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Aims and scope

Universal Access in the Information Society (UAIS) is an international, interdisciplinary refereed journal that solicits original research contributions addressing the accessibility, usability, and, ultimately, acceptability of Information Society Technologies by anyone, anywhere, at anytime, and through any media and device. Universal access refers to the conscious and systematic effort to proactively apply principles, methods and tools of universal design order to develop Information Society Technologies that are accessible and usable by all citizens, including the very young and the elderly and people with different types of disabilities, thus avoiding the need for a posteriori adaptations or specialized design. The journal's unique focus is on theoretical, methodological, and empirical research, of both technological and non-technological nature, that addresses equitable access and active participation of potentially all citizens in the information society.

The journalĀ“s perspective is that the requirement for universal access stems from the growing impact of the fusion of the emerging technologies, and from the different dimensions of diversity, which are intrinsic to the information society. These dimensions become evident when considering the broad range of user characteristics, the changing nature of human activities, the variety of contexts of use, the increasing availability and diversification of information and knowledge sources and services, the proliferation of technological platforms, etc.

The Journal's primary objectives are to:

  • provide an archival publication channel for the discussion and advancement of theoretical and practical aspects of universal access in the information society
  • facilitate the rapid and wide diffusion of scientific and technological results that promote universal access in the information society
  • stimulate cross-fertilization between the different contributing disciplines.

The journal publishes research work on the design, development, evaluation, use, and impact of Information Society Technologies, and as on standardization, policy, and other non-technological issues that facilitate and promote universal access.

Paper submissions, in English, should report on theories, methods, tools, empirical results, reviews, case studies, and best-practice examples, in any application domain, and should have a clear focus on universal access.

Contributions are solicited in, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Accessibility guidelines
  • Accessible games
  • Adaptable and adaptive interfaces
  • Alternative and augmented Input /Output techniques
  • Applications of assistive technologies in the mainstream
  • Architectures, development methods and tools for universal access
  • Assistive applications and environments
  • Context awareness
  • Design good practice for Universal Access
  • Design for All and accessibility education and training
  • Design methods, techniques and tools for Universal Access
  • Design theory and design support tools
  • Economics of universal access
  • Evaluation of Accessibility, Usability, and User Experience
  • Human activity modeling and support
  • Infrastructures and protocols supporting universal access
  • Modality independent and multimodal interaction
  • Multilingual and multicultural issues
  • Novel designs for the very young, the elderly, and people with different types of disabilities
  • Novel interaction techniques, platforms, metaphors and devices
  • Participatory design approaches involving diverse target user groups
  • Personalization techniques and personalized products and services
  • Policy measures, legislation, standardization and certification
  • Security and privacy issues in sensor-augmented environments
  • Smart artifacts and smart environments
  • Social and psychological issues
  • Tangible and Implicit Interaction
  • Technology assessment and impact of ICT on Universal Access
  • Universal Access to Ambient Intelligence and Augmented Environments
  • Universal Access to mobile interaction
  • Universal Access to online communities and eServices
  • Universal Access to the Web
  • User and context modeling and monitoring
  • User requirements elicitation and analysis for diverse target user groups

In addition to the above, the journal will host special issues, book reviews and letters to the editor, news from the Information Society Technologies industry and standardization and regulatory bodies, announcements (e.g. conferences, seminars, presentations, exhibitions, education and curricula, awards, new research programs), and commentaries (e.g. about new legislation).

Founder: Constantine Stephanidis, University of Crete & ICS-FORTH, Greece

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