ABSTRACT

Th e Universal Access Handbook aims at advancing the state of the art in universal access by providing a comprehensive and multidisciplinary overview of the fi eld and unfolding its various dimensions. A er some years from its fi rst steps (Stephanidis et al., 1998, 1999), universal access is a continuously growing and dynamically evolving fi eld that accompanies and fosters the evolution of the information society in its current and future advancement and develops and extends its methods, techniques, and tools accordingly. Within a decade, universal access has already scaled up to obtain international recognition, specifi c research agendas,1 technical scientifi c and policy forums and networks,2 international conferences,3 and archival journals,4 while the need is also rapidly emerging to further consolidate the fi eld by establishing technology transfer as well as education and training practices. In such a context, this chapter off ers some refl ection on universal access as a fi eld of inquiry by providing an overview of progress and achievements so far and discussing

current status and perspectives. is chapter also off ers an interpretative key to this handbook by guiding the reader through its 9 parts and 61 chapters in the light of the main dimensions and implications of universal access.