large metropolitan areas in Latin America. We follow three related lines of analysis. First, we compare ride-hailing to other transport modes based on the most regular trips reported in the survey. Second, we calculate novel social and transport (dis)advantage indices to extend the comparison of transport modes. Third, we shed light on why respondents have used ride-hailing services in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis paper examines the barriers hindering access to digital financial services for individuals with disabilities in China and proposes strategies to address these challenges. Despite rapid growth in inclusive digital finance, practical experience reveals uneven coverage, leading to digital exclusion and discriminatory practices. Barriers include limited access to digital infrastructure, standardised financial products neglecting diverse needs, and insufficient financial education. Moreover, legal safeguards exhibit notable deficiencies, lacking the incorporation of accessibility requirements and effective enforcement mechanisms. Therefore, strengthening legislative, enforcement, and judicial safeguards is essential. Proposed measures include integrating accessibility provisions into financial laws, developing tailored regulatory mechanisms, and enhancing judicial interpretations. These efforts will improve accessibility and foster a digitally enriched quality of life for individuals with disabilities in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of accessibility to the information associated with European built heritage is a significant factor of exclusion that precludes many European citizens from appropriating a shared cultural heritage. Nowadays, three-dimensional scanning, modelling, and rendering technologies provide many highly effective tools to virtually access the available digital heritage of many European buildings in different historical periods through images, videos, texts, libraries, or specific databases of information associated with historical-scientific knowledge. However, several factors, such as the availability of human, economic, and technical resources, the heterogeneity of the standards and the lack of regulations, still hinder the possibility of translating data into usable content for a wider audience and the chances of creating collaboration between professional experts and scholars. Considering that, the paper focuses on defining the User Experience (UX) of INCEPTION's web platform, a European-funded multidisciplinary research project that has adopted new web technologies to develop open-source three-dimensional models of cultural heritage buildings for digital architectural conservation. The paper evaluates the importance of adopting a User-Centred Design (UCD) approach and involving stakeholders and end-users throughout the design development process, as they actively contributed to fostering more accessibility and inclusiveness for the final INCEPTION's web configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractNot all approaches to collaborative housing deliver equally on affordability, accessibility, and autonomy. Some cases may become expensive or enclaved, while others that are accessible and affordable may have little collaboration. This paper compares eight cases of collaborative housing in Milan and Amsterdam to understand how collaboration projects deal with demands for affordability, accessibility, and autonomy. We identify four categories of collaborative housing—common, self-promoted, co-managed, and developer-led—along the two axes of tenure type and project initiator. Trade-offs in affordability, accessibility, and autonomy always persist; however, each can be fostered by three of the types (all but developer-led) when explicitly established as core values of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractLittle research has examined the aspects of PMs’ use among individuals who are blind or visually impaired (BVI) who face extra challenges while entering credentials, such as low typing rates, low typing accuracy, shoulder surfing attacks, and verification of the entered data. This paper explores how knowledgeable BVI individuals are of digital security threats; the status of accessibility in security software; awareness of PMs among BVI; and the factors that drive rejection or adoption of PMs. Our findings revealed that the self-reported knowledge of digital security threats is high; there are many accessibility shortcomings in various security software; and the awareness of PMs among BVI individuals is relatively high, although actual use is far less. About 1/4-th of the participants in the study who tried using PMs rejected them. We found that inaccessibility, cross-platform differences, and security concerns as the top rejection factors. By contrast, convenience, effort saving, and accuracy were the primary adoption factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To ensure full participation of people with disabilities in research, accessibility of the instruments employed is essential. This paper describes an exploratory research which included the adaptation of the AIR Self-Determination Scale and the Promotion of Autonomous Decision-Making Scale. The adaptation was designed to enable Hebrew-speaking young adults with physical disability, autism, psychosocial disability, complex learning disabilities, deafness or hearing impairment, or blindness or visual impairment, to complete a self-report questionnaire. It included extensive wording simplifications. In addition, original Likert scales were reduced, and symbols were added to improve accessibility. The forms were modified to a coloured format with more visible headings, including use of a screen reader and additional visual adaptations. The adaptation process included three phases: questionnaire adaptation, examination of face and content validity, and a reliability assessment of the final version. The process was informed by input from young adults with disabilities. We conclude that simplified language, symbols, and visual effects should be considered when adapting questionnaires for people with disabilities. In addition, consulting with individuals with disabilities as experts by experience, should be integral to the adaptation of instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the programming period of 2021–2027, the European Union (EU) encourages and supports cities and towns across the community to take action to enlarge their green infrastructure and develop and improve urban green spaces. As the provision of equal opportunities is a horizontal principle of the EU, the needs of vulnerable and disabled people are crucial to consider in developments. Using survey data from 102 respondents in Hungary, this paper explores and assesses blind and visually impaired people’s perceptions of urban green spaces and factors that support or hinder them from accessing and using the parks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air transportation is a mode of transport developed specifically to provide access to long-distance destinations that may otherwise be infeasible or at least more difficult to reach. Accordingly, there are distinct aspects of air travel that require consideration when assessing accessibility