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 journal´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