Abstract

This study focused on the structure and the platform of the road space of historic districts. We analyzed the road networks of 16 historic districts in Japan from the perspectives of circularity, accessibility and indirection based on graph theory. By calculating and comparing the indexes of each road network (NW1 and NW2) forms, we quantitatively describe the effects of the main prefectural roads (more than 4 m in width) and narrow streets (less than 4 m in width) on the spatial characteristics. And it turned out that we could divided the 16 objective historic districts into 4 types. Moreover, we qualitatively studied the characteristics of each type of historic districts based on their development background and the structure of road network.

Abstract

Many cities organize cultural festivals to promote their distinctiveness, boost the local economy, and enhance quality of life. However, urban spaces are packed with visitors on festival days, thus affecting accessibility to pedestrian spaces. This research examined visitor satisfaction with accessibility to pedestrian spaces during special events such as festivals. We particularly focused on the Hakata Dontaku festival, which is celebrated in Fukuoka, Japan. We studied three main elements that affect pedestrian satisfaction and perceived accessibility through walking, namely, safety, mobility, and amenities. We first analyzed previous studies and employed analytical hierarchy process to setup indicators for satisfaction measurement. Second, we determined visitor satisfaction through a survey questionnaire, which was conducted during the Hakata Dontaku festival. Third, we assessed the normality of the data set that was obtained from the questionnaire. Finally, we applied structural equation modeling. Results showed that the proposed model was a good fit, as indicated by the goodness of fit test, and the majority of indicators loaded significant values that supported their constructs. Satisfaction with amenities was found to be the most statistically significant variable that influences visitors׳ perceived accessibility during the Hakata Dontaku festival.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present a non-exhaustive set of 36 design patterns for interactive social applications used by older adults. This proposal represents a reliable starting point for designers/developers to easily incorporate usability in interfaces for said technology promoting technology acceptance, use and adoption among older adults. The proposed patterns were based on previous efforts commonly presented as a design criteria and guidelines to describe usability issues in this kind of interfaces, reinforcing those alternatives by specifying related usability issues and providing solutions in a pattern-fashion useful for designers/developers. Pertinence of the patterns was analyzed through a usability study implementing «heuristic evaluation» technique (frequently used in Human-Computer Interaction to obtain users’ perception on a particular design). The study was conducted from two perspectives: the vantage point from experts, and the perception of a social group of older adults. The analysis revealed the proposed patterns are conducive to create well-designed interfaces able to provide a better user experience, encouraging a positive impact in the quality of life in older adults.

Abstract

This paper aims at stating the difficulties which sensory disabled people face in order to access to mediatic information. However, instead of emphasizing and regretting at the difficulties, we try to evidence the needs which users demand to get a whole access to the media and, consequently, highlight their potencial towards the disabled social integration. The goal is to raise different professional's awareness: those which produce andlor make use of the mediato transmit information about their task importance and the possibility of adapting them, if necessary, for sensory disabled people, both related to technological or procedurd adaptations.

Abstract

Studying electronic bibliographic resources for basic education involves thinking about search mechanisms that meet the needs of young users. Through the investigation carried out during the educational research project «Digital libraries», it became evident that the collections explored use a language better suited to higher education. Faced with this problem, the following question arose: What are the criteria for classifying electronic bibliographic resources for basic education? The proposed investigation was non-experimental, with a non-probabilistic sample of case studies; the sample comprised 250 resources from 10 bibliographic collections. The analysis assessed resources according to: accessibility, the curricular axis to which it is addressed, and format; pedagogical, functional, technological and aesthetic aspects. The results show a mean of 3.76, which indicates that the bibliographic collections provide quality resources, although it is necessary to improve educational and functional aspects. Classifying electronic resources for basic education requires the consideration of pedagogical needs, graphical and technological qualities and, especially, the dynamic way in which information is conceived nowadays. This confirms the need to establish a set of indicators that enable teachers to select electronic resources based on basic education curricular axes.

Abstract

This paper studies how public statistical data are becoming open in the catalogs of Spain’s central and regional governments. It starts with the hypothesis that documentary treatment is insufficient, especially if we consider that statistics are particularly relevant in the open data world. This paper examines three issues regarding official statistics: what meets the requirements required of open data, how data can be found in the catalogs, and whether they can be properly understood ahead of reuse. These three aspects involvedefining open data and public statistics, considering whether it is possible to identify the statistical information in the portals, and finally determining if the documentary treatment allows reuse with guarantees. The results show a wide disparity, both in the form of designating the statistical information (findability) and how to offer it (accessibility). Therefore, a portal can increase data dispersion when they are recovered. Furthermore, only some portals describe datasets so that they are readily intelligible. We conclude with the need to concentrate efforts or at least coordinate actions with respect to the supply of open data in Spain.

Abstract

The previous note present some questions that emerged while considering whether to include services of the social web in the web page of the public organisation where the author works. Here some reflections, commentaries, projects or proposals are offered that can be possible answers to these questions.

Abstract

Mobility and access to Web contents and services from any place having an internet connection are both advantages of using mobile devices like mobile phones, pdas, smartphones, ultra mobile PCs or ultra low cost PCs. However, new questions also arise, mainly related to content accessibility: their characteristics, connections and the way people in motion connect to the internet generate different requirements. In this paper a general landscape of the mobile web is drawn from a librarian’s perspective

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to show the process map for introducing the Accessibility Management System in the Saragossa city council web service. This map is a requirement of the Spanish Association for Standards and Certification (Aenor) for the “N” certification of ICT Accessibility, which guarantees users that an internet page is accessible. All public sector organizations are required by law to achieve this norm and display the “N” mark of certification.To identify the processes and design the process map, an expert reviewed documents and interviewed managers and staff. The processes were classified into strategic, key and support categories and so identified on the process map, which indicates sequences and the relationships between inputs and tasks. The results section describes the main activities and analyzes their inter-relationship.