Resources: Section 508 and ONR

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ONR Keyword(s): accessibility, 508

Resources: Section 508 and ONR
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The following information refers to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and how the Office of Naval Research is meeting Section 508. ONR is making every effort to ensure that our public web site is accessible to all individuals. If for some reason you find a page to be inaccessible, please contact the WebDesk and tell us the title of the page, or URL and what part of the page is inaccessible. We will do our best to find a solution.

Note: Please note that Netscape 6x does not support the "alt" attribute currently for images. As a result individuals using assistive speaking technologies may encounter problems with the site. This is a known issue by Netscape and is something that ONR does not have control over.

Section 508
Section 508 requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. Section 508 also requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.

Below is the listing of guidelines set forth by the Federal IT Access Initiative (FITAI) to meet Section 508 and an explanation of how ONR has tried to meet each requirement. A second listing is shown of additional initiatives that ONR has taken to make the public web site accessible.

1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications.

Requirement	Explaination
(a) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided (e.g., via "alt ", "longdesc ", or in element content).	"alt " tags have been added to every image to provide a description of that image. Some images, such as "spacer " images use and empty "alt " tag (i.e. - " ")
(b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.	Multimedia has a text alternative transcript whether they are video, or animations. Some multimedia may have close-captioned versions, and/or synchroized text. References - section (k)
(c) Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup.	Color as a means to convey information has not been used. Any color used is an enhancement for visual users and has been implemented by the use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).
(d) Documents shall be organized so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet.	Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are used to augment the visual users experience, but all documents are understandable without the use of CCS.
(e) Redundant text links shall be provided for each active region of a server-side image map.	No server-side image maps have been used.
(f) Client-side image maps shall be provided instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape.	Client-side image maps have "alt " tags attached to each active area and/or have redundant text links.
(g) Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables.	Row and column headers have been defined using appropriate markup language for data tables.
(h) Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers.	Data tables with two or more levels of rows or column headers use markup to identify data cells with matching header cells.
(i) Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation.	Appropriate titles have been given to frames for identification.
(j) Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.	There are no animations or pages designed to cause the screen to flicker outside or below the specified range.
(k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a web site comply with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.	Any page, video, animation, or element of page that ONR has not been able to make compliant in it's original format have provided a text alternative with duplicate content that meets Section 508 guidelines.
(l) When pages utilize scripting languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the information provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology.	JavaScript is the primary scripting language used on the site. For each page with JavaScript (i.e. - rollover buttons, alert popups, etc.), we have used either "alt " text or "noscript " tags to convey the information for non-script-enabled browsers.
(m) When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with 1194.21(a) through (l).	An appropriate plug-in for for any application that is needed on the system to view a page is provided on that page. In addition, any page containing .PDF, .DOC, or .PPT files also have a link to the appropriate plug-in or application viewer needed to view these file types.
(n) When electronic forms are designed to be completed on-line, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.	All forms utilize the appropriate markup language needed to function using assistive technology.
(o) A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links.	Each page contains a link at both the top and bottom of the page allowing the individual to bypass any menu navigation and skip directly "to " or "back to " the main content of the page.
(p) When a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required.	This site does not utilize pages that require a timed response.

Additional initiatives taken by the Office of Naval Research:

ONR has implements the use of "title" attribute, when needed, to help provide a better explanation of the link. Some speech-based text readers will read URLs that are written out, letter by letter or word by word which can sometimes be confusing. It also makes it difficult for a user to understand what the link is for. We have tried to provide links that are descriptive of the information they provide. For those links that have the URL written out though, we have added this "title " tag for a description of that URL. For example, if you move your mouse over the following link - www.onr.navy.mil, you will notice a more specific description of what that link is or the location it will direct you to.
Special "Access Keys " (or keyboard shortcuts) have been added for quick, easy access to major areas of the site on most pages. Access Keys allow a user to immediately jump to a specific link and then activate it automatically or by hitting return. Follow the next link for a complete list of instructions and a list of Access Keys.
The "html " tag in the coding of the page defines the language that the page is presented in. For example: <html lang= "en-us">
Each pages contains the specific HTML format that the page is designed in. For example: <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN " "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
The use of popup windows has been avoided when possible; popup windows may confuse certain assistive technology. Links that go outside the Office of Naval Research domain open up a second browser window on top of the current one. Each page that contains an outside link uses either HTML or JavaScript for notification of this.
In addition to regular site navigation, some pages offer a "previous page " link that, in some browsers, will take you back the previous page that you just visited based on your "History " file. Please note that this additional function does not work in all browsers. Only those that support a "History " capability. If your browser does not support this capability, you can simply use the Back button on your browser.

Once again, we encourage you to contact the WebDesk if you find a page to be inaccessible so that we may find a solution to meet your needs.