October 23-24, 2010; Orlando, Florida [NSF support for this workshop is being pursued]

Electronic solutions for storing, retrieving, sharing, and analyzing health related information are being rapidly developed and deployed. Solutions may be designed for health care professionals or consumers. resulting in a wide range of challenges. Textual and graphical information must be entered, updated, and retrieved. Frequent and infrequent users must be supported. Security must be maintained, collaboration should be supported, and privacy must be ensured.

This workshop focuses on the issues and challenges associated with ensuring access to this information by providers and consumers with disabilities. We seek to bring the health care and accessibility communities together to share experiences, discuss challenges, and develop a research agenda. This includes:

• individuals engaged in developing, deploying, or using electronic health records,
• individuals engaged in research on electronic health records
• individuals engaged in research on information technology accessibility
• individuals interested in becoming involved in any of the activities listed above.

This one and one-half day workshop will be co-located with ASSETS 2010 in Orlando, Florida and will take place on October 23-24. Travel funds including airfare, local travel, and hotel will be provided as well as several group meals.

Individuals interested in participating should submit a position statement of no more than two pages which outlines their background, relevant experience, how they anticipate contributing to the workshop, and the benefits they expect to receive through their participation. Position statements should be submitted electronically (send to asears-AT-umbc.edu) no later than August 2, 2010. Individuals will be informed if they have been selected to participate by August 16, 2010.

Workshop Organizers: Andrew Sears, UMBC, Vicki Hanson, University of Dundee

Labels: Call For Papers, Workshop

Volume 2, Issue 4 of ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing is now available in the ACM Digital Library.

Table of Contents

1. ITHACA: An Open Source Framework for Building Component-Based Augmentative and Alternative Communication Applications
   Alexandros Pino and Georgios Kouroupetroglou
2. Towards A Universally Usable Human Interaction Proof: Evaluation of Task Completion Strategies
   Graig Sauer, Jonathan Lazar, Harry Hochheiser, and Jinjuan Feng
3. Assessing Fit of Nontraditional Assistive Technologies
   Adriane B. Randolph and Melody M. Moore Jackson

Labels: TACCESS

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Albert Cook (University of Alberta) has been selected as the 2010 recipient of the SIGACCESS Award for Outstanding Contributions to Computing and Accessibility. This award was established to recognize individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to the development of computing technologies which improve the accessibility of media and services to people with disabilities.

Dr. Cook was selected in recognition of his life-long dedication to accessibility. Dr. Cook began his academic career at the California State University, Sacramento, where he founded the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program and co-directed the Assistive Device Center. He moved to Canada to assume the position of Dean of the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta, where he helped to establish the Faculty as a world reference in research, development, and service provision in rehabilitation medicine and assistive technology. He authored more than 200 scientific publications. He is the co-author of the classic reference book in the field “Assistive Technologies: Principles and Practice”. As president of the RESNA, he worked to regulate the profession of Assistive Technology Practitioners and Engineers, bringing scientific methods to everyday practice.

Dr. Cook will present a Keynote address titled "The Future of Assistive Technologies: A Time of Promise and Apprehension" at ASSETS 2010 in Orlando, Florida.

Labels: Awards, Outstanding Achievement, SIGACCESS

The successful candidate will work under the direction of Dr. Andrew Sears, Professor and Chair of the IS Department at UMBC and Director of the Interactive Systems Research Center. UMBC is one of the few institutions in the US offering an MS and PhD in Human-Centered Computing and the only institution which has identified accessibility as a core research focus for its HCC program.

The individual filling this position will be involved in developing new research activities, designing and conducting studies, analyzing results, and publishing results. There will also be opportunities to gain experience developing grant proposals and supervising graduate and undergraduate students. Ongoing research is supported by a variety of sources, with different projects addressing the needs of individuals with visual, motor, and cognitive impairments as well as the needs of older adults. The successful candidate may engage in one or more of these ongoing activities, or may develop a new project which is consistent with the mission of the research group.

A PhD in human-computer interaction, information systems, information science, computer science, psychology or a related discipline is required as is a strong interest in accessibility and information technologies. A strong background in quantitative research methodologies is required, but knowledge of and experience with qualitative methodologies would be valued as well.

Send cover letter, CV, and three letters of reference to Dr. Sears via email asears-at-umbc.edu

For full consideration, materials should be received by July 15, 2010.

Labels: Academic Position, Information Systems Department, UMBC