Springer International Journal Universal Access in the Information Society UAIS www.springeronline.com/east/journal/10209/ Second Call for Papers Special Issue Universal Access and Interactive Television Guest Editors Judith Masthoff and Lyn Pemberton About the UAIS Journal The UAIS Journal solicits original research contributions addressing the accessibility, usability and acceptability of Information Society Technologies by anyone, anywhere, at anytime, and through any media and device. Universal access refers to the systematic effort to proactively apply principles, methods and tools of universal design, in order to develop Information Society Technologies which are accessible and usable by all citizens. 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. For further information, please, refer to the "Aims and scope" section on the Website of the UAIS Journal. Aims and scope of this special issue The advent of digital television has brought new opportunities for people to interact with their televisions, by "allowing viewers to access additional information about the programme they are watching, select different camera views of a sports event, play games, access enhanced teletext services, or access the internet and send e-mails" (BBC, 2003). Interactivity is set to expand, as programme makers take advantage of its creative capabilities, broadcasters recognize it as a mechanism for creating new funding streams and governments seek to expand their channels of communication with citizens. • Interactive Television (iTV) could be particularly useful for housebound or disabled people, as it would allow them to access interactive services from home. The elderly are the biggest consumers of television in the UK, watching on average more than 5 hours a day, and 94% of visually impaired people in the UK watch television regularly. • In addition, iTV could overcome some current barriers to conventional tv usage. For example, visualizations of emotions expressed by background music could enhance the viewing experience for the deaf. • On the other hand, there is the danger of a new digital divide, if iTV services are not universally accessible. Original research contributions are solicited, which focus on improving interactive television accessibility for all users. Main topics Contributions are solicited in, but not limited to, the following topics: • Analyses of barriers experienced by TV viewers with perceptual, cognitive, or motor impairments. • Analyses of extra barriers that may be brought about by the addition of interactivity. • Design, development and evaluation of enhancements to iTV aimed at facilitating universal access and overcoming existing barriers to TV use. • Use of multiple platforms to improve accessibility, e.g., iTV and mobile phone • Methods, techniques and instruments for assessing the accessibility of interactive television • Modeling user diversity in the usage of interactive television • Personalisation for creating more accessible iTV Authors of submissions should carefully explain how the work and results presented contribute to facilitating and promoting universal access to interactive television. Important dates Deadline for submission of papers: December 31, 2004 Notification of acceptance: March 15, 2005. Deadline for submission of camera-ready version of accepted papers: June 30, 2005. Expected publication date of the special issue: second half of 2005. Authors should submit their manuscripts electronically as PDF files to the Guest Editors of the special issue, Judith Masthoff and Lyn Pemberton (e- mail: [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]). Manuscript preparation Please, refer to the "Instructions to authors" section on the Website of the UAIS Journal. Reviewing process All papers will be peer reviewed by three reviewers, experts in the field, appointed by the Guest Editors of the issue in consultation with the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal. Copyright information Submission of an article implies that: - the work described has not been published before, except in form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis; - it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. For further information, please refer to the "Copyright information" section on the Website of the UAIS Journal.