by air transportation, which are not addressed in general local accessibility studies. This paper reviews studies of accessibility by air transportation. The studies in question were published in academic journals, and we analysed them using the broad theoretical framework of accessibility of Geurs and van Wee [Accessibility evaluation of land-use and transport strategies: Review and research directions. Journal of Transport Geography, 12(2), 127–140]. We discuss the characteristics of accessibility by air transportation to consider when designing research, as well as trends and knowledge gaps in the existing literature. An important gap is that, while there is a growing interest towards perceived accessibility by air transportation, accessibility measures based on this perspective have not yet been applied yet. Additionally, the literature is largely focused on the transport and land-use components of accessibility as opposed to the individual and temporal components. We finish by discussing the benefits and drawbacks of directly applying conventional accessibility measures for research on accessibility by air transportation, as well as options to modify the temporal component of conventional person-based accessibility measures for better applicability in the air travel context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our societies struggle to provide a good life for all without overconsuming environmental resources. Consequently, scholarly search for approaches to meet environmental and social goals of sustainability have become popular. In transport research, accessibility is a key tool to characterise linkages between people, transport, and land use. In the current paper, we propose a conceptual framework for measuring just accessibility within planetary boundaries. We reviewed transport studies and discovered a substantial literature body on accessibility and social disadvantage, much vaster compared to the literature around environmental and ecological impacts of accessibility. We also show a gap in approaches that have integrated these two perspectives. Building on the review, we suggest a conceptual framework for incorporating environmental and social sustainability goals in accessibility research. We conclude the paper by pointing to key challenges and research avenues related to the framework, including (i) dealing with uncertainty and complexity in socio-ecological thresholds, (ii) integrating environmental limits into the conceptualisations of transport equity, (iii) measuring accessibility through other costs than travel time, and (iv) integrating both quantitative and qualitative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper builds on recent debates within cultural policy and cultural studies, arguing that questions of cultural meaning-making processes need to be taken into account when assessing accessibility issues discussed in current academic and political contexts. Approaching opera as a cultural phenomenon in the context of a minority culture, the paper focuses on the alleged democratization process entailed by digitalization. Departing from the division between the democratization of culture, referring to the dissemination of cultural works to those lacking access, and cultural democracy, in short, to value the subjective judgement of taste, the paper aims to investigate the connections between the meaning of opera and the cultural context in which this meaning is conceptualized. The opera culture among the Swedish-speaking Finns, a small, heterogeneous language minority, is used as a case study. The paper concludes that as long as the cultural meaning of opera is to stand for valuable, high culture, attempts to democratize opera will lead to new renegotiations between the high and the common. Understanding such connections between cultural policies concerning digital accessibility and cultural meaning is especially important in the post-pandemic era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract \nPoints of interest Proper adaptation of banking mobile applications to the needs of people with disabilities can play a crucial role in minimising the financial exclusion. The article examines selected mobile banking applications of four Polish banks in the context of their adaptation to the needs of consumers with disabilities. The project used a descriptive case study method based on analytical induction, and observation was carried out for six months. The analysis of the application was conducted in two parts: the adaptation of interfaces and functionalities to the preferences of people with disabilities in terms of readability, the efficiency of the application, and comprehensibility of the form of information transfer, and other accessible functionalities within the analysed applications that meet the needs of people with disabilities. The study’s results indicate the strengths of the accessibility of the analysed mobile applications as well as their limitations in enhancing independent living for people with disabilities. Smartphones and mobile apps are becoming an inseparable part of the everyday life of consumers all over the world. The paper examines the design of modern banking apps in Poland in the context of their adaptation to the needs of consumers with disabilities. While the tested mobile applications meet many criteria of accessibility, there is room for improvement. The study indicates that further guidelines are needed to improve the usability and accessibility of banking apps and help conduct further consumer research in this area. Smartphones and mobile apps are becoming an inseparable part of the everyday life of consumers all over the world.The paper examines the design of modern banking apps in Poland in the context of their adaptation to the needs of consumers with disabilities.While the tested mobile applications meet many criteria of accessibility, there is room for improvement.The study indicates that further guidelines are needed to improve the usability and accessibility of banking apps and help conduct further consumer research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conduct a systematic scoping review of the academic literature concerning pedestrian accessibility. We distinguish "walking accessibility" from the broader topic of "walkability" by two criteria: papers must consider one or more destination type(s), and papers must address the issue of distance or impedance. After searching Web of Science, TRID, and Google Scholar databases and conducting screening, we identify 85 papers meeting these criteria. We organise the literature review according to the four components of accessibility identified by Geurs and van Wee [(2004). Accessibility evaluation of land-use and transport strategies: Review and research directions. Journal of Transport Geography, 12(2), 127–140]: (1) Land use; (2) transport; (3) temporal; and (4) individual and also add a section on the topic of impedance. Walking accessibility studies address a much greater range of land uses or destination types than is typically found for other modes. The transportation component is relatively undeveloped, as pedestrian infrastructure includes many influential elements not currently tracked in GIS systems. Few studies address the temporal component of