Access Ability – Supplementals

A photo of a Braille output device.

Photo of a Braille output device. Photo credit: Flickr user cobalt123.

My dissertation, Access Ability: Policies, Practices, and Representations of Disability Online, was defended in May 2012. The written dissertation provides a cultural history of web accessibility, and uses that history to suggest methods for the study of media that foreground differential access. By focusing on the diversity of access conditions, and their effects on individuals’ choices regarding media use, we are forced to ask different questions and consider areas of media content, technologies, and industries that are often invisible within media studies.

On this site, I am providing supplemental materials to the dissertation. My research involved interviews with accessibility professionals and bloggers with disabilities, as well as analysis of policy documents and the cultural contexts of the 1990s and early 2000s. Much of this material is not easily found elsewhere, and some of it is potentially interesting and applicable to a wider audience. I am sharing some interviews, aggregate interview data, research summaries targeted at specific audiences, and resources for web accessibility.

Interviews

Interview with Dennis Lembree, developer of Easy Chirp (formerly Accessible Twitter)

Chally Kacelnik’s blog post reflecting on our interview

Beyond these full interview, and per NSF Award #1155800, which supported my dissertation research, I have made aggregate interview data publicly available. This can be found at IU ScholarWorks.

Summaries and Resources

Finally, in the course of my research, I also found many useful accessibility resources that I heartily recommend.