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- abstract below

The MultiReader project - making electronic text accessible

Helen Bloom and Wendy Fisher

Centre for Human Computer Interaction Design, City University, London w.fisher@city.ac.uk

Abstract

The MultiReader project is a 3 year multi-national, multi-disciplinary research and development project funded by the EU. The aim of the project is to understand the ways in which dyslexic, deaf, visually impaired and mainstream readers find their way through electronic documents. Particular attention is being paid to the use of multimedia such as audio, video and animation in terms of new navigational strategies which may allow readers to use multimedia more effectively. The MultiReader system uses a method of user profiles to allow readers with presentation preferences to establish their own personalised reading profile which can be activated for each document they access. Electronic multimedia information has enormous potential for the 15 million European citizens with print disabilities. This paper reports upon the process involved in the design lifecycle of a new electronic reading system, the methodology and results of user requirement studies and user evaluations of a prototype reading system.

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