walk accessibility, which varies according to climatic and nighttime conditions. Most papers do not account for the significant variation across individual capabilities and preferences regarding walking. We note that developing detailed pedestrian networks is a key first step, as most published analysis is conducted on roadway networks. A second major recommendation is to consider individual variations in walk accessibility across demographic classifications, accounting for varying levels of physical mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, typing is considered as one of the highly important aspects of accessibility that the visually impaired and blinds struggle with the most as existing virtual keyboards are complex and slow. This paper proposes a new text entry method named SwingBoard for visually impaired and blind smartphone users to solve their accessibility problem. It supports a–z, 0–9, 7 punctuations, 12 symbols, and eight keyboard functionalities that are arranged in 8 zones (specific range of angles), four segments, two modes, and different gestures. The proposed keyboard is suitable for the either single-handed or both-handed operation that tracks swipe angle and length to trigger any of the 66 key events. The key triggering process is based on only swiping the finger at different angles with different lengths. Typing speed of SwingBoard is increased by including some effective features such as the quick alphabet and number mode shifting, haptic feedback feature, talkback on swipe to learn the map quickly, and customizable swipe length feature. At the end of 150 one-minute tests, seven blind participants reached an average of 19.89 words per minute (WPM) with an 88% accuracy rate which is one of the fastest-ever recorded average typing speeds for the blind. Almost all users found SwingBoard effective, easy to learn and want to keep using it. SwingBoard is a handy virtual keyboard for visually impaired people with amazing typing speed and accuracy. Rehabilitation would be easier for a visually impaired/disabled person who can adapt the current technology-oriented world and use communication tools easily. As visually impaired and blind people faced a lot of problems in their regular life because of their inability to see things, coping with the evolving world's demands from a person to do a certain task using smart devices would be easier for them with the proposed virtual keyboard topology. As the number of visually impaired and blind users of smartphones rises, faster typing becomes a vital aspect of the smartphone experience. Deaf-blind communities are expanding but solutions for them are not increasing at the same pace because of the limitation of implication. Research on a virtual keyboard with the proposed eyes-free swipe-based typing operation and ears-free reliability on haptic feedback would enable others to create new solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing the need for curbing private motorization and car dependency while reducing inequalities associated with transport requires an in-depth understanding of the individual and collective practices, attitudes, and experiences of urban accessibility and mobility of populations across diverse socio-economic backgrounds. This paper builds on qualitative research methods and a framework of transitions to sustainable mobility to examine the links between travel needs, preferences, attitudes, and structural factors such as urban form, poverty, and informality at different scales. It proposes qualitative methods and evidence for accessibility-centred analysis to enrich policy and practice in cities across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), using Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, as a case study. While the volume of literature on urban mobility, accessibility, and land-use in SSA is increasing, scholarship on cities in Western Africa remains limited. The study examines four neighborhoods with different levels of access and motorization. It interrogates participants' perceived accessibility, how they shape differentiated everyday mobility and land-use practices at the individual and collective level, and its implications for urban accessibility and sustainable mobility in the medium to long-term future. We found that perceived accessibility influences everyday mobility and land-use practices and the attitudes of individuals in diverse communities toward sustainable mobility by driving them to trade off immediate needs with long-term risks and exposures, imaginaries of motorized futures, as well as collectively transform the functional and physical configurations of the built environment to address their most critical needs in the absence of suitable top-down transport and land-use interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to overcome geographical distance is necessary to participate in social inclusion activities, such as employment. This paper seeks to describe the accessibility of job opportunities outside Uruguay’s capital city metropolitan area. This analysis entails empirically assessing intercity accessibility because workers in small cities frequently have to commute outside their cities of residence. This research reveals different regional accessibility profiles and allows us to identify vulnerable regions based on lack of accessibility to job opportunities. For the most vulnerable regions, travel by public transport would afford access to a number of job opportunities that, after considering the number of job seekers, would provide a level of employment well below the national rate. The findings suggest that policies to improve accessibility should not be homogeneous and must consider regional disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractWe have made enormous technological and policy strides toward inclusive educational practices during the novel COVID-19 pandemic within the US; why have we rejected them despite the improved accessibility for students? As educators, we have the power to construct educational environments that meet the evolving needs of our students. To match the evolving needs of our students, educators must intentionally craft environments that facilitate learning for the populations who need it. This commentary paper outlines several recommendations to encourage educational equity for the evolving student population that are within the power of educators. Educators can encourage equitable classroom environments that provide educational opportunities to vulnerable and underserved students by adapting several key components of the adaptations made during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, namely flexible course modality, hybrid student support, and virtual opportunities for student engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe rise of virtual reality (VR) technology has opened up new opportunities for individuals with mobility impairments to participate in adaptive sports training. This paper reports on a survey study of individuals with mobility impairments to explore their expectations and needs when designing and developing VR games for adaptive sports training. Results indicate that participants are highly motivated to engage in VR adaptive sports training due to its promising