Inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) statement

Western Open Books [opens in new tab] is a publishing service that supports WSU academic authors to create and publish open textbooks for the curriculum or micro credentials.[1] This includes open textbook hosting, copyright advice, design support, DOI minting, H5P support, structural and copy-editing referrals, post-publication support (e.g. textbook promotion, impact reports, alerts to training opportunities) in the CAUL OER Collective [opens in new tab] and coordinating peer review.[2]

Western Open Books provides a platform for WSU authors to publish free, openly licensed content to support the university’s Sustainable Development Goals [opens in new tab] and is committed to fostering an inclusive,[3] diverse, equitable, and accessible (IDEA) environment for all readers and contributors.

The goals of Western Open Books are to:

  • recognise the importance of promoting IDEA principles in our open-access publications
  • strive to include diverse perspectives, voices, and experiences in our content
  • represent a wide range of backgrounds, cultures, and identities
  • seek contributions from authors who bring unique viewpoints and challenge existing norms
  • celebrate diversity in all its forms. We value differences in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age and socioeconomic status
  • enrich our content and contribute to a more equitable scholarly landscape
  • eliminate barriers that prevent equal access to knowledge, which extends to both our readers and authors
  • prioritise fair representation, fair compensation, and fair treatment throughout the publishing process
  • ensure that Western Open Books adhere to universal design principles, ensuring that content is accessible to all individuals
  • provide alternative formats, such as audio descriptions, transcripts, and accessible PDFs, to enhance usability.

Inclusivity, diversity, and equity assessment

The editors and external copy editor check that the content in the front and back matter meets inclusion and diversity standards by:

and also:

  • making proper representation of genders, races, cultures, geographies, ethnic backgrounds, disabilities, nationalities, ages, sexual orientations, socio-economic statuses and diverse viewpoints
  • seeking to avoid offence and ensuring every student can see themselves in the content
  • monitoring changes in terminology
  • gathering input from colleagues, students or community members from diverse backgrounds, advocacy groups and committees or departments at the university devoted to diversity and inclusion.

The following checklist has been drawn from the OpenStax Improving Representation and Diversity in OER Materials [PDF],[4] which identifies areas and elements where diversity, equity and inclusivity are most relevant and visible.

 

Inclusivity, diversity, and equity checklist

Category Item Status
Illustrations and graphics A range of diverse subjects and people have been included. NA
Illustrations and graphics The background (literally), context, depicted actions of the subjects, expressions of authority, connotations, and so on have been considered. NA
Example names Diverse names representing various national origins, ethnicities, genders, etc. have been included. NA
Example names Stereotypes associated with specific names or names that present in a certain way have been avoided. NA
Key figures in the field Diversity in key/historical figures mentioned has been sought. NA
Key figures in the field The isolation of diverse contributors to specific sections, e.g., ‘multicultural impacts on psychology’, has been avoided. NA
Key figures in the field Current, more diverse researchers/figures have been included where key/historical figures are not diverse. NA
Applications, examples, and exercises/problems Examples that include diverse people, organisations, geographies, and situations have been written and used. NA
Applications, examples, and exercises/problems Real-world practice problems and applications that pertain to situations and contexts inclusive of all populations have been created. NA
Applications, examples, and exercises/problems Negative stereotypes or sensitive subjects in problems and applications have been avoided unless the subject matter demands it. NA
Applications, examples, and exercises/problems Exercises/problems do not require a piece of specific knowledge or context that may be absent from certain individuals or produce a negative connotation. NA
Appropriate terminology All references to people, groups, populations, categories, conditions, and disabilities used the appropriate verbiage and do not contain derogatory, colloquial, inappropriate, or otherwise incorrect language. Y
Appropriate terminology Use of outmoded terminology in historical situations, e.g., court cases, laws, and articles, has been clearly defined in quotations or annotated with contextual information. NA
Appropriate terminology Use of current terminology has been attempted (Note: Style guides may conflict if terms are controversial or not widely adopted). Y
Appropriate terminology Idioms and colloquialisms have been avoided (particularly if they could lead to misconceptions among those who natively speak other languages or who may not have the educational or cultural context to understand them). Y
Keywords/indexed items Diverse topics and terms are represented in keywords/index. NA
Balanced issues and discussions Issues and situations that pertain to diverse populations have been considered and included (when discussing problems, conditions, or issues, those that affect an array of populations and groups have been included). NA
Balanced issues and discussions Stigmatised victims or those having a specific condition, occupation, experience, or background have been considered. Y
Balanced issues and discussions Specific controversial topics, when necessary to include, have been described in a balanced manner. Y
References Diversity in references has been ensured (this may be easier in some disciplines than others). NA
References Less formal, in-text mentions of specific researchers or studies have been made as diverse as possible. NA

