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This paper presents an attempt to rethink the problematique of recognizing and implementing interests of the blind user in the computer game industry. Considering the inclusion of people with disabilities in the context of an important global socio-political process of actualizing the interests of the most vulnerable groups of the population, the author creates a discussion space for dialogue and interaction between game producers and blind players, formulating technological and institutional problems of realizing the interests of blind players. The author also defines the role of the blind consumer necessary for assimilation in the game industry, and also calls the readiness of the game industry for a gratuitous socially significant act as the main condition for the triumph of the rebellion of the blind in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a specially developed technique for professional orientation in persons with disabilities, outlines determinants affecting the main research variables, and offers some methodological tips on the use of the technique basing on the most significant research data. Providing career guidance to people with disabilities is a priority task as professional self-determination and work socialization are extremely important for the disabled in modern society. The paper describes a process of developing a new methodology for measuring quantitative and qualitative features of vocational interests in high school students with disabilities. The recommendations provided focus on how to arrange effective analytic work aimed at rendering optimal training support to students of 11th classes with different types of disabilities.

The paper focuses on theoretical issues in developing variations of a model of teaching and individual social psychological support of persons with hearing impairments in the field of Engineering, Technologies and Technical Sciences. The authors emphasize that the variations are based on the generalized outcomes of their long-term research on higher education in students with hearing impairments in the context of inclusive environment. The paper outlines the key elements of the model’s components and analyses the experience in organising educational process for the benefit of individuals with hearing impairments in universities (with the example of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University). It also defines the approaches to choosing the optimal model. The work was carried out within the State Contract No. 05.R03.11.0001 of August 17, 2016.

The paper researches the quality of life of people with a limited living space. The term “people with limited living space” relates to disabled people experiencing limitations during everyday activities and forced to be contained in a limited living space. Empirical research into quality of life for people with limited living space covers the quality of the environment and social well-being as the main factors determining quality of life. The paper shows how social well-being affects and is affected by limited living space and disability (both paternalistic and social), formed by one’s self-identification and view of life. It uncovers severe differences between subjective estimations of quality of life by people with equally challenged and paternalistic social well-being.

The paper discusses the problem of e-learning accessibility for persons with disabilities. Development of e-learning content accessible to all students is gaining special relevance in the context of global trends in higher education related to the massive transition of learning to distance and hybrid formats. Based on the analysis of the official websites of 25 world’s top universities (according to the QS World University Rankings 2021), data on university digital accessibility services were systematized. The data search was carried out by total browsing of university sites’ structure and headings and by keywords. Data on 14 checklist categories were registered. Signs of administrative and project activities in the field of digital accessibility were found for 20 universities (80%), among which 10 (40%) have specialized structural subdivisions for digital accessibility. The content of digital accessibility web services contains data on the following topics: training in digital accessibility for educational content for authors and developers (14 university sites – 56%); a guide for authors (15–60%) and web developers (12–48%); consulting and assistance for authors and web developers (17–68%); accessibility examination (5–20%); legal norms (11–44%) and accessibility standards (16–64%); accessibility testing guide (16–64%); procurement requirements for accessible web products and services (8–32%); frequently asked questions (6–24%), etc. Based on the results of the analysis, the model of university digital accessibility services was developed and corresponding web site was published. It seems important to create similar web resources and corresponding structural subdivisions in universities of the Russian Federation, as well as to approve the intra-university local acts regulating the mandatory fulfillment of digital accessibility requirements in the development of educational content and the procurement of digital products and services. GOST R 52872-2019, based on WCAG 2.1, should be used as the basis for local legal regulations.

Background. The relevance of the research is due to the importance of increasing the accessibility of objects and services of organizations in the tourism and hospitality in-dustry for people with disabilities, including objects and services of cultural institutions. The purpose of the study is to determine the current level of accessibility of objects and services of cultural institutions of the Penza region for people with disabilities as an integral part of the tourism and hospitality industry of the region, as well as to assess the willing-ness of the participation of cultural institutions in the development of inclusive tourism in the region. Materials and methods. The information base of the research was official statis-tics, materials on the legal regulation of tourism and providing an accessible environment, analytical materials and scientific papers on the problems of assessing the accessibility of objects and services of organizations in the tourism and hospitality industry, and the authorsʼ own research. The research was carried out using general scientific methods (abst-raction, synthesis, analogy, etc.) and empirical methods (observation, questionnaires, inter-views, expert surveys and “field” research). Results. As a result of the research, systemic problems were identified in ensuring the accessibility of objects and services of cultural institutions of the Penza region for people with disabilities, limiting their inclusion in re-gional inclusive projects – tour programs, tourist routes and excursions as part of the deve-lopment of inclusive tourism in the region. Conclusions. Assessing the accessibility of ob-jects and services of cultural institutions in the region for people with disabilities contri-butes to the inclusion of institutions in the process of creating an inclusive environment in the region, increasing their level of accessibility, building a dialogue between different or-ganizations – objects of research, government authorities and local communities of people with disabilities, which in turn stimulates creating an environment for the development of inclusive tourism in the region.

The paper studies issues of accessibility of massive open online courses (MOOCs) for persons with disabilities. By browsing the catalogues of five leading MOOC-platforms with Russian-language content, 56 MOOCs on undergraduate mathematical disciplines were found. As a result of expert analysis according to 70 criteria, MOOCs’ accessibility for people with disabilities was estimated. Any mistakes related to hyperlinks interpretation, audio playback quality, visualization in graphic browsers, adaptation to mobile devices, color contrast and keyboard controls were not revealed. At the same time, the analysis showed that 100% MOOCs offer no features for customizing a user interface, do not provide access to the content through a text browser; 98% of digital documents, 82% of math content and 91% of tests are incorrectly interpreted by screen readers; 64%, 66% and 52% of the courses, respectively, have no subtitles, shorthand transcripts and outlines to video lessons; no courses provide video interpretation using sign language; in all MOOCs the audio track is not enough for adequate perception of video lessons. The results indicate low accessibility of Russian-language mathematical MOOCs for people with disabilities, especially with severe visual impairments. The accessibility problems are related to technological limitations of the MOOC platforms and to developer errors. The results suggest the need for revising the MOOCs in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG2.1); guaranteeing strict adherence to the guidelines by platforms’ administrators before posting new courses; training MOOCs’ authors and developers in creating accessible learning content; involving persons with disabilities in beta testing of MOOCs.