potential and have specific requirements for game design and development, including ease of use, realistic gameplay, and accessible controls. This study highlights the transformative potential of VR technology in providing equal opportunities for individuals with mobility impairments to participate in adaptive sports training and promotes the development of inclusive VR games for disable users. Our findings have actionable implications for game designers, developers, and researchers, as they underscore the importance of accessibility and inclusiveness in the design and development of VR games for adaptive sports training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like most low-and-middle-income countries, Nigeria has been finding it difficult to meet the basic needs of her populace including their health needs. Nigerians are dying of preventable diseases because of poverty and the lack of a functional healthcare system. As a result, the Nigerian government introduced the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to cater to the health needs of its population. This study assessed the knowledge, accessibility and utilization of the NHIS among registered employees of federal government institutions in Ebonyi state. The study used Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews (IDIs) to collect data from 43 participants. The collected data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that most of the participants have accessed and utilized the scheme and saw it as a good healthcare system. They also reported a lack of most of the prescribed drugs and inadequate personnel at the NHIS clinics which is impacting the effectiveness of the scheme. The paper recommends that NHIS should create more awareness about the scheme, and cover more dependents, drugs, tests, and treatment bills to make it more effective in healthcare delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Street intersections are challenging for people with visual impairments. While tactile maps are an important support in both mobility training and independent journeys, the caseload of manual map production has made them less accessible. This paper explores the possibility of (semi-) automatically producing tactile maps for street intersections at large scales, with an initial evaluation focused on the graphic aspect of the produced maps. The automation attempts to identify acceptable default parameters and values and proposes an exploration of possible choices for potentially open decisions. It adapts the classic map production process with parameters to present the information tactilely at the intersection scale, and produces representation meaningful for PVIs and realistic for an automatic procedure, resulting in ready-to-print maps in two scales of three sizes, with different levels of details and styles. The resulting maps are evaluated by professionals involved in tactile graphics through a questionnaire to evaluate the defaults and discuss the possibility of open choices. The professionals validated the maps, and their evaluation emphasized the need to have an acceptable default while keeping some options open to cater to the diversity in the visually impaired audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazilian cities are typically unequal and car dominated, where poorer communities mainly rely on public transport, walking and cycling. Yet, understanding the experience of using these modes within specific contexts remains limited. In this paper, we illustrate how the ‘New Mobilities Paradigm’ can contribute to the ‘Accessibility Turn’ in urban research. Focusing on the low-income ‘Cruzeiro-Tronco’ neighbourhood in Porto Alegre, Brazil, we incorporate considerations of equity and social inclusion by applying Jensen’s ‘Staging Mobilities’ framework to examine how mobility is ‘staged from above’ by institutions and ‘staged from below’ by residents. We used biographical interviews and mobile methods to provide in-depth accounts of the lived experience of walking and cycling, showing how residents navigate the spaces and negotiate their mobility strategies in places deemed accessible by conventional ‘objective’ metrics. By applying Jensen’s framework as part of a mixed-methods research approach, we provide a more informative and context-specific account of the accessibility landscape, constructing knowledge with participants about the meanings of accessibility to support more inclusive policies and designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universal Design has been used in learning, physical environments, and digital resources to ensure that students and others are able to use the resources and environments to their greatest possible degree. The principles inherent in Universal Design are almost entirely compatible with the principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility policies. This paper aims to draw the connections between the parallel processes and practices, and to demonstrate how enacting policies in one area can also ensure that policies in the other are implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the design and implementation of the H5P image hotspots and describes additional use cases for library instruction in order to teach learners from across the country on how different spaces can be used to create private, accessible areas where patrons can conduct telehealth appointments. The Network of the National Library of Medicine created an online class using H5P image hotspots to allow learners to virtually explore a physical space. The class used Moodle, an open-source learning platform, and H5P image hotspots to demonstrate how libraries implemented telehealth programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a comparative mixed methods study of the accessibility and usability for disabled people of four video conferencing tools, Zoom, MS Teams, Google Meet and Skype. Useable responses were obtained from 81 disabled people with diverse characteristics, mainly in the UK, though some groups had low representation. None of the tools was considered fully accessible and useable. Zoom was both the most commonly used and the most frequently preferred (56.1%) tool, with MS Teams second in usage and a trailing second in preferences (15.9%). It was considered to have better captioning, but otherwise to generally be a poor second to Zoom. Skype was the most commonly used before lockdown, but was considered dated and its limited use was mainly social, whereas the other tools were also used in work and education. The results were used to draw up separate lists of recommendations for developers and meeting organisers and hosts, as the study also identified actions for organisers and hosts to improve meeting accessibility. Developer recommendations include several easy to set customisation and user friendly interface features, involving disabled people and specific accessibility features, including compatibility with assistive technology, keyboard shortcuts for all functions and automatically-on high quality captions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of centrality focuses on fair accessibility to services of general interest. This is a considerable challenge in mountain regions due to low population density and