Glossary » Accessibility
tactile interface
a user interface that uses touch for input and/or output, such as a Braille reader.
Read more »target audience
the set of users that a system is intended for. Constraining the target audience can be useful to simplify the design problem, but obviously limits sales of an application. Typical parameters of the target audience include: industry, computer experience, income,…
Read more »target configuration
or “target platform”; the technical parameters of the system(s) that a piece of software is being developed for, which impacts how many users will be able to use the software as well as the difficulty with which a user can…
Read more »text-to-speech system
software that takes written text and speaks it using some kind of speech synthesizer. Text-to-speech systems are useful for the visually impaired, and for situations where users are not able to view the computer screen at all times, such as…
Read more »the digital divide
the split between those who can access and use computing and technology and those who can’t. A variety of factors may serve to exclude people, including poverty, low literacy, low computer literacy, disabilities, low education, rural geography, and under-developed countries.…
Read more »time compression
in auditory interfaces, speeding up playback to improve the speed of listening. Up to a limit, this compression can be done without significant distortion of the audio. This is useful in playing back voice messages or to speed up audio…
Read more »tongue-activated joystick
an input device for users with limited mobility; a tongue-activated joystick is placed in the mouth and manipulated with the tongue. It can be used in conjunction with a blow-suck tube to move a pointer around and make selections.
Read more »unicode
a digital format for representing text within any of the major writing systems of the world, replacing standards such as ASCII (which can represent fewer than 256 unique symbols) with a 2-byte format that can handle any of over 65,000…
Read more »universal access
the ability of everyone, regardless of age, nationality, disability, or any other factor, to access and take advantage of computers.
Read more »user profile
characterization of a system’s target population providing information about the users that is useful in making design decisions. The information in a user profile is usually obtained through a questionnaire given to the target users. A typical user profile might…
Read more »visual impairment
low vision, color blindness, or blindness. Low-vision users need the ability to scale fonts and images and need optimal contrast and legibility. Blind users need to access computers through non-visual modalities, such as screen readers or Braille output devices.
Read more »voice output communication aid
VOCA; a device used by those with speech impairments that uses computer-generated speech to communicate.
Read more »white finger
or dead finger; loss of bloodflow in the hand due to prolonged exposure to vibration (as when operating machinery), which can cause numbness, increase sensitivity to cold, and lead to necrosis (dead tissue).
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