W4A 2004
International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility

at the Thirteenth International World Wide Web Conference
New York Sheraton, 17-22 May 2004,
New York, NY.

http://w4a.man.ac.uk

Preliminary Call for Participation

We invite submissions for W4A 2004 addressing our current theme of 'Accessible Layout - The Tension Between Accessibility and Visual Design' 

Layout and structure are key to good visual design. They are the conduit for both the content and the graphics. They are also very important for disabled (e.g. dyslexic users) people and specifically visually impaired users, as they need to be quickly and easily interacted with. This workshop aims to address layout, structure, and presentation from the viewpoint of accessibility and good visual design; where these are in opposition, the workshop aims to facilitate discussion between interested parties so that a solution (or at least the beginners of a solution) can be formulated. The workshop organizers support inclusive design or one design for all however how can this be the case if users have differing needs? The organizers also assert that no one should be hindered when interacting with layout. Will making layout accessible hinder sighted or 'conventional' users?

Topics of interests include (but are not limited to):
·	Technological advances to support web accessibility.
·	End user tools for accessibility.
·	Design methodologies for web accessibility.
·	Accessibility evaluation techniques and tools.
·	Accessibility evaluation guidelines.
·	Adaptive applications and graphics.
·	Tools and techniques enabling authors to create accessible layout / content.
·	Psychology of end user experiences and scenarios.
·	Innovative scripting/markup languages that support web accessibility.
·	Universally accessible graphical design approaches.
·	Graphical transcoding techniques.
·	Accessible graphic formats and tools for their creation.


The W4A (International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility)
W4A addresses the fourth dimension of the web; accessibility from a cross-disciplinary perspective. Conventional workshops on accessibility tend to be single disciplinary in nature. However, we are concerned that this focus on a single participant group prevents the cross-pollination of ideas, needs, and technologies from other related but separate fields. This workshop will be decidedly cross disciplinary and will bring together users, accessibility experts, graphic designers, and technologists from academia and industry to discuss how accessibility can be supported. We also encourage the participation of users and other interested parties as an additional balance to the discussion. Our aim is to focus on accessibility by encouraging participation from many disciplines. Views will bridge academia, commerce, and industry and we hope that arguments encompassing a range of beliefs across the design-accessibility spectrum will be presented.

Submission Details:
To follow in our full call for participation expected 05th January 2004.

Contact Information:
Simon HARPER 
Information Management Group,
Department of Computer Science,
University of Manchester, 
2.120a Kilburn Building,
Oxford Road, MANCHESTER,
M13 9PL, UK.

Voice	+44 (0) 161 275 0599 
Fax 	+44 (0) 161 275 6236
Email	simon.harper@man.ac.uk

http://w4a.man.ac.uk