morphological context. However, the centrality debate has hardly taken morphology into account, even though mountain areas require a specific form of spatial organization – a lower level of accessibility leads either to longer distances and travel times or (in the better case) to increased service supply in smaller settlements. In this paper, we examine small Alpine towns' polycentricity at a micro scale and respond to the key question: What role does accessibility play in the centrality of small towns in the Alps? Our study builds on a comprehensive accessibility mapping of 780 towns in the Alps with more than 3,000 inhabitants. The study shows that the size of a settlement and its role in the settlement system are linked in a less linear way than polycentricity models postulate. Many small towns have to provide key functions for large catchment areas. We quantify this dimension by measuring population catchment intensities. Our approach combines demographic and accessibility analyses and is potentially applicable to other areas with geographical specificities that are relevant objects of cohesion policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, key findings are presented from an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage project that investigated the geographies, mobilities and politics for disabled people who roll powered assisted devices (wheelchairs and mobility scooters). We offer a spatial framework to think about the politics of exclusion/inclusion from public space along three dimensions: as a distributed institutional decision-making process, as personal, and as an event/journey. We recruited 68 disabled people to collaborate in a multi-stage, mixed-method qualitative project from 2020–2022. Four themes emerged from our thematic analysis of everyday power-assisted device practices that offer insights to what enables or constrains access to public space: the desire for social connections and independence, normative assumptions of standing design, the built form when going places (steps, gutters and stairs) alongside the interdependencies of various care and transport networks. We point to the implications for policy, planning and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, accessibility – i.e. the ease of reaching destinations – has been an important concept in transport planning, resulting in many studies trying to measure it and put it into practice. Also walkability, a mode-specific type of accessibility referring to how easy it is to walk (to destinations) received increased attention in the last two decades. In recent years, a new focus has been on how people perceive their accessibility as this may be a stronger predictor of travel behaviour than objective elements of accessibility (such as built environment characteristics). Perceived walkability, i.e. how walk-friendly people experience a certain area, however, has only been explored by a limited number of studies. In this review paper, we give an overview of existing studies analysing perceived walkability, which mostly have focused on its effects on walking frequency/duration, physical activity and various aspects of mental well-being. Based on this literature review, a conceptual model is created, emphasising the determinants and effects of perceived walkability and how it is related to objective walkability. We end this paper by providing avenues for further research, including the introduction of a Short Perceived Walkability Scale (SPWS) and recommendations for data collection and analysis. Doing so can create new insights into perceived walkability and links with related elements, and therefore can contribute to stimulating walking trips and improving the experience of these trips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobility-related social inequalities are receiving increasing attention from planning research and practice. Nevertheless, research seems to have a limited impact on urban policies addressing mobility. Using Santiago de Chile as a case study, the paper discusses the existing gaps between research on mobility-related equity concerns and existing policies and plans addressing urban mobility operating at national, metropolitan and municipal scales. An equity-based comparison is performed for different spatial planning instruments, exploring guiding concepts and deriving proposals through content analysis. The findings show that there is a comprehensive and multidisciplinary body of literature in Santiago on mobility and equity, approaching several dimensions of mobility, accessibility and social exclusion in relation to different population groups. However, the series of discourses, norms and actions (policies and programmes) operating at different planning scales lack coherence and address only some of the dimensions identified in the literature. Current plans and policies in Santiago have a limited scope and are difficult to modify, questioning their effectiveness for understanding and tackling mobility-related equity concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of things (IoT) generates a plethora of data nowadays, and cloud computing has been introduced as an efficient solution to IoT data management. A cloud resource administrator usually adopts the replication strategy to guarantee the reliability of IoT data. This mechanism can significantly reduce data access time, and evidently, more replicas of data increase the data storage cost. Furthermore, the process of selecting mini clouds for replica allocation and sorting replicas in mini clouds is considered an NP-hard problem. Therefore, this paper proposes an approach based on the harmony search (HS) algorithm to allocate replicas to the IoT data in the cloud computing environment in order to mitigate the data access cost. The HS algorithm was employed in the proposed approach to determine the best location for data replication in the cloud computing environment. According to the implementation results, the proposed approach outperformed the other methods and managed to significantly decrease data access time and delay as well as energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes research asking what is required to overcome entrenched obstacles to accessibility and inclusivity in an Australia regional city, in particular for those living with disability. A transdisciplinary, systems thinking approach allowed a range of stakeholders, including many with lived experiences of disability, to create a collective plan of action. This plan included interdependent interventions, independent and ahead of national governance, connecting urban planning policy to education, public transport, housing provision, co-design of public buildings, community infrastructure and inclusive employment practices. Interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity within regional planning research was seen as impacting the process and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to provide museum professionals with a practical road map to improving outcomes for people with disabilities in their museums. Written by a museum researcher with autism, this paper weaves museum research with interdisciplinary studies, while prioritizing the voices of people with disabilities, in order to develop