ABSTRACT
In the emerging Information Society, computer-mediated human activities are no longer bound to a particular execution context. Increasingly, they involve a multitude of personal, business, and residential encounters in a variety of domains, realized via networked terminals and appliances. Such a growth in information processing capability has created new opportunities for diverse user groups to access distributed digital resources and to appropriate the bene£ts of a broad type and range of information services. Among the wide implications of the prevailing highly distributed and communication-intensive computing era is that it challenges
traditional models of system development and creates a compelling need for more effective practices to cope with changing requirements and patterns of use. One important consequence of the new information-processing paradigm is on accessibility. Traditionally, the notion of computer accessibility had a narrow connotation, implying primarily the lack of physical or cognitive ability required to interact with computers. Nevertheless, the advent of the Internet, the proliferation of network-attachable interaction devices and the growth in the type, range, and scope of computer-mediated human activities raises accessibility issues for all potential users of applications and services (Olsen 1999) and demands a more encompassing account of the concept and a broader connotation.