© Western Sydney University unless otherwise attributed. This Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Checklist is an adaptation of ‘OpenStax Improving Representation and Diversity in OER Materials [PDF]’ by Rice University [opens in new tab],[5] licensed under CC BY 4.0 [opens in new tab].[6]

Accessibility assessment

Below is a short accessibility assessment of key areas that have been assessed on the front and back matter by the editors and external copy editor during the production process of this open text.

and also:

The checklist has been drawn from the BCcampus Open Education Accessibility Toolkit [opens in new tab].[7] While a checklist such as this is just one part of a holistic approach to accessibility, it is one way to begin our work on embedding sound accessibility practices in the books we support.

We hope that by being transparent on our current books, we can begin the process of making sure accessibility is top of mind for all authors, adopters, students and contributors of all kinds on all our open-text projects. As such, we welcome any feedback from students, instructors or others who encounter the book and identify an issue that needs resolving.

 

Accessibility checklist

Category Item Status
Organising content Content is organised under headings and subheadings. Y
Organising content Headings and subheadings are used sequentially (e.g., Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.). Y
Images Images that convey information include alternative text (alt-text) descriptions of the image content or function. NA
Images Graphs, charts, and maps also include contextual or supporting details in the text surrounding the image. NA
Images Images, diagrams, or charts do not rely only on colour to convey critical information. NA
Images Purely decorative images contain empty alternative text descriptions. (Descriptive text is unnecessary if the image doesn’t convey contextual content information). NA
Tables Tables include column headers and row headers where appropriate. Y
Tables Tables include a title or caption. Y
Tables Tables do not have merged or split cells. Y
Tables Tables have adequate cell padding. Y
Weblinks The web link is meaningful in context and does not use generic text such as “click here” or “read more”. Y
Weblinks If a link will open or download a file (like a PDF or Excel file), a textual reference is included in the link information (e.g., [PDF]). Y
Weblinks Internal web links do not open in a new tab. If a link must open in a new window or tab, a textual reference is included in the link information (e.g., [opens in new tab]). Y
Weblinks For citations and references, the title of the resource is hyperlinked, and the full URL is not hyperlinked. Y
Weblinks Full email address are used as link text rather than embedding it in other link text (e.g., accessibility@gmail.com). Y
Embedded multimedia A transcript has been made available for a multimedia resource that includes audio narration or instruction. NA
Embedded multimedia Captions of all speech content and relevant non-speech content are included in the multimedia resource that includes audio synchronised with a video presentation. NA
Embedded multimedia Audio descriptions of contextual visuals (graphs, charts, etc.) are included in the multimedia resource. NA
Formulas Equations written in plain text use proper symbols (e.g., −, ×, ÷).8 NA
Formulas For complex equations, one of the following is true:

  • They were written using LaTeX and are rendered with MathJax (Pressbooks).
  • They were written using Microsoft Word’s equation editor.
  • They are presented as images with alternative text descriptions.
    		•  NA
    Formulas Written equations are properly interpreted by text-to-speech tools.9 NA
    Font size Font size is 12 points or higher for body text in Word and PDF documents. Y
    Font size Font size is 9 points for footnotes or endnotes in Word and PDF documents. Y
    Font size Font size can be zoomed to 200 per cent in webbook or e-book formats without needing to scroll side to side. NA

    See: [8] and [9]

    © Western Sydney University unless otherwise attributed. This Accessibility Checklist is an adaptation of Accessibility Toolkit – 2nd Edition [opens in new tab] Copyright © 2015, 2018 by BCcampus, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License [opens in new tab],[10] except where otherwise noted.