clear, well-defined, and customizable steps for making the museum as an organizational unit more welcoming for people with disabilities. It examines several issues within the field, such as the overwhelming childhood focus of museum accessibility programming, the need to include people with disabilities in the process of creating inclusive practices, the importance of focusing on the larger picture as opposed to small issues, creativity in accessibility, and the dangers of performative accessibility and suggestions to avoid it, combining literature on each topic with the author's own knowledge of disability and museum accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a form of tourism that aims to be sustainable and, in broader terms, responsible and ethical, ecotourism occupies a peak position in terms of people's understanding of sustainable tourism. The purpose of this paper is to articulate how responsibility can be actuated through a deeper consideration of duty (good as intrinsic) and strategic (good for business) perspectives. In pursuit of this overall aim, the paper investigates a sample of Ecotourism Australia (EA) certified company websites to examine inclusivity barriers based on the social model of disability: physical, attitudinal, and informational. The choice of Australia is based on the observation that ecotourism providers in this region are often cited as highly advanced in terms of policies and practices. Results suggest that there is only limited statistical support for the hypothesis that the "leading" ecotourism operators (with advanced EA certification) in Australia pay more attention to disability issues than those in the "following" group (with lower categories of EA certification). The paper concludes by suggesting that the responsibility agenda is most likely to move forward by providers adopting ways of "thinking" and "doing" that emphasise duty and justice instead of following accepted business practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes five orientations informing the efforts of postsecondary educators to teach more accessibly, including commitments to accessibility as the mandated, right, pedagogically effective, nice, and/or profitable thing to do. These orientations emerged from focus groups and interviews with instructors and teaching assistants at a research-intensive Canadian university. By attending to these underlying orientations, we can grapple with important, but often unexamined, complexities, such as messages we may be inadvertently endorsing and contradictions between intentions and potential outcomes and their ramifications. We encourage support for educators to reflect on the limitations and complications of their orientations and associated efforts to advance accessibility, as well as cross-pollination with other areas of critical scholarship beyond that focusing on Universal Design and accessibility-specific principles. University instructors and teaching assistants seek to teach more accessibly for a number of reasons. This paper describes five reasons – or 'orientations' – for teaching more accessibly informed by: (1) legislative or university requirements; (2) equity and social justice; (3) effective teaching practices; (4) kindness; and/or (5) profit. Paying attention to these orientations for teaching more accessibly is important because they may impact which accessibility practices are implemented, when and under what conditions, and for whose benefit. Some orientations may also promote negative ideas of disability, such as disability as costly or a burden, even while they encourage teaching more accessibly. We reflect on the challenges and limitations of applying 'accessibility' language and principles broadly to 'all' students, instead of intentionally focusing on reducing barriers for students with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assistive technologies have allowed people with disabilities to perform daily tasks with greater independence and autonomy, especially for visually impaired people. Using smart home solutions allows these users to control their homes with less cognitive and physical demand. However, making such applications accessible to meet the needs of visually impaired users, especially in developing countries, remains a challenge. This paper investigates the perceptions of these users about home automation technologies through semi-structured interviews. A total of 20 visually impaired people participated in the interviews. A thematic analysis revealed results concerning the following themes: (1) how people go about their lives at home and around, how people interact with current appliances, objects and environments, (3) how people perceive their attitude to technologies, (4) the Brazilian context of smart homes, (5) what people think smart homes should do and (6) envisaging ways of interacting with smart home systems. The results obtained provide significant insight into the needs of visually-impaired people in Brazil, with analysis of issues that are common with previous studies in more developed countries and specific issues that have important particularities and implications in Brazil and other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spanish legislation obliges the public administration to ensure equal opportunities and support for access to higher education for people with disabilities. This work has one central goal: to analyse and understand the causes for the potential inequality for people with disabilities in accessing higher education in Spain and the barriers they encounter during their academic life. This paper focuses on the differences in inclusive education between people with disabilities and people without disabilities by sex, age, and type of university. A mixed research design is used: qualitative research of two focus groups and fourteen interviews to sixteen students with disabilities; and statistical analysis of the Social Integration and Health Survey 2012, using two-way and multi-way cross-tables. There are significant differences between presence of disability and learning variables. Controlling by sex and age, almost every age-group is significant. Using sex as independent variable, and controlling by disability, there is no relationship with the variables relating to barriers to accessing education; therefore, the larger differences by sex are in the group of people without disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most important urban infrastructure systems, the road network plays a vital role in post-earthquake emergency response. Quantitative evaluation of the emergency response functionality of road network under earthquakes can provide decision support for emergency planning and future construction. In this paper, a novel network performance metric is proposed to consider both the special traffic demand in emergency response and the supply capability of road network. On this basis, an integrated probabilistic assessment framework for post-earthquake network emergency response functionality is presented, considering various uncertainties. In the framework, a penalty-based approach is proposed to consider the impact of partially degraded links on network functionality. At last, the proposed methodology is illustrated on the road network