Hi! I’m David Sloan, a researcher working in the School of Computing at the University of Dundee in Scotland. This is my personal blog, and as such the views expressed here are my own and not that of my employer.
My area of interest I’d describe as inclusive interaction design – which covers
- web and software accessibility;
- web standards;
- user-centred design;
- user experience design.
I couldn’t call myself a developer or designer; rather I fit in the gap between user and creator, and try to promote an understanding of the diversity of user needs in the design of technology – and also how to make end-users more aware of what they can do to take control of and optimise the user experience.
So I’m very interested in learning about technology that promotes inclusion, particularly for disabled and older people, but I’m equally interested in ways of educating developers – and users – in accessibility and inclusive design, and more generally in user-centred design techniques and approaches. This was a major focus of my PhD, completed in 2006 and titled “The Effectiveness of the Web Accessibility Audit as a Motivational and Educational Tool in Inclusive Web Design”.
I’m not just an academic researcher, though – as project lead of the Digital Media Access Group, I’ve provided accessibility consultancy and services (such as web accessibility audits) to a range of clients in the private and public sectors.
You can read more about me and the work I do in my School of Computing staff page, and also if you’re interested in the naming policy I’ve set myself I initially set myself (and soon abandoned) for each blog entry!
