Is Your Website Accessible

Is Your Website Accessible Build a platform! urge publishing gurus. Establish an online presence! You dutifully obey. Facebook? On it. Twitter? Rule it. Website? Of course, and it rocks! But did you know you might be restricting an entire group of users and customers from accessing your website and hence, from reaching you? This group consists of people with disabilities. The US Census Bureau states nearly 57 million people, thats 19 percent of civilians, have a disability. Youmay have a family member or friend, know a neighbour or student who is disabled. Imagine them trying to do a basic search online that you take for granted. These same people are also doing exactly what the rest of us are: working, enjoying food and drink, leisure and relaxation, sport and adventure. So why should they be prevented from utilising something as normal and taken-for-granted as a website? What is accessibility? Accessibility describes the degree to which a product, service, or environment is available to people. The more the number of people who can use it, the higher its accessibility. Correctly designed and developed websites empower everyone to have equal access to information and services. Examples of accessibility include: Providing text descriptions of images with meaningful links helps blind users using text-to-speech software or text-to-Braille hardware to read the content. Enabling text and images to enlarge helps users with poor eyesight.   Underlining and highlighting hyperlinks helps colour blind users notice them. Making action areas, like hyperlinks and buttons, large; and enabling keyboard navigation of menus helps users who cant control a mouse with precision or cant keep their hands steady. Captioning videos or providing sign language versions helps the deaf. Avoiding excessive flashing, flickering and special effects considers users prone to seizures. Writing content in plain language and illustrating with diagrams helps users with dyslexia and learning difficulties understand better. Is your website accessible enough? There are a number of options online to help you find out. A one-click website accessibility audit likehttp://wave.webaim.org/ is a system test that can identify accessibility problems and provide guidance on remedial steps. A list of other automated tools available to evaluate website features can be found here: w3.org/WAI/ER/tools/index.html. These tools dont test everything, but can provide a good idea of the extent of your websites accessibility. Must I make my website accessible? While accessibility is not required Your website is your showcase to the world, your online home. Youre proud of it and have invested time and resources in making it useful, relevant and dynamic. You want everybody whos anybody to visit it. Follow the four principles of accessibility explained in simple English athttp://devyaniborade.blogspot.com/p/principles-of-web-accessibility.html to make your website more accessible to all.

Timeline of the Algerian War of Independence

Timeline of the Algerian War of Independence Here is a timeline of the Algerian War of Independence. It dates from the time of French colonization to the end of the Battle of Algiers. The Wars Origins in French Colonization of Algeria 1830 Algiers is occupied by France. 1839 Abd el-Kader declares war on the French after their meddling in the administration of his territory. 1847 Abd el-Kader surrenders. France finally subjugates Algeria. 1848 Algeria is recognized as an integral part of France. The colony is opened to European settlers. 1871 Colonization of Algeria increases in response to the loss of the Alsace-Lorraine region to the German Empire. 1936 Blum-Viollette reform is blocked by French Settlers. March 1937 The Parti du Peuple Algerien (PPA, Algerian Peoples Party) is formed by the veteran Algerian nationalist Messali Hadj. 1938 Ferhat Abbas forms the Union Populaire Algrienne (UPA, Algerian Popular Union). 1940 World War IIFall of France. 8 November 1942 Allied landings in Algeria and Morocco. May 1945 World War II Victory in Europe.Independence demonstrations in Stif turn violent. French authorities respond with severe reprisals leading to thousands of Muslim deaths. October 1946 The Mouvement pour le Triomphe des Liberts Dmocratiques (MTLD, Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties) replaces the PPA, with Messali Hadj as president. 1947 The Organization Spciale (OS, Special Organization) is formed as a paramilitary arm of the MTLD. 20 September 1947 A new constitution for Algeria is established. All Algerian citizens are offered French citizenship (of equal status to those of France). However, when an Algerian National Assembly is convened it is skewed to settlers compared to indigenous Algerians two politically equal 60-member colleges are created, one representing the 1.5 million European settlers, the other for 9 million Algerian Muslims. 1949 Attack on the central post office of Oran by the Organization Spciale (OS, Special Organization). 1952 Several leaders of the Organization Spciale (OS, Special Organization) are arrested by French Authorities. Ahmed Ben Bella, however, manages to escape to Cairo. 1954 The Comit Rvolutionaire dUnit et dAction (CRUA, Revolutionary Committee for Unity and Action) is set up by several former members of the Organization Spciale (OS, Special Organization). They intend to lead the revolt against French rule. A conference in Switzerland by CRUA officials sets out the future administration of Algeria after the defeat of the French six administrative districts (Wilaya) under the command of a military chief are established. June 1954 New French government under the Parti Radical (Radical Party) and with Pierre Mends-France as chairman of the Council of Ministers, an acknowledged opponent of French colonialism, withdraws troops from Vietnam following the fall of Dien Bien Phu. This is seen by Algerians as a positive step towards recognition of independence movements in French-occupied territories.