of Tangshan city, China, under different seismic scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study observed cycling distances within an accessibility framework, using data from the Netherlands, the Copenhagen Metropolitan Area and the Freiburg Region. As a scope, we look at outbound trips in home-based tours which include a single destination. We relate these observed cycling distances to a rich set of explanatory variables using both quantile and ordinary least square regression models. The results provide evidence that cycling distances are similarly distributed in all three regions. Most cycling distances are rather short, with a median of only two and a mean of three kilometers. These values vary depending on the type of activity at the destination, gender and age of the traveler and the type of bicycle that has been used. Moreover, a few remarkable differences have been found between the three regions, such as substantially different effects of age and e-bike use on observed cycling distances. Noteworthy is the missing effect of urban density. The findings of this research provide urban planners with differentiated information about how far people cycle to daily-life destinations. As shown for the example of the "15 minutes city," the outcomes can also be used to refine existing concepts of bicycle accessibility. Finally, this research offers valuable insights into three of Europe's most developed bicycle cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the findings of a study which sought to investigate the impact and efficacy of technology-based counseling offered by the University of South Africa (Unisa), an Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institution. The study focused specifically on student perceptions of the services they had received from professionals based in the Gauteng regional center, in the context of academic admissions and support, career indecision, financial and psychosocial challenges. A client satisfaction questionnaire was administered to 30 students. The theoretical framework for the study was Activity theory, which is a philosophical and cross-disciplinary framework for studying different forms of human practices as development processes, with both individual and social levels interlinked simultaneously. A mixed-method approach was adopted to explore participants' experiences and perceptions of e-counseling. Quantitative data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Open-ended responses contained in the questionnaire, were subjected to qualitative analysis using the Atlas.ti program. Accessibility, convenience, and efficiency were highlighted as significant benefits of e-counseling. Results of the study suggest that while e-counseling should not be construed as a substitute for traditional, face-to-face counseling and psychotherapy, particularly in respect of more severe emotional and psychological challenges, it can be a useful adjunct to traditional modes of practice. The study also has important quality assurance implications for student counseling practice in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institutions, particularly with respect to informing online ethical imperatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how ecotourism providers might best serve the growing accessible tourism market. Ecotourism can be considered a special case of accessible tourism insofar as the challenges experienced by people with disabilities to participate in ecotourism, especially in its "harder" variants, may be greater than for general tourism, while the ethical basis to ecotourism also presents constraints to providers in terms of the introduction of assistive equipment and infrastructure into remote and often ecologically sensitive environments. Based on in-depth interviews with accessible ecotourism providers and consultants from several countries, as well as a review of current theoretical frameworks, the paper builds a new conceptual model for advancing research and practice in the area. The main finding is that rather than being hierarchical, the linkages between the constraints and barriers to ecotourism are fundamentally relational. This points to the need to take account of a complex and integrated network of connections when making provision for accessible ecotourism, which in turn favours providers adopting a strategic approach. Three potential strategic approaches are presented: cumulative, in which "small steps" are taken, compromise, which focuses on addressing the "domino effect," and, comprehensive which aims to achieve universal access while not "paving paradise." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this paper is to examine the role that models play in informing the approach that post-secondary education institutions take to developing inclusive and equitable practices that successfully and appropriately address the access needs of disabled students in relation to information and communications technology. It reviews the current approach of the post-secondary education community to using models to inform their accessibility practice with respect to ICT and explores the answers to three related questions: 1. What alternatives to the Universal Design model exist? 2. How do we differentiate between different accessibility models? 3. Do we need more than one model to inform accessibility practice? One key outcome of this exploration is a proposed evaluation framework that can help post-secondary institutions make informed decisions about the most appropriate model for them to adopt. The paper concludes that such a framework has potential to transform practitioners' approaches to accessibility by suggesting that excellence may not require a 'blanket approach' in which just one model 'rules' or dominates their thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of navigation tools for people who are visually impaired had become an important concern in the research area of assistive technologies. This paper gives a comprehensive review of different articles published in the area of navigation solutions for people who are visually impaired. Unlike other review papers, this review considers major solutions that work in both the indoor or/and outdoor environments which are based on different technology. From the review, it became clear that the navigation systems proposed for the target users lack some core features that are quite important for independent navigation. Also, there can be instances in which humanitarian conditions also have to be considered in the navigation system design. Based on these findings, a set of recommendations are also given which can be considered in the future design of navigation systems for blind and visually impaired people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Capability Approach, developed by Sen and Nussbaum, has recently gained increasing attention in the transport literature. This paper adds to this growing body of literature by investigating how the approach can generate consistent evaluative approaches to inform (urban) transport planning. The paper reviews the mobility literature that has investigated the Capabilities Approach and identifies the opportunities and challenges of employing the approach as a basis for transport planning. The