Danger,danger! Evaluating the accessibility of Web-based emergency alert sign-ups in the northeastern United States     

Brian Wentz  Jonathan Lazar  Michael Stein  Oluwadamilola Gbenro  Edwin Holandez  Andrew Ramsey 《Government Information Quarterly》2014

People with disabilities need access to emergency-related information at the same time that the general public receives that information. Many county and municipal-level governments suggest that citizens sign up on a Web page to receive emergency alert information. While the messages being sent out via e-mail or text message might be accessible, the sign-up processes are often inaccessible, preventing people with disabilities for signing up for these important information services. In this paper, all of the county-level emergency alert sign-ups in Massachusetts, New York, and Maryland, were evaluated for accessibility. A total of 156 evaluations took place (6 evaluations for each of the 26 counties evaluated). Of the 26 counties evaluated, 21 of them had accessibility violations. Legal, policy, and design-related implications are presented in the following discussion.  相似文献