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Accessible software is increasingly important as the incidence of disability continues to increase and the population ages globally, ensuring people are not left behind in the digital revolution. Likewise, there is increased interest in ensuring software is accountable such that it is clear about the information it uses and the actions that it takes. While there have been some agreed-upon definitions for accessible, interpretable, and transparent software, accountable software lacks a universal definition and methodology. We argue that for a software to be accountable, it must also be accessible, interpretable, and transparent, and provide a methodology for developing accountable software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SoundsRight Audio Completely Automated Public Turing tests to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) was developed with the goal of providing a usable and secure audio CAPTCHA for people with visual impairments. Its design requires users to repeatedly identify a specific sound from a group of different sounds (e.g. baby crying and bird chirping) in real time. Adding background noise (sound masks) to the sounds may make it more difficult for automated software to recognise the sounds and therefore, improve security. However, the sound masks may also make it more challenging for human users to recognise the sound. We conducted a user study involving 20 blind participants and 20 sighted participants to investigate the effect of sound masks on the usability of the SoundsRight CAPTCHA. The results suggest that sound masks do have a significant impact on the failure rate and response time. Sighted participants had significantly a higher failure rate than blind participants and were more vulnerable to the negative effect of sound masks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents a study on the usability and accessibility of job application web sites used by blind people. Participants include 16 blind users who are trying to apply online. Results showed the most common problems encountered by blind users while using such sites, which include confusing layout, searching for jobs link, and labeling problem. The study suggested the importance of ensuring the accessibility and usability of online applications sites for people with disabilities.

The article presents information on accessibility barriers for blind users who use screen readers like Window-Eyes and Access Systems to access websites. E-mail is an effective communication tool nowadays but websites can present certain barriers for blind people. To conduct the study, 15 blind users tested seven popular e-mail applications. The conclusion of the study was to improve e-mail applications including web-based interfaces, calendaring and the e-mail address book.

The article focuses on e-mail applications and evaluation of their usability by blind users. E-mail serves as an important tool for communication nowadays, but blind users using screen readers like System Acess to access websites can get barriers of accessibility and usability. To evaluate these problems, seven e-mail applications like Gmail and Yahoo Mail Classic were tested by 15 blind users. On basis of feedback, some changes to the testing process and questions were implemented.