review highlights the different, and sometimes patchy, ways in which the key notions of the approach have been conceptualised and operationalised. Discussing this growing but scattered literature, the paper embraces the emerging direction that understands accessibility as the capability that transport planning and policy should consider. Further refining this understanding, the paper proposes a twofold evaluative approach combining a top-down and a bottom-up component to capture the myriad of conversion factors shaping people's accessibility-as-capability and functioning. By systematically adopting the Capabilities Approach, transport planning and mobility policies will be directed to enhancing each person's freedom to pursue the life they have reason to value in contemporary societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial cognition is fundamental to the behaviour and activity of humans in urban space. Humans perceive their environments with systematic biases and errors, and act upon these perceptions, which in turn form urban patterns of activity. These perceptions are influenced by a multitude of factors, many of them relating to the static urban form. Yet much of geographic analysis ignores the influence of urban form, instead referring most commonly to the Euclidean arrangement of space. In this paper, we propose a novel spatial modelling framework for estimating cognitive distance in urban space. This framework is constructed from a wealth of research describing the effect of environmental factors on distance estimation, and produces a quantitative estimate of the effect based on standard GIS data. Unlike other cost measures, the cognitive distance estimate integrates systematically observed distortions and biases in spatial cognition. As a proof-of-concept, the framework is implemented for 26 cities worldwide using open data, producing a novel comparative measure of 'cognitive accessibility'. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential of this approach in analysing and modelling urban systems, and outlines areas for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open Educational Resources aim to offer learning to all, yet the language level used in resources could be a barrier to many potential learners. This paper examines the readability of 200 OER courses in English from two major OER course platforms. We compared the means of readability metrics between these OER courses at different educational levels and subject categories that the platforms offer using inferential statistics as well as cluster analyses. Results prove that there is a progression of difficulty between lower and higher educational levels with introductory courses being easier to read. However, the analysis also highlighted that more than 86% of the courses require an advanced level of English language proficiency. On the other hand, subject matter does not appear to be linked with the readability of the courses. This study contributes further to the current discussion of the inclusiveness of OER and the factors that hinder its universal use. The study addresses a gap in the literature as, to our knowledge, no other studies have analysed the linguistic accessibility of OER English learners and consideration of the meaning of the educational levels assigned to OER courses has been limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital media have become integral to the everyday life of people with disabilities. So far, research about disability and digital media use is rather scarce and narrowed on issues of accessibility and social media. This paper draws on qualitative interviews with people with visual or motoric impairments to provide an in-depth analysis of their everyday experiences relating to barriers and benefits of digital media. The findings reproduce previously identified barriers and extend these by adding novel sub-aspects of individual cognitive and attitudinal barriers like non-use of digital media due to their (perceived) complexity and a feeling of greater dependence on digital technology. However, the results also shed light on highly individualized ways that people with disabilities actively make use of digital media to improve their daily life. Despite persisting and new barriers, the general findings suggest that, with the appropriate training and support, digital media are largely beneficial. About 15 percent of the population worldwide are directly concerned by the issue of disability and digital media (for example smartphones, apps, online news). In this study, forty people with visual or motoric impairments were interviewed about their everyday experiences with digital media. They reported both benefits and problems of digital technology. Benefits: digital media allow people with disabilities to lead a more independent life; for example, shopping without assistance, reading the newspaper, or using social media. Problems: fear of technology, feeling dependent on digital devices, and lack of know-how are obstacles for digital media use. Increasingly complex websites and apps create additional barriers. A solution would be individual support and training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting accessibility and expanding transportation options are at the center of many livability programs. Using the 2017 Oregon Livability Survey administered in three regions in Oregon, this paper studies the livability impacts of accessibility and transportation options in the broader context of residential preferences and choices. Findings show that residents valued accessibility and transportation options in both livability conceptualization and their residential choice process within a similar a hierarchy of preferences. Expanding accessibility and transportation options can enhance livability, but its effectiveness is limited if other situational factors critical to residents' residential choice are not adequately addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health and well-being benefits of nature contact in parks and other forms of protected areas are now well established, but remain beyond the grasp of many due to century-old design legacies and inadequate investment in inclusive visitor services. This paper reports on lessons learned from an interdisciplinary workshop that brought together park agency staff, academics, and individuals representing accessibility organisations. The purpose of this workshop was to develop a shared vision and explore planning and management pathways for advancing accessibility in parks and protected areas. Four interrelated priority action areas were identified: (1) inclusivity through employment; (2) inclusive programming; (3) information sharing; and, (4) partnering in next steps. This paper contributes to an underdeveloped literature on accessibility and nature by identifying parameters around which park agencies can collaborate to empower diverse populations to enhance their health and well-being through nature contact. Findings strongly suggest the need for parks and protected areas planning and management to evolve at all levels of service delivery in order to keep in step with new federal and provincial legislation focused on building a more inclusive Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]