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The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons

Issues with images and video

Images

Some images do not have a meaningful text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1.

  • We are working to ensure all images have meaningful text alternative. Purely decorative images will have blank alt text and infographics / charts will have a link to a full description of the content.

Some images include text as part of the image, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. These mainly relate to embedded images of posters and departmental infographics. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.5.

  • We are working to ensure all images containing text have a suitable text alternative to include the image text.

When page text is enlarged up to 200%, some images appear low resolution or pixelated. While the text content remains fully usable and thus this is not a failure of the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.4, poor image quality when enlarged reduces the experience for people with mild visual disabilities.

  • We are working to ensure all images are at an appropriate resolution so as not to lose significant quality when enlarged up to 200%.

Video

All our video published before 23 September 2020 does not have instructional content and therefore is exempt from the accessibility regulations.

Not all video only content has a transcript, making the content inaccessible to users who cannot see. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.1.

  • We are working to develop transcripts for all video only content published post 23 September 2020 

Not all video with audio content has captions that are synchronised to the audio content of the video, making them inaccessible to people who cannot hear. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.2.

  • We are working to ensure that captions for all video with audio content published post 23 September 2020 are synchronised

Not all video content has audio descriptions of informative visual features that don’t contain audio, making this inaccessible to people who can’t see. This mainly relates to scientific images used to illustrate recorded sit-down research news story interviews. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.5.

  • All new video content published post 23 September 2020 will contain audio descriptions where relevant to do so.

A small amount of video content may contain content that flashes more than three times a second. Currently, the only known instance appears in “Adam Packer set to explore unchartered territory in the brain” appearing in the DPAG news section and Packer Group research page (appearing 00:03:15). This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.3.1.

  • We are working to ensure that all video and animation content containing content that flashes more than three times a second is removed or replaced with compliant content

Issues with navigation, structure, links and keyboard operability

Navigation

Not all page titles are unique and indicate the page’s topic or purpose, which can result in people with cognitive disabilities being unable to quickly orientate themselves within the site and identify the purpose of the page without interpreting its entire contents. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.2.

  • We are working to ensure that all page titles are unique, clear and descriptive

Not all sections have consistent navigation. This issue occurs in two separate ways: 1) several sections contain a mix of pages that appear with the side navigation in place and pages where the side navigation disappears, 2) some pages are navigable in more than one section, which triggers a change of context in that the side navigation options unexpectedly change. This makes it harder for people to learn how to navigate our website or develop strategies (like using screen reader shortcuts) for more efficient navigation. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.2.3.

  • We are working to review and fix all sections to ensure consistent navigation

Many of our tables do not have a table header row, making them less accessible to people using assistive technology. Additionally, our tables do not format correctly on the mobile device, requiring side scrolling or tapping the screen to zoom out in order to view the full content. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1.

  • We are working to review all site tables, which will likely be replaced by appropriately formatted alternatives. Any remaining required tables will have appropriate headers added.

Not all forms have labels indicating the purpose of the field that they relate to, which can result in people with reading difficulties having problems understanding the purpose of the content and users of screen readers being unable to easily navigate the form. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.6.

  • Our developer is currently implementing a fix for this, to be reviewed as soon as possible.

Structure

Not all headings are hierarchical, making the site more difficult for users of assistive technology such as screen readers to access. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1.

The content of some pages is not in logical order if the styling is removed through use of assistive technologies. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.2. For example:

  • Some pages within the main homepage navigation do not appear in the same order e.g. under News, pages are ordered oldest, rather than newest, first; pages are listed either alphabetically (under Team) or from date created rather than in the intended order organised in tabs in styled version e.g. by category or theme (under Research).
  • Special features such as carousel items do not appear in the expected place.
  • The main content on all webpages appears a long way down the page under all the main menus and sub-menus.
  • The spacing of items is affected by sub-pages within web pages.
  • Our developer is currently implementing a fix for this, to be reviewed as soon as possible.

Headings have on occasion been used to highlight information rather than for headings, making the site more difficult for users of assistive technology to use. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1 and 2.4.6.