     

    Accessibility features of the web version of this resource

    The web version of this resource has been designed with accessibility [opens in new tab] in mind and incorporates the following features:[11]

    • Designed to consider the needs of people who use screen-reading technology:
      • All content can be navigated using a keyboard.
      • Links, headings, and tables are formatted to work with screen readers.
      • Images have alt tags.
    • Information is not conveyed by colour alone.

    The web version of this resource has been designed to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 [opens in new tab].[12] It also follows all guidelines in BCcampus Accessibility Toolkit 2nd edition, Appendix A: Checklist for Accessibility [opens in new tab]. [13]

     

    Other file formats available

    In addition to the web version, this book is available in the following file formats: Print (online) and EPUB (for e-readers). Choose from available file types from the ‘Download this book’ dropdown menu. This option appears below the book cover image on the eBook’s landing page. It is also available as a PDF (for print) file from ResearchDirect, where you will also find the associated datasets: https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:77273. 

    This book is linked to a number of external websites. The link text is underlined for those using a print copy of this resource.

     

    Third-party content

    In some cases, our open texts include third-party content. In these cases, it may not be possible to ensure the accessibility of this content.

     

    Accessibility improvements 

    While we strive to ensure that this resource is as accessible and usable as possible, we might not always get it right. We are always looking for ways to make our resources more accessible.

    If you have problems accessing this resource, please contact the Library Research Services team so we can fix the issue via email: libraryresearch@westernsydney.edu.au

    Please include the following information:

    • the location of the problem by providing a web address or page description
    • a description of the problem
    • the computer, software, browser and any assistive technology you are using that can help us diagnose and solve your issue, e.g. Windows 10, Google Chrome (Version 65.0.3325.181), NVDA screen reader.

     This accessibility disclaimer is adapted from BCampus’s Accessibility Toolkit [opens in new tab] and licensed under a CC BY 4.0 Creative Commons licence [opens in new tab].[14]

     

    1. https://library.westernsydney.edu.au/researchers/western_open_books ↵
    2. https://www.caul.edu.au/programs-projects/enabling-modern-curriculum/oer-collective ↵
    3. https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/sustainable-development ↵
    4. https://d3bxy9euw4e147.cloudfront.net/oscms-prod/media/documents/OpenStax_Representation_and_Diversity_Development_Guidelines.pdf ↵
    5. https://d3bxy9euw4e147.cloudfront.net/oscms-prod/media/documents/OpenStax_Representation_and_Diversity_Development_Guidelines.pdf; https://www.rice.edu/ ↵
    6. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ↵
    7. https://opentextbc.ca/accessibilitytoolkit/ ↵
    8. For example, a hyphen (-) may look like a minus sign (−), but text-to-speech tools will not read out correctly. ↵
    9. Written equations should prioritise semantic markup over visual markup so text-to-speech tools will read out an equation in a way that makes sense to auditory learners. This applies to equations written in LaTeX and those written in Microsoft Word’s equation editor. ↵
    10. https://opentextbc.ca/accessibilitytoolkit; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ↵
    11. https://pressbooks.org/user-docs/accessibility/ ↵
    12. https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG2AA-Conformance ↵
    13. https://opentextbc.ca/accessibilitytoolkit/back-matter/appendix-checklist-for-accessibility-toolkit/ ↵
    14. https://opentextbc.ca/accessibilitytoolkit/ and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ↵

    License

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    Africa's Knowledge Bridge Copyright © 2024 by Uchechukwu Levi Osuagwu, Kingsley Emwinyore Agho, Bernadine Nsa Ekpenyong, Khathutshelo Percy Mashige and Tanko Ishaya is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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