Accessibility as an integral factor in e-government web site evaluation

Author:

Kamoun Faouzi,Basel Almourad Mohamed

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which accessibility is taken into account in the assessment and ranking of e-government web sites through the lens of a specific study related to Dubai e-government. Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers a case study related to Dubai e-government and it evaluates the accessibility of each of the 21 Dubai e-government web sites, based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and using an automated accessibility testing tool. A bivariate correlation analysis is performed to assess the correlation between web site ranking and accessibility score. Findings – The research reveals that contrary to common intuition and some earlier studies, there is a weak correlation between e-government web site ranking score and web site accessibility. Research limitations/implications – The paper uses an accessibility metric that is a proxy indicator of web accessibility and is not a real assessment of accessibility as experienced by a person with disability. Practical implications – When re-examined through the lens of Rawls's moral theory, this research suggests that accessibility should be given a higher priority in the general evaluation and ranking of e-government web sites. Social implications – The paper promotes universal accessibility to e-government information and services. Originality/value – The paper uses ethical arguments to highlight the need to comprehensively consider accessibility as a major criterion in the assessment and ranking of e-government web sites.

Publisher

Emerald

Subject

Library and Information Sciences,Computer Science Applications,Information Systems

Reference60 articles.

1. Abanumy, A. , Al-Badi, A. and Mayhew, P. (2005), “E-government website accessibility: in-depth evaluation of Saudi Arabia and Oman”, The Electronic Journal of E-Government, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 99-106.

2. Abdul Latif, M. and Masrek, M.N. (2010), “Accessibility evaluation on Malaysian E-government website”, Journal of E-government Studies and Best Practices, Vol. 2010 No. 2010, pp. 1-11.

3. Adam, A. and Kreps, D. (2006), “Enabling or disabling technologies? A critical approach to web accessibility”, Information Technology & People, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 203-218.

4. Adam, A. and Kreps, D. (2009), “Disability and discourses of web accessibility”, Information Communication and Society, Vol. 12 No. 7, pp. 1041-1058.

5. Al-Khoury, A.M. (2012), “E-government strategies: the case of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)”, European Journal of ePractice, No. 17, pp. 126-150.

Cited by 52 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3