  • We are working to fix pages containing this issue

Links

Some links do not use text that is meaningful out of context, which can result in users of screen readers not being able to understand the link without reading the surrounding text and users of speech recognition software being less able to target links accurately using voice commands. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4.

  • We are working to fix links containing this issue

Some links to external sites or files open in a new browser window and some open in the same browser window making the site behaviour unpredictable, which can result in the site being less accessible for people with some cognitive disabilities and people who use screen readers. Opening links in new tabs and windows can cause issues such as confusion to visually impaired site visitors and people using assistive technologies, creates a confusing user experience on mobile devices and causes the back button to stop working, which is a key navigation tool. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.2.2.

  • We are working to ensure that all links to external websites and files are reviewed and open in the same browser window.

Keyboard operability

Carousels do not have obvious controls for users to stop the auto-rotate, which can cause people with cognitive disability that affect focus and concentration to be distracted making the site less accessible. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.2.2.

  • We are working with our developers to fix this issue as soon as possible, including adding information in the code for a screen reader to be aware that to stop the carousel from moving, the user will need to move their mouse over it.

Issues with contrast, use of colour and visual characteristics

Contrast

Some elements have low contrast levels (e.g. image copyright), which can result in text being difficult to read, especially for people with low vision, poor eyesight or colour blindness. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.3.

  • We are working with our developers to implement a fix for this issue over the coming months.

Colour

Some images include captions where colour is used as the only way to convey information about the image, such as identifying markers within a scientific image, which means that users who cannot see colour are unable to perceive the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.1.

  • We are working to review all these images, and unless the image can be considered purely decorative, and where the information conveyed is an important addition to the overall content of the page, alternative descriptions that do not rely on colour will be added.

Visual Characteristics

Some pages rely on visual formats such as graphs, flowcharts or videos only to communicate instructions or information, which means that users who are unable to see or recognise information communicated using sensory characteristics are unable to perceive that information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.3.

  • We are working to review and fix all affected pages containing this issue.

Issues with content and documents

Content

The line height, spacing between paragraphs and letter and word spacing cannot be changed without loss of content or functionality. This means that people with low vision, dyslexia or cognitive disabilities may struggle to read the text, or lose content or functionality if they try to adjust the line height or spacing. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.12.

When using mobile or tablet devices, it may not be possible to dismiss or interact with some extra content (i.e. pop-up images) without moving focus or it disappearing. This may cause problems for disabled or sight impaired users as pop-up content may be accidentally triggered or pop-up content may not stay on the screen. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.13.

  • We are working with our developers to implement fixes for these issues over the coming months.

Documents

Many of the documents (Word and PDF) on this site do not meet accessibility standards, which could result in them not being fully accessible to users of screen readers.

  • Documents that are essential to the service we provide will be either converted to HTML pages, have plain text equivalents supplied, or be replaced with accessible versions.

Issues with Content Management System (CMS)

The CMS code is being checked to ensure that it meets the robust accessibility criteria 4.1.1, 4.1.2 & 4.1.3.

  • This will be done as part of an accessibility upgrade of the Haiku Content Management System

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Third-party content

Our site includes third party content and functionality. This may direct you to a related service, link to another site or supporting documentation. We are not responsible for the accessibility of third-party content or to other sites we link to.

This includes:

  • YouTube videos
  • Audio podcasts on third party websites
  • Google maps

We will endeavour to provide an accessible alternative to any third-party content that isn’t compliant.

Third party platforms

We often create content which is hosted on third party platforms. This includes:

  • content we create for social media
  • audio and video which we host on SoundCloud or Vimeo

We are responsible for ensuring the content we supply meets accessibility requirements; however, we are not responsible for the accessibility of the platform itself.

Documents

This site has a number of Word and PDF documents which were published before September 2018. These aren’t essential to the service we provide and won’t be replaced. If you experience any difficulties accessing these documents, please email communications@dpag.ox.ac.uk.

Video and audio content

This site has pre-recorded video content that was published before 23 September 2020, which is exempt from the accessibility regulations.

Archived content

This site contains archived content, which is exempt from the accessibility regulations. The archived content is mainly internal announcements, hidden webpages and sections that are not currently relevant but archived for potential future review, and external news stories published prior to 23 September 2018, but which have not since been updated.

 

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